| ZIMBABWE: Mowing and cleaning replace geography and algebra
On 24 January the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), the country's biggest group of educators, issued a statement calling for a strike over general unhappiness with recent salary hikes.
The union had asked for a minimum monthly salary of Z$1,770 million (about US$321 at the parallel foreign exchange market rate of Z$5.5 million to US$1) for at least the first quarter of 2008, but only Z$141 million (about US$25) per month was put on the table.
The government has not publicly released official inflation figures for the last two months but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that the rate has reached 100,000 percent and is still rising.
Too weak to teach
"We are stressed, our bodies are weak and our minds numb," said the PTUZ statement.
Turkish parties unveil compromise on headscarf reform
We should not try to expand one woman's freedom at the expense of another's... Tomorrow this freedom will be extended to primary and high school education and then to the civil service, and finally Turkey will have an Islamic way of life.' -- REUTERS .
Chiefs fan in Bronco country
Not due to the drop in viewers because frankly, I don't care. If you don't want to hear about the Chiefs or something related to them, don't read. I realized something important this past Sunday. I was watching the Giants/Cowboys game with my father-in-law when we started talking about something interesting. He was cursing and swearing at the TV as his Giants went down. It was at the end of the game when the point was discussed. Why do we get so upset at football games? It really put me to think about myself and my actions. I looked back at my reactions to the Chiefs/Broncos game earlier. I was cursing at Mike Shanahan and calling him names. I don't even know this guy and he has done nothing to hurt me. There I was mocking the players. There I was using language I don't care to use at any other time.
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