Paris’ 19th Arrondissement, one of the cities poorest and most racially diverse districts, is suffering from increases in gang violence this month, but locals are questioning how much race and religion are instigating attacks. Even many social workers argue that the fighting is over turf and heightened by class tensions as the neighborhood becomes more gentrified. While perhaps race and religion are not the sole driving forces, much of the violence has occurred between Muslim youths of North African decent and Jewish teenagers.
Morad Chahrine, who directs the J2P social and cultural center, explains:
‘It’s less about anti-Semitism than fights among gangs of youths, who create alliances of one district against another,’ Mr. Chahrine said, noting the influence of American movies on the styles and habits of the gangs. ‘This idea of identity of territory starts with economic reasons. This is the youngest and poorest arrondissement in Paris, with a lot of unemployment, and that explains a lot.’- NY Times
Great to hear our culture serves as such an excellent role model to the kids of Paris. It’s a terribly upsetting situation, particularly when you consider that the motivation for the violence begins with self-hatred:
Mouada Abdelali, an artist who worked on youth projects, said that he had seen local French youths repeatedly stigmatised for their skin colour or immigrant descent. “One teenager said to me: “I hate everyone even myself”. How do you deal with that?” - Guardian UK
“We are all Sean Bell - NYPD go to hell”
Eight Florida teenagers, six of them girls will be tried as adults and could be sentenced to life in prison for their alleged roles in the videotaped beating of another teen, the state attorney’s office said Thursday. [
If you haven’t come across the Youth Media Blog-a-thon sponsored by 
Combining literature, theatre and music, a group of passionate folks are trying to promote a non-violent and healthy world.
Katie:
Nicole: 
Giulia:
Gina: 
Kerry:
Yesterday afternoon at Northern Illinois University, a tall skinny man dressed all in black stepped out from behind a curtain on the stage of the lecture hall, said nothing, and opened fire with a shotgun.
If you love someone, you probably don’t want to give them a gift made under hateful conditions. Sadly, most common valentines day gifts– flowers, chocolate, and jewelry– are likely to involve child labor, child slavery, violence, human rights abuses and environmental degradation. But don’t worry. You don’t have to swear off of gift-giving. Nor do you have to give your valentine a handmade dream catcher, a hemp hacky sack or a recycled nalgene to say I love you guilt-free. Instead, say I love you– and children, and the earth, and workers– by buying fair trade chocolates, flowers, and jewelry. Buy something your valentine can really love you for. And come back next week for my valentine gifts with heart top 10 list.
Celebrate 10 years of V-Day on April 11 ““ 12, 2008 with V-Day’s mega two-day anniversary celebration in New Orleans at the New Orleans Arena and Louisiana Superdome.