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Thailand’s government has decided to increase its crackdown on beggars in popular tourist areas. Foreigners will also be asked to refrain from giving money to beggars in popular vacation spots, including Bangkok. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on June 12, Thailand plans to strengthen its crackdown on beggars who flock to the capital city, Bangkok, and other famous vacation spots. On June 11, Varawut Silpa-archa, the Minister of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, emphasized, “Various organizations, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the police, will participate in the crackdown. Regular operations will be carried out...

Full Title: A Dozen Calif. Church Leaders Indicted For Allegedly Holding People Captive & Forcing Them Into Labor El CENTRO – A dozen leaders of Imperial Valley Ministries, including the former pastor, are charged in an indictment unsealed today with subjecting dozens of mostly homeless people to forced labor, coercing them to surrender welfare benefits and compelling them to panhandle up to nine hours a day, six days a week, for the financial benefit of the church leaders. The defendants were arrested today in El Centro, San Diego and Brownsville, Texas and charged with conspiracy, forced labor, document servitude and...

In an effort to boost his flagging hopes, presidential candidate former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Tex) glommed onto the case of an Abilene man as an example of “a more humane economic policy than the work-work-work model that President Trump has been imposing on our country.” In Abilene, an individual posing as a wheelchair-bound homeless man has been raking in an average of $1,000 per week begging for money at the intersection of Hwy 83/84 and FM 707 every Saturday and Sunday. The man is neither disabled nor homeless. He characterizes his activity as “street theater. I play a part and...

THERE is a backlash growing across Asia against Western ‘begpackers’ who want the locals to fund their travels around the world. People across the continent are growing tired of the sight of seeing relatively affluent Westerns begging on the streets in the hope that locals help pay for their journey to the next destination.

The next time a beggar approaches you in China, you might not be able to fend them off anymore by saying "sorry, no spare change". Chinese beggars have lately been seen keeping up with China's cashless trend of e-payments by accepting donations via mobile phones. A number of them have been seen dangling a card on their neck with a printout of a QR code. One such beggar was spotted in Jinan, Shandong province in April this year. According to China Daily, he is said to be mentally ill and was given a QR code by his family. Photo: China...

Presidential candidate and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said on Wednesday that he has never seen a Hispanic person begging for money on the street. "I don't think I've ever seen an Hispanic panhandler. And the reason is: In our community it would be shameful to be begging on the street," Cruz said. Cruz, who is of Cuban descent, made the point while speaking in Washington at a question-and-answer session with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He used the example to argue the Republican Party should be able to compete for the Latino vote. Hispanics, Cruz said, share many of the...

Should homelessness be a protected trait — like sex, race, age and many others — in the city of Madison? The city’s advisory Equal Opportunities Commission is beginning to look into adding homelessness to the list of characteristics which may not be considered in housing, employment and public accommodation under Madison’s Equal Opportunities Ordinance. Interest in exploring whether homeless people should be designated a protected class to ensure their civil rights goes back to a controversy early this year about efforts to dissuade the homeless from hanging out in the lobby of the City-County Building, committee Chairman Brian Benford told...

Have you ever gone shopping, to a movie, or to get gas and on the corner is a panhandler with their cardboard sign claiming that they are homeless, starving, a Veteran, need money, etc? Do you ever see that many of them look well fed, actually semi-clean and work the same street corner, freeway off ramp, or shopping center exit? Why does the city allow these vagabonds to beg for money on the corners? Does Salt Lake City have no pride? Panhandlers not only work the interstates and shopping centers, but also work over people out on the streets. If...

Human Rights campaigners have accused the Indian government of sweeping slum dwellers and beggars off Delhi's streets in an effort to "beautify" the city. The eyes of the world are on Delhi as it gears up to host the Commonwealth Games and activists fear poor people are being forced to leave because they send out the wrong image. Shanty towns across the city have been razed to the ground. Some are deemed too close to venues while others have been demolished to make way for car parks and road improvement schemes. Shivani Chaudry from the Housing And Land Rights Network...

Somethings are just too incredible to believe unless you see it for yourself. Well what we have here is Shelby County (TN) Commissioner Steve Mulroy being interviewed by a TV reporter. While the camera is rolling, a panhandler walks up to the commissioner, tells him to keep his mouth shut and to hand over $2.00. After the commissioner refused to give him the money, the panhandler then demanded that the politician have two dollars for him every time he sees him. The whole incident is only funny after the fact because there was no physical violence. As you will...

I'm not sure I did the right thing, but I think I did.

Let's help these folks understand why they can't find work, placing the blame squarely on the Democrats and their bad fiscal policies. We can offer a care package or greeting card with a little cash or gift, to get out the truth about Democrat's high tax rates punishing the achievers is causing them trouble finding work. Tactfully done, we can counter the damage Democrats, ACORN and the media are doing. Showing them some kindness and understanding for their situation, like start a greeting with "I know it must be hard for you to not find work, and have to come...

COOS BAY, Ore. (AP) - A police survey says panhandlers outside a Wal-Mart here can make $300 a day. Inside, it takes a clerk a week to make that much. Police say people who have a problem with that needn't look to the law--asking for money is considered protected free speech. "We are not going to target panhandlers," said Coos Bay Police Capt. Rodger Craddock, who spoke a recent gathering of business owners about panhandling. "We can't do that. But if they aren't getting money from us, they aren't going to stand on that corner." He said most panhandlers are...

...America's far-flung network of emergency food programs -- from Second Harvest to tens of thousands of neighborhood food pantries -- constitutes one of the largest charitable institutions in the nation. Its vast base of volunteers and donors and its ever-expanding distribution infrastructure have made it a powerful force in shaping popular perceptions of domestic hunger and other forms of need. But in the end, one of its most lasting effects has been to sidetrack efforts to eradicate hunger and its root cause, poverty. ...The cutback in federal support for social welfare programs triggered by the Reagan administration in the 1980s...

<p>BOSTON (CNNMoney.com) -- For those in the real estate industry and for those looking to buy or sell a home, it could take until 2009 to catch a break.</p> <p>That's the forecast from Doug Duncan, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), who will present his outlook to an auditorium full of real estate professionals on Wednesday morning.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Builders continued to slam the brakes on new homes in September, as the government's latest reading on the battered market out Wednesday showed housing starts and permits were weaker than expected at levels not seen for more than a decade.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The meltdown in the mortgage market in August dried up the supply of buyers for homeowners looking to sell their homes, as an industry group report showed the lowest level of homes under contract on record.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The binge that many housing markets went on in the early- to mid-2000s is over, and some of the hottest markets like California are now experiencing the worst hangovers.</p> <p>But other areas, especially many that recorded slower home price growth earlier this decade, have seen little increase in foreclosure rates, according to the latest data released Tuesday from RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosure properties.</p>

<p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- American consumers are defaulting on their credit cards at a sharply higher rate compared to last year, in what could be another consequence of the recent subprime mortgage market crisis, according to a report published Tuesday.</p>

<p>Waiting to see big banks piling into the mortgage business a la Bank of America (BAC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating)? Don't hold your breath.</p> <p>BofA surprised Wall Street last week by making a $2 billion bet on struggling Countrywide (CFC - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating). The news, announced after the close last Wednesday, gave Countrywide's sinking stock a one-day reprieve.</p>