Clipmarks | zizzy's 'poverty' clips

NYTimes uses spokesperson from a white-supremacist anti-immigration group as expert

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 13:10:52 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: To read the AP article go here http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hRZ1E71NbNh0y2o5WR0BjJQuNrjQD91VGR380

Clip Source: culturekitchen.com

The New York Times uses an Associate Press article titled, Federal immigration failures fuel state action.

Mark Krikorian is the expert quoted. He is from the "Pat Buchanan" school of mainstreamed white supremacist political lobbying. His employer, the "Center For Immigration Studies", is an alleged think tank that used to be the research arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Even though it has been spun-off and allegedly separated from the more radical FAIR, the Southern Poverty Law Center still considers the Center For Immigration Studies part of the list of anti-immigrant hate groups created by John Tanton

The need for including pro- and con- voices on the immigration debate doesn't bother me. What really irritates me is the Associated Press' insistence on legitimizing an organization that has at its core blocking people of color from entering and settling in the United States

watch the video and follow the chain of racist organizations that support the CIS

[Video]

Egypt hit by rising food prices

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:56:34 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Family budgets, already under pressure in this mainly poor country, are being further strained by the international increases in the prices of staples such as wheat, rice, cooking oil and dairy products

Some poor families say they have had to reduce their food intake to two meals a day

They are eating meat even more infrequently than usual - or not at all

According to figures cited by the World Bank in a 2005 study, a fifth of the country's population live below the poverty line. Another 13% are just above it and for them, any wobble in consumer prices means they go under

No-one has yet worked out the impact of the latest price rises on poverty, but it is clear the government believes it needs to intervene to absorb some of the increases

it is allowing up to 15 million new names to be added to the register of people eligible to receive subsidised oil, sugar, rice and tea

authorities are also well aware of the potential for social unrest should prices continue to soar

Serious Bread Shortages in Egypt

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 04:36:08 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Egypt's president has ordered the army to increase the production and distribution of bread, in an attempt to cope with serious shortages.

President Mubarak said all bread queues must be eliminated

Rising prices and alleged corruption have sparked recent clashes at bakeries in poorer neighbourhoods, leading to several deaths.

Hosni Mubarak said eradicating bread queues was "imperative".

The army and interior ministry control numerous bakeries normally used to supply bread for troops and police.

The price of wheat has more than tripled on international markets since last summer.

Mr Mubarak has ordered the government to use some foreign reserves to buy additional wheat from the international market

Many of Egypt's 70m population, about half of whom live below the poverty line, survive on subsidised bread.

Unsubsidised bread is 10-12 times more expensive than the subsidised five-piaster loafs (less that $0.01).

The Poverty Trap - It's Real & It Bites

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:43:40 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Making more means not making it anymore. The author is a Harvard Econ Professor.

Clip Source: gregmankiw.blogspot.com

A woman called me out of the blue last week and told me her self-sufficiency counselor had suggested she get in touch with me. She had moved from a $25,000 a year job to a $35,000 a year job, and suddenly she couldn’t make ends meet any more.

She showed me all her pay stubs etc. She really did come out behind by several hundred dollars a month. She lost free health insurance and instead had to pay $230 a month for her employer-provided health insurance. Her rent associated with her section 8 voucher went up by 30% of the income gain (which is the rule). She lost the ($280 a month) subsidized child care voucher she had for after-school care for her child. She lost around $1600 a year of the EITC. She paid payroll tax on the additional income. Finally, the new job was in Boston, and she lived in a suburb. So now she has $300 a month of additional gas and parking charges. She asked me if she should go back to earning $25,000.

New Hate Group: Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:42:22 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: fairimmigration.wordpress.com

The Eugenists, racists, and members of white supremacist groups haven’t gone away- they’ve simply found a new home: the anti-immigrant movement

FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, has employed white supremacists in key leadershpi roles, has accepted over a million dollars from a eugenics foundation AND, as if that weren’t enough, has helped to bolster racist conspiracy theories throughout the country

FAIR is not the voice of the mainstream, it’s the voice of individuals who have helped fuel the 40% increase in the number of hate groups in the US

A 35% increase in hate crimes against latinos. There has certianly been a similar increase in hate crimes against South Asians and Arabs, and increases in hate crimes against other marginalized groups

A recent report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, outlines the story of FAIR as a hate group, and it justifies their official addition to the national list of hate groups maintained by the organization.

Hey God - stop being such a bastard! Irresponsible oaf!

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 16:21:28 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: field-negro.blogspot.com

HOW COME GOD ALWAYS LETS BAD SHIT HAPPEN TO THE POOREST AMONG US?

KEEP THE FOLKS OF BANGLADESH IN YOUR HEARTS.

Tags: bangladesh, poverty, god, natural disasters, fairy tales

Slideshow: Cairo's Housing Divide

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:26:55 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: After all this time living in Cairo I am still amazed at how the people maintain their sense of humor. There's extreme poverty, but Egyptians, the ones I know, laugh and joke all the time. They don't dwell on their problems, but instead they work incredibly hard to live as well as they can. For all its problems and inequality, Cairo is one of the best places in the world to live because the people, despite the odds, make it so.

Clip Source: cairolive.com

Dramatic FT slide show on the rich poor housing divide....

Tags: cairo, poverty, housing

Streetkid-run bank in New Delhi

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 07:20:42 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: www.boingboing.net

Posted by Cory Doctorow, October 27, 2007 12:57 AM

Street-kids in New Delhi have created their own successful bank:

A related and less carefree spotting came in from New Delhi, India, where more than 1,000 street children have joined together to create a bank that helps them manage the small sums they earn each day. Launched in 2001 by a volunteer aid group called Butterflies, the Children’s Development Bank aims to empower children in several important ways.

Like any other bank, CDB pays interest on the deposits that New Delhi’s street children make. That interest can be a vital incentive to kids who might otherwise spend their daily earnings on cigarettes, candy or other items—or worse, have their meager profits stolen. Money for the interest comes from the repayment of micro loans made to kids 15 years and older. But interest on income is only part of the picture. While adults stand at the ready to help, CDB is managed by children, helping them gain valuable work skills.

Tags: kids, poverty, self-help

Wrongful Convictions

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:40:24 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: eji.org

Innocent people released from death row, including two people assisted by EJI

Since 1973, nearly 130 people have been released from death row after evidence of their innocence was uncovered. For every 8 people executed in this country, one innocent person has been exonerated.

Seven people have been exonerated in Alabama. Walter McMillian, Randall Padgett, Gary Drinkard, Louis Griffin, Wesley Quick, James Cochran, and Charles Bufford are among those found not guilty of the crimes that originally put them on Alabama's death row

The astounding error rate in capital punishment is a serious indictment against the death penalty

EJI has obtained relief for dozens of death row prisoners who were illegally convicted or sentenced to death

EJI has won relief for a mentally retarded man who was wrongfully sentenced to death and is defending dozens of poor people who have been sentenced to death and denied adequate legal assistance which resulted in wrongful convictions

Tags: equal justice initiative, death penalty, poverty, united states

The EIJ Campaign Against Excessive Prison Sentences

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 15:34:24 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: eji.org

Due in large part to the continuing campaign to “get tough” on crime, Alabama’s prison population has skyrocketed from 6000 prisoners in 1979 to over 28,000 prisoners today. Alabama currently has the fifth highest incarceration rate in the country and is among the top 5 states in imposing the longest sentences for violent, non-violent, and drug offenses alike

From 2000-2004, Alabama’s spending on prisons increased by nearly 45% -- but its budget for schools increased only 7.5%

EJI recently succeeded in obtaining relief for dozens of non-violent offenders sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole as a result of Alabama’s notorious Habitual Felony Offender Act. The law mandates a life without parole sentence for a fourth felony even if it is a non-violent crime – like stealing a bicycle, writing a bad check, or drug possession

As a result of EJI’s efforts, many now have won their freedom

EJI Wins Relief for Persons Sentenced to Die in Prison for Nonviolent Crimes

View PDF

Tags: equal justice initiative, sentencing, poverty, united states

Poverty and Capital Punishment Go Hand In Hand

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 19:21:15 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: www.ipsnews.net

BERLIN, Oct 17 (IPS) - In rich and poor countries alike poverty and the death penalty are almost always inextricably bound together, according to a worldwide survey of experts and human rights activists carried out by journalists as part of the IPS Death Penalty Abolition Project

AI estimates that at least 1,010 people were executed in China in 2006

In China more than 60 types of crime -- including many non-violent offences -- are punishable by a death sentence

in Japan, one of the world's richest nations, the relationship between poverty and death sentences can be seen in the high number of the 100 or so on death row who cannot afford their own defence

In the U.S., 95 percent of the 3,350 people currently on death row are poor

there remains the ever-present reality that someone is put to death not for the crime they were convicted of... but because they were poor

Tags: capital punishment, china, united states, japan, crime, societal genocide or societies getting rid of thos

Noose Incident in Gurnee Ilinois

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 03:57:17 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: www.chicagotribune.com

September 30, 2007

What local officials are calling an isolated event that led to charges against a high school student in Gurnee is apparently the latest in a series of incidents across the country causing heightened concern in the racially explosive aftermath of the Jena 6 case in Louisiana.

A Warren Township High School student was charged with disorderly conduct for making "racially charged" statements to two female students, police said. The student drove into a campus parking lot with a noose hanging from his rearview mirror and a Confederate flag displayed in his vehicle, officials said.

"I think what all of these incidents reflect -- from Jena to the reaction to Jena -- is the worsening of race relations in America," said Mark Potok, a hate-group expert at the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. "What one would hope is that an event like Jena starts a real dialogue that takes us forward and not backward."

Tags: racism, terrorism, jena 6, southern poverty law center, living in america

U.S. Low-Income Housing on the Chopping Block [Part 1]

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:43:37 GMT

clipped by: zizzy
clipper's remarks: This began during the 1990s, under the Clinton Administration. I have often wondered why the so-called Black leadership idolizes the Clintons. This demolition of public housing is all a part of Bill Clinton's answer to the problems of poverty in the United States, his so-called welfare reform. Lack of affordable also impacts poor Whites, Latinos, Asians and Native Americans. So what is so special about the Clinton's? What have they really done for poor people in America?

Clip Source: www.ipsnews.net

Credit:Jonathan Springston

Resident Advisory Board President Diane Wright speaks at a rally in Atlanta.

ATLANTA, Aug 30 (IPS) - Even as people around the United States and the world recall the horrors of Hurricane Katrina two years ago, which displaced tens of thousands of the Gulf Coast's poorest residents, government-subsidised housing has come under increasing attack by policymakers in the U.S.

Starting in the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) encouraged the demolition of 100,000 units. Since then, local authorities across the country have destroyed at least 78,015 public housing apartments under HOPE VI, with another 10,354 planned for demolition, according to HUD data

Under that programme, public housing communities were torn down and replaced with "mixed-income communities". However, the mixed-income communities often include high-priced houses, luxury condos, upscale shopping, and very few housing units affordable to low-income families.

Tags: united states, poverty, housing, the american dream

U.S. Mortgage Woes Leave Poor Homeowners Adrift

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:29:44 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: ipsnews.net

WASHINGTON, Aug 24 (IPS) - The prospect of widespread dispossession is prompting closer scrutiny of U.S. mortgage lenders and calls for regulators to help poor borrowers, not big banks.

About a dozen U.S. states have begun taking measures to protect homeowners whose modest incomes and weak credit forced them to accept mortgages at punitive terms designed to limit banks' risk in lending to subprime, or less-than-ideal, borrowers

The moves come as industry experts warn that one million or more U.S. homeowners face foreclosure in the next year or two. Some 550,000 U.S. borrowers lost their homes in the past year, according to the national Mortgage Bankers Association.

"The speed with which delinquency and default rates have risen for the 2006 vintage of loans has been striking," John Kiff and Paul Mills of the IMF monetary and capital markets department wrote Thursday in a research paper.

Tags: predatory lending, poverty, speculation, the american dream

U.S. Rural Poverty Stagnates as Uninsured Multiply

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:23:44 GMT

clipped by: zizzy

Clip Source: www.ipsnews.net

In the countryside, poverty has stagnated at 15.2 percent, three percentage points above the national average. In all, nearly 7.2 million inhabitants of rural areas fell below the poverty line last year despite rising agricultural prices.

"Five years into an economic recovery, the country has yet to make progress in reducing poverty, raising the typical working-age family's income, or stemming the rise in the ranks of the uninsured, compared even to where we were in the last recession," said Robert Greenstein

Asian households recorded the highest median income, 64,200 dollars, followed by non-Hispanic whites with 52,400 dollars, Hispanics with 37,800 dollars, and blacks with 32,000 dollars. Incomes levels for these groups were statistically no different in 2005 and 2006.

The official definition of poverty varies with family size and composition. For a family made up of two adults and two children, the poverty level is set at around 20,400 dollars.

Tags: united states, poverty, trickle-down economics, uninsured