links for 2010-07-20

"A public service announcement that features images of the recent security crackdown on protesters in Bangkok and suggests that all Thais share some responsibility for the unrest has been banned from Thai television by a government body.

"Ms. Panyaarvudh argued that the authorities should lift the ban, since 'stopping this being shown on free television means nothing as nowadays people can watch it via the Internet and social media.' A copy of the ad uploaded to YouTube last month has been viewed more than 280,000 times."

"In Europe, as in the United States, the Roman Catholic Church has assumed a leading role as a protector of, and advocate for, immigrants. But whereas the largest bloc of migrants to the United States are Catholic, the majority of European immigrants are Muslim."

"Menon's career had come up against an invisible barrier – and it's one that 'dark-skinned' Indians face every day.
"'Back home very few people wanted to hire me. It became clear to me that my skin colour was not in demand,' recalls Menon who has the deep brown shade of a typical Bangalorean.

"The prejudice Menon faced is nothing new in the subcontinent. The misconception that darker skinned Indians are somehow inferior and less desirable than their fairer counterparts has existed for centuries."

"The march also provided the ‘Unist’ot’en with an opportunity to offer support to the allies who had come in to support the action. The Tsilhqot’in Nation members from Tl’etinqox (Anaham) and Tl’esqox asserted their rights to stop proposed plans for Prosperity Mine to develop a copper and gold body that will destroy and drain a sacred lake called Teztan Biny (Fish Lake) in their traditional territories. The Lubicon Cree of central Alberta spoke of their work to have their rights and title asserted on unceded lands. The Athabasca Dene and Mikisew Cree of Northeastern Alberta are fighting for their very lives with the ongoing Tar Sands contamination of their aquifers and ecosystems which are creating a deadly epidemic of rare cancers among their population."