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Last month, phenomenal amounts of snow were dumped in the Northeastern and Southern US, Western and Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, Western China, and Far Eastern Russia. Saudi Arabia and the Southwestern US desert were hit with snow for the third year running. The US media has apparently dropped the term 'Polar Vortex' because Arctic conditions extending all the way to the Gulf of Mexico is now 'normal'. The one place where you might expect a lot of snow this time of year - Moscow - instead enjoyed its warmest January in 100 years."Within a few years winter snowfall will become a very rare and exciting event. Children just aren't going to know what snow is."~ Dr David Viner, senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, UK, in March 2000."Ultimately, British children could have only virtual experience of snow. Via the internet, they might wonder at polar scenes - or eventually 'feel' virtual cold."~ David Parker, head of the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Berkshire, UK, also in March 2000.
Now that anti-Islamic sentiments have risen by 110% in France, and 'anti-Islamization' demos have been held in several countries, chances are high that the disadvantageous position Muslims already were in prior to the Paris attack will only get worse. Needless to say, this is far from fair, considering that the Muslim majority had nothing to do with the recent attack in Paris, just as they didn't have anything to do with the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. Yet they've become the very target of hatred, and it affects their daily lives quite significantly.
- Regardless of their ethnic background and/or approach to religion, many European Muslims are facing discrimination in employment, education and housing.
- Discrimination against Muslims can be attributed to Islamophobic attitudes as well as to racist and xenophobic resentment, as these elements are often intertwined. Hostility against Muslims must therefore be seen in the more general context of xenophobia and racism towards migrants and minorities.
- It is evident that Muslims are experiencing Islamophobic acts, ranging from verbal threats through to physical attacks, even though data on religiously aggravated incidents is collected on a limited scale.
- The available data on victims of discrimination show that European Muslims are often disproportionately represented in areas with poorer housing conditions, while their educational achievement falls below average and their unemployment rates are higher than average. Muslims are often employed in jobs that require lower qualifications. As a group they are over-represented in low-paying sectors of the economy.
- Many European Muslims, particularly young people, face barriers to their social advancement. This could give rise to a feeling of hopelessness and social exclusion.
- Racism, discrimination and social marginalisation are serious threats to integration and community cohesion.
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Holocaust 2.0: Coming soon!