This is one sad picture...

[Playinghardball]

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man made, and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of Justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and human life. - Nelson Mandela

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. More than sad, criminal. n/t

[mfcorey1]

2. OMG!! Heartbreaking!!

[DeSwiss]

3. K&R

[center]

If a man has an apartment,

stacked to the ceiling with newspapers...

...we call him crazy.


If a woman has a trailer house,

full of cats...

...we call her nuts.


But when people pathologically hoard so much
cash that they impoverish the entire nation...

...we put them on the cover of [font color=orange]Fortune[/font] magazine
and pretend that they're role models.

B. Lester[/center]

[savebigbird]

5. K&R to you as well! n/t

[Delphinus]

11. Oh my goodness!

Does *that* statement ever tell the truth!!

[mimi85]

4. Where's the Kleenex?

This should NOT be allowed to happen. My husband and I were talking about what we would do if winning one of those mega lotteries. (Not that we ever play). I'm such a sap that I would somehow start a foundation to fight hunger, poverty and most importantly, illiteracy. One of the most gratifying things I've ever done is work with the literacy program through the local library. I got back way more than I gave! If you ever want to volunteer for something, not many things are so important.
What a moving picture! I'll have to post an article I read in the LA Times this morning that had me in tears. A good read.

[renate]

7. I'd love to hear more about that!

How old are your clients? How long does it take to get them to the point where they can go out there and use their skills? How much training do you need? Do you teach one-on-one or in groups?

I wouldn't have come up myself with the idea of illiteracy as being a problem on the same order as hunger--although of course now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense that the two issues are related--so I would really be interested in learning more about your experiences. It sounds like a wonderful way of making a huge difference in people's lives: maybe even more so than donating to a food bank, etc.

[politrixjunkie]

6. I have little girls this age who love their dolls.

And this hits too damn close to home.

*weeps*

[Junkdrawer]

8. Chris Hedges: Third World America

[Solly Mack]

9. K&R

[ReRe]

10. K&R

"Poverty is the worst form of violence."...M. Ghandi

[Mnemosyne]

12. ...

[BVictor1]

13. Looks like downtown Chicago.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. "The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor." Voltaire