Break Time

Welcome all to the Blog that brings you exciting connections to items of sociological significance in our world. It's summer time here, and that means it is time for me to take a bit of a break. However, I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions you may have in my efforts to improve the offerings of this blog and its purpose useful. Send me a line at chad.gesser@kctcs.edu.

See you in Fall 2005, with maybe a few sundry items between now and then....

Social Class and Poverty: New report shows that child poverty is rising in rich countries

A new report published today by UNICEF finds that the proportion of children living in poverty has risen in 17 out of 24 industrialised nations of the OECD over the past decade. This amounts to some 40 -50 million children growing up below national poverty lines in the world’s richest countries.

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Social Class and the US Economy: The uneven burden of money's higher cost

By Ron Scherer
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

NEW YORK – The cost of being a borrower is rising.

As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates - as it is expected to do again Tuesday - everyone from students to car buyers to anyone carrying a credit-card balance will start to notice that lenders are charging more.

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Social Class and the US Economy: The uneven burden of money's higher cost

By Ron Scherer
Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

NEW YORK – The cost of being a borrower is rising.

As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates - as it is expected to do again Tuesday - everyone from students to car buyers to anyone carrying a credit-card balance will start to notice that lenders are charging more.

To read the entirety of this article, click here

To access related sociological links, click here.

BRAZIL: Lack of Land Rights is Killing Indigenous Children, Say Activists

RIO DE JANEIRO, Mar 14 (IPS) - ”We don't want charity or paternalistic projects,” stressed the leaders of the Guarani-Kaiowá indigenous community in the midwestern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, where at least eight children have died so far this year from malnutrition.

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Globalization and Health

Mexico's Minister of Health talks about the role that disease, violence, and malnutrition play in the dialogue over global economic development.

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Global Population and Urbanization

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The human race is expected to swell from the current 6.5 billion to 9.1 billion people by 2050, with populations exploding in hungry developing countries and stagnating in rich nations, the United Nations predicted Thursday.

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Politics and Gender Equality in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, 2 Feb 2005 (IRIN) - Two independent reports on domestic violence against women in Pakistan have found that the country is suffering increasing levels of abuse in spite of legislation to provide women with protection.


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European Union and the Global Economy

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission unveiled a plan on Wednesday to relaunch the EU's drive for economic supremacy, but quietly dropped the 2010 deadline set five years ago for a program that has been 'blown off course.'

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Click here for related sociological terms on the Economy and Global Stratification.

Politics: 1990 Constitutional Monarch, 2005 King-Less Republic?

BANGKOK, Feb 2 (IPS) - In May 1990, the winds of change that began with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and freeing of South Africa's Nelson Mandela, had reached the Himalayan Hindu kingdom of Nepal. The role of the god-king - the incarnation of Lord Vishnu - was challenged.

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Global economy: Free Trade Americas Agreement (FTAA) Sneaks into Summit Declaration

MEXICO CITY, Jan 13 (IPS) - The Summit of the Americas came to a close Tuesday in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey with a declaration asserting that the hemisphere-wide trade treaty should move forward according to plan because it will foment growth.

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Economy and Global Stratification: U.S. Reaches Pact With Central American Nations

WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (IPS) - The United States and four Central American countries reached a so-called free trade agreement (FTA) on Wednesday, a deal critics say will cost U.S. jobs and transfer wealth from the already impoverished Latin nations to U.S. corporations.

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Global Economy and NAFTA: North American Deal Dismal After a Decade

WASHINGTON, Dec 26 (IPS) - After 10 years a deal that all sides say transformed trade and investment rules in North America has still produced far fewer positive results than originally promised, according to its critics.

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Argentina's Economy Makes Progress: Economy and Global Stratification

In Argentina, there are signs of solid financial recovery three years after the country suffered devastating political and economic crises.

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Peacebuilders span North America: Social Change and Conflict Resolution

The recent creation of the North American Peacebuilders Program, one of the first exchange programs of its kind in the world, is giving students...

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Mexico's Once-Dominant PRI Split Over Candidate: Mexico Politics

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Once compared to the Soviet Communist Party for its monolithic grip on power, Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party is now in turmoil over how to win back the presidency it lost in the 2000 elections."

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China: Strategic Policy and Marxism

BEIJING, Jan. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Leng Rong said here Wednesday that his academy would stick to Marxism for guiding academic research.

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Citizens Against Government Waste: Politics and Special Interest Groups

I came across this site after reading a letter in the Jan. 23rd edition of the Messenger-Inquirer. Thanks to the reader for pointing this out! Below is the mission statement of CAGW.

"Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization representing more than one million members and supporters nationwide. CAGW's mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and inefficiency in the federal government. Founded in 1984 by the late industrialist J. Peter Grace and syndicated columnist Jack Anderson, CAGW is the legacy of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost Control, also known as the Grace Commission. "

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'Hookem Horns' sign has different meanings: Culture and gesture

By Jack Douglas Jr.
MKnight Ridder Newspapers


FORT WORTH, Texas -- President Bush, who's had difficulty at times holding alliances together, may have inadvertently ruffled feathers overseas by flashing a "Hook 'em Horns" sign during last week's inaugural parade.

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Sudan and Southern Rebels Sign Deal Ending Civil War: Social Conflict and Politics

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan. 9 - To cries of "God is great!" in Arabic and "Hallelujah!" the Islamic government of Sudan signed a peace agreement on Sunday with a Christian rebel group in the south that called for an end to one of Africa's fiercest and longest-running civil wars.

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