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Monthly Archives: March 2007

Justifying Domestic Violence By Religion

Last week, in Frankfurt, Germany, Judge Christa Datz-Winter cited the Holy Qur’an as a defense in a divorce proceeding. In this particular case, a German-born woman with Moroccan roots sued for a rapid divorce due to the physical beatings she suffered at the hands of her Moroccan husband.
In an article by Mr. Mark Landler of [...]

Functional Illiteracy In The New Millennium

I heard a very disturbing statistic on the radio, and then found a corresponding article. In Washington, D.C., our Nation’s Capitol, approximately one third of the population is functionally illiterate. The national average is estimated at 21%, or 63 million Americans. Functional illiteracy may be defined as having problems reading signs, mass transit schedules, comprehending [...]

Regrets For Slavery

Recently, both bodies of Virginia’s General Assembly passed an interesting resolution. They stated that “Government-sanctioned slavery ‘ranks as the most horrendous of all depredations of human rights and violations of our founding ideals in our nation’s history; and . . . the abolition of slavery was followed by . . . systematic discrimination, enforced segregation, [...]

The War Over Words

Ms. Diana Jean Schemo wrote an interesting article in the Friday edition of the New York Times. Its theme was the “war over words” with regards to reading instruction in Madison, Wisconsin. Along with how we teach children the art of reading throughout the country. Namely, which teaching method produces better results in our [...]

International Women’s Day: 08 March 2007

“International Women’s Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women’s groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, [...]

“That’s Part of Our Tortured, Tangled History.”

“It turns out that her great-great-great-great-grandfather actually owned slaves,” Mr. Obama said before another audience, over breakfast, at George C. Wallace Community College. “That’s no surprise. That’s part of our tortured, tangled history.” (1)
During a commemorative march yesterday in Selma, Alabama, those were the eloquent words of a man who may be President: Senator Barack [...]

“A Guide For Those Who Don’t Read, But Wish They Did.”

I read a very interesting, and correspondingly disappointing article, in the International Herald Tribune. It discussed a book written by a French author, Pierre Bayard, entitled, “How To Talk About Books You Have Not Read.” The author is a Professor of Literature at Paris University. Here are a few excerpts from the article:
“I am [...]