Salem-News.com Culture articles Page 7

Stop the Violence: A Call for Release, Investigation and Reparation

Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com, William Nicholas Gomes, joined 183 organizations condemning the use of armed force and escalating violence against the Cambodian people.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - On the 3rd January 2014, four civilians were shot dead by military forces, at least 39 people were injured, including a 17 year old boy and a pregnant woman, and thirteen more men were arrested near Canadia Industrial Park on Veng Sreng road, Phnom Penh.

The previous day, during clashes between security forces and striking workers in front of Yak Jin factory on National Road 4, ten men were arrested by the Military Special Command Unit 911.

Do Members Of Congress Read The Bills They Pass---Often Over A Thousand Pages Long?

Complexity in legislation has created an industry of lobbyists and consultants...

(WASHINGTON, DC) - In mid-January, Congress rushed through a massive spending bill, just 44 hours after it was posted. The bill was 1,582 pages and accompanying explanatory statements added 1,278 additional pages.

It was voted on just 44 hours after it was posted-----which would have given members of Congress less than a minute to read each page----if they gave up a night's sleep.

Graphic Designer Launches Kickstarter Art Campaign

Ruiz Jr. has been enjoying his exploration of this fun and creative outlet as he has not yet discovered any other artists pursuing this form of art.

(SALEM) - Freddy Ruiz Jr. is challenging himself to raise $2,000 in 30 days. This is an effort to complete and promote an art show called “20 Pieces/20 Weeks.”

If the project is successfully funded, Ruiz Jr. will create one art door using vinyl decals every week for 20 weeks. At the end of the 20 weeks there will be an art show in Portland, Salem, and Eugene. The Kickstarter art campaign is scheduled to launch February 8, 2014, at Franklin’s Bottle Shop.

Saga of a Dropout Doper

He inhaled lightly, tendrils of air curling into a vast space behind his closed eyes. As the sound continued, his mind became a darkness full of light, an emptiness that seemed to contain everything. Happiness welled up within him and he laughed.

(OLDENBURG, Germany) - At the age of 15 I decided I was going to be a writer. I loved books, and writing them seemed to be the greatest thing in the world to do. Now after eight books it still does.

But at first I had a terrible time writing. My thoughts were all jumbled up. I couldn't concentrate. I did poorly in school because I couldn't hold my mind on the assignments. I was too caught up in my psychological stress and subconscious conflicts to be able to really write or study.

Pope Praises the Fundamental Value of the Natural Family in Society

According to the French Statistical Institute, lone parents with a high percentage of single mothers, are already 19%, and its poverty rate rises to 46.2 %.

(MADRID) - The TV networks have broadcast live the "Family Day" in London, Nazareth, Barcelona and Madrid.

Pope Francis in his message to the families present in Madrid, Barcelona , London and Nazareth Pope said the family is an inviolable right. The family is the solution. He was also concerned about the elderly and children living as " exiles within their homes."

Being Green

... that young lady is right; we didn’t have the "green thing" back in our day."

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older woman, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and explained, “We didn’t have this ‘green thing’ back in my earlier days.”

The young clerk responded, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”

How Congress Extorts Money From Those Who Have Business Before It

Public understanding of what is really taking place in Congress is an important first step.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - The U.S. Congress is held in increasingly low esteem. In his just-published book, "Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War," former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates provides us with this judgment of Congress:

"I saw most of Congress as uncivil, incompetent at fulfilling their basic constitutional responsibilities (such as timely appropriations), micromanagerial, parochial, hypocritical, egotistical, thin-skinned and prone to put self (and re-election) above country."

Western Civilians in Kabul

The thousands of Western civilians who live in Kabul have felt very little of the threat posed by the insurgents.

(PORTLAND, OR) - Interesting observations of the lives of “thousands” of unofficial (mainly US) civilians by the NYTimes correspondent in Kabul.

I assume they are mainly US contractors and “security” company gunmen, business speculators and even shadier types that hope to profit from foreign money injected into an invaded and occupied country. Although there are also NGO employees engaged in presumably righteous activity, even most of them receive generous pay.

Addressing the Income Equality Quandary

While the Ten Commandments declare, "Thou Shalt Not Steal", today's marketplace is rampant with multiple violations. If every alleged "thief" of consumer cash were incarcerated, we'd shortly run out of prison space.

(SALEM) - While the jingle-jingle of Christmas Bells has since subsided, gargantuan greenbacks are still very much in circulation. Recent news headlines have alerted us that more than half of the US Senate has now reached the "millionaire bracket". Why all the racket?

"Income Equality" as a frontline issue did not begin with the Obama Administration nor with Lyndon Johnson's clarion call to declare a War on Poverty. Nor did so-called "class war" start with Karl Marx.

`Footsteps for Rebecca`: Young Man Walking LA to Seattle for Needy Amputees

Approximately 2.5 million North Americans are currently living with limb loss.

(COOS BAY) - Jeremiah Ray, brother of a leg amputee, is walking up the west coast of the United States to increase awareness of the serious problems faced by amputees and raise funds for the Amputee Coalition, a support and advocacy group.

He and his hiking companion started in Los Angeles in late November, passed through northern California into Oregon over the weekend, passed through the Coos Bay area yesterday, and will be passing up the Oregon coast in the coming days.