2M2 Caroline and Gaelle
2M6 Laura and Carmela
Sunday, July 16, 2006
The Guardian (UK) 21-25.05.07
Week TEN article selected 14-16.05.07
2M2 Caroline and Gaelle
2M6 Laura and Carmela
2M2 Caroline and Gaelle
2M6 Laura and Carmela
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Laura Bourret
Carmela Crippa
2M6
Gaelle Kovaliv
Caroline Baudat
2m2
laura et camela
The Rev Jerry Falwell, the televangelist who helped make the religious right a dominant force of American politics, died yesterday at his office on the campus of his Virginia university.
Mr Falwell, 73, had a history of heart problems, his doctor said. He was rushed to hospital after being found at his office at Liberty University, the campus he founded. He never regained consciousness.
The fundamentalist preacher was at the height of his powers in the 1980s as the man who imposed the mores of conservative Christians who previously had shunned public life on mainstream politics.
But even after his star faded, and a younger generation of activists took charge of delivering the votes of the religious right to Republican leaders, Mr Falwell's influence lingered. He played a pivotal role to shifting America to the right on abortion, gay marriage and pornography.
His support was also seen as crucial to the current crop of Republican leaders. The Arizona Senator, John McCain, who once derided televangelists as "agents of intolerance", last year made a point of delivering the commencement address at Liberty University. Mr McCain said in a statement yesterday: "Dr Falwell was a man of distinguished accomplishment who devoted his life to serving his faith and country."
The engine for those changes was his Moral Majority lobbying organisation, formed in 1979, which registered millions of conservative Christians to vote, and helped to elect Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980. The lobbying organisation, and his nationally telecast sermons, gave Mr Falwell a broad pulpit for his conservative beliefs, allowing him to rail against trade unions and state-funded schools.
Mr Falwell withdrew from active politics in 1987 after bruising libel suits against Penthouse and Hustler magazines.
He called Aids God's wrath on gay people, and said the 9/11 attacks were brought on by lesbians, atheists and civil liberties activists. He also kept close to circles of power, supporting both Presidents Bush in their runs for the White House.
But while he scaled the pinnacles of American power in his latter years, Mr Falwell's beginnings were humble. His first foray in public life began in a church in his native Lynchburg, Virginia, with a few dozen members in 1956. He soon began broadcasting sermons from his living room, and his congregation, linked by television audiences around the country tuning into the Old-Time Gospel Hour, expanded into the millions.
Gaelle et Caroline
Here is our article.
http://society.guardian.co.uk/children/story/0,,2080742,00.html
Children face poverty, neglect and demonisation, commissioner warns
Staff and agencies
Wednesday May 16, 2007
SocietyGuardian.co.uk
England is one of the worst countries in the developed world in which to be a child, the children's commissioner said today.
Sir Al Aynsley-Green said he was "angry" that adults frequently "demonise" children while vulnerable young people continue to die through poverty and neglect. And he warned of a "crisis at the heart of our society" in the way children are treated by adults.
His comments echo the findings of a UN report, released three months ago, which said children growing up in the UK suffer greater deprivation, worse relationships with their parents and are exposed to more risks from alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex than those in any other wealthy country in the world.
As he launched a new five year plan for his organisation, Sir Al said children often raised concerns over safety, security and bullying.
"Children exist in a state of great uncertainty," he said. "They feel unsafe in the streets, they often have domestic violence at home and bullying in school and they feel demonised by the adult population."
He said "endless testing" in schools also contributed to children's unhappiness, and he condemned the use of Asbos and the "mosquito device" to stop children hanging around in particular areas. The device emits a high-pitched sound only audible to children.
"We are one of the most child and young person unfriendly countries in the developed world," he said
It is "exhilarating" to meet children who are interested, passionate and concerned about the world, he said.
"But I am driven almost to the point of despair when I see the awfulness of so many children's lives. That's why I am so angry. I am angry that many people are just not seeing the problem."
Sir Al, two years into his post as England's first children's commissioner, has published a new five year plan for the Office of the Children's Commissioner, which has been rebranded "11 Million", a reference to the 11million children in England.
The plan focuses on key issues facing young people, including youth justice and antisocial behaviour, asylum and trafficking, mental health, and enjoying education. The organisation's theme for the next 12 months will be children's health and happiness.
In the foreword to the document, Sir Al said: "I believe there is a crisis at the heart of our society. We have been failing children and young people for far too long.
"I am angered at the state of so many children's lives - those in crumbling inner city estates, in poverty, or struggling to access services that should be free and easily available to them. But who cares enough to help?"
He added: "Our work is firmly grounded in the experiences of children and young people. My door is always open - as are my ears. When nobody else will listen to a child, I will. Together, we'll improve children's lives, rights and happiness."
Post a Comment