NYMHM: Congo mines shut down; an Islamist finds religion; Bangladesh and democracy

Wed Jun 13 16:05:35 PDT 2007

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 NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED * June 13, 2007 * Vol. 6, No. 24

 Important but overlooked news from around the world.
 NYMHM is a free service of Newsdesk.org.

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QUOTED: 

   "They gonna keep moving us on, moving us on. They doing it again 
   Sunday 'cause they got some soccer game they gonna charge people 
   to park here for. They gonna make $500 at $20 bucks a space. We 
   ain't worth $500 to them."

   -- Mark, a 40-year-old homeless man in Cleveland who lives in a
   tent city below an overpass (see "The Slums," below). 

CONTENTS:

   *Top Stories*
     An Islamist finds religion
     Congo shuts down mines over looting fears
     "Honk for peace" teacher seeks Supreme Court hearing

   *The Slums*
     A boom in urban poor defies solutions

   *South Asia*
     Democracy, too, slides in Bangladesh

   *Intolerance*
     Homophobia, as a policy gets personal

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TOP STORIES
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 > An Islamist Finds Religion

   Hassan al-Turabi, a renowned Sudanese Islamic scholar who once 
   offered refuge to Osama bin Laden, is raising eyebrows with his
   support for the right of women to wear their hair uncovered and
   marry non-muslim men, and his opposition to the ongoing 
   violence in Darfur. 

   A former supporter of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, al-
   Turabi was jailed in 2005 for allegedly backing a coup plot. 
   Critics say he's an opportunist trying to curry favor with a 
   liberalizing Sudanese society, but the mercurial cleric says 
   his calls for democracy and openness are entirely Islamic. 

 > Congo Shuts Down Mines Over Looting Fears

   At least 60 mining deals have been suspended in the Democratic 
   Republic of Congo, as the newly elected government looks into 
   complaints of "foreign looters" who exploit the nation's vast
   mineral wealth with no benefit for Congolese citizens. 

   The BBC reports that decades of civil war were driven by huge 
   reserves of copper, cobalt, gold and diamonds, and that current 
   mining contracts lack transparency and lacked competitive bids. 

 > "Honk For Peace" Teacher Seeks Supreme Court Hearing

   A Indiana teacher who says she was fired for telling students she 
   blew her car horn in support of anti-war marchers has filed an 
   appeal with the Supreme Court over a January ruling that affirmed 
   limits on free speech by public school teachers.

   The ruling against Deborah Mayer, who now works in Florida, is far 
   from the first to limit speech by teachers or public employees. The
   San Francisco Chronicle reports that such cases usually affirm 
   limits, and that the Supreme Court, while addressing student speech
   in the recent "bong hits for Jesus" case, has never ruled on 
   teacher's rights. 

Sources:

"Sudan's legendary Islamist takes a moderate view"
Christian Science Monitor, June 13, 2007
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0613/p01s03-woaf.html

"DR Congo reviews 60 mining deals"
BBC News, June 11, 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6739999.stm

"Bloomington teacher takes free speech fight to Supreme Court"
WTHR (Indianapolis), June 11, 2007 
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=6641945&nav=9Tai

"'Honk for peace' case tests limits on free speech"
San Francisco Chronicle, May 14, 2007
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/05/14/MNG9PPQGVV1.DTL

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THE SLUMS
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 > A Boom in Urban Poor Defies Solutions

   Experts predict that by 2030 two billion people will live in 
   urban squatter and slum communities with no services, sanitation 
   or running water.

   The growth of slums and economic disparaties are spurring 
   poitical debate and legal crackdowns, even as new social 
   movements emerge within the communities themselves ...

   GET THE WHOLE STORY:

   http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004300.html

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SOUTH ASIA
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 > Democracy, Too, Slides in Bangladesh

   Even as Bangladesh reels from lethal mudslides, the nation's
   political establishment is in an upheaval following the 
   suspension of the legislature, and the arrest of thousands by
   the military as part of an ... 

   GET THE WHOLE STORY: 

   http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004301.html

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INTOLERANCE 
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 > Homophobia, as a Policy, Gets Personal

   Intolerance of gays and lesbians worldwide seems to be digging 
   in, as the public and private lives of homosexuals come under
   fire from Oregon to Russia and South-Central Asia.  

   In Portland, two teenage girls who hugged and kissed on a bus
   were forced off the ... 

   GET THE WHOLE STORY:

   http://www.newsdesk.org/archives/004302.html

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Editor: Josh Wilson
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