NEW YORK (AP) (AP) — Americans are more than twice as likely to express prejudice against Muslims than they are against Christians, Jews or Buddhists, a new survey found. Nearly two-thirds of Americans say they have little or no knowledge of Islam. Still, a majority dislike the faith.
You couldn’t blame Lauren McClusky of Chicago if she were a bit squeamish about using her last name in this story without fear of reprisal from Ronald McDonald and his legal posse.
For McClusky, 19, finds herself at the center of a thorny dispute that involves a series of charity concerts she’s put on over the past three years. She dubbed the event “McFest” (more on that in a moment) — but McDonald’s sees that as an infringement on its trademarks, something the McDonaldland lawyers refer to as “the McFamily of brands.”
These include (deep breath): McPen, McBurger, McBuddy, McWatch, McDouble, McJobs, McShirt, McPool, McProduct, McShades, McFree, McRuler, McLight — and even the prefix “Mc” itself.
“But not McFest,” pointed out McClusky, who declined to change her last name for this story. “The whole reason I called it McFest in the first place is my name.”
They are known as the eternal adolescents, young men and women who live in the family home while having their underwear washed and pasta cooked by their devoted and — until now — unquestioning mammas and papas. But now Italy is attempting to force its vast generation of bamboccioni (mother’s boys and girls) to find their own way in the world.
A government minister who admits that his mother made his bed for him until he was 30 years old, is demanding a law obliging young Italians to leave the parental nest at 18 to stop them from becoming hopelessly dependent on their parents.
Renato Brunetta, the Minister for Public Administration, made the proposal after a court judgment in Bergamo forced Giancarlo Casagranda, a divorced father, to pay €350 (£310) a month for the continued upkeep of his daughter Martina, 32, who has been a student of philosophy since 2002.
Compared with their other European compatriots, Italians are massively reliant on their mothers and fathers, with 59 per cent of men and women between the ages of 18 and 34 still living at home, according to La Stampa. This is in contrast to 34-5 per cent in Britain, 10 per cent in Spain, 16.5 per cent in Germany, 23 per cent in France.
People In Order: 1. Age from James Price on Vimeo.