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Global Quickies: Brave Women, Questionable Police Merit, and More

NIGERIA
A local human rights group reports that the young girls kidnapped from a school are being sold into marriage with their Boko Haram abductors for $12.

CANADA
Calgary and Edmonton have declared a measles outbreak. The outbreak has been linked to dangerously low levels of immunizations.

SPAIN
Spain’s government is being taken to court over a minister’s decision to give the country’s top policing award to a statue of the Virgin Mary. The medal of police merit is normally reserved for police who have died in terrorist attacks.

EL SALVADOR
In a country where strict abortion laws mean a woman can be charged with homicide for suffering a miscarriage, some women are fighting for the decriminalization of abortion.

INDIA
The United Nations human rights office launched a great Bollywood-style video as part of its Free and Equal campaign championing LGBT equality and an end to homophobia.

SAUDI ARABIA / NORWAY
Saudi Arabia has criticized Norway’s human rights record, accusing the country of failing to protect its Muslim citizens and not doing enough to counter criticism of the prophet Mohammed.

UK
A night-club is under investigation and was forced to close for a week by the city’s licensing board for having a two-way mirror in the women’s bathroom.

COLOMBIA
A British backpacker died after drinking a psychedelic , miracle cure-all concoction given to a group of tourists by a shaman during a tribal ritual.

Featured image: “The Welcome” UN video

Daniela

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniela has finally decided to abdicate her post as an armchair skeptic and start doing some skeptical activism. She is currently living in Spain after having lived in the US, Brazil and Italy. You can also find her blogging in Spanish at esceptica.org.

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12 Comments

  1. Daniela,

    “Calgary and Edmonton have declared a measles outbreak. The outbreak has been linked to dangerously low levels of immunizations.”

    Sounds like the anti vaccers have been far too successful there.

  2. “the Pot Calling the Kettle Black” This is seriously the worst phrase–it amazes me that anyone this side of Reconstruction would use it.

    1. Could you explain why you consider it to be the worst phrase? It’s possible there’s a dimension to it I’m not considering but it seems fairly innocuous.

    2. Yes, please. If there is an offensive interpretation of the phase, I’m not familiar with it. English is my second language and I don’t live in an English speaking country, so it might very well be that there is considered offensive and I just haven’t heard about it. If you send a link, I’ll gladly change the title.

        1. I’m with Will. The origin of the phrase seems to me clear and not racist. The same phase is used in Spanish with the word soot instead of black.

          I changed the title because I don’t want to offend anyone, even if I don’t get it. I would really appreciate a link if you have one, so I can understand what’s found offensive about it.

        1. (Curse the lack of an Edit button)
          If anything, the term is pre-racial. It derives from 1600s European peasants. Most of them barely knew black people existed.

  3. That link to the UK news story is nearly a year old (I live in Glasgow so remembering it all kicking off last summer). Love Global Quickies but it would be better if they were more relevant!

    1. You’re right, sorry! I usually check the dates, but this was all over my Twitter feed and it didn’t occur to me that it wasn’t recent.
      If you have links that would be good for Global Quickies, please send them through the contact form.

  4. I can’t help but imagine the Virgin Mary beating up criminals using the baby Jesus as a club.

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