Afternoon News Bytes: April 17, 2012 | Sojourners

Afternoon News Bytes: April 17, 2012

YAHOO NEWS/AFP: UN Toughens North Korea Sanctions Over Rocket Launch
The UN Security Council has ordered tightened sanctions on North Korea over its failed rocket launch and warned of new action if the isolated state stages a nuclear test.
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REUTERS: Afghan Schoolgirls Poisoned In Anti-Education Attack
About 150 Afghan schoolgirls were poisoned on Tuesday after drinking contaminated water at a high school in the country's north, officials said, blaming it on conservative radicals opposed to female education.
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THE NEW YORK TIMES: Antipoverty Tax Program Offers Relief, Though Often Temporary
Karen Spain spent several long months before receiving her tax refund this year in a state of suspended panic. The rent was three months late. Her car’s brakes were shot. And she could no longer afford to pay her electricity bill.
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THE WASHINGTON POST: Why The NRA Pushes ‘Stand Your Ground’ (OPINION)
It’s understandable if unfortunate that the controversy surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin has polarized the country along both racial and ideological lines. But there is one issue that should not have any racial connotations: the urgency of repealing “Stand Your Ground” laws.
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NPR: Christians Debate: Was Jesus For Small Government?
What would Jesus do with the U.S. economy? That's a matter of fierce debate among Christians — with conservatives promoting a small-government Jesus and liberals seeing Jesus as an advocate for the poor.
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THE ATLANTIC: Why 'Blue Like Jazz' Won't Save Christian Cinema
The Kickstarter sensation tries to show an authentic struggle with belief in God but can't commit.
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SALON: Do Americans Love War?
As a living embodiment of Washington’s bipartisan foreign-policy consensus, Robert Kagan has few peers. The author of the best-selling book “The World America Made,” Kagan has pulled off the neat trick of impressing the only two men on the planet who have a realistic chance of serving as president of the United States any time soon.
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CNN: CNN/ORC Poll: Most Americans Say Tax System Favors Wealthy
As procrastinators rush to file their 2011 tax returns by the Tuesday deadline, a new poll shows more than two-thirds of Americans believe the revenue system benefits the wealthy while being unfair to average workers.
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THE NATION: Can 'Caring Across Generations' Change the World?
A new campaign calling itself Caring Across Generations has in mind nothing less than a 180-degree turn in the way that Americans think about themselves, one another, the economy and workers. This group aims to create 2 million quality jobs in the process and put us all on track for a happy, healthy old age too. But first we need to talk, out loud, about care.
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SALON: Does Anyone Realize What The GOP Just Did?
Republicans save an unpopular tax loophole that favors the super-rich, and they might just get away with it.
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THE ATLANTIC: Why Are There So Many Coups In West Africa?
It isn't polite to generalize but let's face it: West Africa has a coup problem. Today, in the latest development in Guinea-Bissau's coup, the military said it wouldn't release the country's interim president until "conditions allow." Reuters also reports that the African Union has suspended the country's membership. Last month, another coup rocked neighboring Mali and the junta continues to cling to power.
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