Ishaan Tharoor: The Japanese government plans to submit legislation to the country’s parliament that would make it mandatory for workers to take at least five days of paid vacation a year. The move reflects the desire of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to curb Japan’s notorious work culture, where office workers are known to log long hours and often work overtime for no additional compensation. The cause for roughly one-third of suicides in Japan in 2011 was attributed to overwork. A survey by the country’s Labor... Read more

Aurin Squire: On June 30th, 1974, Alberta Williams King was gunned down while she played the organ for the “Lord’s Prayer” at Ebenezer Baptist Church. As a Christian civil rights activist, she was assassinated…just like her son, Martin Luther King, Jr. But most people remember only one. Until a month ago, I was one of those people. When a friend told me about Alberta Williams King, my first reaction was “who?” This question was followed by a wave of shame.... Read more

We are called to be a community of contrast, not a prophetic witness or moral judge. Paul to the church at Corinth (ancient Roman fountain image source): I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must... Read more

A Youtube video shows Jesus in an old movie. Someone has removed the volume, added a new monologue, and as he goes about selecting disciples the voice of Jesus now says, “Alright. Now it’s time for me to tell you what you’ve done wrong since last time I saw you. Don’t try and hide because I’m Jesus. I will find you. Let’s start with you Peter. You lied to your mother the other day. Andrew you hit your finger with a... Read more

Helen Lee: The skewed reality of on-screen television demographics merely perpetuates the fallacy that those of us who are not white are just visitors in this country.  In the ten-year history of the show Friends, only two actors of color ever appeared, and only as minor characters, despite the real-life setting of multicultural/multiethnic Manhattan. So a show like FOTB [Fresh Off the Boat], whose very cast features 200 percent more racial diversity than ever existed over 236 episodes of Friends, communicates volumes to... Read more

By Jason Micheli, who blogs at The Tamed Cynic. To my surprise, the fall out from Chris Christie’s recent comments about vaccinations has stuck in my craw. Never a science guy, issues of public health do not normally get my blood flowing nor am I even riled by the staggering incongruity between the current measles (note: not ebola) epidemic and Christie’s claptrap. No, what’s vexed me, even before I came across the FB pic above, is the repeated insinuation by... Read more