The executive order on immigration that President Trump came out with immediately after him taking over power was widely criticised in USA. He was accused of being discriminatory towards Muslims and citizens of certain nations. But another proposed discriminatory law on immigration that came out from another democratic country did not get that much attention.
Image credit: TOI
Hurricane Matthew was very destructive in Haiti. But expectedly the media including the International media is focusing more on damage in USA than in Haiti. Around 900 people were killed by the hurricane in Haiti compared to ten in USA.
Haiti has begun three days of national mourning for those killed by Hurricane Matthew, which devastated the south of the country.
At least 900 people are believed to have died. Tens of thousands of homes have been destroyed and some 350,000 people need aid, the government says.
Cholera is a major fear, with several deaths reported, as are food supplies, given the destruction of crops.
People wade across a flooded street while Hurricane Matthew passes through Port-au-Prince, Haiti. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
I believe that continuing debates and public disagreements are necessary for any movement to grow and flourish. It is very much true about atheist movement too. Otherwise it will become as stagnant as religions.
P Z Myers addressed this issue recently in a post. His writing was in response to this article in Patheos by David Smalley titled “What is killing the atheist movement “.
The gist of David Smalley’s article as far as I could understand is most of the disagreements with in the Atheist community can be solved by talking in private. Going public about the disagreement will harm the fight against religious orthodoxy.
The Olympics is here again. As usual there are many question marks raised about conducting a costly and lavish extravaganza in a country with lot of poverty around. Also questions are raised about the ability of such a country to organise such a mega event. But unsurprisingly it is the not so well off people of Brazil who are welcoming it more than the rich.
Here, the spectacle of the Olympics seems distant and surreal. While VIPs watched Friday night’s Opening Ceremonies inside Maracana Stadium, the two million people who live in Rio’s 1,000 favelas watched on TVs jury-rigged to electrical lines. The Copacabana beach volleyball venue is less than half a mile from Chapeu Mangueira, but that is as close as residents will get to Rio’s Games, which are costing $6 billion in a city that is in such financial straits it can’t afford to pay its police officers, stock its hospital pharmacies or provide toilet paper to schools.
Still, the people who live in Chapeu Mangueira — named after a hat factory that used to stand on this site — and the adjacent Babilonia favela seem more excited about hosting the Olympics than their richer neighbors down the hill in Leme.
“Ever since I was a child I dreamed about what it would be like to have the Olympics in Rio,” said David Bispo, who was a torch bearer during the relay when it passed through the city on Thursday. “Now is the time to value the Olympics and appreciate how sports can bring people together.”
Attackers wielding machetes have killed a village doctor and wounded his friend, a university tutor, in western Bangladesh, police say.
Mir Sanwar Rahman, known for offering villagers free homeopathic medicines, was hacked to death early on Friday in Kushtia district.
No group has said they carried out the attack.
There has been a spate of murders of religious minorities, secular activists and academics in Bangladesh recently.
Mr Rahman and tutor Mohammad Saifuzzaman were ambushed as they travelled on a motorbike in their village.More than 20 people have been killed in attacks by suspected Islamists in the last three years.
An elderly Buddhist monk was hacked to death on Saturday while a Hindu priest, two prominent gay activists, a law student and a university professor were also murdered in recent months.
The killings have been blamed on various hardline groups, including so-called Islamic State (IS) and Ansar al-Islam, a Bangladeshi militant group affiliated to al-Qaeda.
The government has denied that IS is present in the country. Instead, it has blamed opposition parties and local Islamist groups, such as Ansarullah Bangla Team and Harkatul Jihad.
The opposition have denied any involvement and say the government’s accusations against them have hampered a credible investigation.
All those killed were nonconformers. They were not strict followers of Sunni Islam. The latest victim, Mir Sanwar Rahman was a follower of Lalon’s philosophy.
Babu Gogineni , the former executive director of International Humanist and Ethical Union, and a renowned Indian freethinker is addressing the South Asian Humanist Conference in Dallas. He is also speaking in several cities in USA on a lecture tour. Here are the details of his tour and of the South Asian Humanist conference in Dallas. Catch him if he is coming near your place -:)
http://www.humanism.asia/