US urged to act as progress stalls on equal pay
New York CityThomson Reuters Foundation The wage gap between men and women in the United States failed to budge in 2018, government data showed on Tuesday, sparking calls for action to end pay discrimination. Women working full-time year-round earned 82 cents for every dollar earned by men last year, the US Census Bureau said, meaning […]
STRANGESIGHTS: THE CASE OF MAURICE THE ROOSTER (AND OTHER NEIGHBOUR DISPUTES); LOCH NESS MONSTER MYSTERY SOLVED?; AND “WORLD FIRST” CONVEYOR BELT CHEESE RESTAURANT
DAVID ADAMS writes about the odder side of life…
Air conditioning for all? Hotter world faces risk of “cooling poverty”
Oxford, EnglandThomson Reuters Foundation As climate change brings more frequent and extreme heatwaves around the world, demand for air conditioners is soaring, with 10 new units sold every second on average – but the poor may be left to swelter, said a University of Oxford researcher. By 2050, energy use for cooling is projected to […]
Pastor, author and mental health advocate Jarrid Wilson dies by suicide
RNS Jarrid Wilson, a California church leader, author and mental health advocate, died by suicide Monday evening at age 30. Wilson, known as a passionate preacher, most recently was an associate pastor at megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California. A co-founder of the mental health non-profit Anthem of Hope, Wilson was open about his […]
Pope Francis shrugs off critics, calling schism part of church’s history
Vatican CityRNS On his flight back from a weeklong trip to Africa, Pope Francis answered the small yet vocal crowd of critics of his papacy, saying that while he hopes for dialogue he’s not afraid of a schism. “There has always been a schismatic option in the church, always,” Francis said while answering a question […]
Facebook bans self-harm images in fight against suicide
Bengularu, IndiaReuters Facebook Inc will no longer allow graphic images of self-harm on its platform as it tightens its policies on suicide content amid growing criticism of how social media companies moderate violent and potentially dangerous content. The social network also said on Tuesday self-injury related content will now become harder to search on Instagram […]
GIVING: AUSTRALIA’S CHRISTMAS BOWL APPEAL CELEBRATES 70 YEARS – AND $A100 MILLION RAISED
DAVID ADAMS reports on the 70th anniversary of the annual Christmas Bowl Appeal in Australia…
Reparations fund announced by US seminary with buildings constructed by slaves
RNS An Episcopal seminary in Virginia has announced plans to create a $US1.7 million endowment fund whose proceeds will support reparations for the school’s ties to slavery. Virginia Theological Seminary said in a 5th September statement that enslaved persons worked on its campus and the school “participated in segregation” after the end of slavery. “This […]
ESSAY: PROSPERITY GOSPEL’S FALSE PROMISES AREN’T ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY
US Baptist pastor and author ALAN CROSS, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at different aspects of the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’…
SIGHT-SEEING: SALT AND THE POLITICALLY CORRECT THING – A STUDY IN POLITICAL LINGUISTICS, PART II
In the second part of a two-part article, BRUCE C WEARNE looks at the use of the word ‘phobia’ in shutting down public debates…