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Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
Most LGBTQ adults in US don't feel transgender people are accepted: Poll
A new poll by the Pew Research Centre has found that transgender people experience less social acceptance in the United States than those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual, according to LGBTQ adults. About six out of 10 LGBTQ adult participants in the poll said there is 'a great deal' or 'a fair amount' of social acceptance in the US for gay and lesbian people, according to 'The Experiences of LGBTQ Americans Today' report released on Thursday. Only about one in 10 said the same for non-binary and transgender people — and about half said there was 'not much' or no acceptance at all for transgender people. The survey of 3,959 LGBTQ adults was conducted in January, after US President Donald Trump's election, but just before his return to office when he set into motion a series of policies that question transgender people's existence and their place in society. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order calling on the government to recognise people as male or female based on the 'biological truth' of their future cells at conception, rejecting evidence and scientific arguments that gender is a spectrum. Since then, Trump has barred transgender women and girls from taking part in female sports competitions, pushed transgender service members from the military and tried to block federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19. A poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in May found that about half of US adults approve of the way Trump is handling transgender issues. Transgender people are less likely than gay or lesbian adults to say they are accepted by all their family members, according to the Pew poll. The majority of LGBTQ people said their siblings and friends accepted them, though the rates were slightly higher among gay or lesbian people. About half of gay and lesbian people said their parents did, compared with about one-third of transgender people. Only about one in 10 transgender people reported feeling accepted by their extended family, compared with about three in 10 for gay or lesbian people. According to the Pew poll, about two-thirds of LGBTQ adults said the landmark US Supreme Court ruling that legalised same-sex marriage nationally on June 26, 2015, increased acceptance of same-sex couples 'a lot more' or 'somewhat more'. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether Tennessee can enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for minors in what is seen as a major case for the transgender community.
NDTV
7 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Finance Expert Hails Indian Diaspora's "Soft Power in US", Reveals Impressive Stats
Sarthak Ahuja, a Chartered Accountant (CA) and financial expert, often discusses the Indian diaspora's financial achievements in the US, including their high earning potential. Despite being only 1.5% of the population (around 5.1 million people), Indians contribute over 5% of US tax revenue, showcasing their economic influence through high earnings, innovation, and intellectual capital. In an Instagram video, Mr Ahuja emphasised Indian-Americans' valuable contributions to innovation, intellectual capital, and tax revenue, demonstrating the community's substantial influence. Mr Ahuja also shed light on the Indian diaspora's multifaceted success in the US, highlighting their achievements not only in education, business, and tech but also in philanthropy. He shared key facts and figures to underscore the community's significant contributions. In the video, he noted that Indian Americans account for 10% of US patents, 10% of doctors (serving 30% of patients), and 11% of unicorn founders. They own 60% of US hotels, and 70% of colleges have Indian leaders. With 78% holding college degrees (compared to the national 36%) and 76% in high-skill roles, they excel professionally. Indian children dominate, winning over 80% of recent Spelling Bee competitions. Indian restaurants, though just 1% of US eateries, make up 3% of Michelin-starred venues. In 2023, they donated $1.5 billion in the US and $800 million to India, showcasing their immense soft power and respect earned through generations of hard work. Watch the video here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sarthak Ahuja (@casarthakahuja) Javed Akhtar, the renowned screenwriter and lyricist, also showed his appreciation by sharing the video on X. — Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) May 27, 2025 The comments section was flooded with praise and admiration for the Indian-American community's remarkable accomplishments, with users applauding their contributions to the US economy, innovation, philanthropy, and more. Reacting to the video, one user wrote, "This stat clearly shows when given the right opportunities and direction, Indian origin people can bring so much positive change in the world. We have so much untapped potential within our country's bounds. Give us the right environment to grow and we can take better care of ourselves. ' Another person commented, "The US economy runs well because of the Indians." As per Pew Research Centre, the median income among Indian American households was $145,000 in 2022, meaning that half of households headed by an Indian American person earned more than that and half earned less. This is greater than the median household income among Asian Americans overall ($100,000).
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
As more Argentines go childless, pampered dogs become part of family
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Venus gazes in bewilderment at the candles flickering on her mini birthday cake. The partygoers crowd around her in expectant silence, but she doesn't blow them out. Dogs can't blow candles, after all. So Venus' owner intervened, drawing a breath and extinguishing the flames to a round of applause before serving her black mixed-breed a bite of meat-flavoured birthday cake."Venus is like my daughter," gushes Victoria Font , founder of Barto Cafe , a bakery making cakes for canines just south of Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires About two decades ago, a birthday party for pampered pets featuring a custom cake for dogs may have struck Argentines as these days Buenos Aires makes headlines for having among the most pet owners per capita in the world. Public opinion surveys report pets in almost 80 per cent of the city's about 20 per cent more than the average city in the United States, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Centre , and leaps and bounds ahead of other countries in the a growing number of Argentines opt to be childless in a country notorious for its economic instability, dogs have become the go-to Aires is now home to over 493,600 dogs - compared to 460,600 children under the age of 14 - government statistics interviewed referred to themselves not as "owners" but as "parents"."Sandro is my saviour, he's my joy," Magali Maisonnave, a 34-year-old stylist, said of her the soccer-crazed country, Maisonnave often dresses Sandro up in the jersey of her favorite team, River Plate , and takes him to local games."I'm his mama," she have to give them the bestArgentina's rising passion for dogs has coincided with falling human fertility. In 2023, Argentina's birth rate was 6.5 per cent lower than the previous year and 41 per cent lower than it was a decade ago. Kindergartens report struggling to fill longer able to afford bigger purchases amid a succession of economic crises, Argentina's middle and upper classes are splurging on their pets. With unemployment rising, public sector wages falling and the economy just emerging from a recession under Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei, pups have become precious relatives."It's harder to access loans or own a home; there's no longer a set way to form a family," said Dr. Marcos Diaz Videla, a psychologist specialised in human-canine relationships."Animals are becoming part of the family. With humans, they're shaping the dynamics, rituals and routines inside the home."The tendency for pet owners to treat their dogs like kids is changing the cityscape as pet hotels, boutiques, cafes and even cemeteries spring up in Buenos Aires to cash in on the beauty salons now pull out all the stops, providing not only baths and trims but pedicures and poolside spas. The Guau Experience parlour, for instance, charges up to USD 120 - roughly a quarter of the average Argentine monthly salary - for washing, cleaning, shining, conditioning, trimming and perfuming."They're living beings who don't stay around long. During that time, you have to give them the best," said Nicole Verdier, owner of Argentina's first-ever dog bakery, Chumbis , which makes cookies, cakes, croissants, burgers and canapes from gourmet meat, chicken and humanizing of dogs has even inspired a new noun - "perrhijo" - a fusion of the Spanish word for "dog" and "child".Dog mania takes Buenos AiresIn Buenos Aires, where leash-pullers outnumber stroller-pushers in many neighbourhoods, lawmakers have proposed a range of pet-friendly initiatives, including bills to ease access for pets to public transport."The city has come a long way, but I believe it now has the obligation to take a bigger leap," said local lawmaker Emmanuel Ferrario. His centrist " Vamos por mas" (Let's go for more) party has presented five such bills now being debated in the city seeks to create a registry of dog walkers who must pass an exam every two years and undergo CPR and animal behavior training."I see an opportunity for it to become the most pet-friendly city in the region," Ferrario politicians fret about the proliferation of pet-keeping as a symptom of a bigger crisis. They ask why young people in Argentina choose raising pets over raising children as the country ages rapidly."The rankings (of pet ownership) are unsettling. ... Buenos Aires has so many dogs and so few children," said Clara Muzzio, the city's conservative deputy mayor. "A world with fewer children is a worse world."A presidential pet loverPerhaps Argentina's most prominent dog fanatic is its right-wing President Javier Milei, who moved into the government house in December 2023 with four English mastiffs that he calls his "four-legged children."A brash TV personality elected to rescue Argentina from its spiraling economic crisis, Milei named Murray, Milton, Robert and Lucas after the three libertarian American economists he most admires - Murray Rothbard, Milton Friedman and Robert Lucas . The dogs are genetic clones of Milei's former dog, Conan, who died in still refers to Conan in the present tense, leading to intense speculation about the number of dogs he owns. Since assuming office, his dogs have remained out of sight. A government resolution prohibiting officials from disclosing information to the public about Milei's mastiffs has done little to tamp down on the cemeteriesFor heartbroken owners without the financial means to genetically duplicate their dead dogs, Argentine morticians prepare burials and has surged at Gardens of the Soul, a pet cemetery inside an animal shelter near Buenos Aires, where owners hold emotional rituals to bid their companions farewell and regularly visit their are some 300 tombstones painted with classic Argentine canine names, like Negro and Coco , and strewn with photographs, handwritten notes and flowers."Before, two months could go by without anyone being buried. Now, it's at least once or twice a week," said shelter manager Alicia Barreto, who still mourns her first rescue, a pup she found alive in a bag of dog carcasses thrown on the roadside in grisly image haunts her, she said. But she takes comfort in knowing that, when the time came 10 years later, she gave her "perrhijo", Mariano, a dignified burial."I told myself I would find him again," she said at his marble tombstone. "At the moment of my death, or afterward, I'll be reunited with him."
India.com
17-05-2025
- General
- India.com
Young generation moving from Religion to Spirituality? Study finds a new trend, it says...
Image for representational purposes New Delhi: Gen Z's Movement from Religion to Spirituality The article explores the transition of the new generation to searching for a higher purpose by doing inner work, yoga, and meditation. Despite the fact that the present time is full of sudden changes, unpredictability, and overuse of digital technology; however, numerous people born from 1995 until the beginning of 2010 are discovering their own way to spiritual happiness. A number of the traditional institutions that were originally fully integrated in the life of families and communities have noted a very clear decrease in participation and affiliation among young adults. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Gen-Z are the ones who go the extra mile, exploring personal growth, mindfulness, Eastern philosophy, and yoga to get themselves to the place of wisdom they are looking for. New studies have found that Gen-Z has been changing to a great degree in terms of faith and spirituality. In the case of the United States, a report by the Pew Research Centre in 2021 found that as many as 48% of the youth of Gen-Z have spiritual beliefs though they do not attribute themselves to the religious institutions. This data has pointed to a spike in youth who refer to themselves as 'spiritual but not religious'. Psychologist and writer Dr. Jean Twenge, who researches generational differences, said 'Being in touch with the spiritual side is the key to connection and meaning which is less likely to be found in material pursuits for the Gen-Z generation.' Another argument that can be made here is that the more profound orientation toward the meaning of life that distinguishes the approach of Gen-Zs is vulgar through a significant part of Gen-Zs. to existence and personal development.' A lot of Gen-Z youngsters have grown up in families which were religiously agnostic at best or who were religious naysayers. Furthermore, thanks to global internet expansion and online communication, these people have become globally aware and have also had a chance to learn about other ways of living which naturally led them to develop a pluralistic and questioning personality. Gen Z's most cherished values of inclusivity, authenticity, mental health, and individual freedom are in constant contention with the strictness of religion and its hierarchical institutions. This causes them to feel disconnected and disenchanted from traditional worship and authority-led spiritual structures. People have seemed to have lost faith in second-hand belief or inherited family traditions, and they are currently in the quest for direct experiences of the truth. The fact that the psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge is a psychologist who is also a generational researcher is pointed out in the article, noting that spirituality has become a tool for the new generation of religious people, the so-called Gen-Z. Spirituality gives them a sense of connection and a purpose which is in the present moment rather than in fear or guilt. In the Gen-Z, meditation and yoga are the first choice for inexperienced (sometimes joined by a group of friends) people who want to start their spiritual quest. It is not uncommon for people to have first adopted these practices as stress relief and a way of staying healthy, but with time, these very practices became something sacred to them. Consequently, young people perceive that stillness is achievable in the tumult of the world; they feel the presence of a supernatural power that they can develop a close relationship with there. Not only that, the Science of Identity Foundation founder , Jagad Guru Siddhaswarupananda Paramahamsa who explains that the ultimate purpose of yoga moves beyond physical activity and in actuality, it is the practice of yoga that makes the connection possible, says of yoga. It implies that yoga is uniting two entities, a man and God together, playing out a loving relationship. Gen-Z is, therefore, to this one version of the divine, entirely natural, purely an internal matter and cannot be identified as only one way. The mental health of Gen-Zs is seen as the central issue for the generation of the 21st century. We witness the escalating levels of anxiety, stress, depressive states, and burnout in mental cases whereby traditional coping mechanisms are no longer effective among the majority. A large number of young persons are now doing things like breathwork, mindfulness, and mantra meditation not only to heal the symptoms but also to elevate their spirit. To give additional information, Jagad Guru points out that meditation is a way of reaching yoga, the oneness with the Divine. 'When the individual spirit soul contacts the Supreme Soul, the person becomes God-conscious, and the soul is in the real situation of meditation', he says. He also added meditation is much more involved than a mere mental break. It is an approach to self-realization. In this way, one can deliberately disconnect from their ego and reconnect with their spiritual core. Many people usually criticize social media for being superficial. However, it has become a totally unexpected source of a spiritual journey in Gen-Z. Social media platforms are full of influencers who smoothly merge olden wisdom and contemporary self-help, and they are giving nuggets of spiritual advice which are attractive and approachable. The Apps like Insight Timer, Calm, and Headspace have achieved that the guided meditation is offering to millions. Apart from that, various hashtags such as #spiritualawakening, #manifestation and #yogatok are getting millions of views, pointing to the fact that the desire for spiritual development is increasing. Still, a true increase in consciousness is derived from some action that can be beyond just thinkable contents. The Science of Identity Foundation organization, for example, uses scientific research to explain and relate spirituality and biology and utilizes its teachings to further its cause of one attaining spiritual enlightenment. One can also find a most relevant framework for spiritual development in the Bhagavad Gita, the verses of which not only provide a never-ending source of wisdom but also teach how to make devotion the most powerful force, how to lead a virtuous life and how to perform only kind acts to others. It is very interesting to see that when the numerosity of practices and wisdom from the diverse traditions comes into play, Gen-Z is slowly becoming a community yet to be formed in the religious sphere. To say that the shift of the new generation from organized religion to personal spirituality is tantamount to its renunciation is quite a harmful generalization and a far cry from the reality of its genuine interests and pursuits that it is doing.
NZ Herald
07-05-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Ex Memphis US police officers found not guilty in murder of Tyre Nichols
He died in hospital three days later. The verdicts come at a pivotal moment for police reform efforts. Advocates hoped the case would show that rogue officers could be held accountable and worried that an acquittal could stall their movement. Public support for reforms sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has waned significantly since 2020, according to the Pew Research Centre. President Donald Trump campaigned on a platform of empowering officers to aggressively 'clean up' American cities, and his Justice Department has essentially halted federal efforts to hold local police departments accountable. The three officers were already found guilty of several federal charges, including excessive force resulting in injury, but were acquitted last year of the most serious ones, including civil rights violations resulting in death. They have not been sentenced on those charges yet. In the federal trial, Demetrius Haley was convicted of excessive force resulting in injury, deliberate indifference resulting in injury, conspiracy to witness tamper and witness tampering. Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith Jr. were found guilty of witness tampering. Two other officers involved in the killing, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to state and federal charges. During a week-long state trial, prosecutors and defence attorneys dissected videos of the beating gathered from a surveillance camera and the officers' body cameras. The officers' attorneys argued that videos didn't reflect the reality of what happened and the intense pressure the officers faced. If Nichols had co-operated when police attempted to handcuff him, the encounter would have ended differently, they told jurors. 'They're doing a job that none of us have the guts to do,' Martin Zummach, who represented Smith, said of the officers. 'All Tyre Nichols had to do was say, 'Alright. You got me.' He might have spent a little time in jail … but he wouldn't be dead.' The officers were following police policy and convicting them would handcuff the city, defence attorneys warned. But Mills, one of the officers who already pleaded guilty, painted a different picture, telling the state jury that as he beat Nichols with the baton that night, Martin and Smith were yelling, 'Hit him'. Prosecutors said the trial wasn't an indictment against all law enforcement, but about the actions of the three men on trial. 'Nobody is saying that it's not a dangerous job,' assistant district attorney Tanisha Johnson said. 'No one is saying that it doesn't take bravery. But because it's a dangerous job does not mean that you are immune from making criminal decisions.'
