BY KAREN HUDSON It has long been known that animals and humans readily trade disease by “species jumping” in a process called zoonosis. Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. Zoonotic diseases are very…
Author Archive for contributor
OpEd | Inconsistencies in anti-abortion reasoning
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In January, the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from the state of California if it does not drop its requirement that private insurers cover abortions. It declared that California was in violation of the federal Weldon Amendment, which…
Reflections From The Clergy | Interfaith endeavors build bridges and make communities thrive
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When Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (a great Islamic figure) was on his death bed, a Christian pastor of his community visited Imam Ahmad and said, “O Imam, your life was not only a blessing for Muslims, it was a blessing…
OpEd | Ending cash bond does not make us less safe
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BY ANTHONY WALRAVEN, Change Peoria Every year in the State of Illinois, over a quarter of a million people pass through the 92 jails in the 102 counties of our state, and 90% of those people are detained pre-trial, most…
OpEd | Ending cash bail is not the answer
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BY SHERIFF BRIAN ASBELL I have not seen any proposed legislation related to the elimination of cash bail; however, I believe this will be a dangerous practice if not properly vetted. I am a proponent of true pre-trial reform which…
Potential health risks of recreational marijuana
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Editor’s Note: Community Word ran an editorial in our September 2014 edition advocating for the legalization of recreational marijuana, not because we need more mind-altering drugs but because criminalization disproportionately impacted African Americans even though use is equal between whites…
Muslims in Peoria alarmed; NGOs fear genocide in India
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“Preparation for a genocide is definitely under way in India,” said Dr. Gregory Stanton, founder of Genocide Watch, speaking to an audience of U.S. Congressional and government officials at a briefing titled “Ground Reports on Kashmir and NRC (National Register…
Letter to the Editor | And click! I became a feminist
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The independent film “The First Rainbow Coalition” was shown by WTVP. It was also screened at ICC, sponsored by Community Word, WTVP-TV, ICC’s Department of Diversity & Community Impact and the West Central Illinois Labor Council. It was a memorable…
Reflections From A Baha’i | Uphold human rights by embracing freedoms of belief
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When I was a teenager, my family hosted a refugee family from Iran. They had fled persecution, forced to abandoned their homeland because they were members of the Baha’i Faith, the largest minority religion in Iran. Since the faith’s inception…
OpEd | Earning a living should not be curtailed due to discrimination over sexual orientation
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The United States Supreme Court in October heard oral arguments in three cases concerning employment discrimination against gay or transgender workers. In one, a county employee in Georgia was fired after joining a gay recreational softball league for “conduct unbecoming…