Datasets:

BAAI

/

IndustryCorpus_news

like 2

Follow

Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence 675

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1027

Roses and thorns 3-10-12 March 9, 2013 7:54:39 PM A rose to Columbus native Katy Smith Houston, whose cookbook, "Sweetness Follows: The Story of Sam and the Treat of the Week," was the byproduct of a simple act of loving kindness to a family friend. Houston put together many of the book's recipes from her regular visits to Sam Lane, the son of a friend. Sam suffered a traumatic brain injury after being hit while cycling, and Houston reached out to Sam and his family by bringing her baked goodies on her regular visits. The book is a testament to the impact of love shown in simple ways. We commend the cookbook, especially since part of the proceeds from sales will go to research. Katy is the daughter of Nancy and the late Lynn Smith. A rose to the Starkville Fire Department, which in a couple of weeks will begin installing smoke detectors in the homes of needy families, free of charge. SFD employees will begin canvassing Starkville neighborhoods, identifying homes of poor people who either don't have smoke detectors or have smoke detectors that are defective. The SFD plans to distribute 360 smoke detectors through the program, which is made possible through the State Fire Marshal's Office in Jackson. Over the past couple of months, there have been three fatal fires in the Starkville area, which serves to emphasize how important it is to have properly-functioning smoke detectors. Typically, we think of fire departments as the people who respond to fires, which is true. But by providing this potentially life-saving piece of equipment, the SFD is making an impact by preventing fires, too. That's good for everyone. A rose to the parents who rallied in support of the MERIT program at Lowndes County Schools. School officials would almost have certainly convinced the school board to end the program for the county's seventh and eighth graders if parents had not turned out in force at Monday's informational meeting and again at Friday's school board meeting. On Friday, the district made an adjustment that permits the MERIT program to remain, now as an elective subject. A thorn to the same county school officials who, by their own admission, had worked on the plan to eliminate the MERIT program for three years, yet never sought input from parents and did not even inform the parents of their plans until a few weeks before taking the matter to the school board. All too often, school officials complain about the lack of parental involvement. Yet when a decision is made about school programs, they don't even bother asking parents for their views? It defies reason. A rose to Spencer Broocks of Golden Triangle Planning and Development for his efforts in securing a grant that will provide homes for four families in Lowndes County. Broocks helped secure a HOME grant (part of a federal grant program funded through HUD) in the amount of $465,000. The money will be used to build two homes in Artesia and one home in both Steens and Crawford. Four homes may not seem like much on the large scale, but to the four needy families who will have "a home of their own,'' it's truly a life-altering event. Most Viewed Opinion Stories 1. Ask Rufus: The Columbus pilgrimage is 75 years old LOCAL COLUMNS2. Birney Imes: Mack Banks: At 80, still one be-bopping daddy LOCAL COLUMNS3. Patrick Buchanan: The enemy of my enemy NATIONAL COLUMNS4. Bill Crawford: Behavior part of IHL board/Jones discord LOCAL COLUMNS5. Roses and thorns: 3/29/15 ROSES & THORNS More popular content Suggest a story

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1038

HomeDefense and SecurityHBO History Makers Series With Condoleezza Rice Connect With Us: CFR Events HBO History Makers Series with Condoleezza Rice Speaker: Condoleezza Rice Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy, Hoover Institution; Former U.S. Secretary of State, 2005-2009 Presider: Katie Couric Anchor and Managing Editor, CBS News Read transcript <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HO2mKshKtdE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> KATIE COURIC: Hi, everyone, and welcome to the Council on Foreign Relations. Nice to see such a full house here today. This is the History Makers Series event, and on behalf of the council, I'd like to thank Richard Plepler and Home Box Office for their generous support of this series. The History Maker Series focuses on the contributions made by prominent -- a prominent person at a critical juncture in U.S. foreign policy or in international relations, and that certainly describes our guest speaker today. While you may know her as Aretha Franklin's piano player -- (laughter) -- this classically trained pianist earned her respect on a global stage. Condoleezza Rice served as secretary of State, of course, from 2005 until the end of the George W. Bush administration in 2009. She was the second African-American and the second woman to hold that prestigious, to say the least, Cabinet position. As the nation fought two wars, Secretary Rice sought to advance democracy in the Middle East through diplomacy, to encourage and foster democratic states and strengthen ties to America's allies in a critical region. Shortly after her confirmation as secretary of State, she delivered a speech in France outlining her vision and philosophy as chief diplomat for this country. She said, quote: "Even more important than military and economic power is the power of ideas, the power of compassion and the power of hope." While the work to foster sustainable democracy and achieve equality for women and minorities around the world continues today, Secretary Rice no doubt remains resolute in the hope that these goals will in fact be fully realized Prior to her role as secretary of State, she served President Bush as national security adviser, and before that she was provost of Stanford University. She's returned to Stanford, where she's currently the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution. So please join me in welcoming Secretary Rice. (Applause.) And I was asked to deliver one polite reminder before we begin our conversation. If it rings or buzzes, turn it off please. CONDOLEEZZA RICE: (Laughs.) COURIC: Also, this meeting, by the way, is on the record. So, Secretary Rice, it's nice to be with you. RICE: Nice to be with you. COURIC: I've had the privilege of interviewing you on a number of occasions for a number of different media outlets, so it's nice to be here at the council. So, it's been almost two years since the Bush administration ended. I'm just curious about your time away from Washington. Has it changed your perspective at all on foreign policy or the ways of Washington? RICE: Well, it's changed my perspective in one very important way. I get up in the morning and I read the newspaper and I think: Isn't that interesting? (Laughter.) And then I go on to something else. COURIC: Instead of, "Oh, God?" (Laughs.) RICE: That's right. Exactly. With a little bit of time, you do have a chance to look back and to try and gain perspective. Of course, a lot of the issues in which we were involved are still unfolding and will be unfolding for some time. But I'm quite confident that the emphasis that you mentioned on democracy is both the right emphasis and one that will demonstrate that it has been the right emphasis. I'm also very grateful that when I go around the world -- and I'm still going around the world -- that people remember not just the war on terrorism but the compassion agenda. We've just had World AIDS Day, and the U.S. leadership in that role is very well remembered. I was recently in Africa, and the work to increase foreign assistance and girls' education and health programs in Africa is very well remembered. And so in retrospect, I think the marriage of American power and principle is going to guide our foreign policy for a long time if it's to be successful. COURIC: We talked about this when I was privileged to do a "60 Minutes" profile about you, but -- and it was interesting for me to revisit some of the things you and I talked about in that profile with the book you've just published called "Extraordinary Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family." And you talk a lot about your childhood in the Jim Crow South. And, of course, I know what you're going to say, but a lot of people here may not. Tell us how that, in many ways, your experiences growing up in the South, dealing with racism, how that impacted your view -- views on foreign policy. RICE: Well, first of all, it impacted me as a person. But I had parents who were ordinary people, in the title. They were -- my mom was a schoolteacher. She taught English first. And by the way, one of her first students was the great ballplayer Willie Mays. And he remembers her as Ms. Ray, who told him: Son, you're going to be a ballplayer, and so if you need to leave class a little bit early, you go right ahead and do that. (Laughter.) And it didn't sound like my mother but maybe she did. COURIC: That's very counterintuitive. RICE: Yes, very much so. And my father was a high school guidance counselor, a Presbyterian minister. So these were ordinary people. But in the extraordinary circumstances of Birmingham, a place where you couldn't go into a restaurant, you couldn't stay in a hotel, still they had me, as I -- as I -- as I've often said, convinced that I could be president of the United States if I wanted to be, and they had us convinced as a community of children that you might not be able to control your circumstances but you can control your response to your circumstances, and that was the critical issue. It led me, I think, to understand in my approach to foreign policy the importance of that principle: that human spirit can overcome essentially anything if given a chance, but also the need for that human spirit to be empowered in some way. And so whether it is the education and empowerment of women or the education of children who might otherwise not have a chance at education, if you want to empower the human spirit to do great things, you have to give people tools, which gives them hope. And that's, for me, the link. COURIC: And I know you talked about the fact that if you look at people in certain countries and say they don't deserve democracy or it's not -- or perhaps it's not necessarily in their DNA -- RICE: Right. COURIC: -- in terms of their societal structure, et cetera, you describe that as being tantamount to racism. RICE: Oh, it is. It's patronizing and it's racist. The idea that there are some people in some corner of the Earth who are so lacking in human character that they really don't care whether or not they can say what they think, they really don't care if they can select those who are going to govern them, they really don't care if they can worship as they please, and, oh, by the way, they don't care about the knock of the secret police at night, I think it's incredibly patronizing to believe that that's true. And the United States of all places should recognize that democracy takes a long time but that it is very well worth it. Not too long before my experiences in Birmingham, this was a country that believed that, well, black people were just a little bit too childlike to care about things like to vote. And so whenever we say that there is someone out there that either doesn't have a tradition or they're not ready, I think you have to check your prejudices. COURIC: Let's talk about your first job as national security adviser for President Bush. Well, actually let's have you use some hindsight about President Bush. I note that you all still stay in touch. RICE: We do. COURIC: But now that you're out of Washington and probably have even a better perspective on some of the things that transpired during your tenure, what would you consider are President Bush's greatest strengths and biggest weaknesses? RICE: I think his greatest strengths were and are decisiveness, but informed decisiveness. I don't know where this caricature comes from that this was a president who was uninterested in argumentation, uninterested in details, not curious somehow about the world. It's simply not true. He was someone and is someone who has a very admirable, but sometimes if you're the person in the chair being asked the question, somewhat disturbing tendency to go right to the essence of the issue and to ask the question that maybe you didn't think to ask yourself. And so he had this very strategic mind, and he was able, then, to be decisive. And you need decisiveness. It was married with a bedrock belief in the goodness of America, and indeed the exceptionalism of America: that America had certain responsibilities that it had to execute on behalf of all of humankind, whether it was fighting terrorism or trying to deliver democracy. But it was also that America had special responsibility to be compassionate, which is where the entire president's program for emergency AIDS relief came from, was that -- I remember it very well, the session in the Oval Office when he said, you know, a lot of -- is expected of those to whom a lot is given. And so those characteristics coming together I think made for a president who drew on America's strengths in very important ways. We all have our weaknesses, and I think that President Bush somehow was not able across the air waves to communicate the kind of leader that he was. I have said -- heard so many people, particularly recently, as he's been out on this book tour, say: But, you know, but he's funny; he's got this sense of humor; he's got this active mind. And somehow, when you're standing in front of the press -- with all due respect, Katie -- COURIC: (Laughs, laughter.) RICE: -- and you are in a press conference where, if you misplace a comma, you have just changed U.S. policy on the Middle East -- (laughter) -- it's hard to communicate who you are. And I think there was a disconnect between who he was as president and the president that people saw. COURIC: When you saw him appear in public and you felt that the president you knew and you had spent time with and exchanged ideas with was not coming across to the rest of the country, that must have been extraordinarily frustrating for you. RICE: It was, because I think it made the job of doing difficult things more difficult. And I don't think that I came across as who I am, either, and people say (that's me there ?). Because it really is hard when you're standing there and you're trying to make certain that every word is right and it's not going to be misunderstood, because if you slip and say this or that, then you've just created a headline and a fire storm. So it's hard for everybody. But it was especially frustrating because all of us who got to see the president in daily exchange knew very much how curious a person this was, how well-informed, and how intent on doing the right thing -- and by the way, not caring about the day's headlines, but rather about history's judgment. COURIC: I think but that when you're trying your hardest to be eloquent, that's when you're usually the most inarticulate. RICE: Yes. Right. (Laughter.) COURIC: Let's talk about 9/11. Obviously, that changed everything. Did you realize that this event, as it was unfolding, would define the rest of the Bush presidency and change the world forever? RICE: Several days after when -- the first couple of days, 9/11 and the two or three days after, we -- COURIC: Where were you when this happened? RICE: I was in the White House. It was -- ironically, the president normally would travel with either me or Steve Hadley, the deputy. And that particular day, that Tuesday, he had gone down to Florida for this little education -- a little education event of four hours or so, and so we -- neither of us went. So here we were in the White House when this happened. I was at my desk. And the first plane went into the World Trade Center, and we thought it was an accident. The second plane went into the World Trade Center, and we thought, "My God, it's a terrorist attack." And I can remember trying to get Don Rumsfeld on the phone, and his phones were just ringing. And a plane had gone into the Pentagon. And so I was spirited off to the -- to the bunker. But I stopped first and called my family, because I know the Rices and the Rays, and I said, you know, "Washington; awful pictures; I'm okay." But then, I took a call from the president. And I did something that I had not ever done and I never did after that: I raised my voice to the president of the United States. Because he said, "I'm coming back," and I said, "No, you're not." I said it -- "We're under attack, and you're -- you have got to get to safety." So that day was like being in a fog, where you were just trying to deal with the consequences. Three or so days later, when we were at Camp David, looking at the map of Afghanistan and knowing that we were going to go (over ?) to war in Afghanistan, that's when it occurs to you that you are about to engage in shaping events that are going to shape history in a completely different direction; you are about to be, for him, the war president; and America is in a fight for a long time. And then I think we knew that it was going to be not just something that would fade from the screen. COURIC: There's still a great deal of controversy over the warning signs that may not have been sufficiently heeded prior to 9/11. Are there things, in retrospect, you wish you had done differently in terms of analyzing, interpreting some of the intelligence that came in? RICE: Obviously, we didn't do enough, because it happened. But that said, I know what that intelligence looked like. And that intelligence, as murky as it was -- and it was very murky. The warnings say things like, "A big event is about to happen," in the terrorist chatter. "A big event is about to happen." And all of the warning signs were that it would happen abroad -- in Israel, Jordan, or possibly in Genoa at the G-8 that was being held that July. And so we did what you do in response to those warnings. We moved American forces, naval forces, out of port; we took extraordinary measures for our embassies abroad, to try to protect. As it turns out, just because I thought, well, maybe something, the United States, something's there, we called together the agencies that were domestic agencies. And I called the attorney general and said, you know, "Here's the briefing," and people were alerted. But nothing suggested that there was an attack of that sort coming in the United States. Now, I think this was a systemic failure, because we were stovepiped between domestic intelligence, or FBI, and law enforcement, and foreign intelligence and the CIA. And both by tradition and law, they could not share information. And perhaps, if they had been able to share information, somebody might have been able to put together a picture of what was coming. But even with the sharing, I doubt that you would have put together that particular picture. COURIC: After 9/11, government agencies opened up the flow of information to foster better intelligence sharing. But that may have opened the government up -- RICE: Yeah. COURIC: -- to the kind of leaks that we've seen, or the kind of exposure we've seen from WikiLeaks. Fareed Zakaria just wrote a piece in Time where he said the leaks are in some ways an unintended consequence of Washington finally getting its information act together. So have the flood gates been opened too much? How do you find the proper balance? RICE: Well, let me say first that I think what has happened is a crime. It's up to the Justice Department to figure out exactly what crime it is. But it's got to be prosecuted and punished, or it's going to keep happening. And the -- I hope that the penalty is really severe, because maybe that'll deter this kind of behavior. The United States can't exist in a world in which we can't share information within the government, and with the -- with the expectation that it's going to somehow end up in -- on the front pages of newspapers. You can't do business that way. So I hope it's prosecuted, and I hope it's prosecuted severely. Secondly, though, it did occur to me that probably the sharing, it looks, maybe has gone too far. And I know that Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates are looking into this. The idea that somehow cables from our embassy in Germany are being read at the staff-sergeant level at our military bases seems to me rather odd. (Laughter.) And I think probably the flow of information has gotten a little -- a little loose. COURIC: Sloppy. RICE: A little sloppy. The third thing is, you know, you really don't have to write down everything you think. (Laughter.) COURIC: (Laughs.) You save that for your diary. RICE: Yeah. Some of the -- some of the cables, I have to say, I thought -- not the -- not the analysis of circumstances and so forth, but some of the cables I thought to myself, "You know, did you really need to write that down?" (Laughter.) COURIC: So do you think these leaks have been damaging, or just embarrassing? RICE: No, I think they've been damaging. I think they've been damaging, because people will watch what they say to us. In some cases where -- in, interestingly, some authoritarian countries, where people were saying one thing to their populations and to their parliaments, and another to us, it's going to be not just embarrassing, but it could have real consequences. COURIC: Consequences. RICE: That's right. COURIC: So, for example, in Yemen. RICE: Exactly. And so I think that's a real problem. And for several of our diplomats, I think their relations with the countries and the leaders with whom they have to deal every day are irrevocably broken. So it's done real damage. COURIC: Let's talk about enhanced interrogation techniques. Do you have any regrets about that program? RICE: No. Look, I knew there would be second-guessing about what we did. The president was very clear. He wanted to do what was legal and necessary. And he was very clear that the Justice Department would have to say -- unprompted, the Justice Department would have to review and say what was legal. And we would live within those bounds, both domestically and internationally. But when you are in a war, not a law enforcement activity, it is your responsibility to try to stop the next attack. And the long pole in the tent for stopping the next attack is information. Now, I knew that there would be second-guessing about not just enhanced interrogation but about the Patriot Act and about terrorist surveillance and so forth and so on. And it's perfectly legitimate in a democratic society to have people debate what was done and to change the course. And in fact, as we got more knowledge about how al-Qaida operated and got on top of things, a lot of this did change. But the one thing, second-guessing, I could never have lived with is if it had happened again, and if we had left somehow on the table things that might have prevented it from happening. So my view was that if it was legal and necessary, then the president of the United States, under circumstances in which we'd just watched 3,000 people die and believed that many more were going to die, the president had an obligation to do it. COURIC: And the most productive thing that came from these enhanced interrogation techniques in your view? RICE: I'm not going to go into details because I don't know and don't remember, frankly, what the fire wall is between what is still classified and what is not. But I will say this. The best thing that we did was to take al-Qaida's field generals off the battlefield: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah, Ramzi Binalshibh. I'm very sorry that we weren't able to deliver Osama bin Laden to the -- to justice. But when we took those field generals off the field and when we were able to determine how al-Qaida actually operated and what they were plotting and planning, the country was a lot safer. COURIC: On Iraq, books have been written, as you know, many, many books; documentaries have been made about how intelligence was incorrectly analyzed and cherry-picked to build an argument for war. And memos from that time do suggest that officials knew there was a small chance of actually finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. RICE: Well, wait a second, what? COURIC: (Chuckles.) There are -- there are some things that seem to suggest that in the buildup to the actual war that there was some doubt about that, wouldn't you say -- RICE: No. (Laughter.) COURIC: Well -- RICE: Actually, I don't agree with that (person ?) at all. COURIC: You don't? RICE: No. COURIC: Even with -- when Tony Blair met with the president in Washington -- RICE: Well, you always -- are you 100 percent sure when you're dealing with an opaque, secretive country in which there have been no inspections for years? No, you're not 100 percent sure. But the preponderance of intelligence analysis -- the preponderance of intelligence analysis from around the world was that he had had weapons of mass destruction. We knew he had used weapons of mass destruction. That was not a theoretical proposition. COURIC: Right. That's correct. RICE: He'd used them -- COURIC: Against the Kurds. RICE: Against the Kurds, against the Shia and against the Iranians. So he'd used them several times. And the preponderance of intelligence was that he was reconstituting or had actually, in the intelligence estimate, reconstituted his biological and chemical capabilities. There was some debate about how far he had gotten on the nuclear front, some saying that with foreign help it could be a year; others saying it would be several years. So no, it's simply not the case that there was, if you're in a position of decision-making, evidence to say that it was likely that he did not have weapons of mass destruction. Now, what we found is that he was indeed breaking out of the constraints that had been put there -- we all know the scandal of oil-for-food -- that he was not as far along in that reconstitution as the intelligence had suggested. But the idea that somehow Saddam Hussein was not pursuing or was never going to pursue weapons of mass destruction, I think, is as misplaced as an argument that he had fully reconstituted. COURIC: Well, if there weren't, ultimately, weapons of mass destruction found, what was then the rationale for war? Without that, is there another rationale other than the world is better off without Saddam Hussein? RICE: Well, that's a pretty good rationale. (Laughter.) But let me -- let me go back to the premise, the question, in the absence of weapons of mass destruction, what was the -- it's true that you can only -- that what you know today can affect what you know and do tomorrow, but what you know today cannot affect what you did yesterday. So the premise that somehow, because weapons of mass destruction were not found in stockpiles, the rationale for the war was flawed leaves out the fact that at the time that we decided to go to war, we thought there were weapons of mass destruction. So let's stipulate that. Now, we didn't worry about weapons of mass destruction particularly in the hands of Russians. The Russians had the hundred thousand -- a hundred times the weapons capability of Saddam Hussein. The problem was that Saddam Hussein had taken the world to war in really destructive wars twice, Iran and the Gulf War in '91; dragged us into conflict again in '98, as President Clinton had responded to the problem there; violated repeatedly Security Council resolutions. The efforts that we were making to keep him in his box, whether it was oil-for-food or the -- or trying to keep his air forces on the ground through flying no-fly zones -- he was shooting at our aircraft every day, he still refused to acknowledge that Kuwait was an independent country, and so on and so on. This was the most dangerous tyrant in the middle of the Middle East, and he had repeatedly flaunted (sic) the efforts of the international community to control him after '91. And so I think there is an argument that in those circumstances, getting Saddam -- getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a very good thing. COURIC: So absent of the presence -- or if you had known at the time that Iraq wasn't as far along with its weapons program as it ultimately turned out to be, would all of those other things you mentioned provide rationale for the war? RICE: Katie, I'm going to repeat: What you know today can affect what you do tomorrow, but not COURIC: No, but just put yourself back there -- RICE: I did -- I can't -- I can't -- COURIC: I mean, you're saying that that seemed like a good rationale. Do you think it is? RICE: I can't speculate on what I would have thought if I had known. I think it's not a fruitful exercise. We knew what we knew, and we made the decisions based on that intelligence and that knowledge. Now I still believe that even in the absence of finding weapons of mass destruction, the world and the Middle East are much better places without Saddam Hussein. And you always can know what happened as a result of what you did. What you can't know is what would have happened had you not done it. The Iraq that we're talking about today, our debate about Iraq today -- our concerns about Iraq today are, of course, about continuing violence. But the conversation is whether Shias, Sunnis, Kurds can within their new democratic institutions form the first multi-confessional democracy in the Arab world. That's a really interesting discussion, and it's different than a discussion that we might have been having about whether or not the nuclear competition between Ahmadinejad in Iran and Saddam Hussein in Iraq is a greater danger than having taken Saddam Hussein out. COURIC: Do you -- RICE: So I actually think that might have been where we were. COURIC: Do you think that democracy will hold in Iraq? RICE: I do. The Iraqis are a tough people, and they're not easy. But I do think that they've got a chance in these new institutions to find a way to resolve their differences without somebody having to oppress somebody else, which has been the whole history of Iraq and in fact the whole history of the Middle East. It will take some time. The first couple of outcomes may not, in fact, be very pretty to watch. But history has a long arc, and I think they've got a pretty good chance. COURIC: Two other global hot spots and then I'm going to open up to members to ask questions. But Afghanistan: It seems to be such a quagmire and its future seems to be so uncertain. What do you -- what do you see happening in Afghanistan? RICE: Well, Afghanistan is an uncertain future. Look, it was always going to be hard. It's fifth-poorest country in the world. When you fly over it, you know why terrorists can hide there. You fly over those mountains, you realize that ungoverned area between Pakistan and Afghanistan -- it's a very hard place. It is, however, not a place where terrorists are plotting and planning to launch 9/11. It is no longer a place where women are being executed in soccer stadiums, as they were being by the Taliban. It is a place where girls are going to school. It's a place that has a -- not an ideal government, but a government. And so things have improved in Afghanistan. The question is, can we and our allies be patient enough to create circumstances or help the Afghans create circumstances in which the Taliban is not an existential threat to the government? The Taliban is going to be a hit-and-run organization for a long time. COURIC: What about bringing them to the table, though? I was there in August, and many women who were in shelters, who had fled from their husbands or their fathers, they were absolutely terrified at the prospect of the Taliban having some kind of negotiating power, which it has with President Karzai, and what that would mean, and that women's rights would be sold down the river in order to bring them into the fold. RICE: Well, it's one thing to bring Taliban foot soldiers into the fold. I think it's another to bring Taliban leadership into the fold and to expose the citizens of Afghanistan to exactly the kind of danger that you just addressed. And look, there has to be a defense of the Afghan constitution and women's rights. It is true that in a very traditional society, many Afghan women cannot fully exercise the rights that are guaranteed to them in the constitution. Nonetheless, one advantage to constitutions is at least those rights are enshrined. And as we learned in our own country, the enshrining of those rights gives people who -- impatient patriots the ability to argue in a context to say you don't have to be something else; you just have to be who you say you are here. You just have to give us the rights that are already here. So I think defending the Afghan constitution's going to be -- have to be a very important part of any negotiation that happens, hopefully, not with the upper ranks of the Taliban. COURIC: And finally, Secretary Rice -- or do I call you Professor Rice? What do I call you now? RICE: You could call me -- I -- you could call me Condi. COURIC: Okay. (Laughter.) What about -- RICE: Or Condoleezza, if you want to brave that. COURIC: (Chuckles.) What about Iran and North Korea? Obviously, these were countries that you were keeping an extremely close eye on and tried to deal with them in various ways during your tenure. Is the behavior of these countries surprising to you? Do you -- did you expect North Korea to grow increasingly belligerent in -- you know, with its recent attacks on South Korea? And Iran's nuclear ambitions don't seem to be -- they seem to be going full throttle. RICE: Well, I think the story's somewhat better on Iran, but let me address North Korea first. First of all, anybody who tries to judge the motives of Kim Jong Il and his family is engaging in a very iffy proposition. It's a very closed place, as we know. Clearly, some kind of succession problem is being played out. And I think many people believe that when that succession problem was played out, it might lead the North Koreans to be more belligerent. I don't think they're suicidal. And the efforts that the Obama administration, particularly Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates and the South Korean government have undertaken, I think, has given the North Koreans pause, and probably the Chinese pause as well, which is maybe an equally important part of this. And so I do continue to believe North Korea can be deterred, but it's going to be a dangerous period because with the internal ups and downs there, something is driving them to be more belligerent. And we saw it right at the end of 2008, when they were walking away from things that they had already agreed to do. Something was going on internally. On Iran, I think the picture is somewhat better. I think the years now of cumulative sanctions on Iran going back to 2006 roughly and the increasing severity of those sanctions, married with the really idiotic economic policies of Ahmadinejad and the impatience of the Iranian people that was exhibited in June of 2009, has made this a somewhat weaker government. And it may be that -- not to mention the problems that they're having in their program, which the IAEA has talked about. Perhaps this is a time when the Iranians -- someone within Iran who understands this isn't all going to well might be willing to strike a deal. COURIC: So -- well, we have a lot of very smart people in our group this afternoon. So if members have any questions that they would like to ask Secretary Rice -- go ahead. If you could introduce yourself, that'd be great. Thank you. QUESTIONER: Madame Secretary, my name is Roland Paul (sp). I'm a lawyer. Concerning weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, President Bush reminded Bob Woodward in one of their interviews that Saddam Hussein could have very quickly reconstituted, as you referenced, chemical and biological weapons. Our arms inspectors found the same thing, and everybody agrees that he sooner or later would have been determined to acquire nuclear weapons. But I was always mystified by the Bush administration never pushed this as a very strong argument after the war unfolded and we learned there weren't any stockpiles RICE: You know, one thing that I would do differently: we should have pushed the argument before the war exactly as you have stated it. We -- I think, in a sense, the president became a fact witness, using intelligence in a way that probably wasn't wise. The strategic argument for Saddam Hussein was cancer in the Middle East has caused wars before, out from under the constraints that were put on him in '91, still firing at American aircraft on an almost daily basis with the capability to reconstitute his biological and chemical weapons, some chance that he has -- and oh, by the way, he's used them before -- and with the capability to reconstitute his nuclear weapons. How long do you want to wait to deal with this problem? That was the argument. And I think for a variety of reasons, given the way that this unfolded, going to the U.N., making the speech about the weapons of mass destruction, it became all about the weapons of mass destruction, and the strategic argument got somewhat lost. And so I remember saying to some senators exactly what I've just said to you. Look, I don't lose a lot of sleep over Russian weapons of mass destruction. Yeah, I worry about, you know, maybe a terrorist -- (inaudible) -- but I don't lose a lot of sleep about that because Russia is, even if an adversary from time to time, a responsible state. But weapons of mass destruction in the hands of an irresponsible state with a dictator who's used them, that's a proposition that the United States cannot live with in perpetuity. It's time to deal with it. COURIC: Yes. RICE: Marcus, hello. QUESTIONER: Hi, Madame Secretary. How are you? RICE: Fine. QUESTIONER: Thanks for joining us, and thanks for cooperating with the book I did on you some years ago. RICE: Yes. QUESTIONER: Marcus Mabry -- COURIC: Are you a plant? (Laughter.) QUESTIONER: Marcus Mabry from The New York Times. No. (Chuckles.) I wonder, based on what Katie was saying to you earlier, looking back over the whole landscape of seemingly intractable, today, foreign-policy challenges that we face, the Obama administration still faces; after your tenure, is there a place, is there an issue -- whether it's North Korea or whether it's Israel-Palestine, whether it's Afghanistan, whether it's Iraq -- is there a place where you felt you made an effort that maybe didn't come to fruition; there might have been one more step, one more agreement that you worked for that maybe didn't happen -- is there a place where you felt if progress had been made, today we would have a substantively different challenge in one of those intractable places? RICE: Actually, I think the place that I wish we had been able to close the deal was on Palestine and Israel, because I think there was a deal to take. Ehud Olmert, at the end of his term -- as you know, he got into political and legal trouble in the spring of 2008, and he basically made the deal -- offered the deal to the Palestinians that I think is ultimately going to be the deal they'll have to take. And for a variety of reasons, largely, they didn't think he could deliver. And after all, maybe -- you know, there was an election coming and so forth and so on. I sometimes think they thought they might get a more favorable Israeli government. They got Benjamin Netanyahu instead. And I wish that we had -- and we tried in the last months, in kind of November, to at least to get the Palestinians and the Israelis to deposit that deal with the United States. And maybe we would have been starting from there instead of going all the way back to whether or not settlements get frozen. You know, we'll talk more about this -- I will talk more about this as I write the book, but, you know, there were even -- Olmert even had a concept of how Jerusalem might unfold with a capital for each -- a capital for the Palestinians in East Jerusalem, a capital for the -- for Israel in West Jerusalem, some kind of management of the holy sites by an international group. It was pretty close to what, if we ever get a deal, is going to be there. And I wish we'd had a way to deliver it. COURIC: Do you have any hope for the current situation? RICE: Everything in me says, look, they don't have an option, the two of them, right? The Palestinians need a state, and the Israelis need a Palestinian state. So sooner or later they're going to get this, and they're going to close the deal. And I do think some of the underlying circumstances are better. The Palestinians, under Salam Fayyad in the West Bank, are showing what a Palestinian state could look like. It's got security forces that people trust, it -- basically democratic institutions. It's got growth at almost 9 percent. It is clearly not a terrorist state. That's what the Palestinian state could look like. Israeli -- the Israeli politics -- thanks to first Ariel Sharon and then Ehud Olmert and now Benjamin Netanyahu, there is almost nobody in Israel who believes in Greater Israel anymore, except the very far right. And the Arabs have realized that there is a country in the Middle East that's a problem, and it begins with I, but it's not Israel. It's Iran. And they would like to have this thing settled. So I have to think -- I'm a political scientist, and I have to think when everybody's interests start to come together that way, you're going to have to get a solution. But they've got to get back to the table. This -- these preconditions, and "I won't negotiate until you do this," and -- that's got to stop, and they've got to negotiate. COURIC: Since -- I meant to ask you earlier, since Russia is your foremost area of expertise, I read recently that you're the only secretary of State who's not supporting ratifying the START treaty. Is that accurate? RICE: Well, I didn't -- I didn't sign the editorial -- op-ed that just -- look, I -- given the nature of the people who wrote that op-ed, it's not surprising that it's a very fine op-ed, it's persuasive. And I find myself in substantial agreement with a lot of it. I'm working very actively to try to bring about the best bipartisan result for this treaty, because we've always had bipartisan support for treaties, and we need to have bipartisan support for this treaty. There are some issues that have been raised about modernization I think that the administration has responded to. And if the funding is there, our nuclear infrastructure will be modernized. That's important as the numbers come down. And there are real questions about defenses. When we got out of the ABM treaty and a year later signed the Moscow treaty, bringing down offensive-weapons totals, the point was to delink offense and defense, because we're not in the Cold War now, where the United States and the -- and Russia worry about mutual annihilation of one another. We need to have full range to do whatever we need to do on the defensive side. And so I think that these are things that can probably be handled, and I'm going to speak to the treaty at an appropriate time. But it's not a matter of disagreeing in large part with what the secretaries have said. COURIC: Yes, sir. QUESTIONER: Yes, Stephen Schlesinger, Century Foundation. Getting back to Iraq, why didn't the Bush administration allow the U.N. inspection to continue until -- and maybe they would have found no weapons of mass destruction during that period. RICE: What we were getting from the U.N. inspectors -- and you can look at what Hans Blix said in his report to the U.N. on -- in January of 2003 -- was that the Iraqis were not fully cooperating. And yes, I mean, I guess you can inspect for a long, long time, and if you're not getting cooperation from that government, you don't know whether you were finding weapons or not. We also had military forces that were built up in the region to provide, if you will, a sword for Saddam Hussein to actually cooperate. And at some point in time you have to decide whether or not you think this proposition of inspections is going to play out. And we decided that we didn't believe that we were ever going to get the kind of cooperation from Saddam Hussein that would answer the very real questions about his weapons program. I'm also, frankly, just very glad he's out of power. Now, to be frank, we tried to take him out of power without going to war. We tried to take him out of power by -- we got a report from an Arab state that shall remain nameless that he would take a billion dollars to lead -- to leave. We said, deal. Right? (Laughter.) We tried to (find ?) him -- COURIC: Has that -- has that been made public before? RICE: Yeah, I -- it may be in President Bush's book. I'm not sure. I don't remember. But we did. We said, if he'll go, everybody's happy. Secondly, there was the question, which you probably have read, and it's in the Woodward book, about Dora Farms. On

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1043

Hamas kills 18 suspected informers to deter leaks by Karin Laub, Associated Press and Yousur Alhlou, Associated Press August 22, 2014 05:00 PM | 2270 views | 0 | 6 | | Supporters of Hamas hold posters of three senior commanders of the Hamas military wing, Mohammed Abu Shamaleh, Raed Attar and Mohammed Barhoum, who were killed in Thursday's Israeli strikes, during a demonstration to protest against Israel and to support people in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) A Palestinian boy, along with supporters of Hamas, holds a representation of a rocket as others shout slogans to protest against Israel and to support people in Gaza, during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) Palestinian supporters of Hamas hold representations of rockets as others chant slogans against the Israeli military action in Gaza, during a demonstration in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday, Aug. 22, 2014. (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas) GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza militants Friday gunned down 18 alleged spies for Israel in an apparent attempt to plug security breaches and deter others, a day after Israel killed three top Hamas military commanders in an airstrike likely guided by collaborators. In one incident, masked gunmen lined up seven men, their heads covered by bags, along a wall outside a Gaza City mosque and shot them to death in front of hundreds of people, witnesses said. A note pinned on the wall said they had leaked information about the location of tunnels, homes of fighters and rockets that were later struck by Israel. In Israel, a 4-year-old boy was killed when a mortar shell hit two cars in the parking lot of Nahal Oz, a small farming community near Gaza. Five Israelis were hurt, one seriously, in several rocket strikes, the military said. One rocket damaged a synagogue. The child's death was bound to raise pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from an increasingly impatient public to put an end to rocket and mortar fire from Gaza — something Israel's military has been unable to do after 46 days of fighting with Hamas. Netanyahu's office said he expressed his condolences and vowed that Hamas would pay a "heavy price." The Israeli military said in a statement the deadly mortar shell had been fired from next to a U.N. school currently serving as a shelter for displaced Gazans. It said it had conveyed a "severe message" to the U.N. refugee agency UNRWA. Israel has repeatedly said Hamas uses schools, mosques and residential areas as cover from which to stage attacks, putting civilians at risk by drawing Israeli retaliation. By early evening, Gaza militants had fired at least 117 rockets and mortar shells at Israel, while Israel carried out at least 35 airstrikes in Gaza, the military said. In a new warning from Israel's military, automated phone messages told Gaza residents that "Hamas has decided to go to war again" and that people must "get away immediately from areas where Hamas conducts terror activities." At about the same time, an airstrike hit a house in Gaza City, and a huge orange ball of fire from the explosion rose into Gaza's night sky. At least 45 people were wounded, health officials said. Ayman Sahabani, head of the emergency department at the city's Shifa Hospital, said only a minute passed before the firing of a warning missile and the bombing. Since Israel-Hamas fighting began July 8, at least 2,092 Palestinians have been killed, said Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra. According to U.N. figures, at least 478 Palestinian children and minors were among the dead, including 320 who were 12 or younger. On the Israeli side, the boy's killing Friday raised the death toll to 68, including 64 soldiers, three civilians and a Thai worker. Friday's escalation came three days after Israel-Hamas truce talks collapsed in Cairo. At the talks, Hamas had rejected an Egyptian proposal under which Israel would gradually ease its border blockade of Gaza in exchange for a period of extended quiet. Hamas said Israel offered nothing specific, and says it will only halt fire if Israel and Egypt agree to open Gaza's borders to trade and travel. The border blockade was imposed in 2007, after the violent Hamas takeover of Gaza. Israel has said it cannot lift the closure unless Hamas stops trying to smuggle or manufacture weapons and agrees to disarm, a demand the Islamic militants have rejected. Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza, signaled Friday that Hamas would also reject any U.N. Security Council resolution that seeks to disarm the group. Britain, Germany and France are working on a cease-fire resolution that calls for opening Gaza's borders, in exchange for restoring the rule of Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority in Gaza. Abbas lost control of Gaza in the Hamas takeover. Zahar wrote in a text message that "Hamas will not accept any international resolutions that try to touch the weapons of the resistance and don't fully lift the blockade." Abbas, meanwhile, met with the top Hamas leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, to push for Hamas to accept the Egyptian cease-fire proposal. The talks took place in Qatar, a regional backer of Hamas, but it was not clear if Abbas made headway. He left Friday for Egypt, ahead of talks with the Egyptian president Saturday. In Gaza, the killing of the 18 alleged spies for Israel followed the deaths of three top Hamas military commanders in an Israeli airstrike, reportedly with the help of local informants. Even after Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Israel's Shin Bet security service continued to run a network of informers, recruiting them through blackmail, the lure of exit permits or money. Hamas media said the shootings signaled the start of a new crackdown, under the rallying cry of "choking the necks of the collaborators." It was the largest number of suspected informers killed in a single day under Hamas rule. The Al Majd website, which is close to the Hamas security services, said suspects would now be dealt with "in the field" rather than in the courts in order to create deterrence. Hamas said it would not release the names of those killed because it wanted to protect the reputation of their families. In the morning, 11 alleged informants were shot by a firing squad at Gaza City police headquarters. Two of the 11 were women, according to the Palestinian Center for Human Rights. The group urged an immediate halt to what it called "extrajudicial executions." Later in the day, seven people were killed outside the downtown al-Omari mosque as worshippers wrapped up noon prayers. Photos from the incident posted on several Palestinian websites showed several hundred people gathered near the scene. The photos showed masked, black-clad gunmen leading several men with bags over their heads to a wall. Witness Ayman Sharif, 42, quoted one of the gunmen as saying the seven "had sold their souls to the enemy for a cheap price" and had caused death and destruction. The commander of the group then gave the order to the others to open fire with automatic rifles. He said the bodies were collected by an ambulance and the gunmen left. The Hamas-run Al Rai news website said that after the public killings, several suspected collaborators "surrendered to the resistance and declared that they repented." It did not provide details. Friday's killing marked the third time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war six weeks ago that Hamas announced the killing of alleged collaborators. On Thursday, Al Majd said seven people were arrested on suspicion of working with Israel and that three of them were killed. ___ Alhlou reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report. Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 2 women stabbed in face, 1 dies in home invasion

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1059

Visualizing the Chicago River Reversal A recently uncovered collection of photographs documents this engineering feat David Lepeska Courtesy of The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed Its River and the Land Beyond Civil engineers generally rank the reversal of the Chicago River, completed in 1900, among the world's great feats of engineering – the digging of a 28-mile canal between the Chicago and Des Plaines rivers linked the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico watershed, fostering billions in shipping and trade, and diverted oceans of city sewage, saving Lake Michigan from considerable pollution and allowing the Chicago area to expand to its current 8 million residents. Yet those hundreds of millions of gallons of sewage did not simply disappear. They were flushed into waterways south and west of the city, from the Des Plaines to the Illinois and the Mississippi River, destroying vast expanses of farmland and irrevocably altering much of that fertile, river-fed landscape. For a century, historians had scant visual evidence of the pre-reversal Des Plaines and Illinois rivers, or of the almost unimaginable labor involved in the building of the Sanitary and Ship canal within the city. Then, a decade and a half ago, a city water official stumbled upon a cache of nearly 22,000 glass-plate photo negatives taken from 1894 to 1928 for the Sanitary District, the canal's builder, to document the reversal of the river and its impact. After years of painstaking work, Richard Cahan and Michael Williams present an unprecedented dual glimpse of Midwestern history in The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed Its River and the Land Beyond. About half the photos are of laborers, rock explosions, construction sites and mile-long trenches in a Chicago shorn of its 20th century growth spurt. The rest are expansive wide-angle pastorals, gorgeous views of river, farmland and open prairie, looking much as it must have centuries ago. In fact, a group of farmers used some of the pre-reversal photos as evidence in a suit against the Sanitary District, claiming the overburdened river had flooded and damaged their lands. "What right has Chicago to pour its filth down into what was before a sweet and clean river, pollute its waters, and materially reduce the value of property on both sides of the river … and bring sickness and death to the citizens?" wondered a resident of Morris, Ill., after the reversal was completed. The photos below are courtesy of Cahan and Williams' The Lost Panoramas: When Chicago Changed Its River and the Land Beyond. They are currently on display at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum. Please use a JavaScript-enabled device to view this slideshow State-Sanctioned Grafitti A Record Store Where Nothing Is For Sale David Lepeska is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul. All Posts

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1074

Liberty and justice for all Wednesday, April 15, 2009 | 6:00 a.m. CDT The City Council passed a domestic partnership registry on April 7. Supporters and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community gathered at the meeting to show their gratitude and support. William Powell is a senior journalism student at MU. LETTER: Marriage should continue to be between man and woman Others gathered in the comments section on the Missourian's Web site to voice their intolerance. They complained about the declining morals in American society and called for the council to stop pandering to what they viewed as an immoral minority. These comments came from only a few people, and it would be a mistake to assume they are a representative sample of the population. But in a state where same-sex marriage was banned by constitutional amendment in 2004, maybe these ideas aren't that rare in Missouri. While reading through these comments, I thought of 19th Century British philosopher John Stuart Mill and his most famous work, "On Liberty." In "On Liberty," Mill wrote that, "The sole end for which mankind are warranted ... in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their numbers is self-protection." Basically, Mill argued that if individuals' actions affect only themselves, then society has no right to intervene. Mill's theory, which is known as "the harm principle," can become complicated. But, in its simplest form, it's a good idea. It appeals to America's core values, like freedom and self-determination. Opponents of same-sex marriage trumpet our nation's traditional Christian values. But the America I remember learning about in high school government classes was founded more on principles of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and separation of church and state than on any one religious doctrine. Another of Mill's ideas is what he calls the "tyranny of the majority," which is a real and present danger in a democratic system. Mill argued that just because something is supported by the majority, doesn't mean it is right. "The people, consequently, may desire to oppress a part of their number; and precautions are as much needed against this, as against any other abuse of power," Mill wrote. He also discussed what he calls social tyranny, the type practiced by those who voice hateful opinions on the Web. "Society can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practises (sic) a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself," Mill wrote. In denying equal marriage rights to same-sex couples, 46 states are practicing tyranny of the majority. The arguments put forth for banning gay marriage fall far short of justifying the denial of liberty. Opponents of same-sex marriage cling to their ideal of traditional marriage, an institution based on love between a man and a woman. But in her 2005 book, "Marriage, A History," author Stephanie Coontz shows that the institution of marriage isn't static. Rather, marriage's history, especially its recent history, is marked by change. According to Coontz, marriage was originally based on kinship alliances between prehistoric families. In paternalistic times, when estates passed from a father to his eldest son, aristocrats married off their children strategically to build wealth. For the first 5,000 years of marriage, up until the 1700s, love had little to do with it. The cultural ideal of marrying young based on love to form a male breadwinner family didn't achieve widespread acceptance until the 1950s. And that model didn't succeed for long, with women's liberation and high divorce rates once again changing the institution. What this history shows us is that the way cultures define marriage changes to match society. There is not one rigid traditional norm. It is time for the definition of marriage to change once again to match a society dedicated to extending liberty to all. William Powell is a senior journalism student at MU and a sports writer for the Missourian. Ray Shapiro April 15, 2009 | 3:31 p.m. Personally, I would rather see the governmnent out of the "marriage business" entirely. However, in response to those who advocate for government legislation for "gay marriage," I'd like to share the following:Majority Rule/Minority RightsMajority rule is a means for organizing government and deciding public issues; it is not another road to oppression. Just as no self-appointed group has the right to oppress others, so no majority, even in a democracy, should take away the basic rights and freedoms of a minority group or individual.• Minorities – whether as a result of ethnic background, religious belief, geographic location, income level, or simply as the losers in elections or political debate – enjoy guaranteed basic human rights that no government, and no majority, elected or not, should remove.Read more: http://www.america.gov/st/democracy-engl...The choice of using this phrase is important, “separation of church and state”. Jefferson doesn’t say separation of religion and state. He is talking about institutional separation. However, the crowd pushing separation most vigorously also is the crowd that’s trying to regulate certain religious beliefs out of existence. Pharmacists aren’t allowed to express their religious sentiments about abortion and retain their jobs. The argument is that they shouldn’t take the job if they don’t follow a pre-defined ethical construct approved by the government. Catholic hospitals are consistently fighting attempts to force them to provide abortions despite their clear religious teaching. Catholic Charities in California was required to recognize “gay marriage” despite their own beliefs. School children (a.k.a. individual citizens not to be confused with government officials) are told that they aren’t allowed to pray or have bible studies on school property. In one case, school children were threatened with federal prison if they dared utter a prayer on their own volition during a graduation ceremony. The IRS has investigated churches for preaching against abortion. In short, the wall of separation is growing to enforce a certain religious orthodoxy and not protect the free expression of religion that was also mentioned in the First Amendment.http://www.parttimepundit.com/archives/8... Anton Berkovich "In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot ... they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer engine for their purpose." --- Thomas Jefferson, to Horatio Spafford, March 17, 1814 @Art:Thomas Jefferson said a lot of things.Why would he say such a thing about Jesus?Who are "pro-gay marriage" priests in allegiance with? April 16, 2009 | 11:19 a.m. It's been a week now, people aren't domestic partnered with their dogs yet are they? I keep hearing this will be happening soon, yet I haven't seen it.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1077

Compassion's Poverty Poll Shows Optimism Among Young Adults > Press Center > Compassion's Poverty Poll Shows Optimism Among Young Adults | Posted: December 05, 2005 A new poll indicates that American young adults, more than any other age group, believe they can make a difference in poverty overseas. The poll, conducted for Compassion International by the Barna Research Group, also showed an increase in giving to the poor in 2005. Officials at Compassion believe that increase was in large part a response to the numerous natural disasters that occurred around the world. "The tsunami, hurricanes and earthquakes of the past 12 months appear to have had an effect on giving," said David Dahlin, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Compassion International. "We're grateful that Americans responded. But we also hope they realize that even when there are no natural disasters, there are still children in other countries in desperate need." United Nations' figures indicate that of the 2.2 billion children on the planet, 1 billion live in poverty and 300 million go to bed hungry every night. An estimated 30,000 children die every day because of malnutrition or disease. One of the most compelling trends in the poll was the generational difference that emerged. Overall, young adults ages 18-21 were most optimistic about the chances of individual Americans having an influence in the world. This group was more likely than were other generations to say that poverty in other countries can be addressed via the effort of individuals in America (50 percent). The percentage falls as the groups get older. "With the optimism expressed by American young people, we are hopeful that this is the beginning of a nationwide trend," Dahlin said. "Each individual, young or old, really can make a difference in the life of a child overseas." The survey also reveals that nearly 50 percent of church-goers have not heard a sermon on poverty in the past year. And 30 percent of people did not have an opportunity to serve the poor through their church. "Caring for the poor is not optional, according to the Bible. Now is the time for churches to come alongside their congregations, share God's mandate for the poor and provide opportunities for people to put their faith in action and serve the poor," said Dahlin. According to the poll, however, Americans are most likely to say that poor children overseas should be helped by their parents or their government, rather than by individuals in the U.S. Seventy-two percent of the respondents said governments of developing countries should take responsibility for the poor, while 64 percent said parents should be held accountable. "Many Americans don't realize the dire poverty that families face in developing countries," Dahlin said. "Parents who do everything they can for their children find that, in many cases, it just isn't enough." Compassion International is one of the nation's largest Christian child development organizations, working with more than 65 denominations and thousands of indigenous church partners in Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Since 1952, Compassion has touched the lives of more than a million children and has been recognized for its financial integrity with top ratings and recommendations by several "watchdog" organizations. For information about sponsoring a child, click on the Sponsor a Child link above or call (800) 336-7676, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., MST. Compassion International's ‘Water of Life’ Delivers Clean Water to More Than 200,000 Homes in 17 Developing Countries Compassion International Garners Highest Rating from Charity Navigator for 14th Consecutive Year Compassion International Reveals Progress in Haiti Recovery Efforts Five Years After Earthquake Money Raised by Compassion Staff to Benefit Local Youth At Risk The 7th Annual Rock & Worship Roadshow, Presented by Compassion International, Announces Official Tour Dates About Us Who We Are What We Do Financial Integrity Global Partner Offices Press Center About Compassion Press Releases Media Coverage Press Kits Media FAQ Multimedia Gallery Expert Resources Does Child Sponsorship Work? Archived News Releases For New Sponsors Compassion Magazine Global Ministry Center Tours Employment Opportunities Compassion FAQ Email a Friend

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1093

City hires new utilities director Covington has hired a new utility director to run its electric and gas systems, choosing a former Georgia Power employee, Tim J. Morris. Morris, a Loganville resident, was the lone applicant to both meet the position’s minimum requirements and have the experience working for a major power supplier – spending 13 years with Georgia Power – that city officials were seeking, according to Amanda Edge with the city’s human resources department. Morris will begin Feb. 3 and will take over for longtime utility director Bill Meecham, who announced his retirement in the summer after 20 years with the city. Meecham officially retired Jan. 1, Edge said. The job posting was first advertised in May, Edge said, and the city reviewed applications and resumes as they were received. In a press release, Edge said Morris "possesses the demeanor, character and prior experience" that city officials were seeking. Morris is currently a sales engineer in the Atlanta office of Whitehead and Associates, a company that specializes in helping manufacturers and other clients sell products in the electrical utility field. Among his duties was serving as a liaison between utility companies and manufacturers in the "development of custom or unique products." Morris also previously owned his own company, Nite Lite Designs, in which he designed "sports and area lighting electrical installations" and served as a consultant by bidding out electrical engineering design products. During his time with Georgia Power, Morris worked on multiple projects, including helping with the expansion of the company’s network to customers and later specializing in the company’s outdoor lighting program. Morris has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and is a certified electrical engineer. As utility director, Morris will be responsible for running the city’s electric and gas departments and systems; Covington buys electricity and gas wholesale and sells it directly to customers. Morris will be responsible for staffing, planning, overseeing projects, preparing budgets and overseeing the purchase of electricity and gas.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1096

It seems like everyone is flying this week, but ... Blog Entry: November 21, 2012 10:00 AM | Author: SCOTT SUTTELL If you're in the office today, you're probably eager to get out, so let's make this quick: There are some pretty remarkable numbers in this New York Times op-ed piece about the decline in the number of flights at many of the nation's airports.“Between 2007 and 2012, airlines cut the number of domestic passenger flights by 14 percent, according to the Department of Transportation — with the biggest drops occurring at midsize and smaller regional airports,” writes Clifford Winston, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution. “The five heartland hubs of Cincinnati, Cleveland, Memphis, Pittsburgh and St. Louis have lost a stunning 40 percent of their scheduled flights.”The reason?“Airlines have decided that the best way to earn a healthy return on their investment is to maintain tight discipline on capacity,” Mr. Winston writes. “That's a fancy way of saying they want their planes to fly as full as sardine cans. And the way they've been accomplishing this is by concentrating service on the big domestic and international markets and by cutting flights in smaller, less traveled ones.” Former GE CEO Jack Welch's Twitter paranoia about the “Chicago guys” cooking the jobs numbers has helped push him back into the national spotlight, with an upcoming cover story about his “unretirement” in Bloomberg Businessweek.Among the details in the long story: Mr. Welch and his mistress-turned-wife, Suzy, invested $2 million alongside online educational entrepreneur Michael Clifford in the Jack Welch Management Institute at Chancellor University in Cleveland.Mr. Clifford describes Jack and Suzy as “totally focused and totally passionate” about the startup. “Suzy was the ball bearing that made it happen,” he says.Mr. Welch ultimately “moved his institute to a larger, publicly traded for-profit college with a better reputation called Strayer University, in Herndon, Va.,” according to the story. “Strayer agreed to pay $7 million to Chancellor to buy the Jack Welch Management Institute, with 40 percent of the funds contributed by Welch. Strayer also entered a licensing agreement with Welch and agreed to pay him a royalty for use of the curriculum he and Suzy had designed.”The institute, which targets midlevel executives willing to pony up $30,960 for 12 courses leading to an executive MBA, has yet to turn a profit. Cleveland restaurateur/food truck entrepreneur Chris Hodgson is featured in this USA Today story in which social media made a material difference in people's lives.The newspaper notes that Mr. Hodgson was able to recover his stolen food truck last month when he put out a digital APB on Twitter."I sent out one tweet and said, 'Food truck thief, I'm gonna find you! If anyone sees the truck, please let us know.' Within about 30 minutes, we had one of our fans e-mail a picture of it and told us where he had seen it."Mr. Hodgson, 26, tells USA Today that his business has been able to boom because his more than 11,000 Twitter followers (spread over three accounts) are able to follow his food trucks wherever they go."In Cleveland, it wasn't a big foodie scene, there's not a lot of other trucks, and so there really was no way to spread the word about who we were other than Twitter and keep people posted on our location," he says. "Twitter became our lifeline to start our business and really, really I give Twitter and Facebook credit for launching our career into food trucks, and now we have seven restaurants and a catering company in just a very short amount of time." Looking to buy a cheap house? Youngstown's the place to go, according to this data set from CNNMoney.com, based on third-quarter figures from the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index.The index ranks U.S. metro areas based on a combination of low prices and competitive wages.Youngstown is ranked as the second-most affordable market, with a median home price of $82,000 and median income of $55,700 producing an estimated 92.9% of homes considered “affordable” for Youngstown residents.Only Ogden, Utah, ranks as a more affordable place to own a piece of the American dream. (Buying a home still is considered part of the American dream, right?) A book based on an exhibition at the Cleveland Museum of Art lands on this New York Times list of the best art books of 2012.“Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes” was produced in conjunction with a show of the same title running through Jan. 6 at the Cleveland museum. (It will travel to the Museum of Art/Fort Lauderdale in Florida and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth.)“Overseen by Susan E. Bergh, organizer of the exhibition and a curator at the Cleveland museum, this lavishly illustrated, often breathtakingly beautiful book pulls together essays by more than a dozen scholars,” The Times says. “Historical and geographical contexts are detailed, and there are essays covering architecture, religious deities and rituals, textiles and feather work, sculpture, and inlaid and metal ornaments. For a sense of the revelations in store, consider the full-page reproduction, on Page 144, of a Wari urn decorated with delicate and varied plant forms that presages American and European folk art motifs by several hundred years.” Let's go from high culture to low culture.When we write about Jim Brown here at Crain's, it's usually in the context of his complicated relationship with the Cleveland Browns.But some of us in the office are fans of older movies, so Mr. Brown isn't just a football player. He also had an eccentric movie career, and The Wall Street Journal notes that some of his crazier career choices are part of a new show, “William Lustig Presents: A Tribute to the Warner Archive,” at the Anthology Film Archives in New York.From The Journal:For raw action enthusiasts, there's also a mini-festival of blaxploitation hero Jim Brown's caper flicks, including "Dark of the Sun," "The Split" and "The Slams." And for a softer side of the former Cleveland Browns running back, "The Grasshopper" is a real change of pace. He's a pit stop in the free-spirited life of Christine (Jacqueline Bissett), an innocent young British Columbian who comes to California with dreams of love, only to wind up as a Las Vegas prostitute—although she doesn't seem all that upset about it. Because … hey, man, it's the '60s. The film is sprinkled with bids at social relevance (homosexuals, psychedelic rock bands, interracial marriage, pot smoking) and maudlin pop ballads.You also can follow me on Twitter for more news about business and Northeast Ohio.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1099

Updated Emergency manager OKs pay for Pontiac officials PONTIAC — Pontiac's state-appointed emergency manager has given the OK for the mayor and City Council to get paid again as the city prepares to take back control of its finances.Louis Schimmel announced the decision Wednesday, saying it's "in anticipation of my departure and the return to local control this summer."Compensation for the elected officials had been eliminated in 2009 after a financial emergency was declared and Pontiac's finances were taken over.Mayor Leon Jukowski will earn $100,000 a year and will receive health, dental and life insurance benefits. He previously was getting paid for work in Pontiac as a consultant.Council members will be paid $100 per regular meeting they attend, with a limit of $5,200 per year. They also can get $50 for each subcommittee meeting they attend.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1100

66-story tower a step closer to breaking ground Moinian Group is expected to file for permits to break ground on its West Side tower at 3 Hudson Blvd., just north of Hudson Yards. The developer will also move forward on two other parcels further north along 11th Avenue. By Joe Anuta August 11, 2014 1:11 p.m. Rendering of the lobby at Moinian's 3 Hudson Blvd. Photo: Neoscape Joe Moinian's 66-story tower in the Hudson Yards district is expected to move one step closer to breaking ground Monday, when the developer plans to file for permits to build the spire at 3 Hudson Blvd. After the permit is approved, which could take up to six months, the Moinian Group plans to begin its foundation work for the 1,050-foot-tall building, which is set to include retail, commercial and possibly luxury-residential space. It will rise on a full-block site bounded by West 34th and West 35th streets to the south and north, and 11th Avenue and Hudson Boulevard West."There are only a few freestanding buildings in the city," said Oskar Brecher, director of development at the firm. "It is a hugely efficient way to build, since we are surrounded by wide streets on all four sides, and will have terrific visibility and more light and air."The building is unusual in another aspect as well. Part of its foundation is shared with the new terminus of the No. 7 train, which is facing delays but will likely open next year. To finish the project, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is leasing the Moinian site from the firm until summer 2015. The two projects are so closely intertwined that the MTA built some of the foundation for the 1.8 million-square-foot 3 Hudson Blvd. The permit that the developer is filing this week will allow it to start building its portion of the concrete, below-grade structure alongside the public authority. The firm has decided it will be more efficient to simply hire the same contractor to do both parts, but that has not been finalized."It is safer, since we will not be building over an operating station, and it is cheaper for everybody," Mr. Brecher said, noting that the arrangement will also save the MTA from having to build a temporary structure over the station once it is up and running.Moinian hopes to have the foundation built up to grade by the fall of next year and to top out on building, designed by FXFOWLE Architects' Dan Kaplan, in 2018. In a bid to make it more energy efficient, the structure will twist slightly as it rises, so the top floors face north and south."That not only opens up views, light and air but allows us to have superior solar control," said Mr. Kaplan, who notes the property is designed to meet LEED Platinum standards. Aside from 3 Hudson Blvd., Moinian also plans to take action on two other parcels along 11th Avenue that, like 3 Hudson Blvd., he purchased during the last real estate cycle. Between West 25th and West 26th streets, the firm is planning a mixed-use building that will house condos, a hotel and retail. The company is also in talks with a museum to set up shop there. Between West 43rd and West 44th streets, Moinian will likely build an 80/20 rental building, with 20% of the floor area set aside for affordable apartments, though the plans are not set in stone. Moinian's 1,174-unit rental at 605 W. 42nd St. is currently rising at a rate of a floor every two days, and is set to top out in November. Metropolitan Transportation AuthorityArtsCommercial Real EstateTransportationReal EstateManhattanResidential Real Estate Regus and Brookfield kiss and make up Union Square foodies get focused Get Crain's Real Estate Daily (RED) Alert Sign up for our FREE daily Real Estate Alert email newsletter. The day's top commercial real estate news, transactions and executive moves. New LIC hotel Residential construction citywide jumps 50% Original Barneys bldg. to be sold Kingsbridge Armory ice center nets $30M infusion Upstart broker snags Corcoran team Business Lists New York City's Top 25 Hotels New York City's Top 25 Business Improvement Districts Top 25 NYC Commercial Property Managers New York Area's Top Women-Owned Businesses New York Area's 25 Largest Engineering Firms

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1125

The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made Walter Isaacson & Evan Thomas. This group portrait from the biographer of Steve Jobs and Henry Kissinger and the author of The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst and the Rush to Empire, 1898 considers the overlapping lives and ideals of six close friends of towering intellect and outsized personality, who shaped the international role America would play in the years following World War II. Averell Harriman was a freewheeling diplomat and Roosevelt's special envoy to Churchill and Stalin. As secretary of state, Dean Acheson was more responsible for the Truman Doctrine than was Truman, and was likewise responsible for the Marshall Plan. George Kennan cast himself as an outsider and intellectual darling of the Washington elite. Robert Lovett served as assistant secretary of war, undersecretary of state, and secretary of defense throughout the formative years of the Cold War. John McCloy became one of the nation's most influential private citizens. And Charles Bohlen was an adroit diplomat and ambassador to the Soviet Union."This extensive group portrait by two Time news editors trumpets the role of six policymakers ... in taking post-WWII America from isolationism to a recognition that the U.S. 'would have to assume the burden of a global role.' The irony is that, as elder statesmen, they sometimes warned against the interventionist momentum they had helped create, as this behind-the-scenes account makes clear.... History buffs will follow with interest the minor revelations that spill forth as the six advise presidents from F.D.R. to L.B.J."�Publishers Weekly

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1158

Shahnaz Mahmud KISS offers virtual seats to finale concert Share this article: KISS brought the finale concert of its “2010 Hottest Show on Earth” tour to the masses through a Facebook application, "Booyah's Nightclub City," as well as other online portals this month.I love when iconic bands from decades ago continue to tour. Over the past few years, I've seen great bands I didn't get a chance to while they were in their heyday — like The Police, Devo, The Cure and A-ha. I appreciate when bands gain a new generation of followers, while continuing to build on their loyal fan base. It's a testament to their endurance. Here, the concert was broadcast through the app — a music-centric social media game, in addition to CBS Radio rock station websites and via a live video stream on Ustream. This was a very interesting exercise in marketing. Three weeks leading up to the concert, KISS featured some of its greatest hits — classics like Rock and Roll All Nite — and offered in-game promotions.Facebook "likes" of the band's fan page increased 750% a day during that period, and the marketing helped generate a 16% week-over-week increase of daily active users on Nightclub City. No doubt that the in-concert experience is irreplaceable, but if you can't get there, digital has opened a virtual door — a most welcome development.I would have happily “rocked and rolled all nite” with the band had I known about the social media event. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any form without prior authorization.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1173

Home Page »News »Local News » Federal funds for Medicaid could add 12,000 Colorado jobs Federal funds for Medicaid could add 12,000 Colorado jobs Article Last Updated: Saturday, January 12, 2013 8:32pm Keywords: Medicaid, Healthcare policy, Print Courtesy of Stephen Swofford/Colorado Public News A proposal to expand Medicaid would add jobs in Colorado, including positions such as direct medical care, construction and computer support. A proposal to expand Medicaid to cover 160,000 more Coloradans will add about 12,000 jobs statewide, according to a rough estimate by economic development leader Tom Clark.In coming months, the legislature will be debating whether to accept the federal offer that expands government health insurance to the working class and poor, which is part of the federal Affordable Care Act. Gov. John Hickenlooper recently gave it his support and estimated it would bring $12.28 billion in federal money back to Colorado taxpayers over 10 years.Clark, CEO of Metro Denver Economic Development Corp., calculated the number of jobs created by such a large influx of cash. In a rough estimate with pen, lined paper and long division, Clark figured that half the money would go to jobs and half to buildings and equipment to provide health care to the newly insured people. Because the federal money is slated to continue, the jobs would as well.More than 12,000 permanent jobs would be a huge economic boost to the state. It amounts to one-quarter of all the jobs created in Colorado in the last year.The Medicaid expansion money, however, comes with strings attached. The federal money is nearly free to Colorado�s government in the first three years. Then the state share rises gradually to 10 percent in 2020. That could top $100 million a year, and that commitment has Republicans like state Sen. Kevin Lundberg of Berthoud planning to vote against it. He said he�s concerned the state will be stuck with a bill it can�t afford.Even so, the jobs created by the proposal �are a very attractive hook,� Lundberg said.If approved by the state legislature, the Medicaid expansion would provide health insurance to people earning up to about $15,000, or close to what a full-time worker makes at the minimum wage. The coverage would extend to families of four with incomes of up to $30,657.That could include people such as the Barber family of Montrose. Brandon Barber works 60 hours a week at a tire store to support his family of five. His wife, Tish, stays at home to raise three sons. The children qualify for Medicaid now, but the expansion might add their parents. Their family income is right on the edge of the limit, so it�s not certain.�Having medical insurance � I can�t even begin to describe what a relief that would be for me,� Tish Barber said. So far, she and her husband are in good health. But �my husband�s father died at a young age of a heart attack,� she said. So she knows she and her husband should be getting preventive care, to make sure they will stay healthy and be there to be parents to their children.Colorado estimates the state share of extending Medicaid to working families at $1.2 billion over 10 years. Hickenlooper said only a small part of that, $128 million, would fall on taxpayers of Colorado, and this could be covered by improvements in efficiency in the existing Medicaid program.Hickenlooper says the majority of the state share will be covered by other sources, including a fee already paid by hospitals. The Colorado Hospital Association has yet to agree to that. But hospitals stand to earn a large chunk of the billions of dollars in federal funds that would come into the state for medical care as a result of the proposed expansion. And CHA members already are paying about $500 million a year in fees used to match federal Medicaid funds.Hospitals expect the provider fee will cover some of that $1 billion, said spokeswoman Melissa Phillips, but �it�s too soon for us to say how much.� Discussions are continuing, she said.Advocates say Colorado should take the deal because its residents will be healthier if they have insurance. Opponents believe the government should not be paying for health insurance for more people.Clark said the cost of adding jobs with the Medicaid expansion is significantly more expensive than a typical economic development deal, where the state gives up tax breaks to entice a company to create jobs. But in this case, Coloradans pay the cost of caring for this group of currently uninsured people anyway, when they end up in hospital emergency rooms. The question is whether Coloradans want help from the federal government to pay for health-care services, he said. �That demand will not go away, just because we don�t want to take the federal money.�

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1193

Bridging the Gap dinner set Jan. 5 "Can you hear what we are saying?" is theme Carolyn Steeves MONROE — The 13th annual Bridging the Gap dinner will be held on Saturday, Jan. 5 at Monroe Country Club at 6:30 p.m. This year's theme is "Can you hear what we are saying?" It is open to all ages and free. Ella Hood, the event's organizer, thought of the theme when she was wondering how to reach out to youth. "Children are making a statement, not just verbally, but they are really making statements to us with their actions," Hood said. "It is now time that we really stop and listen. We should listen with our ears and we should listen with our eyes." There will be guest speakers including Mayor Bobby Kilgore, Attorney Tiffany Wilson, members of the Monroe Youth Council and others. The Youth Council was born out a Bridging the Gap dinner from a few years ago when a young person asked how they can effect change in their community. The event started small and has grown over the years. Hood started the event when she found herself praying on what she could do to bring the community together. "The words just came, 'Bridge the gap,'" she said. This year's theme seems more important now in light of the recent violence in Connecticut, Hood said. "I think we need to go back and reach back out and take our children," she said. "We have a problem in America, not just in America, but all over, we are not listening," Hood said. "We, as a people, we need to stop and start paying attention to our youth, to just people in general." Anyone is welcome to attend. The event is usually a full house. Hood advised people to come on an empty stomach, because there is always a lot of food, she said. Tweets by EnquirerJournal North Carolina is having trouble retaining its film industry. Many television shows and movies are choosing to film in neighboring states that offer better incentives. Should the General Assembly restore the film incentive program? Yes, but with stricter eligibility guidelines Yes and the historic rehabilitation tax credit, too © 2015 The Enquirer Journal 500 W. Jefferson St. , NC. 28112

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1201

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 pass EU’s top achievements in 2007 What are United Europe’s biggest successes? Cyprus and Malta begin 2008 – with the euro The arrival of 2008 has seen the adoption of the euro currency by the people of Cyprus. The… Iowa focus of US presidential election ahead of caucus vote In Iowa, USA, a caucus vote on Thursday will launch the state-by-state contest to pick a nominee… Anti-smoking grace periods in France and Germany New anti-smoking laws have come into effect in France and much of Germany, but in many places there… Hundreds dead amid warnings of civil war in Kenya More than 70 thousand people have now been forced to flee, as Kenya’s post-election violence… Global parties welcome in 2008 Revellers across the world have welcomed in 2008 with parties, pyrotechnics and plenty of good… Slovenia in EU hotseat The new year has brought a daunting new responsibility for Slovenia. It is now at the helm of the… Uncertainty in Pakistan as elections face delay Pakistan’s elections now look increasingly likely to be postponed. Despite all opposition parties… Kenya on the brink as critics claim election fraud An uneasy calm hung over Kenya’s townships today, as pressure mounts on President Mwai Kibaki for… Fireworks and fun as 2008 arrives in style 2008 continues its march around the world, with New York the latest city to celebrate its arrival… Malta and Cyprus celebrate adoption of the euro Leading by example, Malta’s prime minister has shown his eagerness to get to grips with the euro… Last minute hostage-hitch in Colombia A delicate operation to free three hostages held for years in the jungle by Colombian marxist… “Challenging” six months ahead for EU Presidency Slovenia has stepped into the spotlight. It will assume the EU’s rotating presidency for the next… From east to west the world greets 2008 Midnight in London and the unmistakeable sound of Big Ben launched the New Year’s party in the… Unrest piles pressure on Kenyan president With bloodshed continuing in Kenya, President Mwai Kibaki is coming under increasing international… Mediterranean island states join Eurozone Cyprus and Malta have formally adopted the euro, the last step to integration in the EU following… « 31 December 200702 January 2008 » euronews LIVE Podcast Business Guide Most Viewed

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1234

« Child's Play Halloween house becoming loc...» Council could vote on ‘zombie ordinance’ Special meeting Monday October 26, 2012 Save | Post a comment | During the March 26 Cape Coral City Council meeting, Councilmember Kevin McGrail took up sponsorship of an ordinance to bring the Community Redevelopment Agency under the umbrella of the City Council as a way to kill the proposal. McGrail said he did it so it wouldn't become "a zombie ordinance." McGrail helped killed the zombie that night as the board cast a unanimous vote to keep the CRA as is, or so he thought. Seven months later, however, with Halloween approaching, it's back. Or maybe it's a different zombie. City Council will hold a special meeting Monday at 3 p.m. to further discuss, and possibly even vote on, dissolving the CRA. But as time goes on, it appears members of council are starting to take a closer look at the ordinance, and not sure if dissolution is the way to go. McGrail, for one, questioned what he thought was City Manager John Szerlag's assertion this was an emergency. "The more I look, the less I see an emergency need," McGrail said. "We do need to look at overhead and doing business better, but to dissolve the board, I don't know if it's in our best interests." Councilmember Chris Chulakes-Leetz, who sponsored the original ordinance before withdrawing it (and McGrail taking it over) got a chuckle from the zombie reference. He was serious when it came to what he expected Monday. "With the current makeup of City Council, I anticipate nothing," Leetz said. "I always want to see what I'm dealing with." That's news to CRA chairman Rich Greer's ears, as he continues to contend there is no emergency as Szerlag insists. "I have more questions than answers. Nobody knows what's going on. There's an agenda on the city manager's part. I don't know what," Greer said. "Jumping into it doesn't work. They have no plan, explanation or discussion. I want to know what's going on." As for the "zombie" reference, McGrail explained the idea was for it to disappear, even though council had the right to reintroduce it. "I didn't want an ordinance to just hover. We moved into the stage of getting it ready for vote and I used it as a vote of confidence," McGrail said. "Now, it's not a personal or political issue, but financial unsustainability." McGrail said there still is a zombie in the house, one that potentially is looking at a long, slow death with the lack of TIF money coming in. "We have a zombie board. If all you do is pay expenses for five years and hold meetings," McGrail said. "They can't do anything. What's the sense of a board if it hangs on and expires." Greer said the CRA's troubles are nothing compared to the city's. "Cape Coral will be out of money in a few years, too. If you're out of money, who cares what CRA does," Greer said. "The council has a full plate with the UEP and it wants to take on downtown?" If the council decides it has enough information and votes to disband the current CRA and absorb the duties, it will then have to vote whether to allow Szerlag to become the director and to terminate the contracts of the current CRA. City Information Director Connie Barron said it's up to the council to decide how it wants to proceed. "We're keeping our options open to continue it to Nov. 5. They can vote as a majority to move it or ask for more information," Barron said. "They can choose not to appoint him as executive director." Szerlag was the director of the Downtown Development Agency, an equivalent of the CRA, while city manager of Troy, Mich. Early this month Szerlag informed the CRA of his plans to bring it under city control, citing fiscal unsustainability and a budget that he interpreted would cause the CRA to go broke by September. The CRA claims it can continue through 2017 with the funds it has, since it has only spent half or less of its budget the last several years. Save | Post a comment | Subscribe to Fort Myers Beach Bulletin, Fort Myers Beach Observer Fort Myers Beach Weather Forecast, FL

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1289

Vittorio Missoni, Italian fashion mogul, missing near Venezuela David Trifunov From left, Angela, Ottavio, Rosita, Vittorio and Luca Missoni attend the Missoni fashion show during Milan fashion week on September 25, 2011, in Italy. Specialized search equipment is now being used as Venezuelan authorities continue their search for a missing airplane that carried Italian fashion mogul Vittorio Missoni. Missoni, his wife, two friends and two crew members are missing after their airplane didn’t arrive as scheduled on Friday in Caracas after a holiday at Venezuela’s Los Roques resort, The Associated Press said. Citing reports from the Italian news agency ANSA, the AP said search crews have dispatched a naval vessel to search the ocean. The initial search on Friday yielded nothing. “We have no other news,” Missoni representative Paolo Marchetti said, according to the AP. The 58-year-old Missoni, brother Luca and sister Angela lead the Missoni fashion house. Luca has flown to Venezuela to gather more information, according to AFP. The Missoni brand is celebrating 60 years this year, having been founded in 1953 by Ottavio Missoni with his wife, Rosita. The couple is still involved, but leaves the day-to-day operations to their children. Los Roques is an archipelago of 350 islands renowned among tourists and scuba divers for turquoise waters and exotic species. The fashion house is worth nearly $80 million, The Telegraph reported. Exactly five years ago to the day, another airplane went missing in the same location. The craft, with 14 people on board – including eight Italians – was never found. More from GlobalPost: Venezuela on verge of crisis because of Chavez's health

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1302

July 19, 2014 08:05 AM July 19, 2014 08:05 AM DALLAS (AP) � As thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children have poured into South Texas, community leaders from Dallas to Los Angeles to Syracuse, N.Y., have offered to set up temporary shelters to relieve the Army bases, holding cells and converted warehouses at the border.The outreach offers stand in sharp contrast to other places around the country, where some protested having immigrants from Central America come to their towns while the nation's leaders attempt to find solutions to the issue.In Dallas County, Judge Clay Jenkins has offered three county buildings that could hold as many as 2,000 migrants at one time."These are just like your and my children, except that they're scared and they're dirty and they're tired and they're terrified," Jenkins said. "We can take some pressure off those border troops and let them get out of the childcare business and back into the border security business."More than 57,000 unaccompanied children have been apprehended since October, the Border Patrol says. Three-fourths of them are from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, and say they are fleeing pervasive gang violence and crushing poverty. By the time they have reached South Texas, they have survived a treacherous journey through drug-war-torn Mexico.President Obama has asked Congress to authorize $3.7 billion in emergency spending to increase enforcement at the border, build more facilities to temporarily house the unaccompanied minors, and beef up legal aid. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest has said the government will entitle due process but will not guarantee a "welcome to this country with open arms."In the meantime, from California to Massachusetts, communities are offering to build or rehab facilities to take in child migrants until they connect with relatives, plea asylum cases or enter into foster care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for ensuring one of those three outcomes before it deports any minor.Demonstrators in Murrieta, California, made national headlines for their strong opposition to the child migrants. But while protesters frustrated efforts to process immigrant families there, other California communities have been encouraging agencies to build shelters and start programs to assist unaccompanied children caught crossing the border.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has been working with federal officials and local nonprofits to try to provide shelter and legal representation for the children, noting that many are likely planning to reunite with their parents. In San Francisco, county officials are also looking at ways to help provide medical, mental health, educational and legal services once the children are released from federal custody.Thousands of miles from where the children are entering the country, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said Friday that HHS officials will review Camp Edwards military base on Cape Cod and Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee to see if either is suitable for holding as many as 1,000 children.And Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner wrote in a letter to Obama that her city would "welcome the opportunity to provide shelter" as part of a loose network of U.S. cities that have traditionally taken in and resettled refugees."We're not telling the political leaders how they long-term resolve the crisis," said Rich Eychaner, the founder and director of an eponymous nonprofit aiming to find foster homes in Iowa for 1,000 migrant children. "We're simply saying there are a lot of resources, there are a lot of big hearts, there are a lot of big homes in Iowa, and we have space, and we have the capacity to do this."In other communities, however, leaders are showing their opposition by passing ordinances and sponsoring legislation. In Michigan, Maryland and Murrieta, California, protesters have used demonstrations and graffiti to make their point.South of Houston, the town of League City passed a resolution refusing any request � should one ever come from the federal government � to set up detention or processing centers there, citing "health concerns."A group of Southeast Texas mayors said they support a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Peter Olson that would give local communities 90 days to assess any federal request to house unaccompanied children who have illegally crossed into the U.S. A congressman from Nebraska introduced similar legislation.Federal law will likely pre-empt these efforts, but they remain a forceful expression of hostility toward the idea of temporary shelter for the migrants. Americans for Legal Immigration, a political action committee classified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, has helped organize nearly 300 demonstrations for this weekend.Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has said offering shelter sends a false signal that people who enter the country illegally are welcome.Back in Dallas County, Jenkins' proposal has elicited hundreds of critical voice messages and emails. Gina Perkins of Grand Prairie, Texas, left a message protesting the use of a vacant school building as a shelter."I vehemently oppose providing anything but a ticket home to these illegals," she said.___Associated Press writers Barbara Rodriguez in Des Moines, Iowa; Margery Beck in Omaha, Nebraska; and Amy Taxin in Tustin, California, contributed to this report.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1359

Published: Friday, July 5, 2013, 8:22 p.m. JUMP TO COMMENTS 39 hurt as fireworks fire into crowd (video) Associated Press SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — When a July Fourth fireworks display exploded and sent red and white bursts into spectators at a Southern California park, Paulina Mulkern saw shrapnel headed straight for her 4-year-old cousin. Mulkern pushed the girl under a lawn chair, and then shielded her 7-year-old cousin with her body as scorching debris flew overhead. "You feel the big old heat come right over your back," she said Friday, still shaking as she recounted the explosion the night before that left her hospitalized with bruises and red marks on her back. Thirty-nine people were injured as many in the crowd of thousands fled for safety. The victims, from 17 months to 78 years old, had burns and shrapnel wounds, and some were trampled, authorities and hospital officials said. The injured included 12 children. Only three remained hospitalized Friday night. Mulkern said she went into shock after being hit by a flying piece of debris, trembling badly as she was carried to a road where rescuers stripped off most of her clothes and wrapped her in a blanket. "I was really terrified. Every time someone launched a firework it got me into panic mode and they just told me, ignore the sounds around you and concentrate on your breathing," she recalled. Police in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles, said it appeared a firework exploded prematurely in its mortar, knocking over others and aiming them across the field. Fire investigators, however, said later they had not yet determined a cause. Police based their initial statement on the accounts of witnesses, who said a rack of fireworks fell over, said Ventura County Fire Capt. Mike Lindberry. Among other key questions investigators were trying to answer was whether the pyrotechnics display was set far enough away from spectators, and even if all the rules were followed, whether those guidelines needed to be revised so that the public is kept farther back from launch sites. Regulations require crowds be kept 70 feet away for every inch of diameter of the largest shell. By those standards, spectators should have been at least 350 feet away from the show put on by Bethpage, N.Y.-based Bay Fireworks, said Ventura County Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike LaPlant. The distance of spectators from the show will be one of many factors considered by investigators. "The distances were either at or beyond the normal distances, the prescribed distances, for that sized shell," he said. The company said it regretted that spectators were injured and that it planned to publicly release the results of a thorough investigation. Of the victims, all but three had been treated and released by late Friday, hospital officials said. One patient was being treated by specialists at Grossman Burn Center and two other adults remained hospitalized in fair condition, said Kim Milstein, chief executive of Simi Valley Hospital. Although fireworks accidents at professional shows are rare, they are not unheard of. The blast in Simi Valley was itself among several mishaps nationwide Thursday, including errant explosions injuring workers at shows in nearby Ojai, as well as North Myrtle Beach, S.C., and a fireworks barge that caught fire in a Montana lake at the start of the grand finale. In 2008, fireworks shells exploded on the ground and another one launched into the crowd, injuring five people at an event that also involved Bay Fireworks, said Julie L. Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, a fireworks trade group. The accident will undoubtedly prompt members of the National Fire Protection Association, which develops the codes that guide the industry, to evaluate whether changes are needed, she added. "For spectators, this is incredibly rare," Heckman said. "This is just one that is going to stop everybody in their tracks and say, 'We've got to the figure out what happened.'" Bay Fireworks is licensed by the state and had no violations on their record and the show did not require a state fire marshal permit, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The state could cite the company after reviewing the results of the investigation by Ventura County, which issued the permit for the event. Cellphone videos captured a frantic scene in Simi Valley. Fireworks exploded in spheres of sparks close to the ground, and smoke enveloped the park grounds. People screamed and ran as one man could be heard mistakenly shouting that someone was shooting. Colette Schmidt was watching with guests at her home across the street when it became clear something went terribly wrong. After a few fireworks lofted perfectly in the sky, there was a big explosion on the ground and a volley of blasts. One landed and left a crater across from her home, then bounced twice and shot over nearby trees, exploding in a puff of reddish-purple smoke, said Schmidt's daughter, Alessi Smith. The family herded their guests inside and drew the blinds as sparks and embers rained down. "It was terrible but we were so blessed because we had 150 people here and not one single spark hit our house," she said. A bomb squad was sent to the park to help deactivate the remaining 60 percent of fireworks that weren't launched. On Friday morning, blackened debris from the explosion littered the ground. Huge chunks of shrapnel were still scattered across the park and the boxes the mortars had been sitting in were left in the middle of a green field. Authorities said investigators planned to examine the debris and fly over the scene to photograph it. The annual July Fourth celebration has been sponsored by the city and the local Rotary Club since 1970. The mishap came a year after a fireworks show in San Diego exploded in about 20 seconds and sent multiple bulb-shaped explosions over the bay because of an error in the computer system that sets off the pyrotechnics. No one was injured. That show was not produced by Bay Fireworks. Heckman, with the fireworks trade group, said that while the investigation has not yet revealed the cause of the Simi Valley blast, she believes it was probably a product malfunction. The industry takes such incidents seriously, especially when they involve spectators. She noted that Bay Fireworks has been in business for a long time and has done significant productions. The company website says it has produced events for NASA, Walt Disney World and Legoland. "This incident is a dark cloud over the entire industry," she said. "We don't take it lightly."

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1374

Home » HS News » Latino Daily News » U.S., Cuba Hold New Round of Migration Talks Thursday July 10, 2014 U.S., Cuba Hold New Round of Migration Talks Published at 6:01 am EST, July 10, 2014 Photo: USA and Cuba Click Here to Enlarge Photo The United States and Cuba on Wednesday are holding here a new round of talks aimed at preventing illegal migration and facilitating regular migration flows. The encounter in Washington is the third round since the dialogue resumed in July 2013 after a hiatus of 2 1/2 years. “The scheduled talks do not represent a change in U.S. policy toward Cuba and are of a routine nature,” a State Department official told Efe, speaking on condition of anonymity. Just as in the last meeting, the Cuban delegation is headed by the director of the foreign ministry’s U.S. desk, Josefina Vidal, while Assistant Secretary of State Edward Alex Lee is representing Washington. The basis for bilateral migration dialogue has its roots in the 1994 and 1995 agreements, whereby the United States and Cuba committed themselves to keep immigration “safe, legal and orderly” and to regularly review the implementation of those pacts. Estimates are that of the two million Cubans living abroad, 1.5 million reside in the United States. In the earlier rounds of the dialogue, the United States took advantage of the talks to ask for the release of U.S. contractor Alan Gross, who in 2009 was sentenced to 15 years in prison on the island for “subversive activities” against the Cuban state. It is anticipated that the U.S. delegation will raise the Gross case on this occasion, too, along with “the poor state of human rights in Cuba,” the State Department official said. For its part, Cuba regularly uses the talks to ask Washington to put an end to its so-called “wet foot, dry foot” policy establishing that Cubans who manage to make it to dry land in the United States may remain in the country while those intercepted offshore are returned to the communist island. In 1994, the United States and Cuba reached a migration accord after a wave of rafters left Cuba and U.S. patrols intercepted at sea more than 30,000 Cubans fleeing their country on homemade rafts and trying to make it to Florida. Print Page Prev Entry:Spanish Firms to Build Wind Farm in Honduras Next Entry:Results of Mexico’s Fight Against Obesity, Diabetes to be Presented at U.N. There are no tags for this entry. There are no related articles for this entry.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1402

Ontario Budget 2012: NDP Wants $250 Million Job Tax Credit In Exchange For Support CP | By Keith Leslie, The Canadian Press Posted: 04/10/2012 10:36 am EDT Updated: 06/10/2012 5:12 am EDT The Ontario NDP have made their final demands in that province's budget talks. | Share TORONTO - The NDP's list of demands in exchange for supporting the Liberal budget — and avoiding another Ontario election — was dismissed Tuesday as a "spending spree" by the cash-strapped minority government.Voters did not give any party a majority last October and don't want to be forced back to the polls because politicians couldn't get a budget passed in a minority parliament, warned NDP Leader Andrea Horwath as she unveiled her final demands."What they want to see now is the Liberal government, in its minority, to make some compromises to make sure that the budget is acceptable by at least one of the other political parties," she said. Horwath added a $250-million job creation tax credit and help for the horse racing and tourism sectors to her list of demands, which for the most part amounts to a beefed-up version of the NDP's campaign platform from last fall.Last week, Horwath called for a new tax on people making over $500,000 and said the eight per cent provincial portion of the HST should be removed from home heating bills.She also wants the Liberals to keep Ontario Northland in public hands after they used the budget to announce the province could no longer afford to subsidize passenger train service, a move the NDP says will cost 1,000 jobs."The government brought forward a budget that had no job creation at all in it, and in fact really killed a lot of jobs in a couple of different areas, (and) that was a concern for us," said Horwath."We want to see more fairness in the budget."Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid said the Liberals want the Ministry of Finance to review the NDP's ideas before reacting, but made it clear eliminating the $15.2-billion deficit by 2017-18 remains the government's top priority."What we're seeing from the NDP here looks like a bit of a spending spree," said Duguid."It's questionable as to whether it's costed out properly or not. We'll have to let Finance look at the numbers to determine exactly how much damage this does in terms of our efforts to balance the budget."Speaking in Windsor on Tuesday, Premier Dalton McGuinty rejected the NDP's call to help the horse racing industry and keep Ontario Northland public, and added none of the other NDP ideas focused on how the government could save money."We would have appreciated receiving some suggestions as to how we might further reduce our expenditures," said McGuinty."It’s always easy to spend more. It’s so much harder to spend less."McGuinty again lashed out at the Progressive Conservatives for vowing to vote against the budget, which means the Liberals need at least two NDP votes or the minority government will be defeated."From the get-go the PCs said they’re not interested in (working together) and have not submitted a single, responsible proposal for us to consider," he said."Their interest is personal and political. They'd like to cause an expensive, unnecessary election."The Tories say they have put forward ideas such as cutting corporate taxes, reforming the apprenticeship system and scrapping subsidies for wind and solar power projects, and accused the Liberals of trying to arrange another election so they can win a majority government."It seems like they protest a little bit too much on that issue," said deputy PC leader Christine Elliott."They seem to be out there on the campaign trail, kissing babies and talking about how much they don’t want an election. That usually signals that they do."The NDP are "not drawing any lines in the sand," said Horwath, and want to keep negotiating with the Liberals to get agree on a budget they can support and avoid defeating the minority government."I am prepared to have a conversation with the government about how they can take these proposals and make them work, and put them in the budget, either as-is, or I’m open to a conversation about how we can achieve some of these things if they’re not prepared to do them as-is," she said."But I have to say we’re pretty firm on the fact that these are areas this budget needs to be repaired on." Earlier on HuffPost: What's In The Ontario Budget 2012 of The 2012 Ontario budget freezes pay for doctors, and extends a pay freeze for health care executives. The province will begin means-testing seniors' prescription drugs, paid for under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, effectively meaning that the 5 per cent wealthiest seniors covered by the plan will have to pay more into the plan. Seniors with incomes over $100,000 and senior couples with combined incomes above $160,000 will be affected. Increases in health care spending will be capped at 2.1 per cent per year. The budget freezes pay for teachers. A pay freeze for educational executives, already in place, will be extended. School boards in low-population areas will be amalgamated, and "under-utilized" schools will be shut. Student transportation will be cut by $34 million. The province will begin means-testing seniors' prescription drugs, paid for under the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, effectively meaning that the 5 per cent wealthiest seniors covered by the plan will have to pay more into the plan. Seniors with incomes over $100,000 and senior couples with combined incomes above $160,000 will be affected. Welfare rates will be frozen and planned increases to the Ontario Child Benefit will be delayed. There are no tax hikes in the 2012 Ontario budget, but it does freeze the corporate tax rate at 11.5 per cent, foregoing planned reductions in the tax rate to 10 per cent. The freeze is expected to save $1.5 billion over three years. Ontario will cap the 10 per cent hydro bill rebate at 3,000 kilowatt-hours, a limit high enough that most homes won't be affected, but businesses could be. Reducing the tax credit will save $470 million over three years. On top of the four jails the province already plans to close, the budget adds two more to the closure list -- one in Brantford and one in Chatham. Overtime for jail guards and the Ontario Provincial Police will be reduced. Ontario plans to reduce spending on business support programs by $250 million by merging a number of different programs. The province aims to increase revenue by increasing the number of gambling facilities. [Details to come] Ontario Budget 2012 NDP Ontario Budget NDP Demands Ontario Budget Ontario Liberals Ontario NDP NDP Job Tax Credit Ontario budget 2012: McGuinty sends 'caution' signal to NDP Ontario budget 2012: Public servants hit with wage freeze Ontario Budget 2012: NDP Wants New Tax For Income Over $500000 Ontario Budget: New Poll suggest way out of Impasse FOLLOW HUFFPOST

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1403

Saskatchewan advocate says rehab mom, kids not treated fairly by child welfare CP | By The Canadian Press Posted: 12/12/2012 12:51 pm EST Updated: 02/11/2013 5:12 am EST Share SASKATOON - Saskatchewan's children's advocate says two kids and their rehabilitated mother were not treated fairly by child welfare officials.Bob Pringle said Wednesday it was correct for Social Services to take the boy and girl from their mother, who was a drug addict and prostitute. Pringle also said ministry staff initially took the right steps to reunite the family by working with the mom to help her get better.But those efforts stopped when the ministry sought permanent wardship of the children in 2008 — even though policy says it should have continued. That was unfair to both the mother and her children, Pringle suggested."We believe the decision to not provide concurrent planning and continue to work co-operatively with (the mother) may well have affected the bond between the children and their mother," he said in a report released Wednesday.Pringle said once the relationship between child welfare workers and the mother dissolved, "adversarial positions became entrenched."That led to fewer supervised family visits — even though they were court ordered — and a lack of consideration of the parent's progress or options other than permanent wardship for the children, he said.The advocate's report noted that the mother turned her life around.In April 2009, she told the ministry that she was addressing her health needs. She got her own home and completed two addiction treatment programs."This information was not assessed as progress ... and was not given due consideration in reducing the assessed risk," said Pringle.The report said Social Services could have withdrawn the application for the permanent wardship and that the decision not to do so — with evidence of progress made by their mother — "was substantively unfair to the children.""(The mother) and her children experienced shortcomings in administrative fairness. This needs to be acknowledged," wrote Pringle."To help this family move forward, we would like to see optimal, not average, supports put in place. Their road will not be easy, and every effort should be made to help this family succeed."Pringle launched a rare administrative fairness investigation into the case in January after a court decision garnered media attention.Last fall, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Geoffrey Dufour scolded provincial child welfare for ignoring court orders to arrange regular visits between the children and their mother.Dufour said he was impressed with the young woman's remarkable turnaround from a prostitute and addict to a healthy and devoted mother. He ordered the children be returned to her.The judge was not as impressed by social workers. He issued an ultimatum: explain your blatant disregard for the courts or face further action, such as criminal charges of contempt of court.The government said in February that a provincewide review was underway to ensure compliance on all court orders. Ministry officials also said annual department audits would start to include a review of whether court orders were followed. Staff training was to emphasize that.The advocate made five recommendations to the ministry, including two to review staff compliance with existing policies.Social Services Minister June Draude said the government accepts the recommendations."We really regret that there were issues. I don't like the fact that the family was taken away from its mother, but at the same time I really believe that the social workers worked in what they believed was the best interest (of the children)," said Draude.She said the ministry has learned from the experience. There are new protocols and systems in place to try to prevent something similar from happening again."I can't ever say the word 'never,' but I can say that our goal is to ensure that we minimize (it). We don't want it to happen," she said."We want to be supporting families and keeping children safe."— By Jennifer Graham in Regina

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1445

Well known Irish-American, Pat Troy, originally from Co. Offaly Irish radio host recalls President Reagan's visit to his Virginia bar HILDA HIGGINS An Irish immigrant, who hosts his own radio show, has recalled the day President Reagan walked into his Irish pub in Old Town Alexandria. Well known Irish-American, Pat Troy, originally from Co. Offaly, is the owner of Ireland's Own pub in Alexandria, Virgina. Despite playing host to well known figures such as Charlton Heston, the Kennedys, and Pope Benedict XVI over the decades, he says one of his most memorable occasions was the the day President Reagan walked into his bar in 1988.“He had the corned beef and cabbage. He asked me what was a good beer. I didn’t want to give him Guinness. I said Harp, because it’s easy,” he told the Washington Times. One of three brothers, Troy finished school aged 13 to take a job as a farm hand. Read More:Cardinal Francis George: gays are the new KKKIrish continue to flock to US immigration figures showNew Irish famine data shows the horrific scale of the devastation of the Great Hunger ____________________“I didn’t like school. If you didn’t know it, you didn’t know it,” Troy told the Washington Times.“I did everything on the farm. It was hard work, but I was proud of bringing home a few shillings.”Speaking about why he immigrated to the U.S. in the summer of 1962, he said, “I was 21. I made my own decisions, I wanted to come over here, as all immigrants do and send money back to your mother.”He says that the day he became a US citizen in 1967 was one of the most memorable days of his life. “When that woman handed me my first American flag … that was a great feeling for me.”Troy hosts “Pat Troy’s Irish Radio Show” which can be heard at 11 a.m. Sundays on WUST 1120-AM.He recently launched his new book “I Have a Story to Tell”, which chronicles his adventures as an Irish immigrant in the U.S.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1457

This week in Island history Compiled by Sue Maden Week of May 31 The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 100 years ago from the Newport Daily News came from the collection of the Newport Historical Society. 100 years ago From the Newport Daily News, May 28, 1907 (At the Town Council meeting) W.A. Barber was elected appraiser of damage by dogs, in place of W. H. Severance, resigned. Bids for watering of the streets were opened, the contract being awarded to G. W. Peckham, Jr., the lowest bidder. … The contract for street lighting was given to Robert Sherman, the only bidder, at $48 per month. The contract for street lighting at Conanicut Park was given to Wanton Harvey at $12 per month. The season, as far as Jamestown is concerned, can be said to have opened this morning with every indication of a busy summer. The largest number of summer visitors to arrive at one time arrived this morning, more than 40 coming on one trip of the ferry, among them being several families who are to spend their first season here. From the Newport Daily News, June 1, 1907 The Providence Telephone Company has a force of men at work making the necessary changes to install the local central office in the Gardner House. The servants have arrived at the Pruyn cottage on Greene Lane, to get it in readiness for the family. 75 years ago From the Newport Daily News, May 28, 1932 The Conanicut Golf and Country Club opened Friday for the season with Mr. Murray as professional. The tea room, as for several seasons past, will be under the management of Mrs. Marie Brazil. The Seaside Y.W.C.A. (camp) at Conanicut Park was opened for the weekend with 25 young girls enjoying the holiday. From the Newport Daily News, May 31, 1932 Seldom has there been a more impressive sight on the east shore of Jamestown than that witnessed on Memoberthing rial Day, when the different organizations of the town gathered there facing the water of the bay, with a background of green, and the red maple and purple catalpa trees, which now adorn Shoreby Hill, showing just a glimpse of many of the pretty houses on Shoreby Hill. From the Newport Daily News, June 2, 1932 The Boy Scouts hiked to Potter's Point Tuesday evening, and after holding a short business meeting, enjoyed a baseball game. 50 years ago From the Newport Daily News, May 28, 1957 A new hurdle loomed today for the Commerce Oil Refining Corp's proposal to erect a $45,000,000 refinery in Jamestown. The refinery's certificate of necessity, issued by the Office of Defense Mobilization for a six-month period has expired. It must be renewed if the refinery construction is to proceed. The Jamestown Town Council wants to know if torpedo testing in the bay endangers the Jamestown-Newport ferry. And it is going to ask the Navy for the answer. The newly appointed Jamestown Recreation Commission appearing before the Town Council last night asked that its duties be clarified. It discussed the program it already has developed for town recreation this summer. From the Newport Daily News, May 29, 1957 The Army Engineers will hold a public hearing … June 12 … in the Jamestown Recreation Center on the application of the Commerce Oil Corp. for permission to build a pier off Jamestown. From the Newport Daily News, May 31, 1957 Jamestown joined other communities in the state and nation yesterday in honoring its war dead. 25 years ago From the Newport Daily News, May 27, 1982 Voters approved a 140-foot extension to the town's wooden pier at East Ferry at a special financial town meeting Wednesday night. The voters set a limit of $45,000 that could be spent on the project. From the Newport Daily News, May 28, 1982 The owner of Mr. Pipes restaurant on Eldred Avenue has lost his appeal of a town decision denying him a beerwine license. Retired Army Col. Peter Drury, a Jamestown native, will be the marshal of the annual Memorial Day parade Monday. The parade will begin to the tunes of Rogers High School Band led by Theodore Durgin at 10 a.m. in front of the Jamestown School on Watson Avenue where the units will organize. 15 years ago From the Jamestown Press, May 29, 1992 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved the state's cross-island bridge connector road plans and issued a wetlands permit. The Jamestown's School Committee last week adopted a 1992/93 school year calendar that starts classes on Sept. 2, five days before Labor Day. 10 years ago From the Jamestown Press, May 29, 1997 The most beautiful weather of the year Monday set the tone for the moving dedication of the new Veterans Memorial Square at East Ferry. With a bay full of sails and clear blue sky at his back, Committee Chairman Ed Connelly said that he could sum up his feelings about the ceremony in one word, "Wow!" The new memorial has eleven individual stone markers, each representing a different war. Return to top

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1475

Copyright 2015 FOX 47 News Follow FOX 47 News Celine Dion cancels shows in Las Vegas, Asian tour By Joyce Lupiani. CREATED Aug 13, 2014 Celine Dion announced Wednesday morning that she is canceling her shows on the Las Vegas Strip through March 2015 and her planned fall tour of Asia. The 46-year-old singer decided to postpone all performances in order to focus 100 percent of her attention on her husband Rene Angelil, their three children, and her own health issues. Angelil, 72, had surgery in December 2013 to remove a "cancerous tumor" in his throat. Dion has also been fighting an illness that caused inflammation in her throat muscles, and she has not been able to perform any of her scheduled shows in Las Vegas since July 29. Dion released a statement saying: "I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband's healing, and to do so, it's important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children. I also want to apologize to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support. I also appreciate the understanding of my long-term partners AEG and Caesars Entertainment during this difficult time.” Dion also said that her family has had a very difficult and stressful time since her husband's surgery. Her show, titled "Celine," is presented in The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. She first began performing at Caesars Palace in 2003. Her first residency ended in December 2007. Dion and Angelil, whom she met when he became her manager in 1980, were married in 2010. Dion returned to Caesars Palace in 2011. All performances are canceled through March 22, 2015. Tickets purchased with a credit card will be refunded to the credit card used for the purchase and anyone who paid cash for tickets may present the tickets at the original point of sale for a refund. Joyce Lupiani Joyce Lupiani, who is based in Las Vegas at KTNV-TV Channel 13, is a contributor to NowTrending.com. Latest Stories by Joyce » Latest Now Trending Lansing, MI Services for Leoni Township Teen Sunday, Tuesday Rain and Snow for Sunday UPDATE: Missing Girl Found FoxFCC Public File Copyright 2015 FOX 47 News

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1481

Controlling Flood Waters in Austin Created: 07/10/2014 5:30 PM KAALtv.com By: Dan Conradt (ABC 6 NEWS) -- It's one of the most visible parts of Austin's ongoing flood control efforts, and the hope is that it will one day keep Main Street dry when the water levels go up. “Work right now is focusing on finishing up the concrete flood wall," Austin city engineer Steven Lang told ABC6. The flood wall runs along the east side of North Main Street, between the roadway and the mill pond. Piers will hold removable panels that would be inserted during periods of high water to make the wall even higher. "When that is complete here in the next couple of weeks they will be finishing up the storm sewer construction, and then they will start building the road back up," city engineer Steven Lang explained. The project also involved raising the elevation of a stretch of North Main Street by two feet. "We're looking at November for having the road completed and back open to traffic," Lang told us. “There's been some delay in the work due to the high water event we had three weeks ago. If we continue to get more rain and more wet weather it could easily be delayed, but right now I would say we're sitting pretty good on the schedule." This part of Austin's flood control project carries a 14-and-a-half million dollar price tag. It'll be funded through a combination of state and federal grant money, and a local option sales tax. "I anticipate there will be some work that carries over into the spring. Some of that restoration, sodding will carry over into the spring of 2015," Lang said. ABC 6 News

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1485

Church of England votes in favor of women bishops By MATTHEW KNIGHT, Associated Press Published: Jul 14, 2014 at 11:07 AM MDT Last Updated: Jul 14, 2014 at 11:07 AM MDT The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, second right, and unidentified members of the clergy, arrive for the General Synod meeting, at The University of York, in York England, Monday July 14, 2014. LONDON (AP) - The Church of England voted Monday to allow women to enter its top ranks as bishops after years of bitter debates which at times threatened the stature of the state church in British society.The church's national assembly, known as the General Synod, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the historic measure, reaching the required two-thirds majority in each of its three different houses. In total, 351 members of the three houses approved of the move, which had the support of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Prime Minister David Cameron. Only 72 voted against and 10 abstained.Speaking before the vote in York in northern England, Bishop of Gloucester Michael Perham said "the ministry of women priests is a vital, deeply valued and transformative part of the life of the Church of England and for our mission in the nation."He said the whole church had been disabled by the arguments over the issue.The vote comes two years after similar legislation narrowly failed to reach the two-thirds majority, despite the approval from bishops and clergy.After that vote failed, the church worked to build trust with its lay members, and make the legislation more acceptable to opponents while keeping the principal of allowing women bishops.The General Synod ruled in 1975 there was no fundamental objection to women becoming priests, but it took nearly two decades for the first women to be ordained.Things are likely to move faster for aspiring female bishops. Archbishop Welby told the BBC he expects the first woman bishop in the Church of England by next year.The Church of England is part of the global Anglican Communion with its 44 self-governing churches in more than 160 countries. The Episcopal Church in the Unites States was the first member to have a woman bishop and is now led by a woman.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1509

Farm pond searched in Oregon man's decapitation By JEFF BARNARD, Associated Press Published: Nov 15, 2012 at 10:44 AM PDT Oregon Decapitation ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — Police divers are back in a murky farm pond in Southern Oregon after investigators got a major tip in the year-old slaying of a young grocery clerk who was nearly decapitated while walking home from work on a popular bike path. Ashland police Chief Terry Holderness said Thursday the divers were using metal detectors to probe the bottom of the one-acre pond on a rural property on the outskirts of the neighboring town of Talent. "We're not at the end of this," he said of the investigation. Over the past year, police have interviewed nearly 2,000 people and sent several swords, machetes and knives to the state police crime lab for analysis without finding the weapon used to kill 23-year-old David Grubb. Holderness said that despite the recent tip and renewed searches, authorities do not have a solid suspect. About 50 people, including police from neighboring cities and counties, joined in the searches that started Wednesday. While six divers probed the irrigation pond, others using dogs and metal detectors poked through fields, blackberry patches, old barns and sheds, junk piles and a home on the 18-acre Talent property. An FBI serial killer specialist was on hand, Holderness said. "Just because we are doing search warrants doesn't mean the people who own the houses are involved in the case," Holderness said. "It just means there might be some evidence in the case at those properties." Holderness said they got the tip about a month ago, and in that time developed enough information to ask a judge for three search warrants. Police have previously executed six other warrants in the case without making an arrest. In Ashland, half a dozen officers seized a vehicle and searched an apartment a few blocks from where Grubbs was killed. It's part of the family student housing complex for Southern Oregon University. Leonard Parrish, the owner with his wife of the Talent property, told the Ashland Daily Tidings he had no idea what was going on with the search. The newspaper also reported that a vehicle registered to a woman living at the Ashland apartment was at one time registered at the Talent address. Grubbs grew up in Ashland. He played in his high school orchestra and worked at a local grocery store. He had been walking home on a bike path past a park and an elementary school at dusk on Nov. 19, 2011, when he was killed, authorities say. Two passersby found him lying on the ground with horrible wounds to his head and neck. Police have said no one witnessed the attack, and have spent the past year largely in frustration. If the tip leads to an arrest, it would qualify for the reward, which has grown to $21,000 with contributions from the city and individuals, Holderness said.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1516

Your Community Local News Sports Calendar Real Estate Lifestyles Ads and Extras CU photos Contact Us Local News « Town of Jay, Essex Co. seek... LP School Board says good-by...» Jay gets funds for water infrastructure repairs CHRIS MORRIS Save | The town of Jay has received some much-needed financial support as it continues to rebuild infrastructure damaged by Tropical Storm Irene last year. On June 26, U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand teamed up with Rep. Bill Owens to announce that the federal Department of Agriculture has awarded the town of Jay $150,000 in rural development funds. The money will be used to repair the AuSable Forks Water System, according to the three lawmakers. "Senator Schumer, Congressman Owens and Senator Gillibrand should be applauded for their accomplishment in securing funds to lessen the burden on the Au Sable Forks Water District taxpayers," Jay town Supervisor Randy Douglas said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to lobby for other state and federal funding opportunities to alleviate the overall financial condition Irene left us in," he added. The town will contribute about $218,000 toward the project and could get some additional financial help from the Clinton County town of Black Brook, which has users who rely on the water system. Douglas said his town will apply for a $1 million loan through the state's Revolving Fund as well. Chris Garrow, superintendent of the town of Jay's Department of Public Works, said the grant money will be used to rebuild the Coronation Building, which treats water for users in AuSable Forks and Black Brook. The town of Black Brook has also received $150,000, and Douglas said he hopes they'll use that money for the water project. "Irene flooded some of the controls out, and we need to replace them," Garrow said. "We've been under a consent order from (the state Department of Environmental Conservation) to upgrade the building, and since Irene, they've made funds available to do this." Douglas said the plan is to move the building out of harm's way. Meanwhile, Garrow said there's still a lot of work to do. "We've got a lot of sewer infrastructure that has to be fixed, (including) two sewer mains attached to two bridges that need to be insulated," he said. "We have seven sewer pump stations that have to be rebuilt, and the lagoons where the raw water goes to be treated before it goes to the river, they need to be drained and cleaned out." Garrow added that highway crews continue to repair roads damaged by flood waters. Save | Subscribe to Lake Placid News Lake Placid Weather Forecast, NY

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1523

Home Sports Lifestyle Business Community Education Opinion CLICK TO WIN! Community The leaders who make Taste of Soul possible; Taste of Soul presents its Chairs and Co-Chairs Published on Thursday, 12 September 2013 15:21 Written by Nicole Williams September 12, 2013 By Nicole Williams LAWT Contributing Writer Taste of Soul Creator and Sentinel Executive Publisher Danny Bakewell Sr. announced this week that newly elected Mayor Eric Garcetti will serve as one of four chairs of the prestigious ‘Taste of Soul and Family Festival’ that will unfold before hundreds of thousands for the 8th time on Crenshaw Blvd. on Oct. 19th. “We are pleased to welcome the Honorable Mayor Eric Garcetti as Chair to the 2013 Taste of Soul. He has always been supportive and we look forward to his leadership this year in making the 2013 Taste of Soul one of the biggest and best ever,” Bakewell released in a statement. Joining Mayor Garcetti as chair of ‘Taste of Soul’ will be Second District Supervisor Mark Ridley- Thomas, Council President Herb Wesson, Council member’s Bernard Parks. ‘Taste of Soul’ Wesson indicated that he expects the same excitement; “The ‘8th Annual Taste of Soul’ promises to be another community spectacular! It’s again my honor to be a Co-Chair of this amazingly successful event, and I want to welcome everyone in Southern California to Crenshaw Boulevard. You and your family will experience the incredible food and entertainment that’s been planned. I look forward to seeing you!” Parks added; “The Taste of Soul Family Festival has been such a treat to go to year after year. I can’t wait until October 19th when people from all over will descend on Crenshaw Boulevard to taste the delicacies and enjoy the sights and sounds our community has to offer. ‘Together We’re Amazing’ is a fitting theme for this year’s event and embodies our community’s positive and collaborative spirit.” “Taste of Soul is an exceptional event in the heart of the Crenshaw community that celebrates family, music and yes – delicious food. Whether your taste ranges from burgers to barbeque, gumbo or a gourmet salad, the Taste of Soul is always a wonderful experience. Since its inception eight years ago, it’s become a South Los Angeles tradition, and now like so many Angelenos, I look forward to it every year,” said Ridley-Thomas. Recognized as one of the largest street festivals in America, and the biggest in Los Angeles, ‘Taste of Soul’ has attracted close to one million Angelenos since its inception and this year will continue to grow. Last year alone, an estimated 300,000 people, some of those being families from all over the state and U.S. converged on Crenshaw Blvd. for a day that serves as the major economic engine for local vendors and merchants. The event celebrates the community and the African American culture through exhibits of food, music and entrepreneurships. Complementing the host neighborhood of Crenshaw by allowing residents to invite their families and friends to celebrate their community. Co-chairs named by Bakewell include; and Curren Price, and Assembly members Isadore Hall, III and Reginald Jones-Sawyer, Los Angeles School Board Member LAUSD District 1 Marguerite LaMotte, KCBS Channel 2 Anchor Pat Harvey and the prestigious law firm Ivey, McNeil & Wyatt. Bakewell selected ‘Taste of Soul’s Chairs and Co-Chairs who believe in the atmosphere of Black culture that ‘Taste of Soul’ represents, which resonates with this year’s theme “We’re Amazing Together.” Each of co-chairs praised their involvement with ‘Taste of Soul.’ “I am pleased to join with the Los Angeles Sentinel as Co-Chair of the 8th Annual Taste of Soul 2013. The Taste of Soul is a culturally rich event celebrating Angelenos of all ages. Much like a street fair, folks come together from across our great city to the Crenshaw corridor and surrounding South L.A. neighborhoods. It’s a great way to connect our diverse communities through food provided by local restaurants and eateries, featured entertainment from popular entertainers & music artists, and local talent, and an array of merchandise for sale at vendors’ booths. The Taste of Soul is the place to be on Saturday, October 19. I hope everyone will come out join in the festivities,” Price explained. Hall praised Bakewell saying, “I’m most honored to serve as a Co-Chair of the 8th annual Taste of Soul. Mr. Bakewell and the Los Angeles Sentinel have taken this momentous occasion to levels beyond belief. Congratulations Mr. Bakewell.” “I am very excited in my first year as an Assembly member to partner with the Bakewell Company on the 8th Annual Taste of Soul street festival. This is an uplifting, enriching community event that has set a new standard of excellence when it comes to cultural and civic pride. And although it has its roots in the African American community, the entire city of Los Angeles, with all of its ethnic diversity, is included in the theme ‘Together We’re Amazing,” said Jones-Sawyer ““I am delighted to be one of the co-chairs for the upcoming Taste of Soul event. This event is important as a showcase for local vendors and retailers within the community, and as a resource to residents, who may be unfamiliar with the services provided by civic and community-based organizations. Additionally, Taste of Soul provides a fantastic opportunity to socialize with others and enjoy great entertainment,” concluded LaMotte. “The 8th Annual 2013 Taste of Soul is a great festival that brings us all together for a memorable day of family, food, music, and lots of fun,” asserted Attorney Bob McNeil. Category: Community Websites

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1545

Marine Corps Sgt Stephen Cochran Wounded Warrior Diaries: A former Marine sergeant turned country-music artist is using his newfound fame to urge Americans to do more to support the men and women returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Having toured with major acts, including Toby Keith and Alabama frontman Randy Owen, and landing three of his own songs on the national country music charts, Stephen Cochran says everything he has planned for the next 10 years involves rising to the highest level of music he can, while working to improve the quality of life for severely wounded veterans and those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. “I want to bring attention to that great 1 percent … it takes to stand up and defend a whole country,” he said. “One percent of our population does that, so why can’t the other 99 percent of it take care of them?” Cochran’s dedication to the livelihood of combat veterans stems from his own personal story of severe injury while serving in Afghanistan. “Everything that I can do, I believe, I have to go through before I can know what my mission is – like being injured,” said the singer, who was told he’d never walk again in 2004. “I had to be injured to know that our men and women aren’t being taken care of properly.” As the son of a songwriter who grew up in America’s “music city” of Nashville, Tenn., Cochran had a country-music career in his sights all his life. He had a bedroom full of instruments as a child – given to him as presents instead of toys – and he made his first radio appearance with his father at age 3, singing the Alabama hit “Dixieland Delight.” “I don’t think that there’s ever been an aspect of my life that hasn’t been surrounded by music,” he said, “or that I haven’t ever known that’s what I always wanted to do.” However, shortly into his junior year at Western Kentucky University, everything changed for Cochran. He had just been named captain of Western Kentucky’s lacrosse team and was gearing up for the season when the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks happened. That night, while watching the television coverage in his fraternity house, he made the unexpected decision to join the military. “Everything was normal, and then it was like a snow globe,” he recalled. “In one day, … I didn’t feel safe anywhere.” Cochran enlisted in the Marine Corps a week and a half later, walking away from his college education, a promissory record deal, and his then-fiancée, who broke their engagement when he announced his decision. Enlisting wasn’t a choice he had to make, Cochran said. “It was just something that I was called to do and was made to do,” he explained. “It was … just a strong voice inside me that [said] I had to do this.” Patriotism always has been driven home hard in his family, Cochran added. His father, both grandfathers, and an uncle served in the military. “They joined when they needed to, when our country needed them,” he said. Cochran, 19 at the time, reported to boot camp on Feb. 2, 2002, and trained for nine and a half months with the Marine Corps before he was deployed to Kuwait with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion – part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force – to prepare for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Once the unit crossed the threshold into Iraq, it fought to Tikrit and back, completing 111 missions during a year-long deployment. Enemy contact was frequent, Cochran said, but the unit brought every man home. “That was something we prided ourselves on,” he said. “We brought our whole family home.” Confident after Iraq, the unit immediately volunteered to join the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit for a special operations push in Afghanistan. The unit deployed just four months after returning from Iraq. The decision to redeploy so soon was “something we would all regret later on,” Cochran said. The unit arrived to find a much more hostile environment in Afghanistan, and firefights with the enemy were a daily occurrence. It was no longer a matter of if the unit would get ambushed, Cochran explained, it was when. “We started losing guys,” he said. The anticipated ambush happened July 14, 2004, eight months into his deployment. Cochran, serving as a reconnaissance scout, was on a routine security mission 20 miles inside Kandahar when his unit’s light armored vehicle struck an antitank mine. The explosion threw Cochran off the back of the vehicle 125 feet, breaking five vertebrae in his lower back. The medics lost his pulse twice during resuscitation, declaring him dead both times. Cochran has no memory of the incident. When shown photos from the scene, he said, he recognizes himself, but it doesn’t feel like he was actually in the picture. “That’s just a real weird feeling that you really don’t know how to deal with,” he said. Cochran woke up a month later in the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and was told that he was paralyzed from the waist down and would most likely never walk again. To make matters worse, the record label he had a promissory deal with dropped him, not wanting to invest in a paraplegic. The woman he had been engaged to cut all ties with him, and the Marine Corps retired him. “It was a bad week; it was a bad week,” Cochran said. “Everything that I’d worked for in my past, present, [and] future was gone in one week.” However, nine months into his recovery at Bethesda, another option arose. Doctors at Vanderbilt Medical Center in his hometown of Nashville proposed trying a surgery called a kyphoplasty to mend the broken vertebrae in Cochran’s spine. Kyphoplasties usually are reserved for older patients suffering from degenerative discs. However it’s possible to use the procedure to restore feeling in the lower body for spinal-injury victims. Cochran traveled to Vanderbilt for the surgery. Four days after an orthopedic surgeon applied almost 4 pounds of cement to fix the crushed vertebrae in his back, Cochran had the first feeling in his legs. It was a tingling feeling, like feet falling asleep, Cochran recalled. “It was the best feeling in the world, because it was the first thing that I had felt in nine months,” he said. Six months of intense physical therapy had him walking with a walker, and a year and a half later, he was in a recording studio working on his first album with only a brace to support his back. Adapt and Overcome Today, Cochran’s dream of becoming a professional country-music artist has come full circle. He signed a record deal with Aria Records and released his self-titled debut album in 2007. “Two and a half years after they told me I’d never walk, I signed a record deal,” he said. Between tour dates, Cochran has been back in the studio, recording and helping to produce his second album, which comes out later this year. The first single from the new album, “Wal-Mart Flowers,” will be released for play on country radio stations across the United States this month. Cochran said he believes the second album really shows how he’s grown into being a country artist, compared to the first album, which was recorded and released quickly after his recovery. “I feel like [the first album] was a Marine that sings country music,” he said, “and I feel like now, on the sophomore album, I’m getting to show a country artist that’s a Marine.” Cochran’s back injury still causes him pain occasionally, but he said it doesn’t stop him from doing everything he did before the incident. Perhaps of greater everyday impact is the loss of the tip of the ring finger on his left hand – the hand he uses to form chords on the neck of the guitar. For dealing with that obstacle, Cochran lightheartedly cited a Marine Corps saying, “Adapt and overcome.” He said it might take him a little longer to learn a new song now, but he’ll sit down with the guitar and try playing it different ways until it sounds right. Changing Up the Attack Around the same time Cochran signed with Aria Records, a Marine major he had served with called to tell him his options as a retired servicemember. When Cochran informed him that he’d just signed a record deal, his friend immediately changed the subject to his ideas for a group focused on bettering the livelihoods of servicemembers returning from combat, especially those suffering severe injuries and PTSD. Together, they founded a nonprofit group called the Independence Fund. Their goal, Cochran explained, was to create an organization that covers servicemembers from the time they enlist or are commissioned to “the time that we put you in the ground.” “I’m very proud of where we’ve taken [the fund],” Cochran said, “from just being two guys’ ideas, to now being a full-fledged foundation that’s doing a lot of great work.” Last year, the Independence Fund gave away 19 robotic wheelchairs at $30,000 apiece to severely wounded veterans. The wheelchairs use Segway technology to raise users up to a 6-foot, 3 inch height and can climb stairs. Cochran maintains that these wheelchairs are the equipment he’s seen for a paraplegic or quadriplegic. “I remember one of the worst things when I was in a wheelchair was that I constantly had to look up to everybody,” he said. “I went from being this Marine sergeant to the next day that I couldn’t look anybody in the eye when I wanted to talk to them.” The Independence Fund recently joined the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, which hosts a variety of programs to help wounded and disabled veterans live the fullest lives possible – such as reconstructing homes, providing financial aid and building support networks. Cochran sits on the board of this larger organization. Cochran is focused on finding ways to improve support for servicemembers with PTSD, which he has suffered from himself. “The paranoia [is] the worst,” he said. “You think everybody is against you. That’s something we need to figure out before the greatest causalities of this war don’t come at the hands of our enemy, but the come at the hands of PTSD.” Multiple deployments aren’t making the task any easier for today’s servicemembers, he noted. “Nothing has ever been asked of our fighting men and women like has been asked of this generation,” he said. “It’s five, six times they’re going overseas.” In addition to his charity work, Cochran has returned to Kuwait to perform for servicemembers preparing for the fight in Iraq – men and women he said he sometimes feels more at home with than his own family. He also is still in touch with the Marines he served with in Afghanistan who made it back. “I don’t believe that I was done fighting when I was taken out of the war,” Cochran said, again employing a Marine Corps principle to make his point. “I just had to ‘change up the way that I was attacking,’” he said. The way that I attack now is with going out here and trying to get as many benefits [and] organizations working for the men and women that are coming back home. Then, they know that they have one Marine in the United States that’s going to do everything every day that he can do to make sure that … his or her life is a better quality. “I think that I can win every award in country music,” he continued, “and still one of the greatest things that I’ve ever accomplished in my life was being handed a new eagle, globe and anchor and being told ‘Welcome aboard, United States Marine.’” Added: Jun-29-2009 By: bravo61 In: Iraq, Afghanistan, Other, Middle East Tags: USMC, US Marines, Antitank Mine, OEF, Wounded Warriors, Afghanistan, Iraq, OIF Views: 9563 | Comments: 4 | Votes: 5 Newest first | Oldest first | Highest score first Liveleak opposes racial slurs - if you do spot comments that fall into this category, please report them for us to review. ..and others Freedom! Posted Jun-29-2009 By monkeyboy61 (952.46) monkeyboy61View ChannelSend Message (0) | Report Honored to be represented by all our armed service personal throughout the world!It's what they do America,for OUR FREEDOM!Many thanks to you and your unit for your fine service!Salute to all of you. (0) | Report Charge on Fellow Sgt! Semper Fi!!! Posted Jun-29-2009 By marinemp00 (1064.38) marinemp00View ChannelSend Message (0) | Report Thank you, Stephen Cochrane, for all that you've done and for all that you continue to do. Thank you, Marine. Outstanding, bravo61. Voted. Posted Jun-29-2009 By marinemom (8355.90) marinemomView ChannelSend Message How US marines sanitised record of bloodbath "Voices from the Front" - US Marines in Helmand US Marines having fun with Iraqi police in Iraq Wounded Warriors - Brothers in Arms Marine Fires a Javelin at a Sniper in a Compound US Marines Fox Company in Garmsir District Afghanistan US Marines Airstrike on Insurgents hide out in Ramadi - Iraq US Marines taser training...5 seconds of hell Wounded Warriors: Stories of Injured Marines US Marines Roof Top/Armor Battle-NW Fallujah,Iraq 2006

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1598

News Calendars Opinion Sports Lifestyle Sections Ads Jobs CU Extras Customer Service Local News « Man dies in ATV accident nea... Life-sized nativity opens at...» Early risers trot down the trail Thursday 2012 fun run draws 250 November 23, 2012 By HANS MADSEN (hmadsen@messengernews.net) Save | If you're not a morning person, the annual Fort Dodge Trisports Turkey Trot fun run/walk might not be the event to attend on Thanksgiving. They hit the trail pretty early and the most food you'll get is a banana and a bottle of water - there is no turkey, gravy, stuffing or even a single cranberry. Monica Shelly, who organized the event for Trisports, said there are several good reasons for that. "The goal is to get people out to exercise and be healthy on Thanksgiving and to get food to our local food banks," she said. For Shelly, inspiration for the event, now in its third year - came from her reaction to hitting the trail on the holiday. "It's my favorite day of the year to run," she said. There's another advantage for the runners and walkers as well. "It helps offset your Thanksgiving meal," she said. In addition, she said the event has grown in turnout. The first year about 70 runners made the event, last year it was 200 and that this year, the number was closer to 250. "The weather is helping us," she said. Lance Lennon, of Fort Dodge, and his daughter Molly Lennon, 11, were ready for a good walk together with the family dog Fergus. It was definitely not their favorite time of the day though. "I'm not a morning person," Molly Lennon said. For the pair, it was also a chance to burn some calories. "We're going to eat a lot today," Lance Lennon said, "We're going to earn our turkey dinner." Besides the benefit of the exercise, they were also happy to have made the registration fee of three canned goods. "It's a blessing to be able to share," he said. Melinda Friesleben, of Denver, Colo., is visiting family in the area. She said that similar runs are held in the Denver area. She found the local event on the Internet. "I Googled it," she said. She was reversing the normal order of eat then burn off the calories too. "I thought I'd come here first, run off the calories." she said. For twin sisters Faith and Grace Meyer, 13, of rural Pocahontas County, running in the event was not only fun, it gave them the opportunity to do something later. "Eat more," Faith Meyer said. While the pair run in almost perfect unison, their favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal is not the same. "I like the stuffing," Faith Meyer said. "I like the cheesy potatoes," Grace Meyer replied. Suzanne Schwendemann, director of the Lord's Cupboard, was on hand to collect the part of the canned goods destined for her food pantry. The items she was taking back covered the top of an entire picnic table. She was going to get her exercise differently than going on the walk. "This will be workout enough," she said. "The Lord's Cupboard is in the basement." She was very happy with the donations. "It's awesome," she said, "It's all about sharing, it's a win-win for everybody." © Copyright 2015 Messenger News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Save | Subscribe to Messenger News I am looking for:

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1632

February-22-08 UN Launches Program to Decrease the Practice of FGM The United Nations launched a program earlier this month to combat the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM). According to Inter Press Service (IPS), UNFPA and UNICEF have created a $44 million dollar program that plans to reduce FGM by 40 percent. UNICEF defines FGM as partial or total removal of external genitalia and estimates that in Africa between 100 and 140 million women are victims of FGM. The UN News Centre says that FGM leaves "physical and psychological scars" and increases health risks especially during childbirth. FGM is most prevalent in Africa, but cases are also found in Asia, as well as in immigrant communities in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the US. According to IPS, more and more countries are criminalizing the practice of FGM. funny pictures funny images funny photos funny animal pictures funny dog pictures funny cat pictures funny gifs UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid told IPS, "There is a decline in FGM prevalence in countries where FGM abandonment interventions have been going on for some years, such as Eritrea, Kenya, Mali, and Nigeria. However, despite some of these successes, the overall rate of decline is slow. We must speed it up." The UNFPA program works to eradicate FGM through educational programs in schools as well as training for health and social workers. The program also advocates reform on the government level. For women who have already undergone FGM the program provide treatment and care. Additionally, UNFPA teaches the women practitioners of FGM other skills to generate income, therefore allowing them to abandon the practice. Obaid called for more awareness of the practice in the world, "The international community must show renewed commitment and join hands with national governments to allocate sufficient funds to scale up community, national, regional, and global efforts to produce social change." Media Resources: Women�s eNews 02/16/08; UNICEF (FMG/C); UN News Centre 02/06/08; Inter Press Service 02/12/08

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1677

Hoopers to close Carlisle department store Last updated at 12:25, Tuesday, 08 May 2012 One of Carlisle’s most iconic city centre department stores, Hoopers, is to close after it failed to turn around losses running into six figures. Hoopers, Carlisle The Castle Street store, which opened in 2006, is shut from today until Friday as staff prepare for a massive clearance sale before the store closes permanently in June. Hoopers managing director Anne Horton said today: “It’s down to the economic environment: we can’t afford to sustain the kind of losses we have made at this store over the past few years. They run well into six figures. “Unfortunately, in spite of the best efforts of all concerned and significant investment in the property, we have had to conclude that Hoopers’ style of trading has not been a success in Carlisle and the store is no longer sustainable. “Alternative solutions continue to be investigated while we embark upon a full consultation with all affected staff.” The store, which employs 83 staff, will re-open on Friday, with the sale starting on Saturday, and will continue trading until its proposed closure on June 23. Mrs Horton said that the closure announcement had come as a surprise to the staff, who were very upset at the news. The store sells clothes, shoes, accessories, perfumes, cosmetics, cook shop goods and gifts and brought new brands to the city like Armani Jeans and Juicy Couture. Hoopers, which began in Torquay in 1982, is a group of high quality department stores trading in places like Wilmslow, Tunbridge Wells and Harrogate. The remaining Hoopers stores are unaffected by the closure of the Carlisle shop. Shoppers who were passing the store this morning expressed their sadness at the loss of such a big player in the city’s retail sector. Carlisle woman Christine Butterworth said: “I think it’s dreadful. “We don’t really have any big independent stores now, just the commercial chain stores like M&S, and Debenhams. It’s sad. “Hoopers was definitely special. The staff are pleasant and there’s no hassle and the restaurant is always clean.” The store was formerly home to Bulloughs, a family run store, that opened as a drapers in 1910. Under the leadership of Edward Bullough – great-grandson of founder Arthur – the store had attempted to re-brand away from its core over 40s market by stocking more modern brands. Bulloughs closed in 2006 when it was sold to Hoopers. Before it closed, it had been struggling, as competition from other High Street stores intensified. First published at 10:15, Tuesday, 08 May 2012 FYI Amanda Hosen...««« previous next »»»C&A, Primark suppliers use child labour: reportWednesday 25 April 2012Four large Indian textile firms which make clothing for Dutch department store C&A and the Primark chain among others are still using child labour, according to Dutch multinational research institute Somo in Wednesday's Volkskrant.The report says young teenage girls have been found working at the four firms which produce solely for the export market. Some girls are forced to work overtime or banned from leaving the factory compound. Others have part of their earning withheld for their dowry, the paper says.Both C&A and Primark are among eight clothing companies which signed a joint reaction to the report, pledging to work with local organisations to end child exploitation.'This is not window dressing,' a C&A spokesman is quoted as saying by the Volkskrant. 'We are actively looking for ways to tackle the problems, such as by warning the parents of 14-year-old girls about the recruitment tactics used by companies with a bad reputation.'The report is due to be published on Thursday. Posted by Chris on Are we all supposed to know who Barry is? Posted by Johnson on View all 137 comments on this article

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1680

Keira Knightley Wears Wedding Dress to Charity Gala Keira Knightley proves that a wedding dress isn't only for the big day when she turns out for the SeriousFun Gala in London. Rough cut - no narration. Celebrity, Movies Keira Knightley, James Righton ROUGH CUT (NO NARRATION) STORY: British actress Keira Knightley proved that a wedding dress isn't just for your big day but can be recycled when she turned up at the SeriousFun Children's Network gala in Camden, North London on Tuesday (December 03) night. Knightley was pictured wearing the same dress back in early May when she married Klaxons singer and keyboard player James Righton in Provence, France. At the SeriousFun gala, she posed for photographs on the blue carpet with her husband before attending the gala which included performances by James Blunt, Kate Nash and The Who's Roger Daltrey. The gala raised around £500,000 ($818, 380) for the charity set up by the late Hollywood actor Paul Newman to raise money for camps and programmes for children at no cost to their families. Keira Knightley Wears Wedding Dress to Charity Gala | NewsLook

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1694

Human Remains Likely Those of New York Man UPDATE: Human Remains Found Near McKinley Evidence Surrounding Human Remains Raising More Questions Updated May 14, 2013 at 1:08 PM CDT McKinley, MN (NNCNOW.com) - Authorities say the human remains found near a mine dump in McKinley Saturday are likely those of a man from New York. Authorities say the remains were found Saturday, somewhere in the woods near McKinley, which is now the site of the ongoing investigation. Officials say a neighbor walking in the area found the skeletal remains, and then called authorities. The BCA was on scene throughout the weekend and the Sheriff's Office says personal belongings, including IDs, found near the remains indicate they belong to a man from New York. "It was determined he was originally from New York, however he lived in two other states," said Lt. Ed Kippley of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office. Kippley says the man was not reported missing. Authorities believe he had been in the McKinley area since the fall of 2011. A neighbor tells the Northland's NewsCenter that he found a laptop and other personal belongings in the area back in 2011. Sheriff's Office officials say those items could be potentially linked to this case. However, there is no way to be certain of anything until results come back from the St. Louis County Medical Examiner. "Everything hinges on the cause, the positive ID [of the remains] and the cause of death," said Kippley. Authorities say they're working with law enforcement officials from New York and the other states where the man is believed to have lived. Meanwhile, they're asking anyone with information to contact the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office in Virginia.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1706

Published: April 23, 2013 2nd child of Pa. couple dies after only praying Herbert and Catherine Schaible PHILADELPHIA – A couple serving probation for the 2009 death of their toddler after they turned to prayer instead of a doctor could face new charges now that another son has died. Herbert and Catherine Schaible belong to a fundamentalist Christian church that believes in faith healing. They lost their 8-month-old son, Brandon, last week after he suffered from diarrhea and breathing problems for at least a week, and stopped eating. Four years ago, another son died from bacterial pneumonia. Prosecutors said Tuesday that a decision on charges will be made after they get the results of an autopsy. Catherine Schaible’s attorney, Mythri Jayaraman, cautioned against a rush to judgment and said the couple are good parents deeply distraught over the loss of another child. “There are way more questions than answers at this point. We haven’t seen the autopsy report. We don’t know the cause of death of this child,” Jayaraman told the Associated Press. “What we do know is Mr. and Mrs. Schaible are distraught, they are grieving, they are tremendously sad about the loss of their most recent baby.” A man who answered the phone at a listing for Herbert Schaible declined to comment and hung up. A jury convicted the Schaibles of involuntary manslaughter in the January 2009 death of their 2-year-old son, Kent. The boy’s symptoms had included coughing, congestion, crankiness and a loss of appetite. His parents said he was eating and drinking until the last day, and they had thought he was getting better. The Schaibles were sentenced to 10 years’ probation. At a hearing Monday, a judge told the couple they had violated the terms of their probation, noting the Schaibles had told investigators that they prayed to God to make Brandon well instead of seeking medical attention. “You did that once, and the consequences were tragic,” Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge Benjamin Lerner said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. Prosecutors Monday sought to have the couple jailed, but Lerner permitted them to remain free because their seven other children had been placed in foster care. “He feels they are a danger to their children – not to the community, but to their own children,” Assistant District Attorney Joanne Pescatore, who prosecuted the couple in 2010, said Tuesday. Herbert Schaible, 44, and his 43-year-old wife grew up in First Century Gospel Church in northeast Philadelphia and have served as teachers there. The church’s website has a sermon titled “Healing – From God or Medicine?” that quotes Bible verses purportedly forbidding Christians from visiting doctors or taking medicine. “It is a definite sin to trust in medical help and pills; and it is real faith to trust on the Name of Jesus for healing,” says the message, from last May. A phone message left with the church Tuesday was not immediately returned. The church’s pastor said in 2010 that the couple had never received medical care themselves beyond the help of a lay midwife who attends home births. The Schaibles did take their children for medical checkups as required by their probation, according to Jayaraman, the defense attorney. Jayaraman said that Brandon was checked by a doctor when he was 10 days old, but she did not know whether the child had seen a doctor since. “Nobody argues that these aren’t very loving, nurturing parents,” she said Tuesday. “Whether their religion had anything to do with the death of their baby, we don’t know.”

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1755

Money & Medicine Middle east protest Amid Bahrain crackdown, prominent opposition leader is arrested, accused of foreign ties The son of Ebrahim Sharif Al Sayed, the leader of a major opposition party, told Need to Know that his father was taken away in the middle of the night with no explanation. Photo: The pearl of Bahrain Providing Support for pbs.org The dirty dozen and clean 15 of produce A brief history of the birth control pill Starting your own food truck The U.S. Postal Service Please try again a little later. ABOUT NEED TO KNOW Need to Know is a production of Creative News Group (CNG) in association with WNET. Marc Rosenwasser is Executive Producer. Need to Know is made possible by Bernard and Irene Schwartz, Mutual of America, Citi Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Foundation, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS. © 2015 WNET.ORG. All rights reserved. pbs.org Terms of Use

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1807

Mitchell's CTO Erez Nir Named Trace3 Outlier of the Year 2012 Finalist Share This Story Filed Under:Agent Broker, E&S/Specialty Business Sunken Carnival Cruise Ship Creates Waves of Insured Losses Jan 16, 2012 | By Chad Hemenway The luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia lies on its side after it ran aground near the island of Giglio, Italy on Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Andrea Sinibaldi, Lapresse) NU Online News Service, Jan. 16, 10:37 a.m. EST Cruise operator Carnival Corp. says it has insurance coverage for damage and could face losses of up to $95 million after luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy on Jan. 13. According to Carnival, it faces a $30 million deductible for damage to the vessel plus a $10 million deductible on its third-party personal injury liability policy. At least six people died among the more than 4,200 passengers and crew who were ordered to abandon ship as the vessel began taking on water after its hull was ripped open by rocks near the island of Giglio. More than a dozen people remain missing and among the 60 passengers reported injured, two are seriously injured. Carnival self-insures for the loss of use of the ship, it says in a statement. “A damage assessment review of the vessel is currently being undertaken to determine how long it will be out of service,” Carnival says. “The vessel is expected to be out of service for the remainder of our current fiscal year if not longer. In addition, the company anticipates other costs to the business that is not possible to determine at this time.” According to a bulletin released by Guy Carpenter and several news sources, the Costa Concordia is insured for about $513 million, with XL Group leading the insurance coverage on the Aon-brokered program. XL could not immediately be reached for comment. Hannover Re says it expects a claim of at least $12.7 million from the incident, reports Guy Carpenter. RSA Insurance and Italy-based Generali Group also provided coverage, say reports. The Standard Club confirms it is the lead protection and indemnity insurer for Costa Concordia. P&I is a specialist class of liability insurance protection for ship owners and charterers. According to its website, Standard Club is a mutual insurance association, owned by its ship-owner members and controlled by a board of directors drawn from the membership. The captain of the ship has been detained on suspicion of manslaughter since there is some question about judgments he made in the ship’s route, and whether he properly followed emergency procedures. He denies any wrongdoing. Order reprints Specialty Markets Insight eNewsletter Receive updates and analyses on hard to place and challenging coverages. Sign Up Now!

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1823

An ongoing issue for the City of New York and the HIV/AIDS lobbyists is the way the New York City HIV and AIDS Services Administration (HASA) dispenses vouchers to people with AIDS. HASA issues vouchers to people living with AIDS when they are in the advanced stages of virus. This means that there are a higher number of fatalities in the shelter system, according to Sean Barry of the New York City Supportive Aids Housing Network.To understand the larger picture, you have to go back to a guy named Phil Mangano. President Bush chose Mangano as his "homeless czar" early in his administration. Mangano's idea was to house people first, and then try to usher in services (such as medications, mental rehabilitation, etc.) The idea was to do the opposite of what had been done for so long, which was to clean people up first, and then house them. The approach was tried in San Francisco and it soon gained traction. People that were being housed were taking care of themselves because they were housed.(Mangano has said that he credits the life and writings of St. Francis Assisi for spiritual inspiration in his work, and that was part of why he thought San Francisco was a good place to try this new idea.)What some AIDS activists are saying is that when you are dealing with homeless people with AIDS and HIV, they need to be housed first, and it is equally important to get to the folks that are in the earlier or middle stages of the disease. This, they feel, gives a person a fighting chance.I brought this issue up to Comptroller William Thompson, a candidate for mayor. Thompson was well aware of HASA's eligibility standards. The comptroller was concerned, but maintained that the people that were most in need had to be helped first.We are now coming into a new government - a new federal government and a new state senate. The issue of low-income housing will be with us for a long time. Thompson's office has seen a great deal of investment in refurbishing property and housing construction, and he says that there is no reason to not continue the trend. This also bodes well for construction jobs.There are some conservative housing analysts that see "housing first" as simply giving housing to people for nothing. People do not even have to meet the criteria of "cleaning up." That is true, it is something of a giveaway, but it comes with results. Consider this: a study cited in Governing magazine followed 15 chronically homeless people in San Diego for 18 months. While homeless, these people gobbled up over $3 million in government services.This means, as writer Christopher Swope explains, the city would have been better off giving these people $200,000 each. Do you earn $200,000 every 18 months? It is becoming clear that this new way of thinking might be a fix for the future.Now, when you add HIV/AIDS into the mix, you can see how important it might be to house them first, and then get treatment regiments started. Copyright 2015 Queens Ledger. All rights reserved. The Charm of Being an Unlikely Candidate

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1844

Register Home»Browse by Publisher»International Federation for Human Rights»Maldives Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2007 - Maldives Publisher International Federation for Human Rights International Federation for Human Rights, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2007 - Maldives, 19 June 2008, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/486466869.html [accessed 30 March 2015] DisclaimerThis is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Political context Politics in the Maldives continues to be largely dominated by President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has been in power since 1978. In 2006, he committed himself to a programme of political and judicial reforms in order to create a modern democracy, through the first multiparty elections supposed to be held in October 2008. However, in 2007, the President slowed down the reform process. Facing a growing challenge from the opposition, the Head of State preferred to work with the conservatives, which has led to the resignation of several ministers. Furthermore, freedoms of expression, association and assembly have continued to be subjected to numerous restrictions. In particular, the authorities have repeatedly repressed rallies organised by the opposition, which generally called for an acceleration of reforms, and police occasionally beat demonstrators. The authorities accused the demonstrators of hampering the reform process by their rallies which, according to the Government, unnecessarily threatened the public order. Moreover, civil society in the Maldives lacks a legal framework within which it would otherwise be able to evolve. This explains in part the absence of a strong and active civil society, especially in the area of human rights. While a number of structures have been labelled "NGOs", they are in reality principally sports or cultural clubs or committees established by the Government. Lack of legal recognition for most human rights organisations1 In the Maldives, human rights organisations have encountered many difficulties in obtaining legal recognition; such was the case with the Maldivian Civil Society Network (MCSN), which since 2006 has networked several independent NGOs and works in an informal manner. Accordingly, the MCSN faces many obstacles, especially with regard to funding. Since its inception, the MCSN has been restricted in the number of activities it carries out due to limited funding. Similarly, registration was also refused to Maldives Aid, a local NGO registered with the British charity Friends of Maldives (FOM), which had provided support for the country's recovery after the tsunami in December 2006. Finally, the application for registration of the Human Rights Association of Maldives has remained unanswered since it was filed in 2005. Obstacles to freedom of the press: journalists on the front line of repression While civil society continues to face a number of difficulties in terms of organisation, it is more often journalists who take over when it comes to the denunciation of human rights violations. They find themselves at the forefront of repression exercised by the authorities in order to prevent them from publishing articles critical of the Government. On January 21, 2007, the Government of Maldives adopted a Law on defamation, which imposes a fine of 5,000 Rufiyaas (approximately 247 Euros) on any newspaper found to be guilty of defamation. Presented by the Government as a means to better protect the honour and reputation of fellow citizens, the law provides an extremely broad definition of defamation, including for example the publication of facts that could damage the "honour" or "reputation" of a person, thus allowing further restrictions on freedom of expression and silencing of any criticism.2 Additionally, in August 2007, a law was passed which contained numerous restrictions on the freedom of the press. In particular, the law provides that words that could threaten the "sovereignty of the nation" or that could infringe on the maintenance of "public order" do not fall within the scope of freedom of expression. In this context, journalists were regularly subjected to harassment. For example, on January 19, 2007, the American reporter Phillip Wellman, a correspondent for Minivannews.com, was expelled and banned from the country for a period of two years on the pretext that he did not have "valid permission".3 In April 2007, Messrs. Zeena Zahir, of the pro-Government newspaper Miadhu, Adam Miqdad, Editor-in-chief of the website e-Sandhaanu, and Mohamed Nasheed, a photographer for Minivan, were arrested at the funeral of Mr. Hussein Salah, a former prisoner found dead, with his face and body swollen.4 In addition, journalists working for the opposition newspaper Minivan have continued to be subject to multiple forms of retaliation in 2007, generally by prosecution, as with the example of Mr. Imran Zahir and Ms. Aminath Najeeb, Editor. The latter was summoned to courts on several occasions in 2007. She was accused of "civil disobedience" after having published an article in September 2006 in which a journalist had denounced the abuses of the judicial system.5 The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders is a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH). 1 See Maldivian Detainee Network. 2 See the Asian Centre for Human Rights. 3 See Press Release of the Asian Centre for Human Rights, January 24, 2007. 4 See Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 5 See Maldivian Detainee Network. Search Refworld by keyword and / or country All countries Afghanistan

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1865

MENARD COUNTY, ILLINOIS - 1905 Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company Transcribed by: Ellen Booth. FRANK A. KING, who follows farming near Oakford, was born upon his present place February 24, 1867. He is a son of Marshall J. and Eliza E. (Caldwell) King, who are represented elsewhere in this volume. At the usual age he began his education by attending the Oakford graded school, which he attended until about twenty-one years of age. It had been arranged that he was to pursue a college course, but his father thought that he had better return to the farm and he gave up his cherished plan. He now owns the old family homestead, comprising two hundred and eighty acres, and in all of his farm work he has displayed a comprehensive, practical spirit which has been a resultant factor in bringing him a good financial return. Mr. King was married to Miss Amelia E. Schoneweis, September 26, 1889. Her parents, Chris and Sophia Schoneweis, are residents of Menard county. Both were born in Germany and came to America in childhood. They were married here and as the years have gone by her father has acquired considerable property. In recent years he has retired from farming, the income from his property being sufficient to supply him with all of the necessities and many of the comforts of life. He is a Republican in politics and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to which his wife also belonged. She died December 9, 1902. In December, 1890, Mr. King removed to Missouri and secured a farm near Ethel, Macon county, along the Santa Fe Railroad. There he remained until 1893 when he returned to Illinois and took up his abode on the J. M. Johnston farm east of Atterbery, there residing for a year

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1873

News | Vermont News Sen. Fox remembered for advocacy By Neal P. GoswamiVERMONT PRESS BUREAU | January 11,2014 AP File Photo State Sen. Sally Fox, D-Chittenden, listens during debate on the Senate floor in April 2012 in Montpelier. MONTPELIER � Chittenden County Sen. Sally Fox died early Friday after a prolonged battle with lung cancer.Fox, 62, a Democrat from South Burlington, was diagnosed with sarcoma in 2012. The longtime lawmaker was elected to the Senate in 2010 after a lengthy earlier stint in the House. She was currently serving on the Senate Health and Welfare and Appropriations committees.House Speaker Shap Smith announced her death Friday morning in the House chamber, saying she had died peacefully, surrounded by family, around 3:15 a.m. Many lawmakers gasped upon hearing the news, and some were emotional.Later in the morning, Lt. Gov. Phil Scott gaveled the Senate to order �with a heavy heart,� noting that Fox�s death was �bringing the first week of the session to a tragic close.� Fox�s seat sat empty, and her desk was clear except for a single white rose.Senate President Pro Tem John Campbell said on the Senate floor that the news of Fox�s death made it �very difficult to compose our thoughts.� He said a resolution honoring her will be prepared for Tuesday, when senators will be able to provide their own remarks in her honor.In a statement, Campbell praised Fox as a tireless advocate who always looked out for vulnerable Vermonters. He said that �her spirit will live on and provide us with guidance, compassion and support.��It would be difficult to find a more passionate advocate and champion for our most vulnerable citizens � the young, the elderly and the disabled,� Campbell said. �As a Chittenden County state senator, she fought tirelessly to ensure that all Vermonters have access to quality health care, that those who suffered from mental illness are not forgotten, and that our children are provided with every opportunity to succeed.�Both Campbell and Smith noted Fox�s absence Tuesday when the Legislature reconvened for the 2014 session. Moments of silence were held in her honor in both the House and Senate.Many of Fox�s colleagues in the Legislature echoed Campbell�s sentiments Friday, noting that she was deeply respected for her work advocating for the poor and disabled through her work as an attorney with Vermont Legal Aid.Fox was elected to the House in 1986 and served in that chamber for 14 years. In the House she served as chairwoman of the Appropriation and Judiciary committees and as assistant majority leader.According to her Senate campaign website, Fox was most proud of her role in creating the Vermont Family Court system, which consolidated all family- and child-related issues into a single venue.Sen. Claire Ayer, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, said on the Senate floor that a table was placed outside the committee room to allow people to leave messages for Fox�s family.�A lot of people who work in this building � lobbyists, students, pages, whatever � are grieving about Sen. Fox, and � it�s surprising the number of constituents who come here � who are grieving and would like to say something to her family, so we have put some paper out there and a pen,� she said.By Friday afternoon, dozens of messages had already been left.Gov. Peter Shumlin, who served on the Judiciary Committee when he was appointed to the House, said Fox was a mentor to him and will be remembered for her role as an advocate.�Sally Fox was a relentless champion for kids and vulnerable Vermonters. Those who often lack a voice always had an advocate with Sally in the State House,� Shumlin said in a statement. �Sally took me under her wing and taught me a great deal about how to effectively serve Vermonters in the State House. She was a great friend, and I will miss her tremendously.�Shumlin on Friday ordered all flags at the State House, federal and state facilities and public buildings and grounds around the state to be flown at half staff from sunrise Sunday until sunset Tuesday.The governor has the task of appointing a senator to serve until the next election.Fox is survived by her husband and two adult sons.Services will take place at 1 p.m. Sunday at Temple Sinai in South Burlington, followed by a private burial.neal.goswami @timesargus.com

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1914

Wednesday, 12 February 2014 16:36 Franklin merchants want bigger voice in gazebo make-over By Jake Flannick • SMN Correspondent A design for a new gazebo on the town square in downtown Franklin has been sent back to the drawing board. Downtown merchants handily dismissed a rendering submitted by a volunteer. They also expressed disappointment that the views and input of the downtown business community weren’t solicited earlier in the process. The enduring centerpiece of street festivals, political rallies, Friday night summer concerts and other town square gatherings, the gazebo was not only getting worn around the edges, but wasn’t as functional as it should be. A rendering of a new gazebo presented at a town meeting came as a surprise to nearby shopkeepers, prompting a flurry of criticisms about the appearance of the proposed design. “That area is the center of the universe as far as Franklin is concerned. We need to be very careful when we put something there that it is something we can be proud of for years and years to come,” Mayor Bob Scott said. He is agrees with merchants that the process should have been more inclusionary. “Everybody probably has some ideas, and there are probably some very good ones out there,” Scott said, advocating for the town to work collectively with the merchants on a new gazebo design. The first go at a design evokes a sense of formality, involving a small stained glass window, white pillars and a cupola, deemed “more fitting for a wedding than a bluegrass show,” according to one critic. Complaints over the design built steam on a community Facebook page, with a flurry of posts in recent weeks. A handful of shopkeepers repeated their concerns at a town meeting last week, offering suggestions on how to remake the structure into something that embodies what they perceive as part of the essence of Franklin. One shopkeeper, Sandy Pantaleo, who runs nearby Main Street Coffee & Tea with her husband, said in an interview that she is “unhappy and displeased” with the appearance of the proposed gazebo, which she said came across as “closed, reserved and dated.” A timber-frame design with a rustic style, she and others told town leaders, would better reflect the identity of the town and its environs. Others emphasized sustainability, calling on town leaders to postpone plans for a makeover for further consideration. The unsolicited suggestions led town leaders to agree to organize a kind of contest among shopkeepers and other downtown business owners for alternatives. They are expected to come up with a framework to review any new conceptual drawings when they meet again in March, along with a time frame for the project. “Let’s get more ideas than just one,” said Mayor Bob Scott. Scott said he, too, would like to see a more rustic, mountain look. “I am no architect, but I don’t think it fits in with what we want Franklin to look like.” While they encouraged creativity, some cautioned against extravagance. “We have to stay within the realm of what we can afford to do,” Alderwoman Joyce Handley said, warning against “doing something that looks wonderful but has no use to anybody.” The gazebo plans weren’t forged in a vacuum. Input was sought during the design process, just not from the at-large Main Street merchant community. Linda Schlott, the town’s Main Street Coordinator, was serving as a liaison to coordinate input from a psuedo-gazebo committee, which included musicians, festival organizers and members of the town’s official Main Street Program — a more limited pool of stakeholders. The town has set aside about $50,000 for the gazebo in its 2013-14 budget. But some suggested that the town is rushing through such plans without seeking financial support from outside sources. “This is an iconic piece of our town,” said Angela Hubbs Moore, a businesswoman in town. She suggested that the town turn to the public for input and possible investments. “We’re missing the opportunity to look for less traditional routes.” Despite the backlash, reluctance among shopkeepers over the proposed design was in some ways expected, Town Manager Warren Cabe said. “It was a good starting point,” he said of the rendering, dismissing any suggestion that the town had sought to quietly advance the plans as a way to speed up the process by avoiding public input. At the same time, he acknowledged the subjectivity of such a project, adding that whatever the town selects as the final design will likely have at least some critics. “You’re not going to make everybody happy,” he said at the last meeting. Criticism of the drawing highlights a lingering disconnect between at least some shopkeepers and the town’s Main Street Program. The Main Street Program spearheads promotional initiatives for downtown Franklin, from putting on street festivals to beautification through flowers in summer and holiday decorations in winter. Designated as a nonprofit, the program is financed largely by the town, operating with a $90,000 budget this year, according to town financial records. That includes the salary of its only employee, Linda Schlott, who serves as its executive director and is advised by a nine-member board of directors. It has drawn complaints over the past couple of years from shopkeepers who make up a grassroots group, called Venture Local, that has sought to introduce new ideas to improve the downtown economy but has encountered stumbling blocks. They maintain that the Main Street leaders have not heeded their ideas — however few — that they say represent the majority of business owners. The last big dispute between merchants and the Main Street Program centered around a series of Friday night block parties to get people downtown. Merchants were reprimanded for failing to get proper permission to block the street, string banners and put up tents. They in turn accused the town and the Main Street Program of not being supportive or receptive to new ideas. “It’s not what it used to be,” Pantaleo, the coffee shop co-owner, said of downtown. “Everyone needs to come up with some new ideas.” Schlott, of the Main Street program, has maintained that she shares such views. “A lot of new ideas are a good thing,” she said. She cited so-called visioning forums she has arranged as a way to improve communication between the town and its shopkeepers. “We’re willing to work with anybody.” Read 1341 times Tweet Latest from Admin Brookies get a boost in the Smokies Blue Ridge Breakaway registration open Franklin Main Street Program takes a break 60-unit apartment complex proposed in Franklin Cigarette users about to find it harder to light up in Waynesville Franklin asks state for annexation exception Franklin considers allowing street banners Franklin plans for water and sewer improvements Canton moves forward with expanded Labor Day

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1930

The modern world makes it harder to discover what you didn't know you were looking for By WILLIAM MCKEEN, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES There's an art to finding something when you're not looking for it. In my freshman class at the University of Florida, I require the 240 students to subscribe to the New York Times Monday through Friday. I haven't even finished announcing this in class the first day, when the hands shoot up. "Can't we just read it online?" they ask, the duh? implicit. "No," I say and the eyes roll. They think I'm some mossback who hasn't embraced new media. "Why not?" Challenging, surly, chips on the shoulders. "Because then you would only find what you're looking for." Appropriately weird, elliptical, professor-like response. I'm just doing my job: being baffling and obtuse, trying to make people think. By the end of the semester, I hope they get it. An online "front page" offers maybe a half-dozen stories and teasers for a few more - all in all, a poor substitute for the splendor of a good daily newspaper. Readers need someone to sift through the news and decide what's significant enough to go on the front page. That's how editors earn their big bucks. But it's the other stories, the secret stash in the business section, the sports section or on the obituary page, that stop you and make you read. Nuance gives life its richness and value and context. If I tell the students to read the business news and they try to plug into it online, they wouldn't enjoy the discovery of turning the page and being surprised. They didn't know they would be interested in the corporate culture of Southwest Airlines, for example. They just happened across that article. As a result, they learned something - through serendipity. Serendipity is a historian's best friend and the biggest part of the rush that is the daily magic of discovery. It's one of those small things that make life worth living, despite all the torment, pain, tragedy and stifling Interstate traffic. Serendipity is defined as the ability to make fortunate discoveries accidentally. There's so much of modern life that makes it preferable to the vaunted good old days - better hygiene products and power steering leap to mind - but in these disposable days of now and the future, the concept of serendipity is endangered. Think about the library. Do people browse anymore? We have become such a directed people. We can target what we want, thanks to the Internet. Put a couple of key words into a search engine and you find - with an irritating hit or miss here and there - exactly what you're looking for. It's efficient, but dull. You miss the time-consuming but enriching act of looking through shelves, of pulling down a book because the title interests you, or the binding. Inside, the book might be a loser, a waste of the effort and calories it took to remove it from its place and then return. Or it might be a dark chest of wonders, a life-changing first step into another world, something to lead your life down a path you didn't know was there. Same thing goes with bookstores. We can shop online so easily, but there's still the shipping thing for those of us who are impatient, and so a lot of bookstore traffic is made up of those who can't wait for UPS. Or heck - maybe it's the coffee. Those modern book supermarkets bring coffee and pastries into the equation, something Amazon.com hasn't quite figured out how to duplicate, though I suspect they're working on it. It's all about time. So many inventions save us time - whether it's looking for information, shopping for clothes try www.llbean.com) or checking what's on television. Time is saved, but quality is lost. When you know what you want - or think you do - you lose the adventure of discovery, of finding something for yourself. In another context, Thomas Paine once wrote: "The harder the conquest, the more glorious the triumph. 'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value." Too true, Tom. You may have been talking about the struggle for basic human rights and maybe I'm talking about sorting through the bargain table for boxer shorts that don't ride up and instead finding socks with Stratocasters embroidered on the ankle, but we are on the same philosophical page. Looking for something and being surprised by what you find - even if it's not what you set out looking for - is one of life's great pleasures, and so far no software exists that can duplicate that experience. Technology undercuts serendipity. It makes it possible to direct our energies all in the name of saving time. Ironically, though, it seems that we are losing time - the meaningful time we once used to indulge ourselves in the related pleasures of search and discovery. We're efficient, but empty. Except for matters of life and death - and shopping at Wal-Mart - there's an emptiness in finding something quickly. (We all want to minimize time in Wal-Mart, don't we? Life is too short to spend too many of its precious moments in that particular hell.) Serendipity has enriched my life intellectually and emotionally. It's even stepped in and surprised me, giving my career new trajectories. Years ago, when I was a part-time Ph.D. student, writing a historical dissertation on campus riots after the Kent State shootings, I was focusing on a particular antiwar demonstration at the University of Oklahoma. Interviewing my sources nearly 20 years after, I found some of their recollections sharp and others uncertain. I was talking this over with a couple of friends when our conversation was interrupted by a rarely seen colleague who happened to drop into the lounge at that moment. "Say," he said. "Excuse me for interrupting, but that riot you're talking about - did anyone tell you that I filmed it?" And indeed he had, as a young photojournalist. He gave me a copy of his film, and it confirmed those memories and gave me a sense of the scope of the event. (Modern historians are a lucky tribe. What if Edward Gibbon had a home video of Caesar's assassination when he was writing The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire? Maybe it wouldn't have taken him 12 years to finish the damn thing.) Serendipity has continued to play a part in my work. A few years back, I got a publisher's contract for a book, Highway 61, to be based on a long road trip I planned to make along the famous highway that runs from from the Canadian border to the French Quarter. I kept meaning to spend the months before the trip doing research, getting prepared, efficiently setting up interviews with people along the road. But life intervened. I was busy with work and falling in love. So when my grown son and I hit the road with no plan at all, I was terrified. What if nothing happened? What would I write about? We took our free-fall trip, following the path of the Mississippi River, and serendipity intervened. People walked up and introduced themselves, as if part of a cast of lunatics required in the telling of a good road story. And the plot also presented itself, quite by accident: a long-distance divorced father helping his son bid goodbye to childhood. We were both a little startled by the moments of truth we shared in the front seat. We made another discovery on that trip. The world of music - a world so important to both of us - suffers from a lack of serendipity. My son is a member of the download generation, which finds its music online. I grew up in a world dominated by that great and subversive force of the 20th century: radio. Fifty years ago, when we were just beginning to cast off the elements of American apartheid, it was relatively easy for our society to enforce racial barriers - separate schools, separate stores, separate neighborhoods. But the music that traveled in the air, via radio waves, did not observe Jim Crow boundaries. White kids, alone in their rooms, tuned their radios at night and heard the music of black America. Black kids found The Grand Ole Opry and learned for themselves about that old, weird America. The result in my childhood was a serendipitous exposure to music that no amount of downloading can duplicate. As a kid, I'd turn on the radio and hear Frank Sinatra, followed by James Brown, followed by the Beatles, followed by the Supremes - and lots of other people. Music could astonish me. But now, with downloading, it has lost that ability. We miss the element of the chance encounter with musical genius. We have to be told of such genius or hear about it second-hand. One effect is that it's balkanized the audience. We don't have the sense of community. My older children, in their 20s, envy my generation. "We'll never get to fall in love to the great music you had," my oldest daughter once told me. It's an odd paradox. The audience today is larger and the choices are enormous - and yet more turns out to be less. We have hundreds of choices on television, but will we ever feel the moment of global community we felt staring at that box, watching a man named Armstrong walk upon the moon? Or will we ever, en masse, have a moment like that time the world met the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show? Will the world ever shed so many tears as we did watching the funeral of President Kennedy? We had three choices then and have 300 now. Likewise, in music: We are so formatted now that stations stratify the market, making it unlikely you will ever hear music you do not expect to hear. The modern world is conspiring against serendipity. But we cannot blame technology. I've met this enemy, and it is us. We forget: We invented this stuff. We must lead technology, not allow technology to lead us. The world is a better and more cost-effective place because of technology, but we've lost the imperfections inherent in humanity - the things that make life a messy and majestic catastrophe. We must allow ourselves to be surprised. We must relearn how to be human, to start again as we did as children - learning through awkward and bungling discovery. Otherwise, when it's all over and we face the Distinguished Thing, we will have led extremely efficient but monstrously dull lives. Some years back, Tom Wolfe came to my university and I hosted him for a week. I don't drop his name merely for effect (though it's only two syllables and shouldn't hurt much). It's just that I'll never forget something he told me. On the last night of his visit, we found ourselves alone together at dinner, talking about our children. Though he's 20 years older than me, we were at the same stage: ushering our children into adulthood. I told him that I didn't really understand the profound depth of love until I became a father. And he said that he had married late (at 50) and had children soon after. He said, "And I think, "My God, I could have missed this.' They opened up a door in my heart that I didn't even know was there." And I realize that serendipity has also been lost in matters of the heart. Now, we plug a list of characteristics into a Web page in search of our True Love. We no longer allow for the chance encounter at the bookstore (we're shopping online, remember?) or sitting next to someone new in church or simply looking into someone else's eyes and feeling the eureka of discovery. We check off the qualities of this idealized other half, as if ordering from a Chinese menu. Matchmaking Web sites have replaced human conversation. (I tried the online thing once, and all I got in return was a stalker. She even wore camouflage.) Not long after that conversation with Tom Wolfe, a door opened in my heart. I was living my dull, directed and orderly divorced-guy life and one day looked up and was struck by the thunderhammer of love. I wasn't looking for her, but I found her. I had long since given up on the concept of remarriage. Yet, five years later, I am remarried and I am again waist-deep in the adventure of fatherhood. I now have a messy, aggravating and utterly inefficient life - and every day is a bouquet of surprises. I wake each morning, put on my socks and shoes, and face a new day of wonder and discovery. Why deny or refuse such a gift? If I had been looking for it, I would not have found it. It was serendipity, that ability to make fortunate discoveries accidentally, that opened that door in my heart. And to think: I could have missed this. William McKeen is chairman of the University of Florida department of journalism.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1934

The decline of a legend JOSEPH P. WILLIAMS JR. , Special to the Star Tribune Updated: January 22, 2011 - 2:06 PM Once known as Black Mecca, Harlem has fallen on hard times and faces the problems of many other urban neighborhoods. Harlem is Nowhere by Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts Mention Harlem, and icons of African-American history spring to mind -- the storied Cotton Club, home to Josephine Baker and Duke Ellington, or Marcus Garvey's failed Black Nationalist movement of the 1920s. But in Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts' "Harlem Is Nowhere: A Journey to the Mecca of Black America," the legend of the neighborhood collides with its present-day reality of poverty, political disenfranchisement and power brokers' relentless attempts at gentrification. The title, lifted from a Ralph Ellison essay about "how little has changed in the ghetto," also echoes the book's general conclusion: Save for its near-mythical past, Harlem's struggle to cope with its faded history, hardscrabble present and fight to define its future is pretty common in black urban neighborhoods these days. Part diary, part history lesson, Rhodes-Pitts' book chronicles her years-long pilgrimage from Texas to the storied place once known as Black Mecca. Enticed by Harlem Renaissance writers such as poet Langston Hughes, Rhodes-Pitts launches into a project to comprehend a complex, contradictory neighborhood. "I did not understand how this place had existed as haven and ghetto," she writes, describing the conflicting knowledge she learned as a black Southern schoolgirl curious about Harlem. "It seemed, to my teenaged mind, a great paradox. It also revealed something about the history I had learned -- a flattened version of events where a place is allowed to be only one thing or the other." The story of Harlem, she finds, mirrors most urban black neighborhoods. During the Great Migration, African-Americans from former slave states came to segregated Northern cities, creating thriving, self-contained communities with bustling arts movements -- think Chicago's South Side, famous for the blues, or Detroit's Black Bottom, among the inspirations for the Motown sound. Desegregation, however, spurred exodus and collapse; hard times followed for residents who couldn't afford to leave, or didn't want to. Land-hungry developers, spurred on by city leaders eager to erase urban blight, eyed those neighborhoods for luxury condos, displacing residents in the process. Harlem, black America's crown jewel for decades, couldn't escape that fate. In Harlem, Rhodes-Pitts struggles to find quality affordable housing and middle-class shopping, but also encounters welcoming residents who exemplify Harlem's early population of blacks fleeing Dixie. She also finds aging black radicals, street people and the Caribbean and West African immigrants who are the changing face of the neighborhood. Working in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Rhodes-Pitts unearths gems from Harlem's rich history, including the White Rose Society, a 1920s benevolent organization for young black girls migrating to the city; Raven Chanticleer, a sharecropper's son who became a legendary dancer and founder of a black history wax museum, and L.S. Alexander Gumby, a turn-of-the-century intellectual who catalogued black history in a series of scrapbooks. An elegant, scholarly writer, Rhodes-Pitts is at times maddeningly vague about the scope of her project, distracting from the depth and detail of her research. It also was hard to determine if -- and when -- she crossed the line from self-described observer and journalist to activist, particularly during anti-gentrification meetings. Still, given the new ground she covers on an old subject, "Harlem Is Nowhere" is worth the trip. Joseph Williams, a former editor at the Star Tribune, is an editor at Politico in Washington, D.C. The renovated facade of the Apollo Theater in Harlem Chester Higgins Jr., New York Times HARLEM IS NOWHERE By: Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts. Publisher: Little, Brown, 296 pages, $24.99. Review: Fascinating gems from Harlem's past in an elegant history of this storied neighborhood. more from books Reviews: 'The Secrets of Midwives,' by Sally Hepworth, and 'A Fifty Year Silence,' by Miranda Richmond Mouillot Review: 'Ravensbruck: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women,' by Sarah Helm. Review: 'There Is Simply Too Much to Think About,' by Saul Bellow get related content delivered to your inbox

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1958

Budget sets out to aid savers and OAPs (From Swindon Advertiser) Budget sets out to aid savers and OAPs Budget sets out to aid savers and OAPs share on Facebook Last updated by Katie Bond, @SwindonAdver007 CHANCELLOR George Osbourne unveiled measures to boost the income of pensioners and savers hit by low interest rates yesterday. In his Budget speech, he made tax-free ISAs more generous and unveiled a million new pensioner bonds. The amount people earn before tax will also go up by £500 to £10,500. Swindon-based Nationwide Building Society is delighted that, having called on the Chancellor for several years to equalise the limits for cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs, it has finally been granted. Chief executive Graham Beale said: “The announcement to bring the amount people can save in a cash ISA in line with the amount that can be invested in a stocks and shares ISA is great news for Britain’s savers. “We have been campaigning for this to happen for many years now and I am delighted that the Chancellor has responded to our calls. “The impact this will have on people looking for ways to make the most of their savings will be huge, with people now able to put in £15,000 a year with much greater flexibility. “It will reduce confusion on the differing amounts which could be saved in cash and stocks and shares and, more importantly, give people more flexibility to earn tax-free interest. “It is particularly good for first time homebuyers who can now save even more towards their deposit in a tax-efficient ISA.” The Chancellor also froze petrol duty, cut bingo tax from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, froze Scotch whisky and cider duty and cut a further 1p from a pint of beer, but put the price of cigarettes up. James Arkell, the chairman of Arkells Brewery, welcomed the news. He said: “It is wonderful news for Arkells because we haven’t put up our wholesale prices for months and we shan’t have to do so now.” Fiona Andrews, the director of Smokefree South West said: “We welcome the rise above inflation in tobacco prices. “However, given real concerns over hand rolled tobacco use in the south west, it is disappointing this Budget has not narrowed the gap between manufactured and hand rolled brands. “Seven out of ten smokers want to quit. Saving hundreds or even thousands of pounds each year can be hugely motivating in today’s climate when household budgets are over-stretched. “Smokers are five times more likely to quit successfully using our free and effective local Stop Smoking Services than by going cold turkey.” David Andrews, the chief executive of VisitWiltshire, also welcomed the news that from April 1 2015, the tax on long-haul flights between 4,001 and 6,000 miles will be reduced by £14 a person, while those over 6,000 miles will be cut by £26. “We’re delighted Air Passenger Duty is being reformed for long-haul destinations,” he said. “Britain’s aviation taxes are one of the highest in the world, and this is a good first step in changing this. Reducing the cost of APD for key international markets such as China, India, Australia and New Zealand is great news in supporting VisitWiltshire’s efforts to attract more international visitors. “After having hosted a group of 30 Chinese tour operators on a two-day visit to Wiltshire last weekend, a reduction in the cost of visiting Britain of up to £108 per Chinese visitor, or up to £432 for a family of four, is very good news.” There was also an announcement within the Budget which scrapped VAT on fuel for air ambulance services. Cheryl Johnson, head of fundraising and development at Wiltshire Air Ambulance, said: “The situation at the moment is our operating costs are paid largely by the police. They don’t pass that onto us. “When we get our new helicopter and go it alone in early December this latest news will be an advantage for us. “For our one helicopter we will expect to save between £10,000 and £15,000 a year, which is fantastic. That will be from when we go it alone.”

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1968

All interviews were taped and documented.They are available through the Reference Department of the Teaneck Public Library. The Library is not responsible for the accuracy of the statements nor does it necessarily endorse the opinions expressed. Mrs. Edythe Whipple (Interview taped 8/13/1975) I moved here Nov. 1, 1912 from Jersey City where my husband's family lived. I was pure New York City. We lived in flats and want to church. My father and his sister brought me up. When I came here it was like going into another world. It was raining the day we moved. The men had to carry our furniture from West Englewood Ave. to Ogden Ave--there was no road on Ogden. They were laying the pipes for water, gas and electricity. I had never seen the house my husband had bought. We were married in Jersey City. He got an apartment. I worked in New York as a designer and model in a place on 23rd St. I had to suffer to got to work. My husband's office was at 11th Ave. and 43. He was a news reel camera man and had to go all over the world. We no sooner got here than he was sent to Panama to photograph the Panama Canal. I was 20 with a 4-month's old baby. We negotiated for the house through a New York office. Since I was making more than my Husband the house was put in my name. It's been that way ever since. It's better that way. Although we moved in the worst rain storm I remember, we didn't lose anything--we had little to lose. I had to adjust to having no gas, no water, no electricity. The first thing we got was a pipe in the front yard to get water. Our only neighbors were next door and across the street. We had to cook with coal on a combination stove. We had a furnace but no coal man. He was down by the railroad station. Coal was $5 a ton delivered in baskets. I'd wait until it was almost gone before I ordered, then I'd keep my eye on it to make sure we got a ton. There was a weights ant measures department in the county. Once I called them. The coal man had to take all the coal out and measure it. It was short and he was placed under arrest. I decided then to use coal. The next big hurrah was electricity. That meant carbon lamps, they'd last forever. Before we got electricity, we used kerosene lamps. Light and gas fixtures were in, but we had so service. Our neighbors were Mr. and Mrs. Race across the street and Mr. and Mrs. Thorne to the west. The Ferrys lived nearby. Leland was 11 years younger than I, but when snow came I wanted to go belly whopping down Ogden Avenue. It was great fun. The second winter the wives wouldn't let the men come out. Electric irons had just come out. I had an electric toaster which I still use. The people on the other side of the tracks seem to have been jealous of the newcomers. Mr. Ayers developed Ogden, Rutland, Maitland, Warwick Avenues and Winthrop Road. He was gracious to all. If you couldn't pay your mortgage, you were forgiven. This good man died bankrupt. The ramps ever the tracks were built by Judge Venable of Newark and West Englewood Avenue, the business district, went down. Mr. Ayers was going to use State Street for a big business district, but he died a poverty stricken man. Our house cost $4800. I had $200 to put down and got two mortgages at 8%. People today are paying what I paid 30 years ago. I brought up my son carefully. I had a great woman doctor in New York. She died of senility like my husband did. My son is a certified urological surgeon. He turned out better than any Teaneck boy I know of. He studies until he was 36--never earned a cent before that. He retired last year because the insurance people wanted him to pay $30,000 for malpractice coverage. He lives in Manhassett, L. I. He has six children, attended Princeton, worked at Bellevue Hospital and Jersey City Medical Center. My son and I are more or less in conflict. He's of a driving nature. I don't drive myself. I carried cash in to New York to pay the mortgage. I loved going on the train with its comfortable seats and the ferry ride to Cortlandt Street. There were two cable cars on 42nd St. We had the IRT subway going west and the Lennox Subway going east. I'd take a late train coming home so Ii could see the liglits. My father was a musician, worked late. He lived with me, but that was later. The two tracks of the West Shore only came to Bogota--then there was one track to Teaneck where there was no station, just wooden stairs, or to the West Englewood station. Then it went to Bergenfield, no further. When we got on the train in Weehawken we rode in style. Then came the tunnel and every one began coughing because of the soft coal--it was misery but luxury. There was wonderful passenger service as time progressed. There was a lovely old fashioned station at Weehawken. Later we got four tracks and the coal shoveling disappeared. Houses were being built. Mr. Ayers finished one street at a time. A man who had a farm between Bergenfield and Teaneck started a bus line #78. He later sold to Public Service. We had one of the best bus systems in Teaneck. When I came there was a man named Bodine in city hall. He didn't know how to talk. Mr.Shaw know how to talk. He was No. l from my site of the track until Mr. Ayers decided he wanted a mayor from our side. Mr. Griffiths, the manager of the Pennsylvania Drug Stores, had a friend in New York employed as a public servant. He led Mr. Griffiths into the mayor's job. He started a program for sidewalks. I got a walk that's still in good condition. About 1926 a big boisterous man named Mr. Kelly was elected Councilman. He began a program of expansion, improving the roadbeds. This program went west of the railroad to River Road and to the Phelps Estate. The politicians used to meet at the Blue Bird Inn, a place more elite than a lunch wagon. It became a Republican hangout. Kelly, a Democrat, built all the roads. He was put out of office, but he made Teaneck a desirable real estate location. The Phelps estate would declare certain sections open to builders. Women got the vote in 1920. I became interested. The first vote was for president in 1920. The voting place was the little wooden office of Mr. Ayers in West Englewood Park, across from the post office. The sewer for all West Englewood was in back of the office--later they moved it up toward Bergenfield. I went to vote. Men were beginning to take an interest in me. I had made friends with state and county politicians. I would write little articles. Mr. Borg had a small office on Main Street, Hackensack. He had Mr. Ely, a wonderful man check on everything. He took a liking to me. Mr. Borg used to print all the news of each town. I suggested he have a Voice of the People. He called in Donald Borg. I think that is what made people interested in politics. They began fearing me. They feared Mr. Borg awfully, he was indicted. There were two factions in the Republican part. The press of the state came to his rescue. Until 1928 I was only interested in New York City. I bought vacant land in Teaneck, a plot at a time. My husband was a camera man who worked too hard all his life. He had no interest for the building business. I got so interested in politics I sat in the state Senate to find out what they did down there. Senator Mackay was making money on 15% mortgages. The Senate had nicer seats than the Assembly. One day I went to the governor's office. He had a man in the outer office who found out what you wanted. I suppose I was good enough looking for the receptionist to take an interest. The Governor was Mr. Moore. He saw me. Zoning was the big subject in Teaneck. I had bought six little plots--60 by 120. We had residents who were against zoning. Teaneck appointed a zoning board headed by Archie Hart, the county prosecutor who lived at Cedar Lane and River Road where Fairleigh Dickinson is. I went to Mr. Hart and said I don't want zoning. I want to build two-family houses, Mr. Hart was impressed. He told the building man "She's resourceful. Give her permits before zoning goes in." I never built the houses because my husband would not join me. When anyone ran for governor or senator they'd ask me to help. If I liked them I would write articles. I still have these permits. My husband retired in 1956. I sold the land and it's been supporting me all these years. I bought him a house in Florida and a nice boat for $3600. We had a car. He wanted a Cadillac. He went there in '56. I never went there to live. I'm saving the house for my son. Along came Mr. Andreas. He wanted to give his property to the town after he died provided he could live there without paying taxes. I said his son could reclaim the land. It became a state wide case. I had a good lawyer. It went to the Supreme Court. The court rules Andreas would have to pay taxes. I had enough looks to got what I wanted. The best way to get along is to be a diplomat. You can be definite and also diplomatic. I don't believe in women's Lib. They want to out-do the men. I believe in being equal. When I was young woman were treated poorly. The first library was started by Mrs. Jordan and two other women they called the sobbing sisters. Mr. Bodine was a good listener. Today we have a fine library, but I don't think they are treating it right. When I came here the post office was in a little store on West Englewood Avenue. Mr. Frey, a plumber, was the postmaster. We had two deliveries a days, we'd put a box on the curb. Mr. Ayers put in gravel for his first roads. When Mr. Griffiths came he put in curbs and made that water ran into the sewer. The roads were 40 feet West Englewood Ave. 50 feet. Senator Mackay ant Brewster, the big road builder, were friends. He wanted the West Englewood Avenue job. It was then a county road. Mr. Ayers said "Go See Mrs. Whipple, she will get the contract." I went to the State Highway Commissioner about changes in the road level. The State Highway Commissioner must have taken a liking to me--but we never got any further than talk because I didn't like him. I talked an Mr. Golly. Mr. Brewster got the job. No one on West Englewood Avenue had to pay for roads. Mr. Hanks came after Mr. Frey. He asked me to get him the post office. He didn't got it. He was the Station master. I didn't know the congressman. The Taxpayers League started in 1928. Mr. Morton was the brains. Mr. Van Wagoner was the spokesman. I was the only woman member. It started because taxes were too high. They went after the Board of Education, a great spender. They went after Lester Neulen, the superintendent of schools. Mr. Morton said examine the high school construction to see how much money was wasted. The Taxpayers League inspected the plumbing system and found that all the fixtures were brass as specified. Later Mr. Van Wagenor said I move that Mrs. Whipple be removed from this group. A member escorted me home. I became a factor because the TPL was throwing fear into the politicians. They wanted a manager so they would hold elections only every four years. Waesche wanted to be township attorney, but he hadn't passed the examination. They had a big meeting. Mr. Convory called me. Citizens would have 10 minutes to talk. I took my 10 minutes. I said Mr. Waesche lived in Ridgefield Park before coming to Teaneck and he was then preaching against the manager system, now he wants it. What is up his sleeve? When the Taxpayers League was elected, Mr. Waesche was turned down because he hadn't passed the exam. From then on it was nothing to me, I never belonged to anything after the Taxpayers League didn't want me. I'd always go to the Board of Education meetings to talk against taxes. Mr. Brett, my neighbor, was president of the board. I alone defeated one school budget. Cedar Lane was a dirt road. The ground was very high. At Queen Anne road, there was a horse farm on one side where you'd see horses sticking their heads over the railing. I don't know why they made Benjamin Edwards tear down his cleaning plant if that side of Cedar Lane was restricted and now they have big buildings there. When women were called for jury duty, the men of the town must have decided I should be on the first jury. I was called. At recess a man asked me to try and change the jury's mind so I'll win this case. I said Yes, all right. To this day they don't instruct the jury as to what to do, so you go in ignorance. I understand they said "Don't call her, she's too good looking." (Mrs. Whipple was accompanied by her friend Louise Beggi-- whom she had known for 50 years--since Louise was 16. Her family lived on Lafayette St., Englewood.) Back to Oral History of Teaneck

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1981

South Fayette’s Gateway Shops plan moving forward Published May 12, 2013 at 6:19 pm (Updated May 12, 2013 at 6:52 pm) Plans for the Gateway Shops at Newbury Market in South Fayette Township are moving forward. Prior to a May 8 board of commissioners meeting, a public hearing was held regarding Newbury’s conditional use application for plans for the outparcels at the former 84 Lumber site along Route 50. “There was no announcement as far as tenants” for the Gateway Shops, said Township Manager Ryan Eggleston. However, he added that an announcement regarding tenants could be coming in “the near future.” Eggleston said during the public hearing one resident, Chip Davis, voiced concern about why the project has not progressed more quickly. Eggleston said that with the economic downturn in the past few years, he’s glad that the project is “still moving forward.” Commissioners also discussed at the meeting implementing a possible fireworks ordinance. Eggleston said the township is working on a draft fireworks ordinance that could be ready by June. He said there was an incident in the township last year of someone setting off fireworks without a permit that caused some concern among residents. The ordinance would state that if a group holds an event where there is going to be fireworks, a permit must be obtained. As far as the township’s own fireworks celebration for the Independence Day holiday, Eggleston said a vendor should be approved at the May 15 meeting and that the display will occur on July 3. In other business, the township is considering an overhaul of its website, Eggleston said. He added that the township has received a proposal from Civic Plus, a company that does a lot of municipal websites. “We are looking to take it to that next dimension,” Eggleston said of South Fayette’s website. He said once the board votes on which company to go with for the website redesign, the overhaul will take about four to six months.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/1994

Conn. panel offers 2 sets of gun recommendations Published March 06. 2013 9:00AMUpdated March 06. 2013 9:27AM HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) _ A legislative working group, unable to craft a bipartisan package of gun reforms, instead forwarded two sets of recommendations Tuesday to legislative leaders who must now write a final bill for the entire General Assembly to consider.Democrats and Republicans stressed how the parties’ dueling packages include about 16 commonalties, such as universal background checks for all firearms sales. But the sides differ on two key issues in the wake of the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School: expanding the reach of Connecticut’s assault weapons ban and banning large-capacity ammunition magazines.The Democrats, who control the General Assembly, want to expand the state’s definition of an assault weapon to include more guns. While residents would be forbidden from purchasing these weapons, the state’s gun manufacturers would still be allowed to produce them. The Democrats also called for banning large-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition.Republicans, meanwhile, called for increasing the age from 18 to 21 years old for those who can purchase “a center fire rifle” that uses a magazine with the capacity of more than 10 rounds of ammunition. The provision would not apply to members of the military. They also called for increasing requirements for ammunition purchases.Despite such differences, there was optimism that a bill both Democrats and Republicans could support will be ready for a vote this month, even though Democratic Senate President Donald Williams Jr. and Democratic House Speaker Brendan Sharkey will ultimately sign off on the final version.“It seems to me that we have an opportunity here to speak with one voice and we ought to be able to do that with as much as we can and not all that we can,” said Rep. Craig Miner, R-Litchfield, the co-chairman of the gun violence working group, when asked whether he’s concerned that Williams and Sharkey will add gun control proposals they support to the bill, risking GOP support. In January, state legislative leaders vowed to come up with a bipartisan response to the Newtown shooting, which left 20 first-graders and six educators dead, saying the eyes of the country were watching Connecticut and how it addressed the tragedy. Three subcommittees of a special task force were charged with making recommendations on gun violence, mental health care and school safety. Besides the gun violence subcommittee, the mental health group also released its recommendations on Tuesday. That panel came up with four consensus items, including the creation of a task force to study Connecticut’s mental health system and make recommendations for improvements affecting 16- to 25-year-olds, such as closing gaps in private insurance coverage and improving early intervention and treatment. The mental health subcommittee did not reach bipartisan consensus on more contentious issues such as involuntary outpatient commitment, gun permit restrictions for people with mental health issues and mandatory reporting requirements for mental health professionals.The school safety subcommittee submitted its consensus report last month to legislative leaders for consideration.While some complaints were voiced by members of the gun violence subcommittee that a consensus report was not issued, Senate Majority Leader Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said the panel’s task was more controversial than that of the other three groups.“I think what we’ve done today does advance the process and get us closer to something we can vote on sooner rather than later,” he said.Both parties suggested a statewide deadly weapon offender registry containing names of people convicted of certain crimes involving a deadly weapon. It would be available only to law enforcement. Both parties also called for increased penalties for firearms trafficking and other gun crimes; expanded requirements for the safe storage of firearms; and bans on the sale of all armor-piercing bullets.An informational hearing will likely be scheduled before the vote by the full legislature, which Williams wants before March 13.Robert Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said his members would oppose many of the proposals, especially ideas put forward by the Democrats, such as limits on ammunition magazines and assault-style weapons.“If we have a public hearing, we’ll show up with crowds,” he said. “And facts.” Next Article Loading comment count... Strong Conn. support for tough gun laws

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2008

2008-03-20 / Editorials & Opinions Let the sun shine Common Cause Massachusetts isn't asking for much. The watchdog group says that six basic pieces of information should be available online to citizens at all times: • The "governing body's" agenda • The governing body's minutes of their meetings • FY08 budget information • Bylaws, codes or ordinances • Town meeting warrant • Town meeting minutes. That all of the above would be readily available would seem like a no-brainer in a democratic society, but as recently as 2006, when Common Cause's Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government began monitoring Web sites, only 24 out of 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts were supplying this basic information online. That number has since improved to 85 communities, but compliance is still so rare that Common Cause honors towns that achieve this minimal standard. In the Wachusett district, only Holden and Paxton will be part of the Statehouse ceremony, as they were last year. Other towns are moving in the same direction, with Rutland coming on board in the past year with a town Web site and Sterling soon to introduce a site that promises to be comprehensive. The Common Cause event is part of Sunshine Week (March 16-22), a national movement promoting the importance of open government and freedom of information. The idea is to acknowledge the efforts of municipalities to bridge the gap between the public and the records that are theirs. Sunshine Week was spearheaded by journalists who found their efforts to report on government activities blocked. According to the Web site, "Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger." In short, if a bunch of reporters are denied access to information, who really cares? But when the government starts telling the public it purportedly serves that they have no right to information affecting their lives, then a pernicious problem exists. Common Cause executive director Pam Wilmot lauds the benefits of technology in spreading the word. "The Internet makes it easy and cost effective to facilitate public access and citizen engagement," she says. "More and more people rely on the Internet for critical information each day. Communities that provide this information are providing an important service to their citizens." All true. Posting documents online is a necessity in a modern world where information must move quickly, and must meet the public's expectations of availability and accountability. But technology comes with its own sins. E-mails, text messaging, and Instant Messaging allow public officials to circumvent both the spirit and letter of the Open Meeting Law, essentially conducting unposted meetings at the keyboard. Regular meeting goers have experienced the odd occasion of a complicated, controversial issue being resolved with little or no debate, as though it had already been discussed and settled in a private forum. We said it last year during Sunshine Week, and we say it again: Public access to information has improved in some areas, but we still have a long way to go. Return to top

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2072

Actress Angelina Jolie on Her ‘Empowering’ Decision to Have Her Breasts Removed http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/actress_angelina_jolie_on_her_empowering_decision_to_have_her_breasts_remov/ Angelina Jolie made her fortune as one of the most beautiful women in the world, and after having a double mastectomy to prevent against breast cancer, she writes, “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity.” The Academy Award-winning actress discussed her very personal medical decisions in a New York Times op-ed, writing, “I hope that other women can benefit from my experience.” Jolie explains that although she did not have cancer, she learned that she had a genetic anomaly that, in her case, gave her an 87 percent chance of developing breast cancer and a 50 percent one of ovarian cancer. She says the decision to have her breasts removed was difficult, but one she is very happy with. The New York Times reports that Jolie’s situation is not typical of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer: Her condition is rare. Mutations in BRCA1 and another gene called BRCA2 are estimated to cause only 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers and 10 percent to 15 percent of ovarian cancers among white women in the United States. The mutations are found in other racial and ethnic groups as well, but it is not known how common they are. About 30 percent of women who are found to have BRCA mutations choose preventive mastectomies, said Dr. Kenneth Offit, chief of clinical genetics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. Those who have seen family members die young from the disease are most likely to opt for the surgery. “Cancer is still a word that strikes fear into people’s hearts,” Jolie writes, “producing a deep sense of powerlessness. But today it is possible to find out through a blood test whether you are highly susceptible to breast and ovarian cancer, and then take action.” —Posted by Peter Z. Scheer.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2092

Municipal coalition advocates fight over Great Bay nitrogen regulations | New Hampshire Contact us Pastrnak lifts B's in OT Sinotte, Burnham earn Shamrock Shuffle titles More in Sports An effort to reduce nitrogen in Great Bay could affect 62 communities in southeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine. (COURTESY) Municipal coalition advocates fight over Great Bay nitrogen regulations By JOHN QUINNUnion Leader Correspondent ROCHESTER - Unless legislators and residents can convince environmental officials otherwise, stringent region-wide regulations could unnecessarily cost 62 communities about $1.5 billion to reduce nitrogen levels in the Great Bay Estuary a group warned Thursday.The Great Bay Municipal Coalition - which includes the communities of Dover, Exeter, Newmarket, Portsmouth and Rochester - challenges the science behind the studies which convinced the Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Environmental Services to establish the standards.On Thursday, about 50 area residents, officials from cities and towns from around the region met and listened to John Hall, principal at Hall & Associates, an environmental law firm which has represented the coalition on Great Bay Estuary nutrient issues for the past two years.Hall, who has been working as an attorney and engineer in the environmental field for three decades, reviewed the scientific basis for the EPA's proposed nitrogen limits for the coalition."The fundamental approach is essentially flawed," Hall said, adding both the EPA and DES is basing the data on information from 2008, but is not willing to consider previous data or hear new, more recent studies which contradict it."You can remove all the nitrogen, if you like, but it's not going to do anything to help the transparency in Great Bay," Hall said, adding he believes the "100-year floods" in 2005, 2006 and 2008 caused more sediment to flow into the bay."At that point, the water quality was horrible (in Great Bay) - it was horrible for months on end," Hall said, adding as a result eelgrass, which grows better in drier years, suffered after the increased rainfall. Hall said eelgrass, which contains sediment and provides habitat for fish, is an important measure of the health of the waterways. He added the eelgrass has returned in recent years."It's the base of the ecosystem of Great Bay," Hall said.On Nov. 16 the EPA issued a final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit - which limits nitrogen levels to 3 milligrams per liter (mg/L) to the Town of Newmarket. Hall said even though the EPA issued the permit, which expires after five years, the DES - the arbitrator for the state's water quality standards - agreed the new requirements were appropriate. Nonetheless, he added the EPA may be pressuring states to implement national regulations, which may not work in all areas.Hall said Exeter's permit is expected to be issued soon and the EPA made it clear the other permits will be as stringent, except for Portsmouth since it is located on the southern edge of the bay. He encouraged area residents and officials to contact their state legislators about the issue and ask them to consider voting for the DES to conduct an independent peer review on the science behind the permits.Barrington resident Holly Grossman, who pays property taxes in Dover and Rochester, said everyone should stop debating over the issue and start working on a solution. "This sounds like an argument of sciences to some degree," Grossman said, adding she believes the nitrogen levels are causing the problem with the eelgrass.State Rep. Steve Beaudoin (R-Rochester) said he's more concerned by the fact the DES didn't go through the legislature, which violated state law.Altogether, it could cost the five coalition communities between $74 to $160 million to upgrade their treatment plants and $13 to $25 million in annual costs - which could increase user rates by 50 to 100 percent - to meet discharge standards."The public will incur a huge debt with little environmental impact," Hall said.Dover City Manager Michael Joyal agreed that communities must protect the quality of the Great Bay, but the solution should not overwhelm taxpayers. As a compromise, he added Dover is looking to reduce nitrogen emissions at its facility from 22 mg/L to 8 mg/L- which is estimated to cost $10 million. If the stringent requirements are put in place in Rochester, Mayor T.J. Jean said Thursday that it could cost $20 million in upgrades to the city's wastewater treatment plant and an additional $2 million in annual expenses.jquinn@newstote.com

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2101

Home / Odd News Hawaii's homeless offered a one-way ticket out of town By VERONICA LINARES, UPI.com | July 31, 2013 at 12:42 PM Comments | License Photo Hawaii's Department of Human Services will soon launch an interesting program to reduce the state's homeless population. The "Return to Home" program looks to cut back on expenditures that fund food, shelter and other services for the 17,000 homeless people living on the islands by buying them a one-way ticket back home. The three-year pilot program is set to be launched during the current fiscal year and its been allocated $100,000 to fund one-way airline tickets and cruises to return the homeless to the continental U.S. "The administrative requirements ... are costly and administratively burdensome," department spokeswoman Kayla Rosenfeld said Tuesday. "Provisions include: transportation to the airport, orientation regarding airport security and ensuring proper hygiene. Additionally, if state funds were utilized for the purpose of sending people home, the participants would be required to sign voluntary departure agreements that would need to be recorded in databases" Rosenfeld added that there are concerns that the program will be seen as "an invitation to purchase a one-way ticket to Hawaii with a guaranteed return flight home." "Selectively used, it is a way of providing an appropriate solution for people in a particular situation,” Victor Geminiani, executive director of the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, said. “But the devil is in the details.” Michael Stoops, the director of community organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless, said "these kinds of programs have been used historically to ship homeless people out of town." "In the homelessness field it was once called greyhound therapy. Hawaii now goes a step higher with airplane therapy. Oftentimes local police departments run such programs offering the stark choices of going to a shelter, jail or hopping on a bus or plane home," he said. The "Return to Home" program will be offered to Hawaii's homeless population on a voluntary basis. To be eligible, individuals most show proof that they have a support system in the state they chose to travel to and it can only be used once. Related UPI Stories Man tries to smuggle turtle onto plane in KFC hamburger Sea level rise threatens to flood 1,400 U.S. cities Stolen Stradivarius recovered after three years Brushing teeth everyday could help prevent Alzheimer Comments

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2102

Home / Top News House condemns bank data disclosure WASHINGTON, June 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to condemn recent news reports about a classified government program to monitor banking records. The House approved a resolution Thursday urging the media to cooperate in keeping such programs secret, The New York Times reported. The resolution passed 227-183, in a largely party-line vote, the newspaper said, after days of public criticism by President George W. Bush and other Republican officials -- targeted at The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal, which published details about the program. During a debate on the House floor Thursday, Republicans said the news accounts jeopardized the program, while Democrats accused Republicans of politicizing the issue and trying to intimidate the press. "The recent front-page story in the aforementioned New York Times cut the legs out from under this program," said the resolution's author, Rep. Michael Oxley, R-Ohio. "Now the terrorists will be driven further underground." "We are here today because there hasn't been enough red meat thrown at the Republican base just before the Fourth of July recess," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass. Bush called the newspaper reports "disgraceful" and a "great harm" to national security. Comments Topics: George Bush, George W. Bush, Jim McGovern Recommended

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2103

Home / Top News / Special Reports Ivorian violence concern for peacekeepers Aug. 29, 2012 at 11:36 AM Comments UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast said it was re-evaluating its operational requirements in the wake of a weekend attack on national forces. The U.N. mission, known by its French initials UNOCI, confirmed four people were killed, including an Ivorian soldier, when unidentified men opened fire at a military checkpoint outside Abidjan. A spokesman for the mission said peacekeepers were "carefully reassessing current threats and risks and operational requirements" in light of the attacks. The mission had called on the U.N. Security Council to cut back on UNOCI's strength by one battalion. The spokesman said the mission would develop a responsible plan for reduction to ensure response capabilities weren't compromised. Similar attacks were reported early this month. Ivorian officials suggested fighters loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo were behind some of the violence. Gbagbo is awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court for allegedly committing crimes against humanity during violence that followed contested 2010 presidential elections. Human rights groups suspect forces loyal to President Alassane Ouattara were behind some of the atrocities committed during the post-election crisis, however. Related UPI Stories Gbagbo ally detained near Abidjan Ivorian security sector remains weak Topics: Laurent Gbagbo, Alassane Ouattara Recommended

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2139

Hello there! Would you like to share your details with us for better personalization? Ryan sees shutdown, debt talks converging Jim Myers/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel October 7, 2013 WASHINGTON—In the weeks leading up to the federal government shutdown, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan made little secret that he thought it was a bad idea. As recently as two weeks ago, he said in an interview that he did not think a federal government shutdown would happen, and that it would not “serve our interests” in delaying or killing the Affordable Care Act. But as the current impasse stretches into a new week, the Janesville Republican is striking a different pose. Now, Ryan sees the government shutdown linking up with upcoming talks over the nation’s debt limit, which must be resolved by the middle of the month to avoid an unprecedented default. “I see the two issues converging, the continuing resolution and the debt limit, converging because they are just so close in time,” he said in an interview. “I think that’s just the reality of the situation.” That could mean the current shutdown could drag on two more weeks. “I don’t know how long it is going to be, but it is conceivable that it could last that long if they (Democrats) choose not to send negotiators,” the Wisconsin Republican said. Ryan is in a tricky situation. As chairman of the House Budget Committee, he has been viewed for years as an influential Republican voice on economic issues and a main architect of the House Republican approach on the budget. He’s also the former vice presidential candidate, and is widely assumed to be a future presidential candidate. But he has been—by national political standards, at least—fairly inconspicuous during the most recent showdown with President Barack Obama and Democrats. Colleagues in the House have said they don’t understand why he hasn’t been more vocal. Ryan dismissed criticism that he has not been up front and center on the impasse. “Sometimes I think it is important to do your job and try to find a solution. If I have something meaningful to say, I will go out and say it in the press,” he said. “I am hunkered down and doing my job with my staff, with leadership trying to come up with solutions to this problem.” A� recent� event� that� includ-ed Ryan, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and other key Republicans sitting on one side of a large conference table with the other, empty side representing missing Democrats clearly did not go as planned. Questions turned negative, and the participants—Ryan in particular—looked uncomfortable. During Friday’s interview, Ryan distanced himself from the mess by pointing out the current impasse is over funding. “I am not the appropriations chairman. The Budget Committee does not do that. That is not my Budget Committee’s jurisdiction,” he said. Ryan said he continues to talk with others about a budget agreement that could be linked to the debt limit talks to cover both mandatory and discretionary spending, tax reform and energy policy. “That shouldn’t be a secret,” he said when asked about recent reports that there’s been movement on that front. “We have been doing this all along. My goal all along was to get a budget agreement with the debt limit.” He cites previous debt limit agreements as precedents. “Like with administrations past, we think a debt limit agreement is the only way with this administration to get this economy growing and to get this debt under control,” Ryan said. So far, Obama and his fellow Democrats in Congress have remained united on their demands that House Republicans should pass a clean funding bill, without any of the various add-ons passed up to this point. Obama is expected to remain just as steadfast on the debt limit issue, and the administration has issued warnings about the potential devastating economic consequences of a first-ever U.S. default. Ryan played down suggestions that House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has offered assurances the House will act to avoid a default, and the congressman even sidestepped a question on his view of what a default would mean. He took the same approach when asked whether House Republicans were gaining or losing ground on the current impasse and shutdown. Asked whether Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a favorite of the tea party, has gained too much influence over House members, making compromise more difficult, Ryan declined to follow other Republicans who have not been shy about criticizing Cruz, also viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2016. “I am just going to leave that alone. I think you can report however you want on that,” he said. “I am not focused on pointing fingers right now or criticizing other members of Congress. I see no utility in that.” Death notices for March 29, 2015 Indiana governor: Religion law 'not about discrimination' Jackson Street fire under investigation Greg Peck: How much do you pay for baby-sitting? Esther Cepeda: The problem is written all over Ted Cruz’s face Death Notices for March 28, 2015 Most read

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2141

Scientists have figured out what makes Indian food so delicious Supercommittee’s lack of progress on debt reduction raises alarms on Hill By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, With a Thanksgiving deadline fast approaching, a powerful congressional panel devoted to debt reduction is running in rhetorical circles, unable to break the impasse over taxes that has long blocked aggressive action to tame the national debt. Though the committee’s 12 members have been meeting for nearly two months in closed-door sessions, lawmakers, aides and others involved in the process say they have yet to reach consensus on the most basic elements of a plan to restrain government borrowing.There is no agreement on the scope of their ambitions: Should they aim to meet a savings target of at least $1.2 trillion over the next decade or “go big” with savings of $4 trillion or more? Nor is there agreement on a benchmark against which to measure those savings. And while individual ideas for savings abound, the committee has yet to assemble a comprehensive framework that would demonstrate its ability to produce a plan of any size before the Nov. 23 deadline.Committee members say there is still time to cut a deal and have congressional budget analysts assess it. But the lack of progress is raising alarms on Capitol Hill and beyond as lawmakers and other observers grow increasingly worried that the panel is running out of time.“The clock is ticking,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a committee member, said Wednesday. “The next three weeks will be make-or-break for the success of this committee.”The panel — officially called the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction and unofficially dubbed the “supercommittee” — was created this summer in the wake of an epic battle to raise the legal limit on government borrowing. House Republicans refused to lift the ceiling without a plan to restrain the debt. But they also refused to raise taxes, rejecting a deal with President Obama that would have made significant cuts to federal health and retirement programs in exchange for around $1 trillion in new revenue over the next decade.In the end, Democrats agreed to accept caps on agency budgets to reduce spending by more than $900 billion by 2021 and to create the supercommittee, which was tasked with identifying additional savings. If the committee, comprising six lawmakers from each party, fails to reach an agreement that wins congressional approval by Christmas, $1.2 trillion in additional across-the-board cuts will be triggered in January 2013.Democrats have argued that the trigger would force Republicans to the bargaining table over taxes because the automatic reductions would fall heavily on the Pentagon. But so far, that tactic has not worked. House Speaker John A. Boehner (Ohio) and other GOP leaders have yet to show any appetite for significant tax hikes in advance of the 2012 election, when they hope to campaign against Democrats on the issue.Supercommittee members have discussed a two-stage process that would first cut entitlement spending and close several tax loopholes, such as a write-off for corporate jets. Then, the tax-writing committees in the House and Senate would be instructed to overhaul the tax code to lower rates and raise sufficient additional revenue to meet the committee’s overall target. But that approach has been stymied by Republicans’ refusal to contemplate higher tax revenue except through stronger economic growth, according to people in both parties who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private talks. Without a commitment to additional revenue, Democrats have refused to commit to specific entitlement cuts, these people said, leaving even the most eager dealmakers frustrated and pointing fingers at the other side.“If it was easy, it would have been done by now. No decisions have been made,” said Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), a former George W. Bush White House budget director and one of the committee’s strongest proponents of a far-reaching deal. On Wednesday, the supercommittee took testimony from a bipartisan group of senators known as the Gang of Six who forged agreement this year on a plan that included as much as $1.2 trillion in new revenue. But some Republicans in the group have since argued that tax collections would rise solely through economic growth.After their testimony, there was no sign of a breakthrough.“The thing that turns the ignition on the car is an upfront agreement that the deal will include significant new revenues and significant new entitlement savings,” said a longtime lobbyist tracking the talks. “The car doesn’t get out of the garage until everyone has joined hands on that fundamental framework. And so far, there’s no movement on that fundamental framework.”While anxiety about the defense trigger has yet to force movement on taxes, it is increasing pressure for a deal. So far, defense hawks have focused on finding a way around the trigger, with some senior Republicans privately urging the supercommittee to count savings from the drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan, worth as much as $1.1 trillion over the next decade.Boehner last week dismissed that approach, saying the reductions are “already going to happen.” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has criticized war savings as “gimmicks and accounting tricks.” But some GOP lawmakers privately view them as the best hope for avoiding automatic cuts to defense. Others, such as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), have vowed to defuse the trigger through legislation if the supercommittee fails to act. Such talk worries some lawmakers and outside budget analysts. If the supercommittee cuts a bad deal that replaces the trigger with budget gimmicks, they said, it would present a far greater threat to public confidence and the economy than if the panel simply failed to act.Steven Hess, who analyzes sovereign debt for Moody’s, said the credit ratings agency decided to uphold the nation’s AAA rating in August in part because “more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction was at least planned.”Tinkering with that agreement “would bring added pressure from the financial markets,” said Ken Bentsen, an official with the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. Markets, Bentsen said, would begin to fear “that Washington was just abandoning everything.” More stories from Post Business: Dexia: the end of a crisis or the beginning? Solar firms file charges against China Dirty packing likely led to listeria outbreak Get the latest news from Post Business

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2147

Five Tons Of Marijuana Seized By Authorities Last updated on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 (INDIANAPOLIS) (AP) - Authorities say they’ve seized more than five tons of marijuana and some $4.3 million in cash in what is believed to be the biggest drug bust ever made in Indiana. Officials say that drug agents found dozens of bales of wrapped marijuana at a warehouse on the west side of Indianapolis last week after an investigation that started in March when officers found about $2.6 million inside a hidden compartment of a semitrailer. The drugs and cash are believed linked to a Mexican drug cartel. U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett says investigators believe the cash was on its way to Mexico while the seized marijuana had a bulk value of about $5 million. Four men are jailed on federal drug charges in connection with the bust.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2148

Fortune Retires in Jefferson County Updated: Thu 10:50 PM, Feb 26, 2004 / Article Sheriff Ken Fortune has decided not to seek another term. Fortune plans on spending time in North Carolina taking care of his ailing parents. He has a lengthy law enforcement career that includes 14 years with the Highway Patrol and the last 20 as sheriff. Now, he's decided to turn in his badge. Ken Fortune has gained national attention in his 20 years as sheriff of Jefferson County. In September of 1993, a British tourist was fatally shot at a rest stop on I-10. Fortune was under pressure to solve the crime. "It drew not only local but international media coverage and just constant bombardment of 24 hours a day for three weeks," says Fortune. That's one tough part of the job fortune won't soon forget. There are also the more pleasant memories he'll take with him. "The biggest thing you miss is the people I won’t miss a lot of the headache just the people you see everyday that you will miss," Fortune adds. The bittersweet departure has already taken a toll on those friends who've now become an extension of his family. "That's what his life is all about being a family man who has given so many years to a county and to its citizens,” says Jean Willis, who’s worked with Fortune for 15 years. Citizens say they'll not only miss a great sheriff, but an extraordinary friend. "Ken is an outstanding law enforcement officer he know the law. The other thing is that he gets along with everyone black, white, purple or pink," says Jim Norton, a Jefferson County resident. “He treats everyone right here in Jefferson county, so if he's really gonna retire, we really gonna miss him," says Barbara Frazier, a Jefferson County resident. For now Fortune's name will continue to be on the marquis until January 2005. He'll then go back and forth to North Carolina to care for his parents. No one has announced their plans or filed to run, but there's plenty of talk in town. That job pays $90,000 a year, so it's likely to draw candidates from Jefferson County and beyond.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2152

News Weather Sports Community First Hello Wisconsin Station Antenna TV Contests Mr. Food MomsEveryday Double Dollar Job Board Obits Home Jury will decide killer's release By: AP Posted: Thu 11:01 AM, May 01, 2014 STEVENS POINT, Wis. (AP) -- Jurors are being selected in Portage County to decide whether a man who killed his grandfather with a scissors should be released from a mental health institution. Steven Feck was found not guilty by reason of mental illness in the fatal stabbing of 76-year-old Elton Favell in 1989. Before the law changed in 1990, those committed could ask for a jury trial to determine whether they could be treated in the community. Today, judges alone make those decisions. Six jurors will determine whether Feck is too dangerous to be released to community supervision. Twenty-five years ago, Feck was found fit to stand trial, but after entering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, a psychological evaluation revealed Feck was a paranoid schizophrenic at the time of the crime. Keeping you off your roof and your roof off you mind! BEEF.....It's What's For Dinner Fit Family - Go 15... Keep Your Family Moving Towards Fitness Buy Happy.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2165

Ho-Chunk Nation Seeks More Land By: Landon Cassman Email Updated: Mon 10:44 PM, Feb 18, 2013 By: Landon Cassman Email Home / Article BELOIT (WIFR) – We've been hearing about Beloit possibly getting a casino for more than a decade. Tonight, there are more signs it will actually happen It's been three years since Jim Osburne held a full-time job. He now spends most of his time volunteering at the Beloit warming shelter e says to help keep him sane. "Puttin' something in. It's better than sitting at home feeling sorry for yourself. You know, I like to stay active. I like to do things. In 2005, I was making $70,000 a year." Osburne could start making money again. The Ho-Chunk nation is requesting to buy an additional 40 acres, near its proposed casino site in Beloit, a casino projected to create 2,000 jobs. "The more land the nation owns, the more commitment they've made to the site. The more favorable they are to get their review at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. So this might actually help enhance their chances of getting the project ultimately approved,” said city manager Larry Arft. The Ho-Chunk nation is still waiting for approval from the bureau of Indian affairs. It's a project that's been in the works for years. The tribe bought its first plot in 2009. There are already 32 acres set aside in this field, a field of dreams for the unemployed "I'm all for it. It's going to bring jobs to a poor community since GM closed down. Try getting a job up here. It's pitiful. And if that can help people, we're all for it,” said Osburne. The city doesn't expect construction to start at least until the middle of next year. Arft says the city has owned this land for a pretty long time, and it's been going unused for years. Council members will start discussing the issue in closed session at 5:30 and will then open the meeting to the public for a vote. Arft says he thinks the city will approve the sale. He says the Ho Chunk nation is willing to pay $45,000 an acre, which is almost $2 million dollars. Were told that's more than what other nearby land is going for these days. Scientists Teach About Nanotechnology at Discovery Center Comments are posted from viewers like you and do not always reflect the views of this station.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2178

Franklin County Roundup By: Jason Davis Updated: Tue 4:54 PM, Nov 15, 2005 By: Jason Davis Home / Article Over the past three months Franklin County undercover sheriff's deputies have been on the streets identifying areas where illegal drugs are sold and making drugs buys. Tuesday those three months began paying off. The only way to win the war on drugs is to keep fighting. At least those are Franklin County Sheriff Mike Mock's feelings. "When you work drugs it has to be a consistent fight. It's not a one time deal where you go out and make an arrest and then you go back off," he says. After three months of undercover work, Mock and his deputies swung into actions Tuesday, initiating the second part of Operation Zero Tolerance. Authorities say they hit the streets with Operation Zero Tolerance around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. With 22 warrants to serve, they brought in 14 suspects in just over an hour. "We had about 35 officers come in this morning about 6:30 and we split up into three groups and went to Apalachicola, Carrabelle and East Point." Franklin County's K-9 unit played an instrumental role in this investigation leading up to Tuesday's arrests. Carlos Hill, Franklin County Sheriff's Deputy, says, “Normally, when we get a vehicle or a house or a person that's suspected of having narcotics on them, he basically goes into search mode and I’ll give him the command, and he'll seek out the drugs. He'll smell it and seek out the odor of that narcotic.” Eleven suspects are facing narcotics sales charges, everything from crack cocaine and marijuana to prescription pills. Mock says he wants to send a clear message to the community about the war on drugs. "If they're using or dealing, we're going to have to do our best to arrest them." You could find a temporary home in a Franklin County jail cell. Franklin County’s crime dog “Rico” is capable of detecting narcotics 30 to 45 days after they've been moved from a particular area. Motorcycle Crash Sends One to the Hospital WJHG Poll

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2182

CAIR files FOIAon Bush wiretaps Posted By -NO AUTHOR- On 12/23/2005 @ 1:00 am In Front Page | Comments Disabled A controversial Islamic lobby group filed a Freedom of Information Act request for all government records related to President Bush’s post-9/11 executive orders authorizing wiretaps of communications between Americans and al-Qaida suspects overseas without a court order. “It is the duty of all those who value the Constitution to state that no one, not even a president, is above the law,” said Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The group’s executive director, Nihad Awad, charged Bush’s “wiretapping policy is not only an apparent violation of existing law, it also gives carte blanche for spying, without legal oversight, on any American.” “Such wide-ranging and unrestricted powers are an invitation to abuse of constitutional rights and freedoms, and should be of concern to everyone in a society based on respect for the law,” he asserted. Awad said he fears such surveillance powers could be expanded and used to spy on people who hold dissenting political views. Previous administrations, however, as well as the court that oversees national security cases, agreed with President Bush’s position that a president legally may authorize searches without warrants in pursuit of foreign intelligence, the Washington Times reported yesterday. “The Department of Justice believes – and the case law supports – that the president has inherent authority to conduct warrantless physical searches for foreign intelligence purposes and that the president may, as he has done, delegate this authority to the attorney general,” Clinton Deputy Attorney General Jamie S. Gorelick said in 1994 testimony before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court – the secretive judicial system that handles classified intelligence cases – wrote in a declassified opinion, the Times said, that the court has long held “that the President did have inherent authority to conduct warrantless searches to obtain foreign intelligence information.” CAIR filed the FOIA request with the CIA, the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice, including the FBI. CAIR is a spin-off of the Islamic Association for Palestine, identified by two former FBI counterterrorism chiefs as a “front group” for Hamas. Several CAIR leaders have been convicted on terror-related charges. The Islamic group, in its request, is seeking: “Records concerning the ‘authority’ of President Bush to delegate or personally authorize electronic surveillance without obtaining a court order as required by FISA;” and, “Any and all lists of natural persons, both American and foreign nationals, who have been or are currently being eavesdropped without proper FISA approval.” Earlier this week, CAIR issued a “travel advisory” for Muslim U.S. citizens attending a conference in Canada this weekend or participating in the upcoming pilgrimage to Mecca. CAIR says it’s concerned the travelers will be “singled out by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials for special security checks and fingerprinting based solely on their attendance at both religious events.” Special offers: Rush delivery can still put gifts in your hands More great Christmas ideas from WND CAIR issues U.S. ‘travel advisory Muslims claim detention was due to faith

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2203

at The Dormont Hollywood Theater July 18, 2013 July Schedule » See similar events Community Connections » Informant Documentary. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Brandon Darby developed a reputation as a bold and effective activist and founding member of the relief organization Common Ground. His mix of charisma and bravado established him as grass-roots activist darling to the American Left. Everything changed, however, 2008 when two youths were arrested for attempting to disrupt the Republican National Convention. Darby, working as an informant for the FBI, infiltrated the protest group and was largely responsible for their arrest. Share this on: Share on Facebook

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2237

Illinois’ Fallen Soldiers Honored and Remembered at New Memorial Park Hundreds of Trees Planted to Help Memorialize the Fallen and Become a Place of Remembrance for Victims’ Families MARSEILLES - In honor of Veterans Day, Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig announced today the dedication of the Illinois Fallen Soldier Tree Memorial in Illini State Park in Marseilles. The new memorial park was put in place to honor Illinois Soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. “We want to do our part to honor and recognize the men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice,” said Secretary Hannig. “This new memorial site will serve as a quiet and serene venue to remember Illinois’ fallen and reflect on their great contribution to our state and our nation.” The Illinois Fallen Soldier Tree Memorial at Illini State Park, located just across the Illinois River from the current Middle East Conflicts Memorial Wall, consists of 250 oak trees, one representing each Illinois service member who has died serving their country. It also has a concrete memorial area with a six-ton natural granite stone in the center with a plaque mounted on it and a five-car concrete parking lot with handicap accessibility. This project was spearheaded by Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) employee Steve Massey and supported by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The process began in April with the help of many volunteers, including members from the Illinois National Guard and family and friends of fallen soldiers. On October 24, more than 60 volunteers spent approximately three hours, placing mulch, installing fence posts, and caging the 250 trees at the memorial site. The oak trees, materials and the use of heavy machinery were donated by Illinois labor unions and businesses. Individual monetary donations were also provided to help make this memorial a reality. According to the Department of Military Affairs, since the 9-11 attacks against our nation, 206 Illinois service members have made the ultimate sacrifice. That includes 34 Illinois National Guardsmen, 18 of which died in Afghanistan over the last year.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2246

Merritt Parkway ‘endangered’ By Nora Caplan-BrickerStaff Reporter In Connecticut, highways are an endangered species. At least one highway is, anyway: the Merritt Parkway, a 38-mile-long stretch of winding roads and scenic views from Greenwich to Stratford. The highway made the international nonprofit World Monuments Fund’s list of “irreplaceable” and endangered global treasures last week — in the company of the Biblical city of Lod in Israel and the Machu Picchu ruins of Peru. Supporters of the parkway feared that ongoing restorations by the state Department of Transportation intended to make the highway safe are destroying the highway’s unique charm. Although the Connecticut Department of Transportation says it tries to preserve the Merritt’s rich landscape, ConnDOT officials and highway supporters have disagreed in recent years on how to improve the road and the surrounding forestry. Built in the 1930s, the Parkway was intended for cars going a leisurely 35 mph, not today’s high speeds. More than simply a road to get drivers from one place to another, it provides a uniquely relaxing experience, said Jill Smyth, executive director of the Merritt Parkway Conservancy, the nonprofit that nominated the road for a slot on the World Monuments Fund list. She touted its gently rolling topography, quintessentially New England landscape and historic stone bridges. To Herbert Newman, a critic at Yale School of Architecture, the Parkway is a national treasure — “the single most beautiful [man-made construction] in Connecticut, and maybe in the United States,” he said. “It is to Connecticut what Yellowstone is to Wyoming and the Grand Canyon is to Colorado and Arizona,” said Newman, who has advised ConnDOT on the preservation of the Merritt since the early 1990s. Though Merritt fans consider it living history, it was once a symbol of modernity. One of the first parkways ever built, it marked an important development in the evolution of the American landscape, said Erica Avrami, World Monuments Fund’s director of research and education. “It’s emblematic of the role of the automobile,” she said. “The idea of ribbons of highway going through green fields connecting cities and suburbs is a truly American concept.” The bridges across the Merritt — which were built in different architectural styles that include Art Deco, Neoclassical, and French Renaissance — earned the Merritt its place on the World Monuments Fund list, Avrami said. In many cases, it would be less expensive to build new bridges than to renovate the old ones, she said, but doing so would drastically change the appearance of the scenic parkway. Most drivers on the Merritt aren’t aware that they are enjoying a priceless American treasure, but the list is intended to change that, Avrami said. She said the World Monuments Fund created the list to attract attention to cultural landmarks and to bring to the fore discussions about conservation and the preservation of heritage. ConnDOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said the department is committed to preserving the heritage of the Parkway, and knows it is more than just any old road. He said a committee comprised of highway stakeholders, architectural and landscaping experts and the Merritt Parkway Conservancy advise the department before it begins any work on the Parkway. Even so, disagreements sometimes arise. In 2006, the Merritt Parkway Conservancy sued ConnDOT over a plan that would have drastically altered the highway’s aesthetic at its intersection with Route 7 in Norwalk, Conn. Newman said he and other Merritt fans are currently at “loggerheads” with ConnDOT over a plan that is underway near Trumbull, Conn., which will restore 12 bridges, but also involves the removal of many trees. Nursick said removing the trees makes the highway safer because some are placed where they could fall onto the road, or where drivers who swerved off the road might hit them. He said ConnDOT also wants to remove invasive plant species, which do not belong in the historic landscape. Nursick said the department wants to keep the highway beautiful — when construction is finished, workers will install roughly $2 million in new trees and plants in the now-barren Trumbull area. “When it’s done, it’s going to look pristine, and it’s going to be historically accurate,” he said. “The Merritt is the queen of [Connecticut’s] highways, and we intend to keep it that way.” Overall, ConnDOT has been willing to compromise with the highway’s devoted stewards, Newman said. “This can be a win-win situation, not an adversarial issue,” he said. “But it takes constant vigilance and cheerleading. It’s not by major things that [the highway] could die, but little things, being chipped away.” ridiculous!!! they can waste money on this, but not put a pedestrian signal on college street where yalies keep getting killed and thousands of people are FORCED to cross against 55 mile per hour traffic just to get to work at the medschool???? RealityCheck You are right student! And I have to point out the Merritt Parkway is not on the list of Endangered Places it’s bridges are. Just a little clarification. *sniff* Um… if the persistent posts by #1 are some attempt at satire, the effect has long worn off. Thousands manage to survive the mean streets of New Haven–you can too. JCvP I think the big need on the Parkway is an alternate way for deer and other wild animals to cross without being killed and destroying cars and people in the process. Other roadways have accomplished that with fencing, tunnels, bridges, etc. Each time you see a deer’s corpse along the road, think of the car that was wrecked, the driver injured, and the fawns left to die. Goldie ’08 I have great memories of the drive up to Yale on the Merritt Unfortunately, the preservationists have a myopic view of the work to be performed on the parkway. They are not concerned about improvements or bridges being rehabilitated, but with leaving things as is! A tunnel for animals, as great as that may sound, does not fit into their vision. Ed Bayer If I am not mistaken, the Merritt Parkway was not only the first parkway in the United States, but also the first limited-access highway in the United States. David Golub ES 2010 The Merritt Parkway was not the first limited-access highway in the country. That distinction goes to the Motor Parkway on Long Island, which was originally built as a private road by wealthy landowners who lived in the area at the time. It has since been converted into a public road but is no longer limited-access. David Golub http://www.greaternyroads.info Cars Always Win Driving up 95 through Clinton to New London I notice a lot of trees that could “fall” on the highway-and are at least as close as the ones on the Merritt- perhaps we should cut them down too and build the pedestrian bridge with them……… James T. Madison The Merritt Parkway is NOT the oldest parkway or limited access road in the United States, although it is awfully nice. The section of the Merritt from Greenwich to Norwalk opened on June 29, 1938, and the section from Norwalk to the Housatonic River opened in 1940. It is not hard to find older parkways. For example, construction of the Southern State Parkway on Long Island began in 1925, its first section opened in 1927, and by 1932 the four-lane, undivided road extended to Suffolk County. Although its meaning has changed over time, the word “parkway” in this context was coined by Calvert Vaux and Frederick Law Olmsted around 1870. Eastern Parkway and Ocean Parkway (Brooklyn) were built at that time, but they are landscaped boulevards, not limited access roads. Similar parkways were built around Boston in a new park and road system, including the Mystic Valley Parkway (1895). But the New York City area set trends in the early 20th century, including the Bronx River Parkway (1907) and the Long Island Motor Parkway (aka the Vanderbilt Parkway) in 1906. In the 1920s, the parkway system around New York City grew extensively. Many of those 1920’s parkways were built as divided, landscaped, limited access roads; that is, as modern parkways. Y11 I love the Merritt. It’s actually enjoyable to drive on, and all those “dangerous” trees are half the reason. Leave it be. Pingback: visit site Pingback: Saree Pingback: cigarette électronique Pingback: Haddon Heights Pingback: http://www.acaciapharma.com/index.php/member/7709 Pingback: cheap auto insurance in dallas tx

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2307

Associated Press, Published June 02 2013 3 veteran storm chasers killed by Oklahoma tornado Three veteran storm chasers were among the 10 people killed when a violent tornado barreled into the Oklahoma City metro area. Jim Samaras told The Associated Press on Sunday that his brother Tim Samaras, 54, of Bennett, Colo., was killed Friday. Tim Samaras’ son, 24-year-old Paul Samaras, also of Bennett; and another chaser, Carl Young, also died. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., said it believed the deaths were the first time scientific researchers were killed while chasing tornadoes. The Samaras’ and Young were pursuing an EF3 tornado as it bore down on a metropolitan area of more than 1 million people. “He looked at tornadoes not for the spotlight of TV but for the scientific aspect. At the end of the day, he wanted to save lives and he gave the ultimate sacrifice for that,” Jim Samaras said. The classic movie “The Wizard of Oz” fascinated a then-6-year-old Tim Samaras, his brother said — not for the magical Emerald City, but by what took Dorothy there, the storm. “He didn't give a crap about Toto, he didn't give a crap about the munchkins,” Jim Samaras said. The Storm Prediction Center issued a statement Sunday, saying it was terribly saddened by Tim Samaras’ death. “Samaras was a respected tornado researcher and friend ... who brought to the field a unique portfolio of expertise in engineering, science, writing and videography,” the center's statement said. Tim Samaras had appeared on the Discovery Channel's “Storm Chasers” show until last year and also contributed to the National Geographic Society. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of Tim Samaras his son Paul and their colleague Carl Young. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their families,” Discovery Channel spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said. The channel planned to dedicate a show Sunday night to the three men, capping the broadcast with a tribute that will read: “In memory of Tim Samaras, Carl Young and Paul Samaras who died Friday, May 31st doing what they love, chasing storms.” Jim Samaras said his brother, nephew and their colleague were dedicated to avoiding trouble while chasing storms, and that the family wasn't worried about whether he was taking care of himself. “I don't know if I would say I worried about it because one of the biggest things he stressed was safety. He knew what to look for. He knew where not to be and in this case the tornado took a clear turn toward them,” he said. Video taken by a number of storm chasers showed debris pelting vehicles Friday. Winds swept one vehicle with a crew from The Weather Channel off the road, tossed it 200 yards and flipped it into a field — they escaped major injury. Jim Cantore, a Weather Channel meteorologist, tweeted Sunday that meteorologists were in mourning. “This is a very sad day for the meteorological community and the families of our friends lost. Tim Samaras was a pioneer and great man,” he wrote. In Canadian County, Okla., where the men died, Undersheriff Chris West noted the three were hoping to help understand violent storms. “They put themselves in harm's way so that they can educate the public about the destructive power of these storms,” he said. The men worked as a team and Tim Samaras had received 18 grants from the National Geographic Society for work in the field. “Tim was a courageous and brilliant scientist who fearlessly pursued tornadoes and lightning in the field in an effort to better understand these phenomena,” the society said on its website. “Though we sometimes take it for granted, Tim's death is a stark reminder of the risks encountered regularly by the men and women who work for us.” The Storm Prediction Center said scientific storm chasing is performed as safely as possible, with trained researchers using appropriate technology. It encouraged all, including the media and amateurs, to chase safely to avoid a repeat of Friday's deaths. About: Advertising Information | Comments/Questions | FCC Careers | Privacy Statement | Terms & Conditions

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2449

Apple Store shoppers rescued from glass elevator By Prince McLean Tuesday, May 30, 2006, 09:00 am PT (12:00 pm ET) The New York City Police Department on Thursday was called to the site of Apple's flamboyant new retail shop to rescue a group of students that had become stuck inside store's glass-encapsulated elevator system.The six students were visiting Manhattan as part of a school trip, one wrote in a blog posting about the incident. She said all but herself wound up stuck inside the captivating gizmo for about 45 minutes while the police were called to the scene. As the students waited to be rescued, Apple Store employees used step-stools to slip bottles of water through the elevator's erratically opening and closing doors. All the students eventually exited safely once police leaked the hydraulic lines, though some were reported to have received minor burns. The elevator is part of the $9 million 32-foot glass cube that rests atop the new Apple store in the plaza of the General Motors building on Fifth Avenue. It's wrapped by a circular staircase — also made of glass — that takes patrons to the 20,000-square-foot subterranean retail space. According to reports, the cube was designed and paid for by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. In fact, it's also been reported that Jobs demanded he be able to keep the structure at the end of the store's twenty-year lease (though he must replace it with a "comparable structure" before hauling it off). The Fifth Avenue Apple Store elevator is now "out of order," according to tipsters who swung by location this holiday weekend.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2452

Chris Matthews Looks Back On A Time 'When Politics Worked' Share Tweet E-mail Comments Print By editor Originally published on Tue October 1, 2013 1:49 pm Chris Matthews first worked with Tip O'Neill in 1981 as communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He later became O'Neill's administrative assistant. He is the host of the MSNBC show Hardball with Chris Matthews. Courtesy of Simon & Schuster Before Chris Matthews grilled politicians and their surrogates on his MSNBC show Hardball, he was a top aide to House Speaker Tip O'Neill, advising him on how to deal with the press. Now Matthews has written a new book drawing on those experiences, called Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked. It's a look at how Speaker O'Neill and President Reagan managed to work together and reach compromise in spite of the fact that they disagreed not only on policy, but also on the role of government. Matthews compares that to the current era — a moment defined by "government by tantrum," where "rather than true debate we get the daily threat of filibuster" and "shutdowns are engineered as standard procedure." With the federal government shutdown serving as the backdrop, Matthews joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross to talk about his new book and his own "hardball" interviewing style.Interview Highlights On O'Neill's and Reagan's physical appearances [O'Neill] had great hair and he was a big guy. He was 6 feet 3 inches, strong guy, strong arms. ... He was overweight. ... He used to talk about his cabbage ears and big nose, he was always very sensitive about his appearance. I always thought he looked great, and I thought the older he got, the more he looked great. ... Reagan had the charm and the good looks of Hollywood — and Tip would always talk about his physique — he was an athlete who had made his name in the movies by playing a football star, and he did worry about the camera. He would also say things to me like, "Reagan's voice, that cowboy voice of his is just unbeatable." He thought Reagan's looks weren't quite as important as that wonderful voice of his. In the old days of the drive-in movie theater, like Dean Martin, he had one of those voices that just crackled through the speaker into your car. Reagan had that wonderful voice he had used in broadcasting sports in his early career and later in cowboy movies. Tip thought that was [a] challenge for him, to go against him on television, but he decided he had to do it. On an example of how Reagan and O'Neill would "fight like brothers" but find ways to work it out [They were at a summit] about a deficit problem, which was arising the year after Reagan took office and got his big tax cuts through, and his defense increase ... and the deficits were far beyond what they expected or what they could defend, and they needed Democrats to sign on to some kind of change in Social Security. ... I discovered outside the meeting [that] staffers for the president were passing the word that the Democrats were the ones who were ... urging a cut on Social Security benefits. And I told [O'Neill] ... and said to the president, "Are you calling for a cut in Social Security or not?" And Reagan said, "No, I'm not doing it, it's you guys that are doing it." And the speaker said, "No, I'm not doing it." So they got nowhere in that meeting but there was good chemistry there. ... These guys were working together. And before the end of the year, before the big midterm election of '82, the speaker backed the president in raising taxes to make up for the excessive deficits from the year before, and he went on the floor of the House and told the Republican members, "You're here because of Reagan, you owe him your loyalty," and Reagan said in his diary that day [that] it was very strange to have Tip on his side on this issue. So this is the pattern: They would fight like brothers, and then they would deal. On the ways that Reagan was willing to compromise He was far more of a political figure than we think of. We think of him as a philosopher and the leader of ... the conservative moment. ... He wanted Social Security to be voluntary, he didn't like Medicare, he campaigned against it ... those are all in the history books, on the record. And yet ... when he was governor of California, he signed a pro-choice bill. ... He would compromise. He would compromise on making Social Security the strong program that it is today. He didn't just vote to keep it alive, he voted to keep it strong and keep the revenue flowing into it so there'd be enough money to pay for the retirees' benefits. He really did make a decision there. And I got to tell you, I think the difference between him and a true purist is that he would always say, "I'll fight as hard as I can and then I'll make the best deal I can." And he did that on spending, on taxing, on defense. On his own interviewing style I was talking to my brother the other day, up in New Jersey, and he's a Republican, held office for years, and he said, "My Republican friends like it, even if you go after a Republican, they like it when you press for an answer." They consider that "hardball," they consider that to be the nature of the show. ... Ed McMahon, of all people, said: The key to the interview is to listen to the last answer. And if you're hearing the last answer equivocation, well, I go for it, I'm heat seeking. I think that's what I do. I don't think it's everyone's taste, I think on Sunday mornings for example, Meet the Press, that audience may be different. I know when people come looking for me at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, they want that. ... [I'm] trying to work for the audience. ... Learning how to cue people, but also to race them a little, get them working a little faster than they like to think out loud, so they begin to think just on their feet and they have to answer more impulsively, and that way you can get closer to the truth. I know it has an aspect of the interrogation room, of [NYPD Blue character Andy] Sipowicz or somebody interrogating a guy. But I'm telling you, if you really want the truth, you can't just let them come in and bogart it and keep giving long answers.Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Related ProgramFresh Air

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2477

« Saturday Night Cinema: Leave Her to Heaven | | "US forces nab terror chief linked to 1998 embassy attacks" » Why, pray tell, don't we hear more about this from the bootlicking media? Why do they continue to polish this tyrant's knob? Journalists Detail Major Chilling Effect, Denounce White House War On Information In New Report Huffington Post: A forthcoming report by the former editor of the Washington Post details the widespread chilling effect that the Obama administration's war on leaks and leakers has had on investigative and national security journalists. Leonard Downie, who led the Post from 1991 to 2008, wrote the report, "The Obama Administration and the Press," for the Committee to Protect Journalists. It is scheduled to be published this Thursday. The Post published an excerpt from the report on Friday. The Obama administration's unprecedented campaign against leaks has been well-documented, and its targeting of the Associated Press and Fox News caused enough of a scandal that the Justice Department tightened its rules governing the surveillance of the media in July. Even so, Downie quoted reporter after reporter who said that sources are petrified of talking to them. David Sanger, the New York Times writer whose article on a secret cyberattack against Iran launched a leak investigation, described what had happened to him: “A memo went out from the chief of staff a year ago to White House employees and the intelligence agencies that told people to freeze and retain any e-mail, and presumably phone logs, of communications with me,” Sanger said. As a result, longtime sources no longer talk to him. “They tell me: ‘David, I love you, but don’t e-mail me. Let’s don’t chat until this blows over.’ ” Sanger, who has worked for the Times in Washington for two decades, said, “This is [the] most closed, control-freak administration I’ve ever Matthew Miller, a former spokesman for attorney general Eric Holder, candidly told Downie that technology has made it easier than ever for the government to monitor and snuff out leaks: “Before, you needed to have the leaker admit it, which doesn’t happen,” Miller added, “or the reporter to testify about it, which doesn’t happen.” Washington Post: "This is [the] most closed, control-freak administration I’ve ever covered."

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2484

By David Sharp, The Associated Press Posted Oct. 19, 2011, at 5:42 a.m. PORTLAND, Maine — The tropical storms that drenched the Northeast this year left an unexpected bounty: Thousands of mushrooms have sprung up on some lawns, and foragers have filled bags with wild ones plucked from the earth, stumps and logs. “It was like a scene from ‘Alice and Wonderland,'” said David Fischer, who wrote “Edible Wild Mushrooms of North America.” The mushrooms are providing good meals for people such as Margaret Primack of Newton, Mass., who collected 60 to 70 pounds this summer. But because some mushrooms are poisonous, they also present a danger for people who can’t tell the difference between the tasty and the toxic. The Northern New England Poison Center has seen an increase in mushroom poisoning cases in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, with 97 in August and September, nearly double the figure from the same time last year. “People need to have respect for mushrooms,” said Karen Simone, the poison center’s director. “They don’t understand that this can be dangerous.” Different mushroom types can look similar, and it takes a trained eye to tell the difference between those that are safe and those that are deadly. Mushroom and health experts discourage people from eating wild mushrooms unless they’re absolutely sure they’re safe. “If somebody eats the wrong thing, they could be dead, and it’s not a fun way to go,” said Fischer, who also runs a website dedicated to wild mushrooms from his home in Syracuse,

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2487

Good-bye Spates Block... Tag Archives: Bill Stenger No special scrutiny for AnC Bio Posted on March 25, 2015 by nataliehormilla Bill Stenger. Photo by Richard Creaser copyright the Chronicle March 25, 2015 by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — Despite reports to the contrary the AnC Bio biomedical project is not being given special scrutiny by the state. State regulators are taking a closer look at all EB-5 projects in Vermont in light of stronger federal requirements and increased use of the visa program by Vermont businesses. Last summer Governor Peter Shumlin asked the Department of Financial Regulation to get involved in overseeing EB-5 projects in the state, said Pat Moulton, commissioner of the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD), on Monday. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged Agency of Commerce and Community Development, AnC Bio, Bill Stenger, Brent Raymond, Department of Financial Regulation, EB-5, Jay Peak, Joseph Gresser, Newport, Pat Moulton, Peter Shumlin, Q Burke Mountain Resort, Renaissance Block, Spates Block, Susan Donegan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service Peggy Loux is a woman with a purpose Posted on November 18, 2014 by nataliehormilla Peggy Loux received the Agency on Aging Community Service Award on Monday. Photo by David Dudley copyright the Chronicle November 19, 2014 by David Dudley JAY — Margaret “Peggy” Loux, who is now serving her fifth year on the Jay Select Board, received the Agency on Aging Community Service Award Monday. According to Ms. Loux, everybody has got to work, and everybody has got to have a purpose. What is Peggy Loux’s purpose? Though her various activities would suggest otherwise, she claims to be a shy person. Posted in Featuring | Tagged Agency on Aging, Bill Stenger, community service, David Dudley, Jay, Jay Area Food Shelf, Jay August West Music Festival, Jay Community Center, Jay Focus Group, Jay Peak, Jay Select Board, Jay Selectmen, Jay Summer Fest, Jay Volunteer Fire Department, Jay-Westfield School, Peggy Loux Stenger admits investors were informed late Posted on August 5, 2014 by nataliehormilla The Tram Haus Lodge is the first project using EB-5 funds to be completed at Jay Peak. Some investors in the project are unhappy about changes to the ownership structure made unilaterally by Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros, the general partners in the project. Investors were notified of the changes nine months after they were put into effect. Photo by Joseph Gresser copyright the Chronicle August 6, 2014 by Joseph Gresser JAY — Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros didn’t live up to state standards when they waited nine months before notifying 35 EB-5 investors they had dissolved the partnership that owned the Tram Haus Lodge at Jay Peak Resort, according to Brent Raymond, director of International Trade and the Vermont EB-5 Regional Center. Mr. Stenger, co-owner of Jay Peak along with Mr. Quiros, agrees that the notification process was botched. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged AnC Bio, Ariel Quiros, Bill Stenger, Brent Raymond, Burke Mountain, business, EB-5, International Trade, Jay, Jay Peak, Jay Peak Resort, U.S. Customs and Immigration Service, USCIS, Vermont EB-5 Regional Center Safety and traffic lead AnC Bio Act 250 concerns Posted on July 22, 2014 by nataliehormilla A rendering of what the AnC Bio plant would look like from Lake Memphremagog. copyright the Chronicle July 23, 2014 NEWPORT — The AnC Bio facility started down the road to Act 250 approval Monday with a site visit from members of the District #7 Environmental Commission and an initial hearing. Despite wide interest in the project and questions from neighbors of the biotech facility slated to be built at the site of the old Bogner plant, few Newport residents attended the hearing. Nor were there any representatives of state agencies present, aside from those working for the environmental commission. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged Act 250, AnC Bio, Anne Chiarello, Bill Kelly, Bill Stenger, biosafety, Bogner plant, business, CDC, Center for Disease Control, Dave Snedeker, Debra Bell, Diane Peel, District #7 Environmental Commission, Eugene Reid, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, Fred Grossfeld, Hugh McNeal, Jay Peak, Joseph Gresser, Lake Memphremagog, Newport, NNE Pharmaplan, Northeastern Vermont Development Association, NVDA, Pam Ladds, Paul Monette, Poulin Lumber, Warren Foster, William Perket Minimum wage hike will have ripple effect Posted on June 10, 2014 by nataliehormilla copyright the Chronicle June 11, 2014 Local employers say a rise in pay for those at the bottom of the ladder is sure to increase salaries for those on the higher rungs. That will be good news for many workers, they say, but could come at the cost of increased prices for goods and services. Vermont’s minimum wage will rise on New Year’s Day 2015 and on each January 1 until 2018. The Vermont Legislature voted to increase it from the present level of $8.73 an hour to $10.50 in four annual jumps. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged Bill Stenger, business, Columbia Forest Products, Committee on Commerce and Community Development, Creative Workforce Solutions, Cumberland Farms, economy, Federal Insurance Contributions Act, Governor Peter Shumlin, Greg Hamblett, Jay Peak Resort, Jimmy Kwik, jobs, Joseph Gresser, Legislature, Lorrie Seadale, Maplefields, Mike Marcotte, minimum wage, Neil Morrissette, Parson's Corner, Pick and Shovel, River's Edge Farm Stand, wages, Walmart Jay Peak’s plans for rec center remain in limbo Posted on February 11, 2014 by nataliehormilla Jay Peak Resort hopes to build this recreation center on the ski area’s Stateside. The front entrance is planned to be 14 feet tall and face the Stateside parking area. The back wall of the metal-faced building would be 22 feet tall and face Route 242. Inside, the proposed center would have climbing walls, a movie theater, arcade games, and a horizontal ropes course. Image courtesy of Jay Peak Resort copyright the Chronicle February 12, 2014 JAY—Jay Peak Resort’s plan to build a recreation center with a 145-seat movie theater and climbing walls remains in limbo. The Jay Planning Commission and Zoning Board (two bodies with one set of members) tabled the application Monday night until March 10. The commission came out of a deliberative session that lasted an hour and a half to express its dissatisfaction with the area’s provisions for parking for the new facility and concern about the building’s effect on the views along Route 242. The planning commission met Monday night to reconsider the project, which had been refused a permit based on parking and public safety concerns after it was first presented in January. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged Bill Stenger, Jake Webster, Jay Peak, Jay Peak Resort, Jay Planning Commission and Zoning Board, Jay Volunteer Fire Department, Joseph Gresser, Missisquoi Valley Ambulance Services, Ron Kapeluck, Tom Howell, Walter Elander Flight Design USA will hire 100 Posted on December 20, 2013 by nataliehormilla Governor Peter Shumlin cuts the ribbon on the Stateside Baselodge on Friday, December 20. On hand to celebrate the opening, from left to right, are: Vermont Commissioner of Commerce and Community Development Lawrence Miller, Filippe Acciolye, an investor in the project from Brazil, Ariel Quiros, co-owner of Jay Peak, Governor Shumlin, state Senator John Rodgers, state Senator Robert Starr, Bill Stenger, co-owner of Jay Peak, Steve Wright, marketing director for Jay Peak, and William Kelly, counsel for Jay Peak. Photos by Joseph Gresser JAY — At the opening of the new Stateside Baselodge Friday, Jay officials threw in a pair of bonus announcements. A new aircraft company will bring more than 100 skilled jobs to Coventry, and the sale of the Spates Block on Main Street in Newport to Jay Peak co-owners Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros has been finalized. At a press conference that followed the opening of the 84-room hotel, Mr. Quiros said he has bought Flight Design USA, the company that announced plans this summer to assemble and sell ultra-light planes at the Newport State Airport in Coventry. Flight Design USA was the American branch of a German company, and the initial agreement allowed the Newport branch to act as one of six U.S. distributors of the company’s two-seater plane. The new company, called Flight Design Americas, LLC, will have exclusive rights to sell planes in North America, South America and Central America, Mr. Quiros said. The company expects to hire around 100 engineers, trained mechanics and assembly workers, he said. It projects sales of as many as 200 planes a year by the third year of production. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged AnC Bio, Ari Quiros, Ariel Quiros, Bill Stenger, EB-5 visa program, Flight Design USA, Jay, Jay Peak, Joseph Gresser, Peter Shumlin, Renaissance Block, Spates Block, Thomas Peghiny, William Kelly Hungry Vermonters face cuts in aid Posted on October 29, 2013 by nataliehormilla Joe Patrissi at the NEKCA food shelf. Mr. Patrissi said it was fully stocked on Monday morning, but demand is great, and a few hours later several of its shelves were bare. Photo by Tena Starr Years ago, Kim Arel found herself in a tough spot. She had two young children to feed, and for a brief time the only way to swing that was to visit a food shelf. “I was surprised to see other people there that I didn’t think I would,” she said in a recent interview. Later, when she was in a better place, Ms. Arel decided to pay it forward, and became a donor to food shelves herself. And for the past 12 years or so, she’s been running the food shelf in Jay, which serves five towns. Last week, she said, many of her clientele were talking about the latest round of cuts to 3SquaresVT, the program that helps poor Vermonters put food on the table. “They don’t know what they’re going to do.” Those cuts, which will take effect on November 1, are due to the expiration of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, which passed in 2009 and included a temporary increase for help with food through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The temporary boost increased the monthly SNAP benefit by 14 percent. Continue reading → Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged 3SquaresVT, American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Bill Stenger, economy, education, Food, food shelves, Hannaford, Head Start, hunger, Jay Focus Group, Jay Food Shelf, Jay Peak, Joe Patrissi, Judy Sterner, Kim Arel, Nancy Castle, National Center on Budge and Policy, NEKCA, poverty, Shaw's, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Tena Starr, USDA, Vermont Department for Children and Families, Vermont Foodbank Tenants prepare to leave historic Spates Block Posted on September 24, 2013 by nataliehormilla Betty McQuillen’s father, Harold Jenks, bought Farrant’s Flower Shop in 1927 from John Farrant the son of its founder. It was started in the nineteenth century and is the oldest continuously operating business in the city. Ms. McQuillen said it will be centered on Farrant Street after its Main Street shop closes in December. Photo by Joseph Gresser NEWPORT — John Daggett carefully placed boxes, pieces of furniture and random possessions into the back of a box truck parked on Main Street here Friday. Over the past couple of weeks, Mr. Daggett said he’s helped around five households move out of the strip of buildings on the south side of Main Street known as the Spates Block. The buildings, which run from Center Street up to Second Street, will be demolished in late winter to make way for a retail and hotel complex known as the Renaissance Block. In preparation, landlord Doug Spates is clearing them of their tenants. Mr. Daggett said he moved out of the J.B. Police building not long ago and into a new apartment that is also owned by Mr. Spates. The new apartment is “beautiful,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be a big change from here. Where I was living everything was included. Now I have to pay my own heat and light.” Mr. Spates is charging a lower rent for the new apartment than he was for the old one, Mr. Daggett said. That will make it easier to afford the new bills. On a warm September day John Daggett pauses for a moment as he loads a truck with the belongings of Spates Block residents who are rushing to move before their October 1 deadline. Photo by Joseph Gresser “Sometimes I get a little behind on my rent,” he said, but he added that Mr. Spates is willing to work with his tenants. He said Mr. Spates has given him odd jobs to help him out when he’s short, and he’s helped prepare new apartments for people who are being displaced from Main Street; he’s even helped some move. Stephanie Forest also moved from the Spates Block recently. She now lives in Derby Line in a bigger apartment that, at $500 a month, is $50 less than the one she rented in Newport. Mr. Daggett said the change is going to be hard on some people, even if they get help from Mr. Spates. For many, he said, “It’s definitely a tough adjustment.” “With all these cutbacks it’s going to be hard on people the first year,” he said. “I hope when they tear things down and put things up it straightens out the economy.” Bill Stenger, the co-owner of Jay Peak Resort and one of those seeking to replace the Spates Block, told members of the press earlier this month that he hopes to contribute to an improvement in the city’s economy by building the Renaissance Block, a hotel and conference center on the site of Waterfront Plaza, and a biotech research and manufacturing facility on the site of the old Bogner building. All of the projects are to be financed through the EB-5 visa program. Foreign investors in a job-creating business are able to get a green card and eventual citizenship through this federal program. The Spates Block in 2013 is a faint echo of what it used to be. Soon even that echo will fade when the block is demolished this winter to make way for new shops and a hotel. Photo by Joseph Gresser In order not to cause more harm than necessary to city businesses, Mr. Stenger said he will wait until after the Christmas season to take ownership of the Spates Block. He said he wants to allow the businesses to get through the big retail season before they have to move. When it comes time to build the Renaissance block, Mr. Stenger said the work will be done from the rear of the building to avoid creating traffic problems on Main Street and interfering with other businesses in the city. “It will be like construction in New York City with the fence with holes in it to watch the workers,” he said. When complete he said the hotel will boast 64 suites, a pool, a brew pub, and retail space on Main Street. Mr. Stenger said he expects the hotel to appeal to researchers working on projects at the biotech center as well as regular visitors to Newport. The building will be open for business in 2015, he said. The Renaissance Block will replace a collection of buildings that have seen better days, but represent a significant chunk of Newport history. When the city submitted its application to join the state’s designated downtown program, it prepared a listing of historic buildings in the Main Street area. According to that document, the J.B. Police building, in which Mr. Daggett lived until recently, was one of the three oldest on the Spates’ Block. It was built around 1900, 18 years before Newport was organized as a city. The building was first called the Arlington Block, but received its current name after Police’s Fruit Store moved into the ground floor. The store was owned by Gasper Borella, who moved from Italy to Plymouth, New Hampshire. There he added Police to his name. Carol Bonneau cooks breakfast for Newport residents at Family Recipe, her restaurant. She plans to keep feeding people until she has to leave and, if possible, to go out with a big party on Main Street. Photo by Joseph Gresser His son John B. Police took over the store when his father returned to his homeland. His name is still emblazoned on the front of the building. The Police family owned the building for the next 61 years. The only store now open in that building, and one of only four businesses on the block, is Newport’s oldest continuously operating business, Farrant’s Flower Shop. Betty McQuillen was minding the store on Monday. Her father, Harold Jenks, bought the business from John Farrant in 1927, Ms. McQuillen said. He, in turn, had it from his father, Thomas Farrant, who Ms. McQuillen said, came over from England and started selling flowers in the late nineteenth century. “He owned all of Farrant’s Point,” she said. She said she doesn’t see how her business will be able to afford to move back to Main Street once construction is done on the Renaissance Block. Her plans call for basing the business on Farrant Street near its greenhouse. That option won’t work for Carol Bonneau, the owner of Family Recipe, a restaurant that specializes in breakfasts and is only open mornings. Ms. Bonneau said she’s seen business decline and thinks it’s because people don’t realize she’s still open. She is and said she plans to stay open until December 1, the date she’s been given to leave the building. Like Ms. McQuillen, Ms. Bonneau said she doesn’t think she can find another storefront to rent on Main Street. Her plan is to keep serving breakfasts as long as she can and then to look for a job, she said. When it comes time to shut her restaurant’s doors she said she wants to go out in style. If the city allows it, “We’re going to throw a big party on Main Street,” she said. “We’re going to give out some food.” She plans to keep all her restaurant equipment and hopes to raise enough money to buy a food truck and take it around to events where she can again cook for people. Ms. McQuillen said that not having the Main Street storefront will mean a loss of walk-in traffic. But the business will be able to keep on delivering orders from customers, she said. The Spates Block has been losing businesses for years. The Great Outdoors of Newport, a sporting goods store that once occupied two storefronts, moved to Waterfront Plaza in 2006. Other businesses closed more recently. Myers Jewelry shut its doors earlier this year when its proprietor, David Myers, retired. Jocelyn and Cinta’s Bake Shop moved across the street into the newly opened tasting center, and Debi Meade moved her store to the Hood Building on Coventry Street, in the process changing its name from Fabric to Ewe-phorium. Aside from Family Recipe, the only businesses that remain open are a second-hand store run by Northeast Kingdom Community Action (NEKCA), and TNT Tattoos, which is located in the oldest building on the Spates Block, the mansion built by Converse Goodhue Goodrich around 1870. Now it shows little trace of its origin, but it may have been the home of Mr. Goodrich and his wife, Almira, whose legacy is the library that bears their name. The Goodrich mansion sits on the corner of Main and Second streets. Over the years, it has been repeatedly refashioned. The building appears as a home in an 1881 map. By the turn of the century, though, it was home to a millinery business located on the first floor. In 1925 there were three storefronts and apartments along Second Street. The main storefront has been vacant since Your Name Here Embroidery was bought by the owners of Majestic Trophies and Northeast Kingdom Signs and moved across the street to their store. TNT Tattoo, on the Second Street side of the building, is the only business operating in what was the old Goodrich mansion. On Main Street, Mr. Daggett waited at the truck as a bare-chested man carried a large glass fish out of the building and entrusted it to his care. He introduced himself as Shawn Hildreth. Like Mr. Daggett he was helping people move their belongings to their new lodgings. It was a matter of kindness, Mr. Hildreth said. “I’m trying to help people. It’s true, when you do that it comes back to you.” Mr. Hildreth said he has lived in Newport for 30 years and stayed in Main Street apartments “off and on.” Looking up at the buildings, he said. “I don’t want to see it go. I think it’s bad news to see it go.” Thinking it over for a moment, he added. “Maybe it will help get some of the hoodlums off Main Street.” Mr. Daggett smiled broadly and said, “I used to be one,” he said. Mr. Hildreth laughed. “So did I,” he said. contact Joseph Gresser at joseph@bartonchronicle.com For more free articles from the Chronicle like this one, see our Editor’s Picks pages. For all the Chronicle’s stories, pick up a print copy or subscribe, either for print or digital editions. Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged Almira Goodrich, Arlington Block, Betty McQuillen, Bill Stenger, Bogner building, Carol Bonneau, Converse Goodhue Goodrich, Debi Meade, Doug Spates, EB-5 visa, Ewe-phorium, Fabric, Family Recipe, Farrant's Flower Shop, Gasper Borella, Harold Jenks, Hood Building, J.B. Police, Jay Peak Resort, Jocelyn and Cinta's Bake Shop, John Dagget, John Farrant, Joseph Gresser, Main Street, Majestic Trophies, Myers Jewelry, Newport, Northeast Kingdom Community Action, Northeast Kingdom Signs, Police's Fruit Store, Renaissance Block, Shawn Hildreth, Spates Block, Stephanie Forest, The Great Outdoors of Newport, Thomas Farrant, TNT Tattoos, Waterfront Plaza, Your Name Here Embroidery Legislators tour through Jay and Newport Posted on February 6, 2013 by BethanyMDunbar Bill Stenger, president of Jay Peak Resort, testifies before the combined forces of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee and the Transportation Committee Tuesday at North Country Career Center in Newport. Photo by Joseph Gresser copyright the Chronicle 2-6-13 NEWPORT — A passel of state representatives on a bus tour of the Northeast Kingdom heard firsthand about the issues that will have to be addressed to help the area adjust to $500-million-worth of planned development. One problem the area won’t have to address is an influx of 10,000 new jobs. Bill Stenger, co-owner of Jay Peak Resort and one of the main forces behind the new investment, told the legislators that although there will be 10,000 jobs created in response to the investment, the total of direct jobs in Orleans County will be between 1,500 and 2,000. The rest of the 10,000 figure will be a consequence of the economic activity created by the new business, and will ripple through the state and out into New England, Mr. Stenger explained. He was the first witness to testify before a combined meeting of the House Commerce and Economic Development Committee and the Transportation Committee, supplemented by one or two members of the House Education Committee. The legislators arrived for lunch at the North Country Career Center after taking a tour of Jay Peak and hearing the plans for economic development in the Northeast Kingdom proposed by Mr. Stenger and his partners. They were accompanied on their journey by a group of high-ranking officials from the state agencies of Commerce and Community Development, and Transportation. When they got to the Career Center the delegation found a crowd of around 90 people, including educators, local officials, business owners and interested citizens had already assembled. Representative Bill Botzow of Pownal, chairman of the commerce committee, opened the meeting and gave Representative Mike Marcotte of Coventry, his vice-chairman, an opportunity to say a few words. “I want to thank the legislators for coming up here. We’re really proud of what we have here,” Representative Marcotte said. He said of the work that must be done in connection with planned development, “they’re great challenges to have, but they’re challenges we have to meet.” Mr. Stenger, who was the first witness, told the representatives that it was the “quality and character of the community” that inspired his plans. Capital, he said, was the key to development, and the federal EB-5 visa program, which allows foreigners to get residency status in the U.S. in exchange for a job-creating investment, has provided an ideal source of capital. He said the program has allowed Jay Peak to realize good ideas without the necessity of having a mortgage. When the program got to the point where it needed to be renewed by Congress, Mr. Stenger said, he sat down with Senator Patrick Leahy, who was one of those behind the law, and Governor Peter Shumlin to think of what might be done if the law was extended. They decided that it would make sense to bring in good new businesses and give them the opportunity to grow in the Northeast Kingdom. When the bill reauthorizing the program was signed in September it opened a three-year window, Mr. Stenger said. In those three years two new business, AnC Bio and Menck Windows, will have to be up and running. Other ideas, such as a hotel and convention center in Newport and a redeveloped block in the city, will have to be substantially complete, he said. He said that he and his partners have been working closely with educators around the area to make sure that people have the skills needed when it comes time to hire workers. The issues that will need to be addressed as the current plans come to fruition include transportation, health care, housing, and education and training. “All those elements are represented in this room,” Mr. Stenger said of those seated behind him. “Keep our eye on us, because it’s been a long time since this part of Vermont has been a leader. We’re going to do great work,” he concluded. Before leaving the witness table Mr. Stenger, smiling broadly, said he was glad that whoever put together a list of projects for the Agency of Transportation included rebuilding Route 242, the road that serves Jay Peak. “It made my day.” Mr. Stenger was followed by superintendents Robert Kern of the North Country Supervisory Union, Chris Masson of the Essex North Supervisory Union, and Stephen Urgenson of the Orleans Central Supervisory Union. Mr. Kern said that many of the schools in the area are old and need work if they are to accommodate an increased population of students. He asked the legislators to consider providing help for school renovation, noting that Morgan has repeatedly voted down bonds because its voters feel they cannot pay for renovations on their own. He also suggested that the state needs to provide demographic information to allow schools to make informed decisions about needs they will have to meet quickly. Mr. Kern said he has no way of knowing how many new workers will be arriving or how many children they will bring with them. Mr. Masson pleaded for consideration of spreading the development into the Canaan area. The number of jobs in the community has dropped precipitously since Ethan Allen moved much of its production to its Orleans plant, he said. Mr. Urgenson asked for a better communications infrastructure in the Northeast Kingdom. Faster communications and better cell phone coverage will result in greater creativity, he argued. Representing higher education, Penne Ciaraldi of Community College of Vermont, Ann Nygard of Lyndon State College, and Cindy Robillard of the Department of Labor outlined their efforts to create a partnership to develop job training programs in the Northeast Kingdom. Ms. Nygard said educators have to build a “cradle to career pathway” for students. Eileen Illuzzi, interim director of the Career Center, told how her school has worked to anticipate career opportunities. She said the career center established its hospitality program three years earlier after a visit to Jay Peak. “Hospitality is not a career choice, we need to make it a destination career,” she said. She said the career center is “all about options.” Even students who decide not to complete a two-year career program may have gained something. Ms. Illuzzi told the story of a student who hoped to go to medical school. When she fainted at the sight of blood during a visit to an operating room, it gave her a chance to reconsider her path, Ms. Illuzzi said. The Menck Window company, a German firm, may want to consider working with the career center to create an apprenticeship program, Ms. Illuzzi said, something that accords with their national style. Patricia Sears of the Newport City Renaissance Corporation gave a ringing endorsement of the city. “This is Newport’s time, this is Vermont’s time, this is our time,” she declared. She talked about opportunities that can be created by a planned foreign trade zone, which if approved by the federal government would greatly expand the possibilities of international trade in the area. “We’re all on the path to awesome,” Ms. Sears announced. Doug Morton of the Northeastern Vermont Development Association said his organization has conducted a number of studies of transportation needs in Orleans and Caledonia counties. The studies could use revision, he acknowledged, but the basic information is still sound. After the scheduled testimony, Mr. Botzow asked if any individuals wished to offer their opinions. Nick Ecker-Racz of Glover stepped forward to tell the legislators that he thinks that an improved public transportation system ought to be part of their thinking. He also warned against programs that involved excess regulation. Finally Mr. Ecker-Racz cautioned the representatives that increased wealth in the community will inevitably result in an influx of drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Programs should be put in place beginning in elementary school to guard against the problem. Eleanor Leger of Charleston said she thinks that good local businesses will thrive in the new environment. She expressed excitement about the proposed free trade zone, which she said could aid her business, Eden Ice Cider, which gets many of its bottling supplies from South America. Reed Ogden of Barton warned against too eager acceptance of a Walmart scheduled for construction in Derby. Studies, he said, show that every Walmart employee costs taxpayers $1,000 in support services due to the company’s low wages and benefits. He acknowledged that the data behind that study was eight years old. Mr. Ogden pointed to a community-sponsored for-profit store established in Saranac Lake, New York, as an example of an alternative way for people to buy the goods they need at a price they can afford. Finally, Newport Mayor Paul Monette told the legislators that his city welcomes all the development. He said that transportation was the only problem he could see. He said that a bottleneck at the bottom of Main Street could be eliminated by building a roundabout. Or a new bridge, which he suggested might have to go through the spot where Representative Marcotte’s store now stands, could serve as a bypass for traffic. In concluding the meeting Mr. Botzow offered a kind of benediction. “I think the future is bright,” he said. “I hope in five, ten or 20 years we look back and say ‘we did it right.’” Posted in Editor's Picks | Tagged AnC Bio, Bill Stenger, House Commerce and Economic Development Committee, House Transportation Committee, Jay Peak, Legislature, Menck Windows, Newport, North Country Career Center, Representative Mike Marcotte Post navigation

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2513

From Fishing to Farming FishBy Dave Evans on September 19, 2012 in From Our Leadership, World Poverty FH U.S. President Dave Evans (left), USAID Direct of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives J. Mark Brinkmoeller (center), and FH Chief Financial Officer Barry Gardner (right) at FH-hosted dinner with U.S. Government representatives to discuss the future of foreign assistance Food for the Hungry (FH) was honored to host members of the 112th Congress, White House, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department for dinner last week. Our goal was to thank our long-standing partners and to initiate a fresh dialog about assisting the world’s most vulnerable people. . I shared three brief thoughts with them: The two-minute story of FH; A glimpse into FH’s funding and programming partnership with the U.S. government; and Thoughts on the future of foreign assistance. The two-minute story of FH The group enjoyed hearing about the deep faith and commitment of our founder, Larry Ward. They delighted in hearing how Larry would read about a disaster in the news, hop on a plane, max out His personal credit card for assistance funds and help as many victims as possible. He would then return to the US to raise funds to pay off the credit card, and then start the process all over again! Thankfully, we have moved toward a more sustainable model for helping the world’s poor via a development-driven ministry model that began in the 1980s. But despite that change, we have tenaciously

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2678

Questioning the Syrian “Casualty List” Al-Akhbar is currently going through a transitional phase whereby the English website is available for Archival purposes only. All new content will be published in Arabic on the main website (www.al-akhbar.com). Al-Akhbar Management A Free Syrian Army (FSA) gunman stands guard as demonstrators pray on a street in Reef Damascus, north of Damascus, early 4 February 2012. (Photo: REUTERS - Stringer) By: Sharmine Narwani Published Tuesday, February 28, 2012 “Perception is 100 percent of politics,” the old adage goes. Say something three, five, seven times, and you start to believe it in the same way you “know” aspirin is good for the heart. Sometimes though, perception is a dangerous thing. In the dirty game of politics, it is the perception – not the facts of an issue – that invariably wins the day. In the case of the raging conflict over Syria, the one fundamental issue that motors the entire international debate on the crisis is the death toll and its corollary: the Syrian casualty list. The “list” has become widely recognized – if not specifically, then certainly when the numbers are bandied about: 4,000, 5,000, 6,000 – sometimes more. These are not mere numbers; they represent dead Syrians. But this is where the dangers of perception begin. There are many competing Syrian casualty lists with different counts – how does one, for instance gauge if X is an accurate number of deaths? How have the deaths been verified? Who verifies them and do they have a vested interest? Are the dead all civilians? Are they pro-regime or anti-regime civilians? Do these lists include the approximately 2,000 dead Syrian security forces? Do they include members of armed groups? How does the list-aggregator tell the difference between a civilian and a plain-clothes militia member? Even the logistics baffle. How do they make accurate counts across Syria every single day? A member of the Lebanese fact-finding team investigating the 15 May 2011 shooting deaths of Palestinian protesters by Israelis at the Lebanese border told me that it took them three weeks to discover there were only six fatalities, and not the 11 counted on the day of the incident. And in that case, the entire confrontation lasted a mere few hours. How then does one count 20, 40, or 200 casualties in a few hours while conflict continues to rage around them? My first port of call in trying to answer these questions about the casualty list was the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which seemed likely to be the most reliable source of information on the Syrian death toll – until it stopped keeping track last month. The UN began its effort to provide a Syrian casualty count in September 2011, based primarily on lists provided by five different sources. Three of their sources were named: The Violations Documenting Center (VDC), the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and the Syrian Shuhada website. At that time, the lists varied in number from around 2,400 to 3,800 victims. The non-UN casualty list most frequently quoted in the general media is the one from the Syrian Observatory – or SOHR. Last month, SOHR made some headlines of its own when news of a rift over political viewpoints and body counts erupted. Two competing SOHRs claimed authenticity, but the group headed by Rami Abdul Rahman is the one recognized by Amnesty International. OHCHR spokesman Rupert Colville stated during a phone interview that the UN evaluates its sources to check “whether they are reliable,” but appeared to create distance from SOHR later – during the group’s public spat – by saying: “The (UN) colleague most involved with the lists...had no direct contact with the Syrian Observatory, though we did look at their numbers. This was not a group we had any prior knowledge of, and it was not based in the region, so we were somewhat wary of it.” Colville explains that the UN sought at all times “to make cautious estimates” and that “we have reasonable confidence that the rounded figures are not far off.” While “also getting evidence from victims and defectors – some who corroborated specific names,” the UN, says Colville, “is not in a position to cross-check names and will never be in a position to do that.” I spoke to him again after the UN decided to halt its casualty count in late January. “It was never easy to verify, but it was a little bit clearer before. The composition of the conflict has changed. It’s become much more complex, fragmented,” Colville says. “While we have no doubt there are civilian and military casualties...we can’t really quantify it.” “The lists are clear – the question is whether we can fully endorse their accuracy,” he explains, citing the “higher numbers” as an obstacle to verification. The Casualty Lists Up Close: Some Stories Behind the Numbers Because the UN has stopped its casualty count, reporters have started reverting back to their original Syrian death toll sources. The SOHR is still the most prominent among them. Abdul Rahman’s SOHR does not make its list available to the general public, but in early February I found a link to a list on the other SOHR website and decided to take a look. The database lists the victim’s name, age, gender, city, province, and date of death – when available. In December 2011, for instance, the list names around 77 registered casualties with no identifying information provided. In total, there are around 260 unknowns on the list. Around that time, I had come across my first list of Syrians killed in the crisis, reportedly compiled in coordination with the SOHR, that contained the names of Palestinian refugees killed by Israeli fire on the Golan Heights on 15 May 2011 and 5 June 2011 when protesters congregated on Syria’s armistice line with Israel. So my first check was to see if that kind of glaring error appears in the SOHR list I investigate in this piece. To my amazement, the entire list of victims from those two days were included in the SOHR casualty count – four from May 15 (#5160 to #5163) and 25 victims of Israeli fire from June 5 (#4629 to #4653). The list even identifies the deaths as taking place in Quneitra, which is in the Golan Heights. It also didn’t take long to find the names of well-publicized pro-regime Syrians on the SOHR list and match them with YouTube footage of their funerals. The reason behind searching for funeral links is that pro-regime and anti-regime funerals differ quite starkly in the slogans they chant and the posters/signs/flags on display. Below, is a list of eight of these individuals, including their number, name, date and place of death on the casualty list – followed by our video link and further details if available: #5939, Mohammad Abdo Khadour, 4/19/11, Hama, off-duty Colonel in Syrian army, shot in his car and died from multiple bullet wounds. Funeral link. #5941, Iyad Harfoush, 4-18-11, Homs, off-duty Commander in Syrian army. In a video, his wife says someone started shooting in the mostly pro-regime al Zahra neighborhood of Homs – Harfoush went out to investigate the incident and was killed. Funeral link. #5969, Abdo al Tallawi, 4/17/11, Homs, General in Syrian army killed alongside his two sons and a nephew. Funeral footage shows all four victims. The others are also on the list at #5948, Ahmad al Tallawi, #5958, Khader al Tallawi and #5972, Ali al Tallawi, all in Homs, Funeral link. #6021, Nidal Janoud, 11/4/11, Tartous, an Alawite who was severely slashed by his assailants. The bearded gentleman to the right of the photo, and a second suspect, are now standing trial for the murder. Photo link. #6022, Yasar Qash’ur, 11/4/11, Tartous, Lieutenant Colonel in the Syrian army, killed alongside 8 others in an ambush on a bus in Banyas, Funeral link. #6129, Hassan al-Ma’ala, 4/5/11, policeman, suburbs of Damascus, Funeral link. #6130, Hamid al Khateeb, 4/5/11, policeman, suburbs of Damascus, Funeral link. #6044, Waeb Issa, 10/4/11, Tartous, Colonel in Syrian army, Funeral link. Besides featuring on the SOHR list, Lt. Col. Yasar Qashur, Iyad Harfoush, Mohammad Abdo Khadour and General Abdo al Tallawi and his two sons and nephew also appear on two of the other casualty lists – the VDC and Syrian Shuhada – both used by the United Nations to compile their numbers. Nir Rosen, an American journalist who spent several months insides Syria’s hot spots in 2011, with notable access to armed opposition groups, reported in a recent Al Jazeera interview: “Every day the opposition gives a death toll, usually without any explanation of the cause of the deaths. Many of those reported killed are in fact dead opposition fighters, but the cause of their death is hidden and they are described in reports as innocent civilians killed by security forces, as if they were all merely protesting or sitting in their homes. Of course, those deaths still happen regularly as well.” “And, every day, members of the Syrian army, security agencies and the vague paramilitary and militia phenomenon known as shabiha ["thugs"] are also killed by anti-regime fighters,” Rosen continues. The report issued in January by Arab League Monitors after their month-long observer mission in Syria – widely ignored by the international media – also witnessed acts of violence by armed opposition groups against both civilians and security forces. The Report states: “In Homs, Idlib and Hama, the observer mission witnessed acts of violence being committed against government forces and civilians...Examples of those acts include the bombing of a civilian bus, killing eight persons and injuring others, including women and children...In another incident in Homs, a police bus was blown up, killing two police officers.” The observers also point out that “some of the armed groups were using flares and armour-piercing projectiles.“ Importantly, the report further confirms obfuscation of casualty information when it states: “the media exaggerated the nature of the incidents and the number of persons killed in incidents and protests in certain towns.” On February 3, the eve of the UN Security Council vote on Syria, news broke out that a massacre was taking place in Homs, with the general media assuming it was true and that all violence was being committed by the Syrian government. The SOHR’s Rami Abdul Rahman was widely quoted in the media as claiming the death toll to be at 217. The Local Coordination Committees (LCCs), which provide information to the VDC, called it at “more than 200,” and the Syrian National Council (SNC), a self-styled government in absentia of mainly expats, claimed 260 victims. The next day, the casualty count had been revised down to 55 by the LCCs. (link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16883911) Even if the count is at 55 – that is still a large number of victims by any measure. But were these deaths caused by the Syrian government, by opposition gunmen or in the crossfire between the two groups? That is still the question that needs to break through the deafening narratives, lists, and body counts. In International Law, Detail Counts While the overwhelming perception of Syrian casualties thus far has been that they are primarily unarmed civilians deliberately targeted by government forces, it has become obvious these casualties are also likely to include: Civilians caught in the crossfire between government forces and opposition gunmen; victims of deliberate violence by armed groups; “dead opposition fighters” whose attire do not distinguish them from regular civilians; and members of the Syrian security forces, both on and off duty. Even if we could verify the names and numbers on a Syrian casualty list, we still don’t know their stories, which if revealed, may pose an entirely different picture of what is going on in Syria today These questions are vitally important to understand the burden of responsibility in this conflict. International law provides for different measures of conflict: the two most frequently used gauges for this are the Principle of Necessity, i.e., using force only when it is necessary, and the Principle of Proportionality, i.e., the use of force proportional to the threat posed. In the case of Syria – like in Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and Libya – it is widely believed that the government used unnecessary force in the first instance. Syrian President Bashar Assad, like many of these Arab rulers, has as much as admitted to “mistakes” in the first months of protests. These mistakes include some shooting deaths and detaining a much larger number of protesters than expected, some of whom were allegedly tortured. Let us assume, without question, that the Syrian government was over zealous in its use of force initially, and therefore violated the Principle of Necessity. I tend to believe this version because it has been so-stated by the Arab League’s observer mission – the first and only boots-on-the-ground monitors investigating the crisis from within the country. However – and this is where the casualty lists come in – there is not yet nearly enough evidence, not by any measure acceptable in a court of law, that the Syrian government has violated the Principle of Proportionality. Claims that the regime has used disproportionate force in dealing with the crisis are, today, difficult to ascertain, in large part because opponents have been using weapons against security forces and pro-regime civilians almost since the onset of protests. Assuming that the number of casualties provided by the UN’s OHCHR is around the 5,000-mark -the last official figure provided by the group - the question is whether this is a highly disproportionate number of deaths when contrasted directly with the approximately 2,000 soldiers of the regular Syrian army and other security forces who have been reportedly killed since April 2011. When you calculate the deaths of the government forces in the past 11 months, they amount to about six a day. Contrast that with frequent death toll totals of around 15+ each day disseminated by activists – many of whom are potentially neither civilian casualties nor victims of targeted violence – and there is close to enough parity to suggest a conflict where the acts of violence may be somewhat equal on both sides. Last Sunday, as Syrians went to the polls to vote on a constitutional referendum, Reuters reports – quoting the SOHR – that 9 civilians and 4 soldiers were killed in Homs, and that elsewhere in Syria there were 8 civilian and 10 security forces casualties. That is 17 civilians and 14 regime forces – where are the opposition gunmen in that number? Were none killed? Or are they embedded in the “civilian” count? Defectors or Regular Soldiers? There have also been allegations that many, if not most, of the soldiers killed in clashes or attacks have been defectors shot by other members of the regular army. There is very little evidence to support this as anything more than a limited phenomenon. Logically, it would be near impossible for the Syrian army to stay intact if it was turning on its rank-and-file soldiers in this manner – and the armed forces have remained remarkably cohesive given the length and intensity of the conflict in Syria. In addition, the names, rank and cities of each of the dead soldiers are widely publicized by state-owned media each day, often accompanied by televised funerals. It would be fairly simple for the organized opposition to single out by name the defectors they include on their casualty lists, which has not happened. The very first incident of casualties from the Syrian regular army that I could verify dates to 10 April 2011, when gunmen shot up a bus of soldiers travelling through Banyas, in Tartous, killing nine. This incident took place a mere few weeks after the first peaceful protests broke out in Syria, and so traces violence against government forces back to the start of political upheaval in the country. “Witnesses” quoted by the BBC, Al Jazeera and The Guardian insisted that the nine dead soldiers were “defectors” who had been shot by the Syrian army for refusing orders to shoot at demonstrators. Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, debunked that version on his Syria Comment website. Another surviving soldier on the bus – a relation of Lt. Col. Yasar Qashur, #6022 on the SOHR list, whose funeral I link to above – denied that they were defectors too. But the narrative that dead soldiers are mostly defectors shot by their own troops has stuck throughout this conflict – though less so, as evidence of gunmen targeting Syrian forces and pro-regime civilians becomes belatedly apparent. The VDC – another of the UN’s OHCHR sources for casualty counts – alleges that 6,399 civilians and 1,680 army defectors were killed in Syria during the period from 15 March 2011 to 15 February 2012. All security forces killed in Syria during the past 11 months were “defectors?” Not a single soldier, policeman or intelligence official was killed in Syria except those forces who opposed the regime? This is the kind of mindless narrative of this conflict that continues unchecked. Worse yet, this exact VDC statistic is included in the latest UN report on Syria issued last week. Humanitarian Crisis or Just Plain Violence? While few doubt the Syrian government’s violent suppression of this revolt, it is increasingly clear that in addition to the issue of disproportionally, there is the question of whether there is a “humanitarian crisis” as suggested by some western and Arab leaders since last year. I sought some answers during a trip to Damascus in early January 2012 where I spoke to a select few NGOs that enjoyed rare access to all parts of the country. Given that words like “massacre” and “slaughter” and “humanitarian crisis” are being used in reference to Syria, I asked International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Spokesman Saleh Dabbakeh how many calls for urgent medical assistance his organization had received in 2011. His response was shocking. “Only one that I recall,” said Dabbakeh. Where was that, I asked? “Quneitra National Hospital in the Golan,” he replied, “last June.” This was when Israeli troops fired on Syrian and Palestinian protesters marching to the 1973 armistice line with the Jewish state. Those same protesters that ended up on SOHR’s casualty list. A Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) worker confirmed that, recalling that his organization treated hundreds of casualties from the highly-publicized incident. As the level of violence has escalated, however, the situation has deteriorated, and the ICRC now has received more calls for medical assistance – mainly from private hospitals in Homs. The SARC today has nine different points in Homs where it provides such assistance. The only two places they do not currently serve are the neighborhoods of Baba Amr and Inshaat “because the security situation does not allow for it – for their own safety, there is fighting there.” During a phone call last Thursday, one NGO officer, explained that the measure for a “humanitarian crisis” is in level of access to basic staples, services and medical care. He told me off the record that “There is a humanitarian crisis in (i.e.) Baba Amr today, but not in Syria. If the fighting finishes tomorrow, there will be enough food and medical supplies.” “Syria has enough food to feed itself for a long time. The medical sector still functions very well. There isn’t enough pressure on the medical sector to create a crisis,” he elaborated. “A humanitarian crisis is when a large number of a given population does not have access to medical aid, food, water, electricity, etc – when the system cannot any longer respond to the needs of the population.” But an international human rights worker also cautions: “the killing is happening on both sides – the other side is no better.” People have to stop this knee-jerk, opportunistic, hysterical obsession with numbers of dead Syrians, and ask instead: “who are these people and who killed them?” That is the very least these victims deserve. Anything less would render their tragic deaths utterly meaningless. Lack of transparency along the supply-chain of information and its dissemination – on both sides – is tantamount to making the Syrian story all about perception, and not facts. It is a hollow achievement and people will die in ever greater numbers. Sharmine Narwani is a commentary writer and political analyst covering the Middle East. You can follow Sharmine on twitter @snarwani. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect Al-Akhbar's editorial policy. TagsSection: OpinionCategory: ArticlesTags: UN, Syrian opposition, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian army, Syrian Arab Red Crescent, syria, SARC, Red Cross, Quneitra, OHCHR, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ICRC, Homs, death toll, casualty list, Baba Amr, armed groups Reddit Submitted by PCE (not verified) on Fri, 2012-12-14 07:50. omg you guys know nothing, please don't support Assad.. Unless you have lived there for a long time, do not give advice about what should happen and do not judge what is happening. Submitted by brian (not verified) on Wed, 2012-03-07 01:11. fyi: RT: Why would Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya disseminate all these falsified reports on Syria? AK: These TV networks have been employed as propaganda tools serving to destroy Syria as a state. Some of those propaganda tactics are stunningly elaborate, and you can only tell a lie if you live in Syria and focus on details. For instance, there has been a fantastic weather forecast for Syria broadcast on TV, where temperature indices actually stand for the time when protesters will assemble in a specific location to provoke unrest. If you are with the opposition, this broadcast tells you that there will be a rally in Homs tomorrow at 12pm, and specially instructed camera crews will be waiting for you and your associates to turn up to act as the angry masses. You spend five minutes yelling “Down with Assad” in a square and leave with hard cash in your pocket, and the world gets TV images of “a street revolution rocking Syria.” I witnessed this technique in action once. Al Jazeera reported on a street protest erupting near the Russian Cultural Center in Damascus in December 2011. I happen to live nearby, and I can see the Center from my window. There was nothing happening at this location at the time of the report. But exactly two hours later, a bunch of people turned up and launched an aggressive protest action. So it was not really a news report – it was coded instructions communicating the time and place of a staged disturbance. Similar tactics was used to announce the assault against the Syrian embassy in Amman early in December 2011. http://australiansforsyria.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/interview-with-ankha... Submitted by brian (not verified) on Wed, 2012-03-07 01:09. The meme about govt forces killing defectors was also used in the war on Libya. http://nocheinparteibuch.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/hidden-behind-propagan... as for the casualties..as with Libya the govt is being demonised to justify a NATO invasion..is the syrian army killing syrian civlians? NO! who says they are? just the same media that lied about the libyan army. .The media like NYT Aljazeera BBC etc have no credibility http://www.moonofalabama.org/2012/01/syrian-death-numbers-are-likely-all... We are being lied to yet again by the professional media and bellwether Human rights(?) organisations..dont be fooled.. Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 2012-03-06 18:57. Can somebody please have Anderson Cooper of CNN understand complexities of the situation in Syria. Many people are tired of his one side reporting. Send him some reports from the independent journalists and comments from this pages and maybe, just maybe it will help to clear up his confused head regarding Syria and the region in general. We need reporting and information from both sides in order to have public understand the bases of conflicts in the region. Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2012-03-02 13:07. Desperate article and comments. Shame on those who are waiting for accurate numbers to take a stand against massacres. This is so similar to the Israeli approach when bombing Gaza, "the people of Gaza are not innocent civilians" they say, "they are armed groups", and they call them terrorists. I call them resistants. I honestly don't care about accurate numbers, 500 or 5000 does not make me change my mind and take a stand pro a dictator, against the people. Submitted by lidia (not verified) on Fri, 2012-03-02 18:46. NO, Zionists' war crimes lies are SUPPORTED by the SAME forces which support the lies of "opposition". Do NOT lie about it, and your post would be less "desperate". When the last time (or ANY time) Obama or Clinton were telling that Zionist war criminals should step down? NEVER. So, find another way to support NATO/GCC "opposition". Submitted by hezbeleb (not verified) on Fri, 2012-03-02 15:50. I have really been shamed. Especially when you brought up the zionist analogy. So I am just gonna pretend that the head of the SNC hasn't knelt to the americans and the zionists and promised to be a good boy when, if ever he takes the reins of the country. I am also supposed to ignore the fact that the Fake Syrian Army is receiving weapons from countries vying to sow strife in the region not to mention the fact that those countries are zionist allies. If I ignore all this, and all the sectarianism of the Fake Syrian Army and their allies and not mind the fact that the immediate fall of the regime will result in a zionist victory, then yes you will have shamed me. But, I just can't ignore those facts. Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 2012-03-04 17:24. More desperate comments by the army of Lidia and hezbleb, you don't get the idea yet . All my syrian friends supporting the Syrian revolution are continuously criticizing the official opposition. Criticizing the opposition is not a good argument to support the dictatorship, neither the massacres. You are are again using the same argument that the west uses to condemn Palestinians rather than condemning Israel. Submitted by Hezbeleb (not verified) on Mon, 2012-03-05 01:43. So many assumptions on your part genius. To ask for an overthrow of the regime when the leaders of the armed uprising as well as the representatives of the official opposition are funded and supported by Saudi/Qatari/European/American money is simply asking for disaster for the region. You're so limited in your view of the world to assume that not supporting one party in a conflict means support of the other. And how many Syrian friends do you have? Do you have about at least a thousand randomly picked. Because if you don't, then that just simply isn't indicative of anything if your intention is to give weight to your argument. And finally how nice is it that now the people who claim to support the Syrian people bring up the example of Palestine and the Israelis. Because most of the people who will not support the armed uprising in Syria are holding such position because they know that the immediate overthrow of the regime in favor of an american/Saudi installed government is a zionist and an american victory. So the only desperate comments are yours which are a regurgitation of Main Stream Media rubbish. Imagine despite all the western news outlets and the arabic news outlets carrying out a very agressive media campaign (based on lies (see As'ad Abukhalil blog from yesterday)) and people like you repeating their mantra incessantly, the so-called opposition has yet to gain the respect of the Syrian people. Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2012-03-02 00:18. Why not re-visit Hama-82 while we're at it, just to see whether it was 10'000 or 20'000 that the overzealous men of this president's father achieved? But seriously, making the violence sound like the result of an "overzealous" army... we might as well call victims "collateral damage" caused by "indivudual acts". Inaccuracy is definitely a major drawback in reporting on Syria, at least partly because of the lack of access of journalists to people/places, but this article suggests that it is more important to focus on the methodology than on the results. In a lab, this would be good advice. On the ground, less so. And in terms of humanitarian needs: aid agencies have never considered Syria to be a crisis overall, but have identified pockets where the situation is indeed tantamount to a humanitarian crisis, so maybe the author could check this one. Submitted by lidia (not verified) on Fri, 2012-03-02 18:53. Yes, Hama was a place of an ARMED sectarian revolt , supported by foreign reactionary forces as well. Let us look into TRUTH of such cases, not only at numbers. And the truth has NOTHING to do with Western/GCC propaganda. And in the "pockets"" where the situation is indeed tantamount to a humanitarian crisis" - they are places which sectarian NATO/GCC armed forces are trying to turn into "Misrata" to give NATO/GCC a pretext to bomb Syria. NOW Misrata is a land of armed gangs murder, torture and ethnic cleansing - a nice example for Syria, to be sure. Submitted by Silvio (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 21:37. Nice adaptation of Stalinist propaganda tactics to Baathist ends; of course it was only a handful of "overzealous" cadres responsible for the deaths of civilians. Submitted by hezbeleb (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 23:45. of course, of course. You sound like you're sitting on a goldmine of information. What's a handful of overzealous cadres? I mean, how do you quantify it. And you say it with such conviction, why don't you share with us where you got that unit of measurement of a "handful" from. Submitted by lidia (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 22:01. Nice name-calling instead of arguments. Year to call imperialist "regime change" crimes such is Stalinism, but what is calling them "humanitarian help"? An anti-communism, I suppose. Submitted by A. (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 19:59. The author uses the same tactics & language to Syria's revolution that Zionists use in covering their wars and crimes against Arabs. I really don't understand how she has the ability to write such a long elaborate article without starting by condemning the Assad regime crimes and its responsibility for the chaotic situation we reached to; one which does not even allow for a dignified count of the dead and their dignified burial. Regime-apologetic journalists like the author need to assess their moral and professional abilities. Submitted by brian (not verified) on Sun, 2012-03-04 23:52. 'The author uses the same tactics & language to Syria's revolution that Zionists use in covering their wars and crimes against Arabs. ' what 'revolution'? you mean the colour revolution whereby western regimes like US ad France back salafist muslim brotherhood fundamentalists to take over a secular state and enforce a sharialaw regime, which will repress anu non-muslims or non-salafists?! if this were afghanistan, we';d hear the media rightly calling these salafists islamic terrorists..Here they get to be called 'freedom fighters'! and how strange to compare syrias govt with israels regime when Israel is arming the islamic terrorists. http://ozyism.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/member-of-us-sniper-squad-captured... http://ozyism.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/us-mercenary-hideout-discovered-in... nice! US aids islamic terrorism...the very guys they fight in afghanistan here are allies or patsies. Submitted by hezbeleb (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 23:40. So what you're saying is that first she had to pay homage before she's even allowed to question anything. And what's amazing is that you charge that she is the one who sounds like a zionist. Can anyone question the holocaust or even say anything about it without pledging an undying allegiance to the zionist cause and to "Israel". That's what zionists and their western slaves do. But yet that's what you're asking of the author to do. The journalist is clearly and unambiguously discussing the issue of numbers of dead syrians where pro and anti regime numbers are often found on one list of people killed by the regime. The same list is used by the hyenas in the west to bring about a case against the regime as if now all of a sudden they start caring about arab lives. This makes this article very valuable and relevant. Syrian opposition is no longer made up of unarmed protesters. There's a war that has the potential to engulf the whole region, so spare us. Submitted by lidia (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 21:58. I really don't understand how A has the ability to write such a comment without starting by condemning the NATO/GCC/Zionist crimes and its responsibility for the chaotic situation we reached. Just as in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and so on. And I just cannot get why it Assad's fault for lies of the MB propaganda outlets, counting victims of Zionism, pro-Assad people and soldiers as "victims of Assad". DO NOT LIE. Or no one, excluding NATO/GCC/Zionists, would believe you. Submitted by Abir (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 19:47. Someone wrote a good post in response to this article. I think it is worth sharing it here. "I want to ask some questions which (obviously) Sharmine missed in her long post: why can’t the humanitarian organizations get in and do their job properly, and who is stopping them from doing that? Why unprofessional individuals are forced to be ‘activists’? Do we care to apply the Geneva Conventions? And Did we doubt our numbers when Israel bombed us? Do we have any long-term interest in discrediting the United Nations’ work in Palestine. Really?" http://bit.ly/yB0Kri Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 19:16. Investigative reporting indeed, and well needed in times of such media war. But too bad that the author uses her sharp intelligence and eloquent words to try to play down the level of violence inflicted by a regime on people. Disproportionate use of force, lack of distinction between military and civilians targets, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, all go unnoticed in the series of articles the author has already contributed to the debate on Syria, in a way that makes her, investigative indeed, but apologetic too, on behalf of a government that has failed to protect its own civilians while, (granted, losing its own people too). Maybe the author could spend some time investigating the allegations of violations by the military and security forces too, lest she has already chosen the camp she defends. Submitted by Gavan Gray (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 12:31. Excellent piece.You mentioned on twitter that someone had mentioned the stark disconnect between the majority of British coverage and pieces such as your own. One of the few British writers I saw address the issue in a blanced fashion was Seumas Milne who has written for the Guardian. Perhaps you can prevail upon him to address why that paper, and so many others, have let their standards slip so very far. Submitted by no to everything (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 04:17. "Do these lists include the approximately 2,000 dead Syrian security forces?" So you do not question this "approximate" figure? And why? Based on what? If you weren't a self-declared regime defender, someone who will stand by the regime regardless of how many people they kill, one might overlook this. But nice insertion. Everything is speculation, except for the 2,000 dead security forces. You also fail to mention that these figures can't be verified largely because of the regime violence/clampdown on media. Regime apologists like you have been moving the goalposts and changing their rationalizations for opposing the uprising from Day 1. What you really ought to be writing about is how it really doesn't matter how many people Bashar kills, because the blablablabla resistance axis comes first, and about hierarchy good anti-imperialists should abide by (Palestinian & Lebanese lives, everyone else living in US-backed states, and then Syrians) and finally, how native bullets fired unjustly into the chests of young men should cause mothers less grief than Zionist ones. Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 18:43. Great piece of investigative journalism.... I hope other journalists will follow your lead and try hard to look into their news sources before they splash news all over the world... Submitted by Hiba Kelanee (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 18:20. Great work, thank you Sharmine!! I absolutely support your conclusions regarding the credibility and transparency of the reports on the Syrian death toll; **For months, we heard about casualties from the Syrian army and security forces. On the side of the opposition there were only reports on "unarmed civilians" being killed during peaceful protests...When asked about the casualties taken by the Syrian army, the claim of "defectors being executed by the security forces for disobeying orders to shoot" repeated by the opposition propaganda machines; but the fact that the opposition has adopted the policy of denying any responsibility of any violent acts, raises many questions about its credibility- since its lies were exposed in Jisr al Shogour massacre and in Hama where the bodies of security personnel were thrown savagely in al Assi river; in both incidents the opposition accused the Government forces of being behind these horrific crimes. **However, when it became very hard to avoid addressing the casualties taken by the Syrian military forces; the "Free Syrian Army" had to be conveniently invented!! Since then, it was possible for its members to take responsibility for the attacks on the Syrian Military Forces- giving these attacks legitimacy through its claim that its main role was to "defend unarmed civilians". There was a real media hype about the "FSA" and its "substantial force of 10 000 - 15 000 troops"!! Yet, old habits don’t die easily; the opposition maintained that ALL the dead are civilians and there was NO reference to the death of any "FSA" members- apart from those who died in an attack around al Zaweyeh Mountain back in December, in a military operation by the Syrian Military Forces. This strongly indicates the extreme lack of credibility and transparency on the side of the opposition. In fact, even in Homs, and after all the “shelling”, no “FSA” fighters were reported to have died!! Submitted by Robert.N.Frost (not verified) on Fri, 2012-03-02 06:48. This is a chronology I forgot. Well said, and many thanks. Incidentally, to those who do not like the New Constitution I would recommend that they vote in the next election for the Ba'th Party, and immediately head off into the street and demand by PEACEFUL protests to change the New Constitution and bring the old!... Wait! I thought they are against the Ba'the party... So let me think: They are against the one-party state, but they are obviously against the multiparty state too, because the Plebiscite was not properly carried out. So, they are for the one-party state and against it. For the multiparty system and are forced to be against it... Why does the word schizophrenia keep swirling in my head? Submitted by Parvaneh (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 18:16. Finally someone asking the right questions. But there is more: 800+ of the people named as killed were found to be still alive, while 1200+ were found to have died of natural causes, some where killed by the armed gangs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=B3flBnf4Lb4 Submitted by Chuckles (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 12:30. Sustained mortar and artillery fire is perhaps the most devastating military tool in existence short of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. YES it is even more devastating over a single area than an air campaign because the guns do not have to refuel, rearm, or rest from pilot or airframe fatigue. They just keep firing at a sustained rate. ICRC estimates? Please I never saw them when I was getting shot at. You're educated enough that you should know this stuff. Your supposed "minority report" == fail. Submitted by Robert.N.Frost (not verified) on Thu, 2012-03-01 10:03. I like the flight of the imagination... in between your chuckles, I believe? Just like that! The Syrian Army is simply sending volleys of 'mortars and artillery' fire - at the same time, if you please! Why both? This is something you need to provide an answer for, drawn out from your military skill you so finely demonstrate. For, otherwise people might reflect that both mortar and artillery have the same effect, and that mortar against a proximity enclave of terrorists, while the artillery is used against a distant mortar or artillery position, although rarely, and this has not been reported in Syria, against barricaded terrorists in appartment buildings - that is the terrorists using human shields, if you please! But don't mind me. Continue in your chuckles, while the terrorists work out enough tears to draw some serious consternation and tough Lord Kitchener type reflection - and we do know how bad it was for the bugger in Galipoli! If you really think that the Syrian Army is shooting for the fun of it, there is no therapy that can put this matter right for you. If you accept that these terrorists - for this is their name, especially after they killed 64 Alawites on Monday and 47 Christians and Alawites yesterday - are fighting for freedom and democracy, the Syrian people can do without this kind of freedom, and this form of democracy, and certainly without you!, Submitted by lidia (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 21:03. Some anon is claiming a lot. Why should me believe him(?) We are NOT Hillary or Saudi king, we are NOT going to lap his(?) words as gospel. And, by the way, the air-bombing of Libya by NATO/GCC was MUCH worse than "mortar and artillery fire", esp. if we have NO proof than mortar and artillery fire is "sustained".. Submitted by Admiral (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 06:38. God Bless You, Sharmine Narwani, for your efforts to uncover the reality and for saying the truth about Syria. Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 03:56. How can one prove that the defected soldiers are being killed which explains the high number of casualties in the army? It sounds reasonable though Submitted by lidia (not verified) on Wed, 2012-02-29 21:06. How can one prove that MB propagnda is a lie? Simple - they were caught MANY times, it is even easier than shrug off the "explanations" the high number of casualties in the army by some MB propaganda lie. Sectarian murderers aka "rebels" are murdering soldiers with arms supplied by GCC and NATO.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2697

« The 100-watt bulb will still be legal in 2012 Korea: #Kim Jong Il dead? » The cocaine-Hezbollah-Lebanon connection The NY Times has a graph on Money Laundering at Lebanese Bank The chart below shows the intricate money-laundering system the Lebanese Canadian Bank used to divert money to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, according to United States officials. The report: Beirut Bank Seen as a Hub of Hezbollah’s Financing At the same time, the investigation that led the United States to the bank, the Lebanese Canadian Bank, provides new insights into the murky sources of Hezbollah’s money. While law enforcement agencies around the world have long believed that Hezbollah is a passive beneficiary of contributions from loyalists abroad involved in drug trafficking and a grab bag of other criminal enterprises, intelligence from several countries points to the direct involvement of high-level Hezbollah officials in the South American cocaine trade. The revelations about Hezbollah and the Lebanese Canadian Bank reflect the changing political and military dynamics of Lebanon and the Middle East. American intelligence analysts believe that for years Hezbollah received as much as $200 million annually from its primary patron, Iran, along with additional aid from Syria. But that support has diminished, the analysts say, as Iran’s economy buckles under international sanctions over its nuclear program and Syria’s government battles rising popular unrest. Yet, if anything, Hezbollah’s financial needs have grown alongside its increasing legitimacy here, as it seeks to rebuild after its 2006 war with Israel and expand its portfolio of political and social service activities. The result, analysts believe, has been a deeper reliance on criminal enterprises — especially the South American cocaine trade — and on a mechanism to move its ill-gotten cash around the world. Venezuela plays a part, too, According to Lebanon’s drug enforcement chief, Col. Adel Mashmoushi, one path into the country was aboard a weekly Iranian-operated flight from Venezuela to Damascus and then over the border. Several American officials confirmed that, emphasizing that such an operation would be impossible without Hezbollah’s involvement. It doesn’t end there. Go read the whole thing. Tags: Fausta's blog, Hezbollah, Lebanese Canadian Bank on Saturday, December 17th, 2011 at 7:51 am and is filed under Canada, cocaine, Colombia, corruption, crime, Hizballah, Hizbollah, Latin America, Lebanon.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2713

Foreign Policy In Focus Emily Schwartz Greco Emily is the Institute’s op-ed manager and runs OtherWords (formerly known as Minuteman Media). OtherWords is a syndicated service that distributes progressive commentary and cartoons to approximately 1,700 editors at newspapers and web portals across the nation. Prior to coming to IPS in 2003, Emily covered foreign policy and economics in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as Washington and New York, for the Dow Jones and Bloomberg News services. She earned a M.S. in journalism from Columbia University and a B.A. in Latin American studies and history from the University of Texas at Austin. She has traveled extensively in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. She lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband and two young children. Content by this author Bring Em Home, Bring Em Home May 14, 2007 Bruce Springsteen belts out an old peace movement standard. Annotate This: Commander Guy Bush May 10, 2007 Is Bush "the" commander guy or just "a" commander guy? It really doesn't matter much since he's the commander in chief. He gets to command, unless Congress decides it's had enough and commands him not to. Habeas That Corpus May 7, 2007 The civil and political rights guaranteed in the Constitution to citizens and others who are in the United States are under attack. Adios, World Bank! May 4, 2007 Latin America leads the way out of the global debt machine. Bad Behavior Brings Good Results April 27, 2007 While Cheney deemed Pelosi's Syria trip to be "bad behavior," she was actually following a practice prudently exercised by previous presidents, often bringing good results. Shock but No Awe April 13, 2007 Bush has promised to veto the Democrats plan to bring the troops home. What will be the result of the showdown between Congress and the President? Page 28 of 37« First«...1020...2627282930...»Last » financial flows World Bank Latest Media hits

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2782

by nostradamus Follow Location Cornelius, North Carolina This iReport is part of an assignment: In Memoriam By nostradamus | Posted April 17, 2014 | Cornelius, North Carolina Share CNN PRODUCER NOTE As Colombian, I have no words to express my deep pain for the death of this giant....My condolences to Mercedes, his wife and his sons... I grew up reading the Gabo's books, especially 100 years of Solitude....I was several times in Aracataca, the tiny, hot and sandy Gabo's hometown, filled up with peasants and merchants that inspired him to write 100 years of Solitude. However, few people ask why Gabo moved to Mexico instead of living in Colombia. For decades, a dangerous radical right wing in Colombia has kept the power through rigged, tainted and bribed elections with the support of the Military and groups of bloodthirsty right wing paramilitaries. Two decades ago, a guerrilla group wanted lay down their arms and violence, returning in peace to the politic field as an opposition Party. Then they found Union Patriotica. In less than 4 years, up 5,000 of its members were killed by hitmen with the complicity of the Government. Everybody in Colombia knew who were the killers....When the Union Patriotica leaders, scholars, professionals, journalists and writers started protesting these murders (until today, nobody has been arrested), then they began to receive threats and many civic leaders including several Presidential candidates and journalists were murdered. Gabo was among that group of outspoken writers who wrote strong articles criticizing the corrupt Government's position and the obscene impunity. Then he begins to receive credible death threats so he decided to flee to Mexico. Although he returned years later several times to Colombia as visitor, the death threats against him were kept on. NOTE: Only between 2002 and 2010, in Colombia, during arch right-wing President Alvaro Uribe tenure were assassinated 257.000 people by the right-wing paramilitary groups and over 4 million peasants were displaced of their small farms to avoid to be killed. Entertainment, News Be and editor! Choose an option below: More from this assignment - In Memoriam DC "Mayor for life": Marion Barry Attending Mike Nichols wedding Tribute in Light

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2805

The World's Most Optimistic Law: Banning Graffiti In Karachi By Philip Reeves Feb 9, 2014 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email VIEW SLIDESHOW 1 of 2 A man walks past one of the many graffiti-covered walls in Karachi, Pakistan, on Dec. 27, 2013. Provincial lawmakers have voted to ban graffiti, but few expect the measure to be enforced. Athar Hussain Reuters /Landov A Pakistani man walks past graffiti, which criticizes President Obama, on the wall outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi in September 2011. If there was a competition to find the world's Most Optimistic Law, then here's a promising contender. A law has just been introduced in Pakistan that bans people from scrawling graffiti on the walls of Karachi, a vast, chaotic port city on the shores of the Arabian Sea. It is impossible to drive through Karachi without being struck by the manner in which the city's walls yell at the passersby. Many are buried between a sea of black and red scribblings, which have clearly been penned with great passion and have often - and this is especially striking to the visitor - been angrily crossed out by rival scribes. Some of this "wall-chalking," as Pakistanis call it, is the work of sectarian and militant groups responsible for much of the violence that has blighted Karachi, Pakistan's business capital, for many years, and is getting worse. These groups "spread poison in society by plastering (Karachi's) walls with hate-filled messages and sinister warnings," said an editorial in Pakistan's Dawn newspaper that condemned the vast majority of Karachi's wall-chalking as an "eyesore." But as the paper points out, many other people are also doodling away on the city's architecture. These range from political and religious parties advertising forthcoming rallies to quacks selling dodgy remedies for baldness and impotence. The new anti-graffiti law was passed by legislature in the southern province of Sindh, and covers the whole province (of which Karachi is a part). Scribblers caught defying the law by the cops, or "nabbed," as they say here, could find themselves staring at a prison wall for six months, and paying a $50 fine. Dawn acknowledged this law won't be easy to enforce, so it called on Karachi's roughly 18 million citizens to take the initiative by cleaning off unwanted scrawls on their neighborhood walls. In a town where gun battles happen pretty much every day, that suggestion also seems highly optimistic.Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2015 KASU

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2809

Maryland To Vote On Its Own Dream Act By Jacob Fenston STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: We've heard some discussion of immigration in this year's presidential campaign. We have not seen much immigration legislation move on Capitol Hill. But one state is holding a referendum on a local version of an immigration bill that's been debated in Washington. The so-called Maryland Dream Act would offer in-state tuition rates to undocumented college students residing in Maryland. But as Jacob Fenston reports, even in that solidly blue state the legislation is causing a stir. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing) We are the dreamers. UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) We are the dreamers. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing) Mighty, mighty dreamers. UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Singing) Mighty, mighty dreamers. JACOB FENSTON, BYLINE: Over the past few months, supporters of the Maryland Dream Act have held marches and rallies around the state, telling voters about the bill. YVES GOMES: It stands for, of course, fairness. That if you have roots in Maryland, why not, you should be able to pay in-state tuition. FENSTON: Undocumented Dreamers like Yves Gomes are the face of the campaign. This is a battle they already won once. In the final hours of last year's legislative session, the Democratic-dominated General Assembly passed the Maryland Dream Act. STATE DELEGATE NEIL PARROTT: As it was getting pushed through, I said, Oh, no. And so I sent a Facebook message out to my friends and said, if this passes, do you think we should do a referendum to allow the voters to vote on this? FENSTON: Republican state delegate Neil Parrott and his colleague Pat McDonough launched a campaign gathering more than 100,000, double the number needed to force a voter referendum. STATE DELEGATE PAT MCDONOUGH: First of all, I don't believe, philosophically, that we should providing any kind of taxpayer-financed benefits to someone who is here without lawful presence. FENSTON: The Dream Act would give undocumented students tuition breaks worth thousands of dollars, as long as they meet certain criteria, like going to high school in Maryland and filing taxes here. PARROTT: All this bill would do is make Maryland more of a magnet for illegal aliens. FENSTON: Parrot and McDonough worry undocumented students would crowd out legal residents, and they say the discounted tuition would cost the state way too much - as much as $40,000 per student for a college degree, multiplied by hundreds or thousands. But those numbers are up for debate. GOVERNOR MARTIN O'MALLEY: The cost would be pretty negligible. FENSTON: Dream Act supporters, like Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley, cite a new study that found economic benefits would outweigh the costs. By educating more future workers, the law would ultimately generate $24 million more in tax revenue each year and boost the state economy by $41 million. O'MALLEY: The higher a state's level of education, the more economic opportunities flow from the talents and skills of a well-educated workforce. RICKY CAMPOS: I'm studying, actually, premed. And hopefully, once I'm done with my bachelor's, I will be able to go to med school. FENSTON: Ricky Campos moved to Maryland from El Salvador when he was 12 years old. Now, he's spent almost two and a half years at a community college. He has straight As, and all the credits to transfer to the University of Maryland, but he says out-of-state tuition is out of the question. At around $25,000 a year, it's about three times what Maryland residents pay. CAMPOS: That's why I haven't transferred, by the way. FENSTON: The latest polls seem to be tipping in favor of the Dream Act. But whatever the effect of the law, if affirmed, it won't address the most important questions of immigration policy, says Steve Camarota with the Center for Immigration Studies. STEVEN CAMAROTA: Who may come, how many, and how do we enforce our laws, are all the really profound questions. And a debate over in-state college tuition is really a side-show. FENSTON: If voters here do approve the bill, Maryland will become the 12th state to pass a version of the national Dream Act that's been stalled in Congress for the past decade. But these state laws can't, of course, provide a path to citizenship, a key component of the federal bill. For NPR News, I'm Jacob Fenston. INSKEEP: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.View the discussion thread. © 2015 KBIA

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2817

Joe NeelRSS All ContentcloseNews podcastsUse iTunesUse a different playerRSS View all podcasts & RSS feeds Joe Neel Stephen Voss/NPR VIEW SLIDESHOW 2 of 4 Doby Joe Neel is NPR's deputy senior supervising editor and a correspondent on the Science Desk. As a leader of NPR's award-winning health and science coverage, Neel focuses on stories about medical research and health-care delivery. Neel assigns stories to reporters and correspondents, helps them produce the stories and edits the pieces for broadcast or publication on NPR.org. He is a frequent guest or contributor to NPR's programs, blogs, and podcasts. Currently, Neel oversees the Monday "Your Health" segment on Morning Edition. He supervises the NPR-Kaiser Health News-Member Station Reporting Project on Health Care in the States, which aims to strengthen and deepen local coverage of health care issues. Neel directs coverage of breaking news in health and science including the swine flu pandemic, medical relief efforts after the Haitian earthquake and cholera outbreaks, and health concerns after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Neel led the network's coverage of the debate over the 2010 health care overhaul in Congress and he continues to direct coverage of the law's implementation and efforts to overturn it. He edited series including "Are You Covered? A Look at Americans and Health Insurance." In recent years, Neel launched NPR's "Your Health" podcast and helped launch and grow "Shots," NPR's health blog. During his tenure as editor, NPR's health reporters and correspondents have won numerous awards, including the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society for Professional Journalists, the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Journalism Prize, and the Association of Health Care Journalism award. Neel won the prestigious Kaiser Family Foundation Media Fellowship in 2007. In 1994, Neel started filing stories about medicine and health as a freelancer for NPR and joined staff two years later. Neel earned bachelor degrees from Washington University in St. Louis in both biology and German literature and language. He studied biology at the Universitaet Tuebingen in Germany. Mon March 2, 2015 Poll Explores Our Perception Of How Factors Large And Small Shape People's Health Alyson Hurt/NPR Share Tweet E-mail By Joe Neel Originally published on Tue March 3, 2015 5:38 am We often think of health as a trip to the doctor or a prescription to treat or prevent diseases. Or maybe it's an operation to fix something that's gone wrong. But a new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health reveals that Americans perceive health as being affected by a broad range of social and cultural factors. Read more Shots - Health News Thu March 20, 2014 Screening Immigrants For TB Pays Dividends In U.S. People who test positive for infection with bacteria that cause tuberculosis can be treated before they enter the U.S. Janice Haney Carr Share Tweet E-mail By Joe Neel Originally published on Thu March 20, 2014 12:39 pm Hundreds of people with tuberculosis wishing to come to the U.S. have been stopped before they reached U.S. borders, says a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Physicians overseas picked up more than 1,100 cases in prospective immigrants and refugees prior to their arrival in the U.S. The cases include 14 people with multidrug-resistant TB, the CDC says. Read more Shots - Health News Wed June 26, 2013 How The End Of DOMA Will Affect Obamacare, Federal Employees Share Tweet E-mail By Joe Neel The Supreme Court's ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional will not only make a big difference in health benefits for some federal employees, it could also affect people who will be newly eligible for Obamacare beginning next year. For lower-income people seeking coverage under Obamacare, marriage may not provide a financial advantage, tax experts say. Read more Shots - Health Blog Tue October 9, 2012 England Offering Free HIV Treatment For Visitors Outsiders might be unfamiliar with the U.K.'s National Health Service, but Brits love it so much that they devoted part of opening ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympics to the NHS. Courtesy of BBC One Share Tweet E-mail By Joe Neel We're just catching up with our U.K. reading list, so we're a bit late with this one. But it's worth noting that as of Oct. 1, England's National Health Service is providing treatment for HIV free of charge to visitors from overseas. Read more Shots - Health Blog Mon July 23, 2012 AIDS Returns To The U.S. Spotlight Sir Elton John speaks Monday at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington. Carolyn Kaster Share Tweet E-mail By Joe Neel More than 20,000 people are attending the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington this week. The meeting features speeches from U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first lady Laura Bush, health ministers from many countries around the world, Bill Gates, NIH scientists Anthony Fauci and Francis Collins and hundreds more. Read more Pages1

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2825

News/Talk Shows Entertainment Shows Oklahoma Music NPR - First Listen NPR - Heavy Rotation NPR - Live Concerts NPR - Tiny Desk Concerts NPR - Studio Sessions NPR - Field Recordings Crazy Smart Businesses Matching Companies Champion's Circle About KOSU Station Policies Search Ongoing Coverage:Oil Bombing Anniversary StoriesYour Stories: The OKC Bombing 20 Years Later School SuspensionsHigh Suspension Rates at Oklahoma City Public Schools Trigger Systemic Changes Sample SizeNew Mix: Shamir, u-Ziq & Trinidad James Now Playing High Suspension Rates at Oklahoma City Public Schools Trigger Systemic Changes The Pros and Cons of Buying Gas With or Without Ethanol House Bill 1498 Seeks to Nail Down Oklahoma's Education Costs KOSU Hires New Membership Specialist Obama Chief Of Staff: Israel's 50-Year 'Occupation' Must End Emily Wendler Rachel Hubbard Associate Director/General Manager Ryan LaCroix All Things Considered Host/Operations Director/Other Stuff Kelly Burley Education Reform Is Becoming A Celebrity Cause Share Tweet E-mail Comments Print By Juana Summers Originally published on Fri November 21, 2014 1:25 pm Whoopi Goldberg spoke out against teacher tenure during an episode of The View. John Shearer Comic Louis C.K. is one of many celebrities to come down hard on the Common Core academic standards. Eric Leibowitz Celebrities are becoming a prominent fixture in the debate over K-12 education. This week Whoopi Goldberg used her platform on ABC's The View to speak out against teacher tenure. "To me, bad teachers don't do anybody any good. So the union needs to recognize that parents are not going to stand for it anymore," she said. Goldberg followed up with a YouTube video, responding to the backlash she'd received after making those statements. Her mother, she notes in the video, was a teacher, and Goldberg describes herself as "all about teachers." "I like great teachers. I don't like bad teachers, so I don't think bad teachers should be given the gift of teaching forever — badly," she says. Goldberg follows Campbell Brown, the former CNN anchor, into the tenure debate ignited by a California lawsuit. David Boies, the high-profile trial lawyer known for his role in the legal challenge that overturned California's gay marriage ban, also recently joined Brown's group, the Partnership for Education Justice. The Celebrity Anti-Common Core Caucus And it's not just teacher tenure. Hollywood is lining up on both sides of the Common Core, too. Comedian Louis C.K., who now boasts more than 3.6 million Twitter followers, used his account to blast the academic standards, long a punching bag for some conservatives and now a growing number of liberals too. "My kids used to love math," he tweeted."Now it makes them cry. Thanks standardized testing and common core!" And he didn't stop there, following up over the next few days with a string of tweets trashing the standards. On David Letterman's show in May, Louis C.K. elaborated, noting that he's the parent of two young girls: "The tests are written by people that nobody knows who they are. It's very secretive. ... A lot of the year is about the tests. Teaching to the test, they called it." Other celebrities joined in. Singer Regina Spektor, for example, was among those who tweeted their agreement. While Louis C.K. has led the charge against the Core, there has also been some under-the-radar support for the standards. Actress Eva Longoria's and singer John Legend's foundations have each put money toward a TV ad supporting the Core, according to Politico. And NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas wrote an op-ed in support of the Common Core. "There has been a lot of misinformation lately about the origin and purpose of these standards," he wrote. "The facts are simple. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need to be college and career ready in the 21st century." The Latest Cause Célèbre It's long been part of the celebrity career path in Hollywood for stars to burnish their images — and their credentials as serious artists — by taking on an important issue. Think Bono and Africa, or Angelina Jolie and human rights. Education offers a natural fit, and famous people can bring a lot of attention to a seemingly dense policy debate. "For those of us who are education nerds, we're talking about this kind of thing all the time," says José Luis Vilson, a math educator and the author of This Is Not a Test: A New Narrative on Race, Class and Education. "But it isn't until a lightning rod comes into a situation that it gets more attention." Celebrities, Vilson explains, are powerful "beacons" for education issues. "People weren't analyzing Common Core that well until [Louis C.K.] stepped in. The general population either said, 'Hey, Common Core is gonna be around,' or they didn't know about Common Core," he says. But, Vilson points out, that's very different from doing the hard work of education reform. "They can highlight something as far as dialogue," he explains, "but they're not actually going to move policy the way people on the ground who have no face or name can move policy." Before Louis C.K. If Louis C.K. has become the new poster child for the celeb-critique of standardized testing, Matt Damon is the old guard. His mother is an expert on early childhood education and professor emerita at Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass. Damon has long followed education, though his main advocacy area is the push for clean and safe water. In 2011, Damon spoke at the "Save Our Schools" rally in Washington, D.C., and his passionate remarks against standardized testing went viral. "I don't know where I would be today if my teacher's job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test," he told the crowd. "I sure as hell wouldn't be here, I do know that." And Damon's involvement showed once again that, when celebrities talk, people listen. He returned to the issue again this spring, taking questions on Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" section, where he again blasted standardized testing. "Far too much emphasis has been put on these tests," he added. "You're going to get teachers teaching to the test, and you're not actually giving them the leeway to do their jobs." Does It Matter? So, does any of this publicity actually matter in the debates over the future of education? Diane Ravitch, a former assistant secretary of education and education historian argues that it does. Louis C.K. and his celeb comrades in arms, she argues, have changed the terms of the Common Core debate. "Don't underestimate what Louis C.K. accomplished," Ravitch — who has become an outspoken opponent of the Common Core — wrote in a blog post. Louis C.K., she wrote, "was able to break through the carefully crafted narrative that had been spun by Arne Duncan, Jeb Bush, Michelle Rhee, and other advocates for the new standards." His celebrity gave him a platform, she added. "His standing as a parent of public school children gave him credibility."Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Tags: Common Core Related Content: NPR Ed Postcards From The Common Core Classroom Education A Bird's-Eye View On Common Core Across The Country KOSU News Oklahoma Tornado Project Champions Circle Go Wild Hog Festival At Go Wild Hog Festival Jim Howard & the Highway Home&quot; -Square Dance At Stillwater Public LIbrary Stollas At The Conservatory A Lot Like Birds and Icarus The Owl At Vanguard Music Hall Bison Bison Film Festival LAST CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS At Poncan Theater The Spy Pledge The Spy This Land Press ©2014 KOSU

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2836

Vieques ponders future 10 years after Navy left Published: May 1, 2013, 12:09 pm SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Thousands of activists on Wednesday celebrated the anniversary of the U.S. Navy’s departure from the Puerto Rican island of Vieques 10 years ago, despite concerns that progress has been slow in cleaning up and developing a place many hoped would flourish. With the military’s departure, the decades-long practice bombing of Vieques stopped, and the island has become one of the more exclusive tourist destinations in the Caribbean. But the cleanup of the bombing range on an island the Navy once called its “crown jewel” of live-fire training is expected to take another decade, and the mayor of Vieques noted the island of roughly 10,000 people still has no hospital to treat illnesses ranging from cancer to asthma that local residents blame on military activity. Mayor Victor Emeric said Vieques is battling an unemployment rate of nearly 20 percent and depends on a crippled ferry system that serves as the primary link to the main island of Puerto Rico. “Time passed and everyone forgot about us,” said Emeric, who was born and raised in Vieques. “None of the development that we expected has occurred.” George Withers, a senior fellow with the non-governmental Washington Office on Latin America, recently published a report calling on the U.S. to respond more aggressively to the cleanup and other problems in Vieques. He said the lack of care for ongoing health problems remain big concerns. “The overall impact on the quality of life for the people of Vieques has not really improved in the 10 years since the Navy left,” he said. “They created a toxic legacy on their island.” The island was once a cause celebre, with people such as singer Ricky Martin, actor Edward James Olmos and politician Jesse Jackson joining hundreds of other protesters to demand that the Navy leave Vieques after an errant 500-pound bomb killed a security guard in April 1999. But after the Navy left on May 1, 2003, interest in helping boost the island’s economy waned, said Emeric, blaming both the U.S. and local government. Even the domain of the island’s official government website, which translates to “Vieques Revival,” is up for sale. Emeric said many local residents are still trying to find their economic footing as they seek to develop land formerly under naval control. He dismissed criticism that American investors are the only ones reaping economic benefits, saying, “Many North Americans are here because the Viequenses themselves sold them the land.” Of the 23,000 acres (9,300 hectares) that the Navy began to use for target practice in the early 1940s, 4,000 acres (1,619 hectares) have been awarded to Vieques municipality, 3,100 acres (1,255 hectares) went to the U.S. Department of the Interior and about 800 acres (324 hectares) to the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust. The Navy has so far cleaned 2,540 acres (1,028 hectares), with the operation expected to run through at least 2025 in one of the Navy’s most extensive rehabilitation efforts, budgeted at some $350 million. “The Navy considers Vieques to be its highest priority in the munitions cleanup program,” said Dan Waddill, who is managing the process. “Vieques gets by far the most effort and the highest amount of funding.” Waddill oversees 55 employees who work Monday through Friday cleaning 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares) of the former bombing range, mostly in the island’s east. He noted that two-thirds of the workers are from Vieques. He suggested it will be impossible to find all of the abandoned munition parts. “We don’t expect to leave anything behind that people might come into contact with, but there are layers of safety that prevent that kind of contact just in case something happens to be missed,” said Waddill. “When you’re covering a large area … that’s just life. Sometimes you don’t find everything.” In late March, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry issued a long-awaited report stating it found no proof that residents had been sickened by substances left behind by bombs and other munitions, identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as TNT, napalm, depleted uranium, mercury and lead. The report was rejected by thousands of Vieques residents, many of whom filed a lawsuit, later dismissed, that accused the U.S. government of causing illnesses by leaving harmful residues on the land. Withers noted in his report that the Navy fired more than 300,000 munitions in Vieques from the mid-1940s to 2003, taking control of 77 percent of the land. So far, the Navy has removed 17 million pounds of scrap metal and destroyed more than 38,000 munition items on land, according to Navy spokesman Jim Brantley. The next step is to clear munitions underwater. Navy officials are mapping the area to determine where munitions are located, a process that will take up to 18 months, Waddill said. “We expected that to take longer than the land cleanup,” he said, adding that officials have to protect endangered coral species. “It takes time to do this kind of work safely.” Puerto Rico’s Secretary of Government Ingrid Vila said the U.S. territory will push to ensure the remaining land be cleaned and returned to Vieques municipality. Vila said officials also want to revive a 2003-2004 plan aimed at boosting the island’s economy, including reopening a Vieques government office charged with economic development. Tourism remains the island’s main economic engine, with hotel occupancy growing from 41 percent to 56 percent in the past two fiscal years, according to Puerto Rico’s tourism company. The number has dropped slightly so far this fiscal year. Vila noted that a middle school is to open in Vieques in coming weeks, and that Puerto Rico’s health secretary is meeting with officials in Vieques to discuss community needs. “Vieques has to be a priority,” Vila said as she met with community leaders celebrating the Navy’s departure. “It cannot become relevant only when there’s an anniversary.” Zimbabwe generals: We won’t meet prime minister Syrian president showing renewed confidence

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2839

Thank you to our wonderful pledge drive volunteers and vendors! Billionaires Fund A 'Manhattan Project' For Nutrition And Obesity By editor Sep 20, 2012 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Billionaires John and Laura Arnold are betting that the country's top nutrition researchers can get to the bottom of the obesity epidemic. Courtesy of the John and Laura Arnold Foundation Originally published on September 21, 2012 6:46 am Why would a billionaire energy trader-turned-philanthropist throw his foundation's dough behind a new think tank that wants to challenge scientific assumptions about obesity? John Arnold, 38, whose move from Enron to a spectacularly successful hedge fund got him on the list of wealthiest Americans, isn't crazy about talking to the press. But certainly his decision with his wife Laura to back a newly launched operation called the Nutrition Science Initiative, or NuSI, is an intriguing one. Obesity, and all the dietary confusion that swirls around it, is clearly a problem that isn't going away. But NuSI says large-scale scientific studies that tackle fundamental questions — like how food really affects fat, hormones and the brain — are what's needed to solve it more than anything else. We're told by NuSI's president, Peter Attia, a Stanford and Johns Hopkins-trained doctor, that Arnold's interest in the cause started with a podcast featuring science journalist and NuSI co-founder, Gary Taubes. Taubes has been arguing for the last several years in books and articles in the New York Times Magazine that current dietary guidelines and beliefs about what has caused the obesity epidemic are wrong and based on poor science. Attia says Arnold approached Taubes after Arnold realized he could bring resources to bear on the problem — $5 million in seed money to fund "good" studies that are usually prohibitively expensive. "In ... nutrition science, the research is inadequate, so our guiding information is not based on rigorous science," Meredith Johnson, a spokeswoman for the John and Laura Arnold Foundation, told The Salt in an email. One reason Attia agrees it's inadequate is that "it's really quite difficult to study nutrition in humans at the level of precision that scientists in other fields can get." Ideally, researchers could control everything their subjects eat over weeks and months, and monitor the effects of different foods or diets on the body. But that's the kind of research that's very costly. In the absence of it, researchers often rely on the subjects to self-report what they ate — which ultimately can be misleading because people's memory of their exact food intake is notoriously bad. With Arnold's contributions, NuSI says it will be able to give money to the "best nutrition researchers in the country" doing the most cutting edge research. The hope is to enable these researchers do much bigger, nuanced studies than what they can currently afford to do with the five-year, $2.5 million National Institutes of Health grants most of them rely on. "We want to get to the moon; in other words, we want to discover the perfect set of rules and understand what controls obesity and the metabolic syndrome," he says. When they get there, NuSI claims, they'll have the tools to lower the obesity prevalence rate in the U.S. from 35 percent to 15 percent, and the diabetes rate from 8 percent to 2 percent. Their goal is to do this by 2020. That would translate into billions in health care savings, too. NuSI has attracted some big names to its board of advisers, ranging from James Lambright, of the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Export-Import Bank to "4-hour" lifestyle guru Tim Ferriss. In his typically hyperbolic prose, Ferriss called NuSi "an X-men-like group of the world's best scientists, independently funded and uninfluenced by industry, tackling the most important questions in nutrition." That NuSI's studies will not be dependent on the food industry is significant — many nutrition and obesity researchers nowadays have nowhere to turn but the industry to test new ideas. (See Allison Aubrey's recent story on probiotics in yogurt for one example of that.) Industry backing can make consumers and others skeptical of their findings, sometimes with good reason. The Arnold Foundation's support of NuSI falls under its "research integrity" focus; the foundation also fund projects looking for solutions to criminal justice, education and public accountability problems. Will NuSI really be able to silence all the chatter out there once and for all about the best diet to stay healthy? Seems like a pretty lofty goal, but certainly a Manhattan Project for nutrition is worth a shot.Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. © 2015 KUOW News and Information

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2841

Search Nidal Hasan hopes for death in Fort Hood killings, lawyers say CNN CNN Thursday, August 8, 2013 - 9:16am FORT HOOD, Texas (CNN) -- A military judge could rule Thursday on a defense claim that admitted Fort Hood gunman Maj. Nidal Hasan is trying to force the court to sentence him to death. The backup legal team for Hasan asked to withdraw from active participation in the case Wednesday, telling the judge, Col. Tara Osborn, that Hasan wants to receive the death penalty. The request brought Hasan's court-martial to a halt on what would have been the second day of testimony. Osborn recessed the court until Thursday to hold a closed-door hearing with Hasan and his lawyers. Hasan is representing himself on charges that he shot and killed 13 people and wounded 32 in the November 2009 rampage at the Army installation near Killeen, Texas. But Osborn ruled before the court-martial began that defense lawyers would act as stand-by counsel during the proceedings. The lawyers' roles had been limited to helping Hasan file motions and coaching him on procedural matters. But after Tuesday, when Hasan used his opening statement to declare "I am the shooter," they filed a motion to step aside. The head of the legal team, Lt. Col. Kris Poppe, said Wednesday that Hasan was "working in concert with the prosecution to achieve a death sentence." "It becomes clear that his goal is to remove impediments and obstacles and is working towards a death penalty," Poppe said. He and the two other lawyers said they were still willing to defend Hasan if needed but couldn't ethically stand by to help him at this point. Hasan objected to Poppe's characterization, calling it "a twist of the facts." But he refused to submit his objection in writing, a move that Osborn requested to avoid revealing privileged information, and insisted on being heard in open court. Geoffrey Corn, a military justice expert at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, said the lawyers are in "a terrible predicament." "They have to stand by and watch the person they are ostensibly charged with assisting to represent himself essentially put a noose around his own neck, and they view this as fundamentally inconsistent with their ethical obligation as lawyers," he said. But Corn said Hasan not only has the right to defend himself, "he has the right to do it poorly" -- even to the point of asking for death. "The defense lawyers would love to get off this case, because it becomes unbearable," Corn said. "If you imagine having to sit there, being an ardent opponent of capital punishment, watching this guy seal his own fate with every move he makes, it must be torture. But the judge can't let them off the case." Witnesses describes horror of shooting Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, was paralyzed by a police bullet during the rampage. He listened impassively as one of the first witnesses recounted the horror unleashed that November day at a processing center for soldiers heading to Afghanistan and Iraq. Staff Sgt. Alonzo Lunsford stared hard at Hasan, appearing to brace for a cross-examination from the man who had admitted to shooting him seven times. But Hasan just stared back. The courtroom turned silent as Lunsford was called as a witness. He was the first of several survivors scheduled to testify against Hasan. Lunsford recounted how the gunman rose from a chair in the processing center, shouted "Allahu Akbar," pulled out a pistol and began shooting. "It was a state of panic," Lunsford said. Lunsford, a health care specialist, described how his friend and colleague, physician's assistant Michael Cahill, tried to hit Hasan with a chair to stop the shooting; Hasan shot him dead. Soldiers tried to flee or take cover inside the processing center as Hasan fired dozens of shots. As Lunsford was checking behind him, "Major Hasan is turning the weapon on me," he said. "He has a laser on his weapon and it goes across my line of sight and I blink. In that time, he discharges his weapon. The first round, I'm hit in the head." A second shot caught Lunsford in the back. He decided to play dead for a while before changing his mind and deciding to run for the door. He made it out of the building but was shot five more times outside, he testified. Hasan continued shooting at Lunsford even as he was receiving first aid outside the processing center, before police arrived. Officers shot and wounded Hasan, ending the rampage and leaving him paralyzed from the chest down. After the prosecution finished questioning Lunsford, the judge asked Hasan whether he had any questions for the witness. "I have no questions," Hasan said. Hasan also declined to question Michelle Harper, who worked at the deployment center and was inside when the shooting began. Prosecutors played a recording of her 911 call, where she pleaded for help. Scheduled to go to Afghanistan A U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent, Hasan had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan before the killings. Prosecutors hope to show that the devout Muslim had undergone a "progressive radicalization," giving presentations in defense of suicide bombings and about soldiers conflicted between military service and their religion when such conflicts result in crime. Hasan did not want to deploy to fight against other Muslims and believed "that he had a jihad duty to kill as many soldiers as possible," said Col. Michael Mulligan, the lead prosecutor in the case. Investigators found 146 spent shell casings in the room where the attack began, Mulligan said. Hasan carried two laser-sighted pistols and 420 rounds of ammunition, his pockets lined with paper towels to muffle the sounds of the magazines banging together, he said. Internet searches on Hasan's computer used keywords like "terrorist killing," "innocent," "Quran," "fatwas" and "suicide bombings," Mulligan said. Hasan told the panel in his opening statement, "We mujahedeen are trying to establish the perfect religion." But, he added, "I apologize for the mistakes I made in this endeavor." The mujahedeen consider themselves warriors who defend the Islamic faith. Hasan told his family he had been taunted after the al Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001. Investigations that followed the killings found he had been communicating via e-mail with Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American radical cleric killed by a U.S. drone attack in 2011. The case was first set to begin in March 2012, but was delayed repeatedly, notably over a previous judge's unsuccessful demand that the beard Hasan has grown while in custody be forcibly shaved. -- Josh Rubin reported from Fort Hood. CNN's Ed Lavandera and Jason Morris contributed to this report. The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2844

Home News Business Editorials Entertainment Family Opinion Religion Sports Crenshaw & Around Book Releases Book Reviews Comedy DVD Releases Exclusive Jazz 'round LA Movie Reviews Movies Music News At The Box Office Theater TV Entertainment TV Paul Carrick Brunson, Modern Day Matchmaker, Leaps onto Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers Paul Carrick Brunson, Modern Day Matchmaker, Leaps onto Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers Published on Thursday, 22 September 2011 13:53 Written by Jason Lewis (Sports Editor) Photo by Carin Baer/Dr Drew's Lifechangers Paul Carrick Brunson, the first African American matchmaker, starts beaming into homes this week as a regular guest on Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers. The new CW show, which premiered on Monday, features segments from special experts – or “lifechangers” – in a variety of fields, from travel and finance to mental health and DIY beauty. Brunson will be bringing his unique matchmaking expertise to a regular spot called “Love Lab.”Brunson, sometimes called “the real Hitch,” strives to bring modern elements to what some may consider the second oldest profession in the world. He educates with YouTube videos with thousands of views, and he communicates with hundreds of lovelorn people each week using his Twitter account, @PaulCBrunson. But as a graduate of Georgetown University’s business school and a former investment banker, Brunson certainly did not plan on becoming a matchmaker from the start.Brunson was inspired to found his matchmaking business, OneDegreeFromMe, by a real need he saw while working in the non-profit sector. Facilitating a summer camp for underserved youth in 2008, he and his wife Jill were stunned to realize that of the 100 children at the camp, not one came from a two-parent household. So husband and wife sat down to brainstorm what they could do to save what they called “the Black and Brown family.” At first, they tried throwing parties to introduce single Black men and women – which is how Brunson ended up at a matchmaking conference at the end of 2008, only to come across another revelation. “I looked around the room and realized that not one [matchmaker] was under 40, not one was African American, and there were maybe 5 men. So that’s the moment when the light bulb went on and we started matchmaking,” he said in an interview with the L.A. Sentinel earlier this month.In 2009, Brunson went to Denver, Colo. to study under Rachel Greenwald, a prominent author and matchmaker. He also gained certification as a professional life coach, and began taking on pro bono clients. By the end of 2009 he was ready to start his business, but he wasn’t quite sure how. “Quite frankly, I was embarrassed,” he said, comparing the idea of matchmaking to his friends’ high-paying jobs on Wall Street. His wife spurred him on, suggesting that he introduce himself through a YouTube video.The video blew up across the Black blogosphere, which Brunson says is what really launched the business. OneDegreeFromMe developed the Modern Day Matchmaker video series, dedicated to bringing knowledge to the public – which Brunson says is one of his biggest goals.“Relationships are the cornerstone of humanity, and it’s not just romantic,” he said. “If we can learn to better relate to one another, we’ll have better lives.” As the first Black American matchmaker, Brunson constantly thinks about the importance of his role as an educator.When asked if he thinks it’s harder for Black people to date, Brunson disagreed. But he said that African Americans do face “a unique set of challenges,” pointing to both the lack of tools to connect people within the community, and the abundance of negative messages in mainstream media.Brunson sees his involvement with Lifechangers as “an unprecedented platform” to talk about issues around dating and marriage and to dispel those negative media messages about the African American community. And outside of his Love Lab segments, he thinks that the topics covered by Dr. Drew will appeal to Black viewers – Brunson himself is a self-proclaimed “hardcore fan.”And as far as the lack of tools to connect people within the African American community, Brunson has been innovating continually to close that gap. One way he’s done this is through hosting Modern Day Matchmaker Wednesdays on his Twitter account. Each week he introduces an eligible bachelor or bachelorette and encourages his followers to ask questions about that person via Twitter.Another project of his offers a new twist on speed dating, originally created by a rabbi to bring Jewish singles together. His “Flow Dating” events, held in sophisticated venues across the nation, not only give singles the chance to broaden their social circles – a key step towards finding Mr. or Ms. Right, in Brunson’s view – but also offer a unique chance for feedback.Participants write helpful notes on cards as they cycle through 4 minute conversations according to changes in carefully-picked background music, and they receive an email with all of their comments after the event so that they can improve their conversational skills in the future. The events are usually packed with good people and great conversation, and according to Brunson’s statistics, about 80% of attendees go out on at least one date with someone they met there.Brunson’s rapid climb to success in the industry has definitely come with its own challenges, not least because his son was born last year. But he still finds time to be a family man and run Give Love Build Hope, an educational non-profit, on the side. Catch this rising star on Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers (KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles), this Friday at 3 PM. < Prev in Tv Next in Tv > Category: TV WIN TICKETS to see Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre April 15th - 19th at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion!

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2949

Page last updated at 09:43 GMT, Monday, 5 October 2009 10:43 UK Music festival tickets sell out Next year will be the event's 40th anniversary Tickets for the 2010 Glastonbury Music Festival sold out in less than a day.Fans were able to buy tickets from 0900 BST on Sunday under a registration system which was set up in 2007 to stamp out ticket touting. A festival spokesman said the system has been a success because "we know all tickets are going to festival-goers". Next year will be the 40th anniversary of the festival and its organiser Michael Eavis had said expectations were "really high". Failed transactionsIt has also been revealed that Mr Eavis is planning to extend the current four-year licence to 2011. It is expected the event will not take place in 2012 to allow the Somerset site to recover. A statement on the festival website confirmed the event was sold out. It read: "Thank you to all those who bought tickets. Confirmation emails are still in the process of being sent out. "For those who didn't manage to reserve or buy tickets today (Sunday), there will be a small number of tickets on sale over the coming weeks when any failed transactions have been cancelled." The 2009 festival attracted 137,000 music fans and featured Blur, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen. BBC Somerset Glastonbury tickets up for grabs 04 Oct 09 | Entertainment Glasto tickets deadline looming Glastonbury tickets are sold out Planning 40th Glasto celebration 17 Sep 09 | Arts and Culture BBC at Glastonbury TOP SOMERSET STORIES Treasure hoard to stay in county Go-ahead for Morrisons warehouse Trapped man saved from high tide

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2954

A legacy rich as oil: Ex-Alberta premier Peter Lougheed’s ideas imprinted on party still in power 41 years later Jen Gerson | September 14, 2012 11:27 PM ETMore from Jen Gerson | @jengerson Peter Lougheed’s ideas imprinted on party still in power 41 years laterRemembering Peter Lougheed: Video The Peter Lougheed Centre hospital sits in the northeast corner of Calgary, a region that’s become home to large blocks of the immigrants who settle here instead of the other bright centres of Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. Last year, the province announced an $11.6-million expansion to the centre’s maternity ward in a desperate bid to keep up with the city’s baby boom: its hospitals short of labour beds to handle the wealth of hopeful young people who come to Calgary to start new lives. RelatedTom Axworthy: Peter Lougheed was Canada’s best premier Former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed dead at 84 Alberta’s ‘Blue-eyed Sheikh’ Peter Lougheed dead at 84 This, too, can be credited to former premier Peter Lougheed, who died in that very hospital on Thursday at the age of 84. His legacy runs deeper than the name placed on the side of the building. His ideals and personality have been imprinted on the party that still holds power in the province 41 years after he was elected. After almost a decade and a half as Alberta’s premier, both his successes and his disappointments have come to shape not only the West, a growing economic and political power within Confederation, but Canada itself. Mr. Lougheed was as much a member of the aristocracy as this province could ever produce: a third-generation Albertan, the third lawyer in his line and the grandson of a senator. The first Lougheed arrived in Calgary in 1883. Soon after came the railroad. The city was a collection of tents at the meeting spot of the Bow and Elbow rivers. The Lougheeds made their fortune on land and built a stone mansion known as the Beaulieu that stands today in Calgary’s Beltline district. When the Depression swept through the prairie town, Calgary’s boom went bust and the family lost much of its wealth. But the fall would do little to lessen the premier’s patrician air. Peter Lougheed earned bachelors in arts and law from the University of Alberta, as well as an MBA from Harvard. He played football for the Edmonton Eskimos. In 1952, he married Jeanne Rogers. A newspaper announcement of the wedding noted “baskets of mauve and white gladioli, reflected in the glow of lighted tapers.” They would have four children. When Mr. Lougheed was chosen leader of the Progressive Conservative party in the ’60s, the province was heavily rural and bitter with western grievance. Freight rates and protectionism made economic diversification in the prairies all but impossible. It was said to be cheaper to send cows and grain to be slaughtered in Ontario than it was to ship meat. The Social Credit party, ruled by evangelist radio preacher Ernest Manning, had been in the legislature for more than 30 years. Under Mr. Manning, drinking was restricted, films were censored, a committee arbitrated moral codes, and disabled people were sterilized without their consent. But as the cities grew and television replaced radio, so too was Alberta seized by the era. Athletic, telegenic and liberal-minded, Mr. Lougheed’s PC party swept the Alberta legislature in 1971. Unlike his predecessors, here was a premier willing to travel outside the country, to demand equal respect with the much larger centres of Ontario and Quebec. Mr. Lougheed defied the prime minister. In 1973, at the time that the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries imposed an embargo and the price of oil spiked, 85% of Canada’s oil came from Alberta. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau responded to the crisis by imposing an oil export tax, ensuring Alberta would be forced to give the rest of the country a discounted price. By 1975, the world price of oil was $11 a barrel, but central Canada was buying Alberta’s for $6.50. I’m asked often, what are the motives in Ottawa? “Why Alberta oil? Why not the lumber in British Columbia? Why not an export tax on the potash from Saskatchewan? On the nickel from Manitoba, on the pulp and paper and minerals from Ontario and Quebec? Why Alberta oil?” Mr. Lougheed asked in a speech. “We intend to fight back, we have no other choice.” Mr. Lougheed, for his plaints, was dubbed the “blue-eyed sheikh.” With Alberta since found to be sitting atop one of the largest oil deposits in the world, it’s easy to forget the great panic of the ’70s. The province feared it would run out of oil as soon as 1982. Mr. Lougheed’s goal was to diversify the economy. He felt this had to happen by 1985, lest the province follow the doomed path of oil economies before it, such as Tulsa, Oklahoma, hollowed out when the oil taps ran dry. The seeds of this panic would ripen into Alberta’s success — and some of its most entrenched failures. Even the most committed modern progressives would find it politically difficult to today follow the design of Mr. Lougheed’s models. He invested the province’s cut of fleeting oil royalties into refineries and agricultural processing plants. He envisioned a centre of technological research and a financial capital to rival the cities of the east. The premier established the Heritage Trust Savings Fund, which became one of the largest investment pools in the country. He created an energy company and purchased Pacific Western Airlines. And then there were the oil sands — or the tar sands, as they were then known. By changing the royalty scheme and taking an ownership stake, Mr. Lougheed helped to spearhead one of the first major successful oil sands projects with Syncrude. Finally, after decades of economic stagnation and political neglect, Alberta was winning. It was winning in the federation that for so long seemed stacked against it. That’s when it all stopped. The heady optimism of the ’70s gave way to the National Energy Program of 1980. A still more brazen grab by the Trudeau government to commandeer the oil patch, the NEP was considered by Albertans to be among the most unfair federal policies ever implemented. Scholars calculated the program cost Alberta between $50- and $100-billion. It was seen as not just a cash grab, but a power grab; the eastern barons come once again to cap the growing wealth and prestige of the plucky West. “I’m asked often, what are the motives in Ottawa?” Mr. Lougheed said in a televised speech after the program was introduced. “They say it’s simply a matter of sharing revenue …What we’re facing here is a situation where more and more decision making, more and more control will be in the hands of the decision makers in Ottawa and your provincial government will become less and less able to influence your future and to provide for job security and opportunity.” To fight back, Mr. Lougheed directed oil companies to curtail production to mitigate their losses. The anger and alienation of this era would provide much of the fuel behind the rise of Reform and Canadian Alliance parties, becoming the Conservative party that rules Ottawa today. The anger and alienation of Albertans also led Mr. Lougheed to oppose many of Mr. Trudeau’s proposed plans for the Constitution Act of 1982; he argued against granting Ontario and Quebec veto powers, fought for provincial resource rights and insisted on the notwithstanding clause. Although Mr. Lougheed would eventually work out a new energy deal with Mr. Trudeau, the NEP and the sudden drop in the world price of oil took their toll. Bankruptcies in Alberta increased by 150%; many families lost nearly half the values of their homes. Recovery took decades and the Heritage Trust Savings Fund, which Mr. Lougheed had envisioned as seed money for Alberta’s bold new future, became a mere rainy day fund diverted to bolster revenues without raising taxes and it’s been that way ever since. By 1984, the premier’s disappointment seemed palpable. In a Calgary Herald article, he said: “I don’t see how it’s possible to [reduce government dependency on energy revenues] in any short term basis.” There came other questions: The PCs had been in power more than a dozen years and had been plagued by petty scandals over things like travel expenses. What about a code of ethics, a reporter asked the premier. “Ethics?” Mr. Lougheed nearly choked. “Good Lord, what are you saying? … Do you think travel’s fun?” He retired a year later, and the accolades, honours and directorships he acquired afterward are almost too numerous to count. Mr. Lougheed became the respected elder statesman. By 2006, oil prices were once again rising and Alberta’s economy was back on track: The oil sands had grown faster than Mr. Lougheed had expected, but infrastructure had not kept pace. The former premier advocated slowing down development. In another article in the Herald, he had the tone of a man who knew not what he had wrought. Revisiting the oil royalty scheme that he helped create, he said: “I hope the new government in Alberta will reassess this and come to the conclusion that the mess, and I call it a mess, that is Fort McMurray and the tarsands will be revisited… [Living conditions] are very, very poor. I was just up there on a trip, just helicoptering around, and it is just a moonscape… I keep trying to see who the beneficiaries are.” His progressive tendencies still animate the PC party today. Mr. Lougheed always maintained he was a Canadian first, and Albertan second. Despite the west’s economic grievances, he remained committed to Confederation, however imperfect the union. In 1977, as the separation crisis in Quebec festered, he said: “It is the feeling of Western Canadians that we are coming into a new era, one of maturity and strength … with a deep desire to be a very important part of Canada, to reach our potential and to be part of the mainstream of Canadian life.” Alberta’s ambitions even today belonged first to Peter Lougheed. • Email: jgerson@nationalpost.com | Twitter: jengerson Topics: Canada, Canadian Politics, News, Alberta, Peter Lougheed

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2959

Lady Gaga Writing A New Song Is Like A Factory Investing In A New Machine By David Kestenbaum Apr 25, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email But is it GDP? Charles Sykes Originally published on April 26, 2013 1:46 am I spoke yesterday with Dan Sichel, a Wellesley economist and a Lady Gaga fan. Both of these facts are relevant for this story. The U.S. government is about to tweak the way it measures the economy, and some of the biggest changes will affect the entertainment industry. Under the current system, Sichel told me, Lady Gaga's sales of concert tickets, online songs and CDs all count toward gross domestic product. But the value of the time she spends in the studio working on new songs isn't counted. That's about to change. "It's quite analogous to a factory investing in a new machine," Sichel says. Under the new rules, Lady Gaga sitting in front of her laptop, staring at the sky, thinking up new songs will count as investment, which is part of GDP. A similar change is coming for movies. Money companies spend on research and development will also be added to GDP. Why haven't these things counted before? The accounting rules for GDP were written in a simpler time, when most companies produced physical things. But over time, the economy has increasingly shifted toward producing intangible goods. In all, the tweaks will add an estimated 3 percent to the size of the U.S. economy. Historical GDP numbers will also be adjusted, so the charts won't show any big jump. And for most people, the important thing to pay attention to is not the absolute size of GDP, but the change over time: How much is the economy growing?Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Transcript AVA INSKEEP: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Ava Inskeep. It's Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Here's my dad. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Thank you, Ava. Ava came into our studios in Washington. And Renee is back at NPR West in California. Take it away, Renee. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: Well, thank you, Steve and Ava, for helping us begin this little bit of news. This July the official size of the U.S. economy will be getting a boost. Not because our exports have improved or new jobs. No, it is all due to an accounting change. David Kestenbaum from our Planet Money Team explains. DAVID KESTENBAUM, BYLINE: An economy is a tricky thing to measure. You got millions of people buying hamburgers and coffee and cars and socks. Then there's all the stuff you can't touch, like haircuts. There's also all the things the government does, police officers, firefighters; thousands of numbers that we as a country try very hard to add up. (SOUNDBITE OF NEWS BROADCAST) UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Just in to CNN, the latest GDP report. The U.S... UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: Let's start with the GDP data we're looking at... UNIDENTIFIED MAN: The economy is picking up speed... KESTENBAUM: The Gross Domestic Product, the sum total of all goods and services we produce - well, almost all. It turns out we've been missing a few things, like music. To help explain, I called up Dan Sichel. He's an economist at Wellesley. DAN SICHEL: I'm actually a Lady Gaga fan. KESTENBAUM: Lady Gaga. SICHEL: Yeah, so there you go. KESTENBAUM: What's a Lady Gaga song you like? I ask just 'cause we are going to have to play one now. SICHEL: Big fan of "Telephone." (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TELEPHONE") LADY GAGA: (Singing) Stop calling. Stop calling. I don't want to think anymore. I left my head and my heart on the dance floor... KESTENBAUM: Now, certainly some parts of Lady Gaga empire certainly get counted in GDP. SICHEL: If Lady Gaga did a concert and sold concert tickets, the concert tickets would count as GDP. KESTENBAUM: Songs she sold online, CDs, all that gets counted. But something was missing. We weren't including the value of the time she spent working on new songs, working in the studio. That's an investment, he says, and it should be counted as GDP. SICHEL: It's really quite analogous to a factory investing in a new machine. KESTENBAUM: Imagine Lady Gaga sitting in front of her laptop, staring at the sky, thinking up new songs. That's economically valuable. It turns out it's not just music we've been doing wrong, movies too, for a long time now. (SOUNDBITE OF "STAR WARS" THEME MUSIC) KESTENBAUM: "Star Wars" ticket sales from 1977 - yes, that was in GDP, but not the cost to make the actual movie. The scripts, the Wookie costume, the Death Star, none of that was counted. But that arguably was an investment that went on to pay off handsomely. We also haven't been counting money that companies invest in research and development. That's another thing that's being fixed. Why did we get this wrong for so long? One reason is just that the accounting rules for GDP were written in a much simpler time. It used to be when a company made something, that thing physically existed. You could drop it on your foot and it would hurt. But increasingly our economy produces intangible goods; things that are worth something but you can't touch, like computer software. Steve Landefeld is the director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which produces the official GDP numbers. STEVE LANDEFELD: I mean a lot of this is about intangibles and intellectual property becoming much more important component of GDP, our trade, our competiveness, and it's essential we get a better handle on it. KESTENBAUM: If you add up all the changes, Landefeld says he thinks they will boost annual GDP by hundreds of billions of dollars. Significant. LANDEFELD: Roughly three percent. KESTENBAUM: That's like a big adjustment. LANDEFELD: Mm-hmm, yeah. KESTENBAUM: Our economy just magically grew three percent. LANDEFELD: Well, I think it was always that big but we hadn't been measuring all that. KESTENBAUM: Historical GDP numbers will also be adjusted. So on the charts it's not going to look like a big jump. Landefeld says for most people the important thing to pay attention to is the change in GDP. Did it go up or down? The actual number, it's always going to just be this mind-bogglingly big thing. Right now U.S. GDP is about $15 trillion. David Kestenbaum, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.Related Program: Morning EditionView the discussion thread. St. Louis Public Radio is a service of

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2976

The proposed changes to ESA will fail those with incurable illnesses Last week major changes were announced to disability benefits as part of the Coalition's Spending Review. I didn't blog on it immediately as I wanted time to think through their implications. The Government intends to limit Employment Support Allowance (ESA) to one year for those who are in the Working Group category. This category is for those people that are deemed able to work if they are given the right support to find a job appropriate for their disability or illness. ESA remains unlimited for those disabled people placed in the Support Group category who are deemed too ill to ever return to the work place. So in theory I guess the Government thinks that those in the Support Group are the vulnerable people it has pledged to protect, and those placed in the Working Group category would benefit from the tough love of a time-limited benefit as it would provide them with an incentive to get back into work. On initial thought this seems reasonable. I am a person who, though I've had to grudgingly admit I've become less and less able as the years have gone on, firmly believes in the power of work. I've worked all my life since I was sixteen taking on a Sunday job through my A-levels, and part-time and holiday work during University. Once in the work place full-time I negotiated a four-day week when five days became too tiring. Later, when even those four days became too much, I retrained as a journalist so I could freelance from home. Eventually just before my 29th birthday I realised my desire to be self-sufficient was finally over, I could no longer manage even a part-time job from home. So I'm writing this as a firm believer that disabled people will get more from life working than not working and that my personal ambition to work gave me a reason to be healthy and comply with my lengthy, daily medical regime. But it's also strange to write that I'm glad that, when it comes to claiming benefits, I have an illness that will kill me. I was lucky enough to be able to afford to retrain so that I could work from home since 2007. This meant that when I finally had to stop working my lung function statistics had dropped so low it was impossible to dispute how serious my illness has now become and that my death will be a direct result of having Cystic Fibrosis (unless of course I get run over by a bus!). Because when I finally had to turn to the State and ask for help, that help was there for me. But the proposed changes to the ESA system will not work for those with long-term ill health and incurable illnesses because it creates a health-lottery, even between people with the same illness, as to who will get life-time financial support on ESA and who will miss out. Someone who is eligible for ESA will receive the payment either based on his or her National Insurance contributions or, if they haven’t contributed enough NI, on their income if it’s deemed low enough. The change the Government has outlined in the Spending Review is to time limit how long disabled claimants can claim contributions-based ESA. This ESA change is modelled on Job Seeker's Allowance. With that you are allowed six months of contributions-based JSA before being moved onto income-based JSA. This means that if you live with a partner who is in work or if you have savings over £16,000 then you will not receive any JSA at all. This rule has now been applied to ESA claimants in the Work Group, but with claimants allowed a full year of contribution-based ESA. As more details haven’t yet been published on the criteria used to assess when someone will be eligible for more contributions-based ESA after their first initial year has expired, I can only presume that the rules on whether you’ve made enough National Insurance contributions to qualify for ESA are the same as for JSA. With the latter, the Government looks at the last two tax years of your National Insurance contributions to see if you qualify for contribution-based JSA. You need to have been in work for that period, earning more than £97 a week, and “generally, self-employed contributions will not help you qualify for contribution-based Jobseeker’s Allowance”. But this change to ESA has created a massive loophole for those with long-term illnesses. I’ll take Cystic Fibrosis (CF) as an example as I know the illness so well. It presents itself with differing severity depending on the patient. Some lucky few can work into their forties, some die in their early twenties. But it’s a fluctuating illness meaning that overall although someone with CF won’t get better they might be very ill for a few months or a year and then go on to experience a more stable pattern of illness. So it's feasible that someone with CF who is in work will have to stop working as their illness has taken a turn for the worse, and be put on ESA in the Working Group category - although their health is bad it may be conceivable they could work again if they are young enough and their lung disease not too severe. After a year spent on ESA they will be forced back into the work place, where after a few months working they may find their health has worsened again, proving to themselves and their doctors that, if they wish for any stability in their health, then their body is no longer strong enough to maintain a job. So what happens then? They’ve used up their contributions-based ESA in their initial year of ill health but haven’t been able to work for long enough to build up their NI contributions to be entitled to claim contributions-based ESA again. This means that they effectively miss out on years of ESA payments because they had the wrong severity of illness at the wrong time of their life. So it is feasible you could have two people with CF, both unable to work over a five-year period, but one who can claim £24,960 (based on five years on contribution-based ESA in the Support Group) and one who can only claim £4,732 (based on one year contribution-based ESA in the Working Group). This gap in benefit received would just carry on widening the longer each one lived. It seems to me that the Government is asking people with incurable illnesses to work themselves to sheer exhaustion, and possible irreversible poor health, before claiming ESA, as it seems contributions-based ESA can’t be claimed twice in a two-year period. So if you do put in a claim for ESA you’ve got to do so in the knowledge that either you’re so ill you’ll be put in the support category immediately or be confident that after a year off you can resume working for a lengthy period of time. The ongoing furore over the controversial Working Capability Assessment test used to decide eligibility for ESA has proven that the Government cannot understand and respond to the fluctuating nature of serious, incurable illnesses, and this change to ESA just reiterates that. Unfortunately uncertainty is the ruling factor of an incurable illness. People with such illnesses have to have the strength to get out of bed every day and plan a life with an illness that they know will one day kill them or make them severely disabled - they are just not sure when. These are the very vulnerable people the Government has pledged to protect, but instead they are introducing even greater financial uncertainty into their life and an unfair system that will offer a lifetime's support to some disabled people who have a history of working and yet not to others with exactly the same health-problem. @SharonBrennan ESA changes, JSA, NI, spending review Just how secure is the ring-fence around NHS funding? We've all been told since the election that NHS funds are going to be protected and more often than not we breathe a sigh of relief and conversations move on to think about areas such as defence, policing and justice which are under scrutiny. But should we just accept what we are told about NHS funding? Looking into the figures more, it looks like belt-tightening is going to hit the NHS significantly. The King's Fund, a think tank focusing on health, has written a great blog post about this very subject, I'm not going to replicate it but just draw out some of its most interesting points. It argues that in the past the NHS budget has increased by 6 per cent on average, but going forward that looks more likely to be reduced to a 1 per cent increase. In addition, the baseline on which to measure an increase has been reduced. In the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review, spending for 2010/2011 was projected to be £109.8 billion. By 2009 expected spending for this period was reduced to £105.8 billion. Its always easier to find an 'increase' in funding for 2012, if the last year's funding is £4 billion less than demanded. In short, with these increases, the NHS can only do all that it currently does if there is no extra demand on its services. And that seems highly unlikely. Ignoring the fact that we are facing an increasingly old and obese population, the real concern for me is the reduction in social care spending. There are suggestions that £400 million of NHS funding could be transferred to social care spending, although we'll have to wait until tomorrow's Spending Review to see if that is confirmed. Not only would that mean that in reality the NHS will lose a chunk of its money, but in addition, the institute for Fiscal Studies expect local authorities to lose 33 per cent of funding by 2014/2015. It's clear that if social funding is heavily reduced - meaning that elderly people and those with long-term health conditions have community care removed - the pressure on hospitals will be immense, as admissions creep up and patients stay in hospital for longer as care they would normally receive at home is removed. This is really false economics. In July this year the Nuffield trust said unplanned emergency hospital admissions had increased by 12 per cent since 2004, at a cost of £330 million per year. Speaking at the time, Nuffield Trust director Dr Jennifer Dixon said: "Reversing this unsustainable rise in emergency admissions must be the number one priority for the NHS - any reform to the health service that does not tackle this will fail." So you can see that a decline in local social care funding will have a direct impact on the NHS, which won't have its funding increased in line with the rising cost of the problem. And some of the fall-out is already being seen. NHS Warwickshire has delayed IVF treatment until next April to ensure it doesn't overspend its budget. It has also postponed hip, knee and shoulder replacements and cataract operations. It is unacceptable that some Trusts see the best way to balance books as limiting what treatment is available year-round. It basically means that there are good times of the year to fall ill and bad times - and I would hate to be the surgeon trying to work out how best to get through a six month back-log of operations. How convenient that Health secretary Andrew Lansley abolished NHS waiting lists earlier this year. I appreciate that there is not an endless pot of Government money and that spending reductions have to be found somewhere - but it seems pure political game play to ring-fence the very emotive issue of the NHS, and yet allow such significant cuts to areas that will directly increase the demands on the NHS along with how efficiently its money is spent. Like those people who live in the NHS Warwickshire catchment area, just pray you don't get the wrong type of illness at the wrong time of year, otherwise you could experience first-hand how weakly constructed the Government's NHS ring-fence really is. Andrew Lansley, cancelled operations, NHS ring-fence, social care funding, NHS should fight back against profiteering drug companies Antibiotics are beginning to fail. For someone completely dependent on antibiotics every day (3 different types daily and a few administered directly into my veins every couple of months) this worries me. There are already a few strains of CF bugs that are resistant to most antibiotics - they are the true bogeymen of the CF world, talked about in hushed tones - and the common chest infection that most CF people have, pseudomonas, shows on and off resistance to the usual antibiotics. But even I, someone who is more interested in antibiotic resistance than the average member of the population, was shocked to read recently that there have only been two new classes of antibiotics invented in the LAST THIRTY YEARS. We should all be worried - infections are a bit like freedom fighters, they've got nothing to lose, everything to win and are highly proficient at adapting and resisting any of the tactics we use to try and kill them. And to be frank we've barely varied our tactics since 1980. David Brennan, Chief Exec of big drug company Astra Zeneca has called upon the public sector to work with it to help find a way to solve the problem of antibiotic resistance. This is because drug companies see little value to their shareholders in spending money creating new antibiotics because the speed at which infections become resistant to them does not make it a worthwhile investment, regardless of the human benefit. A spokesman for Astra Zeneca was quoted as saying: ""If we think [a treatment is] not commercially viable, we can give it to somebody in the public sector who is willing to spend money to develop it." But to me this statement seems very one-sided. Drug companies make vast profits from the NHS - just look at the controversy surrounding GlaxoSmithKline's 10 per cent profit increase on the back of the swine flu panic. Plus their patent protection on drugs allows them to keep the cost of purchase high for a substantial period of time before they are legally obliged to divulge drug ingredients to allow cheaper, non-brand versions of the drug to be created. A commercial approach to medicine works if profit proves an effective driver to creating new treatments. But if a focus on profit also means that vital drug treatments do not receive investment then to me something is clearly wrong with the system. It has bothered me for some time that the NHS doesn't seem to use its huge buying power to exert demands upon drug companies. It must be one of the biggest, if not the biggest unified drug purchaser in the world, and it seems crazy that pharmaceutical companies are selling drugs to our Government at a vast profit but then also telling the Government to spend its own money creating cures for diseases that are unattractive to pharmaceutical shareholders. I wonder what Astra Zeneca's reaction would be if the NHS said it would only buy its leading antibiotics for the whole of the UK population if they invested a proportion of the resulting profit in creating new antibiotics? Negotiation and bartering are the key to any purchasing agreement and at the moment it seems the Government is held to ransom over the threat of allowing its citizens to develop untreatable infections, when it should actually be using its huge monetary resources to ensure it holds the advantage over drug companies. If we are forced to take a commercial approach to drug treatments, then the Government should quickly learn that two can play that game. Astra Zeneca, NHS, profits, profts, resistant antibiotics Chris Grayling and his mysterious employment figures The Government is always keen for school children to improve their basic numeracy skills but don't seem so great at working out sums themselves. Here's an interesting conundrum. Speaking at the Tory party conference, Work and Pensions Minister, Chris Grayling said he hoped that about half of those claiming incapacity benefit can be helped back into work. That means from a total of 2.5 million currently claiming incapacity benefit, he is hoping about 1.25million people will be moved back into work. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is expecting 2 million jobs to be created in the next five years. This figure is already considered to be highly optimistic. In comparison, after the recession of 1980/81 it took seven years to create 2 million jobs. Following the 1991/1992 recession it took nine and a half years to create 2 million jobs. And the average annual GDP growth rate after these previous recessions was 3.6% and 3.2% respectively, which is significantly higher than the current 2.5% GDP growth rate the OBR has predicted. But for argument's sake, let's say that the OBR is right in its predictions - it still means that Mr Grayling expects those who have been claiming incapacity benefit to acquire 62.5% of these newly created jobs. I've tried to find some figures on an employer's attitude to taking on disabled people or the long-term ill, but do let me know if you're aware of any more recent studies. In a 2004 study that looked at 1000 small business owners, 45% said they thought it would be 'quite difficult/very difficult' to employ a disabled person. I appreciate it's hard to extrapolate this research out into the wider employment market, but if this attitude was found to be genuinely indicative of the overall employer attitude across the nation, that would mean that of the potential 2 million new jobs the Government hopes will be created, the disabled or those on incapacity benefit would be considered for about 55 % of these positions - or 1.1million of the new jobs. In short, that means someone on incapacity benefit would have to be appointed for every single job available from employers who have a positive attitude towards employing the long-term ill - and there would still be 150,000 jobs too few. To me it seems very unlikely that someone who has been off sick for a significant period of time, or is disabled with special work-place requirements or has a history of mental health issues will find themselves at the top of the pile when it comes to finding work. So, Mr Grayling, where did you get your figure from? If I've done my sums wrong then please do correct me. Or did you actually mean, you expect 1.25million people to be moved from Incapacity benefit onto Job Seeker's Allowance and left alone to figure out how best to get work, without any of the specialist support that the new Employment Support Allowance promises the ill or disabled? ESA, OBR, recessionChris, The Buff I have an incurable genetic illness called Cystic Fibrosis, to date I've had 13 operations, and been a patient in 18 different hospitals. I had a double lung transplant on 30th August 2013. I know a bit about the NHS. With this blog I'll let you know my experiences with the NHS, my views on disability and my opinions on the changes that affect health care and disability issues - and occasionally I'll talk a little about my ongoing health battles - if I think it's interesting enough. You can follow me on Twitter: @SharonBrennan The proposed changes to ESA will fail those with i... Just how secure is the ring-fence around NHS fundi... NHS should fight back against profiteering drug co... Chris Grayling and his mysterious employment figur... Watermark template. Template images by francisblack. Powered by Blogger.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2978

Home > Newsroom > Press Releases > 2013 Gov Christie Takes Action to Make Gun Bills Stronger, Argues We Must Be The Grown-Ups In The Room Tags: Bill Action “WE MUST BE THE GROWN-UPS IN THE ROOM”: When it comes to the issue of guns and public safety, Governor Christie has said from the beginning we must focus on what actually works to reduce violence and not just what’s politically popular or sounds good in name only. Gun control legislation should be grounded in common-sense, not based on emotion in the aftermath of a tragedy. As the Governor said in January when he announced the NJ Safe Task Force, this “is the time for an honest conversation on how we realistically deal with what is a very complex issue.” More from the Governor at that January press conference: “We cannot and we should not let emotion guide our actions. We cannot let empty rhetoric, fear, division, and politics, along with the twenty-four hour media cycle take hold of this conversation and the things we must do to fundamentally deal with the very real problems we're facing in our homes, in our schools, in our state, and in our country.” A REMINDER ON THE STATE OF PLAY: Along these lines, it’s important to keep in mind the current state of affairs of guns in New Jersey: Just last week, the Governor signed 10 common sense gun-related bills passed by the Democratic legislature into law, fulfilling his promise to work across the aisle to keep the state safer: http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552013/approved/20130808b.html Governor Christie enforces the existing gun laws already on the books here in New Jersey, which according to the Brady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence, already rank as the second-toughest in the country. These restrictions include an assault weapons ban, a seven-day waiting period and the third-strictest magazine capacities in the country. New Jersey’s existing gun laws also already include tough, thorough background checks. When a person applies for a firearms purchaser ID card which is mandated for any long gun or a handgun purchase permit, an extensive and thorough background investigation is already required. At the time of the firearm purchase, an instant background check is also performed. In fact, New Jersey’s current background checks are stronger than the hotly-contested Toomey-Manchin legislation that made headlines last spring. In April, the Governor put forward his own plan to responsibly expand our tough gun laws in three key components: http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552013/approved/20130419a.html Taking a comprehensive approach that seeks to address the root causes of violence in our society and not merely focus on gun control. Strengthening New Jersey’s existing background check requirement in two ways: mandating that mental health records are included in the instant background check process at the time of a firearm purchase as part of the National Instant Background Check system AND by requiring a valid government issued photograph ID in addition to New Jersey’s FID card. Addressing the influence of violence in video games on today's youth by requiring parental consent. GOVERNOR TAKES FURTHER ACTION ON GUNS; CRITICIZES POLITICALLY MOTIVATED, HAPHAZARD APPROACH: Governor Christie took additional action on the remaining gun bills and in doing so, criticized the legislature’s haphazard and politically motivated approach on guns. In April, Governor Christie, utilizing some recommendations from a bipartisan Taskforce, unveiled a comprehensive and sensible plan aimed at violence control. Instead of embarking on this course, the legislature passed several ill-conceived bills in an attempt to drive an emotional, political agenda. Their proposals were singularly focused and ignored the root causes of violence. The Governor’s actions today make these bills stronger and more viable: SIGNING LEGISLATION TO CREATE A BIPARTISAN SCHOOL TASK FORCE (A-3583): Governor Christie signed Assembly Bill 3583 establishing the School Security Task Force, a 15-member body made up of members from the educational, security and law enforcement community, as well as the general public. CALLING FOR CODIFICATION OF EXISTING LAW FOR TRACKING SEIZED WEAPONS WHILE KEEPING INLINE WITH FEDERAL LAW (A-3797): The Governor reinforced his sensible approach to gun safety by calling for existing state guidelines for the reporting of firearms seized from criminals, recovered in criminal investigations or found abandoned or discarded, to be codified in state law. State directives on this reporting already matches federal reporting requirements and the state Attorney General already requires that this information is shared with database systems, including the National Crime Information Center’s 2000 System; NJ Trace (a part of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive’s “e-Trace System”); and the National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network. The Governor’s action on bill A-3797 would codify these regulations, while at the same time making a minor change to bring the bill in line with federal law. The current bill calls for public disclosure of federal ballistics data (information that is already provided due to state law) which would be a direct violation of federal law (the Tiahrt Amendments). SUPPORTS SEVERAL COMMON-SENSE MEASURES BUT “SMARTCARD” NOT FEASIBLE: Governor Christie supports several sensible measures that create uniformity, toughen penalties and protect our children. The Governor called for the following: Requiring a New Jersey Firearms Identification Card for the purchase of all ammunition and reasonably restricting shipments of ammunition to the address specified on that Identification Card; Protecting our children by creating a new criminal offense for any gun owner allowing a minor access to a firearm which results in injury or death; Strengthening New Jersey’s mental health laws by requiring physicians and screeners overseeing involuntary commitments to inquire about gun ownership, and Requiring all local law enforcement entities to distribute a pamphlet explaining the best practices for gun ownership, and a list of available courses for basic and advances firearms training that should be distributed at the time a permit or identification card is issued. Acknowledges Creative and Novel Proposal That Exists Without Necessary Technology or Funding to Make it Work: The idea at the centerpiece of this proposal – a one stop shop firearm ID “smartcard” would help integrate various information in one place and speed the process for legal gun owners and purchasers. But as the Attorney General, the Superintendent of the State Police, and the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles have all stated, the “smartcard” cannot be implemented now, or any time in the foreseeable future. In this way, it is similar to the 2002 “Personalized Handgun” law that requires New Jersey to adopt guns equipped with technology ensuring that that weapon can only be fired by a recognized user. The technology didn’t exist then, and it doesn’t now 11 years later. The law has never been used in its existence. Similarly, while the smartcard may be a well-intentioned idea, it is unworkable and impractical. Focusing on Common-Sense Solutions to Violence, Not In Name Only Proposals (A-3659): The bill passed by the legislature seeks to ban a firearm that has reportedly never been used in a crime in New Jersey. It imposes criminal liabilities on all current owners of these firearms, including those who believed that they had properly registered their guns with law enforcement. This bill purports to curb gun violence, when in reality the overly broad classification of firearms it calls for banning are lawfully used by competitive marksmen for long-range precision shooting and are not used by criminal interests because of their size and cost, which averages over $10,000 per firearm. The Governor, the former chief federal prosecutor in New Jersey, favors proposals designed to provide real solutions to violence, so he is calling on the legislature to act on the dozens of proposals he put forward aimed at truly deterring criminals. Press Contact: Michael Drewniak Colin Reed S2723CV [pdf 45kB] A3659AV [pdf 30kB] A3797CV [pdf 30kB]

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/2999

Fowl Play Prospect Park Geese Gassing: It Didn’t Have To Be This Way By Dana Rubinstein | 07/13/10 7:43pm Comment Tomorrow, starting at 10 a.m., the Parks Department will host its 63rd annual Macy’s Fishing Contest at the Lake in Prospect Park. The department’s chipper new mascot, Pearl the Squirrel, is expected to attend. But for the first time in recent memory, there will be no geese. That’s because, as everyone who frequents Prospect Park must know by now, the greensward’s hundreds of geese were rounded up under cover of early morning and gassed. It happened Thursday , before the park got busy, and the news first appeared on the front page of The Times this morning. That the city would allow the USDA to creep into the park and cull the birds with nary a protest and certainly no public discussion is a questionable PR strategy. Along with free summer concerts and the Long Meadow, the geese were one of the delights of visiting Prospect Park—for kids, bird-lovers, and anthropomorphizers alike (I include myself in the latter). Anyone who doubts the geese’s popularity need only note the virality of the recent Times story about “Sticky,” the goose whose neck was pierced by an arrow, or the recent stories in the Brooklyn Paper about animals turning up dead near the Prospect Park Lake. And it didn’t have to be this way. In early June, Dave Avrin, the director of Gateway National Park in Queens, earned himself an angry editorial in the Daily News when he, unlike the city, resisted the federal government’s efforts to cull the geese who live in his park. “Our mission is to protect and preserve wildlife—that’s a law—and it isn’t a given that the removal of the geese is necessary to protect the flying public,” Mr. Avrin told the AP. This, even though the park is much closer to JFK Airport than Prospect Park. The geese culling frenzy stems, of course, from the January 15 crash landing of a U.S. Airways flight in the Hudson River after geese were sucked into the plane’s engines. Remember? This was the Miracle on the Hudson, in which no one died. According to the same AP article, which cited FAA stats, between 1990 and 2008, there were just 11 civilian deaths resulting from about 1,200 bird-plane collisions in the U.S., but the guilty birds were “not necessarily geese.” Forgive us for saying so, but this strikes us as overkill. drubinstein@observer.com Comment Filed under: Daily Transom, Dan Avrin, Department of Environmental Protection, Fowl Play, Gateway National Recreation Area, Parks & Recreation, Prospect Park, Prospect Park Alliance, USDA Trending Now

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3015

News Videos Special Howard Arthur Howard Arthur, 90Howard Millard Arthur, 90, of Rosemount passed away Jan. 19, 2013, at SOMC Hospice. He was born April 14, 1922, a son of the late Harry E. Arthur and Fannie G. Arthur. He was a 1940 graduate of Portsmouth High School and attended Ohio University. He was a World War II veteran serving with the 29th Infantry Division 115th Infantry Regiment 2nd Battalion “F’ Company of the US Army. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Good Conduct Medal, Expert Bayonet Badge, Marksman Rifle Badge along with many other medals.He worked 12 years for Williams Shoe Company and retired after 30 years as the buyer and manager of the carpet and flooring department at Marting’s Department Store. He was a member of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church and a Lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans.He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 62 years and nine months Margaret M. Arthur. She was the joy of his life.Also preceding him in death were his stepmother Sudie Arthur, two sisters Janice Brown and Patty Thomas and one brother Vernon Arthur. He is survived by one sister, Helen Duncan of Rosemount, one brother Harold Arthur of Russellville, Ohio and one sister-in- law Rose Marie Stasko of New Springfield, Ohio and several nieces and nephews.Mass of Christian Burial will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church with Rev. Steve Virginia officiating. Friends may call from 12:00 (Noon)- 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Burial will be at the convenience of the family in Calvary Cemetery in Youngstown, Ohio. In lieu of flowers contributions can be made to SOMC Hospice or Holy Redeemer Catholic Church.Arrangements are under the direction of Melcher Funeral Home.

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3070

Execution Set this Week Share Tweet E-mail Print The Oklahoma State Prison at McAlester By AP McAlester, OK – Convicted Okla. killer to be put to death Thursday McALESTER, Okla. (AP) An Oklahoma death row inmate convicted of killing a man in Miami in 1994 is to be put to death this week. Forty-nine-year-old Gary Roland Welch is scheduled for execution at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary for the beating and stabbing death of Robert Dean Hardcastle. Welch has maintained that he killed Hardcastle in self-defense. The state Pardon and Parole Board voted 3-2 on Dec. 5 to deny Welch's request for clemency. Welch was hospitalized in mid-December after prison officials say he tried to kill himself by cutting his neck with razors. Welch is now being housed in the prison infirmary where warden's assistant Terry Crenshaw told the McAlester News-Capital that he's being monitored 24 hours a day. Public Radio Tulsa

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3081

Live Broadcast and Chat Nicole’s Blog Laffy’s Place About Nicole Sandler More about Nicole Sandler About GottaLaff Nicole & Alison’s Adoption Story Nicole's Blog Laffy's Place Nicole & Alison's Adoption Story Truth vs Reality 21 March, 2013 Published by nicole in Uncategorized http://traffic.libsyn.com/radioornot/20130321_Nicole_Sandler_Show_-_Shocked_and_Awed.mp3 If there is any difference between one’s truth and one’s reality, I tried to explore it this morning. This was to be a pretty big show. Michelle Shocked agreed to come on with me to clarify the statements she made from the stage Sunday night at Yoshi’s in San Franciso. From her music and what I’ve seen in this woman whom I’ve interviewed a few times over the years, I believed her to be a compassionate, caring, far-from-bigoted person that was being reported by disgusted concert goers Sunday night. So, I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. I had a lengthy email conversation earlier this week with one of the attendees Sunday night who had a different opinion of the episode. Colin Epstein, who had been on a real high earlier during the Yoshi’s show as he was a fan who was able to accompany Michelle on harp during a song, believed that she was trying to say something different, albeit clumsily, and then mob rule took over. “At the start of the second set, Shocked said a lot of disjointed, garbled things. These included thoughts about Jesus, sin, and gays, but for the life of me I couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Some of it was even in Spanish for some reason. In my eyes, it was far too unfocused to qualify as any sort of rant. I do think some of the stuff was said ironically. I know she made one statement criticizing some Christians that seems to have gone completely unreported. She said (paraphrasing as accurately as I can from memory) “I’m tired of Christians who hide their hypocrisy behind the cross.” What did she mean? I don’t know. It was just one of many statements she made that lacked any apparent cohesion. The most infamous soundbite, (which I remember as “now y’all can go on Twitter and say Michelle Shocked says God hates fags,” though it’s been reported with drastically different syntax elsewhere) I took as sad, ironic surrender to how the crowd had turned on her and mis-read her rather than the boastful statement others are reporting. But the crowd took anything she said at full face value and things got ugly fast. While I wish Shocked had calmed down and explained herself instead of letting the reactionaries in the audience control the conversation, I’m not sure she could have.” So when Michelle agreed to come on my show today, I was thrilled. I wanted to give her the opportunity to tell what happened – to reconcile what she was trying to say with the the words that we’ve all now heard with our own ears, as this recording surfaced yesterday: Unfortunately, I didn’t get to ask her any of the questions I had hoped to, and didn’t hear her clarify anything this morning as she wouldn’t answer the phone when I called. And I tried. Repeatedly. When she did answer, she just read some of her “Open Letter” that was released yesterday. If I remember correctly, she picked up a second time, but was obsessed with the delay between the phone conversation and when the sound came through her computer speakers that her paranoia took over. I tried to tell her to turn down the sound on her computer and just talk to me on the phone, but she began counting the seconds of the delay. She later tweeted that to music journalist Chris Willman of Yahoo music that she thought I “was going to ‘fact check’ during the delay the way you do”. (Note: I’ve known Chris since my LA radio days when he wrote for the LA Times, and he bent over backwards to give Michelle the benefit of the doubt on this story, as I did. Yet she has attacked him mercilessly via Twitter) Instead of talking with me – human to human, Shocked decided she wanted to continue to speak her own, strange version of reality via twitter. Michelle seems to be somewhat obsessed with the Twitters these days. As you can hear from the recording from Sunday night, it was that way during the show. She actually agreed to come on the show via twitter: @nicolesandler @angie_coiro @tomtomorrow Hey Nikki, after all you’ve done for me over the years, I owe you that interview. Friday, 3 PST? — Michelle Shocked (@MShocked) March 19, 2013 @mshocked Thanks Michelle!I don’t do a show on Fridays. I’m on Mon-Thu 7-9am PT.Can u do something in there, or tape tomorrow or Wed? — Nicole Sandler (@nicolesandler) March 19, 2013 @nicolesandler @watergatesummer @chriswillman @lingersoaps @burnplant Nicole, let’s talk 8am PT Thursday #shortsharpshocked #truthvsreality When I texted her last night to confirm the interview today, she attempted to back out. I wasn’t going to release our text conversation, but thought it necessary in that she, again, went back on her word and did what she proposed last night, which I categorically did not agree with. Since we wanted to hear her words, I played much of the recording, embedded above, from the Sunday night show that surfaced yesterday on the show this morning, all the while attempting to get her to talk to me… to us! I really wanted to hear Michelle clarify what she was trying to say. Instead, she seems to be digging herself a deeper hole – and alienating the few people who’ve been attempting to help her. She lashed out at me in the final moments of the show, when she called back in as I was playing my favorite Michelle Shocked song, “Come a Long Way” – for the last time. I’m sorry she’s going through this, and I hope she can get some help. Perhaps she should go back and listen to the first hour of the show in which I had the pleasure of interviewing former Congressman Bob Ney. In Bob’s book, Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill, and on my show this morning, Bob admitted the mistakes he made. He’s said he’s sorry. I have a lot more respect for Ney today than I do for Michelle Shocked. And I still wish I understood what point Michelle Shocked is trying to make with her Truth vs. Reality meme. She might be on to something, but I don’t think we’ll ever know. tags: Bob Ney, gay, Michelle Shocked, reality, truth, Yoshi's «How To Listen to The Show The Beginning of a Long Week» March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 September 2006 August 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2005 November 2005 Get the Podcast via iTunes Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes: < /a> Podcast Apps Listen via Stitcher Get the iPod app The iPod App is available from the App Store Get your RoN gear Click on the shirt to see our gear - t-shirts, hoodies, mugs and water bottles. ©2015 Radio Or Not

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3107

This Just In Variety show to benefit Dismas House By Lucia SuarezSTAFF WRITER | March 07,2013 WEST RUTLAND — When the organizers of a local fundraising variety show came up with the idea four years ago to host the event, they never intended it to become an annual event.Coordinator Olivia Gawet said the West Rutland Variety Show started in 2010 in response to earthquakes in Haiti and Japan. Last year, the show helped to construct a community well in Uganda. “It grew out of a need that we saw,” Gawet said. “This year, it is nice to do something that is local.”In the event’s fourth year, all funds raised will go to Dismas House in Rutland. The organization helps former prisoners integrate with society. The variety show is set for 3 p.m. Sunday at the West Rutland Town Hall.When organizers were deciding which cause or organization to help this year, Gawet immediately thought of Dismas. She described the organization as one that does so much for people, yet has very little recognition.“I kept thinking we should do something right in our local community to remember that there is a great need in our own community,” she said. “(Dismas House) is there and the work is so important. Many people don’t know it even exists.”Gawet said the variety show provides an opportunity to educate the community about the work Dismas does for men and women who have left prison without a support system.At this year’s event, Terry Jaye of WJJR will be master of ceremonies, as he has been every year. Nineteen acts include a short comedy show, a girl who performs with a Hula Hoop to music, the Mount St. Joseph choir, the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church choir and many more.“It’s a lot of different things,” Gawet said. “It’s fun.”Tickets cost $8 for adults and $5 for children and seniors, with a $20 cap for families. They can be purchased at the door.lucia.suarez@rutlandherald.com

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3182

TAM Info TAM Editors U.S. depleted uranium as malicious as Syrian chemical weapons Craig Considine Posted Aug 25, 2013 •Permalink • Printer-Friendly Version U.S. depleted uranium as malicious as Syrian chemical weapons by Craig Considine By this time you have likely heard of the atrocity that recently took place in which over 1,000 Syrian civilians reportedly died at the hands of a chemical weapon attack. Seeing the video and images of dead or helpless Syrian civilians struggling for life reminds me of another terrible weapon of war – depleted uranium. It is no secret that the U.S., with the assistance of other governments, used depleted uranium in the Gulf and Iraq War. A simple Google search of this topic can produce dozens and dozens of credible reports or stories to confirm these war crimes. For example, an important report on Harvard University’s website discusses the fallout of depleted uranium contamination in Iraq. Dr. Souad N. Al-Azzawi, who authored the report after the Gulf War, wrote that: “Depleted Uranium (DU) weaponry has been used against Iraq for the first time in the history of recent wars. The magnitude of the complications and damage related to the use of such radioactive and toxic weapons on the environment and the human population mostly results from the intended concealment, denial and misleading information released by the Pentagon about the quantities, characteristics and the area’s in Iraq, in which these weapons have been used.” Similarly, as Democracy Now! reported in an interview with Al Jazeera reporter Dahr Jamail, ”the U.S. invasion of Iraq has left behind a legacy of cancer and birth defects suspected of being caused by the U.S. military’s extensive use of depleted uranium and white phosphorus.” Democracy Now! wrote: “Noting the birth defects in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, Jamail says: ‘They’re extremely hard to bear witness to. But it’s something that we all need to pay attention to … What this has generated is, from 2004 up to this day, we are seeing a rate of congenital malformations in the city of Fallujah that has surpassed even that in the wake of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that nuclear bombs were dropped on at the end of World War II.’” Moreover, Robert Koehler at the Huffington Post has written extensively about the U.S. government’s use of depleted uranium in Iraq. The following passage from Koehler’s article “The Suffering of Fallujah” gives us an idea of the immense impact that depleted uranium has had on Iraqi civilians: “Thus last November, a group of British and Iraqi doctors petitioned the U.N. to investigate the alarming rise in birth defects at Fallujah’s hospitals. ‘Young women in Fallujah,’ they wrote, ‘. . . are terrified of having children because of the increasing number of babies born grotesquely deformed, with no heads, two heads, a single eye in their foreheads, scaly bodies or missing limbs. In addition, young children in Fallujah are now experiencing hideous cancers and leukemias.’” Koehler continues: “The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health has just published an epidemiological study, “Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq 2005-2009,” which has found, among much else, that Fallujah is experiencing higher rates of cancer, leukemia and infant mortality than Hiroshima and Nagasaki did in 1945.” Although Iraqi civilians have born the brunt of this awful weapon, American soldiers that served in the Gulf and Iraq War are also suffering from the fallout of depleted uranium. This issue is discussed in-depth by the Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, which campaigns to “ban on the use of uranium in all conventional weapons and weapon systems and for monitoring, health care, compensation and environmental remediation for communities affected by their use.” Countries around the world have called for the ban of depleted uranium, but unfortunately this demand has fallen on deaf ears. When asked in 2003 about Iraq’s complaints about depleted uranium shells, Colonel James Naughton of U.S. Army Material Command stated in a Pentagon briefing that “They want it to go away because we kicked the crap out of the them.” Last week, U.K. foreign secretary William Hague, said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria is “not something that a humane or civilized world can ignore.” Ironically, Western countries such as the U.K. and their allies have appeared to ignore the use of weapons that are equally vicious. When “non-Westerners” make use of weapons of mass destruction, there is outrage and calls for military intervention from “the West,” but when “Westerners” themselves use them, it is totally permissible and the world can hardly react. FOLLOW CRAIG CONSIDINE ON TWITTER: WWW.TWITTER.COM/TOBECRAIG. Also visit his excellent “official blog” at http://craigconsidinetcd.wordpress.com/ where you will find many more thought provoking articles. Permalink We have now added advertising to help cover TAM's expenses, however we strive to avoid all inappropriate content. By clicking "ads by google" you can report problematical ads and help improve the system. If you have further comments or concerns regarding the ads, contact us. © The American Muslim (TAM) 1989 Website design and development by Imran Musaji. Background art adapted from the copr. artwork of Safiya Godlas. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed on this webpage do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The American Muslim, nor can the American Muslim be held accountable for these views. FAIR USE NOTICE This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed an interest in said material for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. © 2005 XHTML . CSS . Powered by ExpressionEngine

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3194

Home | Capital Living | Gossip: In The Know Obama provides ‘eye candy’ to women of ‘The View’ By Alicia M. Cohn - 09/24/12 10:02 PM EDT ADVERTISEMENTThe president made the audience laugh with that line, but according to the first lady, she’s the “funnier” one in the family. She also admitted that she knows how to make Obama raise his voice.“I can make him mad — any number of ways,” she said."By being thoroughly unreasonable," Obama added, but with a smile.The couple is celebrating 20 years of marriage on Oct. 3, which also happens to be the date of the first presidential debate. Michelle Obama plans to watch the debate backstage, and the president said the romance will have to wait until the following Saturday.“I like lavishing her with all kinds of attention when she deserves it, and she always deserves it," Obama said.Obama lavished co-host Barbara Walters with some attention while he was at it, in the form of birthday gifts from the White House. He delivered a basket that included White House M&Ms, a deck of Marine One playing cards, some White House beer and a White House golf ball, according to the pool report.The episode of “The View” will air Tuesday on ABC. Share on Twitter More in In The Know Obama attends women's NCAA Tournament game

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3200

The Racket Theme 2: Exile Death Threats and Dot Patterns Parazit breaks through the static Travelling for work, Saman Arbabi has passed over Iran at 30,000 feet several times recently, his head pressed longingly against the airplane window, picking out the cities and towns. Down there in his homeland, legions of fans would recognise the 38 year old from Parazit, the Persian language satirical news show he created in 2008 with fellow Iranian American Kambiz Hosseini, in Washington DC. Unfortunately so would some of Parazit’s heavyweight detractors, who include an Iranian president and a grand ayatollah. “If I went back, I would get picked up at the airport and go straight to prison,” says Arbabi with a sigh. He last set foot in Iran in 1985, as a 12 year old. “I’m on the top list of the government’s most hated and wanted people, for sure.” Parazit, which translates as “static”, is funded by US public broadcaster Voice of America, and each episode comprises roughly 30 minutes of Hosseini and Arbabi creatively trashing the Iranian government. There are interviews – Hilary Clinton was a guest – and sketches featuring Arbabi, who also executive produces the show, as comic side-kick to Hosseini, who usually hosts. A few episodes are available with English subtitles, though Arbabi has at least temporarily abandoned this idea since he can’t find anyone to accurately relay the nuances of the humour from the Persian. With its DIY graphics and low-rent sets, Parazit is carried by the energy of its presenters, who glug coffee, climbs on desks, and wave their fingers at the monitor as they rail at Ahmadinejad and his goons. Parazit is beamed into Iran via satellite, which is regularly disrupted by government censors (hence “static”), and it is distributed via social media sites, also tightly controlled and periodically banned. Reporters Without Borders gives Iran’s pervasive censorship laws the worst ranking level on their five-point scale. But such is the clamour for the bluster-puncturing satire of Parazit that the show was viewed 30 million times in a single month last year, on Facebook alone. The frenetic energy spills off-screen: Arbabi is taking advantage of a brief hiatus from Parazit (it is scheduled to return in August) to launch an internet art project and a sister TV programme, called OnTen, an Onion-style fake news show which parodies Iran’s state TV news network, Al-Alam. Arbabi and Hosseini were both working for VOA when they dreamed up, over drinks, the idea for a Persian-language show that would focus on the crazier exploits of the Iranian government. The expatriates felt they owed something to the young people that make up the majority of Iran’s population (more than half of Iran is under the age of 30) ruled over by a few old men. Ali Larijani, former Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and current chairman of the Parliament of Iran, gets the Parazit treatment At that time, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was lurching ever rightward as he geared up for re-election, and Ayatollah Khamenei was parading around in cloaks made from the hair of specially-bred camels. Arbabi and Hosseini saw rich pickings for satire. The show trundled along as a ten-minute segment for months before exploding in popularity as the 2009 election protests erupted. When Arbabi and Hosseini appeared as guests on The Daily Show two years later, host Jon Stewart praised Arbabi’s flourescent green trousers: “These are the pants of someone who has assimilated.” Indeed, Arbabi owes a lot to America. His family fled Iran in 1986, at the height of its war with Iraq, in order for Arbabi to avoid conscription (at the time, says Arbabi, the military was taking boys as young as 13). Armed with green cards, his family came to the US and, after finishing school, Arbabi worked as a cook at a Hooters restaurant before, at 19, scoring an internship at a public radio station. Since 2003 he has picked up his cheque from the US Government, via Voice of America. Hosseini worked as a petrol station attendant in Oregon before joining VOA. Indeed, some claim the pair are too beholden to their adoptive home country. Though it claims editorial independence, Voice of America is often dismissed as an instrument of US foreign policy, even propaganda. Parazit takes flak from the likes of Iranian-American commentator Nima Shirazi, who argues that the hosts are, however unintentionally, mouthpieces for the US. In a discussion of Parazit on Al-Jazeera, Shirazi accused its creators of focusing on Iran while ignoring US-led injustice. Arbabi, who worked as a foreign journalist before joining VOA as a video producer, says that while it may be legitimate to raise the issue of Parazit’s funding, in practice VOA’s backing does nothing to diminish what they do. “We’re using the funding to point out some major flaws in the Iranian government,” he says. “We’re talking about a government that still executes children. We’re totally doing the right thing.” There are plenty of other shows that criticise the US government, he says, and while he has his own problems with it, that’s not what the Iranian people care about. “I have my personal views, and I have my professional choice as well to decide what it is I want to do with this little brain,” he says. Saman Arbabi and Kambiz Hosseini on the set of Parazit When it relaunches, Parazit will face even tighter controls. Ayatollah Khamenei recently earmarked US $1 billion for a new internet censorship body, winningly named the Supreme Council of Virtual Space. Hosseini once said that Khamenei and Ahmadinejad should be on the VOA payroll for all the satire-ready material they offer up each week. But Arbabi says people will continue to get the show using proxy servers and even passing it around on flash drives. Plus he knows he can count on government lackeys as regular viewers, not least the state media. Iran’s leading national television station, Keyhan, runs regular attack pieces on the show, and until recently, state TV ran a sort of anti-Parazit, complete with footage from Arbabi’s show and regular denunciations of Arbabi and Hosseini as American spies. But Arbabi remains professionally and spiritually devoted to Iran. “I can’t ever go back unless something completely changes,” he says. “But I get the opportunity that kids don’t have in Iran to speak as loud as I can, and point my finger in their faces, and call them out on their lies. “We’ve got our audience, and they look up to us. They expect to get something every week,” he says. Arbabi says that broadcasting the show from the sanctuary of Washington DC, and returning to their nice apartments, is of no great risk compared with protesting in the streets of Tehran. But he does concede there is more at stake than with a standard satire show. “The major difference is we’re dealing with a very oppressive government and a sponsor of terror… So we have a very bad audience as well,” he says. Death threats have become a regular event for both presenters, Arbabi says. Within Iran, police would surely have a field day with a couple of expats who devote their entire weekly show to mocking Iranian heads of state. But to Arbabi, Iran’s alleged involvement in a plot to assassinate a Saudi diplomat on US soil last October showed just how far its government is willing to go to exact revenge upon its enemies. (Two Iranian nationals have been charged in the US with planning to blow up Saudi diplomat Adel al-Jubeir in a crowded Washington restaurant, and then bombing the Saudi Arabian and Israeli embassies for good measure. The Iranian government denies any involvement.) “The threat is very real,” Arbabi concedes. “But I can’t think about that a lot. Maybe it’s my stupidity, but I just don’t really care.” Arbabi, who describes himself as a lifelong class clown, has this breezy approach to many things, but his emotions betray him when talk turns to the prospect of returning to Iran. “Oh I would love to go back,” he says. “Absolutely I would love to. Sometimes I dream about it. I would love to go, and hopefully one day I will.” Story Info Words: Sam Bungey Photo: Saman Arbabi dodges a fake bomb blast for Parazit Themes Theme 2: Exile arab-spring, iran, parazit, saman-arbabi Get the hell out of here... What a childhood friend taught me about the diaspora Dictoplasty The plastic lives of terrible men Iran’s “horny jerk-off situation” Follow us Subscribe to The Racket:

新闻

2015-14/1679/en_head.json.gz/3248

Oil, Gasoline Prices Hit All-Time Highs in 2011—and May Continue Rising Posted by Mason Inman on January 12, 2012 (0) More » Average prices of oil and gasoline at the pump reached an all-time high in 2011, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, averaged $111 a barrel—the first time it broke $100 for a whole year. In some ways, these records snuck up on Americans, since there was no extreme spike in oil prices as in 2008 or in the 1970s energy crises. In inflation-adjusted dollars, gasoline averaged $3.56 a gallon, beating the previous record of $3.41 in 1981. But households felt the bite, spending an average of $4,155 on gasoline in 2011. Prices at the main U.S. benchmark site—in Cushing, Okla.— averaged $95 a barrel, lower than the global price, in part because of bottlenecks in transporting crude oil, while extraction of shale oil in the central U.S. and tar sands in Canada increased. (Production in North Dakota, primarily from shale oil, exceeded 500,000 barrels for the first time, surpassing Ecuador, a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.) The U.S. imported about half of its oil (despite some articles late last year that gave the false impression the country had become an oil exporter), so the U.S. was not immune to high international oil prices. This year, oil prices are likely to increase further, many analysts said, possibly setting a new record. Former Shell Oil CEO John Hofmeister said gasoline may reach $5 a gallon by the end of 2012. Cobbling Together an Energy Revolution Key U.S. federal subsidies for clean energy lapsed at the end of 2011, but many states are pushing ahead with their own clean energy funds, which encourage investment in technology research hubs, start-ups, and green job training programs. These state funds could help get much more renewable energy installed and create many new jobs, according to a new report from the Brookings Institution and the Rockefeller Foundation. These smaller, localized efforts will accomplish more than a big “moon-shot” program by the federal government, according to a new MIT study on energy innovation. Energy efficiency improvements could become easier to fund in California, if a program advanced by the state’s Public Utility Commission goes through. The program, based on a proposal by the Environmental Defense Fund, would allow customers to gradually pay off the cost of efficiency renovations through their utility bills. The Commission is taking comments on the proposal and if it moves forward, would be the first state-wide program of this kind. “Ambitious” Clean Air Rules At the end of January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to release its first rules for greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants, an EPA official said. This follows on new rules for emissions of mercury and other toxic elements, higher vehicle mileage standards and other efforts that together constitute the “most ambitious clean air rules in decades.” Meanwhile, President Obama stopped at the EPA to offer his support of the agency, which has been under fire by Republican candidates for the presidency, some of whom vowed to drastically cut back the agency’s powers. Also, a new EPA tool makes detailed data on greenhouse gas emissions public for the first time. This includes a searchable database and an interactive map showing regions that have the highest greenhouse gas emissions and which power plants are the largest polluters. In addition to tackling emissions of carbon dioxide, there are also opportunities for cheaply and easily cutting warming by cutting emissions of heat-trapping methane and soot, according to a new study by an international team of scientists. “In the short term, dealing with these pollutants is more doable …,” said lead author Drew Shindell of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Solar-Powered Law Enforcement In an effort to save gasoline and the cost of replacing batteries the Jacksonville, Fla., Sheriff’s Department outfitted many of its cars with solar panels to help power all the electronics on board. Recent budget cuts stopped the program, but other law enforcement agencies—in Ohio and New Jersey—have launched similar programs. The Climate Post offers a rundown of the week in climate and energy news. It is produced each Thursday by Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. cancel reply About This Blog Researchers, conservationists, and others around the world share their stories, opinion, and new on National Geographic Voices.

新闻