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The term "Human Rights abuse" tends to invoke images of authoritarian regimes that rob their citizens of their right to free expression and torture. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- which was adopted by the United Nations in 1948 and holds the world record as the most translated document on earth -- protects citizens against such abuses.

The document also protects people's "economic rights." These include the right to adequate housing, freedom from hunger and access to essential medical care. Eleanor Roosevelt and the other framers included these rights because they knew that the concept of free expression requires healthy minds and bodies to carry ideas and that hunger and homelessness are their own forms of physical and physiological torture.....

Government Shutdown Could Slow Tax Refunds, Crimp Use Of Largest Federal Anti-Poverty Program

The government shut down for a long strike for many poor families of America, and to provide program access limited or significant delays in the federal government against poverty Income Tax Credit.
In the past year, 26 million families more than $ 59 billion U.S. dollars from the discount, according to the Ministry of Treasury. While the vast majority of the beneficiaries may be affected by the closure of government possible, which comes a little earlier for a week of the deadline this returns the tax April 18 the size of individual large recipients discount many families still affected by a problem with payments to alleviate poverty. May be such a pain an important federal effort to combat poverty during the economic downturn, the worst economic casting since the Great Depression.
Details of a possible shut down - including the potential duration and effects - is still not clear. Even if Congress can not reach an agreement on government operations continue to do so, some specific programs and functions of "core" and allowed to continue running.
But it remains to see exactly which programs will be considered basic, and some of the activities undertaken by the Internal Revenue Service may not be. And rejected the IRS and the Treasury Department to comment on this report, but political observers say that while it is very difficult for the government's closure will stop collecting taxes, and other core functions of the IRS - including the provision of billions in tax refunds may be affected - --.
"... Our expectations are the taxes will be processed as if it does not close," said Christina Martin Firvida, director of economic security for government relations of the Association. "We're unclear whether there will be a significant delay in the payment, including reimbursements to include discount."
For many people their money from tax rebate program is an important element of their annual income, and sometimes as much as 30 percent of funding to their households.The discount rate average of about $ 2.250, but some families receiving as much as $ 5,666, depending on the circumstances. Benefits are scaled to the number of children in the family and annual household income. Individuals $ 13.460 or less, receive $ 467 of the opponent, while families with three children, and $ 5,666 benefit if they receive less than $ 48.362. For families at the lower end of the economic spectrum, and the opponent is required to pay their bills.
Fortunately, most poor families file their payments early in the season relatively taxes, in the hope that the government controls the speed. But many families are still waiting until mid-April tax filing deadline, and about a quarter of American families to qualify for the discount does not really apply, as Adam Perry, an organizer of the builders of the area of ​​capital assets' discount capital assistance program. These people are often ignorant of the tax file in much later in the season, because they do not realize that they are eligible for benefits to combat poverty in the coming months.

Play Claims To Show The Real Fanny Brice!Washington Examiner

Washington Examiner:The American Century Theater wants to set the record straight about turn-of-the-century songstress Fanny Brice, counteracting all inaccurate portraits of Brice, especially in Barbra Streisand’s Broadway show and movie “Funny Girl.”
Claiming that their Fanny is the real Fanny, ACT employs a script by Chip Deffaa and the talents of actress/singer Esther Covington to explore the life and times of Brice through narrative and song.Covington is extremely talented with a clear soprano voice and she belts out many of Brice’s most famous numbers: “Rose of Washington Square,” “A Pretty Girl is Like a Melody,” “Second Hand Rose,” “Ja-Da” and “Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey?” She also delivers more plaintive material (“I’m Always Chasing Rainbows,” “My Man” and “After You’re Gone”) with the poignancy that made her such a favorite among men and women of her age.   
Deffaa’s script neatly describes that age, including many details about Fanny’s life, making her rags-to-riches story very credible. Deffaa tells Brice’s story in chronological order, beginning with Fanny singing for her father, whom she adored, then singing on the street with one of her brothers, picking up coins thrown by appreciative passers-by, then singing onstage with her brother, again for coins, until she got a paying job in a burlesque revue.
One of the nicest elements of “One Night With Fanny Brice” is the way Deffaa brings Fanny’s historical contemporaries to life: Flo Ziegfeld, Eddie Cantor, Gypsy Rose Lee, Billy Rose, W.C. Fields, Al Jolson and all the lowlifes associated with Nicky Arnstein, Fanny’s one true love. Deffaa also emphasizes Brice’s abilities as a comedian, allowing her to sing some funny songs, like Irving Berlin’s “Grizzly Bear,” and to re-create some of the curious characters who peopled her life.
But Deffaa’s narrative drags occasionally and there are too many details clogging the script, like those surrounding Fanny’s first and last marriages. By the time Act II rolls around and Fanny finally meets the tall, handsome, no-good gambler and con man Arnstein, it’s clear that Deffaa will exploit his every sexual and financial betrayal, creating sympathy for Fanny but also creating a decidedly untheatrical, slow-moving narrative.
Director Ellen Dempsey doesn’t take a lot of chances with “One Night With Fanny Brice.” She lets Covington come down into the audience twice and sing directly to the audience, but for the rest of the show she is center stage, her pianist behind her, delivering her songs from the same vantage point.
Dempsey also includes a considerable amount of tap-dancing in the show. By Brice’s own admission, she early on became the best tap-dancer of the company she was playing in at the time. But Covington’s dancing ability doesn’t approach her talent as a singer and comic, and it quickly becomes distracting.
Patrick Lord’s set is simple and effective: white chiffon curtains and a ghost light suggesting a rehearsal in progress; a trunk; a single chair, which Covington uses to good advantage. Steven Barker’s lighting design calls for a palette of soft pastels illuminating a screen at the back of the stage.
Musical director Tom Fuller’s piano playing is sketchy at best, drawing attention away from Covington’s clear-edged, concisely delivered numbers and at times overwhelming Covington’s powerful voice with amplified piano. Covington deserves better support for her diligent, energetic and sensitive portrayal of one of America’s greatest performers.