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<p>For 15 years Karen Trout’s route home from work passed a large vacant lot strewn with garbage and car parts. She witnessed drug deals from her window and would find used needles there the next day.</p>
<p>&#160;“It was a huge plot of land, three city lots, and that amount of space attracts bad things. Around my block there was so much gun crime. Three people were shot behind my house in one summer,” recalls Trout, who lives in North Lawndale with with her husband and three children.</p>
<p>The corner lot on Avers Avenue and Cermak Road had sat empty for nearly two decades, until Trout and her neighbor, Laura Michel, couldn’t take looking at it any longer.&#160;</p>
<p>“We realized that we and many of our neighbors all had the same thoughts: It looked disgusting, it was bringing negative energy into our block, and wouldn’t it just be great if our kids could play there instead?” says Michel, who also lives on the block with her husband and three young children.&#160;</p>
<p>After failing to find the landowner, and with the blessing of their local alderman, their block took over the area and turned it into the Avers Community Garden in 2010.</p>
<p>Four years later, the garden is still maintained by the community, though not without some challenges along the way. The community doesn’t formally own the land, so it has no water access. In the summer, stretches of garden hose line the block to bring water from a neighbor’s kitchen sink.</p>
<p>But residents aren’t fazed. “The block has definitely come together, even more so now we have this space we all watch over, like a baby we all share,” says Michel.</p>
<p>The Chicago Reporter sat down with Trout and Michel to hear how their neighbors reclaimed their block, and how the process transformed the community.</p>
<p>What was the block like before you started on the garden?</p>
<p>Michel: We have always loved it here. Even though there was a time when things were really dangerous — and there still are very real dangers here — we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else because we’re so invested here. People are just living their lives, and we have amazing neighbors. They look out for each other’s kids, tell us when our garage doors was left open, or if our car lights are on. How many other neighbors can say that?</p>
<p>Trout: The garden was the main part of a wider development of our block that happened over time. When I first moved here the block that sits behind ours [Springfield Avenue] was a mess for so long. The drug issues came from the blocks around ours, which had fewer families and more vacant buildings. Cars would pull up by our house, the driver would shoot a needle into his arm, and drive away. Before we even started on the garden it took at least five diligent years of putting pressure on the police to help, and the alderman, to get them to clean the place up. Now those vacant buildings are properly boarded up, and the situation is much improved.</p>
<p>What motivated you to tackle the vacant lot and the problems it was bringing?</p>
<p>Michel: We have a good block — a block I’ve been happy to live on for 11 years. We have a community that is committed to the greater good of the area. That “greater good” was what got us motivated to do something about the vacant space. We had kids playing near a space rampant with drug dealing, and we decided we weren’t going to let that happen anymore. And if we wanted a garden for our kids, we wanted it for the other kids, too. You can’t give up on a place and move on — you need to invest at least 10 years in a neighborhood before you see fruit.</p>
<p>Why did you choose to make it a garden?</p>
<p>Trout: When you come to a community like North Lawndale, you typically focus on what you see, which is garbage and dilapidated buildings. If you create a beautiful space you can change outsider perception and insider’s experience of living here. We want people to feel psychologically encouraged and uplifted by the space. It’s a visual reminder of goodness.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Have you had any setbacks since it became a garden?</p>
<p>Michel: Right after we created the garden, we started getting the most bizarre reports. Prostitutes were using it, homeless people were sleeping there, we found more needles and dime bags, so the garden was filled with negative activity right after we fixed it up. It felt like a spiritual battle.</p>
<p>Trout: We still wanted to keep the space open, so we had to make sure everyone on the block was committed to fighting the activity. We held a meeting in the garden that our alderman, Ricardo Munoz, came to. We, as a block, promised to watch over the space. That was it. We haven’t had any problems since then. You have to be committed to protecting what’s good in your community, that’s the only way to win.</p>
<p>How do you ensure that the space continues to help your neighborhood?</p>
<p>Michel: I had visited other community gardens in the past to see what was out there, and most of the time they were locked and you had to get a key from the next door library or something to open it. Our garden is open to everyone, even though it creates more of a risk, because it’s important we be intentional that we don’t give up and assume people will wreck it. If we maintain an open, accessible space, not only does it feel more accessible to all, but we are fighting this defensive protection of community spaces.</p>
<p>Trout: We also use the garden all year round. In the summer we have a sports program — there’s a sports court in the garden — and a gardening club. We have a community Christmas Tree and decorate it all together and drink hot chocolate. We have an Easter egg hunt and Halloween trick or treats there. We also have most of our community meetings there.</p>
<p>How do you get people in your neighborhood to care about the garden?</p>
<p>Michel: Most people here are just trying to live, to make it, so they aren’t gung-ho about spending their entire weekend pulling weeds. We sometimes outsource that — for example, every summer Northwestern University gives us some volunteers who donate 50 hours of their time doing whatever we need, maybe gardening or fixing up the fence. But we make sure the neighbors are involved in planning, and that we know what they want it to look like. Before anything gets done, we have a meeting so everyone can say what they want.</p>
<p>Trout: The produce in the garden is everyone’s and when we plant it’s all the families together. It’s not mine and Laura’s garden, after all.</p>
<p>Do you have any advice for people who are looking to take over a lot like you did?</p>
<p>Trout: We wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without collaboration; you run out of energy if you try to do it by yourself. A core group of people need to be solidly working together. But Alderman Munoz and the police were very cooperative with us throughout, which helped speed things up. It’s also expensive. There needs to be readily available resources, and you need to proactively seek those. For example, Home Depot donated trees and a 120-foot fence to our garden. See what people are willing to give you, because it will be expensive.</p>
<p />
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15 years karen trouts route home work passed large vacant lot strewn garbage car parts witnessed drug deals window would find used needles next day 160it huge plot land three city lots amount space attracts bad things around block much gun crime three people shot behind house one summer recalls trout lives north lawndale husband three children corner lot avers avenue cermak road sat empty nearly two decades trout neighbor laura michel couldnt take looking longer160 realized many neighbors thoughts looked disgusting bringing negative energy block wouldnt great kids could play instead says michel also lives block husband three young children160 failing find landowner blessing local alderman block took area turned avers community garden 2010 four years later garden still maintained community though without challenges along way community doesnt formally land water access summer stretches garden hose line block bring water neighbors kitchen sink residents arent fazed block definitely come together even space watch like baby share says michel chicago reporter sat trout michel hear neighbors reclaimed block process transformed community block like started garden michel always loved even though time things really dangerous still real dangers wouldnt want live anywhere else invested people living lives amazing neighbors look others kids tell us garage doors left open car lights many neighbors say trout garden main part wider development block happened time first moved block sits behind springfield avenue mess long drug issues came blocks around fewer families vacant buildings cars would pull house driver would shoot needle arm drive away even started garden took least five diligent years putting pressure police help alderman get clean place vacant buildings properly boarded situation much improved motivated tackle vacant lot problems bringing michel good block block ive happy live 11 years community committed greater good area greater good got us motivated something vacant space kids playing near space rampant drug dealing decided werent going let happen anymore wanted garden kids wanted kids cant give place move need invest least 10 years neighborhood see fruit choose make garden trout come community like north lawndale typically focus see garbage dilapidated buildings create beautiful space change outsider perception insiders experience living want people feel psychologically encouraged uplifted space visual reminder goodness 160 160 setbacks since became garden michel right created garden started getting bizarre reports prostitutes using homeless people sleeping found needles dime bags garden filled negative activity right fixed felt like spiritual battle trout still wanted keep space open make sure everyone block committed fighting activity held meeting garden alderman ricardo munoz came block promised watch space havent problems since committed protecting whats good community thats way win ensure space continues help neighborhood michel visited community gardens past see time locked get key next door library something open garden open everyone even though creates risk important intentional dont give assume people wreck maintain open accessible space feel accessible fighting defensive protection community spaces trout also use garden year round summer sports program theres sports court garden gardening club community christmas tree decorate together drink hot chocolate easter egg hunt halloween trick treats also community meetings get people neighborhood care garden michel people trying live make arent gungho spending entire weekend pulling weeds sometimes outsource example every summer northwestern university gives us volunteers donate 50 hours time whatever need maybe gardening fixing fence make sure neighbors involved planning know want look like anything gets done meeting everyone say want trout produce garden everyones plant families together mine lauras garden advice people looking take lot like trout wouldnt able pull without collaboration run energy try core group people need solidly working together alderman munoz police cooperative us throughout helped speed things also expensive needs readily available resources need proactively seek example home depot donated trees 120foot fence garden see people willing give expensive
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<p>The debate over what makes the critical difference in improving Detroit’s schools—money or management—has grown fierce and more public than it’s been in decades. This year Michigan’s Republican-controlled state Legislature is expected to authorize either a state or mayoral takeover of the district’s 264 schools. And for the first time, the mayor of the predominantly African-American city, Dennis Archer, who typically opposes state decision making on Detroit, announced in December he would support such a measure.</p>
<p>Martin Luther King Academy in Mt. Clemens, Mich., is just 20 minutes away from Detroit’s Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School, but the two are worlds apart when it comes to school technology.</p>
<p>At MLK Academy, students have free home computers, and parents receive free computer training. A technology director meets weekly with teachers to ensure they use technology to support their work. And every classroom has Internet access.</p>
<p>At MLK High School, a well-known Detroit magnet school, few teachers use technology with their classes. Out of five computer labs, only one is used regularly for instruction. The rest simply sit, malfunctioning or unused. There are no parent workshops.</p>
<p>What accounts for the difference in the schools? For years, the simple answer would have been: MLK Academy is suburban and better financed while MLK High School is situated in one of America’s poorest school districts. Increasingly, fewer parents and leaders are willing to accept that as the whole story.</p>
<p>The debate over what makes the critical difference in improving Detroit’s schools—money or management—has grown fierce and more public than it’s been in decades. This year Michigan’s Republican-controlled state Legislature is expected to authorize either a state or mayoral takeover of the district’s 264 schools. And for the first time, the mayor of the predominantly African-American city, Dennis Archer, who typically opposes state decision making on Detroit, announced in December he would support such a measure.</p>
<p>Nowhere, though, is dissatisfaction with the city’s schools more apparent than in the decision of a number of Detroit parents to enroll their children in independently run charter schools. Michigan has more than 125 such schools, and the number is expected to increase if Gov. John Engler lifts the state’s limit on charter schools in 1999, as he has promised. (The state currently allows 150 charter schools.)</p>
<p>The state leads the United States in for-profit Edison Project schools, with 16 of 51 nationwide. There are years-long waiting lists to get into such schools, including the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences, the first Edison school in Detroit. For the 1998-99 school year, 1,100 families applied for 120 student openings.</p>
<p>Part of parents’ frustration is the inequity among Detroit’s public schools. Some schools, such as the Dewey Urban Education Center in the city’s destitute Cass Corridor, have some of the country’s most progressive curriculums and most ambitious technology programs. Dewey has come from having no public address system or fax machines in the early 1990s to being one of the district’s lighthouse schools today. It has a full-time technology teacher and resource person, elective classes, training for all teachers and a curriculum-rooted program that few Michigan schools have attained.</p>
<p>Most schools, however, aren’t nearly as advanced. Richard Quick, a computer applications teacher at Detroit’s MLK High, says he tries to avoid showing parents the school’s technology program at open houses. Like many Detroit schools, MLK lacks a corporate partner to pay for new equipment. So its labs wait in limbo, with wires dangling out of dust-covered computers, for reform that might make technology a priority. The school has no computers in its regular classrooms.</p>
<p>“I think we’re pretty typical in Detroit,” Quick says. “There are a lot of schools ahead of us, but a lot more behind.”</p>
<p>On a chilly Tuesday morning at Detroit’s Farwell Middle School, Alicia Meriweather is trying to wake up her 24 seventh-graders with science experiments they’ll remember forever.</p>
<p>First she burns paper, then a marshmallow. Later she sets a chunk of steel wool on fire. Each time, she barks: “Write down what you see!” Her mission: To teach the difference between physical and chemical properties, and, eventually, for her students to develop hypotheses on their own.</p>
<p>Shadowing the students’ desks is Deborah Peek Brown, a veteran Detroit science teacher on leave from her classes to implement what’s considered among the best new science-technology curriculums nationwide.</p>
<p>Later, the students will head down the hallway to Farwell’s Macintosh-IBM lab, where they’ll build computer models on a program designed for the curriculum, do research on the Internet and write their reports. Meriweather and another participating teacher, Pam Williams, say the technology catches students’ interest more than anything else they have tried.</p>
<p>After that, Brown will talk with Meriweather and Williams about how the curriculum’s working in their classrooms. She’ll provide a listening ear (“How did the Word Wizard worksheet go?”) and assist with problem solving, today offering to find acid for an upcoming experiment. More than anything else, she connects the teachers to an outside support network to help them change their practice.</p>
<p>Teachers want training</p>
<p>“Teaching is one of those professions that once you’re certified, you’re alone,” says Meriweather during her lunch-break discussion with Brown. “With this program, you’re not just the Lone Ranger.”</p>
<p>Such support and training are critical issues in Detroit and across Michigan. In a 1997 DPS survey, schools reported teacher training to be their No. 1 need if they were to implement technology in their classrooms. Similarly, a survey of one-third of Michigan’s schools asked teachers, “What kinds of staff development do you need?” In both 1994 and 1996, technology was No. 1.</p>
<p>“If they’ve listed it as No. 1 for a second time in a row, then you know it hasn’t been addressed,” says Leah Meyer Austin, program director at the Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Mich., which conducted the survey.</p>
<p>False start</p>
<p>Indeed, when Detroit began to implement a new technology plan in 1995—the plan is now being revised— the district’s Web site heralded the start of the most ambitious training program in its history. Free classes on basic computer training and Internet skills were held nightly for any teacher interested, says Mike Flint, who taught some of the classes and helped develop the district’s technology system. The program had a three- to four-week waiting list.</p>
<p>About two years ago, however, the program was cut. A change in administrators occurred at the same time. The changes were made under the district’s move toward site-based management, which has shifted the responsibility— and the funding—for such programs to the school level, says Assistant Supt. Juanita Clay Chambers. “You don’t find a lot of funds anymore at the central level.”</p>
<p>Traditionally, the city’s magnet schools have attracted the best of the city’s resources. In many cases, that still holds true. At Bates Academy, a K-8 magnet school that enrolls the children of many of Detroit’s power brokers, parents have donated IBM computers to any teacher who has wanted one.</p>
<p>The school has so many donated computers of various ages—new G3 Macs, recent Macs, and older Apples— that at least a dozen sit unused in the computer applications classroom.</p>
<p>According to the 1997 survey, though, many non-magnet schools also are far ahead in access and curriculum use. A better predictor of a school’s progress is its personal and business connections. Western International High School on Detroit’s poor southwest side, for instance, was able to obtain several computers through a parent who worked at New Detroit, a city school reform organization, says Lois Murphy, Western’s technology teacher of 11 years.</p>
<p>Tech-savvy, determined principals also make or break a technology program. And in schools lacking technology leadership, outside foundations and reform groups have fostered change.</p>
<p>Before 1998, for example, only students in language arts classes had access to computers at Farwell Middle School. But when teachers began to work with the University of Michigan’s science reform curriculum last year, DPS wired the school for Internet access to support that curriculum, and Farwell’s principal opened the computer lab to students outside the language arts.</p>
<p>MLK High hasn’t succeeded in finding a corporate white knight and has suffered, even though it boasts some of Detroit’s best secondary magnet programs. Teachers, parents and students have formed a technology committee to lobby the district for funding. But while MLK has a $5 million technology plan, it still hasn’t received district funding or support. And without it, Quick is skeptical MLK will change in tightly controlled and centralized Detroit, despite the move toward site-based management.</p>
<p>“The district’s got to make it [technology] a priority,” Quick says. “There’s not an across-the-curriculum approach.”</p>
<p>Neither is there accountability for implementing technology programs. No one in the schools is responsible for mandating technology use or integration, much less for caring for the equipment itself. Chambers says establishing better district curriculum guidelines is what drives school change. And she offers a 1998 curriculum book the size of a telephone directory that includes technology-integration guidelines as proof the district is moving on such reform.</p>
<p>“Technology is part of achieving excellence,” she said in a December interview. “That’s a mandate.”</p>
<p>But with no training to teach educators how to use the guidelines and most teachers lacking access, major reform seems unlikely.</p>
<p>“Accountability is a major problem in every area,” says Robert Brown, project director for youth development for New Detroit, the city’s major school reform group. “You don’t have procedures, you don’t have standardized performance evaluations, you don’t have major training in place. … Until there’s a fundamental systemic restructuring, change is really not going to take place.”</p>
<p>Eager for change—and reluctant to wait for solutions to funding shortages and slow-moving bureaucracies— Michigan’s parents are turning to independently run charter schools where new curriculums, longer school hours and technology are easy to find.</p>
<p>In Michigan, the hotbeds for such schools are Rust Belt cities where job loss and urban flight have left districts scrambling for funds for decades. Pontiac, Flint, Lansing and Detroit, for example, now all have charter schools, including those run by the for-profit Edison Project, which expects to open five more schools in Michigan in the fall of 1999.</p>
<p>Technology sells in these districts. Last year, for example, Henry Ford Academy, Dearborn’s science- and technology-focused charter school, had almost 700 students apply for 100 spots. Ford Motor Company is its sponsoring institution.</p>
<p>Technology has “marketing hype,” says Tom Boudrot, director of technology for New York-based Edison Project, which now has 12,000 students nationwide. “It’s in the top five reasons parents come.”</p>
<p>Forget that the research doesn’t necessarily show that technology means improved student learning. Educators worry about such things, Boudrot says. Parents don’t.</p>
<p>“It’s like a car,” says Boudrot. “When people talk about their cars, they never talk about anything specific. It’s more about the aura of ownership.”</p>
<p>Technology also sells with school officials in urban communities that cannot afford to provide computer access, says Blanche Frasier, the former superintendent in Mt. Clemens and now Edison’s vice president of development, who pitches Edison to districts around the Midwest.</p>
<p>“When I tell people every child will have computer access both at school and at home, jaws drop,” Frasier says. “That’s really powerful, particularly in communities where few people have computers.”</p>
<p>Faced with funding struggles and desperate not to lose more students to private schools and wealthier suburbs, Mt. Clemens, in 1994, became the first district in the nation to open an Edison school, MLK Academy. The district, although only a fraction of Detroit’s size, is similar demographically: More than 45 percent of its 3,400 students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.</p>
<p>Visit MLK and it’s clear funding is less a scramble than it is in other places. Every classroom has a new computer, and the media room has two dozen new Macs. A full-time technology curriculum coordinator and technology troubleshooter is also on-hand.</p>
<p>Edison poured about $750,000 into MLK’s technology program. For 600 students at the K-8 academy, that means about $1,300 per child. Edison can spend so much because as a for-profit company, it has private investors to cover up-front costs. Since its inception in 1991, it’s raised $161 million in venture capital. Its latest coup was a $25 million grant won from the founders of The Gap clothing store chain in 1998.</p>
<p>Such funding allows MLK to provide all teachers and students with up-to-date portable computers; free training for parents; staff to monitor the school’s Web page, online homework hotline, and parent bulletin boards; and the best new classroom software annually.</p>
<p>Outside resources also make a huge difference at Dearborn’s Ford Academy. Ford provides free training to teachers at the company’s nearby professional development academy, says Sandy Kesavan, the school’s technology coordinator. Once a month, a group of Ford engineers comes in and fixes any computer bugs.</p>
<p>Money, says Frasier, is not the only difference between charter schools and public schools, “but absolutely, it’s the No. 1 issue. It’s our advantage.”</p>
<p>It’s also the reason why many urban leaders previously opposed to privatizing schools suddenly support state Gov. Engler’s push for more charter schools.</p>
<p>“Public schools don’t have finances for technology,” says Rev. Jim Holley, the pastor of Detroit’s historic Little Rock Baptist Church and board president of Detroit’s first Edison school. “It’s not an indictment; it’s just the way things are.”</p>
<p>Many Detroiters who support charter schools also argue that the city’s schools could be doing more. “We’ve been working on reforming schools for so long, and it just isn’t working,” says Rev. Eddie Edwards of Detroit’s Joy of Jesus, one of several city churches organizing parents into a lobbying group for charter schools called the Detroit Partnership for Parental Choice. In Detroit, such churches have wielded considerable political clout.</p>
<p>For these parents, curriculum, finance reform and technology are their top concerns. “First they need to be literate, then they need to be computer literate,” Edwards said. “Unless we do something radical, we’ll never catch up.”</p>
| false | 3 |
debate makes critical difference improving detroits schoolsmoney managementhas grown fierce public decades year michigans republicancontrolled state legislature expected authorize either state mayoral takeover districts 264 schools first time mayor predominantly africanamerican city dennis archer typically opposes state decision making detroit announced december would support measure martin luther king academy mt clemens mich 20 minutes away detroits martin luther king jr senior high school two worlds apart comes school technology mlk academy students free home computers parents receive free computer training technology director meets weekly teachers ensure use technology support work every classroom internet access mlk high school wellknown detroit magnet school teachers use technology classes five computer labs one used regularly instruction rest simply sit malfunctioning unused parent workshops accounts difference schools years simple answer would mlk academy suburban better financed mlk high school situated one americas poorest school districts increasingly fewer parents leaders willing accept whole story debate makes critical difference improving detroits schoolsmoney managementhas grown fierce public decades year michigans republicancontrolled state legislature expected authorize either state mayoral takeover districts 264 schools first time mayor predominantly africanamerican city dennis archer typically opposes state decision making detroit announced december would support measure nowhere though dissatisfaction citys schools apparent decision number detroit parents enroll children independently run charter schools michigan 125 schools number expected increase gov john engler lifts states limit charter schools 1999 promised state currently allows 150 charter schools state leads united states forprofit edison project schools 16 51 nationwide yearslong waiting lists get schools including detroit academy arts sciences first edison school detroit 199899 school year 1100 families applied 120 student openings part parents frustration inequity among detroits public schools schools dewey urban education center citys destitute cass corridor countrys progressive curriculums ambitious technology programs dewey come public address system fax machines early 1990s one districts lighthouse schools today fulltime technology teacher resource person elective classes training teachers curriculumrooted program michigan schools attained schools however arent nearly advanced richard quick computer applications teacher detroits mlk high says tries avoid showing parents schools technology program open houses like many detroit schools mlk lacks corporate partner pay new equipment labs wait limbo wires dangling dustcovered computers reform might make technology priority school computers regular classrooms think pretty typical detroit quick says lot schools ahead us lot behind chilly tuesday morning detroits farwell middle school alicia meriweather trying wake 24 seventhgraders science experiments theyll remember forever first burns paper marshmallow later sets chunk steel wool fire time barks write see mission teach difference physical chemical properties eventually students develop hypotheses shadowing students desks deborah peek brown veteran detroit science teacher leave classes implement whats considered among best new sciencetechnology curriculums nationwide later students head hallway farwells macintoshibm lab theyll build computer models program designed curriculum research internet write reports meriweather another participating teacher pam williams say technology catches students interest anything else tried brown talk meriweather williams curriculums working classrooms shell provide listening ear word wizard worksheet go assist problem solving today offering find acid upcoming experiment anything else connects teachers outside support network help change practice teachers want training teaching one professions youre certified youre alone says meriweather lunchbreak discussion brown program youre lone ranger support training critical issues detroit across michigan 1997 dps survey schools reported teacher training 1 need implement technology classrooms similarly survey onethird michigans schools asked teachers kinds staff development need 1994 1996 technology 1 theyve listed 1 second time row know hasnt addressed says leah meyer austin program director kellogg foundation battle creek mich conducted survey false start indeed detroit began implement new technology plan 1995the plan revised districts web site heralded start ambitious training program history free classes basic computer training internet skills held nightly teacher interested says mike flint taught classes helped develop districts technology system program three fourweek waiting list two years ago however program cut change administrators occurred time changes made districts move toward sitebased management shifted responsibility fundingfor programs school level says assistant supt juanita clay chambers dont find lot funds anymore central level traditionally citys magnet schools attracted best citys resources many cases still holds true bates academy k8 magnet school enrolls children many detroits power brokers parents donated ibm computers teacher wanted one school many donated computers various agesnew g3 macs recent macs older apples least dozen sit unused computer applications classroom according 1997 survey though many nonmagnet schools also far ahead access curriculum use better predictor schools progress personal business connections western international high school detroits poor southwest side instance able obtain several computers parent worked new detroit city school reform organization says lois murphy westerns technology teacher 11 years techsavvy determined principals also make break technology program schools lacking technology leadership outside foundations reform groups fostered change 1998 example students language arts classes access computers farwell middle school teachers began work university michigans science reform curriculum last year dps wired school internet access support curriculum farwells principal opened computer lab students outside language arts mlk high hasnt succeeded finding corporate white knight suffered even though boasts detroits best secondary magnet programs teachers parents students formed technology committee lobby district funding mlk 5 million technology plan still hasnt received district funding support without quick skeptical mlk change tightly controlled centralized detroit despite move toward sitebased management districts got make technology priority quick says theres acrossthecurriculum approach neither accountability implementing technology programs one schools responsible mandating technology use integration much less caring equipment chambers says establishing better district curriculum guidelines drives school change offers 1998 curriculum book size telephone directory includes technologyintegration guidelines proof district moving reform technology part achieving excellence said december interview thats mandate training teach educators use guidelines teachers lacking access major reform seems unlikely accountability major problem every area says robert brown project director youth development new detroit citys major school reform group dont procedures dont standardized performance evaluations dont major training place theres fundamental systemic restructuring change really going take place eager changeand reluctant wait solutions funding shortages slowmoving bureaucracies michigans parents turning independently run charter schools new curriculums longer school hours technology easy find michigan hotbeds schools rust belt cities job loss urban flight left districts scrambling funds decades pontiac flint lansing detroit example charter schools including run forprofit edison project expects open five schools michigan fall 1999 technology sells districts last year example henry ford academy dearborns science technologyfocused charter school almost 700 students apply 100 spots ford motor company sponsoring institution technology marketing hype says tom boudrot director technology new yorkbased edison project 12000 students nationwide top five reasons parents come forget research doesnt necessarily show technology means improved student learning educators worry things boudrot says parents dont like car says boudrot people talk cars never talk anything specific aura ownership technology also sells school officials urban communities afford provide computer access says blanche frasier former superintendent mt clemens edisons vice president development pitches edison districts around midwest tell people every child computer access school home jaws drop frasier says thats really powerful particularly communities people computers faced funding struggles desperate lose students private schools wealthier suburbs mt clemens 1994 became first district nation open edison school mlk academy district although fraction detroits size similar demographically 45 percent 3400 students eligible free reducedprice lunch visit mlk clear funding less scramble places every classroom new computer media room two dozen new macs fulltime technology curriculum coordinator technology troubleshooter also onhand edison poured 750000 mlks technology program 600 students k8 academy means 1300 per child edison spend much forprofit company private investors cover upfront costs since inception 1991 raised 161 million venture capital latest coup 25 million grant founders gap clothing store chain 1998 funding allows mlk provide teachers students uptodate portable computers free training parents staff monitor schools web page online homework hotline parent bulletin boards best new classroom software annually outside resources also make huge difference dearborns ford academy ford provides free training teachers companys nearby professional development academy says sandy kesavan schools technology coordinator month group ford engineers comes fixes computer bugs money says frasier difference charter schools public schools absolutely 1 issue advantage also reason many urban leaders previously opposed privatizing schools suddenly support state gov englers push charter schools public schools dont finances technology says rev jim holley pastor detroits historic little rock baptist church board president detroits first edison school indictment way things many detroiters support charter schools also argue citys schools could weve working reforming schools long isnt working says rev eddie edwards detroits joy jesus one several city churches organizing parents lobbying group charter schools called detroit partnership parental choice detroit churches wielded considerable political clout parents curriculum finance reform technology top concerns first need literate need computer literate edwards said unless something radical well never catch
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<p>LOS ANGELES —&#160;Prateek Singh could not wait to get out onto the court.</p>
<p>With his friends and family packed tightly into a small high school gym, the basketball-obsessed, turban-wearing Prateek took the floor to warm up for his first high school game. It was 1992 and Singh was a sophomore at Burbank High School, a public school in north Los Angeles.</p>
<p>But his first taste of high school sport was interrupted by a brand of bigotry all too familiar to adherents of the Sikh religion living in the United States, including the diasporic hub of Southern California.</p>
<p>“One of the referees came up to our coach and said, ‘That kid over there — with that thing on his head — can’t play in the game,’” said Prateek, now in his mid-30s. “I still hold that to heart.”</p>
<p>That “thing” was Prateek’s dastar, or turban, a staple amongst devout male Sikhs that represents piety and self-respect. For the rest of the season, Prateek had to present a letter from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) each game that allowed him to play in his turban.</p>
<p>Today Prateek is the treasurer of a top-tier mortgage company and a coach at the Singh Sensations Basketball Camp, a free, annual workshop for young Southern California Sikhs.</p>
<p>He knows well that Sikhs living in much of the Western world are often scapegoated, sometimes confused for Muslims because of their turbans, their facial hair and the way they dress. In the US, the sight of a turban-adorned man can conjure images of Iran’s ayatollahs or more recently Al Qaeda’s deceased figurehead, Osama bin Laden.</p>
<p>In addition to teaching basketball skills, coaches at the Singh Sensations camp —&#160;a play on an extremely common Sikh last name, derived from the world for “lion” in Sanskrit —&#160;boost players’ confidence in themselves and their Sikh identities.</p>
<p>“We want to encourage the kids to maintain their appearance, and stress to them that you can be a full Sikh and still do everything that everyone else does,” Singh said at this year’s camp, which hosted roughly 100 local Sikh boys and girls ages eight to 18.</p>
<p>“That’s the message that we have for the kids,” he said. “And at the same time, do those things with love, with care and with respect.”</p>
<p>In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, misinformation about the Sikh community has contributed to an uptick in discrimination and violence, according to the Sikh Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group. The violence reached a crescendo last year when Wade Michael Page, a white supremacist and US Army veteran, fatally shot six people at a gurdwara — or Sikh house of worship — in Oak Creek, Wisc.</p>
<p>In lieu of the Oak Creek shooting, the FBI announced this June that it would, for the first time, begin tracking hate crimes against Sikhs, Hindus, Arabs and other minority groups in 2015, the first such database of its kind in the US.</p>
<p>While a major victory for those who champion Sikh rights, Vinay Lal, a professor of history at UCLA, said the fundamental problem Sikhs face is that there is a colossal unawareness of who they are and what they represent.</p>
<p>“The Sikhs today are the most visible in the US because of the way they look… but they are also the least visible, because they are an unknown entity,” Lal, who lectures on the Sikh diaspora, said. “It is the great irony of the Sikh community.”</p>
<p>For Bhajneet Singh, a principal organizer for the Singh Sensations Basketball Camp, visibility is paramount to help the broader community understand and accept Sikhs.</p>
<p>“Sports are that unifying device,” Bhajneet, 31, said. “Sometimes we can’t escape prejudice, or racist mentalities. But, all of a sudden, you put someone on the basketball court. Then everyone is equal because you’re after the same goal.”</p>
<p>Standing at center court inside the Portola Middle School gym this past May, Bhajneet lectured to 100 attentive camp attendees, flanked by members of the Singh Sensations team sporting powder blue jerseys, silver wristbands and kirpans, the ceremonial Sikh dagger. He likened obstacles faced in team sports to those in real life, using metaphors to illustrate broader points about Sikhism: One’s basketball coach is like the Guru, for example, each capable of instructing.</p>
<p>The children then broke off into groups by age, accompanied by a member of the Singh Sensations basketball team leading drills, five-on-five scrimmages and shooting contests. After an impressive shooting display, Gurchit Singh, one of the older camp attendees, explained how his love for basketball mirrors that of many American youths, something he says makes him like every other American child.</p>
<p>“Before I get on the court, people wouldn’t really consider me someone who could play basketball,” said Gurchit, 18, who grew up in the US. “And in my eyes, that’s like someone saying I’m not American.”</p>
<p>Gurchit experienced considerable mistreatment while at school because of his turban, he said, particularly when he played sports. “That usually ended when they saw me play,” he said with a smile.</p>
<p>But bullying is not limited to just young boys. The Sikh religion requires that both men and women refrain from cutting their hair. Due to societal pressures, young Sikh women are often chastised in school locker rooms because of visible body hair, Bhajneet said.</p>
<p>“When girls change in locker rooms during physical education, they often get laughed at for having hair on their legs,” he added. “But it’s very important to inspire confidence in our young girls… and sports is among the best ways.”</p>
<p>Playing in a three-on-three scrimmage, Bandagi Kaur, a high school freshman, caught a wayward pass from one of her teammates and subsequently drained a three-point shot from the right corner.</p>
<p>“Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I can’t play basketball,” Bandagi said. She added that it’s important for young girls to come to events like the Singh Sensations basketball camp because it encourages them to play in their school teams.</p>
<p>“Normally we think team sports are just for the guys,” she added. “But it’s not.”</p>
<p>Unlike the prejudice Prateek faced as a child, discrimination against the Sikh community today is more implicit and subtle. Sikh children in Southern California today can participate in high school sports while wearing clothing essential in their faith, like the Sikh turban, but they do so with the understanding that they may be harassed.</p>
<p>“We never want any of our kids to feel like we did… that they are lesser or lower than anyone else, because they are not,” Prateek said. “We do the camp because we want the kids to see, with their own two eyes, that there are no barriers.”&#160;</p>
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los angeles 160prateek singh could wait get onto court friends family packed tightly small high school gym basketballobsessed turbanwearing prateek took floor warm first high school game 1992 singh sophomore burbank high school public school north los angeles first taste high school sport interrupted brand bigotry familiar adherents sikh religion living united states including diasporic hub southern california one referees came coach said kid thing head cant play game said prateek mid30s still hold heart thing prateeks dastar turban staple amongst devout male sikhs represents piety selfrespect rest season prateek present letter california interscholastic federation cif game allowed play turban today prateek treasurer toptier mortgage company coach singh sensations basketball camp free annual workshop young southern california sikhs knows well sikhs living much western world often scapegoated sometimes confused muslims turbans facial hair way dress us sight turbanadorned man conjure images irans ayatollahs recently al qaedas deceased figurehead osama bin laden addition teaching basketball skills coaches singh sensations camp 160a play extremely common sikh last name derived world lion sanskrit 160boost players confidence sikh identities want encourage kids maintain appearance stress full sikh still everything everyone else singh said years camp hosted roughly 100 local sikh boys girls ages eight 18 thats message kids said time things love care respect wake 911 terrorist attacks misinformation sikh community contributed uptick discrimination violence according sikh coalition nonprofit advocacy group violence reached crescendo last year wade michael page white supremacist us army veteran fatally shot six people gurdwara sikh house worship oak creek wisc lieu oak creek shooting fbi announced june would first time begin tracking hate crimes sikhs hindus arabs minority groups 2015 first database kind us major victory champion sikh rights vinay lal professor history ucla said fundamental problem sikhs face colossal unawareness represent sikhs today visible us way look also least visible unknown entity lal lectures sikh diaspora said great irony sikh community bhajneet singh principal organizer singh sensations basketball camp visibility paramount help broader community understand accept sikhs sports unifying device bhajneet 31 said sometimes cant escape prejudice racist mentalities sudden put someone basketball court everyone equal youre goal standing center court inside portola middle school gym past may bhajneet lectured 100 attentive camp attendees flanked members singh sensations team sporting powder blue jerseys silver wristbands kirpans ceremonial sikh dagger likened obstacles faced team sports real life using metaphors illustrate broader points sikhism ones basketball coach like guru example capable instructing children broke groups age accompanied member singh sensations basketball team leading drills fiveonfive scrimmages shooting contests impressive shooting display gurchit singh one older camp attendees explained love basketball mirrors many american youths something says makes like every american child get court people wouldnt really consider someone could play basketball said gurchit 18 grew us eyes thats like someone saying im american gurchit experienced considerable mistreatment school turban said particularly played sports usually ended saw play said smile bullying limited young boys sikh religion requires men women refrain cutting hair due societal pressures young sikh women often chastised school locker rooms visible body hair bhajneet said girls change locker rooms physical education often get laughed hair legs added important inspire confidence young girls sports among best ways playing threeonthree scrimmage bandagi kaur high school freshman caught wayward pass one teammates subsequently drained threepoint shot right corner im girl doesnt mean cant play basketball bandagi said added important young girls come events like singh sensations basketball camp encourages play school teams normally think team sports guys added unlike prejudice prateek faced child discrimination sikh community today implicit subtle sikh children southern california today participate high school sports wearing clothing essential faith like sikh turban understanding may harassed never want kids feel like lesser lower anyone else prateek said camp want kids see two eyes barriers160
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<p>Mass shootings, like the Orlando, Florida, massacre that left 49 dead and 53 injured just over a week ago,&#160;grip the nation’s attention and move politicians to act. Just three days after the shooting, Senator Chris Murphy led a 14-hour filibuster — much of it focused on the tragedies in Newton, Connecticut; San Bernardino, California; and Orlando — which ended in an agreement to vote on measures intended to tighten federal gun laws.</p>
<p>But the massacres that inspire political action account for <a href="" type="internal">less than 2 percent</a>&#160;of the country’s annual gun deaths. Of the 30 people killed by gunfire daily, nearly <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-gun-control-debate-ignores-black-lives" type="external">half of them are black men</a>, who comprise just 6&#160;percent of the population.</p>
<p>Michael McBride, an Oakland-based pastor and gun violence prevention activist,&#160;is a vocal supporter&#160;an approach called&#160; <a href="http://www2.oaklandnet.com/government/o/OPD/s/Ceasefire/index.htm" type="external">Ceasefire</a>&#160;that seeks to coordinate the efforts of police, social services and community members to reduce gang violence and shootings.&#160;</p>
<p>Although the&#160; <a href="https://www.crimesolutions.gov/TopicDetails.aspx?ID=13" type="external">Justice Department</a> indicated that the Ceasefire strategy is effective, it’s rarely offered up on political stages as a solution for high gun death rates in inner cities. The success of implementing the program in cities across the country is largely dependent on funding, which has been stifled in Congress.</p>
<p>The Trace talked to McBride to hear&#160;his thoughts&#160;on how politicians are addressing urban gun violence during this high-pitch moment in America’s gun debate.</p>
<p>I do appreciate that Senator Murphy was willing to at least do something. But I didn’t hear anything that gave me hope that they would address nuanced issues related to the ways in which urban gun violence affects the national gun epidemic. The challenge, I think, is for white progressive politicians. Their default is to always use a race-neutral lens and a race-neutral approach. They are just as incompetent about race as most conservatives and Republicans.</p>
<p>Subscribe to receive The Trace’s newsletters on important gun news and analysis.</p>
<p>But I would say that the fight at the Senate level and the House level is not the first line of defense. Our biggest problem is our mayors and governors who refuse to fund strategies like Ceasefire, who refuse to decrease the law enforcement apparatus and transfer that money into things that we know actually reduce violence and crime. So I applaud their efforts for that. I do think that the fight is really on the local, county, and state level. And that’s where we’re going to be turning much of our attention.</p>
<p>The Ceasefire strategy is wildly successful in a lot of areas. So we’re going to try to scale that up, starting with New Orleans, the Bay Area, Ohio, and St. Louis. We’re also going to build out a strong accountability apparatus for state-based laws that impact the straw purchasing of guns. Our work is going to be geared around that and making sure local municipalities are actually funding prevention efforts and not just scaling up law enforcement. That’s going to be an important conversation to have with district attorneys and city council members.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t say that. We can bring our voices to bear this election year in&#160;progressive spaces, and hopefully influence some evangelicals or other kinds&#160;of Republicans. We will try to influence them so they know that we care about these&#160;issues. At some point, though, the electoral process has to make sure that local and state elections are&#160;just as critical in our democracy as federal elections. That is where we really have a profound&#160;opportunity to change the way our country is governed.</p>
<p>Absolutely. We’ve met with the Bernie Sanders campaign. We have faith leaders in our network that have met with the Hillary Clinton campaign. We have even visited the [National Rifle Association]&#160;board meeting when Donald Trump was there. We didn’t get a chance to talk to Donald Trump but we got a chance to talk to the NRA board. We lifted up these issues, but we were turned away.</p>
<p>If we take this recent <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/23/us/americas-overlooked-gun-violence.html?_r=0" type="external">New York Times piece</a> seriously that says that actually a large number of mass shootings happen in urban neighborhoods today, of course I get very disheartened when those shootings are ignored or not given due attention. Certainly, they’re very tragic shootings that somehow make it into the national narrative. But this Orlando shooting feels a little different because of all the intersecting identities at play here. I mean these are overwhelmingly marginalized populations. Brown, Latino, LGBTQ, some black — so it’s a little bit more complicated.</p>
<p>Every loss of life is tragic, particularly when it happens at the level of brutality and carnage that we’ve seen in Orlando. I’m not one who tries to play oppression Olympics to compete for grief or attention around issues.&#160;The contradictions speak for themselves. They don’t always need to be amplified when people are mourning the loss of their loved ones.&#160;</p>
<p>The best thing about our work is its persistence. Peacemaking is not an intermittent project, it’s a lifelong commitment. It’s a lifelong calling. That’s what we are: We’re peacemakers. We try to certainly reduce, if not eliminate, the hemorrhaging of lives lost to gun violence.</p>
<p>So certainly, we have a shared message that we need to amplify: that the lives being lost should not be lost and we should do everything reasonable to save as many lives that we can. That’s the message I try to lift up.</p>
<p>Absolutely. This is critical for the issue of gun violence to be accurately addressed.</p>
<p>We try to champion strategies like Ceasefire because they slow the process down. They allow both victims and perpetrators — because we have to remember that most perpetrators of gun violence have been victims first — to be human. They’ve been violated. They’ve been victimized by violence. They’ve been placed in an environment that is often predatory so they have had to adapt to an environment. We need law enforcement to really embrace that. We need our community members to embrace that. We need faith leaders, elected officials, everyone to embrace the humanity of both the victims and the perpetrators alike.</p>
<p>It’s my job to amplify a different narrative. Like, here in Oakland on Wednesday, a 16-year-old young sister named <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/5-Hurt-in-Downtown-Oakland--383053591.html" type="external">Reggina Jefferies</a>&#160;had just attended the funeral of two of her friends who had&#160;drowned in a tragic accident. And as she&#160;was leaving the funeral, she was caught by&#160;another funeral attendee shooting into the crowd, and she was killed. She was very respectable.</p>
<p>But that didn’t matter because gun violence doesn’t just touch people who are engaged in a certain kind of lifestyle. We have to continue to amplify that there are people who are being impacted by gun violence that are not engaged in what one would say criminal activity. Once the bullets leave the chamber, the bullets are not discriminatory.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>CORRECTION: McBride is affiliated with a Ceasefire program&#160;that seeks to reduce gun homicides by coordinating the efforts of police and communities. A previous version of this story indicated&#160;that dispute resolution was the prime focus of the group.&#160;</p>
<p>[Photo:&#160;Scott Olson/Getty Images]</p>
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mass shootings like orlando florida massacre left 49 dead 53 injured week ago160grip nations attention move politicians act three days shooting senator chris murphy led 14hour filibuster much focused tragedies newton connecticut san bernardino california orlando ended agreement vote measures intended tighten federal gun laws massacres inspire political action account less 2 percent160of countrys annual gun deaths 30 people killed gunfire daily nearly half black men comprise 6160percent population michael mcbride oaklandbased pastor gun violence prevention activist160is vocal supporter160an approach called160 ceasefire160that seeks coordinate efforts police social services community members reduce gang violence shootings160 although the160 justice department indicated ceasefire strategy effective rarely offered political stages solution high gun death rates inner cities success implementing program cities across country largely dependent funding stifled congress trace talked mcbride hear160his thoughts160on politicians addressing urban gun violence highpitch moment americas gun debate appreciate senator murphy willing least something didnt hear anything gave hope would address nuanced issues related ways urban gun violence affects national gun epidemic challenge think white progressive politicians default always use raceneutral lens raceneutral approach incompetent race conservatives republicans subscribe receive traces newsletters important gun news analysis would say fight senate level house level first line defense biggest problem mayors governors refuse fund strategies like ceasefire refuse decrease law enforcement apparatus transfer money things know actually reduce violence crime applaud efforts think fight really local county state level thats going turning much attention ceasefire strategy wildly successful lot areas going try scale starting new orleans bay area ohio st louis also going build strong accountability apparatus statebased laws impact straw purchasing guns work going geared around making sure local municipalities actually funding prevention efforts scaling law enforcement thats going important conversation district attorneys city council members wouldnt say bring voices bear election year in160progressive spaces hopefully influence evangelicals kinds160of republicans try influence know care these160issues point though electoral process make sure local state elections are160just critical democracy federal elections really profound160opportunity change way country governed absolutely weve met bernie sanders campaign faith leaders network met hillary clinton campaign even visited national rifle association160board meeting donald trump didnt get chance talk donald trump got chance talk nra board lifted issues turned away take recent new york times piece seriously says actually large number mass shootings happen urban neighborhoods today course get disheartened shootings ignored given due attention certainly theyre tragic shootings somehow make national narrative orlando shooting feels little different intersecting identities play mean overwhelmingly marginalized populations brown latino lgbtq black little bit complicated every loss life tragic particularly happens level brutality carnage weve seen orlando im one tries play oppression olympics compete grief attention around issues160the contradictions speak dont always need amplified people mourning loss loved ones160 best thing work persistence peacemaking intermittent project lifelong commitment lifelong calling thats peacemakers try certainly reduce eliminate hemorrhaging lives lost gun violence certainly shared message need amplify lives lost lost everything reasonable save many lives thats message try lift absolutely critical issue gun violence accurately addressed try champion strategies like ceasefire slow process allow victims perpetrators remember perpetrators gun violence victims first human theyve violated theyve victimized violence theyve placed environment often predatory adapt environment need law enforcement really embrace need community members embrace need faith leaders elected officials everyone embrace humanity victims perpetrators alike job amplify different narrative like oakland wednesday 16yearold young sister named reggina jefferies160had attended funeral two friends had160drowned tragic accident she160was leaving funeral caught by160another funeral attendee shooting crowd killed respectable didnt matter gun violence doesnt touch people engaged certain kind lifestyle continue amplify people impacted gun violence engaged one would say criminal activity bullets leave chamber bullets discriminatory 160 correction mcbride affiliated ceasefire program160that seeks reduce gun homicides coordinating efforts police communities previous version story indicated160that dispute resolution prime focus group160 photo160scott olsongetty images
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<p>Over the past five years, a CPS employee who worked at two struggling high schools milked them of almost $900,000 in a large, multi-faceted purchasing and reimbursement scam, according to today’s release of the <a href="http://cps.edu/About_CPS/Departments/Documents/OIG_FY_2014_AnnualReport.pdf" type="external">Inspector General’s annual report</a>.</p>
<p>Also, the inspector general report details incidents in which parents falsified their addresses to make it easier for their children to get into selective high schools; and cases in which two high schools mis-categorized dropouts to improve their graduation rates.</p>
<p>The employee accused of the fraud scheme resigned from CPS under investigation and is designated as “Do Not Hire.” The inspector general’s office has been working with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, but no arrests have been made yet.</p>
<p>The report does not name the schools involved, but sources have identified them to Catalyst as Gage Park and Michele Clark.</p>
<p>While this is one of the largest, if not the largest single scheme in the district’s recent history, just two years ago, Lakeview High School’s technology coordinator was found dead after being accused carrying out a similiar scheme. In both cases, the employees worked with associates to funnel money to companies for goods and services that the schools never received, and the scheme was carried for years without being noticed.</p>
<p>CPS spokesman Bill McCaffrey says that CPS “continues to evaluate its procurement processes to increase safeguards and adopt best practices to prevent these occurrences.”</p>
<p>But for several years, the inspector general’s office has been encouraging CPS to provide more resources the internal audit and the inspector general’s office, noting that CPS contracts are lucrative and thousands of people in schools have the authority to request and approve payments to vendors.</p>
<p>This case was flagged during a financial audit, which led to the Inspector General’s report.</p>
<p>In the report, IG Nicholas Schuler notes that his office was able to investigate only 20 percent of the complaints received. The office is limited because it is often investigating big, complex issues and has a small staff of only 13 investigators, plus Schuler and his deputy, to scrutinize the $6 billion school district with 41,000-some employees.</p>
<p>By contrast, Houston Independent has 20 professionals to investigate a school district that is half the size of CPS. In 2011, the IG report noted that Chicago has one inspector for every 2,300 employees, while Cook County has one inspector for every 1,100 employees and the city’s municipal government has an inspector for every 455 workers.</p>
<p>“The inability to investigate more complaints creates a substantial risk that instances of fraud and employee misconduct go undetected,” he writes.</p>
<p>In an interview, Schuler added: “We are undersized and understaffed compared to other IGs in the area.”</p>
<p>Fraud at two high schools</p>
<p>Employee records show that the administrator who orchestrated the fraud in question worked at Gage Park High from at least 2009 to 2012. In 2012, he made $104,000. In the 2013 employee roster, he shows up as a 0.5 (half-time) position at both Clark and Gage Park, with an annual salary of $109,168.</p>
<p>Gage Park High School has seen its enrollment drop by more than 70 percent in the past five years. This summer, when teachers got wind of the investigation, they were outraged.</p>
<p>“We are sinking and nobody cares,” Susan Steinmiller, a 23-year veteran teacher and a representative on the local school council, said this summer. “We have no newspaper, no library, no band, why would anyone want to be here?… I am just really upset because we really need the money.”</p>
<p>In September, however, Gage Park’s principal abruptly retired and CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett hand-picked the principal’s replacement. Byrd- Bennett has said she is personally invested in the revitalization of the school.</p>
<p>According to the IG’s report, the principals of the two high schools did not seem aware of the scheme. But they did put a lot of trust in this one particular employee and one of them gave him their password to the district’s IT system, which helped facilitate the fraud. Still, questions remain about how so much money could be paid for such an extended period of time without coming to attention of school or district leadership.</p>
<p>The employee used a variety of methods to siphon money to himself. But the majority of the scheme was carried out by engineering payment to a number of companies for more than $700,000 in goods and services that were never delivered to the schools. The Inspector General’s report confirms that the CPS employee in question received at least $100,000 in kickbacks from one of the deals and indicates that the office suspects he received much more.</p>
<p>“In addition to the large cut that Business Owner 4 was keeping, the OIG could not eliminate the possibility that Business Owner 3 or Business Owner 4 kicked back portions of the $581,947 to Employee A, who made over $122,000 in cash deposits—usually round amounts—during this scheme,” according to the inspector general report.</p>
<p>The employee also steered false reimbursements to three of his CPS colleagues and, in at least one case, had the bulk of money given back to him in cash.</p>
<p>The employee also participated in “stringing,” meaning that purchases were distributed to several companies in order to avoid the non-competitive purchasing limits of $10,000.</p>
<p>Beyond the Gage Park case, several incidents of stringing were identified in the Inspector General report and it has been a consistent problem noted in previous reports. At another high school, the school operations manager strung together purchases for office supplies among four businesses and got kickbacks from the companies. The employee was laid off and is designated as Do Not hire.</p>
<p>In two other situations, companies tried to promote “stringing” to schools by getting multiple vendor numbers and advertising the fact that they have them to schools.</p>
<p>Schuler says CPS needs to do a better job of informing operations managers and clerks about stringing and the fact that it is illegal. Also, he acknowledges that some stringing may be done to avoid paperwork or to speed up purchasing.</p>
<p>The report also points to several individual incidents of fraud or ethics violations. One of them, in which two teachers also work as police officers, is not a violation. The IG is recommending that CPS look into making it one.</p>
<p>Dropouts, selective admissions</p>
<p>The inspector also honed in on two high schools, linked by a common administrator, that wrongly labeled a few hundred students as transfers to GED programs or verified transfers, but without confirming them. The report concludes that these students should have been labeled as dropouts or “unable to locate.”</p>
<p>It is unclear whether correctly labeling these students, which as far as the IG knows never happened, would have lowered CPS’ graduation rate—which, at 69 percent, is regularly touted by Mayor Rahm Emanuel as a major accomplishment. Also, many more schools may be miscoding students, as the IG only focused on the two high schools where there were complaints.</p>
<p>None of the three school administrators in this case have been disciplined as recommended by the Inspector General, and one of them has been promoted.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, parents, including some who are CPS employees, got themselves into trouble this past year for falsifying their addresses in order to give their children an edge in getting into selective enrollment high schools–confirming suspicions&#160; that parents would try to game the admissions system that now relies on neighborhood and family socioeconomic characteristics rather than primarily on race, as under the former desegregation decree.</p>
<p>According to CPS, last year, 16,000 students applied for 3,200 selective enrollment seats.</p>
<p>Schuler says his office has looked into individual cases of abuses in the past, but wanted to take a hard look at it this year.</p>
<p>“Everyone in the city is trying to get these seats,” he says. “They are highly sought after and we want to make sure the process is fair and honest.”</p>
<p>McCaffrey says that parents should be aware that district leaders are taking misrepresentation seriously and working to try to prevent it. “This may include future audits of students in selective enrollment schools,” he says.</p>
<p>Schuler’s office found12 cases in which parents provided false addresses that would put them in a better position to land a seat; and, in half of those cases, the parents worked for CPS. Schuler says that this is by no means the full scope of the problem, but that his office looked for particular “red flags” and this was the result of that review. In addition, he says the fact that CPS employees tried to cheat the system is particularly egregious.</p>
<p>In two of the cases, the students would have gotten into the selective enrollment high school even if their parents had used their true address. Those students were allowed to continue attending the school and the parents weren’t subjected to any discipline.</p>
<p>However, eight students were dis-enrolled, one student withdrew on their own and another one was allowed to stay because she was going into her senior year. Four of the employees were either fired or resigned.</p>
<p>Photo: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-151206917/stock-photo-standardized-test-form-with-answers-bubbled-in-and-a-pencil-resting-on-the-paper-with-a-shallow.html?src=CmvbPBK4egPrf8SXYnPcqA-1-3" type="external">Fraud</a>/Shutterstock</p>
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past five years cps employee worked two struggling high schools milked almost 900000 large multifaceted purchasing reimbursement scam according todays release inspector generals annual report also inspector general report details incidents parents falsified addresses make easier children get selective high schools cases two high schools miscategorized dropouts improve graduation rates employee accused fraud scheme resigned cps investigation designated hire inspector generals office working cook county states attorneys office arrests made yet report name schools involved sources identified catalyst gage park michele clark one largest largest single scheme districts recent history two years ago lakeview high schools technology coordinator found dead accused carrying similiar scheme cases employees worked associates funnel money companies goods services schools never received scheme carried years without noticed cps spokesman bill mccaffrey says cps continues evaluate procurement processes increase safeguards adopt best practices prevent occurrences several years inspector generals office encouraging cps provide resources internal audit inspector generals office noting cps contracts lucrative thousands people schools authority request approve payments vendors case flagged financial audit led inspector generals report report ig nicholas schuler notes office able investigate 20 percent complaints received office limited often investigating big complex issues small staff 13 investigators plus schuler deputy scrutinize 6 billion school district 41000some employees contrast houston independent 20 professionals investigate school district half size cps 2011 ig report noted chicago one inspector every 2300 employees cook county one inspector every 1100 employees citys municipal government inspector every 455 workers inability investigate complaints creates substantial risk instances fraud employee misconduct go undetected writes interview schuler added undersized understaffed compared igs area fraud two high schools employee records show administrator orchestrated fraud question worked gage park high least 2009 2012 2012 made 104000 2013 employee roster shows 05 halftime position clark gage park annual salary 109168 gage park high school seen enrollment drop 70 percent past five years summer teachers got wind investigation outraged sinking nobody cares susan steinmiller 23year veteran teacher representative local school council said summer newspaper library band would anyone want really upset really need money september however gage parks principal abruptly retired ceo barbara byrdbennett handpicked principals replacement byrd bennett said personally invested revitalization school according igs report principals two high schools seem aware scheme put lot trust one particular employee one gave password districts system helped facilitate fraud still questions remain much money could paid extended period time without coming attention school district leadership employee used variety methods siphon money majority scheme carried engineering payment number companies 700000 goods services never delivered schools inspector generals report confirms cps employee question received least 100000 kickbacks one deals indicates office suspects received much addition large cut business owner 4 keeping oig could eliminate possibility business owner 3 business owner 4 kicked back portions 581947 employee made 122000 cash depositsusually round amountsduring scheme according inspector general report employee also steered false reimbursements three cps colleagues least one case bulk money given back cash employee also participated stringing meaning purchases distributed several companies order avoid noncompetitive purchasing limits 10000 beyond gage park case several incidents stringing identified inspector general report consistent problem noted previous reports another high school school operations manager strung together purchases office supplies among four businesses got kickbacks companies employee laid designated hire two situations companies tried promote stringing schools getting multiple vendor numbers advertising fact schools schuler says cps needs better job informing operations managers clerks stringing fact illegal also acknowledges stringing may done avoid paperwork speed purchasing report also points several individual incidents fraud ethics violations one two teachers also work police officers violation ig recommending cps look making one dropouts selective admissions inspector also honed two high schools linked common administrator wrongly labeled hundred students transfers ged programs verified transfers without confirming report concludes students labeled dropouts unable locate unclear whether correctly labeling students far ig knows never happened would lowered cps graduation ratewhich 69 percent regularly touted mayor rahm emanuel major accomplishment also many schools may miscoding students ig focused two high schools complaints none three school administrators case disciplined recommended inspector general one promoted meanwhile parents including cps employees got trouble past year falsifying addresses order give children edge getting selective enrollment high schoolsconfirming suspicions160 parents would try game admissions system relies neighborhood family socioeconomic characteristics rather primarily race former desegregation decree according cps last year 16000 students applied 3200 selective enrollment seats schuler says office looked individual cases abuses past wanted take hard look year everyone city trying get seats says highly sought want make sure process fair honest mccaffrey says parents aware district leaders taking misrepresentation seriously working try prevent may include future audits students selective enrollment schools says schulers office found12 cases parents provided false addresses would put better position land seat half cases parents worked cps schuler says means full scope problem office looked particular red flags result review addition says fact cps employees tried cheat system particularly egregious two cases students would gotten selective enrollment high school even parents used true address students allowed continue attending school parents werent subjected discipline however eight students disenrolled one student withdrew another one allowed stay going senior year four employees either fired resigned photo fraudshutterstock
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<p>Donald Trump (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>A prominent anti-LGBT organization is readying its agenda to undo LGBT rights as President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team begins to take shape and includes some notoriously hostile&#160;figures.</p>
<p>The National Organization for Marriage in <a href="http://www.nomblog.com/41186/" type="external">a blog post</a> Wednesday unveiled a four-point plan aimed at undoing LGBT rights advanced&#160;under the Obama administration, including marriage equality and writing discrimination into the law in the form of the First Amendment Defense Act.</p>
<p>Here is our plan: &#160; We will work with President Trump to nominate conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, individuals who will adhere to the words and meaning of the constitution. Such justices will inevitably reverse the anti-constitutional ruling of the Supreme Court imposing same-sex ‘marriage’ on the nation in the Obergefell decision, because that decision lacked any basis in the constitution. &#160; We will work with President Trump to rescind the illegal, over-reaching executive orders and directives issued by President Obama, including his dangerous “gender identity” directives, attempting to redefine gender just as he sought to redefine marriage. &#160; We will work with President Trump to reverse policies of the Obama administration that seek to coerce other countries into accepting same-sex ‘marriage’ as a condition of receiving US assistance and aid. It is fundamentally wrong for a president to become a lobbyist for the LGBT agenda, and we are confident that will end in the Trump administration. &#160; We will work with President Trump and Congress to pass the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which Mr. Trump supports. FADA is critical legislation to protect people who believe in marriage from being targeted by the government for persecution.</p>
<p>It’s unknown whether Trump would&#160;follow through with any of these actions. Although Trump had a reputation for being a relatively pro-LGBT candidate among other Republicans, he said he opposes marriage equality, would rescind the Obama administration actions he thinks are unconstitutional and would sign the First Amendment Defense Act into law.</p>
<p>The newly unveiled Trump transition team website under the banner of “ <a href="https://www.greatagain.gov/policy/constitutional-rights.html" type="external">Protecting American’s Constitutional Rights</a>” reiterates Trump’s support for “religious freedom,” which is considered code among conservatives to mean anti-LGBT discrimination.</p>
<p>“This includes the Tenth Amendment guarantee that many areas of governance are left to the people and the States, and are not the role of the federal government to fulfill,” the website says. “The Constitution declares that as Americans we have the right to speak freely, share and live out our beliefs, raise and protect our families, be free from undue governmental abuse, and participate in the public square.”</p>
<p>According to schematics widely circulated in the media, the president-elect has selected for his transition team supporters who have anti-LGBT histories.</p>
<p>Leading the team on domestic issues is Ken Blackwell, who serves as a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and on the board of directors for Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. In addition to supporting measures that would have banned same-sex marriage, Blackwell when seeking the position of chair of the Republican National Committee in 2009 said being gay is a choice and can be changed.</p>
<p>“The reality is, again…that I think we make choices all the time,” Blackwell said. “And I think you make good choices and bad choices in terms of lifestyle. Our expectation is that one’s genetic makeup might make one more inclined to be an arsonist or might make one more inclined to be a kleptomaniac. Do I think that they can be changed? Yes.”</p>
<p>JoDee Winterhof, the Human Rights Campaign’s senior vice president for policy and political affairs, said in a statement the selection of Blackwell to lead domestic policy for the transition is bad news for LGBT people.</p>
<p>“Ken Blackwell is a man who has spent his entire career going after LGBTQ Americans,” Winterhof said. “Blackwell’s leadership role in president-elect Trump’s transition team should be a major wake up call for anybody who ever had any doubt that LGBTQ people are at risk.”</p>
<p>According to Bloomberg, reportedly in consideration for the position of U.S. attorney general is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), who vigorously opposed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal, has expressed interest in the position of defense secretary and Trump has reportedly told the senator he could have his pick of appointments.</p>
<p>Other members of the Trump transition team cited as red flags by the Human Rights Campaign are former Attorney General Ed Meese, a fellow at the Heritage Foundation who has said same-sex marriage “shows how the culture has deteriorated over two centuries,” and former U.S. Office of Personnel Management chief Kay Cole James, who in her book “Transforming America from the Inside Out,” compared gay people to drug addicts, alcoholics, adulterers, or “anything else sinful.”</p>
<p>“Ed Meese and Kay Cole James, who are also reported to have key roles, have been vocal opponents of equality and other issues we care deeply about,” Winterhof said. “The people President-Elect Trump picks to serve in his administration will have a huge impact on the policies he pursues. We should all be alarmed at who he’s appointing to key posts on his transition team.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights Campaign</a> <a href="" type="internal">JoDee Winterhof</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ken Blackwell</a></p>
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donald trump washington blade file photo michael key prominent antilgbt organization readying agenda undo lgbt rights presidentelect donald trumps transition team begins take shape includes notoriously hostile160figures national organization marriage blog post wednesday unveiled fourpoint plan aimed undoing lgbt rights advanced160under obama administration including marriage equality writing discrimination law form first amendment defense act plan 160 work president trump nominate conservative justices us supreme court individuals adhere words meaning constitution justices inevitably reverse anticonstitutional ruling supreme court imposing samesex marriage nation obergefell decision decision lacked basis constitution 160 work president trump rescind illegal overreaching executive orders directives issued president obama including dangerous gender identity directives attempting redefine gender sought redefine marriage 160 work president trump reverse policies obama administration seek coerce countries accepting samesex marriage condition receiving us assistance aid fundamentally wrong president become lobbyist lgbt agenda confident end trump administration 160 work president trump congress pass first amendment defense act fada mr trump supports fada critical legislation protect people believe marriage targeted government persecution unknown whether trump would160follow actions although trump reputation relatively prolgbt candidate among republicans said opposes marriage equality would rescind obama administration actions thinks unconstitutional would sign first amendment defense act law newly unveiled trump transition team website banner protecting americans constitutional rights reiterates trumps support religious freedom considered code among conservatives mean antilgbt discrimination includes tenth amendment guarantee many areas governance left people states role federal government fulfill website says constitution declares americans right speak freely share live beliefs raise protect families free undue governmental abuse participate public square according schematics widely circulated media presidentelect selected transition team supporters antilgbt histories leading team domestic issues ken blackwell serves senior fellow family research council board directors becket fund religious liberty addition supporting measures would banned samesex marriage blackwell seeking position chair republican national committee 2009 said gay choice changed reality againthat think make choices time blackwell said think make good choices bad choices terms lifestyle expectation ones genetic makeup might make one inclined arsonist might make one inclined kleptomaniac think changed yes jodee winterhof human rights campaigns senior vice president policy political affairs said statement selection blackwell lead domestic policy transition bad news lgbt people ken blackwell man spent entire career going lgbtq americans winterhof said blackwells leadership role presidentelect trumps transition team major wake call anybody ever doubt lgbtq people risk according bloomberg reportedly consideration position us attorney general former new york city mayor rudy giuliani sen jeff sessions rala vigorously opposed dont ask dont tell repeal expressed interest position defense secretary trump reportedly told senator could pick appointments members trump transition team cited red flags human rights campaign former attorney general ed meese fellow heritage foundation said samesex marriage shows culture deteriorated two centuries former us office personnel management chief kay cole james book transforming america inside compared gay people drug addicts alcoholics adulterers anything else sinful ed meese kay cole james also reported key roles vocal opponents equality issues care deeply winterhof said people presidentelect trump picks serve administration huge impact policies pursues alarmed hes appointing key posts transition team donald trump human rights campaign jodee winterhof ken blackwell
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<p>JULY 30, 2010</p>
<p>Most environmental legislation is about as exciting as a trip across Kansas in a Greyhound bus, and consequently, falls under the radar of media scrutiny. Environmental bills just aren’t sexy enough to warrant much coverage.</p>
<p>But the bills are increasingly invasive and seek to control manufacturers who use chemicals in the manufacturing process.</p>
<p>The tip off that the rest of us should be paying closer attention is how many bureaucrats flock to the committee hearings for environmental bills –- sexy or not, it’s all about the control.</p>
<p>One such group of bills surrounds the <a href="http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/PollutionPrevention/GreenChemistryInitiative/index.cfm" type="external">California Green Chemistry Initiative</a> (GCI), which is working through the regulatory process right now. Legislative bills AB 1879 (Mike Feurer, D-Los Angeles) and SB 509 (Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto), dealing with toxic substance regulations and control, were wrapped into the Green Initiative and signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2008.</p>
<p>The Green Chemistry Initiative is another of Schwarzenegger’s green pet projects. Under the purview of saving the environment, the bills passed both houses of the legislature and were signed into law by the governor with nary a blip from the media.</p>
<p>AB 1879 gave the <a href="http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/PollutionPrevention/GreenChemistryInitiative/index.cfm?CFID=8397452&amp;CFTOKEN=24073000" type="external">California Department of Toxic Substances Control</a>sweeping authority to design processes for controlling “chemicals of concern,” in order to reduce the hazard levels posed by such chemicals.&#160; SB 509 required the DTSC to establish a Toxics Information Clearinghouse.</p>
<p>But the bills were toned down in order to get support from all parties — Democrats, Republicans, business, labor and environmentalists — with the promise that if they were passed, the legislature wouldn’t have to keep introducing individual chemical ban bills.</p>
<p>Not so fast… since the legislation was signed into law, legislators have continued to introduce bills trying to accomplish what the original Green Initiative set out to do.</p>
<p>Most recently, Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, introduced another green chemistry bill, SB 928, on product disclosure, which appears to be an attempt to shut down the chemical industry. According to one legislative source, the bill seems to obviate the intent of the original Green Initiative bills, while attempting to be more intrusive into the chemical making process.</p>
<p>Simitian said that they are basing the bill off of <a href="http://www.cspa.org/" type="external">Consumer Specialty Products Association</a>’s own program, but in fact, CSPA opposes the bill.</p>
<p>The Assembly analysis of the bill states: “The enactment of SB 928 may have the effect of precluding any action by <a href="http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/" type="external">Department of Toxic Substances Control</a> (DTSC) on product ingredient disclosure of cleaning products under the State Green Chemistry statute.”</p>
<p>Simitian’s SB 928 currently rests in the Assembly Appropriations committee, and could be amended.</p>
<p>Yet my legislative source said there are still some fairly large issues to deal with, such as which other departments may have authority to regulate chemicals of concern –- Department of Public Health department, Department of Pesticide Regulation department, or State Water Resources Control Board — and how that would work within the new protocols.</p>
<p>Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Santa Monica, and other Democratic legislators are still pursuing the single chemical bans, which was supposed to be a thing of the past after the Green Chemistry Initiative was passed.</p>
<p>Pavley’s latest environmental bill, SB 797, died in the Assembly last year but is expected to come up for another vote soon. It would ban the chemical Bisphenol A, known as “BPA,” found in plastic containers. The ban specifies removing the chemical from baby bottles, sippy cups and the linings of liquid and powder baby formula containers.</p>
<p>Pavely is no stranger to green bills, authoring more than 25 green environmental bills ( <a href="http://totalcapitol.com/?people_id=41" type="external">Fran Pavley | TotalCapitol</a> ).</p>
<p>A bill that would ban the use of six different chemicals in Recreational Vehicle holding tank deodorants would force RVers in California to purchase less effective alternatives that make controlling holding tank odors a challenge when outside temperatures exceed 80 degrees. AB 1824 authored by Assemblyman Bill Monning, D-Carmel, would outright ban the use of holding tank products containing the six chemicals.</p>
<p>Adding to the confusion and glut of green legislation, according to the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, the ban on the chemicals proposed by Monning’s AB 1824, is not consistent with California’s Green Chemistry initiative.</p>
<p>The Green Chemistry Initiative process is moving quickly because according to my legislative source, they want to get it done before Schwarzenegger leaves office.&#160; And it could be quite a feat. There’s a hearing next Tuesday, Aug. 3&#160; in the Assembly on Green Chemistry implementation.</p>
<p>Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, authored SB 1291, now on the inactive list, which had singled out flame retardants, and would have prohibited manufacturers from using a new flame retardant in any upholstered furniture, bedding and filling materials, until the toxic substances department could consider and determine whether the flame retardant is a “chemical of concern.”</p>
<p>On its website, <a href="http://www.changecalifornia.org" type="external">Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy</a> say, “California’s Green Chemistry Initiative has been touted as a bold and innovative move toward more effective and efficient regulation of industrial chemicals in consumer products.” But they are not happy with how slowly the process to ban chemicals is moving.</p>
<p>Other environmental groups concur. “The proposed regulations read like a chemical company’s wish list,” said Renee Sharp, director of the California office of <a href="http://ewg.org/" type="external">Environmental Working Group</a>, in a press release. “Green&#160;Chemistry was passed with promises of a new, more effective and efficient way to protect the public from toxic chemical exposures, and the state is essentially putting all of its eggs for regulating chemicals into the Green Chemistry basket. It is essential that we get it right.”</p>
<p>– Katy Grimes</p>
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july 30 2010 environmental legislation exciting trip across kansas greyhound bus consequently falls radar media scrutiny environmental bills arent sexy enough warrant much coverage bills increasingly invasive seek control manufacturers use chemicals manufacturing process tip rest us paying closer attention many bureaucrats flock committee hearings environmental bills sexy control one group bills surrounds california green chemistry initiative gci working regulatory process right legislative bills ab 1879 mike feurer dlos angeles sb 509 joe simitian dpalo alto dealing toxic substance regulations control wrapped green initiative signed governor arnold schwarzenegger 2008 green chemistry initiative another schwarzeneggers green pet projects purview saving environment bills passed houses legislature signed law governor nary blip media ab 1879 gave california department toxic substances controlsweeping authority design processes controlling chemicals concern order reduce hazard levels posed chemicals160 sb 509 required dtsc establish toxics information clearinghouse bills toned order get support parties democrats republicans business labor environmentalists promise passed legislature wouldnt keep introducing individual chemical ban bills fast since legislation signed law legislators continued introduce bills trying accomplish original green initiative set recently sen joe simitian dpalo alto introduced another green chemistry bill sb 928 product disclosure appears attempt shut chemical industry according one legislative source bill seems obviate intent original green initiative bills attempting intrusive chemical making process simitian said basing bill consumer specialty products associations program fact cspa opposes bill assembly analysis bill states enactment sb 928 may effect precluding action department toxic substances control dtsc product ingredient disclosure cleaning products state green chemistry statute simitians sb 928 currently rests assembly appropriations committee could amended yet legislative source said still fairly large issues deal departments may authority regulate chemicals concern department public health department department pesticide regulation department state water resources control board would work within new protocols sen fran pavley dsanta monica democratic legislators still pursuing single chemical bans supposed thing past green chemistry initiative passed pavleys latest environmental bill sb 797 died assembly last year expected come another vote soon would ban chemical bisphenol known bpa found plastic containers ban specifies removing chemical baby bottles sippy cups linings liquid powder baby formula containers pavely stranger green bills authoring 25 green environmental bills fran pavley totalcapitol bill would ban use six different chemicals recreational vehicle holding tank deodorants would force rvers california purchase less effective alternatives make controlling holding tank odors challenge outside temperatures exceed 80 degrees ab 1824 authored assemblyman bill monning dcarmel would outright ban use holding tank products containing six chemicals adding confusion glut green legislation according recreational vehicle industry association ban chemicals proposed monnings ab 1824 consistent californias green chemistry initiative green chemistry initiative process moving quickly according legislative source want get done schwarzenegger leaves office160 could quite feat theres hearing next tuesday aug 3160 assembly green chemistry implementation sen mark leno dsan francisco authored sb 1291 inactive list singled flame retardants would prohibited manufacturers using new flame retardant upholstered furniture bedding filling materials toxic substances department could consider determine whether flame retardant chemical concern website californians healthy green economy say californias green chemistry initiative touted bold innovative move toward effective efficient regulation industrial chemicals consumer products happy slowly process ban chemicals moving environmental groups concur proposed regulations read like chemical companys wish list said renee sharp director california office environmental working group press release green160chemistry passed promises new effective efficient way protect public toxic chemical exposures state essentially putting eggs regulating chemicals green chemistry basket essential get right katy grimes
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<p>ATHENS, Greece - In Paris this weekend, finance ministers from the world's leading economies brainstormed on a fix to Europe's crisis, with attention on Greece's debt and European bank strength following Belgian-French lender Dexia's failure.</p>
<p>And long-awaited answers on Greece's future are expected by October 23 when European Union leaders meet in Brussels to make decisions about future bailout loans. The G-20 leaders said in a statement Saturday that they expect the Brussels summit to "decisively address the current challenges through a comprehensive plan."</p>
<p>Beyond that near-term horizon are seldom-asked questions. What can we expect for the future in Europe? And how likely is it that an embattled country like Greece will emerge from the crisis in serviceable shape?</p>
<p>From Greece: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business-tech/global-economy/110927/greece-dont-blame-us" type="external">"Don't blame us"</a></p>
<p>That's a question Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has been answering recently, in an effort to reassure European lenders and his compatriots that a better future awaits.</p>
<p>Papandreou acknowledges that Greeks face a monumental or seemingly Sisyphean task of rebuilding the economy, which is forecast to shrink by 5.5 percent this year. But he has portrayed himself as an optimist, believing that the crisis-driven change will forge lasting improvements.</p>
<p>"We need to lead to sustainable growth and investments because Greece has great potential, but this potential has in the past been mismanaged," he said Thursday after a meeting in Brussels with European Council President Herman van Rompuy.</p>
<p>"That's why we are moving ahead with major reforms - radical changes that we are implementing throughout the Greek economy and in the public administration to guarantee competitiveness, productivity, growth, transparency and social justice," Papandreou said.</p>
<p>Papandreou's administration, which inherited debt of $400 billion when he took office two years ago this month, has raised taxes, slashed public sector wages and pensions, consolidated agencies, and is trying to attract investors by making it easier to do business here.</p>
<p>It has also passed legislation opening dozens of "closed" professions, which will raise competitiveness and productivity - assuming the law is enforced.</p>
<p>Papandreou has pointed out that Greece is exploiting its comparative advantages. It is targeting new markets for tourism, which is up this year. Government officials also have high hopes for Project Helios, a $27 billion plan to export solar power.</p>
<p>From Greece: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/110923/greeks-wrestle-national-debt" type="external">Feeling Greece's pain</a></p>
<p>But is the prime minister - a socialist who has betrayed his ideological roots by imposing a painful deficit-reducing program under pressure from foreign lenders - merely putting a positive spin on things? Or is it possible that the crisis will retool Greece into a leaner, stronger and more modern state?</p>
<p>Despite boisterous street protests by opponents of the changes, many agree that Greece was in dire need of reform.</p>
<p>The country's economic model was "fundamentally flawed and no longer possible," said Vagelis Agapitos, an independent economist in Athens.</p>
<p>Successive governments overspent, handed out jobs to political supporters, and barely collected taxes. It left Greece flat-footed when he crisis struck.</p>
<p>"Government was the main customer of private enterprises," Agapitos said. "Lots of companies became too dependent on governments. Their concern wasn't in making real competitive products at real competitive prices."</p>
<p>A 2010 report by Eurostat, the EU's statistical arm, gave high marks to the continent's governments and business communities regarding investment in innovation, research and development. The exceptions: "Only the innovative enterprises of Greece and Portugal seem to need to invest heavily in machinery, equipment and software."</p>
<p>Greece's bureaucratic red tape means it's easier to do business in Guyana or Ethiopia, according to this year's World Bank survey. Greece ranked 109th out of 183 countries in terms of ease of doing business.&#160; Greece expects its ranking to improve in the next annual report, to be released later this month.</p>
<p>Time will tell whether the country will emerge stronger. Indonesia and Russia, among others that have suffered financial crises, have bounced back. But those countries had the "luxury" of devaluing their currencies, which boosts export revenues because of lower prices. Greece, of course, is tied to the euro.</p>
<p>For the moment, there's little evidence of a brighter future.</p>
<p>"The problem," Agapitos added, "is that not everyone realizes [the old] model is no longer in operation."</p>
<p>Greece's powerful unions, as well as opposition parties, have resisted changes. Transit strikes stall commutes and sporadic violence has erupted during protests.</p>
<p>Trash is spilling into Athens' streets because garbage collectors are on strike. A second nationwide general strike this month is planned October 19. Workers are threatening to block production of electricity bills, which the government is using to collect unpopular new property taxes.</p>
<p>"I do find it difficult to be optimistic. It's in very deep trouble," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. "Greece could have a truly awful 10 years."</p>
<p>Structural reforms must be accompanied by investment, he cautioned.</p>
<p>"Investment in the Greek economy has collapsed," he said. "The other problem is it's difficult to maintain political support. That puts the government in a difficult position. Unless you can point to a payoff with these structural reforms, they are difficult to implement."</p>
<p>Greece's troubles were many years in the making. Awash in cheap credit when it dropped its drachma for the euro, the country engaged in an expensive military arms race with rival Turkey. Greece's military spending in 2009 was equivalent to 4 percent of its GDP, by far the highest in the EU, according to World Bank statistics.</p>
<p>At the same time, it paid generously toward retirement pensions, and its tax collection system fell into disrepair with internal corruption and massive cheating by all classes of Greeks.</p>
<p>From Greece: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/110914/2388-years-unpaid-government-debt" type="external">2,388 years of unpaid government debt</a></p>
<p>Harsh deficit-reducing austerity measures have enraged Greeks and structural reforms haven't fully satisfied international lenders.</p>
<p>Greece's "troika" of lenders - the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank - are expected to give Greece the next installment of a $150 billion bailout negotiated in May 2010. Without that $11 billion installment, Greece would go broke in the upcoming weeks.</p>
<p>The troika said in a joint statement this week that a deeper-than-anticipated recession means economic recovery will only begin from 2013 onwards.</p>
<p>"There is no evidence yet of improvement in investor sentiment and the related increase in investments, in part because the reform momentum has not gained the critical mass necessary to begin transforming the investment climate," it said in the statement.</p>
<p>But exports are rebounding. That, along with lower labor costs "should lead to more balanced and sustainable growth over the medium term," it added.</p>
<p>The troika warned, however, that the government's plan to raise $50 billion by the end of 2014 by selling off state assets was off to a slow start. Targets for this year will be missed.</p>
<p>A second loan of $150 billion agreed to in June calls for Greek bondholders to take a 21 percent loss, but many experts say a larger write-down is inevitable. Greek officials have insisted that's not the case, although the prime minister told his cabinet on Wednesday that they are negotiating "in every way we can" to reduce the debt.</p>
<p>Papandreou says the October 23 summit of European leaders must "decide on a comprehensive and lasting solution to the crisis in the euro zone." He said finality is "crucial" for Greece and the world.</p>
<p>"We need to ensure confidence and calm in the markets," he said Thursday.</p>
<p>Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who is head of the euro zone's finance ministers, dismissed talk of Greece leaving the currency.</p>
<p>"This will not happen, as it will not happen that we will have to face a Greek default," he told reporters Thursday after meeting with Papandreou in Brussels. "Everything will be done in order to maintain the financial stability of the euro area. We will be as helpful as far as we can to Greece."</p>
<p>Even as reforms gain speed, it will take "one or two decades to rebuild the economy on a sustainable basis," said Dimitris Malliaropulos, economic research advisor at Eurobank EFG in Athens.</p>
<p>"In the meantime, unfortunately, Greece will have lost its most precious human capital, as the young people with the highest qualification will have emigrated," he said.</p>
<p>Thanos Papapetrou, 28, admits he thinks about leaving. He's a computer programmer working on a European Union project digitizing library and museum documents.</p>
<p>His office is on the campus of his alma mater, the University of Athens. But during one recent sunny afternoon, he explained he couldn't access it because students were occupying the building in protest of a new law aimed at modernizing higher education.</p>
<p>"I'm not allowed to enter it," he said, noting that he and co-workers resort to whispering in a library in order to get work done. "It's quite frustrating? I want to be optimistic but I can't." &#160;</p>
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athens greece paris weekend finance ministers worlds leading economies brainstormed fix europes crisis attention greeces debt european bank strength following belgianfrench lender dexias failure longawaited answers greeces future expected october 23 european union leaders meet brussels make decisions future bailout loans g20 leaders said statement saturday expect brussels summit decisively address current challenges comprehensive plan beyond nearterm horizon seldomasked questions expect future europe likely embattled country like greece emerge crisis serviceable shape greece dont blame us thats question greek prime minister george papandreou answering recently effort reassure european lenders compatriots better future awaits papandreou acknowledges greeks face monumental seemingly sisyphean task rebuilding economy forecast shrink 55 percent year portrayed optimist believing crisisdriven change forge lasting improvements need lead sustainable growth investments greece great potential potential past mismanaged said thursday meeting brussels european council president herman van rompuy thats moving ahead major reforms radical changes implementing throughout greek economy public administration guarantee competitiveness productivity growth transparency social justice papandreou said papandreous administration inherited debt 400 billion took office two years ago month raised taxes slashed public sector wages pensions consolidated agencies trying attract investors making easier business also passed legislation opening dozens closed professions raise competitiveness productivity assuming law enforced papandreou pointed greece exploiting comparative advantages targeting new markets tourism year government officials also high hopes project helios 27 billion plan export solar power greece feeling greeces pain prime minister socialist betrayed ideological roots imposing painful deficitreducing program pressure foreign lenders merely putting positive spin things possible crisis retool greece leaner stronger modern state despite boisterous street protests opponents changes many agree greece dire need reform countrys economic model fundamentally flawed longer possible said vagelis agapitos independent economist athens successive governments overspent handed jobs political supporters barely collected taxes left greece flatfooted crisis struck government main customer private enterprises agapitos said lots companies became dependent governments concern wasnt making real competitive products real competitive prices 2010 report eurostat eus statistical arm gave high marks continents governments business communities regarding investment innovation research development exceptions innovative enterprises greece portugal seem need invest heavily machinery equipment software greeces bureaucratic red tape means easier business guyana ethiopia according years world bank survey greece ranked 109th 183 countries terms ease business160 greece expects ranking improve next annual report released later month time tell whether country emerge stronger indonesia russia among others suffered financial crises bounced back countries luxury devaluing currencies boosts export revenues lower prices greece course tied euro moment theres little evidence brighter future problem agapitos added everyone realizes old model longer operation greeces powerful unions well opposition parties resisted changes transit strikes stall commutes sporadic violence erupted protests trash spilling athens streets garbage collectors strike second nationwide general strike month planned october 19 workers threatening block production electricity bills government using collect unpopular new property taxes find difficult optimistic deep trouble said simon tilford chief economist centre european reform londonbased think tank greece could truly awful 10 years structural reforms must accompanied investment cautioned investment greek economy collapsed said problem difficult maintain political support puts government difficult position unless point payoff structural reforms difficult implement greeces troubles many years making awash cheap credit dropped drachma euro country engaged expensive military arms race rival turkey greeces military spending 2009 equivalent 4 percent gdp far highest eu according world bank statistics time paid generously toward retirement pensions tax collection system fell disrepair internal corruption massive cheating classes greeks greece 2388 years unpaid government debt harsh deficitreducing austerity measures enraged greeks structural reforms havent fully satisfied international lenders greeces troika lenders international monetary fund european commission european central bank expected give greece next installment 150 billion bailout negotiated may 2010 without 11 billion installment greece would go broke upcoming weeks troika said joint statement week deeperthananticipated recession means economic recovery begin 2013 onwards evidence yet improvement investor sentiment related increase investments part reform momentum gained critical mass necessary begin transforming investment climate said statement exports rebounding along lower labor costs lead balanced sustainable growth medium term added troika warned however governments plan raise 50 billion end 2014 selling state assets slow start targets year missed second loan 150 billion agreed june calls greek bondholders take 21 percent loss many experts say larger writedown inevitable greek officials insisted thats case although prime minister told cabinet wednesday negotiating every way reduce debt papandreou says october 23 summit european leaders must decide comprehensive lasting solution crisis euro zone said finality crucial greece world need ensure confidence calm markets said thursday luxembourg prime minister jeanclaude juncker head euro zones finance ministers dismissed talk greece leaving currency happen happen face greek default told reporters thursday meeting papandreou brussels everything done order maintain financial stability euro area helpful far greece even reforms gain speed take one two decades rebuild economy sustainable basis said dimitris malliaropulos economic research advisor eurobank efg athens meantime unfortunately greece lost precious human capital young people highest qualification emigrated said thanos papapetrou 28 admits thinks leaving hes computer programmer working european union project digitizing library museum documents office campus alma mater university athens one recent sunny afternoon explained couldnt access students occupying building protest new law aimed modernizing higher education im allowed enter said noting coworkers resort whispering library order get work done quite frustrating want optimistic cant 160
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<p>MONROVIA, Liberia — The community of New Kru Town lies just beyond Monrovia’s port. Like much of this capital city, the neighborhood is characterized by crowded zinc shacks, packed tightly on sandy ground.</p>
<p>Only a few concrete houses dot the community, most still bearing the scars of the 14-year civil war that ended in 2003 after tearing the country’s infrastructure to shreds. The war also dismantled Liberia's middle class.</p>
<p>Davidetta Togba-Cassell, 26, survived part of the war in an Ivorian refugee camp, and the rest in the chaos of Monrovia.</p>
<p>Despite these massive hurdles, she succeeded in obtaining a university education and today keeps a room with her new husband in one of the New Kru Town houses. They share the rent for the house with friends and it is spacious and clean with a fenced-in yard. They own a small generator for electricity that they use when they can afford the gas to run it: like most of Liberia, the house has no electricity and no running water.</p>
<p>With a degree in political science and economics from the University of Liberia, Togba-Cassell has a job as a special assistant to a senior member of the senate that earns her about $300 a month. Though not a competitive salary on the international market, in Liberia, this is an upper-middle salary, more than four times what policemen or entry-level civil servants earn, and 10 times above the "dollar-a-day" that more than half of all Liberians are said to live on.</p>
<p>While she enjoys her job and realizes she is fortunate, Togba-Cassell does not see those in her income bracket enjoying many amenities associated with the term "middle class." She doesn't have a television or a car or other means of personal transport. Vacation travel is out of the question as the couple have hardly any money saved. Togba-Cassell worries about lacking money in case of a medical emergency for her or her immediate family.</p>
<p>“There is no middle class in Liberia,” she emphasized from her porch. “You either poor, or you got something to eat.</p>
<p>“In Liberia here, we work full time — from morning until 6 p.m. or whatever time boss has to leave — and at the end of the month, you get something that cannot support your family,” she said.</p>
<p>Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first woman head of state, is struggling to build a middle class, according to her cabinet ministers.</p>
<p>“We don’t have a strong middle class yet, but we consider the middle class in Liberia to be people with university degrees, people who use their skills to earn money, people in small and medium businesses,” explained Liberia’s Minister of Labor Taiowan Gongloe.</p>
<p>While income often fails to match the experience or expectations of educated citizens such as Togba-Cassell, Gongloe reinforces that this skill set is necessary to make Liberia’s recovery a strong one.</p>
<p>Gongloe is optimistic about Liberia's future, as the country’s large diaspora increasingly sees the signs of stability needed for a healthy economy to function, and trickles back home, strengthening Liberia’s return to peace.</p>
<p>“Because of increased security [in Liberia] they will come back. The more they invest, the more they provide great opportunities for the young people who are needing jobs, those who are getting degrees,” said Gongloe.</p>
<p>Liberia’s representative to the World Trade Organization, local entrepreneur Amin Modad, points to specific benefits of this trend bringing people like himself back from refuge in the United States, Europe and larger regional economies such as Ghana and Nigeria.</p>
<p>“Liberians returning from the West are bringing with them formal education and experience. They are bringing in technological savvy that you won’t find here, exposure that you won’t find here,” said Modad.</p>
<p>This, Modad believes, helps fill a crucial void in the local professional skill set left by a generation forced to focus on wartime survival instead of professional advancement, and grows both skills and ethics in the workplace.</p>
<p>With much of the resource-based economy controlled by foreign interests that — outside of cheap, unskilled labor jobs — rarely train or hire many Liberians, Modad hopes incoming skills and values from the diaspora will help build up a Liberian-owned private sector, and in turn grow both the middle class and the economy of Liberia.</p>
<p>Like Gongloe, Modad sees a small middle class that does only marginally better than those with no official employment. Besides, he added, “the margin between the middle class and the elite is still too far.”</p>
<p>Today, as Liberians return home and share their skills and a continuous stream of graduates emerge from the six increasingly competitive universities, overall capacity in Liberia holds great promise for future growth. However, wages will have to meet expectations to keep these skills in the country.</p>
<p>“If things don’t change,” Modad noted, “[the amount of skilled returnees] will plateau very soon, and after that, it would likely decline.”</p>
<p>While optional travel is currently only affordable to an upper elite class, work abroad attracts young Liberians across the country. Togba-Cassell often considers benefits of a move to a more valuable market for her experience.</p>
<p>“Sometimes I think that maybe when I work out there, if I work three to four years I could [make a] better life, whereas I work 20, 30 years, no improvement in Liberia,” Togba-Cassell said.</p>
<p>This brings obvious discouragement to those working in this economic class. But for Togba-Cassell at least, it is up to this same class to move Liberia forward.</p>
<p>“If we want a middle class, we got to build a middle class, and we cannot build a middle class by depending on government’s money. We gotta build a middle class by our own labor," said Togba-Cassell. "We gotta work, we gotta learn that we have to take our country’s economy, that is how we are going to build a middle class. The people that call themselves the upper class, they have to invest in the country. ... The best way to move Liberia forward is to invest in the country.”</p>
<p><a href="../../../../../../../dispatch/africa/100514/africa%E2%80%99s-middle-class-striving-develop-continent" type="external">Africa's middle class</a> is a GlobalPost series to highlight the continent's key but under-reported population including <a href="../../../../../../../dispatch/south-africa/090630/black-middle-class-townships-economy" type="external">South Africa's growing class of "black diamonds,"</a> education opportunities <a href="../../../../../../../dispatch/ghana/100305/middle-class-higher-education-university" type="external">in Ghana</a>, the challenge to <a href="../../../../../../../dispatch/kenya/100222/kenyas-middle-class-challenges-political-system" type="external">Kenya's middle class</a>, the struggles to rebuild a middle class after years of civil war in <a href="../../../../../../../dispatch/africa/100514/sierra-leone-middle-class-education-economy" type="external">Sierra Leone</a> and the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/africa/100514/african-diaspora-immigrants-education" type="external">diaspora</a> of thousands of Africa's ambitious in the U.S. and Europe.</p>
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monrovia liberia community new kru town lies beyond monrovias port like much capital city neighborhood characterized crowded zinc shacks packed tightly sandy ground concrete houses dot community still bearing scars 14year civil war ended 2003 tearing countrys infrastructure shreds war also dismantled liberias middle class davidetta togbacassell 26 survived part war ivorian refugee camp rest chaos monrovia despite massive hurdles succeeded obtaining university education today keeps room new husband one new kru town houses share rent house friends spacious clean fencedin yard small generator electricity use afford gas run like liberia house electricity running water degree political science economics university liberia togbacassell job special assistant senior member senate earns 300 month though competitive salary international market liberia uppermiddle salary four times policemen entrylevel civil servants earn 10 times dollaraday half liberians said live enjoys job realizes fortunate togbacassell see income bracket enjoying many amenities associated term middle class doesnt television car means personal transport vacation travel question couple hardly money saved togbacassell worries lacking money case medical emergency immediate family middle class liberia emphasized porch either poor got something eat liberia work full time morning 6 pm whatever time boss leave end month get something support family said liberian president ellen johnson sirleaf africas first woman head state struggling build middle class according cabinet ministers dont strong middle class yet consider middle class liberia people university degrees people use skills earn money people small medium businesses explained liberias minister labor taiowan gongloe income often fails match experience expectations educated citizens togbacassell gongloe reinforces skill set necessary make liberias recovery strong one gongloe optimistic liberias future countrys large diaspora increasingly sees signs stability needed healthy economy function trickles back home strengthening liberias return peace increased security liberia come back invest provide great opportunities young people needing jobs getting degrees said gongloe liberias representative world trade organization local entrepreneur amin modad points specific benefits trend bringing people like back refuge united states europe larger regional economies ghana nigeria liberians returning west bringing formal education experience bringing technological savvy wont find exposure wont find said modad modad believes helps fill crucial void local professional skill set left generation forced focus wartime survival instead professional advancement grows skills ethics workplace much resourcebased economy controlled foreign interests outside cheap unskilled labor jobs rarely train hire many liberians modad hopes incoming skills values diaspora help build liberianowned private sector turn grow middle class economy liberia like gongloe modad sees small middle class marginally better official employment besides added margin middle class elite still far today liberians return home share skills continuous stream graduates emerge six increasingly competitive universities overall capacity liberia holds great promise future growth however wages meet expectations keep skills country things dont change modad noted amount skilled returnees plateau soon would likely decline optional travel currently affordable upper elite class work abroad attracts young liberians across country togbacassell often considers benefits move valuable market experience sometimes think maybe work work three four years could make better life whereas work 20 30 years improvement liberia togbacassell said brings obvious discouragement working economic class togbacassell least class move liberia forward want middle class got build middle class build middle class depending governments money got ta build middle class labor said togbacassell got ta work got ta learn take countrys economy going build middle class people call upper class invest country best way move liberia forward invest country africas middle class globalpost series highlight continents key underreported population including south africas growing class black diamonds education opportunities ghana challenge kenyas middle class struggles rebuild middle class years civil war sierra leone diaspora thousands africas ambitious us europe
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<p>Chicago’s debate over social promotion has faded for the most part. In Illinois, few followed the city’s lead in making standardized test scores a primary factor in retaining children.&#160; Many large districts and charter schools say they look at multiple factors before holding children back and don’t pass students along for social reasons—but don’t fail large numbers of students either.</p>
<p>Outside of Chicago and Illinois, though, social promotion is re-emerging as an issue, although research studies have shown repeatedly that holding children back is harmful. This spring, for instance, Oklahoma’s state schools superintendent pushed a bill through the state legislature that required 3rd-graders to pass a reading test to go to 4th grade. In Florida, a statewide ban on social promotion since 2002 means that students take the standardized test in 3rd grade and must earn a certain score to move on to 4th.&#160;</p>
<p>Other districts are at the opposite end of the spectrum. Wilfredo Ortiz, the School District of Philadelphia’s deputy chief of counseling and promotion standards, says the district shies away from tests as the sole means of evaluating students for retention.&#160;</p>
<p>“We have an old way of thinking,” he says.</p>
<p>Kathy Christie, the chief of staff of the Education Commission of the States, says the organization is seeing increased interest in the issue. About five years ago, the commission tracked promotion policies across the country and is thinking of starting to do it again. “I am seeing it raising its head again,” Christie says.</p>
<p>In New York State, where incoming Chicago Public Schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard hails from, tough promotion policies have been a major issue in the school debate.&#160; At the press conference announcing Brizard’s appointment, Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel praised him for implementing in Rochester a tough high school promotion policy that requires students to earn more credits as they move into their junior year of high school.</p>
<p>Rochester’s promotion policy for elementary school students is unclear—there is no mention of it in the district’s policy guidelines and officials did not return calls from Catalyst.In New York City, where Brizard spent most of his career, Mayor Michael Bloomberg made ending social promotion a major part of his education platform. Students are tested every year between grades 3 and 8, and promotion depends on scores. In high school, the focus shifts to course requirements.</p>
<p>New York City’s policy emphasized early intervention for students before they were at the point of being retained. A 2009 RAND Corp. study found that these supports helped students meet the promotion criteria and, in fact, few students were held back.</p>
<p>Because the students have not yet made it through high school, researchers have yet to see whether retained students do better in high school or are more likely to drop out, as previous studies on retention have shown.</p>
<p>Also, the RAND study notes that the capacity to provide support differed from school to school. Schools with a high percentage of children needing extra assistance were not always able to provide it to each student.</p>
<p>In Los Angeles, money became the deciding factor: Budget constraints forced officials to abandon the promotion policy because the district could no longer afford summer school.</p>
<p>In Illinois, some charter schools and districts reiterate a point made by other educators: If children are to be held back, the ISAT is a poor tool to use in making the decision.</p>
<p>“The ISAT is a single data point and, quite frankly, they are not high-performance tests,” says Tom Hay, the assistant superintendent for curriculum at Carpentersville Community Unit School District 300.</p>
<p>In Chicago, charter schools are free to adopt their own promotion policies and some, like Providence Englewood, opt for tough standards. At Providence Englewood, students most score above the 35th percentile on the TerraNova (a standardized test used by districts across the country), pass their classes and not have major behavior problems. Students who are held back are automatically enrolled in after-school tutoring two days a week for all subjects.</p>
<p>Overall, though, charters hold back fewer children than traditional public schools—in 2010, just 2 percent of students, according to CPS data.</p>
<p>Another indicator used by some charters and districts is the Light’s Retention Scale, which evaluates students based on a number of academic and developmental criteria. Grades or class credits underlie most promotion decisions, and these indicators often supersede test scores.</p>
<p>“One of the misconceptions we work to ‘un-inform’ people about is that you can’t fail or pass the ISAT,” says Lisa Kenner, the principal at Legacy Charter.&#160; “We don’t feel that a single ISAT score should trump all these other pieces.”</p>
<p>Other charters aim to get struggling children back on the right track with intensive help. Namaste Charter employs an entire literacy intervention team that works with 65 to 75 students a week.</p>
<p>LEARN Charter, which rarely retains students, has class sizes of 25 students with two teachers each. The charter also has “academic interventionists,” who are certified teachers charged with pulling out students who need the most help and working with them one-on-one or in small groups.</p>
<p>Dao Kambara, director of academics for LEARN, says that teachers and administrators use tests throughout the school year to monitor where students are and how they are progressing. They also monitor attendance and whether the student is getting above a C-minus in their classes.</p>
<p>“We don’t look at one data point because it doesn’t make sense,” she says.</p>
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chicagos debate social promotion faded part illinois followed citys lead making standardized test scores primary factor retaining children160 many large districts charter schools say look multiple factors holding children back dont pass students along social reasonsbut dont fail large numbers students either outside chicago illinois though social promotion reemerging issue although research studies shown repeatedly holding children back harmful spring instance oklahomas state schools superintendent pushed bill state legislature required 3rdgraders pass reading test go 4th grade florida statewide ban social promotion since 2002 means students take standardized test 3rd grade must earn certain score move 4th160 districts opposite end spectrum wilfredo ortiz school district philadelphias deputy chief counseling promotion standards says district shies away tests sole means evaluating students retention160 old way thinking says kathy christie chief staff education commission states says organization seeing increased interest issue five years ago commission tracked promotion policies across country thinking starting seeing raising head christie says new york state incoming chicago public schools ceo jeanclaude brizard hails tough promotion policies major issue school debate160 press conference announcing brizards appointment mayorelect rahm emanuel praised implementing rochester tough high school promotion policy requires students earn credits move junior year high school rochesters promotion policy elementary school students unclearthere mention districts policy guidelines officials return calls catalystin new york city brizard spent career mayor michael bloomberg made ending social promotion major part education platform students tested every year grades 3 8 promotion depends scores high school focus shifts course requirements new york citys policy emphasized early intervention students point retained 2009 rand corp study found supports helped students meet promotion criteria fact students held back students yet made high school researchers yet see whether retained students better high school likely drop previous studies retention shown also rand study notes capacity provide support differed school school schools high percentage children needing extra assistance always able provide student los angeles money became deciding factor budget constraints forced officials abandon promotion policy district could longer afford summer school illinois charter schools districts reiterate point made educators children held back isat poor tool use making decision isat single data point quite frankly highperformance tests says tom hay assistant superintendent curriculum carpentersville community unit school district 300 chicago charter schools free adopt promotion policies like providence englewood opt tough standards providence englewood students score 35th percentile terranova standardized test used districts across country pass classes major behavior problems students held back automatically enrolled afterschool tutoring two days week subjects overall though charters hold back fewer children traditional public schoolsin 2010 2 percent students according cps data another indicator used charters districts lights retention scale evaluates students based number academic developmental criteria grades class credits underlie promotion decisions indicators often supersede test scores one misconceptions work uninform people cant fail pass isat says lisa kenner principal legacy charter160 dont feel single isat score trump pieces charters aim get struggling children back right track intensive help namaste charter employs entire literacy intervention team works 65 75 students week learn charter rarely retains students class sizes 25 students two teachers charter also academic interventionists certified teachers charged pulling students need help working oneonone small groups dao kambara director academics learn says teachers administrators use tests throughout school year monitor students progressing also monitor attendance whether student getting cminus classes dont look one data point doesnt make sense says
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<p>MOSCOW, Russia — Circumstances surrounding the apparent downing on Thursday of a Malaysian Airlines passenger jet over the skies of war-torn eastern Ukraine remain murky, but however inconclusive the evidence, much of the world appears to have arrived at one point: blame Russia.</p>
<p>Fallout from the crash of flight MH17 — which killed all 298 passengers — is consolidating international anger at Moscow over its alleged support of the separatist rebels in Ukraine, and appears to mark a watershed moment in a months-long crisis that had earlier left much of the West stumped over how to respond.</p>
<p>While the war of words is bound to intensify, with Russia and Ukraine trading accusations of responsibility for the disaster, many observers say the Kremlin should be prepared to pay for the incident.</p>
<p>“Because it is Moscow, despite the numerous denials from its representatives, which is perceived by the entire world to be [the separatists’] main protector and sponsor,” Konstantin von Eggert, a Russian international affairs commentator, said in a Friday broadcast on Kommersant FM radio.</p>
<p>Tensions between Russia and Ukraine reached a fever pitch this week after a series of mysterious air strikes and artillery attacks fueled a diplomatic row between the two countries and hurled them closer to the brink of open conflict.</p>
<p>But Thursday’s crash — which killed 189 Dutch nationals and a number of other foreign citizens — marked the first time international actors became directly involved in the crisis, raising the stakes in a geopolitical conflict that seems likely to only worsen.</p>
<p>It also arrived a day after Washington leveled its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, which were mirrored by less stringent European Union sanctions that were approved despite a split in the EU over how to react to Russia’s alleged interference in Ukraine.</p>
<p>There’s still little hard evidence available from the separatist-controlled crash site, where rebels say they’ve agreed to allow a team of international investigators to the area.</p>
<p>But international condemnation has nevertheless been swift.</p>
<p>Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot had perhaps the toughest words for Moscow on Friday, claiming Russia’s response is “deeply, deeply unsatisfactory,” the Associated Press reported him as saying.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in televised remarks late Thursday that there has been “growing awareness” that the apparent strike “probably had to be Russian insurgents.”</p>
<p>“How we determine that will require some forensics, but then if there is evidence pointing in that direction, the equipment had to have come from Russia,” she said in an interview on the Charlie Rose Show.</p>
<p>For its part, Moscow has shot back, using its state-run media arsenal to level claims against Kyiv.</p>
<p>Since the crash, state television here — the main source of news for a majority of Russians — has aired reports suggesting a variety of possible causes, although seemingly tiptoeing around any implication of the rebels.</p>
<p>Some reports hinted that the Ukrainians had mistakenly shot down the airliner by highlighting a similar case from 2001, when Kyiv admitted it had unintentionally downed a civilian plane.</p>
<p>There were also suggestions the alleged Ukrainian missile had actually been aimed at the Russian presidential plane as it flew back from Brazil, a claim based on a single anonymous source in a wire report but cited widely on state television.</p>
<p>In a video posted to the Kremlin’s website, President Vladimir Putin laid the blame squarely on Ukrainian authorities, although he stopped short of accusing the military of shooting down the jet.</p>
<p>“I want to note that this tragedy wouldn’t have occurred if there had been peace on this land and hostilities hadn’t been renewed in Ukraine’s southeast,” he said at a government meeting.</p>
<p>“And of course the government on whose territory this occurred is responsible for this terrible tragedy.”</p>
<p>Regardless, the incident has shifted even more scrutiny onto the armed rebels — cast by Moscow as righteous “anti-government protesters” — that have laid siege on Ukraine’s two rebellious, easternmost regions.</p>
<p>They’ve been beaten back in recent weeks by Ukrainian military forces but continue to control a large swath of land, including the two regional capitals, and have boasted of downing numerous Ukrainian military aircraft.</p>
<p>Ukrainian officials and their Western allies have long asserted that Ukraine’s porous border with Russia has served as a crucial transit corridor for armaments of all kinds as well as volunteer fighters that filter in from Russian territory.</p>
<p>So far, only YouTube clips and other unconfirmed social media reports attest to the movement of tanks and other heavy weaponry across the border, with independent confirmation nearly impossible since rebels still control considerable territory.</p>
<p>Still, experts now believe Russia will be forced into backing away from its alleged support of the rebels, rendering what Mark Galeotti, a security expert at New York University, says may be the beginning of the end for the insurgency.</p>
<p>“Especially given the presence of Americans and other Westerners on MH17, the Kremlin will, for all its immediate and instinctive bluster and spin, have to definitively and overtly withdraw from arming and protecting the rebels,” he wrote on Thursday.</p>
<p>But that may further inflame tensions between Moscow and the rebel leadership, which has openly maligned Putin’s refusal to offer greater support for their cause since the uprising began.</p>
<p>The Kremlin declined to recognize their independence referenda in May and stopped short of repeating the scenario in Crimea, which Russia annexed earlier this year, something the insurgents had hoped would also happen in eastern Ukraine.</p>
<p>But those moves appear only to have strengthened their resolve in the fight against Ukrainian forces, amounting to what some believe to be an increasingly uncontrollable Frankenstein monster that has thrust Russia — intentionally or not — into a tight spot.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/140717/malaysian-passenger-plane-crashes-ukraine-near-russian-border-if" type="external">Officials believe MH17 was shot down over Ukraine. But by whom? (LIVE BLOG)</a></p>
<p>In Kyiv, meanwhile, Ukraine’s post-revolutionary authorities are likely to receive a renewed boost in support from their Western allies, the result of a disaster experts say may have played into their hands.</p>
<p>Vadim Karasyov, a Kyiv-based political analyst, says Poroshenko had been stuck in a “dead end,” torn between a mounting military death toll and the perceived impossibility of negotiating with the separatists.</p>
<p>But the Malaysian Airlines disaster presented a “Rubicon” in what seemed like a stalemate, he added.</p>
<p>“It will bump the sequence of events toward a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine’s interests.”&#160;</p>
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moscow russia circumstances surrounding apparent downing thursday malaysian airlines passenger jet skies wartorn eastern ukraine remain murky however inconclusive evidence much world appears arrived one point blame russia fallout crash flight mh17 killed 298 passengers consolidating international anger moscow alleged support separatist rebels ukraine appears mark watershed moment monthslong crisis earlier left much west stumped respond war words bound intensify russia ukraine trading accusations responsibility disaster many observers say kremlin prepared pay incident moscow despite numerous denials representatives perceived entire world separatists main protector sponsor konstantin von eggert russian international affairs commentator said friday broadcast kommersant fm radio tensions russia ukraine reached fever pitch week series mysterious air strikes artillery attacks fueled diplomatic row two countries hurled closer brink open conflict thursdays crash killed 189 dutch nationals number foreign citizens marked first time international actors became directly involved crisis raising stakes geopolitical conflict seems likely worsen also arrived day washington leveled toughest sanctions yet russia mirrored less stringent european union sanctions approved despite split eu react russias alleged interference ukraine theres still little hard evidence available separatistcontrolled crash site rebels say theyve agreed allow team international investigators area international condemnation nevertheless swift australian prime minister tony abbot perhaps toughest words moscow friday claiming russias response deeply deeply unsatisfactory associated press reported saying meanwhile former us secretary state hillary clinton said televised remarks late thursday growing awareness apparent strike probably russian insurgents determine require forensics evidence pointing direction equipment come russia said interview charlie rose show part moscow shot back using staterun media arsenal level claims kyiv since crash state television main source news majority russians aired reports suggesting variety possible causes although seemingly tiptoeing around implication rebels reports hinted ukrainians mistakenly shot airliner highlighting similar case 2001 kyiv admitted unintentionally downed civilian plane also suggestions alleged ukrainian missile actually aimed russian presidential plane flew back brazil claim based single anonymous source wire report cited widely state television video posted kremlins website president vladimir putin laid blame squarely ukrainian authorities although stopped short accusing military shooting jet want note tragedy wouldnt occurred peace land hostilities hadnt renewed ukraines southeast said government meeting course government whose territory occurred responsible terrible tragedy regardless incident shifted even scrutiny onto armed rebels cast moscow righteous antigovernment protesters laid siege ukraines two rebellious easternmost regions theyve beaten back recent weeks ukrainian military forces continue control large swath land including two regional capitals boasted downing numerous ukrainian military aircraft ukrainian officials western allies long asserted ukraines porous border russia served crucial transit corridor armaments kinds well volunteer fighters filter russian territory far youtube clips unconfirmed social media reports attest movement tanks heavy weaponry across border independent confirmation nearly impossible since rebels still control considerable territory still experts believe russia forced backing away alleged support rebels rendering mark galeotti security expert new york university says may beginning end insurgency especially given presence americans westerners mh17 kremlin immediate instinctive bluster spin definitively overtly withdraw arming protecting rebels wrote thursday may inflame tensions moscow rebel leadership openly maligned putins refusal offer greater support cause since uprising began kremlin declined recognize independence referenda may stopped short repeating scenario crimea russia annexed earlier year something insurgents hoped would also happen eastern ukraine moves appear strengthened resolve fight ukrainian forces amounting believe increasingly uncontrollable frankenstein monster thrust russia intentionally tight spot globalpost160 officials believe mh17 shot ukraine live blog kyiv meanwhile ukraines postrevolutionary authorities likely receive renewed boost support western allies result disaster experts say may played hands vadim karasyov kyivbased political analyst says poroshenko stuck dead end torn mounting military death toll perceived impossibility negotiating separatists malaysian airlines disaster presented rubicon seemed like stalemate added bump sequence events toward settlement conflict ukraines interests160
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<p>A truck plowed into pedestrians during Bastille Day celebrations in the popular French seaside city of Nice Thursday, leaving at least 80 people dead in what the nation’s president called "obviously a terrorist attack."</p>
<p>The deadly toll, which included several children, came after the truck slammed into revelers gathered on a promenade to watch fireworks, French President Francois Hollande said in an address Friday morning.</p>
<p>"Such a monstrosity," Hollande said. He pledged to step up efforts to fight terror in Iraq and Syria, and said he will seek to extend a state of emergency by three months.</p>
<p>"France is deeply saddened, but it is also very strong," Hollande said. "I can assure you we will always be stronger than the fanatics who are trying to attack us."</p>
<p>The driver was fatally shot by police, Hollande said. It is unknown if there were accomplices, Hollande said. French media, citing a police source, reported that ID papers belonging to a French-Tunisian were found in the truck. A source told NBC News the driver is believed to have been a French national of Tunisian descent</p>
<p>The truck struck the crowd at around 10:40 p.m. local time (4:40 p.m. ET) shortly after a fireworks display, officials and witnesses said.</p>
<p>Christian Estrosi, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region that includes Nice, told French media that the driver also shot at people. A senior U.S. military official told NBC News that guns and explosives were found in the truck.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Live Updates on Truck Attack in Nice, France</a></p>
<p>Eyewitness Andrew Botros described the scene as a "white truck literally racing through crowds of all ages." The ranking politician of the Alpes-Maritimes department that includes Nice said the truck plowed into the crowd over a distance of 1.2 miles.</p>
<p>At the time of Hollande's address, 77 people were confirmed dead. A short time later, the French interior minister said the death toll had risen to 80, and 18 others were in critical condition.</p>
<p>U.S. President Barack Obama earlier condemned what he called "what appears to be a horrific terrorist attack" and said the U.S. has offered any assistance France may need. "We stand in solidarity and partnership with France, our oldest ally, as they respond to and recover from this attack."</p>
<p>Witnesses described scenes of chaos after the truck hit the crowd.</p>
<p>"I looked up and saw, like, a tsunami wave of people just running towards me as fast as they possibly could screaming at the top of their lungs," Dr. Kevin Motamedi, a Denver physician on a tour of Europe, told NBC News. “And I just grabbed who I was with and started running as fast as possible. It was basically just complete mass hysteria.”</p>
<p>"It was the scariest moment of my life, easily," Motamedi said. "As we were running, you could tell the people in front of us had no idea that anything was going on, so we were running and grabbing people saying, 'Run. Go home!'"</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Witnesses Relate Horror of Deadly French Crash</a></p>
<p>Eric Dratell, an American lawyer working in London, is in Nice on vacation with his wife. They were having dinner at Le Sporting on the beach when his wife heard what she thought was gunfire.</p>
<p>"We started running for cover. People started jumping from promenade level onto the beach," Dratell told NBC News. "A guy jumped on my wife," who was injured, he said.</p>
<p>"We took shelter with 200 or more people in an area under the promenade. People were in crowded toilet stalls," Dratell said. "This is shocking," he said.</p>
<p>In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Estrosi, who is also Nice's former mayor, tweeted in French: "Dear Nicois, the driver of a truck appears to have made a dozens of deaths. For the moment, stay in your home. More info to come."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">A Short History of Vehicles Being Used as Weapons</a></p>
<p>France has been on edge since a series of coordinated terror attacks in Paris in November that left 130 people dead. The terror group ISIS claimed responsibility for that attack.</p>
<p>There were no immediate claims of responsibility by ISIS through its official or unofficial channels, according to Flashpoint Intelligence, an international terrorism research organization.</p>
<p>Hollande said he will be calling up "operational reserves" to help police and a Sentinel operation allowing 10,000 troops to be on patrol would be maintained. He said the country’s military campaign against the terror group ISIS in Iraq and Syria would increase.</p>
<p>"Nothing will shake us and make us renounce the fight against terrorism,” Hollande said.</p>
<p>France’s ambassador to the U.S., Gérard Araud, said on Twitter: "Again. Sadness. These people only wanted to enjoy Bastille day fireworks with their family and friends. Sadness."</p>
<p>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: "Canadians are shocked by tonight’s attack in Nice. Our sympathy is with the victims, and our solidarity with the French people."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">World Reacts to Deadly Attack in France</a></p>
<p>The United Nations Security Council "condemned in the strongest terms the barbaric and cowardly terrorist attack which took place in Nice," its members said in a statement.</p>
<p>Nice is a city on France’s Mediterranean coast popular with tourists. The U.S. State Department said it has no Thursday evening it had no information that any Americans were killed or injured.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry encouraged any Americans in Nice to contact friends and family. Facebook activated its Safety Check feature, which allows people to alert loved ones their whereabouts.</p>
<p>Bastille Day, also known as National Day, commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison during the French revolution in 1789.</p>
<p>"On this Bastille Day, we are reminded of the extraordinary resilience and democratic values that have made France an inspiration to the entire world, and we know that the character of the French Republic will endure long after this devastating and tragic loss of life," Obama said.</p>
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truck plowed pedestrians bastille day celebrations popular french seaside city nice thursday leaving least 80 people dead nations president called obviously terrorist attack deadly toll included several children came truck slammed revelers gathered promenade watch fireworks french president francois hollande said address friday morning monstrosity hollande said pledged step efforts fight terror iraq syria said seek extend state emergency three months france deeply saddened also strong hollande said assure always stronger fanatics trying attack us driver fatally shot police hollande said unknown accomplices hollande said french media citing police source reported id papers belonging frenchtunisian found truck source told nbc news driver believed french national tunisian descent truck struck crowd around 1040 pm local time 440 pm et shortly fireworks display officials witnesses said christian estrosi president provencealpescôtedazur region includes nice told french media driver also shot people senior us military official told nbc news guns explosives found truck related live updates truck attack nice france eyewitness andrew botros described scene white truck literally racing crowds ages ranking politician alpesmaritimes department includes nice said truck plowed crowd distance 12 miles time hollandes address 77 people confirmed dead short time later french interior minister said death toll risen 80 18 others critical condition us president barack obama earlier condemned called appears horrific terrorist attack said us offered assistance france may need stand solidarity partnership france oldest ally respond recover attack witnesses described scenes chaos truck hit crowd looked saw like tsunami wave people running towards fast possibly could screaming top lungs dr kevin motamedi denver physician tour europe told nbc news grabbed started running fast possible basically complete mass hysteria scariest moment life easily motamedi said running could tell people front us idea anything going running grabbing people saying run go home related witnesses relate horror deadly french crash eric dratell american lawyer working london nice vacation wife dinner le sporting beach wife heard thought gunfire started running cover people started jumping promenade level onto beach dratell told nbc news guy jumped wife injured said took shelter 200 people area promenade people crowded toilet stalls dratell said shocking said immediate aftermath crash estrosi also nices former mayor tweeted french dear nicois driver truck appears made dozens deaths moment stay home info come related short history vehicles used weapons france edge since series coordinated terror attacks paris november left 130 people dead terror group isis claimed responsibility attack immediate claims responsibility isis official unofficial channels according flashpoint intelligence international terrorism research organization hollande said calling operational reserves help police sentinel operation allowing 10000 troops patrol would maintained said countrys military campaign terror group isis iraq syria would increase nothing shake us make us renounce fight terrorism hollande said frances ambassador us gérard araud said twitter sadness people wanted enjoy bastille day fireworks family friends sadness canadian prime minister justin trudeau said canadians shocked tonights attack nice sympathy victims solidarity french people related world reacts deadly attack france united nations security council condemned strongest terms barbaric cowardly terrorist attack took place nice members said statement nice city frances mediterranean coast popular tourists us state department said thursday evening information americans killed injured us secretary state john kerry encouraged americans nice contact friends family facebook activated safety check feature allows people alert loved ones whereabouts bastille day also known national day commemorates storming bastille prison french revolution 1789 bastille day reminded extraordinary resilience democratic values made france inspiration entire world know character french republic endure long devastating tragic loss life obama said
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<p>Stale, cool air pushed through 2172, the Foreign Affairs Committee room in the Rayburn building of the House of Representatives. Suited congressional leaders trickled into the cavernous room from separate doors on either side of the elevated dais, Republicans on the left and Democrats on the right, and ambled to their assigned, ranked seats. Dozens of attendees sat hushed in the back, waiting for the latest hearing to begin.</p>
<p>Titled “Securing US Interests Abroad: The FY 2014 Foreign Affairs Budget,” the April 17 hearing was one of the first to be held on President Obama’s budget for the next fiscal year. The hearing also marked the first time Secretary of State John Kerry testified before Congress in his new position.</p>
<p>Budget cuts are front of mind these days. The buzzwords surrounding fiscal austerity may be technical – sequestration, continuing resolution, furloughs – but concern about doing more with less is simple. Belt tightening touches everyone from the lawmakers who partake in these meetings, to the air trafficking controllers forced into furlough, to the teachers who lead our nation’s threatened Head Start programs. These thin days, even President Obama is taking a five percent pay cut.</p>
<p>But some who could be deeply affected by budget cuts are thousands of miles away from Rayburn 2172 – including the nearly seven million children around the world who die each year, largely of preventable causes, according to UNICEF.</p>
<p>So I was on Capitol Hill last week to get answers. How will the 2014 budget plan impact US global health work abroad? What impact could that have on children?</p>
<p>President Obama’s <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget" type="external">budget request</a>, released April 10, proposed a global health budget slightly higher than that of the continuing esolution for 2013. But House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s decreased international affairs budget plan would likely cut into the program.</p>
<p>Somewhere in between, in whatever budget number prevails, it’s unlikely that all global health programs will fare equally. Even within the Obama administration’s proposed budget, for example, some programs would see funding increases while others would see cuts.</p>
<p>“Foreign assistance is not charity or a favor we do for other nations,” Kerry said in a written budget summary statement released earlier this month. “It is a strategic imperative for America.”</p>
<p>Back in Rayburn 2172, Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) pounded the gavel to commence the hearing. And he also signaled his view that any such “imperative” may not be enough to justify spending.</p>
<p>In this budget climate, “wasteful spending is intolerable, but even good programs must be subject to prioritization,” Royce said. “We can’t do everything.”</p>
<p>And so began Secretary Kerry’s inaugural hearing, what became a volley of statements and questions between House representatives and Secretary Kerry, focused on a range of topics from recent developments in Iran and North Korea, to the transition in Afghanistan, to last year’s attack on the US consulate in Benghazi.</p>
<p>But largely absent from the conversation was the topic of global health funding.</p>
<p>In his opening remarks, Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) made brief mention of US work on HIV/AIDS through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), but that was one of the few specific references to a global health issue.</p>
<p>State Department and USAID foreign policy expenditures comprise just one percent of the overall federal budget, although most Americans believe that number is more like 25 percent, according to a widely cited 2010 World Public Opinion poll.</p>
<p>The US global health budget is a fraction of that pie, and, according to advocacy groups, has traditionally enjoyed strong bipartisan support. And yet, under the cuts proposed by the House budget, the international affairs budget would be cut more than 10 percent from fiscal year 2012, according to the US Global Leadership Coalition. Global health allocations could become casualties of that cut.</p>
<p>The morning of the House hearing, hours passed and congressmen (indeed, more than 80 percent are men, according to the US Congress Handbook) flitted in and out of the room. Some were beckoned by aides, others by a seeming desire to be anywhere but in their seats.</p>
<p>In the echoing hallways, some congressmen were willing to talk — briefly — about global health.</p>
<p>“We’ve got a $16.8 trillion national debt and something’s got to give,” said Congressman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), who voted for the 2014 Ryan budget. “I’m certainly aware that there is a place for aid to other countries. I think it’s in the US best interests, but… in these tough economic times as we are, it’s got to be on the table like everything else does for reductions.”</p>
<p>Asked for specifics, Chabot declined, like most of the dozen-or-so other lawmakers I caught in the hallway. As Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois and one of the youngest members of Congress put it, “I’d be going down a dangerous path to get into specific programs that we should and shouldn’t cut. I just think it’s something that we have to look at in general and understand the importance of foreign aid in the whole process.”</p>
<p>Other lawmakers had other matters on their mind. “I very much support what global health organizations have been trying to do,” said Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.). “But my scrutiny right now is probably … more looking at some of the foreign aid, military aid, that kind of thing.”</p>
<p>According to global health advocates I spoke with, some Republicans support global health programs quietly, behind closed doors, but can’t publically support them because their constituents do not.</p>
<p>In fact, only a handful of Republicans signed funding request letters addressed to the House appropriations committees over the last week that covered several global health budget lines, including PEPFAR and the Global Fund, tuberculosis, maternal and child health and nutrition, and international family planning and reproductive health.</p>
<p>Most of the lawmakers I spoke with said that they had not yet looked closely at Obama’s budget as it relates to global health, and that they planned to refine their views in the coming weeks as hearings unfold. “I really can’t tell you just how I’m going to prioritize everything yet,” said Charlie Dent (R-Pa.).</p>
<p>For organizations like InterAction, an umbrella aid advocacy organization, pushing for global health funding is an ongoing battle.</p>
<p>“We’re always playing defense, we’re always trying to push back, always trying to make our case,” said Jeremy Kadden, senior legislative manager. “It’s really important to understand that you’re not going to balance the budget based on cutting our accounts, but you will do a lot of damage to a lot of people around the world and really set our progress back.”</p>
<p>On a brief break from the proceedings, Committee Ranking Member Engel agreed with Commitee Chairman Royce that good programs will need to be prioritized and that not everything can be included in the 2014 budget. “I wish we could add more money,” Engel said. “Foreign assistance is inadequately funded, but we do the best with what we have.” &#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/130423/us-budget-cuts-global-health-spending-child-health" type="external">US budget negotiations threaten global health spending</a> &#160;</p>
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stale cool air pushed 2172 foreign affairs committee room rayburn building house representatives suited congressional leaders trickled cavernous room separate doors either side elevated dais republicans left democrats right ambled assigned ranked seats dozens attendees sat hushed back waiting latest hearing begin titled securing us interests abroad fy 2014 foreign affairs budget april 17 hearing one first held president obamas budget next fiscal year hearing also marked first time secretary state john kerry testified congress new position budget cuts front mind days buzzwords surrounding fiscal austerity may technical sequestration continuing resolution furloughs concern less simple belt tightening touches everyone lawmakers partake meetings air trafficking controllers forced furlough teachers lead nations threatened head start programs thin days even president obama taking five percent pay cut could deeply affected budget cuts thousands miles away rayburn 2172 including nearly seven million children around world die year largely preventable causes according unicef capitol hill last week get answers 2014 budget plan impact us global health work abroad impact could children president obamas budget request released april 10 proposed global health budget slightly higher continuing esolution 2013 house budget committee chairman paul ryans decreased international affairs budget plan would likely cut program somewhere whatever budget number prevails unlikely global health programs fare equally even within obama administrations proposed budget example programs would see funding increases others would see cuts foreign assistance charity favor nations kerry said written budget summary statement released earlier month strategic imperative america back rayburn 2172 committee chairman ed royce rcalif pounded gavel commence hearing also signaled view imperative may enough justify spending budget climate wasteful spending intolerable even good programs must subject prioritization royce said cant everything began secretary kerrys inaugural hearing became volley statements questions house representatives secretary kerry focused range topics recent developments iran north korea transition afghanistan last years attack us consulate benghazi largely absent conversation topic global health funding opening remarks committee ranking member eliot engel dny made brief mention us work hivaids presidents emergency plan aids relief pepfar one specific references global health issue state department usaid foreign policy expenditures comprise one percent overall federal budget although americans believe number like 25 percent according widely cited 2010 world public opinion poll us global health budget fraction pie according advocacy groups traditionally enjoyed strong bipartisan support yet cuts proposed house budget international affairs budget would cut 10 percent fiscal year 2012 according us global leadership coalition global health allocations could become casualties cut morning house hearing hours passed congressmen indeed 80 percent men according us congress handbook flitted room beckoned aides others seeming desire anywhere seats echoing hallways congressmen willing talk briefly global health weve got 168 trillion national debt somethings got give said congressman steve chabot rohio voted 2014 ryan budget im certainly aware place aid countries think us best interests tough economic times got table like everything else reductions asked specifics chabot declined like dozenorso lawmakers caught hallway adam kinzinger republican illinois one youngest members congress put id going dangerous path get specific programs shouldnt cut think something look general understand importance foreign aid whole process lawmakers matters mind much support global health organizations trying said matt salmon rariz scrutiny right probably looking foreign aid military aid kind thing according global health advocates spoke republicans support global health programs quietly behind closed doors cant publically support constituents fact handful republicans signed funding request letters addressed house appropriations committees last week covered several global health budget lines including pepfar global fund tuberculosis maternal child health nutrition international family planning reproductive health lawmakers spoke said yet looked closely obamas budget relates global health planned refine views coming weeks hearings unfold really cant tell im going prioritize everything yet said charlie dent rpa organizations like interaction umbrella aid advocacy organization pushing global health funding ongoing battle always playing defense always trying push back always trying make case said jeremy kadden senior legislative manager really important understand youre going balance budget based cutting accounts lot damage lot people around world really set progress back brief break proceedings committee ranking member engel agreed commitee chairman royce good programs need prioritized everything included 2014 budget wish could add money engel said foreign assistance inadequately funded best 160 globalpost160 us budget negotiations threaten global health spending 160
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<p>GENEVA — The Obama administration seems to be in the mood to start over with the U.N.’s Human Right Council after many years in which Washington viewed the forum as hopelessly&#160; anti-American and anti-Israeli.</p>
<p>Esther Brimmer, President Barack Obama’s new assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs, said in a briefing for reporters here that the administration was placing heavy emphasis on the fact that the United States plans to try to regain its seat on the U.N.’s Human Rights Council.</p>
<p>U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had already announced at the end of March that the U.S. would try to rejoin the council, but Brimmer’s two-day trip to Geneva, coming only a few weeks after being confirmed in her post on April 2, adds a new sense of urgency. &#160;</p>
<p>Elections to the council are scheduled to be held in New York on May 12.</p>
<p>The U.S. had distanced itself from the Human Rights Council under former President George W. Bush, partly because a number of members were known for particularly egregious human rights abuses, and also because a strong contingent had virulently attacked Israel in a tone that reeked of anti-Semitism. &#160;</p>
<p>At a <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/diplomacy/090420/whos-calling-whom-racist" type="external">recent U.N. conference on racism here</a>, a featured speaker, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, launched yet another vitriolic attack against both Israel and the United States. More than a few critics pointed out that Iran, which apparently feels comfortable stoning women to death for the crime of adultery or putting writers in prison for expressing what the regime considers to be impolitic ideas, is hardly in a position to lecture anyone concerning human rights.</p>
<p>Some of the other members of the council have equally shaky records on human rights, but it was also becoming obvious that by boycotting the Human Rights Council, the United States had simply allowed a number of unsavory actors to steal the show.</p>
<p>Speaking to reporters here, Brimmer said that the U.S. had made a major effort to attend the anti-racism conference, and had sent a high-level delegation to talk with more than 30 delegates here in Geneva, but had decided in the end that it was too late in the game to change the agenda and that to attend would be counterproductive.</p>
<p>“The administration is committed to seeing how we can address racism issues,” she said. Privately, diplomats suggested that the mistake had been not to be present at the planning on the Human Rights Council three years earlier when the U.S. might have been able to influence the process.</p>
<p>Brimmer plans to talk to a variety of U.N. agencies. She is meeting with officials at the World Health Organization, where the Mexican swine flu will be a major topic, and with the World Meteorological Organization, which is focused on climate change. A meeting with the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Refugees is also planned. But it is her meeting with the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights that is likely to be the most politically sensitive.</p>
<p>The reason is that a U.N. team, headed by South African judge and former war-crimes prosecutor Richard Goldstone, is preparing to head off to Israel and Gaza for a fact-finding mission to investigate allegations of war crimes by Israeli troops. Goldstone, who began a week of planning meetings in Geneva on Monday, is a respected personality, and depending on how he handles the mission, it could either dampen or further inflame an already tense situation.</p>
<p>What makes Goldstone’s mission more potentially explosive is the fact that the U.N. is not the only organization calling for an investigation into Israel’s conduct during its incursion into Gaza. &#160;</p>
<p>Some Israelis are also beginning to ask their own questions about what really happened in the fighting that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1,400 civilians. &#160;</p>
<p>In Monday’s Jerusalem Post, Arik W. Ascherman, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, <a href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&amp;cid=1239710862927" type="external">writing in an op-ed, entitled, “Let’s Face the Allegations,”</a> also called for an independent investigation. Ascherman based his call on statements made by Israeli soldiers at a pre-military preparatory course at Oranim Academic College in Tivon. &#160;</p>
<p>According to the Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, which broke the story, dozens of Israeli soldiers had talked openly about lax rules of engagement, and the readiness of soldiers to shoot civilians at the slightest provocation on the grounds that they were only Arabs. &#160;</p>
<p>Based on the Haaretz account, the incidents included an Israeli soldier allegedly shooting an old woman at a distance of 100 yards, and another soldier forcing a mother and her two children to step out into the street where an Israeli sniper shot and killed them. &#160;</p>
<p>An Israeli Defense Force investigation into the allegations concluded that there had been no wrongdoing on the part of the Israeli military, but Ascherman points out that the investigation only lasted 11 days before it was shut down, and that the IDF can hardly be expected to be objective, or for that matter credible, in investigating itself.&#160; &#160;</p>
<p>The Goldstone fact-finding mission could either exonerate Israel or further complicate the already tense situation in the Middle East. That alone is a powerful argument for the U.S. re-engaging in the U.N. process and exerting what influence it can to try to see that there is a balanced dialogue. &#160;</p>
<p>The conservative Washington-based Heritage Foundation, which has a long record of criticizing attempts to reengage with the U.N., is planning a day of debates and lectures on May 8, titled, “Can the Obama Administration Make the UN Human Rights Council Effective?”</p>
<p>Asked pointedly by reporters about her opinion of the Goldstone fact-finding mission Brimmer was studiously neutral.</p>
<p>“We hope that it will take a fair and balanced approach to the problem,” she said. &#160; Pressed further, she added, “All countries should observe human rights … all countries are subject to review.”</p>
<p>More GlobalPost dispatches on the United Nations:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/worldview/090406/why-eleanor-roosevelt-rolling-over-her-grave" type="external">Why Eleanor Roosevelt is rolling over in her grave</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/europe/090414/gypsies-relocated-un-remain-toxic-land" type="external">Gypsies relocated by UN remain on toxic land</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/diplomacy/090411/struggling-change-unhcr" type="external">Struggling to change UNHCR</a></p>
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geneva obama administration seems mood start uns human right council many years washington viewed forum hopelessly160 antiamerican antiisraeli esther brimmer president barack obamas new assistant secretary state international organization affairs said briefing reporters administration placing heavy emphasis fact united states plans try regain seat uns human rights council us secretary state hillary clinton already announced end march us would try rejoin council brimmers twoday trip geneva coming weeks confirmed post april 2 adds new sense urgency 160 elections council scheduled held new york may 12 us distanced human rights council former president george w bush partly number members known particularly egregious human rights abuses also strong contingent virulently attacked israel tone reeked antisemitism 160 recent un conference racism featured speaker irans president mahmoud ahmadinejad launched yet another vitriolic attack israel united states critics pointed iran apparently feels comfortable stoning women death crime adultery putting writers prison expressing regime considers impolitic ideas hardly position lecture anyone concerning human rights members council equally shaky records human rights also becoming obvious boycotting human rights council united states simply allowed number unsavory actors steal show speaking reporters brimmer said us made major effort attend antiracism conference sent highlevel delegation talk 30 delegates geneva decided end late game change agenda attend would counterproductive administration committed seeing address racism issues said privately diplomats suggested mistake present planning human rights council three years earlier us might able influence process brimmer plans talk variety un agencies meeting officials world health organization mexican swine flu major topic world meteorological organization focused climate change meeting uns high commissioner refugees also planned meeting uns high commissioner human rights likely politically sensitive reason un team headed south african judge former warcrimes prosecutor richard goldstone preparing head israel gaza factfinding mission investigate allegations war crimes israeli troops goldstone began week planning meetings geneva monday respected personality depending handles mission could either dampen inflame already tense situation makes goldstones mission potentially explosive fact un organization calling investigation israels conduct incursion gaza 160 israelis also beginning ask questions really happened fighting resulted deaths estimated 1400 civilians 160 mondays jerusalem post arik w ascherman executive director rabbis human rights writing oped entitled lets face allegations also called independent investigation ascherman based call statements made israeli soldiers premilitary preparatory course oranim academic college tivon 160 according israeli newspaper haaretz broke story dozens israeli soldiers talked openly lax rules engagement readiness soldiers shoot civilians slightest provocation grounds arabs 160 based haaretz account incidents included israeli soldier allegedly shooting old woman distance 100 yards another soldier forcing mother two children step street israeli sniper shot killed 160 israeli defense force investigation allegations concluded wrongdoing part israeli military ascherman points investigation lasted 11 days shut idf hardly expected objective matter credible investigating itself160 160 goldstone factfinding mission could either exonerate israel complicate already tense situation middle east alone powerful argument us reengaging un process exerting influence try see balanced dialogue 160 conservative washingtonbased heritage foundation long record criticizing attempts reengage un planning day debates lectures may 8 titled obama administration make un human rights council effective asked pointedly reporters opinion goldstone factfinding mission brimmer studiously neutral hope take fair balanced approach problem said 160 pressed added countries observe human rights countries subject review globalpost dispatches united nations eleanor roosevelt rolling grave gypsies relocated un remain toxic land struggling change unhcr
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<p>Change is coming fast in the country long known as Burma and now, officially as Myanmar. But it's not fast enough for many ordinary Burmese. They welcome the relaxed political environment, the ability to talk freely about their pro-democracy heroine Aung San Suu Kyi. Now they want a freer and fairer economy — without the hassle of working around continuing US and European sanctions.</p>
<p>In an open air teashop, on a dusty corner in Yangon, I sat down with 27-year-old Burmese-American Richard Soe. He left his home in Austin, Texas, to come to Myanmar.</p>
<p>"I wanted to make money," Soe said. "I didn't want to live day to day, like I did living in America. I felt if I came here, I could be somebody."</p>
<p>In Texas, he was often mistaken for Mexican. Few people knew what Burma was. Now that he's here, he's learned Burmese, and has started going by his Burmese name, Thant Zin Soe. He said he feels more at home here than he did in the United States.</p>
<p>"I like it here. Even though it's not a free country, you can do everything freely. For instance, you can walk down the street, day and night, here and you won't get harassed. I've seen some people drunk here. They can't walk, and strangers come and ask them where they live, and take them home," Soe said. He added that back home in the US, if you're drunk like that, you might get robbed or arrested.</p>
<p>Myanmar was even less a free country when Soe arrived here in October 2007. It was just weeks after troops opened fire on pro-democracy demonstrators.</p>
<p>"People don't talk about it here. People are afraid to talk about it here." Even now.</p>
<p>It's still not free here, Soe said. "You can't say whatever you want. You can't do whatever you want."</p>
<p>But that's changing. Burmese say openly now what they might not have whispered a year. Thirty-two-year-old Ko Nay Min, who joins us at our low wooden table in the teashop, was born and raised in Burma, and he shows no fear in telling me he was a flag-waving protester in 2007.</p>
<p>Ko describes the moment when troops opened fire, when he saw other protesters around him drop, and he took a bullet in the back. He pulls back his shirt to show me the scar. He said they all ran when they heard the gunshots.</p>
<p>Back then, he said, he fled to Thailand for three months, to avoid arrest. Now, he thinks things are going as they should have long ago — and he can focus on business. He and Richard Soe have been trying to start a company importing South Korean cars and buses to feed Myanmar's growing appetite for vehicles.</p>
<p>"Starting a business here — especially here — is not easy, because we have to have the connections," Richard Soe said. "When I started, I didn't know him, and I didn't speak Burmese. It's not easy, you know? But then I met him, and he's got a lot of connections here."</p>
<p>Those connections have helped the two young business partners figure out how to work around US and European sanctions, which make it hard to get lines of credit or do international banking.</p>
<p>It's a complicated business. Soe said the cars and buses go from Korea to Singapore and then on to Myanmar. Soe, Ko and a Korean colleague are responsible for getting the vehicles from South Korea to Singapore; then a Singapore-based company run by Burmese officials picks it up from there, importing the vehicles into Myanmar.</p>
<p>Aside from the irony of doing business with officials from the same government that put a bullet in your back, the guys have found that the Burmese officials in Singapore haven't been all that reliable as business partners.</p>
<p>Ko said the Burmese officials are always changing their minds, "they don't keep their word."</p>
<p>They've sold 10 buses to government departments so far, with 10 more on the way. Once the US lifts sanctions, allowing the use of credit cards, international banking and telecommunications in Burma, Soe and Ko hope to cut out the Singapore connection, and have their own vehicle import business in Myanmar.</p>
<p>They may have to wait a while, though. US relations with Myanmar are improving since Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit in December, but lifting sanctions isn't like flipping a switch, said Burmese historian Thant Myint U.</p>
<p>"Washington now says it will raise relations, or diplomatic relations, to ambassador level," he said. "It's rolled back some small sanctions, but there is still a whole set of laws on the books that restrict economic relations between Myanmar and the US that essentially means it restricts relations between Myanmar and global markets in general. This is going to take a long time to undo. It's going to require new legislation. It's going to require action from Congress."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Myanmar's reforms have raised expectations of more foreign investment coming in, which has in some cases tripled or quadrupled rents, and driven up inflation. Ko Nay Min said political reform and new foreign investment is all well and good, but the government should be doing more about the fact that a lot of people are finding it hard to make ends meet.</p>
<p>A lot of people are living on the street and begging and having no food, he said. "The government is just ignoring it and pretending it's not happening."</p>
<p>Ko Nay Min hopes the current political reforms bring not just more democracy, but a better deal for ordinary Burmese. For one thing, the government could drop the requirement to pay $10,000 for a permit that gives you the right to buy a car. That would give him and Soe more potential customers for their imports. It would also make him feel the risks he and others took protesting on the streets four years ago helped — in some small way — steer his country in the right direction.</p>
| false | 3 |
change coming fast country long known burma officially myanmar fast enough many ordinary burmese welcome relaxed political environment ability talk freely prodemocracy heroine aung san suu kyi want freer fairer economy without hassle working around continuing us european sanctions open air teashop dusty corner yangon sat 27yearold burmeseamerican richard soe left home austin texas come myanmar wanted make money soe said didnt want live day day like living america felt came could somebody texas often mistaken mexican people knew burma hes hes learned burmese started going burmese name thant zin soe said feels home united states like even though free country everything freely instance walk street day night wont get harassed ive seen people drunk cant walk strangers come ask live take home soe said added back home us youre drunk like might get robbed arrested myanmar even less free country soe arrived october 2007 weeks troops opened fire prodemocracy demonstrators people dont talk people afraid talk even still free soe said cant say whatever want cant whatever want thats changing burmese say openly might whispered year thirtytwoyearold ko nay min joins us low wooden table teashop born raised burma shows fear telling flagwaving protester 2007 ko describes moment troops opened fire saw protesters around drop took bullet back pulls back shirt show scar said ran heard gunshots back said fled thailand three months avoid arrest thinks things going long ago focus business richard soe trying start company importing south korean cars buses feed myanmars growing appetite vehicles starting business especially easy connections richard soe said started didnt know didnt speak burmese easy know met hes got lot connections connections helped two young business partners figure work around us european sanctions make hard get lines credit international banking complicated business soe said cars buses go korea singapore myanmar soe ko korean colleague responsible getting vehicles south korea singapore singaporebased company run burmese officials picks importing vehicles myanmar aside irony business officials government put bullet back guys found burmese officials singapore havent reliable business partners ko said burmese officials always changing minds dont keep word theyve sold 10 buses government departments far 10 way us lifts sanctions allowing use credit cards international banking telecommunications burma soe ko hope cut singapore connection vehicle import business myanmar may wait though us relations myanmar improving since secretary state hillary clintons visit december lifting sanctions isnt like flipping switch said burmese historian thant myint u washington says raise relations diplomatic relations ambassador level said rolled back small sanctions still whole set laws books restrict economic relations myanmar us essentially means restricts relations myanmar global markets general going take long time undo going require new legislation going require action congress meanwhile myanmars reforms raised expectations foreign investment coming cases tripled quadrupled rents driven inflation ko nay min said political reform new foreign investment well good government fact lot people finding hard make ends meet lot people living street begging food said government ignoring pretending happening ko nay min hopes current political reforms bring democracy better deal ordinary burmese one thing government could drop requirement pay 10000 permit gives right buy car would give soe potential customers imports would also make feel risks others took protesting streets four years ago helped small way steer country right direction
| 540 |
<p>CHICAMA, Peru — The cold Pacific waters massage my dusty feet as I survey the perfectly peeling break just 60 feet in front of me.</p>
<p>After walking nearly a mile barefoot over a baking, rocky desert, the sensory release — and relief — coming from my suffering soles is extreme.</p>
<p>Surfers are a hardy bunch and will put up with all kinds of suffering to catch a wave or two. But it’s not usually like this.&#160;</p>
<p>For most, wipeouts, sunburn, sharp coral, and even the risk of a hungry shark mistaking them for a juicy seal, are all taken as given.&#160;</p>
<p>Then there’s the paddling. That’s how surfers reach the break, lying face down on their boards, moving through the water front-crawl style.</p>
<p>It’s exhausting, slow work. Along with leaden arms, an aching back and a crick in your neck, you also have to avoid having your board slammed into your face by walls of seawater that pack more horsepower than an NFL lineman.</p>
<p>And all that for what amounts to a few fleeting seconds of the undeniably thrilling sensation of harnessing the ocean’s power and riding a wave. Even at some of the world’s best-known breaks, a ride can last under 10 seconds.</p>
<p>But not at Chicama. This remote, windswept break off Peru’s arid northern shore is thought to be the world’s longest wave. No one’s really sure, but the consensus among surfers is that its mile-long left is the record-holder. Check out what <a href="http://www.surfline.com/travel/tripwire/tripwire.cfm?id=1311" type="external">surfline.com</a> has to say. Or <a href="http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/8354-the-longest-waves-for-surfing-in-the-world" type="external">surftoday.com</a>’s take.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>In the above <a href="http://www.redbull.com/cs/Satellite/en_INT/Video/Cristobal-de-Col-rides-longest-wave-Red-Bull-Chicama-Challenge-2012-021243251466687" type="external">video</a>, Cristobal de Col, a rising Peruvian surf star, sets a world record of 34 “carved” turns at Chicama. Four or five would be a great ride for most surfers.</p>
<p>That makes Chicama yet another surfing highlight along Peru’s 1,500-mile coast. Here you’ll find breaks for all levels: from newbies just looking to learn to stand up to elite big wave riders risking life and limb on stories-high waves.&#160;</p>
<p>When Chicama’s four distinct sections connect, which requires a 6-foot-high swell, skillful surfers who have taken the days needed to study it can catch a ride for three to five minutes — an eternity in surfing.</p>
<p>That takes them from the point, an isolated rocky outcrop where the wave starts to peel, to a long industrial pier, jutting from the tiny fishing town of Chicama, on the barren coast.</p>
<p>Of course, they still have that 20-minute walk back to the point, and then the quick 60-second dash of paddling, to catch their next ride. But, given Chicama’s topography, the paddling-to-surfing time ratio here could not be tinier.</p>
<p>Even when the entire wave isn’t breaking, they’re still longer than most surfers’ fantasies.&#160;</p>
<p>“Chicama’s waves aren’t just long. They are perfectly shaped. They couldn’t break for as long as they do if they weren’t,” says Gino “Chato” Guillen, my surf-crazed neighbor in Lima who has agreed to show me around Chicama.&#160;</p>
<p>“You don’t need to surf the whole break to appreciate what’s special about this place,” adds Guillen, who is a surf instructor, judge on Latin America’s pro circuit and a tourist <a href="http://www.kunturtripsperu.com/" type="external">guide</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Chicama’s waves are also extremely reliable. While many other famous breaks around the world vary with the seasons, Chicama can be depended on year round to pump out beautifully formed breaks, like nature’s assembly line.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/peru/140606/location-video-can-cable-car-save-lost-inca-city" type="external">On Location Video: Can a cable car save this lost Inca ruin?</a>&#160;</p>
<p>No one knows Chicama’s break as well as Victor Castillo, a 50-year-old local fisherman and surfer, whose life story is inseparable from that of the wave.&#160;</p>
<p>He began surfing at age 6, back in 1972, when a couple of Hawaiians on a yacht pitched up at the sleepy village. The pair had been sailing down the coast from California, surfing any breaks they could find.</p>
<p>At Chicama, they quickly realized they had hit surfing’s holy grail — and stayed for a year, according to Castillo. He says they taught him to become the first local to surf and, when they finally left, they donated three old leash-less, wooden Hawaiian boards.</p>
<p>Castillo, who went on to become a national juvenile champion, says he was hooked. Yet many in the small town disapproved of his new obsession.</p>
<p>“They used to tell me that I came from a poor family and that I should be helping my dad instead of wasting my time surfing,” says Castillo, as he polishes off a lunch of ceviche, the citrus-marinated seafood dish typical of Peru, at his home overlooking the break.&#160;</p>
<p>“‘You are not a gringo,’ they would say. Now the same people who criticized me want their children to be surfers.”</p>
<p>That’s partly because surfing has done good by Chicama. It has brought a modest but steady trickle of tourists, allowing locals to set up restaurants, hotels and rental businesses.</p>
<p>Still today many hardy locals surf bare-chested in the cold Humboldt Current that wells up along most of Peru’s coast, without the expensive wetsuits that most gringo visitors wouldn’t think of entering the water without.</p>
<p>“Surfing has changed us for the better,” Castillo says. “It has changed the culture, and given us a new appreciation for the sea and the environment. Here, the fishermen respect the dolphins. No one would harm them. And we don’t litter the beach.”</p>
<p>Now at 50, a typical day for him begins in the early hours as he motors out to sea to retrieve his catch.&#160; He then surfs for a couple of hours around 6 a.m., when the waves are at their most “glassy” and perfectly sequenced, before taking it easy in the middle of the day. In the evening he heads out on his boat again to put the nets back down.</p>
<p>“When the surf is really up, I don’t fish,” he adds.</p>
<p>Above, Chato Guillen surfs about 10 percent of a Chicama wave earlier in January. Filmed by Jesus Florian Castillo for GlobalPost.</p>
<p>During my 48 hours in Chicama, the swell never grew enough for the entire, ridiculously long wave to connect its different sections. I also learned that surfing the whole thing requires some serious skills and several days of studying the break — neither of which I had.</p>
<p>But even just riding 5 percent of its entire length was a thrilling experience.&#160;</p>
<p>As one visiting surfer, Thor-Magnus Sveen, a 28-year-old Norwegian taking time out between jobs to surf Latin America, put it:&#160;</p>
<p>“People forget what surfing is about. But not here. “It’s about having fun, getting in the water, getting active in the sun. People here all seem to have a smile on their face. Where I come from, you are surfing in icy water, with a 6 millimeter wetsuit [i.e. really thick] and there aren’t even any waves.</p>
<p>“Chicama is a great place to surf, and to get better. It’s not too touristy and there is a really good vibe. Everyone here is friendly and I hope that never changes.</p>
<p>“The landscape is incredible too. The desert is really dramatic and the sunsets are huge because we are so close to the equator. They are amazing. And they are even more amazing if you see them from the water, while you are surfing.”</p>
<p>Thousands of years before the Hawaiian sport arrived in Peru, fishermen on tiny reed rafts here famously learned how to hitch a ride back to shore on the Pacific’s crashing waves. In&#160; modern times, one of surfing’s first ever world champions was <a href="http://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/pomar-felipe" type="external">Felipe Pomar</a>, a Lima local who won the crown back in 1965. Surfing is now a big part of the culture along Peru’s Pacific coast, which is home to many famous breaks. In addition to Chicama, known as the world’s longest wave ( <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/peru/150125/peruvian-surfing-chicama-longest-wave-pacific" type="external">see previous page</a>), here’s a selection of other prime surf spots.</p>
<p>Makaha</p>
<p>This famous Lima beach, next to the Rosa Nautica pier, is a great place to catch your first wave. Various surf schools will rent you a board and wetsuit on the spot and set you up with an instructor.</p>
<p>Pampilla and Punta Roquitas</p>
<p>These are two other classic Lima breaks a few minutes’ walk to the right of Makaha. Pampilla is a longish break, running up to 70 yards on a good day, where longboarders often hang. A bit farther along is Punta Roquitas, where younger surfers on shorter boards show off their tricks.</p>
<p>Punta Hermosa</p>
<p>Forty-five minutes south of Lima, this surf hotspot is home to numerous breaks including Señoritas and Caballeros, where the 2010 World Surfing Games, <a href="http://www.surfertoday.com/surfing/4356-peru-makes-history-in-the-isa-world-surfing-games" type="external">won by Peru</a>, were staged, and Pico Alto, a humungous wave that doesn’t even start breaking until the swell reaches around 12 feet. Pico Alto is now a staple of the world big wave circuit and, when it’s pumping, hosts some of the biggest names in global surfing.&#160; &#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
chicama peru cold pacific waters massage dusty feet survey perfectly peeling break 60 feet front walking nearly mile barefoot baking rocky desert sensory release relief coming suffering soles extreme surfers hardy bunch put kinds suffering catch wave two usually like this160 wipeouts sunburn sharp coral even risk hungry shark mistaking juicy seal taken given160 theres paddling thats surfers reach break lying face boards moving water frontcrawl style exhausting slow work along leaden arms aching back crick neck also avoid board slammed face walls seawater pack horsepower nfl lineman amounts fleeting seconds undeniably thrilling sensation harnessing oceans power riding wave even worlds bestknown breaks ride last 10 seconds chicama remote windswept break perus arid northern shore thought worlds longest wave ones really sure consensus among surfers milelong left recordholder check surflinecom say surftodaycoms take 160 video cristobal de col rising peruvian surf star sets world record 34 carved turns chicama four five would great ride surfers makes chicama yet another surfing highlight along perus 1500mile coast youll find breaks levels newbies looking learn stand elite big wave riders risking life limb storieshigh waves160 chicamas four distinct sections connect requires 6foothigh swell skillful surfers taken days needed study catch ride three five minutes eternity surfing takes point isolated rocky outcrop wave starts peel long industrial pier jutting tiny fishing town chicama barren coast course still 20minute walk back point quick 60second dash paddling catch next ride given chicamas topography paddlingtosurfing time ratio could tinier even entire wave isnt breaking theyre still longer surfers fantasies160 chicamas waves arent long perfectly shaped couldnt break long werent says gino chato guillen surfcrazed neighbor lima agreed show around chicama160 dont need surf whole break appreciate whats special place adds guillen surf instructor judge latin americas pro circuit tourist guide160 chicamas waves also extremely reliable many famous breaks around world vary seasons chicama depended year round pump beautifully formed breaks like natures assembly line globalpost location video cable car save lost inca ruin160 one knows chicamas break well victor castillo 50yearold local fisherman surfer whose life story inseparable wave160 began surfing age 6 back 1972 couple hawaiians yacht pitched sleepy village pair sailing coast california surfing breaks could find chicama quickly realized hit surfings holy grail stayed year according castillo says taught become first local surf finally left donated three old leashless wooden hawaiian boards castillo went become national juvenile champion says hooked yet many small town disapproved new obsession used tell came poor family helping dad instead wasting time surfing says castillo polishes lunch ceviche citrusmarinated seafood dish typical peru home overlooking break160 gringo would say people criticized want children surfers thats partly surfing done good chicama brought modest steady trickle tourists allowing locals set restaurants hotels rental businesses still today many hardy locals surf barechested cold humboldt current wells along perus coast without expensive wetsuits gringo visitors wouldnt think entering water without surfing changed us better castillo says changed culture given us new appreciation sea environment fishermen respect dolphins one would harm dont litter beach 50 typical day begins early hours motors sea retrieve catch160 surfs couple hours around 6 waves glassy perfectly sequenced taking easy middle day evening heads boat put nets back surf really dont fish adds chato guillen surfs 10 percent chicama wave earlier january filmed jesus florian castillo globalpost 48 hours chicama swell never grew enough entire ridiculously long wave connect different sections also learned surfing whole thing requires serious skills several days studying break neither even riding 5 percent entire length thrilling experience160 one visiting surfer thormagnus sveen 28yearold norwegian taking time jobs surf latin america put it160 people forget surfing fun getting water getting active sun people seem smile face come surfing icy water 6 millimeter wetsuit ie really thick arent even waves chicama great place surf get better touristy really good vibe everyone friendly hope never changes landscape incredible desert really dramatic sunsets huge close equator amazing even amazing see water surfing thousands years hawaiian sport arrived peru fishermen tiny reed rafts famously learned hitch ride back shore pacifics crashing waves in160 modern times one surfings first ever world champions felipe pomar lima local crown back 1965 surfing big part culture along perus pacific coast home many famous breaks addition chicama known worlds longest wave see previous page heres selection prime surf spots makaha famous lima beach next rosa nautica pier great place catch first wave various surf schools rent board wetsuit spot set instructor pampilla punta roquitas two classic lima breaks minutes walk right makaha pampilla longish break running 70 yards good day longboarders often hang bit farther along punta roquitas younger surfers shorter boards show tricks punta hermosa fortyfive minutes south lima surf hotspot home numerous breaks including señoritas caballeros 2010 world surfing games peru staged pico alto humungous wave doesnt even start breaking swell reaches around 12 feet pico alto staple world big wave circuit pumping hosts biggest names global surfing160 160
| 817 |
<p>I met Abdullah Shawky last fall on the Greek island of Lesbos in the midst of the refugee crisis.&#160;He's a regional emergencies director for <a href="http://irusa.org/" type="external">Islamic Relief USA</a>&#160;and had come to Greece with a small team to offer aid to the refugees.</p>
<p>The day we met, the Greek coast guard had rescued refugees at sea and towed their boat into the port of Molyvos.&#160;I watched as Abdullah and two of his colleagues, Rihab Aslami and Fahima Rakmansi, greeted the wet, frightened people and helped them navigate their dramatic arrival to Europe.</p>
<p>They were a blur of activity and in high demand because of their Arabic and Farsi language skills.&#160;Abdullah was born in California to Egyptian parents and now lives in Dallas.&#160;Rihab and Fahima both live in California, but came to the United States as refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan.&#160;In <a href="" type="internal">an interview with PRI's The World</a> from Lesbos last fall, I talked about how moving it was to see former refugees helping new refugees.</p>
<p />
<p>The front of the Flint Water Plant is seen in Flint, Michigan January 13, 2016.</p>
<p>Rebecca Cook/Reuters</p>
<p>A few months later I was back in the US and called Abdullah.&#160;Among other things, I wanted to know how the climate of increasing Islamophobia was impacting him.&#160;He told me, in his characteristic upbeat manner, that he wasn’t very concerned.&#160;It was nothing more than the usual election-time political rhetoric; people continued to appreciate their work.&#160;</p>
<p>As an example, he told me that when his team deployed to help survivors of a Texas tornado in December, many people went out of their way to thank them and say that not all Americans think like Donald Trump.</p>
<p>Islamic Relief’s next deployment, he told me, was to Flint, Michigan, where lead in the drinking water has caused a major health emergency.</p>
<p>The last time I saw Abdullah, he was distributing bottles of water and other supplies to Syrian refugees in Lesbos; now he was doing something eerily similar in the US.&#160;Since the disastrous decision to swap the city’s water supply to the corrosive Flint River two years ago, Flint’s tap water has been contaminated with dangerous levels of lead.&#160;Islamic Relief has joined with the Red Cross, FEMA and many other agencies and volunteers in a massive effort to distribute bottled water and filters to some 30,000 homes.</p>
<p>When I arrived in Flint,&#160;I joined Abdullah at the Flint Islamic Center to watch as they recruited volunteers for Saturday and Sunday.&#160;It was Friday and Imam Muhammad Abdullah Waheed was delivering his weekly khutbah, or sermon.&#160;I pulled my scarf over my head and sat among the female worshippers in the back of the mosque and listened as the imam urged everyone to volunteer for Flint.&#160;“There’s a community in Flint that needs help,” he boomed in English, peppered with a little Arabic.&#160;“It’s our community.&#160;They’re going through a water crisis.&#160;Who’s going to support?”</p>
<p>As Abdullah worked the crowd after the service encouraging as many people as possible to sign up, I sat down with Imam Waheed in his office.&#160;“Sometimes people have this misconception that we are serving people of the same faith.&#160;That isn’t true,” he told me.&#160;“As Muslims, we are taught by our prophet and our tradition that we need to serve everyone, irrespective of what ethnicity or religion.”</p>
<p>Most of the approximately 1,500 Muslims in the greater Flint area live in the suburbs and aren’t directly affected by the contaminated tap water.&#160;But the imam is adamant that the entire community should show up and help.&#160;He also feels it's the best response to bigotry.&#160;“So how do we combat it?&#160;We don’t do it forcefully, neither do we do it insultingly,” he said. “The best tool is performing virtuous and compassionate acts for those who are suffering from the water crisis in Flint.”</p>
<p />
<p>Abdullah Shawky pulls a dolly of water for residents of Flint, Michigan.</p>
<p>Courtesy of&#160;Ridwan Adhami/Islamic Relief USA</p>
<p>The next morning the Islamic Relief staff and about 75 volunteers headed out to public housing projects in north Flint, an economically depressed area of the city.&#160;I walked along with a gaggle of young people in blue and white “Islamic Relief” vests as they pulled heavy dollies of water down the hall,&#160;knocking on doors and calling out “volunteers with water.”</p>
<p>I chatted with a few residents in the hallway about how difficult it is to use bottled water for all their household needs.&#160;Eugene Walker, who is about 6-foot-4, told me that having to bathe&#160;with bottled water made him feel like an infant: “When you first have a newborn baby and you have to do the baby in the sink — that’s what it’s like, like I’m reliving a baby’s life all over again.”</p>
<p>Later Angela Howell, a 57-year-old retired Flint resident,&#160;told me how angry she was.&#160;“When you get a case of bottled water per household and you have to drink off that water, cook on that water, wipe your kids’ faces with that water — it’s not working. You shouldn’t have to live like that.&#160;We’re not a third world country.&#160;We’re America.&#160;We’re the strongest country in the land.”</p>
<p>As they hauled their empty dollies back to the truck, I spoke with Zanib Salman, a high school teacher, about why she had come all the way from suburban Detroit to help.&#160;“According to the UN,&#160;water is a basic right and unfortunately this community is not getting access to that basic right,”&#160;she said.&#160;“I live in Canton.&#160;I grew up in Bloomfield Hills in Troy and the disparity between the communities is troubling.”</p>
<p>The next day, I head out with Abdullah in the truck.&#160;When we reach our destination, a housing complex in north Flint where Islamic Relief is suppose to hand out water, we find an empty corpse of a building.&#160;Flint has fallen on hard times since its heyday in the 1980s when GM still employed some 70,000 people.&#160;The population has shrunk in half and much of north Flint consists of half empty blocks with burned out, boarded up&#160;or dilapidated housing.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>I never found out how it was that Abdullah was given that address.&#160;It seems not even the Red Cross knows which buildings are abandoned.&#160;</p>
<p>Over the last two weekends, Islamic Relief has distributed two semi-trucks full of water — that’s one 24-bottle case each for 3,000 households.&#160;FEMA, the Red Cross&#160;and many other agencies, businesses and individuals&#160;are also helping in the mammoth effort.&#160;Approximately 30,000 households need water every day.</p>
<p>Even though the city switched back to the Detroit water system in October, test results from January 31 still show unhealthy lead levels in many homes.&#160;It’s not clear how long it will be until the drinking water is safe again.&#160;For now, the clean water people require does not reliably come out of the tap in Flint.</p>
<p>Abdullah continued to drive.&#160;“It literally looks like a war zone out here,” he said as we passed through block after block of abandoned, burned&#160;and gutted houses. “There are certain blocks that are so run down they resemble pictures out of&#160;[bombed] Syrian neighborhoods.”</p>
<p>We started talking about the Syrians on Lesbos again, where we met.&#160;We saw thousands of refugees forced to leave home and seek safety elsewhere.&#160;Now, in Flint, we were again seeing people where were seeking safety — but inside their own homes.</p>
<p>“The similarities are pretty striking,” he said about the refugees and the people in Flint. “If anything here, they resemble internally displaced peoples within their own country. How can this be happening in the United States?”</p>
| false | 3 |
met abdullah shawky last fall greek island lesbos midst refugee crisis160hes regional emergencies director islamic relief usa160and come greece small team offer aid refugees day met greek coast guard rescued refugees sea towed boat port molyvos160i watched abdullah two colleagues rihab aslami fahima rakmansi greeted wet frightened people helped navigate dramatic arrival europe blur activity high demand arabic farsi language skills160abdullah born california egyptian parents lives dallas160rihab fahima live california came united states refugees iraq afghanistan160in interview pris world lesbos last fall talked moving see former refugees helping new refugees front flint water plant seen flint michigan january 13 2016 rebecca cookreuters months later back us called abdullah160among things wanted know climate increasing islamophobia impacting him160he told characteristic upbeat manner wasnt concerned160it nothing usual electiontime political rhetoric people continued appreciate work160 example told team deployed help survivors texas tornado december many people went way thank say americans think like donald trump islamic reliefs next deployment told flint michigan lead drinking water caused major health emergency last time saw abdullah distributing bottles water supplies syrian refugees lesbos something eerily similar us160since disastrous decision swap citys water supply corrosive flint river two years ago flints tap water contaminated dangerous levels lead160islamic relief joined red cross fema many agencies volunteers massive effort distribute bottled water filters 30000 homes arrived flint160i joined abdullah flint islamic center watch recruited volunteers saturday sunday160it friday imam muhammad abdullah waheed delivering weekly khutbah sermon160i pulled scarf head sat among female worshippers back mosque listened imam urged everyone volunteer flint160theres community flint needs help boomed english peppered little arabic160its community160theyre going water crisis160whos going support abdullah worked crowd service encouraging many people possible sign sat imam waheed office160sometimes people misconception serving people faith160that isnt true told me160as muslims taught prophet tradition need serve everyone irrespective ethnicity religion approximately 1500 muslims greater flint area live suburbs arent directly affected contaminated tap water160but imam adamant entire community show help160he also feels best response bigotry160so combat it160we dont forcefully neither insultingly said best tool performing virtuous compassionate acts suffering water crisis flint abdullah shawky pulls dolly water residents flint michigan courtesy of160ridwan adhamiislamic relief usa next morning islamic relief staff 75 volunteers headed public housing projects north flint economically depressed area city160i walked along gaggle young people blue white islamic relief vests pulled heavy dollies water hall160knocking doors calling volunteers water chatted residents hallway difficult use bottled water household needs160eugene walker 6foot4 told bathe160with bottled water made feel like infant first newborn baby baby sink thats like like im reliving babys life later angela howell 57yearold retired flint resident160told angry was160when get case bottled water per household drink water cook water wipe kids faces water working shouldnt live like that160were third world country160were america160were strongest country land hauled empty dollies back truck spoke zanib salman high school teacher come way suburban detroit help160according un160water basic right unfortunately community getting access basic right160she said160i live canton160i grew bloomfield hills troy disparity communities troubling next day head abdullah truck160when reach destination housing complex north flint islamic relief suppose hand water find empty corpse building160flint fallen hard times since heyday 1980s gm still employed 70000 people160the population shrunk half much north flint consists half empty blocks burned boarded up160or dilapidated housing160160 never found abdullah given address160it seems even red cross knows buildings abandoned160 last two weekends islamic relief distributed two semitrucks full water thats one 24bottle case 3000 households160fema red cross160and many agencies businesses individuals160are also helping mammoth effort160approximately 30000 households need water every day even though city switched back detroit water system october test results january 31 still show unhealthy lead levels many homes160its clear long drinking water safe again160for clean water people require reliably come tap flint abdullah continued drive160it literally looks like war zone said passed block block abandoned burned160and gutted houses certain blocks run resemble pictures of160bombed syrian neighborhoods started talking syrians lesbos met160we saw thousands refugees forced leave home seek safety elsewhere160now flint seeing people seeking safety inside homes similarities pretty striking said refugees people flint anything resemble internally displaced peoples within country happening united states
| 676 |
<p>LISBON, Portugal — The terror attack that killed 12 people in Paris on Wednesday will have come as little surprise to Europe's police and intelligence services.</p>
<p>For months, they've regarded the prospect of a mass killing in Europe by isolated gunmen or small groups of Islamist terrorists as a question of when rather than if.</p>
<p>France has been a particular target. Officials there say hundreds of French Muslims who are believed to have gained military experience fighting with radical groups in Syria and Iraq.</p>
<p>Calls from radicals to attack civilians in France have multiplied following French military action against Islamist militants in West Africa and the participation of French warplanes in US-led airstrikes against the so-called Islamic State group in Iraq.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/150107/masked-gunmen-kill-12-at-satirical-magazine-paris-live-bl" type="external">Follow the live blog for updates</a></p>
<p>President Francois Hollande acknowledged the scale of the danger when he visited the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo where journalists, cartoonists and police officers where gunned down by two masked men shouting "God is Great" in Arabic.</p>
<p>"We are in an extremely difficult moment. Several terrorist attacks have been thwarted in recent weeks," Hollande told reporters. "We know we are under threat."</p>
<p>His Prime Minister Manuel Valls warned just before Christmas that France had "never before faced such a great danger in terms of terrorism."</p>
<p>Wednesday's shooting is the deadliest suspected Islamist attack on French territory and is sure to crank up fear in a country already tense after a series of recent incidents.</p>
<p>In 2012, Mohammed Merah killed three children and a teacher at a Jewish school and three French soldiers during a shooting spree in southwest France.</p>
<p>Another French Muslim, Mehdi Nemmouche — who is believed to have fought in Syria — is facing trial for the deaths of four people shot at a Jewish museum in Brussels, Belgium, last May.</p>
<p>Extra troops have been deployed in the streets since last month after pre-Christmas attacks in three cities, which included vehicles driving into shoppers and police officers wounded by a knife-wielding Muslim convert.</p>
<p>The authorities had sought to allay public concerns by characterizing the December attacks as the acts of disturbed and isolated individuals. That drew ire from the far-right National Front opposition party which accused the government of minimizing the threat from Islamist terrorists.</p>
<p>Although Charlie Hebdo is a left-wing publication that frequently savaged National Front leader Marine Le Pen, many will see Wednesday's attack as vindicating her concern.</p>
<p>Le Pen is already riding high in opinion polls after feeding off widespread unease among French voters over perceived threats to the country's social and economic models from global trade and the euro-zone debt crisis, as well as worries over immigration and the influence of Islam.</p>
<p>Hollande declared Thursday a day of national mourning and was quick to appeal for unity after the attack amid worries it could feed into growing Islamophobia.</p>
<p>"Our greatest weapon is unity, the unity of all citizens to face up to this challenge," the president told the nation in a televised address. "We must rally together, then we will win."</p>
<p>As night fell, citizens in Paris and in cities around France responded to the murders by gathering in huge silent crowds. Many waved pens as a symbol of media freedom, or carried signs bearing the slogan "Je Suis Charlie" (I Am Charlie).</p>
<p>Against that backdrop, rights groups fear Wednesday’s attack could fuel intolerance against Western Europe's largest Muslim community. Muslims — most with roots in former French colonies in North Africa — are estimated to represent between 5 percent and 10 percent of the population.</p>
<p>"This type of tragedy will only strengthen the Islamophobia which has developed during the past couple of years," Jean-Michel Delambre, a cartoonist with a rival paper who was friends with many of Wednesday's victims at Charlie Hebdo, told Nord Littoral newspaper in northern France.</p>
<p>"I fear it will reinforce the current climate of hate and division that is rife in France."</p>
<p>Ironically the attack on Charlie Hebdo — apparently in response to the paper's frequent mocking of Islamic fundamentalism — came in a week where its cover lampooned one of France's leading authors Michel Houellebecq, who faces accusations of encouraging Islamophobia in his new novel.</p>
<p>The book "Submission" which was published Wednesday has created a furore for depicting a France in 2022 with a Muslim president who imposes conservative Islamic rule.</p>
<p>It comes on the heels of the runaway success of "The French Suicide," a nonfiction work by journalist Eric Zemmour, who claims national identity is being undermined by such factors as immigration, feminism and gay rights. He advocates deporting Muslims to avoid a civil war.</p>
<p>Although both books have been denounced as fear mongering and inciting hate — they currently sit in first and second place on the bestseller list of Amazon's French site.</p>
<p>Such concerns are not limited to France.</p>
<p>Germany has seen a spate of mass demonstrations in recent weeks by a group calling itself "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West." Anti-immigration or Islamophobic parties scored electoral successes in several other European countries last year.</p>
<p>Law enforcement officers and rights campaigners are concerned Europe risks getting sucked into a vicious circle where Islamist violence increases intolerance and prejudice against Muslims, leading in turn to more disaffected youngsters falling prey to radicalization.</p>
<p>"Those who commit this type of murders want to see that kind of linkage, they want it to get people going against one another," warned Dominique Sopo, president of the French campaign group SOS Racisme. "We'll be giving them a gift if we enter into that game."&#160;</p>
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lisbon portugal terror attack killed 12 people paris wednesday come little surprise europes police intelligence services months theyve regarded prospect mass killing europe isolated gunmen small groups islamist terrorists question rather france particular target officials say hundreds french muslims believed gained military experience fighting radical groups syria iraq calls radicals attack civilians france multiplied following french military action islamist militants west africa participation french warplanes usled airstrikes socalled islamic state group iraq globalpost follow live blog updates president francois hollande acknowledged scale danger visited offices satirical magazine charlie hebdo journalists cartoonists police officers gunned two masked men shouting god great arabic extremely difficult moment several terrorist attacks thwarted recent weeks hollande told reporters know threat prime minister manuel valls warned christmas france never faced great danger terms terrorism wednesdays shooting deadliest suspected islamist attack french territory sure crank fear country already tense series recent incidents 2012 mohammed merah killed three children teacher jewish school three french soldiers shooting spree southwest france another french muslim mehdi nemmouche believed fought syria facing trial deaths four people shot jewish museum brussels belgium last may extra troops deployed streets since last month prechristmas attacks three cities included vehicles driving shoppers police officers wounded knifewielding muslim convert authorities sought allay public concerns characterizing december attacks acts disturbed isolated individuals drew ire farright national front opposition party accused government minimizing threat islamist terrorists although charlie hebdo leftwing publication frequently savaged national front leader marine le pen many see wednesdays attack vindicating concern le pen already riding high opinion polls feeding widespread unease among french voters perceived threats countrys social economic models global trade eurozone debt crisis well worries immigration influence islam hollande declared thursday day national mourning quick appeal unity attack amid worries could feed growing islamophobia greatest weapon unity unity citizens face challenge president told nation televised address must rally together win night fell citizens paris cities around france responded murders gathering huge silent crowds many waved pens symbol media freedom carried signs bearing slogan je suis charlie charlie backdrop rights groups fear wednesdays attack could fuel intolerance western europes largest muslim community muslims roots former french colonies north africa estimated represent 5 percent 10 percent population type tragedy strengthen islamophobia developed past couple years jeanmichel delambre cartoonist rival paper friends many wednesdays victims charlie hebdo told nord littoral newspaper northern france fear reinforce current climate hate division rife france ironically attack charlie hebdo apparently response papers frequent mocking islamic fundamentalism came week cover lampooned one frances leading authors michel houellebecq faces accusations encouraging islamophobia new novel book submission published wednesday created furore depicting france 2022 muslim president imposes conservative islamic rule comes heels runaway success french suicide nonfiction work journalist eric zemmour claims national identity undermined factors immigration feminism gay rights advocates deporting muslims avoid civil war although books denounced fear mongering inciting hate currently sit first second place bestseller list amazons french site concerns limited france germany seen spate mass demonstrations recent weeks group calling patriotic europeans islamization west antiimmigration islamophobic parties scored electoral successes several european countries last year law enforcement officers rights campaigners concerned europe risks getting sucked vicious circle islamist violence increases intolerance prejudice muslims leading turn disaffected youngsters falling prey radicalization commit type murders want see kind linkage want get people going one another warned dominique sopo president french campaign group sos racisme well giving gift enter game160
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<p>It’s around 2 in the afternoon before the big event, and a dozen or so mothers whose children attend LaSalle Language Academy move purposefully around the lobby of the South Shore Cultural Center. There is much to do.</p>
<p>Table clothes must be spread across three lines of folding tables. Boxes filled with more than 100 items for the silent auction have to be unpacked and artfully displayed. Then, once everything is set up, the moms have to rush home and swap their sweat suits for formal attire.</p>
<p>This evening soiree, which draws more than 300 guests and nets more than $80,000, is one of two main fundraising events put on every year by Friends of LaSalle Language Academy, a non-profit affinity group that exists to give the school a variety of extra programs. Proceeds from the dinner-dance and other efforts—like a candy sale in which children sold more than $50,000 in chocolate pecan clusters, and even interest on money sitting in a bank account—add up to more than $170,000 of extra cash for the Lincoln Park magnet school.</p>
<p>LaSalle Language Academy uses those funds to offer its 563 students a full array of extracurricular activities, performances by professional dancers and artists, and overseas exchange programs. They also buy the teachers classroom supplies and treat them to lunches during professional development days.</p>
<p>The extra money also makes LaSalle Language Academy the envy of almost every other Chicago public school.</p>
<p>Only 18 of the city’s public schools—less than 3 percent of some 600 elementary and high schools—have parent or community affinity groups that have raised more than $50,000 in any of the past three years, according to a Catalyst Chicago review of charitable tax documents for 41 public school fundraising groups. (About 249 elementary schools and 43 high schools have parent groups that registered as charities but weren’t required to file tax returns because they raised less than $25,000. Other such groups may exist, but have not registered with the Illinois Attorney General’s office or filed federal tax returns.)</p>
<p>There’s a vast difference in bottom-line impact between such well-heeled and connected groups and the parent organizations in most other schools. Most of the latter are traditional parent-teacher associations or parent-teacher organizations that don’t raise even a fraction of the money that LaSalle does. Many of them would like to do more, but don’t have what’s needed to do so, such as parents with disposable income and free time to organize events. A number of schools, many of them in poor neighborhoods with a student body that is overwhelmingly low-income, have no active parent group.</p>
<p>Raising big money is almost exclusively the purview of a few handfuls of North Side schools, with significantly higher enrollments of white, middle-income students and test scores above the district average. Among the top five fundraising schools, three are in Lincoln Park, three have at least 90 percent pass rates on standardized tests and all but one have poverty rates lower than 50 percent. Overall, the district’s average pass rate is 40 percent; the average poverty rate is 85 percent.</p>
<p>Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan argues that all city schools are underfunded, even those in relatively wealthy North Side neighborhoods like LaSalle. Still, for the overwhelming majority of schools that do not have the capacity or external connections to tap private funding, the district provides assistance through its partnerships programs, Duncan says. “We need to work through Principal for a Day, local churches, local businesses, to get them to really step up,” he says.</p>
<p>Businesses that partner with schools contribute an average of $10,000 a year, says Cynthia Greenleaf, director of partnerships for CPS’ Office of External Resources and Partnerships. And schools on the South, West and North sides have partners, not just the ones in well-to-do areas.</p>
<p>“Clearly we try to put businesses in schools that need help,” Greenleaf says. “Businesses usually want to be in those schools.”</p>
<p>However, efforts like these that attempt to level the field do not address what some see as an advantage for schools that already have a lot going for them. “Schools that do well already are the ones that have better [connected] groups,” says Principal Paul Zeitler of Sheridan Math and Science Academy, where a parent fundraising group pulls in about $10,000 a year that has covered the tab for drawing boards and televisions. “They are already the haves, and then, they have more.”</p>
<p>Though concerned about equity, few advocates or school officials would suggest limiting fundraising or trying to persuade donors to give to a general fund for all schools. “People want to be able to see where their dollars are going,” says Diana Nelson, executive director for the Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform.</p>
<p>However, Nelson argues that central office could be proactive in encouraging schools that have well-developed fundraising machines to partner with those that are struggling and show them how it’s done. “Too often we go to other cities to look at examples of excellence when we could be sending study teams to schools across town,” she explains.</p>
<p>Essentials vs. extras</p>
<p>Nearly every school gets some state and federal poverty money for low-income students, but those in areas with better-off students, such as Lincoln Park and Hyde Park, don’t get much. In these cases, “we’re really pushing and encouraging families to support what is going on in their schools,” Duncan notes.</p>
<p>None of the district’s top fundraising schools gets any federal poverty money and seven of them have lost state poverty funds over the past five years.</p>
<p>Poverty grants were created to bridge the financial gap between the basic costs of public education and the additional resources schools need to educate poorer children, who arrive at school with fewer academic skills than children from middle-income families. On the other hand, private funds are often raised to pay for “extras” that enhance students’ overall education experience.</p>
<p>For instance, compare how poverty funds are spent at Sheridan, where the poverty rate is 70 percent, to Norwood Park Elementary, a neighborhood school where only 12 percent of students come from low-income families.</p>
<p>Zeitler says he feels compelled to spend nearly all of his school’s $342,000 poverty money on teacher’s aides for kindergarten through 3rd-grade classrooms because research shows that lowering student-teacher ratios helps raise performance among poor children. At Norwood Park, however, the principal uses all of the $96,100 raised by parents to pay for extras including enrichment programs that allow above-average students to be pulled out of class for accelerated lessons.</p>
<p>Poverty grants pay for academic essentials like tutoring that help students catch up and keep up, while the extras afforded through fundraising pay for things that may help keep children engaged in school, Nelson says.</p>
<p>“Kids need some passion in order to stay in school,” she says. Students whose parents don’t raise a lot of money may also attend schools that have no recess, no music and no chess club. “Little is there to keep them coming.”</p>
<p>Feeling the pressure</p>
<p>No matter how well-off families or communities are, some are finding it difficult to make up for lost school funds, especially when they’re earmarked for educational expenses. Parents at some schools in gentrifying neighborhoods, like Audubon Elementary in Roscoe Village, are feeling pinched, but they are quickly learning that following the fundraising footsteps of LaSalle Language Academy will not be easy.</p>
<p>The community surrounding Audubon has been changing for some time. Old apartment buildings are now hip condominiums and wood frame houses are renovated and attracting young, middle-income families who are beginning to move in as working-poor families move out.</p>
<p>Gentrification has taken a toll. In the past five years, enrollment at Audubon has declined as families who replace those who move away are less likely to choose public schools. Audubon has lost basic and poverty funding, says Principal Linda Sienkiewicz, who wants to hang on to all her staff and programs.</p>
<p>At the top of her wish list is a partnership with Redmoon Theater, an eclectic theater group that uses puppetry, acting and music to help teach reading and language arts. But the partnership will cost $21,000 and at the moment, more fundamental needs are on the chopping block. “By next year, we will lose half of the time of the counselor, the music teacher and one special education teacher,” Sienkiewicz says.</p>
<p>Supportive parents are helping make up the difference. Sienkiewicz has already persuaded Roscoe Village Neighborhood Group to donate $30,000 for one teacher’s salary for next year. And when the kindergarten teacher wanted new classroom rugs, Sienkiewicz suggested asking parents to buy them. They did.</p>
<p>But volunteers to raise larger sums of money are lacking. An LSC member who spearheaded a direct mail solicitation last year that brought in $3,000 has since left, and no one has picked up the ball. Linda McBride, an active parent volunteer, says raising money is not her strong suit. “I am a little overwhelmed,” she says.</p>
<p>Parents who can raise big bucks are usually well-connected professionals with time on their hands, McBride explains. Audubon is in transition—the poverty rate has dropped from 90 percent to 69 percent over the past five years—but still does not have a critical mass of middle-income parents.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the need for someone to help bring in more money grows every year. “CPS covers the basics,” McBride says, “but the basics keep getting redefined. To me, some of the basics are reasonable class sizes and art integration.”</p>
<p>While Sienkiewicz says she is willing to take on the task of raising outside money, she has some misgivings. “It takes a chunk of time and we are supposed to be instructional leaders,” she argues.</p>
<p>Sienkiewicz is retiring next month. As LSC members search for her replacement, they’re keeping an eye out for a good fundraiser.</p>
<p>‘Great if we could do more’</p>
<p>While Audubon council members are waiting for more parents with deep pockets to arrive, parents at Ebinger Elementary are coming to terms with the idea that they might never get there.</p>
<p>Five years ago, they had hopes of raising enough money to give their children’s Edison Park school a boost. Looking down the road at other public schools in the area, such as Norwood Park, they saw what a boon parent fundraising could be.</p>
<p>In 2000, they created the Ebinger School Foundation and got to work. But the money has yet to materialize. “Let’s put it this way, we aren’t raising the kind of money that will buy you a teacher,” says PTA President Lisa Sabres, whose daughter is in 5th grade. The foundation raised just over $35,000, according to the group’s 2004 taxes.</p>
<p>On paper, Ebinger is like other schools in Norwood Park or Sauganash—mostly white, low poverty, high test scores. The difference is that Ebinger families, who aren’t poor, are not wealthy either.</p>
<p>“We are a working, middle-class neighborhood,” says Michele Atkinson, president of Ebinger’s foundation. “We have a lot of firemen and policemen. In most families both parents work just to pay the bills. If the wife doesn’t work, then they are struggling on one income.”</p>
<p>Ebinger’s foundation hosts an annual fundraising event, but instead of a formal affair, it organizes a casual dance party with an open bar. Tickets cost $10 and in place of a silent auction, there’s a raffle with a $5,000 grand prize. Last year, the event netted $6,000.</p>
<p>With proceeds from previous events, the foundation bought computers for classrooms and lighting for the school auditorium. But the facility could use sprucing up, Sabres says, and a $500 donation from Home Depot for paint and bathroom caulk “didn’t really make a dent.”</p>
<p>Schools with high poverty rates, though, would still rather be in Ebinger’s position. Even with a hefty poverty grant, Bateman Elementary still cannot afford to buy all of the new books, equipment and staff that it needs, says PTA member Virginia Hansen.</p>
<p>Ninety percent of Bateman students are low-income but because fewer students overall are enrolled, the school lost $110,000 in poverty funding over the past five years. But looking to parents to raise extra money is not feasible, Hansen says. “Just to get parents to come to meetings, we have to give out treats like cookies and juice,” she says. Two of the most active members of Bateman’s PTA, whose membership totals four, have already seen their children graduate. Hansen, who works in the school’s cafeteria, is one of them.</p>
<p>“I went to fundraisers for other schools and I was just wowed,” Hansen says. “We do what we can, but it would be just great if we could do more.”</p>
<p>Back at LaSalle Language Academy, Principal Amy Weiss Narea says parents’ fundraising provides the extras that help her school flourish. Students are admitted by lottery and 93 percent performed at or above grade level on last year’s standardized reading tests. The school is considered the gem of its neighborhood.</p>
<p>“One of the keys to our success is the tremendous family involvement,” Narea says. “It really helps us out. Parents are very generous, [but] I don’t think they would be as generous if the money went into a general pot for all schools. Because it goes to their children, and all the children at this school, they go way above and beyond.”</p>
<p>Intern Cassie del Pilar contributed to this report.</p>
<p>Sarah Karp is a Chicago-based writer. E-mail [email protected].</p>
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around 2 afternoon big event dozen mothers whose children attend lasalle language academy move purposefully around lobby south shore cultural center much table clothes must spread across three lines folding tables boxes filled 100 items silent auction unpacked artfully displayed everything set moms rush home swap sweat suits formal attire evening soiree draws 300 guests nets 80000 one two main fundraising events put every year friends lasalle language academy nonprofit affinity group exists give school variety extra programs proceeds dinnerdance effortslike candy sale children sold 50000 chocolate pecan clusters even interest money sitting bank accountadd 170000 extra cash lincoln park magnet school lasalle language academy uses funds offer 563 students full array extracurricular activities performances professional dancers artists overseas exchange programs also buy teachers classroom supplies treat lunches professional development days extra money also makes lasalle language academy envy almost every chicago public school 18 citys public schoolsless 3 percent 600 elementary high schoolshave parent community affinity groups raised 50000 past three years according catalyst chicago review charitable tax documents 41 public school fundraising groups 249 elementary schools 43 high schools parent groups registered charities werent required file tax returns raised less 25000 groups may exist registered illinois attorney generals office filed federal tax returns theres vast difference bottomline impact wellheeled connected groups parent organizations schools latter traditional parentteacher associations parentteacher organizations dont raise even fraction money lasalle many would like dont whats needed parents disposable income free time organize events number schools many poor neighborhoods student body overwhelmingly lowincome active parent group raising big money almost exclusively purview handfuls north side schools significantly higher enrollments white middleincome students test scores district average among top five fundraising schools three lincoln park three least 90 percent pass rates standardized tests one poverty rates lower 50 percent overall districts average pass rate 40 percent average poverty rate 85 percent chicago public schools ceo arne duncan argues city schools underfunded even relatively wealthy north side neighborhoods like lasalle still overwhelming majority schools capacity external connections tap private funding district provides assistance partnerships programs duncan says need work principal day local churches local businesses get really step says businesses partner schools contribute average 10000 year says cynthia greenleaf director partnerships cps office external resources partnerships schools south west north sides partners ones welltodo areas clearly try put businesses schools need help greenleaf says businesses usually want schools however efforts like attempt level field address see advantage schools already lot going schools well already ones better connected groups says principal paul zeitler sheridan math science academy parent fundraising group pulls 10000 year covered tab drawing boards televisions already haves though concerned equity advocates school officials would suggest limiting fundraising trying persuade donors give general fund schools people want able see dollars going says diana nelson executive director cross city campaign urban school reform however nelson argues central office could proactive encouraging schools welldeveloped fundraising machines partner struggling show done often go cities look examples excellence could sending study teams schools across town explains essentials vs extras nearly every school gets state federal poverty money lowincome students areas betteroff students lincoln park hyde park dont get much cases really pushing encouraging families support going schools duncan notes none districts top fundraising schools gets federal poverty money seven lost state poverty funds past five years poverty grants created bridge financial gap basic costs public education additional resources schools need educate poorer children arrive school fewer academic skills children middleincome families hand private funds often raised pay extras enhance students overall education experience instance compare poverty funds spent sheridan poverty rate 70 percent norwood park elementary neighborhood school 12 percent students come lowincome families zeitler says feels compelled spend nearly schools 342000 poverty money teachers aides kindergarten 3rdgrade classrooms research shows lowering studentteacher ratios helps raise performance among poor children norwood park however principal uses 96100 raised parents pay extras including enrichment programs allow aboveaverage students pulled class accelerated lessons poverty grants pay academic essentials like tutoring help students catch keep extras afforded fundraising pay things may help keep children engaged school nelson says kids need passion order stay school says students whose parents dont raise lot money may also attend schools recess music chess club little keep coming feeling pressure matter welloff families communities finding difficult make lost school funds especially theyre earmarked educational expenses parents schools gentrifying neighborhoods like audubon elementary roscoe village feeling pinched quickly learning following fundraising footsteps lasalle language academy easy community surrounding audubon changing time old apartment buildings hip condominiums wood frame houses renovated attracting young middleincome families beginning move workingpoor families move gentrification taken toll past five years enrollment audubon declined families replace move away less likely choose public schools audubon lost basic poverty funding says principal linda sienkiewicz wants hang staff programs top wish list partnership redmoon theater eclectic theater group uses puppetry acting music help teach reading language arts partnership cost 21000 moment fundamental needs chopping block next year lose half time counselor music teacher one special education teacher sienkiewicz says supportive parents helping make difference sienkiewicz already persuaded roscoe village neighborhood group donate 30000 one teachers salary next year kindergarten teacher wanted new classroom rugs sienkiewicz suggested asking parents buy volunteers raise larger sums money lacking lsc member spearheaded direct mail solicitation last year brought 3000 since left one picked ball linda mcbride active parent volunteer says raising money strong suit little overwhelmed says parents raise big bucks usually wellconnected professionals time hands mcbride explains audubon transitionthe poverty rate dropped 90 percent 69 percent past five yearsbut still critical mass middleincome parents meanwhile need someone help bring money grows every year cps covers basics mcbride says basics keep getting redefined basics reasonable class sizes art integration sienkiewicz says willing take task raising outside money misgivings takes chunk time supposed instructional leaders argues sienkiewicz retiring next month lsc members search replacement theyre keeping eye good fundraiser great could audubon council members waiting parents deep pockets arrive parents ebinger elementary coming terms idea might never get five years ago hopes raising enough money give childrens edison park school boost looking road public schools area norwood park saw boon parent fundraising could 2000 created ebinger school foundation got work money yet materialize lets put way arent raising kind money buy teacher says pta president lisa sabres whose daughter 5th grade foundation raised 35000 according groups 2004 taxes paper ebinger like schools norwood park sauganashmostly white low poverty high test scores difference ebinger families arent poor wealthy either working middleclass neighborhood says michele atkinson president ebingers foundation lot firemen policemen families parents work pay bills wife doesnt work struggling one income ebingers foundation hosts annual fundraising event instead formal affair organizes casual dance party open bar tickets cost 10 place silent auction theres raffle 5000 grand prize last year event netted 6000 proceeds previous events foundation bought computers classrooms lighting school auditorium facility could use sprucing sabres says 500 donation home depot paint bathroom caulk didnt really make dent schools high poverty rates though would still rather ebingers position even hefty poverty grant bateman elementary still afford buy new books equipment staff needs says pta member virginia hansen ninety percent bateman students lowincome fewer students overall enrolled school lost 110000 poverty funding past five years looking parents raise extra money feasible hansen says get parents come meetings give treats like cookies juice says two active members batemans pta whose membership totals four already seen children graduate hansen works schools cafeteria one went fundraisers schools wowed hansen says would great could back lasalle language academy principal amy weiss narea says parents fundraising provides extras help school flourish students admitted lottery 93 percent performed grade level last years standardized reading tests school considered gem neighborhood one keys success tremendous family involvement narea says really helps us parents generous dont think would generous money went general pot schools goes children children school go way beyond intern cassie del pilar contributed report sarah karp chicagobased writer email editorcatalystchicagoorg
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<p>NEW YORK — The most powerful man on Earth?</p>
<p>Sorry, Mr. Putin, it certainly is not you, though you do a damned good Darth Vader impersonation. And Mr. Xi, China may make a good platform someday for world domination, but there’s really no question now. One refurbished 1970s former Soviet jump jet carrier does not a juggernaut make.</p>
<p>Nor is it John Kerry, Barack Obama or any of the US military’s “component commanders.” None can hold a candle to the true titan: short, balding Ben Bernanke.</p>
<p>It may be no exaggeration to say that the most important foreign policy decision of the still young century will be made in the next year by the US Federal Reserve chairman, as he begins to dial back the faucet of low-interest dollars his bank has sprayed across the world since the 2008 financial crisis.</p>
<p>Since roughly the start of the summer, the engine driving the global economy has kicked into reverse.&#160;Most of the planet’s growth suddenly appears to be happening in the developed world rather than the emerging markets (EM).</p>
<p>Since January, the <a href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/markets/world/worldmarkets.asp?region=Asia" type="external">top 10 EM stock exchanges are in negative territory</a>, some of them deeply. The economies of all the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are underperforming, and there’s talk of real crisis in a few (though it’s overdone in China’s case — <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130819/china-model-superman-economy-mortal-BRICS-slow-growth" type="external">see my last column</a>).</p>
<p>“QE,” as the Fed’s global crop-dusting of dollars is best known, is short for quantitative easing. It’s when a central bank buys up assets, such as government or corporate bonds, to increase an economy’s money supply. The Fed’s been using this tool to flood America’s financial circulatory system with the life’s blood of cash after its reckless banks pushed it into cardiac arrest.</p>
<p>Instead, QE flooded the world with cash. American and other banks parked their free money in high interest rate foreign markets, stoking inflation in some of the more open ones (Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, for instance) and pumping up mini-asset bubbles of various kinds in them all, from commodities to real estate to credit. Even Russia looked good for a while.</p>
<p>Suddenly, with barely a whisper of the word “tapering” from Big Ben, a low-level panic has set in. With the Fed talking about an end to QE sometime next year, the likelihood is that all those dollars that were parked in high-interest EM accounts to make an easy buck — what bankers call “the carry trade” — will fly home to America and its recovering corporate, real estate, energy, equities and other markets. Talk of a coming boom in US stocks is rampant (and reflected in the 19 percent spike in Japan’s Nikkei Index in the past six months and a 7 percent rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average).</p>
<p>Over the past week, as fears of QE tapering have begun to spiral, economies large and small have been manning the defenses.</p>
<p>• Brazil, already stuck with 6.5 percent annual inflation, announced a $60 billion stimulus aimed at halting the slide of its currency’s value against the dollar. • Indonesia announced what amount to penalties against imported luxury goods. • Turkey’s Central Bank auctioned off dollar assets in an effort to stop its currency, the lira, from falling. • India, like all four, has tightened “capital controls” to prevent a flight of dollars it holds out of the country.</p>
<p>How did Ben Bernanke, a financial academic from South Carolina, wind up holding the fate of much of the planet in his hands?</p>
<p>It began with the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) at the end of the George W. Bush administration, authorizing the federal government to buy up the “toxic assets” piled up by dopey banks during the housing bubble. That was meant to prevent the American banking industry from collapsing, and in that sense it worked. But in the years that followed, the Federal Reserve supersized it, continuing to buy toxic securities and issuing US Treasury bonds that have been the world’s overwhelming choice as a safe haven in volatile times.</p>
<p>Since 2007, the <a href="http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/2013/201301/201301pap.pdf" type="external">Fed’s rounds of QE have added over $2.6 trillion in “new money”</a> to the global economy (as well as to its own balance sheet).</p>
<p>All this, rather stunningly, has failed to stoke inflation or cause the US government’s own borrowing rate to rise — the two fears trumpeted by the right since the start. The economy’s seeming immunity to QE is the vast, unappreciated benefit of the US dollar being the “global reserve currency,” and the country’s (so far) spotless record for honoring its debts, Tea Party brinkmanship and drunken sailor pork barrel spending aside.</p>
<p>Put simply, the world still needs our money, whatever they may think about Iraq, Justin Bieber or the NSA.</p>
<p>The degree to which all this QE helped the US economy is debated. Certainly, it staved off the collapse of the reckless banking giants that precipitated the crisis. But it hardly stoked the economic engine: at best, it prevented the worst; at worst, it’s gone on too long, cheapening the US dollar. (Follow the debate via doomsayers on the right like <a href="http://www.europac.net/commentaries/qe_debate" type="external">Peter Schiff</a> and QE cheerleaders on the left like <a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/12/the-monetary-debate-enter-chewbacca/?_r=0" type="external">Paul Krugman</a>, but I like this short piece as a balanced <a href="http://www.voxeu.org/article/sense-and-nonsense-quantitative-easing-debate" type="external">primer on the debate</a>).</p>
<p>But if QE and its results in America’s economy remain the stuff of furious left-right debate, its real effects for years have been overseas.</p>
<p>Because, due to a lack of courage and foresight when the TARP bailout was designed in 2008, the US banks that the Fed created all this new money to save decided not to pump it back into the US economy. (Some simple incentives added to the TARP bailout could have ensured this happened, but that was asking the Bush administration’s investment banker Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to go one step too far).</p>
<p>Instead, for over five years now, the banks have taken all the money the Fed has loaned to them at virtually no interest as part of the “easy money” policy and have immediately parked that money overseas in high-interest rate economies like Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey. Without lifting a finger, they make 5 to 10 percent profit on the rate difference.</p>
<p>That game, at least in the form that benefited and pumped up emerging-market numbers, is now over. The new money the Fed threw after bad will now come home to roost, one hopes, in the US economy at last. For those who lost houses, jobs or a chance at higher education in the meanwhile, the return may be bittersweet. But better late than never.</p>
<p>Michael Moran, foreign affairs columnist for GlobalPost, is also vice president, global risk analysis for <a href="http://www.controlrisks.com/Pages/Home.aspx" type="external">Control Risks</a>, an international political, integrity and security risk consultancy. He is author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Reckoning-Democracy-Future-American/dp/B00B9ZHF12" type="external">The Reckoning: Debt, Democracy and the Future of American Power</a>.</p>
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new york powerful man earth sorry mr putin certainly though damned good darth vader impersonation mr xi china may make good platform someday world domination theres really question one refurbished 1970s former soviet jump jet carrier juggernaut make john kerry barack obama us militarys component commanders none hold candle true titan short balding ben bernanke may exaggeration say important foreign policy decision still young century made next year us federal reserve chairman begins dial back faucet lowinterest dollars bank sprayed across world since 2008 financial crisis since roughly start summer engine driving global economy kicked reverse160most planets growth suddenly appears happening developed world rather emerging markets em since january top 10 em stock exchanges negative territory deeply economies brics brazil russia india china south africa underperforming theres talk real crisis though overdone chinas case see last column qe feds global cropdusting dollars best known short quantitative easing central bank buys assets government corporate bonds increase economys money supply feds using tool flood americas financial circulatory system lifes blood cash reckless banks pushed cardiac arrest instead qe flooded world cash american banks parked free money high interest rate foreign markets stoking inflation open ones brazil indonesia turkey instance pumping miniasset bubbles various kinds commodities real estate credit even russia looked good suddenly barely whisper word tapering big ben lowlevel panic set fed talking end qe sometime next year likelihood dollars parked highinterest em accounts make easy buck bankers call carry trade fly home america recovering corporate real estate energy equities markets talk coming boom us stocks rampant reflected 19 percent spike japans nikkei index past six months 7 percent rise dow jones industrial average past week fears qe tapering begun spiral economies large small manning defenses brazil already stuck 65 percent annual inflation announced 60 billion stimulus aimed halting slide currencys value dollar indonesia announced amount penalties imported luxury goods turkeys central bank auctioned dollar assets effort stop currency lira falling india like four tightened capital controls prevent flight dollars holds country ben bernanke financial academic south carolina wind holding fate much planet hands began troubled asset relief program tarp end george w bush administration authorizing federal government buy toxic assets piled dopey banks housing bubble meant prevent american banking industry collapsing sense worked years followed federal reserve supersized continuing buy toxic securities issuing us treasury bonds worlds overwhelming choice safe volatile times since 2007 feds rounds qe added 26 trillion new money global economy well balance sheet rather stunningly failed stoke inflation cause us governments borrowing rate rise two fears trumpeted right since start economys seeming immunity qe vast unappreciated benefit us dollar global reserve currency countrys far spotless record honoring debts tea party brinkmanship drunken sailor pork barrel spending aside put simply world still needs money whatever may think iraq justin bieber nsa degree qe helped us economy debated certainly staved collapse reckless banking giants precipitated crisis hardly stoked economic engine best prevented worst worst gone long cheapening us dollar follow debate via doomsayers right like peter schiff qe cheerleaders left like paul krugman like short piece balanced primer debate qe results americas economy remain stuff furious leftright debate real effects years overseas due lack courage foresight tarp bailout designed 2008 us banks fed created new money save decided pump back us economy simple incentives added tarp bailout could ensured happened asking bush administrations investment banker treasury secretary henry paulson go one step far instead five years banks taken money fed loaned virtually interest part easy money policy immediately parked money overseas highinterest rate economies like brazil indonesia turkey without lifting finger make 5 10 percent profit rate difference game least form benefited pumped emergingmarket numbers new money fed threw bad come home roost one hopes us economy last lost houses jobs chance higher education meanwhile return may bittersweet better late never michael moran foreign affairs columnist globalpost also vice president global risk analysis control risks international political integrity security risk consultancy author reckoning debt democracy future american power
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<p>SACRAMENTO – To deal with federal court orders demanding a reduction in prison populations, California officials – and state voters, via initiative – passed a series of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/05/18/mass-release-of-california-prisoners-didnt-cause-rise-in-crime-two-studies-find/?utm_term=.8f44666ea241" type="external">sentencing reforms</a> over the past seven years that have reduced overcrowding from 181 percent of capacity to 137.5 percent capacity. That’s a reduction of 33,000 inmates.</p>
<p>The main policy is known as realignment. Pushed through by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2011, the two new laws allow “non-violent, non-serious and non-sex offenders to serve their sentence in county jails instead of state prisons,” <a href="http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/" type="external">according to an explanation from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation</a>. The department says that no state prisoners had their time reduced and that the laws did not provide any early releases.</p>
<p>The second policy is Proposition 47, a statewide initiative that passed 60 percent to 40 percent in November 2014. <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_47,_Reduced_Penalties_for_Some_Crimes_Initiative_(2014)" type="external">As Ballotpedia explains</a>, the initiative “classified ‘non-serious, nonviolent crimes’ as misdemeanors instead of felonies unless the defendant has prior convictions for murder, rape, certain sex offenses or certain gun crimes.” It also permitted resentencing “for those currently serving a prison sentence for any of the offenses that the initiative reduces to misdemeanors.” That measure did therefore lead to early releases.</p>
<p>The state passed a variety of other sentencing-reform measures beginning in 2010. For instance, California had long taken a tough-on-crime approach, including passage of the nation’s toughest “three strikes and you’re out” laws in 1994, in the midst of frighteningly high crime rates. But even that signature crime-fighting law was revised, as voters passed, 70 percent to 30 percent, a 2012 statewide <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_36,_Changes_in_the_%22Three_Strikes%22_Law_(2012)" type="external">initiative</a> that required a life sentence only if the third strike were serious or violent.</p>
<p>The new laws reduced prison overcrowding, although they didn’t actually reduce the amount of tax dollars spent on the prison system. The big question: What have they done to crime rates? A spike in some crimes over that period has led to a vociferous debate, with Republicans and some moderate Democrats fanning fears of a crime wave. One Republican gubernatorial candidate, Abel Maldonado, ran for governor in 2014 on an anti-crime platform, but didn’t gain traction.</p>
<p>Currently, Democratic Assemblyman Jim Cooper, a former sheriff’s captain from Elk Grove, is leading efforts qualify a <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/california/articles/2017-10-30/initiative-would-expand-dna-gathering-restrict-early-parole" type="external">ballot measure</a> for the 2018 general election that would roll back much of Proposition 47. It also would roll back the loosened parole requirements in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_57_(2016)" type="external">Proposition 57</a>, which passed on the 2016 statewide ballot, and expand the list of crimes that requires collection of the perpetrator’s DNA, according to an Associated Press report.</p>
<p>Such pushback is due in large part to fears of growing crime rates. “Since the passage of Proposition 47 by voters in 2014 and the signing of AB109 in 2011, violent crime has been on the rise in California, up 12 percent in 2015 statewide according to the FBI,” according to a statement in March by Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Riverside County. <a href="http://www.politifact.com/california/statements/2017/mar/06/jeff-stone/has-violent-crime-been-rise-california-2011-and-di/" type="external">Politifact double-checked his claim</a> and found a one-year violent crime increase (from 2014 to 2015) of 8.4 percent.</p>
<p>That’s certainly enough to spark concern, but it’s hard to assess crime data based on short periods of time – and even harder to trace crime increases or decreases to any particular policy cause. <a href="http://www.cjcj.org/uploads/cjcj/documents/urban_crime_trends_remain_stable_through_californias_policy_reform_era_2010-2016.pdf" type="external">New research</a> from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice looked at the entire 2010-2016 period of criminal-justice policy reform and found some mixed results. Overall, however, the group explains that the state’s crime rate was “stable” over that time.</p>
<p>“Urban crime rates in California declined precipitously through the 1990s and 2000s,” <a href="http://www.cjcj.org/news/11186" type="external">wrote author Mike Males</a>. “Since 2010, crime in California has stabilized, hovering near historically low levels.” Males compared the first six months of 2016 (the latest reporting period) with the first six months of 2010 and found that “total crime rates experienced no net change, while property crime declined by 1 percent and violent crime increased by 3 percent.”</p>
<p>National crime data show a small overall uptick nationwide, which might suggest that something other than California-only realignment and sentencing reform policies were at work here. Crime data often is affected more by local factors, and indeed the study finds that “crime rates at the local level have varied considerably.” For instance, crime rates shot up 18 percent in Downey, but dropped an astounding 29 percent in Santa Clara.</p>
<p>Regarding the big cities, the report found increased violent crime rates in Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Jose – but lower violent crime rates in Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco. Likewise, some big cities (Long Beach, Los Angeles and San Diego) faced rising property crimes, but others (Fresno, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose) saw falling rates of property crime from 2010 to 2016.</p>
<p>The report found “no visible change” due to realignment and called for “more data” before “drawing conclusions about Prop. 47’s effect on crime.” Other studies from last year echo these <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2016/05/18/mass-release-of-california-prisoners-didnt-cause-rise-in-crime-two-studies-find/?utm_term=.8f44666ea241" type="external">conclusions</a>. These numbers, based on the newest FBI statistics, suggest that current concerns about a justice-reform-driven crime wave are overblown.</p>
<p>Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. Write to him at [email protected].</p>
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sacramento deal federal court orders demanding reduction prison populations california officials state voters via initiative passed series sentencing reforms past seven years reduced overcrowding 181 percent capacity 1375 percent capacity thats reduction 33000 inmates main policy known realignment pushed gov jerry brown 2011 two new laws allow nonviolent nonserious nonsex offenders serve sentence county jails instead state prisons according explanation california department corrections rehabilitation department says state prisoners time reduced laws provide early releases second policy proposition 47 statewide initiative passed 60 percent 40 percent november 2014 ballotpedia explains initiative classified nonserious nonviolent crimes misdemeanors instead felonies unless defendant prior convictions murder rape certain sex offenses certain gun crimes also permitted resentencing currently serving prison sentence offenses initiative reduces misdemeanors measure therefore lead early releases state passed variety sentencingreform measures beginning 2010 instance california long taken toughoncrime approach including passage nations toughest three strikes youre laws 1994 midst frighteningly high crime rates even signature crimefighting law revised voters passed 70 percent 30 percent 2012 statewide initiative required life sentence third strike serious violent new laws reduced prison overcrowding although didnt actually reduce amount tax dollars spent prison system big question done crime rates spike crimes period led vociferous debate republicans moderate democrats fanning fears crime wave one republican gubernatorial candidate abel maldonado ran governor 2014 anticrime platform didnt gain traction currently democratic assemblyman jim cooper former sheriffs captain elk grove leading efforts qualify ballot measure 2018 general election would roll back much proposition 47 also would roll back loosened parole requirements proposition 57 passed 2016 statewide ballot expand list crimes requires collection perpetrators dna according associated press report pushback due large part fears growing crime rates since passage proposition 47 voters 2014 signing ab109 2011 violent crime rise california 12 percent 2015 statewide according fbi according statement march sen jeff stone rriverside county politifact doublechecked claim found oneyear violent crime increase 2014 2015 84 percent thats certainly enough spark concern hard assess crime data based short periods time even harder trace crime increases decreases particular policy cause new research center juvenile criminal justice looked entire 20102016 period criminaljustice policy reform found mixed results overall however group explains states crime rate stable time urban crime rates california declined precipitously 1990s 2000s wrote author mike males since 2010 crime california stabilized hovering near historically low levels males compared first six months 2016 latest reporting period first six months 2010 found total crime rates experienced net change property crime declined 1 percent violent crime increased 3 percent national crime data show small overall uptick nationwide might suggest something californiaonly realignment sentencing reform policies work crime data often affected local factors indeed study finds crime rates local level varied considerably instance crime rates shot 18 percent downey dropped astounding 29 percent santa clara regarding big cities report found increased violent crime rates fresno long beach los angeles san jose lower violent crime rates oakland sacramento san diego san francisco likewise big cities long beach los angeles san diego faced rising property crimes others fresno oakland sacramento san francisco san jose saw falling rates property crime 2010 2016 report found visible change due realignment called data drawing conclusions prop 47s effect crime studies last year echo conclusions numbers based newest fbi statistics suggest current concerns justicereformdriven crime wave overblown steven greenhut western region director r street institute write sgreenhutrstreetorg
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<p>Eighteen days ago — on March 9&#160;— GlobalPost <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/commerce/090307/opinion-now-the-time-buy" type="external">ran an opinion piece</a> in which I used historical precedents to make the case that the stock market had an uncanny ability to predict economic upturns.</p>
<p>I cited three examples in which the U.S. stock market anticipated better days ahead, typically by six to nine months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 6,547 that day, and hasn't looked back since. It is now some 20% higher, traditionally viewed as bull market territory.</p>
<p>So now what? It's still time to buy.</p>
<p>I believe the early part of March marked the bottom not only for the U.S. stock market, but for Japan, Singapore, Australia and the UK as well. A number of other markets appear to have hit bottom last fall, such as China, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Brazil.</p>
<p>My optimism rests squarely on the shoulders of Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. By an extraordinary stroke of good fortune, Bernanke stands at the helm of U.S. monetary policy. Better yet, his policies are being copied by other central banks, including the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England.</p>
<p>Bernanke became obsessed with the Great Depression in the early 1980s, not long after he received his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1979. His fascination with deflation — falling prices — prompted him to delve into attempts to reverse these forces that ravaged the U.S. economy in the 1930s.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, Bernanke was fascinated by Japan's battle against deflation in the 1990s. He analyzed every twist and turn of BOJ policy as the country descended into its "lost decade."</p>
<p>One of Bernanke's most revealing essays — and a strong clue to his playbook today — was written in 1999 while he was head of the economics department at Princeton. Called <a href="http://www.princeton.edu/svensson/und/522/Readings/Bernanke.pdf" type="external">Japanese Monetary Policy: A Case of Self-Induced Paralysis?</a> (If you want to really geek out on Bernanke's penchant for "non-standard measures," see page 23 of this pdf).</p>
<p>Bernanke's essay ends with a short section called: “Needed: Rooseveltian Resolve." The money quote:</p>
<p>“Roosevelt’s specific policy actions were, I think, less important than his willingness to be aggressive and to experiment — in short, to do whatever was necessary to get the country moving again. Many of his policies did not work as intended, but in the end FDR deserves great credit for having the courage to abandon failed paradigms and to do what needed to be done."</p>
<p>I often wonder what Bernanke’s first, semi-conscious thoughts are as he wakes each morning. Here is a man who spent his life thinking about which policies succeeded and failed during the Great Depression and in Japan of the 1990s, the two episodes of economic history that he understands perhaps better than anyone in the world.</p>
<p>Is he living out his dream, confident in his ability to draw from his vast reservoir of knowledge and lead the world out of the deepest downturn since the 1930s? Or, given the gravity of events, is he haunted by the prospect of failure?</p>
<p>The verdict is in.</p>
<p>Despite an ill-timed presidential transition, the confusing and ever-changing policies of former treasury secretary Hank Paulsen, the lambasting of U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the mind-boggling partisanship of Congress, Bernanke has engineered a succession of policies that are succeeding in normalizing credit markets.</p>
<p>This is a harbinger of economic recovery. Future historians will marvel at how swiftly he acted at a time when the world economy seemed to be hopelessly, and relentlessly, unraveling.</p>
<p>One of the most pivotal events came last week when <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&amp;sid=aeP8.XnGrN64&amp;refer=home" type="external">Bernanke announced the Fed would buy some $300 billion of U.S. bonds</a>. He hinted at such a move last December, but then backed away from it, preferring instead to use the Fed’s balance sheet to underwrite other programs, such as the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/notebook/commerce/090310/the-world-according-talf" type="external">TALF</a>and various mortgage-related programs.</p>
<p>The outright purchase of treasuries reveals the full force and determination of the Fed chairman. This is “Rooseveltian resolve” in action. It is one thing to buy mortgage-backed securities from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. It's quite another to wade into the world's largest bond market.</p>
<p>Bernanke’s goal is to make risk-free assets so unattractive that capital unavoidably spills into risky ones. He has said repeatedly that one of the great lessons of the Depression was that policy became restrictive too early. Better to keep the foot on the gas pedal until one is certain of a return to economic prosperity.</p>
<p>So what does all this mean to global markets?</p>
<p>The economic data is becoming less uniformly bad, just as monetary policy is ramping up to the highest, most potent level of stimulus. Retail sales are beginning to improve; home sales are finally stabilizing in parts of the country; even durable goods, though a volatile data point, finally turned positive last month.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and even Citigroup are reporting better profitability during the first couple months of this year. In fact, several leading financial companies are saying they do not need any more government money, while others are eager to return it.</p>
<p>The doomsayers don't know what to think about these surprisingly favorable economic developments.</p>
<p>But the answer might just be simple: the corrective mechanism of the market is alive and well. Drive down prices far enough on clothes and houses and buyers come in. Write down bank assets far enough and year-on-year comparisons become more flattering.</p>
<p>Add cheap money and a big fiscal injection to the self-correcting nature of markets and things could really start to improve. We're talking about lower interest rates on mortgages, student loans, car loans, business loans, and yes, even government bonds, against which all sorts of loan rates are pegged. And as yield spreads narrow, rates are driven still lower.</p>
<p>The first phase of a bull market is often greeted with discomfort.</p>
<p>Is this the real thing, one asks? Am I guilty of sitting on the sidelines? Will these bargains be around for awhile? Numb from losses and paralyzed with fear, investors want that feel-good factor to re-emerge. Yet the bargain valuations we're seeing happen just two or three times a century. Larry Summers recently said that the Dow Jones Industrial Average, when adjusted for inflation, is at the same level it was in 1966. That’s a strong statement.</p>
<p>As of early March, the major U.S. indices were down around 55 percent, the second largest decline in history. Sure, markets have rallied some 20-30 percent off the bottom. And nothing goes up in a straight line.</p>
<p>But as evidence mounts that Bernanke’s medicine is bringing the patient back to life, the risk becomes one of being under-invested.</p>
<p>Andrew Parlin is co-founder of Parlin Investments, an investment partnership in Boston.&#160;</p>
<p>For more on the global economic crisis: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/commerce/090212/special-report" type="external" /></p>
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eighteen days ago march 9160 globalpost ran opinion piece used historical precedents make case stock market uncanny ability predict economic upturns cited three examples us stock market anticipated better days ahead typically six nine months dow jones industrial average closed 6547 day hasnt looked back since 20 higher traditionally viewed bull market territory still time buy believe early part march marked bottom us stock market japan singapore australia uk well number markets appear hit bottom last fall china malaysia south korea thailand brazil optimism rests squarely shoulders fed chairman ben bernanke extraordinary stroke good fortune bernanke stands helm us monetary policy better yet policies copied central banks including bank japan bank england bernanke became obsessed great depression early 1980s long received phd economics mit 1979 fascination deflation falling prices prompted delve attempts reverse forces ravaged us economy 1930s surprisingly bernanke fascinated japans battle deflation 1990s analyzed every twist turn boj policy country descended lost decade one bernankes revealing essays strong clue playbook today written 1999 head economics department princeton called japanese monetary policy case selfinduced paralysis want really geek bernankes penchant nonstandard measures see page 23 pdf bernankes essay ends short section called needed rooseveltian resolve money quote roosevelts specific policy actions think less important willingness aggressive experiment short whatever necessary get country moving many policies work intended end fdr deserves great credit courage abandon failed paradigms needed done often wonder bernankes first semiconscious thoughts wakes morning man spent life thinking policies succeeded failed great depression japan 1990s two episodes economic history understands perhaps better anyone world living dream confident ability draw vast reservoir knowledge lead world deepest downturn since 1930s given gravity events haunted prospect failure verdict despite illtimed presidential transition confusing everchanging policies former treasury secretary hank paulsen lambasting us treasury secretary timothy geithner mindboggling partisanship congress bernanke engineered succession policies succeeding normalizing credit markets harbinger economic recovery future historians marvel swiftly acted time world economy seemed hopelessly relentlessly unraveling one pivotal events came last week bernanke announced fed would buy 300 billion us bonds hinted move last december backed away preferring instead use feds balance sheet underwrite programs talfand various mortgagerelated programs outright purchase treasuries reveals full force determination fed chairman rooseveltian resolve action one thing buy mortgagebacked securities freddie mac fannie mae quite another wade worlds largest bond market bernankes goal make riskfree assets unattractive capital unavoidably spills risky ones said repeatedly one great lessons depression policy became restrictive early better keep foot gas pedal one certain return economic prosperity mean global markets economic data becoming less uniformly bad monetary policy ramping highest potent level stimulus retail sales beginning improve home sales finally stabilizing parts country even durable goods though volatile data point finally turned positive last month meanwhile jp morgan bank america wells fargo even citigroup reporting better profitability first couple months year fact several leading financial companies saying need government money others eager return doomsayers dont know think surprisingly favorable economic developments answer might simple corrective mechanism market alive well drive prices far enough clothes houses buyers come write bank assets far enough yearonyear comparisons become flattering add cheap money big fiscal injection selfcorrecting nature markets things could really start improve talking lower interest rates mortgages student loans car loans business loans yes even government bonds sorts loan rates pegged yield spreads narrow rates driven still lower first phase bull market often greeted discomfort real thing one asks guilty sitting sidelines bargains around awhile numb losses paralyzed fear investors want feelgood factor reemerge yet bargain valuations seeing happen two three times century larry summers recently said dow jones industrial average adjusted inflation level 1966 thats strong statement early march major us indices around 55 percent second largest decline history sure markets rallied 2030 percent bottom nothing goes straight line evidence mounts bernankes medicine bringing patient back life risk becomes one underinvested andrew parlin cofounder parlin investments investment partnership boston160 global economic crisis 160 160
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<p>Traditional Hasidic Jewish music is typically mournful. The kvetchy tunes and OY reverberations are meant to awaken the Jewish soul, to inspire piety and spiritual yearning. Enter Lipa Schmeltzer, the Hasidic superstar whose music has earned him titles like “The Jewish Elvis Presley” and “The Hasidic Lady Gaga”</p>
<p>That last one has something to do with Lipa’s impressive collection of outlandish eyewear. In the realm of the ultra-Orthodox, he’s different, even revolutionary, and he embraces it.</p>
<p>Lipa has amassed a tremendous loyal following, but he has also been the subject of controversy and rabbinical bans ever since he popped onto the scene over a decade ago.</p>
<p>His music and concerts are routinely banned in many hardline Hasidic communities, and he has faced hostility at every step of the way.</p>
<p>Lipa grew up in New Square, a small, insular Hasidic enclave in upstate New York. This isolated village, less than 50 miles from Manhattan, is a relic of pre-Holocaust European shtetl life. There’s one road leading in and out of the densely populated village. Its suburban streets are exclusively inhabited by Hasidim of the Skverer sect. Their spiritual leader, or “Rebbe,” is revered and <a href="http://forward.com/news/210213/hasidic-enclave-keeps-its-secrets-amid-elusive-reb/" type="external">keeps a tight control over the village</a>. Anyone who doesn’t follow his rules risks expulsion from the village; members loyal to the Rebbe have <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/nyregion/in-hasidic-village-attempted-murder-arrest-is-linked-to-schism.html" type="external">resorted to violence</a>&#160;to keep nonconformists in line.</p>
<p>In New Square, boys and girls attend sex-segregated religious schools, typically marry at a young age through arranged marriages, and have an average of eight to ten children. There are no TVs and no access to the internet, or any outside influence that religious authorities deem a potential threat to impressionable minds.</p>
<p>The 11th child in a family of 12, Lipa showed great musical talent from a young age. Like all the boys from the community, he attended the village’s cheder, or boys’ school, where Yiddish is the primary language; English studies are almost non-existent. It’s limited to one hour of basic math and vocabulary in the afternoon. When they leave for yeshiva (essentially high school), many of the boys are illiterate in English. That was true for Lipa.</p>
<p>He admits he wasn’t a good student. He struggled to sit still for hours and read from the ancient Hebrew texts, and he often found himself on the receiving end of the rebbe’s (teachers) spanking stick. He was on the same course as the other boys — to study Talmud, get married&#160;and find a job that doesn’t require a good command of the English language, or a secular education.</p>
<p>But Lipa wanted something else. At first, he yearned to be a wedding singer at Hasidic weddings, conservative enough for the powers that be. But as his taste in music evolved, he ached to color outside the lines — to be creative and push the boundaries.</p>
<p>When Lipa got his first car as a married man, he started playing around with the radio dial, listening to tunes by musicians like Faith Hill and Shania Twain. He drew inspiration from their lyrics and beats, and created kosher versions of pop music.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>But Lipa’s new music shocked leaders in his ultra-Orthodox community. When he put out his first CD, they forced him to take out an ad in a Hasidic newspaper apologizing for it. Eventually, the harassment was too much to bear, and Lipa was forced to leave the village — the only way of life he ever knew — with his young family.</p>
<p>He moved to Airmont, a small suburban village on the outskirts of a more diverse Orthodox community in upstate NY called Monsey. He built a congregation for the growing Hasidic-flavored community of Airmont (of which I am a member). Families who’ve gone through similar journeys discovered a welcoming home in this community and in Lipa’s synagogue.</p>
<p>At the same time, Lipa’s music career flourished, and his popularity grew steadily, not only in strictly orthodox communities. He’s just released his 14th album, fittingly titled “Be Positive.” The album was co-written and produced by Matt Dubb, himself an expat from a stringent Jewish community and the son of a respected rabbi. As of August 13, it ranked at&#160;39 on the <a href="http://www.itunescharts.net/us/charts/albums/dance/" type="external">iTunes charts</a> for Top 40 US dance albums.</p>
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<p>Album cover for Be Positive, with Lipa Schmeltzer (l) and Matt Dubb (r)</p>
<p>Dani Diamond</p>
<p>But a few years back, at the age of 33 and a father of four, Lipa began to wonder what would happen if his music career faded. He’d have no skills to fall back on, given his dismal secular education.</p>
<p>So he decided to go to a local community college to ask about enrollment. When the school asked about his high school diploma, Lipa said, “ ‘What’s that?’ They told me it’s the thing you get in high school. So I asked, ‘what’s high school?’ ”</p>
<p>Lipa eventually got his GED through a local program and enrolled for the fall 2012 semester at Rockland Community College. For him, the college scene was a big culture shock. Lipa says it took him a while to adjust, but he grew by leaps and bounds in those first few years.</p>
<p>And he’s gone even further. Lipa is now studying music and creative writing at Columbia University. He says he no longer feels completely academically inadequate, but he still struggles with the language barrier and his lack of a basic education. Lipa says he still needs a dictionary at hand when he’s reading a textbook, and often has to reread sentences to understand the context.&#160;</p>
<p>He admits to some resentment that an education was “robbed away” from him. At 37, he says he’s struggling to learn what the average American masters in grade school. But resentment is not healthy, he says.</p>
<p />
<p>Lipa Schmeltzer</p>
<p>Dani Diamond</p>
<p>On a Wednesday morning in April, I shadowed Lipa as he entered a graduate journalism class on religion at Columbia. He was dressed in a bekitche, the traditional Hasidic satin overcoat, and a colorful kippah and bowtie. He was there as a lecturer, not a student, and spoke animatedly about his music, religious devotion and academic journey. I could tell that the students were entertained, even enthralled, by his story, which, in typical Lipa fashion, was told with biblical analogies, flowery Yiddish expressions&#160;and over-the-top metaphors.</p>
<p>He told the students that his parents, who still live in New Square, know that he’s at Columbia, but that they don’t grasp the significance. He says his father, a Holocaust survivor, would ask: “What are you doing there? You gotta come back here. The rabbi is waiting for you, and I’m telling you it’s going to be good for you in this world and in the other world.”</p>
<p>But he says that after many years, he’s learned how to communicate with his father. &#160;</p>
<p>Lipa says if he could, he would stay in school for the rest of his life. He loves to sit in the library for hours, bent over books like the days of yore. He compares his curiosity for secular learning to a kid in the candy store.</p>
<p>What makes Lipa so unusual isn’t just his late start in academics and his music career; it’s also that he hasn’t rejected the Hasidic world. He’s still very much connected. So you can understand why some religious leaders view him as a threat to their insular world. But Lipa prefers to see himself as a bridge, with one foot in the Hasidic community and one in the outside world. But it’s not always an easy stance.</p>
<p>He was recently invited to sing at a wedding. It was not your run-of-the-mill Orthodox wedding: a millionaire was marrying off his child. The father flew in an ultra-Orthodox rabbi from Israel to officiate, and when the rabbi heard that Lipa was to perform there, he insisted that Lipa wait outside of the hall until the rabbi had left. For Lipa, this was a reminder of all those times he was humiliated and made to feel like an outcast by rabbis who forbid their followers from hiring him for their bar mitzvahs and weddings. He says he asked himself, ‘if this guy [rabbi] really thinks he’s God’s policeman, is this a God I want to believe in? Or do I want to believe in a loving God?’</p>
<p>But Lipa prefers to look at the bigger picture: He believes that all the embarrassment and ostracizing brought him closer to where he is today. If this is the price he had to pay, he tells me, tears welling in his eyes, it was worth it.</p>
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traditional hasidic jewish music typically mournful kvetchy tunes oy reverberations meant awaken jewish soul inspire piety spiritual yearning enter lipa schmeltzer hasidic superstar whose music earned titles like jewish elvis presley hasidic lady gaga last one something lipas impressive collection outlandish eyewear realm ultraorthodox hes different even revolutionary embraces lipa amassed tremendous loyal following also subject controversy rabbinical bans ever since popped onto scene decade ago music concerts routinely banned many hardline hasidic communities faced hostility every step way lipa grew new square small insular hasidic enclave upstate new york isolated village less 50 miles manhattan relic preholocaust european shtetl life theres one road leading densely populated village suburban streets exclusively inhabited hasidim skverer sect spiritual leader rebbe revered keeps tight control village anyone doesnt follow rules risks expulsion village members loyal rebbe resorted violence160to keep nonconformists line new square boys girls attend sexsegregated religious schools typically marry young age arranged marriages average eight ten children tvs access internet outside influence religious authorities deem potential threat impressionable minds 11th child family 12 lipa showed great musical talent young age like boys community attended villages cheder boys school yiddish primary language english studies almost nonexistent limited one hour basic math vocabulary afternoon leave yeshiva essentially high school many boys illiterate english true lipa admits wasnt good student struggled sit still hours read ancient hebrew texts often found receiving end rebbes teachers spanking stick course boys study talmud get married160and find job doesnt require good command english language secular education lipa wanted something else first yearned wedding singer hasidic weddings conservative enough powers taste music evolved ached color outside lines creative push boundaries lipa got first car married man started playing around radio dial listening tunes musicians like faith hill shania twain drew inspiration lyrics beats created kosher versions pop music lipas new music shocked leaders ultraorthodox community put first cd forced take ad hasidic newspaper apologizing eventually harassment much bear lipa forced leave village way life ever knew young family moved airmont small suburban village outskirts diverse orthodox community upstate ny called monsey built congregation growing hasidicflavored community airmont member families whove gone similar journeys discovered welcoming home community lipas synagogue time lipas music career flourished popularity grew steadily strictly orthodox communities hes released 14th album fittingly titled positive album cowritten produced matt dubb expat stringent jewish community son respected rabbi august 13 ranked at16039 itunes charts top 40 us dance albums album cover positive lipa schmeltzer l matt dubb r dani diamond years back age 33 father four lipa began wonder would happen music career faded hed skills fall back given dismal secular education decided go local community college ask enrollment school asked high school diploma lipa said whats told thing get high school asked whats high school lipa eventually got ged local program enrolled fall 2012 semester rockland community college college scene big culture shock lipa says took adjust grew leaps bounds first years hes gone even lipa studying music creative writing columbia university says longer feels completely academically inadequate still struggles language barrier lack basic education lipa says still needs dictionary hand hes reading textbook often reread sentences understand context160 admits resentment education robbed away 37 says hes struggling learn average american masters grade school resentment healthy says lipa schmeltzer dani diamond wednesday morning april shadowed lipa entered graduate journalism class religion columbia dressed bekitche traditional hasidic satin overcoat colorful kippah bowtie lecturer student spoke animatedly music religious devotion academic journey could tell students entertained even enthralled story typical lipa fashion told biblical analogies flowery yiddish expressions160and overthetop metaphors told students parents still live new square know hes columbia dont grasp significance says father holocaust survivor would ask got ta come back rabbi waiting im telling going good world world says many years hes learned communicate father 160 lipa says could would stay school rest life loves sit library hours bent books like days yore compares curiosity secular learning kid candy store makes lipa unusual isnt late start academics music career also hasnt rejected hasidic world hes still much connected understand religious leaders view threat insular world lipa prefers see bridge one foot hasidic community one outside world always easy stance recently invited sing wedding runofthemill orthodox wedding millionaire marrying child father flew ultraorthodox rabbi israel officiate rabbi heard lipa perform insisted lipa wait outside hall rabbi left lipa reminder times humiliated made feel like outcast rabbis forbid followers hiring bar mitzvahs weddings says asked guy rabbi really thinks hes gods policeman god want believe want believe loving god lipa prefers look bigger picture believes embarrassment ostracizing brought closer today price pay tells tears welling eyes worth
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<p>At the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico, boys work out with shiny new equipment, weights&#160;and ropes. When they get sore, there are hot tubs to soak aching muscles — pretty different from how it was when Alex Diaz grew up.</p>
<p>“During the Monday to Friday, we just worked out with our parents, friends. Now, they have everything here,” said Diaz, who <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/diazal01.shtml" type="external">played eight seasons</a> of Major League Baseball for various teams in the 1990s. “I got these facilities when I made it to the big leagues.”</p>
<p>Diaz now runs the athletic department at the <a href="http://carlosbeltranacademy.com/" type="external">&#160;Beltran Academy</a>, one of five private baseball high schools in Puerto Rico.</p>
<p>“They practice baseball five days a week, they study five days a week. They have three meals down here, they got everything down here,” said Diaz. “If you want to be a baseball player, we’re going to give you all the tools you need.”</p>
<p />
<p>Students in the weight room, left to right:&#160;Raymond Santos,&#160;Manuel Castillo,&#160;Luis Virella, and&#160;Pedro Ottero.&#160;</p>
<p>Ana María Abruña</p>
<p>At the Beltran Academy, located in the rural town of Florida, boys focus on baseball for three hours each weekday. Baseball used to be the sport in Puerto Rico. Now, it competes with volleyball, boxing&#160;and basketball.</p>
<p>That last sport ...&#160;Diaz can’t make sense of that. &#160;</p>
<p>“Because in basketball you have to be 7 feet tall. It’s strange because Puerto Ricans, the tallest they can get is 6-3, 6-4,” said Diaz.</p>
<p>He has a point. Name a Puerto Rican NBA player. ... Exactly. There are only a <a href="http://www.nba.com/enebea/hispanos/alltime_nba_latino_players.html" type="external">handful</a>, and no superstars.</p>
<p>But more than 200 Puerto Ricans have played Major League Baseball, <a href="http://baseball.about.com/od/internationa1/tp/Top-10-Mlb-Players-From-Puerto-Rico.htm" type="external">including names like</a> Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda&#160;and Iván "Pudge" Rodriguez.</p>
<p>Many Puerto Rican teens still do&#160;gravitate first to baseball. At the Beltran Academy, nearly 400 boys try out each year for a spot — roughly one in 10 makes it.</p>
<p>Manuel Castillo, who is entering his junior year, made the cut. He travels two-and-a-half hours each direction by bus to get to the academy. He leaves home at 3 a.m. each day, gets home around 7 p.m., studies for a few hours, then goes to bed at 10 p.m.</p>
<p>After high school, Castillo wants to go to college. Then, he said, God willing, he'll play in the Major Leagues. &#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Luis Virella takes a swing in the batting cage as&#160;Manuel Castillo waits his turn.&#160;</p>
<p>Ana María Abruña</p>
<p>For teens like Castillo, baseball can be a way out of poverty. <a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2011/06/13/a-demographic-portrait-of-puerto-ricans/" type="external">Roughly 45 percent of Puerto Ricans</a> live below the poverty line. Carlos Beltrán — the namesake of the school — grew up nearby in the town of Manatí without much, either. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>“We had food on the table because my dad did a good job, and my mom, to provide us that,” said Beltrán. “But hey, there were times when we didn’t have money to go to school, or there were times when we only had one pair of shoes.”</p>
<p>Those days are long gone. Beltrán now plays for the New York Yankees.</p>
<p>Beltrán is 39 and has been one of <a href="http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/beltrca01.shtml" type="external">baseball’s best players</a> over the past two decades. He’s picked up a truckload of honors, including the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Clemente_Award" type="external">Roberto Clemente Award</a>, given annually to one Major League player who exemplifies the best of sportsmanship and community involvement. Beltrán won that in 2013, two years after he started his academy.</p>
<p />
<p>Carlos Beltrán is playing in his 18th Major League season. He has his more than 400 home runs and been selected to&#160;eight All-Star games.</p>
<p>USA TODAY Sports/Adam Hunger</p>
<p>Beltrán puts several hundred thousand dollars of his own money into the school each year. He can afford it — the Yankees pay him $15 million a year. Beltrán says he knows he’s been fortunate in his career. That’s why at his school, academics come first.</p>
<p>“Because only 1 percent make it to the big leagues ... it’s [a] very, very, very small window,” said Beltrán. “So I try to create an environment where the kids really focus on education. And at [the] same time, they will continue to develop themselves as a ballplayer.”</p>
<p>That’s important — baseball can be a ticket to a college scholarship for talented players. Puerto Rico’s public high schools have been plagued by <a href="http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/c2kbr-24.pdf" type="external">exceptionally high</a> drop-out rates, <a href="http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/locales/nota/encrisislaeducacionpublica-1409511/" type="external">as high as 40 percent</a>. That's not the case&#160;at Beltrán’s academy.</p>
<p>Out of 40 graduating seniors, three or four will sign with Major League teams this year. The rest are going to college.</p>
<p>“Every single one,” said Alex Diaz.</p>
<p>Every single one has a full or partial scholarship as well, often to schools on the US mainland.</p>
<p>There’s another thing that sets the Beltran Academy apart from many other Puerto Rican schools.</p>
<p>“I think the most important thing is that all the classes are in English,” said&#160;Gabriel Arroyo, who is entering his junior year. (There are some exceptions — Spanish class is obviously taught in Spanish.)&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Mastering English is important for life, but also for baseball. For example, a coach can yell for Arroyo to hit his “cut-off” man. That’s a tough Spanish translation.</p>
<p>“Arrgh, that’s the thing, I know in English, but not in Spanish,” said Arroyo.</p>
<p />
<p>Gabriel Arroyo does a conditioning drill with ropes.&#160;</p>
<p>Ana María Abruña</p>
<p>Arroyo spoke English with relative ease. But picking up a second language seemed to be a work in progress for most of the boys. &#160;</p>
<p>“They understand you. The thing is, they’re afraid to talk in English,” explained Diaz.</p>
<p>Still, the students at the academy are much further along than Beltrán was when he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals as teenager.</p>
<p>“No English. It was very hard for me,” said Beltrán. “Coming to the United States, a different culture, the language was a barrier for me.” (He’s now fluent in English.)</p>
<p>Besides the kids at his academy, Beltrán is also trying to help rebuild Puerto Rico’s rich baseball tradition. In recent years, the island has been <a href="http://uxblog.idvsolutions.com/2014/07/major-league-baseball-players-by-country.html" type="external">eclipsed by Venezuela and the Dominican Republic</a> as the major exporters of Latin American baseball talent.</p>
<p>That’s largely because Major League teams have set up <a href="http://mlb.mlb.com/dr/academies.jsp" type="external">baseball academies in those countries</a>, dating <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/onenacion/post/_/id/710/baseball-academies-thrive-in-the-dominican-republic" type="external">as far back as the 1980s</a>. Teams haven’t done that in Puerto Rico because teenagers from the US commonwealth are part of the draft. In the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, players can be signed as free agents. So, individual teams have set up academies to try to lure and develop top prospects.</p>
<p>And yeah, baseball’s just a game. But ball players are heroes to a lot of kids. And grown-ups. Beltrán’s accomplishments bring pride to Puerto Ricans. Beltrán gets that. And that’s why he wants to help produce the next crop of Puerto Rican stars to take his place.&#160;</p>
<p>“I’m doing the best I can to try and do something positive for my country,” Beltrán said.</p>
<p />
<p>Former Major Leaguer Alex Diaz watches his players in the batting cages. Diaz now runs the athletic department at the Beltran Academy.&#160;</p>
<p>Ana María Abruña</p>
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carlos beltran baseball academy puerto rico boys work shiny new equipment weights160and ropes get sore hot tubs soak aching muscles pretty different alex diaz grew monday friday worked parents friends everything said diaz played eight seasons major league baseball various teams 1990s got facilities made big leagues diaz runs athletic department 160beltran academy one five private baseball high schools puerto rico practice baseball five days week study five days week three meals got everything said diaz want baseball player going give tools need students weight room left right160raymond santos160manuel castillo160luis virella and160pedro ottero160 ana maría abruña beltran academy located rural town florida boys focus baseball three hours weekday baseball used sport puerto rico competes volleyball boxing160and basketball last sport 160diaz cant make sense 160 basketball 7 feet tall strange puerto ricans tallest get 63 64 said diaz point name puerto rican nba player exactly handful superstars 200 puerto ricans played major league baseball including names like roberto clemente orlando cepeda160and iván pudge rodriguez many puerto rican teens still do160gravitate first baseball beltran academy nearly 400 boys try year spot roughly one 10 makes manuel castillo entering junior year made cut travels twoandahalf hours direction bus get academy leaves home 3 day gets home around 7 pm studies hours goes bed 10 pm high school castillo wants go college said god willing hell play major leagues 160 luis virella takes swing batting cage as160manuel castillo waits turn160 ana maría abruña teens like castillo baseball way poverty roughly 45 percent puerto ricans live poverty line carlos beltrán namesake school grew nearby town manatí without much either 160160 food table dad good job mom provide us said beltrán hey times didnt money go school times one pair shoes days long gone beltrán plays new york yankees beltrán 39 one baseballs best players past two decades hes picked truckload honors including roberto clemente award given annually one major league player exemplifies best sportsmanship community involvement beltrán 2013 two years started academy carlos beltrán playing 18th major league season 400 home runs selected to160eight allstar games usa today sportsadam hunger beltrán puts several hundred thousand dollars money school year afford yankees pay 15 million year beltrán says knows hes fortunate career thats school academics come first 1 percent make big leagues small window said beltrán try create environment kids really focus education time continue develop ballplayer thats important baseball ticket college scholarship talented players puerto ricos public high schools plagued exceptionally high dropout rates high 40 percent thats case160at beltráns academy 40 graduating seniors three four sign major league teams year rest going college every single one said alex diaz every single one full partial scholarship well often schools us mainland theres another thing sets beltran academy apart many puerto rican schools think important thing classes english said160gabriel arroyo entering junior year exceptions spanish class obviously taught spanish160160160160160160160 mastering english important life also baseball example coach yell arroyo hit cutoff man thats tough spanish translation arrgh thats thing know english spanish said arroyo gabriel arroyo conditioning drill ropes160 ana maría abruña arroyo spoke english relative ease picking second language seemed work progress boys 160 understand thing theyre afraid talk english explained diaz still students academy much along beltrán drafted kansas city royals teenager english hard said beltrán coming united states different culture language barrier hes fluent english besides kids academy beltrán also trying help rebuild puerto ricos rich baseball tradition recent years island eclipsed venezuela dominican republic major exporters latin american baseball talent thats largely major league teams set baseball academies countries dating far back 1980s teams havent done puerto rico teenagers us commonwealth part draft dominican republic venezuela players signed free agents individual teams set academies try lure develop top prospects yeah baseballs game ball players heroes lot kids grownups beltráns accomplishments bring pride puerto ricans beltrán gets thats wants help produce next crop puerto rican stars take place160 im best try something positive country beltrán said former major leaguer alex diaz watches players batting cages diaz runs athletic department beltran academy160 ana maría abruña
| 671 |
<p>By Emily Holladay</p>
<p>When <a href="http://www.cbfinternationals.org/Personnel/MissyWard-Angalla/tabid/8937/language/en-US/Default.aspx" type="external">Missy Ward-Angalla</a> traveled to Uganda in 2010 to minister as a Student.Go intern alongside Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Jade and Shelah Acker, she never guessed this is where she would build <a href="" type="external">a full-time ministry</a> for refugee women and children from the ground up.</p>
<p>Ward-Angalla, 28, then a seminary student at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, joined the Acker’s ministry at the Center of Hope, which provides education, vocational training and Bible studies for refugees in Kampala.</p>
<p>“When I first came to Uganda, Jade and Shelah shared with me and my teammates that they wanted to use the gifts that God had given us in order to minister to the refugee students,” Ward-Angalla said. “At the time, the center had only been open for six months and there were only 25 students, so there was a lot of room to grow.”</p>
<p>Since high school, Ward-Angalla felt called to mission work, but she came to Uganda still looking for the unique place God was asking her to serve. Coming to Uganda as an intern to fulfill a degree requirement for her program, Ward-Angalla found what she was looking for.</p>
<p>“I went through a lot of trauma when I was young,” Ward-Angalla said. “Having a community that loved and supported me helped me to heal from the trauma, and also understanding that I am loved by God and created by God.”</p>
<p>She believed God healed much of that.</p>
<p>“So when I felt called to missions and ministry when I was in high school, I really felt called to help those who were on the margins, because that is what I had experienced at a young age.”</p>
<p>Healing trauma</p>
<p>During college, she became aware of the state of women’s rights around the world and particularly those of refugee women.</p>
<p>“I think what opened my eyes at that point was the knowledge that there are so many places where there is nothing for victims of sexual violence,” Ward-Angalla said.</p>
<p>Not long after Ward-Angalla arrived in Uganda for the first time, she met a young woman who was trying to escape from a violent situation. Ward-Angalla, along with the Ackers, tried to find a way to help the woman, but were left with more questions than answers. She needed more than they could give at the time.</p>
<p />
<p>“She needed more than a safe room for a few days or a few months,” Ward-Angalla explained. “She needed counseling and training. There wasn’t a place for her to receive holistic health, so I said, ‘I want to come and I want to start a place for these refugee women and girls.’ And so, that’s really where that great need met my heart’s calling.”</p>
<p>Five years later, Ward-Angalla is living in Uganda as one of CBF’s field personnel. In October 2013, she opened Amani Sasa, a shelter for refugee women and children who have experienced violence, abuse, trafficking or other traumatizing situations. Her hope is to provide a place where refugee women can experience healing and empowerment.</p>
<p>“A lot of people who have been through violence just survive, but never heal,” she said. “The trauma doesn’t just go away — there has to be intentional healing.”</p>
<p>‘A wonderful partnership’</p>
<p>Amani Sasa has developed into a women’s ministry divided into three parts: social work ministry, rehabilitation ministry and vocational training. Women between the ages of 15-25 live at the shelter for three months while they go through the program, becoming immersed in daily discipleship, education, vocational training and both individual and group counseling.</p>
<p>The refugee women living at the shelter go through the program together, and therefore find hope and support from one another, which was an unexpected benefit of this unique program.</p>
<p>“I don’t know of another shelter in Uganda that provides a place for refugee women and children to go who have been through profound violence and trauma,” Ward-Angalla said. “Not only do they find a support group in the staff who are there and love them, but they also find support from each other, which is one of the most beautiful things about the program.”</p>
<p>They in turn are empowered to help other people, she added.</p>
<p>In Uganda, Ward-Angalla helps to transform lives of women and children who otherwise might not have come to know the love and compassion of the God who created them. But, the ministry reaches farther than Kampala’s city limits. Her passion and contagious energy has caught the hearts of many CBF partner churches, so that they too have become empowered to help abused women and children in their own communities.</p>
<p>“It’s been a wonderful partnership because we get to hear the wonderful things that God is doing through Missy,” said Mike Pearce, minister of missions at First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Ala. “I can’t recall any time that we’ve worked with a missionary who’s directly working with women who have experienced trafficking and abusive homes.”</p>
<p>‘Meaningful times’</p>
<p>Ward-Angalla also felt called to partner with CBF as a field personnel in Uganda during her second year of seminary. She was able to develop relationships with churches in the United States over the course of two years before returning to Uganda.</p>
<p>One of these churches, First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Ga., sent some members to Uganda to partner with Ward-Angalla during the summer of 2012, when she was once again serving through Student.Go.</p>
<p>“On our trips to Uganda and through Missy’s visits to our church we were able to follow the story of a young Somali woman whose mother was murdered in front of her,” shared Ruth Walker Demby, minister of missions at First Baptist, Gainesville.</p>
<p>The woman had been kidnapped and forced to marry a rebel soldier. He threw her out when she became pregnant, and the baby died as a result. Through the efforts of her sister she was finally able to find safety in Uganda.</p>
<p>“We got to see this young woman go from silent and withdrawn to being part of the loving fellowship of the Center for Hope in Kampala,” Demby said. “Worshipping with this young woman in a group of believers from all over Africa, and knowing their incredibly difficult circumstances, made this one of the most meaningful times of worship we ever experienced.”</p>
<p>Answers to prayer</p>
<p>First Baptist, Gainesville, was inspired by the way Ward-Angalla’s ministry created empowerment, rather than dependency, and sought to find more ways that they could partner with her. Most recently, children from the church’s after-school program raised money for a mother at the shelter to send her two children to school, which is very expensive in Uganda.</p>
<p>Ward-Angalla’s ministry in Uganda has had a clear impact on the churches that have followed her story. Adults and children have been inspired by her willingness to follow God’s call, even where there is not another model for how to do what she does. Her ministry is truly an example of even the youngest members of the Fellowship forming together to serve the most marginalized people in our world.</p>
<p>Ward-Angalla also shared that the churches who partner with her are a constant reminder that she is not alone. Even on her worst days, she knows that there are people praying for her and encouraging her. She feels deeply that the only way she can explain much of her work is that it is God’s answer to the prayers of her partners.</p>
<p>Through these prayers, Ward-Angalla’s partners are also discovering ways that they can help impact her ministry, even remotely. At The Well at Springfield, a church started in Jacksonville, Fla., by CBF church starter Susan Rogers, members have offered some of their skills to help Ward-Angalla raise the money she needs to continue her vital work.</p>
<p>“It has been wonderful to hear people learn more about the needs of women in Uganda and to hear them begin offering their gifts and skills to make a difference,” Rogers said. “One woman has offered to use her experience in grant writing, another is wanting to explore the possibility of micro-loans. It also has helped us see even more clearly some of the challenges of women in our own community.”</p>
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emily holladay missy wardangalla traveled uganda 2010 minister studentgo intern alongside cooperative baptist fellowship field personnel jade shelah acker never guessed would build fulltime ministry refugee women children ground wardangalla 28 seminary student mercer universitys mcafee school theology joined ackers ministry center hope provides education vocational training bible studies refugees kampala first came uganda jade shelah shared teammates wanted use gifts god given us order minister refugee students wardangalla said time center open six months 25 students lot room grow since high school wardangalla felt called mission work came uganda still looking unique place god asking serve coming uganda intern fulfill degree requirement program wardangalla found looking went lot trauma young wardangalla said community loved supported helped heal trauma also understanding loved god created god believed god healed much felt called missions ministry high school really felt called help margins experienced young age healing trauma college became aware state womens rights around world particularly refugee women think opened eyes point knowledge many places nothing victims sexual violence wardangalla said long wardangalla arrived uganda first time met young woman trying escape violent situation wardangalla along ackers tried find way help woman left questions answers needed could give time needed safe room days months wardangalla explained needed counseling training wasnt place receive holistic health said want come want start place refugee women girls thats really great need met hearts calling five years later wardangalla living uganda one cbfs field personnel october 2013 opened amani sasa shelter refugee women children experienced violence abuse trafficking traumatizing situations hope provide place refugee women experience healing empowerment lot people violence survive never heal said trauma doesnt go away intentional healing wonderful partnership amani sasa developed womens ministry divided three parts social work ministry rehabilitation ministry vocational training women ages 1525 live shelter three months go program becoming immersed daily discipleship education vocational training individual group counseling refugee women living shelter go program together therefore find hope support one another unexpected benefit unique program dont know another shelter uganda provides place refugee women children go profound violence trauma wardangalla said find support group staff love also find support one beautiful things program turn empowered help people added uganda wardangalla helps transform lives women children otherwise might come know love compassion god created ministry reaches farther kampalas city limits passion contagious energy caught hearts many cbf partner churches become empowered help abused women children communities wonderful partnership get hear wonderful things god missy said mike pearce minister missions first baptist church huntsville ala cant recall time weve worked missionary whos directly working women experienced trafficking abusive homes meaningful times wardangalla also felt called partner cbf field personnel uganda second year seminary able develop relationships churches united states course two years returning uganda one churches first baptist church gainesville ga sent members uganda partner wardangalla summer 2012 serving studentgo trips uganda missys visits church able follow story young somali woman whose mother murdered front shared ruth walker demby minister missions first baptist gainesville woman kidnapped forced marry rebel soldier threw became pregnant baby died result efforts sister finally able find safety uganda got see young woman go silent withdrawn part loving fellowship center hope kampala demby said worshipping young woman group believers africa knowing incredibly difficult circumstances made one meaningful times worship ever experienced answers prayer first baptist gainesville inspired way wardangallas ministry created empowerment rather dependency sought find ways could partner recently children churchs afterschool program raised money mother shelter send two children school expensive uganda wardangallas ministry uganda clear impact churches followed story adults children inspired willingness follow gods call even another model ministry truly example even youngest members fellowship forming together serve marginalized people world wardangalla also shared churches partner constant reminder alone even worst days knows people praying encouraging feels deeply way explain much work gods answer prayers partners prayers wardangallas partners also discovering ways help impact ministry even remotely well springfield church started jacksonville fla cbf church starter susan rogers members offered skills help wardangalla raise money needs continue vital work wonderful hear people learn needs women uganda hear begin offering gifts skills make difference rogers said one woman offered use experience grant writing another wanting explore possibility microloans also helped us see even clearly challenges women community
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<p>For the last two years, CPS has pioneered the use of an on-track indicator for students in 3rd through 8th grades that now counts for 10 percent of elementary principals’ evaluations.</p>
<p>It’s based on the more widely known “Freshman On-Track” indicator, which has been backed by years of research from the University of Chicago <a href="http://ccsr.uchicago.edu/" type="external">Consortium on Chicago School Research</a>.</p>
<p>A soon-to-be-released Consortium report has found evidence that grades and attendance in 6th through 8th grade predict high school success. But there is less evidence when it comes to 3rd through 5th grades, though <a href="https://files.nyu.edu/RANYCS/public/media/2011004.pdf" type="external">a New York City study</a> found that attendance and test scores can predict high school graduation in students as young as 4th grade. (LINK TO:)</p>
<p>And, says Consortium Director Elaine Allensworth, the indicators that CPS is using to determine whether younger students are “on track” are far from a guarantee of future academic success.</p>
<p>Students are considered on-track if they have “C” or higher grades in math and reading, a 92 percent or higher attendance rate and two or fewer write-ups for misconduct.</p>
<p>But 92 percent attendance “is not sufficient for getting good grades” in high school, Allensworth says. “[It] gives you 50-50 odds of being on track in 9th grade [and] is what you need to have a chance of graduating high school, but it’s not going to be enough to get the strong grades you are going to need to get into college.”</p>
<p>The same is true of middle-years students who get “C” grades, according to Allensworth.</p>
<p>Attendance works as a high school indicator because 9th-grade course failures are driven mainly by missed classes, Allensworth says, noting that high school students have weaker relationships with teachers and less monitoring from adults to make sure they actually get to class. “Students that are not in the habit of coming to school every day and seeing that as a priority… when things come up, adversities, issues, they are much more likely not to come, or to skip class.”</p>
<p>The Consortium may study how schools are actually using the new elementary on-track metric.</p>
<p>“Is it an indicator that schools are actually able to take action on? And how is it changing their practice?” Allensworth says. “In the high schools, just having the on-track metric made people aware of the importance of 9th grade, but people weren’t sure what they should do about it.”</p>
<p>At first, she says, many high schools did not act on on-track data. But when CPS began producing reports listing which students were veering off-track and which needed credit recovery, Allensworth says, it changed schools’ actions.</p>
<p>“I imagine different schools have different capacity [for] being able to pull the reports from the data system, and then having the time to pull your staff together and actually use the reports to reach out to kids,” Allensworth says, because that was the case with CPS high schools. “There is a capacity issue, always.”</p>
<p>Some schools see results</p>
<p>While the new metric generally lines up with the school district’s rating system–with Level 1 schools having the highest on-track rates and Level 3 schools having the lowest–there are a few exceptions. Six Level 1 schools have on-track rates under 65 percent, and six Level 3 schools have on-track rates over 75 percent.</p>
<p>The Level 3 schools Calmeca and Kershaw both have on-track rates above 80 percent, among the highest in the district. Gregory, McClellan, Prussing, Lowell, Pershing and Ronald Brown elementary schools, on the other hand, all have on-track rates lower than 65 percent despite being top-rated Level 1 schools.</p>
<p>Two principals said the new metric has been a boon to their efforts to improve their schools.</p>
<p>Matthew Ditto, the principal of Andrew Jackson Language Academy, says that having the data available has helped his school “align resources that need to be put in place to help (students) achieve their goals for the year.”</p>
<p>“With attendance, I can see on a daily basis what we are accomplishing,” Ditto explains. “Children who are having attendance issues, I can see that right away, reach out to them and see what is going on.” Staff use the data to arrange meetings with families whose children are struggling with attendance, Ditto says.</p>
<p>While principals have always paid attention to attendance data, Ditto says, “years ago… in order to catch these things it took hours and hours of human resources.”</p>
<p>Students who are getting grades of below “C” in reading and math get extra help in small groups throughout the day, Ditto says.</p>
<p>Brian Metcalf, the principal of Field Elementary, credits the on-track metric with helping him bring his school from a low Level 3 to a high Level 2 in just two years.</p>
<p>Metcalf says that he uses the data to see school-wide and grade-level trends, such as how many students are getting poor grades.</p>
<p>“Let’s say we see a disproportionate number of students receiving D’s or F’s in reading. It helps us as a staff look at, ‘What is our curriculum, and are we implementing it with fidelity?’” Metcalf notes.</p>
<p>The school is also using the data to customize students’ schedules, giving them extra time in math or reading if they are behind in a specific subject and targeting them for before-school and after-school enrichment, which is funded by Field’s community schools program.</p>
<p>“Students are more confident. We have an opportunity to fill in the gaps that they might have missed from all the way to first grade,” Metcalf says. “It caused me to be more intentional, more focused and more granular in our analyses of data.”</p>
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last two years cps pioneered use ontrack indicator students 3rd 8th grades counts 10 percent elementary principals evaluations based widely known freshman ontrack indicator backed years research university chicago consortium chicago school research soontobereleased consortium report found evidence grades attendance 6th 8th grade predict high school success less evidence comes 3rd 5th grades though new york city study found attendance test scores predict high school graduation students young 4th grade link says consortium director elaine allensworth indicators cps using determine whether younger students track far guarantee future academic success students considered ontrack c higher grades math reading 92 percent higher attendance rate two fewer writeups misconduct 92 percent attendance sufficient getting good grades high school allensworth says gives 5050 odds track 9th grade need chance graduating high school going enough get strong grades going need get college true middleyears students get c grades according allensworth attendance works high school indicator 9thgrade course failures driven mainly missed classes allensworth says noting high school students weaker relationships teachers less monitoring adults make sure actually get class students habit coming school every day seeing priority things come adversities issues much likely come skip class consortium may study schools actually using new elementary ontrack metric indicator schools actually able take action changing practice allensworth says high schools ontrack metric made people aware importance 9th grade people werent sure first says many high schools act ontrack data cps began producing reports listing students veering offtrack needed credit recovery allensworth says changed schools actions imagine different schools different capacity able pull reports data system time pull staff together actually use reports reach kids allensworth says case cps high schools capacity issue always schools see results new metric generally lines school districts rating systemwith level 1 schools highest ontrack rates level 3 schools lowestthere exceptions six level 1 schools ontrack rates 65 percent six level 3 schools ontrack rates 75 percent level 3 schools calmeca kershaw ontrack rates 80 percent among highest district gregory mcclellan prussing lowell pershing ronald brown elementary schools hand ontrack rates lower 65 percent despite toprated level 1 schools two principals said new metric boon efforts improve schools matthew ditto principal andrew jackson language academy says data available helped school align resources need put place help students achieve goals year attendance see daily basis accomplishing ditto explains children attendance issues see right away reach see going staff use data arrange meetings families whose children struggling attendance ditto says principals always paid attention attendance data ditto says years ago order catch things took hours hours human resources students getting grades c reading math get extra help small groups throughout day ditto says brian metcalf principal field elementary credits ontrack metric helping bring school low level 3 high level 2 two years metcalf says uses data see schoolwide gradelevel trends many students getting poor grades lets say see disproportionate number students receiving ds fs reading helps us staff look curriculum implementing fidelity metcalf notes school also using data customize students schedules giving extra time math reading behind specific subject targeting beforeschool afterschool enrichment funded fields community schools program students confident opportunity fill gaps might missed way first grade metcalf says caused intentional focused granular analyses data
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<p>HONG KONG — She’s young. She’s beautiful. She’s smart. Christina Chan is emerging as the new face of Hong Kong’s increasingly disaffected.</p>
<p>For Hong Kong’s scandal-driven media, 22-year-old Chan offers a prism through which to view the increasingly angry “post-80s generation.”</p>
<p>Yet it’s a shoe that doesn’t quite fit, says Chan. The graduate student in philosophy agrees that dissatisfaction in the former British colony is on the rise. But she insists the backlash on the streets is not just coming from young people. “This is not a generational war,” she says.</p>
<p>Frustrations are brewing among a large swath of Hong Kong society including rural dwellers, middle-aged workers and teens who want their voices to be heard, says Chan.</p>
<p>“People are getting angrier and angrier,” she says. According to Chan, citizens’ rage is fueled by the government’s failure to deliver on its promise of democracy and its growing heavy-handedness in dealing with protests.</p>
<p>Yet as she sips on a mineral water at a coffee shop in a swanky Hong Kong mall, Chan doesn’t come across as a typical angry activist. Instead she oozes quiet confidence and effortless coolness. Born in Hong Kong and educated in England during her teens, Chan says she fell into political activism by accident.</p>
<p>“The reason I am here today is because I organized some random event on Facebook,” she says in a reference to demonstration she organized protesting China’s treatment of Tibet in 2008. Her access to the social networking website was shut down on two separate occasions without explanation.</p>
<p>Chan says she wouldn’t be surprised if authorities in Beijing were behind the crack down. “The Chinese government is a super oppressive power, obsessed with control,” she says.</p>
<p>When Beijing won jurisdiction over Hong Kong in 1997, it promised to protect the rights and freedoms of the former colony under the “One Country, Two Systems” approach. Part of the deal was a promise of universal suffrage for the city’s 7 million residents.</p>
<p>That promise has not yet been fully fulfilled. Today, half of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council’s 60 seats are geographical constituencies contested under a "one person one vote system.” The others are functional constituencies where voting rights are given to a selected few based on criteria such as belonging to a particular profession, industry or trade.</p>
<p>The territory’s leader, the chief executive, is selected by a committee of 800 people chosen by the Beijing government.</p>
<p>Universal suffrage has been postponed until later this decade. But for many like Christina Chan, that deadline is too far off. The territory’s undemocratic political system is prompting people to vent that it is unfair to a degree rarely seen in Hong Kong before.</p>
<p>Since the start of the year tactics are changing as protesters become increasingly emboldened.</p>
<p>At a pro-democracy march on New Year’s Day, demonstrators climbed over barriers outside the Beijing government’s liaison office in Hong Kong. On Jan. 16, scuffles with police took place when a crowd of around 10,000 people surrounded Hong Kong’s LegCo in a bid to block government support of a controversial high-speed rail project linking Hong Kong to Guangzhou. Chan was arrested a week later for an alleged assault on a police officer and released on bail.</p>
<p>“The police are getting more and more violent,” says Chan pointing to the recent police use of pepper spray to subdue protesters. Yet the police are only an apparatus of a government that wants to control dissenting voices, she says.</p>
<p>In a statement, the Hong Kong Police Force describes its approach in recent protests as “very restrained” and that it had acted “very professionally.” “Rather, some protesters were very abusive and disorderly,” the statement reads.</p>
<p>Compared to other countries the clashes are minor. But in a city and country so focused on creating “harmony” the specter of more street battles should make the territory’s leaders feel threatened, says Chan. “The government should be scared of the people and not the other way round.”</p>
<p>Chan says recent events mark a new departure for activism in Hong Kong. Before, demonstrators were reluctant to push the envelope. Now they are willing to go one step forward. Civil disobedience should be as peaceful as possible and protestors must accept the consequences of their actions, she says. “But sometimes you have to break the law to show the law is unjust.”</p>
<p>Chan admits she is sometimes afraid. “Heroism is kind of dangerous,” she says. “Especially after the arrest.” She says she feels pressure as many pin their hopes for reform on her and her followers. “But [ultimately] people have got to come out themselves [to protest].”</p>
<p>Hong Kong’s often overzealous media is having a field day with Chan’s combination of political fury and burning looks. Chan says the paparazzi have invaded her private life and criticized her lifestyle. Her parents urge her to leave the fight to others, but she refuses.</p>
<p>“This is not the life I want at all,” she says. “I could live somewhere else. Then I wouldn’t have to see the injustices that go on in Hong Kong. But this is my home.”</p>
<p>Chan expects the next decade to be spent fighting for democracy in the territory with no result. “One day eventually it will come, “she says. “Who knows maybe the world will end before it comes?”</p>
<p>Until then she will remain angry. “In fact more Hong Kong people should be angry,” she says. “And if they are not angry, they should ask themselves why.”</p>
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hong kong shes young shes beautiful shes smart christina chan emerging new face hong kongs increasingly disaffected hong kongs scandaldriven media 22yearold chan offers prism view increasingly angry post80s generation yet shoe doesnt quite fit says chan graduate student philosophy agrees dissatisfaction former british colony rise insists backlash streets coming young people generational war says frustrations brewing among large swath hong kong society including rural dwellers middleaged workers teens want voices heard says chan people getting angrier angrier says according chan citizens rage fueled governments failure deliver promise democracy growing heavyhandedness dealing protests yet sips mineral water coffee shop swanky hong kong mall chan doesnt come across typical angry activist instead oozes quiet confidence effortless coolness born hong kong educated england teens chan says fell political activism accident reason today organized random event facebook says reference demonstration organized protesting chinas treatment tibet 2008 access social networking website shut two separate occasions without explanation chan says wouldnt surprised authorities beijing behind crack chinese government super oppressive power obsessed control says beijing jurisdiction hong kong 1997 promised protect rights freedoms former colony one country two systems approach part deal promise universal suffrage citys 7 million residents promise yet fully fulfilled today half hong kongs legislative councils 60 seats geographical constituencies contested one person one vote system others functional constituencies voting rights given selected based criteria belonging particular profession industry trade territorys leader chief executive selected committee 800 people chosen beijing government universal suffrage postponed later decade many like christina chan deadline far territorys undemocratic political system prompting people vent unfair degree rarely seen hong kong since start year tactics changing protesters become increasingly emboldened prodemocracy march new years day demonstrators climbed barriers outside beijing governments liaison office hong kong jan 16 scuffles police took place crowd around 10000 people surrounded hong kongs legco bid block government support controversial highspeed rail project linking hong kong guangzhou chan arrested week later alleged assault police officer released bail police getting violent says chan pointing recent police use pepper spray subdue protesters yet police apparatus government wants control dissenting voices says statement hong kong police force describes approach recent protests restrained acted professionally rather protesters abusive disorderly statement reads compared countries clashes minor city country focused creating harmony specter street battles make territorys leaders feel threatened says chan government scared people way round chan says recent events mark new departure activism hong kong demonstrators reluctant push envelope willing go one step forward civil disobedience peaceful possible protestors must accept consequences actions says sometimes break law show law unjust chan admits sometimes afraid heroism kind dangerous says especially arrest says feels pressure many pin hopes reform followers ultimately people got come protest hong kongs often overzealous media field day chans combination political fury burning looks chan says paparazzi invaded private life criticized lifestyle parents urge leave fight others refuses life want says could live somewhere else wouldnt see injustices go hong kong home chan expects next decade spent fighting democracy territory result one day eventually come says knows maybe world end comes remain angry fact hong kong people angry says angry ask
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<p>CURWOOD: It's Living On Earth. I'm Steve Curwood. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing eleven workers as a sea bed well blew out and began spewing over 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf. Since then, science has been trying to understand exactly how such a torrent of oil affects the marine ecosystem. The University of South Florida leads a collaboration of chemists, engineers and biologists investigating this, and as part of updating Living on Earth stories during Earth month were catching up on this effort. David Levin went along with the team in 2012, and here is part of his report.</p>
<p>LEVIN: For three straight months, oil sprayed up from the wellhead to the surface, and as it rose, vast plumes of toxic chemicals and oil droplets broke off, staying suspended in the seawater at different depths. They drifted around the Gulf like toxic clouds.</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: This is not a black layer in the ocean. It doesn't even look like vinaigrette when you bring it up. It looks like crystal clear water, and the reason is because they were such fine droplets that you couldn't see them.</p>
<p>This map shows thousands of oil platforms (represented by yellow dots) scattered throughout the Louisiana and Mississippi Coast in the Gulf of Mexico. White crosshairs mark the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and blue and orange circles represent C-IMAGE sampling sites. (Photo: David Levin)</p>
<p>LEVIN: The underwater plumes eventually floated into the continental slope. That's where the ocean falls out dramatically. It falls from a few hundred feet deep to a few thousand. When the plumes hit the slope, they left a smear of oily residue. Hollander and his team are using this cruise to visit those oil-soaked areas. Their mission: collect both sediment and fish to measure the plumes impact on the Gulf ecosystem, from huge whales to tiny single-celled animals.</p>
<p>This projects part of a larger research effort Hollander helped start at USF. Hes organized scientists from around the world to study the aftermath of the spill. The group calls themselves C-IMAGE, and this cruise is the first part of their collaboration.</p>
<p>[CLANKING FOOTSTEPS ON GANGPLANK, ENGINES WHIRRING]</p>
<p>LEVIN: For the next eight days, our home base will be here, on the Weatherbird II, a 115-foot research vessel.</p>
<p>WHITE: Welcome aboard, glad to finally have everybody on board. Looking at a 4 a.m. start, 5 a.m. start</p>
<p>C-IMAGE scientists Patrick Schwing and David Hollander help bring in a multicorer, a device that samples sediment from the ocean floor. Inside the frame are eight thick plastic tubes that sink into the mud when the device hits the bottom, sealing the sediments inside. The samples will help Schwing and Hollander determine the extent to which oil has affected the ecosystem at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>LEVIN: Thats Matt White, the ships captain. Were about to set sail for an area of the sea floor called the Desoto Canyon, about 60 miles southwest of the Florida panhandle. Its one of the places where the oil plumes bumped into the continental slope.</p>
<p>[CRANE WHIRRING]</p>
<p>By midnight, were at our first stop. Hollanders team lowers a device called a multicorer into the water. Its a metal frame about 10 feet tall.</p>
<p>SCHWING: The multicorer literally looks like a giant spider, or a giant lunar lander</p>
<p>LEVIN: Patrick Schwing is a post-doc in Hollanders lab. Hes watching the multicorer disappear under the waves. When it hits the bottom, eight plastic tubes inside it will grab mud from the seafloor.</p>
<p>SCHWING: and at that point we start pulling it back up.</p>
<p>LEVIN: These coring samples are crucial for understanding how the spill moved around the Gulf. Theyll help the team predict what happens to oil after a deep-water blowout, and how long itll last in the water. But the life of the oil is only half the picture. To understand its impact on the ecosystem, the team needs to know how fish and other animals are faring.</p>
<p>[ON DECK]</p>
<p>MURAWSKI: Look at that sunrise. Thats sharp.</p>
<p>LEVIN: The next day, at 6 in the morning, Steve Murawski stands on deck, holding laundry baskets full of bait.</p>
<p>A view forward from the stern deck of the R/V Weatherbird II, the 115-foot research vessel used by C-IMAGE, as it waits to embark on an 8-day research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. (photo: David Levin)</p>
<p>MURAWSKI: Its a combination of squid and Boston mackerel</p>
<p>LEVIN: Murawski is a biological oceanographer at USF, and hes running this research cruise along with Hollander. Hes setting up for a long day of fishing. His team is using a winch the size of a 50-gallon drum to let out five miles of metal cable. Strung out along the cable are 500 baited hooks. Its a technique called long-lining. As the cable spools out, it settles across the bottom, attracting fish that live near the oily sediments.</p>
<p>MURAWSKI: Its a unique opportunity to see whats going on with the fishes in the really deep water. We know that theres oil on the bottom. What were trying to see is if that oil is having any food chain effects.</p>
<p>LEVIN: Murawski thinks the toxic chemicals may have been absorbed by tiny animals that live in the sedimentslike clams, snails, and worms, which all get eaten by fish. So if theres any oil lower down in the food chain, it might end up in the fish. And if it does, Murawski wants to know. So hes taking samples from all the species he catches on his long line.</p>
<p>These dogfish (actually type of shark) are common in the Gulf of Mexico, and come up frequently on C-IMAGE fishing lines. (photo: David Levin)</p>
<p>MURAWSKI: So what we're going to do is look at the bile, the blood, the liver, the muscle, and then some of the organs of the fish. So that should tell us number one, is there active oil in the environment, and number two, is it being uptaken by these fish, some of which are of commercial importance.</p>
<p>[FLOPPING FISH ON DECK]</p>
<p>LEVIN: One by one, fish come off the long line and flop onto the deck. Red snapper, Dogfish. Eels. Grouper. Tuna. This part of the research is grueling. Murawski and his students work in 100 degree heat, cutting out fish guts so they can test them for chemicals from the oil.and when theyre done with that, they reach for the bone saw.</p>
<p>[BONE SAW CUTTING INTO FISH HEAD]</p>
<p>HERDTER: Whoo! Perfect!</p>
<p>LEVIN: Liz Herdter, one of Murawskis students, just split open the head of a yellowedge grouper. She uses tweezers to pull out delicate bones from its inner ears. They look like tiny oyster shells.</p>
<p>USF Graduate student Liz Herdter carefully removes delicate inner ear bones called "otoliths" from a Yellowedge Grouper. Chemicals trapped in various layers of the otoliths provide a detailed record of the fishes' exposure to toxins throughout its life, and may help provide clues to the fishes' exposure to oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill. (photo: David Levin)</p>
<p>HERDTER: These are otoliths. Theyre like an earstone. Steve likes to call it the flight recorder.</p>
<p>LEVIN: Thats because a new layer of bone forms around an otolith every year. Theyre laid down like the rings of a tree, and by analyzing these layers; you can track the health of the fish over time.</p>
<p>HERDTER: If they came into contact with any chemicals, therell be a chemical marker, so theyre a really neat way to determine whats been happening in the life of the fish.</p>
<p>LEVIN: Murawskis team wants to use these samples to create a big-picture view of fish and ecosystem health in the Gulf. Even today, some fish are still in bad shape Like the 50-pound red snapper Murawskis holding. Its got a skin lesion.</p>
<p>MURAWSKI: Its also got a bad eye! See his eye? His eyes gone. So this is the kind of fish we want to investigate for whether it has any relationship to oil or not.</p>
<p>LEVIN: Sick fish like this one dont surprise Murawski. He thinks their bad health is connected to whats going on in the sediments, and Hollander just found some evidence to back that up. At a work table crammed into a corner of the deck, Hollander points to one of the cores his team pulled up the night before. Its a clear plastic tube, about two feet long and six inches wide. Its full of grey mud, where tiny worms, snails, and clams have burrowed, mixing it all up But a few inches from the top, that uniform grey suddenly turns brown. And that, he says, means trouble.</p>
<p>From L to R: C-IMAGE researchers transfer a sediment core sample into a storage tube on the deck of the R/V Weatherbird II. (Photo: David Levin)</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: What this really represents is where the subsurface plumes actually touched the sediment surface.</p>
<p>LEVIN: When the plumes hit the sea floor, they wiped out the tiny creatures that usually mix up the sediment. So after the spill, all that churning activity ground to a halt.</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: If there were organisms mixing this, you wouldnt find these distinct layers, so those organisms are gone.</p>
<p>LEVIN: In some parts of the Gulf, they still havent come back. And since some fish live in and near the sediments, Hollander thinks the chemical plumes probably affected them, too, causing the liver problems and skin lesions Murawskis been seeing. But its hard to know for sure. Figuring out what the toxins may have done to the fish is a challenge, and its tough to pinpoint which chemicals could be the culprits.</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: You know, you have to be able to trace the oil from its origin, through the water column, onto the sediments, and then as that material degrades, how do you follow it? Not that easy.</p>
<p>From top to bottom: C-IMAGE researchers Patty Smukall (USF Teacher-At-Sea), Theresa Greely, David Hastings, and Patrick Schwing process samples in the onboard lab lof the RV Weatherbird II. (Photo: David Levin)</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Thats marine chemist David Hollander at the University of South Florida, in David Levin's report on the team studying the long term impact of the DeepWater Horizon catastrophe on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Professor Hollander is a key researcher in this effort, so we called him up to get a handle on new developments and the state of the gulf today. When he spoke to us his parakeets joined in.</p>
<p>[PARAKEETS CHIRPING]</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: We have definitive perspectives on the fisheries that are being affected and are still affected and we have an understanding of their contaminate chemistry and how they got contaminated through the sedimentary system and the deposition of oil onto the sediments. The good news is that its recovering. The bad news is that it's still pervasive in the area and we don't have an exact understanding of how long it will last.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: So, what are the affects of all this the fish life down there? What kind of clues do you have?</p>
<p>Above, C-IMAGE researchers lower a CTD (Conducticity, Temperature, and Depth) rosette into the Gulf to study the effects of the oil spill on water quality. C-IMAGE is a consortium of 19 institutions in six different countries studying the long-term impacts of the Deepwater Horizon and Ixtoc oil spills on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. (Photo: courtesy of C-IMAGE Consortium)</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: The clues actually come from the fish themselves. Hydrocarbons, oil in particular, it's not like a heavy metal, it doesn't accumulate in fish but actually is metabolized and when you measure these compounds, these petroleum hydrocarbons in fish liver and importantly in fish bile, we can see their prevalence in those tissues and those liquids. We've seen a decline since 2010 and 2011 of about 30 to 50 percent, and that does vary by compounds but we are still seeing the persistent contamination of the food that fish are actually consuming especially those that are associated with the bottom and those are called benthic-dependent fish and they make up some of the most important economically and recreational fish species in the northern Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: For example?</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: The Red Snapper, for example, which is a quite common fish in restaurants as well as in recreational fishing. Grouper are another species as well.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: So, Professor, the situation you're seeing there. What kind of ideas, what kind of better ideas does it give us of how we should deal with a future blowout if one were to ever happen?</p>
<p>Back at the lab, researchers working with C-IMAGE run tests on samples collected from the Gulf. (Photo: Courtesy of C-IMAGE Consortium)</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: In the case of the Deepwater Horizon there was oil that was marching its way towards the coastline and into the marshes and so the forces that be opened up the floodgates of the Mississippi, opened up the diversionary channels to push freshwater out of the marshes and push the oil into the offshore region. But associated with those waters came a significant amount of clays and nutrients and they had a unexpected consequence, that is, the dispersants were also applied to the oil from the surface as well as oil was skimmed and burned. The oil with dispersants lends itself to smaller droplets, which very, very effectively binds with the clay minerals. The nutrients, which came out of the river system, produced an algal bloom, which in the presence of oil and dispersants, the algae produce a very mucilaginous, very sticky substance. And essentially, it's a stress response by the organisms.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: It sounds like oily snot.</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: That's precisely it. There was actually a term coined sea snot to represent the sticky mucilaginous material. So the oil mineral aggregates would adhere very readily to that sticky mucilaginous material with the algae, and all of a sudden you had this combination of oil and mineral and algae material, which were able to sink out of the water very, very quickly. This material was falling like a blizzard, and we coined the term the flocculent dirty blizzard because it represented really the process that was going on.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Now talk to be about the state of the marshes and the rest of the gulf, the beaches, the oyster bed. How have they recovered so far?</p>
<p>Oil from Deepwater Horizon spread out over 3,850 square miles of the waters in the Gulf. (Photo: SkyTruth, Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: The oysters were, of course, affected by the opening up of these floodgates of the Mississippi and the diversionary channels. They require a very precise range and salinity and that salinity was dropped significantly and really compromised those oyster beds. They've come back in some locations, in other locations they don't seem to have recovered as strongly. The beaches themselves look pretty good. They use a lot of physical techniques to mix up the oil with the sandy sediments, and that essentially dilutes the oil in the sediment on the beaches, but you can still find very resistant oil molecules and oil molecules that have actually transformed to very bio resistant molecules that have a long-term persistence in the environment.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Obviously, preventing blowouts is the best possible way to proceed but what are the lessons we should learn as a society, especially about our relationship with oil well extraction from the research that you've done there on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.</p>
<p>David Hollander is an Associate Professor of Chemical Oceanography at the University of South Florida. (Photo: courtesy of David Hollander)</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: I think that the take home message is that if in the event of deep water blowouts it is a complex series of chemical reactions that are occurring that can lead to really unpredicted consequences, and the standard cleanup procedures that we have can also lead to fairly unexpected consequences that we never recognize, namely the process of sedimentary oil deposition and that a significant component of the oil that's on the surface could actually return back to the sedimentary system and that this material can have a long-term biological and ecosystem consequence. If you're trying to save one part of the ecosystem you could very well jeopardize another one. With the use of the dispersants and the burning and the opening of the Mississippi...this was thought of as very little consequence to pushing this oil into the offshore regions but what we've been able to recognize is that indeed this oil has a fate and it does end up in the sediments and it is affecting biological systems and there is a consequence and ultimately there is an economic impact of this. The long-term good news is that the oil is essentially marching its way down the continental slope and so its ultimate destiny is to move into environments where there's lower biological activity but it's still there.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: David Hollander is a Professor of Marine Chemistry at the University of South Florida. Thanks so much for taking the time.</p>
<p>HOLLANDER: It's been a pleasure.</p>
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curwood living earth im steve curwood april 20 2010 deepwater horizon oil rig gulf mexico exploded killing eleven workers sea bed well blew began spewing 200 million gallons crude gulf since science trying understand exactly torrent oil affects marine ecosystem university south florida leads collaboration chemists engineers biologists investigating part updating living earth stories earth month catching effort david levin went along team 2012 part report levin three straight months oil sprayed wellhead surface rose vast plumes toxic chemicals oil droplets broke staying suspended seawater different depths drifted around gulf like toxic clouds hollander black layer ocean doesnt even look like vinaigrette bring looks like crystal clear water reason fine droplets couldnt see map shows thousands oil platforms represented yellow dots scattered throughout louisiana mississippi coast gulf mexico white crosshairs mark site deepwater horizon disaster blue orange circles represent cimage sampling sites photo david levin levin underwater plumes eventually floated continental slope thats ocean falls dramatically falls hundred feet deep thousand plumes hit slope left smear oily residue hollander team using cruise visit oilsoaked areas mission collect sediment fish measure plumes impact gulf ecosystem huge whales tiny singlecelled animals projects part larger research effort hollander helped start usf hes organized scientists around world study aftermath spill group calls cimage cruise first part collaboration clanking footsteps gangplank engines whirring levin next eight days home base weatherbird ii 115foot research vessel white welcome aboard glad finally everybody board looking 4 start 5 start cimage scientists patrick schwing david hollander help bring multicorer device samples sediment ocean floor inside frame eight thick plastic tubes sink mud device hits bottom sealing sediments inside samples help schwing hollander determine extent oil affected ecosystem bottom gulf mexico levin thats matt white ships captain set sail area sea floor called desoto canyon 60 miles southwest florida panhandle one places oil plumes bumped continental slope crane whirring midnight first stop hollanders team lowers device called multicorer water metal frame 10 feet tall schwing multicorer literally looks like giant spider giant lunar lander levin patrick schwing postdoc hollanders lab hes watching multicorer disappear waves hits bottom eight plastic tubes inside grab mud seafloor schwing point start pulling back levin coring samples crucial understanding spill moved around gulf theyll help team predict happens oil deepwater blowout long itll last water life oil half picture understand impact ecosystem team needs know fish animals faring deck murawski look sunrise thats sharp levin next day 6 morning steve murawski stands deck holding laundry baskets full bait view forward stern deck rv weatherbird ii 115foot research vessel used cimage waits embark 8day research cruise gulf mexico photo david levin murawski combination squid boston mackerel levin murawski biological oceanographer usf hes running research cruise along hollander hes setting long day fishing team using winch size 50gallon drum let five miles metal cable strung along cable 500 baited hooks technique called longlining cable spools settles across bottom attracting fish live near oily sediments murawski unique opportunity see whats going fishes really deep water know theres oil bottom trying see oil food chain effects levin murawski thinks toxic chemicals may absorbed tiny animals live sedimentslike clams snails worms get eaten fish theres oil lower food chain might end fish murawski wants know hes taking samples species catches long line dogfish actually type shark common gulf mexico come frequently cimage fishing lines photo david levin murawski going look bile blood liver muscle organs fish tell us number one active oil environment number two uptaken fish commercial importance flopping fish deck levin one one fish come long line flop onto deck red snapper dogfish eels grouper tuna part research grueling murawski students work 100 degree heat cutting fish guts test chemicals oiland theyre done reach bone saw bone saw cutting fish head herdter whoo perfect levin liz herdter one murawskis students split open head yellowedge grouper uses tweezers pull delicate bones inner ears look like tiny oyster shells usf graduate student liz herdter carefully removes delicate inner ear bones called otoliths yellowedge grouper chemicals trapped various layers otoliths provide detailed record fishes exposure toxins throughout life may help provide clues fishes exposure oil deepwater horizon spill photo david levin herdter otoliths theyre like earstone steve likes call flight recorder levin thats new layer bone forms around otolith every year theyre laid like rings tree analyzing layers track health fish time herdter came contact chemicals therell chemical marker theyre really neat way determine whats happening life fish levin murawskis team wants use samples create bigpicture view fish ecosystem health gulf even today fish still bad shape like 50pound red snapper murawskis holding got skin lesion murawski also got bad eye see eye eyes gone kind fish want investigate whether relationship oil levin sick fish like one dont surprise murawski thinks bad health connected whats going sediments hollander found evidence back work table crammed corner deck hollander points one cores team pulled night clear plastic tube two feet long six inches wide full grey mud tiny worms snails clams burrowed mixing inches top uniform grey suddenly turns brown says means trouble l r cimage researchers transfer sediment core sample storage tube deck rv weatherbird ii photo david levin hollander really represents subsurface plumes actually touched sediment surface levin plumes hit sea floor wiped tiny creatures usually mix sediment spill churning activity ground halt hollander organisms mixing wouldnt find distinct layers organisms gone levin parts gulf still havent come back since fish live near sediments hollander thinks chemical plumes probably affected causing liver problems skin lesions murawskis seeing hard know sure figuring toxins may done fish challenge tough pinpoint chemicals could culprits hollander know able trace oil origin water column onto sediments material degrades follow easy top bottom cimage researchers patty smukall usf teacheratsea theresa greely david hastings patrick schwing process samples onboard lab lof rv weatherbird ii photo david levin curwood thats marine chemist david hollander university south florida david levins report team studying long term impact deepwater horizon catastrophe gulf mexico ecosystem professor hollander key researcher effort called get handle new developments state gulf today spoke us parakeets joined parakeets chirping hollander definitive perspectives fisheries affected still affected understanding contaminate chemistry got contaminated sedimentary system deposition oil onto sediments good news recovering bad news still pervasive area dont exact understanding long last curwood affects fish life kind clues cimage researchers lower ctd conducticity temperature depth rosette gulf study effects oil spill water quality cimage consortium 19 institutions six different countries studying longterm impacts deepwater horizon ixtoc oil spills gulf mexico ecosystem photo courtesy cimage consortium hollander clues actually come fish hydrocarbons oil particular like heavy metal doesnt accumulate fish actually metabolized measure compounds petroleum hydrocarbons fish liver importantly fish bile see prevalence tissues liquids weve seen decline since 2010 2011 30 50 percent vary compounds still seeing persistent contamination food fish actually consuming especially associated bottom called benthicdependent fish make important economically recreational fish species northern gulf mexico curwood example hollander red snapper example quite common fish restaurants well recreational fishing grouper another species well curwood professor situation youre seeing kind ideas kind better ideas give us deal future blowout one ever happen back lab researchers working cimage run tests samples collected gulf photo courtesy cimage consortium hollander case deepwater horizon oil marching way towards coastline marshes forces opened floodgates mississippi opened diversionary channels push freshwater marshes push oil offshore region associated waters came significant amount clays nutrients unexpected consequence dispersants also applied oil surface well oil skimmed burned oil dispersants lends smaller droplets effectively binds clay minerals nutrients came river system produced algal bloom presence oil dispersants algae produce mucilaginous sticky substance essentially stress response organisms curwood sounds like oily snot hollander thats precisely actually term coined sea snot represent sticky mucilaginous material oil mineral aggregates would adhere readily sticky mucilaginous material algae sudden combination oil mineral algae material able sink water quickly material falling like blizzard coined term flocculent dirty blizzard represented really process going curwood talk state marshes rest gulf beaches oyster bed recovered far oil deepwater horizon spread 3850 square miles waters gulf photo skytruth flickr cc byncsa 20 hollander oysters course affected opening floodgates mississippi diversionary channels require precise range salinity salinity dropped significantly really compromised oyster beds theyve come back locations locations dont seem recovered strongly beaches look pretty good use lot physical techniques mix oil sandy sediments essentially dilutes oil sediment beaches still find resistant oil molecules oil molecules actually transformed bio resistant molecules longterm persistence environment curwood obviously preventing blowouts best possible way proceed lessons learn society especially relationship oil well extraction research youve done bottom gulf mexico david hollander associate professor chemical oceanography university south florida photo courtesy david hollander hollander think take home message event deep water blowouts complex series chemical reactions occurring lead really unpredicted consequences standard cleanup procedures also lead fairly unexpected consequences never recognize namely process sedimentary oil deposition significant component oil thats surface could actually return back sedimentary system material longterm biological ecosystem consequence youre trying save one part ecosystem could well jeopardize another one use dispersants burning opening mississippithis thought little consequence pushing oil offshore regions weve able recognize indeed oil fate end sediments affecting biological systems consequence ultimately economic impact longterm good news oil essentially marching way continental slope ultimate destiny move environments theres lower biological activity still curwood david hollander professor marine chemistry university south florida thanks much taking time hollander pleasure
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<p>Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform’s analysts have monitored the Chicago Public Schools budget for more than 20 years. Our goal is to dig beneath the rhetoric to understand what lies behind the numbers and share this information with the public. We advocate for equity so that every student in every school gets his or her fair share of funding, and for CPS to push as many dollars as possible to the school level, giving principals and local school councils authority over those dollars. We do this because we believe that budgets are about students, program priorities and support for good teaching and learning.</p>
<p>Our analysis of the budget finds that CPS is losing credibility, that the best interests of children are not represented in budget decisions and that disadvantaged children are bearing the brunt of budget cuts.</p>
<p>One year ago, Cross City Campaign reported on a crisis of confidence in the system’s ability to manage its finances. Our analysis of the FY2006 budget found numerous mistakes. Regrettably, the FY2007 budget is just as murky, with numbers that change from day to day. For example:</p>
<p>* Shortfall projections are unreliable and unsubstantiated.</p>
<p>* $626 million for capital projects is missing from the budget.</p>
<p>* Enrollment projections used to justify special education cuts changed three times in one week.</p>
<p>* Central office cuts do not equal the $25 million reported.</p>
<p>* CPS hides additional central office positions in school-based units.</p>
<p>* CPS for the first time reported that central office staff totals do not include more than 600 consultants.</p>
<p>Our analysis also finds that when there are choices to be made, students and school staff must get in line after mayoral political interests. CPS has made deliberate decisions that jeopardize future revenues and the long-term stability of the system by:</p>
<p>Encouraging the creation of Tax Increment Financing districts (TIFs) that siphon money away from classrooms. TIFs are a policy tool intended to jump-start development in blighted areas of a city. A legal loophole allows Chicago, like many cities, to create TIFs in areas already experiencing growth in property values. The city captures the increased property tax revenues and then channels them to developers. This, in turn, takes the revenue increases away from local taxing bodies. While property taxpayers in those areas appear to be paying taxes for schools, parks and city services, millions of their tax dollars are really going into TIFs.</p>
<p>CPS has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue over the years, funds that could be used to pay for day-to-day costs like classroom teachers, supplies and special education services. Rather than discouraging the creation of TIFs, CPS board members have encouraged parents to lobby for new TIFs.</p>
<p>Supporting the plan to sell the Illinois lottery even though funds will dry up after four years. The CPS Board of Education endorsed Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to sell the Illinois Lottery, although CPS itself admits that after the initial proceeds are spent, there will be no additional revenue.</p>
<p>Negotiating balloon payments that will cost $80 million a year. In 2010, CPS’ debt payments will increase by nearly $80 million a year. This increased cost may have gone unnoticed because it will occur at the same time the School Finance Authority’s debt obligations expire. (The finance authority is now defunct.)</p>
<p>CPS could have let the finance authority’s debt be paid off and lightened the burden on individual property taxpayers, or put that money into the classroom. Instead of having an additional $80 million dollars each year to pay for programs, CPS chose to take on more debt.</p>
<p>These are just three examples of how CPS is willing to jeopardize future resources for the sake of short-term gains. In the end, children lose. That brings us to the most disturbing fact in this budget: Disadvantaged children bear the brunt of budget cuts.</p>
<p>CPS claims to have cut 200 special education teachers and 700 special education aides partially because of enrollment declines. However, CPS presented three different special education enrollment figures during the course of one week, and their projections for next year were actually higher than current special education enrollment, thus undercutting their rationale for cuts.</p>
<p>CPS has also been siphoning money away from the poorest schools for decades by changing the federal Title I formula, forcing schools to use supplemental general state aid (formerly called state Chapter 1) and federal Title I dollars to buy basic programs.</p>
<p>Supplemental general state aid I and federal Title I dollars provide supplementary programs for low-income children. CPS uses formulas to distribute those dollars to schools. While CPS gets more funds each year, it rarely puts any of those new dollars into the formula.</p>
<p>In 1998, CPS received $170 million from federal Title I. In 2006, CPS received $297 million. Yet CPS chose to distribute to local schools only $17 million of the $127 million increase</p>
<p>Over the last several years, CPS has also changed the federal Title I formula to decrease the amount of money going to schools with the highest poverty rates. In FY2006, schools in the lowest poverty range received $480 per student, up from $200 per student the previous year. At the same time, CPS took $180 per child away from schools with the highest poverty.</p>
<p>Likewise, while CPS received $400 million more a year in general state aid than it did in 1998, not a single dollar has gone into the state Chapter I formula to be distributed to schools. As the purchasing power for those dollars decreases each year, the poorest schools have less and less to provide supplementary programs to their students. Meanwhile, CPS gets more and more state and federal poverty funds to spend as the district chooses.</p>
<p>At the same time, schools have been forced to use their dwindling dollars to replace basic services.</p>
<p>Over the years, CPS has cut truant officers, security guards, elementary school assistant principals, and teacher aides, among other positions. When CPS cuts those jobs, schools must turn to their poverty dollars to pay for the services.</p>
<p>In addition, schools that are struggling the most academically have been given a mandate to purchase reading and math programs and coaches from central office. In a February 2005 memo, probation schools and other low-scoring schools were notified that “area instructional officers have the authority to lock 100 percent of a school’s discretionary funds until the AIO and the principal agree on a budget plan.” The memo goes on to list mandated programs with costs attached.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, CPS has been funneling basic dollars away from low-income schools to schools that are not poor enough to qualify for poverty funds. Under the “minimum funding program,” affluent schools have been getting up to $200,000 each year in extra basic dollars.</p>
<p>Cross City Campaign believes that CPS has a responsibility to provide a high-quality education to all students and to ensure that the most disadvantaged students share equitably in the resources.</p>
<p />
<p>CPS’ budget document is the most powerful policy tool the district creates. It should be transparent and reliable. CPS resources should be distributed equitably, and the district should serve the best interests of all the children. CPS is not meeting these standards. We believe that CPS must regain the public trust.</p>
<p>Christina Warden is the senior program director for school-based budgeting and district redesign at Cross City Campaign for Urban School Reform. She has 18 years of experience analyzing CPS budgets and training local school councils to understand school budgets.</p>
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cross city campaign urban school reforms analysts monitored chicago public schools budget 20 years goal dig beneath rhetoric understand lies behind numbers share information public advocate equity every student every school gets fair share funding cps push many dollars possible school level giving principals local school councils authority dollars believe budgets students program priorities support good teaching learning analysis budget finds cps losing credibility best interests children represented budget decisions disadvantaged children bearing brunt budget cuts one year ago cross city campaign reported crisis confidence systems ability manage finances analysis fy2006 budget found numerous mistakes regrettably fy2007 budget murky numbers change day day example shortfall projections unreliable unsubstantiated 626 million capital projects missing budget enrollment projections used justify special education cuts changed three times one week central office cuts equal 25 million reported cps hides additional central office positions schoolbased units cps first time reported central office staff totals include 600 consultants analysis also finds choices made students school staff must get line mayoral political interests cps made deliberate decisions jeopardize future revenues longterm stability system encouraging creation tax increment financing districts tifs siphon money away classrooms tifs policy tool intended jumpstart development blighted areas city legal loophole allows chicago like many cities create tifs areas already experiencing growth property values city captures increased property tax revenues channels developers turn takes revenue increases away local taxing bodies property taxpayers areas appear paying taxes schools parks city services millions tax dollars really going tifs cps lost hundreds millions dollars revenue years funds could used pay daytoday costs like classroom teachers supplies special education services rather discouraging creation tifs cps board members encouraged parents lobby new tifs supporting plan sell illinois lottery even though funds dry four years cps board education endorsed gov rod blagojevichs plan sell illinois lottery although cps admits initial proceeds spent additional revenue negotiating balloon payments cost 80 million year 2010 cps debt payments increase nearly 80 million year increased cost may gone unnoticed occur time school finance authoritys debt obligations expire finance authority defunct cps could let finance authoritys debt paid lightened burden individual property taxpayers put money classroom instead additional 80 million dollars year pay programs cps chose take debt three examples cps willing jeopardize future resources sake shortterm gains end children lose brings us disturbing fact budget disadvantaged children bear brunt budget cuts cps claims cut 200 special education teachers 700 special education aides partially enrollment declines however cps presented three different special education enrollment figures course one week projections next year actually higher current special education enrollment thus undercutting rationale cuts cps also siphoning money away poorest schools decades changing federal title formula forcing schools use supplemental general state aid formerly called state chapter 1 federal title dollars buy basic programs supplemental general state aid federal title dollars provide supplementary programs lowincome children cps uses formulas distribute dollars schools cps gets funds year rarely puts new dollars formula 1998 cps received 170 million federal title 2006 cps received 297 million yet cps chose distribute local schools 17 million 127 million increase last several years cps also changed federal title formula decrease amount money going schools highest poverty rates fy2006 schools lowest poverty range received 480 per student 200 per student previous year time cps took 180 per child away schools highest poverty likewise cps received 400 million year general state aid 1998 single dollar gone state chapter formula distributed schools purchasing power dollars decreases year poorest schools less less provide supplementary programs students meanwhile cps gets state federal poverty funds spend district chooses time schools forced use dwindling dollars replace basic services years cps cut truant officers security guards elementary school assistant principals teacher aides among positions cps cuts jobs schools must turn poverty dollars pay services addition schools struggling academically given mandate purchase reading math programs coaches central office february 2005 memo probation schools lowscoring schools notified area instructional officers authority lock 100 percent schools discretionary funds aio principal agree budget plan memo goes list mandated programs costs attached meanwhile cps funneling basic dollars away lowincome schools schools poor enough qualify poverty funds minimum funding program affluent schools getting 200000 year extra basic dollars cross city campaign believes cps responsibility provide highquality education students ensure disadvantaged students share equitably resources cps budget document powerful policy tool district creates transparent reliable cps resources distributed equitably district serve best interests children cps meeting standards believe cps must regain public trust christina warden senior program director schoolbased budgeting district redesign cross city campaign urban school reform 18 years experience analyzing cps budgets training local school councils understand school budgets
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<p>For the past year, schools repeatedly have heaved sighs of relief as they sent serious troublemakers to newly available alternative schools for disruptive students. Then it was out of sight, out of mind—for little information filtered back.</p>
<p>Now that the troublemakers are beginning to return to their home schools, consternation is replacing relief in some quarters.</p>
<p>Jerome Rhoades, a case manager at Aunt Martha’s Youth Service, which runs one of the alternative schools, describes the first transition hearing he attended as “a major battle. This particular principal, he did not want to let this kid back in. He was basically hard as nails. I thought to myself, ‘Jesus, this is not by any means the worst kid.'”</p>
<p>According to Rhoades, the principal had to be taken aside and pressured into accepting the student. “I heard some voices getting loud,” he says. “It sounded like [the principal] had no choice at that point—his decision had changed.”</p>
<p>Aunt Martha’s, which has served up to 45 students at a time, has returned four to public schools.</p>
<p>Public school personnel agree that trust has been a problem. “There are several alternative schools … different schools with different philosophies,” notes Andrew Denton, dean of students at Kenwood Academy High School, which referred six disruptive students to alternative schools last year. “I’m not familiar with any of the schools. What are they doing? What kind of teachers do they have? The [public] schools do have a blind spot.”</p>
<p>Parents also have complained about a lack of information—regarding both the referral of their children and the schools themselves.</p>
<p>“Families are given no information,” says Margery Doss, director of education at Lawrence Hall Youth Services, which has two programs taking disruptive referrals. “I have had mothers come and sit in classes here. They were sure the school was not safe—there were murderers and felons here, and their baby, well, he was caught with a gun but he was protecting himself.”</p>
<p>Thus, alternative schools have had to work with parents as well.</p>
<p>A mixed bag</p>
<p>As Kenwood’s Denton notes, there are a variety of alternative schools for disruptive students. A number are therapeutic day schools that already had been working with students identified as having learning disabilities, behavior disorders, and/or emotional problems. Generally, these schools are well established and accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.</p>
<p>Other alternative schools are new ventures of established schools that serve returning dropouts. “We’re used to dealing with very difficult students,” says Meryl Domina, director of Sullivan House Alternative High School, which now serves both dropout and disruptive students. “We’ve had students who were court-ordered to attend our school.” Disruptive students at Sullivan House posted a 90 percent attendance rate last June, she notes.</p>
<p>But a few of the new schools, like the Nelson Mandela School for Excellence, started from scratch. Mandela and at least one other alternative school for disruptive students were sponsored by social service agencies that worked with youth in avenues other than formal schooling.</p>
<p>Mandela, the only alternative school whose contract has been revoked by the board, may have been an extreme example of the problems they can face.</p>
<p>The school had high staff turnover its first semester, and lost its lease amid allegations of disciplinary trouble as well as financial problems. Central office hired Arthur Andersen to conduct an audit of the school’s finances; results were unavailable at press time.</p>
<p>Last March, the School Reform Board hired alternative schools expert Tony Baez to evaluate all the alternative schools, both dropout and disruptive. His research team gathered data last spring and summer, when some schools were less than 6 months old. An interim report, issued in August, raised more questions than it answered about the schools’ quality.</p>
<p>The report ranked alternative schools on a three-tiered scale, but did not say what criteria had been used. Eight of the 14 alternative schools for disruptive youth were put in the lowest category, “needs monitoring and assistance.” However, Nelson Mandela was put in the middle category, “has potential.” The report also charged that some programs serving disruptive youth were trying to “break the kids” before teaching them.</p>
<p>Alternative schools believe the study was biased. “I was angry at just the whole slant of the way [the report] was presenting issues, especially concerning disruptive [schools],” says Doss of Lawrence Hall. She criticized the questionnaire she received as part of the research process for focusing on dropout programs and treating disruptive programs as an afterthought.</p>
<p>Baez agrees that the study was geared toward dropout programs, but he questions a cornerstone of Chicago’s program for disruptive students.</p>
<p>Baez says his researchers were dismayed by the number of programs that were focused more on controlling students’ behavior than on educating them. “There are some [students] who need to be in a controlled setting. But is that a school?” he asks. “Chicago needs to decide whether they want to contract with an agency that wants to control kids. There have to be standards for entering into contracts with programs for disruptive students. Education should be the center of what is happening there.”</p>
<p>December visits by Catalyst to three programs serving disruptive students revealed wide differences among them, even at sites managed by the same agency.</p>
<p>In September, Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas moved the alternative schools program, which serves both dropouts and disruptive students, from an office dealing with high schools to the Office of Specialized Services. Since then, Renee Grant-Mitchell, deputy chief of Specialized Services, has been working to address the problems in the fledgling program. “My focus has been on the disruptive [schools],” she says. “They’re newer. They have some inherent problems the dropout programs just don’t have.”</p>
<p>To help bridge the communication gap between public schools and the 14 alternative schools for disruptive students, Grant-Mitchell has assigned a Specialized Services staffer to each of the system’s six regions; this liaison will visit schools for disruptive students and give input on where individual students should be placed.</p>
<p>Public schools also have been required to designate an “adult advocate” to monitor the progress of returning students for at least six months.</p>
<p>“We did have a couple of situations where the school said ‘Oh, my God, no’ [to a returning student],” Grant-Mitchell acknowledges. “We sat down with them and identified the student’s progress and asked them to identify an adult advocate. That seemed to have minimized the schools’ resistance.”</p>
<p>In mid-January, she appointed case managers from Specialized Services to provide technical assistance to the alternative schools on an as-needed basis. “We really see a need to monitor them,” she says, adding that some already have made program changes based on the interim report by Tony Baez.</p>
<p>Whatever questions they may have about the quality of alternative schools, most principals, disciplinarians and School Patrol officers CATALYST interviewed praised the program for providing an option for students who need a last chance. Some say the threat of removal has had a deterrent effect on their students. Only a few complained about the paperwork involved in making referrals; most found the process surprisingly efficient.</p>
<p>“I have been delighted,” said Janice Ollarvia, principal of Fenger High, who praises the promptness with which referrals are handled. “I think I’m the queen of referrals.”</p>
<p>Fenger is in the top 10 referring high schools, which together have sent more than half the 292 high schoolers referred to alternative schools. Meanwhile, as of October, 20 high schools had not referred any students.</p>
<p>At Whitney Young, no student had yet met the criteria, according to assistant principal Jerry Lattyak. At Foreman, dean of students Richard Kuna says the school’s referrals were “turned down because we didn’t do our paperwork. You have to have quite a bit of paperwork in back.”</p>
<p>The skewed distribution of referrals—plus allegations that at least one school used the program to clean out troublemakers rather than address its own discipline problems—have raised some eyebrows.</p>
<p>“I’m for alternative schools, but I’m not for leading the pack,” says Donald Pittman, interim principal of Marshall High, who arrived after Marshall’s first round of referrals. His goal is to “improve discipline and cut down the number of students we refer.”</p>
<p>South Shore High School, which led the city in referrals last school year, has referred no students this year. Last year was the first year Principal Frank Horton and Assistant Principal Joyce Toran were in charge of the school. “We had to set an example,” Toran says.</p>
<p>Grant-Mitchell believes that some public schools may have underutilized the program, but her attention is focused on possible overreferrals. Her office has begun monitoring referrals from schools and has changed the forms to allow for a more thorough evaluation of each student.</p>
<p>“Now we’re looking at medical records and at cumulative record cards to get a more holistic view of the student,” says Grant-Mitchell. “I’m very interested in making sure we don’t have a dumping-ground effect.”</p>
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past year schools repeatedly heaved sighs relief sent serious troublemakers newly available alternative schools disruptive students sight mindfor little information filtered back troublemakers beginning return home schools consternation replacing relief quarters jerome rhoades case manager aunt marthas youth service runs one alternative schools describes first transition hearing attended major battle particular principal want let kid back basically hard nails thought jesus means worst kid according rhoades principal taken aside pressured accepting student heard voices getting loud says sounded like principal choice pointhis decision changed aunt marthas served 45 students time returned four public schools public school personnel agree trust problem several alternative schools different schools different philosophies notes andrew denton dean students kenwood academy high school referred six disruptive students alternative schools last year im familiar schools kind teachers public schools blind spot parents also complained lack informationregarding referral children schools families given information says margery doss director education lawrence hall youth services two programs taking disruptive referrals mothers come sit classes sure school safethere murderers felons baby well caught gun protecting thus alternative schools work parents well mixed bag kenwoods denton notes variety alternative schools disruptive students number therapeutic day schools already working students identified learning disabilities behavior disorders andor emotional problems generally schools well established accredited north central association colleges schools alternative schools new ventures established schools serve returning dropouts used dealing difficult students says meryl domina director sullivan house alternative high school serves dropout disruptive students weve students courtordered attend school disruptive students sullivan house posted 90 percent attendance rate last june notes new schools like nelson mandela school excellence started scratch mandela least one alternative school disruptive students sponsored social service agencies worked youth avenues formal schooling mandela alternative school whose contract revoked board may extreme example problems face school high staff turnover first semester lost lease amid allegations disciplinary trouble well financial problems central office hired arthur andersen conduct audit schools finances results unavailable press time last march school reform board hired alternative schools expert tony baez evaluate alternative schools dropout disruptive research team gathered data last spring summer schools less 6 months old interim report issued august raised questions answered schools quality report ranked alternative schools threetiered scale say criteria used eight 14 alternative schools disruptive youth put lowest category needs monitoring assistance however nelson mandela put middle category potential report also charged programs serving disruptive youth trying break kids teaching alternative schools believe study biased angry whole slant way report presenting issues especially concerning disruptive schools says doss lawrence hall criticized questionnaire received part research process focusing dropout programs treating disruptive programs afterthought baez agrees study geared toward dropout programs questions cornerstone chicagos program disruptive students baez says researchers dismayed number programs focused controlling students behavior educating students need controlled setting school asks chicago needs decide whether want contract agency wants control kids standards entering contracts programs disruptive students education center happening december visits catalyst three programs serving disruptive students revealed wide differences among even sites managed agency september chief executive officer paul vallas moved alternative schools program serves dropouts disruptive students office dealing high schools office specialized services since renee grantmitchell deputy chief specialized services working address problems fledgling program focus disruptive schools says theyre newer inherent problems dropout programs dont help bridge communication gap public schools 14 alternative schools disruptive students grantmitchell assigned specialized services staffer systems six regions liaison visit schools disruptive students give input individual students placed public schools also required designate adult advocate monitor progress returning students least six months couple situations school said oh god returning student grantmitchell acknowledges sat identified students progress asked identify adult advocate seemed minimized schools resistance midjanuary appointed case managers specialized services provide technical assistance alternative schools asneeded basis really see need monitor says adding already made program changes based interim report tony baez whatever questions may quality alternative schools principals disciplinarians school patrol officers catalyst interviewed praised program providing option students need last chance say threat removal deterrent effect students complained paperwork involved making referrals found process surprisingly efficient delighted said janice ollarvia principal fenger high praises promptness referrals handled think im queen referrals fenger top 10 referring high schools together sent half 292 high schoolers referred alternative schools meanwhile october 20 high schools referred students whitney young student yet met criteria according assistant principal jerry lattyak foreman dean students richard kuna says schools referrals turned didnt paperwork quite bit paperwork back skewed distribution referralsplus allegations least one school used program clean troublemakers rather address discipline problemshave raised eyebrows im alternative schools im leading pack says donald pittman interim principal marshall high arrived marshalls first round referrals goal improve discipline cut number students refer south shore high school led city referrals last school year referred students year last year first year principal frank horton assistant principal joyce toran charge school set example toran says grantmitchell believes public schools may underutilized program attention focused possible overreferrals office begun monitoring referrals schools changed forms allow thorough evaluation student looking medical records cumulative record cards get holistic view student says grantmitchell im interested making sure dont dumpingground effect
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<p>March 29, 2010</p>
<p>By JOHN SEILER</p>
<p>With California’s politics messed up seemingly beyond repair, it’s not surprising two reform initiatives are on the June 8 ballot. I earlier <a href="../2010/02/19/new-will-prop-14-kill-third-parties/" type="external">wrote about</a> Proposition 14, the “Top Two Primaries Act.”</p>
<p>The other initiative is <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/15_06_2010.aspx" type="external">Proposition 15</a>, which would establish a pilot program of public tax-funding of campaigns. It has three major components:</p>
<p>* First, the existing ban on public funding of elections would be lifted – permanently.</p>
<p>* Second, for a single office, that of Secretary of State, it would give candidates the option of public financing for the elections in 2014 and 2018. After that, this option would end unless renewed by law.</p>
<p>Accepting the public funds would be optional for a candidate. If the candidate chooses to accept the funds, he first must raise $5 contributions from individual donors. The numbers are: 7,500 individual contributions (total money: $37,500) if from a major party, or half that from a minor party.</p>
<p>Depending on complicated formulas described <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/15_06_2010.aspx" type="external">here</a> by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, candidates then would receive from $200,000 to $5.2 million in public funding. They would have to participate in debates, and could not use their personal funds in the campaign.</p>
<p>* Third, to pay for the public funding, the fee on registered state lobbyists would be increased from $25 every two years to $700. According to the Leg Analyst’s estimate, it would raise between $5 million and $8 million per four-year election cycle.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.yesfairelections.org/content/pdf/cfea_endorsers.pdf" type="external">Major supporters</a> include the League of Women Voters, California Common Cause, AARP, AFSCME and the Sierra Club.</p>
<p>Major opponents include the California Chamber of Commerce, the state Department of Finance and the California Political Practices Commission.</p>
<p>Backers of Prop. 15 <a href="http://www.yesfairelections.org/about/ballot_argument.php" type="external">contend</a>, in the argument that will be on the ballot:</p>
<p>Special interest campaign contributors have too much influence over our state government and must be stopped.</p>
<p>California government is broken. The state budget crisis is crippling our economy. Education funding is at a historic low. Vital services for seniors and people with disabilities are being decimated. Businesses are closing their doors while middle class families struggle to make ends meet….</p>
<p>According to the Fair Political Practices Commission, over $1 billion has been raised by California politicians since 2000. All this fundraising buys access for the special interests, shutting out the rest of us.</p>
<p>We need to change the way we finance election campaigns so politicians stay focused on the job we sent them to accomplish. [Emphasis in original.]</p>
<p>The $1 billion figure over the past decade comes to about $2.70 a year for each California resident.</p>
<p>Opponents of Prop. 15 agree that the system isn’t working. “Clearly, people are unhappy with the political system and the political process, especially given the apparent disfunctionality in the Legislature,” Richard Wiebe told me; he’s spokesman for StopProp15.com. “But having taxpayers finance political campaigns isn’t going to reform the system. Special interests will still have influence. Taxpayers don’t want their money spent on attack ads. We have scarce resources in California and don’t want those resources spent on political campaigns.”</p>
<p>The main objection to Prop. 15 is on free-speech, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution" type="external">First Amendment</a> grounds. To restrict candidate spending “is a restriction of free speech,” Wiebe contended.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.yesfairelections.org/faq/" type="external">The pro-15 position</a> is that candidates are not required to participate in the system, but can raise and spend money the old way:</p>
<p>Candidates who chose not to participate will have no more spending restrictions at all than under current law.</p>
<p>At issue also could be the <a href="http://www.campaignfinancesite.org/court/buckley1.html" type="external">1976 Buckley ruling</a> by the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld unlimited campaign expenditures from personal funds. “Prop. 15 was written in compliance with that,” Helen Hutchison told me; she’s the government director of the League of Women Voters of California.&#160; She said the initiative was “modeled after Arizona and Maine” reforms that so far have not been rejected by the courts.</p>
<p>Wiebe had a different take. “It’s a pretty safe assumption that Prop. 15 would be challenged on constitutional grounds,” should it pass, he said.</p>
<p>And the $700 bi-yearly fee – or tax – on lobbyists also could be considered a restriction on free speech, like a special tax on newspapers. The pro-15 side doesn’t think so. “We don’t think it’s an inordinately high fee for the lobbyists,” Hutchinson said.</p>
<p>The fee is aimed at a group, lobbyists, not specially liked by the public. But “who is not a special interest?” asked&#160; Jack Pitney when I talked to him; he’s Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College, and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-Government-Politics-Deliberation-Citizenship/dp/0534536840" type="external">American Government and Politics: Deliberation, Democracy and Citizenship</a>. “In <a href="http://www.constitution.org/fed/federa10.htm" type="external">Federalist 10</a>, James Madison reminded us that faction is in the nature of man.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>As Hutchinson pointed out, Prop. 15 was modeled on an Arizona initiative narrowly passed by voters in 1998, the <a href="http://goldwaterinstitute.org/case/68" type="external">Clean Elections Act</a>. It set up taxpayer financing of elections for all statewide offices and the state legislature. Twelve years later, <a href="http://goldwaterinstitute.org/case/68" type="external">one legal challenge remains active</a>, by the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix.</p>
<p>“It chills the speech of private candidates,” Le Templar, communications director at the institute, told me of the basis of the group’s challenge. “When a private candidate raises money, the amount of money going to private candidates also rises, so they’re just raising money for their opponents. It defeats free speech.”</p>
<p>Prop. 15 has something similar. The <a href="http://www.lao.ca.gov/ballot/2010/15_06_2010.aspx" type="external">Leg Analyst notes</a> that, under Prop. 15, “The amount of state funds that a candidate would receive would go up if an opponent spent more private funds.”</p>
<p>In the most recent legal action concerning the Arizona law, in January U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver ruled the law’s matching-funds provision violated the First Amendment. Appeals continue.</p>
<p>As to Prop. 15 legal actions, Pitney observed, “It’s likely this measure’s immediate effect would be to help election lawyers.”</p>
<p>Prop. 15 isn’t the first time California voters have been presented with public-funding of campaigns. In 2000, <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_25_%282000%29" type="external">Proposition 25</a> would have provided $55 million in tax money for state political campaigns. It was rejected by 65 percent of voters.</p>
<p>In 2006, <a href="http://ca.lwv.org/lwvc/edfund/elections/2006nov/pc/prop89.html" type="external">Proposition 89</a> would have imposed a new tax on corporations to raise $200 million a year for public financing of elections. It was rejected by 74 percent of voters.</p>
<p>Prop. 15’s chances probably are about as bad. Even though it is a more modest, pilot program, its key feature is the repeal of the ban on public funding of campaigns. If passed, that would open the door to the Legislature, by itself, putting public financing in a future budget.</p>
<p>John Seiler, an editorial writer with The Orange County Register for 19 years, is a reporter and analyst for <a href="" type="internal">CalWatchDog.com</a>. His email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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march 29 2010 john seiler californias politics messed seemingly beyond repair surprising two reform initiatives june 8 ballot earlier wrote proposition 14 top two primaries act initiative proposition 15 would establish pilot program public taxfunding campaigns three major components first existing ban public funding elections would lifted permanently second single office secretary state would give candidates option public financing elections 2014 2018 option would end unless renewed law accepting public funds would optional candidate candidate chooses accept funds first must raise 5 contributions individual donors numbers 7500 individual contributions total money 37500 major party half minor party depending complicated formulas described legislative analysts office candidates would receive 200000 52 million public funding would participate debates could use personal funds campaign third pay public funding fee registered state lobbyists would increased 25 every two years 700 according leg analysts estimate would raise 5 million 8 million per fouryear election cycle major supporters include league women voters california common cause aarp afscme sierra club major opponents include california chamber commerce state department finance california political practices commission backers prop 15 contend argument ballot special interest campaign contributors much influence state government must stopped california government broken state budget crisis crippling economy education funding historic low vital services seniors people disabilities decimated businesses closing doors middle class families struggle make ends meet according fair political practices commission 1 billion raised california politicians since 2000 fundraising buys access special interests shutting rest us need change way finance election campaigns politicians stay focused job sent accomplish emphasis original 1 billion figure past decade comes 270 year california resident opponents prop 15 agree system isnt working clearly people unhappy political system political process especially given apparent disfunctionality legislature richard wiebe told hes spokesman stopprop15com taxpayers finance political campaigns isnt going reform system special interests still influence taxpayers dont want money spent attack ads scarce resources california dont want resources spent political campaigns main objection prop 15 freespeech first amendment grounds restrict candidate spending restriction free speech wiebe contended pro15 position candidates required participate system raise spend money old way candidates chose participate spending restrictions current law issue also could 1976 buckley ruling us supreme court upheld unlimited campaign expenditures personal funds prop 15 written compliance helen hutchison told shes government director league women voters california160 said initiative modeled arizona maine reforms far rejected courts wiebe different take pretty safe assumption prop 15 would challenged constitutional grounds pass said 700 biyearly fee tax lobbyists also could considered restriction free speech like special tax newspapers pro15 side doesnt think dont think inordinately high fee lobbyists hutchinson said fee aimed group lobbyists specially liked public special interest asked160 jack pitney talked hes roy p crocker professor american politics claremont mckenna college author american government politics deliberation democracy citizenship federalist 10 james madison reminded us faction nature man 160 hutchinson pointed prop 15 modeled arizona initiative narrowly passed voters 1998 clean elections act set taxpayer financing elections statewide offices state legislature twelve years later one legal challenge remains active goldwater institute phoenix chills speech private candidates le templar communications director institute told basis groups challenge private candidate raises money amount money going private candidates also rises theyre raising money opponents defeats free speech prop 15 something similar leg analyst notes prop 15 amount state funds candidate would receive would go opponent spent private funds recent legal action concerning arizona law january us district court judge roslyn silver ruled laws matchingfunds provision violated first amendment appeals continue prop 15 legal actions pitney observed likely measures immediate effect would help election lawyers prop 15 isnt first time california voters presented publicfunding campaigns 2000 proposition 25 would provided 55 million tax money state political campaigns rejected 65 percent voters 2006 proposition 89 would imposed new tax corporations raise 200 million year public financing elections rejected 74 percent voters prop 15s chances probably bad even though modest pilot program key feature repeal ban public funding campaigns passed would open door legislature putting public financing future budget john seiler editorial writer orange county register 19 years reporter analyst calwatchdogcom email writejohnseilergmailcom
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<p>The adults who study and work in high schools generally agree that freshmen face a difficult transition from the small world of elementary school.</p>
<p>To get the students’ view, Catalyst Associate Editor Debra Williams periodically tagged along with two students who made that transition this year, Crystal Daniels from Fermi Elementary School to Hyde Park Academy and Karlton Adams from McCosh Elementary School to Dunbar Vocational.</p>
<p>Both elementary schools are part of the Starting on the Right Foot, a cooperative program with Hyde Park High School that aims to prepare upper-grade youngsters for high school. As a result, both Crystal and Karlton had some experience with multiple classes and multiple teachers and with working independently.</p>
<p>Williams first met the students in June and then spent time with them, either by phone or in person, once a month from September through January. Crystal’s and Karlton’s stories are indeed just that, individual experiences, and are not intended to represent the collective experience of students entering these two schools.</p>
<p>First day unsettling for Crystal Daniels</p>
<p>Crystal Daniels’ introduction to Hyde Park Career Academy was decidedly unsettling.</p>
<p>It was June 24, the first day of the school system’s hastily arranged Summer Bridge Program for 8th-graders with low test scores. By 8 a.m., Crystal and some 65 other students had gathered in Hyde Park’s spacious library. For almost an hour, they listened to orders.</p>
<p>“OK, this is the last call for bus cards. Two dollars,” one teacher shouts, holding up money. “I’m going to go downstairs now; otherwise, you’ll have to get them yourself.”</p>
<p>Another teacher stands and lays down the law: “If you are absent tomorrow, you repeat 8th grade. You go back to your school. This summer you will get a report card. Your parents will have to pick it up. It will have your days absent on there. We have to send daily attendance in to Pershing Road. If you don’t come, you fail. After the program, you will be tested, if you don’t pass, you go back to 8th grade. You must score higher than 6.8 in reading and math to graduate. The pressure is on you. Also attitude and behavior are very important; you can be expelled. At 8:15 a.m., no student is admitted. The security guard will not let you in. After today, you don’t want to be late. Do you understand?”</p>
<p>Crystal nervously looks around the room to gauge the reaction. No one says a word.</p>
<p>Next, students are divided into groups based on whether they had failed the math test, reading test or both. Crystal had failed both. Within minutes, she and 14 other students are deposited in a third-floor classroom. Ten minutes pass, and a teacher sticks her head in, asking, “Whose classroom is this?”</p>
<p>“We don’t know,” the class responds in unison.</p>
<p>Finally, two and a half hours after arriving at Hyde Park, Crystal’s group gets a teacher who begins two days of testing.</p>
<p>When Bridge ends six weeks later, Crystal appears anxious. But, as it turned out, the worst was over. Crystal passed the Bridge Program’s exit exam, and, on the first day of real high school, was grateful for having spent time in the building.</p>
<p>“I was a little afraid, because I went by myself instead of with my sister, but I knew my way around,” she reports, several days later. “I found my division class on the board on the first floor, and when I needed help finding a class, I got help from a guard.”</p>
<p>But Crystal wasn’t prepared for being with nearly 1,900 students. Asked if she’d seen a difference between elementary school and high school, she says, “There are a lot more kids for one thing, and there have been some fights in the hallways.”</p>
<p>Crystal’s elementary school, Fermi, had only 458 students, and even then, Crystal kept to herself. “She’s a sweet kid, but very quiet,” says Fermi teacher Alma Frierson. “She would never respond to questions unless you asked her. She would never raise her hand. And I told all my kids, ‘You will not get coddled in high school the way you do here.'”</p>
<p>But, Frierson adds, Crystal always worked hard and did her best.</p>
<p>With one exception, Crystal’s best proved to be good enough for her first quarter at Hyde Park, and the school itself stepped in to help with the exception, English. In the first marking period, Crystal got C’s in algebra, general science, geography, gym and music. But she got a P in English, which meant that her work was unacceptable.</p>
<p>Under Hyde Park’s freshman grading policy, students who are doing D or F work are given extra time and help to bring their grades up to at least a C.</p>
<p>For Crystal, that meant an extra period at the end of the day with her English teacher, who helped her with areas she hadn’t grasped.</p>
<p>“Instead of thinking you can get away with D’s as passing, the extra class you have to take to make up your work forces you to get better grades,” Crystal explains, appreciation evident in her voice.</p>
<p>By December, Crystal’s progress report shows that she is doing better, with A-level work in English. “I plan to keep working hard,” she says.</p>
<p>However, while she was faring better in English, her math work was faltering. “I wish I had asked more questions when I was at Fermi,” she says shyly.</p>
<p>Thinking back on her years at Fermi and her first months at Hyde Park, Crystal ends up pointing out similarities, perhaps reflecting the cooperative program the high school has with its feeder elementary schools: Fermi taught study skills such as note taking, and several of her freshman-year teachers do, too; study skills also are taught in her division class. Fermi’s teachers were caring, she says, and so are her teachers at Hyde Park.</p>
<p>“These teachers will help you,” says Crystal, “but they also expect you to complete work that day; and explain things to you as a class, not individually. But if you ask for help, they’ll help you.”</p>
<p>She particularly likes her math teacher because he is thorough in going over problems that students don’t understand, allows students to rework assignments and will work with them individually.</p>
<p>For its “freshman academy” program, Hyde Park selects teachers who are comfortable working with 14-year olds, the average age of incoming freshmen, and who understand their social and emotional needs.</p>
<p>In 7th grade, Crystal set the goal of becoming a lawyer. But now, she’s not so sure. One of her teachers told her that her writing was very creative, so she now is considering becoming a writer.</p>
<p>“I plan to keep going to school,” she reported in January. “Even if I don’t understand the work, I’ll try to do it. For me to drop out, I would have to fail everything, every semester, every year— and that’s not going to happen.”</p>
<p>Karlton Adams gets 1st F in years</p>
<p>The last time A-student Karlton Adams failed a subject was in 4th grade when he didn’t do a project for the science fair. But it happened again his first quarter at Dunbar Vocational High School.</p>
<p>When his principal at McCosh Elementary discovered he had failed English, she was shocked. “Karlton failing? Oh, my,” said Principal Barbara Easton-Watkins.</p>
<p>Karlton blames his F mainly on a series of mishaps: “I think I failed because my book, ‘The Learning Tree,’ was in my bookbag when it was stolen, and the library didn’t have it. Also, my teacher got sick and was gone for three weeks, and when she came back, we had to do like Chapters 12 through 18 and turn it in, and I didn’t have the book.”</p>
<p>But he also admits that he missed a lot of English classes, which start at 8 a.m.</p>
<p>“I’m used to walking to McCosh in five minutes before 9 a.m.,” he explains. “Now I have to take a 40-minute or longer bus ride and have to be at school at 8 a.m. And even if you’re 10 minutes late, you have to stay in the hall until the next period.</p>
<p>“I probably missed about 12 English classes.”</p>
<p>Last June, Karlton was confident he could handle high school. “I talked to my brother,” he said then. “I expect a lot more kids, and I expect to be teased.”</p>
<p>Karlton is used to teasing. “All the kids call me Doogie Howser and nerd,” he said with a shrug, referring to the star of a television sitcom about a teenage genius doctor. “My big brother always teases me. I win a lot of math awards.”</p>
<p>Karlton knew that he’d have to work more in high school, too, but that didn’t faze him either. “I’m doing fine in school,” he said.</p>
<p>Easton-Watkins was confident, too. “Book smart and street smart … that’s Karlton,” is how Easton-Watkins described him in June. “Kids don’t bother him about being smart. He knows how to maneuver his way around.”</p>
<p>A well-rounded student, Karlton also participated in extracurricular activities, including football and basketball.</p>
<p>On his first day at Dunbar, Karlton’s brother shepherded him to division and three other classes, then dumped him. “He just left me,” Karlton reports. “I had to find the rest of my classes by myself.”</p>
<p>By October, Karlton was feeling the difference of high school: “If you didn’t do your work in elementary school, you got hollered at. If you don’t do the work in high school, they say nothing. It’s like they don’t care. They just collect the homework. In high school, you have to speak up, or no one will help you.”</p>
<p>The only exception, Karlton says, is his history teacher, who chastises the class if students do not perform well.</p>
<p>Karlton’s schedule includes English, gym, early world history, algebra, a double period of biology, commercial drafting and shop—a typical class load for a freshman in a vocational school, according to Principal Floyd Banks.</p>
<p>Karlton says he loves math—”pre-algebra helped me a lot at McCosh”—but he doesn’t care for “all that reading” in English, nor for his drafting class.</p>
<p>“In English, we’re reading ‘The Learning Tree,’ and in drafting all we do is draw lines and different shapes. My drafting teacher just tells us to draw. I can do his job,” he says.</p>
<p>Karlton also complains of frequent teacher absences, saying that in one case, a class went without a teacher for three days. (Banks says the absences were due to illness and that it was “hard to envision” a class going uncovered. “We use people in the building to be in the classrooms,” the principal says.)</p>
<p>Another concern for Karlton: Frequent fights in the lunchroom. (Banks says that while three gangs have a presence at Dunbar, “the fighting that goes on here is no more than anywhere else. We’re safer than a lot of schools, like Whitney Young.”)</p>
<p>In the first semester, theft struck Karlton twice. The first time, his bookbag—containing his gym uniform, math book, biology portfolio and English book—was stolen in the lunchroom when he left it at a table to get a can of soda. Then his drafting kit was stolen out of a locker in the drafting class.</p>
<p>“The kit is around $21, and I was told I just had to replace it and that there was nothing the school could do,” he says. “Same with the bookbag.”</p>
<p>In November, a week before report cards come out, Karlton reports that his grades are not where he wanted them. “At McCosh, I got A’s and B’s, here I’m getting B’s and C’s,” he says, disappointed.</p>
<p>By December, though, Karlton says he is knuckling down because he knows he can do better. He reports getting to English class on time. The class is reading “Romeo and Juliet,” and while he didn’t want to read it at first, he has come to think it is “kind of good.”</p>
<p>Karlton hopes to get a wrestling scholarship to get into college and then study accounting. He chose Dunbar because his wrestling coach was there.</p>
<p>“I’ve known him since I was 5,” he says. “He was my coach at McCosh and a field house director, but his position was closed and he went to Dunbar.”</p>
<p>But in October, Karlton reports that his coach was shot in a botched robbery and has left the school. In January, Karlton still has not signed up for wrestling, though he has been invited to.</p>
<p>But he still plans to become an accountant. “Being an accountant hasn’t changed,” he says. “But if I had known my wrestling coach wasn’t going to be here, I probably would have gone to Whitney Young.”</p>
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adults study work high schools generally agree freshmen face difficult transition small world elementary school get students view catalyst associate editor debra williams periodically tagged along two students made transition year crystal daniels fermi elementary school hyde park academy karlton adams mccosh elementary school dunbar vocational elementary schools part starting right foot cooperative program hyde park high school aims prepare uppergrade youngsters high school result crystal karlton experience multiple classes multiple teachers working independently williams first met students june spent time either phone person month september january crystals karltons stories indeed individual experiences intended represent collective experience students entering two schools first day unsettling crystal daniels crystal daniels introduction hyde park career academy decidedly unsettling june 24 first day school systems hastily arranged summer bridge program 8thgraders low test scores 8 crystal 65 students gathered hyde parks spacious library almost hour listened orders ok last call bus cards two dollars one teacher shouts holding money im going go downstairs otherwise youll get another teacher stands lays law absent tomorrow repeat 8th grade go back school summer get report card parents pick days absent send daily attendance pershing road dont come fail program tested dont pass go back 8th grade must score higher 68 reading math graduate pressure also attitude behavior important expelled 815 student admitted security guard let today dont want late understand crystal nervously looks around room gauge reaction one says word next students divided groups based whether failed math test reading test crystal failed within minutes 14 students deposited thirdfloor classroom ten minutes pass teacher sticks head asking whose classroom dont know class responds unison finally two half hours arriving hyde park crystals group gets teacher begins two days testing bridge ends six weeks later crystal appears anxious turned worst crystal passed bridge programs exit exam first day real high school grateful spent time building little afraid went instead sister knew way around reports several days later found division class board first floor needed help finding class got help guard crystal wasnt prepared nearly 1900 students asked shed seen difference elementary school high school says lot kids one thing fights hallways crystals elementary school fermi 458 students even crystal kept shes sweet kid quiet says fermi teacher alma frierson would never respond questions unless asked would never raise hand told kids get coddled high school way frierson adds crystal always worked hard best one exception crystals best proved good enough first quarter hyde park school stepped help exception english first marking period crystal got cs algebra general science geography gym music got p english meant work unacceptable hyde parks freshman grading policy students f work given extra time help bring grades least c crystal meant extra period end day english teacher helped areas hadnt grasped instead thinking get away ds passing extra class take make work forces get better grades crystal explains appreciation evident voice december crystals progress report shows better alevel work english plan keep working hard says however faring better english math work faltering wish asked questions fermi says shyly thinking back years fermi first months hyde park crystal ends pointing similarities perhaps reflecting cooperative program high school feeder elementary schools fermi taught study skills note taking several freshmanyear teachers study skills also taught division class fermis teachers caring says teachers hyde park teachers help says crystal also expect complete work day explain things class individually ask help theyll help particularly likes math teacher thorough going problems students dont understand allows students rework assignments work individually freshman academy program hyde park selects teachers comfortable working 14year olds average age incoming freshmen understand social emotional needs 7th grade crystal set goal becoming lawyer shes sure one teachers told writing creative considering becoming writer plan keep going school reported january even dont understand work ill try drop would fail everything every semester every year thats going happen karlton adams gets 1st f years last time astudent karlton adams failed subject 4th grade didnt project science fair happened first quarter dunbar vocational high school principal mccosh elementary discovered failed english shocked karlton failing oh said principal barbara eastonwatkins karlton blames f mainly series mishaps think failed book learning tree bookbag stolen library didnt also teacher got sick gone three weeks came back like chapters 12 18 turn didnt book also admits missed lot english classes start 8 im used walking mccosh five minutes 9 explains take 40minute longer bus ride school 8 even youre 10 minutes late stay hall next period probably missed 12 english classes last june karlton confident could handle high school talked brother said expect lot kids expect teased karlton used teasing kids call doogie howser nerd said shrug referring star television sitcom teenage genius doctor big brother always teases win lot math awards karlton knew hed work high school didnt faze either im fine school said eastonwatkins confident book smart street smart thats karlton eastonwatkins described june kids dont bother smart knows maneuver way around wellrounded student karlton also participated extracurricular activities including football basketball first day dunbar karltons brother shepherded division three classes dumped left karlton reports find rest classes october karlton feeling difference high school didnt work elementary school got hollered dont work high school say nothing like dont care collect homework high school speak one help exception karlton says history teacher chastises class students perform well karltons schedule includes english gym early world history algebra double period biology commercial drafting shopa typical class load freshman vocational school according principal floyd banks karlton says loves mathprealgebra helped lot mccoshbut doesnt care reading english drafting class english reading learning tree drafting draw lines different shapes drafting teacher tells us draw job says karlton also complains frequent teacher absences saying one case class went without teacher three days banks says absences due illness hard envision class going uncovered use people building classrooms principal says another concern karlton frequent fights lunchroom banks says three gangs presence dunbar fighting goes anywhere else safer lot schools like whitney young first semester theft struck karlton twice first time bookbagcontaining gym uniform math book biology portfolio english bookwas stolen lunchroom left table get soda drafting kit stolen locker drafting class kit around 21 told replace nothing school could says bookbag november week report cards come karlton reports grades wanted mccosh got bs im getting bs cs says disappointed december though karlton says knuckling knows better reports getting english class time class reading romeo juliet didnt want read first come think kind good karlton hopes get wrestling scholarship get college study accounting chose dunbar wrestling coach ive known since 5 says coach mccosh field house director position closed went dunbar october karlton reports coach shot botched robbery left school january karlton still signed wrestling though invited still plans become accountant accountant hasnt changed says known wrestling coach wasnt going probably would gone whitney young
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<p>When Linda Gottlieb hails a taxi cab in New York City and asks the driver to take her home, she has one word to describe how she feels: embarrassed.</p>
<p>Why? Because she has to tell the driver to take her to Trump Place.</p>
<p>“It’s nuts that we’re now living in a place that is advertising values that none of us believe in,” said the film and television producer, who has started a petition signed by hundreds urging landlord Equity Residential to “dump the Trump name.” When Gottlieb began renting her 3-bedroom unit on the Upper West Side, Gottlieb said she had no opinion one way or another of the real estate mogul who is now the Republican presidential nominee — other than he was a “glitzy guy.”</p>
<p>She grew increasingly unhappy with his controversial campaign. But when footage showing Trump bragging in lewd terms about trying to have sex with women came out earlier this month, “that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me,” she said.</p>
<p>Gottlieb’s sentiment is emblematic of a worrying trend for Trump, in which the real estate mogul’s brand appears to be taking a significant hit as a direct result of his divisive presidential campaign.</p>
<p>"Trump" was often synonymous with luxury and success — a high-end retreat for the actually wealthy, and an aspirational vehicle for those who craved wealth.</p>
<p>But today, for some of the affluent elite he once courted, "Trump" is more associated with populist anger and allegations of misogyny, racism and more.</p>
<p>In fact, a new online poll by <a href="http://fortune.com/2016/10/25/donald-trump-brand-consumers-poll/" type="external">Morning Consult</a>found that nearly 40 percent of voters said Trump’s campaign made them “less likely” to buy Trump-related products. And almost half—46 percent — said they wouldn’t stay at a Trump-branded hotel. Even more, 63 percent, said they wouldn’t want to play golf on Trump’s links.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Trump Businesses Down by More Than 16 Percent in September</a></p>
<p>The numbers of those visiting Trump properties may be in decline as well. According to <a href="" type="internal">Foursquare</a>, which tracks visits from more than 50 million users, stops to Trump-branded hotels, casinos and golf courses dropped 16.5 percent in September compared with a year ago.</p>
<p>“The man is the brand and some of what the man is saying in terms of his beliefs and behaviors are bringing that brand into question. He’s probably going to be hurt bad by all of this,” said Jonathan Asher, executive vice president at marketing firm Perception Research Services International Inc.</p>
<p>Amanda Miller, vice president of marketing of the Trump Organization, dismissed any notion that the brand was suffering because of the candidate’s campaign.</p>
<p>“The Trump Brand remains incredibly strong and we are seeing tremendous success across business units. Trump properties are known for their iconic locations, achieving the highest accolades and for providing unrivaled five-star service. We continue to outperform our competitors and are very enthusiastic about the future and our continued growth,” Miller said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">RELATED: Trump a 'Brilliant' Businessman? Tax Experts Say Otherwise</a></p>
<p>Eric Danziger, CEO of Trump Hotels, asserted the Foursquare data on diminished foot traffic to Trump properties “is manipulated to appear meaningful, when, in reality, the information is inconsequential and does not provide an accurate representation of our performance.”</p>
<p>But if Trump has damaged the "Trump" brand, it could be devastating for his business.</p>
<p>He controls more than 500 companies in many fields including residential real estate, hotels, resorts. Of that, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/29/the-myth-and-the-reality-of-donald-trumps-business-empire/" type="external">268 bear his last name</a>. His name is also on <a href="https://www.fastcodesign.com/3064975/the-weirdest-products-donald-trump-has-ever-licensed" type="external">numerous products</a> from ties to energy drinks to steaks.</p>
<p>And many of his customers aren't happy.</p>
<p>Daniel Neiditch, president of River 2 River Realty, has been selling apartments in Trump buildings in New York for 15 years. He said Trump’s White House bid has made his job a lot harder, citing buyers in Mexico and South America who looked at Trump properties but ultimately said they didn’t want to buy in a building associated with him.</p>
<p>Before Trump’s bid, “we would always see a constant flow of buyers who would demand to live in Trump buildings. It went from being a brand that was sought out to a brand that people are turning away from,” he said.</p>
<p>In Chicago, high-end wedding planner Reva Nathan said that since Trump has been running for president, clients have been telling her they don’t want to have their wedding at the once coveted Trump International Hotel and Tower, where weddings cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000.</p>
<p>“I haven’t had anybody say to me in the last six months that they want to look into availability at the Trump Hotel Chicago,” said Nathan. “…Just last week, one client said to me, again unsolicited, ‘I don’t even want that name on an invitation.’”</p>
<p>And just this week in Chicago, a city council transportation committee voted unanimously to remove a street sign honoring Trump outside the hotel. The bill heads to the full city council next week.</p>
<p>Trump frequently touts his business ventures on the campaign trail and faced some criticism this week when he stopped in the nation’s capital to make a pitch for his new hotel there. “With the notable exception of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this is the most coveted piece of real estate in Washington D.C.,” Trump said, even as <a href="http://dc.curbed.com/2016/10/17/13305630/trump-hotel-dc" type="external">reports</a> cited prices there being slashed from $750 a night to under $500.</p>
<p>David Loeb, a hotel analyst at Robert W. Baird private equity firm, noted, “You can’t just open a hotel and right out of the box be full and have high rates.” But he added, “If people think [Trump] is inappropriate, they may stay away and would rather book somewhere else."</p>
<p>The thing is, "Trump has a lot of ardent followers," Loeb said. "But the demographic of his followers are not the ones that stay in very expensive luxury hotels."</p>
<p>Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who runs her own fashion line, also faced backlash this week when Shannon Coulter, the CEO of a communications agency, called for a boycott of her items, urging retailers who carry her products to cut ties with her. The hashtag associated with the boycott, #GrabYourWallet, has gone viral.</p>
<p>"My only goal is to be able to shop at the stores that I love with a clear conscience," said Coulter, who lives in the Bay Area.</p>
<p>One woman, M. Stein., tweeted the #GrabYourWallet hashtag accompanied with a photo of a handwritten message on a pair of Ivanka's shoes that were placed in a trash can. The message said, "Ivanka, you have actively supported a hateful &amp; divisive campaign,so this is where your brand deserves to go."</p>
<p>But whether such declarations translates into a decline of sales is yet to be seen. BrandKeys conducted a national survey of millennial female shoppers that found 51 percent said they were still “extremely likely” or “very likely” in their willingness to consider choosing Ivanka’s line in light of Trump’s involvement with her father’s campaign.</p>
<p>However, a Morning Consult poll showed this week that only 23 percent of women would be willing to buy from the clothing line, while more than half said they wouldn't.</p>
<p>A spokesman for Ivanka’s brand dismissed the notion that the line was in trouble, citing 37 percent growth over last year in sales and revenue for 2015 and that her collection will expand from 800 to 1,000 stores nationwide by 2017.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for Nordstrom, which carries the line, said, “Right now, we don’t have any plans to stop carrying the brand.” Other stores that carry the line, including Amazon, Macy’s and Zappos, did not return request for comment.</p>
<p>Passikoff said recovering Trump's damaged brand will be an uphill battle and cited Martha Stewart and Tiger Woods — two public figures who faced their share of troubles and saw their brands fail to fully recover.</p>
<p>“I don’t expect the guy is going broke, but he changed the entire meaning of what the entire Trump brand stands for,” said Robert Passikoff, president and founder of Brand Keys, a brand research consultancy group. He said the brand that once stood for opulence and success now stands for “tarnished and shameful.”</p>
<p>And then there’s some who believe the Trump name is inconsequential, like Ann Rae, a resident at Trump Place in New York.</p>
<p>“We didn’t move here because of the name and we’re not moving out because of the name. I think living in New York, half of the city has his name on it ... it’s just part of New York, it doesn’t mean we support him — because we don’t.” She added, "...It’s just a name."</p>
| false | 3 |
linda gottlieb hails taxi cab new york city asks driver take home one word describe feels embarrassed tell driver take trump place nuts living place advertising values none us believe said film television producer started petition signed hundreds urging landlord equity residential dump trump name gottlieb began renting 3bedroom unit upper west side gottlieb said opinion one way another real estate mogul republican presidential nominee glitzy guy grew increasingly unhappy controversial campaign footage showing trump bragging lewd terms trying sex women came earlier month straw broke camels back said gottliebs sentiment emblematic worrying trend trump real estate moguls brand appears taking significant hit direct result divisive presidential campaign trump often synonymous luxury success highend retreat actually wealthy aspirational vehicle craved wealth today affluent elite courted trump associated populist anger allegations misogyny racism fact new online poll morning consultfound nearly 40 percent voters said trumps campaign made less likely buy trumprelated products almost half46 percent said wouldnt stay trumpbranded hotel even 63 percent said wouldnt want play golf trumps links related trump businesses 16 percent september numbers visiting trump properties may decline well according foursquare tracks visits 50 million users stops trumpbranded hotels casinos golf courses dropped 165 percent september compared year ago man brand man saying terms beliefs behaviors bringing brand question hes probably going hurt bad said jonathan asher executive vice president marketing firm perception research services international inc amanda miller vice president marketing trump organization dismissed notion brand suffering candidates campaign trump brand remains incredibly strong seeing tremendous success across business units trump properties known iconic locations achieving highest accolades providing unrivaled fivestar service continue outperform competitors enthusiastic future continued growth miller said related trump brilliant businessman tax experts say otherwise eric danziger ceo trump hotels asserted foursquare data diminished foot traffic trump properties manipulated appear meaningful reality information inconsequential provide accurate representation performance trump damaged trump brand could devastating business controls 500 companies many fields including residential real estate hotels resorts 268 bear last name name also numerous products ties energy drinks steaks many customers arent happy daniel neiditch president river 2 river realty selling apartments trump buildings new york 15 years said trumps white house bid made job lot harder citing buyers mexico south america looked trump properties ultimately said didnt want buy building associated trumps bid would always see constant flow buyers would demand live trump buildings went brand sought brand people turning away said chicago highend wedding planner reva nathan said since trump running president clients telling dont want wedding coveted trump international hotel tower weddings cost anywhere 50000 100000 havent anybody say last six months want look availability trump hotel chicago said nathan last week one client said unsolicited dont even want name invitation week chicago city council transportation committee voted unanimously remove street sign honoring trump outside hotel bill heads full city council next week trump frequently touts business ventures campaign trail faced criticism week stopped nations capital make pitch new hotel notable exception 1600 pennsylvania avenue coveted piece real estate washington dc trump said even reports cited prices slashed 750 night 500 david loeb hotel analyst robert w baird private equity firm noted cant open hotel right box full high rates added people think trump inappropriate may stay away would rather book somewhere else thing trump lot ardent followers loeb said demographic followers ones stay expensive luxury hotels trumps daughter ivanka runs fashion line also faced backlash week shannon coulter ceo communications agency called boycott items urging retailers carry products cut ties hashtag associated boycott grabyourwallet gone viral goal able shop stores love clear conscience said coulter lives bay area one woman stein tweeted grabyourwallet hashtag accompanied photo handwritten message pair ivankas shoes placed trash message said ivanka actively supported hateful amp divisive campaignso brand deserves go whether declarations translates decline sales yet seen brandkeys conducted national survey millennial female shoppers found 51 percent said still extremely likely likely willingness consider choosing ivankas line light trumps involvement fathers campaign however morning consult poll showed week 23 percent women would willing buy clothing line half said wouldnt spokesman ivankas brand dismissed notion line trouble citing 37 percent growth last year sales revenue 2015 collection expand 800 1000 stores nationwide 2017 spokeswoman nordstrom carries line said right dont plans stop carrying brand stores carry line including amazon macys zappos return request comment passikoff said recovering trumps damaged brand uphill battle cited martha stewart tiger woods two public figures faced share troubles saw brands fail fully recover dont expect guy going broke changed entire meaning entire trump brand stands said robert passikoff president founder brand keys brand research consultancy group said brand stood opulence success stands tarnished shameful theres believe trump name inconsequential like ann rae resident trump place new york didnt move name moving name think living new york half city name part new york doesnt mean support dont added name
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<p>CHICAGO — Two world figures whose political destinies were launched in hope took center stage in Myanmar last week.</p>
<p>As fledgling leaders, President Barack Obama and Aung San Suu Kyi both expressed confidence they would “get things done” by reaching out to those who wished them ill. The very titles of their respective memoirs — Obama’s “Audacity of Hope” and Suu Kyi’s “Voice of Hope” — suggested a heady confidence rooted in a belief in the essential goodness of human beings and a limitless possibility when people work together.</p>
<p>In their meeting in Myanmar, both leaders sought from one another and from supporters a realistic assessment of the present and reasonable expectations going forward. It left those of us who study styles of leadership asking whether their earlier optimism was folly or insight.</p>
<p>To me, it was both.</p>
<p>In the early days, both leaders overestimated the power of reason in political life and underestimated the venom of their opponents. So, too, did their followers.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-081104-obama-rally-grant-park-photogallery-photogallery.html" type="external">Grant Park in November 2008</a>, the moment CNN called the election for Obama, the vibration literally shook the ground as a quarter of a million people exhaled. The scene evoked belief in hope even more than victory, and when the President-elect spoke, he echoed the sentiment of the crowd: “And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.”</p>
<p>For five years, I have been studying Suu Kyi for a book on women who fight for human rights. On <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/burmamyanmar/8128072/aung-san-suu-kyi-profile.html" type="external">Nov.13, 2010</a>, like most “Burma-watchers,” I stayed up most of the night to watch as thousands gathered outside her home to wait for her to return to her “place”— the wall where, when not confined, she would speak of democracy and freedom. Because foreign journalists had been banned from Burma that month, the videos that sprang onto the web were fragments captured by hand-held telephones. All was euphoria.</p>
<p>On the streets of Myanmar more recently, people told me she had inspired them on a daily basis for 26 years. During the 18 years Suu Kyi was under house arrest, the individual mantra of “I can” echoed across the country and became a “we can” that carried the people during very dark days.</p>
<p>No one leader could fulfill all those hopes. Even if they were not confronting men whose sole purpose was to make them irrelevant, they live with constraints of time and place, and their personal limits.</p>
<p>Of the two, Suu Kyi’s situation is the more dire, for those who hate her have gone as far as to <a href="" type="external">attempt to assassinate her</a> and to write into the constitution <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/03/economist-explains-3" type="external">an article</a> to block her from running for the highest office. Yet while less violent, Obama’s problem — an opposition leader whose Republican Party is explicitly dedicated to his failure — similarly requires making a nation’s well-being secondary to the venal aspirations of his opponents in the Congress.</p>
<p>Obama and Suu Kyi have at times gotten their own ways, although excess optimism led them to overestimate their personal capacities.</p>
<p>In 2012, for example, Suu Kyi thought it was an honor to be named to chair a committee that was investigating <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/03/16/174431490/now-a-politician-aung-san-suu-kyi-is-the-object-of-protesters" type="external">citizen protests about a copper mine</a>. It was a setup. After diligent study, she announced the foreordained conclusion — one sure to inflame the residents and damage her credibility: the mine should continue operating, despite damaging the environment and producing few jobs for the local economy. A more skeptical eye would have advised her to decline the chairwoman’s post from the outset.</p>
<p>On a parallel track, Obama turned his back on last-minute election maneuvers. Instead of responding quickly and clearly, he allowed himself to be defined as personally responsible for Ebola and ISIS. Absurd accusations, but ones that hurt him and his party.</p>
<p>This week’s news shows both leaders emerging chastened and strong — though no longer universally beloved by those who once cheered. At a <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/11/14/remarks-president-obama-and-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-burma-joint-press-confe" type="external">joint press conference</a>, each announced results of months of negotiation, and meeting halfway with those whom they deal.</p>
<p>Suu Kyi leaked news that the head of the Lower House of Parliament had closed discussion of a bill concocted to reduce the predicted landslide of her party in the 2015 elections. Obama announced that through months of planning and negotiation, the US and China have a joint plan to reduce carbon emissions and curb green house gasses.</p>
<p>These accomplishments represent the best of optimism — the will to try, the intelligence to frame the issues persuasively and the energy to persist.</p>
<p>To be sure, both Obama and Suu Kyi <a href="http://nytimes.com/2014/11/13/world/asia/for-some-daw-aung-san-suu-kyi-falls-short-of-expectations-in-Myanmar.html" type="external">remain vulnerable</a> to <a href="http://www.irrawaddy.org/commentary/obamas-second-burma-visit-falls-flat.html" type="external">discouragement among their supporters</a> and to the continuing rancor of their enemies.</p>
<p>But their appearance together in Myanmar left no doubt that neither will cede the field. Standing side by side at the press conference as two veterans of political wars, they spoke openly of the importance of optimism as they understand it now — hopefulness veined with skeptical regard — about prospects in Myanmar as well as worldwide.</p>
<p>That lesson may have displeased those who continue to hope for more, but it explains their deepening relationship and their renewed energy.</p>
<p>As individuals, both Obama and Suu Kyi are sometimes called arch, or cool. They are often accused of being too much alone. There was none of that on display as they shared the spotlight with ease. At the meeting’s end, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/15/world/asia/obama-aung-san-suu-kyi-myanmar.html" type="external">they walked arm in arm</a>.</p>
<p>In this they illustrate what research shows: Blind optimism or wishful thinking is folly; hopefulness rooted in intelligent scrutiny, resourcefulness and courage is key to effecting change.</p>
<p>Susanne Dumbleton is professor emeritus and former dean of DePaul University School for New Learning. She is studying Aung San Suu Kyi as part of a larger project on women as leaders of social justice. &#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
chicago two world figures whose political destinies launched hope took center stage myanmar last week fledgling leaders president barack obama aung san suu kyi expressed confidence would get things done reaching wished ill titles respective memoirs obamas audacity hope suu kyis voice hope suggested heady confidence rooted belief essential goodness human beings limitless possibility people work together meeting myanmar leaders sought one another supporters realistic assessment present reasonable expectations going forward left us study styles leadership asking whether earlier optimism folly insight early days leaders overestimated power reason political life underestimated venom opponents followers grant park november 2008 moment cnn called election obama vibration literally shook ground quarter million people exhaled scene evoked belief hope even victory presidentelect spoke echoed sentiment crowd met cynicism doubts tell us cant respond timeless creed sums spirit people yes five years studying suu kyi book women fight human rights nov13 2010 like burmawatchers stayed night watch thousands gathered outside home wait return place wall confined would speak democracy freedom foreign journalists banned burma month videos sprang onto web fragments captured handheld telephones euphoria streets myanmar recently people told inspired daily basis 26 years 18 years suu kyi house arrest individual mantra echoed across country became carried people dark days one leader could fulfill hopes even confronting men whose sole purpose make irrelevant live constraints time place personal limits two suu kyis situation dire hate gone far attempt assassinate write constitution article block running highest office yet less violent obamas problem opposition leader whose republican party explicitly dedicated failure similarly requires making nations wellbeing secondary venal aspirations opponents congress obama suu kyi times gotten ways although excess optimism led overestimate personal capacities 2012 example suu kyi thought honor named chair committee investigating citizen protests copper mine setup diligent study announced foreordained conclusion one sure inflame residents damage credibility mine continue operating despite damaging environment producing jobs local economy skeptical eye would advised decline chairwomans post outset parallel track obama turned back lastminute election maneuvers instead responding quickly clearly allowed defined personally responsible ebola isis absurd accusations ones hurt party weeks news shows leaders emerging chastened strong though longer universally beloved cheered joint press conference announced results months negotiation meeting halfway deal suu kyi leaked news head lower house parliament closed discussion bill concocted reduce predicted landslide party 2015 elections obama announced months planning negotiation us china joint plan reduce carbon emissions curb green house gasses accomplishments represent best optimism try intelligence frame issues persuasively energy persist sure obama suu kyi remain vulnerable discouragement among supporters continuing rancor enemies appearance together myanmar left doubt neither cede field standing side side press conference two veterans political wars spoke openly importance optimism understand hopefulness veined skeptical regard prospects myanmar well worldwide lesson may displeased continue hope explains deepening relationship renewed energy individuals obama suu kyi sometimes called arch cool often accused much alone none display shared spotlight ease meetings end walked arm arm illustrate research shows blind optimism wishful thinking folly hopefulness rooted intelligent scrutiny resourcefulness courage key effecting change susanne dumbleton professor emeritus former dean depaul university school new learning studying aung san suu kyi part larger project women leaders social justice 160
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Is California the greenest and fairest state when it comes to clean fuel standard regulations? No on both counts, contended the Wall Street Journal in a recent editorial, “ <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304171804579121614113740826" type="external">California’s Green Trade War</a>.” It said “economic protectionism” is behind the <a href="http://www.energy.ca.gov/low_carbon_fuel_standard/" type="external">Low Carbon Fuel Standard of 2009</a> of the California Air Resources Board.</p>
<p>The Journal accused CARB of rigging the pollution regulation game by prejudicially giving Alaskan crude oil the same emissions score as California crude oil, which has four times the amount of carbon. &#160;The Journal said California is cornering the market on “advanced” biofuels made from soybeans, landfill waste byproducts, and animal lard by penalizing out-of-state ethanol producers.</p>
<p>CARB Executive Officer Richard Corey <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304106704579138301033996272?mod=WSJ_Opinion_MIDDLEThirdBucket" type="external">rebutted that, insisting that</a>California’s air pollution regulations are both “fair and green.”&#160; Corey maintained CARB no longer calculates crude oil carbon density that way.&#160; Corey said CARB now uses a computer model vetted by regulators and <a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2013/09/18/12-15131.pdf" type="external">affirmed by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals</a>.</p>
<p>The appeals case referred to is <a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2013/09/18/12-15131.pdf" type="external">Rocky Mountain Farmers Union et al. vs. Corey (California Air Resources Board, Sept. 18, 2013</a>). This case overturned a lower district court in the case of <a href="https://www.casetext.com/case/rocky-mountain-farmers-union-v-goldstene/" type="external">Rocky Mountain Farmers vs. Goldstene</a> (June 16, 2010), which found that CARB discriminated against out-of-state fuel providers and violated the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>The plaintiffs in both court cases — a group of farmers, growers, dairy farmers, truckers and the petrochemical industry — now&#160;want an <a href="http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/en+banc" type="external">en banc</a>(meaning all judges) decision by the Ninth Circuit to affirm the panel's decision so the case can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Ninth Circuit suffered an <a href="http://blogs.findlaw.com/ninth_circuit/2013/06/ninth-battling-to-regain-spot-as-most-reversed-circuit.html" type="external">86 percent reversal rate</a> by the U.S. Supreme Court in the last term. So the plaintiffs are hoping that temporary defeat will become ultimate victory.</p>
<p><a href="http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2013/09/18/12-15131.pdf" type="external">Judge Mary H. Murguia issued the sole, partial dissent</a> from the three-judge panel's ruling. Her dissent was based on Table 6 of CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which she said explicitly “differentiates between in-state and out-of-state ethanol, according more preferential treatment to the former at the expense of the latter.”&#160; This violates the Interstate Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, she wrote on page 73.</p>
<p>Table 6 is excerpted below, which clearly shows different values for in-state and out-of-state fuels. The main differences are CARB’s unfavorable scoring of “electricity” usage by Midwest ethanol fuel providers compared to California’s; and equal “land use” scores for in-and-out-of-state ethanol providers. Arguably, growing corn for ethanol in California uses <a href="http://ej.iop.org/images/1748-9326/5/1/014020/Full/4004303.jpg" type="external">much more valuable water</a> than in the Midwest, which enjoys plentiful rain and rivers, but both have the same “land use” score.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_H._Murguia" type="external">Murguia</a> was appointed to the Ninth District in 2010 by President Barack Obama. She is the twin sister of civil rights leader Janet Murguia. So one might expect her to take liberal positions. But in this case she did not.</p>
<p>Corey claims that out-of-state fuel farmers are supportive of CARB’s standards. But Corey’s rebuttal letter failed to explain why farmers from both California and the Midwest had brought the lawsuit against CARB.</p>
<p>Corey also failed to mention in his letter a parallel lawsuit brought by a Midwestern corn ethanol producer and a Sacramento research firm in a case before the Fifth Appellate District of the Court of Appeal of the State of California.&#160; The case is <a href="http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/F064045.PDF" type="external">POET vs. CARB, June 15, 2013</a>. In that case, the State Appeals Court also upheld CARB’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, but <a href="http://biomassmagazine.com/articles/9213/court-rules-to-uphold-calif-lcfs-but-requires-corrective-action" type="external">required corrections</a>.</p>
<p>Among the corrections, CARB must prove there are significant negative effects on the environment from Nitrogen Oxide emissions, rather than just assert such effects.&#160; Also, CARB must allow public comment on the carbon intensity values assigned to land use changes and the formulas used in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTAP" type="external">Global Trade Analysis Project</a> computer model used by CARB. Additionally, four emails from consultants originally left out of CARB’s analysis must be included in the rulemaking file.</p>
<p>Both court cases do not necessarily support Corey’s claim that California is green and fair.&#160; To do that, a comparison with the state of Texas may be helpful.</p>
<p>California has nine out of the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/magazine/article/100-Cities-The-Best-and-Worst-Air-Quality-2462500.php#page-2" type="external">worst 25 cities for air pollution in the U.S.</a>: Los Angeles, Bakersfield, Visalia, Fresno, Sacramento, El Centro, San Diego, Hanford and Merced. &#160;Texas only has two cities on the list: Dallas and Houston.</p>
<p>The major causes of smog in Dallas and Houston are <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/05/30/185993899/breathing-easier-how-houston-is-working-to-clean-up-its-air" type="external">cars and plastics, oil and gas production.</a> Most other Texans live in plains and plateaus where any potential toxic substances are dissipated quickly into the atmosphere. Texas is topographically greener than California despite <a href="http://www.neo.ne.gov/statshtml/120.htm" type="external">its greater energy usage,</a> but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population" type="external">12 million less population</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2013/09/27/texas-an-energy-and-economic-analysis/" type="external">Texas relies on coal fuel for 32 percent</a> of its energy use, while <a href="http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/electricity/electricity_generation.html" type="external">California only depends on coal for 3.7 percent</a> of its total energy usage (but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_use_in_California" type="external">15.5 percent of its electricity usage</a>).&#160; Texas imports coal fuel from Wyoming to run <a href="http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/02/19/8400164/" type="external">TXU power plants</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_Future_Holdings" type="external">Dallas,</a> while <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermountain_Power_Agency" type="external">California imports coal powered&#160;electricity from Utah</a> to light up Los Angeles.&#160; Texas imports its pollution; California exports it.&#160; With a much higher usage percentage of so-called “dirty” coal-generated power than California, one would think that Texas would suffer from greater air pollution.&#160; But it doesn’t. &#160;Why?</p>
<p>The answer is most Californians live in <a href="http://www.sjvgeology.org/maps/calif_basins.gif" type="external">nine topographic basins along the coastline that serve as traps for smog</a>. &#160;The major cause of smog in California cities is an <a href="http://www.worldissues360.com/index.php/los-angeles-california-why-its-the-smog-capital-of-the-world-and-why-they-hope-67820/" type="external">inversion layer</a> of warm air above cooler air that makes a toxic trap. Natural smog traps cause smog, not only man-made airborne substances.</p>
<p>According to the Journal, California subsidizes homegrown biofuels by $23 billion. Political liberals are usually the most concerned about fairness and about giving subsidies to farmers.&#160;But there isn’t much, if any, opposition by fair-minded liberals about subsidies to farmers for green fuels.</p>
<p>Moreover, no less than the impartial <a href="http://www.foxandhoundsdaily.com/2012/08/no-need-for-carbon-auction-says-californias-most-independent-voice/" type="external">California Legislative Analyst’s Office</a> has inferred that CARB’s cap-and-trade auction of pollution permits is unfair.&#160; This is because the LAO says an auction is unnecessary to accomplish CARB’s pollution reduction goals.</p>
<p>Arguably, moving California’s conventional power plants out of its smog basin traps might accomplish CARB’s pollution reduction goals without having to rely on expensive and grid-destabilizing green power. Instead, <a href="http://www.ca-ilg.org/post/basics-sb-375" type="external">California is diverting population growth to coastal smog traps</a> in the name of arresting “urban sprawl.”</p>
<p>&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160; Table 6 Breakout (2011); Cal. Code Regs. <a href="http://www.arb.ca.gov/fuels/lcfs/CleanFinalRegOrder_02012011.pdf" type="external">Title 17, Sec. 95486</a> (b) (1)</p>
| false | 3 |
160 california greenest fairest state comes clean fuel standard regulations counts contended wall street journal recent editorial californias green trade war said economic protectionism behind low carbon fuel standard 2009 california air resources board journal accused carb rigging pollution regulation game prejudicially giving alaskan crude oil emissions score california crude oil four times amount carbon 160the journal said california cornering market advanced biofuels made soybeans landfill waste byproducts animal lard penalizing outofstate ethanol producers carb executive officer richard corey rebutted insisting thatcalifornias air pollution regulations fair green160 corey maintained carb longer calculates crude oil carbon density way160 corey said carb uses computer model vetted regulators affirmed threejudge panel us ninth district court appeals appeals case referred rocky mountain farmers union et al vs corey california air resources board sept 18 2013 case overturned lower district court case rocky mountain farmers vs goldstene june 16 2010 found carb discriminated outofstate fuel providers violated interstate commerce clause us constitution plaintiffs court cases group farmers growers dairy farmers truckers petrochemical industry now160want en bancmeaning judges decision ninth circuit affirm panels decision case appealed us supreme court ninth circuit suffered 86 percent reversal rate us supreme court last term plaintiffs hoping temporary defeat become ultimate victory judge mary h murguia issued sole partial dissent threejudge panels ruling dissent based table 6 carbs low carbon fuel standard said explicitly differentiates instate outofstate ethanol according preferential treatment former expense latter160 violates interstate commerce clause us constitution wrote page 73 table 6 excerpted clearly shows different values instate outofstate fuels main differences carbs unfavorable scoring electricity usage midwest ethanol fuel providers compared californias equal land use scores inandoutofstate ethanol providers arguably growing corn ethanol california uses much valuable water midwest enjoys plentiful rain rivers land use score murguia appointed ninth district 2010 president barack obama twin sister civil rights leader janet murguia one might expect take liberal positions case corey claims outofstate fuel farmers supportive carbs standards coreys rebuttal letter failed explain farmers california midwest brought lawsuit carb corey also failed mention letter parallel lawsuit brought midwestern corn ethanol producer sacramento research firm case fifth appellate district court appeal state california160 case poet vs carb june 15 2013 case state appeals court also upheld carbs low carbon fuel standard required corrections among corrections carb must prove significant negative effects environment nitrogen oxide emissions rather assert effects160 also carb must allow public comment carbon intensity values assigned land use changes formulas used global trade analysis project computer model used carb additionally four emails consultants originally left carbs analysis must included rulemaking file court cases necessarily support coreys claim california green fair160 comparison state texas may helpful california nine worst 25 cities air pollution us los angeles bakersfield visalia fresno sacramento el centro san diego hanford merced 160texas two cities list dallas houston major causes smog dallas houston cars plastics oil gas production texans live plains plateaus potential toxic substances dissipated quickly atmosphere texas topographically greener california despite greater energy usage 12 million less population texas relies coal fuel 32 percent energy use california depends coal 37 percent total energy usage 155 percent electricity usage160 texas imports coal fuel wyoming run txu power plants dallas california imports coal powered160electricity utah light los angeles160 texas imports pollution california exports it160 much higher usage percentage socalled dirty coalgenerated power california one would think texas would suffer greater air pollution160 doesnt 160why answer californians live nine topographic basins along coastline serve traps smog 160the major cause smog california cities inversion layer warm air cooler air makes toxic trap natural smog traps cause smog manmade airborne substances according journal california subsidizes homegrown biofuels 23 billion political liberals usually concerned fairness giving subsidies farmers160but isnt much opposition fairminded liberals subsidies farmers green fuels moreover less impartial california legislative analysts office inferred carbs capandtrade auction pollution permits unfair160 lao says auction unnecessary accomplish carbs pollution reduction goals arguably moving californias conventional power plants smog basin traps might accomplish carbs pollution reduction goals without rely expensive griddestabilizing green power instead california diverting population growth coastal smog traps name arresting urban sprawl 160160160160160160160160160160160160160 table 6 breakout 2011 cal code regs title 17 sec 95486 b 1
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<p>New data show that neighborhood high schools have reached a troubling milestone: Most now enroll only one-fourth of the students living in their attendance areas. District officials have begun to focus on the daunting task of coming up with a comprehensive plan to revitalize schools that have been losing students for many years.</p>
<p>In 2006-2007, half of public high school students attended their neighborhood school and it was unheard-of for even the worst schools to attract just a quarter of the teens in their area. Now, 27 of 46 neighborhood high schools, or nearly two-thirds, enroll fewer than that number. (The district’s other 80+ high schools require applications and admit students based on a lottery, test scores or some other requirement.)</p>
<p>Some neighborhood schools, those with too few students overall, are in an especially precarious situation. Ten majority-black high schools in poor neighborhoods on the South and West sides have less than 400 students, and only about one in 10 teens in the community opts to attend them. Englewood on the South Side and Garfield Park area on the West Side each has a nexus of three or four schools in this state.</p>
<p>As schools lose students, they receive less money and must cut back the very features that could help attract and keep students– counselors, honors classes, elective courses and extracurricular programs–and become shells of what they once were.</p>
<p>Last year, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett decided that high schools would not be among the schools shuttered during massive school closings. But with so many high schools languishing, some observers question whether it is good to let students attend high schools that can’t offer a variety of classes, activities and opportunities.</p>
<p>Chicago, which has lost students overall, is not the only city facing this dilemma. Across the country, the role of neighborhood schools in an era of choice has been hotly debated. The problem prompted 21 grassroots organizations, including organizations in Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Minnesota, to forge a national alliance called Journey for Justice to fight against the closing of neighborhood schools in poor communities of color.</p>
<p>New York University Professor Pedro Noguera says that lots of cities have struggling neighborhood schools.</p>
<p>“The kids that wind up in neighborhood schools are often the most vulnerable and the most disenfranchised,” he says. “We have got to look at capacity and make sure the schools have the capacity to serve them.”</p>
<p>Generation All seeks answers</p>
<p>Not all educators believe neighborhood high schools are important. Noble Street Charter founder and president Michael Milkie points out that high school students are mobile and so are able to travel to a school of their choosing.</p>
<p>In New York City, for example, every student must apply to high school and then is given an offer at one school. Those who are not offered a spot at any of their choices must attend a fair for schools that still have seats. For years, such a system has been discussed in Chicago.</p>
<p>Yet Byrd-Bennett does not seem ready to do away with neighborhood high schools altogether. Their fate has become such a pressing issue that she and Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis agreed to work on the problem together. The commitment sparked an initiative at the Chicago Community Trust, Generation All, in which teachers, principals, parents and community members are coming together to make recommendations about how to jump-start schools.</p>
<p>Generation All plans to tackle major questions, such as what it means to have equity in education, how neighborhood high schools are defined and how they can be revitalized, says Beatriz Ponce de León, who is directing Generation All.</p>
<p>“Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Lewis agree that given the landscape, there is a place for strong neighborhood schools,” Ponce de León says.&#160; “These schools are community anchors.”</p>
<p>Ponce de León points to schools such as Senn in Edgewater and Juarez in Pilsen, schools that communities are rallying around. Half of the students in Juarez’s attendance area go to the schoo, and its enrollment is stable. Senn this year has 119 more students than it did last year.</p>
<p>“They are starting to become a draw because they have improved instruction, created a positive school climate and engaged the community,” Ponce de Leon says.</p>
<p>But then there’s Manley, a West Side school that was on the upswing but is now struggling. Manley has only 356 students, and only 9 percent of area students attend the school.</p>
<p>Working in tandem with Generation All, CPS Chief of Staff Aarti Dhupelia says district officials want to make sure that there is “equity and access” among high schools. That means that students should be able to take various classes or programs, such as International Baccalaureate courses or career and technical education classes, without having to travel far from home.</p>
<p>Plus, all schools should have certain resources, Dhupelia says, such as an acceptable student-to-counselor ratio.</p>
<p>While it may take more than a year before CPS or Generation All is ready to issue recommendations, Dhupelia says that the district could act as early as this year to ensure more equity in resources.</p>
<p>How schools cope</p>
<p>Ponce de Leon says that once a high school has less than 500 students, it is difficult to offer a good range of programs, classes and activities.</p>
<p>One such school is Robeson in Englewood. Principal Gerald Morrow is working to attract more students through marketing, but is skeptical that his efforts will be successful and has accepted that the school will most likely remain small. When Morrow started at Robeson almost a decade ago, some 1,500 students attended the school.</p>
<p>In the past four years, enrollment has dropped from 776 students to 295. Morrow has had to lay off an assistant principal, 38 teachers and five security guards. However, he kept four employees who work to provide students with support, including a college coach and a social worker.</p>
<p>With Robeson now a fifth the size it once was, Morrow points out how the school has changed. Robeson at one time had a strong sports program that regularly sent football players to Division 1 schools. In the 1980s, it was the last school from the public league to win a state championship.</p>
<p>Robeson still has sports programs, but they are smaller, with prospective college athletes choosing other schools.</p>
<p>Each year, Morrow has to figure out how to make do with less.</p>
<p>His office is now on the same floor as all the classes. “Every time I walk out I can see the students. I love it,” he says. “It makes this job very hands-on. I get to see the students every day…. I have had to figure out, how do I build the best small school model? I can’t go around saying ‘We had this and we had that.’ As a leader I have to make it the best that I can.”</p>
<p>“I have had to reinvent myself every year,” Morrow adds. “I have to reach into my toolkit and see, what do I have right now? What do I need to do?”</p>
<p>On the Southwest Side, Gage Park High School is a majestic, block-long school that could enroll 1,200 students and was at capacity just four years ago, with some 90 teachers. This year, less than 500 students enrolled (about 13 percent of the students in the area) and the school has only 40 teachers.</p>
<p>Principal Brian Metcalf, who just arrived in late September after an abrupt retirement by the former principal, is hopeful he can turn the school around. One of the first things he did when he came to Gage Park was to survey the students to see what they wanted. He then asked teachers what club or sport they might volunteer to take over. Metcalf admits that it may be hard to launch full-fledged competitive teams, but he is looking at offering intermural programs.</p>
<p>For three or four years, Gage Park had no dances or other activities that teenagers expect in high school—no homecoming, no pep rallies. So one of Metcalf’s first actions was to schedule a homecoming dance–that went off without a hitch.</p>
<p>“The students came in their suits and ties and skirts and there was not an incident,” he says. “The adults were surprised.” He now plans to hold a winter dance.</p>
<p>“There is quality here”</p>
<p>Hard hit high schools have been dealt simultaneous blows: a loss of students, the opening of charters and other new schools, poor reputations and dangerous surrounding neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Morrow says he is not against competition from other schools. But like many principals of neighborhood high schools, he feels as though he is starting from a disadvantage.</p>
<p>“People do not have a problem with Robeson,” he says. “They have a problem with 69th Street.”</p>
<p>Robeson’s test scores are low, Morrow concedes. But he points out that the school’s rate of improvement is not that bad. This year, Robeson moved up a level from the lowest rated school. He says low performing students can make as much or more progress at Robeson than at Johnson College Prep, a Noble Street Charter campus with 819 students that is less than a mile away. (According to CPS, Johnson’s growth on standardized tests is “average,” while Robeson’s is “below average.”)</p>
<p>“We want to say to people, look at these schools,” Morrow says. “There is quality here.”</p>
<p>Though Metcalf has been on the job for less than two months, he has already started going out to local elementary schools and taken parents of eighth-graders on tours of the school. He also convinced Morrill Elementary Principal Michael Beyer to let him host eighth-graders on the school’s annual high school application night.</p>
<p>While Metcalf says some parents seemed impressed, Beyer notes that some students did not attend because their parents viewed the school as too dangerous for their child to go to for the activity.</p>
<p>Tonya Hammaker, principal of Farragut, says the school also suffers, like Robeson and Gage Park, from a bad reputation. Farragut, however, is not among the lowest- performing schools: Under the last principal, it earned a Level 2 rating and got off academic probation.</p>
<p>Farragut also is a wall-to-wall International Baccalaureate school, and has programs in ROTC, auto mechanics and law.</p>
<p>Yet it is still losing students and is down to 980 from 1,100 last year. A decade ago, it had 2,500 students.</p>
<p>Hammaker says the biggest problems with reputation sometimes stem from alumni who are now parents and remember the rough Farragut of the 1990s. Other times it is the product of the area around the school, which many see as dangerous.</p>
<p>“When we talk to students at our feeder schools they say, ‘My parents won’t let me go to Farragut,’ ” she says. “We have been fighting that reputation for so many years.”</p>
<p>One of Hammaker’s strategies is to invite parents to come spend a day at Farragut and to see what is happening in the halls. “They will see that it is not scary,” she says.</p>
<p>She also has started putting out a community newsletter, which she drops off at businesses in the community.</p>
<p>“That way people can see there are so many great things going on at this school,” she says. “The perception of a neighborhood school is a struggle. I don’t know what can be done about that. I don’t know how to fix it.”</p>
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new data show neighborhood high schools reached troubling milestone enroll onefourth students living attendance areas district officials begun focus daunting task coming comprehensive plan revitalize schools losing students many years 20062007 half public high school students attended neighborhood school unheardof even worst schools attract quarter teens area 27 46 neighborhood high schools nearly twothirds enroll fewer number districts 80 high schools require applications admit students based lottery test scores requirement neighborhood schools students overall especially precarious situation ten majorityblack high schools poor neighborhoods south west sides less 400 students one 10 teens community opts attend englewood south side garfield park area west side nexus three four schools state schools lose students receive less money must cut back features could help attract keep students counselors honors classes elective courses extracurricular programsand become shells last year mayor rahm emanuel ceo barbara byrdbennett decided high schools would among schools shuttered massive school closings many high schools languishing observers question whether good let students attend high schools cant offer variety classes activities opportunities chicago lost students overall city facing dilemma across country role neighborhood schools era choice hotly debated problem prompted 21 grassroots organizations including organizations chicago detroit philadelphia minnesota forge national alliance called journey justice fight closing neighborhood schools poor communities color new york university professor pedro noguera says lots cities struggling neighborhood schools kids wind neighborhood schools often vulnerable disenfranchised says got look capacity make sure schools capacity serve generation seeks answers educators believe neighborhood high schools important noble street charter founder president michael milkie points high school students mobile able travel school choosing new york city example every student must apply high school given offer one school offered spot choices must attend fair schools still seats years system discussed chicago yet byrdbennett seem ready away neighborhood high schools altogether fate become pressing issue chicago teachers union president karen lewis agreed work problem together commitment sparked initiative chicago community trust generation teachers principals parents community members coming together make recommendations jumpstart schools generation plans tackle major questions means equity education neighborhood high schools defined revitalized says beatriz ponce de león directing generation barbara byrdbennett lewis agree given landscape place strong neighborhood schools ponce de león says160 schools community anchors ponce de león points schools senn edgewater juarez pilsen schools communities rallying around half students juarezs attendance area go schoo enrollment stable senn year 119 students last year starting become draw improved instruction created positive school climate engaged community ponce de leon says theres manley west side school upswing struggling manley 356 students 9 percent area students attend school working tandem generation cps chief staff aarti dhupelia says district officials want make sure equity access among high schools means students able take various classes programs international baccalaureate courses career technical education classes without travel far home plus schools certain resources dhupelia says acceptable studenttocounselor ratio may take year cps generation ready issue recommendations dhupelia says district could act early year ensure equity resources schools cope ponce de leon says high school less 500 students difficult offer good range programs classes activities one school robeson englewood principal gerald morrow working attract students marketing skeptical efforts successful accepted school likely remain small morrow started robeson almost decade ago 1500 students attended school past four years enrollment dropped 776 students 295 morrow lay assistant principal 38 teachers five security guards however kept four employees work provide students support including college coach social worker robeson fifth size morrow points school changed robeson one time strong sports program regularly sent football players division 1 schools 1980s last school public league win state championship robeson still sports programs smaller prospective college athletes choosing schools year morrow figure make less office floor classes every time walk see students love says makes job handson get see students every day figure build best small school model cant go around saying leader make best reinvent every year morrow adds reach toolkit see right need southwest side gage park high school majestic blocklong school could enroll 1200 students capacity four years ago 90 teachers year less 500 students enrolled 13 percent students area school 40 teachers principal brian metcalf arrived late september abrupt retirement former principal hopeful turn school around one first things came gage park survey students see wanted asked teachers club sport might volunteer take metcalf admits may hard launch fullfledged competitive teams looking offering intermural programs three four years gage park dances activities teenagers expect high schoolno homecoming pep rallies one metcalfs first actions schedule homecoming dancethat went without hitch students came suits ties skirts incident says adults surprised plans hold winter dance quality hard hit high schools dealt simultaneous blows loss students opening charters new schools poor reputations dangerous surrounding neighborhoods morrow says competition schools like many principals neighborhood high schools feels though starting disadvantage people problem robeson says problem 69th street robesons test scores low morrow concedes points schools rate improvement bad year robeson moved level lowest rated school says low performing students make much progress robeson johnson college prep noble street charter campus 819 students less mile away according cps johnsons growth standardized tests average robesons average want say people look schools morrow says quality though metcalf job less two months already started going local elementary schools taken parents eighthgraders tours school also convinced morrill elementary principal michael beyer let host eighthgraders schools annual high school application night metcalf says parents seemed impressed beyer notes students attend parents viewed school dangerous child go activity tonya hammaker principal farragut says school also suffers like robeson gage park bad reputation farragut however among lowest performing schools last principal earned level 2 rating got academic probation farragut also walltowall international baccalaureate school programs rotc auto mechanics law yet still losing students 980 1100 last year decade ago 2500 students hammaker says biggest problems reputation sometimes stem alumni parents remember rough farragut 1990s times product area around school many see dangerous talk students feeder schools say parents wont let go farragut says fighting reputation many years one hammakers strategies invite parents come spend day farragut see happening halls see scary says also started putting community newsletter drops businesses community way people see many great things going school says perception neighborhood school struggle dont know done dont know fix
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<p>VIMY RIDGE, France — World War I started 100 years ago next month. Between July 28, 1914 and Nov. 11, 1918, 17 million people would die in the fighting.</p>
<p>The war marked the end of great empires, triggered the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and redrew the borders of Europe and the Middle East.</p>
<p>As commemorations are held around the world this summer to mark the conflict once called the war to end all wars, here’s a guide to 12 sites that show the war's lasting impact.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>1. The Latin Bridge, Sarajevo, Bosnia</p>
<p>(Ismar Badzic/Flickr)</p>
<p>Where it all began. The heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were gunned down here on June 28, 1914, by Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip as he visited Bosnia, recently annexed by Austria to Serbia's dismay. Balkan rivalries that ignited WWI flared again in the 1990s and Sarajevo still bears the scars of the 1,425-day siege that left thousands dead. These days, however, the river Miljacka flows peacefully under the bridge's three arches and a museum on the northern bank marks the spot where Princip fired his fateful shots.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>2. Langemark German Cemetery, Belgium</p>
<p>(AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>A visit to any of the war cemeteries scattered across Flanders or the other theaters of WWI is always a moving experience. This German graveyard holding the remains of 44,000 fallen soldiers is particularly poignant. Shaded by oak trees, row upon row of flat, roughly hewn grey stones mark graves. Among the fallen are 3,000 schoolboys and students mown down when inexperienced German volunteers charged Allied machine guns in October 1914. One young infantryman who survived the carnage around Langemark was Adolf Hitler, who paid a visit to the cemetery after his forces occupied Belgium in World War II.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>3. Przemysl, Poland</p>
<p>Market Square in Przemysl. (Krzysztof Dobrzański/Flickr)</p>
<p>Although the fighting on WWI's eastern front is often neglected in the West, the battles between the Baltic and Black Sea cost an estimated 4 million lives. Przemysl was an Austro-Hungarian fortress town on the border with the Russian Empire. Russia's attack on the city led to the longest siege of the war. It took six months until Austrian defenses were overpowered — a defeat that dealt a major blow to the tottering Hapsburg Empire. Today, visitors can stroll through remnants of the fortifications that stretch from city to the nearby Ukrainian border. On one street, four cemeteries provide a resting place for German, Russian and Austro-Hungarian casualties. In the city's main square sits a statue of The Good Soldier Svejk, hero of the anti-war novel with the same name by Czech writer Jaroslav Hasek, who became a symbol for ordinary servicemen dragged into the armies of empire.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>4. The Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium</p>
<p>(AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>Apart for a four-year gap during the Nazi occupation, a bugler from the Ypres fire brigade has stood beneath the Menin Gate at 8 p.m. every evening since 1928 to play "The Last Post," Britain's mournful call to fallen soldiers. The ceremony honors the 54,896 men from Britain, Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and the West Indies whose names are carved on the great stone and brick gate. They died in the series great battles around Ypres but their bodies were never found. Even today, farmers regularly unearth the remains of WWI combatants. On Thursday, leaders from the 28 nations of the European Union attended a ceremony here in a symbol of reconciliation.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>5. Farnborough Airport, England</p>
<p>Farnborough International Air Show. (CAPTAIN ROGER FENTON 9th.WEST MIDDLESEX VRC. 1860/Flickr)</p>
<p>The annual Farnborough Airshow on July 18-20 is one of several places around England this year where a team of pilots will be taking to the air in replica WWI aircraft to recreate dogfights between British and German fighters over the Western Front. Among the planes in action will be a Fokker triplane like the one flown by German ace Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron. Although Italian pilots made the first air strike in 1911 during an invasion of Libya, WWI saw the first large-scale use of air power. Aerial bombardments were just one of WWI’s technological advances that were to transform the killing potential of modern conflicts — along with machine guns, long-range artillery, tanks and poison gas.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>6. Historial de la Grande Guerre, Peronne, France</p>
<p>Historial de la Grande Guerre, Peronne. (Adam Gimpert/Flickr)</p>
<p>Opened in 1992 on the battlefields of the Somme, this is one of the best museums dedicated to WWI. Housed in a building that combines modernist cubes with a medieval chateau, the collection of more than 70,000 objects focuses on the war’s impact on the lives of soldiers and civilians. Exhibits range from the plumed and polished helmets under which cavalrymen trotted to war in 1914 to propaganda posters, religious artifacts crafted from shell cases and letters sent home from the trenches. The first day of the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916, remains the deadliest in the history of the British army. Some 20,000 died advancing on the German lines.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>7. Asiago, Italy</p>
<p>Sunset in Asiago. (efilpero/Flickr)</p>
<p>Thirteen million men fought on the Italian front, where the horrors of trench warfare were often compounded by the freezing Alpine winters as battles ravaged the beautiful plateaus, plains and mountains between Austria and the Adriatic. On a hilltop overlooking the little town of Asiago, a marble mausoleum holds the remains of 54,000 Italian and Austro-Hungarian troops, former enemies who now lie side by side. The fighting around here helped define the modern borders of Italy and the states that would emerge from the Habsburg Empire.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>8. Vimy Ridge, France</p>
<p>(Philippe Huguen/AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>It wasn't just the new states of Europe that were forged in the flames of WWI. Many Canadians view this forest-covered ridge rising out of the farmland of northern France as the cradle of their nation. In 1917, all four divisions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force came together for the first time to storm Germans dug in along the ridge. The land is now managed by the Canadian authorities as a National Historic Site and the soaring white stone monument dominating the ridge features on the country's $20 bill. For Australia and New Zealand too, the trauma of wartime sacrifice was a nation-building experience. The Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, where troops from Pacific nations spearheaded a doomed attack on Ottoman positions, remains a place of pilgrimage.</p>
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<p>9. Basra War Cemetery, Iraq</p>
<p>(AFP/Getty Images)</p>
<p>Many of the frontiers of today's Middle East emerged from the break-up of the Ottoman Empire after WWI. Syria and Lebanon became French protectorates. The British were given post-WWI mandates to run Iraq and Palestine. The Middle East was key theater of the war: British troops invaded Turkish positions in Arabia to secure oil fields; Egypt and Palestine were caught up when German and Ottoman troops sought to seize the Suez Canal from the British; under the command of Col. T. E. Lawrence, the British stirred up rebellion among the tribes of Arabia. After the war, the British and French failure to respect promised support for an independent Arab state fueled resentment that lingers today. In Basra, the scene of fighting between British and Iraqi forces in 2003, a cemetery holds the remains of 2,551 Commonwealth soldiers killed in the Mesopotamian campaigns of WWI.</p>
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<p>10. 26 Pilies Street, Vilnius, Lithuania</p>
<p>Pilies Street, Vilnius. (David Holt/Flickr)</p>
<p>At the start of World War I, Vilnius formed part of the Russian Empire. In 1915, the Lithuanian capital was occupied by Germany. With Russia torn by revolution and the tide of battle turning against Germany, leading Lithuanians met in this 18th-century townhouse to sign a declaration of independence. Across Eastern Europe, people made similar bids for freedom as the rule of Russian tsars, Austrian emperors, German kaisers and Turkish sultans crumbled. The empires' implosion often brought chaos. Lithuania and the other Baltic states were riven by multifaceted conflicts involving the Bolshevik Red Army, renegade German fighters, White Russians, Allied forces and newly independent Poland before they finally won brief spells of independence that ended again in World War II.</p>
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<p>11. Flanders Field American Cemetery, Waregem, Belgium</p>
<p>Flanders Field American Cemetery. (janheuninck/Flickr)</p>
<p>After the United States entered the war in 1917, the men of American Expeditionary Force were soon fighting in the fields of France and Flanders. Most of the 411 buried here were killed in the Battle of the Lys in 1918 as Allied forces pushed back the German line in the final months of the war. President Barack Obama traveled here in March to pay tribute and highlight the bonds between the United States and its European allies that were tempered in WWI.</p>
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<p>12. Clairiere de l'Armistice, Rethondes, France</p>
<p>Clairiere de l'Armistice (olympi/Flickr)</p>
<p>This clearing in the Compeigne Forest north of Paris was chosen by French commander Marshal Ferdinand Foch as the site of Germany's surrender. Facing defeat on the battlefield and revolution at home, the German generals were escorted to Foch's private railway carriage. They signed his armistice terms on Nov. 11, 1918, ending the war. In 1940, Adolf Hitler had the same carriage taken from a museum and returned to the clearing. Hitler was there as defeated French generals were forced to sign a capitulation putting most of France under German control. Today, French monuments destroyed by the Nazis have been restored and the glade is a peaceful place to reflect on both great wars of the 20th century.</p>
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vimy ridge france world war started 100 years ago next month july 28 1914 nov 11 1918 17 million people would die fighting war marked end great empires triggered bolshevik revolution russia redrew borders europe middle east commemorations held around world summer mark conflict called war end wars heres guide 12 sites show wars lasting impact 160 1 latin bridge sarajevo bosnia ismar badzicflickr began heir austrohungarian empire archduke franz ferdinand wife gunned june 28 1914 serb nationalist gavrilo princip visited bosnia recently annexed austria serbias dismay balkan rivalries ignited wwi flared 1990s sarajevo still bears scars 1425day siege left thousands dead days however river miljacka flows peacefully bridges three arches museum northern bank marks spot princip fired fateful shots 160 2 langemark german cemetery belgium afpgetty images visit war cemeteries scattered across flanders theaters wwi always moving experience german graveyard holding remains 44000 fallen soldiers particularly poignant shaded oak trees row upon row flat roughly hewn grey stones mark graves among fallen 3000 schoolboys students mown inexperienced german volunteers charged allied machine guns october 1914 one young infantryman survived carnage around langemark adolf hitler paid visit cemetery forces occupied belgium world war ii 160 3 przemysl poland market square przemysl krzysztof dobrzańskiflickr although fighting wwis eastern front often neglected west battles baltic black sea cost estimated 4 million lives przemysl austrohungarian fortress town border russian empire russias attack city led longest siege war took six months austrian defenses overpowered defeat dealt major blow tottering hapsburg empire today visitors stroll remnants fortifications stretch city nearby ukrainian border one street four cemeteries provide resting place german russian austrohungarian casualties citys main square sits statue good soldier svejk hero antiwar novel name czech writer jaroslav hasek became symbol ordinary servicemen dragged armies empire 160 4 menin gate ypres belgium afpgetty images apart fouryear gap nazi occupation bugler ypres fire brigade stood beneath menin gate 8 pm every evening since 1928 play last post britains mournful call fallen soldiers ceremony honors 54896 men britain canada australia india south africa west indies whose names carved great stone brick gate died series great battles around ypres bodies never found even today farmers regularly unearth remains wwi combatants thursday leaders 28 nations european union attended ceremony symbol reconciliation 160 5 farnborough airport england farnborough international air show captain roger fenton 9thwest middlesex vrc 1860flickr annual farnborough airshow july 1820 one several places around england year team pilots taking air replica wwi aircraft recreate dogfights british german fighters western front among planes action fokker triplane like one flown german ace manfred von richthofen red baron although italian pilots made first air strike 1911 invasion libya wwi saw first largescale use air power aerial bombardments one wwis technological advances transform killing potential modern conflicts along machine guns longrange artillery tanks poison gas 160 6 historial de la grande guerre peronne france historial de la grande guerre peronne adam gimpertflickr opened 1992 battlefields somme one best museums dedicated wwi housed building combines modernist cubes medieval chateau collection 70000 objects focuses wars impact lives soldiers civilians exhibits range plumed polished helmets cavalrymen trotted war 1914 propaganda posters religious artifacts crafted shell cases letters sent home trenches first day battle somme july 1 1916 remains deadliest history british army 20000 died advancing german lines 160 7 asiago italy sunset asiago efilperoflickr thirteen million men fought italian front horrors trench warfare often compounded freezing alpine winters battles ravaged beautiful plateaus plains mountains austria adriatic hilltop overlooking little town asiago marble mausoleum holds remains 54000 italian austrohungarian troops former enemies lie side side fighting around helped define modern borders italy states would emerge habsburg empire 160 8 vimy ridge france philippe huguenafpgetty images wasnt new states europe forged flames wwi many canadians view forestcovered ridge rising farmland northern france cradle nation 1917 four divisions canadian expeditionary force came together first time storm germans dug along ridge land managed canadian authorities national historic site soaring white stone monument dominating ridge features countrys 20 bill australia new zealand trauma wartime sacrifice nationbuilding experience gallipoli peninsula turkey troops pacific nations spearheaded doomed attack ottoman positions remains place pilgrimage 160 9 basra war cemetery iraq afpgetty images many frontiers todays middle east emerged breakup ottoman empire wwi syria lebanon became french protectorates british given postwwi mandates run iraq palestine middle east key theater war british troops invaded turkish positions arabia secure oil fields egypt palestine caught german ottoman troops sought seize suez canal british command col e lawrence british stirred rebellion among tribes arabia war british french failure respect promised support independent arab state fueled resentment lingers today basra scene fighting british iraqi forces 2003 cemetery holds remains 2551 commonwealth soldiers killed mesopotamian campaigns wwi 160 10 26 pilies street vilnius lithuania pilies street vilnius david holtflickr start world war vilnius formed part russian empire 1915 lithuanian capital occupied germany russia torn revolution tide battle turning germany leading lithuanians met 18thcentury townhouse sign declaration independence across eastern europe people made similar bids freedom rule russian tsars austrian emperors german kaisers turkish sultans crumbled empires implosion often brought chaos lithuania baltic states riven multifaceted conflicts involving bolshevik red army renegade german fighters white russians allied forces newly independent poland finally brief spells independence ended world war ii 160 11 flanders field american cemetery waregem belgium flanders field american cemetery janheuninckflickr united states entered war 1917 men american expeditionary force soon fighting fields france flanders 411 buried killed battle lys 1918 allied forces pushed back german line final months war president barack obama traveled march pay tribute highlight bonds united states european allies tempered wwi 160 12 clairiere de larmistice rethondes france clairiere de larmistice olympiflickr clearing compeigne forest north paris chosen french commander marshal ferdinand foch site germanys surrender facing defeat battlefield revolution home german generals escorted fochs private railway carriage signed armistice terms nov 11 1918 ending war 1940 adolf hitler carriage taken museum returned clearing hitler defeated french generals forced sign capitulation putting france german control today french monuments destroyed nazis restored glade peaceful place reflect great wars 20th century
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<p>It was the innocence of the twenty youngest victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, all the ages of my son and his first-grade classmates, which made this latest mass shooting most enduringly haunting.</p>
<p>Their innocence also underscores the incapacities of the major approaches to theodicy for offering a satisfying resolution to the tension between Judeo-Christian affirmations of the goodness and omnipotence of God on the one hand and the ongoing existence of evil and suffering in God’s world on the other.</p>
<p>“Theodicy,” literally a “justification of God” in relation to the observation that all is not right with the present state of the world, is a philosophical legacy of the Enlightenment (Gottried Leibniz first employed the term in 1710). But the questions a theodicy seeks to answer are as old as humanity, for many ancient religions and philosophical systems represent attempts to answer them.</p>
<p>In antiquity and modernity, Christian thinkers have proposed various ways of relating what they affirm about the character of God to the sufferings that mark life in God’s world. Many in the Christian tradition have concurred with Augustine of Hippo (354-430), for whom humanity is to blame for the way things are: people use their God-given freedom to choose evil rather than good, and innocent people suffer as a result. Yet over two centuries earlier Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 115-ca. 202) seemed to suggest that the possibility of suffering was part of God’s good creation from the beginning as necessary for helping people grow toward everything God intended humanity to be, a suggestion developed more fully in recent years by John Hick (1922-2012).</p>
<p>The Reformed tradition exemplified by John Calvin (1509-64) offered a twofold answer: God makes use of some instances of suffering to punish the wicked and discipline God’s people; in all instances God has a good purpose for suffering, but we cannot understand God’s purposes this side of heaven. (Echoes of this perspective are discernible in the public responses of some prominent American evangelicals to the tragedy in Newtown.) Others have proposed that the present state of the world is best explained in terms of a limitation of God’s omnipotence that is either constitutional or volitional—that is, either God is the sort of God that cannot do anything about innocent suffering, or else God can but chooses to be the sort of God that never overrides the free choices of people and their consequences.</p>
<p>In the wake of December 14, such ancient and modern proposals seem insufficient or even outrageously indecent when we use them to try to wrap our minds around our imaginings of what happened inside two first grade classrooms.</p>
<p>People of faith have been trying to wrap their minds around the reality of innocent suffering for a long time. The biblical book of Job portrays its main character as “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” The book of Job tells a story inspired by a question: what if a completely innocent person were to suffer unjustly?</p>
<p>It’s a question that calls into question a common assumption of ancient near eastern people: if you do good, God will reward you with health and wealth, peace and security, and a long life. The corollary of that is that if you’re sick or poor or suffering the effects of a natural disaster or dying an untimely death, it must be that you’ve done something wrong and God is punishing you.</p>
<p>That’s not just an ancient assumption. If an earthquake produces a tsunami that kills hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia, it must be because those people didn’t worship the right God. If a hurricane floods a gulf coast city and kills almost 2,000 people, it must be that that the people of that city did evil. If a tornado strikes a convention center while a church denominational convention is meeting there, it must be that God is giving them a warning because they welcome the wrong sorts of people into their churches. If an earthquake levels the cities of an impoverished Caribbean country, it must be because its citizens engaged in witchcraft. And it wasn’t long into the afternoon of December 14 before someone with access to a media megaphone blamed the deaths of twenty young children on America’s supposed “removal” of God from public schools.</p>
<p>Many of the people of God thought like that in the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple and the deportation of its citizens to Babylon in 586 BC, which seems to be the time when Job’s story came to be written. But might it be possible that one could live an upright life and still suffer? If that’s the case, what does that say about God and God’s relationship with us?</p>
<p>Job is blameless and upright, one who fears God and turns away from evil—and yet the very things thought to befall the evil as punishment for sin happen to Job. He loses his family and flocks and fields; he loses his health; he falls into deep depression and feels abandoned by the God who to him is silent. Job’s very name means “enemy” in Hebrew, and he comes to see himself as God’s enemy because of his suffering and God’s silence. If good Job experiences such suffering, maybe no one’s exempt.</p>
<p>Yet the role Job plays in this story isn’t fully embodied by Job himself. Job may approximate blamelessness and uprightness, but Jesus is right: “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18) There’s a sense in which Jesus is the “real Job,” a concept the late Baptist theologian James Wm. McClendon, Jr. developed in his Systematic Theology in a section critical of modern theodicies. Unlike Job, Jesus is perfectly blameless and perfectly upright, fully fearing God and turning away from evil without exception. And even Jesus, the “real Job,” the only perfectly blameless and upright person who has ever lived, suffers. If even this one suffers, no one is exempt. It is the reality of our world.</p>
<p>During Holy Week many Christians give voice to the reality of our world with a Good Friday recital of Psalm 22. Its opening words are Jesus’ final words from the cross in Mark’s version of the story: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet Christians have found various ways to distance good Jesus from what those words mean at face value. Some point out that later in Psalm 22 the psalmist does declare trust in God, and they suppose that by quoting from the beginning of that Psalm, Jesus is really invoking the entirety of the psalm and its expression of trust in God. But that’s not the part Jesus quotes. Some see this cry as suggesting that in this moment Jesus is bearing the sins of the world and that God the Father, who is holy and supposedly cannot look upon sin, turns his back on Jesus. There are all sorts of problems with that take on Jesus’ cry: nowhere does the text even remotely hint at anything like that, and that interpretation has all manner of problematic implications for how God relates to sinful people like us in our suffering. No, Jesus’ words must mean what they say: they express the paradox that God in the flesh has become God-forsaken. God has fully experienced the God-forsaken feeling of suffering people like Job, who sense in their suffering only God’ silence and absence.</p>
<p>One of my favorite artistic renderings of Jesus’ crucifixion is a 1998 painting by Korean-American artist Ann Kim. Her painting is titled <a href="http://ecva.org/exhibition/feasts/Kim1.html" type="external">“Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani,”</a> Jesus’ cry from Psalm 22 in the Aramaic language Jesus spoke. The painting is striking in its perspective—most depictions of Jesus on the cross look at Jesus from below, standing on the ground looking up at Jesus hanging on the cross. Ann Kim’s painting looks down on the cross from above. It’s a God’s-eye view of the cross, looking down on an expressionistically-painted, ghost-like naked and hairless figure, face desperately straining toward heaven, sunken eyes wide with terror, and mouth gaping open in a scream that evokes the expression in Edvard Munch’s famous 1893 painting “The Scream”—which many have seen as Munch’s portrayal of the cry of modern humanity, for whom God is dead with nothing to replace God. Kim’s God’s-eye painting of Jesus’ scream “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” does justice to Jesus’ God-forsaken agony.</p>
<p>Where was God in Jesus’ God-forsaken agony? Not turning God’s back, not refusing to look on the sin Jesus bore, but precisely with Jesus. Indeed, the suffering Jesus is God. If we believe that Jesus is fully divine and fully human, that doesn’t cease to be true on the cross. The fully divine and fully human Jesus experiences fully the sufferings of the cross and fully suffers them as God—and so God fully does with us in our suffering. The Holy Spirit that is God’s perpetual presence everywhere in the world is also in particular fully present with Jesus in his sufferings and fully experiences his sufferings, just as the Holy Spirit that dwells within us fully does with us in our suffering. The God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is made known to us in Jesus Christ, who according to the author of Hebrews “sympathizes”—“suffers with”— us.</p>
<p>What we Christians have isn’t a solution to the problem of evil and suffering, but a response. It’s the response of the Triune God to the reality of a suffering world. God responds by being fully present with that world, suffering with that world, lamenting the God-forsaken experience of that world and doing something about it. It’s also the response of God’s people, who are called to do what God does: to be present with suffering people, suffer with suffering people, and lament their seemingly God-forsaken suffering—which is to agree with God’s perspective on the injustice of their experience and to join God in doing something about the injustice of their lot in life.</p>
<p>In the Job story, Job’s friends don’t get a terribly sympathetic portrayal. When they hear of Job’s suffering they come to be with him, but they feel compelled to say something, and when they do it’s not very helpful. (There’s a lot of that going around.) They’re sure Job must have done something to bring such suffering on himself, and they tell him so. But something else Job’s friends do is underappreciated: Job’s friends were with Job when everyone else had abandoned him. And that’s all we have to do: we don’t have to have the right thing to say to help people in their suffering (though we can assure them God is with them and joins them in their suffering). All we have to do is be with them, and when we do so we embody the presence of God. And if we are with them, we will share their suffering, and we’ll find ourselves crying out to God in lament over it and motivated to do something to join God in working against its causes.</p>
<p>When people suffer, they’re in good company. They’re in the company of Job, who was renowned as good and suffered anyway. They’re in the company of Jesus, who was perfectly good, and suffered anyway. They’re in the company of the Triune God, who suffers as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the sufferings of the cross and in the sufferings of everyone, who laments their sufferings and works against the causes of their sufferings. When people suffer, Christians are called to be part of that good company as the body of Christ on earth.</p>
<p>That’s how God and God’s people respond to the sufferings of this present world. It’s not a theodicy, but something much better: it’s the Good News.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Click here to read a related ABPnews story.</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
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innocence twenty youngest victims sandy hook elementary school shootings ages son firstgrade classmates made latest mass shooting enduringly haunting innocence also underscores incapacities major approaches theodicy offering satisfying resolution tension judeochristian affirmations goodness omnipotence god one hand ongoing existence evil suffering gods world theodicy literally justification god relation observation right present state world philosophical legacy enlightenment gottried leibniz first employed term 1710 questions theodicy seeks answer old humanity many ancient religions philosophical systems represent attempts answer antiquity modernity christian thinkers proposed various ways relating affirm character god sufferings mark life gods world many christian tradition concurred augustine hippo 354430 humanity blame way things people use godgiven freedom choose evil rather good innocent people suffer result yet two centuries earlier irenaeus lyons ca 115ca 202 seemed suggest possibility suffering part gods good creation beginning necessary helping people grow toward everything god intended humanity suggestion developed fully recent years john hick 19222012 reformed tradition exemplified john calvin 150964 offered twofold answer god makes use instances suffering punish wicked discipline gods people instances god good purpose suffering understand gods purposes side heaven echoes perspective discernible public responses prominent american evangelicals tragedy newtown others proposed present state world best explained terms limitation gods omnipotence either constitutional volitionalthat either god sort god anything innocent suffering else god chooses sort god never overrides free choices people consequences wake december 14 ancient modern proposals seem insufficient even outrageously indecent use try wrap minds around imaginings happened inside two first grade classrooms people faith trying wrap minds around reality innocent suffering long time biblical book job portrays main character blameless upright one feared god turned away evil book job tells story inspired question completely innocent person suffer unjustly question calls question common assumption ancient near eastern people good god reward health wealth peace security long life corollary youre sick poor suffering effects natural disaster dying untimely death must youve done something wrong god punishing thats ancient assumption earthquake produces tsunami kills hundreds thousands people southeast asia must people didnt worship right god hurricane floods gulf coast city kills almost 2000 people must people city evil tornado strikes convention center church denominational convention meeting must god giving warning welcome wrong sorts people churches earthquake levels cities impoverished caribbean country must citizens engaged witchcraft wasnt long afternoon december 14 someone access media megaphone blamed deaths twenty young children americas supposed removal god public schools many people god thought like aftermath destruction jerusalem temple deportation citizens babylon 586 bc seems time jobs story came written might possible one could live upright life still suffer thats case say god gods relationship us job blameless upright one fears god turns away eviland yet things thought befall evil punishment sin happen job loses family flocks fields loses health falls deep depression feels abandoned god silent jobs name means enemy hebrew comes see gods enemy suffering gods silence good job experiences suffering maybe ones exempt yet role job plays story isnt fully embodied job job may approximate blamelessness uprightness jesus right one good except god alone mark 1018 theres sense jesus real job concept late baptist theologian james wm mcclendon jr developed systematic theology section critical modern theodicies unlike job jesus perfectly blameless perfectly upright fully fearing god turning away evil without exception even jesus real job perfectly blameless upright person ever lived suffers even one suffers one exempt reality world holy week many christians give voice reality world good friday recital psalm 22 opening words jesus final words cross marks version story god god forsaken yet christians found various ways distance good jesus words mean face value point later psalm 22 psalmist declare trust god suppose quoting beginning psalm jesus really invoking entirety psalm expression trust god thats part jesus quotes see cry suggesting moment jesus bearing sins world god father holy supposedly look upon sin turns back jesus sorts problems take jesus cry nowhere text even remotely hint anything like interpretation manner problematic implications god relates sinful people like us suffering jesus words must mean say express paradox god flesh become godforsaken god fully experienced godforsaken feeling suffering people like job sense suffering god silence absence one favorite artistic renderings jesus crucifixion 1998 painting koreanamerican artist ann kim painting titled eloi eloi lama sabachthani jesus cry psalm 22 aramaic language jesus spoke painting striking perspectivemost depictions jesus cross look jesus standing ground looking jesus hanging cross ann kims painting looks cross godseye view cross looking expressionisticallypainted ghostlike naked hairless figure face desperately straining toward heaven sunken eyes wide terror mouth gaping open scream evokes expression edvard munchs famous 1893 painting screamwhich many seen munchs portrayal cry modern humanity god dead nothing replace god kims godseye painting jesus scream god god forsaken justice jesus godforsaken agony god jesus godforsaken agony turning gods back refusing look sin jesus bore precisely jesus indeed suffering jesus god believe jesus fully divine fully human doesnt cease true cross fully divine fully human jesus experiences fully sufferings cross fully suffers godand god fully us suffering holy spirit gods perpetual presence everywhere world also particular fully present jesus sufferings fully experiences sufferings holy spirit dwells within us fully us suffering god father son holy spirit made known us jesus christ according author hebrews sympathizessuffers us christians isnt solution problem evil suffering response response triune god reality suffering world god responds fully present world suffering world lamenting godforsaken experience world something also response gods people called god present suffering people suffer suffering people lament seemingly godforsaken sufferingwhich agree gods perspective injustice experience join god something injustice lot life job story jobs friends dont get terribly sympathetic portrayal hear jobs suffering come feel compelled say something helpful theres lot going around theyre sure job must done something bring suffering tell something else jobs friends underappreciated jobs friends job everyone else abandoned thats dont right thing say help people suffering though assure god joins suffering embody presence god share suffering well find crying god lament motivated something join god working causes people suffer theyre good company theyre company job renowned good suffered anyway theyre company jesus perfectly good suffered anyway theyre company triune god suffers father son holy spirit sufferings cross sufferings everyone laments sufferings works causes sufferings people suffer christians called part good company body christ earth thats god gods people respond sufferings present world theodicy something much better good news click read related abpnews story
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<p>Accepted a new call? Been ordained? Church celebrating an anniversary? Mission trip or project that you would like highlighted on the HeraldBeat page? Send info to HeraldBeat editor Barbara Francis at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
<p>ON THE MOVE</p>
<p>James R. Hunter, to Peakland Baptist Church, Lynchburg, Va., as senior pastor.</p>
<p>David Anderson, to Chestnut Level Baptist Church, Blairs, Va., as pastor. He is the former pastor of Piney Grove Baptist Church, Williamston, N.C.</p>
<p>David Phillips, to Cradock Baptist Church, Portsmouth, Va., as senior pastor.</p>
<p>Jill McCroy, to Twinbrook Baptist Church, Rockville, Md., as pastor.</p>
<p>L. Joseph Rosas III, to University Baptist Church, Baltimore, Md., as senior pastor.</p>
<p>Mike McMenniman, to Sharon Baptist Church, Green Bay, Va., as pastor.</p>
<p>Charles Maney, to Mt. Tirzah Baptist Church, Charlotte Courthouse, Va., as pastor.</p>
<p>Elizabeth Evan Hagan, resigning as pastor of Washington Plaza Baptist Church, Reston, Va., to continue ministry through Feed the Children, a faith-based organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, where her husband, Kevin Hagan, serves as president and chief executive officer.</p>
<p>Gary Long, concluding his ministry as pastor of First Baptist Church, Gaithersburg, Md. He will be writing Christian curriculums and working on an Internet content marketing and publishing project through Baptist Standard Publishing.</p>
<p>Mark Beck, to Thaxton (Va.) Baptist Church, as intentional interim pastor.</p>
<p>Andrew H. Wakefield, to Yates Baptist Church, Durham, N.C., as interim pastor.</p>
<p>Bruce Queen, to First Baptist Church, Ashland, Va., as intentional interim pastor, effective March 1.</p>
<p>Reggie Warren, to Union Hill Baptist Church, Brookneal, Va., as interim pastor.</p>
<p>Coan Agee, resigning as interim pastor of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Chase City, Va., after 10 years of ministry there.</p>
<p>Mark Gourley, to West Main Baptist Church, Danville, Va., as minister of music. He is the former director of music at the First Presbyterian Church, Fayetteville, N.C.</p>
<p>Shane Standlick, to Cool Spring Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as children’s ministry associate.</p>
<p>Don Welborn, concluding his ministry as minister of music at Calvary Baptist Church, West Asheville, N.C.</p>
<p>Dane Jackson, concluding his ministry as minister of youth at Mechanicsville (Va.) Baptist Church.</p>
<p>Ross Jenkins, to Four Mile Creek Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., as interim director of youth.</p>
<p>Emilie Morrison, to Talbot Park Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va., as youth minister.</p>
<p>Rob Spiers, now serving as music director at Kilmarnock (Va.) Baptist Church.</p>
<p>Melanie Lassiter, to Peninsula Baptist Association, as full-time church and community ministries director.</p>
<p>David Pace, to Peninsula Baptist Associa­tion, as part-time church planting catalyst. He will serve in a joint internship between the BGAV, Freedom Life Church and Penin­sula Association, with the intention of planting a new church in that area.</p>
<p>DEATHS</p>
<p>Willie “Bill” Berry Jr. died Jan. 21 at the age of 94. He had served on the staff of Tabernacle and Pine Street Baptist churches in Richmond, Va., and was director of the Oregon Hill Baptist Center from 1968-1988. He is survived by his wife, Evelyn Phillips Berry; children, Bill Berry III and Ellen Looper; and four grandchildren. A celebration of life was held Jan. 27 at Pine Street Baptist Church.</p>
<p>Retired Virginia Baptist pastor Walter Lee Bradley Sr. died Jan. 22 at the age of 94. He served as associate pastor at Northminster Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.; Dover Baptist Church in Manakin-Sabot, Va. and Haymarket (Va.) Baptist Church. He is survived by his wife, Kathryn Bailey Bradley; children, Terri Farmer and Kay and Lee Bradley; and three grandchildren. A funeral service was held Jan. 26 at Antioch Baptist Church, Sandston, Va.</p>
<p>W. Nolan Teague died Feb. 2 at the age of 83. He had served as bi-vocational pastor at Daleville (Va.) Baptist Church and Cave Rock Baptist Church in Troutville, Va. He was one of the founders of the Roanoke Valley Bi-vocational Pastors’ Association. He is survived by his wife, Royce Woodford Teague; and two daughters, Susan Seyfried and Beth Fenimore. A funeral service was held Feb. 8 at Oakey’s South Chapel in Roanoke, Va.</p>
<p>RETIREMENT</p>
<p>Grant McIntosh, retiring as associate pastor at Virginia Hills Baptist Church, Alexandria, Va.</p>
<p>Allan D. McConnell Jr., retiring as senior pastor of Lael Baptist Church, Lignum, Va.</p>
<p>Pat McKinster, retiring as minister of music at Fieldale (Va.) Baptist Church.</p>
<p>David P. Shreve, retiring as associate pastor of Manly Memorial Baptist Church, Lexington, Va.</p>
<p>5 YEARS</p>
<p>Larry Cheek, celebrating 5 years as pastor of First Baptist Church, Collinsville, Va.</p>
<p>10 YEARS</p>
<p>David Turner, celebrating 10 years as pastor of Central Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.</p>
<p>20 YEARS</p>
<p>Ken Barnes, celebrating 20 years as pastor of Woodland Heights Baptist Church, Chesapeake, Va.</p>
<p>25 YEARS</p>
<p>Joe Northen, celebrating 25 years as minister of music at First Baptist Church, Danville, Va.</p>
<p>SUN., FEB. 24</p>
<p>Community Fellowship Baptist Church, Gate City, Va.; 19th anniversary; service at 11 a.m. followed by covered-dish lunch.</p>
<p>SAT., MARCH 9</p>
<p>Belmont Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va.; concert by Jimmy Fortune at 7 p.m. $15.00 admission for adults; proceeds benefit Belmont Baptist and Stop Hunger Now.</p>
<p />
<p>The Joy Quilters, a First Baptist Church, Newport News, Va., women’s circle, was started about&#160;five years ago by Judy Gatlin and Mary Lynch. The group’s membership has changed, but the same ministry continues. The Joy Quilters have made approximately 50 crib-size quilts for children at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk. They have also made quilts for injured veterans. The Quilters meet weekly with some members cutting and pressing material and others sewing. They also made a signature quilt for the church’s 125th anniversary in 2008. Pictured at right are group members with quilts they have completed.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Scottsburg (Va.) Baptist Church burned the note on its new fellowship hall on Jan. 27. In photo at right burning the note are (left to right): former pastor Allen Mahan; Hudson Reese, deacon chair; and Bobby Hall, building and grounds chair.</p>
<p>The Bland (Va.) Ministry Center has announced a capital campaign to fund an expansion of its warehouse, keeping furniture and other special items to aid victims of fire and families who have lost belongings due to relocation or financial hardships. The cost will be approximately $35,000 and the center has already received $13,000 toward the project.</p>
<p>First Baptist Church, Raleigh,&#160;was presented a commemorative communion set in honor of its 200th anniversary by leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Pat Anderson, interim coordinator of CBF, and Larry Hovis, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, were at First Baptist Church on February 3 to participate in worship leadership and present the gift.</p>
<p>J. Brent Walker, executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee, was inducted into the Baylor University Alumni Association Hall of Fame for his work defending religious freedom. Walker received the Abner V. McCall Religious Liberty Award which honors individuals with close ties to Baylor who have “demonstrated the courage and dedication to defend and advocate for religious liberty.”</p>
<p>Since 2007 Baptist Women in Ministry have encouraged Baptist churches to participate in the Martha Stearns Marshall Month of Preaching by having a woman preach during the month of February. Martha Stearns Marshall was an well-known 18th century Separate Baptist woman. Baptist Women in Ministry remember and honor Martha Stearns Marshall by celebrating the giftedness of the women who proclaim the good news from pulpits today. The following women are preaching in Mid-Atlantic churches:</p>
<p>If your congregation is participating, please send the name of your church and speaker to be listed here. Deadline for submissions is Feb. 18. Email <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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accepted new call ordained church celebrating anniversary mission trip project would like highlighted heraldbeat page send info heraldbeat editor barbara francis bfrancisreligiousheraldorg move james r hunter peakland baptist church lynchburg va senior pastor david anderson chestnut level baptist church blairs va pastor former pastor piney grove baptist church williamston nc david phillips cradock baptist church portsmouth va senior pastor jill mccroy twinbrook baptist church rockville md pastor l joseph rosas iii university baptist church baltimore md senior pastor mike mcmenniman sharon baptist church green bay va pastor charles maney mt tirzah baptist church charlotte courthouse va pastor elizabeth evan hagan resigning pastor washington plaza baptist church reston va continue ministry feed children faithbased organization headquartered oklahoma city husband kevin hagan serves president chief executive officer gary long concluding ministry pastor first baptist church gaithersburg md writing christian curriculums working internet content marketing publishing project baptist standard publishing mark beck thaxton va baptist church intentional interim pastor andrew h wakefield yates baptist church durham nc interim pastor bruce queen first baptist church ashland va intentional interim pastor effective march 1 reggie warren union hill baptist church brookneal va interim pastor coan agee resigning interim pastor mount zion baptist church chase city va 10 years ministry mark gourley west main baptist church danville va minister music former director music first presbyterian church fayetteville nc shane standlick cool spring baptist church mechanicsville va childrens ministry associate welborn concluding ministry minister music calvary baptist church west asheville nc dane jackson concluding ministry minister youth mechanicsville va baptist church ross jenkins four mile creek baptist church richmond va interim director youth emilie morrison talbot park baptist church norfolk va youth minister rob spiers serving music director kilmarnock va baptist church melanie lassiter peninsula baptist association fulltime church community ministries director david pace peninsula baptist association parttime church planting catalyst serve joint internship bgav freedom life church peninsula association intention planting new church area deaths willie bill berry jr died jan 21 age 94 served staff tabernacle pine street baptist churches richmond va director oregon hill baptist center 19681988 survived wife evelyn phillips berry children bill berry iii ellen looper four grandchildren celebration life held jan 27 pine street baptist church retired virginia baptist pastor walter lee bradley sr died jan 22 age 94 served associate pastor northminster baptist church richmond va dover baptist church manakinsabot va haymarket va baptist church survived wife kathryn bailey bradley children terri farmer kay lee bradley three grandchildren funeral service held jan 26 antioch baptist church sandston va w nolan teague died feb 2 age 83 served bivocational pastor daleville va baptist church cave rock baptist church troutville va one founders roanoke valley bivocational pastors association survived wife royce woodford teague two daughters susan seyfried beth fenimore funeral service held feb 8 oakeys south chapel roanoke va retirement grant mcintosh retiring associate pastor virginia hills baptist church alexandria va allan mcconnell jr retiring senior pastor lael baptist church lignum va pat mckinster retiring minister music fieldale va baptist church david p shreve retiring associate pastor manly memorial baptist church lexington va 5 years larry cheek celebrating 5 years pastor first baptist church collinsville va 10 years david turner celebrating 10 years pastor central baptist church richmond va 20 years ken barnes celebrating 20 years pastor woodland heights baptist church chesapeake va 25 years joe northen celebrating 25 years minister music first baptist church danville va sun feb 24 community fellowship baptist church gate city va 19th anniversary service 11 followed covereddish lunch sat march 9 belmont baptist church charlottesville va concert jimmy fortune 7 pm 1500 admission adults proceeds benefit belmont baptist stop hunger joy quilters first baptist church newport news va womens circle started about160five years ago judy gatlin mary lynch groups membership changed ministry continues joy quilters made approximately 50 cribsize quilts children childrens hospital kings daughters norfolk also made quilts injured veterans quilters meet weekly members cutting pressing material others sewing also made signature quilt churchs 125th anniversary 2008 pictured right group members quilts completed scottsburg va baptist church burned note new fellowship hall jan 27 photo right burning note left right former pastor allen mahan hudson reese deacon chair bobby hall building grounds chair bland va ministry center announced capital campaign fund expansion warehouse keeping furniture special items aid victims fire families lost belongings due relocation financial hardships cost approximately 35000 center already received 13000 toward project first baptist church raleigh160was presented commemorative communion set honor 200th anniversary leaders cooperative baptist fellowship pat anderson interim coordinator cbf larry hovis executive coordinator cooperative baptist fellowship north carolina first baptist church february 3 participate worship leadership present gift j brent walker executive director baptist joint committee inducted baylor university alumni association hall fame work defending religious freedom walker received abner v mccall religious liberty award honors individuals close ties baylor demonstrated courage dedication defend advocate religious liberty since 2007 baptist women ministry encouraged baptist churches participate martha stearns marshall month preaching woman preach month february martha stearns marshall wellknown 18th century separate baptist woman baptist women ministry remember honor martha stearns marshall celebrating giftedness women proclaim good news pulpits today following women preaching midatlantic churches congregation participating please send name church speaker listed deadline submissions feb 18 email bfrancisreligiousheraldorg
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<p>Accepted a new call? Been ordained? Church celebrating an anniversary? Mission trip or project that you would like highlighted on the HeraldBeat page? Send info to HeraldBeat editor Barbara Francis at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>ON THE MOVE</p>
<p>Darden Battle, to Black Creek Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as intentional interim pastor.</p>
<p>Doug Danner, concluding his ministry as pastor of First Baptist Church, Huntersville, N.C.</p>
<p>George Gouge, to First Baptist Church, Monroe, N.C., as interim pastor.</p>
<p>John Johnson, to Antioch Baptist Church, Sandston, Va., as interim pastor.</p>
<p>Randy Ashcraft, to Vienna (Va.) Baptist Church, as interim pastor.</p>
<p>Roger D. Underwood, to Memorial Baptist Church, Buies Creek, N.C., as intentional interim minister.</p>
<p>Tony Cupit, to McLean (Va.) Baptist Church, as interim pastor.</p>
<p>Dan Hough, to South Run Baptist Church, Springfield, Va., as interim pastor.</p>
<p>Chris Thomas, to Black Creek Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as music&#160;&#160; director.</p>
<p>Kimberly Golden, to Lakeside Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., as director of music.</p>
<p>RETIREMENTS</p>
<p>Bert Browning, announcing plans to retire as pastor of Huguenot Road Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., effective June 30. He will mark his 18th anniversary as pastor in May.</p>
<p>Drexel Rayford, retiring as pastor of Walnut Grove Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., effective March 31.</p>
<p>Mike Haywood, retiring from the staff of Peninsula Baptist Association, after having served there for 40 years. He began in 1971 working with juvenile and family services. Other titles have included youth and special ministries, sports and special ministries and youth and family ministries.</p>
<p>Gail Smith, retiring as youth minister at Cane Creek Baptist Church, Hillsborough, N.C.</p>
<p>Billy Lemons, retiring as organist at Boiling Springs (N.C.) Baptist Church, following 48 years of ministry there.</p>
<p>DEATH</p>
<p>Danny E. Bush died March 24, 2012, in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He had served as minister of education at three Virginia Baptist churches: North Riverside in Newport News; First Baptist, Newport News; and New Bridge Baptist in Richmond. He also served churches in Maryland, North Carolina and Tenne­ssee. He is survived by his wife, Nadine White Bush; a daughter, Charlotte Bowers; a son, Mark Bush; and five grandchildren. A memorial service was held March 31, 2012, at the United Church Chapel on the Hill, Oak Ridge, Tenn.</p>
<p>ORDINATIONS</p>
<p>Josh Beeler, ordained to the ministry by Port Norfolk Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va., on Jan. 27. He has served as its minister of youth and outreach for 5 years.</p>
<p>Tammy James, ordained to the ministry by Crozet (Va.) Baptist Church on Feb. 24.</p>
<p>25 YEARS</p>
<p>Mark Jordan, celebrating 25 years as pastor of First Baptist Church, Front Royal, Va.</p>
<p>15 YEARS</p>
<p>Ted Tussey, celebrating 15 years as minister of outreach, seniors and facilities at Cool Spring Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va.</p>
<p>5 YEARS</p>
<p>Amanda Lott, celebrating 5 years as children’s minister at Huguenot Road Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.</p>
<p>SUN., MARCH 10</p>
<p>First Baptist Church, Woodbridge, Va.;&#160;hosting the Gardner-Webb University choir at 6:30 p.m.</p>
<p>FRI.-SAT., MARCH 15-16</p>
<p>Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina; 2013 General Assembly at First Baptist Church, Lumberton, N.C.; “Sacred Rhythms of Jesus Followers;” for registration information visit <a href="http://www.cbfnc.org" type="external">www.cbfnc.org</a>.</p>
<p>SAT., MARCH 16</p>
<p>Bon Air Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.; youth-sponsored dodgeball tournament; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fundraiser for Bon Air’s student ministry to serve in Malaysia and Singapore. Social bracket from 9 a.m. to 12 noon (come dressed in your team colors to compete in dodgeball and best-dressed team costume contest). Sports bracket from 1 to 4 p.m. (for teams who love the sport). Cost is $10 per player per bracket.</p>
<p>The Virginia Baptist Women’s Chorale in concert at 6 p.m. at Mechanicsville Baptist Church, Gordonsville, Va. The chorale is celebrating its 37th season of concerts of sacred music in churches across Virginia.</p>
<p>SAT., MARCH 23</p>
<p>Parham Road Baptist Church, Richmond, Va.; concert by the Dixie Melody Boys at 7 p.m. No tickets required.</p>
<p>The Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s communications team recently received two Telly Awards for the creative direction and production of its animated video on the Cooperative Missions story and its feature on Antioch Baptist Church, Red Oak, Va. According to its web site, the Telly Awards honor the best local, regional and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions created for the web. “When you consider the competition from major ad agencies, networks and production companies, we have a lot to be proud of,” said Paige Peak, assistant to the executive director and chief communications officer. The team was the recipient of two bronze statuettes.</p>
<p>HopeTree Family Service’s 21st annual Walk for Hope 2013 is Sat., May 11 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon at its Salem campus. Its goal is to raise $20,000 to make an even larger impact for at-risk children and adults. For information on registering as a walker, becoming a team leader or making a one-time donation, check its website at <a href="http://www.hopetreefs.org/" type="external">www.hopetreefs.org</a>.</p>
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accepted new call ordained church celebrating anniversary mission trip project would like highlighted heraldbeat page send info heraldbeat editor barbara francis bfrancisreligiousheraldorg160160 move darden battle black creek baptist church mechanicsville va intentional interim pastor doug danner concluding ministry pastor first baptist church huntersville nc george gouge first baptist church monroe nc interim pastor john johnson antioch baptist church sandston va interim pastor randy ashcraft toâˆvienna va baptist church interim pastor roger underwood memorial baptist church buies creek nc intentional interim minister tony cupit mclean va baptist church interim pastor dan hough south run baptist church springfield va interim pastor chris thomas black creek baptist church mechanicsville va music160160 director kimberly golden lakeside baptist church richmond va director music retirements bert browning announcing plans retire pastor huguenot road baptist church richmond va effective june 30 mark 18th anniversary pastor may drexel rayford retiring pastor walnut grove baptist church mechanicsville va effective march 31 mike haywood retiring staff peninsula baptist association served 40 years began 1971 working juvenile family services titles included youth special ministries sports special ministries youth family ministries gail smith retiring youth minister cane creek baptist church hillsborough nc billy lemons retiring organist boiling springs nc baptist church following 48 years ministry death danny e bush died march 24 2012 oak ridge tenn served minister education three virginia baptist churches north riverside newport news first baptist newport news new bridge baptist richmond also served churches maryland north carolina tennessee survived wife nadine white bush daughter charlotte bowers son mark bush five grandchildren memorial service held march 31 2012 united church chapel hill oak ridge tenn ordinations josh beeler ordained ministry port norfolk baptist church norfolk va jan 27 served minister youth outreach 5 years tammy james ordained ministry crozet va baptist church feb 24 25 years mark jordan celebrating 25 years pastor first baptist church front royal va 15 years ted tussey celebrating 15 years minister outreach seniors facilities cool spring baptist church mechanicsville va 5 years amanda lott celebrating 5 years childrens minister huguenot road baptist church richmond va sun march 10 first baptist church woodbridge va160hosting gardnerwebb university choir 630 pm frisat march 1516 cooperative baptist fellowship north carolina 2013 general assembly first baptist church lumberton nc sacred rhythms jesus followers registration information visit wwwcbfncorg sat march 16 bon air baptist church richmond va youthsponsored dodgeball tournament 9 4 pm fundraiser bon airs student ministry serve malaysia singapore social bracket 9 12 noon come dressed team colors compete dodgeball bestdressed team costume contest sports bracket 1 4 pm teams love sport cost 10 per player per bracket virginia baptist womens chorale concert 6 pm mechanicsville baptist church gordonsville va chorale celebrating 37th season concerts sacred music churches across virginia sat march 23 parham road baptist church richmond va concert dixie melody boys 7 pm tickets required virginia baptist mission boards communications team recently received two telly awards creative direction production animated video cooperative missions story feature antioch baptist church red oak va according web site telly awards honor best local regional cable television commercials programs well finest video film productions created web consider competition major ad agencies networks production companies lot proud said paige peak assistant executive director chief communications officer team recipient two bronze statuettes hopetree family services 21st annual walk hope 2013 sat may 11 9 12 noon salem campus goal raise 20000 make even larger impact atrisk children adults information registering walker becoming team leader making onetime donation check website wwwhopetreefsorg
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<p>ABUJA, Nigeria — The Nigerian army’s fresh battle with Islamist militants in the country’s restive north will rely not only on superior firepower, but also on gaining the trust of civilians who trust neither side, analysts here say.</p>
<p>The Nigerian authorities last week announced a sweeping military offensive against fighters with the militant group Boko Haram, a homegrown organization that claims ties to Al Qaeda and had recently seized parts of northeastern Nigeria.</p>
<p>The operation — which includes both air raids and thousands of ground troops — is ongoing. And according to Nigeria’s military, government soldiers have arrested more than 200 Boko Haram fighters and retaken at least five districts in Borno State, the group's original home and one of three states currently under emergency rule. The military also says it has seized military-grade weaponry from the militants’ arms caches.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/130422/nigeria-violence-kills-nearly-200-boko-haram-committee-t" type="external">Nigeria violence kills nearly 200 as government's Boko Haram Committee talks peace</a></p>
<p>GlobalPost could not independently verify military statements because roads to the impacted areas are blocked, and communications networks are intermittent. Army officials say militants are fleeing toward neighboring Niger and Chad, but are being stopped at the border.</p>
<p>But while Boko Haram — which wants to establish Sharia law in Nigeria — is a fierce militant group with the deaths of thousands of civilians on its hands, Nigeria’s army has also come under fire for its own brutality.</p>
<p>Such a murky understanding of just who is behind the ongoing and often deadly violence, in a remote and unreachable area some 560 miles from the capital, is leaving civilian residents in the north caught in the middle of an intensifying conflict.</p>
<p>Many are terrified of the militants. But they often fear security forces, too.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/130424/nigeria-economy-security-boko-haram-railway-lagos-kano-train" type="external">Nigeria tries to get on track with new Lagos-Kano train</a></p>
<p>“If [the military is] going in there using brute force, they are not going to get positive results,” retired army captain and security consultant, Cpt. Aliyu Umar, told GlobalPost. The trust of the people is essential, he said, in order to gather the intelligence needed to distinguish un-uniformed militants from civilians.</p>
<p>“Those who are involved are not actually alien to the communities they operate in,” he added. “They carry out these attacks and melt back into the civil population.”</p>
<p>Boko Haram began its violent operations in 2009, seven years after the group was founded.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/130215/warri-nigeria-oil-rich-poor-great-divide-income-gap" type="external">In Nigeria, oil divides the rich and poor</a></p>
<p>Fighting broke out between security forces and Boko Haram that year and nearly 1,000 people were killed, including the founder of the group, Mohammed Yusuf. Since then, Boko Haram has killed thousands in attacks on churches, schools, government buildings, markets, and other public places.</p>
<p>Its fighters were reported to have increased their insurgent activities in three Nigerian states in the north — including Borno, Yobe, and Adamawa — in recent months, including an attack on the Borno fishing town of Baga that locals say killed hundreds of people, mostly civilians.</p>
<p>The day before Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan announced the current northern offensive, Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, appeared in a video message distributed to reporters.</p>
<p>He claimed responsibility for recent attacks, including the Baga attack and another in the town of Bama. But Shekau said although Boko Haram launched a small attack in Baga, it was the military that did most of the killing of civilians.</p>
<p>In a May 1 report, New York-based Human Rights Watch says that Nigerian government soldiers — in retaliation for the Boko Haram activity in Baga — burned down more than 2,000 homes. Both HRW and London-based Amnesty International have accused Nigerian security forces of abuses — including extrajudicial killings, the burning of homes, and prolonged detention.</p>
<p>Such harsh tactics, Nigerian analysts say, boost Boko Haram’s strength by alienating local populations.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/130225/islamist-attacks-northern-nigeria-ansaru" type="external">Islamist attacks leading northern Nigeria to economic disaster</a></p>
<p>“It is true that we have kidnapped a number of women and children,” Shekau said in the same video. The screen then split in two, showing what appeared to be a separate video of 12 women and children that Shekau said were being held hostage, though the video could not be authenticated.</p>
<p>“And we will continue to do so in retaliation to the abduction of our women and children — girls, even babies — by government officials and security agents,” he said.</p>
<p>Not everyone is sympathetic to the militants, however — and see the military tactics as necessary to retake control of the country.</p>
<p>“Soldiers are not trained to distribute lollipops,” veteran Nigerian journalist Wole Olaoye said. “In a war like that, you can’t rule out excesses. What we can insist on is that the excesses be punished.”</p>
<p>Both government and traditional community leaders in the north have long demanded the government hold peace talks with the group. Last month, President Jonathan formed a committee to inquire into the possibility of offering an amnesty to fighters who laid down their weapons.</p>
<p>But with a new operation under way — and with little scrutiny — the prospect of peace talks seems far-off.</p>
<p>Shekau rejected the offer, and residents of the capital seemed wary.</p>
<p>“If they give Boko Haram amnesty,” said Prince Shaaba, a realtor in Abuja, “another set [of militants] will come up.”</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/130124/africa-terror-al-qaeda-mali-nigeria-algeria-boko-haram-ansaru" type="external">Africa's local militants embrace Al Qaeda ideology</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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abuja nigeria nigerian armys fresh battle islamist militants countrys restive north rely superior firepower also gaining trust civilians trust neither side analysts say nigerian authorities last week announced sweeping military offensive fighters militant group boko haram homegrown organization claims ties al qaeda recently seized parts northeastern nigeria operation includes air raids thousands ground troops ongoing according nigerias military government soldiers arrested 200 boko haram fighters retaken least five districts borno state groups original home one three states currently emergency rule military also says seized militarygrade weaponry militants arms caches globalpost160 nigeria violence kills nearly 200 governments boko haram committee talks peace globalpost could independently verify military statements roads impacted areas blocked communications networks intermittent army officials say militants fleeing toward neighboring niger chad stopped border boko haram wants establish sharia law nigeria fierce militant group deaths thousands civilians hands nigerias army also come fire brutality murky understanding behind ongoing often deadly violence remote unreachable area 560 miles capital leaving civilian residents north caught middle intensifying conflict many terrified militants often fear security forces globalpost160 nigeria tries get track new lagoskano train military going using brute force going get positive results retired army captain security consultant cpt aliyu umar told globalpost trust people essential said order gather intelligence needed distinguish ununiformed militants civilians involved actually alien communities operate added carry attacks melt back civil population boko haram began violent operations 2009 seven years group founded globalpost160 nigeria oil divides rich poor fighting broke security forces boko haram year nearly 1000 people killed including founder group mohammed yusuf since boko haram killed thousands attacks churches schools government buildings markets public places fighters reported increased insurgent activities three nigerian states north including borno yobe adamawa recent months including attack borno fishing town baga locals say killed hundreds people mostly civilians day nigerian president goodluck jonathan announced current northern offensive boko harams leader abubakar shekau appeared video message distributed reporters claimed responsibility recent attacks including baga attack another town bama shekau said although boko haram launched small attack baga military killing civilians may 1 report new yorkbased human rights watch says nigerian government soldiers retaliation boko haram activity baga burned 2000 homes hrw londonbased amnesty international accused nigerian security forces abuses including extrajudicial killings burning homes prolonged detention harsh tactics nigerian analysts say boost boko harams strength alienating local populations globalpost160 islamist attacks leading northern nigeria economic disaster true kidnapped number women children shekau said video screen split two showing appeared separate video 12 women children shekau said held hostage though video could authenticated continue retaliation abduction women children girls even babies government officials security agents said everyone sympathetic militants however see military tactics necessary retake control country soldiers trained distribute lollipops veteran nigerian journalist wole olaoye said war like cant rule excesses insist excesses punished government traditional community leaders north long demanded government hold peace talks group last month president jonathan formed committee inquire possibility offering amnesty fighters laid weapons new operation way little scrutiny prospect peace talks seems faroff shekau rejected offer residents capital seemed wary give boko haram amnesty said prince shaaba realtor abuja another set militants come globalpost160 africas local militants embrace al qaeda ideology 160 160
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<p>Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced last week she will not seek re-election. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>Like many other Baltimore residents, members of the LGBT community were stunned by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s announcement on Sept. 11 that she would not seek re-election next year. The news follows months of turmoil in the city in the aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray and a subsequent spike in violent crime.</p>
<p>The mayor’s handling of the crisis has been widely criticized as was her decision to pay $6.4 million as a settlement to Freddie Gray’s family a month before the trials of the six police officers accused in his death. As these developments were unfolding, the field of candidates seeking to defeat her in 2016 was growing.</p>
<p>“It was a very difficult decision but I knew I needed to spend time, the remaining 15 months of my term, focused on the city’s future and not my own,” Rawlings-Blake, 45, said at a City Hall news conference. “The last thing I want is for every one of the decisions I make moving forward at a time when the city needs me the most to be questioned in the context of a political campaign.”</p>
<p>Rawlings-Blake took office as mayor in 2010 and prior to that as a City Council member, she had endeared herself to LGBT residents in Baltimore. From marching in Baltimore’s Pride parade each year, to being the first mayor to host a Transgender Day of Remembrance at City Hall, Rawlings-Blake made her mark on the community.</p>
<p>She was a staunch supporter of marriage equality and spoke openly on its behalf when other elected officials were reticent. Rawlings-Blake appeared at fundraisers during 2012 to help finance the effort to defeat the ballot initiative that would have overturned the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act signed by Gov. Martin O’Malley in March of that year.</p>
<p>When same-sex marriage ultimately became legal on Jan. 1, 2013, Rawlings-Blake officiated the first such ceremony in Maryland at the stroke of midnight at City Hall—in the same room in which she made her announcement not to run—where several other gay and lesbian couples also tied the knot.</p>
<p>“Words cannot express my feelings. I was beyond elated to officiate the city’s first official same-sex marriages at midnight on New Year’s Day in City Hall,” said Rawlings-Blake in an interview in 2013. “It was beautiful, amazing, loving, and gave me a sense of pride knowing that same-sex couples, including one of my staff members and his significant other, were able to be married legally. It was an historic moment in my career that I will always cherish.”</p>
<p>During the Pride celebration six months later, Rawlings-Blake performed a mass wedding ceremony at Druid Hill Park in which 20 same-sex couples were married in front of hundreds of cheering witnesses.</p>
<p>“The concept of civil rights for all was instilled in me from a very young age,” she said.&#160; “It is an innate part of me and has made me the person who I am today. It was and still is, a part of my family’s belief system. If any person’s rights are being denied based on race, creed, ethnicity, gender identification and expression, sexual orientation, age, disabilities, religious beliefs, or national origins, then it affects all of us.”</p>
<p>Advocates of marriage equality appreciated the efforts of Rawlings-Blake during the referendum battle but noted her commitment to the cause was evident even before. “The mayor was an early and unequivocal supporter of marriage equality,” Carrie Evans, former executive director of Equality Maryland, told the Blade. “In 2008, as Council president, she helped shepherd through a resolution from the City Council in support of the state bill. The LGBT community is fortunate to have her as a fierce ally.”</p>
<p>Rawlings-Blake demonstrated her support in other ways. She established an LGBT liaison who reports directly to her. That person also sits on the LGBT Police Advisory Council that was created by former Police Commissioner Anthony W. Batts.</p>
<p>Rawlings-Blake traditionally celebrated her birthdays by playing bingo at the Club Hippo, Maryland’s largest gay bar. She recently honored the Hippo’s owner by re-naming the intersection where the bar is located “Chuck Bowers Way.” The bar is due to close by the end of the year.</p>
<p>The city and the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLCCB) have worked closely together especially in coordinating the annual Pride celebrations.</p>
<p>“The GLCCB has always enjoyed a great working relationship with Mayor Rawlings-Blake,” Paul Liller, acting executive director of the GLCCB, told the Blade. “She has been not only an LGBT advocate but a friend and member of our extended family. We wish her and her family the best of luck as she moves forward to new and exciting things, and look forward to continuing the work we are already doing during the rest of her term as mayor.”</p>
<p>Rawlings-Blake said in 2013: “I want to applaud the LGBT community for their perseverance and strength to withstand the challenges they face on a daily basis. The LGBT community inspires and gives me hope that our society can overcome fear and bigotry with love, compassion and understanding. Continue to be the beacon of strength. Together, we are strong. Apart we are weak. I know at the end of the rainbow, there is something more valuable than gold and that is love.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">Chuck Bowers Way</a> <a href="" type="internal">City Hall</a> <a href="" type="internal">Club Hippo</a> <a href="" type="internal">Freddie Gray</a> <a href="" type="internal">GLCCB</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a> <a href="" type="internal">marriage equality</a> <a href="" type="internal">Martin O'Malley</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Paul Liller</a> <a href="" type="internal">Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act</a> <a href="" type="internal">Stephanie Rawlings-Blake</a> <a href="" type="internal">Transgender Day of Remembrance</a></p>
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baltimore mayor stephanie rawlingsblake announced last week seek reelection washington blade file photo michael key like many baltimore residents members lgbt community stunned mayor stephanie rawlingsblakes announcement sept 11 would seek reelection next year news follows months turmoil city aftermath death freddie gray subsequent spike violent crime mayors handling crisis widely criticized decision pay 64 million settlement freddie grays family month trials six police officers accused death developments unfolding field candidates seeking defeat 2016 growing difficult decision knew needed spend time remaining 15 months term focused citys future rawlingsblake 45 said city hall news conference last thing want every one decisions make moving forward time city needs questioned context political campaign rawlingsblake took office mayor 2010 prior city council member endeared lgbt residents baltimore marching baltimores pride parade year first mayor host transgender day remembrance city hall rawlingsblake made mark community staunch supporter marriage equality spoke openly behalf elected officials reticent rawlingsblake appeared fundraisers 2012 help finance effort defeat ballot initiative would overturned religious freedom civil marriage protection act signed gov martin omalley march year samesex marriage ultimately became legal jan 1 2013 rawlingsblake officiated first ceremony maryland stroke midnight city hallin room made announcement runwhere several gay lesbian couples also tied knot words express feelings beyond elated officiate citys first official samesex marriages midnight new years day city hall said rawlingsblake interview 2013 beautiful amazing loving gave sense pride knowing samesex couples including one staff members significant able married legally historic moment career always cherish pride celebration six months later rawlingsblake performed mass wedding ceremony druid hill park 20 samesex couples married front hundreds cheering witnesses concept civil rights instilled young age said160 innate part made person today still part familys belief system persons rights denied based race creed ethnicity gender identification expression sexual orientation age disabilities religious beliefs national origins affects us advocates marriage equality appreciated efforts rawlingsblake referendum battle noted commitment cause evident even mayor early unequivocal supporter marriage equality carrie evans former executive director equality maryland told blade 2008 council president helped shepherd resolution city council support state bill lgbt community fortunate fierce ally rawlingsblake demonstrated support ways established lgbt liaison reports directly person also sits lgbt police advisory council created former police commissioner anthony w batts rawlingsblake traditionally celebrated birthdays playing bingo club hippo marylands largest gay bar recently honored hippos owner renaming intersection bar located chuck bowers way bar due close end year city gay lesbian bisexual transgender community center baltimore central maryland glccb worked closely together especially coordinating annual pride celebrations glccb always enjoyed great working relationship mayor rawlingsblake paul liller acting executive director glccb told blade lgbt advocate friend member extended family wish family best luck moves forward new exciting things look forward continuing work already rest term mayor rawlingsblake said 2013 want applaud lgbt community perseverance strength withstand challenges face daily basis lgbt community inspires gives hope society overcome fear bigotry love compassion understanding continue beacon strength together strong apart weak know end rainbow something valuable gold love baltimore chuck bowers way city hall club hippo freddie gray glccb lgbt marriage equality martin omalley maryland paul liller religious freedom civil marriage protection act stephanie rawlingsblake transgender day remembrance
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<p>When Jacinta Gonzalez arrived at a protest on Shea Boulevard&#160;in Fountain Hills, Arizona, the morning of March 19, it wasn't just for a Trump rally. It was because of a kind of Trump ideology.</p>
<p>"We decided to take action and shut down Trump because we understand that he's more than just a candidate," she says.</p>
<p>Gonzalez talks about the "Trump effect" almost as much Donald Trump himself. She worries he is "riling up" politics of racism, Islamophobia and homophobia.</p>
<p>"We've already seen it permeate our community," she says, pointing to&#160;bills related to immigration and refugees in state and local governments. There are <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2016/03/23/hundreds-flood-arizona-capitol-protest-immigrant-related-bills/82185848/" type="external">four such bills in Arizona's&#160;house and one in the senate</a>, which critics say curtail immigrants' rights and foment racial divides.</p>
<p>Protesters' vehicles blocked the highway that led to the rally until they were towed about 45 minutes later, she estimates. Then, she joined a few other protesters who chained themselves to vehicles. They were able to further delay traffic for about an hour, and traffic backed up for a mile.</p>
<p>Predictably, Gonzalez was arrested, along with two other protestors. She was ready for that. Gonzalez, 30, has been an activist on immigration and deportation issues for 10 years. She's the field director for <a href="http://mijente.net/2016/03/20/trump-ice-transfer/" type="external">Mijente</a>, an organization born largely from the <a href="http://www.notonemoredeportation.com/about/" type="external">#Not1MoreDeportation&#160;campaign</a> that now advocates for issues that matter to Latinos, broadly.</p>
<p>The three protestors were taken to the Fourth Avenue jail in Phoenix, about 30 miles away. The jail is part of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which is led by Trump supporter Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio introduced Trump at his Fountain Hills rally that day. He announced that the three protestors were in jail and said, "If they think they're going to intimidate you and the next president of the United States, it's not going to happen. Not in this town, I tell you right now."</p>
<p>“You have some sheriff. There’s no games with your sheriff, that’s for sure,” Trump told the crowd when he took the stage.</p>
<p>Arpaio is known for his aggressive targeting of undocumented immigrants. In 2012, the US Justice Department&#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-to-sue-arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio-saying-he-violated-hispanics-civil-rights/2012/05/10/gIQAYfFwFU_story.html" type="external">sued Arpaio for racial profiling of Latinos</a>. Maricopa County <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/07/15/county-settle-arpaio-doj-lawsuit-abrk/30195769/" type="external">opted for a settlement last July</a>. Under the terms of the settlement, the sheriff's office must "establish an official policy prohibiting retaliation against any individual for any individual's lawful expression of ideas in the exercise of the First Amendment right to the freedom of speech."</p>
<p>Gonzalez and the two other protesters were in the booking area together, where they were processed, fingerprinted and patted down. That's when, she says, two agents called her by name to come up to the counter.&#160;Gonzalez says she was the only one&#160;in the booking area who was called up. They began asking questions including, "What's your immigration status?"</p>
<p>Gonzalez replied, "I want an attorney present to answer your questions."</p>
<p>"Oh, so you're illegal," one of the agents replied, she recalls. They asked if she is a citizen. She refused to answer. She had provided her Louisiana drivers license, name and date of birth — enough to check databases and verify her status.</p>
<p>The agents then told her that they were issuing an immigration detainer, which is a request by ICE for the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to hold a suspect and turn him or&#160;her over to immigration officials&#160;once they complete their investigation.</p>
<p>Chris Hegstrom, the director of public information for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, says this was all standard procedure. The ICE agents are stationed at the Fourth Avenue jail and question everyone who comes through, he says.</p>
<p>"If you were arrested today, you would be interviewed by ICE," Hegstrom says. "If I were arrested, I too would be interviewed by ICE."</p>
<p>The two other protestors, both white men, <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/03/22/arrested-trump-protester-racially-profiled/82094336/" type="external">&#160;told The Republic</a>&#160;they were never questioned by the agents nor were they asked about their immigration status.</p>
<p>About 8 p.m., the three protestors were seen by a judge. They were released on their own recognizance and will face <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2016/03/23/bill-montgomery-protesters-who-blocked-fountain-hills-road-donald-trump-rally-charged/82173284/" type="external">misdemeanor charges for obstructing a highway</a>. By late that night, 11 p.m. or midnight, Gonzalez estimates, the jail finished processing them. The two other protestors were released; Gonzalez was kept in jail overnight, in isolation, she says.</p>
<p />
<p>Mugshots for Jacinta Gonzalez, Michael Cassidy and Ben&#160;Laughlin, the three protestors arrested at an anti-Trump rally in Fountain Hills, Arizona on Mar. 19. They were processed at the Fourth Avenue jail in Phoenix.</p>
<p>Maricopa County Sheriff's Office</p>
<p>Hegstrom says ICE requested the jail hold Gonzalez until they came to pick her up. Other agencies have to follow different rules to have the sheriff's office hold someone in jail.&#160;"When a local agency wants to place a hold on somebody they have to show us a probable cause statement to show us why they want us to hold them. ICE does not," he says. "When they put a hold on somebody, we don't know why."</p>
<p>"We processed [the three protestors] like everybody else. We have nothing to do with ICE," he says.</p>
<p>Also:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Many women seeking asylum in the US have been released from detention — but with ankle monitors</a></p>
<p>In the morning, ICE agents came to claim Gonzalez. Hegstrom says this kind of handover to ICE happens once each day, in the morning. They shackled her and took her to the Phoenix field office where they began to question her. Again, she refused to answer questions. They allowed her to call her attorney. Before her counsel could arrive, less than 30 minutes later, they told her that they know she is a US citizen and let her go.</p>
<p>Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, spokesperson for ICE in Phoenix, said by email that ICE agents stationed at the Fourth Avenue jail questioned all three protestors.</p>
<p>"Of the three individuals arrested by local authorities at Phoenix political rallies this weekend who were booked into the jail, two advised ICE officers during their interviews they were US citizens. As such, ICE took no further enforcement action," she writes. "The third individual declined to provide ICE officers information, other than acknowledging being foreign born. As a result, that person was subsequently transferred to ICE custody. However, the individual was released within an hour after database checks determined the person currently holds a valid United States passport.”</p>
<p>Last fall, the Department of Homeland Security outlined <a href="https://www.ice.gov/pep" type="external">new priorities for detention and deportation</a>, which say resources should be dedicated as much as possible to people who are threats to public safety and have committed multiple crimes. The guidelines, known as PEP, also led to new immigration detainer forms. So far, ICE has not revealed which&#160;form was used in this case, or are used generally in Maricopa County jails. PRI has made a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to ICE's current relationship with the sheriff's office and the types and numbers of detainers that are issued.</p>
<p>Cecillia D. Wang, director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project, says what happened to Gonzalez is part of ongoing issues with the sheriff's office and their relationship with ICE. In 2013, Arpaio and his office lost a class-action lawsuit brought by the ACLU for racially profiling Latinos in traffic stops.</p>
<p>In 2011, the federal government withdrew agreements with Maricopa County that deputized local officers to assist in immigration enforcement. This restricted the sheriff's access to databases, but did not preclude them from complying with ICE requests.</p>
<p>"What happened to this woman should serve as a warning sign to the federal government that they shouldn't be doing business with Arpaio, they shouldn't be issuing detainers," says Wang. "Issuing detainers is widely know to give local agencies the incentive to make arrests for minor violations of state law in order to get people into the jail."</p>
<p />
<p>Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio listens to US&#160;Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speak at a campaign rally in Marshalltown, Iowa January 26, 2016. Arpaio endorsed Trump at the rally.</p>
<p>Brian Snyder/Reuters</p>
<p>Christopher Lasch, a professor at Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver who studies the use of detainers, says cooperation between ICE and local law enforcement to detain people is troubling. The Fourth Amendment&#160;protects people from unreasonable search and seizure, and that ICE does not have to show cause to detain someone is a violation of that right, he says.</p>
<p>"This case shows what a lot of people worry about, that in fact they don't do any investigations before they issue a detainer," says Lasch. "The problem is that there's just an open question as to whether they have in fact have decided to follow the Fourth Amendment."</p>
<p>Gonzalez believes she was racially profiled, that she was singled out because of her name and her appearance. "ICE agents across the country, both inside and outside of jails, are accustomed to racial profiling — to asking people questions without attorneys present, without them knowing their constitutional rights," she says.</p>
<p>"They want to put the burden of proof on you, instead of doing their jobs," Gonzalez says. "Folks assume or expect that because you're a citizen, you should just be able to say so and deserve a way of being treated. But we have the burden to defend our constitutional rights."</p>
<p>Those rights include being able to ask for counsel without fear of retaliation, she says.</p>
<p>The night in jail was humiliating and uncomfortable, but Gonzalez is more concerned about other people who are in immigration detention, people who are separated from their families, don't know their rights or don't speak English. And she is worried about what a Trump presidency would mean for constitutional rights in America.</p>
<p>"I'm 10 times more afraid of the pain and uncomfortableness that would come about if Trump becomes president," she says. "I'm more afraid of that than one or two nights in jail."</p>
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jacinta gonzalez arrived protest shea boulevard160in fountain hills arizona morning march 19 wasnt trump rally kind trump ideology decided take action shut trump understand hes candidate says gonzalez talks trump effect almost much donald trump worries riling politics racism islamophobia homophobia weve already seen permeate community says pointing to160bills related immigration refugees state local governments four bills arizonas160house one senate critics say curtail immigrants rights foment racial divides protesters vehicles blocked highway led rally towed 45 minutes later estimates joined protesters chained vehicles able delay traffic hour traffic backed mile predictably gonzalez arrested along two protestors ready gonzalez 30 activist immigration deportation issues 10 years shes field director mijente organization born largely not1moredeportation160campaign advocates issues matter latinos broadly three protestors taken fourth avenue jail phoenix 30 miles away jail part maricopa county sheriffs office led trump supporter sheriff joe arpaio arpaio introduced trump fountain hills rally day announced three protestors jail said think theyre going intimidate next president united states going happen town tell right sheriff theres games sheriff thats sure trump told crowd took stage arpaio known aggressive targeting undocumented immigrants 2012 us justice department160 sued arpaio racial profiling latinos maricopa county opted settlement last july terms settlement sheriffs office must establish official policy prohibiting retaliation individual individuals lawful expression ideas exercise first amendment right freedom speech gonzalez two protesters booking area together processed fingerprinted patted thats says two agents called name come counter160gonzalez says one160in booking area called began asking questions including whats immigration status gonzalez replied want attorney present answer questions oh youre illegal one agents replied recalls asked citizen refused answer provided louisiana drivers license name date birth enough check databases verify status agents told issuing immigration detainer request ice maricopa county sheriffs office hold suspect turn or160her immigration officials160once complete investigation chris hegstrom director public information maricopa county sheriffs office says standard procedure ice agents stationed fourth avenue jail question everyone comes says arrested today would interviewed ice hegstrom says arrested would interviewed ice two protestors white men 160told republic160they never questioned agents asked immigration status 8 pm three protestors seen judge released recognizance face misdemeanor charges obstructing highway late night 11 pm midnight gonzalez estimates jail finished processing two protestors released gonzalez kept jail overnight isolation says mugshots jacinta gonzalez michael cassidy ben160laughlin three protestors arrested antitrump rally fountain hills arizona mar 19 processed fourth avenue jail phoenix maricopa county sheriffs office hegstrom says ice requested jail hold gonzalez came pick agencies follow different rules sheriffs office hold someone jail160when local agency wants place hold somebody show us probable cause statement show us want us hold ice says put hold somebody dont know processed three protestors like everybody else nothing ice says also160 many women seeking asylum us released detention ankle monitors morning ice agents came claim gonzalez hegstrom says kind handover ice happens day morning shackled took phoenix field office began question refused answer questions allowed call attorney counsel could arrive less 30 minutes later told know us citizen let go yasmeen pitts okeefe spokesperson ice phoenix said email ice agents stationed fourth avenue jail questioned three protestors three individuals arrested local authorities phoenix political rallies weekend booked jail two advised ice officers interviews us citizens ice took enforcement action writes third individual declined provide ice officers information acknowledging foreign born result person subsequently transferred ice custody however individual released within hour database checks determined person currently holds valid united states passport last fall department homeland security outlined new priorities detention deportation say resources dedicated much possible people threats public safety committed multiple crimes guidelines known pep also led new immigration detainer forms far ice revealed which160form used case used generally maricopa county jails pri made freedom information act request documents related ices current relationship sheriffs office types numbers detainers issued cecillia wang director aclu immigrants rights project says happened gonzalez part ongoing issues sheriffs office relationship ice 2013 arpaio office lost classaction lawsuit brought aclu racially profiling latinos traffic stops 2011 federal government withdrew agreements maricopa county deputized local officers assist immigration enforcement restricted sheriffs access databases preclude complying ice requests happened woman serve warning sign federal government shouldnt business arpaio shouldnt issuing detainers says wang issuing detainers widely know give local agencies incentive make arrests minor violations state law order get people jail maricopa county sheriff joe arpaio listens us160republican presidential candidate donald trump speak campaign rally marshalltown iowa january 26 2016 arpaio endorsed trump rally brian snyderreuters christopher lasch professor sturm college law university denver studies use detainers says cooperation ice local law enforcement detain people troubling fourth amendment160protects people unreasonable search seizure ice show cause detain someone violation right says case shows lot people worry fact dont investigations issue detainer says lasch problem theres open question whether fact decided follow fourth amendment gonzalez believes racially profiled singled name appearance ice agents across country inside outside jails accustomed racial profiling asking people questions without attorneys present without knowing constitutional rights says want put burden proof instead jobs gonzalez says folks assume expect youre citizen able say deserve way treated burden defend constitutional rights rights include able ask counsel without fear retaliation says night jail humiliating uncomfortable gonzalez concerned people immigration detention people separated families dont know rights dont speak english worried trump presidency would mean constitutional rights america im 10 times afraid pain uncomfortableness would come trump becomes president says im afraid one two nights jail
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<p>In the summer, Osman Maldonado drove less than a mile from his house to a gas station near a busy intersection in northwest suburban Crystal Lake for cigarettes. He spotted a McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy parked in the lot of an adjacent boutique. The deputy walked up to the Honduran immigrant’s window and asked for his driver’s license and registration. Then he examined Maldonado’s wallet.</p>
<p>Inside, the deputy found a fake green card. He arrested the Honduran immigrant and booked him on a felony charge of possessing fraudulent documents. A $25,000 bond was assigned.</p>
<p>Maldonado, who arrived in Chicago in 2003 and had been earning up to $275 a week as a machine operator at a tool storage manufacturing company, spent the next 30 days in jail. He pleaded guilty to a downgraded misdemeanor for the fake documents, with time already served in jail as his sentence.</p>
<p>This package of stories on racial profiling and its impact on immigration matters was made possible, in part, by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of The Chicago Reporter.</p>
<p>But his legal nightmare didn’t end there. On the day of his release, the sheriff’s office transported him to a hearing in immigration court. With his petition for asylum already denied, the 25-year-old father of two is facing deportation–” with an electronic monitoring device now strapped to his right ankle.</p>
<p>Maldonado said he’s startled to find himself in this predicament–”out of something as routine as a traffic stop. “My dream was just to work and get ahead,” he said.</p>
<p>Maldonado’s experience is familiar to many Latinos living in the six-county Chicago area. In many communities with a recent surge in immigrant population, Latino drivers are being stopped at a higher rate by the police than their share of the driving-age population, and they are more likely to have their cars searched than their white counterparts, shows a Chicago Reporter analysis of 2007 traffic stop data collected by the Illinois Department of Transportation.</p>
<p>Given the increasingly tangled relationship between local law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, these traffic stops, as in Maldonado’s case, can have far-reaching consequences for drivers whose immigration status is now being scrutinized more closely.</p>
<p>The Reporter examined the transportation department’s data, which compile records collected from law enforcement agencies throughout the state, and found that 44 out of more than 200 communities in the six-county Chicago area recorded a disparity of at least 10 percentage points when the share of Latino drivers stopped is compared to their size in the driving-age population.</p>
<p>The analysis does not include communities that, according to the 2000 Census, had fewer than 2,500 residents, nor does it include those that recorded less than 200 traffic stops involving Latino drivers or 1,000 overall stops.</p>
<p>Click to enlarge.</p>
<p>West suburban Stickney recorded the highest disparity, with Latinos involved in 52 percent of all traffic stops in the village though they made up only 19 percent of its driving-age population. West suburban Aurora, the most populous of the 44 communities, had a disparity of about 13 percentage points. In all, nine communities, including Stickney, posted disparities of more than 20 percentage points.</p>
<p>The Reporter’s analysis also found that Latino drivers were asked for permission to search their cars at a higher rate in 25 out of the 44 communities than white counterparts–”despite the fact that Latinos were less likely to be found in possession of contraband.</p>
<p>The 44 communities are clustered mainly in Lake and Kane counties, along with several communities on the outskirts of Chicago in Cook County, like Berwyn and Stickney. Ten of the communities are located next to the large communities with more than 20,000 foreign-born population–”Aurora, Cicero, Elgin, Skokie and Waukegan.</p>
<p>Many of the 44 communities had a sizable increase in their foreign-born population since 1990. According to the census, 23 out of the 44 communities saw their foreign-born population double between 1990 and 2000. During the same period, by comparison, the foreign-born population doubled in 36 percent of communities in the rest of the sixcounty area.</p>
<p>West suburban Plainfield, which had a 11.9 percent disparity in Latino traffic stops, saw the biggest increase in its foreign-born population between 1990 and 2000–”a 779 percent growth.</p>
<p>Immigrant advocates point out that the traffic stop disparities come at a time when there are increasing ties between local communities and the immigration agency, and this means that more deportations and other immigration issues have been originating from routine traffic stops.</p>
<p>Several suburban authorities now have arrangements with the immigration agency to house immigrant detainees and have also asked to participate in the agency’s ACCESS program, which offers various ways to address criminal immigrants.</p>
<p>The immigration agency has also been lodging what’s called “detainers,” which put immigrants under its custody for processing of immigration offenses, even after criminal charges are thrown out.</p>
<p>Adam Schwartz, senior staff counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said this blending of duties between federal immigration and local law enforcement efforts is appalling. “State and local law governments collaborating with the federal government [in immigration matters] is very troubling,” Schwartz said. “It leads directly to racial profiling. We think it drives a wedge between communities. It’s a horrible social policy.”</p>
<p>But police officials contacted for this story said they didn’t believe racial profiling was being practiced by officers in their departments.</p>
<p>Some maintained that the Reporter’s finding was misleading because the 2000 Census, which offers the latest official statistics available for driving-age population, was used in analyzing 2007 traffic stop data. By 2007, they said, the population of their communities had far surpassed that from 2000.</p>
<p>For example, west suburban Montgomery, which had a disparity of about 26 percent in traffic stop figures, saw its population grow from about 5,500 in 2000 to 17,000 last year, according to a special census conducted in May 2008.</p>
<p>Northwest suburban Round Lake, which posted a 15 percent disparity in traffic stop numbers, saw a similar increase in its population, from less than 6,000 in 2000 to nearly 17,000 in 2007, according the census bureau’s American Community Survey, which is conducted annually for selected communities nationwide.</p>
<p>But no officials–”in Montgomery, Round Lake or elsewhere–” could provide any evidence that the proportion of Latinos among driving-age population in their communities was any higher in 2007 than it was in 2000.</p>
<p>Others argued that the traffic stop disparities could be attributed to nonresidents driving through their communities. Charles Forsyth, chief of the Hometown Police Department, said he has been frustrated ever since the data collection was mandated by the state in 2004. He said the data would not take into account the large out-of-town traffic caused by a hospital and several shopping centers located in his southwest suburban Cook County community.</p>
<p>In 2007, Latinos comprised almost a quarter of all stops in H o m e t ow n , though they made up about 3 percent of its 3,500 drivingage population.</p>
<p>Forsyth said he doesn’t scrutinize every traffic stop but checks to see if there’s any problem whenever the data show a large disparity.</p>
<p>So far, he said, he has not seen any evidence that his officers are targeting minorities.</p>
<p>But he was less specific when it came to providing details on how many nonresidents drive through his community, and he was unable to offer any proof that such traffic comes mainly from Latino drivers to account for the disparity in the stop numbers.</p>
<p>Similarly, officials in other communities could not provide any detailed account of the drive-through traffic in their communities.</p>
<p>Virginia Martinez, a legislative staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund in Chicago, said she is not convinced by the police’s explanation for their disparities. She said the only reason that the issue of racial profiling has not come to the forefront in the suburbs is that immigrants are too afraid to complain. “If you’re undocumented, forget it–”you don’t want to say anything,” she said.</p>
<p>State Sen. Iris Martinez said she believes that there’s more to the issue than what police officials acknowledge. “You are being pulled over because you’re Latino, and that’s the bottom line,” said Martinez, a co-sponsor of the legislation that mandated the traffic stop study.</p>
<p>Martinez said deporting criminals is one thing, but casting a wide net against one ethnic group is unfair. She has been lobbying to pass legislation that would grant a driver’s certificate to undocumented immigrants, believing that the absence of a certificate gives police officers a cover for their biased practices. “If there were a certificate in place, we would see less Latinos pulled over,” she said.</p>
<p>State Sen. Kwame Raoul said capturing the data isn’t enough to address the issue. He said the police should review the data internally, against other benchmarks.</p>
<p>“There has to be a good use of the data for law enforcement,” he said. “If [there are] a couple of bad cops, as a police commander or captain, you have to be willing to use this data internally.”</p>
<p>Since March 2008, the booking process at the jail in west suburban Elgin has not only included taking the routine fingerprinting and mug shot, but also running a query for individuals identified as foreign-born to a database maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.</p>
<p>Elgin also requested in January 2008 to participate in the immigration agency’s ACCESS program–”a series of information, training and enforcement programs designed to assist local law enforcement agencies in immigration enforcement. The city’s request has yet to be approved, according to Gail Montenegro, a spokeswoman at the immigration agency’s Chicago office.</p>
<p>Similar scenarios are playing out in other communities as they seek more robust working arrangements with the immigration agency.</p>
<p>North suburban Waukegan, northwest suburban Harvard and west suburban villages of Carpentersville and Bensenville, along with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, have requested for participation in a program called 287(g) to have authority to enforce immigration laws.</p>
<p>Bob Beeter, deputy chief of the Elgin Police Department, said the new processes for his department were established to make sure that they identify the criminals wanted by the immigration agency. “We focus on the serious crime guy, the guy who is doing the drugs, sex cases,” Beeter said.</p>
<p>But these arrangements are also the mechanism by which ordinary traffic stops can turn into immigration proceedings. According to an analysis of Elgin police’s records obtained by the Reporter, those arrested for driving without a license made up a large share of individuals screened with the immigration database. Between March and November 2008, 93, or about 40 percent, of the 233 individuals screened were arrested for driving without licenses, an analysis shows.</p>
<p>Even in places where formal arrangements with the immigration agency do not exist, federal officials can issue detainers to keep immigrants in custody.</p>
<p>At the Cook County Jail, for example, the immigration agency has at least three agents stationed to review records of individuals going through bond court, Montenegro said. They review arrest records, law enforcement databases and biographical data to identify those who may be deportable. The agents issued nearly 200 detainers in the first 10 months of 2008. Andrew Sagartz, an immigration attorney in north suburban Deerfield, said that the criminal justice system–”and its link to immigration matters–”are too complex to understand for many immigrants.</p>
<p>Sagartz said he has come across many cases in which immigrants readily plead guilty to minor crimes without understanding the potential immigration implications of a conviction.</p>
<p>Sagartz has printed brochures on legal rights and placed them in libraries throughout Waukegan. He recently opened an office in Aurora because he began hearing that notaries public were advising undocumented immigrants on how they should handle their criminal matters without understanding the immigration consequences.</p>
<p>“We’re experiencing the same thing there that was in Lake County many years ago,” he said. “It’s not so much directly attributable to government action–”it’s really from people not having access to good legal counsel, with respect to immigration.”</p>
<p>Jacqui Herrera-Giron, former director of legalization at the Instituto del Progreso Latino in Cicero, said fewer immigrants are now willing to approach law enforcement officers because they are afraid any contact can lead to deportation.</p>
<p>She recalled one case in which a woman called the police to report domestic violence and was asked whether she was here legally. “If the police is stopping me and asking me 50 questions,” Herrera-Giron said, “I’m not going back to the police.”</p>
<p>Wayne Hunter, the director of homeland security at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, said fear of law enforcement agencies is the last thing they want. He observed that the agency is upholding the law between two poles of public opinion. On one hand, the anti-immigrant groups in Lake County want more done to combat what they consider the growing number of undocumented criminal immigrants. But immigrant advocates believe Lake County is simply interested in deporting all undocumented immigrants, regardless of any criminal record.</p>
<p>Photo by Joe Gallo</p>
<p>Lake County Sheriff Mark C. Curran Jr. said an audit showed that undocumented immigrants made up 20 percent of the inmates at the county jail. Enforcing immigration rules, he says, is a necessity for his office.</p>
<p>Hunter said it’s a difficult balancing act. “Our intention is to skim the top percent of the most violent criminals out of our society and to follow through with deportations, hopefully,” he said.</p>
<p>Lake County Sheriff Mark C. Curran Jr. added that an audit of the inmates at the Lake County Jail showed that 20 percent of them were undocumented immigrants. Curran said he understands that enforcing immigration law is controversial–” but it’s simply a necessity. “I can’t sit there and say that I’m not going to do my job because there are political consequences,” he said.</p>
<p>To hear Zane Seipler tell it, the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office sees immigrants as a cash crop. In 2004, Seipler joined the office as a deputy but was fired last year after he alleged that the office is targeting Latinos–”proxy for undocumented immigrants, he said–”for traffic stops.</p>
<p>Seipler said things changed soon after the county began cooperating with the immigration agency in 2006 and started providing space for immigrant detainees at the McHenry County Jail–”for $85 per detainee a day. Seipler said he began noticing the pattern that more Latinos drivers were being arrested. “The goal was to keep the immigration wing packed,” he said.</p>
<p>Seipler began keeping track of arrests. He said a small group of deputies were posting high stop numbers, and many of the individuals they were arresting were Latinos. “They find someone who looks like they are from Central America and follow them around,” he said. “If they’re just pulling them over to see if they have a license, that’s racial profiling.”</p>
<p>He also took notes of every encounter he had with deputies, supervisors and others with whom he raised the issue. For Seipler, it was more than a matter of law; it was personal. His wife is Mexican, and he feared that one day she would get harassed by a deputy looking to up the numbers.</p>
<p>Seipler eventually requested that an investigation be conducted. But, in November, he was fired for, according to McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren, violating rules and regulations.</p>
<p>Seipler responded by suing the office, claiming wrongful termination and violation of the Civil Rights Act. And he detailed his allegations in a legal complaint, including a claim that deputies have falsified reports, even marking Latinos as white to conceal any disparities in traffic stop reports mandated by the state.</p>
<p>Photo by Joe Gallo</p>
<p>Zane Seipler, a former deputy for the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office, alleges that Latinos are being targeted by the office for traffic stops. Sheriff Keith Nygren denies the allegation.</p>
<p>Nygren said Seipler’s allegations are completely false. “I’ve been sued a lot [during] 42 years, [but] this is the worst that I have ever seen leveled at anybody with no basis in fact,” said</p>
<p>Nygren, noting that the department investigated Seipler’s claims multiple times, finding each time that his allegations were without merit.</p>
<p>“I’m not going to tell you we don’t have people with prejudices and bias, but if we had someone enforcing the law based upon their bias, we would take action. We would not tolerate it,” he added.</p>
<p>Nygren declined to discuss specifics of the case, citing the ongoing suit.</p>
<p>If Seipler’s claims are true, the sheriff’s office’s behaviors illustrate how law enforcement activities can be intricately connected with immigration issues, immigrant advocates say.</p>
<p>They say the lack of national immigration reform and absence of driver’s certificates for undocumented immigrants in Illinois has created a perfect storm of sorts that’s creating an environment in which individual communities are compelled to take immigration matters into their own hands.</p>
<p>Approaches vary in each community.</p>
<p>Since 1996, law enforcement agencies in McHenry County have filed charges against about 3,000 individuals for driving without a license and, since 1999, filed more than 500 charges for those who were in possession of fraudulent documents, according to the Reporter’s analysis. But many of these charges have come from only a handful of communities. Five communities, including Harvard, Woodstock and Crystal Lake, racked up 70 percent of all charges.</p>
<p>But in communities like Round Lake, simple traffic stops lead to only court appearances, not arrests. Francis Foy, deputy chief at the Round Lake Police Department, said officers have discretion to decide whether to arrest a motorist who is driving without a license, and that it’s often more convenient to issue a citation to appear in court.</p>
<p>These varying strategies and realities for motorists mean an extra layer of uncertainties that adds to their sense of fear, advocates say.</p>
<p>Tara Tidwell Cullen, a spokeswoman for the Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center, a Chicagobased nonprofit that represents immigrants facing deportation, said the sentiment extends to all manner of contact with law enforcement agencies.</p>
<p>“People don’t want to answer their doors anymore. It’s tragic. It’s not the country we’re supposed to be,” she said. Laimutis Nargelenas, director of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, draws a line between responsible police activities and immigration enforcement. If police officers encounter an immigrant driving without a license, he said, it is their duty to charge them with the offense. But enforcing immigration offenses, let alone taking part in profiling, is beyond what’s called for, he said.</p>
<p>Ultimately, he said, it falls on each community to keep an eye on its police department if the law is not applied fairly and evenly. “The community needs to hold those police departments accountable,” he said.</p>
<p>For his part, state Rep. Edward Acevedo has pledged to reintroduce legislation securing protections for undocumented immigrants. He hopes that, with a new administration in the White House and support from colleagues in Springfield, he can successfully make his case that granting permits is a safety measure, not an amnesty.</p>
<p>“There are 250,000 undocumented [immigrants] already driving on the roads without licenses and insurance [in Illinois]. When they get into an automobile accident, whose premium goes up? The individual with the license and insurance. Who gets in trouble? The undocumented immigrant,” Acevedo said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Raoul, who helped establish a state oversight board to hold the police accountable, said police departments themselves have to step up and make themselves accountable. “You’re not going to [re-]train a racist,” he said. “You have to develop consequences.”</p>
<p>Laura Burns, Kara Madden and Joe O’Donnell helped research this article.</p>
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summer osman maldonado drove less mile house gas station near busy intersection northwest suburban crystal lake cigarettes spotted mchenry county sheriffs deputy parked lot adjacent boutique deputy walked honduran immigrants window asked drivers license registration examined maldonados wallet inside deputy found fake green card arrested honduran immigrant booked felony charge possessing fraudulent documents 25000 bond assigned maldonado arrived chicago 2003 earning 275 week machine operator tool storage manufacturing company spent next 30 days jail pleaded guilty downgraded misdemeanor fake documents time already served jail sentence package stories racial profiling impact immigration matters made possible part grant carnegie corporation new york statements made views expressed solely responsibility chicago reporter legal nightmare didnt end day release sheriffs office transported hearing immigration court petition asylum already denied 25yearold father two facing deportation electronic monitoring device strapped right ankle maldonado said hes startled find predicamentout something routine traffic stop dream work get ahead said maldonados experience familiar many latinos living sixcounty chicago area many communities recent surge immigrant population latino drivers stopped higher rate police share drivingage population likely cars searched white counterparts shows chicago reporter analysis 2007 traffic stop data collected illinois department transportation given increasingly tangled relationship local law enforcement agencies us immigration customs enforcement traffic stops maldonados case farreaching consequences drivers whose immigration status scrutinized closely reporter examined transportation departments data compile records collected law enforcement agencies throughout state found 44 200 communities sixcounty chicago area recorded disparity least 10 percentage points share latino drivers stopped compared size drivingage population analysis include communities according 2000 census fewer 2500 residents include recorded less 200 traffic stops involving latino drivers 1000 overall stops click enlarge west suburban stickney recorded highest disparity latinos involved 52 percent traffic stops village though made 19 percent drivingage population west suburban aurora populous 44 communities disparity 13 percentage points nine communities including stickney posted disparities 20 percentage points reporters analysis also found latino drivers asked permission search cars higher rate 25 44 communities white counterpartsdespite fact latinos less likely found possession contraband 44 communities clustered mainly lake kane counties along several communities outskirts chicago cook county like berwyn stickney ten communities located next large communities 20000 foreignborn populationaurora cicero elgin skokie waukegan many 44 communities sizable increase foreignborn population since 1990 according census 23 44 communities saw foreignborn population double 1990 2000 period comparison foreignborn population doubled 36 percent communities rest sixcounty area west suburban plainfield 119 percent disparity latino traffic stops saw biggest increase foreignborn population 1990 2000a 779 percent growth immigrant advocates point traffic stop disparities come time increasing ties local communities immigration agency means deportations immigration issues originating routine traffic stops several suburban authorities arrangements immigration agency house immigrant detainees also asked participate agencys access program offers various ways address criminal immigrants immigration agency also lodging whats called detainers put immigrants custody processing immigration offenses even criminal charges thrown adam schwartz senior staff counsel american civil liberties union illinois said blending duties federal immigration local law enforcement efforts appalling state local law governments collaborating federal government immigration matters troubling schwartz said leads directly racial profiling think drives wedge communities horrible social policy police officials contacted story said didnt believe racial profiling practiced officers departments maintained reporters finding misleading 2000 census offers latest official statistics available drivingage population used analyzing 2007 traffic stop data 2007 said population communities far surpassed 2000 example west suburban montgomery disparity 26 percent traffic stop figures saw population grow 5500 2000 17000 last year according special census conducted may 2008 northwest suburban round lake posted 15 percent disparity traffic stop numbers saw similar increase population less 6000 2000 nearly 17000 2007 according census bureaus american community survey conducted annually selected communities nationwide officialsin montgomery round lake elsewhere could provide evidence proportion latinos among drivingage population communities higher 2007 2000 others argued traffic stop disparities could attributed nonresidents driving communities charles forsyth chief hometown police department said frustrated ever since data collection mandated state 2004 said data would take account large outoftown traffic caused hospital several shopping centers located southwest suburban cook county community 2007 latinos comprised almost quarter stops h e ow n though made 3 percent 3500 drivingage population forsyth said doesnt scrutinize every traffic stop checks see theres problem whenever data show large disparity far said seen evidence officers targeting minorities less specific came providing details many nonresidents drive community unable offer proof traffic comes mainly latino drivers account disparity stop numbers similarly officials communities could provide detailed account drivethrough traffic communities virginia martinez legislative staff attorney mexican american legal defense education fund chicago said convinced polices explanation disparities said reason issue racial profiling come forefront suburbs immigrants afraid complain youre undocumented forget ityou dont want say anything said state sen iris martinez said believes theres issue police officials acknowledge pulled youre latino thats bottom line said martinez cosponsor legislation mandated traffic stop study martinez said deporting criminals one thing casting wide net one ethnic group unfair lobbying pass legislation would grant drivers certificate undocumented immigrants believing absence certificate gives police officers cover biased practices certificate place would see less latinos pulled said state sen kwame raoul said capturing data isnt enough address issue said police review data internally benchmarks good use data law enforcement said couple bad cops police commander captain willing use data internally since march 2008 booking process jail west suburban elgin included taking routine fingerprinting mug shot also running query individuals identified foreignborn database maintained us department homeland security elgin also requested january 2008 participate immigration agencys access programa series information training enforcement programs designed assist local law enforcement agencies immigration enforcement citys request yet approved according gail montenegro spokeswoman immigration agencys chicago office similar scenarios playing communities seek robust working arrangements immigration agency north suburban waukegan northwest suburban harvard west suburban villages carpentersville bensenville along lake county sheriffs office requested participation program called 287g authority enforce immigration laws bob beeter deputy chief elgin police department said new processes department established make sure identify criminals wanted immigration agency focus serious crime guy guy drugs sex cases beeter said arrangements also mechanism ordinary traffic stops turn immigration proceedings according analysis elgin polices records obtained reporter arrested driving without license made large share individuals screened immigration database march november 2008 93 40 percent 233 individuals screened arrested driving without licenses analysis shows even places formal arrangements immigration agency exist federal officials issue detainers keep immigrants custody cook county jail example immigration agency least three agents stationed review records individuals going bond court montenegro said review arrest records law enforcement databases biographical data identify may deportable agents issued nearly 200 detainers first 10 months 2008 andrew sagartz immigration attorney north suburban deerfield said criminal justice systemand link immigration mattersare complex understand many immigrants sagartz said come across many cases immigrants readily plead guilty minor crimes without understanding potential immigration implications conviction sagartz printed brochures legal rights placed libraries throughout waukegan recently opened office aurora began hearing notaries public advising undocumented immigrants handle criminal matters without understanding immigration consequences experiencing thing lake county many years ago said much directly attributable government actionits really people access good legal counsel respect immigration jacqui herreragiron former director legalization instituto del progreso latino cicero said fewer immigrants willing approach law enforcement officers afraid contact lead deportation recalled one case woman called police report domestic violence asked whether legally police stopping asking 50 questions herreragiron said im going back police wayne hunter director homeland security lake county sheriffs office said fear law enforcement agencies last thing want observed agency upholding law two poles public opinion one hand antiimmigrant groups lake county want done combat consider growing number undocumented criminal immigrants immigrant advocates believe lake county simply interested deporting undocumented immigrants regardless criminal record photo joe gallo lake county sheriff mark c curran jr said audit showed undocumented immigrants made 20 percent inmates county jail enforcing immigration rules says necessity office hunter said difficult balancing act intention skim top percent violent criminals society follow deportations hopefully said lake county sheriff mark c curran jr added audit inmates lake county jail showed 20 percent undocumented immigrants curran said understands enforcing immigration law controversial simply necessity cant sit say im going job political consequences said hear zane seipler tell mchenry county sheriffs office sees immigrants cash crop 2004 seipler joined office deputy fired last year alleged office targeting latinosproxy undocumented immigrants saidfor traffic stops seipler said things changed soon county began cooperating immigration agency 2006 started providing space immigrant detainees mchenry county jailfor 85 per detainee day seipler said began noticing pattern latinos drivers arrested goal keep immigration wing packed said seipler began keeping track arrests said small group deputies posting high stop numbers many individuals arresting latinos find someone looks like central america follow around said theyre pulling see license thats racial profiling also took notes every encounter deputies supervisors others raised issue seipler matter law personal wife mexican feared one day would get harassed deputy looking numbers seipler eventually requested investigation conducted november fired according mchenry county sheriff keith nygren violating rules regulations seipler responded suing office claiming wrongful termination violation civil rights act detailed allegations legal complaint including claim deputies falsified reports even marking latinos white conceal disparities traffic stop reports mandated state photo joe gallo zane seipler former deputy mchenry county sheriffs office alleges latinos targeted office traffic stops sheriff keith nygren denies allegation nygren said seiplers allegations completely false ive sued lot 42 years worst ever seen leveled anybody basis fact said nygren noting department investigated seiplers claims multiple times finding time allegations without merit im going tell dont people prejudices bias someone enforcing law based upon bias would take action would tolerate added nygren declined discuss specifics case citing ongoing suit seiplers claims true sheriffs offices behaviors illustrate law enforcement activities intricately connected immigration issues immigrant advocates say say lack national immigration reform absence drivers certificates undocumented immigrants illinois created perfect storm sorts thats creating environment individual communities compelled take immigration matters hands approaches vary community since 1996 law enforcement agencies mchenry county filed charges 3000 individuals driving without license since 1999 filed 500 charges possession fraudulent documents according reporters analysis many charges come handful communities five communities including harvard woodstock crystal lake racked 70 percent charges communities like round lake simple traffic stops lead court appearances arrests francis foy deputy chief round lake police department said officers discretion decide whether arrest motorist driving without license often convenient issue citation appear court varying strategies realities motorists mean extra layer uncertainties adds sense fear advocates say tara tidwell cullen spokeswoman heartland alliances national immigrant justice center chicagobased nonprofit represents immigrants facing deportation said sentiment extends manner contact law enforcement agencies people dont want answer doors anymore tragic country supposed said laimutis nargelenas director illinois association chiefs police draws line responsible police activities immigration enforcement police officers encounter immigrant driving without license said duty charge offense enforcing immigration offenses let alone taking part profiling beyond whats called said ultimately said falls community keep eye police department law applied fairly evenly community needs hold police departments accountable said part state rep edward acevedo pledged reintroduce legislation securing protections undocumented immigrants hopes new administration white house support colleagues springfield successfully make case granting permits safety measure amnesty 250000 undocumented immigrants already driving roads without licenses insurance illinois get automobile accident whose premium goes individual license insurance gets trouble undocumented immigrant acevedo said meanwhile raoul helped establish state oversight board hold police accountable said police departments step make accountable youre going retrain racist said develop consequences laura burns kara madden joe odonnell helped research article
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<p>It’s hard for Pamela Bosley to listen to music anymore. Her son Terrell loved to play the bass guitar, but after the 18-year-old was shot and killed outside of a South Side church in 2006, she turned the radio off. Through her pain, she found a new mission in life: to end gun violence and improve conditions for youth in Chicago.</p>
<p>“Before Terrell died, music was our world,” she says. “After Terrell died, music ended for me too. I’m getting better at turning it on and listening to it more and more, but that piece of me died because of Terrell’s death. Now, I’m an activist all day and all night because I can’t understand how someone could just come by and shoot and kill somebody.”</p>
<p>In 2007, Bosley co-founded <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/purposeoverpainorg/PurposeOverPain" type="external">Purpose Over Pain</a>, an organization that advocates for stricter gun control and provides support for parents of murdered children. The group has done everything from lobbying legislators in the nation’s capital to providing a safe place for neighborhood kids to hang out on Saturday nights. To honor murdered children, on Mother’s Day the group wrote their names on red flags and displayed them on the lawn of The ARK of St. Sabina.</p>
<p>Soon after Terrell’s death, she created the Terrell Bosley Anti-Violence Association. She works at St. Sabina, the well-known Catholic church in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood. Also at St. Sabina, Bosley works with a youth group focused on developing leadership skills and is involved in a free after-school program that serves 120 children daily. Bosley’s passions lie in keeping her son’s memory alive by working to make Chicago a better, safer city. The Reporter caught up with Bosley at St. Sabina to talk about family, “Chiraq” and her life’s work.</p>
<p>What is the mission of Purpose Over Pain and what does the organization do? &#160;</p>
<p>We reach out to parents in this unfortunate situation and then we offer the initial support. The second thing we do is demand common sense gun laws. If we had common sense gun laws, we’d have our children. So we go to Springfield, we talk to representatives here in Chicago, and we even travel to D.C. The third thing we do is try to work with our youth and be preventative.</p>
<p>Give me a little background on you and your family.</p>
<p>I was born and raised on the West Side and now I’m on the South Side. My husband and I have been married 25 years. I have three sons — Terrell is still my son, so I have three sons. My other two boys now are 17 and 21. [Terrell] would’ve been 27 this year. My youngest son is a youth ambassador, he’s in the youth group, and he’s always at leadership events. His goal is to be an attorney. My oldest son is in college and he’s doing well too. For a while my sons suffered because they lost their brother to violence, but they’re striving to make the world better so nobody has to go through what their family is going through.</p>
<p>Tell me about Terrell and how you were inspired to found Purpose Over Pain.</p>
<p>I was in banking for over 20 years. After the death of Terrell, I started work at The ARK of St. Sabina. I started doing this work because of what happened to Terrell. This is something I never did — I always worked with dollars, money, but now I’m working with youth and trying to give them the guidance they need.</p>
<p>Terrell was my oldest son. He was always really active. In grade school he was the lion in The Wiz. He never had small parts, he was always right in the front. When he went to high school he played football freshman year, then sophomore year he decided to pick up the bass guitar. He played his bass guitar for a lot of gospel artists in Chicago, the Chicago Mass Choir, different churches, my church, and he played everywhere because he was good. Terrell was killed on church grounds. He was helping carry drums inside the church on 116th and Halsted, and somebody came out shooting. To this day we don’t know what happened. <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/story?section=news/local&amp;id=8608710" type="external">Terrell’s case is unsolved</a> and that’s a part of me I want to be solved.</p>
<p>Tell me about the origins of the name, Purpose Over Pain. How did it come to be and what does it represent? &#160;</p>
<p>We talked about what we were looking for, and we had to come up with a name. So someone was like, “My pain is bad, my pain is bad.” She kept talking about pain. We were like, “We got a purpose. Now we just have to figure it out,” so we ended up with Purpose Over Pain. Before, we all had our own [activities], and then we thought if we come together and do it together, it’s so much easier on us. It’s already hard. When we do it together as a group, it’s easier.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Spike Lee attended St. Sabina’s annual block party amid opposition to the reported title of his upcoming film, “Chiraq.” What do you think about the name Chiraq?</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/06/entertainment/chiraq-chicago-spike-lee-movie-controversy/" type="external">I’m okay with Chiraq.</a> It was Chiraq before Spike got here. If anything, Iraq should be upset with us for calling ourselves Chiraq because we have more people being killed here in Chicago than they have in Iraq. I just went to a funeral, and there were so many youth there. There’s one young man that said, “I lost four friends this week.” People are upset about Chiraq? You’re trying to fight about the title when you should be fighting about getting our streets clean. Why don’t you use that same energy fighting the governor for jobs, resources, better education? I lost my son to Chicago. Just across the street from St. Sabina, just a couple days ago on Friday, a young man was shot. If that’s what’s happening here in Chicago, don’t try to brush it under the rug like it’s not happening. It’s happening.</p>
<p>Besides stricter gun control legislation, what other steps can be taken to curb gun violence?</p>
<p>We need more resource groups and we need funding. We also need a better education system and we need jobs for our youth. We need expungement. We have so many young men with records and they can’t get jobs. If you don’t wipe their records clean they can’t get a job and then they’re going to start selling drugs because they’ve got to eat, and then it continues and is a cycle. The system is set up to be a failure to them because it’s a revolving door with the prison system. I don’t know much about the prison system, but I think they need to do something to keep the people murdering our kids off the streets.</p>
<p>In your work, you speak about the details of your son’s death often. How does this affect you?</p>
<p>When I wake up every day, when I open my eyes, I think about Terrell, so it doesn’t matter that I have to talk about him, because he’s there. That part doesn’t bother me. The first year after Terrell was murdered, I tried to take my own life twice, so I don’t want another mother to try and do that. Terrell wasn’t in a gang and didn’t sell drugs. I never, ever thought I would be in this situation, but I am, so my goal is to change other people’s lives. There are four people that I need to call today because they lost their children and they don’t know what else to do. It hurts when I talk to them, but it hurts anyway. I got to keep moving and helping other people. My goal in life is to help others now.</p>
<p>This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.</p>
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hard pamela bosley listen music anymore son terrell loved play bass guitar 18yearold shot killed outside south side church 2006 turned radio pain found new mission life end gun violence improve conditions youth chicago terrell died music world says terrell died music ended im getting better turning listening piece died terrells death im activist day night cant understand someone could come shoot kill somebody 2007 bosley cofounded purpose pain organization advocates stricter gun control provides support parents murdered children group done everything lobbying legislators nations capital providing safe place neighborhood kids hang saturday nights honor murdered children mothers day group wrote names red flags displayed lawn ark st sabina soon terrells death created terrell bosley antiviolence association works st sabina wellknown catholic church auburngresham neighborhood also st sabina bosley works youth group focused developing leadership skills involved free afterschool program serves 120 children daily bosleys passions lie keeping sons memory alive working make chicago better safer city reporter caught bosley st sabina talk family chiraq lifes work mission purpose pain organization 160 reach parents unfortunate situation offer initial support second thing demand common sense gun laws common sense gun laws wed children go springfield talk representatives chicago even travel dc third thing try work youth preventative give little background family born raised west side im south side husband married 25 years three sons terrell still son three sons two boys 17 21 terrell wouldve 27 year youngest son youth ambassador hes youth group hes always leadership events goal attorney oldest son college hes well sons suffered lost brother violence theyre striving make world better nobody go family going tell terrell inspired found purpose pain banking 20 years death terrell started work ark st sabina started work happened terrell something never always worked dollars money im working youth trying give guidance need terrell oldest son always really active grade school lion wiz never small parts always right front went high school played football freshman year sophomore year decided pick bass guitar played bass guitar lot gospel artists chicago chicago mass choir different churches church played everywhere good terrell killed church grounds helping carry drums inside church 116th halsted somebody came shooting day dont know happened terrells case unsolved thats part want solved tell origins name purpose pain come represent 160 talked looking come name someone like pain bad pain bad kept talking pain like got purpose figure ended purpose pain activities thought come together together much easier us already hard together group easier earlier month spike lee attended st sabinas annual block party amid opposition reported title upcoming film chiraq think name chiraq im okay chiraq chiraq spike got anything iraq upset us calling chiraq people killed chicago iraq went funeral many youth theres one young man said lost four friends week people upset chiraq youre trying fight title fighting getting streets clean dont use energy fighting governor jobs resources better education lost son chicago across street st sabina couple days ago friday young man shot thats whats happening chicago dont try brush rug like happening happening besides stricter gun control legislation steps taken curb gun violence need resource groups need funding also need better education system need jobs youth need expungement many young men records cant get jobs dont wipe records clean cant get job theyre going start selling drugs theyve got eat continues cycle system set failure revolving door prison system dont know much prison system think need something keep people murdering kids streets work speak details sons death often affect wake every day open eyes think terrell doesnt matter talk hes part doesnt bother first year terrell murdered tried take life twice dont want another mother try terrell wasnt gang didnt sell drugs never ever thought would situation goal change peoples lives four people need call today lost children dont know else hurts talk hurts anyway got keep moving helping people goal life help others interview edited condensed clarity
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<p>The stories seem endless. In India, men <a href="" type="external">raped teenagers</a>&#160;and hanged their bodies on trees. In small-town England, gangs <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/world/europe/children-in-rotherham-england-were-sexually-abused-report-says.html?_r=0" type="external">groomed thousands of underage girls</a> for systemic rape. In American college campuses, students <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/274119601.html" type="external">filmed their schoolmates</a>&#160;getting drunk and being abused. And that was just in the last month.</p>
<p>“My sense is there’s a lot of focus on sexual violence in the news media,” said Pamela Mejia, a researcher with the California-based Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG), which is currently analyzing the portrayal of sexual violence in American media.</p>
<p>But while more sexual violence reports seem to make the news lately, much of the coverage still falls short of explaining why and how such attacks happen as well as how they can be prevented, Mejia said.</p>
<p>Reports tend to concentrate on the criminal facts of a case, such as suspects, arrests and trials, she said. News stories also often use language that avoids placing responsibility on perpetrators while seeming to imply the victim’s consent. At the same time, Mejia said, misleading stereotypes – such as the image of the rapist as a monster – endure. Shifting those perceptions could be a big step in the struggle to stop sexual violence, she said.</p>
<p>“The news is critical to shaping the conversation around [an issue],” Mejia said. “It’s a powerful force for changing minds and changing the agenda.”</p>
<p>Yet in the BMSG’s <a href="" type="external">2011 study</a>on child sexual abuse in the news,&#160;the group found that more than 90 percent of the 348 articles examined focused on one or more specific incidents. Less than one third mentioned solutions. Those that did suggested individualized efforts such as parent responses instead of&#160;large-scale, institutional remedies such as educational programs in schools or hospitals, according to the study, which the BMSG presented as part of their preliminary findings at the 2014 National Sexual Assault Conference, held last month in Pennsylvania. Even less common were those addressing perpetrators’ behavior, the study found.</p>
<p>Part of it, Mejia said, is the nature of news reporting. Most publications need a criminal justice news peg such as a trial or an arrest to occur before they cover a sexual violence story. Crime accounted for only 4 percent of general news coverage in 2010, according to&#160; <a href="http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/top-stories/119968/lara-logans-attack-was-an-exception-the-stories-we-miss-about-rape-and-sexual-violence-those-we-tell/" type="external">The Poynter Institute</a>.</p>
<p>“When there’s a criminal justice element, that’s the only place where sexual violence shows up,” Mejia said. “It’s a hard system to break.”</p>
<p>The use of neutral storytelling language can also be harmful, said Karen Baker, director of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit.</p>
<p>“You might see a case about a teacher and a younger child, and it’s presented like they were having a sexual relationship,” Baker said. “We need to make it clearer: Who is the responsible person?”</p>
<p>“When news organizations choose euphemistic language – such as using 'performed oral sex' vs. 'forced his mouth on the victim’s vagina' – they perpetuate the stigma, shame and victim-blaming often associaed with these crimes … while losing sight of the perpetrator,” according to a Poynter&#160; <a href="http://www.newsu.org/courses/reporting-sexual-violence" type="external">course on sexual violence reporting</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Changing the narrative around sexual violence also means ridding stories of false stereotypes that misinform the public. How the media portrays the rapist informs what audiences, readers and therefore juries expect to see, said Nicole Westmarland, a professor of criminology at Durham University in the UK and the former chair of Rape Crisis England and Wales.&#160;</p>
<p>In majority of cases of sexual violence against children, the victim knew the perpetrator intimately, according to <a href="" type="external">a new UNICEF report</a>. Yet the BMSG found that many news articles fail to describe the relationship between victim and accused, which helps preserve the myth that rapists are often strangers.</p>
<p>“They are all around us – in the supermarket, doing the school pick-ups, in nightclubs,” Westmarland said. “It does no one any favors to portray them as monsters.”</p>
<p>Even rape survivors are often typified as weak and vulnerable, when “the reality is that many survivors of rape are the strongest women you’ll ever meet," Westmarland said. "Often this isn’t reflected in the way they are portrayed, particularly in the popular ‘head-in-hands, crying’ imagery used alongside articles.”</p>
<p>Despite these shortcomings, there is a shift happening in the media, BMSG’s Mejia said.</p>
<p>“Journalists and others seem to be really thinking about the institutions around sexual violence, and how we can hold those institutions accountable so it becomes possible to prevent more victimization,” she said.</p>
<p>The New York Times, for instance, began making a conscious effort to steer clear of vague language when the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/p/pennsylvania_state_university/index.html?scp=1-spot&amp;sq=Pennsylvania%20State%20University&amp;st=cse" type="external">Jerry Sandusky scandal</a> at Pennsylvania State University broke in 2011.</p>
<p>“[I]t’s time that The Times and other news organizations take another look at the language they use … [and how it] consistently underplays the brutality of sex crimes and misapplies terms that imply consent," Arthur Brisbane, then the paper’s public editor, <a href="" type="external">wrote in his column</a>addressing the issue.</p>
<p>Educational institutions such as Poynter and Columbia Journalism School’s Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma are also training reporters and students in best practices for covering sexual violence. At the same time, efforts such as the <a href="http://www.womenundersiegeproject.org/" type="external">Women Under Siege Project</a>, run by the Women’s Media Center, provide platforms for journalists of all genders to comprehensively discuss the issue.</p>
<p>“There’s a really heartening movement,” Mejia said. “There’s so much interest in changing the conversation.”&#160;</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140905/one-10-girls-sexually-abused-worldwide-un-report-0" type="external">One in 10 girls abused sexually worldwide: UN report</a></p>
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stories seem endless india men raped teenagers160and hanged bodies trees smalltown england gangs groomed thousands underage girls systemic rape american college campuses students filmed schoolmates160getting drunk abused last month sense theres lot focus sexual violence news media said pamela mejia researcher californiabased berkeley media studies group bmsg currently analyzing portrayal sexual violence american media sexual violence reports seem make news lately much coverage still falls short explaining attacks happen well prevented mejia said reports tend concentrate criminal facts case suspects arrests trials said news stories also often use language avoids placing responsibility perpetrators seeming imply victims consent time mejia said misleading stereotypes image rapist monster endure shifting perceptions could big step struggle stop sexual violence said news critical shaping conversation around issue mejia said powerful force changing minds changing agenda yet bmsgs 2011 studyon child sexual abuse news160the group found 90 percent 348 articles examined focused one specific incidents less one third mentioned solutions suggested individualized efforts parent responses instead of160largescale institutional remedies educational programs schools hospitals according study bmsg presented part preliminary findings 2014 national sexual assault conference held last month pennsylvania even less common addressing perpetrators behavior study found part mejia said nature news reporting publications need criminal justice news peg trial arrest occur cover sexual violence story crime accounted 4 percent general news coverage 2010 according to160 poynter institute theres criminal justice element thats place sexual violence shows mejia said hard system break use neutral storytelling language also harmful said karen baker director national sexual violence resource center nsvrc pennsylvaniabased nonprofit might see case teacher younger child presented like sexual relationship baker said need make clearer responsible person news organizations choose euphemistic language using performed oral sex vs forced mouth victims vagina perpetuate stigma shame victimblaming often associaed crimes losing sight perpetrator according poynter160 course sexual violence reporting160 changing narrative around sexual violence also means ridding stories false stereotypes misinform public media portrays rapist informs audiences readers therefore juries expect see said nicole westmarland professor criminology durham university uk former chair rape crisis england wales160 majority cases sexual violence children victim knew perpetrator intimately according new unicef report yet bmsg found many news articles fail describe relationship victim accused helps preserve myth rapists often strangers around us supermarket school pickups nightclubs westmarland said one favors portray monsters even rape survivors often typified weak vulnerable reality many survivors rape strongest women youll ever meet westmarland said often isnt reflected way portrayed particularly popular headinhands crying imagery used alongside articles despite shortcomings shift happening media bmsgs mejia said journalists others seem really thinking institutions around sexual violence hold institutions accountable becomes possible prevent victimization said new york times instance began making conscious effort steer clear vague language jerry sandusky scandal pennsylvania state university broke 2011 time times news organizations take another look language use consistently underplays brutality sex crimes misapplies terms imply consent arthur brisbane papers public editor wrote columnaddressing issue educational institutions poynter columbia journalism schools dart center journalism trauma also training reporters students best practices covering sexual violence time efforts women siege project run womens media center provide platforms journalists genders comprehensively discuss issue theres really heartening movement mejia said theres much interest changing conversation160 globalpost one 10 girls abused sexually worldwide un report
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<p>RIYADH — President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia was low-key, business-like and bereft of scenes that would indicate the country’s almost 70-year-old special relationship with Washington is back on an even keel.</p>
<p>Obama was not received at the airport by a senior prince. The president and King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz were not seen in unscripted moments such as the hand-in-hand walk that then-Crown Prince Abdullah once took with former US President George W. Bush.&#160;</p>
<p>And unlike Britain’s Prince Charles, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLJAKp1pUO0" type="external">who joined royals in the Saudi ceremonial sword dance</a> during a February visit to the kingdom, Obama’s less-than-24-hour stopover included no lighthearted tableau. The chilly external atmospherics apparently reflected the substance of Obama’s two-hour direct discussions with Abdullah, which featured divergent stances on the civil wars in Syria and Iraq, Egypt’s coup and diplomacy with Iran, according to one policy analyst familiar with Saudi government thinking. Meanwhile the US is moving toward energy independence, importing less petroleum from the region than it has <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-03-27/u-dot-s-dot-oil-boom-shifts-alliance-as-obama-visits-saudi-king-energy" type="external">in 20 years</a>&#160;and shifting the two countries' economic relationship.</p>
<p>“The impact I was hoping for, I didn’t see it. I was expecting more,” said a young Saudi who works in the office of a senior prince.&#160;</p>
<p>And Mustafa Alani of the Geneva-based Gulf Research Center said the Saudis, “were not very pleased. They expected commitments and they got assurances only.”&#160;</p>
<p>This was particularly true on “the crucial issue of arms supplies to the Syrian opposition,” said Alani. Obama suggested to the Saudi king that the United States “might basically turn a blind eye” if Saudi Arabia moves to supply the Syrian rebels with anti-tank and portable anti-aircraft missiles under strict controls, he said.&#160;</p>
<p>But the US president did not give a firm commitment that Washington would relax what Alani called Washington’s “strong veto” on allowing Jordan or Turkey to provide the land access needed to transport that heavy weaponry into rebel hands.&#160;</p>
<p>All in all, Alani added, the visit did not alter the fundamental problem now plaguing the bilateral relationship, which is that the Saudis “have lost trust in this president. They hear him, but they don’t listen to him because it’s become very difficult to take him seriously.”&#160;</p>
<p>But the mistrust began before Obama’s presidency, with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq. The Saudis opposed it, warning then-President Bush it would be a mistake. The estrangement grew after other moves by Washington in response to the uprisings that have upended the Middle East since late 2010. First, it did nothing to prevent the 2011 deposing of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a staunch Saudi ally. And last summer, it did not follow Riyadh in <a href="http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/4/95930/Opinion/Egypt,-the-wound-in-USSaudi-relations.aspx" type="external">wholeheartedly welcoming the military coup</a> that ousted Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president.&#160;</p>
<p>In addition, the Obama administration has dragged its feet in arming Syrian rebel fighters or taking strong measures to oust Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, whom the Saudis want defeated because of his strong ties to Riyadh’s main regional foe, Iran.</p>
<p>Perhaps the unkindest cut of all, in Riyadh’s view, was its discovery that the United States had secretly been talking to Iran for a year before Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had their famous phone call in New York last fall.&#160;</p>
<p>Saudis say their anger is understandable.</p>
<p>“If the Saudis took any actions and did not inform the Americans, the Americans would be angry,” noted Hadi Al Fakeeh, a Saudi journalist now studying in the United States.&#160;</p>
<p>Although the current US-Iranian dialogue could lead to the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, which should relieve the Saudis about that menace, they are more worried about something else: That once a nuclear agreement is reached, the United States will further disengage from the region, allowing Shia Iran to meddle even more than it now does in the predominantly Sunni-ruled Arab world.&#160;</p>
<p>In other words, the Saudis fear that the “Shia crescent” they see in the region might wax into a “full Shia moon.”&#160;</p>
<p>Exhibit #1 is Iraq, where the US occupation led to elections and a new Shia-led government that has disempowered the Sunni minority and given wide access to Iran in this key Arab state. Many Saudis say the United States should reverse this “mistake” by helping them topple Iran’s other Arab ally, Syria’s al-Assad, whose government is mostly Alawite, a Shia-related sect.&#160;</p>
<p>“America changed the regional balance in a very negative and irresponsible way” by invading Iraq, said Fawaz H. Fawaz, a newspaper columnist and businessman. “Now, the onus is on them to fix it.”&#160;</p>
<p>“We are very suspicious of America’s intentions,” said another Saudi. “My opinion is that Saudi Arabia should not depend on the United States as before...It must be more independent.”</p>
<p>In the wake of Obama’s visit to Riyadh, it is clear that the bilateral relationship is at a turning point and old assumptions that have long underpinned it need to be re-examined. The Saudis, for example, need to accept that the United States, badly burned in Iraq, is not going to act militarily in the Middle East unless its interests are directly threatened.</p>
<p>They also need to jettison certain myths about the United States — that it can control the region’s tumultuous events or that it will ‘abandon’ the kingdom in favor of Iran if the ongoing nuclear talks are successful.&#160;</p>
<p>For its part, the United States has to realize that the increasingly well-educated and well-armed Saudis are no longer willing to play the role of handmaidens who follow whatever Washington decides.&#160;</p>
<p>Instead, the US-Saudi relationship should be based on realities. One reality is that Saudi Arabia is very important to the United States, not only for maintaining a <a href="http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbblpd_a.htm" type="external">stable global oil market as dependencies shift</a> but also because of its influence in the Muslim world and its valuable counter-terrorism capabilities and intelligence, which already have helped foil at least two plots against the United States.&#160;</p>
<p>Another reality is that although both sides want stability in the Middle East, they are likely to continue to disagree on how to reach that goal. This is particularly true in Egypt, where the United States sees stability arising from an inclusive political process and Riyadh believes that the military junta can bring stability through repression. &#160;</p>
<p>Going forward, their bilateral relationship will require far more frank talk, greater patience and closer coordination than in the past.&#160;</p>
<p>And maybe an occasional sword dance.&#160;</p>
<p>Caryle Murphy’s recent trip to the kingdom was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.&#160; &#160;</p>
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riyadh president barack obamas recent visit saudi arabia lowkey businesslike bereft scenes would indicate countrys almost 70yearold special relationship washington back even keel obama received airport senior prince president king abdullah bin abdulaziz seen unscripted moments handinhand walk thencrown prince abdullah took former us president george w bush160 unlike britains prince charles joined royals saudi ceremonial sword dance february visit kingdom obamas lessthan24hour stopover included lighthearted tableau chilly external atmospherics apparently reflected substance obamas twohour direct discussions abdullah featured divergent stances civil wars syria iraq egypts coup diplomacy iran according one policy analyst familiar saudi government thinking meanwhile us moving toward energy independence importing less petroleum region 20 years160and shifting two countries economic relationship impact hoping didnt see expecting said young saudi works office senior prince160 mustafa alani genevabased gulf research center said saudis pleased expected commitments got assurances only160 particularly true crucial issue arms supplies syrian opposition said alani obama suggested saudi king united states might basically turn blind eye saudi arabia moves supply syrian rebels antitank portable antiaircraft missiles strict controls said160 us president give firm commitment washington would relax alani called washingtons strong veto allowing jordan turkey provide land access needed transport heavy weaponry rebel hands160 alani added visit alter fundamental problem plaguing bilateral relationship saudis lost trust president hear dont listen become difficult take seriously160 mistrust began obamas presidency 2003 us invasion iraq saudis opposed warning thenpresident bush would mistake estrangement grew moves washington response uprisings upended middle east since late 2010 first nothing prevent 2011 deposing egyptian president hosni mubarak staunch saudi ally last summer follow riyadh wholeheartedly welcoming military coup ousted mohamed morsi egypts first democratically elected president160 addition obama administration dragged feet arming syrian rebel fighters taking strong measures oust syrian dictator bashar alassad saudis want defeated strong ties riyadhs main regional foe iran perhaps unkindest cut riyadhs view discovery united states secretly talking iran year obama iranian president hassan rouhani famous phone call new york last fall160 saudis say anger understandable saudis took actions inform americans americans would angry noted hadi al fakeeh saudi journalist studying united states160 although current usiranian dialogue could lead dismantlement irans nuclear weapons program relieve saudis menace worried something else nuclear agreement reached united states disengage region allowing shia iran meddle even predominantly sunniruled arab world160 words saudis fear shia crescent see region might wax full shia moon160 exhibit 1 iraq us occupation led elections new shialed government disempowered sunni minority given wide access iran key arab state many saudis say united states reverse mistake helping topple irans arab ally syrias alassad whose government mostly alawite shiarelated sect160 america changed regional balance negative irresponsible way invading iraq said fawaz h fawaz newspaper columnist businessman onus fix it160 suspicious americas intentions said another saudi opinion saudi arabia depend united states beforeit must independent wake obamas visit riyadh clear bilateral relationship turning point old assumptions long underpinned need reexamined saudis example need accept united states badly burned iraq going act militarily middle east unless interests directly threatened also need jettison certain myths united states control regions tumultuous events abandon kingdom favor iran ongoing nuclear talks successful160 part united states realize increasingly welleducated wellarmed saudis longer willing play role handmaidens follow whatever washington decides160 instead ussaudi relationship based realities one reality saudi arabia important united states maintaining stable global oil market dependencies shift also influence muslim world valuable counterterrorism capabilities intelligence already helped foil least two plots united states160 another reality although sides want stability middle east likely continue disagree reach goal particularly true egypt united states sees stability arising inclusive political process riyadh believes military junta bring stability repression 160 going forward bilateral relationship require far frank talk greater patience closer coordination past160 maybe occasional sword dance160 caryle murphys recent trip kingdom supported grant pulitzer center crisis reporting160 160
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<p>As a child growing up in rural India in the 1960s and 1970s, Naveen Jain would gaze up at the moon and imagine a life beyond his modest surroundings. Today he's still gazing at the moon, but for far different reasons.</p>
<p>Jain, 55, is co-founder of Moon Express, a Mountain View, Calif.-based company that's aiming to send the first commercial robotic spacecraft to the moon next year.</p>
<p>This serial entrepreneur—he founded Internet companies Infospace and Intelius—believes that the moon holds precious metals and rare minerals that can be brought back to help address Earth's energy, health and resource challenges. Among the moon's vast riches: gold, cobalt, iron, palladium, platinum, tungsten and helium-3, a gas that can be used in future fusion reactors to provide nuclear power without radioactive waste.</p>
<p>It's an exciting prospect, considering supply on Earth for such rare minerals as palladium—used for electronics and industrial purposes—is finite, pushing prices to $784 an ounce on April 2.</p>
<p>"We went to the moon 50 years ago, yet today we have more computing power with our iPhones than the computers that sent men into space," he said. "That type of exponential technological growth is allowing things to happen that was never possible before."</p>
<p>Jain's Moon Express is not alone in its quest to harness the moon's riches. Several other Silicon Valley start-ups, such as Planet Labs and Masten Space Systems, have been making headlines recently as they enter the space exploration market, an endeavor long associated with, and controlled by, the government. At the same time, the global race is heating up with the Chinese government's recent success in landing a robotic rover on the moon in December.</p>
<p>"We went to the moon 50 years ago, yet today we have more computing power with our iPhones than the computers that sent men into space."</p>
<p>To fast-track innovation and bring a deep well of space knowledge to the company, Moon Express made a strategic—and highly symbolic—hire in mid-March when it announced that Andrew Aldrin, 55, son of Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, is joining the company as its president. He is an industry veteran who was the former director of business development for Boeing NASA Systems who has a track record of commercializing space technologies.</p>
<p>Helping to drive this newfound interest in privately-funded space exploration is the Google Lunar X Prize. It's part of the X Prize Foundation, an educational nonprofit organization that looks to address the planet's biggest challenges by creating and managing large-scale, high-profile competitions to stimulate investment in research and development.</p>
<p>Moon Express has company</p>
<p>Moon Express is one of a handful of teams from around the world competing for the $30 million Lunar X Prize, a competition organized by the X Prize Foundation and sponsored by Google. It will be awarded to the first team that lands a commercial spacecraft on the moon, travels 500 meters across its surface and sends high-definition images and video back to Earth—all before the end of 2015.</p>
<p>Jain's own belief in attempting outsized challenges began in the early 1980s when he immigrated to the United States. Soon after finishing his MBA in <a href="" type="internal">India</a>, he was recruited by IT company Unisys and worked in Silicon Valley as a computer programmer for several years. In 1988 he married and moved with his wife to Seattle. "She thought the Pacific Northwest was a wonderful place to live, and I figured that if we were going to make that move, I might as well send my résumé to Microsoft," Jain recalled with a laugh.</p>
<p>The résumé landed him an interview, a job offer, and resulted in a seven-year stint at the software giant. It also solidified for Jain what he really wanted: to start and run his own company. He left Microsoft in 1996 and founded InfoSpace, an online email and phone directory company that he took public. It was valued at $30 billion several years later. In 2003 Jain started Inome (formerly named Intelius), an online database and public records company that has grown into one of the largest information commerce companies, with more than 25 million customers.</p>
<p>"In a large company, you never know if people admire you because of what you're accomplishing or what's on your business card," he said. "In life, everyone wants to be successful, but few people think about being significant. I believe that as an entrepreneur, I could have a much bigger impact on society."</p>
<p>With Moon Express, Jain feels he has that opportunity. Along with partners Dr. Robert Richards, a physicist and founder of International Space University, a nonprofit organization that offers space training programs, and Dr. Barney Pell, Silicon Valley technology pioneer and a former NASA manager, Jain says Moon Express can offer more "democratic" access to the moon.</p>
<p>"Now that we're shifting from U.S. government-sponsored space exploration to privately funded expeditions, it's important to look at how the resources of the moon could benefit everyone," he said. For instance, Jain explains that helium-3 is a source of energy that is rare on Earth but abundant on the moon. It is a possible fuel for nuclear fusion that could solve energy demand on Earth for 10,000 years, at least.</p>
<p>Platinum, another rare mineral here on Earth, is believed to exist in large quantities on the moon and could be used in various energy applications, he said. "Once you take a mind-set of scarcity and replace it with a mind-set of abundance, amazing things can happen here on Earth," Jain said. "The ability to access the resources of the moon can change the equation dramatically."</p>
<p>There are about 50 employees at Moon Express, Jain said, and the goal is to complete its moon launch during the second half of 2015 for under $50 million. "If our software knows how to land safely and send pictures back, we are proving the concept," he explained. The fact that a company with just 50 employees can successfully land on the moon is something Jain excitedly calls a "singular event."</p>
<p>"Once we can accomplish that, then the second or third mission can involve bringing things back from the moon," he added.</p>
<p>"It's clear that the baton has been passed from the government to the private sector" when it comes to space exploration, Jain said. "Now it's going to take an entrepreneurial spirit to do it at a better cost and to build a business around it."</p>
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child growing rural india 1960s 1970s naveen jain would gaze moon imagine life beyond modest surroundings today hes still gazing moon far different reasons jain 55 cofounder moon express mountain view califbased company thats aiming send first commercial robotic spacecraft moon next year serial entrepreneurhe founded internet companies infospace inteliusbelieves moon holds precious metals rare minerals brought back help address earths energy health resource challenges among moons vast riches gold cobalt iron palladium platinum tungsten helium3 gas used future fusion reactors provide nuclear power without radioactive waste exciting prospect considering supply earth rare minerals palladiumused electronics industrial purposesis finite pushing prices 784 ounce april 2 went moon 50 years ago yet today computing power iphones computers sent men space said type exponential technological growth allowing things happen never possible jains moon express alone quest harness moons riches several silicon valley startups planet labs masten space systems making headlines recently enter space exploration market endeavor long associated controlled government time global race heating chinese governments recent success landing robotic rover moon december went moon 50 years ago yet today computing power iphones computers sent men space fasttrack innovation bring deep well space knowledge company moon express made strategicand highly symbolichire midmarch announced andrew aldrin 55 son apollo astronaut buzz aldrin joining company president industry veteran former director business development boeing nasa systems track record commercializing space technologies helping drive newfound interest privatelyfunded space exploration google lunar x prize part x prize foundation educational nonprofit organization looks address planets biggest challenges creating managing largescale highprofile competitions stimulate investment research development moon express company moon express one handful teams around world competing 30 million lunar x prize competition organized x prize foundation sponsored google awarded first team lands commercial spacecraft moon travels 500 meters across surface sends highdefinition images video back earthall end 2015 jains belief attempting outsized challenges began early 1980s immigrated united states soon finishing mba india recruited company unisys worked silicon valley computer programmer several years 1988 married moved wife seattle thought pacific northwest wonderful place live figured going make move might well send résumé microsoft jain recalled laugh résumé landed interview job offer resulted sevenyear stint software giant also solidified jain really wanted start run company left microsoft 1996 founded infospace online email phone directory company took public valued 30 billion several years later 2003 jain started inome formerly named intelius online database public records company grown one largest information commerce companies 25 million customers large company never know people admire youre accomplishing whats business card said life everyone wants successful people think significant believe entrepreneur could much bigger impact society moon express jain feels opportunity along partners dr robert richards physicist founder international space university nonprofit organization offers space training programs dr barney pell silicon valley technology pioneer former nasa manager jain says moon express offer democratic access moon shifting us governmentsponsored space exploration privately funded expeditions important look resources moon could benefit everyone said instance jain explains helium3 source energy rare earth abundant moon possible fuel nuclear fusion could solve energy demand earth 10000 years least platinum another rare mineral earth believed exist large quantities moon could used various energy applications said take mindset scarcity replace mindset abundance amazing things happen earth jain said ability access resources moon change equation dramatically 50 employees moon express jain said goal complete moon launch second half 2015 50 million software knows land safely send pictures back proving concept explained fact company 50 employees successfully land moon something jain excitedly calls singular event accomplish second third mission involve bringing things back moon added clear baton passed government private sector comes space exploration jain said going take entrepreneurial spirit better cost build business around
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<p>Authentic assessment, in other words direct assessment and performance assessment, has been a fixture in private schools for decades. Lately, it’s seeped into the public arena.</p>
<p>Standardized and authentic assessment are now forging ahead on parallel fronts. Sam Meisels, a University of Michigan education professor with a concentration in assessment, observes that even as many states and districts have adopted standardized tests for accountability programs, others have expanded the use of authentic methods for their instructional worth. “We’re moving in both directions now,” he says.</p>
<p>Authentic-assessment advocates are passionate in their cause. “We are judged in the real world by how we present ourselves, and so it should be in school,” asserts Massachusetts educator Deborah Meier, a longtime proponent of authentic assessment. Here are six examples of states, school districts and schools across the country that use authentic assessment to some degree.</p>
<p>All preschool and primary teachers in the St. Paul Public Schools gauge their pupils’ progress via “work sampling,” an assessment method for younger students developed by University of Michigan Prof. Sam Meisels and some colleagues.</p>
<p>First, a teacher charts each student’s progress by observing his or her actions in several (but not all) of seven “domains,” which are broad categories that embrace types of learning, from personal and social to scientific thinking.” You try to notice what the children are doing, looking for continuity over weeks and months,” says Melissa Shamblott, work sampling coordinator for the St. Paul Public Schools. The observations, recorded on Post-it® notes or journals, ultimately find their way onto a checklist that the teacher keeps.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, one or two samples of student work from the domains are put into a portfolio. Also collected: pieces of work unique to a child, like a first drawing or a name being printed for the first time. From the checklist and the portfolio, the teacher prepares a summary report, which contains a narrative section and “progress ratings.” The summary report has replaced the report card for children up through 1st grade. (In 2nd through 6th grade, Shamblott says, work sampling fades as an assessment tool.)</p>
<p>To Shamblott’s mind, work sampling functions especially well in a diverse St. Paul: “We’ve got a lot of divisions here—70 language groups in our schools—and so we need a way to document academic success beyond standardized tests.” Teachers find the method time-consuming but see it as helpful, especially to parents, says kindergarten teacher Sue Gagliardi. “Parents walk away with much more information about their kids,” says Gagliardi, who assesses in all seven domains.</p>
<p>Work sampling is used elsewhere in Minnesota and in South Carolina, Maryland, Delaware and Pittsburgh, Pa. A Meisels-led study of 3rd- and 4th-graders in Pittsburgh shows mean scores on the district’s standardized test in reading rising dramatically after exposure to work sampling. The increase was less pronounced in math.</p>
<p>NEW YORK</p>
<p>Urban Academy Laboratory High School, located on Manhattan’s East Side, was established 15 years ago by teachers Ann Cook and Herb Mack. The public facility draws 115, largely poor students from all five boroughs of the city. Instruction is delivered in varying blocks of time and is based on primary-source material and real-life examples. “The trigonometry class might spend an afternoon on the Staten Island ferry to figure out the distance between Manhattan and Staten Island using the height of the Statue of Liberty,” remarks Cook, the school’s co-director.</p>
<p>Seniors can graduate only if they show mastery in science, writing, critical analysis, math, research, the creative arts and more through performance assessments, projects and oral defenses before one or more judges. The students are rated on a rubric scale of 1 to 4.</p>
<p>Already Phoebus Widjaja, an incoming senior from Queens, has executed an original science experiment, testing at what soil depths basil plants grow best, and he’s done problems in trigonometry. He will write a literary analysis of the book Native Speaker. Phoebus must also earn passing grades in his course work and participate in community service, which for him has meant being a teacher’s aide in an elementary school in the same building.</p>
<p>“At my old school [Hunter College High School] you had to memorize for tests,” says Widjaja. “Here, they teach you to analyze and draw your own conclusions.”</p>
<p>This year, the New York Performance Standards Consortium, 40 schools across New York state, won the right to exempt their seniors from having to pass the state Regents Examination in language arts, which is a new state-mandated graduation requirement. (By 2003, New York seniors will have to pass state Regents Exams in five subject areas.)</p>
<p>Cook is quite pleased: “High-stakes tests don’t tell you much. As it is, we meet and exceed state standards, and our kids prove it.” All Urban Academy graduates are accepted at colleges and universities, among them Swarthmore, Brown and Macalester.</p>
<p>CONNECTICUT</p>
<p>“We’ve been working to balance the idea of ‘Do you know it?’ with ‘Can you use it?,'” says K. Michael Hibbard, Interim Schools Supt. of Connecticut Region 15, which educates 5,000 students in Middlebury and Southbury, which are middle-income suburbs of Waterbury. “We want to know if our kids can apply what they are doing.”</p>
<p>Beginning eight years ago, the district infused performance tasks into units of language arts, science, math, art, music and physical education. Every few weeks, says Hibbard, a student will encounter such a task. “In 5th grade, for instance, the students read the novel Hatchet,” he says. “They have to answer a question in writing about whether Brian, the main character, should be considered as having an outstanding trait. The teacher will be looking at the student’s content, the evidence he marshals, his transitions and his vocabulary.”</p>
<p>The tasks, which Hibbard describes as “valid, user-friendly and equitable,” lead all the way from kindergarten through high school. The performance tasks and writing samples end up in portfolios, which are shared with parents at some grade levels at spring conferences.</p>
<p>The performance tasks help determine grades, says Hibbard, but are not used as an independent assessment tool by the district. “To do that would require a lot of energy,” he says.</p>
<p>The district dropped the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills several years ago. “They weren’t integrated in our studies and took up too much time,” Hibbard explains. The district now relies on two Connecticut state tests at 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th grades to chart its students’ progress.</p>
<p>“They are useful—we do need some standardized measure of assessment,” remarks Hibbard. “The state tests are telling us that our kids are doing damn good. As it is, 30 per cent of high school junior and seniors are taking AP classes—that’s three times the level of districts in similar circumstances. That’s enough for many parents to know.”</p>
<p />
<p>MASSACHUSETTS</p>
<p>To many minds, Central Park East School in East Harlem in New York City set the current standard in progressive public education starting in 1974. Now Deborah Meier, the school’s founding matriarch, has taken what she learned and applied it at Mission Hill School, a “pilot,” or public alternative school, in Boston.</p>
<p>“This is an enormous challenge, but I have enormous freedom,” the 69-year-old Meier says of Mission Hill, an elementary school that opened in 1997. The facility occupies part of a former Catholic high school in the low-income Roxbury neighborhood and draws its racially diverse student body—to top out at 180—from across the city.</p>
<p>Before students become proficient in reading, they exhibit their skills in language arts by reciting a memorized selection into a tape recorder; the tape goes into their portfolios. Then they submit to interviews on content and are judged on a seven-point scale. They also submit writing samples and are assessed both on mechanics and on what Meier terms “authorship. In other words, does what they’re saying make sense? Is it lively?”</p>
<p>Ability in four areas of math—number sense, space, computation and applications—gets determined through a portfolio of material. “We say whether the work is very strong, adequate or indicates a cause for concern,” relates Meier.</p>
<p>In the course of a year, Mission Hill gives four forms of feedback to parents—two rubric-scaled report cards, a checklist and a long narrative. There are no grades. Lengthy conferences among a teacher, parents and the child occur twice a year.</p>
<p>To graduate from Mission Hill, 7th- and 8th-graders present and defend work in seven areas before a panel of four judges, at least two of them teachers. Plus, prospective graduates complete a short-term assignment; for instance, they are given a topic and then spend a morning researching it in the school library.</p>
<p>Mission Hill and other pilot schools are exempted from city standardized tests until 4th grade. However, they must take State of Massachusetts subject-area exams beginning in 3rd grade, which Meier terms “fruitless, and so I’m part of the opposition to such things.”</p>
<p>VERMONT</p>
<p>Dating back to colonial times, Vermont has often gone its own way. In 1989, when it came time for the small, rural state to put in some form of uniform assessment, teachers and administrators took an independent stance for their 319 schools.</p>
<p>“We wanted kids to do interesting and engaging work that would be reflected in how we assessed them,” says Ross Brewer, then director of planning and policy development for Education Commissioner Richard Mills, who led three months of brainstorming among teachers, parents, school board members and legislators. The result, beginning in 1991: student portfolios and rubrics in math at 4th, 8th and 10th grades, and in writing at 5th and 8th.</p>
<p>Vermont students fill their math portfolios with their seven best samples from four concept areas: probability and statistics; patterns, functions and algebra; geometry and measurement; and numbers sense and operations. In writing, students include six pieces: a response to literature, a report of information, a narrative, a procedure, a persuasive essay and a personal essay.</p>
<p>Teachers attach rubric ratings to the portfolios at each school; then in summer, a sampling of 1,600 are sent to “camp portfolio,” where scorers convene at a resort to come up with state averages.</p>
<p>Vermont students also take the New Standards Reference Examination, which is two-thirds performance-based. Results from both the New Standards exam and the portfolio rankings are shared with the public, yet bear no consequences for schools.</p>
<p>Scores on the rubrics have been going up “year by year,” reports Deborah Armitage, state math assessment consultant.</p>
<p>Nicki Houston, a teacher in northern Vermont, says portfolios have transformed education for her students, “who now function with reflection, revision and revamping. There’s lots of conversation. They behave much like literate adults do.”</p>
<p>The view of state writing and English consultant Geof Hewitt is more qualified; he sees the results as “good but not great, because the portfolios often become a contest, not a tool for assessment. Yet writing in the state has improved. It’s a deal with the devil.” It’s also a deal that Kentucky followed, in 1992, by requiring writing portfolios.</p>
<p>Bureau of Indian Affairs</p>
<p>In 1987, a state-funded project at the University of California at San Diego, under educator Mary Barr, experimented in several elementary schools with “the learning record,” a form of portfolio assessment pioneered in London in the early 1980s. After Republican Pete Wilson became governor in 1991, the record initiative was quickly abandoned.</p>
<p>Barr resurrected the learning record, and it survives for writing and reading in about 40 of 185 schools operated by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs; they are located principally in isolated parts of Arizona and New Mexico.</p>
<p>Before beginning instruction, teachers interview students and their parents to get a sense of past experience and to set goals. Periodically, the teacher will write a reflection on where a student stands academically, using a rubric scale of one to five. The teacher writes a final assessment at year’s end. Attached to the learning record are samples of works—essays, drawings, reports or lists of books the child has read—that confirm the scale rating.</p>
<p>Then, other teachers at the school and off-site teachers review the record and samples to confirm the scores.</p>
<p>The record is especially valuable for the bureau’s schools, administrators say. “Our kids have low vocabulary and don’t do well on standardized tests,” explains Gaye Leia King, a bureau education specialist based in Albuquerque. “The learning record enables us to see where they are.”</p>
<p>It also provides one of the multiple assessments the federal government requires of schools receiving federal Title I education funds.</p>
<p>However, it’s been hard to bring teachers on board. Bureau schools can—and do—give standardized tests, and teachers resist doing the record, says King. “This is something I wish could permeate our system, but it’s labor intensive,” she says. “You have to restructure your classroom to make it work, with small groups where children can read to you. If the students are all aligned in rows, this is difficult to achieve.”</p>
| false | 3 |
authentic assessment words direct assessment performance assessment fixture private schools decades lately seeped public arena standardized authentic assessment forging ahead parallel fronts sam meisels university michigan education professor concentration assessment observes even many states districts adopted standardized tests accountability programs others expanded use authentic methods instructional worth moving directions says authenticassessment advocates passionate cause judged real world present school asserts massachusetts educator deborah meier longtime proponent authentic assessment six examples states school districts schools across country use authentic assessment degree preschool primary teachers st paul public schools gauge pupils progress via work sampling assessment method younger students developed university michigan prof sam meisels colleagues first teacher charts students progress observing actions several seven domains broad categories embrace types learning personal social scientific thinking try notice children looking continuity weeks months says melissa shamblott work sampling coordinator st paul public schools observations recorded postit notes journals ultimately find way onto checklist teacher keeps meanwhile one two samples student work domains put portfolio also collected pieces work unique child like first drawing name printed first time checklist portfolio teacher prepares summary report contains narrative section progress ratings summary report replaced report card children 1st grade 2nd 6th grade shamblott says work sampling fades assessment tool shamblotts mind work sampling functions especially well diverse st paul weve got lot divisions here70 language groups schoolsand need way document academic success beyond standardized tests teachers find method timeconsuming see helpful especially parents says kindergarten teacher sue gagliardi parents walk away much information kids says gagliardi assesses seven domains work sampling used elsewhere minnesota south carolina maryland delaware pittsburgh pa meiselsled study 3rd 4thgraders pittsburgh shows mean scores districts standardized test reading rising dramatically exposure work sampling increase less pronounced math new york urban academy laboratory high school located manhattans east side established 15 years ago teachers ann cook herb mack public facility draws 115 largely poor students five boroughs city instruction delivered varying blocks time based primarysource material reallife examples trigonometry class might spend afternoon staten island ferry figure distance manhattan staten island using height statue liberty remarks cook schools codirector seniors graduate show mastery science writing critical analysis math research creative arts performance assessments projects oral defenses one judges students rated rubric scale 1 4 already phoebus widjaja incoming senior queens executed original science experiment testing soil depths basil plants grow best hes done problems trigonometry write literary analysis book native speaker phoebus must also earn passing grades course work participate community service meant teachers aide elementary school building old school hunter college high school memorize tests says widjaja teach analyze draw conclusions year new york performance standards consortium 40 schools across new york state right exempt seniors pass state regents examination language arts new statemandated graduation requirement 2003 new york seniors pass state regents exams five subject areas cook quite pleased highstakes tests dont tell much meet exceed state standards kids prove urban academy graduates accepted colleges universities among swarthmore brown macalester connecticut weve working balance idea know use says k michael hibbard interim schools supt connecticut region 15 educates 5000 students middlebury southbury middleincome suburbs waterbury want know kids apply beginning eight years ago district infused performance tasks units language arts science math art music physical education every weeks says hibbard student encounter task 5th grade instance students read novel hatchet says answer question writing whether brian main character considered outstanding trait teacher looking students content evidence marshals transitions vocabulary tasks hibbard describes valid userfriendly equitable lead way kindergarten high school performance tasks writing samples end portfolios shared parents grade levels spring conferences performance tasks help determine grades says hibbard used independent assessment tool district would require lot energy says district dropped iowa tests basic skills several years ago werent integrated studies took much time hibbard explains district relies two connecticut state tests 4th 6th 8th 10th grades chart students progress usefulwe need standardized measure assessment remarks hibbard state tests telling us kids damn good 30 per cent high school junior seniors taking ap classesthats three times level districts similar circumstances thats enough many parents know massachusetts many minds central park east school east harlem new york city set current standard progressive public education starting 1974 deborah meier schools founding matriarch taken learned applied mission hill school pilot public alternative school boston enormous challenge enormous freedom 69yearold meier says mission hill elementary school opened 1997 facility occupies part former catholic high school lowincome roxbury neighborhood draws racially diverse student bodyto top 180from across city students become proficient reading exhibit skills language arts reciting memorized selection tape recorder tape goes portfolios submit interviews content judged sevenpoint scale also submit writing samples assessed mechanics meier terms authorship words theyre saying make sense lively ability four areas mathnumber sense space computation applicationsgets determined portfolio material say whether work strong adequate indicates cause concern relates meier course year mission hill gives four forms feedback parentstwo rubricscaled report cards checklist long narrative grades lengthy conferences among teacher parents child occur twice year graduate mission hill 7th 8thgraders present defend work seven areas panel four judges least two teachers plus prospective graduates complete shortterm assignment instance given topic spend morning researching school library mission hill pilot schools exempted city standardized tests 4th grade however must take state massachusetts subjectarea exams beginning 3rd grade meier terms fruitless im part opposition things vermont dating back colonial times vermont often gone way 1989 came time small rural state put form uniform assessment teachers administrators took independent stance 319 schools wanted kids interesting engaging work would reflected assessed says ross brewer director planning policy development education commissioner richard mills led three months brainstorming among teachers parents school board members legislators result beginning 1991 student portfolios rubrics math 4th 8th 10th grades writing 5th 8th vermont students fill math portfolios seven best samples four concept areas probability statistics patterns functions algebra geometry measurement numbers sense operations writing students include six pieces response literature report information narrative procedure persuasive essay personal essay teachers attach rubric ratings portfolios school summer sampling 1600 sent camp portfolio scorers convene resort come state averages vermont students also take new standards reference examination twothirds performancebased results new standards exam portfolio rankings shared public yet bear consequences schools scores rubrics going year year reports deborah armitage state math assessment consultant nicki houston teacher northern vermont says portfolios transformed education students function reflection revision revamping theres lots conversation behave much like literate adults view state writing english consultant geof hewitt qualified sees results good great portfolios often become contest tool assessment yet writing state improved deal devil also deal kentucky followed 1992 requiring writing portfolios bureau indian affairs 1987 statefunded project university california san diego educator mary barr experimented several elementary schools learning record form portfolio assessment pioneered london early 1980s republican pete wilson became governor 1991 record initiative quickly abandoned barr resurrected learning record survives writing reading 40 185 schools operated us bureau indian affairs located principally isolated parts arizona new mexico beginning instruction teachers interview students parents get sense past experience set goals periodically teacher write reflection student stands academically using rubric scale one five teacher writes final assessment years end attached learning record samples worksessays drawings reports lists books child readthat confirm scale rating teachers school offsite teachers review record samples confirm scores record especially valuable bureaus schools administrators say kids low vocabulary dont well standardized tests explains gaye leia king bureau education specialist based albuquerque learning record enables us see also provides one multiple assessments federal government requires schools receiving federal title education funds however hard bring teachers board bureau schools canand dogive standardized tests teachers resist record says king something wish could permeate system labor intensive says restructure classroom make work small groups children read students aligned rows difficult achieve
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<p>In 2003, while I was growing up in Brentwood, New York, a suburban town on Long Island, my hometown underwent a dramatic cultural shift.&#160;My high school classmates suddenly became obsessed with a 28-year-old hip&#160;hop artist from ‘Southside’ Jamaica, Queens.</p>
<p>It’s been 13 years since the release of 50 Cent’s debut album, "Get Rich Or Die Tryin,"&#160;which to date has sold more than 8.4 million copies. To me, though, the album is a reminder of &#160;a time in my hometown where music began to imitate life: Gang violence became the norm.</p>
<p>My family’s story is similar to many of Brentwood’s current immigrant families. My mother came to the US from Ecuador in the early 1980s for better career opportunities. My father had been traveling back and forth from Guatemala to different parts of the US since the 1970s, undocumented and looking for work to send money back home. My parents got married and lived in Jamaica, Queens, where I was born in 1988. We moved to Long Island when I was about 5. My mom says that she didn't want us growing up in&#160;neighborhoods that were prone to drugs&#160;and crime.</p>
<p>So we moved 40 miles to Brentwood, in Suffolk County. Our house was in a middle class neighborhood that was a mixture of white, black and Puerto Rican families. The demographics were shifting though; within a couple of years, there was an influx of families from El Salvador, who were fleeing violence in their home country at the end of a decade-long civil war.</p>
<p>When I was growing up, Brentwood did not have a strong “community identity” like other towns on Long Island;&#160;we were simply suburbia. We didn’t have a “Latino” identity like neighborhoods in California or Texas, and we weren’t considered a prosperous community like the ones shown on WB shows like “7th Heaven” and “The OC.” Still, our school had a typical social hierarchy: jocks, popular kids, band kids, goths, bullies, geeks, nerds (me!) and “losers.” Our school was a reflection of what we saw on MTV’s Top 10 Total Request Live: a mixture of Good Charlotte, Fabulous and Eminem.</p>
<p>When 50 Cent’s first hit single, “In Da Club,” was released in January 2003, the song instantly landed on top of nearly every music chart locally and nationally. It was a departure from other hip hop. It wasn’t just catchy hooks and backup dancers, it wasn’t Nelly’s “Dilemma” or Usher’s “U Don’t Have To Call.” It was a new braggadocio, an aggressive style that raised up a “bulletproof” 50 Cent. (In 2000, he famously claimed to have survived a shooting that left him with nine bullet wounds. More recently, the legitimacy of that claim <a href="http://www.bet.com/news/music/2015/12/22/is-50-cent-s-shot-9-times-story-a-lie.html" type="external">has been questioned</a>.)</p>
<p>“In Da Club” was embraced by teenagers in Brentwood. Everyone I knew, the Latino kids and the white kids, were all spinning the disc in their Walkmans, and were singing lines from the song.</p>
<p>Rapper&#160;50 Cent performs at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. Hendel Leiva says he remembers 50 Cent's&#160;influence on his classmates in high school.</p>
<p>Fred Prouser/Reuters</p>
<p>“And you should love it, way more than you hate it, n-----&#160;you mad? I thought that you’d be happy I made it.” —from “In Da Club”</p>
<p>“Any living thing that cannot co-exist with the kid/ must decrease existing, little n---a now listen/ Your mammy, your pappy, that bitch you chasin'/ Your little dirty a-- kids, I'll f-----g erase them.” —from “Back Down”</p>
<p>At Brentwood High School, the new “in fashions” were throwback basketball jerseys, New Era fitted baseball caps&#160;and low hanging jeans — and anyone who was not trying to fit in was socially ostracized. It wasn’t far from 50 Cent’s self-promotional style. His diss records — sometimes as a joke and sometimes more seriously — threatened violence to anyone who posed a threat to him.</p>
<p>“How To Rob” threatened violence towards the entire music industry including artists such as Lil’ Kim, P. Diddy,&#160;Whitney Houston,&#160;Brian McKnight&#160;and Busta Rhymes.</p>
<p>And bullies at Brentwood High School were no longer just bullies: They became aggressors with ties to violent inner city groups. School fights were no longer fistfights. They became all out brawls that ended in 20-person melees. It became common to hear rumors and reports of arrests on school grounds, with the occasional gun or pocketknife involved.</p>
<p>In the beginning, I wanted to be a part of the trend. I tried to sag my jeans and I wanted to buy from Eminem’s Shady clothing line. But I couldn’t afford it, which made me an even bigger target for these newly minted “gangsta” bullies. At my worst, I joined a group of friends and we drove by a group of undocumented day laborers shouting obscenities and harassing them with what we thought at the time were comical threats of deportation. We were projecting the same harassment we were experiencing, except we did it to the most vulnerable people in our community. I'm now an immigration activist, and I'm sometimes ashamed when I explain this to people. But it's part of my story.</p>
<p>Parents of first-generation Salvadoran American teenagers in my community were unprepared to discipline this new generation,&#160;aggressive at home and defiant in school. The parents had two choices: Ignore the growing influence of gang culture or return to their native countries&#160;with their children. My family struggled and so did others in the neighborhood.</p>
<p>In 2008, my senior year of high school, a rumor emerged that an extremely dangerous gang was preparing to launch a violent attack on the school: I remember many students staying home out of fear.</p>
<p>My friend, Ecuadorean-born Eric Valeriano, was also a Brentwood High School student at the time. He remembers:</p>
<p>“...I saw more gang violence in Brentwood than I saw in Queens, as funny as that sounds. But it was true. I was a bit more scared to get caught in the middle of a fight just for walking along the hallways of Brentwood than I was at Bryant High School in Queens. The song [In Da Club] showed 50 Cent being a part of the G-Unit [collective], which instead of portraying a brotherhood, it portrayed a violent group. A lot of these little gangs in our community emulated that. You couldn’t say something or look at someone in a bad way because you were too afraid of getting ‘jumped’. I remember that rumor when a gang was going to attack the school. My butt stayed home. Nothing happened, but when people talked, or there was a rumor about a fight, it usually happened, so I was definitely not going to run the risk of an attack.”</p>
<p>In 2010, when I was 21 and in college, the violence hit close to home. As part of a surge of violence that overtook Brentwood, <a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/brentwood-man-shot-to-death-in-a-driveway-1.2834584" type="external">one of my brother’s closest friends, Juan Rosario, was murdered</a> in his driveway. It was at that point that I became involved in community activism. I joined an effort to drive violence down&#160;by helping the local police department&#160;establish a community watch group.</p>
<p>But the violence continues. In March, <a href="http://patch.com/new-york/eastmeadow/ms-13-gang-leader-convicted-after-assaulting-intimidating-uniondale-residents-da" type="external">gang members were convicted for assault and intimidation at Uniondale High School</a>, about 20 miles west of Brentwood. They were recruiting recently arrived Salvadoran refugee children to join MS-13. These reports make me question if parents and administrators will ever be able to protect students from the deeply entrenched drug and gang violence that I remember.</p>
<p />
<p>Demonstrators in support of US&#160;Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump clash with opposition demonstrators near his campaign event in Patchogue, New York on April 14, 2016.</p>
<p>REUTERS/Johnny Milano</p>
<p>Now when I turn on the TV, I see Donald Trump contributing to dividing our neighborhoods, much like 50 Cent did with the teenagers at my school. We live in a time where you either support Black Lives Matters or you don’t, you support law enforcement or you don’t, you support immigration reform or you denounce it. The middle ground is hard to find.</p>
<p>Trump has insulted Latinos, Muslims and women. He has encouraged violence against protesters at his rallies, which in turn has created the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/04/13/the-trump-effect-report-says-children-of-color-are-deeply-traumatized-by-2016-campaign/" type="external">“Trump effect” of fear and hostility, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center</a>.</p>
<p>To me,&#160;Trump’s candidacy for president looks a lot like 50 Cent’s hip hop career. The more high-profile feuds, the more they test how far their supporters will be moved by language of violence and anger. And the more they push, the more they resist taking responsibility.</p>
<p>But here’s the reality check — and hope.</p>
<p>50 Cent’s follow-up album to “Get Rich Or Die Tryin,” “The Massacre,” was a failure. Kanye West’s critically acclaimed ”The College Dropout” and “Late Registration” along with his personal story of surviving a near fatal car accident, <a href="http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/5893976/kanye-wests-the-college-dropout-an-oral-history" type="external">inspired young people like me</a> to pursue their education and career dreams. When 50 Cent and West challenged each other to an album release showdown in 2007, West’s “Graduation” passed 50’s “Curtis” by 300,000 sales.</p>
<p>Last week Donald Trump visited Patchogue for a GOP fundraiser, a very controversial decision by Long Island GOP leadership that decided to host him. The event was 1000 feet from where Marcelo Lucero was killed in an attack by seven Patchogue-Medford High School students in 2008. I was part of <a href="" type="internal">the protests by more than 150 Long Islanders</a> who peacefully decried this latest insult by Trump and his supporters. It was a personal insult to all the people who contributed to help the town heal from a time when racial tensions over immigration led to violence.</p>
<p>Even if Trump’s campaign to “Make America Great Again” is just a one-hit wonder, the insults Trump has hurled at Mexicans, Muslims&#160;and women will leave a mark. Just as my hometown of Brentwood and surrounding neighborhoods continue to struggle with a gang-related crime, defeating Trump at the polls doesn’t mean we’ll see the end of taunting in schools. The bullies have been emboldened, and it will take time to undo the damage.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Hendel Leiva</a> is an immigration reform advocate. He hosts the&#160;YouTube show <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHUeKvZL6f1Uz-N-LMbOWtw" type="external">The @HendelMedia Project</a>, where he discusses immigration with other activists.</p>
| false | 3 |
2003 growing brentwood new york suburban town long island hometown underwent dramatic cultural shift160my high school classmates suddenly became obsessed 28yearold hip160hop artist southside jamaica queens 13 years since release 50 cents debut album get rich die tryin160which date sold 84 million copies though album reminder 160a time hometown music began imitate life gang violence became norm familys story similar many brentwoods current immigrant families mother came us ecuador early 1980s better career opportunities father traveling back forth guatemala different parts us since 1970s undocumented looking work send money back home parents got married lived jamaica queens born 1988 moved long island 5 mom says didnt want us growing in160neighborhoods prone drugs160and crime moved 40 miles brentwood suffolk county house middle class neighborhood mixture white black puerto rican families demographics shifting though within couple years influx families el salvador fleeing violence home country end decadelong civil war growing brentwood strong community identity like towns long island160we simply suburbia didnt latino identity like neighborhoods california texas werent considered prosperous community like ones shown wb shows like 7th heaven oc still school typical social hierarchy jocks popular kids band kids goths bullies geeks nerds losers school reflection saw mtvs top 10 total request live mixture good charlotte fabulous eminem 50 cents first hit single da club released january 2003 song instantly landed top nearly every music chart locally nationally departure hip hop wasnt catchy hooks backup dancers wasnt nellys dilemma ushers u dont call new braggadocio aggressive style raised bulletproof 50 cent 2000 famously claimed survived shooting left nine bullet wounds recently legitimacy claim questioned da club embraced teenagers brentwood everyone knew latino kids white kids spinning disc walkmans singing lines song rapper16050 cent performs 2003 mtv movie awards hendel leiva says remembers 50 cents160influence classmates high school fred prouserreuters love way hate n160you mad thought youd happy made da club living thing coexist kid must decrease existing little na listen mammy pappy bitch chasin little dirty kids ill fg erase back brentwood high school new fashions throwback basketball jerseys new era fitted baseball caps160and low hanging jeans anyone trying fit socially ostracized wasnt far 50 cents selfpromotional style diss records sometimes joke sometimes seriously threatened violence anyone posed threat rob threatened violence towards entire music industry including artists lil kim p diddy160whitney houston160brian mcknight160and busta rhymes bullies brentwood high school longer bullies became aggressors ties violent inner city groups school fights longer fistfights became brawls ended 20person melees became common hear rumors reports arrests school grounds occasional gun pocketknife involved beginning wanted part trend tried sag jeans wanted buy eminems shady clothing line couldnt afford made even bigger target newly minted gangsta bullies worst joined group friends drove group undocumented day laborers shouting obscenities harassing thought time comical threats deportation projecting harassment experiencing except vulnerable people community im immigration activist im sometimes ashamed explain people part story parents firstgeneration salvadoran american teenagers community unprepared discipline new generation160aggressive home defiant school parents two choices ignore growing influence gang culture return native countries160with children family struggled others neighborhood 2008 senior year high school rumor emerged extremely dangerous gang preparing launch violent attack school remember many students staying home fear friend ecuadoreanborn eric valeriano also brentwood high school student time remembers saw gang violence brentwood saw queens funny sounds true bit scared get caught middle fight walking along hallways brentwood bryant high school queens song da club showed 50 cent part gunit collective instead portraying brotherhood portrayed violent group lot little gangs community emulated couldnt say something look someone bad way afraid getting jumped remember rumor gang going attack school butt stayed home nothing happened people talked rumor fight usually happened definitely going run risk attack 2010 21 college violence hit close home part surge violence overtook brentwood one brothers closest friends juan rosario murdered driveway point became involved community activism joined effort drive violence down160by helping local police department160establish community watch group violence continues march gang members convicted assault intimidation uniondale high school 20 miles west brentwood recruiting recently arrived salvadoran refugee children join ms13 reports make question parents administrators ever able protect students deeply entrenched drug gang violence remember demonstrators support us160republican presidential candidate donald trump clash opposition demonstrators near campaign event patchogue new york april 14 2016 reutersjohnny milano turn tv see donald trump contributing dividing neighborhoods much like 50 cent teenagers school live time either support black lives matters dont support law enforcement dont support immigration reform denounce middle ground hard find trump insulted latinos muslims women encouraged violence protesters rallies turn created trump effect fear hostility according southern poverty law center me160trumps candidacy president looks lot like 50 cents hip hop career highprofile feuds test far supporters moved language violence anger push resist taking responsibility heres reality check hope 50 cents followup album get rich die tryin massacre failure kanye wests critically acclaimed college dropout late registration along personal story surviving near fatal car accident inspired young people like pursue education career dreams 50 cent west challenged album release showdown 2007 wests graduation passed 50s curtis 300000 sales last week donald trump visited patchogue gop fundraiser controversial decision long island gop leadership decided host event 1000 feet marcelo lucero killed attack seven patchoguemedford high school students 2008 part protests 150 long islanders peacefully decried latest insult trump supporters personal insult people contributed help town heal time racial tensions immigration led violence even trumps campaign make america great onehit wonder insults trump hurled mexicans muslims160and women leave mark hometown brentwood surrounding neighborhoods continue struggle gangrelated crime defeating trump polls doesnt mean well see end taunting schools bullies emboldened take time undo damage hendel leiva immigration reform advocate hosts the160youtube show hendelmedia project discusses immigration activists
| 945 |
<p>TUNIS, Tunisia — Praised as a model of Arab Spring progress, Tunisia has finally been drawn onto the global jihadi battlefield after Islamist militants gunned down foreign tourists in a brazen assault at the heart of the capital.</p>
<p>The storming of the Bardo museum inside the heavily guarded parliament compound was more deadly evidence Islamist militants are turning to North Africa as a new front beyond their main battlegrounds in Iraq and Syria.</p>
<p>Libyan and Tunisian jihadists have streamed to the ranks of Islamic State and other militant groups in Syria and Iraq. That flow is reversing with experienced North African fighters returning to target their homelands.</p>
<p>In Libya, where two rival governments are battling for control and armed groups flourish on the streets, militants returning from Syria and linked to Islamic State have established a new outpost. Washington believes 3,000 fighters loyal to Islamic State are fighting there, including 300 returned from Syria or Iraq.</p>
<p>Since the start of this year, fighters in Libya proclaiming loyalty to Islamic State have beheaded Egyptian Christians, stormed a Tripoli hotel seeking foreigners to kill and overrun three oilfields kidnapping 10 expatriate oil workers.</p>
<p>Neighboring Tunisia has until now been mostly peaceful. It was the birthplace of the "Arab Spring" protests that swept the region at the end of 2010 and start of 2011, and four years later it is that era's only success story.</p>
<p>Since a popular revolt toppled autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia enjoys free elections, a new constitution and politics that have seen compromise without the civil wars or widespread violence seen in Egypt, Libya, Syria or Yemen.</p>
<p>But although it has seen little armed militancy at home, Tunisia has become a big exporter of fighters to wars elsewhere. More than 3,000 Tunisians have left to fight in Syria and Iraq, and the government estimates around 500 have since returned.</p>
<p>"There are many Tunisians with Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, but also there are Tunisian members of Islamic State returning back here too," said Rafik Chelli, a senior interior ministry official.</p>
<p>Attacks like Bardo are low cost, logistically simple raids by fighters motivated either by Islamic State or Al Qaeda recruitment to inflict maximum damage and spread the extremist message, said Algerian security analyst Khelifa Rekibi.</p>
<p>"This will motivate other groups to imitate the attack or increase recruitment either to ISIS or Al Qaeda," he said. "The terrorism is becoming more professional and the risk greater."</p>
<p>Militants in North Africa have been drawn to economic targets like Libya's oil fields and Algeria's Amenas gas plant, where 40 oil workers were killed two years ago in an assault by fighters. While Tunisia does not have much oil or gas, killing foreign visitors hurts its vital economic motor, tourism.</p>
<p>"The possible introduction of IS operations in Tunisia could be the start of renewed targeting of civilians in the region, and also push Al Qaeda-linked groups who have for some time targeted largely political and military targets back toward more overt attacks against civilians," said Andrew Lebovich, a North African security expert in New York.</p>
<p>Murky claims</p>
<p>Whether the museum attackers were followers of Islamic State's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, much less directed by the group, is still not clear. Claims of responsibility were murky. Islamic State called the two militants "knights,"while a social media site tied to an Al Qaeda-associated group also carried details of the assault.</p>
<p>Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, split off from Al Qaeda and shares its violent Salafist Sunni Muslim ideology. After seizing the northern Iraqi city of Mosul last year, Baghdadi proclaimed a "caliphate" to rule over all Muslims.</p>
<p>While some militant groups that once stood with Al Qaeda have embraced the caliphate to take on the Islamic State banner, the central Al Qaeda leadership rejects it.</p>
<p>Militants in Tunisia have mainly allied with Ansar al Sharia — the group Washington blames for the deadly 2012 attack on its diplomatic mission in Benghazi, eastern Libya — and Okba Ibn Nafaa, a group of Al Qaeda-affiliated fighters operating in the Chaambi mountains along the Algerian border.</p>
<p>One Tunisian security source said many local Ansar al-Sharia militants were adopting the Islamic State banner. A top Ansar al Sharia commander, Ahmed Rouissi, was killed a week ago fighting under the badge of the Islamic State in Libya.</p>
<p>However, another Tunisian security source said preliminary indications showed the Bardo gunmen were more associated with Okba Ibn Nafaa, known more for its ties to fighters from Algeria and Mali than for links to the distant war in Syria and Iraq.</p>
<p>"There is no Islamic State structure in Tunisia, what you have are people attracted to their ideology, inspired by it," the source said.</p>
<p>Last year, an Al Qaeda splinter group in Algeria, Caliphate Soldiers, became one of the first in North Africa to declare allegiance to Islamic State. The group beheaded a French tourist, but since then the Algerian army, experienced after a decade of its own Islamist insurgency in the 1990s, has mostly hunted its members down, killing its leader and others.</p>
<p>Some North African militant commanders have stayed on the sidelines. Ansar al Sharia Tunisia leader Abou Iyed, a veteran of fighting in Afghanistan, last year urged militants to put aside differences. He is now believed to be hiding out in southern Libya.</p>
<p>Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, whose splinter group "Those who Sign in Blood" carried out the Amenas gas complex attack, has also left his position unclear on the rise of Islamic State. His group claimed responsibility for an attack earlier this month on a restaurant in the Malian capital Bamako, in which two Westerners and three Malians were shot to death.</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Lamine Chikhi in Algiers; Tarek Amara in Tunis; Editing by Peter Graff)</p>
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tunis tunisia praised model arab spring progress tunisia finally drawn onto global jihadi battlefield islamist militants gunned foreign tourists brazen assault heart capital storming bardo museum inside heavily guarded parliament compound deadly evidence islamist militants turning north africa new front beyond main battlegrounds iraq syria libyan tunisian jihadists streamed ranks islamic state militant groups syria iraq flow reversing experienced north african fighters returning target homelands libya two rival governments battling control armed groups flourish streets militants returning syria linked islamic state established new outpost washington believes 3000 fighters loyal islamic state fighting including 300 returned syria iraq since start year fighters libya proclaiming loyalty islamic state beheaded egyptian christians stormed tripoli hotel seeking foreigners kill overrun three oilfields kidnapping 10 expatriate oil workers neighboring tunisia mostly peaceful birthplace arab spring protests swept region end 2010 start 2011 four years later eras success story since popular revolt toppled autocrat zine elabidine ben ali tunisia enjoys free elections new constitution politics seen compromise without civil wars widespread violence seen egypt libya syria yemen although seen little armed militancy home tunisia become big exporter fighters wars elsewhere 3000 tunisians left fight syria iraq government estimates around 500 since returned many tunisians islamic state syria iraq also tunisian members islamic state returning back said rafik chelli senior interior ministry official attacks like bardo low cost logistically simple raids fighters motivated either islamic state al qaeda recruitment inflict maximum damage spread extremist message said algerian security analyst khelifa rekibi motivate groups imitate attack increase recruitment either isis al qaeda said terrorism becoming professional risk greater militants north africa drawn economic targets like libyas oil fields algerias amenas gas plant 40 oil workers killed two years ago assault fighters tunisia much oil gas killing foreign visitors hurts vital economic motor tourism possible introduction operations tunisia could start renewed targeting civilians region also push al qaedalinked groups time targeted largely political military targets back toward overt attacks civilians said andrew lebovich north african security expert new york murky claims whether museum attackers followers islamic states leader abu bakr albaghdadi much less directed group still clear claims responsibility murky islamic state called two militants knightswhile social media site tied al qaedaassociated group also carried details assault islamic state also known isis isil split al qaeda shares violent salafist sunni muslim ideology seizing northern iraqi city mosul last year baghdadi proclaimed caliphate rule muslims militant groups stood al qaeda embraced caliphate take islamic state banner central al qaeda leadership rejects militants tunisia mainly allied ansar al sharia group washington blames deadly 2012 attack diplomatic mission benghazi eastern libya okba ibn nafaa group al qaedaaffiliated fighters operating chaambi mountains along algerian border one tunisian security source said many local ansar alsharia militants adopting islamic state banner top ansar al sharia commander ahmed rouissi killed week ago fighting badge islamic state libya however another tunisian security source said preliminary indications showed bardo gunmen associated okba ibn nafaa known ties fighters algeria mali links distant war syria iraq islamic state structure tunisia people attracted ideology inspired source said last year al qaeda splinter group algeria caliphate soldiers became one first north africa declare allegiance islamic state group beheaded french tourist since algerian army experienced decade islamist insurgency 1990s mostly hunted members killing leader others north african militant commanders stayed sidelines ansar al sharia tunisia leader abou iyed veteran fighting afghanistan last year urged militants put aside differences believed hiding southern libya algerian militant mokhtar belmokhtar whose splinter group sign blood carried amenas gas complex attack also left position unclear rise islamic state group claimed responsibility attack earlier month restaurant malian capital bamako two westerners three malians shot death additional reporting lamine chikhi algiers tarek amara tunis editing peter graff
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<p>(Screen capture via YouTube)</p>
<p>Large swaths of the Syrian city of Aleppo had already been reduced to rubble by the time Ahmad decided to leave his hometown in the summer of 2015.</p>
<p>The 26-year-old who lived in western Aleppo, which is a stronghold of President Bashar Assad, traveled to the Syrian capital of Damascus. Ahmad then took a bus to Lebanon before flying from Beirut to Istanbul.</p>
<p>The Washington Blade first spoke with Ahmad last month on an app that is popular among gay and bisexual men.</p>
<p>He said on Dec. 17 during a Skype interview from Istanbul that it took two days to travel from Syria to Turkey. His parents, sister and brother and their children are still in Aleppo.</p>
<p>“I cry a lot,” said Ahmad, who asked the Blade not to publish his last name.</p>
<p>Ahmad spoke to the Blade as the Russia-backed Syrian army sought to recapture the last areas of eastern Aleppo that had been under rebel control. Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon, and other Iran-backed militant groups, have also deployed fighters to the city in order to bolster pro-Assad forces.</p>
<p>More than an estimated 400,000 people have died in the Syrian civil war that began in 2011.</p>
<p>The U.N. Refugee Agency <a href="http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php" type="external">says</a> more than 4.8 million Syrians have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and other countries. An estimated 6.5 million people have also been displaced within Syria.</p>
<p>Fighting began in Aleppo in July 2012 when rebels and the Syrian army exchanged gunfire in the city’s Salaheddine neighborhood.</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Aleppo since then.</p>
<p>The International Committee for the Red Cross on Tuesday <a href="http://www.dw.com/en/red-cross-says-25000-evacuated-from-aleppo-since-last-thursday/a-36843230" type="external">said</a> more than 25,000 people have been evacuated from the city since Dec. 15.</p>
<p>President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry are among those who have sharply criticized Assad, Russia and Iran over the months-long siege of eastern Aleppo that has sparked a humanitarian crisis. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power referenced the chemical attack against civilians in the town Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1988 that left more than 5,000 people dead, the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the massacre of 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian city of Srebrenica in 1995 in a speech to the U.N. Security Council on Dec. 13.</p>
<p>“To the Assad regime, Russia, and Iran, your forces and proxies are carrying out these crimes,” said Power, referring to the siege of eastern Aleppo. “Your barrel bombs and mortars and airstrikes have allowed the militia in Aleppo to encircle tens of thousands of civilians in your ever-tightening noose. It is your noose.”</p>
<p>An off-duty police officer who assassinated Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Monday shouted, “Don’t forget Aleppo. Don’t forget Syria!” after he shot him. Kerry in a statement condemned Karlov’s death, describing it as “an assault on the right of all diplomats to safely and securely advance and represent their nations around the world.”</p>
<p>A lesbian from western Aleppo who asked the Blade to remain anonymous has lived in Toronto since February. She is among the <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/welcome/milestones.asp" type="external">more than 37,000 Syrians who the Canadian government has allowed to resettle</a> in the country since November 2015.</p>
<p>She said she fled to Lebanon shortly after the fighting began in Aleppo in 2012.</p>
<p>Her uncle still lives in western Aleppo. She told the Blade that Assad’s supporters are “celebrating what they called the victory.”</p>
<p>“They think they kicked out ISIS, but there are a shitload of people who are dying,” she said.</p>
<p>Nizar Alouf of <a href="http://lebmash.org/" type="external">the Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health,</a> a group that advocates for LGBT Lebanese and other marginalized groups in Lebanon, told the Blade on Dec. 13 during a telephone interview from New York that his aunts, uncles and cousins live in Sabeel, a neighborhood that is located near Aleppo’s Old City.</p>
<p>He said his relatives have electricity for up to five hours a day and are able to speak with him through WhatsApp. Alouf told the Blade he sends his aunts $1,200 a month because their husbands are only able to work a couple of hours a day because of the fighting.</p>
<p>“They never knew it was going to be this kind of war in Syria,” he said. “They started selling jewelry. They started selling cars.”</p>
<p>Nizar Alouf of the Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health has dozens of relatives who remain in the Syrian city of Aleppo. (Photo courtesy of Nizar Alouf)</p>
<p>Ahmad worked at his father’s shop in downtown Aleppo before the war. He said snipers, bombings and other “bad things” prevented people from entering the area.</p>
<p>“All the fathers and parents are afraid for their sons,” Ahmad told the Blade.</p>
<p>He enrolled in a local university.</p>
<p>Ahmad told the Blade that he was unable to complete his degree in English literature because of the fighting. He then decided to leave Aleppo.</p>
<p>“I left everything,” said Ahmad.</p>
<p>A gay man from Aleppo who asked to remain anonymous told the Blade last week from New York that he left the city three years ago.</p>
<p>He said rebels had not entered Aleppo, but they launched rockets into the city and carried out bombings. The man’s aunts and cousins who remain in western Aleppo said the situation is “much better” since the Syrian army regained control.</p>
<p>“West Aleppo is very happy,” he told the Blade. “The government kicked out the rebels from Aleppo.”</p>
<p>The man further noted the so-called Islamic State and Jabhat Al-Nusra are among the extremist groups that are fighting against forces who are loyal to Assad.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t safe on both sides,” he said. “I’m happy now that they kicked out the rebels.”</p>
<p>Aleppo, which is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited places, was at the end of the ancient Silk Road. It was Syria’s most populated and industrialized city before the war began.</p>
<p>Aleppo has traditionally had large Christian and Armenian communities. The city is also among the most conservative in Syria.</p>
<p>Syrian law criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations, but Aleppo’s LGBT residents were able to meet at coffee shops or private parties. Public parks and bathhouses were also popular cruising areas for gay and bisexual men.</p>
<p>The lesbian Syrian refugee who lives in Toronto told the Blade that she came out at 22.</p>
<p>She said she met her small group of LGBT friends from Aleppo in Damascus because they were “too scared” to come out in their hometown. She told the Blade they went to coffee shops together and drove around Aleppo.</p>
<p>“People left you alone,” she said.</p>
<p>She told the Blade that all of her friends left the city less than two weeks after fighting broke out between pro-government forces and rebels in 2012. She said only one of them has returned to Aleppo.</p>
<p>“Everyone had to get out because it got so unbearable,” she said.</p>
<p>Hayat Akkad is a transgender woman from Salaheddine. She fled Aleppo in July 2013 and entered Turkey through the rebel-controlled Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing.</p>
<p>Switzerland later granted Akkad asylum because of her gender identity. She is currently studying fashion design.</p>
<p>“I can never go back to Syria because I am a transsexual,” Akkad told the Blade, noting her family has threatened to kill her if she were to return to Aleppo.</p>
<p>Hayat Akkad is a transgender woman from the Syrian city of Aleppo. The Swiss government has granted her asylum. (Photo courtesy of Hayat Akkad)</p>
<p>The Blade asked Akkad in an email to Hasan Kilani, an LGBT rights advocate who lives in the Jordanian capital of Amman, whether she had any pictures of herself in Aleppo. She wrote in Arabic that she does not “want to remember the past.”</p>
<p>“What I experienced there was very difficult,” said Akkad.</p>
<p>Efforts to reach people who remain in Aleppo were unsuccessful.</p>
<p>The U.N. Security Council on Monday unanimously approved a resolution that would allow monitors to oversee the evacuation of civilians and rebels from eastern Aleppo. Those with whom the Blade spoke said the international community has done little to help the Syrian people or end the war.</p>
<p>The Obama administration last year pledged to allow 10,000 Syrians to resettle in the U.S. during the 2016 fiscal year and another 85,000 during the 2017 fiscal year.</p>
<p>U.S. Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are among those who <a href="" type="internal">voted for a bill</a> in November 2015 that sought to block Syrian and Iraqi refugees from resettling in the U.S. The vote took place less than a week after ISIS claimed responsibility for a series of terrorist attacks in Paris that left more than 100 people dead.</p>
<p>President-elect Trump in the wake of the June 12 massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., reiterated his call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S.</p>
<p>“It’s not a game,” Ahmad told the Blade.</p>
<p>The Syrian lesbian in Toronto said countries are making money from the war through arm sales to pro-Assad forces, rebels and ISIS and human trafficking. LGBT Syrians who have sought refuge in other countries also face discrimination and violence.</p>
<p>Emirhan Deniz Celebi of the Istanbul-based Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association told the Blade that friends of a trans Syrian refugee who was a sex worker found her mutilated body in her home earlier this week in the city’s Cihangir neighborhood .</p>
<p>Initial reports indicate a client who she met on the street killed her. Celebi told the Blade that she had a Chihuahua.</p>
<p>“Her family was all killed in the civil war in Syria,” wrote Celebi on his group’s Facebook page.</p>
<p>Ahmad on Wednesday sent a follow-up email to the Blade.</p>
<p>“Please don’t turn your TV to another channel when you see some Syrian suffering or injured or dead,” he wrote. “They are really human like you and they really wish and dream every second for a peaceful life like you.”</p>
<p>“I ask (you) to keep watching not because we need compassion,” added Ahmad. “No, no. I ask this because we need all people to feel us.”</p>
<p>Amhad and other Syrians have fled to Istanbul since their country’s civil war began in 2011. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Aleppo</a> <a href="" type="internal">Andrei Karlov</a> <a href="" type="internal">Barack Obama</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bashar Assad</a> <a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">Emirhan Deniz Celebi</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hasan Kilani</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hayat Akkad</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hezbollah</a> <a href="" type="internal">Iran</a> <a href="" type="internal">Iraq</a> <a href="" type="internal">Islamic State</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jabhat al-Nusra</a> <a href="" type="internal">John Kerry</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jordan</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lebanese Medical Association for Sexual Health</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lebanon</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">Nizar Alouf</a> <a href="" type="internal">Russia</a> <a href="" type="internal">Samantha Power</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a> <a href="" type="internal">Turkey</a> <a href="" type="internal">U.N. Security Council</a></p>
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screen capture via youtube large swaths syrian city aleppo already reduced rubble time ahmad decided leave hometown summer 2015 26yearold lived western aleppo stronghold president bashar assad traveled syrian capital damascus ahmad took bus lebanon flying beirut istanbul washington blade first spoke ahmad last month app popular among gay bisexual men said dec 17 skype interview istanbul took two days travel syria turkey parents sister brother children still aleppo cry lot said ahmad asked blade publish last name ahmad spoke blade russiabacked syrian army sought recapture last areas eastern aleppo rebel control hezbollah based lebanon iranbacked militant groups also deployed fighters city order bolster proassad forces estimated 400000 people died syrian civil war began 2011 un refugee agency says 48 million syrians fled turkey lebanon iraq jordan countries estimated 65 million people also displaced within syria fighting began aleppo july 2012 rebels syrian army exchanged gunfire citys salaheddine neighborhood tens thousands people killed aleppo since international committee red cross tuesday said 25000 people evacuated city since dec 15 president obama secretary state john kerry among sharply criticized assad russia iran monthslong siege eastern aleppo sparked humanitarian crisis us ambassador un samantha power referenced chemical attack civilians town halabja iraqi kurdistan 1988 left 5000 people dead 1994 rwanda genocide massacre 8000 muslim men boys bosnian city srebrenica 1995 speech un security council dec 13 assad regime russia iran forces proxies carrying crimes said power referring siege eastern aleppo barrel bombs mortars airstrikes allowed militia aleppo encircle tens thousands civilians evertightening noose noose offduty police officer assassinated russian ambassador turkey andrei karlov art gallery turkish capital ankara monday shouted dont forget aleppo dont forget syria shot kerry statement condemned karlovs death describing assault right diplomats safely securely advance represent nations around world lesbian western aleppo asked blade remain anonymous lived toronto since february among 37000 syrians canadian government allowed resettle country since november 2015 said fled lebanon shortly fighting began aleppo 2012 uncle still lives western aleppo told blade assads supporters celebrating called victory think kicked isis shitload people dying said nizar alouf lebanese medical association sexual health group advocates lgbt lebanese marginalized groups lebanon told blade dec 13 telephone interview new york aunts uncles cousins live sabeel neighborhood located near aleppos old city said relatives electricity five hours day able speak whatsapp alouf told blade sends aunts 1200 month husbands able work couple hours day fighting never knew going kind war syria said started selling jewelry started selling cars nizar alouf lebanese medical association sexual health dozens relatives remain syrian city aleppo photo courtesy nizar alouf ahmad worked fathers shop downtown aleppo war said snipers bombings bad things prevented people entering area fathers parents afraid sons ahmad told blade enrolled local university ahmad told blade unable complete degree english literature fighting decided leave aleppo left everything said ahmad gay man aleppo asked remain anonymous told blade last week new york left city three years ago said rebels entered aleppo launched rockets city carried bombings mans aunts cousins remain western aleppo said situation much better since syrian army regained control west aleppo happy told blade government kicked rebels aleppo man noted socalled islamic state jabhat alnusra among extremist groups fighting forces loyal assad wasnt safe sides said im happy kicked rebels aleppo one worlds oldest continually inhabited places end ancient silk road syrias populated industrialized city war began aleppo traditionally large christian armenian communities city also among conservative syria syrian law criminalizes consensual samesex sexual relations aleppos lgbt residents able meet coffee shops private parties public parks bathhouses also popular cruising areas gay bisexual men lesbian syrian refugee lives toronto told blade came 22 said met small group lgbt friends aleppo damascus scared come hometown told blade went coffee shops together drove around aleppo people left alone said told blade friends left city less two weeks fighting broke progovernment forces rebels 2012 said one returned aleppo everyone get got unbearable said hayat akkad transgender woman salaheddine fled aleppo july 2013 entered turkey rebelcontrolled bab alhawa border crossing switzerland later granted akkad asylum gender identity currently studying fashion design never go back syria transsexual akkad told blade noting family threatened kill return aleppo hayat akkad transgender woman syrian city aleppo swiss government granted asylum photo courtesy hayat akkad blade asked akkad email hasan kilani lgbt rights advocate lives jordanian capital amman whether pictures aleppo wrote arabic want remember past experienced difficult said akkad efforts reach people remain aleppo unsuccessful un security council monday unanimously approved resolution would allow monitors oversee evacuation civilians rebels eastern aleppo blade spoke said international community done little help syrian people end war obama administration last year pledged allow 10000 syrians resettle us 2016 fiscal year another 85000 2017 fiscal year us reps sean patrick maloney dny jared polis dcolo kyrsten sinema dariz among voted bill november 2015 sought block syrian iraqi refugees resettling us vote took place less week isis claimed responsibility series terrorist attacks paris left 100 people dead presidentelect trump wake june 12 massacre pulse nightclub orlando fla reiterated call temporarily ban muslims entering us game ahmad told blade syrian lesbian toronto said countries making money war arm sales proassad forces rebels isis human trafficking lgbt syrians sought refuge countries also face discrimination violence emirhan deniz celebi istanbulbased social policies gender identity sexual orientation studies association told blade friends trans syrian refugee sex worker found mutilated body home earlier week citys cihangir neighborhood initial reports indicate client met street killed celebi told blade chihuahua family killed civil war syria wrote celebi groups facebook page ahmad wednesday sent followup email blade please dont turn tv another channel see syrian suffering injured dead wrote really human like really wish dream every second peaceful life like ask keep watching need compassion added ahmad ask need people feel us amhad syrians fled istanbul since countrys civil war began 2011 washington blade photo michael k lavers aleppo andrei karlov barack obama bashar assad bisexual donald trump emirhan deniz celebi gay hasan kilani hayat akkad hezbollah iran iraq islamic state jabhat alnusra john kerry jordan lebanese medical association sexual health lebanon lesbian nizar alouf russia samantha power transgender turkey un security council
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<p>As images of devastation and tragedy in Nepal and neighboring countries rattled by a series of quakes since April 25&#160;pour across social media and TV, the natural question for many people is, "What can I do to help?"</p>
<p>After disasters, the best way to help is generally to donate money to effective and efficient charities that have an established presence on the ground. <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/" type="external">Charity Navigator</a> is one of the leading resources for evaluating the work of nonprofits, and the organization has <a href="http://ht.ly/M7eJc" type="external">posted a list of highly-ranked charities</a> that have mounted relief operations in the aftermath of the 7.8 magnitude temblor on April 25&#160;that originated outside the capital, Kathmandu.</p>
<p>A series of aftershocks have followed, including <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-32701385" type="external">a 7.3 magnitude quake on Tuesday</a>, with an epicenter near Mount Everest.&#160;</p>
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<p><a href="/sections/development-education" type="external">Development &amp; Education</a></p>
<p>April 25, 2015</p>
<p>In <a href="/sections/development-education" type="external">Development &amp; Education</a> <a href="/sections/development" type="external">Development</a> <a href="/verticals-listing/human-needs" type="external">Human Needs</a>.</p>
<p>Tagged: <a href="/continent/asia" type="external">Asia</a> <a href="/country/nepal" type="external">Nepal</a> <a href="/tags/disaster" type="external">disaster</a> <a href="/tags/development" type="external">Development</a> <a href="/tags/government" type="external">government</a> <a href="/tags/nepal-earthquake" type="external">Nepal earthquake</a>.</p>
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<p>Here are 10&#160;nonprofits that say they will provide relief in Nepal and that have received either a three- or four-star rating (out of a possible four) from Charity Navigator.&#160;</p>
<p>AmeriCares is an emergency response and global health organization. They have sent an <a href="http://www.americares.org/who-we-are/newsroom/news/americares-responding-to-nepal-earthquake.html" type="external">emergency response team</a> from their offices in Mumbai to Nepal and are "preparing shipments of medical aid and relief supplies for survivors."</p>
<p>CARE describes itself as a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. It has a long-established <a href="http://www.care-international.org/where-we-work/nepal.aspx" type="external">presence in Nepal</a>, and told <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/25/nepal-quake-how-to-help/26361193/" type="external">USA Today</a> that it was “coordinating with other agencies to assist up to 75,000 people.”</p>
<p>Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the United States. It maintains field offices in Nepal and has <a href="https://secure.crs.org/site/Donation2;jsessionid=20BC42A03254C5D0BCB67D3169F23446.app260b?df_id=8400&amp;8400.donation=form1" type="external">started its relief effort</a> by “procuring emergency relief materials such as tarpaulins/shelter kits and water, sanitation and hygiene material."</p>
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<p><a href="/sections/arts-culture-media" type="external">Arts, Culture &amp; Media</a></p>
<p>April 27, 2015</p>
<p>In <a href="/sections/arts-culture-media" type="external">Arts, Culture &amp; Media</a> <a href="/sections/culture" type="external">Culture</a> <a href="/verticals-listing/human-needs" type="external">Human Needs</a>.</p>
<p>Tagged: <a href="/city/khokana" type="external">Khokana</a> <a href="/continent/asia" type="external">Asia</a> <a href="/country/nepal" type="external">Nepal</a> <a href="/tags/nepal-earthquake" type="external">Nepal earthquake</a> <a href="/tags/disasters" type="external">disasters</a> <a href="/tags/development" type="external">Development</a>.</p>
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<p>Direct Relief is a nonprofit that specializes in providing international medical assistance. It is in the process of <a href="http://www.directrelief.org/2015/04/nepal-earthquake-emergency-update/" type="external">coordinating with local partners in Nepal</a> and will focus its relief efforts on the “valley around Kathmandu, where medical facilities are overflowing with patients seeking care.”</p>
<p>GlobalGiving is a charity fundraising website that has set up a <a href="http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/nepal-earthquake-relief-fund/" type="external">fund specifically for Nepal relief efforts</a>. The money collected will go to “help first responders meet survivors' immediate needs for food, fuel, clean water, hygiene products, and shelter. Once initial relief work is complete, this fund will transition to support longer-term recovery efforts" run by vetted local organizations, according to a post on the GlobalGiving site.</p>
<p>International Relief Teams is a humanitarian organization that specializes in disaster relief, and also has a four-star rating. They have “ordered a shipment of emergency medicines to be <a href="https://irteams.org/current-projects/nepal-earthquake-response/" type="external">&#160;airlifted to Nepal&#160;</a>as soon as possible,” as part of their initial response. &#160;</p>
<p>Operation USA, an LA-based international relief agency, has had operations in Nepal since the mid-1980s and has a four-star rating on Charity Navigator.</p>
<p>“We are arranging to send replacement equipment to hospitals in Nepal to restore capacity as soon as possible,” Richard Walden, CEO of &#160;Operation USA said in a&#160; <a href="http://www.opusa.org/news-release-operation-usa-to-aid-recovery-efforts-in-nepal-following-magnitude-7-8-earthquake/" type="external">statement</a>. “Donations, especially bulk in-kind materials from corporate partners, are critical at this time — not only to deliver aid quickly, but also to ensure a long-term commitment to the people of Nepal who face a long and challenging road ahead as they pick up the pieces in the earthquake’s aftermath.”</p>
<p>Save the Children is an international NGO dedicated to promoting children’s rights and providing relief and support to children in developing countries. It has <a href="https://secure.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9274575/k.FD90/Nepal_Earthquake_Childrens_Relief_Fund/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp" type="external">set up a Nepal fund</a> to “protect vulnerable children and provide desperately needed relief to families.” Ten percent of the funds collected will go to prepare for the next disaster.</p>
<p>The Seva Foundation is a US-based nonprofit known for its work treating blindness. It has a long-running presence in Nepal and has set up an <a href="https://secure2.convio.net/seva/site/Donation2;jsessionid=13DA8B424A365601B4BF9DCC69A5BE55.app271a?idb=1763156034&amp;df_id=4800&amp;4800.donation=form1&amp;idb=0" type="external">emergency relief fund.</a></p>
<p>World Help is Christian faith based humanitarian organization that works in the developing world, and has a four-star rating on Charity Navigator. According to a post on their site detailing their <a href="http://worldhelp.net/gift/nepal-earthquake-disaster-relief/" type="external">Nepal Earthquake Disaster Relief</a>, they have a “broad network of partners” and a team on the ground that is focused on delivering urgent aid, including water, food, bedding and medical supplies. &#160;</p>
<p>UNICEF, the United Nation program dedicated to helping children in developing countries, <a href="http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81691.html" type="external">is currently</a> “mobilizing an urgent response to meet the needs of children” affected by the disaster, and is working to deliver water purification tablets, hygiene kits and nutrition supplies to those in need.</p>
<p>Oxfam, a confederation of NGOs, currently has “aid workers ... on the ground, preparing to launch a rapid response to ensure food and water reaches” survivors, according to its <a href="https://secure2.oxfamamerica.org/page/content/nepal_earthquake/?gclid=CjwKEAjw9uypBRD5pMDYtsKxvXcSJACcb9AYksCc5o8RhnGMAFtkgiN21dAXCijHusgHbleOPJzJNhoCX0jw_wcB" type="external">site</a>.</p>
<p>"We are focusing on providing clean water and sanitation to thousands of those affected," says Lauren Hartnett, the Humanitarian Press Officer for Oxfam America. "These services are vital for basic health and also prevent the potential second crisis of illnesses like cholera and diarrhea."</p>
<p />
<p>Handicap International is a four-star charity that works with people with disabilities and vulnerable populations. They maintain a staff of 50 in Nepal and have <a href="https://secure.ajws.org/site/Donation2?df_id=8880&amp;8880.donation=form1&amp;__utma=233384270.1757238.1430019805.1430019805.1430072915.2&amp;__utmb=233384270.1.10.1430072915&amp;__utmc=233384270&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=233384270.1430019805.1.1.utmcsr=google%7Cutmccn=(organic)%7Cutmcmd=organic%7Cutmctr=(not%20provided)&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=23221497" type="external">sent an additional emergency team</a> from their headquarters. Molly Feltner, spokesperson for Handicap International US, said the team will set up units in hospitals and provide post-surgery rehabilitation to injured people, working in collaboration with orthopedic surgeons. They will also provide equipment, such as wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and splints.</p>
<p>“We will make sure patients have food and we will provide psychological counseling,” Felter said.</p>
<p>Their appeal for donations for Nepal can be found <a href="https://handicapinternational.nationbuilder.com/donate_now_nepal_emergency" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>American Jewish World Service is a well-known international development and disaster relief organization and a four-star charity. They have set up an <a href="https://secure.ajws.org/site/Donation2?df_id=8880&amp;8880.donation=form1&amp;__utma=233384270.1757238.1430019805.1430019805.1430072915.2&amp;__utmb=233384270.1.10.1430072915&amp;__utmc=233384270&amp;__utmx=-&amp;__utmz=233384270.1430019805.1.1.utmcsr=google%7Cutmccn=(organic)%7Cutmcmd=organic%7Cutmctr=(not%20provided)&amp;__utmv=-&amp;__utmk=23221497" type="external">earthquake relief fund here</a>. AJWS has&#160;been focused on&#160;funding first responders on the ground and is providing&#160;medical assistance and supplies, such as food, water and tents.</p>
<p>"In subsequent weeks and months, AJWS will focus our efforts on supporting community-based groups aiding survivors, helping to rebuild infrastructure and mitigate the effects of future natural disasters of this magnitude," says&#160;Andrew J. Martin, director of media relations for AJWS.</p>
<p>Experts recommend funds to groups working on the ground and <a href="" type="internal">advise against traveling there</a> to help.&#160;</p>
<p>This is not a comprehensive list of the organizations doing important work in Nepal. If you have other recommendations, share them below. You can use Charity Navigator&#160; <a href="http://www.charitynavigator.org/" type="external">or GuideStar,</a>another site, <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/" type="external">&#160;to learn more about how a given nonprofit spends the resources it collects.</a></p>
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images devastation tragedy nepal neighboring countries rattled series quakes since april 25160pour across social media tv natural question many people help disasters best way help generally donate money effective efficient charities established presence ground charity navigator one leading resources evaluating work nonprofits organization posted list highlyranked charities mounted relief operations aftermath 78 magnitude temblor april 25160that originated outside capital kathmandu series aftershocks followed including 73 magnitude quake tuesday epicenter near mount everest160 development amp education april 25 2015 development amp education development human needs tagged asia nepal disaster development government nepal earthquake 10160nonprofits say provide relief nepal received either three fourstar rating possible four charity navigator160 americares emergency response global health organization sent emergency response team offices mumbai nepal preparing shipments medical aid relief supplies survivors care describes humanitarian organization fighting global poverty longestablished presence nepal told usa today coordinating agencies assist 75000 people catholic relief services international humanitarian agency catholic church united states maintains field offices nepal started relief effort procuring emergency relief materials tarpaulinsshelter kits water sanitation hygiene material arts culture amp media april 27 2015 arts culture amp media culture human needs tagged khokana asia nepal nepal earthquake disasters development direct relief nonprofit specializes providing international medical assistance process coordinating local partners nepal focus relief efforts valley around kathmandu medical facilities overflowing patients seeking care globalgiving charity fundraising website set fund specifically nepal relief efforts money collected go help first responders meet survivors immediate needs food fuel clean water hygiene products shelter initial relief work complete fund transition support longerterm recovery efforts run vetted local organizations according post globalgiving site international relief teams humanitarian organization specializes disaster relief also fourstar rating ordered shipment emergency medicines 160airlifted nepal160as soon possible part initial response 160 operation usa labased international relief agency operations nepal since mid1980s fourstar rating charity navigator arranging send replacement equipment hospitals nepal restore capacity soon possible richard walden ceo 160operation usa said a160 statement donations especially bulk inkind materials corporate partners critical time deliver aid quickly also ensure longterm commitment people nepal face long challenging road ahead pick pieces earthquakes aftermath save children international ngo dedicated promoting childrens rights providing relief support children developing countries set nepal fund protect vulnerable children provide desperately needed relief families ten percent funds collected go prepare next disaster seva foundation usbased nonprofit known work treating blindness longrunning presence nepal set emergency relief fund world help christian faith based humanitarian organization works developing world fourstar rating charity navigator according post site detailing nepal earthquake disaster relief broad network partners team ground focused delivering urgent aid including water food bedding medical supplies 160 unicef united nation program dedicated helping children developing countries currently mobilizing urgent response meet needs children affected disaster working deliver water purification tablets hygiene kits nutrition supplies need oxfam confederation ngos currently aid workers ground preparing launch rapid response ensure food water reaches survivors according site focusing providing clean water sanitation thousands affected says lauren hartnett humanitarian press officer oxfam america services vital basic health also prevent potential second crisis illnesses like cholera diarrhea handicap international fourstar charity works people disabilities vulnerable populations maintain staff 50 nepal sent additional emergency team headquarters molly feltner spokesperson handicap international us said team set units hospitals provide postsurgery rehabilitation injured people working collaboration orthopedic surgeons also provide equipment wheelchairs crutches walkers splints make sure patients food provide psychological counseling felter said appeal donations nepal found american jewish world service wellknown international development disaster relief organization fourstar charity set earthquake relief fund ajws has160been focused on160funding first responders ground providing160medical assistance supplies food water tents subsequent weeks months ajws focus efforts supporting communitybased groups aiding survivors helping rebuild infrastructure mitigate effects future natural disasters magnitude says160andrew j martin director media relations ajws experts recommend funds groups working ground advise traveling help160 comprehensive list organizations important work nepal recommendations share use charity navigator160 guidestaranother site 160to learn given nonprofit spends resources collects
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<p>ATLANTA — A year-long spiritual discernment process culminated Oct. 10 in the unanimous approval by its governing Coordinating Council of the re-prioritizing of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's work.</p>
<p>In addition to the vote to adopt new strategic priorities and bless the discernment process findings, the fall meeting of the CBF Council included good news — through Aug. 31 the Fellowship had an excess of revenues over expenditures of $525,870. The fiscal year ended Sept. 30, and leaders hope that this trend continues for the final month. The full financial details will be released at the February Council meeting, after the Fellowship's audit concludes.</p>
<p>“This was, without a doubt, one of the most important meetings for the Fellowship during my tenure as executive coordinator,” said Daniel Vestal, the CBF's executive coordinator since 1996. “I believe the Spirit has been present in every step of this discernment process. We now have a clearer sense of what God is calling us to do together as a fellowship for the next five to seven years.”</p>
<p>After 13 months of discerning through feedback sessions with the CBF staff, Coordinating Council, state and regional CBF organizations, the “Current” young leaders network, and other CBF groups, 47 specific activities grouped into seven categories emerged:</p>
<p>• Interacting with the world community</p>
<p>• Honoring race, gender and generations</p>
<p>• Missional engagement</p>
<p>• Training and development</p>
<p>• Spiritual formation</p>
<p>• Resource utilization</p>
<p>• Broadening the CBF community</p>
<p>A survey was developed in consultation with J. Michael Webber, marketing professor at Stetson School of Business and Economics of Mercer University, which was presented to participants of the 2008 General Assembly in Memphis in June. The Assembly devoted six hours to praying over the discussions, giving time to respond to the survey and conducting feedback sessions to gather insights not included on the survey instrument.</p>
<p>“Throughout the past year we have moved from a qualitative, subjective process to a quantitative, objective process,” said CBF past moderator Harriet Harral, principal and founder of the Fort Worth, Texas,-based Harral Group leadership consulting firm. “We have heard from this Fellowship movement about what they are discerning are the priorities for us in the next three to five to seven years. I think we can be confident in the direction we are being called at this time in our history to be the presence of Christ.”</p>
<p>The results of the survey, which the Council affirmed with its vote, were that the top 15 actions as ranked by the participants at the Assembly fell under three priorities of the seven. These top three in priority order were “interacting with the world community,” “honoring generations, gender and race” and “missional engagement.” The top 15 actions were as follows:</p>
<p>Interacting with the world community: • Support and promote the Millennium Development Goals (#2) • Expand advocacy efforts for human rights, religious liberty, and social justice (#3) • Develop a national framework to address poverty in the United States (#4)</p>
<p>Honoring generations, gender and race • Invest in young Baptists (#1) • Model racial, gender and generational inclusion in hiring and leadership (#5) • Heighten understanding of women in leadership (#13)</p>
<p>Missional engagement • Increase funding for global missions efforts (#6) • Educate and develop missional leaders (#7) • Increase awareness of global missions efforts (#8) • Provide training for indigenous church leaders and pastors (#9) • Facilitate short term mission engagement opportunities for churches and individuals (#10) • Provide missional resources (#11) • Facilitate long term relationships among churches, individuals, and field personnel ministries (#12) • Expand communication of the CBF's mission and vision (#14) • Increase the number of field personnel (missionaries) (#15)</p>
<p>“God has blessed our Fellowship in its early history,” said Moderator Jack Glasgow, pastor of Zebulon Baptist Church, Zebulon, N.C. “Now, God has been with us in this prayerful process of discernment. These priorities will support our fundamental principles. Under a vision to be the presence of Christ to one another and to the world, we will continue to strive to fulfill our mission of serving Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission. And, we will continue to live out our core values.”</p>
<p>Glasgow then appointed a five-member committee of the Council to begin working on a re-organization of the Council to match the priorities. That work group will be chaired by Tom Siddle, of Rocky Mount, Va., and includes Sylvia McQuaig, of Jacksonville, Fla.; Don Horton, of Zebulon, N.C.; Lynne Smith, of Burlington, Ky.; Jeremy Colliver, of Georgetown, Ky., and CBF staff members Connie McNeil, coordinator of administration, and Ben McDade, coordinator of advancement. The results of their work will be presented to the full Council at its July meeting in Houston.</p>
<p>“The officers, staff and Coordinating Council should engage in cooperative effort to develop outcome statements based on these strategic priorities and recommended actions,” Glasgow said. “We are partners together in a process to determine what CBF will look like in its near future, engaging in planning that will determine the next chapters in the CBF story.”</p>
<p>Glasgow said the 2010-2011 CBF budget should reflect these priorities and encouraged the autonomous state and regional CBF organizations as well as churches affiliated with the CBF to consider how these strategic priorities could inform their planning processes.</p>
<p>In his global mission update, Rob Nash, the Fellowship's coordinator for global missions, talked about the future of global missions engagement. He talked about CBF Global Missions' three primary teams — field ministries, missional church and bridge. The field ministries team, directed by Jim Smith, facilitates the work of 145 field personnel. The missional church team, directed by Harry Rowland, facilitates the engagement of congregations around the world. And, the bridge team, facilitated by Grace Powell Freeman, supports and facilitates the work of other two teams in the areas of finance, personnel recruitment and selection, training, rural poverty and student missions.</p>
<p>“We need to keep the best of what has been — field personnel, movement-wide engagement, pooling our financial resources to share the good news of the gospel with the rest of the world,” Nash said. “We must also open ourselves up to what can be done, including full partnership with congregations and the global church — where congregations and field personnel sit together at the table to determine where God is calling.”</p>
<p>In other business, the Council took up the following items:</p>
<p>• Voted to authorize the Leadership Development Initiative Team to convene a group of young CBF-related Baptist pastors to respond to the question: “What does it mean to CBF to invest in young Baptists?”</p>
<p>• Recognized the service of Tom Prevost, who will retire as the Fellowship's poverty initiative and projects specialist at the end of year. Prevost has served on the CBF staff since 1995 and helped facilitated Together For Hope, the Fellowship's rural poverty initiative.</p>
<p>• Named moderator-elect Hal Bass as chair of the Council's United Nations' Millennium Development Goals task force, along with Colleen Burroughs of Birmingham, Ala., and Debbie Ferrier of San Antonio, Texas.</p>
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atlanta yearlong spiritual discernment process culminated oct 10 unanimous approval governing coordinating council reprioritizing cooperative baptist fellowships work addition vote adopt new strategic priorities bless discernment process findings fall meeting cbf council included good news aug 31 fellowship excess revenues expenditures 525870 fiscal year ended sept 30 leaders hope trend continues final month full financial details released february council meeting fellowships audit concludes without doubt one important meetings fellowship tenure executive coordinator said daniel vestal cbfs executive coordinator since 1996 believe spirit present every step discernment process clearer sense god calling us together fellowship next five seven years 13 months discerning feedback sessions cbf staff coordinating council state regional cbf organizations current young leaders network cbf groups 47 specific activities grouped seven categories emerged interacting world community honoring race gender generations missional engagement training development spiritual formation resource utilization broadening cbf community survey developed consultation j michael webber marketing professor stetson school business economics mercer university presented participants 2008 general assembly memphis june assembly devoted six hours praying discussions giving time respond survey conducting feedback sessions gather insights included survey instrument throughout past year moved qualitative subjective process quantitative objective process said cbf past moderator harriet harral principal founder fort worth texasbased harral group leadership consulting firm heard fellowship movement discerning priorities us next three five seven years think confident direction called time history presence christ results survey council affirmed vote top 15 actions ranked participants assembly fell three priorities seven top three priority order interacting world community honoring generations gender race missional engagement top 15 actions follows interacting world community support promote millennium development goals 2 expand advocacy efforts human rights religious liberty social justice 3 develop national framework address poverty united states 4 honoring generations gender race invest young baptists 1 model racial gender generational inclusion hiring leadership 5 heighten understanding women leadership 13 missional engagement increase funding global missions efforts 6 educate develop missional leaders 7 increase awareness global missions efforts 8 provide training indigenous church leaders pastors 9 facilitate short term mission engagement opportunities churches individuals 10 provide missional resources 11 facilitate long term relationships among churches individuals field personnel ministries 12 expand communication cbfs mission vision 14 increase number field personnel missionaries 15 god blessed fellowship early history said moderator jack glasgow pastor zebulon baptist church zebulon nc god us prayerful process discernment priorities support fundamental principles vision presence christ one another world continue strive fulfill mission serving christians churches discover fulfill godgiven mission continue live core values glasgow appointed fivemember committee council begin working reorganization council match priorities work group chaired tom siddle rocky mount va includes sylvia mcquaig jacksonville fla horton zebulon nc lynne smith burlington ky jeremy colliver georgetown ky cbf staff members connie mcneil coordinator administration ben mcdade coordinator advancement results work presented full council july meeting houston officers staff coordinating council engage cooperative effort develop outcome statements based strategic priorities recommended actions glasgow said partners together process determine cbf look like near future engaging planning determine next chapters cbf story glasgow said 20102011 cbf budget reflect priorities encouraged autonomous state regional cbf organizations well churches affiliated cbf consider strategic priorities could inform planning processes global mission update rob nash fellowships coordinator global missions talked future global missions engagement talked cbf global missions three primary teams field ministries missional church bridge field ministries team directed jim smith facilitates work 145 field personnel missional church team directed harry rowland facilitates engagement congregations around world bridge team facilitated grace powell freeman supports facilitates work two teams areas finance personnel recruitment selection training rural poverty student missions need keep best field personnel movementwide engagement pooling financial resources share good news gospel rest world nash said must also open done including full partnership congregations global church congregations field personnel sit together table determine god calling business council took following items voted authorize leadership development initiative team convene group young cbfrelated baptist pastors respond question mean cbf invest young baptists recognized service tom prevost retire fellowships poverty initiative projects specialist end year prevost served cbf staff since 1995 helped facilitated together hope fellowships rural poverty initiative named moderatorelect hal bass chair councils united nations millennium development goals task force along colleen burroughs birmingham ala debbie ferrier san antonio texas
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<p>BERLIN, Germany - It started with a handshake, not a kiss. When Chancellor Angela Merkel and new French President Francois Hollande finally met in person on Tuesday evening, there was little of the warmth that marked her meetings with Nicolas Sarkozy in recent years.</p>
<p>Aides had downplayed the rendezvous as simply aimed at getting to know one another rather than about hammering out any policy. Yet the future of Europe could hinge on whether these two leaders find a way to work well together.</p>
<p>Rarely have two people met for the first time with so much baggage. Merkel refused to meet with Hollande during his election campaign, and made the highly unusual step of publicly backing his rival, fellow conservative Sarkozy. Hollande for his part seemed to be campaigning as much against Merkel as the incumbent, pledging to renegotiate the fiscal pact that she had championed.</p>
<p>Now the two have finally met face-to-face and the encounter seemed cordial if hardly warm. Following the ceremonial reviewing of the guard of honor - during which Merkel had to gently nudge Hollande in the right direction on the red carpet - the two held an hour -long meeting. They then addressed the throng of international journalists in a joint press conference during which Merkel remained stony-faced during much of Hollande's comments, interspersed with the odd smile.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/germany/120217/germany-battles-over-the-future-solar-energy" type="external">Germany battles over future of solar</a></p>
<p>The pair did seek to downplay their differences and strike a friendly tone with Merkel even joking that the lightning that had struck Hollande's plane on his way to Berlin was perhaps a "good omen."</p>
<p>"I'm not sure whether there is sometimes more divergence perceived in the public realm than there really is," the chancellor told the press conference. "We are aware of our responsibility, as Germany and France, for a positive development in Europe. Carried by this spirit I believe we will of course find solutions for the different problems."</p>
<p>Both tried to show a united front on Greece, which risks ejection from the euro zone if it backs anti-austerity parties in the fresh elections likely after the parties failed to form a government. "Just like Frau Merkel," Hollande said, he wanted Greece to remain in the euro zone while insisting that Athens meet the terms of the bailout agreement.</p>
<p>Yet when it came to the crux of the differences between the two, on austerity versus growth, it was obvious that the only thing that had been agreed so far was that they disagree.</p>
<p>After all, it remains to be seen how Merkel's strict stance on rapidly reducing budget deficits can be married with Hollande's plea for some kind of stimulus package to boost growth.</p>
<p>Hollande reiterated his promise to reopen talks about the fiscal pact, the agreement on strict budget discipline which he has said France will not ratify unless a growth element is also adopted.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/120515/francois-hollandes-plane-struck-lightning" type="external">Francois Hollande's plane struck by lightning</a></p>
<p>"I said in the campaign, and I repeat today, that I want to renegotiate what was established at a certain moment," Hollande told reporters. "Everything that can contribute to growth must be put on the table. I don't want growth to be just a word, but tangible measures."</p>
<p>He mentioned boosting competitiveness, as well as Euro bonds - essentially pooling the debt of euro zone members - something Merkel has so far flatly rejected.</p>
<p>He did not, however, mention tinkering with the European Central Bank's mandate, surely a red line if ever there was one in Berlin.</p>
<p>For all the inauspicious beginnings, observers predict that the two will eventually hit it off. Both play on their modest, down- to-earth style and exude an air of pragmatism rather than charisma. Hollande depicts himself as "Mr Normal" in contrast to the Bling Bling of his predecessor Sarkozy, while the unassuming Merkel is often seen doing her own grocery shopping. And both are said to have a wry sense of humor in private.</p>
<p>Furthermore, Hollande's gesture of appointing Germanophile Jean-Marc Ayrault as his prime minister will have gone down well in Berlin.</p>
<p>Yet, it is hardly a meeting of equals. Merkel is an old hand in European politics now, in her seventh year in office, while Hollande's previous executive experience has been confined to serving as mayor of the small town of Tulle.</p>
<p>Furthermore Germany is the EU's economic powerhouse, with its export-driven economy keeping the rest of the euro zone out of recession, according to figures released on Tuesday. And Berlin has long been calling the political shots in Europe, with the fiscal compact being dreamed up by Merkel, as a way of preventing EU states from getting into deeper debt in the future.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/france/120515/francois-hollandes-plane-struck-lightning" type="external">Francois Hollande sworn in as French president</a></p>
<p>At the same time Merkel is increasingly isolated in Europe, as there is a growing realization that austerity is choking off growth. Hollande knows that other leaders, including conservatives like Italy's Mario Monti, also want Berlin to budge on its debt reduction fixation.</p>
<p>Hollande came to Berlin straight from his inauguration ceremony in Paris. After beating Sarkozy on May 6 he will feel he has a mandate from the French people to push for a change of direction in Europe. Yet he also faces a tough economic situation back home, with just 0.1 percent growth in the first quarter and growing unemployment, now at a 13-year high of 10 percent. If the economy were to contract even further, it could make it very difficult to fulfill many of his campaign pledges, such as reversing Sarkozy's pension reforms.</p>
<p>Merkel has her own problems, despite the strong economy. Her party, the conservative CDU, has just suffered a bruising defeat in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Her coalition is increasingly fractious, with Bavaria's CSU leader Horst Seehofer publicly slamming the CDU candidate in North Rhine-Westphalia Norbert Roettgen on TV for his campaign, while the FDP is unpredictable due to an ongoing leadership crisis.</p>
<p>The fact that she needs a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag to ratify the fiscal compact means she is dependent on the opposition SPD. And while the party has broadly backed her euro policy, it has been emboldened by Hollande's victory and the strong showing in NRW. On Tuesday the party's leaders said that they would delay the vote on the fiscal pact, originally scheduled for late May, saying it wanted to see concrete growth measures as well as austerity.</p>
<p>That would leave time for Merkel and Hollande to agree to some sort of compromise solution.</p>
<p>The pair said they will seek an agreement ahead of the next big summit of EU leaders in June. "It will be very important that Germany and France present their ideas together at this summit, and we have talked about the preparation," Merkel said.</p>
<p>They will see each other before that, meeting at an informal dinner of EU leaders on May 23, as well as at the forthcoming NATO and G8 summits.</p>
<p>However, Hollande is unlikely to show much willingness for compromise with Berlin just yet. After all his party is facing legislative elections in mid June and he will want to make sure he is not seen to be backsliding on campaign pledges.</p>
<p>Hollande wants his five-year term to start with his Socialist Party securing control of the National Assembly so that he can push through his agenda. Otherwise he faces a frustrating period of "cohabitation" with a prime minister from the opposing camp, such as occurred when conservative Jacques Chirac's presidency coincided with the premiership of Socialist Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002.</p>
<p>As such Merkel cannot expect Hollande to veer from his insistence on growth measures. And for all his unassuming manner, he could well prove to be a more difficult partner than Sarkozy in the long run.</p>
<p>Nevertheless Merkel is also likely to stand firm on many issues. Asked on Tuesday night if she feared Hollande's campaign promises she replied coolly: "I am seldom afraid, as fear is not a good counselor in politics." &#160;</p>
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berlin germany started handshake kiss chancellor angela merkel new french president francois hollande finally met person tuesday evening little warmth marked meetings nicolas sarkozy recent years aides downplayed rendezvous simply aimed getting know one another rather hammering policy yet future europe could hinge whether two leaders find way work well together rarely two people met first time much baggage merkel refused meet hollande election campaign made highly unusual step publicly backing rival fellow conservative sarkozy hollande part seemed campaigning much merkel incumbent pledging renegotiate fiscal pact championed two finally met facetoface encounter seemed cordial hardly warm following ceremonial reviewing guard honor merkel gently nudge hollande right direction red carpet two held hour long meeting addressed throng international journalists joint press conference merkel remained stonyfaced much hollandes comments interspersed odd smile globalpost germany battles future solar pair seek downplay differences strike friendly tone merkel even joking lightning struck hollandes plane way berlin perhaps good omen im sure whether sometimes divergence perceived public realm really chancellor told press conference aware responsibility germany france positive development europe carried spirit believe course find solutions different problems tried show united front greece risks ejection euro zone backs antiausterity parties fresh elections likely parties failed form government like frau merkel hollande said wanted greece remain euro zone insisting athens meet terms bailout agreement yet came crux differences two austerity versus growth obvious thing agreed far disagree remains seen merkels strict stance rapidly reducing budget deficits married hollandes plea kind stimulus package boost growth hollande reiterated promise reopen talks fiscal pact agreement strict budget discipline said france ratify unless growth element also adopted globalpost francois hollandes plane struck lightning said campaign repeat today want renegotiate established certain moment hollande told reporters everything contribute growth must put table dont want growth word tangible measures mentioned boosting competitiveness well euro bonds essentially pooling debt euro zone members something merkel far flatly rejected however mention tinkering european central banks mandate surely red line ever one berlin inauspicious beginnings observers predict two eventually hit play modest toearth style exude air pragmatism rather charisma hollande depicts mr normal contrast bling bling predecessor sarkozy unassuming merkel often seen grocery shopping said wry sense humor private furthermore hollandes gesture appointing germanophile jeanmarc ayrault prime minister gone well berlin yet hardly meeting equals merkel old hand european politics seventh year office hollandes previous executive experience confined serving mayor small town tulle furthermore germany eus economic powerhouse exportdriven economy keeping rest euro zone recession according figures released tuesday berlin long calling political shots europe fiscal compact dreamed merkel way preventing eu states getting deeper debt future globalpost francois hollande sworn french president time merkel increasingly isolated europe growing realization austerity choking growth hollande knows leaders including conservatives like italys mario monti also want berlin budge debt reduction fixation hollande came berlin straight inauguration ceremony paris beating sarkozy may 6 feel mandate french people push change direction europe yet also faces tough economic situation back home 01 percent growth first quarter growing unemployment 13year high 10 percent economy contract even could make difficult fulfill many campaign pledges reversing sarkozys pension reforms merkel problems despite strong economy party conservative cdu suffered bruising defeat state north rhinewestphalia coalition increasingly fractious bavarias csu leader horst seehofer publicly slamming cdu candidate north rhinewestphalia norbert roettgen tv campaign fdp unpredictable due ongoing leadership crisis fact needs twothirds majority bundestag ratify fiscal compact means dependent opposition spd party broadly backed euro policy emboldened hollandes victory strong showing nrw tuesday partys leaders said would delay vote fiscal pact originally scheduled late may saying wanted see concrete growth measures well austerity would leave time merkel hollande agree sort compromise solution pair said seek agreement ahead next big summit eu leaders june important germany france present ideas together summit talked preparation merkel said see meeting informal dinner eu leaders may 23 well forthcoming nato g8 summits however hollande unlikely show much willingness compromise berlin yet party facing legislative elections mid june want make sure seen backsliding campaign pledges hollande wants fiveyear term start socialist party securing control national assembly push agenda otherwise faces frustrating period cohabitation prime minister opposing camp occurred conservative jacques chiracs presidency coincided premiership socialist lionel jospin 1997 2002 merkel expect hollande veer insistence growth measures unassuming manner could well prove difficult partner sarkozy long run nevertheless merkel also likely stand firm many issues asked tuesday night feared hollandes campaign promises replied coolly seldom afraid fear good counselor politics 160
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<p>Ask a teacher what she thinks is the biggest obstacle to improved student achievement, and she’ll likely say unsupportive parents.</p>
<p>That was the result five years ago when CATALYST surveyed Chicago Teachers Union delegates and chairs of schools’ professional personnel advisory committees—64 percent of both groups cited “apathetic or irresponsible” parents as a major impediment to school improvement, putting it in first place. Lack of parent support also was the big complaint four years ago when the U.S. Department of Education surveyed teachers nationwide and two years ago when the Phi Delta Kappan educational journal surveyed teachers.</p>
<p>“Teachers want parents to do things like read to their children, check homework and check bookbags for notes, because that’s one way teachers and the school communicate with parents,” says Laura Tapia, a Reading Recovery teacher at Saucedo Scholastic Academy in South Lawndale.</p>
<p>These are just some of the ways that parents can help not only teachers but also their children. Numerous studies have shown that children do better academically when parents are involved in their education; a wide variety of involvement—ranging from limiting TV time to helping guide the school—counts.</p>
<p>Research also shows that schools themselves can have an impact on parent support. Essentially, schools that give, get. First, they must make parents feel welcome; then they must engage parents in activities that promote student learning.</p>
<p>Saucedo is a prime example. The school is not simply open to parents; it goes out of its way to pull them in. The local school council chair, for example, greets and gets to know parents as they drop off and pick up their children. Then she invites them to check out the many activities Saucedo offers to help both children and adults learn. Principal Karen Morris even holds formal sessions where parents can register concerns or complaints about their children’s education. And she follows up with the children’s teachers.</p>
<p>“Parents are an important resource,” explains Morris.</p>
<p>She credits the school’s parent initiatives, which draw hundreds, in part for an increase in student attendance and a decrease in mobility. (See story on page 9.)</p>
<p>Barbara Buell, executive director of the Chicago Panel on School Policy, says schools sometimes think they’re welcoming parents when they’re not. “You can say you are reaching out to parents and send out notices forever, but the key has to be personal contact,” she says. “You can’t say we have this program, come to us. Schools have to go to parents.”</p>
<p>The Panel has made parent involvement one of its top priorities, conducting workshops, creating a clearinghouse of resources and petitioning the School Reform Board for increased attention to parent involvement.</p>
<p>Charles Payne, chair of the African-American Studies Department at Northwestern University, stresses that in going to parents, schools must show respect.</p>
<p>“Parents can be extraordinarily sensitive to anything that suggests they are being ‘dissed’—the tone of voice which people use to speak to them, the amount of information they are given about school affairs and how people react to their suggestions,” he says.</p>
<p>Connee Fitch-Blanks, an assistant director at the Quest Center of the Chicago Teachers Union, agrees. Sometimes teachers are unknowingly disrespectful, she says. “They do it when they speak ‘Eduspeak,’ which amounts to talking above a parent’s head. Or parents read negative body language or pick up other signals, like when they meet with a teacher but are not invited to sit down.”</p>
<p>Norwood Park Elementary School is a case in point. Principal William Meuer says that when he interviewed for principal in 1994, the local school council told him that parents did not feel welcome there, that teachers looked down on them. He says the LSC made clear that teacher-parent relationships would have to be a top priority for the school’s next principal.</p>
<p>Meuer says the first thing he did upon being hired was to raise the issue with his staff.</p>
<p>“They were really surprised. I don’t think they were aware they were coming across that way,” says Meuer. “This school has a very strong, experienced, well-educated staff; some of them are working on doctorates and I think parents were intimidated. Once this was brought to their attention, they were more mindful of how they interacted with parents.”</p>
<p>In addition, Meuer instituted an open-door policy for his office, encouraged parents to get involved in the school and their children’s education and encouraged staff to follow his lead.</p>
<p>As a result, he says, parents feel more comfortable at the school and are pitching in more. For example, when an asbestos removal project left the school dirty and in disarray weeks before classes were to resume, parents showed up one weekend to help staff clean up.</p>
<p>Again, research confirms that cultural, racial, economic and educational differences between parents and teachers can lead each group to misconstrue each other, with teachers assuming parents don’t care and parents assuming teachers don’t want their input.</p>
<p>Tapia notes, for example, that parents from Mexico view teachers as second parents; when teachers don’t “mother” their children, they don’t understand.</p>
<p>For the past five years, the Quest Center has offered courses that teach teachers and parents how to work with each other.</p>
<p>“When parents and teachers take the course together, there’s a lot of role playing,” says Fitch-Blanks. “Parents get to be the teachers and visa versa so they see what it’s like in the other one’s shoes.”</p>
<p>Teachers also learn from their principals. “When people come through the doors, if they feel intimidated, it’s because of poor administration,” insists Etta Davis, a parent at Reed Elementary School. “When the atmosphere is negative and people are nonchalant and ask you, ‘What do you want?’ it’s the school’s administrator’s fault.”</p>
<p>Another Reed parent concurs, saying the school previously was inhospitable to parents; at the time, it had a principal who was “standoffish” and rarely visible. Davis rallied parents and local school council members to voice their concerns; soon after, the principal retired.</p>
<p>Saucedo’s Morris, winner of a 1997 School Leadership Award for Outstanding Principals, is one of the city’s premier parent-involvement “teachers.” “I can’t just buy into this philosophy,” she says. “The teachers, the clerks, the janitors, support staff, everyone has to buy into it. And I think once they find out how valuable parents can be, they do.”</p>
<p>David Peterson, assistant to the president at the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, agrees that principals set the tone.</p>
<p>“You have to like kids and people to be in this business,” he says. “And while the pressure is on bringing up test scores, relationships are part of the bigger picture, and that can’t be put on the back burner.”</p>
<p>Peterson says that next year, the Chicago Academy for School Leadership, the association’s staff development arm, will offer classes on relationships between staff and parents.</p>
<p>Joyce Epstein, director of the Center of School, Family and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University, says that school boards have a role to play, too. They can set a tone, she says, by offering schools incentives or strongly encouraging them to develop solid parent-involvement programs. Currently, Epstein is working through the National Network of Partnerships-2000 Schools to develop school-family-community partnerships in Baltimore and Los Angeles.</p>
<p>Still, Epstein acknowledges that respect for parents can’t be mandated. “Sometimes you have to develop behaviors first, and then attitudes change,” she says.</p>
<p>Says Buell, “I don’t think a nudge from the board would hurt in those schools where leadership needs a boost.”</p>
<p>Last July, the Reform Board approved a new principal evaluation form to be used by regional education officers and local school councils; parent and community involvement is one of the areas of evaluation.</p>
<p>In September, the board passed a parent-involvement resolution, written by the national PTA, that encourages every school to develop, implement and regularly evaluate a parent involvement policy and program.</p>
<p>Now, a task force initiated by the Chicago Panel is pushing for follow-up. Called the Parent Connection Task Force, the group of principals, business organizations and reform groups has sent recommendations to both Reform Board President Gery Chico and Chief Executive Officer Paul Vallas. Specifically, it wants:</p>
<p>The board’s resolution to be presented and explained at the next systemwide principals’ meeting.</p>
<p>All administrators, teachers and staff to complete a class or workshop on parent involvement by September 1999.</p>
<p>Parent involvement training to be required for all local school councils, beginning in September 1999.</p>
<p>Central office staffers in charge of the parent-involvement component of various programs to meet this school year to coordinate their efforts and, by the year 2000, create a department of parent involvement services in central office.</p>
<p>Every Chicago school to have a parent center in place by the year 2002.</p>
<p>“Involving parents cannot be an agenda item,” says Buell. “It has to be ongoing.”</p>
<p>At Catalyst press time, no one from the board had responded to the Panel. However, Buell wasn’t concerned. “I already know central office departments have moved to coordinate their efforts, so I’m not disheartened that I haven’t heard anything. Sometimes you don’t need a formal response if you see action being taken.”</p>
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ask teacher thinks biggest obstacle improved student achievement shell likely say unsupportive parents result five years ago catalyst surveyed chicago teachers union delegates chairs schools professional personnel advisory committees64 percent groups cited apathetic irresponsible parents major impediment school improvement putting first place lack parent support also big complaint four years ago us department education surveyed teachers nationwide two years ago phi delta kappan educational journal surveyed teachers teachers want parents things like read children check homework check bookbags notes thats one way teachers school communicate parents says laura tapia reading recovery teacher saucedo scholastic academy south lawndale ways parents help teachers also children numerous studies shown children better academically parents involved education wide variety involvementranging limiting tv time helping guide schoolcounts research also shows schools impact parent support essentially schools give get first must make parents feel welcome must engage parents activities promote student learning saucedo prime example school simply open parents goes way pull local school council chair example greets gets know parents drop pick children invites check many activities saucedo offers help children adults learn principal karen morris even holds formal sessions parents register concerns complaints childrens education follows childrens teachers parents important resource explains morris credits schools parent initiatives draw hundreds part increase student attendance decrease mobility see story page 9 barbara buell executive director chicago panel school policy says schools sometimes think theyre welcoming parents theyre say reaching parents send notices forever key personal contact says cant say program come us schools go parents panel made parent involvement one top priorities conducting workshops creating clearinghouse resources petitioning school reform board increased attention parent involvement charles payne chair africanamerican studies department northwestern university stresses going parents schools must show respect parents extraordinarily sensitive anything suggests dissedthe tone voice people use speak amount information given school affairs people react suggestions says connee fitchblanks assistant director quest center chicago teachers union agrees sometimes teachers unknowingly disrespectful says speak eduspeak amounts talking parents head parents read negative body language pick signals like meet teacher invited sit norwood park elementary school case point principal william meuer says interviewed principal 1994 local school council told parents feel welcome teachers looked says lsc made clear teacherparent relationships would top priority schools next principal meuer says first thing upon hired raise issue staff really surprised dont think aware coming across way says meuer school strong experienced welleducated staff working doctorates think parents intimidated brought attention mindful interacted parents addition meuer instituted opendoor policy office encouraged parents get involved school childrens education encouraged staff follow lead result says parents feel comfortable school pitching example asbestos removal project left school dirty disarray weeks classes resume parents showed one weekend help staff clean research confirms cultural racial economic educational differences parents teachers lead group misconstrue teachers assuming parents dont care parents assuming teachers dont want input tapia notes example parents mexico view teachers second parents teachers dont mother children dont understand past five years quest center offered courses teach teachers parents work parents teachers take course together theres lot role playing says fitchblanks parents get teachers visa versa see like ones shoes teachers also learn principals people come doors feel intimidated poor administration insists etta davis parent reed elementary school atmosphere negative people nonchalant ask want schools administrators fault another reed parent concurs saying school previously inhospitable parents time principal standoffish rarely visible davis rallied parents local school council members voice concerns soon principal retired saucedos morris winner 1997 school leadership award outstanding principals one citys premier parentinvolvement teachers cant buy philosophy says teachers clerks janitors support staff everyone buy think find valuable parents david peterson assistant president chicago principals administrators association agrees principals set tone like kids people business says pressure bringing test scores relationships part bigger picture cant put back burner peterson says next year chicago academy school leadership associations staff development arm offer classes relationships staff parents joyce epstein director center school family community partnerships johns hopkins university says school boards role play set tone says offering schools incentives strongly encouraging develop solid parentinvolvement programs currently epstein working national network partnerships2000 schools develop schoolfamilycommunity partnerships baltimore los angeles still epstein acknowledges respect parents cant mandated sometimes develop behaviors first attitudes change says says buell dont think nudge board would hurt schools leadership needs boost last july reform board approved new principal evaluation form used regional education officers local school councils parent community involvement one areas evaluation september board passed parentinvolvement resolution written national pta encourages every school develop implement regularly evaluate parent involvement policy program task force initiated chicago panel pushing followup called parent connection task force group principals business organizations reform groups sent recommendations reform board president gery chico chief executive officer paul vallas specifically wants boards resolution presented explained next systemwide principals meeting administrators teachers staff complete class workshop parent involvement september 1999 parent involvement training required local school councils beginning september 1999 central office staffers charge parentinvolvement component various programs meet school year coordinate efforts year 2000 create department parent involvement services central office every chicago school parent center place year 2002 involving parents agenda item says buell ongoing catalyst press time one board responded panel however buell wasnt concerned already know central office departments moved coordinate efforts im disheartened havent heard anything sometimes dont need formal response see action taken
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<p>JULY 13, 2010</p>
<p>By JOHN SEILER</p>
<p>Americans recently took a day off from worrying about the Gulf oil spill to wonder where basketball superstar and <a href="http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/LeBron-James-wins-second-straight-NBA-MVP-award-043010" type="external">MVP</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LeBron_James" type="external">LeBron James</a> would choose to shoot hoops. According to reports, he might have chosen the <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=5353340" type="external">Clippers</a> in celebrity-centric Los Angeles. Or the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2010/07/08/2010-07-08_lebron_james_spurns_new_york_knicks_the_king_will_join_dywane_wade_and_chris_bos.html" type="external">Knicks</a> in media rich New York. Or some other city.</p>
<p>Instead, he choose the Miami Hoops in Florida, which has no state income tax. That means all his home games will be played state-tax free (taxes for away games will depend on the state in which he plays). And he will pay no state taxes on his endorsement deals, which likely will be even more lucrative than his six-year, $110 million deal from Miami.</p>
<p>By avoiding California’s top income tax rate of 10.55 percent, James could save many millions on just his salary, and potentially tens of millions on his salary plus endorsements. That’s a slam dunk.</p>
<p>Calculates <a href="http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2010/07/09/did-saving-25-million-taxes-fuel-lebron-james-miami-heat-pick/" type="external">Kelly Phillips Erb</a>:</p>
<p>If James had gone to the New York Knicks, the team actively wooing James for nearly two years, he would have been able to sign for more money…. But James, it appears, had done his homework on the tax implications.</p>
<p>Over five years, that means James could save more than $25 million in state taxes alone by relocating to Miami over New York. And that doesn’t count other taxes such as local taxes (New York has a bunch) or property taxes (on average, New Yorkers pay a bigger percentage of their income for property taxes than Floridians). In fact, overall, Florida has a fairly attractive tax picture. Compared to other states, it is ranked by the Tax Foundation as 47th in terms of state and local tax burdens; <a href="http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/471.html" type="external">New York, on the other hand, is 2nd</a> (just behind New Jersey, the home of the Nets, also desperate to sign James).</p>
<p>Tiger Woods has a bad reputation because of his recent scandal. But I remember a decade ago when he left Orange County, where he grew up, numerous stories <a href="http://scobleizer.com/2009/03/24/is-california-is-setup-for-a-brain-drain/" type="external">said he wanted to avoid California’s taxes</a> for Florida’s relatively light levies. <a href="http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/03/most-powerful-sports-names-tiger-woods-nike-cmo-network-sports-brands.html" type="external">According to Forbes</a>, Woods earned $105 million last year from endorsements, meaning he saved about $10 million by not living in California.</p>
<p>He won’t make nearly that much this year. But he’ll still make, and save, a bundle in the Sunshine State.</p>
<p>“California’s high tax rates are a major factor in many financial decisions, from those made by big-time sports stars to those made by retirees, people just beginning their careers and middle-class families who are considering starting a new business,” <a href="http://www.caltax.org/about/staff.html" type="external">David Kline</a> told me; he’s vice president of communications and research at <a href="http://www.caltax.org/" type="external">Cal-Tax</a>, a nonpartisan taxpayers’ group.</p>
<p>Kline also brought up a number of issues:</p>
<p>Tiger also has <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/travel/escapes/09mark.html" type="external">a large estate in Tahoe</a> (on the Nevada side) – at least he did about 18 months ago when I was there and a tour guide pointed out what he claimed was Tiger’s house!&#160; Since most of his income comes from endorsement deals and golf tournaments outside the state of California, living in a no-income-tax state saves him a huge amount of money each year.</p>
<p>Derek Harper of the Dallas Mavericks once nixed a potential trade to the L.A. Clippers in part because it would have cost him six figures in income taxes to California, according to a blurb I found in one of our publications from 1992.</p>
<p>Kline added that it isn’t just the big-name athletes who make such calculations, but that “there are a lot of trades involving lesser-known athletes that don’t get a lot of attention, but also may involve taxes.&#160; In fact, a lesser-known athlete with a smaller salary, no endorsements and a less assured future in the sport might be even more concerned about current take-home pay.&#160; If he or she has a chance to work and live in a state without income taxes instead of in California, that’s like giving himself/herself a huge pay raise.”</p>
<p>It’s not only the income tax revenues that are lost when a sports star shuns a high-income-tax state such as California. Also lost are the property and sales taxes.</p>
<p>A big star who buys a $250,000 Bentley in Florida pays about a 7 percent sales tax, depending on the county, or $17,500. None of that goes to the shunned high-tax state.</p>
<p>Perhaps more important, the big star is likely to invest some of his money in local businesses, such as car dealerships or restaurants named after him. So the local economy in the low-tax state gets a boost that doesn’t go to the high-tax state.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/behold.pl?ascribeid=20071025.083714&amp;time=09%2022%20PDT&amp;year=2007&amp;public=1" type="external">A 2007 study</a>, “Baseball Salaries and State Income Taxes: The ‘Home Field Advantage’ of Income Taxes on Free Agent Salaries,” by three professors found that baseball players today like taxes about as much as getting beaned:</p>
<p>The basic implication of this tax difference is a competitive edge for teams in low-tax areas because they have lower team expenses in signing free agents to contracts that pay the same after-tax wage to players….</p>
<p>We find that individuals choosing to play in cities with income taxes must be paid higher pre-tax salaries by an amount that ranges from $150,00 to $300,000</p>
<p>Baseball also has a “ <a href="http://www.stevetheump.com/luxury_tax.htm" type="external">luxury tax</a>” imposed not by the government, but by the league for teams whose salaries go too high. It’s supposed to prevent teams in high-ticket markets like&#160; New York, Boston and Los Angeles from getting all the best players.</p>
<p>The professors’ study found that the “luxury tax” of the private league magnifies state taxes:</p>
<p>Since clubs in high-tax cities find they must pay more for the same players, the luxury tax distorts in favor of teams in low-tax cities</p>
<p>The reason is that to get the best players to come to high-tax states, teams must pay higher salaries, making the team more likely to burst through the “luxury tax” threshold and pay the penalty.</p>
<p>A counter example is the Los Angeles Lakers, who just won their&#160; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_champions" type="external">fourth championship</a> in the last 10 seasons despite playing in high-tax California. But they are the premiere team in the league, much as are the New York Yankees in baseball, despite playing in high-tax New York City. And where but with the Lakers do your fans include Jack Nicholson?</p>
<p>Yet in that span, four teams have come from states with no state income taxes: the San Antonio Spurs of Texas, three championships, and the Miami Heat of Florida, one. The Heat in 2006 were led by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaquille_O'Neal" type="external">Shaquille O’Neal</a>, a refugee from the Lakers.</p>
<p>Also in the past 10 years, California has had one baseball World Series winner, the Anaheim Angels in 2002; no Super Bowl winner; and one Stanley Cup Winner, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 2007.</p>
<p>In golf, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PGA_Tour#Money_winners_and_most_wins_leaders" type="external">the top money winners</a> (not including endorsements) on the links from 2000-09 were Tiger Woods, seven times, and Vijay Singh, three times. Singh also <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vijay_Singh" type="external">lives in Florida</a>.</p>
<p>Let’s add it up. Looking at just one team doesn’t tell us much. Just look at the Lakers, perennial winners, and the Clippers, perennial losers, even though both teams&#160;play in the same city and have the same opportunities for free agents and draft picks. But we can look at all four major leagues across the past decade. That’s 122 teams that, combined, that played 1,220 seasons, probably a large enough sampling to make comparisons.</p>
<p>For the past 10 years, here’s how California teams performed:</p>
<p>NBA: Four teams of 30; should have won 13 percent of championships, won 40 percent.</p>
<p>MLB: Five teams of 30; should have won 17 percent of championships, won 10 percent.</p>
<p>NFL: Three teams of 32; should have won 9 percent of championships, won 0 percent.</p>
<p>NHL: Three teams of 30; should have won 10 percent of championships, won 10 percent.</p>
<p>Total: 15 California teams played 122 seasons; should have won 12 percent of championships, won 6 percent (six championships total).</p>
<p>So, of the championships projected for them over the past decade, California teams won half.</p>
<p>John Seiler, an editorial writer with The Orange County Register for 19 years, is a reporter and analyst for <a href="" type="internal">CalWatchDog.com</a>. His email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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july 13 2010 john seiler americans recently took day worrying gulf oil spill wonder basketball superstar mvp lebron james would choose shoot hoops according reports might chosen clippers celebritycentric los angeles knicks media rich new york city instead choose miami hoops florida state income tax means home games played statetax free taxes away games depend state plays pay state taxes endorsement deals likely even lucrative sixyear 110 million deal miami avoiding californias top income tax rate 1055 percent james could save many millions salary potentially tens millions salary plus endorsements thats slam dunk calculates kelly phillips erb james gone new york knicks team actively wooing james nearly two years would able sign money james appears done homework tax implications five years means james could save 25 million state taxes alone relocating miami new york doesnt count taxes local taxes new york bunch property taxes average new yorkers pay bigger percentage income property taxes floridians fact overall florida fairly attractive tax picture compared states ranked tax foundation 47th terms state local tax burdens new york hand 2nd behind new jersey home nets also desperate sign james tiger woods bad reputation recent scandal remember decade ago left orange county grew numerous stories said wanted avoid californias taxes floridas relatively light levies according forbes woods earned 105 million last year endorsements meaning saved 10 million living california wont make nearly much year hell still make save bundle sunshine state californias high tax rates major factor many financial decisions made bigtime sports stars made retirees people beginning careers middleclass families considering starting new business david kline told hes vice president communications research caltax nonpartisan taxpayers group kline also brought number issues tiger also large estate tahoe nevada side least 18 months ago tour guide pointed claimed tigers house160 since income comes endorsement deals golf tournaments outside state california living noincometax state saves huge amount money year derek harper dallas mavericks nixed potential trade la clippers part would cost six figures income taxes california according blurb found one publications 1992 kline added isnt bigname athletes make calculations lot trades involving lesserknown athletes dont get lot attention also may involve taxes160 fact lesserknown athlete smaller salary endorsements less assured future sport might even concerned current takehome pay160 chance work live state without income taxes instead california thats like giving himselfherself huge pay raise income tax revenues lost sports star shuns highincometax state california also lost property sales taxes big star buys 250000 bentley florida pays 7 percent sales tax depending county 17500 none goes shunned hightax state perhaps important big star likely invest money local businesses car dealerships restaurants named local economy lowtax state gets boost doesnt go hightax state 2007 study baseball salaries state income taxes home field advantage income taxes free agent salaries three professors found baseball players today like taxes much getting beaned basic implication tax difference competitive edge teams lowtax areas lower team expenses signing free agents contracts pay aftertax wage players find individuals choosing play cities income taxes must paid higher pretax salaries amount ranges 15000 300000 baseball also luxury tax imposed government league teams whose salaries go high supposed prevent teams highticket markets like160 new york boston los angeles getting best players professors study found luxury tax private league magnifies state taxes since clubs hightax cities find must pay players luxury tax distorts favor teams lowtax cities reason get best players come hightax states teams must pay higher salaries making team likely burst luxury tax threshold pay penalty counter example los angeles lakers their160 fourth championship last 10 seasons despite playing hightax california premiere team league much new york yankees baseball despite playing hightax new york city lakers fans include jack nicholson yet span four teams come states state income taxes san antonio spurs texas three championships miami heat florida one heat 2006 led shaquille oneal refugee lakers also past 10 years california one baseball world series winner anaheim angels 2002 super bowl winner one stanley cup winner anaheim mighty ducks 2007 golf top money winners including endorsements links 200009 tiger woods seven times vijay singh three times singh also lives florida lets add looking one team doesnt tell us much look lakers perennial winners clippers perennial losers even though teams160play city opportunities free agents draft picks look four major leagues across past decade thats 122 teams combined played 1220 seasons probably large enough sampling make comparisons past 10 years heres california teams performed nba four teams 30 13 percent championships 40 percent mlb five teams 30 17 percent championships 10 percent nfl three teams 32 9 percent championships 0 percent nhl three teams 30 10 percent championships 10 percent total 15 california teams played 122 seasons 12 percent championships 6 percent six championships total championships projected past decade california teams half john seiler editorial writer orange county register 19 years reporter analyst calwatchdogcom email writejohnseilergmailcom
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<p />
<p>Christmas Music &amp; Drama</p>
<p>Beaver Dam Church, Troy; “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Dec. 18 at 10:30 a.m. Bethel Church, Salem; “The Love, Joy and Laughter of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Biltmore Church, Glen Allen; “Star of Wonder,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Black Creek Church, Franklin; “Christmas in Reverse,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Blackstone Church,Blackstone; “Just Believe,” Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. Central Church, Richmond; “Gloria Deo,” Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. Coan Church, Heathsville; “Living Tree of Praise,” Dec. 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. Fairfields Church, Burgess; “The Wonder of His Love,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Fairmount Memorial Church, Richmond; “Emmanuel,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. First Church, Danville; “The Holy Child,” Dec. 18 at 10:30 a.m. First Church, Springfield; “Bethlehem's Child,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. First Church, Woodstock; “The Next Noel,” Dec. 18 at 5 p.m.; and “The Gift Goes On,” Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Franklin Church, Franklin; “A Service of Lessons and Carols,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Freemason Street Church, Norfolk; “The Christmas Story,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Glenwood Memorial Church, Danville; “I'll Be Home for Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Gloucester Point Church, Gloucester Point; “The Heart of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Goshen Church, Spotsylvania; “God's Great Love,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Grace Church, Richmond; “Silent Night,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Greenbrier Church, Arlington; “The Wonders of His Love,” Dec. 24 at 7 p.m. Gwynn's Island Church, Gwynn; “The Gift Goes On,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Hampton Church, Hampton; “Messiah,” Dec. 18 at 10:30 a.m. Hillcrest Church, Mechanicsville; “I Have Seen the Light,” Dec. 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. Hillcrest Church, Ridgeway; “Come, Let Us Adore Him,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Huguenot Road Church, Richmond; “Messiah,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. James Square Church, Lawrenceville; “2,000 Decembers Ago,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Lakeside Church, Richmond; “Born in Bethlehem,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Louisia Church, Louisia; “Unto Us A Son,” featuring the dramatic telling of the Christmas story by “Re:Creations,” a drama team from Bluefield College; Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Manassas Church, Manassas; “A World of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 8:30 and 11 a.m. Marlow Heights Church, Front Royal; “Tell Me the Story of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Massaponax Church, “Star of Wonder,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Mentow Church, Huddleston; “Best Gift of All,” Dec. 18 at 5 p.m. Mine Road Church, Spotsylvania; “Born A Savior, Born a King,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Monument Heights Church, Richmond; “Festival of Lights,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Mount Pleasant Church, Roanoke; “Love's Pure Light,” Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Newington Church, Gloucester; “The Way in the Manger,” Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Oak Level Church, Bassett; “The Gift Goes On,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Oakland Church, Roanoke; “God's Great Love,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Olive Branch Church, “One Incredible Moment,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Pine Street Church, Richmond; “The Gift Goes On,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Pioneer Church, Richmond; “Emmanuel, Celebrating Heaven's Child,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Raleigh Heights Church, Chesapeake; “I'll Be Home for Christmas,” Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Ringgold Church, Ringgold; “The Heart of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Rivermont Avenue Church, Lynchburg; “All on a Christmas Day,” Dec. 16, 17 and 18 at 7 p.m. For tickets call 434-845-6023. Round Hill Church, King George; “The Carols of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Second Church, Petersburg; “All Through the Night,” Dec. 18 at 5 p.m. Shalom Church, Mechanicsville; “Emmanuel: Celebrating Heaven's Child,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Shiloh Church, King George; “One Quiet Night,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Skipwith Church, Richmond; “One Incredible Moment,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Sycamore Church, Franklin; “Born a Savior, Born a King,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Tabernacle Church, Salem; “Shine on Us,” Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. Temple Church, Newport News; “A Family Christmas,” Dec. 17 and 18 at 6 p.m. Tickets available by calling the church at 757-595-1175. Thalia Lynn Church, Virginia Beach; “Wondrous Gift,” Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. United Church, Annandale; “The Carols of Christmas,” Dec. 18 at 10:55 a.m. Upper Essex Church, Caret; “Christmas: Where, When and Why,” Dec. 18 at 7 p.m. Villa Heights Church, Martinsville; “Bethlehem's Child,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Virginia Hills Church, Alexandria; “Star of Wonder,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Waverly Place Church, Roanoke; “Shine on Us,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Webber Memorial Church, Richmond; “Jesus, Our Treasure,” Dec. 18 at 8:30 and 11 a.m. West Hampton Church, Hampton; “Forever Gloria!” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m. Woodlawn Church, Colonial Heights; “God's Great Love,” Dec. 18 at 11 a.m.</p>
<p>Living Nativity</p>
<p>Azalea Church, Norfolk; living nativity Dec. 22 and 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and Dec. 24 from 6-7:30 p.m. Braddock Church, Alexandria; living nativity Dec. 23 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. Calvary Church, Emporia; live nativity Dec. 21, 22 and 23 from 6:30-8 p.m. Hillcrest Church, Ridgeway; live nativity scene Dec. 18-24 from 7-8:30 p.m. James Square Church, Lawrenceville; live nativity Dec. 18 from 5-7 p.m. Temple Church, Norfolk; living nativity Dec. 23 from 5-7 p.m.</p>
<p>Church Events</p>
<p>Cool Spring Church, Mechanicsville, will feature Greg Buchanan, a world-class harpist, in concert on Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. For more information call the church at 804-746-0800.</p>
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christmas music amp drama beaver dam church troy hear hear dec 18 1030 bethel church salem love joy laughter christmas dec 18 6 pm biltmore church glen allen star wonder dec 18 7 pm black creek church franklin christmas reverse dec 18 7 pm blackstone churchblackstone believe dec 16 7 pm central church richmond gloria deo dec 18 730 pm coan church heathsville living tree praise dec 17 18 7 pm fairfields church burgess wonder love dec 18 11 fairmount memorial church richmond emmanuel dec 18 11 first church danville holy child dec 18 1030 first church springfield bethlehems child dec 18 7 pm first church woodstock next noel dec 18 5 pm gift goes dec 18 6 pm franklin church franklin service lessons carols dec 18 11 freemason street church norfolk christmas story dec 18 11 glenwood memorial church danville ill home christmas dec 18 11 gloucester point church gloucester point heart christmas dec 18 11 goshen church spotsylvania gods great love dec 18 11 grace church richmond silent night dec 18 11 greenbrier church arlington wonders love dec 24 7 pm gwynns island church gwynn gift goes dec 18 7 pm hampton church hampton messiah dec 18 1030 hillcrest church mechanicsville seen light dec 18 19 7 pm hillcrest church ridgeway come let us adore dec 18 11 huguenot road church richmond messiah dec 18 7 pm james square church lawrenceville 2000 decembers ago dec 18 11 lakeside church richmond born bethlehem dec 18 7 pm louisia church louisia unto us son featuring dramatic telling christmas story recreations drama team bluefield college dec 18 630 pm manassas church manassas world christmas dec 18 830 11 marlow heights church front royal tell story christmas dec 18 6 pm massaponax church star wonder dec 18 11 mentow church huddleston best gift dec 18 5 pm mine road church spotsylvania born savior born king dec 18 11 monument heights church richmond festival lights dec 18 11 mount pleasant church roanoke loves pure light dec 18 630 pm newington church gloucester way manger dec 18 6 pm oak level church bassett gift goes dec 18 7 pm oakland church roanoke gods great love dec 18 7 pm olive branch church one incredible moment dec 18 7 pm pine street church richmond gift goes dec 18 11 pioneer church richmond emmanuel celebrating heavens child dec 18 7 pm raleigh heights church chesapeake ill home christmas dec 16 7 pm dec 18 6 pm ringgold church ringgold heart christmas dec 18 11 rivermont avenue church lynchburg christmas day dec 16 17 18 7 pm tickets call 4348456023 round hill church king george carols christmas dec 18 630 pm second church petersburg night dec 18 5 pm shalom church mechanicsville emmanuel celebrating heavens child dec 18 11 shiloh church king george one quiet night dec 18 7 pm skipwith church richmond one incredible moment dec 18 11 sycamore church franklin born savior born king dec 18 11 tabernacle church salem shine us dec 18 630 pm temple church newport news family christmas dec 17 18 6 pm tickets available calling church 7575951175 thalia lynn church virginia beach wondrous gift dec 18 6 pm united church annandale carols christmas dec 18 1055 upper essex church caret christmas dec 18 7 pm villa heights church martinsville bethlehems child dec 18 11 virginia hills church alexandria star wonder dec 18 11 waverly place church roanoke shine us dec 18 11 webber memorial church richmond jesus treasure dec 18 830 11 west hampton church hampton forever gloria dec 18 11 woodlawn church colonial heights gods great love dec 18 11 living nativity azalea church norfolk living nativity dec 22 23 630 830 pm dec 24 6730 pm braddock church alexandria living nativity dec 23 630930 pm calvary church emporia live nativity dec 21 22 23 6308 pm hillcrest church ridgeway live nativity scene dec 1824 7830 pm james square church lawrenceville live nativity dec 18 57 pm temple church norfolk living nativity dec 23 57 pm church events cool spring church mechanicsville feature greg buchanan worldclass harpist concert dec 18 6 pm information call church 8047460800
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<p>Every two weeks, Kimberly Smith gets a visit from a parent educator who teaches her an activity to do with her 17-month-old son, Jeremiah. The visits have helped her become a better parent, says Smith.</p>
<p>During a recent visit, a parent educator had Smith carry out an activity with her son that involved putting items in a container, then having him pull them out and examine them. The goal: to promote learning by capitalizing on a young child’s natural inquisitiveness.</p>
<p>The parent educator also checked Jeremiah’s development and screened for hearing problems and other potential concerns. If red flags are raised, Smith will get a referral to an agency for help.</p>
<p>Smith’s deep involvement in the program led her to become a home visiting recruiter, through POWER-PAC, the acronym for Parents Organized to Win, Educate and Renew – Policy Action Council. POWER-PAC is sponsored by the nonprofit Community Organizing and Family Issues, known as COFI.</p>
<p>“I get to sign up other moms who may not be as attentive to children as I am, who may not have access to books, who may not have car seats,” says Smith, who lives in Englewood. “It makes them better parents as well.”</p>
<p>Smith has guided other parents through the program, like a mother whose 2-year-old rarely spoke. “By 2 years old, they should be saying full sentences,” Smith points out. “[The mother] had never done anything about it. When she was introduced to the home visiting program, they let her know that he should see a speech therapist.” &#160;The boy’s vocabulary has since increased.</p>
<p>Another plus has been social support. “I get to bond with other moms and dads, and we get to share stories about our children,” Smith says. “I am more aware of what [my son] can do and how advanced he is, and also what to look for in the next few months.”</p>
<p>The goal of home visiting programs (some if which work with expectant mothers as well as new moms) is to ensure that the youngest children get on track for a healthy start in preschool and are eventually ready for kindergarten. Studies have found that home visiting programs can improve children’s odds of graduating from high school and not having to repeat a grade, as well as their health and social skills. Economics researcher and Nobel Prize winner James Heckman has found that <a href="http://www.heckmanequation.org/" type="external">birth-to-3 programs have even greater economic returns than preschool.</a></p>
<p>New federal grants for home visiting, authorized as part of health care reform legislation, began flowing to Illinois in 2011. In Chicago’s Englewood, West Englewood and Greater Grand Crossing neighborhoods, these dollars have increased both the reach and potential impact of home visiting initiatives by opening up more spots for families and amping up community outreach for screening and placement. &#160;</p>
<p>Plus, through a new partnership called the South Side Early Learning Network, more inter-agency collaboration is starting to take place. The collaboration’s goal is provide help for home visiting families that, through screening, are identified as being at-risk for domestic violence, mental health problems and other issues.</p>
<p>Chicago is just one of six places in the state that are doing similar work. The others are Elgin, Rockford, Cicero, Macon County, and Vermilion County.</p>
<p>Statistics bear out the need for extra services. Screening tools have found that 16 percent of women who are screened for home visiting services may be victims of domestic violence, and 23 percent may be suffering from depression, according to data from a state presentation on the program that took place earlier this year.</p>
<p>The collaboration relies on coordinated intake, in which institutions in the same neighborhood now send families to a single agency–Children’s Home + Aid Society—for screening to determine if they qualify to participate and which agency is the best fit. Previously, agencies screened families themselves.</p>
<p>The federal grant funds will also pay for research on the effectiveness of home visiting, including a national overview; an evaluation of doulas, professionals who provide support with pregnancy issues and childbirth, then conduct home visits once a baby is born; and a study of <a href="http://www.erikson.edu/fussybaby/" type="external">the Fussy Baby Network,</a> which provides support for parents whose infants won’t stop crying. The results will be presented to Congress sometime in 2015.</p>
<p>Expectations are high. Illinois has promised the federal government it will show progress in improving maternal and infant health; decreasing child abuse, child injury and emergency visit rates; and decreasing the incidence of domestic violence.</p>
<p>Building a network, overcoming barriers</p>
<p>The South Side Early Learning Network, convened by COFI, promotes the collaboration and help agencies work through any problems that arise.“Our role is to bring the various partners together and help them shape an agenda for how they want to move forward on early learning goals for the area,” says Tracy Crowder, senior organizer at COFI.</p>
<p>So far, the network has had four meetings and has drawn 80 different participants, including CPS, area preschools and schools, the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, and advocacy groups such as the Ounce of Prevention Fund and Illinois Action for Children.</p>
<p>Rosazlia Grillier says she thinks some of COFI’s work – including its report “Why Isn’t Johnny in Preschool?” – was a catalyst for the work now being done by the South Side Early Learning Network’s work. Grillier is a trainer and community organizer at COFI.</p>
<p>Among other findings, the report found that families weren’t participating in early childhood education because of a confusing system and “a lack of coordinated services.” The single referral system makes it easier for families. “You’re not telling 500 people your same story and still not getting the services you need,” Grillier says.</p>
<p>Despite the benefits, some parents are reluctant to participate in home visiting. Smith says they may fear that strangers coming into their home will be nosy.</p>
<p>“I tell parents, the program is not that personal.&#160; They don’t come in looking in your house, looking through cabinets and things like that,” Smith says. Families might also think the home visitor won’t understand their concerns. “They think, ‘It’s just a job, so how could this person possibly know what I need?’ ” Smith adds.</p>
<p>Other hurdles exist, such as unpredictable work schedules, families who have lost their housing and need to move, or animosity from partners or roommates toward the home visitor.</p>
<p>To bring people in the door, POWER-PAC and other agencies have sent recruiters out to knock on doors in the neighborhood and give families information about the program, says Grillier. Screenings are also done at hospitals, food stamp application centers, or even at high schools to reach teen parents.</p>
<p>Workers also visit health clinics, homeless shelters, child care centers and preschool programs, all in an effort to talk to parents about what the program does. Even community organizations are referring families to the program.</p>
<p>“By all working together, we almost create a dragnet,” says Jan Stepto-Millett, vice president of early childhood services at Children’s Home + Aid Society of Illinois.</p>
<p>The ultimate goal is for word-of-mouth to become the major marketing tool, says Liz Heneks, vice president of programs for ChildServ. &#160;“We are looking at how do we create avenues for clients to bring in their friends and talk about the program?”</p>
<p>Through the collaboration, agencies also can refer clients to each other’s programs. For instance, Children’s Home + Aid Society’s fatherhood program now includes fathers whose children are in other agencies’ home visiting programs.</p>
<p>“I think it allows us to provide more useful salient services to the families, and provide it in a way that encourages us to partner rather than compete,” Stepto-Millett says. “In this age where there are all kinds of fiscal pressures, it is really important to be careful about getting everything we can out of each dollar. By doing this, we reduce duplicative services.”</p>
<p>Stepto-Millett says the extra outreach means families are coming in that “weren’t even on the radar” before.</p>
<p>Coketha Hendricks of Henry Booth House says the connections among agencies have strengthened services, and that she is now able to access resources that “you wouldn’t have even thought about a 0-to-3 program connecting with.”</p>
<p>“I have got contacts with people in the schools, programs that deal with ex-offenders, DCFS-involved families,” she says.</p>
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every two weeks kimberly smith gets visit parent educator teaches activity 17monthold son jeremiah visits helped become better parent says smith recent visit parent educator smith carry activity son involved putting items container pull examine goal promote learning capitalizing young childs natural inquisitiveness parent educator also checked jeremiahs development screened hearing problems potential concerns red flags raised smith get referral agency help smiths deep involvement program led become home visiting recruiter powerpac acronym parents organized win educate renew policy action council powerpac sponsored nonprofit community organizing family issues known cofi get sign moms may attentive children may access books may car seats says smith lives englewood makes better parents well smith guided parents program like mother whose 2yearold rarely spoke 2 years old saying full sentences smith points mother never done anything introduced home visiting program let know see speech therapist 160the boys vocabulary since increased another plus social support get bond moms dads get share stories children smith says aware son advanced also look next months goal home visiting programs work expectant mothers well new moms ensure youngest children get track healthy start preschool eventually ready kindergarten studies found home visiting programs improve childrens odds graduating high school repeat grade well health social skills economics researcher nobel prize winner james heckman found birthto3 programs even greater economic returns preschool new federal grants home visiting authorized part health care reform legislation began flowing illinois 2011 chicagos englewood west englewood greater grand crossing neighborhoods dollars increased reach potential impact home visiting initiatives opening spots families amping community outreach screening placement 160 plus new partnership called south side early learning network interagency collaboration starting take place collaborations goal provide help home visiting families screening identified atrisk domestic violence mental health problems issues chicago one six places state similar work others elgin rockford cicero macon county vermilion county statistics bear need extra services screening tools found 16 percent women screened home visiting services may victims domestic violence 23 percent may suffering depression according data state presentation program took place earlier year collaboration relies coordinated intake institutions neighborhood send families single agencychildrens home aid societyfor screening determine qualify participate agency best fit previously agencies screened families federal grant funds also pay research effectiveness home visiting including national overview evaluation doulas professionals provide support pregnancy issues childbirth conduct home visits baby born study fussy baby network provides support parents whose infants wont stop crying results presented congress sometime 2015 expectations high illinois promised federal government show progress improving maternal infant health decreasing child abuse child injury emergency visit rates decreasing incidence domestic violence building network overcoming barriers south side early learning network convened cofi promotes collaboration help agencies work problems ariseour role bring various partners together help shape agenda want move forward early learning goals area says tracy crowder senior organizer cofi far network four meetings drawn 80 different participants including cps area preschools schools citys department family support services advocacy groups ounce prevention fund illinois action children rosazlia grillier says thinks cofis work including report isnt johnny preschool catalyst work done south side early learning networks work grillier trainer community organizer cofi among findings report found families werent participating early childhood education confusing system lack coordinated services single referral system makes easier families youre telling 500 people story still getting services need grillier says despite benefits parents reluctant participate home visiting smith says may fear strangers coming home nosy tell parents program personal160 dont come looking house looking cabinets things like smith says families might also think home visitor wont understand concerns think job could person possibly know need smith adds hurdles exist unpredictable work schedules families lost housing need move animosity partners roommates toward home visitor bring people door powerpac agencies sent recruiters knock doors neighborhood give families information program says grillier screenings also done hospitals food stamp application centers even high schools reach teen parents workers also visit health clinics homeless shelters child care centers preschool programs effort talk parents program even community organizations referring families program working together almost create dragnet says jan steptomillett vice president early childhood services childrens home aid society illinois ultimate goal wordofmouth become major marketing tool says liz heneks vice president programs childserv 160we looking create avenues clients bring friends talk program collaboration agencies also refer clients others programs instance childrens home aid societys fatherhood program includes fathers whose children agencies home visiting programs think allows us provide useful salient services families provide way encourages us partner rather compete steptomillett says age kinds fiscal pressures really important careful getting everything dollar reduce duplicative services steptomillett says extra outreach means families coming werent even radar coketha hendricks henry booth house says connections among agencies strengthened services able access resources wouldnt even thought 0to3 program connecting got contacts people schools programs deal exoffenders dcfsinvolved families says
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<p>The frightening scenes of urban unrest in Baltimore, and in Ferguson, Missouri before that, reflect a long-smoldering distrust of police in African-American communities nationwide.</p>
<p>In 1968, the Kerner Commission, appointed following riots in Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark and Detroit, concluded that for some blacks “police have come to symbolize white power, white racism and white repression.” <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/qtaylor/documents_us/Kerner%20Report.htm" type="external">Its report</a> went on to say that the “abrasive relationship between police and the minority communities has been a major-and explosive-source of grievance, tension and disorder.”</p>
<p>For many those words still ring depressingly true today. The commission recommended that big cities recruit more African-Americans for their police departments and review policies to assure fair promotion opportunities for black officers. Since then, a lot of departments, Baltimore’s among them, have made substantive strides in increasing the diversity of their police forces. But Census Bureau statistics also indicate that police in many of America’s largest cities still don’t reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.</p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>Source: 2006-2010 American Community Survey, Equal Employment Opportunity Tabulation | <a href="#methodology" type="external">Method</a></p>
<p>To estimate the racial makeup of police and residents in 50 of the most populous cities in the US, the Center used data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey conducted from 2006-2010, a similar method to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/police-staffing/" type="external">a project</a> by the Washington Post. For police, numbers reflect a Bureau estimate of people who work as a police patrol officer, criminal investigator, detective or first-line supervisor in the cities listed. The Bureau based this estimate on survey responses from individuals who said they worked in those jobs. The numbers may include federal, county and other law enforcement officers working in those cities in addition to officers working in metropolitan police departments.</p>
<p>Noun Project icons by Lynn Christensen, Alberto Guerra Quintanilla.</p>
<p>This story is <a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/04/30/17256/police-whiter-those-they-serve" type="external">cross-posted</a> by our partners at The Center for Public Integrity</p>
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frightening scenes urban unrest baltimore ferguson missouri reflect longsmoldering distrust police africanamerican communities nationwide 1968 kerner commission appointed following riots los angeles chicago newark detroit concluded blacks police come symbolize white power white racism white repression report went say abrasive relationship police minority communities majorand explosivesource grievance tension disorder many words still ring depressingly true today commission recommended big cities recruit africanamericans police departments review policies assure fair promotion opportunities black officers since lot departments baltimores among made substantive strides increasing diversity police forces census bureau statistics also indicate police many americas largest cities still dont reflect makeup communities serve source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation 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20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method source 20062010 american community survey equal employment opportunity tabulation method estimate racial makeup police residents 50 populous cities us center used data census bureaus american community survey conducted 20062010 similar method project washington post police numbers reflect bureau estimate people work police patrol officer criminal investigator detective firstline supervisor cities listed bureau based estimate survey responses individuals said worked jobs numbers may include federal county law enforcement officers working cities addition officers working metropolitan police departments noun project icons lynn christensen alberto guerra quintanilla story crossposted partners center public integrity
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<p>Whoever winds up in the Oval Office next January will be facing a wide array of challenges, many of which will significantly impact the auto industry.</p>
<p>Few industries are more tightly regulated. And even government’s actions not directly involving issues like emissions, safety, and fuel economy could have a broad impact. More so, considering that, in the words of General Motors CEO Mary Barra, the auto industry is facing “more change in the next five to 10 years than it has in the last 50.”</p>
<p>"From the auto industry’s perspective, the election is really, really important."</p>
<p>The auto industry has found itself in the crosshairs on several occasions, most notably with Ford Motor Co. taking heat from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for its plan to move all of its small car production to Mexico. So, NAFTA and the Trans Pacific Trade Partnership will be on the next president’s desk, along with issues like fuel economy, and global warming.</p>
<p>“From the auto industry’s perspective,” the election “is really, really important,” said David Cole, director-emeritus of the Center for Automotive Research, a private think tank.</p>
<p>Growing the Economy is Key</p>
<p>“Probably the most important issue will be getting the economy growing at a reasonable rate,” said Cole. The relatively low rate of growth is “a terrifying problem.”</p>
<p>That’s all the more concerning to the industry as it watches the U.S. new car market soften after reaching historic sales highs. There are few signs that a sharp downturn is on the horizon — certainly nothing of the magnitude that faced then-new President Barack Obama when he took office in January 2008, but even a more modest economic slowdown could have dire consequences, industry experts warn.</p>
<p>The health of the economy is tightly interwoven, in today’s global economy, with trade. That’s especially true with the auto industry. Candidate Trump has raised concerns about the transfer of automotive production from the U.S. to Mexico. And there is no question that the auto industry has been booming South of the Border. But whether that actually has hurt the U.S. auto industry jobs base is far from certain, as Ford Chairman Bill Ford stressed during a meeting with the Republican candidate.</p>
<p>If anything, there has also been a boom in automotive manufacturing over the last decade or more. Not only have Detroit’s Big Three makers created tens of thousands of jobs since the end of the Great Recession, but there have been major investments made by foreign-based companies, from giants like Japan’s Toyota to Germany’s Volkswagen. Even Volvo is setting up a new, $500 million plant near Charleston, South Carolina.</p>
<p>“Ironically, our cost position is improving,” said Cole, which actually is encouraging more localized automotive production.</p>
<p>CAR’s Cole and others warn that any measures that limit free trade could ultimately hurt the auto industry, as well as the broader economy. While the GOP nominee has been more vocal in his trade stance, both Trump and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton now oppose the TPP and could take steps to revise NAFTA and other trade agreements.</p>
<p>A Crackdown on Trade Would be 'Disastrous'</p>
<p>But a wholescale crackdown on trade “would be disastrous and will hit the auto industry, in particular,” warned Prof. Marina Whitman, a retired General Motors executive vice president who now serves as a professor of business administration and public policy at the University of Michigan.</p>
<p>Tax policies are yet another area that could impact the industry. Like other businesses, automakers would like to see a reduction in corporate rates and other changes that could reduce their tax burdens.</p>
<p>One area of interest to the auto industry where the two candidates seem most sharply divided concerns global warming. The GOP candidate has gone as far as claiming the issue is a fiction created by China; his Democratic opponent has said climate change is an issue America must address quickly.</p>
<p>Their opposing stances could, in turn, influence government policy on topics like fuel economy and automotive emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency recently showed that it likely will move ahead with the tough, 54.5 mpg mileage mandate for 2025. Many automakers had hoped for a rollback, something a GOP White House might consider more favorably. On the other hand, there’s growing support in the auto industry for electric vehicles, a shift the Democrats favor.</p>
<p>Technology in the Driving Seat</p>
<p>Under President Obama, federal regulators have cracked down hard on industry safety lapses. But guided by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief Mark Rosekind, there’s also been an unprecedented shift to cooperate on the development of high-tech safety systems. Rosekind has also promoted the development of autonomous vehicles. Carmakers are hoping this is one thing that doesn’t change under the next president.</p>
<p>Technology is rapidly changing the auto industry. The new Commander-in-Chief will have to consider such issues as infrastructure. Beyond rebuilding roads and bridges, that could include the creation of a new, nationwide connected vehicle network, something proponents say could enhance safety and improve traffic flow in clogged megacities. Mass transit will be another topic the new president will have to consider.</p>
<p>But not all the issues facing the auto industry are high tech. True, automation has helped cut by more than half the number of workers needed in a typical assembly plant. But muscle still matters. The difference is that there’s less demand for the sort of unskilled laborers that long manned the line. Even hourly workers need to know some fundamentals about issues like quality control.</p>
<p>If anything, there’s actually a shortage of the skilled and semi-skilled labor the industry says it will need in the years ahead. Former Secretary of State Clinton has frequently talked about the need for European-style crafts training and apprenticeship programs.</p>
<p>November 8 is Just the Beginning</p>
<p>The complexity of the issues facing the auto industry may help explain why auto industry executives have been far more nuanced this year in terms of their support for the two presidential candidates. Neither Trump nor Clinton are seen as clearly in the industry’s corner. And each could bring to the White House issues that could hurt the economy, and thus the auto industry.</p>
<p>Watching the way financial markets have responded to the idea of a President Trump doesn’t bode well for the economy, especially if there’s a crackdown on trade, said Prof. Whitman. But she is equally concerned what would happen with a Pres. Clinton, especially if Congress stays in the hands of the Republicans, something that could “lead to stasis,” four years of getting little to nothing done in Washington.</p>
<p>“People are saying it will all be over after Tuesday,” said the long-time auto industry veteran. But for the car business, in particular, she added, “Actually, it will just be starting.”</p>
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whoever winds oval office next january facing wide array challenges many significantly impact auto industry industries tightly regulated even governments actions directly involving issues like emissions safety fuel economy could broad impact considering words general motors ceo mary barra auto industry facing change next five 10 years last 50 auto industrys perspective election really really important auto industry found crosshairs several occasions notably ford motor co taking heat republican presidential candidate donald trump plan move small car production mexico nafta trans pacific trade partnership next presidents desk along issues like fuel economy global warming auto industrys perspective election really really important said david cole directoremeritus center automotive research private think tank growing economy key probably important issue getting economy growing reasonable rate said cole relatively low rate growth terrifying problem thats concerning industry watches us new car market soften reaching historic sales highs signs sharp downturn horizon certainly nothing magnitude faced thennew president barack obama took office january 2008 even modest economic slowdown could dire consequences industry experts warn health economy tightly interwoven todays global economy trade thats especially true auto industry candidate trump raised concerns transfer automotive production us mexico question auto industry booming south border whether actually hurt us auto industry jobs base far certain ford chairman bill ford stressed meeting republican candidate anything also boom automotive manufacturing last decade detroits big three makers created tens thousands jobs since end great recession major investments made foreignbased companies giants like japans toyota germanys volkswagen even volvo setting new 500 million plant near charleston south carolina ironically cost position improving said cole actually encouraging localized automotive production cars cole others warn measures limit free trade could ultimately hurt auto industry well broader economy gop nominee vocal trade stance trump democratic rival hillary clinton oppose tpp could take steps revise nafta trade agreements crackdown trade would disastrous wholescale crackdown trade would disastrous hit auto industry particular warned prof marina whitman retired general motors executive vice president serves professor business administration public policy university michigan tax policies yet another area could impact industry like businesses automakers would like see reduction corporate rates changes could reduce tax burdens one area interest auto industry two candidates seem sharply divided concerns global warming gop candidate gone far claiming issue fiction created china democratic opponent said climate change issue america must address quickly opposing stances could turn influence government policy topics like fuel economy automotive emissions environmental protection agency recently showed likely move ahead tough 545 mpg mileage mandate 2025 many automakers hoped rollback something gop white house might consider favorably hand theres growing support auto industry electric vehicles shift democrats favor technology driving seat president obama federal regulators cracked hard industry safety lapses guided national highway traffic safety administration chief mark rosekind theres also unprecedented shift cooperate development hightech safety systems rosekind also promoted development autonomous vehicles carmakers hoping one thing doesnt change next president technology rapidly changing auto industry new commanderinchief consider issues infrastructure beyond rebuilding roads bridges could include creation new nationwide connected vehicle network something proponents say could enhance safety improve traffic flow clogged megacities mass transit another topic new president consider issues facing auto industry high tech true automation helped cut half number workers needed typical assembly plant muscle still matters difference theres less demand sort unskilled laborers long manned line even hourly workers need know fundamentals issues like quality control anything theres actually shortage skilled semiskilled labor industry says need years ahead former secretary state clinton frequently talked need europeanstyle crafts training apprenticeship programs november 8 beginning complexity issues facing auto industry may help explain auto industry executives far nuanced year terms support two presidential candidates neither trump clinton seen clearly industrys corner could bring white house issues could hurt economy thus auto industry watching way financial markets responded idea president trump doesnt bode well economy especially theres crackdown trade said prof whitman equally concerned would happen pres clinton especially congress stays hands republicans something could lead stasis four years getting little nothing done washington people saying tuesday said longtime auto industry veteran car business particular added actually starting
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />At this weekend’s <a href="http://cagop.org/convention.html" type="external">state party convention at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport</a>, a group of influential California Republicans has an odd request for delegates: help turn California blue.</p>
<p>“Around the globe, blue is identified with conservative, free market parties, while red is identified with social democratic parties,” points out Shawn Steel, a former chairman of the state party who now serves as its representative on the Republican National Committee. “It is why conservative-leaning Democrats in Congress were called ‘Blue Dogs.’ Everyone knew what it meant.”</p>
<p>Steel is among a group of Republicans that have <a href="http://theagency.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/BlueResolution.pdf" type="external">introduced a resolution</a> calling for the California Republican Party to adopt blue as its official color in branding materials. The informal coalition of “ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RedNoMore" type="external">Republicans, Red No More</a>” says that it’s time to conform to proper historical and international standards for political ideology, correct a 14-year-old mistake by the mainstream media and, in the process, confront “the idea of a hopelessly divided nation.”</p>
<p>The group has some high-profile backers, including two members of California’s congressional delegation.</p>
<p>“Should the Republican Party choose its own principles and symbols, or should we let the national media do that for us?” asked Rep. Doug La Malfa, R- Richvale, in an <a href="http://users.focalbeam.com/fs/distribution:wl/yldavg8lx59bmo/124jmpvj6xutvud/daid/.preview" type="external">email to delegates</a>. “Well, the answer should be obvious.”</p>
<p>Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach, pleads, “Will you join with me in taking back our Reagan Blue?” He was a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan.</p>
<p>Think the whole color conundrum is trivial? Wayne Johnson, one of the state’s most successful political consultants, believes that the media’s emphasis on red states vs. blue states increases public cynicism about the political process.</p>
<p>“The very notion that there are ‘Blue States’ and ‘Red States’ not only signals to people that their votes are a meaningless formality, it also feeds the idea of a hopelessly divided nation,” said Johnson, the president of <a href="http://theagency.us/" type="external">The Wayne Johnson Agency</a>. “Both assumptions also happen to be profoundly untrue. There isn’t a state in the union that couldn’t go Republican or Democrat in any given election given the right candidate and the right timing and issues.”</p>
<p>Last month, California Republicans proved that to be true: the right candidate, Councilman Kevin Faulconer, with the right timing, a special election, won a decisive victory in San Diego by focusing on right-of-center issues. Without compromising the party’s core conservative values, Faulconer sought to minimize the divisive red vs. blue rhetoric and build on a “theme of inclusion.” And as the <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/Feb/11/alvarez-faulconer-mayor-election-results/2/" type="external">UT San Diego noted</a>, “He even used blue campaign signs.”</p>
<p>Faulconer’s blue signs were a departure from recent norms, but not historical traditions. Dating back to at least the 19th&#160;century, the United States has followed the international standard of associating blue with right-of-center political parties and red with causes that lean left. That tradition, Johnson says, “reached its zenith in 1980 with the landslide election of Ronald Reagan.”</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/www.calnewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/1980-Reagan-Landslide.png" type="external" />“In 1980, David Brinkley described the nearly all-blue map of the Reagan landslide as a ‘suburban swimming pool,’” said Johnson.</p>
<p>That all changed in 2000, when a trifecta of media powerhouses flubbed the traditional political colors. Among a slew of mistakes in its <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOaaUackKFQ" type="external">election night coverage</a>, NBC News used red to fill in the map of states won by George W. Bush and blue for those won by Al Gore. Two days later, the New York Times and USA Today repeated those colors in their first color-coded maps of the vote. The graphics editors for both papers have said there wasn’t much thought put into the decision. However, the ensuing drama and Supreme Court case helped solidify the colors in the public’s mind.</p>
<p>“For weeks, the maps were ubiquitous,” observed Jodi Enda in her history of the controversy for <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-republicans-were-blue-and-democrats-were-red-104176297/?all&amp;amp;no-ist" type="external">Smithsonian Magazine</a>. “Perhaps that’s why the 2000 colors stuck. Along with images of Florida elections officials eyeballing tiny ballot chads, the maps were there constantly, reminding us of the vast, nearly even divide between, well, red and blue voters.”</p>
<p>Elsewhere around the world, from the red <a href="http://www.sdp.hr/naslovna/" type="external">Social Democratic Party of Croatia</a> to the blue <a href="http://www.conservatives.com/" type="external">Tories in the United Kingdom</a>, countries that never experienced the mainstream media mistake follow the historical norms.</p>
<p>Ilkka Ahtokivi, president of the <a href="http://www.iapc.org/" type="external">International Association of Political Consultants</a> and a prominent European consultant, says that the United States stands alone in its political colors.</p>
<p>“Blue is often considered the traditional color of center-right and free-market parties around the world,” said Ahtokivi, where the conservatives in his home country, Finland, have been using blue since its foundation in 1918. “It has always seemed counter-intuitive that in the U.S. the center-right party is assigned the color red, while the center-left party is assigned the color blue.”</p>
<p>As American parties have departed from the international norms in color usage, there’s arguably been a decline in party ties with other nations.</p>
<p>“It was during the 1980s that our relationships with conservative and free-market parties really began to blossom,” said Johnson, who has served as an American representative on the Board of Directors of the IAPC. “The close ties between Reagan and Margaret Thatcher strengthened the association of American conservatism and Thatcher’s Blues.”</p>
<p>But, it isn’t just the prospect of global cohesion that has some California Republicans seeking to go from red to blue. There are also subtle consequences as the state party courts new immigrants. According to a <a href="http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2014/02/california-has-a-quarter-of-foreign-born-us-residents.html" type="external">report released last month by the U.S. Census Bureau</a>, a quarter of the nation’s foreign-born residents live in California. That’s 10.2 million Californians who were born in another country, where blue means conservative and red means liberal.</p>
<p>Steel, who backs the change from red to blue, has led the party’s effort to expand political support among minority voters, especially Asian Americans. “They should be coming to our party en masse,” Steel told the <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2013/dec/07/nation/la-na-asian-american-voters-20131208" type="external">Los Angeles Times</a> last December.</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/www.calnewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Reagan-Blue.png" type="external" />For new voters that hail from anywhere else in the world, it becomes an issue of clarity.</p>
<p>“Let me begin by saying that the symbols we choose as a party pale in comparison to the principles we embrace,” Steel wrote in his message to delegates. “Yet, symbols are nevertheless important. It is a visual shorthand that people around the globe understand.”</p>
<p>A decade ago, political analyst Clark Benson similarly argued that it’s an issue of clarity.</p>
<p>“The key issue here is not the color chosen for the maps. The key issue is how states, or areas, are described,” Benson, publisher of Political Data Analysis, <a href="http://www.polidata.org/elections/red_states_blues_de27a.pdf" type="external">wrote in 2004.</a> “What is needed is a return to clarity. Texas is not a ‘red state,’ it is (at least now) a generically Republican state. New York is not a ‘blue state,’ it is a generically Democrat state.”</p>
<p>Not everyone is optimistic that the colors can be corrected.</p>
<p>Glen Bolger, one of the Republican Party’s leading political strategists and pollsters, defied the dominant color choices for years. Until 2012, he used red for Democrats and blue for Republicans in his presentations, but finally threw in the towel due to the frequent confusion.</p>
<p>“I don’t know that it will ever go back,” said Bolger, a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies.</p>
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weekends state party convention hyatt regency san francisco airport group influential california republicans odd request delegates help turn california blue around globe blue identified conservative free market parties red identified social democratic parties points shawn steel former chairman state party serves representative republican national committee conservativeleaning democrats congress called blue dogs everyone knew meant steel among group republicans introduced resolution calling california republican party adopt blue official color branding materials informal coalition republicans red says time conform proper historical international standards political ideology correct 14yearold mistake mainstream media process confront idea hopelessly divided nation group highprofile backers including two members californias congressional delegation republican party choose principles symbols let national media us asked rep doug la malfa r richvale email delegates well answer obvious rep dana rohrabacher rhuntington beach pleads join taking back reagan blue speechwriter president ronald reagan think whole color conundrum trivial wayne johnson one states successful political consultants believes medias emphasis red states vs blue states increases public cynicism political process notion blue states red states signals people votes meaningless formality also feeds idea hopelessly divided nation said johnson president wayne johnson agency assumptions also happen profoundly untrue isnt state union couldnt go republican democrat given election given right candidate right timing issues last month california republicans proved true right candidate councilman kevin faulconer right timing special election decisive victory san diego focusing rightofcenter issues without compromising partys core conservative values faulconer sought minimize divisive red vs blue rhetoric build theme inclusion ut san diego noted even used blue campaign signs faulconers blue signs departure recent norms historical traditions dating back least 19th160century united states followed international standard associating blue rightofcenter political parties red causes lean left tradition johnson says reached zenith 1980 landslide election ronald reagan 1980 david brinkley described nearly allblue map reagan landslide suburban swimming pool said johnson changed 2000 trifecta media powerhouses flubbed traditional political colors among slew mistakes election night coverage nbc news used red fill map states george w bush blue al gore two days later new york times usa today repeated colors first colorcoded maps vote graphics editors papers said wasnt much thought put decision however ensuing drama supreme court case helped solidify colors publics mind weeks maps ubiquitous observed jodi enda history controversy smithsonian magazine perhaps thats 2000 colors stuck along images florida elections officials eyeballing tiny ballot chads maps constantly reminding us vast nearly even divide well red blue voters elsewhere around world red social democratic party croatia blue tories united kingdom countries never experienced mainstream media mistake follow historical norms ilkka ahtokivi president international association political consultants prominent european consultant says united states stands alone political colors blue often considered traditional color centerright freemarket parties around world said ahtokivi conservatives home country finland using blue since foundation 1918 always seemed counterintuitive us centerright party assigned color red centerleft party assigned color blue american parties departed international norms color usage theres arguably decline party ties nations 1980s relationships conservative freemarket parties really began blossom said johnson served american representative board directors iapc close ties reagan margaret thatcher strengthened association american conservatism thatchers blues isnt prospect global cohesion california republicans seeking go red blue also subtle consequences state party courts new immigrants according report released last month us census bureau quarter nations foreignborn residents live california thats 102 million californians born another country blue means conservative red means liberal steel backs change red blue led partys effort expand political support among minority voters especially asian americans coming party en masse steel told los angeles times last december new voters hail anywhere else world becomes issue clarity let begin saying symbols choose party pale comparison principles embrace steel wrote message delegates yet symbols nevertheless important visual shorthand people around globe understand decade ago political analyst clark benson similarly argued issue clarity key issue color chosen maps key issue states areas described benson publisher political data analysis wrote 2004 needed return clarity texas red state least generically republican state new york blue state generically democrat state everyone optimistic colors corrected glen bolger one republican partys leading political strategists pollsters defied dominant color choices years 2012 used red democrats blue republicans presentations finally threw towel due frequent confusion dont know ever go back said bolger partner cofounder public opinion strategies
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<p>BERLIN - As the euro zone crisis lurches from bad to worse, Germany has seemed like an oasis of prosperity and stability.</p>
<p>Unemployment has actually dropped. Exports have boomed. Europe's powerhouse economy has seemed almost immune from the deep economic contractions and debt spirals many of its neighbors were succumbing to.</p>
<p>"Germans have believed for a long time that they are invincible in the crisis," says Sebastian Dullien, professor for International Economics at HTW Berlin - University of Applied Sciences.</p>
<p>That could now be over.</p>
<p>The latest economic news shows Germany may also be catching the euro zone virus.</p>
<p>Figures released on Friday show that German exports fell in April, decreasing by 1.7 percent, accelerating from a fall of 0.8 percent in March. There was even more concern about imports. Seasonally adjusted, they dropped by 4.8 percent, the worst decline in two years, indicating a possible slowdown in domestic demand.</p>
<p>These disquieting figures echo other bad news earlier last week. German industrial orders fell in April at their fastest rate since November 2011. The <a href="http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/page/portal/ifoHome/f-about/f3aboutifo" type="external">IFO business climate index</a> fell in May for the first time in six months as concerns mount about contagion to Spain and Italy.</p>
<p>And the slump in Europe's auto industry has started to affect Germany. Production fell by 17 percent in May compared to last year, while exports were down by 13 percent.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/120601/when-the-brics-crumble" type="external">When the BRICs crumble</a></p>
<p>Germany is being affected not only by the slowdown in the euro zone, which accounts for 40 percent of its exports. Its income from emerging markets may also prove unreliable. China, for one, appears to be slowing, with JPMorgan Chase cutting the country's 2012 growth forecast again, from 8 to 7.7 percent.</p>
<p>"The argument in Germany has so far been that we don't need the rest of the euro zone because we can sell so much to the emerging markets," Dullien explains. "It is completely insane that the Germans believe their economy is independent from the euro zone."</p>
<p>Yet despite these worries - compounded last week as Moody's downgraded six German banks - the country is still seen as a safe haven. Many billions have been stashed in its banks and bonds, as European investors and depositors park their money in Germany, despite the negligible (and sometimes negative) returns.</p>
<p>According to the European Central Bank, deposits in Germany rose 4.4 percent as of April 30 from the previous year. In the same period, deposits in Greece, Spain and Ireland shrank by 6.6 percent. Savers in those countries are terrified that their countries might default, exit the euro zone, and end up with a hugely devalued currency, wiping out their savings.</p>
<p>These savers are following the lead of big investors, who have pushed down the interest rate on Berlin's 10-year bonds to its lowest on record.</p>
<p>Struggling countries hope Germany will take advantage of low interest rates to help collectivize the euro zone's debt, in the form of euro bonds, thus make borrowing for other countries cheaper. However, the German government fears that such a move would remove the pressure on the peripheral countries to cut deficits, implement reforms and improve their competitiveness.</p>
<p>Another downside is that Germany's own borrowing costs would inevitably rise. "If we were to have euro bonds, then Germany would be liable in full for all the other countries, and then [Germany] would definitely lose their Triple A rating," says Bert Van Roosebeke, senior policy analyst with the Center for European Policy, based in Freiburg.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/111114/germany-fourth-reich-euro-zone-dominance" type="external">Is a German 4th Reich emerging?</a></p>
<p>He thinks that even without euro bonds, Germany will end up being regarded as a greater risk. "Germany will tend to be liable for more countries and to a higher extent in the future. That is not going to have a positive effect on the rating. I don't think Germany is going to remain this safe haven."</p>
<p>The concerns about being liable for all these other countries' debts has been at the core of the opposition to the euro bonds in Germany. In fact 80 percent of Germans oppose such a move. That is something Chancellor Angela Merkel is well aware of a she faces a tough re-election battle next year.</p>
<p>"She is in a very difficult situation," says Van Roosebeke. However, he argues that is not just political expediency that is causing the chancellor's stubbornness as she comes under intense pressure from abroad to budge on euro bonds. "I think she is convinced by what she is doing."</p>
<p>At the same time, he argues, Germans are slowly coming around to the idea that Germany is going to have to pay in some way, along with strong countries like Holland and Luxemburg.</p>
<p>"It is probably going to be some hidden transfer, probably via the EFSF and ESM."</p>
<p>After all, if Germany fails to rescue the other economies and allows a break up, it could be worse off itself.</p>
<p>In a recent poll, 43 percent of Germans said that the euro had been more negative than positive for the country. In fact Germany has benefited hugely from the euro membership. One obvious benefit has been that using the common currency means that its exports outside of the euro zone are far less expensive that they would otherwise have been.</p>
<p>The clandestine bailout</p>
<p>Furthermore, if anything, Germany has actually benefited from the crisis - at least up to now.</p>
<p>For all the talk of Germany bailing out weaker countries, in fact Germany is in line to make a profit from the interest on the loans it gives them via the EFSF and the ESM bailout funds - assuming that the euro zone doesn't split up and countries don't default. Germany had earned some $380 million euros on its 15.17 billion euro contribution to Greece's bailout.</p>
<p>"The perception from some of the German media that Germany is always paying is just wrong," argues Dullien.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/120604/estonia-economy-technology-skype-euro-zone-debt-crisis" type="external">Yes, they use the euro. And the economy is booming.</a></p>
<p>"You lend someone money at an interest rate which is higher than what you pay for it, in my eyes this is a loan and even if the person needs that money quite urgently at this moment, it still remains a loan and if you make a profit from it, that is not aid."</p>
<p>At the same time German banks and companies have actually managed to reduce their exposure to peripheral countries, particularly Greece, over the past few years. However, they are still quite significantly invested in Spain, Italy and France.</p>
<p>Moreover, it's critical to remember that German institutions played a key role in causing the crisis.</p>
<p>German banks contributed to the mushrooming of private and sovereign debt in many euro zone countries. They lent cheaply to banks who in their turn lent recklessly. As such, despite the often moralizing tone, Germany bears some of the blame for the boom and bust that hit the periphery.</p>
<p>While Germany may have begun to reduce its exposure somewhat in terms of private banking, it is still vulnerable due to the so-called TARGET 2 system - a network through which banks clear cross-border payments. Under the system, a country like Greece, which has a lot of money flowing out, essentially issues IOUs to a country like Germany, where the money is accumulating. This has resulted in new massive debts accumulating. In the event of a default the losses would be shared across the euro zone's central banks, although Germany's Bundesbank is by far the largest creditor.</p>
<p>"Basically the Bundesbank has taken away the risk from the private sector," says Dullien. "If the euro zone were to break apart it would now be less a loss of the banking sector and more of the public sector."</p>
<p>In addition, if the euro crisis continues to spiral out of control, any defaults by the bailout countries would hit Germany hardest due to the size of its contributions.</p>
<p>The price of a break up would be "catastrophic" for Germany says Dullien.</p>
<p>Germany, along with the rest of the euro zone partners, risk losing the billions in guarantees as part of the bailouts to Greece, Ireland, Portugal <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/spain/120611/greece-watches-closely-spain-plays-hardball-negotiating-eu" type="external">and now Spain</a>.</p>
<p>Merkel's fixation on austerity, her push for a fiscal union, and in recent days her talk of a political union, have one common goal: ensuring that these countries do not take the loans as a license to return to their high spending ways.</p>
<p>At the same time if Germany does not act soon, then it may be too late to save the heavily indebted countries.</p>
<p>The prospect of Greece leaving the euro zone after its crucial election on June 17 is very real. If it does, and if German taxpayers were told the massively unpopular Greek bailouts had indeed been squandered, then that could have deep political repercussions.</p>
<p>"It might well be that the money Germany gave to Greece is going to be gone," says Van Roosebeke. "That would be the first case. Then we are going to have to book that loss in the German budget. And we will have to see how the public reacts."</p>
<p>Surely, such an event would rattle the foundations of the German economy - and with it, the security of all those billions seeking safe haven there. &#160;</p>
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berlin euro zone crisis lurches bad worse germany seemed like oasis prosperity stability unemployment actually dropped exports boomed europes powerhouse economy seemed almost immune deep economic contractions debt spirals many neighbors succumbing germans believed long time invincible crisis says sebastian dullien professor international economics htw berlin university applied sciences could latest economic news shows germany may also catching euro zone virus figures released friday show german exports fell april decreasing 17 percent accelerating fall 08 percent march even concern imports seasonally adjusted dropped 48 percent worst decline two years indicating possible slowdown domestic demand disquieting figures echo bad news earlier last week german industrial orders fell april fastest rate since november 2011 ifo business climate index fell may first time six months concerns mount contagion spain italy slump europes auto industry started affect germany production fell 17 percent may compared last year exports 13 percent globalpost brics crumble germany affected slowdown euro zone accounts 40 percent exports income emerging markets may also prove unreliable china one appears slowing jpmorgan chase cutting countrys 2012 growth forecast 8 77 percent argument germany far dont need rest euro zone sell much emerging markets dullien explains completely insane germans believe economy independent euro zone yet despite worries compounded last week moodys downgraded six german banks country still seen safe many billions stashed banks bonds european investors depositors park money germany despite negligible sometimes negative returns according european central bank deposits germany rose 44 percent april 30 previous year period deposits greece spain ireland shrank 66 percent savers countries terrified countries might default exit euro zone end hugely devalued currency wiping savings savers following lead big investors pushed interest rate berlins 10year bonds lowest record struggling countries hope germany take advantage low interest rates help collectivize euro zones debt form euro bonds thus make borrowing countries cheaper however german government fears move would remove pressure peripheral countries cut deficits implement reforms improve competitiveness another downside germanys borrowing costs would inevitably rise euro bonds germany would liable full countries germany would definitely lose triple rating says bert van roosebeke senior policy analyst center european policy based freiburg globalpost german 4th reich emerging thinks even without euro bonds germany end regarded greater risk germany tend liable countries higher extent future going positive effect rating dont think germany going remain safe concerns liable countries debts core opposition euro bonds germany fact 80 percent germans oppose move something chancellor angela merkel well aware faces tough reelection battle next year difficult situation says van roosebeke however argues political expediency causing chancellors stubbornness comes intense pressure abroad budge euro bonds think convinced time argues germans slowly coming around idea germany going pay way along strong countries like holland luxemburg probably going hidden transfer probably via efsf esm germany fails rescue economies allows break could worse recent poll 43 percent germans said euro negative positive country fact germany benefited hugely euro membership one obvious benefit using common currency means exports outside euro zone far less expensive would otherwise clandestine bailout furthermore anything germany actually benefited crisis least talk germany bailing weaker countries fact germany line make profit interest loans gives via efsf esm bailout funds assuming euro zone doesnt split countries dont default germany earned 380 million euros 1517 billion euro contribution greeces bailout perception german media germany always paying wrong argues dullien globalpost yes use euro economy booming lend someone money interest rate higher pay eyes loan even person needs money quite urgently moment still remains loan make profit aid time german banks companies actually managed reduce exposure peripheral countries particularly greece past years however still quite significantly invested spain italy france moreover critical remember german institutions played key role causing crisis german banks contributed mushrooming private sovereign debt many euro zone countries lent cheaply banks turn lent recklessly despite often moralizing tone germany bears blame boom bust hit periphery germany may begun reduce exposure somewhat terms private banking still vulnerable due socalled target 2 system network banks clear crossborder payments system country like greece lot money flowing essentially issues ious country like germany money accumulating resulted new massive debts accumulating event default losses would shared across euro zones central banks although germanys bundesbank far largest creditor basically bundesbank taken away risk private sector says dullien euro zone break apart would less loss banking sector public sector addition euro crisis continues spiral control defaults bailout countries would hit germany hardest due size contributions price break would catastrophic germany says dullien germany along rest euro zone partners risk losing billions guarantees part bailouts greece ireland portugal spain merkels fixation austerity push fiscal union recent days talk political union one common goal ensuring countries take loans license return high spending ways time germany act soon may late save heavily indebted countries prospect greece leaving euro zone crucial election june 17 real german taxpayers told massively unpopular greek bailouts indeed squandered could deep political repercussions might well money germany gave greece going gone says van roosebeke would first case going book loss german budget see public reacts surely event would rattle foundations german economy security billions seeking safe 160
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<p>Churches joined thousands of other organizations across the Mid-Atlantic Monday in closing facilities and cancelling activities as Hurricane Sandy made landfall, leaving millions without power and flooding most coastal areas.</p>
<p />
<p>At least 13 people had been killed in storm-related incidents in both the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast by early Tuesday morning and more than 6 million people were without electricity as temperatures dropped across the area. The storm’s damage in the nation’s most populated region may exceed $20 billion, early predictions suggested.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, a separate winter storm, exacerbated by gale-force winds, brought as much as a foot of snow in other parts of the region, snarling traffic and downing power lines in the western mountains of Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia. At the same time, in McDowell County, just east of Asheville, a 2.9 magnitude earthquake rattled buildings, though no damage or injuries were reported.</p>
<p>Congregations across the Mid-Atlantic posted alerts on web sites and Facebook pages, announcing changed schedules and plans to assist victims in the wake of the storm.</p>
<p>“The church office will be closed on Tuesday,” wrote <a href="http://www.heritagebaptistonline.com/" type="external">Heritage Baptist Church</a> in Annapolis, Md., in a typical post. “We pray that all will take the necessary precautions to be safe through these days.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pabc-dc.org/" type="external">Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church</a> in Washington urged congregants to monitor local television stations for closing updates, adding, “Be prayerful! Be safe!”</p>
<p>There were not yet reports of damage from churches in Washington and Maryland, which were still being pummelled early Tuesday morning. But at <a href="http://www.kilmarnockbaptist.org/" type="external">Kilmarnock Baptist Church</a> on Virginia’s Northern Neck — which was lashed by high winds and rain — pastor Matthew Tennant hunkered down with his family in “weather-forced quality time, with lots of monopoly, chess, and cards,” he said.</p>
<p>On Sunday, the church, at the tip of the peninsula between the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers about 120 miles southeast of Washington, drew a “group of hearty souls” who braved the weather to worship, Tennant said. But by Monday, much of the Neck was without power as the storm swept across the Chesapeake Bay.</p>
<p />
<p>Under an ominous sky, Kilmarnock Baptist Church opened its doors to worshippers early Sunday morning, Oct. 28. (Photo by Matthew Tennant)</p>
<p />
<p>Kilmarnock Baptist is a Red Cross feeding station and has been placed on alert, Tennant said. But “I won’t know for sure if they’ll need us for a couple more days.”</p>
<p>Though North Carolina escaped the brunt of the hurricane, storm surges flooded the coast, including the Outer Banks.</p>
<p>First Baptist Church of Smithton in Belhaven, N.C. was getting “some wind and rain” on Monday but the storm “basically missed us,” said pastor Matt Johnson. But the church, not far from Pamlico Sound, had its own storm-related event.</p>
<p>An 87-year-old member of the church, whose home had been inundated during last year’s Hurricane Irene, was living with neighbors while her house was being raised above flood level.</p>
<p>“Saturday night, as the storm approached and its severity was yet unknown, she suddenly realized that all her worldly possessions were in a storage container sitting directly on the ground in her front yard,” said Johnson. “If we had gotten even four inches (which seemed likely at the time, but didn’t end up happening) the container would have flooded and she would have lost everything. So she called some church members who have a trucking company. As the rain started to fall, they went out and winched up the container on the back of a flatbed truck.”</p>
<p>The cable broke and had to be replaced but eventually the container was moved to higher ground, Johnson said.</p>
<p>Two Baptist affiliated schools in eastern North Carolina — Campbell University in Buies Creek and Chowan University in Murfreesboro — reported strong wind and rain but no damage. Further inland, both Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem and Bluefield College in Bluefield, Va., postponed lectures when guest speakers were unable to travel as thousands of flights were cancelled across the region. Both Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Arlington, Va., remained closed on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Fork Union Military Academy, a Baptist-affiliated school about 60 miles west of Richmond, assured parents it was keeping close watch on their students and urged them to monitor campus conditions themselves with a weather camera mounted by a local television station on the roof of Hatcher Hall. “You can see the view looking almost due west from the top of our central administration building, and see current temperatures, wind speeds and precipitation levels,” the school said on its web site.</p>
<p>The Peninsula Baptist Association, a network of Virginia churches in Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg, cancelled the first day of its annual meeting, though it retained most scheduled Tuesday activities. Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia’s annual meeting, set for this weekend, will continue as planned, though WMUV leaders were monitoring weather conditions at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center, the retreat facility in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the meeting was to be held.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Baptist disaster relief groups continued preparations as the hurricane — downgraded to a tropical storm but still packing dangerous winds — began its devastation, especially in Maryland, New York and New Jersey.</p>
<p>Robert Dilday ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.&#160;</p>
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churches joined thousands organizations across midatlantic monday closing facilities cancelling activities hurricane sandy made landfall leaving millions without power flooding coastal areas least 13 people killed stormrelated incidents midatlantic northeast early tuesday morning 6 million people without electricity temperatures dropped across area storms damage nations populated region may exceed 20 billion early predictions suggested meanwhile separate winter storm exacerbated galeforce winds brought much foot snow parts region snarling traffic downing power lines western mountains maryland north carolina virginia time mcdowell county east asheville 29 magnitude earthquake rattled buildings though damage injuries reported congregations across midatlantic posted alerts web sites facebook pages announcing changed schedules plans assist victims wake storm church office closed tuesday wrote heritage baptist church annapolis md typical post pray take necessary precautions safe days pennsylvania avenue baptist church washington urged congregants monitor local television stations closing updates adding prayerful safe yet reports damage churches washington maryland still pummelled early tuesday morning kilmarnock baptist church virginias northern neck lashed high winds rain pastor matthew tennant hunkered family weatherforced quality time lots monopoly chess cards said sunday church tip peninsula potomac rappahannock rivers 120 miles southeast washington drew group hearty souls braved weather worship tennant said monday much neck without power storm swept across chesapeake bay ominous sky kilmarnock baptist church opened doors worshippers early sunday morning oct 28 photo matthew tennant kilmarnock baptist red cross feeding station placed alert tennant said wont know sure theyll need us couple days though north carolina escaped brunt hurricane storm surges flooded coast including outer banks first baptist church smithton belhaven nc getting wind rain monday storm basically missed us said pastor matt johnson church far pamlico sound stormrelated event 87yearold member church whose home inundated last years hurricane irene living neighbors house raised flood level saturday night storm approached severity yet unknown suddenly realized worldly possessions storage container sitting directly ground front yard said johnson gotten even four inches seemed likely time didnt end happening container would flooded would lost everything called church members trucking company rain started fall went winched container back flatbed truck cable broke replaced eventually container moved higher ground johnson said two baptist affiliated schools eastern north carolina campbell university buies creek chowan university murfreesboro reported strong wind rain damage inland wake forest university school divinity winstonsalem bluefield college bluefield va postponed lectures guest speakers unable travel thousands flights cancelled across region baptist theological seminary richmond john leland center theological studies arlington va remained closed tuesday fork union military academy baptistaffiliated school 60 miles west richmond assured parents keeping close watch students urged monitor campus conditions weather camera mounted local television station roof hatcher hall see view looking almost due west top central administration building see current temperatures wind speeds precipitation levels school said web site peninsula baptist association network virginia churches hampton newport news williamsburg cancelled first day annual meeting though retained scheduled tuesday activities womans missionary union virginias annual meeting set weekend continue planned though wmuv leaders monitoring weather conditions eagle eyrie baptist conference center retreat facility blue ridge mountains meeting held meanwhile baptist disaster relief groups continued preparations hurricane downgraded tropical storm still packing dangerous winds began devastation especially maryland new york new jersey robert dilday rdildayreligiousheraldorg managing editor religious herald160
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<p>GILBERT, W.Va. (BP) — In the wake of flash floods that washed away rural roads and even mountainsides over six southern West Virginia counties on Mother’s Day weekend, Virginia Baptists joined other&#160; Baptist disaster relief feeding units and mud-out crews on the scene.</p>
<p>Five inches of rain over two days triggered flash floods that destroyed 200 homes and caused major damage to another 120, reported Delton Beall, state director of missions and state disaster relief director for the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists.</p>
<p />
<p>Mingo County was hardest hit, Beall said. Ninety-year-old local residents told Beall they had never witnessed such torrential rains and flooding during their long lifetimes.</p>
<p>After the floods hit, two feeding units — one in Gilbert staffed by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and a second in Matewan manned by Tennessee Baptists — served some 4,000 hot meals a day.</p>
<p>The two units were located on opposite ends of West Virginia’s Horsepen Mountain.</p>
<p>The feeding unit at Gilbert operated through May 22, while the unit at Matewan operated until May 26, Beall said.</p>
<p>“We’ve had numbers of people come into one of the feeding locations and say, ‘Thank God for Southern Baptists being here to help,’ ” Beall said.</p>
<p>Some 100-140 disaster relief volunteers responded to the West Virginia floods — including the two feeding units and mud-out teams from West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, Ohio and New England.</p>
<p>“It’s been incredible how God has provided for us,” Beall said. “The county and city officials have been very gracious and grateful. I’ve been able to minister to the entire city council and leadership of Matewan, praying with them and encouraging them.”</p>
<p>In addition to the disaster relief crews, Beall cited other Southern Baptist “heroes” on the scene, such as pastor Brian Warden and members of Horsepen Southern Baptist Church near Gilbert, the small valley town flooded by rivers of rain rushing down local mountains and hills.</p>
<p>“Horsepen opened up its fellowship hall right after the flood and started cooking hot dogs and hamburgers,” Beall recounted. “I bet they’ve cooked 9,000 or 10,000 hot dogs and hamburgers — over and beyond what our disaster relief feeding units are doing.”</p>
<p>Horsepen Baptist’s quick-response feeding operation couldn’t have come too soon for hundreds of people unable to leave their homes until the rains stopped and the floodwaters subsided. Only then could they get out by four-wheelers — not cars — since local highways and roads had been washed away.</p>
<p>“Folks would come down to Horsepen Baptist on their four-wheelers and load up sacks of hamburgers and hot dogs to take back home where the people had no food and couldn’t get out,” Beall said.</p>
<p>Horsepen pastor Brian Warden said his church approached the 12,000 mark in the number of meals prepared since flooding began May 9.</p>
<p />
<p>Virginia Baptist volunteers prepare the kitchen for meals.</p>
<p />
<p>“We [were] averaging more than 1,000 meals a day,” Warden said. “We also helped feed the state police and National Guard."</p>
<p>Warden, who has led the church of 50 adults and 30 children only five months, said 35 to 40 members had worked around the clock to cook the simple meals of hot dogs and hamburgers.</p>
<p>The fact that the church just happened to have so much food on hand was a miracle in itself, the pastor said. When the rains came, Horsepen Baptist was gearing up for a mother-daughter banquet on Mother’s Day weekend.</p>
<p>“Our church changed from being just a church where people would come Sunday morning and Sunday night and maybe on Wednesday to people being there 24 hours a day,” Warden said. “We raised some dead Christians [spiritually] during this time, including me.</p>
<p>“It took a disaster to make it happen,” he said. “A lot of times we look at disasters and say they’re horrible and maybe they are. But God has something good to come out of every one of them. My advice is for churches not to let it come down to a flood before members start waking up and serving.</p>
<p>“Our entire church came together and that’s the only way churches can reach out to people. We have one amazing lady, Lake Hopson, 94 years old, who’s worked in the church kitchen every day since the floods came.</p>
<p>“I’ve told my people this is nothing but a God thing,” Warden said. “There was no way this church could have put this much food out without the Holy Spirit’s help. There’s no way we could have prepared this many meals and come up with the necessary supplies without the Lord’s help. My people have gone from being moderately happy Baptists to being ecstatically happy Christians because of [serving others through] this disaster.”</p>
<p>Horsepen Baptist itself suffered a major loss when floodwaters poured down the mountainside and washed its church van downstream. Full of water inside and under the hood, the van was unsalvageable.</p>
<p>No problem. Frank Carl, pastor of Genoa Baptist Church in Westerville, Ohio, heard of Horsepen’s plight, had one of his own church vans re-lettered and drove it to West Virginia, presenting fellow pastor Warden with the keys and title — no questions asked.</p>
<p>“You don’t have enough paper and space to tell all the miracles that have happened here since the flood,” Warden told one reporter.</p>
<p>Mickey Noah is a writer for the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board.</p>
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gilbert wva bp wake flash floods washed away rural roads even mountainsides six southern west virginia counties mothers day weekend virginia baptists joined other160 baptist disaster relief feeding units mudout crews scene five inches rain two days triggered flash floods destroyed 200 homes caused major damage another 120 reported delton beall state director missions state disaster relief director west virginia convention southern baptists mingo county hardest hit beall said ninetyyearold local residents told beall never witnessed torrential rains flooding long lifetimes floods hit two feeding units one gilbert staffed virginia baptist mission board second matewan manned tennessee baptists served 4000 hot meals day two units located opposite ends west virginias horsepen mountain feeding unit gilbert operated may 22 unit matewan operated may 26 beall said weve numbers people come one feeding locations say thank god southern baptists help beall said 100140 disaster relief volunteers responded west virginia floods including two feeding units mudout teams west virginia virginia north carolina georgia missouri south carolina ohio new england incredible god provided us beall said county city officials gracious grateful ive able minister entire city council leadership matewan praying encouraging addition disaster relief crews beall cited southern baptist heroes scene pastor brian warden members horsepen southern baptist church near gilbert small valley town flooded rivers rain rushing local mountains hills horsepen opened fellowship hall right flood started cooking hot dogs hamburgers beall recounted bet theyve cooked 9000 10000 hot dogs hamburgers beyond disaster relief feeding units horsepen baptists quickresponse feeding operation couldnt come soon hundreds people unable leave homes rains stopped floodwaters subsided could get fourwheelers cars since local highways roads washed away folks would come horsepen baptist fourwheelers load sacks hamburgers hot dogs take back home people food couldnt get beall said horsepen pastor brian warden said church approached 12000 mark number meals prepared since flooding began may 9 virginia baptist volunteers prepare kitchen meals averaging 1000 meals day warden said also helped feed state police national guard warden led church 50 adults 30 children five months said 35 40 members worked around clock cook simple meals hot dogs hamburgers fact church happened much food hand miracle pastor said rains came horsepen baptist gearing motherdaughter banquet mothers day weekend church changed church people would come sunday morning sunday night maybe wednesday people 24 hours day warden said raised dead christians spiritually time including took disaster make happen said lot times look disasters say theyre horrible maybe god something good come every one advice churches let come flood members start waking serving entire church came together thats way churches reach people one amazing lady lake hopson 94 years old whos worked church kitchen every day since floods came ive told people nothing god thing warden said way church could put much food without holy spirits help theres way could prepared many meals come necessary supplies without lords help people gone moderately happy baptists ecstatically happy christians serving others disaster horsepen baptist suffered major loss floodwaters poured mountainside washed church van downstream full water inside hood van unsalvageable problem frank carl pastor genoa baptist church westerville ohio heard horsepens plight one church vans relettered drove west virginia presenting fellow pastor warden keys title questions asked dont enough paper space tell miracles happened since flood warden told one reporter mickey noah writer southern baptist north american mission board
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<p>KYIV, Ukraine — Few would envy Yehor Sobolev's job.</p>
<p>As head of the government’s newly christened Lustration Committee — the result of a popular mandate during the months-long protests against Viktor Yanukovych — he’s meant to be spearheading an effort to cleanse Ukrainian politics of any traces of the ousted president, as well as the official abuse for which his regime was toppled.</p>
<p>Sobolev’s task might be easier if his committee had any real power, he says, or if the country’s new ruling coalition were to show any real interest in passing legislation aimed at purging the old elite.</p>
<p>But, according to Kyiv's leading moral crusader, the popular demand for <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lustration" type="external">lustration</a> voiced on Independence Square, the “Maidan,” has fallen victim to politicians looking to save their own skin.</p>
<p>“It looks more like an attempt to fool the Maidan with this idea,” he says.</p>
<p>With the new government looking forward to a presidential election in May, some may think the revolution here has run its course.</p>
<p>But observers say the looming danger of a return of business as usual — the opaque crony politics that have plagued Ukraine for more than two decades — coupled with the presence of hardened protesters still camped out in the streets suggests the revolution isn’t finished.</p>
<p>Whatever the case, some experts say the window for the government to make good on its promises — amid Russia’s apparent attempts to stoke separatist passions in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east — is narrowing.</p>
<p>“We’re seeing that Ukrainians are already beginning to lose faith in the current government,” says Sergiy Solodkyy of Kyiv’s Institute of World Policy.</p>
<p>Distracted by the unrest in the east, Ukraine’s top politicians are nevertheless preparing for the first elections since Yanukovych’s ouster.</p>
<p>Among the front-runners are billionaire chocolate magnate Petro Poroshenko, the only oligarch to have openly supported the protest movement, and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, jailed for more than two years on what critics said were politically motivated charges.</p>
<p>Poroshenko has earned the respect of voters who, despite their traditional distrust of oligarchs, see the so-called Chocolate King — he owns Roshen, Ukraine’s largest confectionery manufacturer — as an effective and principled manager.</p>
<p>Others see him as an old hand with a questionable past.</p>
<p>If Sobolev’s Lustration Committee had its way, Poroshenko would be barred from political office because the chocolatier once served in Yanukovych’s government as a minister of trade and economic development.</p>
<p>“We’re proposing to lustrate all high-ranking government officials who served under Yanukovych because they all saw what was happening, and in one way or another took part in it,” he says.</p>
<p>But Sobolev adds that many lawmakers are cool to the idea of such sweeping legislation, fearing it would extend to many others in Ukraine’s notoriously inbred political landscape, where allegiances regularly shift to suit political and economic interests.</p>
<p>That’s also partly a reflection of just how contested the issue of lustration is in Ukraine, where there’s little consensus about just how far it should reach.</p>
<p>In an attempt to shore up the country’s democratic forces, Poroshenko has teamed up with boxing-champ-turned politician Vitali Klitschko, who bowed out of the presidential heat to run for Kyiv mayor in elections slated for the same day.</p>
<p>But they’ve already come under fire for allegedly meeting with Dmytro Firtash, an oligarch with close links to the Yanukovych regime who still wields political influence and is wanted by US authorities on corruption charges.</p>
<p>Kyiv’s chattering classes are abuzz with talk of an “alliance” among them, a charge Poroshenko was recently forced to deny.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, critics accuse the tycoon of using his television network — Channel 5, one of Ukraine’s most respected — as vehicle to bolster his presidential bid.</p>
<p>They say that resembles a tried-and-true tactic in a country where elites have regularly put their media empires to work for them.</p>
<p>“Of course, as an owner, Poroshenko can use his property as he pleases,” Serhiy Leshchenko, a leading Ukrainian investigative journalist who’s covered elites and oligarchs for more than a decade, wrote in a blog post last week.</p>
<p>“But then you can’t tell him that he’s positively different from Firtash or [fellow Ukrainian oligarch Rinat] Akhmetov, for whom the media is an instrument for political competition.”</p>
<p>While Poroshenko, Tymoshenko and other presidential contenders are gearing up for the election, there are few signs on the streets that much has changed since Yanukovych’s removal.</p>
<p>Protesters have shifted from fending off phalanxes of riot police to ostensibly maintaining order on the military-style encampment that remains sprawled around the Maidan.</p>
<p>Field kitchens continue spewing thick clouds of smoke into the sky while self-defense forces — celebrated for their part in chasing out Yanukovych — remain posted along the perimeter.</p>
<p>They appear less interested in the elite politics of the presidential campaign than in the wholesale systemic change they’ve called for since the protest movement began last November.</p>
<p>Yevgeny Shogin, a 40-year-old former energy worker from Crimea, joined Kyiv’s self-defense forces just before the Black Sea peninsula voted to join Russia. Having left behind a wife and three children, he says he won’t be satisfied until Crimea is returned to Ukraine.</p>
<p>The majority of his compatriots will leave the streets only when the authorities begin to “very clearly respect their own people,” he adds.</p>
<p>“That means, for example, when a prosecutor no longer tells a mother whose son is serving three years in prison on unknown charges that ‘that’s the way it is,’” Shogin says.</p>
<p>Ukraine’s parliament took one step closer to that end on Tuesday by approving a law — supported by Sobolev’s Lustration Committee — aimed at cleaning up the notoriously corrupt judicial system by imposing special checks on judges.</p>
<p>On Thursday, it passed another law aimed at weeding out corruption in the public procurement process, a move stipulated by the International Monetary Fund before it releases a $14-$18 billion bailout package to Ukraine.</p>
<p>Although approximately 54 percent of the population supports the new government today, only around 20 percent of that is unconditional, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Razumkov Center think-tank in Kyiv.</p>
<p>Some experts say the country’s leaders have been too hobbled by alleged Russian meddling in Ukraine to fully focus on the reforms demanded by the Maidan.</p>
<p>Solodkyy, of the Institute of World Policy, says that under normal circumstances, critics would be well within their rights to slam the authorities for not acting faster.</p>
<p>“But there’s one solid counterargument here: the Ukrainian government simply doesn’t have enough time,” he said.</p>
<p>Others seem virtually impossible to satisfy.&#160;</p>
<p>They include Right Sector, the militant nationalist organization that once helped spearhead the protests but now poses a liability to a government seeking to shore up its authority.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/photo-galleries/planet-pic/6118360/these-are-the-faces-pro-russian-protesters-the-ukrainian-city-donetsk" type="external">These are the faces of pro-Russian protesters in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk</a></p>
<p>Renewed controversy over the group erupted last week after a gun battle broke out between one of its fighters and another from a different self-defense unit, provoking sharp criticism from both protesters and officials.</p>
<p>Right Sector appears to have few discernable aims besides continuing the revolution by lambasting the authorities and pushing for legislation that would legalize personal gun ownership.</p>
<p>They’ve also drawn criticism for staying on the streets even after having become the darlings of a Russian media campaign that’s hoisted the group as an example of the “fascism” the Kremlin claims dominates Ukraine.</p>
<p>Andriy Tarasenko, Right Sector’s second-in-command, dismisses charges his group is playing into Moscow’s hands or that it’s armed and dangerous.</p>
<p>But he acknowledges that squeezing out its members will be a challenge for the new authorities.</p>
<p>“Our main weapon is our minds, and they’re afraid of us not because we have a few pistols or automatic rifles, but because we carry with us ideas that are dangerous for them,” he said.</p>
<p>“That’s how it was on the Maidan, that’s how it is now, and that’s how it’ll remain in the future.”&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
kyiv ukraine would envy yehor sobolevs job head governments newly christened lustration committee result popular mandate monthslong protests viktor yanukovych hes meant spearheading effort cleanse ukrainian politics traces ousted president well official abuse regime toppled sobolevs task might easier committee real power says countrys new ruling coalition show real interest passing legislation aimed purging old elite according kyivs leading moral crusader popular demand lustration voiced independence square maidan fallen victim politicians looking save skin looks like attempt fool maidan idea says new government looking forward presidential election may may think revolution run course observers say looming danger return business usual opaque crony politics plagued ukraine two decades coupled presence hardened protesters still camped streets suggests revolution isnt finished whatever case experts say window government make good promises amid russias apparent attempts stoke separatist passions ukraines russianspeaking east narrowing seeing ukrainians already beginning lose faith current government says sergiy solodkyy kyivs institute world policy distracted unrest east ukraines top politicians nevertheless preparing first elections since yanukovychs ouster among frontrunners billionaire chocolate magnate petro poroshenko oligarch openly supported protest movement former prime minister yulia tymoshenko jailed two years critics said politically motivated charges poroshenko earned respect voters despite traditional distrust oligarchs see socalled chocolate king owns roshen ukraines largest confectionery manufacturer effective principled manager others see old hand questionable past sobolevs lustration committee way poroshenko would barred political office chocolatier served yanukovychs government minister trade economic development proposing lustrate highranking government officials served yanukovych saw happening one way another took part says sobolev adds many lawmakers cool idea sweeping legislation fearing would extend many others ukraines notoriously inbred political landscape allegiances regularly shift suit political economic interests thats also partly reflection contested issue lustration ukraine theres little consensus far reach attempt shore countrys democratic forces poroshenko teamed boxingchampturned politician vitali klitschko bowed presidential heat run kyiv mayor elections slated day theyve already come fire allegedly meeting dmytro firtash oligarch close links yanukovych regime still wields political influence wanted us authorities corruption charges kyivs chattering classes abuzz talk alliance among charge poroshenko recently forced deny meanwhile critics accuse tycoon using television network channel 5 one ukraines respected vehicle bolster presidential bid say resembles triedandtrue tactic country elites regularly put media empires work course owner poroshenko use property pleases serhiy leshchenko leading ukrainian investigative journalist whos covered elites oligarchs decade wrote blog post last week cant tell hes positively different firtash fellow ukrainian oligarch rinat akhmetov media instrument political competition poroshenko tymoshenko presidential contenders gearing election signs streets much changed since yanukovychs removal protesters shifted fending phalanxes riot police ostensibly maintaining order militarystyle encampment remains sprawled around maidan field kitchens continue spewing thick clouds smoke sky selfdefense forces celebrated part chasing yanukovych remain posted along perimeter appear less interested elite politics presidential campaign wholesale systemic change theyve called since protest movement began last november yevgeny shogin 40yearold former energy worker crimea joined kyivs selfdefense forces black sea peninsula voted join russia left behind wife three children says wont satisfied crimea returned ukraine majority compatriots leave streets authorities begin clearly respect people adds means example prosecutor longer tells mother whose son serving three years prison unknown charges thats way shogin says ukraines parliament took one step closer end tuesday approving law supported sobolevs lustration committee aimed cleaning notoriously corrupt judicial system imposing special checks judges thursday passed another law aimed weeding corruption public procurement process move stipulated international monetary fund releases 1418 billion bailout package ukraine although approximately 54 percent population supports new government today around 20 percent unconditional according poll released wednesday razumkov center thinktank kyiv experts say countrys leaders hobbled alleged russian meddling ukraine fully focus reforms demanded maidan solodkyy institute world policy says normal circumstances critics would well within rights slam authorities acting faster theres one solid counterargument ukrainian government simply doesnt enough time said others seem virtually impossible satisfy160 include right sector militant nationalist organization helped spearhead protests poses liability government seeking shore authority globalpost160 faces prorussian protesters ukrainian city donetsk renewed controversy group erupted last week gun battle broke one fighters another different selfdefense unit provoking sharp criticism protesters officials right sector appears discernable aims besides continuing revolution lambasting authorities pushing legislation would legalize personal gun ownership theyve also drawn criticism staying streets even become darlings russian media campaign thats hoisted group example fascism kremlin claims dominates ukraine andriy tarasenko right sectors secondincommand dismisses charges group playing moscows hands armed dangerous acknowledges squeezing members challenge new authorities main weapon minds theyre afraid us pistols automatic rifles carry us ideas dangerous said thats maidan thats thats itll remain future160
| 758 |
<p>With just two weeks between Hillary Clinton and what polls suggest will be a <a href="" type="internal">comfortable victory</a> on Election Day came another reminder that nothing comes easily for Clinton, Wikileaks' release of a memo unlocking how Bill Clinton monetized his post-presidency.</p>
<p>The memo, which Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus called “the smoking gun,” gives an unvarnished look at the kind of actions that galvanized populist movements against Clinton on both the left and right this year. It was included as part of the purported emails allegedly stolen from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's account which WikiLeaks has been releasing over the past weeks.</p>
<p>And Republicans, aware of Clinton’s likely victory on November 8, have made it clear they plan to bog down a potential second Clinton administration in <a href="" type="internal">endless congressional investigations</a>.</p>
<p>“Even before we get to Day One, we’ve got two years’ worth of material already lined up,” Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who chairs the GOP-controlled House’s top investigative committee, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/house-republicans-are-already-preparing-for-years-of-investigations-of-clinton/2016/10/26/e153a714-9ac3-11e6-9980-50913d68eacb_story.html" type="external">told</a> the Washington Post. Chaffetz Wednesday night announced he would support Trump, even though he had publicly renounced the the GOP nominee earlier this month.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Hacked Memo Reinforces Worst Perception of the Clintons</a></p>
<p>The 2011 memo spells out in explicit terms how Doug Band, one of Bill Clinton’s closest post-presidential aides, used a company he created to generate business for himself, donations for the Clinton Foundation, and lucrative speaking and consulting gigs for Bill Clinton — a for-profit entity he dubs “Bill Clinton, Inc.”</p>
<p>The Clinton campaign has refused to authenticate any documents in the hack. NBC News has not authenticated any of the alleged e-mails.</p>
<p>However, in a statement to NBC News, Teneo acknowledged the existence of the memo.</p>
<p>“As the memo demonstrates, Teneo worked to encourage clients, where appropriate, to support the Clinton Foundation because of the good work that it does around the world. It also clearly shows that Teneo never received any financial benefit or benefit of any kind from doing so,” a company spokesperson told NBC News.</p>
<p>Band wrote the 13-page memo to defend himself from internal questions about his overlapping roles as a personal aide to the former president, a top Foundation official, and the founder and president of Teneo, a consulting firm he stated with another Clinton ally.</p>
<p>“Given concerns that have been expressed about the role of Teneo in the Foundation’s and the President’s activities,” Band wrote. “I wanted to take this opportunity to share information and help clarify my activities on behalf of the President – both on behalf of non-profit Foundation activities and the management of the his for-profit business opportunities.”</p>
<p>According to the communiques, Chelsea Clinton and others inside Bill Clinton’s orbit had become concerned about how Band was leveraging his ties to the former president to drum up business for Teneo, of which Clinton served as “honorary chair.”</p>
<p>Band was ultimately pushed out of the inner circle as Chelsea’s faction tried to clean up the various entities connected to her father.</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton is not directly implicated, as she was serving as secretary of state at the time and not involved in the Foundation.</p>
<p>However, Clinton’s State Department Chief of Staff, Cheryl Mills, is one of those addressed by the memo in her capacity as member of the Clinton Foundation board. Huma Abedin, one of Clinton’s closest aides then and now, received compensation from Teneo as a <a href="" type="internal">consultant</a> while also finishing her time at State.</p>
<p>Over 13 pages, Band lays out in striking details how he helped facilitate arrangements with Teneo’s clients — multinational corporations like Coca-Cola Company, UBS, and Dow Chemical Company — to enrich Bill Clinton and support his charitable enterprises.</p>
<p>“To date, Teneo partners have raised in excess of $8 million for the Foundation,” Band wrote. “Teneo partners also have generated over $3 million in paid speeches for President Clinton.”</p>
<p>Band also touts that he helped facilitate “in-kind services for the President and his family — for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like” from Teneo clients and others.</p>
<p>Band makes the hard sell about his value in the memo, addressed to Bill and Chelsea Clinton, along with John Podesta (the chair of Clinton’s campaign, whose emails were hacked), Terry MacAulliffe, Mills, and Bruce Lindsey, who all served on the Clinton Foundation board.</p>
<p>Band grew frustrated by Chelsea Clinton’s efforts to push him out, writing to Podesta in another hacked email, “I don’t deserve this from her and deserve a tad more respect.”</p>
<p>In the memo, Band makes clear that he received no salary for much of his work on behalf of Clinton, with the implication that any money he made from Teneo was justified compensation.</p>
<p>But more than Band’s role, the memo will likely remain a political artifact for how it details Bill Clinton’s willingness to accept business opportunities for himself.</p>
<p>For instance, it details how Band’s partner, Declan Kelly, “asked UBS to offer President Clinton paid speeches.” Band also says he personally “negotiated a fee for President Clinton of $1 million dollars to speak for two one-hour sessions in Hong Kong” to mobile phone maker Ericson, noting that he also “negotiated additional coverage of the cost of a private plane.”</p>
| false | 3 |
two weeks hillary clinton polls suggest comfortable victory election day came another reminder nothing comes easily clinton wikileaks release memo unlocking bill clinton monetized postpresidency memo republican national committee chairman reince priebus called smoking gun gives unvarnished look kind actions galvanized populist movements clinton left right year included part purported emails allegedly stolen clinton campaign chairman john podestas account wikileaks releasing past weeks republicans aware clintons likely victory november 8 made clear plan bog potential second clinton administration endless congressional investigations even get day one weve got two years worth material already lined rep jason chaffetz chairs gopcontrolled houses top investigative committee told washington post chaffetz wednesday night announced would support trump even though publicly renounced gop nominee earlier month related hacked memo reinforces worst perception clintons 2011 memo spells explicit terms doug band one bill clintons closest postpresidential aides used company created generate business donations clinton foundation lucrative speaking consulting gigs bill clinton forprofit entity dubs bill clinton inc clinton campaign refused authenticate documents hack nbc news authenticated alleged emails however statement nbc news teneo acknowledged existence memo memo demonstrates teneo worked encourage clients appropriate support clinton foundation good work around world also clearly shows teneo never received financial benefit benefit kind company spokesperson told nbc news band wrote 13page memo defend internal questions overlapping roles personal aide former president top foundation official founder president teneo consulting firm stated another clinton ally given concerns expressed role teneo foundations presidents activities band wrote wanted take opportunity share information help clarify activities behalf president behalf nonprofit foundation activities management forprofit business opportunities according communiques chelsea clinton others inside bill clintons orbit become concerned band leveraging ties former president drum business teneo clinton served honorary chair band ultimately pushed inner circle chelseas faction tried clean various entities connected father hillary clinton directly implicated serving secretary state time involved foundation however clintons state department chief staff cheryl mills one addressed memo capacity member clinton foundation board huma abedin one clintons closest aides received compensation teneo consultant also finishing time state 13 pages band lays striking details helped facilitate arrangements teneos clients multinational corporations like cocacola company ubs dow chemical company enrich bill clinton support charitable enterprises date teneo partners raised excess 8 million foundation band wrote teneo partners also generated 3 million paid speeches president clinton band also touts helped facilitate inkind services president family personal travel hospitality vacation like teneo clients others band makes hard sell value memo addressed bill chelsea clinton along john podesta chair clintons campaign whose emails hacked terry macaulliffe mills bruce lindsey served clinton foundation board band grew frustrated chelsea clintons efforts push writing podesta another hacked email dont deserve deserve tad respect memo band makes clear received salary much work behalf clinton implication money made teneo justified compensation bands role memo likely remain political artifact details bill clintons willingness accept business opportunities instance details bands partner declan kelly asked ubs offer president clinton paid speeches band also says personally negotiated fee president clinton 1 million dollars speak two onehour sessions hong kong mobile phone maker ericson noting also negotiated additional coverage cost private plane
| 517 |
<p>NAIROBI, Kenya — Four years ago, Africa's most famous whistle blower was forced to flee for his life after exposing the extent of corruption in Kenya. Now John Githongo is back.</p>
<p>"Sadly, corruption has intensified" with the new power-sharing government, Githongo told GlobalPost in an exclusive interview.</p>
<p>Although Githongo has returned to his Kenyan home, he remains wary of the businessmen and senior politicians — many still in government — whose death threats forced him to flee in 2005 with a briefcase of documents and secret tape recordings under his arm.</p>
<p>Githongo's concerns over security are so high that the interview could only take place following a series of text messages and arrangements made via a middleman in Britain, where he lived until recently. The interview took place in an ordinary apartment block in Nairobi.</p>
<p>The towering 43-year-old wears tortoise-shell spectacles stretched across his broad face. His bass voice is soft but resonant, showing the steely resolve for which he is known.</p>
<p>Githongo studied law in Kenya and Britain before going into journalism. He wrote a series of investigative pieces for the East African newspaper that won him a popular following. In 1999 he founded the Kenyan chapter of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International.</p>
<p>Mwai Kibaki was elected Kenya's president in 2002 by pledging to wipe out Kenya's corruption. Kibaki appointed Githongo to be his "anti-corruption czar" and hopes were high that he would clean up the government. &#160;</p>
<p>But Githongo quickly learned that the new Kibaki administration did not want any scrutiny of its dealings.</p>
<p>Githongo is Kikuyu: the same ethnic group as Kibaki and the ruling clique. They had expected he would put tribe above all else
 and look the other way at new shady deals that they were making. But, like many young, educated Africans, Githongo would not be
bound by traditional allegiances at the expense of his country. When he exposed corruption in the Kibaki government, they denounced him as a "traitor to his tribe."</p>
<p>Soon Githongo was denounced in public by cabinet ministers and received death threats in private. In 2005 he decided to leave Kenya for Britain where he delivered a damning dossier on a large corruption plot.</p>
<p>Githongo revealed the $100 million Anglo Leasing fraud in which money was siphoned off from inflated government security contracts via a phantom company listed in Britain. That investigation ground to a halt only this month when exasperated officers at Britain's Serious Fraud Office gave up, complaining of a lack of cooperation from the Kenyan government.</p>
<p>Githongo said he returned to Kenya earlier this month because he believes he is a bit more secure. The year-old coalition government has brought other ethnic groups into Kibaki's previously Kikuyu administration. Now, Githongo is less fearful for his life and keen “to 
reconnect with my country.” He is spending time on the road, catching
 buses, meeting everyday people, begging for a place to stay at night and 
talking about everyday issues. 

But what he is finding does not inspire hope.</p>
<p>"In the past, the scandals that we had were of a scale that was mind-boggling to most people. Big sums, hundreds of millions of dollars! Those are many zeros and sometimes difficult to connect to your everyday circumstances," he said. "What is happening now is having a very direct impact on the poor."</p>
<p>He cited two recent scandals that have hit the poorest Kenyans hard. An oil scam pushed up the cost of petrol and transport, while a maize scheme has restricted the supply of the country's staple food.</p>
<p>The title of Michela Wrong's book about Githongo — to be published in the U.S. in June — is "It's Our Turn To Eat," referencing the Kenyan slang for corruption. But while Kenya's political and business elite enjoy their feast, ordinary Kenyans are facing starvation.</p>
<p>In the maize scheme, the state-owned National Cereals and Produce Board reportedly sold emergency stocks of maize to political insiders at discount prices. The bags of maize were then sold at a profit, some of it to neighboring Sudan, or stockpiled until prices rose.</p>
<p>The resulting maize shortage combined with poor rains, the high cost of fertilizer and a terrible harvest caused the World Food Program to warn that about 5 million Kenyans face severe food shortages in the coming months.</p>
<p>Even as some in his clique profit from the shortage, President Kibaki in January appealed to the international community for $400 million to help feed those affected by this latest "national disaster."</p>
<p>"In the past the corruption did hit Kenyans in the pocket, it did hit them in the stomach but not in a way that was as direct and as blatant as what is happening now," charged Githongo.</p>
<p>"If we talk about the cost of corruption everyone is always asking is it $1 billion, $20 billion, $400 billion that Africa is losing? But this is the real cost: it takes food out of the mouths of the poor," he said "The poor are the hardest hit in a very direct way."</p>
<p>There were hopes that the horrors of last year's post-election violence — in which 1,500 died in the weeks following the disputed vote — might encourage the new coalition government to rein in corruption. Instead, Githongo said, it is "a free for all" with both sides scrambling to grab public funds.</p>
<p>Corruption cannot be written off as simply the way of doing business in Africa; it can become a strategic threat. Kenya's growing corruption makes it a haven for money launderers, drug dealers and terrorists, according to a recent report by the British government's foreign office.</p>
<p>Githongo does see a tiny flicker of hope, however. "For me the grounds for optimism are that Kenyans are seeing that corruption does not discriminate: the maize crisis is affecting all tribes. That is a positive thing."</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Other Dispatches by Tristan McConnell:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/ghana/081230/snow-hits-ghana" type="external">Cocaine trade in Ghana gains pace</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/kenya/090217/talks-offer-glimmer-hope-darfur" type="external">Darfur crisis talks offer hope</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/nigeria/090212/love-helps-nigerian-couple-cope-hiv" type="external">Love helps Nigerians cope with HIV</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
nairobi kenya four years ago africas famous whistle blower forced flee life exposing extent corruption kenya john githongo back sadly corruption intensified new powersharing government githongo told globalpost exclusive interview although githongo returned kenyan home remains wary businessmen senior politicians many still government whose death threats forced flee 2005 briefcase documents secret tape recordings arm githongos concerns security high interview could take place following series text messages arrangements made via middleman britain lived recently interview took place ordinary apartment block nairobi towering 43yearold wears tortoiseshell spectacles stretched across broad face bass voice soft resonant showing steely resolve known githongo studied law kenya britain going journalism wrote series investigative pieces east african newspaper popular following 1999 founded kenyan chapter anticorruption organization transparency international mwai kibaki elected kenyas president 2002 pledging wipe kenyas corruption kibaki appointed githongo anticorruption czar hopes high would clean government 160 githongo quickly learned new kibaki administration want scrutiny dealings githongo kikuyu ethnic group kibaki ruling clique expected would put tribe else look way new shady deals making like many young educated africans githongo would bound traditional allegiances expense country exposed corruption kibaki government denounced traitor tribe soon githongo denounced public cabinet ministers received death threats private 2005 decided leave kenya britain delivered damning dossier large corruption plot githongo revealed 100 million anglo leasing fraud money siphoned inflated government security contracts via phantom company listed britain investigation ground halt month exasperated officers britains serious fraud office gave complaining lack cooperation kenyan government githongo said returned kenya earlier month believes bit secure yearold coalition government brought ethnic groups kibakis previously kikuyu administration githongo less fearful life keen reconnect country spending time road catching buses meeting everyday people begging place stay night talking everyday issues finding inspire hope past scandals scale mindboggling people big sums hundreds millions dollars many zeros sometimes difficult connect everyday circumstances said happening direct impact poor cited two recent scandals hit poorest kenyans hard oil scam pushed cost petrol transport maize scheme restricted supply countrys staple food title michela wrongs book githongo published us june turn eat referencing kenyan slang corruption kenyas political business elite enjoy feast ordinary kenyans facing starvation maize scheme stateowned national cereals produce board reportedly sold emergency stocks maize political insiders discount prices bags maize sold profit neighboring sudan stockpiled prices rose resulting maize shortage combined poor rains high cost fertilizer terrible harvest caused world food program warn 5 million kenyans face severe food shortages coming months even clique profit shortage president kibaki january appealed international community 400 million help feed affected latest national disaster past corruption hit kenyans pocket hit stomach way direct blatant happening charged githongo talk cost corruption everyone always asking 1 billion 20 billion 400 billion africa losing real cost takes food mouths poor said poor hardest hit direct way hopes horrors last years postelection violence 1500 died weeks following disputed vote might encourage new coalition government rein corruption instead githongo said free sides scrambling grab public funds corruption written simply way business africa become strategic threat kenyas growing corruption makes money launderers drug dealers terrorists according recent report british governments foreign office githongo see tiny flicker hope however grounds optimism kenyans seeing corruption discriminate maize crisis affecting tribes positive thing 160 dispatches tristan mcconnell cocaine trade ghana gains pace darfur crisis talks offer hope love helps nigerians cope hiv 160 160
| 554 |
<p>DAMASCUS — The Arab Spring has turned very wintry for many Christians in the Middle East.</p>
<p>As the Christian minority in Syria celebrates Christmas, local leaders say they feel increasingly imperiled by extremist Muslim rebels, an added threat amid a deadly civil war.</p>
<p>Christians and Muslims co-existed for centuries in the region, but in several countries including Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, ultra-conservative Islamic groups have launched violent attacks on minority groups in order to rally their supporters against infidels and propel themselves to power.</p>
<p>Extremist rebels regularly shell Christian neighborhoods in Damascus and kidnap Christians for ransom in areas under their control. GlobalPost has learned that Christians are also being kidnapped in Damascus&#160;by militias supporting Bashar al-Assad.</p>
<p>Some 10 percent of Syria's 22.5 million people are Christian, both Orthodox and Catholic. Each Christian faith has its own story.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/belief/emmaus-christian-communities-middle-east-easter-good-friday" type="external">The Road to Emmaus: Dwindling Christian communities of the Middle East</a></p>
<p>Armenian Christians fled to Syria after the Ottoman Turkish genocide of 1915. For them, the current civil war is a double tragedy. About one-third of the pre-war Armenian population of 120,000 has left the country as refugees, according to Bishop Armash Nalbandian of the Armenian Orthodox Church.</p>
<p>Armenians had created a new life in Syria after 1915, establishing schools, businesses and churches. "After 95 years we are suffering" again, said the bishop. "It’s more difficult for us to carry this cross."</p>
<p>Christians also face attack because of their politics, according to Father Simon Faddul, director of the Catholic charity Caritas in Lebanon.</p>
<p>He explained that some of the Christian refugees in Lebanon are Syrian government employees. Others may be related to Syrian soldiers or members of the intelligence services. So they face persecution because of their pro-government views.</p>
<p>"They live in continuous fear," said Father Faddul. "Christians have paid in blood."</p>
<p>And sometimes they pay in cash.</p>
<p>Recently, a 20-year-old Christian student was kidnapped in broad daylight in front of his university in Damascus.</p>
<p>His father got a call demanding a huge ransom in US dollars, said the student's uncle, Hagop, a university professor and regime supporter who asked that only his first name be used. "They think the Christians are all rich."</p>
<p>In recent months, dozens of Christians have been kidnapped for ransom in Damascus, according to Hagop and other Christian leaders. Christians are perceived to be more prosperous than the majority Sunni Muslims. They had felt relatively secure in the largely secular society established by the regime of Bashar al-Assad and by his father, Hafez al-Assad, who ruled for decades before him.</p>
<p>The 20-year-old boy's family was finally able to negotiate a deal and the student was released, according to Hagop. The family never discovered the identity of the kidnappers. Hagop said they could have been anti-government rebels or common criminals. <a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/10/news-wrap-human-rights-group-says-syrian-rebels-killed-kidnapped-civilians.html" type="external">Rebels regularly kidnap civilians in areas under their control</a>, according to Human Rights Watch.</p>
<p>"But most frighteningly, we suspect some kidnappings are carried out by the Popular Committees," he said.</p>
<p>The committees are a pro-government militia, which were incorporated into the National Defense Force late last year. Militia members receive a salary, uniforms and arms from the government.</p>
<p>"How could a rebel group infiltrate secure areas of Damascus, kidnap someone in front of the university and then take him through all the checkpoints to an area they control?" asked Hagop. "No, it has to be someone on the inside."</p>
<p>Christians feel squeezed by the lawlessness from both sides. But most Christians fear extremist rebels more than the government.</p>
<p>"The guarantee of security of minorities is to have good functional government, a strong government," said Bishop Nalbandian. "This security we experienced and saw with the government of President Bashar al-Assad."</p>
<p>When the Syrian uprising began in 2011, many Christians sympathized with the calls for democracy but worried about the growth of Islamic extremists, many of whom saw Christians as infidels. Bishop Nalbandian said in the first few months, Christians hoped the government would make significant reforms through meaningful dialogue with the opposition.</p>
<p>"Unfortunately, the government lost this moment, or couldn't or didn't use this moment," he explained. "The government did some reforms according to the constitution, but actually it's not enough." 
</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>For example, the government lifted its formal state of emergency first enacted in 1963, but then continued repressive policies. The government held parliamentary elections in 2012, but the new body has little power.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, over the past year, extremist rebel groups seized more territory. When the rebel group known as the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria” took over the northern city of Raqqa earlier this year, for example, it closed the churches and forced most of the Christians to flee.</p>
<p>The civil war has ripped apart relations among Christians and Sunni Muslims, even in Hagop's small hometown.</p>
<p>As the crow flies, Hagop's town lies only 12 miles from central Damascus, but he must drive through half a dozen military checkpoints to get there. What used to be a 30-minute commute now takes three hours.</p>
<p>No one makes the drive at night because rebels sometimes hit the road with mortar fire and rockets.</p>
<p>"I drive into Damascus only a few times a week and otherwise stay home," Hagop said. "We don’t mind the checkpoints. I say thanks to the soldiers because they are protecting us."</p>
<p>Hagop's town is a mix of Christians, Sunnis and Druze, a Muslim ethnic and religious minority. Before the crisis, residents got along well. Friendships and business relations extended among all religious groups.</p>
<p>Officially, the Assad government is fighting to maintain this secularism. Officials claim that most Sunnis support the government, and the army only fights extremists, or takfiris. That epithet means "impure Muslim" and is used to describe all rebels.</p>
<p>Hagop admitted, however, that the reality in his town has become far different. "The Army blocked off the Sunni part of my town," he said. "Now we hardly see the Sunnis at all. Everyone is suspicious. Is he a terrorist?"</p>
<p>Friendly relations with neighbors have broken down.</p>
<p>"I tell my children not to talk politics with anyone outside our immediate family. You never know who might be a kidnapper."</p>
<p>Soldiers are hostile to all Sunnis because they suspect them of supporting the rebels, Hagop said.</p>
<p>"Because I have an Armenian name," he said, "I don’t get hassled at the checkpoints. They are looking for Sunnis. One time a soldier asked if I was Kurdish because I was born in the north, in the Kurdish region. I said, 'no, I’m Armenian Christian.'"</p>
<p>“OK — you’re one of us," the soldier said.</p>
<p>Being "one of us" doesn't mean Christians are accepted as equals. Even pro-government Muslims see Christians as guests in a Muslim country.</p>
<p>“We protect Christians and Jews,” said Sheik Abdul Salaam Al Harash, a representative of the Muslim Scholarship Association. "That is our duty as good Muslims."</p>
<p>Hagop pointed out, however, that Syria was a Christian country for centuries before it became majority Muslim. St. Paul traveled extensively in what is modern-day Syria, and Christianity spread rapidly during the era of the Roman Empire.</p>
<p>"This was a Christian area before the Muslims came," said Hagop. "But they still see us as guests. We don’t need protection. We need full rights as citizens."</p>
<p>Christians can't hold the country's highest office. Syria's president must be a Muslim, according to the constitution that was revised by Assad in 2012, carrying forward a provision in previous Syrian law.</p>
<p>Christians wanted to see the constitution changed so that a person of any religion could be president, according to Bishop Nalbandian. That clause is "not democratic. But in this crisis we didn’t raise our voice to change it."</p>
<p>That issue reveals the fragile relations between Christians and the majority Muslim community, one that is exacerbated by the militancy of the Islamists in the opposition. Hagop remembered that in 1973 Hafez al-Assad tried to change the old constitution to allow a president be from any religion. Conservative Muslims protested and dozens were killed in large demonstrations against the ruling Baath Party.</p>
<p>"So I'm not sure if the provision that the president must be Muslim reflects Baath policy or popular will," Hagop said with a shrug. "The people want a Muslim president."</p>
<p>Bishop Nalbandian said making democratic changes in Syria will take time. "Democracy is not an item to be bought in a store," he said. "It is a process."</p>
<p>But the larger question of Christian democratic rights are sidelined so long as the civil war rages. One recent day Armenian Orthodox families gathered at an Old City church for the funeral of four children who died when a rebel mortar hit their school.</p>
<p>A relative of one of the victims, Amira Hana, cries as she describes the explosion. 
</p>
<p>"We went running to the school to find out what took place," she said. "All the buses were completely destroyed. Blood was all over the ground."
</p>
<p>Bishop Nalbandian, who presided at the funeral, criticized the rebels who intentionally target civilian areas. 
</p>
<p>"I can't understand what kind of vision, what kind of ideology they have," he said. "I do know that they don't pursue freedom or democracy as they say. They are actually criminals."</p>
<p>He says indiscriminate attacks on civilians are a war crime. "What they are doing isn’t against the government. It’s against humanity. I'm speechless."</p>
<p>For its part, according to human rights groups, the government indiscriminately shells civilians in rebel-held neighborhoods. <a href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/04/syria-ballistic-missiles-killing-civilians-many-children" type="external">Human Rights Watch</a> has documented dozens of examples of government artillery and missile attacks that killed thousands of civilians.&#160;</p>
<p>Indeed all of Damascus reverberates with the sounds of Syrian Army artillery and machine gun fire as soldiers attack rebel-held areas full of civilians. The civil war has taken its toll on the Christian community. Some have fled to neighboring Lebanon. Hagop has hunkered down in his home town, which so far, has not come under direct, rebel attack. He said the old religious tolerance is likely gone forever.</p>
<p>"There is too much antagonism, too much hatred," he said. "Maybe the government can win militarily in a few years, but how do you change people’s attitudes? We’ll need years of education."
</p>
<p>For his part, Bishop Nalbandian has been shaken up by the shelling of Damascus and the death of the four children from his church.
</p>
<p>"I don’t know if I’m sad, if I'm tired, if I'm exhausted," he said. "I don’t know, I gain my power, energy from prayer. How, I don't know. Why I don't know. But I have this strength." 
</p>
<p>Bishop Nalbandian says he and other Christians will somehow endure — as they have many crises before. 
 &#160;</p>
<p>Special Correspondent Reese Erlich reported from Syria with a travel grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. His book on the Syrian uprising will be published by Prometheus Books next fall.</p>
<p>This story is presented by <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/" type="external">The GroundTruth Project.</a>&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
damascus arab spring turned wintry many christians middle east christian minority syria celebrates christmas local leaders say feel increasingly imperiled extremist muslim rebels added threat amid deadly civil war christians muslims coexisted centuries region several countries including egypt tunisia libya ultraconservative islamic groups launched violent attacks minority groups order rally supporters infidels propel power extremist rebels regularly shell christian neighborhoods damascus kidnap christians ransom areas control globalpost learned christians also kidnapped damascus160by militias supporting bashar alassad 10 percent syrias 225 million people christian orthodox catholic christian faith story globalpost road emmaus dwindling christian communities middle east armenian christians fled syria ottoman turkish genocide 1915 current civil war double tragedy onethird prewar armenian population 120000 left country refugees according bishop armash nalbandian armenian orthodox church armenians created new life syria 1915 establishing schools businesses churches 95 years suffering said bishop difficult us carry cross christians also face attack politics according father simon faddul director catholic charity caritas lebanon explained christian refugees lebanon syrian government employees others may related syrian soldiers members intelligence services face persecution progovernment views live continuous fear said father faddul christians paid blood sometimes pay cash recently 20yearold christian student kidnapped broad daylight front university damascus father got call demanding huge ransom us dollars said students uncle hagop university professor regime supporter asked first name used think christians rich recent months dozens christians kidnapped ransom damascus according hagop christian leaders christians perceived prosperous majority sunni muslims felt relatively secure largely secular society established regime bashar alassad father hafez alassad ruled decades 20yearold boys family finally able negotiate deal student released according hagop family never discovered identity kidnappers hagop said could antigovernment rebels common criminals rebels regularly kidnap civilians areas control according human rights watch frighteningly suspect kidnappings carried popular committees said committees progovernment militia incorporated national defense force late last year militia members receive salary uniforms arms government could rebel group infiltrate secure areas damascus kidnap someone front university take checkpoints area control asked hagop someone inside christians feel squeezed lawlessness sides christians fear extremist rebels government guarantee security minorities good functional government strong government said bishop nalbandian security experienced saw government president bashar alassad syrian uprising began 2011 many christians sympathized calls democracy worried growth islamic extremists many saw christians infidels bishop nalbandian said first months christians hoped government would make significant reforms meaningful dialogue opposition unfortunately government lost moment couldnt didnt use moment explained government reforms according constitution actually enough 160 160 example government lifted formal state emergency first enacted 1963 continued repressive policies government held parliamentary elections 2012 new body little power meanwhile past year extremist rebel groups seized territory rebel group known islamic state iraq syria took northern city raqqa earlier year example closed churches forced christians flee civil war ripped apart relations among christians sunni muslims even hagops small hometown crow flies hagops town lies 12 miles central damascus must drive half dozen military checkpoints get used 30minute commute takes three hours one makes drive night rebels sometimes hit road mortar fire rockets drive damascus times week otherwise stay home hagop said dont mind checkpoints say thanks soldiers protecting us hagops town mix christians sunnis druze muslim ethnic religious minority crisis residents got along well friendships business relations extended among religious groups officially assad government fighting maintain secularism officials claim sunnis support government army fights extremists takfiris epithet means impure muslim used describe rebels hagop admitted however reality town become far different army blocked sunni part town said hardly see sunnis everyone suspicious terrorist friendly relations neighbors broken tell children talk politics anyone outside immediate family never know might kidnapper soldiers hostile sunnis suspect supporting rebels hagop said armenian name said dont get hassled checkpoints looking sunnis one time soldier asked kurdish born north kurdish region said im armenian christian ok youre one us soldier said one us doesnt mean christians accepted equals even progovernment muslims see christians guests muslim country protect christians jews said sheik abdul salaam al harash representative muslim scholarship association duty good muslims hagop pointed however syria christian country centuries became majority muslim st paul traveled extensively modernday syria christianity spread rapidly era roman empire christian area muslims came said hagop still see us guests dont need protection need full rights citizens christians cant hold countrys highest office syrias president must muslim according constitution revised assad 2012 carrying forward provision previous syrian law christians wanted see constitution changed person religion could president according bishop nalbandian clause democratic crisis didnt raise voice change issue reveals fragile relations christians majority muslim community one exacerbated militancy islamists opposition hagop remembered 1973 hafez alassad tried change old constitution allow president religion conservative muslims protested dozens killed large demonstrations ruling baath party im sure provision president must muslim reflects baath policy popular hagop said shrug people want muslim president bishop nalbandian said making democratic changes syria take time democracy item bought store said process larger question christian democratic rights sidelined long civil war rages one recent day armenian orthodox families gathered old city church funeral four children died rebel mortar hit school relative one victims amira hana cries describes explosion went running school find took place said buses completely destroyed blood ground bishop nalbandian presided funeral criticized rebels intentionally target civilian areas cant understand kind vision kind ideology said know dont pursue freedom democracy say actually criminals says indiscriminate attacks civilians war crime isnt government humanity im speechless part according human rights groups government indiscriminately shells civilians rebelheld neighborhoods human rights watch documented dozens examples government artillery missile attacks killed thousands civilians160 indeed damascus reverberates sounds syrian army artillery machine gun fire soldiers attack rebelheld areas full civilians civil war taken toll christian community fled neighboring lebanon hagop hunkered home town far come direct rebel attack said old religious tolerance likely gone forever much antagonism much hatred said maybe government win militarily years change peoples attitudes well need years education part bishop nalbandian shaken shelling damascus death four children church dont know im sad im tired im exhausted said dont know gain power energy prayer dont know dont know strength bishop nalbandian says christians somehow endure many crises 160 special correspondent reese erlich reported syria travel grant pulitzer center crisis reporting book syrian uprising published prometheus books next fall story presented groundtruth project160
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />JAN. 5, 2012</p>
<p>By KATY GRIMES</p>
<p>As work in the California Assembly began for 2012, on Wednesday the festive mood quickly was quashed. In the first committee hearing of the New Year, the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee killed two bills by&#160;Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, &#160; <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_987/20112012/" type="external">AB 987</a> and <a href="http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_988/20112012/" type="external">988</a>. The bills would have reformed and updated state prevailing wage laws.</p>
<p><a href="http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/prevailing-wages/" type="external">A prevailing wage m</a>andates a certain payment to workers for government projects. It’s designed to prevent non-union contractors from underbidding union contractors.</p>
<p>Grove’s bills would have changed the calculations for prevailing wages, and allowed local governments to determine their own prevailing-wage policies.</p>
<p>“The reforms in these bills are bold and significant steps to reviving our dire economy and putting Californians back to work,” Grove said.&#160; “Forcing citizens to pay amounts for projects beyond what the local free market would otherwise dictate is a misuse of taxpayer dollars.&#160; Unfortunately, the powerful union interests benefit at this taxpayer expense.”</p>
<p>But discussion of the free market went nowhere in the committee hearing.</p>
<p>The state&#160; <a href="http://www.dir.ca.gov/dlsr/dprewagedetermination.htm" type="external">prevailing wage</a>, initially designed only to impact public projects, has crept into many developments that most people would consider private, such as home construction or business expansion.&#160; Grove sought to repeal many of these provisions, as well as modify the way prevailing wage rates are determined.</p>
<p>In a free market, wage rates will vary based on many different conditions. Grove said that the state’s method for calculating prevailing wage rates results from collective bargaining agreements.&#160;“No longer will prevailing wage rates in urban coastal areas apply to rural inland areas,” Grove said of her reforms.</p>
<p>“Should we actually trust contractors to pay a good wage?” asked Cesar Diaz, deputy legislative director at the <a href="http://www.sbctc.org/" type="external">State Building and Construction Trades Council,</a> a group opposed to Grove’s bills. “Prevailing wage has helped the middle class.”</p>
<p>At the hearing, all of the opposition to Grove’s bills came from labor union representatives.&#160;Most of the opposition claimed that, if the prevailing wage laws were modified,&#160;private employers would only pay minimum wage. “The result would be lower paid, less skilled workers,” said Sara Flocks, public policy coordinator at the California Labor Federation. “We need to level the playing field for workers.”</p>
<p>But Grove was adamant that the bill does not repeal the prevailing wage.</p>
<p>Because of the state’s current methods of calculating construction wage rates and determining where these rates apply, Grove explained that Kern County and other rural areas in California are losing private and public construction jobs, as well as jobs in private commercial and industrial development.</p>
<p>“The artificially increased cost of state-mandated construction wage rates plays a substantial role in this economic crisis,” Grove said.&#160; “There is no reason why residents in Kern County should have to pay the same for public works as those in San Francisco or Los Angeles. These bills would have given local governments the right to decide what their own prevailing wage rates should be given their cost of living and local market conditions.&#160; However, shown by today’s vote, the Democrats seem content with big-government policies that hinder economic growth and private sector job creation.”</p>
<p>“It’s a total gutting of prevailing wage laws,” said Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Salinas. “It’s been around for the last 80 years to protect middle class jobs.” Alejo explained that “the shrinking middle class needs the prevailing wage to be maintained and preserved so they can afford mortgages, afford to send their children to school, and afford to pay their bills. It’s just part of the cost of doing business in the state and is a fair cost.”</p>
<p>Kevin Dayton, with <a href="http://www.abc.org/" type="external">Associated Builders and Contractors</a>, the bill’s sponsor, told committee members that most of the <a href="http://www.abc.org/Newsroom2/News_Letters/5/23/Newsline_ABC_of_California_Requests_Review_of_Improper_Prevailing_Wage_Determinations.aspx" type="external">modifications</a> to the prevailing wage laws were added during the Gray Davis administration, and actually have nothing to do with employee compensation.</p>
<p>“Currently, contractors are required to pay state-mandated construction wage rates to workers engaged in various occupations allegedly related to public works construction,” explained Rob Smith, Grove’s legislative director, after the hearing. “The definition of public works has been expanded in recent years to include numerous kinds of privately built projects that most reasonable Californians would not consider to be government projects.”</p>
<p>The hearing took a strange turn when Assemblyman Mike Allen, D-San Rafael, asked how much discussion went on before the hearing with organized labor. “You are talking past one another,” Allen said.</p>
<p>Dayton answered that Associated Builders and Contractors had been at battle with organized labor since 1950, when the organization was founded. “The statute was pieced together over the years. However, some people recognize that it needs updating,” Dayton said.</p>
<p>“Your bills go too far,” Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis, told Grove. “I have concerns about free market forces. We need certain standards for public works projects. These false dichotomies don’t serve us well going into the New Year.”</p>
<p>Assemblyman Warren Furutani, D-Los Angeles, called the fight between labor and the private sector “trench warfare.” He asked, “How normal is it for some company to make these kinds of profits while workers take less? Is it normal for workers to take less so someone else can take more?”</p>
<p>Assemblyman Mike Morell, R-Rancho Cucamonga, challenged Furutani’s comments. “These are basic economic principles. You can’t spend more than you earn,” Morell said. “Less regulation means free markets.” Morell said people are leaving California for states with “crappy weather and bugs,” for lower tax rates and less regulation. “You want the facts? Those are the facts.”</p>
<p>Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Oakland, the committee chairman, called employees “equal partners” with employers. “You can’t work them harder for the lowest wage. There’s a cost to doing business.”</p>
<p>Both bills failed to pass committee on a 5-2, party-line vote.</p>
| false | 3 |
jan 5 2012 katy grimes work california assembly began 2012 wednesday festive mood quickly quashed first committee hearing new year assembly labor employment committee killed two bills by160assemblywoman shannon grove rbakersfield 160 ab 987 988 bills would reformed updated state prevailing wage laws prevailing wage mandates certain payment workers government projects designed prevent nonunion contractors underbidding union contractors groves bills would changed calculations prevailing wages allowed local governments determine prevailingwage policies reforms bills bold significant steps reviving dire economy putting californians back work grove said160 forcing citizens pay amounts projects beyond local free market would otherwise dictate misuse taxpayer dollars160 unfortunately powerful union interests benefit taxpayer expense discussion free market went nowhere committee hearing state160 prevailing wage initially designed impact public projects crept many developments people would consider private home construction business expansion160 grove sought repeal many provisions well modify way prevailing wage rates determined free market wage rates vary based many different conditions grove said states method calculating prevailing wage rates results collective bargaining agreements160no longer prevailing wage rates urban coastal areas apply rural inland areas grove said reforms actually trust contractors pay good wage asked cesar diaz deputy legislative director state building construction trades council group opposed groves bills prevailing wage helped middle class hearing opposition groves bills came labor union representatives160most opposition claimed prevailing wage laws modified160private employers would pay minimum wage result would lower paid less skilled workers said sara flocks public policy coordinator california labor federation need level playing field workers grove adamant bill repeal prevailing wage states current methods calculating construction wage rates determining rates apply grove explained kern county rural areas california losing private public construction jobs well jobs private commercial industrial development artificially increased cost statemandated construction wage rates plays substantial role economic crisis grove said160 reason residents kern county pay public works san francisco los angeles bills would given local governments right decide prevailing wage rates given cost living local market conditions160 however shown todays vote democrats seem content biggovernment policies hinder economic growth private sector job creation total gutting prevailing wage laws said assemblyman luis alejo dsalinas around last 80 years protect middle class jobs alejo explained shrinking middle class needs prevailing wage maintained preserved afford mortgages afford send children school afford pay bills part cost business state fair cost kevin dayton associated builders contractors bills sponsor told committee members modifications prevailing wage laws added gray davis administration actually nothing employee compensation currently contractors required pay statemandated construction wage rates workers engaged various occupations allegedly related public works construction explained rob smith groves legislative director hearing definition public works expanded recent years include numerous kinds privately built projects reasonable californians would consider government projects hearing took strange turn assemblyman mike allen dsan rafael asked much discussion went hearing organized labor talking past one another allen said dayton answered associated builders contractors battle organized labor since 1950 organization founded statute pieced together years however people recognize needs updating dayton said bills go far assemblywoman mariko yamada ddavis told grove concerns free market forces need certain standards public works projects false dichotomies dont serve us well going new year assemblyman warren furutani dlos angeles called fight labor private sector trench warfare asked normal company make kinds profits workers take less normal workers take less someone else take assemblyman mike morell rrancho cucamonga challenged furutanis comments basic economic principles cant spend earn morell said less regulation means free markets morell said people leaving california states crappy weather bugs lower tax rates less regulation want facts facts assemblyman sandre swanson doakland committee chairman called employees equal partners employers cant work harder lowest wage theres cost business bills failed pass committee 52 partyline vote
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<p>The small town of Williston, North Dakota, became an international destination a few years back — people came streaming in from across the globe to cash in on the area’s oil boom. Improvements in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, turned the small, conservative, rural outpost into one of the nation’s fastest growing economies.</p>
<p>After landing at the tiny Williston airport, many new arrivals made their way next door to Lonnie’s Roadhouse Café.</p>
<p>“You know, they’ll come right out of the airport and not know anywhere in town, not know where they’re staying. This is the first place they come for breakfast or lunch,” says&#160;Pixie Bowles, a waitress at Lonnie’s.</p>
<p>“We have a lot of people from Africa that come in. That surprised me,” says&#160;Bowles. “We have a lot of Russians, Ukrainians. Really whenever anyone gets their work visas, we’ve got everyone coming up here.”</p>
<p>Business at the restaurant remains brisk, but has slowed, along with the foreign customers, according to Bowles. When <a href="http://www.macrotrends.net/1369/crude-oil-price-history-chart" type="external">the price of oil plummeted a few years back</a>, local businesses felt some hurt. But many locals also say that the breakneck pace was unsustainable, and the city had strayed too far from being a family-friendly place.</p>
<p>When new fracking techniques were first introduced nearly a decade ago, people came pouring into the area so fast that there just wasn’t enough space for them. Williston’s population tripled, soaring from 14,000 to about 45,000.</p>
<p>Private companies built so called “man camps,” temporary, dormitory-style housing. Then there was the <a href="http://ndindoorrvpark.com/" type="external">Indoor RV Park</a> in nearby Watford City — you can basically rent a large storage unit to park your RV inside. It’s fairly empty now, but was bustling a few years back.</p>
<p>“If anybody has lived through winter in&#160;North Dakota, it’s just cold. So people prefer to live inside if they can,” says&#160;Jamie Buckingham, who works at the front office at the RV park.</p>
<p />
<p>The outdoor RV park in Watford City can hold 160 RVs inside its units, which include water, electricity and sewage.&#160;</p>
<p>Jason Margolis</p>
<p>She says&#160;she’s experienced temperatures with wind-chills down to about -50 Fahrenheit.</p>
<p>The oversized storage units only have small window cut-outs in the doors to let in outside light. “You learn how to deal with it,” Buckingham says&#160;with a shrug.</p>
<p>So that’s how the area was running for several years: single men living in less-than-optimal conditions, making lots and lots of money. The ratio of men to women was <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/this-north-dakota-oil-town-has-the-highest-rent-in-the-country-830e9732fd75" type="external">12-to-1</a>. Williston got a lot of attention for all the things that can go wrong with that social experiment.</p>
<p>“It was the Wild West on steroids,” says&#160;real estate broker Tate Cymbaluk, who grew up in Williston.</p>
<p>“An enormous amount of drugs came in, we had prostitution, we had murders. We hadn’t had a murder in this community since the early 80s. Bar fights were frequent, people living in their cars, people renting out their backyards,” says&#160;Cymbaluk.</p>
<p>The town hasn’t gone bust since the price of oil fell, as it did after its last oil boom went dry in the 1980s. This time, it’s just kind of returned to somewhat normal. Cymbaluk says&#160;unfortunately though, the drugs have remained: “Cocaine laced with fentanyl, methamphetamine.”</p>
<p>I ask&#160;Cymbaluk, a father and a Little League coach: Was the sudden growth in his town good, bad, or something in between?</p>
<p>“I think for the most part it was good. It brought some very good people to the community. It brought some change to the community," he says.&#160;"There was a period of time when it was very stressful and it was very intense. You were working 14, 16, 18 hours a day, so unfortunately you did miss some of your family events. I think the biggest change was the fact that you would drive down the street and you maybe didn’t know anybody.”</p>
<p>Cymbaluk, who also chairs the Williams County Planning and Zoning Commission, says&#160;oil extraction taxes paid for a lot of new goodies: <a href="http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4101825-technology-savvy-70-million-new-high-school-opens-williston" type="external">a state-of-the-art high school</a>, a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-18/a-70-million-rec-center-brings-indoor-surfing-golf-to-north-dakota" type="external">&#160;</a> <a href="http://bismarcktribune.com/rec-center-becomes-new-hub-in-williston/article_40b16e92-31a7-5c68-833a-e9e42a7cc0f0.html" type="external">$76 million rec center</a> with indoor surfing — it’s awesome, by the way — a sewage treatment plant, and soon, a new airport slated to <a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/news/new-williston-airport-project-moving-into-construction-phase/article_b28a783c-5463-11e6-be06-fb4ea592511c.html" type="external">open in&#160;2019</a>.</p>
<p />
<p>Indoor surfing at the $76 million Williston Area Recreation Center, touted as&#160;the largest city-owned rec center in the country. It opened in 2014.</p>
<p>Jason Margolis</p>
<p>The city now has to maintain its new infrastructure. It’s going to be a challenge with less oil money flowing in, but the mayor, Howard Klug, says he welcomes the slowdown.</p>
<p>“A breath-catcher is the way we’re thinking about it here in Williston,” says&#160;Klug.</p>
<p>At one point, Klug was trying to communicate with foreign workers in three languages.&#160;“I didn’t speak them very well, but it was a little bit of Russian, Spanish, and then obviously English,” he says.</p>
<p>Those were some big changes for an area that, until the boom, was more than 90 percent white, non-Hispanic.</p>
<p>Klug is certain though, that&#160;overall&#160;the boom was good for his city. But if Williston wants to keep growing, it needs to keep drilling. &#160;&#160;</p>
<p>“We’re ready for the next phase of this oil,” says&#160;Klug, “They tell me it’s going to be a 40-year play so we’re into the first 10 years of it. There are still lots and lots of wells to be drilled.”</p>
<p>For the mayor, those wells mean new streetlights, roads, and basketball courts. For environmentalists, they mean <a href="" type="internal">more greenhouse gas emissions</a> and risks to groundwater associated with fracking.</p>
<p>When the price of oil does pick up, you can bet on it: workers will stream in from across the globe, protesters will show up too, and the tiny town of Williston will be booming again, at least until it isn’t.</p>
<p />
<p>Downtown Williston.</p>
<p>Jason Margolis</p>
<p>This piece is part of the series&#160; <a href="" type="internal">50 States: America's place in a shrinking world.</a>&#160;Become a part of the project and share your story with us.&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
small town williston north dakota became international destination years back people came streaming across globe cash areas oil boom improvements hydraulic fracturing fracking turned small conservative rural outpost one nations fastest growing economies landing tiny williston airport many new arrivals made way next door lonnies roadhouse café know theyll come right airport know anywhere town know theyre staying first place come breakfast lunch says160pixie bowles waitress lonnies lot people africa come surprised says160bowles lot russians ukrainians really whenever anyone gets work visas weve got everyone coming business restaurant remains brisk slowed along foreign customers according bowles price oil plummeted years back local businesses felt hurt many locals also say breakneck pace unsustainable city strayed far familyfriendly place new fracking techniques first introduced nearly decade ago people came pouring area fast wasnt enough space willistons population tripled soaring 14000 45000 private companies built called man camps temporary dormitorystyle housing indoor rv park nearby watford city basically rent large storage unit park rv inside fairly empty bustling years back anybody lived winter in160north dakota cold people prefer live inside says160jamie buckingham works front office rv park outdoor rv park watford city hold 160 rvs inside units include water electricity sewage160 jason margolis says160shes experienced temperatures windchills 50 fahrenheit oversized storage units small window cutouts doors let outside light learn deal buckingham says160with shrug thats area running several years single men living lessthanoptimal conditions making lots lots money ratio men women 12to1 williston got lot attention things go wrong social experiment wild west steroids says160real estate broker tate cymbaluk grew williston enormous amount drugs came prostitution murders hadnt murder community since early 80s bar fights frequent people living cars people renting backyards says160cymbaluk town hasnt gone bust since price oil fell last oil boom went dry 1980s time kind returned somewhat normal cymbaluk says160unfortunately though drugs remained cocaine laced fentanyl methamphetamine ask160cymbaluk father little league coach sudden growth town good bad something think part good brought good people community brought change community says160there period time stressful intense working 14 16 18 hours day unfortunately miss family events think biggest change fact would drive street maybe didnt know anybody cymbaluk also chairs williams county planning zoning commission says160oil extraction taxes paid lot new goodies stateoftheart high school 160 76 million rec center indoor surfing awesome way sewage treatment plant soon new airport slated open in1602019 indoor surfing 76 million williston area recreation center touted as160the largest cityowned rec center country opened 2014 jason margolis city maintain new infrastructure going challenge less oil money flowing mayor howard klug says welcomes slowdown breathcatcher way thinking williston says160klug one point klug trying communicate foreign workers three languages160i didnt speak well little bit russian spanish obviously english says big changes area boom 90 percent white nonhispanic klug certain though that160overall160the boom good city williston wants keep growing needs keep drilling 160160 ready next phase oil says160klug tell going 40year play first 10 years still lots lots wells drilled mayor wells mean new streetlights roads basketball courts environmentalists mean greenhouse gas emissions risks groundwater associated fracking price oil pick bet workers stream across globe protesters show tiny town williston booming least isnt downtown williston jason margolis piece part series160 50 states americas place shrinking world160become part project share story us160
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<p />
<p>Edith Windsor is among those who signed a letter to National LGBTQ Task Force in response to the protest at the Creating Change Conference that forced the cancellation of a reception with two Israeli LGBT rights activists. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p />
<p>Roberta Kaplan, the lawyer who represented Edith Windsor before the U.S. Supreme Court in her case that challenged the Defense of Marriage Act, spearheaded the letter to National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey.</p>
<p>Windsor signed the letter alongside Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in New York, former Freedom to Marry President Evan Wolfson, Equality Council Interim Executive Director Emily Hecht-McGowan, Gender Rights Maryland Executive Director Dana Beyer and Africa Human Rights Coalition Executive Director Melanie Nathan, among others.</p>
<p>Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, and Lee Rubin, a former chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force board of directors, also signed the letter. Former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, Democratic National Committee Treasurer Andrew Tobias, California Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) and former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn are among the other signatories.</p>
<p>“The purpose of this letter is to unequivocally express our collective and deep concern about what transpired at the Task Force’s 2016 Creating Change Conference in Chicago, Illinois (CC16) on Friday, January 22, 2016,” reads the letter.</p>
<p>Sarah Kala-Meir and Tom Canning from the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance were scheduled to speak at the reception at the Chicago Hilton that A Wider Bridge, an organization seeking to bolster “LGBTQ connections with Israel,” organized.</p>
<p>More than 200 people opposed to “pinkwashing,” which they describe as the promotion of Israel’s LGBT rights record in an attempt to deflect attention away from its controversial policies towards the Palestinians, marched through the hotel and gathered outside the reception was taking place.</p>
<p>Members of Jewish Voices for Peace and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice were among those who took part in the protest. Kala-Meir and Canning left the room in which it was taking place through a back door as protesters began shouting.</p>
<p>A video that the Windy City Times shot shows protesters chanting “Palestine will be free, from the river to the sea” — a slogan that those who describe themselves as pro-Israel claim has been used in support of the destruction of the Jewish state — as they approached the reception.</p>
<p>A second video of the Creating Change Conference protest the Windy City Times captured shows protesters yelling at a man after he threw to the ground a Palestinian flag that had been placed over his head.</p>
<p>The letter noted one protester shouted, “We are going to challenge these Zionist racist motherfuckers.” It also detailed a report that someone was called a “kike.”</p>
<p>“We are aware that the 100-200 protesters were among a conference of 4,000 participants and have no reason to believe that what transpired outside the reception on January 22 reflects the views or experiences of the majority of the 4000 conference goers,” reads the letter.</p>
<p>“The events of January 22 in Chicago were unacceptable and not in accord with the Task Force’s values of pluralism, inclusivity and thoughtful debate,” it adds. “The targeted organizations’ reception was disrupted and shut down by protesters (including people not attending the conference) with such hostility and aggression that speakers and attendees at the event were justifiably terrified and felt physically threatened. We are united in our belief that what transpired at CC16 was dangerous, deeply disturbing, and given the use of epithets like ‘kike,’ clearly anti-Semitic.”</p>
<p>Carey in a statement responded to the letter.</p>
<p>“Like many others who, over the past few days, have put forth statements and input for moving forward, we thank the signers for their perspectives and in fact share their interest in improving the Creating Change Conference as well as addressing larger issues in the movement and society,” she said. “Many of the signers are long-time colleagues and Task Force friends and we appreciate the time and thoughtfulness they have put into this letter.”</p>
<p>“We share their commitment in standing against anti-Semitism,” added Carey. “We also share their interest in engaging in an extensive review process that includes working with external experts, leaders in different communities — including a number of the leaders who signed the letter — supporters and stakeholders.”</p>
<p>Bashar Makhay, one of the protest organizers, told the Washington Blade on Wednesday that “we heard no reports” of anti-Semitic language used during the protest.</p>
<p>“If that language was used, people should be held accountable for that,” said Makhay.</p>
<p>A letter that protest organizers <a href="https://medium.com/@cancelpinkwashing/post-creating-change-a-response-from-cancelpinkwashing-6f9b5adb822b#.2j1chjd4i" type="external">released</a> on Wednesday notes their demands to the National LGBTQ Task Force included a public endorsement of a campaign in support of a boycott, economic divestment and sanctions against Israel over its policies towards the Palestinians. They also called for the organization to support the right of Palestinians to return to property in Israel and in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that their families lost in the 1948 war that led to the creation of the Jewish state.</p>
<p>“For those that are unsure of geography, that is from the river to the sea,” reads the letter, referring to the so-called Palestinian Right to Return.</p>
<p>The National LGBTQ Task Force earlier this month announced it had cancelled the A Wider Bridge reception in the wake of criticism from Dean Spade, founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, and others opposed to “pinkwashing.” The organization also said a panel with officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not take place because of “concerns from our community” over the White House’s policies towards undocumented immigrants.</p>
<p>The National LGBTQ Task Force subsequently reversed its decision to cancel the A Wider Bridge reception.</p>
<p>Carey earlier this week issued a statement in which she <a href="" type="internal">“wholeheartedly” condemned</a> anti-Semitism at the conference. She also said the National LGBTQ Task Force has also begun a review of “conference practices.”</p>
<p>A letter that protest organizers released on Wednesday notes the National LGBTQ Task Force “has not apologized for or addressed any of the concerned raised by activists around pinkwashing at the conference.” They also rejected any assertion that the protesters engaged in anti-Semitism.</p>
<p>“The Task Force conflates anti-Zionism and indeed all criticism of Israeli policy with anti-Semitism, which trivializes the very meaning of anti-Semitism, and exploits the term in order to silence political debate and distract from occupation and colonialism, which are at the heart of this issue,” the letter reads. “We are extremely disappointed by the unaccountable, racist actions of the Task Force as an institution.”</p>
<p>“We will continue to press them on our demands and move forward in our work to confront pinkwashing and push LGBT organizations to name and reject their complicity in colonial occupation,” it adds.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">A Wider Bridge</a> <a href="" type="internal">Barney Frank</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bashar Makhay</a> <a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">Christine Quinn</a> <a href="" type="internal">Creating Change Conference</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dana Beyer</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dean Spade</a> <a href="" type="internal">Edith Windsor</a> <a href="" type="internal">Emily Hecht-McGowan</a> <a href="" type="internal">Evan Wolfson</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Gaza Strip</a> <a href="" type="internal">Israel</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lee Rubin</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mark Leno</a> <a href="" type="internal">Melanie Nathan</a> <a href="" type="internal">National LGBTQ Task Force</a> <a href="" type="internal">Rea Carey</a> <a href="" type="internal">Roberta Kaplan</a> <a href="" type="internal">Sarah Kala-Meir</a> <a href="" type="internal">Sharon Kleinbaum</a> <a href="" type="internal">Tom Canning</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a> <a href="" type="internal">Troy Perry</a> <a href="" type="internal">West Bank</a></p>
| false | 3 |
edith windsor among signed letter national lgbtq task force response protest creating change conference forced cancellation reception two israeli lgbt rights activists washington blade file photo michael key roberta kaplan lawyer represented edith windsor us supreme court case challenged defense marriage act spearheaded letter national lgbtq task force executive director rea carey windsor signed letter alongside rabbi sharon kleinbaum congregation beit simchat torah new york former freedom marry president evan wolfson equality council interim executive director emily hechtmcgowan gender rights maryland executive director dana beyer africa human rights coalition executive director melanie nathan among others rev troy perry founder metropolitan community church lee rubin former chair national gay lesbian task force board directors also signed letter former massachusetts congressman barney frank democratic national committee treasurer andrew tobias california assemblyman mark leno dsan francisco former new york city council speaker christine quinn among signatories purpose letter unequivocally express collective deep concern transpired task forces 2016 creating change conference chicago illinois cc16 friday january 22 2016 reads letter sarah kalameir tom canning jerusalem open house pride tolerance scheduled speak reception chicago hilton wider bridge organization seeking bolster lgbtq connections israel organized 200 people opposed pinkwashing describe promotion israels lgbt rights record attempt deflect attention away controversial policies towards palestinians marched hotel gathered outside reception taking place members jewish voices peace jews racial economic justice among took part protest kalameir canning left room taking place back door protesters began shouting video windy city times shot shows protesters chanting palestine free river sea slogan describe proisrael claim used support destruction jewish state approached reception second video creating change conference protest windy city times captured shows protesters yelling man threw ground palestinian flag placed head letter noted one protester shouted going challenge zionist racist motherfuckers also detailed report someone called kike aware 100200 protesters among conference 4000 participants reason believe transpired outside reception january 22 reflects views experiences majority 4000 conference goers reads letter events january 22 chicago unacceptable accord task forces values pluralism inclusivity thoughtful debate adds targeted organizations reception disrupted shut protesters including people attending conference hostility aggression speakers attendees event justifiably terrified felt physically threatened united belief transpired cc16 dangerous deeply disturbing given use epithets like kike clearly antisemitic carey statement responded letter like many others past days put forth statements input moving forward thank signers perspectives fact share interest improving creating change conference well addressing larger issues movement society said many signers longtime colleagues task force friends appreciate time thoughtfulness put letter share commitment standing antisemitism added carey also share interest engaging extensive review process includes working external experts leaders different communities including number leaders signed letter supporters stakeholders bashar makhay one protest organizers told washington blade wednesday heard reports antisemitic language used protest language used people held accountable said makhay letter protest organizers released wednesday notes demands national lgbtq task force included public endorsement campaign support boycott economic divestment sanctions israel policies towards palestinians also called organization support right palestinians return property israel west bank gaza strip families lost 1948 war led creation jewish state unsure geography river sea reads letter referring socalled palestinian right return national lgbtq task force earlier month announced cancelled wider bridge reception wake criticism dean spade founder sylvia rivera law project others opposed pinkwashing organization also said panel officials us immigration customs enforcement would take place concerns community white houses policies towards undocumented immigrants national lgbtq task force subsequently reversed decision cancel wider bridge reception carey earlier week issued statement wholeheartedly condemned antisemitism conference also said national lgbtq task force also begun review conference practices letter protest organizers released wednesday notes national lgbtq task force apologized addressed concerned raised activists around pinkwashing conference also rejected assertion protesters engaged antisemitism task force conflates antizionism indeed criticism israeli policy antisemitism trivializes meaning antisemitism exploits term order silence political debate distract occupation colonialism heart issue letter reads extremely disappointed unaccountable racist actions task force institution continue press demands move forward work confront pinkwashing push lgbt organizations name reject complicity colonial occupation adds wider bridge barney frank bashar makhay bisexual christine quinn creating change conference dana beyer dean spade edith windsor emily hechtmcgowan evan wolfson gay gaza strip israel jerusalem open house pride tolerance lee rubin lesbian mark leno melanie nathan national lgbtq task force rea carey roberta kaplan sarah kalameir sharon kleinbaum tom canning transgender troy perry west bank
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />John Seiler:</p>
<p>California just keeps getting nuttier. Why do we put up with it? Why do we stay here?</p>
<p>Judges should have one requirement: They should apply the U.S. Constitution, the California Constitution and all the laws impartially and fairly.</p>
<p>That’s it.</p>
<p>It shouldn’t matter if all justices and judges are women, or all men, or all black, or all white, or all Asian, or all Latino — or all Martian. Just so they applied the law impartially and fairly.</p>
<p>Let’s say you were in a dispute about your home loan. Would you want a judge who a) has the same race, religion, color, sex. etc. as you, but applies the law unfairly; or b) does not have the same race, religion, color, sex., etc. as you, but would apply the law impartially and fairly. The answer obviously should be b). It certainly is for me.</p>
<p>“Justice” means getting what you deserve. And that’s all anyone should wish from a judicial system.</p>
<p>But that’s not the case any more in California, where the ideology of “diversity” reigns everywhere. This actually is a true story, reported by the Weekly Standard:</p>
<p>“In order to make sure gays and lesbians are adequately represented on the judicial bench, the state of California is requiring all judges and justices to reveal their sexual orientation. The announcement was made in an internal memo sent to all California judges and justices.</p>
<p>“‘[The Administrative Office of the Courts] is contacting all judges and justices to gather data on race/ethnicity, gender identification, and sexual orientation,’ reads an email sent by Romunda Price of the Administrative Office of the Courts. A copy of Price’s memo was obtained by THE WEEKLY STANDARD.&#160;</p>
<p>“’Providing complete and accurate aggregate demographic data is crucial to garnering continuing legislative support for securing critically needed judgeships’,” Price writes.</p>
<p>“The process of self-revealing one’s sexual orientation is an element of a now yearly process. ‘To ensure that the AOC reports accurate data and to avoid the need to ask all judges to provide this information on an annual basis, the questionnaire asks that names be provided. The AOC, however, will release only aggregate statistical information, by jurisdiction, as required by the Government Code and will not identify any specific justice or judge.’</p>
<p>“Philip R. Carrizosa of the executive office of communications at the Judicial Council of California, the Administrative Office of the Courts, confirmed the authenticity of Price’s email regarding gender identification and sexual orientation to THE WEEKLY STANDARD.</p>
<p>“‘Yes, the e-mail is authentic and accurate,’ Carrizosa confirmed in an email. ‘The original bill, which simply provided for 50 new judgeships, was amended in the Assembly in August 2006, to address concerns that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was not appointing enough women and minorities to the bench. In 2011, Senator Ellen Corbett expanded the reporting requirement to include gender identification and sexual orientation’.”</p>
<p>And let’s remember that Arnold bent over backward to make such appointments. But still it wasn’t enough for the diversity Stalinists.</p>
<p>What About Wikileaks?</p>
<p>All involved in advancing this law, even though living in the high-tech state of California, also seem to be extremely naive about the state of information security nowadays. They promise that only “aggregate statistical information” will be released, not the info on individual judges.</p>
<p>But you know that info will be leaked, or hacked. Just look at two recent events. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/wikileaks-publishes-leaked-stratfor-emails-casting-light-on-inner-workings-of-us-intel-firm/2012/02/27/gIQAfpMkdR_story.html" type="external">Wikileaks released</a> internal emails from Stratfor, a private security firm. And <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/02/anonymous-speaks-the-inside-story-of-the-hbgary-hack.ars" type="external">Anonymous hacked</a> the computers of HB Gary, a computer security firm. Both these companies’ business is secure information. If they can’t protect themselves from hackers, how is the incompetent California government going to do it?</p>
<p>In 2010, the California DMV was embroiled in a <a href="http://www.slatesnet.com/blog/2010/06/10/california-dmv-at-the-center-of-another-bribing-scandal/" type="external">bribing scandal</a> involving its computer information.</p>
<p>And last month, the Orange County Register’s <a href="http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2012/01/11/states-1-6-billion-computer-system-beset-by-woes/146109/" type="external">OC Watchdog reported</a>:</p>
<p>“Five&#160;months before selecting a contractor, the state of&#160;California&#160;has already spent&#160;$62.6 million&#160;on a computer project that the state auditor says is beset by problems with staffing, funding and conflicts of interest.</p>
<p>“Auditor&#160;Elaine Howle&#160;comes to this conclusion in her&#160; <a href="http://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2011-039.pdf" type="external">new annual letter&#160;</a>about the&#160;Financial Information System for California, or&#160;Fi$Cal, project.</p>
<p>“ <a href="http://www.fiscal.ca.gov/" type="external">Fi$Cal</a>&#160;is an IT project that seeks to modernize and streamline state’s accounting, budget and cash management systems.</p>
<p>“Today, California relies on several antiquated and department-specific systems to handle these routine tasks. The current systems are independent and don’t talk to each other, making it difficult for policy makers and managers to get accurate, statewide data.</p>
<p>“Fi$Cal seeks to replace this balkanized world with&#160; <a href="http://www.fiscal.ca.gov/archive/documents/FI$Cal_Financing.pdf" type="external">a single, integrated management system</a>&#160;for all of state government to use. It has an estimated price tag of&#160;$1.6 billion&#160;spread over&#160;12&#160;years. In May, the contract is expected to be awarded.</p>
<p>“The auditor, however, has identified several problems with project, not the least of which is that it lost its source of long-term funding.”</p>
<p>So, we have to assume that whatever info is collected on judges will be made public quickly. Which brings up a situation: Given that these judgeships are highly coveted and lucrative, with massive pay, perks and pensions, won’t people try to game the system?</p>
<p>If not enough “gay” judges are on the benches, won’t some “straights” claim they are “gay” to get the appointments?</p>
<p>How is the state going to check, anyway? Put cameras in the nominees’ homes?</p>
<p>It’s so funny, you could make a comic movie about it!</p>
<p>Wait … wait … someone did. Although it’s not about judges. But it did involve lucrative government pensions.</p>
<p>It was by Adam Sandler: “I Now Pronounce You Chuck &amp; Larry.”</p>
<p>Just when you think California can’t get any more absurd, its tyrannical government system more disgraced and delegitimated, it does.</p>
<p>Feb. 27, 2012</p>
<p>Correction: As one of our commentators noted (below), the judges can opt out of the system.</p>
| false | 3 |
john seiler california keeps getting nuttier put stay judges one requirement apply us constitution california constitution laws impartially fairly thats shouldnt matter justices judges women men black white asian latino martian applied law impartially fairly lets say dispute home loan would want judge race religion color sex etc applies law unfairly b race religion color sex etc would apply law impartially fairly answer obviously b certainly justice means getting deserve thats anyone wish judicial system thats case california ideology diversity reigns everywhere actually true story reported weekly standard order make sure gays lesbians adequately represented judicial bench state california requiring judges justices reveal sexual orientation announcement made internal memo sent california judges justices administrative office courts contacting judges justices gather data raceethnicity gender identification sexual orientation reads email sent romunda price administrative office courts copy prices memo obtained weekly standard160 providing complete accurate aggregate demographic data crucial garnering continuing legislative support securing critically needed judgeships price writes process selfrevealing ones sexual orientation element yearly process ensure aoc reports accurate data avoid need ask judges provide information annual basis questionnaire asks names provided aoc however release aggregate statistical information jurisdiction required government code identify specific justice judge philip r carrizosa executive office communications judicial council california administrative office courts confirmed authenticity prices email regarding gender identification sexual orientation weekly standard yes email authentic accurate carrizosa confirmed email original bill simply provided 50 new judgeships amended assembly august 2006 address concerns gov arnold schwarzenegger appointing enough women minorities bench 2011 senator ellen corbett expanded reporting requirement include gender identification sexual orientation lets remember arnold bent backward make appointments still wasnt enough diversity stalinists wikileaks involved advancing law even though living hightech state california also seem extremely naive state information security nowadays promise aggregate statistical information released info individual judges know info leaked hacked look two recent events wikileaks released internal emails stratfor private security firm anonymous hacked computers hb gary computer security firm companies business secure information cant protect hackers incompetent california government going 2010 california dmv embroiled bribing scandal involving computer information last month orange county registers oc watchdog reported five160months selecting contractor state of160california160has already spent160626 million160on computer project state auditor says beset problems staffing funding conflicts interest auditor160elaine howle160comes conclusion her160 new annual letter160about the160financial information system california or160fical project fical160is project seeks modernize streamline states accounting budget cash management systems today california relies several antiquated departmentspecific systems handle routine tasks current systems independent dont talk making difficult policy makers managers get accurate statewide data fical seeks replace balkanized world with160 single integrated management system160for state government use estimated price tag of16016 billion160spread over16012160years may contract expected awarded auditor however identified several problems project least lost source longterm funding assume whatever info collected judges made public quickly brings situation given judgeships highly coveted lucrative massive pay perks pensions wont people try game system enough gay judges benches wont straights claim gay get appointments state going check anyway put cameras nominees homes funny could make comic movie wait wait someone although judges involve lucrative government pensions adam sandler pronounce chuck amp larry think california cant get absurd tyrannical government system disgraced delegitimated feb 27 2012 correction one commentators noted judges opt system
| 532 |
<p>Venezuelan American actor Dylan Marron was sick of being told that there wasn't enough work in Hollywood for his "type."</p>
<p>So, he created the <a href="http://everysinglewordspoken.tumblr.com/" type="external">Every Single Word</a> project, where he posts re-edits of some of his favorite mainstream films — with all of the parts where white people speak edited out. What's left? The speaking roles of actors of color. Moonrise Kingdom, an hour an a half long film, is reduced to 10 seconds. American Hustle, two hours and eighteen minutes long, has less than a minute of speaking lines for its non-white actors.</p>
<p>We spoke to Marron about his personal experiences as an actor and film lover who yearns to see race blind casting become the norm in Hollywood, how his popular Tumblr came to fruition and his advice for fellow movie lovers who wish to see Hollywood embrace diversity.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Isis Madrid: Tell me about yourself.</p>
<p>Dylan Marron: My name is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/dylanmarron/videos" type="external">Dylan Marron</a>. I'm 27 and I'm an actor, writer and director living in New York. I like creating work that brings people together and starts conversations. I like consuming work that challenges me and expands my lens to the world.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>IM: What inspired you to make the <a href="http://everysinglewordspoken.tumblr.com/" type="external">Every Single Word</a> series?</p>
<p>DM: As a young kid and avid moviegoer I never really saw my reflection on film. Nobody really looked like me and, consequently, I wondered where I fit in to the bigger picture. George Gerbner coined the term symbolic annihilation in 1972. “Representation in the fictional world signifies social existence; absence means symbolic annihilation.” That really sums it up best. Did I exist? The stories I consumed suggested I didn't. Or worse, shouldn't.</p>
<p>In high school, casting directors who had seen me in school productions would sometimes call me in to audition for features or pilots or plays. Out of these auditions I sometimes got meetings with agents and they would tell me that I'll never play the romantic male lead and that they weren't sure how much work is out there for my "type." I accepted this as truth.</p>
<p>I went to college, joined a sketch comedy group, learned how to write and began developing material for myself. If there weren't parts out there for me, I figured I'd create them.</p>
<p>Currently, I'm a working actor and writer. I'm probably best known for voicing a beloved character on a popular podcast, Welcome to Night Vale. I was also in a well received web series and I'm in a large televised ad campaign in the US. I was just nominated for a Drama Desk Award for a play I wrote and directed this year. The meetings with potential agents have started again, and I'm being told the same thing as when I was in high school. I won't play the romantic male lead and there aren't many parts for my "type." It seems like no matter how far I've come, how much work I have under my belt, this industry still finds a way to tell me what I can and can't represent.</p>
<p>This series is a way of highlighting why I keep being told that there isn't much work out there for me and why so many other talented and hard working actors of color are being told the same thing.</p>
<p>I'm not picking these films because I don't like them. On the contrary, I actually really enjoy them. I read The Fault in Our Stars and cried my eyes out. I love that book. But nowhere in John Green's exceptional novel was any character's race ever mentioned. Why is whiteness the default? The story is not about whiteness, it's about love and loss and mortality. If Hollywood keeps using white actors to tell universal stories then it is suggesting that people of color don't fit in to the zeitgeist of human emotions. Or, maybe even worse, they shouldn't.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>IM: Why do you think Hollywood continues to ignore this blatant whitewashing?</p>
<p>DM: I think one crucial way to understand this is that these stories are often told through the lens of straight white men. If you only have one demographic telling stories — and, maybe even more importantly, financing them — you're going to get an incredibly narrow scope of human experience.</p>
<p>IM: How long will you continue your project for?</p>
<p>DM: I'd like to make 100 videos.</p>
<p>IM: Was there a particular film that struck you as very whitewashed that inspired you to do something about it?</p>
<p>DM: It wasn't one particular film but a pattern I kept seeing over and over again. I finally got to the point where I just had to find a way to share what I was seeing.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>IM: Who are some of your favorite actors of color that you wish Hollywood would feature more?</p>
<p>DM: Well, I think there is some incredible talent that we already know of. I think Mo'nique gave one of the best performances every captured on film in Precious. And there are other people I love. People like David Oyelowo, Rosie Perez, Sandrah Oh. But, maybe more devastatingly I think there are so many incredibly talented people we don't know about. People who we're never even going to hear about because they were told that there wasn't going to be a place for them in this industry or that the climb would be too steep.</p>
<p>IM: What are your top three films starring people of color?</p>
<p>DM: This is a hard question to answer. I like stories. That's what draws me to these films. It's hard to choose favorites. I think Beasts of the Southern Wild is an incredible film. I just saw Dope, which I loved. Also, Rob Marshall's 1997 adaptation of Cinderella is such a perfect example of how well race-blind casting can work.</p>
<p>IM: What can people who hope to see more actors of color on screen do to make it happen?</p>
<p>DM: Vote with your money. Support projects that you believe in, and go buy tickets to films that feature diverse voices that may not be in wide release — yet.</p>
<p>IM: Anything else you’d like to tell us about? Other projects you’re working on?</p>
<p>DM: I'll be touring more with Welcome to Night Vale, and I'll keep writing and performing in New York City. I have some exciting film projects in the works, too.</p>
<p />
<p />
| false | 3 |
venezuelan american actor dylan marron sick told wasnt enough work hollywood type created every single word project posts reedits favorite mainstream films parts white people speak edited whats left speaking roles actors color moonrise kingdom hour half long film reduced 10 seconds american hustle two hours eighteen minutes long less minute speaking lines nonwhite actors spoke marron personal experiences actor film lover yearns see race blind casting become norm hollywood popular tumblr came fruition advice fellow movie lovers wish see hollywood embrace diversity isis madrid tell dylan marron name dylan marron im 27 im actor writer director living new york like creating work brings people together starts conversations like consuming work challenges expands lens world im inspired make every single word series dm young kid avid moviegoer never really saw reflection film nobody really looked like consequently wondered fit bigger picture george gerbner coined term symbolic annihilation 1972 representation fictional world signifies social existence absence means symbolic annihilation really sums best exist stories consumed suggested didnt worse shouldnt high school casting directors seen school productions would sometimes call audition features pilots plays auditions sometimes got meetings agents would tell ill never play romantic male lead werent sure much work type accepted truth went college joined sketch comedy group learned write began developing material werent parts figured id create currently im working actor writer im probably best known voicing beloved character popular podcast welcome night vale also well received web series im large televised ad campaign us nominated drama desk award play wrote directed year meetings potential agents started im told thing high school wont play romantic male lead arent many parts type seems like matter far ive come much work belt industry still finds way tell cant represent series way highlighting keep told isnt much work many talented hard working actors color told thing im picking films dont like contrary actually really enjoy read fault stars cried eyes love book nowhere john greens exceptional novel characters race ever mentioned whiteness default story whiteness love loss mortality hollywood keeps using white actors tell universal stories suggesting people color dont fit zeitgeist human emotions maybe even worse shouldnt im think hollywood continues ignore blatant whitewashing dm think one crucial way understand stories often told lens straight white men one demographic telling stories maybe even importantly financing youre going get incredibly narrow scope human experience im long continue project dm id like make 100 videos im particular film struck whitewashed inspired something dm wasnt one particular film pattern kept seeing finally got point find way share seeing im favorite actors color wish hollywood would feature dm well think incredible talent already know think monique gave one best performances every captured film precious people love people like david oyelowo rosie perez sandrah oh maybe devastatingly think many incredibly talented people dont know people never even going hear told wasnt going place industry climb would steep im top three films starring people color dm hard question answer like stories thats draws films hard choose favorites think beasts southern wild incredible film saw dope loved also rob marshalls 1997 adaptation cinderella perfect example well raceblind casting work im people hope see actors color screen make happen dm vote money support projects believe go buy tickets films feature diverse voices may wide release yet im anything else youd like tell us projects youre working dm ill touring welcome night vale ill keep writing performing new york city exciting film projects works
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<p />
<p>Henry T. Perea’s decision to leave office early cost Fresno County at least a half million dollars.</p>
<p />
<p>Henry T. Perea’s decision to vacate his Assembly seat early cost Fresno County a half-million dollars — enough to pay for four sheriff deputies — and has reignited a discussion on the cost of special elections.</p>
<p>The Fresno Democrat announced last year that he’d be leaving the Assembly to pursue a position with the <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article47362945.html" type="external">pharmaceutical industry</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, counties are saddled with the cost of special elections regularly. And while they have become less frequent, at least temporarily, a CalWatchdog review of expenses shows that since 2013 counties (and one city) have spent&#160;$21.7 million on special elections to replace state lawmakers.</p>
<p>Few would decry a legislator stepping down if the officeholder or his or her family member fell ill. And of course sometimes scandals create a vacancy. But most of the time these seats are vacated by politicians looking to cash in with a high-paying lobbying position, trade up for higher office (perhaps to avoid being forced from office by term limits), which then creates a mad dash to fill the gaps behind them.</p>
<p>For example: In 2013, Curren Price created&#160;a vacancy in the state Senate when he won&#160;a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, which are&#160;elected in odd-numbered years. Holly Mitchell then won Price’s seat in a special election, leaving a vacancy in the Assembly. That vacancy was filled by the current occupant, Asm. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas.</p>
<p>That game of musical chairs cost&#160;Los Angeles County $2.4 million. And had Ridley-Thomas and Mitchell not one outright in their respective primaries, forcing a run-off, the cost for the overall costs for the special election would have approximately doubled.</p>
<p>Nonpartisan</p>
<p>Price, Ridley-Thomas and Mitchell are all Democrats, but Republicans do it too. In 2014, Mimi Walters won a seat in Congress in an open Orange County district after former Rep. John Campbell retired.</p>
<p>After winning, she vacated&#160;her state Senate seat, which was filled by&#160;now-Sen. John Moorlach, costing&#160;the&#160;county $1.24 million.</p>
<p>One approach</p>
<p>On Wednesday, an Assembly panel will consider a proposal from&#160;Asm. Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, which would require that legislators use leftover campaign funds to pay down the cost of the special election they’ve caused, leaving exceptions for health and family reasons.</p>
<p>Perea still has more than $800,000 according to the campaign finance filings from the end of 2015. Instead of giving money to Fresno County, which is <a href="http://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/documents/advice-letters/1995-2015/2013/13008.pdf" type="external">allowable under state law</a>, Perea <a href="" type="internal">made some political contributions</a> and paid for a few holiday&#160;parties.</p>
<p>Other ideas</p>
<p>A measure by Sen. Andy Vidak, R-Hanford, was approved by one panel earlier this month. The bill would require the state to reimburse for the entire cost of the special election for vacancies of state lawmakers. The state used to contribute to the cost of special elections, but has since ceased the practice.</p>
<p>“Fresno County was forced to hold a special election today to fill a vacant Assembly seat, which is costing the county more than a half- million dollars,” Vidak said in a statement last week following the election to replace Perea. “That’s money that could have been used for police, fire, health, education and other vital services.”</p>
<p>Others&#160;have suggested the governor appoint a replacement to serve until the next scheduled election. But critics claim&#160;that gives the&#160;unfair advantage of incumbency to&#160;a&#160;replacement if he or she decides to run for another term, and gives the governor too much political power.</p>
<p>“Sure, it’s a tradeoff,” said Raphael Sonenshein, the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University Los Angeles, noting that if the seat is held only until the next scheduled election then no one would hold the seat for more than two years. “Special elections have very low turnout. It’s at least arguably a budget savings and one less election.”</p>
<p>Turnout</p>
<p>Voter turnout is&#160;a persistent issue in California. Some argue that the abundance of special elections contributes to the problem. Most&#160;of the special elections have even lower turnout.</p>
<p>In 2013 in Los Angeles,&#160;23 percent of voters turned out&#160;for the regularly-scheduled city elections when Price was elected. Later that year, only 5.55 percent of voters turned out to elect Mitchell to the state Senate and then 8.47 percent turned out to elect Ridley-Thomas to the Assembly.</p>
<p>In 2014, the regularly-scheduled gubernatorial election that sent Mimi Walters to Congress drew about 43&#160;percent of voters, while John Moorlach was elected to the state Senate only a few months later with only a 15.42 percent turnout.</p>
<p>Kathay Feng, the executive director of the left-leaning good government group California Common Cause, suggests moving all local elections to the normal presidential and midterm/gubernatorial voting schedule — and during the vacancy, until a successor is elected, the seat could either stay unoccupied or a “caretaker” could be appointed.</p>
<p>“Will a group of people be unrepresented for a short period of time? Potentially.” Feng told CalWatchdog. “But this is insane to elect people by five or six percent of the population and still call it a democracy.”</p>
<p>Cost</p>
<p>The money that is spent on special elections goes to things like: printing ballots,&#160;hiring&#160;poll workers, securing locations, paying for postage and producing vote by mail ballots.&#160;</p>
<p>Many special elections are unbudgeted and all are unplanned and sometimes they overlap. According to Dean Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk, it can be particularly taxing on the county registrar and confusing for voters who could be receiving election packets from the city they live in and then the county a few weeks later, like Los Angeles residents in 2013.</p>
<p>Logan did not advocate a particular path forward, as it’s not his role as registrar. However, he has at least raised questions over the current process and the drain on resources <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/print/2010/feb/16/opinion/la-oe-logan16-2010feb16" type="external">since at least 2010</a>.</p>
<p>“And we already have a crisis of participation even in our regular election cycles, but the turnout in these special vacancy elections is extremely low,” Logan told CalWatchdog.</p>
<p>Term-limits</p>
<p>Some argue that the&#160; <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_28,_Change_in_Term_Limits_(June_2012)" type="external">2012 modification</a>&#160;of&#160;term limits, which allowed legislators to spend more time in each chamber, may reduce the number of special elections. While the change hasn’t been around long enough to say for sure, there has been a reduction in special elections since it was passed.</p>
<p>There were 12 special elections (including primary and general/run-off) in 2013, two in 2014, four in 2015 and only one so far this year.</p>
| false | 3 |
henry pereas decision leave office early cost fresno county least half million dollars henry pereas decision vacate assembly seat early cost fresno county halfmillion dollars enough pay four sheriff deputies reignited discussion cost special elections fresno democrat announced last year hed leaving assembly pursue position pharmaceutical industry fact counties saddled cost special elections regularly become less frequent least temporarily calwatchdog review expenses shows since 2013 counties one city spent160217 million special elections replace state lawmakers would decry legislator stepping officeholder family member fell ill course sometimes scandals create vacancy time seats vacated politicians looking cash highpaying lobbying position trade higher office perhaps avoid forced office term limits creates mad dash fill gaps behind example 2013 curren price created160a vacancy state senate won160a seat los angeles city council are160elected oddnumbered years holly mitchell prices seat special election leaving vacancy assembly vacancy filled current occupant asm sebastian ridleythomas game musical chairs cost160los angeles county 24 million ridleythomas mitchell one outright respective primaries forcing runoff cost overall costs special election would approximately doubled nonpartisan price ridleythomas mitchell democrats republicans 2014 mimi walters seat congress open orange county district former rep john campbell retired winning vacated160her state senate seat filled by160nowsen john moorlach costing160the160county 124 million one approach wednesday assembly panel consider proposal from160asm jim patterson rfresno would require legislators use leftover campaign funds pay cost special election theyve caused leaving exceptions health family reasons perea still 800000 according campaign finance filings end 2015 instead giving money fresno county allowable state law perea made political contributions paid holiday160parties ideas measure sen andy vidak rhanford approved one panel earlier month bill would require state reimburse entire cost special election vacancies state lawmakers state used contribute cost special elections since ceased practice fresno county forced hold special election today fill vacant assembly seat costing county half million dollars vidak said statement last week following election replace perea thats money could used police fire health education vital services others160have suggested governor appoint replacement serve next scheduled election critics claim160that gives the160unfair advantage incumbency to160a160replacement decides run another term gives governor much political power sure tradeoff said raphael sonenshein executive director pat brown institute public affairs california state university los angeles noting seat held next scheduled election one would hold seat two years special elections low turnout least arguably budget savings one less election turnout voter turnout is160a persistent issue california argue abundance special elections contributes problem most160of special elections even lower turnout 2013 los angeles16023 percent voters turned out160for regularlyscheduled city elections price elected later year 555 percent voters turned elect mitchell state senate 847 percent turned elect ridleythomas assembly 2014 regularlyscheduled gubernatorial election sent mimi walters congress drew 43160percent voters john moorlach elected state senate months later 1542 percent turnout kathay feng executive director leftleaning good government group california common cause suggests moving local elections normal presidential midtermgubernatorial voting schedule vacancy successor elected seat could either stay unoccupied caretaker could appointed group people unrepresented short period time potentially feng told calwatchdog insane elect people five six percent population still call democracy cost money spent special elections goes things like printing ballots160hiring160poll workers securing locations paying postage producing vote mail ballots160 many special elections unbudgeted unplanned sometimes overlap according dean logan los angeles county registrarrecordercounty clerk particularly taxing county registrar confusing voters could receiving election packets city live county weeks later like los angeles residents 2013 logan advocate particular path forward role registrar however least raised questions current process drain resources since least 2010 already crisis participation even regular election cycles turnout special vacancy elections extremely low logan told calwatchdog termlimits argue the160 2012 modification160of160term limits allowed legislators spend time chamber may reduce number special elections change hasnt around long enough say sure reduction special elections since passed 12 special elections including primary generalrunoff 2013 two 2014 four 2015 one far year
| 635 |
<p>The former head of the CIA and NSA, Gen.&#160;Michael Hayden, is&#160;concerned&#160;about the disclosures coming out of the Oval Office. This week, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/us/politics/trump-russia-classified-information-isis.html?_r=0" type="external">revealed&#160;highly classified information</a>to the&#160;Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and the&#160;Russian ambassador to the US, Sergei&#160;Kislyak. This has led Hayden — a man steeped in keeping secrets — and many others in the intelligence community, to voice their apprehension about possible repercussions&#160;from the revelation: They're concerned that it could result in&#160;an erosion of trust and information sharing with US allies.&#160;</p>
<p>"It appears as if the president, probably out of ignorance or disinterest went ahead and told&#160;Lavrov and Kislyak something that was not ours to share,"&#160;Hayden told The World. "It's not like he's whispering this to Theresa May. That clearly put the bureaucracy on its back foot."</p>
<p>Then he added, it's time for President Trump to start doing his homework.&#160;</p>
<p>The World sat down with Hayden.</p>
<p>Gen. Michael Hayden: Look, [it's]&#160;totally within his authority as president. Our Constitution gives an awful lot of space to the commander in chief. He is the ultimate declassification authority. What I'm more concerned about, is not about the powers of the president. It's about the person and the performance of this president. [Was it] Legal? Yes. Good idea? Maybe not.&#160;</p>
<p>It looks as if this wasn't a well-thought-out, staffed option that the president exercised, but a spur-of-the-moment thing, acting as he often does, spontaneously and with not much regard to the normal processes and protocols that have governed the office of the president. So, that's worrisome.&#160;</p>
<p>MH: Well, first of all, you've got a sources and methods concern. And I know, look, H.R. McMaster is a wonderful officer, and he's pointed out that there was no specific discussion of sources and methods. But when I was in government, I talked to an awful lot of folks in your profession who would have stories, and they would have 'the fact of' and say the fact of&#160;doesn't put your sources and methods at risk, and I'd say, "Yes it does" because the fact of&#160;very often leads to the 'fact how' or it points in the direction of how we collected this information. So, even though sources and methods weren't discussed, that doesn't mean that they weren't put at risk.&#160;</p>
<p>The other concern is simply if the newspaper accounts are correct, this wasn't our stuff. We don't have the authority to share with a third party something given to us by one of our other friends. That is an ironclad concept called the Third Party Rule, and we just don't violate it.&#160;</p>
<p>MH: If you do this often enough, the second party isn't going to be giving you the stuff in the future because you cannot promise them that you will control it consistent to ... how they would have wanted it controlled. That leads to an erosion of trust and ultimately to an erosion of the kind of information that good partners make available to us. And so, it's just a bad example. Now, the exact repercussions of this — I don't know the details, I don't know the country&#160;and so, it's hard to tell. &#160; &#160; &#160;</p>
<p>MH: I would work really, really hard to make the president pay attention. The president acts instinctively, he's got kind of this a priori knowledge he believes of how the world works. And yet you've got this vast government out there that's designed only to make him wiser, only to make him more successful. We're talking about, for want of a better word, telling him to do his homework. To sit down with him, to walk him through the things that could likely come up, what the bureaucracy recommends he make his major talking points ... What you have is someone very inexperienced with governing, and yet seems to have no sense of humility in the face of his own inexperience.&#160;</p>
<p>MH: I would certainly get a range of views, get people who have equities in this, who are stakeholders, get into a conversation, let the National Security Council staff&#160;weigh the merits and present me, present the president with a variety of options.&#160;And you're right, we do this a lot, and in this case, since it was a terrorist threat, there is lurking just offstage this compelling requirement of a duty to warn, in terms of dangers, to maybe Russian citizens, as well.&#160;</p>
<p>So, I get all that. But if the newspaper accounts are true,&#160;this wasn't thought through.&#160;It was spontaneous and had, frankly, more to do with bragging about American intelligence prowess than it did with any careful consideration of what we have a duty to tell the Russians about.&#160;</p>
<p>MH: Number one: to get the professionals — and here, I'm talking about people who are good friends of mine, H.R. McMaster the national security adviser, his deputy and others — get them out of the arena in terms of defending the president.&#160;Get them back into the background so that they can serve the president in the tasks for which those positions were designed, which is getting good advice to the president — not defending him publicly, that task belongs to somebody else, in the West Wing.&#160;</p>
<p>MH: Back to the books, so to speak, in terms of working really hard to get into the mind of the president. I want to be very candid. All presidents are different, the intelligence guys, the national security council folks,&#160;they have to adapt to the way the president learns. President George W. Bush learned in the conversation. He read, but we would go in there, and you could tell that the real learning was going on in the give-and-take of a real lively conversation. President Obama, far more reflective. I think he learned in the quiet moment, he liked to read. People now in government, Mike Pompeo at CIA, Dan Coats, director of national intelligence, H.R. McMaster at NSC, they've got to determine how this president learns.&#160;</p>
<p>MH: I've searched my memory, and so far, I've not come up with anything like this at all, where you seem to have had a spontaneous, unrehearsed, unprepared decision in the midst of a dialogue with an international adversary. It's not like he's whispering this to Theresa May.</p>
<p>This interview was condensed and edited for clarity.</p>
| false | 3 |
former head cia nsa gen160michael hayden is160concerned160about disclosures coming oval office week president donald trump revealed160highly classified informationto the160russian foreign minister sergei lavrov the160russian ambassador us sergei160kislyak led hayden man steeped keeping secrets many others intelligence community voice apprehension possible repercussions160from revelation theyre concerned could result in160an erosion trust information sharing us allies160 appears president probably ignorance disinterest went ahead told160lavrov kislyak something share160hayden told world like hes whispering theresa may clearly put bureaucracy back foot added time president trump start homework160 world sat hayden gen michael hayden look its160totally within authority president constitution gives awful lot space commander chief ultimate declassification authority im concerned powers president person performance president legal yes good idea maybe not160 looks wasnt wellthoughtout staffed option president exercised spurofthemoment thing acting often spontaneously much regard normal processes protocols governed office president thats worrisome160 mh well first youve got sources methods concern know look hr mcmaster wonderful officer hes pointed specific discussion sources methods government talked awful lot folks profession would stories would fact say fact of160doesnt put sources methods risk id say yes fact of160very often leads fact points direction collected information even though sources methods werent discussed doesnt mean werent put risk160 concern simply newspaper accounts correct wasnt stuff dont authority share third party something given us one friends ironclad concept called third party rule dont violate it160 mh often enough second party isnt going giving stuff future promise control consistent would wanted controlled leads erosion trust ultimately erosion kind information good partners make available us bad example exact repercussions dont know details dont know country160and hard tell 160 160 160 mh would work really really hard make president pay attention president acts instinctively hes got kind priori knowledge believes world works yet youve got vast government thats designed make wiser make successful talking want better word telling homework sit walk things could likely come bureaucracy recommends make major talking points someone inexperienced governing yet seems sense humility face inexperience160 mh would certainly get range views get people equities stakeholders get conversation let national security council staff160weigh merits present present president variety options160and youre right lot case since terrorist threat lurking offstage compelling requirement duty warn terms dangers maybe russian citizens well160 get newspaper accounts true160this wasnt thought through160it spontaneous frankly bragging american intelligence prowess careful consideration duty tell russians about160 mh number one get professionals im talking people good friends mine hr mcmaster national security adviser deputy others get arena terms defending president160get back background serve president tasks positions designed getting good advice president defending publicly task belongs somebody else west wing160 mh back books speak terms working really hard get mind president want candid presidents different intelligence guys national security council folks160they adapt way president learns president george w bush learned conversation read would go could tell real learning going giveandtake real lively conversation president obama far reflective think learned quiet moment liked read people government mike pompeo cia dan coats director national intelligence hr mcmaster nsc theyve got determine president learns160 mh ive searched memory far ive come anything like seem spontaneous unrehearsed unprepared decision midst dialogue international adversary like hes whispering theresa may interview condensed edited clarity
| 527 |
<p>ATLANTA (ABP) — A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's leader is appealing to churches to step up contributions to an annual Offering for Global Missions running 30 percent behind projected receipts.</p>
<p>At the end of April, receipts to the offering totaled just more than $3.2 million toward an annual goal of $6.1 million, Rob Nash, global-missions coordinator for the Atlanta-based CBF, said in a recent letter to church leaders.</p>
<p>"We need your help," Nash pleaded. He urged churches that have collected the offering but not yet sent a check to do so and for churches that have already sent their offering to consider making an additional gift.</p>
<p>Nash said in an e-mail interview the global mission offering has been fairly stable for several years, averaging about $5.5 million, until the recession hit. The offering took in $4.8 million in 2008-2009. This year CBF leaders reduced next year's goal from $6.1 million to $5.5 million to bring it more in line with giving patterns in recent history.</p>
<p>Due to shortage of funds, Nash said CBF has not appointed any fully funded two-year Global Service Corps candidates in the last two years. No fully funded career field personnel have been appointed since about 2005.</p>
<p>Fortunately, Nash said, the CBF has not had to pull anyone off the field and does not anticipate doing so. However, he said the organization is "getting dangerously close" to the point where field personnel have tightened the belt to the point they cannot adequately do their job.</p>
<p>"At that point, we will have people on the field with no money to engage alongside God's mission in the world," Nash said. "That is certainly not the kind of scenario any of us wants to see happen."</p>
<p>Nash said he remains optimistic about CBF's missionary enterprise, but he acknowledged the way churches view missions is changing.</p>
<p>"The reality is that more money is being directed toward the good work of our field personnel around the world than ever before. It is just coming to us in different ways," he said. "Churches are directing their dollars toward projects and mission experiences alongside our field personnel. Nothing could be more exciting!"</p>
<p>The downside, he said, is that in the midst of hands-on participation it's easy to forget those mission opportunities are the result of field personnel who are sustained by the global mission offering.</p>
<p>"Our challenge is to communicate this reality and to assist churches to see that the CBF offering is an essential part of their overall mission-funding strategy," he said.</p>
<p>At the same time, Nash said, CBF leaders recognize the world is changing around them in ways that affect everything they do. Since the launch of the modern missionary movement, the center of the Christian faith has shifted from the North and West to South and East. As a result the global church has joined Americans and Europeans at the missions table and the gospel now moves "from everywhere to everywhere."</p>
<p>Thanks to technology, travel, economics and other aspects of globalization, meanwhile, local churches have been energized by opportunities for more direct mission involvement.</p>
<p>"The truth of the matter is that churches are telling us that they want to fund missions differently," Nash said. "Certainly they want to continue to have career field personnel who are fully funded by CBF. However, churches also want to support field personnel directly."</p>
<p>"We have congregations who have come to us to say, 'We've got this ministry in this country, and we'd like to know if the personnel we are sending there could serve on CBF field personnel teams and have the benefit of team support, Member Care, and other services,'" Nash said. "And many people who are called to missions do not necessarily need to be paid salary and benefits. They are already working with a company or a non-profit and they understand themselves as 'tentmakers' who are working alongside the mission of God in the world."</p>
<p>As a result, Nash said, there are about a dozen different ways that CBF field personnel are supported, the Offering for Global Missions being just one.</p>
<p>"One of the constant criticisms we receive is that CBF is not appointing new field personnel," he said. "Nothing could be further from the truth. We will appoint 16 new personnel at the General Assembly in Charlotte this year. It is an insult to these God-called people to imply that somehow they are not 'real' field personnel simply because their funding comes from a source other than the CBF Offering for Global Missions. We ought to rejoice that God is opening up new possibilities to us."</p>
<p>Nash said the changing landscape does raise new questions about stewardship. The cost of supporting a fully funded couple of CBF field personnel is about $130,000 a year. The average length of service of such a couple across all missionary sending organizations is about seven years. At the end of those seven years, nearly $1 million will have been invested in them.</p>
<p>"Sometimes this makes sense. Sometimes it does not make sense," he said. "We must be better stewards of how we use God's money in this enterprise. Does it make more sense to support 100 church planters in India for seven years with that money — or is the skill set or calling of the U.S. couple essential enough to make this expenditure necessary? Sometimes it is. Sometimes it isn't."</p>
<p>Nash said he is "deeply appreciative" of all the ways churches and individuals support CBF field personnel. "I simply want to make sure that in our enthusiasm over our church and personal engagement, we do not forget to support the folks who make such opportunities possible," he said.</p>
<p>Nash said if each church increased its giving to the Offering for Global Missions by 10 percent, it would raise enough money to appoint 10 new fully funded career personnel and catch up operating budgets for those already on the field.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bob Allen</a> is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
atlanta abp cooperative baptist fellowships leader appealing churches step contributions annual offering global missions running 30 percent behind projected receipts end april receipts offering totaled 32 million toward annual goal 61 million rob nash globalmissions coordinator atlantabased cbf said recent letter church leaders need help nash pleaded urged churches collected offering yet sent check churches already sent offering consider making additional gift nash said email interview global mission offering fairly stable several years averaging 55 million recession hit offering took 48 million 20082009 year cbf leaders reduced next years goal 61 million 55 million bring line giving patterns recent history due shortage funds nash said cbf appointed fully funded twoyear global service corps candidates last two years fully funded career field personnel appointed since 2005 fortunately nash said cbf pull anyone field anticipate however said organization getting dangerously close point field personnel tightened belt point adequately job point people field money engage alongside gods mission world nash said certainly kind scenario us wants see happen nash said remains optimistic cbfs missionary enterprise acknowledged way churches view missions changing reality money directed toward good work field personnel around world ever coming us different ways said churches directing dollars toward projects mission experiences alongside field personnel nothing could exciting downside said midst handson participation easy forget mission opportunities result field personnel sustained global mission offering challenge communicate reality assist churches see cbf offering essential part overall missionfunding strategy said time nash said cbf leaders recognize world changing around ways affect everything since launch modern missionary movement center christian faith shifted north west south east result global church joined americans europeans missions table gospel moves everywhere everywhere thanks technology travel economics aspects globalization meanwhile local churches energized opportunities direct mission involvement truth matter churches telling us want fund missions differently nash said certainly want continue career field personnel fully funded cbf however churches also want support field personnel directly congregations come us say weve got ministry country wed like know personnel sending could serve cbf field personnel teams benefit team support member care services nash said many people called missions necessarily need paid salary benefits already working company nonprofit understand tentmakers working alongside mission god world result nash said dozen different ways cbf field personnel supported offering global missions one one constant criticisms receive cbf appointing new field personnel said nothing could truth appoint 16 new personnel general assembly charlotte year insult godcalled people imply somehow real field personnel simply funding comes source cbf offering global missions ought rejoice god opening new possibilities us nash said changing landscape raise new questions stewardship cost supporting fully funded couple cbf field personnel 130000 year average length service couple across missionary sending organizations seven years end seven years nearly 1 million invested sometimes makes sense sometimes make sense said must better stewards use gods money enterprise make sense support 100 church planters india seven years money skill set calling us couple essential enough make expenditure necessary sometimes sometimes isnt nash said deeply appreciative ways churches individuals support cbf field personnel simply want make sure enthusiasm church personal engagement forget support folks make opportunities possible said nash said church increased giving offering global missions 10 percent would raise enough money appoint 10 new fully funded career personnel catch operating budgets already field bob allen senior writer associated baptist press160
| 552 |
<p>D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Feb. 22, 2016, visited the organization that Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro, directs. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>Editor’s note: This article has been updated.</p>
<p>D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday met with the daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro who promotes LGBT-specific issues.</p>
<p>A press release from D.C. officials said that Mariela Castro, director of Cuba’s National Center for Sexual Education that is known by the Spanish acronym CENESEX, “led” Bowser “on a tour of” her organization’s headquarters in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood.</p>
<p />
<p>The Havana headquarters of the National Center for Sexual Education, the group run by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro, that spearheads a number of LGBT-specific campaigns in the country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p />
<p>“A city is only as strong as the health and well-being of its residents,” said Bowser in the press release. “No matter your background or economic status, everyone has the right to quality health care — and it’s encouraging to see that Cuba has made that a top priority.”</p>
<p>Bowser on Tuesday spoke about the meeting during a conference call with reporters from Havana.</p>
<p>“We found it a very informative session,” she said in response to the Washington Blade’s question.</p>
<p>Bowser told the Blade that CENESEX focuses on human rights to “eliminate homophobia and transphobia across Cuba.” She added that Mariela Castro’s organization is “analogous” to non-profits in D.C. that work towards “ending discrimination and promoting human rights.”</p>
<p>Bowser is among the officials from D.C., Maryland and Virginia who are taking part in an “exploratory mission” to Cuba that the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce organized.</p>
<p>D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and D.C. Councilmen Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Vincent Orange (D-At-Large) are among those from the nation’s capital who are taking part in the trip. Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett, Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro and Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Maurice Jones are also part of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce delegation to Cuba.</p>
<p>Bowser earlier on Monday met with Cuban Public Health Minister Roberto Morales Ojeda and Havana Mayor Martha Hernández Romero and visited the University of Havana.</p>
<p>Bowser on Sunday met with U.S. Chief of Mission Jeffrey DeLaurentis. She and other members of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce delegation also visited the Viñales Valley in the province of Pinar del Río and the Cohiba cigar plantation.</p>
<p>“This mission is a great opportunity to build relationships that will be the foundation for economic development, tourism and trade opportunities for the region and the commonwealth of Virginia,” said Jones in <a href="http://www.gwhcc.org/news/2016/02/17/chamber-news/washington-regional-leaders-to-join-hispanic-chamber-on-exploratory-mission-to-cuba/" type="external">a Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce press release.</a> “I look forward to collaborating with my partners from Maryland and the District of Columbia to highlight the world-class assets we have.”</p>
<p>Bowser on Monday was scheduled to speak to reporters during a conference call, but technical difficulties forced officials to postpone it.</p>
<p>Mariela Castro’s supporters credit her with raising visibility of LGBT-specific issues on the Communist island.</p>
<p>CENESEX each May organizes a series of events in Havana and a provincial city that <a href="" type="internal">commemorates the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.</a></p>
<p>Mariela Castro publicly supports marriage rights for same-sex couples. The Cuban government also offers free sex-reassignment surgery under its national health care system.</p>
<p>Members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington <a href="" type="internal">traveled to Cuba last July</a> and performed a series of concerts with their Cuban counterparts. They also met with a CENESEX representative while on the Communist island.</p>
<p>Independent Cuban LGBT rights advocates contend they continue to face harassment and discrimination.</p>
<p>A trans advocate from the province of Pinar del Rio with whom the Blade spoke last May in Havana said the Cuban government <a href="" type="internal">wants to “destroy us.”</a> A poster <a href="" type="internal">describing Mariela Castro as a “fraud”</a> hung on the door of Cuban Foundation for LGBTI Rights President Nelson Gandulla Diaz’s home in the city of Cienfuegos before he and members of his group spoke with the Blade during the same reporting trip.</p>
<p>Bowser and other members of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce delegation arrived in Cuba two days after President Obama announced <a href="" type="internal">he plans to visit the island next month.</a></p>
<p>The delegation is scheduled to leave the Communist nation on Thursday.</p>
<p>Mariela Castro speaks at an International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia event in Las Tunas, Cuba, on May 16, 2015. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers) (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">D.C.</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Gay Men's Chorus of Washington</a> <a href="" type="internal">Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ike Leggett</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jack Evans</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jeffrey DeLaurentis</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kaya Henderson</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mariela Castro</a> <a href="" type="internal">Martha Hernández Romero</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maurice Jones</a> <a href="" type="internal">Muriel Bowser</a> <a href="" type="internal">Nancy Navarro</a> <a href="" type="internal">National Center for Sexual Education</a> <a href="" type="internal">Raul Castro</a> <a href="" type="internal">Roberto Morales Ojeda</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a> <a href="" type="internal">Vincent Orange</a> <a href="" type="internal">Virginia</a></p>
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dc mayor muriel bowser feb 22 2016 visited organization mariela castro daughter cuban president raúl castro directs washington blade photo michael key editors note article updated dc mayor muriel bowser monday met daughter cuban president raúl castro promotes lgbtspecific issues press release dc officials said mariela castro director cubas national center sexual education known spanish acronym cenesex led bowser tour organizations headquarters havanas vedado neighborhood havana headquarters national center sexual education group run mariela castro daughter cuban president raúl castro spearheads number lgbtspecific campaigns country washington blade photo michael k lavers city strong health wellbeing residents said bowser press release matter background economic status everyone right quality health care encouraging see cuba made top priority bowser tuesday spoke meeting conference call reporters havana found informative session said response washington blades question bowser told blade cenesex focuses human rights eliminate homophobia transphobia across cuba added mariela castros organization analogous nonprofits dc work towards ending discrimination promoting human rights bowser among officials dc maryland virginia taking part exploratory mission cuba greater washington hispanic chamber commerce organized dc schools chancellor kaya henderson dc councilmen jack evans dward 2 vincent orange datlarge among nations capital taking part trip montgomery county executive ike leggett montgomery county councilwoman nancy navarro virginia secretary commerce trade maurice jones also part greater washington hispanic chamber commerce delegation cuba bowser earlier monday met cuban public health minister roberto morales ojeda havana mayor martha hernández romero visited university havana bowser sunday met us chief mission jeffrey delaurentis members greater washington hispanic chamber commerce delegation also visited viñales valley province pinar del río cohiba cigar plantation mission great opportunity build relationships foundation economic development tourism trade opportunities region commonwealth virginia said jones greater washington hispanic chamber commerce press release look forward collaborating partners maryland district columbia highlight worldclass assets bowser monday scheduled speak reporters conference call technical difficulties forced officials postpone mariela castros supporters credit raising visibility lgbtspecific issues communist island cenesex may organizes series events havana provincial city commemorates international day homophobia transphobia mariela castro publicly supports marriage rights samesex couples cuban government also offers free sexreassignment surgery national health care system members gay mens chorus washington traveled cuba last july performed series concerts cuban counterparts also met cenesex representative communist island independent cuban lgbt rights advocates contend continue face harassment discrimination trans advocate province pinar del rio blade spoke last may havana said cuban government wants destroy us poster describing mariela castro fraud hung door cuban foundation lgbti rights president nelson gandulla diazs home city cienfuegos members group spoke blade reporting trip bowser members greater washington hispanic chamber commerce delegation arrived cuba two days president obama announced plans visit island next month delegation scheduled leave communist nation thursday mariela castro speaks international day homophobia transphobia event las tunas cuba may 16 2015 washington blade photo michael k lavers washington blade photo michael k lavers bisexual dc gay gay mens chorus washington greater washington hispanic chamber commerce ike leggett jack evans jeffrey delaurentis kaya henderson lesbian mariela castro martha hernández romero maryland maurice jones muriel bowser nancy navarro national center sexual education raul castro roberto morales ojeda transgender vincent orange virginia
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<p>Many gay federal workers fear the incoming Trump administration. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>After the election of Donald Trump as president, the Washington Blade began reaching out to LGBT federal employees for comment, including leaders of the various affinity groups for LGBT staffers. What we found is that almost no one would agree to talk on the record, fearing retribution by their new bosses under Trump.</p>
<p>The subject of this interview is a gay male federal government employee who has worked for two Cabinet-level federal agencies during his career with the government. The Blade agreed to grant him anonymity so he could speak freely.</p>
<p>He is out to his co-workers and supervisors and is an active member of the LGBT employee group in the agency in which he currently works. He served as president of the LGBT employee group at another federal agency he worked for in the past. Yet he spoke to the Blade only on the condition that his name and the name of the agencies for which he has worked not be identified.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: How long have you been working for the federal government?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: It has been 13 years.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: Have you been involved with an LGBT group at an agency you worked for?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: Correct. I was the president from [the last years of the George W. Bush administration and the beginning of the Obama administration]. So I definitely was doing that during the Bush administration.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: Can you tell a little about what your LGBT colleagues at [your agency] think is going to happen when the Trump administration takes office?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: To be honest — and I’m sure this is true for most of the community — people are concerned. And there are people that are frightened. They’re worried about what does this mean moving forward.</p>
<p>When I was at [a federal agency during the Bush administration] a lot of people went back in the closet…And I think that’s what we’re all so really concerned about here going forward.</p>
<p>If you’re looking at the history [of Trump’s appointments so far] and their legislative priorities they’re not the most friendly to our community in any way shape or form. So I think there are a lot of questions. The other part is there are a lot of unknowns. We don’t know who our [agency head] is going to be right now.</p>
<p>And even then I think we have to keep in mind there has been a lot of movement in society that is much more supportive of LGBT individuals. And there’s also still a lot of opportunity for those progresses to be rolled back if they really make it a priority.</p>
<p>Obviously that’s a role of LGBT employee organizations — to advocate on behalf of our employees. And we’ll continue to do that. But I would say there’s a lot of unknowns right now. There’s a lot of concern. There’s a lot of fear…</p>
<p>So it really depends on how things shake out. But as I said, the main concerns that we have as an employee organization is making sure that the policies we have implemented over the last eight years that really bring the American dream more in line with making this a land equal and free for everyone, including our LGBT brothers and sisters, that we want that to continue.</p>
<p>And we also want our employees to feel safe, right? We don’t want them working in an environment where they feel that they aren’t free from intimidation or retribution or any of those types of things. So those are the real priorities that we have to make sure that the things we have in the last eight or nine years continue to be in place. And then also that we’re sure that our employees are respected and feel safe and that they’re a part of the greater [federal agency] family.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: Aren’t gay, lesbian, and bisexual federal employees right now protected under a non-discrimination executive order issued by President Clinton and a new order issued by President Obama to include transgender employees?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: That was my understanding, yes.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: Could Trump rescind those?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: Potentially, right? He simply could issue a new order that just leaves those out. That is what a lot of governors have done in the past when they come in to a situation very similar to this. When they reissue the order they just omit those words unless they are a protected EEO class. And obviously we’re not. So that is a concern that we have.</p>
<p>I do think culturally it has shifted a lot. It’s not as much of a lightning rod issue as it was say in 2004. But that’s not to say there aren’t people who would like to see that revert back.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: Trump’s gay supporters say he has made some supportive statements on LGBT issues. But we don’t know how that will play out in federal agencies.</p>
<p>Federal Employee: Right, because at the end of the day is Donald Trump going to be reviewing every single EEO statement? Probably not. That’s why it’s so important to see who they are actually going to be appointing and in which positions before we can start making what I would consider concrete judgments and plans of action moving forward.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: What is your understanding of steps a federal employee can take if he or she believes they are being mistreated by their boss or being subjected to discrimination? Is there a grievance process?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: There is. In those situations you would need to work with EEO on this and there are a couple of different pathways. One would be a dispute resolution pathway where the EEO office provides an intermediary. There’s the formal complaint process where a formal complaint is filed, it is reviewed and there is usually some form of adjudication and a form of resolution is reached.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: What are you planning to do in light of all this? Would you like to stay with the federal civil service?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: Yeah, that’s my plan … Now that’s like hopeful and optimistic. I’m not saying there might not be some flash points along the way. But I really believe in the mission of working for the federal government. So that’s why I want to keep doing that and I want to keep making sure what I do has like an actual impact on people’s lives.&#160; And I think it does. So that’s why I work for what I do. And I also firmly believe that we are a better employee if we’re showing up for work as a fully out and aware individual and proud of that, right?</p>
<p>And we need to make sure we are providing that environment and opportunity for everyone regardless of how they identify to do that as an employee. So in many regards I’m hopeful, but I’m also cautious. And I’m carefully reserving judgment to see what happens until these people are confirmed and in place and start laying out what it is they hope to see as their vision.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: But unlike most of your colleagues, your role as president of an LGBT employee group puts you out there, right?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: Yeah.</p>
<p />
<p>Blade: Do the agency heads know about the group and who the officers are?</p>
<p>Federal Employee: Oh yes. I mean we are a member of the Diversity Council. Yeah, we’re out there. We’re well known for better or for worse, right? So it will be interesting to see what happens next. You are correct that clearly I’m out there. But I’ve always believed that this is who I am. And if they really want to make it into a fight like firing me because I’m gay then I have no qualms about making it into an issue there. I just don’t think that will happen. And maybe that’s me being a product of the age that I’m at.</p>
<p>Actually, I’ve always had very supportive supervisors and directors that are above me. And I still feel that way here at [the federal agency]. My supervisors still very much support me… And that speaks a lot to how the culture has shifted. But also we have a distance to go. The fact that we’re even talking about this as a possibility I think shows there is real concern in people’s lives and their professional careers to see whether or not they’re going to be hunted because they are out or if they are going to be held back or passed over for a promotion because of those very reasons.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">federal employees</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a></p>
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many gay federal workers fear incoming trump administration washington blade photo michael key election donald trump president washington blade began reaching lgbt federal employees comment including leaders various affinity groups lgbt staffers found almost one would agree talk record fearing retribution new bosses trump subject interview gay male federal government employee worked two cabinetlevel federal agencies career government blade agreed grant anonymity could speak freely coworkers supervisors active member lgbt employee group agency currently works served president lgbt employee group another federal agency worked past yet spoke blade condition name name agencies worked identified blade long working federal government federal employee 13 years blade involved lgbt group agency worked federal employee correct president last years george w bush administration beginning obama administration definitely bush administration blade tell little lgbt colleagues agency think going happen trump administration takes office federal employee honest im sure true community people concerned people frightened theyre worried mean moving forward federal agency bush administration lot people went back closetand think thats really concerned going forward youre looking history trumps appointments far legislative priorities theyre friendly community way shape form think lot questions part lot unknowns dont know agency head going right even think keep mind lot movement society much supportive lgbt individuals theres also still lot opportunity progresses rolled back really make priority obviously thats role lgbt employee organizations advocate behalf employees well continue would say theres lot unknowns right theres lot concern theres lot fear really depends things shake said main concerns employee organization making sure policies implemented last eight years really bring american dream line making land equal free everyone including lgbt brothers sisters want continue also want employees feel safe right dont want working environment feel arent free intimidation retribution types things real priorities make sure things last eight nine years continue place also sure employees respected feel safe theyre part greater federal agency family blade arent gay lesbian bisexual federal employees right protected nondiscrimination executive order issued president clinton new order issued president obama include transgender employees federal employee understanding yes blade could trump rescind federal employee potentially right simply could issue new order leaves lot governors done past come situation similar reissue order omit words unless protected eeo class obviously concern think culturally shifted lot much lightning rod issue say 2004 thats say arent people would like see revert back blade trumps gay supporters say made supportive statements lgbt issues dont know play federal agencies federal employee right end day donald trump going reviewing every single eeo statement probably thats important see actually going appointing positions start making would consider concrete judgments plans action moving forward blade understanding steps federal employee take believes mistreated boss subjected discrimination grievance process federal employee situations would need work eeo couple different pathways one would dispute resolution pathway eeo office provides intermediary theres formal complaint process formal complaint filed reviewed usually form adjudication form resolution reached blade planning light would like stay federal civil service federal employee yeah thats plan thats like hopeful optimistic im saying might flash points along way really believe mission working federal government thats want keep want keep making sure like actual impact peoples lives160 think thats work also firmly believe better employee showing work fully aware individual proud right need make sure providing environment opportunity everyone regardless identify employee many regards im hopeful im also cautious im carefully reserving judgment see happens people confirmed place start laying hope see vision blade unlike colleagues role president lgbt employee group puts right federal employee yeah blade agency heads know group officers federal employee oh yes mean member diversity council yeah well known better worse right interesting see happens next correct clearly im ive always believed really want make fight like firing im gay qualms making issue dont think happen maybe thats product age im actually ive always supportive supervisors directors still feel way federal agency supervisors still much support speaks lot culture shifted also distance go fact even talking possibility think shows real concern peoples lives professional careers see whether theyre going hunted going held back passed promotion reasons donald trump federal employees gay lgbt
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<p>NEW YORK (ABP)—Debbie Vasquez was 14 when her pastor started touching her inappropriately. She was 15 when he raped her and 19 when she had his baby.</p>
<p>Tina Boyd was molested at 11 and later raped by her church bus driver. Since then, another abuser—whom she later married and divorced—has been arrested for dabbling in child pornography.</p>
<p>Vasquez told members in her church about the abuse but was disbelieved and accused of lying. Both women ultimately clammed up, refusing to acknowledge the molestation and living with their pain for years. Now, they're using that pain to alert others to the danger of clergy sex-abuse.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>“The hurt from it is life-long. It's not something that ever goes away,” Vasquez, 48, said. “The way that you're treated if you ever tell anybody anything makes it worse. It makes it really hard to even have a relationship with anybody else, to even trust anybody. It's not a hurt that ever goes away.”</p>
<p>Vasquez has filed a lawsuit against her former minister at the now-defunct Calvary Baptist Church in Lewisville. Texas, Pastor Dale Amyx acknowledged in court documents that he had a sexual relationship with Vasquez and had fathered her child. Texas court records also show Amyx was convicted in 1967 for giving alcohol to a minor.</p>
<p>Amyx used the Bible and his position to justify his actions, Vasquez said. And that made her situation even worse.</p>
<p>“Being molested by a minister is twice as bad as any other kind because of the spiritual and physical aspects,” she said. “Here is someone who is supposed to be a man of God. And if you're made to feel guilty because of it, it's a very strong message to that person for the rest of their life.”</p>
<p>It'll take the rest of her life to heal from the abuse, she said, and it hasn't been easy. Vasquez used to have panic attacks during sex, ended up getting a divorce and even tried to kill herself after she learned her abuser had taken up with a teenage girl.</p>
<p>Like Boyd, though, Vasquez decided to tell her story to anyone and everyone who will listen. It has helped her feel stronger, she said. They both think their openness could save others from a similar fate.</p>
<p>“It took me 10 years to admit to myself that this happened,” Boyd said. “I think I've healed as much as I'm going to heal. There are times when I still have moments of unforgiveness. Other than that, maybe I can heal by just finding a way to just let it go and be forgiving and to help as many people as I can.”</p>
<p>To that end, Boyd has created a website, www.notmyfamily.org, aimed at helping victims of sex-abuse. A web-developer by trade, the 38-year-old mother provides a listening ear for abuse survivors and helps them connect with the tools they need to recover.</p>
<p>Boyd was married 11 years to the man who molested her. He has since been in jail and now has supervised custody rights to their three daughters.</p>
<p>Her current husband encouraged her to start the site after a friend confided that her daughter had been molested by a youth pastor. Earlier, the couple had learned at least five other families in their church had daughters who had been inappropriately touched.</p>
<p>“My husband comes home from work and said: ‘We have to do something. We have too much information and too much experience not to help people,'” Boyd said. “From that day, we began working on the website.”</p>
<p>Boyd and Vasquez are typical survivors of abuse; both went through periods of self-doubt, guilt and isolation. Boyd said she'd lie in bed at night and pray God would make her a better wife. When Vasquez became pregnant, church leaders forced her to go before the congregation and ask forgiveness as an unwed mother.</p>
<p>“Considering how bad I was doing, I'm definitely doing a lot better,” Vasquez said. “But I think the (difficult) thing is … trying to overcome the feelings of the guilt itself. I felt like there was nothing I could do. I thought I had to protect myself and my kids.”</p>
<p>Besides displaying their lives as a warning for other victims, the decision to file custody suits and lawsuits and become involved in a healthy church has helped each woman as well.</p>
<p>Their attitudes toward church, especially, are striking. Neither woman is bitter against God or their current pastoral leaders for the abuse. Boyd said she still believes God can make good things come out of bad things. Her life now, with a loving husband and well-adjusted daughters, is “totally unexpected.” Vasquez blames “the person, not really the church.”</p>
<p>“I know there have been other people who have been hurt, and they are extremely bitter. I really do believe in God,” she said, adding that she is unhappy with church leaders for not taking appropriate action and wishes denominational leaders would take an active stance against abuse.</p>
<p>In spite of her continued belief in God, it was more than 20 years before Vasquez and her children returned to church.</p>
<p>Her time back has been a “mixed bag,” she said. On one hand, some people have supported her journey through sex-abuse and her desire to talk about it. On the other hand, some have made it clear it's not a subject they want to discuss.</p>
<p>The topic of sex makes people uncomfortable, she said. But knowing that staying quiet allowed her abuser access to others pushed her forward. She said she realized that if she didn't tell her story, “more and more people (could) get hurt.”</p>
<p>“I'm trying hard to be able to trust people again,” Vasquez said. “I'm trying hard to trust churches again. I want to have that ability. I would like to be able to have a relationship, to get married. I feel like I've gotten stronger since I've started talking about it. I've gotten stronger since I've realized there are other people than just me.”</p>
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new york abpdebbie vasquez 14 pastor started touching inappropriately 15 raped 19 baby tina boyd molested 11 later raped church bus driver since another abuserwhom later married divorcedhas arrested dabbling child pornography vasquez told members church abuse disbelieved accused lying women ultimately clammed refusing acknowledge molestation living pain years theyre using pain alert others danger clergy sexabuse hurt lifelong something ever goes away vasquez 48 said way youre treated ever tell anybody anything makes worse makes really hard even relationship anybody else even trust anybody hurt ever goes away vasquez filed lawsuit former minister nowdefunct calvary baptist church lewisville texas pastor dale amyx acknowledged court documents sexual relationship vasquez fathered child texas court records also show amyx convicted 1967 giving alcohol minor amyx used bible position justify actions vasquez said made situation even worse molested minister twice bad kind spiritual physical aspects said someone supposed man god youre made feel guilty strong message person rest life itll take rest life heal abuse said hasnt easy vasquez used panic attacks sex ended getting divorce even tried kill learned abuser taken teenage girl like boyd though vasquez decided tell story anyone everyone listen helped feel stronger said think openness could save others similar fate took 10 years admit happened boyd said think ive healed much im going heal times still moments unforgiveness maybe heal finding way let go forgiving help many people end boyd created website wwwnotmyfamilyorg aimed helping victims sexabuse webdeveloper trade 38yearold mother provides listening ear abuse survivors helps connect tools need recover boyd married 11 years man molested since jail supervised custody rights three daughters current husband encouraged start site friend confided daughter molested youth pastor earlier couple learned least five families church daughters inappropriately touched husband comes home work said something much information much experience help people boyd said day began working website boyd vasquez typical survivors abuse went periods selfdoubt guilt isolation boyd said shed lie bed night pray god would make better wife vasquez became pregnant church leaders forced go congregation ask forgiveness unwed mother considering bad im definitely lot better vasquez said think difficult thing trying overcome feelings guilt felt like nothing could thought protect kids besides displaying lives warning victims decision file custody suits lawsuits become involved healthy church helped woman well attitudes toward church especially striking neither woman bitter god current pastoral leaders abuse boyd said still believes god make good things come bad things life loving husband welladjusted daughters totally unexpected vasquez blames person really church know people hurt extremely bitter really believe god said adding unhappy church leaders taking appropriate action wishes denominational leaders would take active stance abuse spite continued belief god 20 years vasquez children returned church time back mixed bag said one hand people supported journey sexabuse desire talk hand made clear subject want discuss topic sex makes people uncomfortable said knowing staying quiet allowed abuser access others pushed forward said realized didnt tell story people could get hurt im trying hard able trust people vasquez said im trying hard trust churches want ability would like able relationship get married feel like ive gotten stronger since ive started talking ive gotten stronger since ive realized people
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<p>Alex Hibbert with Mahershala Ali in ‘Moonlight.’ Hibbert is nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards Sunday night, one of eight nominations the movie received. (Photo by David Bornfriend; courtesy A24)</p>
<p>This year’s Academy Award ceremony will certainly look a lot different than last year’s.</p>
<p>Last year, for the second year in a row, the entire slate of nominees in the four acting categories were white. This year, in a historic first, there are six African-American actors nominated in the four acting categories. Denzel Washington is nominated in the lead actor category for his grand-slam performance in August Wilson’s “Fences.” Ruth Negga is nominated in the lead actress category for her finely nuanced portrayal of reluctant civil rights pioneer Mildred Loving in “Loving.”</p>
<p>Mahershala Ali is nominated in the supporting actor category for his magnificent performance in “Moonlight” as the drug lord who takes the young Chiron under his wing even as he sells crack to Chiron’s mother Paula. Three African-American actresses dominate the supporting actress category: Viola Davis in “Fences,” Naomie Harris as Chiron’s mother in “Moonlight” and Octavia Spencer in the breakout hit and box office champ of the holiday season, “Hidden Figures.”</p>
<p>In addition, Dev Patel, an English actor of Indian descent, is nominated for his performance in “Lion,” a moving movie about an Indian boy who is adopted by an Australian couple after he is separated from his birth family.</p>
<p>Three of those movies also got best picture noms: “Fences,” “Hidden Figures” and “Moonlight.” This is the first time Hollywood has shown such a powerful spotlight on black gay life.</p>
<p>Three of the nominees for documentary feature also focus on the African American experience. The penetrating “13th” by Ava DuVernay (“Selma”) examines the appalling racial disparities in the American judicial system. “O.J.: Made in America” by Ezra Edelman is a 10-hour exploration of the life of celebrity athlete O.J. Simpson. “I Am Not Your Negro,” directed by Raoul Peck, is a searing exploration of race in America through the writings of openly gay black author James Baldwin.</p>
<p>Barry Jenkins, a straight ally, is the first black writer-director to be nominated for best picture, best director and best screenplay for his groundbreaking work on “Moonlight.” Openly gay playwright Terell Alvin McCraney, who wrote the unproduced play the movie is based on, was also nominated by the Academy for his work on the “Moonlight” screenplay.</p>
<p>There are also some other nods to diversity among the Oscar nominees. Maren Ade, who helmed the German comedy “Toni Erdmann,” is the only woman to be recognized for her work as director of a feature film. Hispanic artist and “Hamilton” superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda is nominated for his work on “Moana,” the animated movie about a Polynesian girl who saves her island. (If Miranda wins, he will become the 13th person to score the coveted EGOT, the grand slam of American entertainment prizes: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.)</p>
<p>Miranda will be competing against openly gay musician Benj Pasek, part of the songwriting team for “La La Land.”</p>
<p>So, while the Academy has made some serious strides in addressing the #OscarSoWhite hashtag, it still has a long way to go in addressing the hashtags #OscarSoMale and #OscarSoStraight and in the inclusion of Hispanic and Asian-American artists.</p>
<p>The big showdown this Sunday will be between “Moonlight” (with eight nominations) and “La La Land” (with 14 nominations, joining “Titanic” and “All About Eve” in a tie for movies with the most Oscar nods). “La La Land” swept the Golden Globes, but it may not do as well at the Oscars where it will not be competing in a separate “Musical or Comedy” category.</p>
<p>The most exciting races are among the crowded fields for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Perennial nominee Meryl Streep snuck into the Best Actress category for “Florence Foster Jenkins” (presumably on the strength of her Golden Globes acceptance speech), but Taraji P. Henson, Amy Adams and Annette Bening were shut out. I’m rooting for Isabelle Huppert in “Elle,” but the award will probably go to Natalie Portman’s dazzling performance in “Jackie.” Viola Davis will probably win her first Oscar for her heartbreaking work in “Fences,” but any of the other nominees are well-deserving.</p>
<p>Unless there’s a major upset, Mahershala Ali will win for Best Supporting Actor. The Best Actor race is between Denzel Washington and Casey Affleck (“Manchester by the Sea”). I’m rooting for Washington.</p>
<p>As for Best Picture statue, front runners “La La Land” and “Moonlight” will split the vote and “Hidden Figures” will win some well-deserved Oscar gold.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Amy Adams</a> <a href="" type="internal">Annette Bening</a> <a href="" type="internal">August Wilson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ava Duvernay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Barry Jenkins</a> <a href="" type="internal">Casey Affleck</a> <a href="" type="internal">Denzel Washington</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dev Patel</a> <a href="" type="internal">Elle</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ezra Edelman</a> <a href="" type="internal">Fences</a> <a href="" type="internal">Florence Foster Jenkins</a> <a href="" type="internal">Golden Globes</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hamilton</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hidden Figures</a> <a href="" type="internal">I Am Not Your Negro</a> <a href="" type="internal">Isabelle Huppert</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jackie</a> <a href="" type="internal">James Baldwin</a> <a href="" type="internal">La La Land</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lin-Manuel Miranda</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lion</a> <a href="" type="internal">Loving</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mahershala Ali</a> <a href="" type="internal">Manchester by The Sea</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maren Ade</a> <a href="" type="internal">Meryl Streep</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mildred Loving</a> <a href="" type="internal">Moana</a> <a href="" type="internal">Moonlight</a> <a href="" type="internal">Naomie Harris</a> <a href="" type="internal">Natalie Portman</a> <a href="" type="internal">O.J.: Made in America</a> <a href="" type="internal">Octavia Spencer</a> <a href="" type="internal">Raoul Peck</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ruth Negga</a> <a href="" type="internal">Taraji P. Henson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Terell Alvin McCraney</a> <a href="" type="internal">Toni Erdmann</a> <a href="" type="internal">Viola Davis</a></p>
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alex hibbert mahershala ali moonlight hibbert nominated best supporting actor academy awards sunday night one eight nominations movie received photo david bornfriend courtesy a24 years academy award ceremony certainly look lot different last years last year second year row entire slate nominees four acting categories white year historic first six africanamerican actors nominated four acting categories denzel washington nominated lead actor category grandslam performance august wilsons fences ruth negga nominated lead actress category finely nuanced portrayal reluctant civil rights pioneer mildred loving loving mahershala ali nominated supporting actor category magnificent performance moonlight drug lord takes young chiron wing even sells crack chirons mother paula three africanamerican actresses dominate supporting actress category viola davis fences naomie harris chirons mother moonlight octavia spencer breakout hit box office champ holiday season hidden figures addition dev patel english actor indian descent nominated performance lion moving movie indian boy adopted australian couple separated birth family three movies also got best picture noms fences hidden figures moonlight first time hollywood shown powerful spotlight black gay life three nominees documentary feature also focus african american experience penetrating 13th ava duvernay selma examines appalling racial disparities american judicial system oj made america ezra edelman 10hour exploration life celebrity athlete oj simpson negro directed raoul peck searing exploration race america writings openly gay black author james baldwin barry jenkins straight ally first black writerdirector nominated best picture best director best screenplay groundbreaking work moonlight openly gay playwright terell alvin mccraney wrote unproduced play movie based also nominated academy work moonlight screenplay also nods diversity among oscar nominees maren ade helmed german comedy toni erdmann woman recognized work director feature film hispanic artist hamilton superstar linmanuel miranda nominated work moana animated movie polynesian girl saves island miranda wins become 13th person score coveted egot grand slam american entertainment prizes emmy grammy oscar tony miranda competing openly gay musician benj pasek part songwriting team la la land academy made serious strides addressing oscarsowhite hashtag still long way go addressing hashtags oscarsomale oscarsostraight inclusion hispanic asianamerican artists big showdown sunday moonlight eight nominations la la land 14 nominations joining titanic eve tie movies oscar nods la la land swept golden globes may well oscars competing separate musical comedy category exciting races among crowded fields best actress best supporting actress perennial nominee meryl streep snuck best actress category florence foster jenkins presumably strength golden globes acceptance speech taraji p henson amy adams annette bening shut im rooting isabelle huppert elle award probably go natalie portmans dazzling performance jackie viola davis probably win first oscar heartbreaking work fences nominees welldeserving unless theres major upset mahershala ali win best supporting actor best actor race denzel washington casey affleck manchester sea im rooting washington best picture statue front runners la la land moonlight split vote hidden figures win welldeserved oscar gold amy adams annette bening august wilson ava duvernay barry jenkins casey affleck denzel washington dev patel elle ezra edelman fences florence foster jenkins golden globes hamilton hidden figures negro isabelle huppert jackie james baldwin la la land linmanuel miranda lion loving mahershala ali manchester sea maren ade meryl streep mildred loving moana moonlight naomie harris natalie portman oj made america octavia spencer raoul peck ruth negga taraji p henson terell alvin mccraney toni erdmann viola davis
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<p>These South Side&#160;“explorers” had never seen anything comparable to Chicago's&#160;legendary Union League Club.</p>
<p>The esoteric artwork, luxurious decor&#160;and dapper club members were a far cry from the neighborhood where the group of African American teenagers grew up. And there was no mistaking the reaction on members’ faces: There goes the neighborhood.</p>
<p>Noah Hackworth, one of the students visiting downtown for the first time that day, recalls thinking, “What are we doing here?”</p>
<p>The answer: Leaving no area of their city unexplored as part of My Block, My Hood, My City.</p>
<p>Every two weeks for the past two years, the advocacy group has taken underprivileged youth from Chicago’s West and South Sides on mini-explorations throughout the city. For Chicago’s often neighborhood-centric youth, this means visiting places that previously seemed out of reach, to be exposed to art, businesses, food, culture&#160;and opportunities that, though only miles away, might as well be on another continent.</p>
<p>Between 40 and 60 percent of residents in Chicago’s South and West Sides live below the <a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/04/22/poverty-rates-in-many-chicago-neighborhoods-near-60-percent/" type="external">poverty line</a>, which presents financial and, in some ways, psychological barriers to discovering more affluent areas of the city.</p>
<p>Enter My Block, My Hood, My City, which aims to break teens out of their geographic isolation.</p>
<p>“The worlds of a lot of youth here revolve around just a small segment of the city, whether they come from a wealthy or under-resourced area. That holds our community back from its potential,” says Jahmal Cole, who founded My Block, My Hood, My City.</p>
<p />
<p>Jahmal Cole.</p>
<p>Photo courtesy of My Hood, My Block, My City</p>
<p>Cole, an author, former rapper, and motivational speaker initially thought of taking high-schoolers from economically depressed areas on field trips around the rest of Chicago in the fall of 2013, after giving a talk to 35 youth incarcerated at the Cook County Jail.</p>
<p>The 32-year-old was astonished that so many of them spoke about never venturing beyond the narrow confines of their neighborhoods.</p>
<p>“All of them spoke highly about their own blocks, and a few said they had seen Sears Tower from their house, but not many had been there before,” recalls Cole.</p>
<p>This made Cole reflect on his own childhood, a good portion of which was spent traveling on Greyhound buses between Texas and Chicago whenever his mother and father would temporarily part ways.</p>
<p>He remembered how leaving the familiar confines of his South Chicago neighborhood expanded his view of the world. He was mesmerized by the rest of the country, his fear of a new place overcome by curiosity.</p>
<p>So when Cole considered the limited experience of Chicago teens, he decided to try to enhance it.</p>
<p>Racial segregation still exists in the city, Cole says, and in some neighborhoods, a single race or ethnicity may make up more than 90 percent of the population. The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research named Chicago the most segregated city in America.</p>
<p>Residents tend to identify with their neighborhood first; as Chicagoans second. But there is a message of city unity inherent in the phrase My Block, My Hood, My City. Citizens and business owners who have partnered with the group on its explorations welcome that message.</p>
<p>“There’s no reason this can’t be in every school in this city. If you had youth from all over Chicago involved in it, going to each other’s neighborhoods, it would instantly create a safe feeling for them,” says Brandon Hellwig, a 25-year-old teacher who began volunteering with the group after inquiring about a My Block, My Hood, My City hoody he saw hanging in his local barber shop.</p>
<p>Rich Troche, part-owner of “Everybody’s Coffee” in the North Side's&#160;Uptown neighborhood, partnered with the group&#160;in a January rally for the homeless.</p>
<p>“I really do like their idea that we are all a lot bigger than where we come from,” says Troche.</p>
<p>The Texas transplant has hosted My Block, My Hood, My City explorers, as youth involved in the tours are called, at his shop. He says a big appeal of the group was that, like the name of his business, the moniker emphasized a unified Chicago.</p>
<p>Hackworth, one of the two original explorers, delivers a living testimony to My Block, My Hood, My City’s impact.</p>
<p>“The whole purpose of the movement is to expose kids from the inner city to places they haven’t been before. I’m blessed to be a part of it,” Hackworth says.</p>
<p>Hackworth, who met Cole after he spoke at Hackworth’s school, credits the movement with not only taking him to places in the city once foreign to him, but also connecting him with people he never would have met: architects, professors from the University of Chicago&#160;and marketing executives.</p>
<p>The exploration, he says, helped influence his decision to become a marketing major in college. Now a freshman at Prairie View A&amp;M University, Hackworth said the forays out of his South Shore neighborhood allowed him to choose a college in Texas, instead of nearby Robert Morris University.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t afraid to leave home anymore. I’m a living testament to Jahmal’s movement. I escaped negative activity and now I’m at a four-year university, about to graduate in three years and start my own biz,” says the college freshman.</p>
<p>Cole and company would like to extend the idea of My Block, My Hood, My City beyond Chicago.</p>
<p>“There’s no reason we can’t have an All-Star Chicago delegation that visits New York, or a Seattle delegation that visits Crenshaw [California] or vice versa,” says Hellwig.</p>
<p>But My Block, My Hood, My City will always have its roots in the city of Chicago.</p>
<p>As Cole frequently reminds his explorers, traveling to new worlds does not always involve leaving home.</p>
<p>This&#160; <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/the-program-helping-youth-unify-the-most-segregated-city-in-america-20160216" type="external">story</a>&#160;was originally published by&#160; <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/" type="external">YES! Magazine</a>, a nonprofit publication that supports people’s active engagement in solving today’s social, political, and environmental challenges.&#160;</p>
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south side160explorers never seen anything comparable chicagos160legendary union league club esoteric artwork luxurious decor160and dapper club members far cry neighborhood group african american teenagers grew mistaking reaction members faces goes neighborhood noah hackworth one students visiting downtown first time day recalls thinking answer leaving area city unexplored part block hood city every two weeks past two years advocacy group taken underprivileged youth chicagos west south sides miniexplorations throughout city chicagos often neighborhoodcentric youth means visiting places previously seemed reach exposed art businesses food culture160and opportunities though miles away might well another continent 40 60 percent residents chicagos south west sides live poverty line presents financial ways psychological barriers discovering affluent areas city enter block hood city aims break teens geographic isolation worlds lot youth revolve around small segment city whether come wealthy underresourced area holds community back potential says jahmal cole founded block hood city jahmal cole photo courtesy hood block city cole author former rapper motivational speaker initially thought taking highschoolers economically depressed areas field trips around rest chicago fall 2013 giving talk 35 youth incarcerated cook county jail 32yearold astonished many spoke never venturing beyond narrow confines neighborhoods spoke highly blocks said seen sears tower house many recalls cole made cole reflect childhood good portion spent traveling greyhound buses texas chicago whenever mother father would temporarily part ways remembered leaving familiar confines south chicago neighborhood expanded view world mesmerized rest country fear new place overcome curiosity cole considered limited experience chicago teens decided try enhance racial segregation still exists city cole says neighborhoods single race ethnicity may make 90 percent population manhattan institute policy research named chicago segregated city america residents tend identify neighborhood first chicagoans second message city unity inherent phrase block hood city citizens business owners partnered group explorations welcome message theres reason cant every school city youth chicago involved going others neighborhoods would instantly create safe feeling says brandon hellwig 25yearold teacher began volunteering group inquiring block hood city hoody saw hanging local barber shop rich troche partowner everybodys coffee north sides160uptown neighborhood partnered group160in january rally homeless really like idea lot bigger come says troche texas transplant hosted block hood city explorers youth involved tours called shop says big appeal group like name business moniker emphasized unified chicago hackworth one two original explorers delivers living testimony block hood citys impact whole purpose movement expose kids inner city places havent im blessed part hackworth says hackworth met cole spoke hackworths school credits movement taking places city foreign also connecting people never would met architects professors university chicago160and marketing executives exploration says helped influence decision become marketing major college freshman prairie view aampm university hackworth said forays south shore neighborhood allowed choose college texas instead nearby robert morris university wasnt afraid leave home anymore im living testament jahmals movement escaped negative activity im fouryear university graduate three years start biz says college freshman cole company would like extend idea block hood city beyond chicago theres reason cant allstar chicago delegation visits new york seattle delegation visits crenshaw california vice versa says hellwig block hood city always roots city chicago cole frequently reminds explorers traveling new worlds always involve leaving home this160 story160was originally published by160 yes magazine nonprofit publication supports peoples active engagement solving todays social political environmental challenges160
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<p>In Jerusalem, new tensions are brewing over a very old dispute.</p>
<p>Jews believe the Temple Mount is the place where King Solomon's Temple was built. Today, the area is bordered on one side by the Western Wall, where Jews have been praying for some 2,000 years.</p>
<p>Muslims call the area the Noble Sanctuary, or al-Haram al-Sharif, and they believe this is where Mohammed ascended into heaven. It is also the location of the holy Al-Aqsa mosque and the golden Dome of the Rock mosque.</p>
<p>Jews and Muslims revere this holy place. But non-Muslims are not allowed to worship there. Islamic authorities forbid it. And the Israeli police enforce the rule. Those restrictions have been in place for nearly half a century. But times are changing. Some Jewish Israelis are calling for freer access to visit the Temple Mount and they want to be allowed to pray there.</p>
<p>It might be the most-contested piece of real estate in human history. But the Temple Mount — Noble Sanctuary is still open to tourists. On most mornings of the week, dozens of them line up to ascend to Jerusalem's holiest spot.</p>
<p>On a recent morning, I accompanied Rabbi Chaim Richman, who is with a group called The Temple Institute. He has been going up to the Temple Mount for 25 years and said he still tries to do so about once a week. Most Jews would not set foot on the Mount. For starters, Israel's leading rabbis forbid it. A big sign at the entrance to the holy site states in Hebrew and English: "According to Torah Law, entering the Temple is strictly forbidden due to the holiness of the site."</p>
<p>Richman rejects the blanket prohibition on visiting the Mount. "The concept really for me," he explained during an interview in his Jerusalem office, "is to want to be as close as possible to the holiest place on earth."</p>
<p>As we stood in line, waiting to go through an Israeli police security check to enter the Temple Mount, Richman mentioned another obstacle to Jewish prayer at the site, and that is the Israeli government. It fears that Jews visiting the Mount could spark riots.</p>
<p>"Every government feels the same way," he said. "'It's a powder keg.' They're so concerned, [of] the specter of extremist Muslim unrest, they're so sensitive to this that they're insensitive to Jewish sensitivity."</p>
<p>Among the crowd of tourists, Richman and the few Jewish men he was with stood out, with their yarmulkes and beards. And as they entered the plaza next to the Al-Aqsa mosque, they were confronted by a young Palestinian man. He appeared to take issue with the presence of Jews.</p>
<p>An Israeli police officer quickly stepped in and calmed things down. And Richman's small impromptu group continued on their holy walking tour. Following close by were an Israeli cop and one or two officials with the Islamic waqf. They are the Islamic religious authorities who have some autonomy over the Noble Sanctuary and its mosques. Non-Muslims are not allowed to pray or display religious symbols here. And that is the main thing Richman says he would like to see changed.</p>
<p>"The question is, how does it hurt them? You know, am I causing World War Three? [Iranian president] Ahmedinejad is threatening our destruction three times a day for five years," Richman said as he stood in the shade of an evergreen tree near the Dome of the Rock. "I'm not even talking now about building the holy temple. I'm talking about the ability of a human being, you know, to be in a holy place and to be able to pray."</p>
<p>Richman's views used to be way outside the mainstream. That appears to be changing though. During recent Jewish holidays, Israeli police arrested about a dozen Jewish activists suspected of praying on the Temple Mount. One was a member of parliament. In the last year or so, more and more Israeli politicians, rabbis and activists say that Jews should be allowed to pray on the Mount.</p>
<p>Michael Freund is a columnist with the Jerusalem Post who recently visited the Temple Mount for the first time in years, and he told me that he found it both profoundly moving and frustrating. He said the ban on Jews praying at the site needs to be lifted. In his latest column, Freund went even further, saying Israel's government should consider building a synagogue on the Temple Mount. The issue is about Israeli sovereignty, Freund told me.</p>
<p>"We waited two-thousand years to reclaim the Temple Mount," he said. "Now that it is under Israeli control, we cannot allow it to slip through our fingers. I think it's time for Israel to reassert control over the area and to insure free access to people of all religions."</p>
<p>Israeli lawmakers have floated legislation that would compel Israel's police force to protect the rights of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. It is election season in Israel right now, and the issue of Jewish prayer at Jerusalem's holiest site just might come up as an election issue ahead of the January 22nd vote.</p>
<p>Mohamed Hussein is the mufti of Jerusalem and the senior-most Islamic leader in the Palestinian Authority. Hussein told me the Noble Sanctuary or al-Haram al-Sharif is a Muslim holy site, not a Jewish one. And Jews should not be allowed to pray there.</p>
<p>"It's a problem," he said.</p>
<p>"A tourist comes and visits and does not have any intentions other than tourism. But the Jewish groups that go to the Sanctuary have a hidden agenda. They want to kick out the Muslim worshippers and destroy our holy site, so they can build their temple. We will not accept this."</p>
<p>Another controversial proposal being talked about by Temple Mount activists is to divide Jerusalem's holiest site between Jewish and Muslim control. This is the "Hebron model," where the Israeli military enforces separate prayer times for Jews and Muslims at the (Jewish) Tomb of the Patriarchs and (Muslim) Ibrahimi Mosque.</p>
<p>Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi says imposing such a system on the Noble Sanctuary would be a disaster for the whole region.</p>
<p>"I think this is extremely insidious and extremely dangerous," she told me. "Ultimately, whatever happens with the al-Haram al-Sharif it's a signal that that's the end of any type of peace or any type of peace or any type of coexistence. Not just with the Palestinians, both Muslim and Christian, but also with the Arab and Islamic worlds."</p>
<p>The question of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount is not an issue of freedom of worship, said Israeli lawyer Daniel Seidemann. There has been a delicate status quo in place for the Temple Mount-Noble Sanctuary, he said, and that system has been maintained by every Israeli prime minister since 1967. Changing that status quo, Seidemann told me, would amount to pyromania.</p>
<p>"It's not an accident that this policy that is being proposed has been rejected by Menachem Begin and Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert, who are not exactly members of the ACLU," Seidemann said.</p>
<p>At the end of our Temple Mount tour, Rabbi Richman turned to walk backwards, away from the mosques and back into the stone alleyways of Jerusalem's Old City. That was to show reverence for the "holy of holies," the place Jews believe held the Ark of Covenant during the First Temple period.</p>
<p>Richman's insistence on visiting and praying on the Mount is not supported by the majority in Israel. But as a crowd of Jewish schoolboys ran past us, he seemed to take heart from the fact that more and more Jews are coming around to his way of thinking.</p>
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jerusalem new tensions brewing old dispute jews believe temple mount place king solomons temple built today area bordered one side western wall jews praying 2000 years muslims call area noble sanctuary alharam alsharif believe mohammed ascended heaven also location holy alaqsa mosque golden dome rock mosque jews muslims revere holy place nonmuslims allowed worship islamic authorities forbid israeli police enforce rule restrictions place nearly half century times changing jewish israelis calling freer access visit temple mount want allowed pray might mostcontested piece real estate human history temple mount noble sanctuary still open tourists mornings week dozens line ascend jerusalems holiest spot recent morning accompanied rabbi chaim richman group called temple institute going temple mount 25 years said still tries week jews would set foot mount starters israels leading rabbis forbid big sign entrance holy site states hebrew english according torah law entering temple strictly forbidden due holiness site richman rejects blanket prohibition visiting mount concept really explained interview jerusalem office want close possible holiest place earth stood line waiting go israeli police security check enter temple mount richman mentioned another obstacle jewish prayer site israeli government fears jews visiting mount could spark riots every government feels way said powder keg theyre concerned specter extremist muslim unrest theyre sensitive theyre insensitive jewish sensitivity among crowd tourists richman jewish men stood yarmulkes beards entered plaza next alaqsa mosque confronted young palestinian man appeared take issue presence jews israeli police officer quickly stepped calmed things richmans small impromptu group continued holy walking tour following close israeli cop one two officials islamic waqf islamic religious authorities autonomy noble sanctuary mosques nonmuslims allowed pray display religious symbols main thing richman says would like see changed question hurt know causing world war three iranian president ahmedinejad threatening destruction three times day five years richman said stood shade evergreen tree near dome rock im even talking building holy temple im talking ability human know holy place able pray richmans views used way outside mainstream appears changing though recent jewish holidays israeli police arrested dozen jewish activists suspected praying temple mount one member parliament last year israeli politicians rabbis activists say jews allowed pray mount michael freund columnist jerusalem post recently visited temple mount first time years told found profoundly moving frustrating said ban jews praying site needs lifted latest column freund went even saying israels government consider building synagogue temple mount issue israeli sovereignty freund told waited twothousand years reclaim temple mount said israeli control allow slip fingers think time israel reassert control area insure free access people religions israeli lawmakers floated legislation would compel israels police force protect rights jews pray temple mount election season israel right issue jewish prayer jerusalems holiest site might come election issue ahead january 22nd vote mohamed hussein mufti jerusalem seniormost islamic leader palestinian authority hussein told noble sanctuary alharam alsharif muslim holy site jewish one jews allowed pray problem said tourist comes visits intentions tourism jewish groups go sanctuary hidden agenda want kick muslim worshippers destroy holy site build temple accept another controversial proposal talked temple mount activists divide jerusalems holiest site jewish muslim control hebron model israeli military enforces separate prayer times jews muslims jewish tomb patriarchs muslim ibrahimi mosque palestinian legislator hanan ashrawi says imposing system noble sanctuary would disaster whole region think extremely insidious extremely dangerous told ultimately whatever happens alharam alsharif signal thats end type peace type peace type coexistence palestinians muslim christian also arab islamic worlds question jewish prayer temple mount issue freedom worship said israeli lawyer daniel seidemann delicate status quo place temple mountnoble sanctuary said system maintained every israeli prime minister since 1967 changing status quo seidemann told would amount pyromania accident policy proposed rejected menachem begin ariel sharon ehud olmert exactly members aclu seidemann said end temple mount tour rabbi richman turned walk backwards away mosques back stone alleyways jerusalems old city show reverence holy holies place jews believe held ark covenant first temple period richmans insistence visiting praying mount supported majority israel crowd jewish schoolboys ran past us seemed take heart fact jews coming around way thinking
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<p>CURWOOD: It's Living on Earth, I'm Steve Curwood. Every few years Congress rewrites the massive law that covers everything from farm subsidies to food stamps. After years of debate, President Obama recently signed the latest Farm Bill into law. There's relief that it's finally done, but some of the compromises disappointed a number of stakeholders, including Craig Cox. Hes a biologist and the Senior Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the Environmental Working Group, and joins us now from Ames, Iowa. Welcome to Living on Earth, Craig. COX: Thank you. CURWOOD: So, now after a number of years, the Congress and President have enacted a Farm Bill. Its now a law. Its, what, a 1,000-page law. So we cant cover it all, but what do you see are the major changes in this newest version? COX: The biggest change is that the Congress is moving away from traditional farm subsidies as the way that taxpayers support farm income, and replacing those traditional subsidies with essentially a pumped-up crop insurance program. Getting rid of direct payments has been touted as reform, but theyre using 80 percent of the savings from ending the traditional farm subsidies and using it to create a suite of new subsidy programs that are essentially an add-on to the existing crop insurance program. CURWOOD: What do these crop insurance incentives do in terms of the impact on our agricultural lands? The new Farm Act gets rid of direct payments to farmers, but continues to subsidize production through the cop insurance program (photo: bigstockphoto.com) COX: Thats one of our major concerns about the direction this Farm Bill is taking. If the taxpayer picks up too much of the inherent natural risk of farming, then obviously you start to encourage farmers to take risks they wouldnt otherwise take, and some of those risks, like plowing up marginal land that are subjecting to drought or flooding, or increasing the drainage on land theyre already farming, or intensifying and increasing the size of their farms, all of those decisions involve risk. If the taxpayer is going to make sure that that farmer isnt going to suffer from taking those risks, then why not take them? CURWOOD: Now, an important part of the farm legislation is the Conservation Reserve Program. Explain that program for us if you would please. Soil loss is particularly dramatic after big storms, as heavy rain creates gullies in the earth (photo: Copyright Environmental Working Group, <a href="http://www.ewg.org" type="external">www.ewg.org</a>. Reprinted with permission.) COX: Thats a program that came into being in 1985. It essentially authorizes the government to rent land in a ten-year rental agreement with landowners, to take that land out of crop production and restore it to wetlands or grasslands or forest. CURWOOD: And how much land is protected under the Conservation Reserve Program now? COX: At its peak it was 39 million acres. This Farm Bill is scheduled to reduce that to 24 million acres. CURWOOD: And in your view, whats the effect of that reduction? Floodwaters submerge a Missouri farm along the Mississippi River (photo: FEMA) COX: Well, were seeing that effect all over the Corn Belt where I live. Were seeing highly erodible, very vulnerable land coming back into crop production and when a bad storm hits, its suffering catastrophic rates of erosion that contribute to pollution of streams and rivers thats already unacceptable. CURWOOD: What is the extent of soil loss in the Midwest? COX: The official estimates that we get from USDA are only statewide averages. So, lets say my state of Iowa, they report that the statewide average is about five tons per acre of soil loss, which should make you feel somewhat good about rates of erosion. But if you look really more closely than that statewide average, as scientists at the Iowa State University have done, what you find out is that statewide erosion is masking really catastrophic rates of erosion that are occurring when a severe storm hits a poorly protected or vulnerable cropland. And we went out and looked at what happened to cropland after a heavy storm in 2013 in central Iowa, and we found out that 1.2 million acres of farmland may have lost more topsoil in just five days than what is supposed to be lost over an entire year. And in fact, according to the Iowa State scientists, in 16 square miles, the most vulnerable or poorly protected fields may have lost as much as 40 tons of soil per acre in just that five-day period. Agricultural erosion in Craig Coxs home state of Iowa (photo: (Copyright Environmental Working Group, <a href="http://www.ewg.org" type="external">www.ewg.org</a>. Reprinted with permission.) CURWOOD: And by the way, the soil in Iowa is, well, special, right? COX: Its amazing. Its incredible soil. Its the backbone of crop production in the Midwest, which is why this topsoil should be so carefully managed and protected. CURWOOD: So, with all this soil loss, what impact does the changing climate have on that? COX: Well, it makes things much more dangerous. These extreme events, the heavy rainfall, really accelerates the rate of erosion and polluted runoff from agricultural fields. And unfortunately, this more dangerous weather is happening as our soil and our farmland is less protected. In response to the high commodity prices...you know as I mentioned marginal land is being brought into production and really shouldnt be in row crops, farmers are pushing the land hard to try to get every bushel they can out of every square foot of cropland, and as a result, a lot of the conservation practices that would protect that land are leaving the landscape. So at the same time the weathers becoming more dangerous, the land is becoming more vulnerable, and the combination of those two things is really creating a creeping ecological disaster in the Corn Belt. Craig Cox (photo: Environmental Working Group) CURWOOD: That's Craig Cox of the Environmental Working Group speaking to us from Ames Iowa.</p>
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curwood living earth im steve curwood every years congress rewrites massive law covers everything farm subsidies food stamps years debate president obama recently signed latest farm bill law theres relief finally done compromises disappointed number stakeholders including craig cox hes biologist senior vice president agriculture natural resources environmental working group joins us ames iowa welcome living earth craig cox thank curwood number years congress president enacted farm bill law 1000page law cant cover see major changes newest version cox biggest change congress moving away traditional farm subsidies way taxpayers support farm income replacing traditional subsidies essentially pumpedup crop insurance program getting rid direct payments touted reform theyre using 80 percent savings ending traditional farm subsidies using create suite new subsidy programs essentially addon existing crop insurance program curwood crop insurance incentives terms impact agricultural lands new farm act gets rid direct payments farmers continues subsidize production cop insurance program photo bigstockphotocom cox thats one major concerns direction farm bill taking taxpayer picks much inherent natural risk farming obviously start encourage farmers take risks wouldnt otherwise take risks like plowing marginal land subjecting drought flooding increasing drainage land theyre already farming intensifying increasing size farms decisions involve risk taxpayer going make sure farmer isnt going suffer taking risks take curwood important part farm legislation conservation reserve program explain program us would please soil loss particularly dramatic big storms heavy rain creates gullies earth photo copyright environmental working group wwwewgorg reprinted permission cox thats program came 1985 essentially authorizes government rent land tenyear rental agreement landowners take land crop production restore wetlands grasslands forest curwood much land protected conservation reserve program cox peak 39 million acres farm bill scheduled reduce 24 million acres curwood view whats effect reduction floodwaters submerge missouri farm along mississippi river photo fema cox well seeing effect corn belt live seeing highly erodible vulnerable land coming back crop production bad storm hits suffering catastrophic rates erosion contribute pollution streams rivers thats already unacceptable curwood extent soil loss midwest cox official estimates get usda statewide averages lets say state iowa report statewide average five tons per acre soil loss make feel somewhat good rates erosion look really closely statewide average scientists iowa state university done find statewide erosion masking really catastrophic rates erosion occurring severe storm hits poorly protected vulnerable cropland went looked happened cropland heavy storm 2013 central iowa found 12 million acres farmland may lost topsoil five days supposed lost entire year fact according iowa state scientists 16 square miles vulnerable poorly protected fields may lost much 40 tons soil per acre fiveday period agricultural erosion craig coxs home state iowa photo copyright environmental working group wwwewgorg reprinted permission curwood way soil iowa well special right cox amazing incredible soil backbone crop production midwest topsoil carefully managed protected curwood soil loss impact changing climate cox well makes things much dangerous extreme events heavy rainfall really accelerates rate erosion polluted runoff agricultural fields unfortunately dangerous weather happening soil farmland less protected response high commodity pricesyou know mentioned marginal land brought production really shouldnt row crops farmers pushing land hard try get every bushel every square foot cropland result lot conservation practices would protect land leaving landscape time weathers becoming dangerous land becoming vulnerable combination two things really creating creeping ecological disaster corn belt craig cox photo environmental working group curwood thats craig cox environmental working group speaking us ames iowa
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<p><a href="" type="internal" />July 23, 2012</p>
<p>By Wayne Lusvardi</p>
<p>When did the California Dream begin?</p>
<p>Peter Huck, a <a href="http://tinykitchencuisine.blogspot.com/2010/01/letter-from-peter-huck-innew-zealand.html" type="external">refugee journalist</a> from Los Angeles to New Zealand, has an answer. He writes in the July 20 issue of the New Zealand Herald newspaper <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&amp;objectid=10820891" type="external">“Sustainability Reinventing California Dream”</a> that the California Dream began when Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s William Mulholland said at the 1913 opening of the California Aqueduct: “There it is, take it.”</p>
<p>Huck believes that “sustainability” will lead to an economic recovery in California.</p>
<p>But the California Dream may have ended with California’s Anti-Sprawl Law, <a href="" type="internal">Senate Bill 375</a>, which Huck champions in his article as an economic stimulus to get the state out of a managed depression.</p>
<p>More recently, the <a href="" type="internal">County of San Bernardino</a> in California has proposed to use eminent domain to condemn mortgages on “over-mortgaged” homes.&#160; The county would do this by spreading about 30,000 over-mortgaged loans to all 699,000-property owners in the county by way of additional property taxes.</p>
<p>If there is a new slogan for California nearly 100 years after Mulholland’s epic statement, it is: “Socialize losses and privatize gains.”&#160; Which is another way of saying: “Everyone wants out of bubble-created debts, but no one wants to pay for them except through more bubbles.”</p>
<p>Yet no one in San Bernardino has apparently realized that reducing the over-mortgaged portion of home loans will just lower assessed property values and drastically reduce property tax revenues.&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Mass delusion</a> is starting to spread across desperate California just as the Tulip Bulb Mania, the South Seas Bubble and the Mississippi Bubble followed the debt bubbles of the 1700’s in Europe and early America.</p>
<p>Having handled land use for a regional water agency in California for 20 years, I find that Huck has focused on the ideological level of explanation, rather than the empirical.</p>
<p>Contrary to Huck, steering population and housing into coastal cities in California will result in an unsustainable use of water resources.&#160; Infill housing near urban job centers may result in fewer auto emissions from auto commuting.&#160; But diverting population growth to dense urban cities will also force greater reliance on imported water supplies from the Sacramento Delta and the Colorado River.&#160; California’s cities depend on groundwater for about one third of their water during dry years.</p>
<p>What has historically made water valuable in California has been the relative cheapness of water from urban groundwater basins compared to expensive imported water.</p>
<p>The anti-sprawl law will require that cities adopt sustainable growth plans to shift new development from the urban fringe, where groundwater resources are more abundant, to highly dense urban areas, where local water supplies are patchy and often polluted from war time industrial toxic wastes.&#160; It would take decades, if ever, to clean up polluted urban groundwater basins.</p>
<p>Viewing a map of <a href="http://www.water.ca.gov/groundwater/bulletin118/maps/statewide_basin_map_V3_subbas.pdf" type="external">groundwater basins</a> and a map of <a href="http://silvis.forest.wisc.edu/old/Library/Maps/blk_ppt/hdblk00/states/ca_hdblk_00_ppt.gif" type="external">housing density</a> for California indicates that water and populations are not geographically proximate. The densest populated areas are mostly along the coast while most groundwater resources are inland.</p>
<p>Moreover, by virtue of shifting to reliance on imported water supplies, California will need to buy more imported electricity to pump that water to urban centers located far from the sources of water.&#160; Will expensive Green Power mostly be used to pump water long distances?&#160; Or will Green Power be dedicated to powering the proposed California High-Speed Rail Authority?</p>
<p>Solar power can only be used in mid-to-late daytime; while wind power mostly peaks at night.&#160; But neither can be relied on for non-peak load power uses — homes, industries, hospitals, and public transit — because they are unreliable and thus unsustainable.</p>
<p>In 2001, this writer was a member of an Energy Crisis Task Force for a large regional government water utility.&#160; The original cause of the <a href="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1313927/posts" type="external">California Energy Crisis of 2001</a> was the 1996 Federal Environmental Protection Agency “mandate” to California to clean up urban smog by 2001 or face a cut off of highway and education funds.</p>
<p>The only way to comply with the federal mandate was to shut down old polluting fossil-fuel power plants along the California coast owned by Pacific Gas &amp; Electric, San Diego Gas &amp; Electric, and Southern California Edison companies.&#160; Then these obsolescent power plants had to be divested to private operators and converted to cleaner natural gas fuel power plants.</p>
<p>California was not running out of energy in 2001; it was running out of clear sky.&#160; The real crisis was not energy, but how to pay off the old stranded or “underwater” mortgages — called corporate bonds — on the mothballed power plants. Everybody wanted smog eliminated, but no one wanted to pay for it.&#160; Federal environmental policy became <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/george-will-epa-regulations-threaten-arizonas-economy-navajos-livelihood/2012/07/06/gJQAzWFfSW_print.html" type="external">“clean air at any cost.”</a></p>
<p>The initial energy crisis solution in 2001 was to give a quasi-monopoly to natural gas suppliers, mainly in Texas, to try to pay off the bonds on the old power plants. This policy was erroneously called “deregulation,” which failed. The plug was pulled on deregulation by the Democratic legislature and governor and replaced with a system of energy price caps.</p>
<p>Retail electricity prices were eventually capped; but wholesale energy prices were not resulting in an induced energy pricing fever. This bubble in energy prices was intentionally created to pay off the unpaid mortgages on the mothballed power plants.&#160; But it also failed miserably and even resulted in some fatalities.</p>
<p>Finally, some $42 billion in mortgages were paid off by energy price premiums loaded into long-term energy contracts mainly to run the pumps for the California State Water Project.&#160; Smog reduction was paid for by inflated water rates.</p>
<p>By 2007, a man-made drought resulted from an environmental lawsuit to protect the purportedly endangered Delta Smelt fish in the Sacramento Delta. In 2010, an appeals court ruled that the allegation that the Smelt was endangered was <a href="" type="internal">bogus</a>.</p>
<p>By manufacturing a drought, California not only protected a bubble in water rates that securitized the pay off of long-term bonds to reduce smog, but also brought about even higher water rates. These higher local water rates have not been repealed anywhere in California after the court-ordered drought was ended in 2010.</p>
<p>Loading the cost to clean up the air into water contracts avoided having to go to the California Public Utilities Commission for an electric rate increase, to the Legislature for a tax increase, or to the voters for the approval of a tax increase, as required under Proposition 13.&#160; To politicians, it was a California Dream come true: ”taxation without representation and limitation.” But it led to economic stagnation.</p>
<p>Long-term water contracts expire in 2013, when AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, kicks in.&#160; In other words, in 2013 California will no longer pay premiums loaded into the price of water to pay off the cost to reduce smog.</p>
<p>But a replacement premium will be added to electricity rates to pay for the mandatory shift to expensive Green Power.&#160; Solar and wind power located in remote areas is supposed to reduce urban air pollution but will add transmission costs.</p>
<p>This will prevent the building of new conventional power plants in urban areas where smog is trapped in urban air basins.&#160; It isn’t solely pollutants that cause smog, but the trapping of pollutants in air basins.&#160; The solution to pollution is dilution and dispersion — not anti-sprawl legislation that will concentrate more people in dense urban air basins who will travel to work in bullet trains subsidized by Cap and Trade taxes disguised as a pollution emissions market.</p>
<p>Moreover, back up conventional power plants will have to cycle up and down as the sun shines or clouds cover the sun and the wind gusts. Power-plant <a href="" type="internal">“cycling</a>” will cause more air pollution as surely as pushing your gas pedal up and down constantly in your car or frequently moving your home thermostat will do the same.</p>
<p>The California Energy Crisis of 2001 ended up loading the huge cost to reduce smog into premiums in water rates.&#160; That, in turn, resulted in the necessity of an artificial drought.&#160; Instead of building more dams, reservoirs and pipelines, the only way left to manage water supplies was by conservation. California had to protect its water-rate bubble, and thus had to squelch any new water development or water markets for over a decade.&#160; It needed a “sustainability” ideology to legitimate its conservation policy.&#160; “Sustainability” is just public “hucksterism” if you will forgive the pun.</p>
<p>California may finally put an $11 billion water bond on the election ballot in 2014, coincidentally after the bonds on the California Energy Crisis of 2001 are paid off.</p>
<p>In Michael Lewis’ pop economics book,&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Boomerang-Travels-New-Third-World/dp/0393081818" type="external">“Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World,”</a> he describes the blowback from Greece’s debt-created bubble.&#160; All Greeks wanted the national debt reduced, but nobody wanted to pay for it.</p>
<p>Greece tried to load its unpaid national debt into electric power rates.&#160; This only resulted in ratepayers refusing to pay their electricity bills and falling revenues for the state utility agency.&#160; The result was power blackouts, disinvestment by the bond market and social and political destabilization.&#160; Should we expect anything less from California’s loading of the cost to reduce air pollution in water rates securitized by water conservation and legitimated by a “sustainability” ideology?</p>
<p>Contrary to Peter Huck, a “sustainability” ideology will not result in an economic recovery for California. The future of California’s economy is more likely to be slow growth due to having to pay down the private sector mortgage-debt bubble and the public sector’s pension, redevelopment and air quality-water rate bubbles.</p>
<p>Creating new tax bubbles by condemning <a href="" type="internal">“underwater” mortgages</a>, by Cap and Trade <a href="" type="internal">“tax farming,”</a> and by inflating Green Power rates, will only assure the older bubbles will be replaced with new ones. &#160;California band musician Lawrence Welk famously invented “the Bubble Machine.” But perhaps comedian Stan Freberg was prophetically right when he recorded his spoof of the Lawrence Welk Show by saying it was time to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Welk" type="external">“turn off the bubble machine?”</a></p>
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july 23 2012 wayne lusvardi california dream begin peter huck refugee journalist los angeles new zealand answer writes july 20 issue new zealand herald newspaper sustainability reinventing california dream california dream began los angeles department water powers william mulholland said 1913 opening california aqueduct take huck believes sustainability lead economic recovery california california dream may ended californias antisprawl law senate bill 375 huck champions article economic stimulus get state managed depression recently county san bernardino california proposed use eminent domain condemn mortgages overmortgaged homes160 county would spreading 30000 overmortgaged loans 699000property owners county way additional property taxes new slogan california nearly 100 years mulhollands epic statement socialize losses privatize gains160 another way saying everyone wants bubblecreated debts one wants pay except bubbles yet one san bernardino apparently realized reducing overmortgaged portion home loans lower assessed property values drastically reduce property tax revenues160 mass delusion starting spread across desperate california tulip bulb mania south seas bubble mississippi bubble followed debt bubbles 1700s europe early america handled land use regional water agency california 20 years find huck focused ideological level explanation rather empirical contrary huck steering population housing coastal cities california result unsustainable use water resources160 infill housing near urban job centers may result fewer auto emissions auto commuting160 diverting population growth dense urban cities also force greater reliance imported water supplies sacramento delta colorado river160 californias cities depend groundwater one third water dry years historically made water valuable california relative cheapness water urban groundwater basins compared expensive imported water antisprawl law require cities adopt sustainable growth plans shift new development urban fringe groundwater resources abundant highly dense urban areas local water supplies patchy often polluted war time industrial toxic wastes160 would take decades ever clean polluted urban groundwater basins viewing map groundwater basins map housing density california indicates water populations geographically proximate densest populated areas mostly along coast groundwater resources inland moreover virtue shifting reliance imported water supplies california need buy imported electricity pump water urban centers located far sources water160 expensive green power mostly used pump water long distances160 green power dedicated powering proposed california highspeed rail authority solar power used midtolate daytime wind power mostly peaks night160 neither relied nonpeak load power uses homes industries hospitals public transit unreliable thus unsustainable 2001 writer member energy crisis task force large regional government water utility160 original cause california energy crisis 2001 1996 federal environmental protection agency mandate california clean urban smog 2001 face cut highway education funds way comply federal mandate shut old polluting fossilfuel power plants along california coast owned pacific gas amp electric san diego gas amp electric southern california edison companies160 obsolescent power plants divested private operators converted cleaner natural gas fuel power plants california running energy 2001 running clear sky160 real crisis energy pay old stranded underwater mortgages called corporate bonds mothballed power plants everybody wanted smog eliminated one wanted pay it160 federal environmental policy became clean air cost initial energy crisis solution 2001 give quasimonopoly natural gas suppliers mainly texas try pay bonds old power plants policy erroneously called deregulation failed plug pulled deregulation democratic legislature governor replaced system energy price caps retail electricity prices eventually capped wholesale energy prices resulting induced energy pricing fever bubble energy prices intentionally created pay unpaid mortgages mothballed power plants160 also failed miserably even resulted fatalities finally 42 billion mortgages paid energy price premiums loaded longterm energy contracts mainly run pumps california state water project160 smog reduction paid inflated water rates 2007 manmade drought resulted environmental lawsuit protect purportedly endangered delta smelt fish sacramento delta 2010 appeals court ruled allegation smelt endangered bogus manufacturing drought california protected bubble water rates securitized pay longterm bonds reduce smog also brought even higher water rates higher local water rates repealed anywhere california courtordered drought ended 2010 loading cost clean air water contracts avoided go california public utilities commission electric rate increase legislature tax increase voters approval tax increase required proposition 13160 politicians california dream come true taxation without representation limitation led economic stagnation longterm water contracts expire 2013 ab 32 california global warming solutions act 2006 kicks in160 words 2013 california longer pay premiums loaded price water pay cost reduce smog replacement premium added electricity rates pay mandatory shift expensive green power160 solar wind power located remote areas supposed reduce urban air pollution add transmission costs prevent building new conventional power plants urban areas smog trapped urban air basins160 isnt solely pollutants cause smog trapping pollutants air basins160 solution pollution dilution dispersion antisprawl legislation concentrate people dense urban air basins travel work bullet trains subsidized cap trade taxes disguised pollution emissions market moreover back conventional power plants cycle sun shines clouds cover sun wind gusts powerplant cycling cause air pollution surely pushing gas pedal constantly car frequently moving home thermostat california energy crisis 2001 ended loading huge cost reduce smog premiums water rates160 turn resulted necessity artificial drought160 instead building dams reservoirs pipelines way left manage water supplies conservation california protect waterrate bubble thus squelch new water development water markets decade160 needed sustainability ideology legitimate conservation policy160 sustainability public hucksterism forgive pun california may finally put 11 billion water bond election ballot 2014 coincidentally bonds california energy crisis 2001 paid michael lewis pop economics book160 boomerang travels new third world describes blowback greeces debtcreated bubble160 greeks wanted national debt reduced nobody wanted pay greece tried load unpaid national debt electric power rates160 resulted ratepayers refusing pay electricity bills falling revenues state utility agency160 result power blackouts disinvestment bond market social political destabilization160 expect anything less californias loading cost reduce air pollution water rates securitized water conservation legitimated sustainability ideology contrary peter huck sustainability ideology result economic recovery california future californias economy likely slow growth due pay private sector mortgagedebt bubble public sectors pension redevelopment air qualitywater rate bubbles creating new tax bubbles condemning underwater mortgages cap trade tax farming inflating green power rates assure older bubbles replaced new ones 160california band musician lawrence welk famously invented bubble machine perhaps comedian stan freberg prophetically right recorded spoof lawrence welk show saying time turn bubble machine
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<p>Staff Changes</p>
<p>Robert Johansen, to Spring Creek Church, Darlington Heights, as pastor.</p>
<p>Matthew Straw, resigning as pastor of Westhampton Church, Richmond.</p>
<p>Judy Barger, to Grandin Court Church, Roanoke, as interim minister of music.</p>
<p>Dan Foss, to Chestnut Hill Church, Lynchburg, as minister of church and discipleship development.</p>
<p>Lonnie Brawley, to Chester Church, Chester, as minister to youth.</p>
<p>Kyle Jones, to Swift Creek Community Church, Midlothian, as coach of outreach and small group ministries.</p>
<p>Jamie Rolison, resigning as director of children at Park View Church, Portsmouth.</p>
<p>Death</p>
<p>Former Virginia Baptist pastor Paul Stuart Carter died in Virginia Beach on Oct. 4 at the age of 85. Over his 35 years of ministry, he had served as pastor of two Virginia churches and upon retirement he was interim pastor for five churches. He is survived by his wife, Lois; two sons; three daughters; 12 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson.</p>
<p>Revivals</p>
<p>Calvary Church, Concord; revival Nov. 12-15; Roger Roller, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Critz Church, Critz; revival Nov. 5-7; Shane Pruitt, guest evangelist.</p>
<p>Mission Opportunity</p>
<p>The 36 churches of the Goshen Baptist Association in North-Central Virginia invite your church group to come and help in the harvest for the summer of 2007. We are looking for youth or adult mission teams from mid-June through July.</p>
<p>Goshen Outreach is a church bringing its children's, youth or adult group to work for a week with a church in Goshen Baptist Association to help them impact and reach their community with the gospel. It is a church group using sports, drama, crafts, prayerwalking, preaching, construction, painting, visitation, day camps, Vacation Bible School, puppets and more to impact and reach a community for Christ.</p>
<p>Churches are invited to spend a week and experience what God has in store for them.</p>
<p>There will also be time to experience North-Central Virginia. Visit Washington, D.C., historic Civil War battlefields, Thomas Jefferson's home, James Madison's home, the International Mission Board and more.</p>
<p>For additional information contact Joy at 540-894-8440 or Rick at 540-854-0210.</p>
<p>Ridgecrest Summer Staffers Reunion</p>
<p>As part of the observance of the 100th anniversary of Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center in North Carolina there is a reunion of summer staffers planned for Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 9-11, 2007.</p>
<p>If you are a former summer staffer, or know of someone who was, you are encouraged to attend for a time of reminiscing, fellowship, getting reacquainted and meeting new friends who have also shared in the Ridgecrest summer experience!</p>
<p>Call 1-800-588-7222 to make your reservation.</p>
<p>Heritage Tour</p>
<p>The Eastover Retreat Center, a former plantation now owned and operated by Peninsula Baptist Association, is sponsoring a Heritage Tour, a journey to experience the rich history and heritage of this nation and its quest for religious freedom.</p>
<p>The historic tour is especially designed for senior adult church groups and space is limited. Heritage Tour dates in 2007 are : April 16-19, June 4-7, Sept. 10-13 and Oct. 8-11.</p>
<p>Included in the tour is the Jamestown Settlement, Historic Jamestown (celebrating its 400th anniversary), the Yorktown Victory Center and battlefields and Colonial Williamsburg. Evenings will be spent at Eastover Retreat Center.</p>
<p>For cost and registration information, contact the center at 757-294-3636 or email [email protected]. To contact the tour guide, Cathy Dresler, call 757-874-4485 or email [email protected].</p>
<p />
<p>MISSION MOMENTS</p>
<p>Lebanon Baptist Association</p>
<p>A team from Lebanon Association has made three construction relief trips to the Gulf Coast area since January. They have repaired roofs, childrens' wings and on a recent trip to Gulfport, Mississippi, assisted Grace Temple Baptist Church, an African-American congregation, get ready for its first worship service since Hurricane Katrina. The top left photo shows the team unloading a trailer at the church. Pictured (l to r) are John Huddleston, Craig Weatherly, Walter Newland, Mark Sharrett, Doug Heath, Marion Dugger, J.D. Ryan and Pat Weaver. In the top right photo is Carolyn Gilbert with Viola, a child who attends Grace Temple Church. The team joined the church for a Wednesday service and ministered to the congregation there. In the bottom photo is Gene Eller, a deacon at First Church, Bristol, taking a break from painting.</p>
<p />
<p>Colonial Avenue Baptist Church, Roanoke</p>
<p>Last July a 32-person mission team from Colonial Avenue Baptist spent a week in Bland County repairing homes and working in the Bland Ministry center. Along with the construction work,</p>
<p>the team led a children's day camp, gleaned blueberries for the Ministry Center's food pantry and sorted and distributed 42,000 pounds of sweet potatoes. Pictured in the left photo, standing by the porch they painted, are (clockwise from back left) Wanda Clower, Kaitlyn Baker, Pastor Jeff Scott, Hillary Young, Jeanne Duddy, Grace Rubie, Marin Wiles and Scott Clower. Pictured in the right photo are several children who participated in the trip with the mound of sweet potatoes to be bagged and distributed.</p>
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staff changes robert johansen spring creek church darlington heights pastor matthew straw resigning pastor westhampton church richmond judy barger grandin court church roanoke interim minister music dan foss chestnut hill church lynchburg minister church discipleship development lonnie brawley chester church chester minister youth kyle jones swift creek community church midlothian coach outreach small group ministries jamie rolison resigning director children park view church portsmouth death former virginia baptist pastor paul stuart carter died virginia beach oct 4 age 85 35 years ministry served pastor two virginia churches upon retirement interim pastor five churches survived wife lois two sons three daughters 12 grandchildren 1 greatgrandson revivals calvary church concord revival nov 1215 roger roller guest evangelist critz church critz revival nov 57 shane pruitt guest evangelist mission opportunity 36 churches goshen baptist association northcentral virginia invite church group come help harvest summer 2007 looking youth adult mission teams midjune july goshen outreach church bringing childrens youth adult group work week church goshen baptist association help impact reach community gospel church group using sports drama crafts prayerwalking preaching construction painting visitation day camps vacation bible school puppets impact reach community christ churches invited spend week experience god store also time experience northcentral virginia visit washington dc historic civil war battlefields thomas jeffersons home james madisons home international mission board additional information contact joy 5408948440 rick 5408540210 ridgecrest summer staffers reunion part observance 100th anniversary ridgecrest baptist conference center north carolina reunion summer staffers planned thursdaysaturday aug 911 2007 former summer staffer know someone encouraged attend time reminiscing fellowship getting reacquainted meeting new friends also shared ridgecrest summer experience call 18005887222 make reservation heritage tour eastover retreat center former plantation owned operated peninsula baptist association sponsoring heritage tour journey experience rich history heritage nation quest religious freedom historic tour especially designed senior adult church groups space limited heritage tour dates 2007 april 1619 june 47 sept 1013 oct 811 included tour jamestown settlement historic jamestown celebrating 400th anniversary yorktown victory center battlefields colonial williamsburg evenings spent eastover retreat center cost registration information contact center 7572943636 email eastoverlmindspringcom contact tour guide cathy dresler call 7578744485 email cdreslercoxnet mission moments lebanon baptist association team lebanon association made three construction relief trips gulf coast area since january repaired roofs childrens wings recent trip gulfport mississippi assisted grace temple baptist church africanamerican congregation get ready first worship service since hurricane katrina top left photo shows team unloading trailer church pictured l r john huddleston craig weatherly walter newland mark sharrett doug heath marion dugger jd ryan pat weaver top right photo carolyn gilbert viola child attends grace temple church team joined church wednesday service ministered congregation bottom photo gene eller deacon first church bristol taking break painting colonial avenue baptist church roanoke last july 32person mission team colonial avenue baptist spent week bland county repairing homes working bland ministry center along construction work team led childrens day camp gleaned blueberries ministry centers food pantry sorted distributed 42000 pounds sweet potatoes pictured left photo standing porch painted clockwise back left wanda clower kaitlyn baker pastor jeff scott hillary young jeanne duddy grace rubie marin wiles scott clower pictured right photo several children participated trip mound sweet potatoes bagged distributed
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<p>LIMA, Peru — Tensions in Venezuela look close to boiling over after an opposition leader wanted for supposedly inciting anti-government violence said he would lead a protest march in downtown Caracas on Tuesday.</p>
<p>After several days in hiding, Leopoldo Lopez published a YouTube video defiantly blaming President Nicolas Maduro for the bloodletting during protests last week, effectively daring the government to arrest him at the march on the ministry of justice and the interior.</p>
<p>Lopez described the ministry as the “symbol of the repression, persecution, torture and lies” carried out by the government against the Venezuelan people.</p>
<p>“I will be there showing my face. I have nothing to fear,” Lopez said in the grainy, three-minute video of the murder and terrorism charges leveled against him.</p>
<p>“If there is any illegal decision to jail me, then I will accept that decision and this infamous persecution by the state.”</p>
<p>The opposition leader's plan sets him on a collision course with the government, which is rallying supporters to launch a rival march along the same route.</p>
<p>Three people were shot dead and dozens injured in clashes in Caracas last week as students took to the streets calling on Maduro, a left-wing populist and the political heir to late President Hugo Chavez, to quit.</p>
<p>They are enraged over a series of deep national crises, including widespread food shortages, skyrocketing inflation, one of the world’s worst violent crime waves and the government’s increasingly authoritarian direction.</p>
<p>The protesters were confronted by riot police and “colectivos,” armed Chavista neighborhood militias. Two of the dead were student demonstrators and the third was a colectivo leader.</p>
<p>Maduro has responded by blaming everyone but his government for the turmoil — despite his United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) having held power for the last 15 years.</p>
<p>Over the weekend, he expelled three US diplomats, faulting them for encouraging the demonstrations.</p>
<p>The government also blocked Twitter users’ access to images of the protests shaking the country. A Colombian cable news station, NTN24, was also taken off air in Venezuela after reporting on the disturbances.</p>
<p>Social media and foreign TV news are now the only ways Venezuelans can track the turmoil in the streets across their nation after all critical local news networks have been squeezed off the air since the late Chavez first took power in 1999.</p>
<p>President Maduro, a 51-year-old former bus driver and union leader who rose to the top of the Chavez administration, has also accused Lopez of launching an attempted coup — though the latter insists that all protests should be peaceful and constitutional.</p>
<p>On his English-language Twitter feed, Maduro described Lopez as a “coward” and “fascist,” adding: “Surrender we are looking for you.”</p>
<p>But Lopez, whose home was raided along with that of his parents by security forces over the weekend, appears unintimidated.</p>
<p>In his video, released Sunday, he demanded an impartial investigation of the government’s role in the deaths last week, an end to official repression of dissent, and the disarmament of the colectivos, who speed around Caracas on motorbikes wielding guns.</p>
<p>They were first armed by Chavez in response to the 2002 attempted coup — apparently backed by the George W. Bush White House — as “el Comandante” vowed never to permit a US invasion. Critics now accuse the colectivos of being thuggish government enforcers who are routinely used to bully opposition demonstrators.</p>
<p>Lopez makes an unlikely rabble-rouser. A Harvard-educated economist, the 42-year-old is a former mayor of the wealthy Caracas district of Chacao and one of the opposition’s most telegenic and articulate figures.</p>
<p>This isn’t his first run-in with the Chavistas.</p>
<p>In 2008, government officials barred Lopez from seeking public office over alleged corruption — even though he was never convicted by a court. The region’s top human rights court ruled in 2011 that that was a breach of his rights.</p>
<p>After last week’s violence, Human Rights Watch called for a full investigation and said the probe “should not be used as a pretext for prosecuting political opponents or limiting free speech.”</p>
<p>Both the European Union and the United Nations have called for calm and for the government to respect human rights and the rule of law.</p>
<p>The State Department had not received official notification of the expulsion of its three Caracas staff members, spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement Monday.</p>
<p>“The allegations that the United States is helping to organize protesters in Venezuela is baseless and false,” she added.</p>
<p>The US government has responded to several previous expulsions of its diplomats from Venezuela by booting out staff from the South American nation’s embassy in Washington.</p>
<p>Venezuela and the US have not had ambassadors in each others’ capitals since a 2010 falling out.</p>
<p>But, according to Maduro, US officials this weekend called on him to negotiate with the opposition, free jailed protesters and drop the charges against Lopez.</p>
<p>“I replied that I don't accept threats from anyone in this world,” Maduro told Venezuelans during a Sunday night TV address.</p>
<p>But a massive turnout for Lopez’s march would ramp up the pressure on the besieged president.</p>
<p>And even small numbers might not do Maduro much good. Modest crowds could vindicate the more cautious power-seizing strategy of former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, until now the unofficial but undisputed leader of the Venezuelan opposition.</p>
<p>But the authorities’ response will also be in the spotlight. Arresting Lopez for any longer than a few hours could backfire, ramping up the domestic and international pressure on a desperate president whose political credit appears to have run out.</p>
<p>All eyes will be on Caracas on Tuesday.</p>
<p>This story originally appeared on <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/" type="external">GlobalPost</a>.</p>
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| false | 3 |
lima peru tensions venezuela look close boiling opposition leader wanted supposedly inciting antigovernment violence said would lead protest march downtown caracas tuesday several days hiding leopoldo lopez published youtube video defiantly blaming president nicolas maduro bloodletting protests last week effectively daring government arrest march ministry justice interior lopez described ministry symbol repression persecution torture lies carried government venezuelan people showing face nothing fear lopez said grainy threeminute video murder terrorism charges leveled illegal decision jail accept decision infamous persecution state opposition leaders plan sets collision course government rallying supporters launch rival march along route three people shot dead dozens injured clashes caracas last week students took streets calling maduro leftwing populist political heir late president hugo chavez quit enraged series deep national crises including widespread food shortages skyrocketing inflation one worlds worst violent crime waves governments increasingly authoritarian direction protesters confronted riot police colectivos armed chavista neighborhood militias two dead student demonstrators third colectivo leader maduro responded blaming everyone government turmoil despite united socialist party venezuela psuv held power last 15 years weekend expelled three us diplomats faulting encouraging demonstrations government also blocked twitter users access images protests shaking country colombian cable news station ntn24 also taken air venezuela reporting disturbances social media foreign tv news ways venezuelans track turmoil streets across nation critical local news networks squeezed air since late chavez first took power 1999 president maduro 51yearold former bus driver union leader rose top chavez administration also accused lopez launching attempted coup though latter insists protests peaceful constitutional englishlanguage twitter feed maduro described lopez coward fascist adding surrender looking lopez whose home raided along parents security forces weekend appears unintimidated video released sunday demanded impartial investigation governments role deaths last week end official repression dissent disarmament colectivos speed around caracas motorbikes wielding guns first armed chavez response 2002 attempted coup apparently backed george w bush white house el comandante vowed never permit us invasion critics accuse colectivos thuggish government enforcers routinely used bully opposition demonstrators lopez makes unlikely rabblerouser harvardeducated economist 42yearold former mayor wealthy caracas district chacao one oppositions telegenic articulate figures isnt first runin chavistas 2008 government officials barred lopez seeking public office alleged corruption even though never convicted court regions top human rights court ruled 2011 breach rights last weeks violence human rights watch called full investigation said probe used pretext prosecuting political opponents limiting free speech european union united nations called calm government respect human rights rule law state department received official notification expulsion three caracas staff members spokeswoman jen psaki said statement monday allegations united states helping organize protesters venezuela baseless false added us government responded several previous expulsions diplomats venezuela booting staff south american nations embassy washington venezuela us ambassadors others capitals since 2010 falling according maduro us officials weekend called negotiate opposition free jailed protesters drop charges lopez replied dont accept threats anyone world maduro told venezuelans sunday night tv address massive turnout lopezs march would ramp pressure besieged president even small numbers might maduro much good modest crowds could vindicate cautious powerseizing strategy former presidential candidate henrique capriles unofficial undisputed leader venezuelan opposition authorities response also spotlight arresting lopez longer hours could backfire ramping domestic international pressure desperate president whose political credit appears run eyes caracas tuesday story originally appeared globalpost globalpost wales ponders independence britain refugees greece sewing mouths shut 12 reasons consider moving yangon
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<p>Mike and Joan Renee Cook had a tumultuous marriage.</p>
<p>“They were never happy,” Joan’s sister Carol Huffman Byer told Dateline. “It was more of a comfort thing for both of them.”</p>
<p>The couple lived in Salem, Virginia with their young daughter, Ashlyn. But in 2007, Mike moved to Des Moines, Iowa to find a job, with plans for Joan and Ashlyn to join him once he was settled.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, though, Joan was also settling down, herself. She’d gotten a new job – and a new man. According to Carol, just three months after moving to Des Moines, Mike found out about Joan’s new relationship and moved back to Salem.</p>
<p>Carol told Dateline that’s when Mike and Joan’s rocky relationship took a turn for the worse. She says Mike started stalking Joan and her new boyfriend.</p>
<p>“Mike had done a couple of things,” Carol said. “He’d sit outside their work and wait to watch them come out. She says one weekend she saw him putting nails behind her tires.</p>
<p>“I confronted him on it and he said, ‘It was just a stupid thing I did’,” Carol said. She added, however, that, to her knowledge, her brother-in-law never made specific threats or showed violence.</p>
<p>By the end of 2009, Carol says Joan was living with her new boyfriend.</p>
<p>“Which wasn’t right – she knew our feelings on it,” Carol told Dateline. “She eventually wanted to get a divorce from Mike, but she couldn’t afford it at the time.”</p>
<p>Joan’s new boyfriend had a daughter, and had visitation with her every other weekend; on those weekends, Joan would stay with Mike and Ashlyn at the family home where they still lived.</p>
<p>On January 24, 2010, during one of those weekend stays, everything changed. Carol says it was cold that night and raining -- certainly not ideal weather for a late-night walk around the neighborhood to see a friend.</p>
<p>Carol says Mike told her that the evening Joan left had been a completely normal night.</p>
<p>The Roanoke County Police Department did not respond to Dateline’s request for comment by publication time, but they <a href="https://www.wsls.com/news/help-save-the-next-girl-remembers-joan-cook-2" type="external">told NBC affiliate WSLS</a> that Joan left her home around 11 o’clock that night. Authorities say their <a href="https://www.wsls.com/news/family-seeking-answers-on-what-happened-to-missing-joan-cook" type="external">last trace</a> of the 44-year-old was a text from her phone to the friend she was allegedly going to see the night she vanished. The text was sent around 5:00 a.m. on January 25 – just six hours after she was last seen – and simply read: “I love you.”</p>
<p>Carol found out about Joan’s disappearance when Joan’s work called a few days later and said her sister hadn’t shown up for a couple of shifts.</p>
<p>“I was not able to get in touch with her,” Carol told Dateline. “I talked to her husband and he said the last time he’d seen her was on the night of the 24th when she had set off on foot for her friend’s house.”</p>
<p>Carol said Mike told her he hadn’t reported Joan missing yet, because he figured she was still around somewhere – she had been living with her new boyfriend, so Mike wouldn’t see her every day anyway.</p>
<p>The Roanoke County Police told WSLS <a href="https://www.wsls.com/news/family-seeking-answers-on-what-happened-to-missing-joan-cook" type="external">Mike then reported</a> Joan missing, and the investigation began.</p>
<p>“The police department used cadaver dogs in the front and back yard [of their home],” Carol told Dateline. “There was no blood evidence anywhere. Just – poof! She was gone.”</p>
<p>Carol told Dateline the police ruled out Joan’s new boyfriend as a suspect, because he was out of town with his daughter that weekend.</p>
<p>Carol said Mike has told police he and his wife weren’t arguing the night Joan vanished, and in Ashlyn’s interview with authorities, the then-7-year-old told police she didn’t hear anything loud or out of the ordinary in the house that night. Carol, though, believes Mike knows more than he’s saying.</p>
<p>“I truly think something happened between the two of them,” Carol told Dateline. And as the last person to have seen Joan, “he is the only one who knows anything.”</p>
<p>Police also believe someone close to the family knows what happened. While nobody has been charged in connection with Joan’s disappearance, now retired Roanoke County Police Department Commander David McMillan told WSLS in 2015 that he was optimistic about her case being solved.</p>
<p>"With witnesses time usually helps us, because they have time to think about it -- to learn more and then make decisions to come forward," Commander McMillan told WSLS.</p>
<p>Carol said Joan’s daughter Ashlyn lived with her for a few months following Joan’s disappearance, but she and her dad Mike have since moved back to Des Moines, Iowa.</p>
<p>“[My family has] a slight relationship with Mike, only because of Ashlyn,” Carol told Dateline. “We can talk on the phone.”</p>
<p>Joan’s disappearance has caused pain for many of her family members.</p>
<p>“The ordeal caused my mother to have a mental breakdown. It’s been rough on her,” Carol said. “And our dad passed away about a year and a few months ago, so we’d like to have her home -- to put her beside him.”</p>
<p>“Our biggest desire is justice,” Carol added.</p>
<p>Joan Renee Cook is described as being 5’6” tall and weighing 120 lbs. Both of her ears are pierced and she has two known tattoos: a frog on her lower middle back and a string of flowers around one ankle. For more on Joan’s case, visit the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FindJoanReneeCook/" type="external">Find Joan Renee Cook</a> Facebook page. If you have any information on Joan Renee Cook’s disappearance, please call the Roanoke County Police Department at 540-562-3265.</p>
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mike joan renee cook tumultuous marriage never happy joans sister carol huffman byer told dateline comfort thing couple lived salem virginia young daughter ashlyn 2007 mike moved des moines iowa find job plans joan ashlyn join settled meanwhile though joan also settling shed gotten new job new man according carol three months moving des moines mike found joans new relationship moved back salem carol told dateline thats mike joans rocky relationship took turn worse says mike started stalking joan new boyfriend mike done couple things carol said hed sit outside work wait watch come says one weekend saw putting nails behind tires confronted said stupid thing carol said added however knowledge brotherinlaw never made specific threats showed violence end 2009 carol says joan living new boyfriend wasnt right knew feelings carol told dateline eventually wanted get divorce mike couldnt afford time joans new boyfriend daughter visitation every weekend weekends joan would stay mike ashlyn family home still lived january 24 2010 one weekend stays everything changed carol says cold night raining certainly ideal weather latenight walk around neighborhood see friend carol says mike told evening joan left completely normal night roanoke county police department respond datelines request comment publication time told nbc affiliate wsls joan left home around 11 oclock night authorities say last trace 44yearold text phone friend allegedly going see night vanished text sent around 500 january 25 six hours last seen simply read love carol found joans disappearance joans work called days later said sister hadnt shown couple shifts able get touch carol told dateline talked husband said last time hed seen night 24th set foot friends house carol said mike told hadnt reported joan missing yet figured still around somewhere living new boyfriend mike wouldnt see every day anyway roanoke county police told wsls mike reported joan missing investigation began police department used cadaver dogs front back yard home carol told dateline blood evidence anywhere poof gone carol told dateline police ruled joans new boyfriend suspect town daughter weekend carol said mike told police wife werent arguing night joan vanished ashlyns interview authorities then7yearold told police didnt hear anything loud ordinary house night carol though believes mike knows hes saying truly think something happened two carol told dateline last person seen joan one knows anything police also believe someone close family knows happened nobody charged connection joans disappearance retired roanoke county police department commander david mcmillan told wsls 2015 optimistic case solved witnesses time usually helps us time think learn make decisions come forward commander mcmillan told wsls carol said joans daughter ashlyn lived months following joans disappearance dad mike since moved back des moines iowa family slight relationship mike ashlyn carol told dateline talk phone joans disappearance caused pain many family members ordeal caused mother mental breakdown rough carol said dad passed away year months ago wed like home put beside biggest desire justice carol added joan renee cook described 56 tall weighing 120 lbs ears pierced two known tattoos frog lower middle back string flowers around one ankle joans case visit find joan renee cook facebook page information joan renee cooks disappearance please call roanoke county police department 5405623265
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<p>The Trump administration on Sept. 5, 2017, announced it will end a program that has allowed roughly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it will end a program that has allowed roughly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. and obtain work permits.</p>
<p>Attorney General Jeff Sessions made the announcement about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program at the Justice Department.</p>
<p>“I am here today to announce that the program known as DACA that was effectuated under the Obama administration is being rescinded,” Sessions told reporters.</p>
<p>Former President Obama in 2012 enacted DACA.</p>
<p>Sessions told reporters the Justice Department “has advised” President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security that it “should begin an orderly, lawful wind down” of DACA that includes “the cancellation of the memo that authorized this program.” He also noted Acting Homeland Secretary Elaine Duke “has chosen, appropriately, to initiate a wind down process.”</p>
<p>DACA is set to expire on March 5.</p>
<p>The Trump administration will no longer process new DACA applications. Current DACA recipients have until Oct. 5 to apply for a renewal of their status for a two-year period.</p>
<p>“To have a lawful system of immigration that serves the national interest, we cannot admit everyone who would like to come here,” said Sessions. “That is an open border policy and the American people have rightly rejected it.”</p>
<p>“Therefore, the nation must set and enforce a limit on how many immigrants we admit each year and that means all can not be accepted,” he added. “This does not mean they are bad people or that our nation disrespects or demeans them in any way. It means we are properly enforcing our laws as Congress has passed them.”</p>
<p>Trump in a statement he issued after Sessions spoke to reporters said he has “provided a window of opportunity for Congress to finally act.”</p>
<p>“As president, my highest duty is to defend the American people and the constitution of the United States of America,” said Trump. “At the same time, I do not favor punishing children, most of whom are now adults, for the actions of their parents. But we must also recognize that we are [sic.] nation of opportunity because we are a nation of laws.”</p>
<p>The Trump administration announced it will end DACA on the same day it faced what CASA, a Maryland-based immigration advocacy group, has described as an “arbitrary deadline” that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and nine other state attorneys general gave the White House to rescind the program.</p>
<p>Trump last month endorsed a bill that would, among other things, reduce the number of people who will be allowed to legally immigrate to the U.S. each year. Trump earlier this year signed executive orders banning citizens of seven-predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days, spurring the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and paving the way for cuts in federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” that protect undocumented immigrants.</p>
<p>National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling is among the hundreds of immigrant rights advocates who were gathered in front of the White House on Tuesday when Sessions announced the administration would end DACA.</p>
<p />
<p>Roughly 100 DACA supporters were standing along H Street, N.W., in front of Lafayette Park earlier in the day when Vice President Pence’s motorcade drove past. One protester directed an obscene gesture towards Pence, while another stood silently as she held a sign.</p>
<p>“Appealing to his most xenophobic base, Trump is risking the lives of 800,000 young people, including more than 75,000 LGBTQ people who deserve to live and work free of fear,” said Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute CEO Aisha Moodie-Mills in a statement. “It’s cruel and cowardly — and fits with a pattern of implementing racist, xenophobic and anti-LGBTQ policies that target core American values and move our country backward.”</p>
<p>D.C. Council member David Grosso (I-At-Large) described the administration’s decision to end DACA as “heartless.” U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in a statement said “children who were illegally brought into this country through no fault of their own should not be forced to return to a country they do not know.”</p>
<p>“Today’s decision is a giant setback for America, because all of our children should feel safe and accepted in a country that belongs to them,” added Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals has allowed close to 800,000 ambitious, patriotic young people to start careers, stay in school, and give back to our communities without fear of being torn from the people they love.”</p>
<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) last week indicated Trump should allow DACA to remain in place. The Wisconsin Republican on Tuesday nevertheless said in a statement that “ending this program fulfills a promise that President Trump made to restore the proper role of the executive and legislative branches.”</p>
<p>“But now there is more to do, and the president has called on Congress to act,” added Ryan. “The president’s announcement does not revoke permits immediately, and it is important that those affected have clarity on how this interim period will be carried out.”</p>
<p>Ryan said “young people who came to this country through no fault of their own, and for many of them it’s the only country they know.” are at the “heart of this issue.”</p>
<p>“Their status is one of many immigration issues, such as border security and interior enforcement, which Congress has failed to adequately address over the years,” he added. “It is my hope that the House and Senate, with the president’s leadership, will be able to find consensus on a permanent legislative solution that includes ensuring that those who have done nothing wrong can still contribute as a valued part of this great country.”</p>
<p>The Washington Blade will provide additional updates and reaction to this story as they become available.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">DACA</a> <a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">Equality California</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights Campaign</a> <a href="" type="internal">immigration</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a></p>
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trump administration sept 5 2017 announced end program allowed roughly 800000 young undocumented immigrants remain us washington blade photo michael key trump administration tuesday announced end program allowed roughly 800000 young undocumented immigrants remain us obtain work permits attorney general jeff sessions made announcement deferred action childhood arrivals daca program justice department today announce program known daca effectuated obama administration rescinded sessions told reporters former president obama 2012 enacted daca sessions told reporters justice department advised president trump department homeland security begin orderly lawful wind daca includes cancellation memo authorized program also noted acting homeland secretary elaine duke chosen appropriately initiate wind process daca set expire march 5 trump administration longer process new daca applications current daca recipients oct 5 apply renewal status twoyear period lawful system immigration serves national interest admit everyone would like come said sessions open border policy american people rightly rejected therefore nation must set enforce limit many immigrants admit year means accepted added mean bad people nation disrespects demeans way means properly enforcing laws congress passed trump statement issued sessions spoke reporters said provided window opportunity congress finally act president highest duty defend american people constitution united states america said trump time favor punishing children adults actions parents must also recognize sic nation opportunity nation laws trump administration announced end daca day faced casa marylandbased immigration advocacy group described arbitrary deadline texas attorney general ken paxton nine state attorneys general gave white house rescind program trump last month endorsed bill would among things reduce number people allowed legally immigrate us year trump earlier year signed executive orders banning citizens sevenpredominantly muslim countries entering us 90 days spurring construction wall along usmexico border paving way cuts federal funding socalled sanctuary cities protect undocumented immigrants national center transgender equality executive director mara keisling among hundreds immigrant rights advocates gathered front white house tuesday sessions announced administration would end daca roughly 100 daca supporters standing along h street nw front lafayette park earlier day vice president pences motorcade drove past one protester directed obscene gesture towards pence another stood silently held sign appealing xenophobic base trump risking lives 800000 young people including 75000 lgbtq people deserve live work free fear said gay lesbian victory institute ceo aisha moodiemills statement cruel cowardly fits pattern implementing racist xenophobic antilgbtq policies target core american values move country backward dc council member david grosso iatlarge described administrations decision end daca heartless us sen john mccain rariz statement said children illegally brought country fault forced return country know todays decision giant setback america children feel safe accepted country belongs added los angeles mayor eric garcetti deferred action childhood arrivals allowed close 800000 ambitious patriotic young people start careers stay school give back communities without fear torn people love house speaker paul ryan rwis last week indicated trump allow daca remain place wisconsin republican tuesday nevertheless said statement ending program fulfills promise president trump made restore proper role executive legislative branches president called congress act added ryan presidents announcement revoke permits immediately important affected clarity interim period carried ryan said young people came country fault many country know heart issue status one many immigration issues border security interior enforcement congress failed adequately address years added hope house senate presidents leadership able find consensus permanent legislative solution includes ensuring done nothing wrong still contribute valued part great country washington blade provide additional updates reaction story become available bisexual daca donald trump equality california gay human rights campaign immigration lesbian transgender
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<p>LISBON, Portugal&#160;—&#160;"Greece is leaving behind catastrophic austerity," newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told a cheering crowd in Athens on Sunday night. "It leaves behind five years of humiliation and anguish.”</p>
<p>It's easy to understand why Greek voters gave Tsipras and his Coalition of the Radical Left party, also known as SYRIZA, such an emphatic victory in Sunday's election.</p>
<p>Their country has been the epicenter of the euro zone's debt crisis since 2009. Since then, Greeks have seen their economy shrink by a quarter. Public services have crumbled, living standards plummeted, unemployment and poverty rates hit record levels.</p>
<p>Voters blame governments of the established conservative and center-left parties: first for creating the economic mess by secretly running up massive budget deficits and debt levels; then prolonging the agony through slavish adherence to austerity diktats imposed by the euro zone powers in Brussels, Frankfurt and Berlin.</p>
<p>SYRIZA campaigned on an offer of hope.</p>
<p>Tsipras — at 40, modern Greece's youngest leader — promises a break from the past by overturning austerity policies, challenging international creditors and relaunching the economy with taxes for the rich, and new investment in jobs and services.</p>
<p>SYRIZA moderated some of its demands to win over wavering centrist voters&#160;—&#160;it no longer wants to pull out of NATO and, together with over 70 percent of Greeks, the party says Greece should keep the euro.</p>
<p>GlobalPost Live Blog: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/150126/the-people-give-crushing-victory-anti-austerity-party-greece" type="external">Greek voters give crushing victory to anti-austerity party</a></p>
<p>Despite that, Tsipras' campaign promises have Greece on a collision course with its European partners — or at least with those in northern Europe, especially Germany the biggest contributor to the €240 billion ($279 billion) bailout program, which has kept Greek finances afloat over the past five years.</p>
<p>Battle lines were being drawn up even before Tsipras was sworn in as prime minister on Monday morning.</p>
<p>Two seats short of an absolute majority in Greece's 300-seat parliament, Tsipras chose as his coalition partners the christian conservative Independent Greeks (ANEL) party — whose views on issues ranging from immigration and education to gay marriage are anathema to many of SYRIZA's leftist supporters.</p>
<p>What unites the two parties&#160;—&#160;besides a strong pro-Moscow approach to foreign policy — is their stated determination to renegotiate the term's of Greece's massive public debt even at the cost of confrontation with the European Union.</p>
<p>As Tspiras was wrapping up his coalition, officials at EU headquarters and in northern capitals were insisting there will be no major reworking of the bailout terms. Greece, they say, will have to stick to its debt repayments and commitments to keep government finances tight.</p>
<p>"The Greek election result will not change Finland's positions with regard to the management of the euro-area crises," said a statement from Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb. "Finland will not accept a demand for debt cancellation."</p>
<p>The most Finland would be prepared to countenance is giving Greece few months grace to meet its targets, provided the new government sticks to all previous commitments and reforms," Stubb said.</p>
<p>If Greece is going to stay in the euro, one side will have to blink.</p>
<p>Tsipras could well be forced back away from election promises to halt interest payments, demand creditors write off a big chunk of Greece's debt, and roll back painful economic reforms.</p>
<p>Alternatively, he will have to do what leaders across cash-strapped southern Europe have failed to do over the past five years — persuade German Chancellor Angela Merkel to reverse her conviction that austerity and reforms are the best way to put the economy back on its feet.</p>
<p>That will be difficult.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/150119/greek-elections-syriza-alexis-tsipras" type="external">You really should be paying attention to Greece right now</a></p>
<p>Merkel refused to give in to repeated appeals to cut Greece some slack when they came from a political ally — defeated conservative Prime Minister Antonis Samaras.</p>
<p>If she buckles under demands from SYRIZA, disgruntled citizens elsewhere will be encouraged to follow the Greeks in turning away from the political center.</p>
<p>Spain's new We Can (Podemos) party is already topping polls there on a SYRIZA-inspired program ahead of elections due there before December.</p>
<p>In Italy, Portugal, France and other struggling euro zone economies, populist anti-austerity parties of the left and right might also be boosted if SYRIZA is seen to win Greece advantages that the mainstream couldn't.</p>
<p>If neither Athens or Berlin backs down, Greece could be facing both a default on its debt and ejection from the euro zone.</p>
<p>That's a scenario Tsipras and Merkel say they want to avoid. A Grexit would risk throwing Greece and other euro zone countries into renewed crisis, triggering fears the whole bloc could unravel with uncertain repercussions for the world economy.</p>
<p>Despite the entrenched positions, some economists see a chance of squaring the circle.</p>
<p>"Lack of an agreement may lead to Grexit, which would be so bad for all that both the new Greek leadership and euro-area partners have very strong incentives to avoid it," writes Zsolt Darvas, senior fellow at the Bruegel economic think tank in Brussels.</p>
<p>"The Grexit threat will be hanging over the negotiators like the sword of Damocles."</p>
<p>Darvas says a mutually beneficial deal could be worked out that gives Greece more time to repay its debt and at lower interest rates, while a relaxation of EU deficit rules could give the new government in Athens some fiscal leeway to reduce social pain and support investment.</p>
<p>Officials attending a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday suggested there could be some wriggle room. "We have common goals, ensuring Greece as a nation can stand on its own two feet, clean up its finances and become a jobs generator again," EU Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.</p>
<p>Despite the bluster against the bailout conditions, Tsipras has limited short-term maneuver room and needs to persuade creditors to maintain backing to Athens.</p>
<p>The country's coffers remain close to empty and without the EU and International Monetary Fund freeing up more money fast, the government may run out of funds within the next three months.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, it's not just the economy that has Greece's partners spooked.</p>
<p>Parties in the new government share a strong pro-Russian tendency that could make it more difficult for NATO and the EU to adopt a tougher line in response to Moscow's renewed military action in Ukraine.</p>
<p>Tsipras has echoed Russia's portrayal of the Ukrainian government as "fascists." His new coalition partner — Panos Kammenos, leader of nationalist ANEL party — last week said the EU should drop all sanctions against Russia. &#160;</p>
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lisbon portugal160160greece leaving behind catastrophic austerity newly elected prime minister alexis tsipras told cheering crowd athens sunday night leaves behind five years humiliation anguish easy understand greek voters gave tsipras coalition radical left party also known syriza emphatic victory sundays election country epicenter euro zones debt crisis since 2009 since greeks seen economy shrink quarter public services crumbled living standards plummeted unemployment poverty rates hit record levels voters blame governments established conservative centerleft parties first creating economic mess secretly running massive budget deficits debt levels prolonging agony slavish adherence austerity diktats imposed euro zone powers brussels frankfurt berlin syriza campaigned offer hope tsipras 40 modern greeces youngest leader promises break past overturning austerity policies challenging international creditors relaunching economy taxes rich new investment jobs services syriza moderated demands win wavering centrist voters160160it longer wants pull nato together 70 percent greeks party says greece keep euro globalpost live blog greek voters give crushing victory antiausterity party despite tsipras campaign promises greece collision course european partners least northern europe especially germany biggest contributor 240 billion 279 billion bailout program kept greek finances afloat past five years battle lines drawn even tsipras sworn prime minister monday morning two seats short absolute majority greeces 300seat parliament tsipras chose coalition partners christian conservative independent greeks anel party whose views issues ranging immigration education gay marriage anathema many syrizas leftist supporters unites two parties160160besides strong promoscow approach foreign policy stated determination renegotiate terms greeces massive public debt even cost confrontation european union tspiras wrapping coalition officials eu headquarters northern capitals insisting major reworking bailout terms greece say stick debt repayments commitments keep government finances tight greek election result change finlands positions regard management euroarea crises said statement finnish prime minister alexander stubb finland accept demand debt cancellation finland would prepared countenance giving greece months grace meet targets provided new government sticks previous commitments reforms stubb said greece going stay euro one side blink tsipras could well forced back away election promises halt interest payments demand creditors write big chunk greeces debt roll back painful economic reforms alternatively leaders across cashstrapped southern europe failed past five years persuade german chancellor angela merkel reverse conviction austerity reforms best way put economy back feet difficult globalpost really paying attention greece right merkel refused give repeated appeals cut greece slack came political ally defeated conservative prime minister antonis samaras buckles demands syriza disgruntled citizens elsewhere encouraged follow greeks turning away political center spains new podemos party already topping polls syrizainspired program ahead elections due december italy portugal france struggling euro zone economies populist antiausterity parties left right might also boosted syriza seen win greece advantages mainstream couldnt neither athens berlin backs greece could facing default debt ejection euro zone thats scenario tsipras merkel say want avoid grexit would risk throwing greece euro zone countries renewed crisis triggering fears whole bloc could unravel uncertain repercussions world economy despite entrenched positions economists see chance squaring circle lack agreement may lead grexit would bad new greek leadership euroarea partners strong incentives avoid writes zsolt darvas senior fellow bruegel economic think tank brussels grexit threat hanging negotiators like sword damocles darvas says mutually beneficial deal could worked gives greece time repay debt lower interest rates relaxation eu deficit rules could give new government athens fiscal leeway reduce social pain support investment officials attending meeting euro zone finance ministers brussels monday suggested could wriggle room common goals ensuring greece nation stand two feet clean finances become jobs generator eu economic commissioner pierre moscovici despite bluster bailout conditions tsipras limited shortterm maneuver room needs persuade creditors maintain backing athens countrys coffers remain close empty without eu international monetary fund freeing money fast government may run funds within next three months meanwhile economy greeces partners spooked parties new government share strong prorussian tendency could make difficult nato eu adopt tougher line response moscows renewed military action ukraine tsipras echoed russias portrayal ukrainian government fascists new coalition partner panos kammenos leader nationalist anel party last week said eu drop sanctions russia 160
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<p>“MEET THE PRESS WITH DAVID GREGORY”</p>
<p>March 23, 2014</p>
<p>MEET THE PRESS -- SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 2014</p>
<p>NBC News - Meet The Press</p>
<p>3.23.14</p>
<p>Interview With Bill Neely, Michael Chertoff, Bob Hager, Mike Rogers, David Brooks, Andrea Mitchell, Mayor Michael Nutter, Rich Lowry, Secretary Arne Duncan, Mark Emmert, Reggie Love, and President Jimmy Carter</p>
<p>Correspondent: David Gregory</p>
<p>Producer: Rob Yarin</p>
<p>Media ID: LIVE SHOW</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Good Sunday morning. We are tracking two fast-moving stories. It’s been more than two weeks since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished. The search has expanded and are there new clues pointing towards the plane’s whereabouts this morning? Are we any closer to figuring out what happened and why? I’ve got a conversation with experts about this this morning and about the security questions that linger. Also, the crisis in Ukraine. I’ll speak to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers and ask why he’s so worried about what Vladimir Putin might do next.</p>
<p>As millions are captivated by March Madness, there’s a big debate this morning about whether student-athletes should be paid to play? The president of the NCAA will be here exclusively, along with President Obama’s education secretary and a prominent former Duke basketball player, as we take on the issue. Plus, a key newsmaker this morning: An exclusive interview with former President Jimmy Carter. He also tangled with the Soviet Union. He’ll tell us why he thinks President Obama has not asked for his advice.</p>
<p>ANNOUNCER:</p>
<p>From NBC News in Washington, the world’s longest-running television program. This is Meet the Press with David Gregory.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>First this morning we're going to get the very latest on the search for the missing Malaysia airlines plane 370. I'm joined by NBC's Bill Neely, who is still in Perth, Australia, the base for this search mission. Bill, good morning to you.</p>
<p>BILL NEELY:</p>
<p>Good morning, David. A fourth day of searching has ended here. A fleet of planes from the U.S., from Australia, and New Zealand, four military, four civilian. The focus of their search is really twofold. First of all, big debris, and the breaking news is that a French satellite has picked up images of objects in the southern search area.</p>
<p>Now it's still not clear what those objects are, but it is the second day that we've had a new satellite image. And that's three satellite images overall. But the crews are also looking for something very small. Specifically, a wooden cargo pallet, and some straps or belts, multicolored. Those two things seen by a civilian aircraft.</p>
<p>Now the problem is, that for these crews flying at 200 miles an hour just a few hundred feet above the water, trying to find a wooden cargo pallet in choppy seas is pretty difficult. And secondly, a wooden pallet could just as easily have come from a passing ship as from a crashing plane. But the crews here, their morale is good, they're optimistic, but you know the problem is that the mystery of this missing plane remains even as all those crews, all this high-tech machinery is focused on trying to find it. Thanks.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Bill Neely for us in Perth, Australia. Bill, thanks so much. I'm joined now by Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of Homeland Security. Also by Bob Hager, a long-time aviation correspondent for NBC. Great to have both of you. Bob, let's pick up on what Bill is saying. The fact that there's debris that's scattered around, if you put it together, do you think that's significant?</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>Well yes. I mean, they're starting to get a lot of satellite photos of this, and I wonder if they're all seeing the same pieces of debris. But you've got to hope that it's from this plane.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Right, of course. And perhaps it is, perhaps it's not. But if that is, we have the current story about, you've got bad weather and wind, and it's all about finding the black box, which is actually not black. But you've got an example of one.</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>Yeah, here's the box.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>So yeah, so these pieces, they wouldn't tell you anything about the crash if they find them. But if you can trace them back through the currents, this would be the prize, getting these two black boxes. Here's what one looks like. This is a flight data recorder. Here's the important thing right there. That's the pinger. Sends out this underwater ping for a month, month and a half after the crash. If they don't, and then you can zero in, if you hear the pinger in the water.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>That's the thing though, is getting near enough to it. And this is a huge search area right now. How close do you have to be?</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>Oh, you have to be about five, six miles, maybe even ten at the outside. So you've got to have a pretty good idea of where it is. And if they don't have a pinger, boy, then I'm--</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>It could be lost forever. It's a race against time as well.</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>I know.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>How much time have they got?</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>Well, on the pinger I'd say maybe another month before it runs out. And then they found objects in the water a couple of miles down years later. But they always had a better idea where to look. In this case, if we don't hear the pinger, I'm wondering if they'll ever find any of it.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Mike Chertoff, look, this is just the primal fear that anybody has, that you're on an airplane that goes down or just vanishes. And it may sound like kind of a naïve question, but in this age when we can find our iPhone with G.P.S. and all the rest, how do we lose sight of an aircraft?</p>
<p>MICHAEL CHERTOFF:</p>
<p>Well, I think one of the questions is whether the Malaysians were completely forthcoming at the very beginning about what they saw in terms of radar and, well, whether they held back information. So part of the problem is I think there was a scarcity of information at the beginning. And there may have been some misinformation, perhaps inadvertent. And that's made it a little more difficult.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>So what do you worry about now? There's a scenario that took place that we're trying to piece together. And after 9/11, when we thought so much about aviation security, are there new things that we need to learn from here?</p>
<p>MICHAEL CHERTOFF:</p>
<p>I think there are. Obviously one of the theories, but it's not proven yet, is that one or more of the pilots may have been involved in this. And of course, much of our screening has been focused on passengers. But now increasingly we face the question of what we call "inside threats."</p>
<p>What do you do when people who are working in an organization or an enterprise become a problem? It could be pilots, it could be members of a crew, we've seen a variation of that with Snowden. So I think the issue of screening and understanding when people are going off the rails inside the enterprise is going to become more of an issue.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>As we look to this week upcoming, Bob, in the search, in the investigation, what are the key milestones here you want to look for this week?</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>Well, you want to find wreckage. That's the big thing. And you really want to hear more about this investigation or the private lives of the cockpit crew. But if there's neither of those things that reveal anything, you've got a case where we may never know.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>The current, the issue that oceanographers will look at, how formidable is that? If you're finding some wreckage even now, the way this thing could be moving, how big of a piece is it?</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>They've got very elaborate schemes on the computer where they can trace back the currents of the ocean. Even the best of them though, in Air France, that was five years ago off Brazil, when the computer calculated it, they were about 40 miles off, or something like that. So computer calculations only gets you so far. That's a really tough task to figure out where the main body of wreckage is.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But you've been doing this for decades. We may never know?</p>
<p>BOB HAGER:</p>
<p>That's my concern here. Maybe already know enough to learn some lessons from what we know about not being able to trace things better, and so forth. But we may never know what happened on this deal.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Uh-huh (AFFIRM). What do you look for this week on the investigation piece of it?</p>
<p>MICHAEL CHERTOFF:</p>
<p>Well, I think one of the key issues will be what do they find in the background of the pilots. Now I don't want to accuse them of anything, but clearly, if there were something there.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Linking out his flight demo machine at home, does that--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>MICHAEL CHERTOFF:</p>
<p>Again, you can speculate, there can be a motive for it that's a benign motive or there can be a more sinister motive. So I think that's going to be a key issue this week.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>All right, Mike Chertoff, Bob Hager, thank you both for your perspective very much as this mystery deepens and continues as the search effort does. We'll keep tabs on it. I want to turn now to the latest on the crisis in Ukraine. Russia is in control of Crimea. And tonight, President Obama will depart from Europe to try and solidify support against Vladimir Putin. I spoke earlier to Mike Rogers, Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He was in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Chairman Rogers, welcome back to the program. I want to get to the crisis in Ukraine, you've been there, in just a minute. But let me start with Flight 370. You said last week that based on the people you're talking to in our intelligence community, you think unfortunately this plane is at the bottom of the ocean. Is that your view this morning?</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>I think that's the highest probability, David. You can't take anything quite off the list yet. But when you look at what is probable and what is plausible, it certainly rates as the probable. So what they'll continue to do is try to identify every background on every passenger to make sure they're not missing something. And then they won't be really able to put this whole case together until they find the aircraft. And I do believe based on everything that I've seen so far, it is likely and probable that it crashed into the Indian Ocean.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>As you have been in Ukraine and are thinking about Vladimir Putin and Russia, the mission of U.S. intelligence is to think about what happens next. So what is President Putin going to do next?</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>Well, that's the big mystery. But I will tell you that the Ukrainians passionately believe that he will be on the move again in Ukraine, especially in the East. And we have to think of it, I think we're a bit removed from this, David. I talked to an individual who was kidnapped by the Russians, he believes. His ear was cut off, he had nails put in his hand in a crucifix type of position in order to get a confession from him that the Americans were behind the upheaval in Ukraine.</p>
<p>And this is who we're dealing with. So they took over Crimea, you see that they've taken over another base yet today. And it certainly appears by everything that Ukrainian intelligence officials believe, certainly U.S. intelligence officials believe that Putin is not done in Ukraine. And so it is very troubling.</p>
<p>He's put all military units he would need to move into Ukraine on its Eastern border. And is doing exercises. We see him moving forces in the South in a position where they could take the southern region over to Moldova in the Ukraine. And we see that he's actually working what they call "soft power." So he's got intelligence officials spread out all over the country causing problems in Ukraine.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Do you think President Obama has done enough to stop him?</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>I think Americans are so far removed from this. We need to re-engage in what is actually happening. You have individuals who are for independence and their own personal liberty, fighting against a country that wants to take them over. And one of the reasons they took to the streets in the beginning was corruption, oppressive corruption.</p>
<p>I do think that we have to, as Americans, have to take a tough stand with our European partners. There are things that we can do that I think we're not doing. I don't think the rhetoric matches the reality on the ground. You can do noncombatant-military aid in a way that allows them to defend themselves. And that's all they want. No direct military action. They don't want U.S. boots on the ground, neither do I. I don't think you do either, nor does any other American.</p>
<p>But what we can do is offer them things that they can use to really protect and defend themselves. And I think that sends a very clear message. We're not talking about even complicated weapon systems. We're talking about small arms so they can protect themselves. Maybe medical supplies, radio equipment, things that they can use to protect themselves, defensive-posture weapon systems.</p>
<p>And you do that in conjunction with sanctions, now you've got something that says, "Mr. Putin, we're done with you expanding into other countries." He goes to bed at night thinking of Peter the Great and he wakes up thinking of Stalin. We need to understand who he is and what he wants. It may not fit with what we believe of the 21st century.</p>
<p>But that's not who he is and that's not what he's trying to accomplish. We need to be a little bit tougher with Putin or he is going to continue to take territory to fulfill what he believes is rightfully Russia. He gave a very inflammatory speech last Tuesday that concerned certainly the people of the Ukraine, all across this region of the world, the European Union, and it should concern the United States as well.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Is a red line for the United States in your judgment, our NATO allies, particularly the Baltics, if Russia should cross that line?</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>Well, I think we need to act before that. I think it's too late. If he crosses into the Baltics with military units, that is more than troubling. That means that the country of Georgia is likely to have been more further invaded than it already is. It means that he's taken land in the Ukraine, the southern and eastern portions of Ukraine before I think he would do the Baltics.</p>
<p>So if it gets to the Baltics, we have allowed people who want to be free, who want to be independent, who want to have self-determination, and we've turned our back and walked away from them. The world did that once, and it was a major catastrophe.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>I want to touch on a couple of other areas quickly. On the issue of the N.S.A. surveillance and Edward Snowden, when you were last on this program, Chairman, you were very pointed, suggesting that he may have had help from the Russians, that Edward Snowden may have been a Russian spy, may be a Russian spy. He's called that absurd. No new details have come to light on this. Were you irresponsible in making such a charge without having specific evidence to back it up? To just sort of float that out there?</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>Well, first of all, I see all the intelligence and all the evidence from everything from his activities leading up to this event to very suspicious activity during the event. And so when you talk to the folks who are doing the investigation, they cannot rule it out.</p>
<p>So here's what we know, David. We know today no counterintelligence official in the United States does not believe that Mr. Snowden, the N.S.A. contractor, is not under the influence of Russian intelligence services. We believe he is. I certainly believe he is today. So now we all agree that he's under the influence of Russian intelligence services today.</p>
<p>For the investigators, they need to figure out well, when did that influence start. And was he interested in cooperating earlier than the timeline would suggest. So you're talking to a guy who stole information, who is now in the arms of intelligence services saying, "Well, gosh, whatever you guys say is absurd. Only I can define the truth." That's ridiculous on its face.</p>
<p>I do believe there's more to this story. He is under the influence of Russian intelligence officials today. He is actually supporting in an odd way this very activity of brazen brutality and expansionism of Russia. He needs to understand that. And I think Americans need to understand that. We need to put it in proper context.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But what is the evidence that he is under that influence? As he has pointed out, why go to Hong Kong? When he originally got to Russia, he was stranded in the airport. That's no way to treat a spy, he has pointed out. So you're arguing a lot, but where's the evidence to suggest that he's actually under the influence of a foreign intelligence agency?</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>Well, again, today, we believe he's under the influence and every counterintelligence official believes that. You won't find one that doesn't believe today he's under the influence of Russian intelligence services. That we can all agree on. It's when did that start that there is-- I think there is really good evidence. In this case, as the more we look into this, I think the more you're going to find that that date gets further and further away from his story. Matter of fact, I don't believe the story he tells about both the airport or his activities in Hong Kong are accurate.</p>
<p>It just gets more complicated and as I said he’s clearly in Moscow, under the influence of intelligence services for a country that is expanding its borders today using military force. I think there’s a lot more questions that need to be answered here.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>We're going to leave it there. Chairman Rogers, thank you as always.</p>
<p>MIKE ROGERS:</p>
<p>Thank you David, thanks for having me.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Our roundtable is here now. David Brooks of The New York Times, NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Mayor of Philadelphia Michael Nutter is here as well, and Rich Lowry, editor of the National Review, welcome to all of you. A lot to chew on this morning. But I want to start with this crisis in the Ukraine. And here's my question: What does it take for the U.S. to regain the upper hand in this fight with Vladimir Putin, David Brooks?</p>
<p>DAVID BROOKS:</p>
<p>Fear. I think President Obama has been quite good, quite aggressive. He's been out front with the sanctions. The sanctions are beginning to hurt. But there are two things the sanctions are never going to do. One is overcome the Russian mentality.</p>
<p>They're thinking, "We handled Stalingrad. We had people starving in the streets and we still won. So we can endure a little economic suffering." Second, the psychology of fear. Who do you fear? I think the president has been very aggressive, predictable, especially given our alliances. But does Vladimir Putin fear Barack Obama?</p>
<p>And to create that climate of fear, you have to do something really aggressive. Something that will get Putin back on his heels. And frankly, I think if this thing continues to escalate, I can give you an idea of arming Ukraine, giving them some actual weapons to have a good, deterrent effect, is someplace to get ahead.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But here's the thing. Nobody wants a shooting war in Ukraine. If you're this administration, you don't want that. Why? Prospect of civil war, prospect of giving a cause célèbre to the Russian leader. What you want, the message, is to have a strong, prosperous Ukraine. That's the real tough message to Vladimir Putin, isn't it?</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>It is. And a couple of things, our Congress has still not voted even on the basic Ukrainian economic package because of a dispute over the I.M.F. unrelated. That sends a terrible signal. I think the latest sanctions are beginning to hurt around that inner-circle. But the weak leak here is Angela Merkel, the Germans, and the rest of the Europeans, who are reluctant to take tough steps.</p>
<p>They've been remarkably weak. So this coming week when the president sits down with Europeans, how tough are they really willing to be? And the Russian armies will just use any pretext to roll tanks over Ukraine. I was watching them with broomsticks in Crimea and watching them digging trenches in Eastern Ukraine makes one think of World War One.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>It's interesting too to hear Chairman Rogers, and his fear, a very real fear that the intelligence committees have and community has and others that in fact, Vladimir Putin won't stop in Crimea. Here's the cover of The Economist magazine with the new world order that would only be complete with a shirtless photo of Vladimir Putin on top of a tank.</p>
<p>But the new world order, which seems a lot like the old world order, like the 19th century world order, where geography matters a great deal to keep some kind of ethnic and territorial upper hand over others.</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>Yeah, well, and Angela Merkel said that famous remark that she talked to Putin and he was living in a different world, that's literally true. We all thought we were living in a post-Cold War world where everyone accepted basic, international norms. He's living in a world where he can take territory through lies and force of arms.</p>
<p>And he is calibrating his next move right now based on what the West does. And he is assuming that the sanctions will be fairly anemic, which they have been so far. And eventually, it'll all be forgotten, and he'll get another reset. And we have to make it clear we're never going to accept the legitimacy of this. We have to do everything we can to buttress that new government in Ukraine, including arms, and you have to have sanctions that really inflict severe pain.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Michael though, you're looking at this, no doubt, from the point of view of the President's domestic agenda. Going to the issues that you're dealing with as a mayor every day. You look at a foreign policy crisis taking more and more time and effort away. Do you worry about it impacting President Obama's leadership in other areas?</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>Well, President Obama can do many more things than one thing at a time. And so he has an entire team. I think that the sanctions are starting to work, as Andrea said. You see what the U.N. Security Council did in terms of the resolution. So the world is starting to come together around this particular issue. China was with us.</p>
<p>Russia is increasingly going to be isolated in this situation. And so the president also, looking at the domestic agenda, and listening to Americans, most Americans are really tired of war, don't necessarily want to be in this kind of conflict. So there is a balancing act here in this country in dealing with world leaders.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But this is what Putin is counting on. And by the way, he made the same calculation in 2008 about President Bush. But it's interesting. Think about the world when Saddam Hussein took over Kuwait. And that President Bush said, "This will not stand." The international world order was a very different thing. What does it take for the U.S. to singularly use its influence today as opposed to in earlier years?</p>
<p>DAVID BROOKS:</p>
<p>Well, people might say, "Why do we care? It's far away, it's a country, we don't know much about it." But Rich alludes to the real problem here, which is we had a post-Cold War era, which has not been great, but it's been a lot better than the 19th century. And there have been some undergirding facts of that era.</p>
<p>The first is, you don't have spheres of influence. Russia can't say, "We sort of control everything. We control everywhere where our people are." The second is that you don't go invading other countries, breaking down the laws. It's complicated, but you basically have some stability. And within that stability, you can have global trade, you can have free movement of people.</p>
<p>And Putin is this radioactive individual who wants to create history, large ego, large Russian nationalism, which is whipped up all around him. He is a fundamental threat to this order. And so that's why it matters. It matters to the economy, it matters to the way the world conducts itself for a couple years.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>And I think as the president embarks on this trip to see leaders in Europe, in the Middle East. We are not by ourselves. And we can't as if we're by ourselves. We may be the biggest thing on the planet--</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But they're counting on--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>But there does, again, there needs to be a coalition of nations that say, "We will not tolerate this kind of activity. Where does it end? It does have an international impact and it has impact here domestically as well." We have to get things done in the United States at the same time.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>At the same time though, what we see with Putin, and David, you just alluded to it, is that he is now whipping up this nationalism, which is very appealing to large parts of teeny sections of Moldova, which are now saying, "We want to be Russian too." And so he could use the pretext of self-determination with these groups in Eastern Ukraine and elsewhere saying, "We want to be Russian." And then what do we do? What does NATO do? Does it do a so-called "chapter five" and take military action?</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>There is another big issue here domestically. We are now four years on to ObamaCare being passed. It was four years ago today, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. We know this is a big political issue, Rich. The issue is, are Americans better off or worse off with ObamaCare in their life?</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>What we know, the law is not going to collapse on its own weight, which seemed a real possibility when the launch was so botched. But I think it's still pretty grim. If you believe the surveys of people who've signed up through the exchanges, most of them already had insurance, which suggest what you've basically done is a churn where you've knocked people off their old insurance, and then gotten them on the exchanges. So there's not much upside to that. At the same time, you've caused enormous disruption for millions of people. So I think this thing continues to be a substantive and a political--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Mayor, are you proud of this law?</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>I'm very proud of it and Rich, I wish you'd been with me yesterday. This is kind of a Philly-centric panel, but at Twelfth and Market yesterday, out with the folks from Get Covered and Enroll America, I walked up to people and asked them, "Do you have insurance?" The answer was no in many, many, many cases. And these are individuals who are now getting affordable health insurance. I've been to a number of these forms, $7, $18, $25 a month. Five million people have now signed up. So people want health care. I think the--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>That is shy of what they said the goal was.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>I understand that--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>You get as many people as you can, the deadline is the 31st. And folks should still continue to sign up. So if you didn't have health insurance, it's a great experience--</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>That's a wonderful anecdotal.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>No, it's not anecdotal, it's real.</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>It is. It's anecdotal.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>And that was yesterday afternoon.</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>But are you aware of the surveys by consultancies and others that have actually asked people on the exchanges whether--</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>No, I'm aware of talking to real people on real streets in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>I know. So it's anecdotal. The surveys suggest that a lot of these people already had insurance. And the fact is there are now Republican alternatives that will probably cover more people than ObamaCare at a fraction of the cost, a fraction of the disruption, a fraction of the--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>If the Republicans had spent more time not trying to undermine ObamaCare in 50-some odd votes and actually--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID BROOKS:</p>
<p>Let me, David--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID BROOKS:</p>
<p>--brotherly love here. We could have cheese steaks, at least three of us.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>You guys already have matching ties on.</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID BROOKS:</p>
<p>I sort of normally agree with both a little. I do think, as Rich said, it's achieved credibility. People are getting coverage. There's really no indication to me that the cost controls, such as they were, are going to have any bite at all. I do not think there'll ever be a mandate, an individual mandate. I do not think they're going to get enough young people to pay for the old people. So I think we're going to get is a program that will insure a lot of people, which is a positive good. But it will cost a lot more.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Can I ask Andrea, can I ask this political question? What are the implications of the president deciding unilaterally how and when to implement aspects of ObamaCare? If a Republican president were being this selective about the law, there'd be an outcry on the part of those who were supporters of ObamaCare.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Yeah, I think that is one thing that really undermines his case against the Republicans in Congress. Stop messing around with the law. What he has said from the beginning is, "Fix the problems." And they did these endless, useless votes to try to eliminate the law, which they knew they weren't going to win. That was all symbolic.</p>
<p>But for him to now be unilaterally saying, "Well, we're not going to implement this and we're not going to implement that," I think it does undermine his case. He issued a statement today saying, "This is the fourth anniversary and costs have come down." Some of those costs would've come down in any case because of the continuing slow recovery to the fed.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>So here's my question to you, a political question. The convention of wisdom is, if you're a Republican, this is a slam dunk, just to foreshadow my coming debate about college sports. This is a slam dunk for you in the midterms. So what's the other side of that? Where should Republicans be cautious about the argument about ObamaCare in the fall?</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>Well, I do think it's a slam dunk because it motivates the Republican base at the same time it has appeal to the center. And any time you have an issue like that, that's a winner. I do think there's a danger and a monomaniacal focus on ObamaCare to the exclusion of everything else. The Republicans don't have to have an agenda on everything else. I think they should be making the case comprehensively against the president's agenda, and come up with positive alternatives the way they have on ObamaCare.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But ObamaCare is here to stay. I mean, as a conservative commentator, is that your view looking at this?</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>No.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>You don't believe that?</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>No, I think the law had a legitimacy problem since the beginning. And if you get unified control, Republican control of government in 2017, which is possible, this thing will be repealed.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Mayor, your thinking?</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>That'll be very interesting as obviously we have a slight difference of opinion.</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>Just a slight. Just a little one. But David can work it out, don't worry. He's the mediator here.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>He's the mediator. But again, all the time, and as again Andrea mentioned, the wasted effort on all of these votes, when there are still people who are hungry in this country, there are still people who need jobs, and workforce development training, all of these votes against the supplemental food program, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. The party of "no" needs to step up to the plate and actually have some real ideas that deal with real people every day, all across the United States of America.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>But--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>There are ObamaCare alternatives in the Senate right now.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>Well, that's all they want to talk about. There are other things that--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>No, there are other alternatives.</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID BROOKS:</p>
<p>--on poverty on all this.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>Yeah.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>The flaw for Republicans and Democrats though as they look toward the midterms is that it was a Republican base, such as it was that came out in the Florida congressional district, and not the Democrat base. And that, there is no motivating force yet for Democrats to come out and vote in the midterm. But Republicans, the passionate are.</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>I'm going to make that the last word. Thank you all very much for the matching ties. You're off to the Vatican, Mayor.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>I am.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Safe travels. That'll be an interesting trip.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>We look forward to hearing about it. Thank you all very much.</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>Absolutely. I'd be glad to share.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>We'll take a break here, coming up, a special debate this morning over an issue that involves fairness and the multibillion-dollar business of college sports. Is it time for college athletes to be paid? A special debate coming up after the break.</p>
<p>***Commercial Break***</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Coming up, pay for play. The president of the N.C.A.A. and two former college athletes who have made careers in Washington, former player Reggie Love and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, on whether it's time to pay college athletes.</p>
<p>***Commercial Break***</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Welcome back. March Madness is here. And as much excitement that's created by this college basketball tournament, there is a big debate roiling college sports now. Should athletes be paid? A new poll out this morning suggests 64% of the public opposes paying players with only 33% in favor.</p>
<p>But there is some momentum behind a string of lawsuits against the N.C.A.A. pushing for greater commercial rights for the athletes. And here to debate the issue are Reggie Love, who played football and basketball for Duke on the championship team back in 2001, before becoming a personal aide to President Obama.</p>
<p>Mark Emmert is of course the president of the N.C.A.A. And we're very pleased to have you on a big day for March Madness here in our studio. And of course, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who himself played basketball for Harvard. And much to the delight of my son was this year's M.V.P. in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game.</p>
<p>So Arne, you made big news at home. Welcome to all of you. This is a controversial issue. It gets to be a heated issue. And I want to frame it this way. This is a comment from Jeffrey Kessler who is a lawyer representing some of the athletes.</p>
<p>And he laid out the issue this way: "The one thing people should recognize is how fundamentally unfair it is to look at a team in the N.C.A.A. tournament, where the coach is making $5 million, the school is generating hundreds of millions, sponsors are cashing in, administrators are cashing in.</p>
<p>"And the only group that is not receiving any benefit are these athletes, most of who," there was a typo there, not on our part, on their part, "most of who will not graduate and most of who will never be a professional athlete. This is their one opportunity to be recognized and compensated." So President Emmert, why isn't this unfair, not to compensate these athletes who are creating so much value?</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>Well, I think Mr. Kessler and a variety of other people have framed this question completely wrong. Basically what is being argued here is should student athletes, whether they're basketball players or any other sport, be unionized employees of a university, or is this fundamentally about students playing the game and receiving the most important thing that's going to set them up for the rest of their life, a good, sound, education and the opportunity to get that education. Obviously, universities and colleges believe that these are student athletes, that these are young men and women who should continue to be students and not be unionized employees. Those are two very different levels.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:-</p>
<p>So let me get Reggie Love, who has a different view. Because the argument here is that Mark is underlining the student part of student athlete. Isn't there some myth associated with that? That this is an amateur athletic experience?</p>
<p>REGGIE LOVE:</p>
<p>Well, look, I think when you look at the coaches' salaries and you look at the money that universities are able to bring in from alumni, obviously college sports is a business. And that being said, I think it's hard to say that every player should be paid for their participation in a specific dollar amount, but I do think that student athletes are a key partner in the ecosystem. And there should be the opportunity to build long-term value. It shouldn't just be about athletic development, but it should be about athletic, professional, and personal development. These kids are 18, 19 years old.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>They're not partners now, Mark, is the issue. They're actually not partners. They create so much of the revenue, but they're not actually partners in this business. And suggest it's not a business when you're making almost a billion dollars in TV revenue, most of which comes from March Madness, strikes a lot of people as disingenuous.</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>Yeah, a lot of confusion about where that money goes, what that money is all about. Absolutely March Madness generates a lot of revenue. That revenue is used to support all of the other tournaments, divisions one, two, and three. If a young man or a young woman's playing golf, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, all of those tournaments, everything that goes on in college sport is supported by the revenue that comes out of March Madness.</p>
<p>So the vast majority of the revenue flows into the N.C.A.A., goes right out to the universities either directly or indirectly through the support of these championships. The money's not going to colleges and they're sitting on it. It's supporting 450,000 kids. It's a big, big amount of money.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Arne Duncan, you're a former player, you're the Secretary of Education. You have a more nuanced view about all of this.</p>
<p>SECRETARY ARNE DUNCAN:</p>
<p>Well, these are really complex and I think important issues. And David, this one frankly is very personal for me. I grew up playing in the inner-city on the South Side of Chicago. Many guys I played with and looked up to went to universities, made a lot of money for the universities, never got their degree, came back home with nothing to show for it.</p>
<p>And there was something fundamentally unfair about that. For me the real key, David, is that we have to change these incentive structures. So graduation rates are the most important thing. And to Mark and N.C.A.A.'s credit, they've raised the bar. The University of Connecticut, who won the national championship a couple years ago couldn't compete in the tournament the following year because their graduation rate was so low.</p>
<p>And now they've made some significant changes. New president, new A.D., new coach, guess what? Students are doing better. If you want to help the young people long term, the most important thing you can do is help them get that degree. And over their lifetime, their increased earnings, a million dollars more than that.</p>
<p>And so these incentive structures for coaches, the incentive structures for A.D.'s have to be changed so much more of their compensation is based not upon wins and losses, but around academic performance and graduation. And university presidents and boards have been very complacent and soft in this issue. You have to really look at the leadership of universities here.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>One of the aspects of the unfairness piece of this, Reggie, was captured in a tweet that we found. A sports columnist for the L.A. Times, Bill Plaschke, he tweeted this over the weekend. Quote, "There are no planned meals for the teams on the off days. Should a team wish to have a meal at his own cost, it can make arrangements."</p>
<p>The follow-up tweet was this: "My previous tweet was copied from an N.C.A.A. memo found at the San Diego tourney site. They can't even feed the kids that are making them billions?" There is not even a stipend that has been agreed to to be able to support kids who even beyond the scholarship, can't pay for some of their basic necessities like food when they're creating so much value.</p>
<p>REGGIE LOVE:</p>
<p>Yeah. I think, look, you get a range of student athletes who come into a university. You've got kids who come from great families and have tons of resources. And you have kids who come from not much and don't have the ability to buy a suit or to buy a laptop or to participate in a lot of the fundamental things that are required to be a student athlete or be a student.</p>
<p>I think N.C.A.A. has done some very good things in terms of making more resources available to kids who need these resources. But I do think that there are additional things that could be done to get kids an additional opportunity to--</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Like what? Make the case. What would you see?</p>
<p>REGGIE LOVE:</p>
<p>I think an educational trust. I just got out of graduate school, right? I think that graduate school cost me almost $200,000. I think that every student athlete who plays for a university should be able to go to that university, assuming that they can do the work, they should be able to be educated, graduate school.</p>
<p>SECRETARY ARNE DUNCAN:</p>
<p>Yeah, I think that's really important. People talk about helping them graduate from college. Yes, they should do that, but M.B.A., Master's, PhD, having some ability for the rest of your life to go back and get education. I think that's something worth considering. Some folks are talking about the medical expenses long term. I think that's a fair question on the table. But this chance to continue education not just for those couple years while you're competing, but for much longer beyond that.</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>What about the stipend issue? Because I know that you've been for that.</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>Yeah, sure.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But look, you've put this to a vote, as I understand it. And the schools didn't agree. Some of the smaller schools rather vetoed the idea of a nominal stipend to help family members get to games, to help some of these athletes with their basics.</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>Yeah, I think all these issues we're discussing right now are not only good topics to discuss, but are fair and appropriate things to do that are being aggressively debated right now inside the N.C.A.A. As most people know, the rules of the N.C.A.A. aren't made by me or anybody on the staff. They're made by the members themselves.</p>
<p>And we have twice now had the board of the N.C.A.A. pass an allowance to allow schools to provide a couple of thousand dollars in what we call "miscellaneous expense" allowances. The kind of things that you were just discussing. The board's in favor of it.</p>
<p>The membership, the more than a thousand colleges and universities that are out there, the 350 of them that are in division one had voted that down. We're in the middle right now of reconsidering all that. I have every reason that that's going to be in place sometime this coming year.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>So what's the doomsday scenario? What would be so wrong if, let's say, Time Magazine suggested this, you had a pool of money, a cap, say. And that you could decide to pay the athletes a certain amount. What's the doomsday scenario in your view?</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>Well, there's two parts of it. So the first is, are you taking students and converting them to employees? That's what the Northwestern debate is about. That's what--</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>They want to unionize them?</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>They want to unionize. And then to unionize them, you have to say, "These are employees." If you're going to do that, it completely changes the relationship. I don't know why you'd want them to be students. If they're employees and they're playing basketball for you, don't let calculus get in the way.</p>
<p>SECRETARY ARNE DUNCAN:</p>
<p>I think that the common sense and middle ground in all these things. Making sure students are fed, making sure if there's an emergency at home and mom gets very sick or dad passes away, they have an ability to get home to attend the funeral. You have some student athletes who show up with one little bag of clothes. That's all they have in the world.</p>
<p>So I think there are some things you can do there. But again, thinking about the students' long-term benefits for the rest of their life, which for me just has to be on the educational side. The problem out there, David, it's far too many young men in particular, you're talking about March Madness, think they're going to grow up and play in the NBA.</p>
<p>And the vast majority aren't. Half of division two basketball players think they're going to the NBA. And so we have to get the idea of chase that dream, but catch an education and use sports as a vehicle to get an education, which sets you up for the rest of your life, and changes your family's prospects forever.</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>I think the Secretary, excuse me David, I think the Secretary is just spot on with all of that. I think the game-changer in life for all of us is getting an education, a real valid, legitimate education. Making sure that they can do that without having to worry about the costs and how it's going to be paid for, making a commitment to a lifetime education I think makes great sense.</p>
<p>I think Reggie's right on that as well. I do want to correct one point though. We don't have student athletes that are going without meals. They get tuition fees, room and board, books and supplies. They can today, maybe not when you were playing, today, they can get a laptop from their athletic department. They can get a suit and tie from their athletic department. They can get a flight home for an emergency. So it's a very different world than it was five years ago.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But you're saying that the Education Secretary is spot on. The reality is, there is an element of professionalizing this, whether you're selling merchandise. If my son wants a Villanova jersey with Josh Hart's name on it, he can't get that. That's against the rules.</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>That's right.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>But I can buy the jersey with number three on it, and he's perfectly happy because he knows what that means. You're using the likeness of these players and these video games and marketing them to kids. You're professionalizing this. I don't read a lot of stories about Johnny Manziel and the commitment to his major and what he wants to do after football if he's not drafted. So there is this professional element. So I guess what I'm asking is, what's the compromise? What can you commit to to say, "We can close this gap a little bit"?</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>Well, the gap needs to be closed around the context of being a student at a university. So if we provide the N.C.A.A. members, universities and colleges, provide a young man or a young woman with all the expenses they have, legitimate expenses as a student athlete, including this so-called stipend, right, that extra amount of money.</p>
<p>I think that makes great sense and I think it'd be very valuable to the students, provide them with that, provide them with a commitment for a lifelong education, at least to finish that Bachelor's degree, they want to come back and finish? Great. Let them come back and finish. I think that's terrific. Making sure that they have the resources available to be successful so that they're set up for the rest of their life. That's what we want.</p>
<p>SECRETARY ARNE DUNCAN:</p>
<p>David, that's half the battle. The other half that I really want to emphasize is that the incentives for coaches are basically all wrong now. And Tom McMillen played in the NBA, Rhodes scholar, has done some fantastic work. In terms of coaches' compensation, he looked at a number of contracts. The dollar value was $11 in terms of additional bonuses for wins, and $1 for academic performance.</p>
<p>And we see that place after place after place. For me, there should be a threshold academically. If students aren't performing at that and graduation rates, coaches shouldn't get anything. And if coaches are doing the wrong thing and cheating, the penalty should not just hit the university, the penalties need to follow the coach.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Quick final word Reggie, about ten seconds left.</p>
<p>REGGIE LOVE:</p>
<p>Yeah, no, I agree with Arne. I think the incentives are dis-aligned. But I do think that there are some great coaches out there who are committed to the university, who are committed to the men and women on their teams. But I think there are also some bad apples out there as well.</p>
<p>I think there are a lot of folks out there who look at this is a business and their main point is, "How can I get paid?" And if coaches had that attitude, it's hard for players not to have that attitude. And I think a great example is you look at tickets to a basketball game at a university. Definitely commercialized.</p>
<p>A student athlete can't go out and sell his ticket that he gets as a student athlete at market value. But a university can tie a $10,000 alumni check to a season-ticket holder. They can get more than market value as a university for those tickets. But there's nothing in place that says a student shouldn't do that as well.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>All right. We're going to leave the debate there. It will continue to go on. Mark Emmert, in particular, thank you for being here when you're so busy with March Madness.</p>
<p>MARK EMMERT:</p>
<p>My pleasure.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>To the two of you as well, thank you for being here very much. We'll take a break. Next, Andrea Mitchell is going to come back. She talks to Former President Jimmy Carter. And he doesn't mince words about his relationship with President Obama. Coming up.</p>
<p>***Commercial Break***</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>As you just heard March Madness is well underway. And if you're like me and about everybody else, your bracket is already busted. But what if we rank politicians like we do basketball teams? Who would be a number one seed going into 2016? Well, we asked that question as part of our new Meet the Press Express video series. And it's posted online as part of Meet the Press 24/7. We'll bring the conversation to you seven days a week. You can find it on our website at MeetThePressNBC.com. We're back here right after this.</p>
<p>***Commercial Break***</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>We're back, Andrea Mitchell back with me now. Earlier this week, you had a chance to sit down exclusively with Former President Jimmy Carter.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>That's right, David. I spoke with him at the Carter Center in Atlanta about his new book, a call to action, women, religion, violence, and power. We also talked about the crisis in Ukraine as well as his distant relationship with President Obama.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Why did you choose this time to focus on women and the way women are victimized around the world?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>For the last three years, we've been concentrating on the relationship between religion on the one hand and abuse of women and girls on the other. The existing abuse of females is the worst, and most pervasive, and unaddressed human rights violation on earth.</p>
<p>That is really derived, I would say, indirectly women ordained white from the fact that religious leaders say that women are inferior in the eyes of God, which is a false interpretation of the holy scriptures. But when they see that the Pope, and the Southern Baptist Convention, and others say that women can't serve as priests and so forth equally with men, they say, "Well, and I'll treat my wife the way I want to because she's inferior to me."</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>You and Rosalynn Carter actually left your own congregation, a part of the Southern Baptist congregation, because of the way your church was treating women.</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>The convention decided, in its annual meeting to require that women be subservient to their husbands and women could no longer serve as a pastor, or priest, or even as a deacon. Those kinda things really convinced me that I should change.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Another institution you were very much part of was the military, the Naval Academy. And why do you think it is that the Pentagon acts so resistant to changing and reforming the way sexual assault are handled in the military?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>Exactly the same thing happens in universities in America as happens in the military. Because presidents of universities and colleges and commanding officers don't want to admit that under their leadership, sexual abuse is taking place. So rapists prevail because they know that they're not going to be reported.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>I wanna ask you about foreign policy given all of your expertise. It was actually on Meet the Press in 1980 that you said we would not go to the Olympics because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER (ON TAPE, ON MEET THE PRESS IN 1980):</p>
<p>It’s very important for the world to realize how serious a threat the Soviet's invasion of Afghanistan is to us.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>And now we have this situation with Ukraine. What advice would you give in dealing with Vladimir Putin?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>I think there has to be a concerted international prohibition against Putin going any further than Crimea.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Does the President ask you for advice?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the answer is no. President Obama doesn't. But previous presidents have called on me and the Carter Center to take action.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Why do you think you don't have that relationship with Barack Obama?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>I-- that's a hard question-- for me to answer-- you know, with complete candor. I think the problem was that-- that in dealing with the issue of peace in-- between Israel and Egypt-- the Carter Center has taken a very strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis. And I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn't want to be involved.</p>
<p>When he first came out with his speech in Cairo calling for the end of all settlements and when he later said that the '67 borders would prevail, he and I were looking at it from the same perspective. But I can understand those sensitivities. And I don't have any criticism of him.</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Now, there's been a lot of criticism of his policy regarding drones and the NSA surveillance. And the N.S.A. has argued that this kind of intelligence gathering is critical to try to protect the American homeland?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>That has been extremely liberalized and, I think, abused by our own intelligence agencies. As a matter of fact, you know, I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored. And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write a letter myself, put it in the post office, and mail it. (LAUGH)</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>Old fashioned snail mail--</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>Old-- yeah. Yeah. Because I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored. (LAUGH)</p>
<p>ANDREA MITCHELL:</p>
<p>I just wanted to ask finally. With all your energy, what keeps you going? What is the secret, the magic of Jimmy Carter?</p>
<p>JIMMY CARTER:</p>
<p>(LAUGH) Well, there's no magic involved. My wife and I have been lucky enough to be leaders of the Carter Center, promoting peace, enhancing democracy. It's unpredictable. It's adventurous. And I have to say it's gratifying and exciting for us still to do that.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Great interview, Andrea. Final note in here in our remaining seconds. Our discussion on paying college athletes has already provoked some lively debate on Twitter. Susan Glandon tweeted the #MeetThePress, or M.T.P., "Pay college players? Absolutely not. Let their pay fund other students' education." But Ryan Carrier disagrees, tweeting that college athletes should be paid, they bring in millions to all the universities, $913 million in 2013. Great subject, #MeetThePress." Quick views on this, Mayor?</p>
<p>MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER:</p>
<p>I'd be against that. But I'm focused on taking care of the student-athlete and their academics, graduation, other educational opportunities. And I do like the idea about using more of those dollars generated for financial aid.</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>All right, that's the only response we have time for. Thank you all for--</p>
<p>RICH LOWRY:</p>
<p>But I've got to say UVa.</p>
<p>(OVERTALK)</p>
<p>DAVID GREGORY:</p>
<p>Go UVa., exactly right. Thank you very much to our roundtable. I'm going to be on vacation next week. My friend, NBC's political director Chuck Todd will be filling in for me while I am away. So stay tuned. That is all for us today. We'll be back next week. If it's Sunday, it's Meet the Press.</p>
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meet press david gregory march 23 2014 meet press sunday march 23 2014 nbc news meet press 32314 interview bill neely michael chertoff bob hager mike rogers david brooks andrea mitchell mayor michael nutter rich lowry secretary arne duncan mark emmert reggie love president jimmy carter correspondent david gregory producer rob yarin media id live show david gregory good sunday morning tracking two fastmoving stories two weeks since malaysia airlines flight 370 vanished search expanded new clues pointing towards planes whereabouts morning closer figuring happened ive got conversation experts morning security questions linger also crisis ukraine ill speak house intelligence committee chairman mike rogers ask hes worried vladimir putin might next millions captivated march madness theres big debate morning whether studentathletes paid play president ncaa exclusively along president obamas education secretary prominent former duke basketball player take issue plus key newsmaker morning exclusive interview former president jimmy carter also tangled soviet union hell tell us thinks president obama asked advice announcer nbc news washington worlds longestrunning television program meet press david gregory david gregory first morning going get latest search missing malaysia airlines plane 370 im joined nbcs bill neely still perth australia base search mission bill good morning bill neely good morning david fourth day searching ended fleet planes us australia new zealand four military four civilian focus search really twofold first big debris breaking news french satellite picked images objects southern search area still clear objects second day weve new satellite image thats three satellite images overall crews also looking something small specifically wooden cargo pallet straps belts multicolored two things seen civilian aircraft problem crews flying 200 miles hour hundred feet water trying find wooden cargo pallet choppy seas pretty difficult secondly wooden pallet could easily come passing ship crashing plane crews morale good theyre optimistic know problem mystery missing plane remains even crews hightech machinery focused trying find thanks david gregory bill neely us perth australia bill thanks much im joined michael chertoff former secretary homeland security also bob hager longtime aviation correspondent nbc great bob lets pick bill saying fact theres debris thats scattered around put together think thats significant bob hager well yes mean theyre starting get lot satellite photos wonder theyre seeing pieces debris youve got hope plane david gregory right course perhaps perhaps current story youve got bad weather wind finding black box actually black youve got example one bob hager yeah heres box david gregory yeah bob hager yeah pieces wouldnt tell anything crash find trace back currents would prize getting two black boxes heres one looks like flight data recorder heres important thing right thats pinger sends underwater ping month month half crash dont zero hear pinger water david gregory thats thing though getting near enough huge search area right close bob hager oh five six miles maybe even ten outside youve got pretty good idea dont pinger boy im david gregory could lost forever race time well bob hager know david gregory much time got bob hager well pinger id say maybe another month runs found objects water couple miles years later always better idea look case dont hear pinger im wondering theyll ever find david gregory mike chertoff look primal fear anybody youre airplane goes vanishes may sound like kind naïve question age find iphone gps rest lose sight aircraft michael chertoff well think one questions whether malaysians completely forthcoming beginning saw terms radar well whether held back information part problem think scarcity information beginning may misinformation perhaps inadvertent thats made little difficult david gregory worry theres scenario took place trying piece together 911 thought much aviation security new things need learn michael chertoff think obviously one theories proven yet one pilots may involved course much screening focused passengers increasingly face question call inside threats people working organization enterprise become problem could pilots could members crew weve seen variation snowden think issue screening understanding people going rails inside enterprise going become issue david gregory look week upcoming bob search investigation key milestones want look week bob hager well want find wreckage thats big thing really want hear investigation private lives cockpit crew theres neither things reveal anything youve got case may never know david gregory current issue oceanographers look formidable youre finding wreckage even way thing could moving big piece bob hager theyve got elaborate schemes computer trace back currents ocean even best though air france five years ago brazil computer calculated 40 miles something like computer calculations gets far thats really tough task figure main body wreckage david gregory youve decades may never know bob hager thats concern maybe already know enough learn lessons know able trace things better forth may never know happened deal david gregory uhhuh affirm look week investigation piece michael chertoff well think one key issues find background pilots dont want accuse anything clearly something david gregory linking flight demo machine home overtalk michael chertoff speculate motive thats benign motive sinister motive think thats going key issue week david gregory right mike chertoff bob hager thank perspective much mystery deepens continues search effort well keep tabs want turn latest crisis ukraine russia control crimea tonight president obama depart europe try solidify support vladimir putin spoke earlier mike rogers republican chairman house intelligence committee tbilisi capital georgia begin tape david gregory chairman rogers welcome back program want get crisis ukraine youve minute let start flight 370 said last week based people youre talking intelligence community think unfortunately plane bottom ocean view morning mike rogers think thats highest probability david cant take anything quite list yet look probable plausible certainly rates probable theyll continue try identify every background every passenger make sure theyre missing something wont really able put whole case together find aircraft believe based everything ive seen far likely probable crashed indian ocean david gregory ukraine thinking vladimir putin russia mission us intelligence think happens next president putin going next mike rogers well thats big mystery tell ukrainians passionately believe move ukraine especially east think think bit removed david talked individual kidnapped russians believes ear cut nails put hand crucifix type position order get confession americans behind upheaval ukraine dealing took crimea see theyve taken another base yet today certainly appears everything ukrainian intelligence officials believe certainly us intelligence officials believe putin done ukraine troubling hes put military units would need move ukraine eastern border exercises see moving forces south position could take southern region moldova ukraine see hes actually working call soft power hes got intelligence officials spread country causing problems ukraine david gregory think president obama done enough stop mike rogers think americans far removed need reengage actually happening individuals independence personal liberty fighting country wants take one reasons took streets beginning corruption oppressive corruption think americans take tough stand european partners things think dont think rhetoric matches reality ground noncombatantmilitary aid way allows defend thats want direct military action dont want us boots ground neither dont think either american offer things use really protect defend think sends clear message talking even complicated weapon systems talking small arms protect maybe medical supplies radio equipment things use protect defensiveposture weapon systems conjunction sanctions youve got something says mr putin done expanding countries goes bed night thinking peter great wakes thinking stalin need understand wants may fit believe 21st century thats thats hes trying accomplish need little bit tougher putin going continue take territory fulfill believes rightfully russia gave inflammatory speech last tuesday concerned certainly people ukraine across region world european union concern united states well david gregory red line united states judgment nato allies particularly baltics russia cross line mike rogers well think need act think late crosses baltics military units troubling means country georgia likely invaded already means hes taken land ukraine southern eastern portions ukraine think would baltics gets baltics allowed people want free want independent want selfdetermination weve turned back walked away world major catastrophe david gregory want touch couple areas quickly issue nsa surveillance edward snowden last program chairman pointed suggesting may help russians edward snowden may russian spy may russian spy hes called absurd new details come light irresponsible making charge without specific evidence back sort float mike rogers well first see intelligence evidence everything activities leading event suspicious activity event talk folks investigation rule heres know david know today counterintelligence official united states believe mr snowden nsa contractor influence russian intelligence services believe certainly believe today agree hes influence russian intelligence services today investigators need figure well influence start interested cooperating earlier timeline would suggest youre talking guy stole information arms intelligence services saying well gosh whatever guys say absurd define truth thats ridiculous face believe theres story influence russian intelligence officials today actually supporting odd way activity brazen brutality expansionism russia needs understand think americans need understand need put proper context david gregory evidence influence pointed go hong kong originally got russia stranded airport thats way treat spy pointed youre arguing lot wheres evidence suggest hes actually influence foreign intelligence agency mike rogers well today believe hes influence every counterintelligence official believes wont find one doesnt believe today hes influence russian intelligence services agree start think really good evidence case look think youre going find date gets away story matter fact dont believe story tells airport activities hong kong accurate gets complicated said hes clearly moscow influence intelligence services country expanding borders today using military force think theres lot questions need answered david gregory going leave chairman rogers thank always mike rogers thank david thanks end tape david gregory roundtable david brooks new york times nbcs andrea mitchell mayor philadelphia michael nutter well rich lowry editor national review welcome lot chew morning want start crisis ukraine heres question take us regain upper hand fight vladimir putin david brooks david brooks fear think president obama quite good quite aggressive hes front sanctions sanctions beginning hurt two things sanctions never going one overcome russian mentality theyre thinking handled stalingrad people starving streets still endure little economic suffering second psychology fear fear think president aggressive predictable especially given alliances vladimir putin fear barack obama create climate fear something really aggressive something get putin back heels frankly think thing continues escalate give idea arming ukraine giving actual weapons good deterrent effect someplace get ahead david gregory heres thing nobody wants shooting war ukraine youre administration dont want prospect civil war prospect giving cause célèbre russian leader want message strong prosperous ukraine thats real tough message vladimir putin isnt andrea mitchell couple things congress still voted even basic ukrainian economic package dispute imf unrelated sends terrible signal think latest sanctions beginning hurt around innercircle weak leak angela merkel germans rest europeans reluctant take tough steps theyve remarkably weak coming week president sits europeans tough really willing russian armies use pretext roll tanks ukraine watching broomsticks crimea watching digging trenches eastern ukraine makes one think world war one david gregory interesting hear chairman rogers fear real fear intelligence committees community others fact vladimir putin wont stop crimea heres cover economist magazine new world order would complete shirtless photo vladimir putin top tank new world order seems lot like old world order like 19th century world order geography matters great deal keep kind ethnic territorial upper hand others rich lowry yeah well angela merkel said famous remark talked putin living different world thats literally true thought living postcold war world everyone accepted basic international norms hes living world take territory lies force arms calibrating next move right based west assuming sanctions fairly anemic far eventually itll forgotten hell get another reset make clear never going accept legitimacy everything buttress new government ukraine including arms sanctions really inflict severe pain david gregory michael though youre looking doubt point view presidents domestic agenda going issues youre dealing mayor every day look foreign policy crisis taking time effort away worry impacting president obamas leadership areas mayor michael nutter well president obama many things one thing time entire team think sanctions starting work andrea said see un security council terms resolution world starting come together around particular issue china us russia increasingly going isolated situation president also looking domestic agenda listening americans americans really tired war dont necessarily want kind conflict balancing act country dealing world leaders david gregory putin counting way made calculation 2008 president bush interesting think world saddam hussein took kuwait president bush said stand international world order different thing take us singularly use influence today opposed earlier years david brooks well people might say care far away country dont know much rich alludes real problem postcold war era great lot better 19th century undergirding facts era first dont spheres influence russia cant say sort control everything control everywhere people second dont go invading countries breaking laws complicated basically stability within stability global trade free movement people putin radioactive individual wants create history large ego large russian nationalism whipped around fundamental threat order thats matters matters economy matters way world conducts couple years mayor michael nutter think president embarks trip see leaders europe middle east cant may biggest thing planet david gregory theyre counting overtalk mayor michael nutter needs coalition nations say tolerate kind activity end international impact impact domestically well get things done united states time andrea mitchell time though see putin david alluded whipping nationalism appealing large parts teeny sections moldova saying want russian could use pretext selfdetermination groups eastern ukraine elsewhere saying want russian nato socalled chapter five take military action david gregory another big issue domestically four years obamacare passed four years ago today president obama signed affordable care act law know big political issue rich issue americans better worse obamacare life rich lowry know law going collapse weight seemed real possibility launch botched think still pretty grim believe surveys people whove signed exchanges already insurance suggest youve basically done churn youve knocked people old insurance gotten exchanges theres much upside time youve caused enormous disruption millions people think thing continues substantive political overtalk david gregory mayor proud law overtalk mayor michael nutter im proud rich wish youd yesterday kind phillycentric panel twelfth market yesterday folks get covered enroll america walked people asked insurance answer many many many cases individuals getting affordable health insurance ive number forms 7 18 25 month five million people signed people want health care think overtalk david gregory shy said goal mayor michael nutter understand overtalk mayor michael nutter get many people deadline 31st folks still continue sign didnt health insurance great experience rich lowry thats wonderful anecdotal mayor michael nutter anecdotal real rich lowry anecdotal mayor michael nutter yesterday afternoon rich lowry aware surveys consultancies others actually asked people exchanges whether mayor michael nutter im aware talking real people real streets philadelphia rich lowry know anecdotal surveys suggest lot people already insurance fact republican alternatives probably cover people obamacare fraction cost fraction disruption fraction overtalk mayor michael nutter republicans spent time trying undermine obamacare 50some odd votes actually overtalk david brooks let david overtalk david brooks brotherly love could cheese steaks least three us david gregory guys already matching ties overtalk david brooks sort normally agree little think rich said achieved credibility people getting coverage theres really indication cost controls going bite think therell ever mandate individual mandate think theyre going get enough young people pay old people think going get program insure lot people positive good cost lot david gregory ask andrea ask political question implications president deciding unilaterally implement aspects obamacare republican president selective law thered outcry part supporters obamacare andrea mitchell yeah think one thing really undermines case republicans congress stop messing around law said beginning fix problems endless useless votes try eliminate law knew werent going win symbolic unilaterally saying well going implement going implement think undermine case issued statement today saying fourth anniversary costs come costs wouldve come case continuing slow recovery fed david gregory heres question political question convention wisdom youre republican slam dunk foreshadow coming debate college sports slam dunk midterms whats side republicans cautious argument obamacare fall rich lowry well think slam dunk motivates republican base time appeal center time issue like thats winner think theres danger monomaniacal focus obamacare exclusion everything else republicans dont agenda everything else think making case comprehensively presidents agenda come positive alternatives way obamacare david gregory obamacare stay mean conservative commentator view looking rich lowry david gregory dont believe rich lowry think law legitimacy problem since beginning get unified control republican control government 2017 possible thing repealed david gregory mayor thinking mayor michael nutter thatll interesting obviously slight difference opinion rich lowry slight little one david work dont worry hes mediator mayor michael nutter hes mediator time andrea mentioned wasted effort votes still people hungry country still people need jobs workforce development training votes supplemental food program et cetera et cetera et cetera party needs step plate actually real ideas deal real people every day across united states america andrea mitchell overtalk rich lowry obamacare alternatives senate right mayor michael nutter well thats want talk things overtalk rich lowry alternatives overtalk david brooks poverty mayor michael nutter yeah andrea mitchell flaw republicans democrats though look toward midterms republican base came florida congressional district democrat base motivating force yet democrats come vote midterm republicans passionate overtalk david gregory im going make last word thank much matching ties youre vatican mayor mayor michael nutter david gregory safe travels thatll interesting trip mayor michael nutter thank david gregory look forward hearing thank much mayor michael nutter absolutely id glad share david gregory well take break coming special debate morning issue involves fairness multibilliondollar business college sports time college athletes paid special debate coming break commercial break david gregory coming pay play president ncaa two former college athletes made careers washington former player reggie love education secretary arne duncan whether time pay college athletes commercial break david gregory welcome back march madness much excitement thats created college basketball tournament big debate roiling college sports athletes paid new poll morning suggests 64 public opposes paying players 33 favor momentum behind string lawsuits ncaa pushing greater commercial rights athletes debate issue reggie love played football basketball duke championship team back 2001 becoming personal aide president obama mark emmert course president ncaa pleased big day march madness studio course secretary education arne duncan played basketball harvard much delight son years mvp nba celebrity allstar game arne made big news home welcome controversial issue gets heated issue want frame way comment jeffrey kessler lawyer representing athletes laid issue way one thing people recognize fundamentally unfair look team ncaa tournament coach making 5 million school generating hundreds millions sponsors cashing administrators cashing group receiving benefit athletes typo part part graduate never professional athlete one opportunity recognized compensated president emmert isnt unfair compensate athletes creating much value mark emmert well think mr kessler variety people framed question completely wrong basically argued student athletes whether theyre basketball players sport unionized employees university fundamentally students playing game receiving important thing thats going set rest life good sound education opportunity get education obviously universities colleges believe student athletes young men women continue students unionized employees two different levels david gregory let get reggie love different view argument mark underlining student part student athlete isnt myth associated amateur athletic experience reggie love well look think look coaches salaries look money universities able bring alumni obviously college sports business said think hard say every player paid participation specific dollar amount think student athletes key partner ecosystem opportunity build longterm value shouldnt athletic development athletic professional personal development kids 18 19 years old david gregory theyre partners mark issue theyre actually partners create much revenue theyre actually partners business suggest business youre making almost billion dollars tv revenue comes march madness strikes lot people disingenuous mark emmert yeah lot confusion money goes money absolutely march madness generates lot revenue revenue used support tournaments divisions one two three young man young womans playing golf volleyball lacrosse ice hockey tournaments everything goes college sport supported revenue comes march madness vast majority revenue flows ncaa goes right universities either directly indirectly support championships moneys going colleges theyre sitting supporting 450000 kids big big amount money david gregory arne duncan youre former player youre secretary education nuanced view secretary arne duncan well really complex think important issues david one frankly personal grew playing innercity south side chicago many guys played looked went universities made lot money universities never got degree came back home nothing show something fundamentally unfair real key david change incentive structures graduation rates important thing mark ncaas credit theyve raised bar university connecticut national championship couple years ago couldnt compete tournament following year graduation rate low theyve made significant changes new president new ad new coach guess students better want help young people long term important thing help get degree lifetime increased earnings million dollars incentive structures coaches incentive structures ads changed much compensation based upon wins losses around academic performance graduation university presidents boards complacent soft issue really look leadership universities david gregory one aspects unfairness piece reggie captured tweet found sports columnist la times bill plaschke tweeted weekend quote planned meals teams days team wish meal cost make arrangements followup tweet previous tweet copied ncaa memo found san diego tourney site cant even feed kids making billions even stipend agreed able support kids even beyond scholarship cant pay basic necessities like food theyre creating much value reggie love yeah think look get range student athletes come university youve got kids come great families tons resources kids come much dont ability buy suit buy laptop participate lot fundamental things required student athlete student think ncaa done good things terms making resources available kids need resources think additional things could done get kids additional opportunity overtalk david gregory like make case would see reggie love think educational trust got graduate school right think graduate school cost almost 200000 think every student athlete plays university able go university assuming work able educated graduate school secretary arne duncan yeah think thats really important people talk helping graduate college yes mba masters phd ability rest life go back get education think thats something worth considering folks talking medical expenses long term think thats fair question table chance continue education couple years youre competing much longer beyond overtalk david gregory stipend issue know youve mark emmert yeah sure david gregory look youve put vote understand schools didnt agree smaller schools rather vetoed idea nominal stipend help family members get games help athletes basics mark emmert yeah think issues discussing right good topics discuss fair appropriate things aggressively debated right inside ncaa people know rules ncaa arent made anybody staff theyre made members twice board ncaa pass allowance allow schools provide couple thousand dollars call miscellaneous expense allowances kind things discussing boards favor membership thousand colleges universities 350 division one voted middle right reconsidering every reason thats going place sometime coming year david gregory whats doomsday scenario would wrong lets say time magazine suggested pool money cap say could decide pay athletes certain amount whats doomsday scenario view mark emmert well theres two parts first taking students converting employees thats northwestern debate thats david gregory want unionize mark emmert want unionize unionize say employees youre going completely changes relationship dont know youd want students theyre employees theyre playing basketball dont let calculus get way secretary arne duncan think common sense middle ground things making sure students fed making sure theres emergency home mom gets sick dad passes away ability get home attend funeral student athletes show one little bag clothes thats world think things thinking students longterm benefits rest life educational side problem david far many young men particular youre talking march madness think theyre going grow play nba vast majority arent half division two basketball players think theyre going nba get idea chase dream catch education use sports vehicle get education sets rest life changes familys prospects forever overtalk mark emmert think secretary excuse david think secretary spot think gamechanger life us getting education real valid legitimate education making sure without worry costs going paid making commitment lifetime education think makes great sense think reggies right well want correct one point though dont student athletes going without meals get tuition fees room board books supplies today maybe playing today get laptop athletic department get suit tie athletic department get flight home emergency different world five years ago david gregory youre saying education secretary spot reality element professionalizing whether youre selling merchandise son wants villanova jersey josh harts name cant get thats rules mark emmert thats right david gregory buy jersey number three hes perfectly happy knows means youre using likeness players video games marketing kids youre professionalizing dont read lot stories johnny manziel commitment major wants football hes drafted professional element guess im asking whats compromise commit say close gap little bit mark emmert well gap needs closed around context student university provide ncaa members universities colleges provide young man young woman expenses legitimate expenses student athlete including socalled stipend right extra amount money think makes great sense think itd valuable students provide provide commitment lifelong education least finish bachelors degree want come back finish great let come back finish think thats terrific making sure resources available successful theyre set rest life thats want secretary arne duncan david thats half battle half really want emphasize incentives coaches basically wrong tom mcmillen played nba rhodes scholar done fantastic work terms coaches compensation looked number contracts dollar value 11 terms additional bonuses wins 1 academic performance see place place place threshold academically students arent performing graduation rates coaches shouldnt get anything coaches wrong thing cheating penalty hit university penalties need follow coach david gregory quick final word reggie ten seconds left reggie love yeah agree arne think incentives disaligned think great coaches committed university committed men women teams think also bad apples well think lot folks look business main point get paid coaches attitude hard players attitude think great example look tickets basketball game university definitely commercialized student athlete cant go sell ticket gets student athlete market value university tie 10000 alumni check seasonticket holder get market value university tickets theres nothing place says student shouldnt well david gregory right going leave debate continue go mark emmert particular thank youre busy march madness mark emmert pleasure david gregory two well thank much well take break next andrea mitchell going come back talks former president jimmy carter doesnt mince words relationship president obama coming commercial break david gregory heard march madness well underway youre like everybody else bracket already busted rank politicians like basketball teams would number one seed going 2016 well asked question part new meet press express video series posted online part meet press 247 well bring conversation seven days week find website meetthepressnbccom back right commercial break david gregory back andrea mitchell back earlier week chance sit exclusively former president jimmy carter andrea mitchell thats right david spoke carter center atlanta new book call action women religion violence power also talked crisis ukraine well distant relationship president obama begin tape andrea mitchell choose time focus women way women victimized around world jimmy carter last three years weve concentrating relationship religion one hand abuse women girls existing abuse females worst pervasive unaddressed human rights violation earth really derived would say indirectly women ordained white fact religious leaders say women inferior eyes god false interpretation holy scriptures see pope southern baptist convention others say women cant serve priests forth equally men say well ill treat wife way want shes inferior andrea mitchell rosalynn carter actually left congregation part southern baptist congregation way church treating women jimmy carter convention decided annual meeting require women subservient husbands women could longer serve pastor priest even deacon kinda things really convinced change andrea mitchell another institution much part military naval academy think pentagon acts resistant changing reforming way sexual assault handled military jimmy carter exactly thing happens universities america happens military presidents universities colleges commanding officers dont want admit leadership sexual abuse taking place rapists prevail know theyre going reported andrea mitchell wan na ask foreign policy given expertise actually meet press 1980 said would go olympics soviet invasion afghanistan jimmy carter tape meet press 1980 important world realize serious threat soviets invasion afghanistan us andrea mitchell situation ukraine advice would give dealing vladimir putin jimmy carter think concerted international prohibition putin going crimea andrea mitchell president ask advice jimmy carter unfortunately answer president obama doesnt previous presidents called carter center take action andrea mitchell think dont relationship barack obama jimmy carter thats hard question answer know complete candor think problem dealing issue peace israel egypt carter center taken strong public position equal treatment palestinians israelis think sensitive area president didnt want involved first came speech cairo calling end settlements later said 67 borders would prevail looking perspective understand sensitivities dont criticism andrea mitchell theres lot criticism policy regarding drones nsa surveillance nsa argued kind intelligence gathering critical try protect american homeland jimmy carter extremely liberalized think abused intelligence agencies matter fact know felt communications probably monitored want communicate foreign leader privately type write letter put post office mail laugh andrea mitchell old fashioned snail mail jimmy carter old yeah yeah believe send email monitored laugh andrea mitchell wanted ask finally energy keeps going secret magic jimmy carter jimmy carter laugh well theres magic involved wife lucky enough leaders carter center promoting peace enhancing democracy unpredictable adventurous say gratifying exciting us still end tape david gregory great interview andrea final note remaining seconds discussion paying college athletes already provoked lively debate twitter susan glandon tweeted meetthepress mtp pay college players absolutely let pay fund students education ryan carrier disagrees tweeting college athletes paid bring millions universities 913 million 2013 great subject meetthepress quick views mayor mayor michael nutter id im focused taking care studentathlete academics graduation educational opportunities like idea using dollars generated financial aid david gregory right thats response time thank rich lowry ive got say uva overtalk david gregory go uva exactly right thank much roundtable im going vacation next week friend nbcs political director chuck todd filling away stay tuned us today well back next week sunday meet press
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<p>What Tolstoy found true of families may also be said of schools: The happy ones are all alike; every unhappy school is unhappy in its own way. At schools where teachers have a voice, moral support, quiet hallways and enough chalk, they tend to stay put. At schools where one or more of the elements of a well-functioning school are lacking, frustration mounts, eventually pushing some teachers out. Of those who leave, some will quit teaching altogether. Burroughs elementary in Brighton Park is among the Chicago public schools that keep their teachers. For the past two years, its average faculty turnover has been only 7 percent—half the district average. Teachers there credit parents, colleagues and the leadership of Principal Donald Richard Morris.</p>
<p>Morris became principal of Burroughs nine years ago, at the tender age of 31. He arrived with nine years of teaching experience but none as an administrator. “I was the youngest staff member,” he recalls. “You got those looks from people, ‘I’ve been teaching longer than you’ve been alive.'”</p>
<p>His approach to the job, however, won over even his elders. “Your job as an administrator is to be the ultimate resource for people who are in the classroom,” he explains. “Simply stated, you work for them—they don’t work for you.”</p>
<p>Not all faculties are so lucky.</p>
<p>At “Elementary X” on the South Side, administrators create tension among staff by favoring some and feuding with others, three new teachers report, asking that their names be withheld. School politics are complicated, and teachers don’t know whom to trust. “It’s scary,” says one. “You have to be careful who you talk to.” Of the three, two will not return and may leave teaching for good. Over the last two years, the school had an average teacher turnover rate of 25 percent.</p>
<p>At “Elementary Y” on the West Side, four teachers—two veterans and two newcomers—attribute the school’s 21 percent turnover rate to problems with student discipline, scarce supplies and, in some cases, large class size. The two veterans intend to remain until retirement. “I manage to block out many things,” says one. “And by the end of the year, I see progress, and that’s reward enough.”</p>
<p>Of the two new teachers, one will quit teaching, and the other is unsure how long she’ll last. Like Burroughs, both these schools are about 90 percent low-income and enroll some 500 students.</p>
<p>Comparing what teachers say about Burroughs, Elementary X and Elementary Y suggests how schools might lower their turnover rates.</p>
<p>new teachers the don’ts</p>
<p>“Lisa” was fresh from college when Elementary Y hired her to assist in an overcrowded classroom. The principal promised a regular position as soon as a new room opened up.</p>
<p>One morning a month later, the principal and another administrator appeared at her doorway, she recalls. “OK,” they said, “your classroom is opening up next door.”</p>
<p>“They took me into the room where I had 25 or 30 kids, no pencils, no paper, no preparation time. I didn’t get workbooks for reading until I’d had my own room for a whole month. They changed my class list about four times before I finally got my permanent class.”</p>
<p>By spring, she still lacked even basic supplies. “Asking for glue is a battle; they have nothing.”</p>
<p>Lisa had anticipated teaching only a few years before graduate school. Instead, her first year will be her last. “I’m not a born teacher. I realize I don’t have the patience.”</p>
<p>Her colleague “Amy” arrived at Elementary Y with a year’s experience at a private suburban school. In the city, she got a class full of struggling primary readers. “She was given all the children who were in danger of failing,” says “Bess,” a veteran teacher who mentored Amy. “She handled it beautifully, [but] I hope she doesn’t get that again. How long can she do that?”</p>
<p>Amy says she prefers city schools—”the kids need you more here.” But the year has drained her. Discipline problems and the scarcity of supplies were “the two biggest shockers,” she says. The gap between her students’ reading ability and their textbooks was another aggravation. “I have to teach from a 2nd-grade book, and they’re at a kindergarten level. They’re frustrated because they don’t understand.”</p>
<p>Lisa and Amy were paired with more senior teachers at their school as part of a district mentoring program. But the principal provided no time for the pairs to meet during the school day.</p>
<p>Amy arrives an hour before school to talk with Bess—”Just to have somebody to vent to, otherwise you’d explode.” Bess also helped orient her on the curriculum, lesson plans, attendance books and the like.</p>
<p>Amy may soon opt for a less stressful job in a school setting, such as a resource teacher. “I can see myself staying for a couple of years,” she says. “But when I think of myself here in 20 years, I just cringe.”</p>
<p>new teachers the do’s</p>
<p>Omar Gonzalez, a 6th- and 7th-grade bilingual teacher, says he emerged from his undergraduate teacher training with a lot left to learn. Burroughs didn’t let him flounder.</p>
<p>First off, he was paired with an experienced 6th-grade teacher. They met every week or so during a common planning period. She helped him navigate through paperwork and curriculum, and they collaborated on some student projects.</p>
<p>Assistant Principal Lawrence Gurga also leant a hand, modeling science lessons in the classroom and in the computer lab. Each week, he made sure that Gonzalez was stocked with supplies—from scales to string to seeds—for upcoming science lessons.</p>
<p>And once or twice a week, Gonzalez dropped in for a talk with the principal.</p>
<p>“With new teachers, you have to engage them in dialogue so you know they’re being reflective,” says Morris. “Otherwise they make the same mistakes year after year. Then after awhile you’re a 5th-year teacher but you’re still making first-year teacher mistakes.”</p>
<p>“What is working for you, what isn’t? Why do you think it’s not working?” he inquires. Morris also encourages experimentation. For instance, he suggested Gonzalez introduce students to “hands-on” projects in cooperative groups. “Take them outside and do a science lesson on the playground,” Morris told him. “Let me know how it goes.”</p>
<p>“It motivates you when people help you improve as a teacher,” Gonzalez notes. “It makes you happy to be working in a profession where people are willing to help you out.”</p>
<p>teacher collaboration the don’ts</p>
<p>At Elementary X, three teachers new to Chicago say they walked into a bizarre school climate. Administrators set teachers against each other by favoring some and ostracizing others, they say.</p>
<p>“Sarah,” a young upper grade teacher, explains that colleagues warned her against speaking too openly in front of teachers seen as the administration’s informants. At the same time, the new teachers are afraid to speak with anyone “not in good” with the administration.</p>
<p>“It gets to a point where you’re like, ‘Forget it, I don’t want to say anything,'” says Sarah. “You just go home and talk to your dog. Or to your mom, who works in a different school.”</p>
<p>Even when teachers have common prep time at Elementary X, they keep to themselves. “I think you’re expected to be in your room. It’s not meant for you to be sitting with your peers and talking,” she believes.</p>
<p>Elementary Y teachers report less tension but little teamwork. For one, those at the same grade level don’t have the same prep periods. Those who choose to collaborate must do so on their own time.</p>
<p>“We have to sneak it in at 8 in the morning,” explains “Jan,” a veteran primary teacher. “People who have kids to drop off at day care can’t get here that early.” As a result, “The [students] suffer because everyone isn’t on the same track.”</p>
<p>teacher collaboration the do’s</p>
<p>At Burroughs, teachers at the same level—primary, intermediate or upper—have one common planning period a week to discuss curriculum, teaching strategies and classroom materials. But collaboration is not confined to formal meetings.</p>
<p>“It can be in the cafeteria, in the hallway, after school, before school, during a prep period,” says Gonzalez. “When you have a good atmosphere, it’s easy to share ideas, and it’s easy to receive help.”</p>
<p>Communication at Burroughs is not perfect, however. Information doesn’t flow smoothly between the three levels, teachers say. And sometimes personal conflicts arise. “We’re family. In families, you have problems,” says kindergarten teacher Irma Francois. “We have our little battles, and we work them out.”</p>
<p>constructive criticism the don’ts</p>
<p>After a year of teaching, “Claire” of Elementary X is ready to call it quits. She left higher education administration to teach a primary grade and loves working with her students.</p>
<p>But she feels “constantly beat down” with criticism from administrators. “What is good?” she wants to ask them. “Tell me what is good.”</p>
<p>“Negative reinforcement doesn’t work all the time,” agrees “Gail”, a primary teacher who made a mid-life career change from business. “You’ve got to give some positive feedback. But from what I’ve seen, it’s continuously negative.”</p>
<p>“I’ve been in their position as a manager,” she adds. “I know what you should be doing [to] encourage people to grow. I don’t have to deal with it—not for less money and more stress.”</p>
<p>Gail is agonizing over whether to switch schools or accept a business position she was offered.</p>
<p>Claire feels too drained, her confidence too shaken, to continue teaching. “It has really rocked my foundation,” she says of the year. “I need to step away.”</p>
<p>constructive criticism the do’s</p>
<p>At Burroughs, teachers say Morris is up front but respectful. “He let’s you know when he’s pleased, and when he’s not pleased he’ll tell you directly,” says Paul Durkin, who teaches 3rd and 4th grade.</p>
<p>“If Mr. Morris has something to say to a teacher, he’ll walk up to their classroom and [talk] to them like they’re a real human being,” agrees Gurga, who says he has worked with principals who just left notes in teachers’ mailboxes.</p>
<p>Teachers hear positive feedback from Morris directly, too. “Just today, he said, ‘You’re going to be a phenomenal teacher,'” reports Irma Mora, who started mid-year. “I love that word, ‘phenomenal.’ That makes you want to work harder. It gives you confidence.”</p>
<p>student behavior the don’ts</p>
<p>At Elementary Y, teachers say they lack support on chronic discipline problems. Students sent to the office are quickly returned with no consequences; the school lacks in-school suspension; and two children who brought knives to school were never suspended, they say.</p>
<p>“The older teachers can brush it off and still maintain order,” says Bess. “But the younger teachers can’t.”</p>
<p>The teachers say a self-contained special education classroom is out of control. They worry about handling severe problems when those students are included in regular classrooms the coming year. “That might give me another push over the edge, out the door,” says Amy.</p>
<p>student behavior the do’s</p>
<p>Burroughs has few discipline problems to begin with. Where Elementary Y is set in a rough West Side neighborhood, and many children live in foster homes, Burroughs is surrounded by single- family homes in a poor, working-class neighborhood. Parents are mostly Mexican immigrants who instill a respect for teachers in their children, many at Burroughs say.</p>
<p>In addition, teachers work cooperatively to maintain discipline. “Everyone is on the same page,” says librarian Peggy Vizza. “Gum, candy—that’s a big deal here.” Teachers take responsibility for disciplining any child they see misbehaving, and so do aides and parents, she adds.</p>
<p>When a teacher has ongoing problems with a student, Morris meets with the teacher and parent. Susan Vale, an upper-grade science teacher new to the district, says one student continually disrespected her even after she spoke with his parent.</p>
<p>“Mr. Morris said, ‘If you want to suspend him from sports, you can.’ He went outside with me onto the practice field, and right there I suspended [the student] from sports until there was improvement.”</p>
<p>teacher input the don’ts</p>
<p>Last winter, Elementary X held a brainstorming session to work on the required School Improvement Plan.</p>
<p>Primary teachers met, took notes and handed them to administrators who were supervising. “As soon as you hand it to them, they’re reading it,” says Claire. “What did you guys put this down for? You can forget about this. We’re not changing this.”</p>
<p>The three teachers are especially troubled by a reading program that does not seem to work for all students. Teachers are not permitted to supplement the school-mandated programs with outside materials, they say.</p>
<p>“We all learn differently,” insists Gail. “This child may be brilliant if I have different resources, and I can utilize them. But I can’t. These are wonderful, beautiful children who have it tough enough as it is. I’m going to hold them back, retain them? I won’t be a part of that.”</p>
<p>Teachers at Elementary Y also say they have little input on curriculum or anything else. “If you ask a question in public, you get shot down and embarrassed to the point where you would never do that again,” says Jan.</p>
<p>“You kill any creativity or liveliness in a young person by coming to one of our meetings,” agrees Bess. “I’ve seen new people totally floored by [the principal’s] gruffness.”</p>
<p>“You want to encourage the younger people,” she continues, “but you tend to tell them, ‘You need to be in a place where you are valued.’ I tell them to go to the suburbs.”</p>
<p>teacher input the do’s</p>
<p>Morris encourages debate on curriculum, pedagogy and other school issues. “If you don’t have some tension, then it’s not worth talking about,” he insists. “There is no learning unless there is some tension. Then you know people are speaking with conviction.”</p>
<p>Last year, Burroughs held it’s first “Socratic seminars” to give faculty meetings more focus and teachers more input. Each targets an educational issue, such as whether students learn better in mixed-ability or same-ability groups. Teachers read about the issue in advance. During the discussion, each has to back up her or his opinion with a passage from the reading. And every teacher participates.</p>
<p>“He won’t move on until everyone has given an opinion,” Vizza says of Morris.</p>
<p>The School Improvement Plan is handled in a similarly democratic way, teachers say. A committee of teachers drafts the plan, and the entire faculty critiques it point by point.</p>
<p>“Answers are not given from the top with no questions asked,” notes 5th-grade teacher Margaret McCaffray. “Instead, we’re the ones who find the answers. Then it’s ownership—you feel part of the school. You own the philosophy of the school, you own the test scores, you own the achievement of the students. It’s part of you.”</p>
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tolstoy found true families may also said schools happy ones alike every unhappy school unhappy way schools teachers voice moral support quiet hallways enough chalk tend stay put schools one elements wellfunctioning school lacking frustration mounts eventually pushing teachers leave quit teaching altogether burroughs elementary brighton park among chicago public schools keep teachers past two years average faculty turnover 7 percenthalf district average teachers credit parents colleagues leadership principal donald richard morris morris became principal burroughs nine years ago tender age 31 arrived nine years teaching experience none administrator youngest staff member recalls got looks people ive teaching longer youve alive approach job however even elders job administrator ultimate resource people classroom explains simply stated work themthey dont work faculties lucky elementary x south side administrators create tension among staff favoring feuding others three new teachers report asking names withheld school politics complicated teachers dont know trust scary says one careful talk three two return may leave teaching good last two years school average teacher turnover rate 25 percent elementary west side four teacherstwo veterans two newcomersattribute schools 21 percent turnover rate problems student discipline scarce supplies cases large class size two veterans intend remain retirement manage block many things says one end year see progress thats reward enough two new teachers one quit teaching unsure long shell last like burroughs schools 90 percent lowincome enroll 500 students comparing teachers say burroughs elementary x elementary suggests schools might lower turnover rates new teachers donts lisa fresh college elementary hired assist overcrowded classroom principal promised regular position soon new room opened one morning month later principal another administrator appeared doorway recalls ok said classroom opening next door took room 25 30 kids pencils paper preparation time didnt get workbooks reading id room whole month changed class list four times finally got permanent class spring still lacked even basic supplies asking glue battle nothing lisa anticipated teaching years graduate school instead first year last im born teacher realize dont patience colleague amy arrived elementary years experience private suburban school city got class full struggling primary readers given children danger failing says bess veteran teacher mentored amy handled beautifully hope doesnt get long amy says prefers city schoolsthe kids need year drained discipline problems scarcity supplies two biggest shockers says gap students reading ability textbooks another aggravation teach 2ndgrade book theyre kindergarten level theyre frustrated dont understand lisa amy paired senior teachers school part district mentoring program principal provided time pairs meet school day amy arrives hour school talk bessjust somebody vent otherwise youd explode bess also helped orient curriculum lesson plans attendance books like amy may soon opt less stressful job school setting resource teacher see staying couple years says think 20 years cringe new teachers dos omar gonzalez 6th 7thgrade bilingual teacher says emerged undergraduate teacher training lot left learn burroughs didnt let flounder first paired experienced 6thgrade teacher met every week common planning period helped navigate paperwork curriculum collaborated student projects assistant principal lawrence gurga also leant hand modeling science lessons classroom computer lab week made sure gonzalez stocked suppliesfrom scales string seedsfor upcoming science lessons twice week gonzalez dropped talk principal new teachers engage dialogue know theyre reflective says morris otherwise make mistakes year year awhile youre 5thyear teacher youre still making firstyear teacher mistakes working isnt think working inquires morris also encourages experimentation instance suggested gonzalez introduce students handson projects cooperative groups take outside science lesson playground morris told let know goes motivates people help improve teacher gonzalez notes makes happy working profession people willing help teacher collaboration donts elementary x three teachers new chicago say walked bizarre school climate administrators set teachers favoring ostracizing others say sarah young upper grade teacher explains colleagues warned speaking openly front teachers seen administrations informants time new teachers afraid speak anyone good administration gets point youre like forget dont want say anything says sarah go home talk dog mom works different school even teachers common prep time elementary x keep think youre expected room meant sitting peers talking believes elementary teachers report less tension little teamwork one grade level dont prep periods choose collaborate must time sneak 8 morning explains jan veteran primary teacher people kids drop day care cant get early result students suffer everyone isnt track teacher collaboration dos burroughs teachers levelprimary intermediate upperhave one common planning period week discuss curriculum teaching strategies classroom materials collaboration confined formal meetings cafeteria hallway school school prep period says gonzalez good atmosphere easy share ideas easy receive help communication burroughs perfect however information doesnt flow smoothly three levels teachers say sometimes personal conflicts arise family families problems says kindergarten teacher irma francois little battles work constructive criticism donts year teaching claire elementary x ready call quits left higher education administration teach primary grade loves working students feels constantly beat criticism administrators good wants ask tell good negative reinforcement doesnt work time agrees gail primary teacher made midlife career change business youve got give positive feedback ive seen continuously negative ive position manager adds know encourage people grow dont deal itnot less money stress gail agonizing whether switch schools accept business position offered claire feels drained confidence shaken continue teaching really rocked foundation says year need step away constructive criticism dos burroughs teachers say morris front respectful lets know hes pleased hes pleased hell tell directly says paul durkin teaches 3rd 4th grade mr morris something say teacher hell walk classroom talk like theyre real human agrees gurga says worked principals left notes teachers mailboxes teachers hear positive feedback morris directly today said youre going phenomenal teacher reports irma mora started midyear love word phenomenal makes want work harder gives confidence student behavior donts elementary teachers say lack support chronic discipline problems students sent office quickly returned consequences school lacks inschool suspension two children brought knives school never suspended say older teachers brush still maintain order says bess younger teachers cant teachers say selfcontained special education classroom control worry handling severe problems students included regular classrooms coming year might give another push edge door says amy student behavior dos burroughs discipline problems begin elementary set rough west side neighborhood many children live foster homes burroughs surrounded single family homes poor workingclass neighborhood parents mostly mexican immigrants instill respect teachers children many burroughs say addition teachers work cooperatively maintain discipline everyone page says librarian peggy vizza gum candythats big deal teachers take responsibility disciplining child see misbehaving aides parents adds teacher ongoing problems student morris meets teacher parent susan vale uppergrade science teacher new district says one student continually disrespected even spoke parent mr morris said want suspend sports went outside onto practice field right suspended student sports improvement teacher input donts last winter elementary x held brainstorming session work required school improvement plan primary teachers met took notes handed administrators supervising soon hand theyre reading says claire guys put forget changing three teachers especially troubled reading program seem work students teachers permitted supplement schoolmandated programs outside materials say learn differently insists gail child may brilliant different resources utilize cant wonderful beautiful children tough enough im going hold back retain wont part teachers elementary also say little input curriculum anything else ask question public get shot embarrassed point would never says jan kill creativity liveliness young person coming one meetings agrees bess ive seen new people totally floored principals gruffness want encourage younger people continues tend tell need place valued tell go suburbs teacher input dos morris encourages debate curriculum pedagogy school issues dont tension worth talking insists learning unless tension know people speaking conviction last year burroughs held first socratic seminars give faculty meetings focus teachers input targets educational issue whether students learn better mixedability sameability groups teachers read issue advance discussion back opinion passage reading every teacher participates wont move everyone given opinion vizza says morris school improvement plan handled similarly democratic way teachers say committee teachers drafts plan entire faculty critiques point point answers given top questions asked notes 5thgrade teacher margaret mccaffray instead ones find answers ownershipyou feel part school philosophy school test scores achievement students part
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<p>First Read is a morning briefing from Meet the Press and the NBC Political Unit on the day's most important political stories and why they matter</p>
<p>Playing the role of McCain 3.0</p>
<p>One of us(!) <a href="" type="internal">talked to Lindsey Graham</a> yesterday about his 2016 pitch, and one big takeaway was just how much he’s trying to claim the mantle of truth-teller within the GOP. On immigration, Iraq and fixing congressional gridlock, Graham wants to be the guy who’s not afraid to take on his party, who speaks truth to power and who’s happy to lay out unpopular solutions -- polls be damned. It’s McCain 3.0 – a recipe that worked for the 2008 GOP nominee, by the way, in part because he was accessible to the press and acceptable to the chunk of the GOP that believes the direction – or at least the tone – of the party is off track. But Graham isn’t the only player in the 2016 field who’s vying for the Truth Teller spot. John Kasich and Chris Christie are also positioning themselves as the candidate who’s willing to be honest with the GOP base about its problems. (Even Ted Cruz is perhaps serving that role specifically within the conservative movement.) Right now, none of these candidates is brushing the top tier, but one of them is almost sure to pop at some point in the race. And if they do, the person it will hurt most is Jeb Bush.</p>
<p>Graham on Iraq: “You don’t get out”</p>
<p>Speaking of Graham, perhaps most notable in our talk with him in New Hampshire was his response to the question of how the country can eventually get out of Iraq. “You don’t get out,” he said. We understand the argument that Graham’s trying to make here; he wants to be the race’s foreign policy grown-up, telling Americans the tough truth that the persistent scourge of terror in the Middle East needs a major on-the-ground U.S. presence. There's a variation here on the Colin Powell argument: We broke it, so we have a responsibility to fix it. The problem for Graham is that it’s an incredibly tough sell, given that even half of Republicans say the war was a bad idea or not worth it. And Americans don’t picture a lingering U.S. presence in Iraq as a replica of troop outposts in Korea or Germany, where service members aren’t in the line of fire. This is more blood and treasure at risk, in perpetuity. But Graham will argue the next president will end up being forced to be involved no matter what they claim on the trail, so he's just being upfront.</p>
<p>Yet another big day of stories about the Clinton Foundation</p>
<p>Two more big Clinton Foundation stories are hitting today, giving us yet another look into why this problem is persisting for the Democratic candidate. First, <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/2/clinton-foundations-sweden-fundraising-arm-cashed-/#ixzz3bzkOST21" type="external">in the Washington Times</a>: “Bill Clinton’s foundation set up a fundraising arm in Sweden that collected $26 million in donations at the same time that country was lobbying Hillary Rodham Clinton’s State Department to forgo sanctions that threatened its thriving business with Iran, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Washington Times.” It’s another Foundation story that doesn’t quite reveal a smoking gun, but – again – there’s just a whiff of shadiness and something that feels weird about the whole deal. A lottery supported the foundation? Just sounds odd. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-inside-story-of-how-the-clintons-built-a-2-billion-global-empire/2015/06/02/b6eab638-0957-11e5-a7ad-b430fc1d3f5c_story.html?hpid=z1" type="external">And the Washington Post</a> offers a big look at how the Foundation grew from a germ of an idea into a sprawling $2 billion empire. Our biggest takeaway from the Post piece: Does the Foundation maintain its success if Clinton doesn’t end up in the White House? It’s something neither the campaign nor the Foundation want to address, because acknowledging that donors are anticipating a Hillary Clinton win would imply that check-writers really do think they’re currying favor not just with a former president, but with a future one too.</p>
<p>Iowa and the George W. Bush question</p>
<p><a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/06/03/george-bill-clinton-advisers/28383481/" type="external">The Des Moines Register points</a> this out in its new poll: Iowa GOP caucusgoers aren’t as down on George W. Bush as you might think. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans likely to caucus say it would be “mostly good” if the former president were to serve as an advisor to his brother if Jeb Bush wins the presidency. And Democrats are even more enthusiastic about Bill Clinton, with more than eight in ten saying that they’d be happy to see him serving as a top adviser to his wife. Sure, these are the party faithful, but these are interesting data points to keep in mind when we’re talking about the distaste for political dynasties that we sometimes see popping up in national polls.</p>
<p>The moment seems so right for a third party moment, but we’re just not there yet</p>
<p>It’s a question we ponder a lot and we get asked about all the time: Why isn’t there a bigger third-party movement in America? <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/03/2016-needs-a-third-party.html" type="external">Jeff Greenfield has a smart take in the Daily Beast</a> today on why the moment seems so ripe for an independent surge, but the country’s not quite there yet – even still. With nearly two-thirds of Americans upset with the way government works and about the same amount saying they’re comfortable voting for an independent, on paper, it seems kind of amazing that you’re not seeing a bigger push, especially if the general election features two political dynasties. But, he adds, “the appetite for such an effort is in part more rhetorical than real” – with self-identified independents being, more often than not, less independent than they think they are. Between that, the risk of being a spoiler for a more palatable general election candidate (see: General Election, 2000) and the increasing polarization of the electorate, we’re just not there yet.</p>
<p>Lincoln Chafee becomes Clinton’s third official Democratic challenger</p>
<p>Former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee is expected to announce his presidential bid in Arlington, Va this afternoon. Chafee has indicated that he’ll try to hammer Clinton on her Iraq war vote – the same issue that plagued her in 2008. But Chafee’s party record may drown out much of what he has to say policy-wise: He’s a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat who ditched a re-election bid after registering a 25 percent job approval rating in his home state.</p>
<p>Rubio ditches his ‘House of Horrors’</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/marco-rubio-sells-house-of-horrors-118572.html" type="external">POLTICO’s Marc Caputo</a> reports that Marco Rubio has finally sold the Tallahassee house he co-owned with former Rep. David Rivera, who’s been plagued by campaign finance scandals. “Though Rubio ultimately lost money on the deal, the sale saves the Florida senator from having to worry about the bills and upkeep of the property, which had become a burden over the years — at one point, the home flooded… And, most embarrassingly in 2010, the bank that held the mortgage on the three-bedroom house initiated foreclosure proceedings against Rubio and Rivera amid a dispute.”</p>
<p>Moving forward on NSA: The consumer story</p>
<p>The political dispute on the National Security Agency’s storage of bulk metadata telephone records may be over, but now, it’s become a consumer story. As we wrote earlier this week, the same public that pushed Congress towards stripping some of the Patriot Act’s powers will be looking for answers about how the telephone companies will actually comply with the new law. Just because the USA Freedom Act is signed into law doesn’t mean that this problem is all wrapped up with a bow.</p>
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first read morning briefing meet press nbc political unit days important political stories matter playing role mccain 30 one us talked lindsey graham yesterday 2016 pitch one big takeaway much hes trying claim mantle truthteller within gop immigration iraq fixing congressional gridlock graham wants guy whos afraid take party speaks truth power whos happy lay unpopular solutions polls damned mccain 30 recipe worked 2008 gop nominee way part accessible press acceptable chunk gop believes direction least tone party track graham isnt player 2016 field whos vying truth teller spot john kasich chris christie also positioning candidate whos willing honest gop base problems even ted cruz perhaps serving role specifically within conservative movement right none candidates brushing top tier one almost sure pop point race person hurt jeb bush graham iraq dont get speaking graham perhaps notable talk new hampshire response question country eventually get iraq dont get said understand argument grahams trying make wants races foreign policy grownup telling americans tough truth persistent scourge terror middle east needs major ontheground us presence theres variation colin powell argument broke responsibility fix problem graham incredibly tough sell given even half republicans say war bad idea worth americans dont picture lingering us presence iraq replica troop outposts korea germany service members arent line fire blood treasure risk perpetuity graham argue next president end forced involved matter claim trail hes upfront yet another big day stories clinton foundation two big clinton foundation stories hitting today giving us yet another look problem persisting democratic candidate first washington times bill clintons foundation set fundraising arm sweden collected 26 million donations time country lobbying hillary rodham clintons state department forgo sanctions threatened thriving business iran according interviews documents obtained washington times another foundation story doesnt quite reveal smoking gun theres whiff shadiness something feels weird whole deal lottery supported foundation sounds odd washington post offers big look foundation grew germ idea sprawling 2 billion empire biggest takeaway post piece foundation maintain success clinton doesnt end white house something neither campaign foundation want address acknowledging donors anticipating hillary clinton win would imply checkwriters really think theyre currying favor former president future one iowa george w bush question des moines register points new poll iowa gop caucusgoers arent george w bush might think fiftyseven percent republicans likely caucus say would mostly good former president serve advisor brother jeb bush wins presidency democrats even enthusiastic bill clinton eight ten saying theyd happy see serving top adviser wife sure party faithful interesting data points keep mind talking distaste political dynasties sometimes see popping national polls moment seems right third party moment yet question ponder lot get asked time isnt bigger thirdparty movement america jeff greenfield smart take daily beast today moment seems ripe independent surge countrys quite yet even still nearly twothirds americans upset way government works amount saying theyre comfortable voting independent paper seems kind amazing youre seeing bigger push especially general election features two political dynasties adds appetite effort part rhetorical real selfidentified independents often less independent think risk spoiler palatable general election candidate see general election 2000 increasing polarization electorate yet lincoln chafee becomes clintons third official democratic challenger former rhode island gov lincoln chafee expected announce presidential bid arlington va afternoon chafee indicated hell try hammer clinton iraq war vote issue plagued 2008 chafees party record may drown much say policywise hes republicanturnedindependentturneddemocrat ditched reelection bid registering 25 percent job approval rating home state rubio ditches house horrors polticos marc caputo reports marco rubio finally sold tallahassee house coowned former rep david rivera whos plagued campaign finance scandals though rubio ultimately lost money deal sale saves florida senator worry bills upkeep property become burden years one point home flooded embarrassingly 2010 bank held mortgage threebedroom house initiated foreclosure proceedings rubio rivera amid dispute moving forward nsa consumer story political dispute national security agencys storage bulk metadata telephone records may become consumer story wrote earlier week public pushed congress towards stripping patriot acts powers looking answers telephone companies actually comply new law usa freedom act signed law doesnt mean problem wrapped bow click sign first read emails check us facebookand also twitter follow us chucktodd mmurraypolitics carrienbcnews
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<p>Sunday Greek leaders at crisis talks in Athens have agreed to form a new coalition government, the president's office says.</p>
<p>Beleaguered Prime Minister George Papandreou will step aside and his successor will be chosen at talks in the morning, the statement said.</p>
<p>He and main opposition leader Antonis Samaras attended the talks, hosted by President Karolos Papoulias.</p>
<p>The announcement follows a week of turmoil over Greece's debt crisis.</p>
<p>Once the new leader has been named, the president will invite all parties to join the new government, the statement said.</p>
<p>Papandreou had been trying to build a national unity government but Samaras, of the New Democracy party, had been refusing to negotiate unless his rival resigned first.</p>
<p>The two men also disagreed sharply on the timing of new elections, with Mr Papandreou seeking a delay of several months while Mr Samaras wanted them immediately.</p>
<p>There has been speculation that the new coalition could be led by Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos.</p>
<p>Papandreou narrowly won a confidence vote on Friday night, but had been under continuing pressure to resign amid chaos over the debt crisis.</p>
<p>A fresh bailout deal was agreed by the European Union last month, but Papandreou faced the wrath of fellow EU leaders when he announced that he would put the deal to the people of Greece in a referendum.</p>
<p>The idea was dropped days later, but not without sparking a deeper financial crisis and triggering the political crisis which led to the confidence vote.</p>
<p>The bailout deal has still not been ratified by Greece, and the EU says no more funds will be released until it has been.</p>
<p>It gives the government 130 billion euros ($178 billion) and imposes a 50 percent write-off on private holders of Greek debts, in return for deeply unpopular austerity measures.</p>
<p>The country has come under huge international pressure to resolve its political crisis, in order to calm the markets.</p>
<p>The possibility of Greece leaving the euro has also been raised by EU leaders, if it fails to resolve its political and financial problems.</p>
<p>A meeting of EU finance ministers is taking place on Monday, which added to the pressure on Greece to find an early solution to the political deadlock.</p>
<p>News of the crisis talks involving President Papoulias emerged after an emergency cabinet meeting led by Papandreou.</p>
<p>Both Papandreou and Samaras had held separate talks with the president earlier in the weekend.</p>
<p>Saturday Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is facing a major challenge in his efforts to deal with the country's debt crisis.</p>
<p>He has been in talks with President Carolos Papoulias on forming a government of national unity to ratify a vital eurozone bailout deal.</p>
<p>But the main opposition party has said it would not join a coalition under Papandreou and has demanded elections.</p>
<p>It comes after Papandreou's ruling Socialist (Pasok) party narrowly won a confidence vote on Friday night.</p>
<p>As he entered Saturday's brief meeting at the presidential palace, Papandreou said government cooperation was "necessary to guarantee — for Greece and for our partners — that we can honor our commitments."</p>
<p>"I am concerned that a lack of cooperation could trouble how our partners see our will and desire to remain in the central core of the European Union and the euro."</p>
<p>As he left after about an hour, he said the process of forming a coalition government would begin soon, but few other details emerged.</p>
<p>The prime minister has been fighting for his political life in the past week, facing calls for his resignation even from within his own party.</p>
<p>Earlier this week he shocked EU partners and sent markets into turmoil after calling for a referendum on the hard-fought EU deal struck last month to great fanfare.</p>
<p>The referendum plan was abandoned, but the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens says it is looking increasingly unlikely that Papandreou will lead a future coalition.</p>
<p>Reports are emerging that Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos could replace him as interim prime minister. Venizelos has said elections could be held once procedures for securing the EU bailout package were finished.</p>
<p>New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras has already dismissed the prime minister's idea of a coalition government, saying Papandreou had rejected his proposals.</p>
<p>"The responsibility he bears is huge," he said. "The only solution is elections."</p>
<p>The late-night confidence vote — timed to take place when markets in Europe and the US were closed — was on a knife-edge, but the government eventually won with 153 votes to 145.</p>
<p>During the hours of debate, Papandreou said the bailout deal currently on offer by the EU had to be accepted, and it would be "historically irresponsible" to lose it.</p>
<p>Immediate elections would be "catastrophic" for the deal, he said, so proposed a new, broad coalition to take charge until it had been agreed.</p>
<p>"I therefore ask for a vote of confidence in order to ensure the security of this nation."</p>
<p>Hinting that he might stand aside, he said he would not put personal ambition before saving the country.</p>
<p>"I am not interested in any post, the last thing I am interested in is whether I am re-elected," he said.</p>
<p>Friday 7:30 p.m. Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou has won a crucial confidence vote after promising to hold power-sharing talks.</p>
<p>In an address to parliament before the vote he ruled out snap elections, saying they would be "catastrophic".</p>
<p>He said he did not care about his post and the leadership of any government of national unity would be negotiable.</p>
<p>Papandreou previously shocked EU partners and sent markets into turmoil after calling for a referendum on an EU deal to bail out debt-ridden Greece.</p>
<p>The finance minister confirmed on Friday the referendum had now been scrapped.</p>
<p>Papandreou said the bail-out deal currently on offer by the EU had to be accepted, and it would be "historically irresponsible" to lose it.</p>
<p>He said immediate elections would be "catastrophic" for the deal, so proposed a new coalition to take charge until it had been agreed.</p>
<p>"I have been in contact with the president and I will visit him tomorrow (Saturday) to inform him of my intentions and that I am moving forward with all the parties for a broader coalition government, and to agree on common goals, a timeframe and people, to agree on its composition and even the head of this coalition," he said.</p>
<p>"I therefore ask for a vote of confidence in order to ensure the security of this nation."</p>
<p>In Athens, thousands of protesters have gathered in Syntagma Square for the vote, and security has been tightened around the nearby parliament building.</p>
<p>The vote took place after several hours' debate. Papandreou addressed parliament for more than half an hour.</p>
<p>Eurozone leaders fear that failure to solve the Greek debt crisis could risk it spreading to other vulnerable economies, particularly Italy.</p>
<p>Germany had said a referendum would essentially be a vote on whether Greece wanted to be part of the EU and that the stability of the eurozone was more important than Greek membership. (Recorded at 4pm EDT) Anchor Lisa Mullins talks to the BBC's Mark Lowen in Athens about the latest on the Greek government crisis.</p>
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sunday greek leaders crisis talks athens agreed form new coalition government presidents office says beleaguered prime minister george papandreou step aside successor chosen talks morning statement said main opposition leader antonis samaras attended talks hosted president karolos papoulias announcement follows week turmoil greeces debt crisis new leader named president invite parties join new government statement said papandreou trying build national unity government samaras new democracy party refusing negotiate unless rival resigned first two men also disagreed sharply timing new elections mr papandreou seeking delay several months mr samaras wanted immediately speculation new coalition could led finance minister evangelos venizelos papandreou narrowly confidence vote friday night continuing pressure resign amid chaos debt crisis fresh bailout deal agreed european union last month papandreou faced wrath fellow eu leaders announced would put deal people greece referendum idea dropped days later without sparking deeper financial crisis triggering political crisis led confidence vote bailout deal still ratified greece eu says funds released gives government 130 billion euros 178 billion imposes 50 percent writeoff private holders greek debts return deeply unpopular austerity measures country come huge international pressure resolve political crisis order calm markets possibility greece leaving euro also raised eu leaders fails resolve political financial problems meeting eu finance ministers taking place monday added pressure greece find early solution political deadlock news crisis talks involving president papoulias emerged emergency cabinet meeting led papandreou papandreou samaras held separate talks president earlier weekend saturday greek prime minister george papandreou facing major challenge efforts deal countrys debt crisis talks president carolos papoulias forming government national unity ratify vital eurozone bailout deal main opposition party said would join coalition papandreou demanded elections comes papandreous ruling socialist pasok party narrowly confidence vote friday night entered saturdays brief meeting presidential palace papandreou said government cooperation necessary guarantee greece partners honor commitments concerned lack cooperation could trouble partners see desire remain central core european union euro left hour said process forming coalition government would begin soon details emerged prime minister fighting political life past week facing calls resignation even within party earlier week shocked eu partners sent markets turmoil calling referendum hardfought eu deal struck last month great fanfare referendum plan abandoned bbcs mark lowen athens says looking increasingly unlikely papandreou lead future coalition reports emerging finance minister evangelos venizelos could replace interim prime minister venizelos said elections could held procedures securing eu bailout package finished new democracy party leader antonis samaras already dismissed prime ministers idea coalition government saying papandreou rejected proposals responsibility bears huge said solution elections latenight confidence vote timed take place markets europe us closed knifeedge government eventually 153 votes 145 hours debate papandreou said bailout deal currently offer eu accepted would historically irresponsible lose immediate elections would catastrophic deal said proposed new broad coalition take charge agreed therefore ask vote confidence order ensure security nation hinting might stand aside said would put personal ambition saving country interested post last thing interested whether reelected said friday 730 pm greeces prime minister george papandreou crucial confidence vote promising hold powersharing talks address parliament vote ruled snap elections saying would catastrophic said care post leadership government national unity would negotiable papandreou previously shocked eu partners sent markets turmoil calling referendum eu deal bail debtridden greece finance minister confirmed friday referendum scrapped papandreou said bailout deal currently offer eu accepted would historically irresponsible lose said immediate elections would catastrophic deal proposed new coalition take charge agreed contact president visit tomorrow saturday inform intentions moving forward parties broader coalition government agree common goals timeframe people agree composition even head coalition said therefore ask vote confidence order ensure security nation athens thousands protesters gathered syntagma square vote security tightened around nearby parliament building vote took place several hours debate papandreou addressed parliament half hour eurozone leaders fear failure solve greek debt crisis could risk spreading vulnerable economies particularly italy germany said referendum would essentially vote whether greece wanted part eu stability eurozone important greek membership recorded 4pm edt anchor lisa mullins talks bbcs mark lowen athens latest greek government crisis
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<p>The maternity ward at Fabella Hospital in Manila overflows with hundreds of new&#160;moms. There aren’t enough beds for everyone, so they share, four or five to a bed. &#160;</p>
<p>The babies, some of them wrapped in blankets, lie in the middle. Young mothers sit in&#160;blood-streaked, thin, white hospital gowns that curl up on their sides.</p>
<p>On my first visit to Fabella Hospital,&#160;I find out 77 infants&#160;already have been born&#160;here today. It’s&#160;only&#160;late afternoon. More mothers and newborns arrive every&#160;half hour or so. It’s so busy here that Filipinos commonly refer to this hospital as the&#160;“baby factory.”&#160;</p>
<p>Inside the maternity ward, no one is getting any sound sleep. “We chose to deal with this type of situation because it’s&#160;cheaper here,” says one mom, Jaisel Anne Osmena, 20.</p>
<p>Most of the women who give birth at Fabella come from poor communities around Manila. Here, they only have to pay what they can afford.</p>
<p>“Sharing a bed is fine, it’s okay to share and be all together,” Osmena says. “But it’s&#160;tough because what if the person next to you is sick? What if they pass that illness on to you and your baby?”</p>
<p>During the interview, I hear a commotion across the ward. I find out one of the&#160;babies has fallen out of a bed. I’m on the other side, so I can’t see what’s happened,&#160;but the nurses say everything is okay —&#160;at least this time.&#160;</p>
<p>“We’re all crowded in the beds, it’s like we’re sardines in a can, tightly packed,” says&#160;Carina Dagdagan. She’s 19 years old and just had her second child. Her husband is a&#160;barber who makes about $10 a week.&#160;</p>
<p>Mothers sit on benches at the front of the ward to breastfeed and&#160;calm their newborns.</p>
<p>Sonia Narang</p>
<p>Fabella Hospital is ground zero of the Philippines’ overpopulation crisis. The&#160;nation’s lowest-income families have little or no access to birth control, since it’s not&#160;widely available for free. This lack of government-subsidized birth control has kept&#160;the&#160;country’s fertility rate high.</p>
<p>Former Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros says the big question is:</p>
<p>“If you had just a minimum wage in a day would you spend it for a pack of pills or a pack of condoms, or would you spend it for a kilo of rice?”&#160;</p>
<p>“Of course, rice,” she answers. “So, how can we make poor women and couples make that choice?” continues Hontiveros, co-author of the Philippines’ Reproductive Health&#160;Bill, designed to make contraception free at public health facilities.&#160;</p>
<p>Credit: David Conrad</p>
<p />
<p>In this&#160;predominantly Catholic nation,&#160;the bill faced extreme opposition for&#160;years. But, in 2014, after more than a decade of heated debate, the Philippines&#160;approved the law.</p>
<p>Once the new law is fully implemented, anyone will be able to walk into a public&#160;health clinic and access family planning, says Dr. Eric Tayag, a director at the&#160;Philippines’ Department of Health.</p>
<p>“Government’s role is to make sure that these services are available to every Filipino&#160;women everywhere without any barriers,” Tayag says. “We want women to be&#160;healthier, because if women give birth every year, their health status suffers.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The number of Filipino women who die during pregnancy is so high that the country&#160;won’t meet the UN’s Millennium Development Goal for reducing maternal mortality&#160;this year. In part, that’s because without birth control, women sometimes turn to&#160;illegal, and often dangerous, abortions.&#160;</p>
<p>In Fabella Hospital’s post-abortion care unit, women lie alone, quietly in their beds.&#160;Maribeth Endoso came here after hemorrhaging during her abortion. She has tears&#160;in her eyes as she sits under the glare of fluorescent lights in the room.</p>
<p />
<p>“I decided to have my child aborted. I really felt sorry for my child because I had it&#160;taken away. I regret what I did,” she says, sobbing softly.&#160;Endoso already has three children and says she couldn’t afford to raise another. She&#160;went to a local woman who uses stomach massage and misoprostal pills, a drug that&#160;can induce abortions.</p>
<p>“It was painful, it was really, really painful,” says Endoso. “Even now, I can still feel the pain. I think it’s because of the multiple massages. After four days, I had chills,&#160;fever&#160;and I was vomiting.”</p>
<p>Dr. Vanessa Diano, the resident physician on duty, says she would like to see more&#160;family planning available to poor women to prevent unsafe abortions.</p>
<p>“If you help them try to control their family size, they won’t get an abortion,” she&#160;says. “Primarily, they want to have it because they don’t have money or they can’t&#160;afford having another baby."</p>
<p />
<p>Newborns nap in Fabella Hospital, a place Filipinos commonly refer to as the “baby factory.” &#160;</p>
<p>Sonia Narang</p>
<p>Upstairs in the maternity ward, visiting hours have begun. The nurses loudly call&#160;each woman’s assigned number on a microphone when their family members&#160;arrive, and the cacophony spreads across the ward.</p>
<p>Family isn’t allowed into the delivery room or the ward. So this is the first time&#160;many men are seeing their wives or girlfriends since the delivery.</p>
<p>The women walk out to meet them in the bustling hallway. There’s not much place&#160;for anyone to sit.</p>
<p>Mark Jason Dagdagan, the barber, wraps his arm around his wife Carina in the waiting room. They talk about the birth of their second child.</p>
<p />
<p>Fathers line up outside the maternity ward during visiting hours. Hospital rules don't allow men inside the ward, so new moms meet with them in the hallway.&#160;</p>
<p>Sonia Narang</p>
<p>Despite the cramped conditions here, many patients want to have their babies at&#160;Fabella Hospital. That’s because it’s one of the few places in Manila women have&#160;been able to get free contraception right after giving birth.</p>
<p>Jenelyn Ranga delivered her third child here. She looks a lot more relaxed than the&#160;hospital’s first-timers. She came back for this birth so she could get a free intra-uterine device. The IUD will prevent pregnancies for about&#160;seven&#160;years.</p>
<p>“To me, it’s important to have contraceptives,” she says. “If we all have too many kids, we won’t have any resources to feed them. What would happen to the&#160;children?”&#160;</p>
<p>If everything works out, Jenelyn Ranga&#160;won’t be coming back to this&#160;''baby factory''&#160;anytime soon.&#160;</p>
<p>Sonia Narang reported from the Philippines with support from the <a href="http://internationalreportingproject.org/" type="external">International&#160;Reporting Project.</a></p>
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maternity ward fabella hospital manila overflows hundreds new160moms arent enough beds everyone share four five bed 160 babies wrapped blankets lie middle young mothers sit in160bloodstreaked thin white hospital gowns curl sides first visit fabella hospital160i find 77 infants160already born160here today its160only160late afternoon mothers newborns arrive every160half hour busy filipinos commonly refer hospital the160baby factory160 inside maternity ward one getting sound sleep chose deal type situation its160cheaper says one mom jaisel anne osmena 20 women give birth fabella come poor communities around manila pay afford sharing bed fine okay share together osmena says its160tough person next sick pass illness baby interview hear commotion across ward find one the160babies fallen bed im side cant see whats happened160but nurses say everything okay 160at least time160 crowded beds like sardines tightly packed says160carina dagdagan shes 19 years old second child husband a160barber makes 10 week160 mothers sit benches front ward breastfeed and160calm newborns sonia narang fabella hospital ground zero philippines overpopulation crisis the160nations lowestincome families little access birth control since not160widely available free lack governmentsubsidized birth control kept160the160countrys fertility rate high former congresswoman risa hontiveros says big question minimum wage day would spend pack pills pack condoms would spend kilo rice160 course rice answers make poor women couples make choice continues hontiveros coauthor philippines reproductive health160bill designed make contraception free public health facilities160 credit david conrad this160predominantly catholic nation160the bill faced extreme opposition for160years 2014 decade heated debate philippines160approved law new law fully implemented anyone able walk public160health clinic access family planning says dr eric tayag director the160philippines department health governments role make sure services available every filipino160women everywhere without barriers tayag says want women be160healthier women give birth every year health status suffers number filipino women die pregnancy high country160wont meet uns millennium development goal reducing maternal mortality160this year part thats without birth control women sometimes turn to160illegal often dangerous abortions160 fabella hospitals postabortion care unit women lie alone quietly beds160maribeth endoso came hemorrhaging abortion tears160in eyes sits glare fluorescent lights room decided child aborted really felt sorry child it160taken away regret says sobbing softly160endoso already three children says couldnt afford raise another she160went local woman uses stomach massage misoprostal pills drug that160can induce abortions painful really really painful says endoso even still feel pain think multiple massages four days chills160fever160and vomiting dr vanessa diano resident physician duty says would like see more160family planning available poor women prevent unsafe abortions help try control family size wont get abortion she160says primarily want dont money cant160afford another baby newborns nap fabella hospital place filipinos commonly refer baby factory 160 sonia narang upstairs maternity ward visiting hours begun nurses loudly call160each womans assigned number microphone family members160arrive cacophony spreads across ward family isnt allowed delivery room ward first time160many men seeing wives girlfriends since delivery women walk meet bustling hallway theres much place160for anyone sit mark jason dagdagan barber wraps arm around wife carina waiting room talk birth second child fathers line outside maternity ward visiting hours hospital rules dont allow men inside ward new moms meet hallway160 sonia narang despite cramped conditions many patients want babies at160fabella hospital thats one places manila women have160been able get free contraception right giving birth jenelyn ranga delivered third child looks lot relaxed the160hospitals firsttimers came back birth could get free intrauterine device iud prevent pregnancies about160seven160years important contraceptives says many kids wont resources feed would happen the160children160 everything works jenelyn ranga160wont coming back this160baby factory160anytime soon160 sonia narang reported philippines support international160reporting project
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<p>As the fall term begins, the value of providing public education to thousands of undocumented, unaccompanied young migrants who arrived from Central America in the last year has become a hot topic in the United States immigration debate.</p>
<p>Groups advocating for stricter immigration policies say that bringing these children into the US public school system will place an extreme burden on American taxpayers – more than <a href="http://www.fairus.org/DocServer/research-pub/AlienMinors_EducationCosts_Aug2014.pdf" type="external">$750 million</a> for this school year alone, according to the nonprofit Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Civil rights groups, however, say education is a right that every child deserves, and investing in these children today can only help the nation in the long term.</p>
<p>“Obviously it will cost money,” said Michelle Brané, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice program for the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC), a Washington, DC-based non-profit that supports internally displaced people (IDPs) and immigrants worldwide.&#160;But many of these children will likely qualify for asylum, Brané said, “so it absolutely makes sense to educate them.”</p>
<p>“Status should not affect access to education,” she said.</p>
<p>Since October last year, more than <a href="http://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/SWB%20Family%20and%20UAC%20Apps%20thru%208-31.pdf" type="external">66,000 children</a>have pushed past the US-Mexico border to escape violence and crime at home.</p>
<p>Three-quarters are from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala – countries with some of the worst homicide rates in the world, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). <a href="" type="external">Honduras</a> tops the list with about 90 homicides per 100,000 people. In war-torn Nigeria, where Islamic militants are reportedly perpetrating “ <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-09-16/boko-haram-waging-total-war-on-nigeria-senate-president-says" type="external">heinous crimes daily</a>,” the rate is about 20 per 100,000.</p>
<p>“Many of the children being apprehended at the border are fleeing unspeakable violence in their home countries,” California Sen. Diane Feinstein wrote in a June <a href="" type="external">op-ed</a>for the LA Times. “US values and leadership in the world demand that we provide just, humane treatment of these vulnerable children.”</p>
<p>To date, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – the government division assigned to process unaccompanied minors – has released more than <a href="" type="external">37,000 children</a> to US sponsors who have passed background checks and been deemed suitable guardians by the HHS. Nearly 90 percent of these sponsors are relatives who have been living in the country, according to HHS data. Once discharged, the children become eligible for enrollment in US public schools under <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201405.pdf" type="external">federal law</a>.</p>
<p>“States and local educational agencies are obligated to provide all children – regardless of immigration status – with equal access to public education at the elementary and secondary level,” according to a Department of Education <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/policy/rights/guid/unaccompanied-children.pdf" type="external">fact sheet</a> addressing the issue. “This includes … unaccompanied children who may be involved in immigration proceedings.”</p>
<p>Still, some public officials have taken steps against the resettling of migrant children in their districts. Over the summer several North Carolina counties filed resolutions urging the government to stop allowing unaccompanied minors into the country, citing risks to their citizens’ health and safety and a strain on resources.</p>
<p>“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Frank Williams, county commissioner for Brunswick County, <a href="http://www.wect.com/story/26087213/brunswick-co-gov-mccrory-stand-up-against-immigration-issues" type="external">told</a> local station WECT in July. “By the time it becomes a direct issue here, it would probably be too late for us to do anything about it.”</p>
<p>The cost to taxpayers for the 2014-2015 school year could also be staggering when calculations include the need for Limited English Proficient (LEP) classes for migrant children – as high as more than $35,000 per student in New York state, according to a report by FAIR, a Washington, DC-based non-profit advocating for change in US immigration policy.</p>
<p>“Standard cost of LEP is anywhere from 10 [percent] to 200 [percent] of base cost,” Bob Dane, FAIR’s communication director, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2014/09/04/3478138/anti-immigration-fair-education-migrant-children-misleading/" type="external">told</a> online news blog ThinkProgress. “The [unaccompanied minors] are going to be on the higher end of the cost spectrum because of poverty and previous lack of education. In addition, they will need other services such as remedial education and free lunch.”</p>
<p>Advocates for educating migrant children, however, say that even counting for inflation those numbers go far beyond the $12,300 that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) estimates was the average cost per student in 2012.</p>
<p>In addition, WRC's Brané said, many of the states where these kids are going have faced this issue before and likely won’t need such large amounts of money.</p>
<p>“The infrastructure exists," she said. "It just needs to be reinforced."</p>
<p>Brané added that majority of these children are being released to relatives in the US – people who have jobs and pay taxes. “There’s a huge misconception about that,” she said. “Their parents are already paying taxes. These kids are not just randomly going to school.”</p>
<p>Besides, “some of these students may be staying here in the long run,” said Kim Sweet, executive director of the Advocates for Children of New York, a non-profit that focuses on education access.</p>
<p>Unemployment <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_501.10.asp" type="external">drops</a> from an average of 14 percent among adults without a high school degree to a little over 4 percent among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to&#160;the NCES. The national unemployment rate hovers around 7 percent.</p>
<p>“It benefits our country to have an educated adult force," Sweet said.</p>
| false | 3 |
fall term begins value providing public education thousands undocumented unaccompanied young migrants arrived central america last year become hot topic united states immigration debate groups advocating stricter immigration policies say bringing children us public school system place extreme burden american taxpayers 750 million school year alone according nonprofit federation american immigration reform fair civil rights groups however say education right every child deserves investing children today help nation long term obviously cost money said michelle brané director migrant rights justice program womens refugee commission wrc washington dcbased nonprofit supports internally displaced people idps immigrants worldwide160but many children likely qualify asylum brané said absolutely makes sense educate status affect access education said since october last year 66000 childrenhave pushed past usmexico border escape violence crime home threequarters honduras el salvador guatemala countries worst homicide rates world according united nations office drugs crime unodc honduras tops list 90 homicides per 100000 people wartorn nigeria islamic militants reportedly perpetrating heinous crimes daily rate 20 per 100000 many children apprehended border fleeing unspeakable violence home countries california sen diane feinstein wrote june opedfor la times us values leadership world demand provide humane treatment vulnerable children date department health human services hhs government division assigned process unaccompanied minors released 37000 children us sponsors passed background checks deemed suitable guardians hhs nearly 90 percent sponsors relatives living country according hhs data discharged children become eligible enrollment us public schools federal law states local educational agencies obligated provide children regardless immigration status equal access public education elementary secondary level according department education fact sheet addressing issue includes unaccompanied children may involved immigration proceedings still public officials taken steps resettling migrant children districts summer several north carolina counties filed resolutions urging government stop allowing unaccompanied minors country citing risks citizens health safety strain resources ounce prevention worth pound cure frank williams county commissioner brunswick county told local station wect july time becomes direct issue would probably late us anything cost taxpayers 20142015 school year could also staggering calculations include need limited english proficient lep classes migrant children high 35000 per student new york state according report fair washington dcbased nonprofit advocating change us immigration policy standard cost lep anywhere 10 percent 200 percent base cost bob dane fairs communication director told online news blog thinkprogress unaccompanied minors going higher end cost spectrum poverty previous lack education addition need services remedial education free lunch advocates educating migrant children however say even counting inflation numbers go far beyond 12300 national center education statistics nces estimates average cost per student 2012 addition wrcs brané said many states kids going faced issue likely wont need large amounts money infrastructure exists said needs reinforced brané added majority children released relatives us people jobs pay taxes theres huge misconception said parents already paying taxes kids randomly going school besides students may staying long run said kim sweet executive director advocates children new york nonprofit focuses education access unemployment drops average 14 percent among adults without high school degree little 4 percent among bachelors degree higher according to160the nces national unemployment rate hovers around 7 percent benefits country educated adult force sweet said
| 518 |
<p>SACRAMENTO – A letter late last month from the state Legislature’s six special-interest caucuses asking California lobbying firms to provide legislators with detailed demographic data has sparked debate and controversy within the Capitol and media.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article160220334.html" type="external">The Sacramento Bee reported</a>&#160;last week that “leaders of the Legislative Asian Pacific Islander, Black, Jewish, Latino, LGBT and Women’s caucuses” are seeking information about the “race, ethnicity, gender and openly gay or lesbian orientation” of the employees of lobbying firms.</p>
<p>Supporters of the request say it’s “intended to expand conversation about cultural diversity in the Capitol workforce,” according to the Bee report. <a href="https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-07-10/california-effort-to-divulge-lobbyist-demographic-data-is-rotten" type="external">Critics</a> believe it may instead be the first step toward something like a quota system and note that legislators aren’t required to report this kind of personal information about their employees.</p>
<p>The data request has taken on partisan overtones, as well. The conservative <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2017/07/10/california-democrats-want-know-lobbyists-race-sexual-orientation/" type="external">Breitbart news site</a> found it ironic that the Democratic-dominated caucuses want detailed personal data on lobbying firms “while the state refuses to give voter data to President Donald Trump’s voter fraud commission.”</p>
<p>The request for data, however intrusive it came across to the lobbying firms, was made in a letter and is not currently the subject of any legislation. Meanwhile, members of both parties have voted overwhelmingly in favor of expanding an already far-reaching mandate for similar data from insurance companies that do business in California.</p>
<p>That legislation was amended significantly late last week. Instead of giving the imprimatur to the Department of Insurance to seek out more data from insurers without doing an official rulemaking, it limits the department’s power. But the legislation is a reminder that other industries already deal with these kinds of demographic data requirements.</p>
<p>Currently, insurers that write California premiums in excess of $100 million biennially are required under the California Department of Insurance’s 2012 “Insurance Diversity Initiative” to provide the department with detailed demographic data about insurance-company suppliers. Insurers must “periodically submit to the insurance commissioner a report on its minority, women and disabled&#160;veteran business enterprise procurement efforts,” according to state law.</p>
<p><a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB488" type="external">Senate Bill 488</a>, by Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, expanded that reporting requirement to include businesses controlled by veterans (not just disabled veterans) as well as those owned or managed by lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered people. It passed the Senate in late May on a <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB488" type="external">bipartisan 38-0 vote</a>. The clear goal of these surveys is to use the highly regulated nature of the insurance industry to pursue social goals that go beyond the stated goals of insurance regulation.</p>
<p>For instance, the <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB488" type="external">Senate analysis</a> notes that including the new categories of business owners “will open the door or economic opportunity more broadly.” Yet the analysis makes clear that the purpose of insurance regulation is not to promote economic opportunities for various demographic groups but to ensure insurance companies “are financially able to fulfill their obligations to policyholders and that they are treating consumers fairly.”</p>
<p>Lobbying firms likewise are regulated by the state, so there’s fear that the letter seeking data will turn into something more pernicious. “If a firm isn’t diverse and voluntarily provides data, some legislators may feel less inclined to work with them,” explained the Bee report. In addition, lobbying firms might view the request as something less than voluntary.</p>
<p>Likewise, insurance companies are <a href="http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0250-insurers/0300-insurers/0100-applications/rsb-forms/" type="external">routinely asked</a> by the Department of Insurance to provide data voluntarily that conforms to controversial political objectives. There’s fear in the industry that if a company doesn’t comply, it could suffer repercussions from a department that holds ultimate authority over the prices they are allowed to charge consumers.</p>
<p>There’s no question that regulators continually expand their requests. <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201120120AB53" type="external">Assembly Bill 53</a> in 2012 mandated the provision of supplier demographic data, but the Department of Insurance (DOI) then issued a 2014 data call for information about the diversity of insurance-industry board members, which was not specifically authorized by the legislation. As part of that diversity initiative, the DOI participated with four other states and the District of Columbia in collecting the board member information, which was used to highlight the large percentage of white males at the helm.</p>
<p>“Since the initial AB53 data call in 2013, DOI has expanded their diversity data call efforts to include an entire new effort (board member diversity), insurer activity in other states (collecting data for multiple states), increased data call frequency from every other year to annual, and added demographic categories not included in AB53 (LGBT and veteran-owned business enterprises),” explained the Senate analysis. The Senate legislation in its original form would mainly have granted the department authority it already had been exerting on its own.</p>
<p>There are parallels here with the letter from the legislative caucuses. Will the caucuses follow up the request to registered lobbyists with a legislative mandate? If they do so, will they continue to up the ante? Lobbying firms are concerned, but they aren’t the only industry that faces such “requests.” Some lobbyists downplay the recent letter and argue that there’s not much the legislators could do even with detailed data. Others nonetheless worry that the request is just a precursor of things to come.</p>
<p>Steven Greenhut is Western region director for the R Street Institute. Write to him at [email protected].</p>
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sacramento letter late last month state legislatures six specialinterest caucuses asking california lobbying firms provide legislators detailed demographic data sparked debate controversy within capitol media sacramento bee reported160last week leaders legislative asian pacific islander black jewish latino lgbt womens caucuses seeking information race ethnicity gender openly gay lesbian orientation employees lobbying firms supporters request say intended expand conversation cultural diversity capitol workforce according bee report critics believe may instead first step toward something like quota system note legislators arent required report kind personal information employees data request taken partisan overtones well conservative breitbart news site found ironic democraticdominated caucuses want detailed personal data lobbying firms state refuses give voter data president donald trumps voter fraud commission request data however intrusive came across lobbying firms made letter currently subject legislation meanwhile members parties voted overwhelmingly favor expanding already farreaching mandate similar data insurance companies business california legislation amended significantly late last week instead giving imprimatur department insurance seek data insurers without official rulemaking limits departments power legislation reminder industries already deal kinds demographic data requirements currently insurers write california premiums excess 100 million biennially required california department insurances 2012 insurance diversity initiative provide department detailed demographic data insurancecompany suppliers insurers must periodically submit insurance commissioner report minority women disabled160veteran business enterprise procurement efforts according state law senate bill 488 sen steven bradford dgardena expanded reporting requirement include businesses controlled veterans disabled veterans well owned managed lesbian gay bisexual transgendered people passed senate late may bipartisan 380 vote clear goal surveys use highly regulated nature insurance industry pursue social goals go beyond stated goals insurance regulation instance senate analysis notes including new categories business owners open door economic opportunity broadly yet analysis makes clear purpose insurance regulation promote economic opportunities various demographic groups ensure insurance companies financially able fulfill obligations policyholders treating consumers fairly lobbying firms likewise regulated state theres fear letter seeking data turn something pernicious firm isnt diverse voluntarily provides data legislators may feel less inclined work explained bee report addition lobbying firms might view request something less voluntary likewise insurance companies routinely asked department insurance provide data voluntarily conforms controversial political objectives theres fear industry company doesnt comply could suffer repercussions department holds ultimate authority prices allowed charge consumers theres question regulators continually expand requests assembly bill 53 2012 mandated provision supplier demographic data department insurance doi issued 2014 data call information diversity insuranceindustry board members specifically authorized legislation part diversity initiative doi participated four states district columbia collecting board member information used highlight large percentage white males helm since initial ab53 data call 2013 doi expanded diversity data call efforts include entire new effort board member diversity insurer activity states collecting data multiple states increased data call frequency every year annual added demographic categories included ab53 lgbt veteranowned business enterprises explained senate analysis senate legislation original form would mainly granted department authority already exerting parallels letter legislative caucuses caucuses follow request registered lobbyists legislative mandate continue ante lobbying firms concerned arent industry faces requests lobbyists downplay recent letter argue theres much legislators could even detailed data others nonetheless worry request precursor things come steven greenhut western region director r street institute write sgreenhutrstreetorg
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<p>The New Testament commands Christ’s followers to “bear one another’s burdens.” But applying that principle to caregivers — people who shoulder the around-the-clock responsibility for meeting the needs of someone who cannot live independently because of advanced age, illness or disability — can be challenging.</p>
<p>“I think it is a two-way street when it comes to alleviating some of the burdens caregivers bear,” said David Rockett, minister of senior adults and congregational care at First Baptist Church in Covington, La.</p>
<p>“The caregiver must recognize their need for help and willingly accept assistance and help the one being cared for to understand that some relief will, in the long run, help the caregiver be a better giver of care. Churches and Sunday school classes must be educated to this need and respond with action and commitment.”</p>
<p />
<p>Caregiving may involve short-term care for an ill or injured relative or long-term care for an older person in declining health, a person with a chronic malady or a disabled person of any age.</p>
<p>Caregiving for a person with a terminal illness differs in some respects from caregiving for a person with long-term disability or chronic condition, said Randall Maurer, professor of psychology and family ministry at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology in Abilene, Texas.</p>
<p>In the case of a person with a disease that almost certainly will bring about death, the caregiver “anticipates the loss, but also faces an impending sense of release and relief, which may produce guilt,” he said.</p>
<p>The caregiver for a person with a long-term disability, on the other hand, may think, “My life will never be my own,” he added. That can lead to feelings of isolation and even depression.</p>
<p>Under any circumstances, caregiving creates stress for families, accentuating and magnifying previously existing strengths and weaknesses in the family, Maurer observed.</p>
<p>“Anytime there is a crisis in a family, to understand what is going on at that moment, you have to understand the family relationships that have developed over time and the history of the family. The crisis just brings out a lot of what has been swept under the carpet before,” he explained.</p>
<p>Inevitable role</p>
<p>Almost inevitably, one individual in the family emerges as the point person for caregiving.</p>
<p>“Often, one person is designated as the primary caregiver, and the family as a group allows it to happen,” he said. “That person may be the adult child who lives closest to a parent who needs care, or the caregiver may be a spouse who naturally wants to assume that responsibility.”</p>
<p>That role can create resentment if the caregiver believes other family members fail to shoulder their share of responsibility, and it also may create a set of expectations for the caregiver by others in the family.</p>
<p>“If anything goes wrong, families can react negatively and blame the caregiver,” Maurer noted.</p>
<p>Families face additional stress from dealing with the entry of medical professionals into their lives. Some struggle with “having to make space” in their family structure for professionals, whether a visiting nurse, a physical therapist or attending physician; other family members disengage and relinquish responsibility when a health care professional enters, he observed.</p>
<p>Caregivers of all kinds carry heavy burdens, but those who care for dementia patients face the added stress of providing for a person whose personality and behavior they no longer recognize, said social worker Emily Booth, who has been involved more than a year with a dementia caregiver support group that meets at First Baptist Church in Goose Creek, S.C.</p>
<p>“People with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia not only become forgetful, but also may wander and sometimes can become combative. It’s stressful for the caregiver who has known a person to be one way their whole life, and now there is this change,” Booth said.</p>
<p>Danger of neglect and abuse</p>
<p>The feeling that the person with dementia has become a stranger can, in some extreme cases, even lead to neglect and abuse, Maurer noted.</p>
<p>“The caregiver may come to a point of thinking: ‘Why am I devoting my life to care for a stranger? I’m giving my life to a person I don’t recognize and who doesn’t recognize me,’” he said.</p>
<p>A spouse who cares for a mate with Alzheimer’s or a similar condition may feel intense isolation — not only cut off from the person with whom they fell in love, but also from other family members who may no longer want to be around an individual with dementia, Booth said.</p>
<p>“Some caregivers have no support from other family who are not coping appropriately with the situation,” she said. “Maybe they don’t want to see a loved one in a different state. They want to remember the person they knew back in fun times and hold onto those good memories.”</p>
<p>The person who feels ongoing responsibility for providing care may feel resentment toward other family members who distance themselves from an unpleasant situation, she added.</p>
<p>“Families are families, and they are going to function in certain ways. It’s sad, but I see a lot of family discord,” Booth said.</p>
<p>Suggested actions</p>
<p>Pastoral care providers note several actions churches can take to help caregivers:</p>
<p>• Give them a break. Provide short-term respite care. Offering to sit with an ill or disabled person while the caregiver goes shopping, enjoys some personal time or attends worship services.</p>
<p>“A couple of our classes [at First Baptist in Covington, La.] in the past scheduled members to sit with loved ones on Sunday mornings and allow the caregiver to come to church,” Rockett noted.</p>
<p>• Help with housework. If a family is comfortable allowing someone from the church to enter their home, offer to do housecleaning or laundry. Meals may be welcomed and appreciated, but be aware of dietary restrictions, and don’t provide so much food that it becomes overwhelming.</p>
<p>• Educate. “One way we have tried to help our caregivers is by providing information about resources both here in the church and in our community that caregivers might find useful,” said Mark Seanor, senior adult minister at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.</p>
<p>Recently, the church held a conference on spiritual care for caregivers led by Edith Fraser, chair and professor of the social work, psychology and counseling department at Alabama A&amp;M Univer-sity.</p>
<p>New Birth Baptist Church in south Dallas likewise seeks to help connect people in need to community agencies and other resources, working with groups such as the Senior Source and the Dallas Area Agency on Aging. In one five-year period, the church provided workshops and other ministries that touched 2,800 people, said Arthur Melton, coordinator of the church’s caregiver support group.</p>
<p>• Listen. “Be careful not to theologize too much,” Maurer said. “Just provide a listening ear to a caregiver. Provide encouragement by your presence.”</p>
<p>• Be sensitive. “Support is wonderful, but well-meaning people need to know the limits” and not become intrusive, Booth said. “Be respectful of the caregiver and the family.”</p>
<p>Ken Camp ( <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>) is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.</p>
<p>Related story:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.religiousherald.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=6666&amp;Itemid=61" type="external">Did I care enough? Caregiver recalls struggle with anger and guilt</a></p>
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new testament commands christs followers bear one anothers burdens applying principle caregivers people shoulder aroundtheclock responsibility meeting needs someone live independently advanced age illness disability challenging think twoway street comes alleviating burdens caregivers bear said david rockett minister senior adults congregational care first baptist church covington la caregiver must recognize need help willingly accept assistance help one cared understand relief long run help caregiver better giver care churches sunday school classes must educated need respond action commitment caregiving may involve shortterm care ill injured relative longterm care older person declining health person chronic malady disabled person age caregiving person terminal illness differs respects caregiving person longterm disability chronic condition said randall maurer professor psychology family ministry hardinsimmons universitys logsdon school theology abilene texas case person disease almost certainly bring death caregiver anticipates loss also faces impending sense release relief may produce guilt said caregiver person longterm disability hand may think life never added lead feelings isolation even depression circumstances caregiving creates stress families accentuating magnifying previously existing strengths weaknesses family maurer observed anytime crisis family understand going moment understand family relationships developed time history family crisis brings lot swept carpet explained inevitable role almost inevitably one individual family emerges point person caregiving often one person designated primary caregiver family group allows happen said person may adult child lives closest parent needs care caregiver may spouse naturally wants assume responsibility role create resentment caregiver believes family members fail shoulder share responsibility also may create set expectations caregiver others family anything goes wrong families react negatively blame caregiver maurer noted families face additional stress dealing entry medical professionals lives struggle make space family structure professionals whether visiting nurse physical therapist attending physician family members disengage relinquish responsibility health care professional enters observed caregivers kinds carry heavy burdens care dementia patients face added stress providing person whose personality behavior longer recognize said social worker emily booth involved year dementia caregiver support group meets first baptist church goose creek sc people alzheimers forms dementia become forgetful also may wander sometimes become combative stressful caregiver known person one way whole life change booth said danger neglect abuse feeling person dementia become stranger extreme cases even lead neglect abuse maurer noted caregiver may come point thinking devoting life care stranger im giving life person dont recognize doesnt recognize said spouse cares mate alzheimers similar condition may feel intense isolation cut person fell love also family members may longer want around individual dementia booth said caregivers support family coping appropriately situation said maybe dont want see loved one different state want remember person knew back fun times hold onto good memories person feels ongoing responsibility providing care may feel resentment toward family members distance unpleasant situation added families families going function certain ways sad see lot family discord booth said suggested actions pastoral care providers note several actions churches take help caregivers give break provide shortterm respite care offering sit ill disabled person caregiver goes shopping enjoys personal time attends worship services couple classes first baptist covington la past scheduled members sit loved ones sunday mornings allow caregiver come church rockett noted help housework family comfortable allowing someone church enter home offer housecleaning laundry meals may welcomed appreciated aware dietary restrictions dont provide much food becomes overwhelming educate one way tried help caregivers providing information resources church community caregivers might find useful said mark seanor senior adult minister first baptist church birmingham ala recently church held conference spiritual care caregivers led edith fraser chair professor social work psychology counseling department alabama aampm university new birth baptist church south dallas likewise seeks help connect people need community agencies resources working groups senior source dallas area agency aging one fiveyear period church provided workshops ministries touched 2800 people said arthur melton coordinator churchs caregiver support group listen careful theologize much maurer said provide listening ear caregiver provide encouragement presence sensitive support wonderful wellmeaning people need know limits become intrusive booth said respectful caregiver family ken camp kencampbaptiststandardorg managing editor baptist standard related story care enough caregiver recalls struggle anger guilt
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<p>Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s four new appointees to the CPS Board of Education don’t look too different from the board members they’ll be replacing in July.</p>
<p>There’s the retired and the soon-to-retire presidents of private local universities. The two former CPS principals. The leaders of two Chicago non-profits. And the banker and the businesswoman who both have a strong interest in education technology.</p>
<p>“The new appointees fit into the same categories as the people they’re replacing,” remarked Jesse Sharkey, vice president of the Chicago Teachers Union. “They might be good and interesting people. The problem with Rahm’s board is that they vote unanimously and have discussions in secret. This will never be a board that votes independently.”</p>
<p>Indeed, it’s <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2014/11/record-paying-preschool-social-impact-bonds/" type="external">a rare occasion</a> when just one board member votes against an item on a meeting agenda. And, in recent memory, the board hasn’t voted down a single proposal.</p>
<p>Mark Furlong</p>
<p>In a statement issued this morning, Emanuel said his new appointees “bring valuable experience to their new roles that will help us build on our progress and address our challenges to ensure that every child in every community has the education they need for the bright future they deserve.”</p>
<p>The new board members include: Mark Furlong, the retired CEO of BMO Harris Bank; Rev. Michael Garazini, retiring president of Loyola University Chicago; Gail Ward, a former teacher, counselor and principal who previously headed up the district’s principal preparation office; and Dominique Jordan Turner, president and CEO of Chicago Scholars Foundation, which promotes college access for disadvantaged youth.</p>
<p>Rev. Michael J. Garanzini</p>
<p>They replace board members whose terms expire this month: Carlos Azcoitia, a former principal; Deborah Quazzo, an education venture capitalist; Henry Bienen, former president of Northwestern University; and Andrea Zopp, who <a href="http://www.thechicagourbanleague.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=1&amp;ModuleInstanceID=368&amp;ViewID=047E6BE3-6D87-4130-8424-D8E4E9ED6C2A&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=989&amp;PageID=1" type="external">recently stepped down</a> as head of the Chicago Urban League. Zopp, who has announced a senatorial bid, had previously resigned from the board and was absent from last month’s board meeting.</p>
<p>With Azcoitia’s departure, just one of the seven board members will be Latino&#160; — although the mayor’s office made it a point to mention <a href="http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2015/june/mayor-emanuel-announces-board-of-education-appointments.html" type="external">&#160;in a press release</a>&#160;that Turner speaks Spanish. (She is African American and not Hispanic, though.) Nearly 46 percent of CPS students are Hispanic.</p>
<p>Dominique Jordan Turner</p>
<p>Turner, who previously worked with the KIPP Foundation and Posse Foundation, said in an email to Catalyst that she’s “honored to be appointed to the board as I have dedicated my professional career to helping under-served young people be successful in the classroom and beyond.”</p>
<p>Until recently, Furlong had also been the chair of the board for, LEAP Innovations, a group that’s involved in educational technology and personalized learning and has contracts to do work in CPS. A LEAP spokeswoman said Furlong resigned on Friday in order to avoid the potential appearance of a conflict of interest once he joins the CPS board.</p>
<p>Issues of perceived conflicts of interest have come up a lot in recent months. Quazzo has been <a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/7/71/352887/deborah-quazzo-companies-got-1-3-million-cps-funded-charters" type="external">dogged by criticism</a> for contracts given to companies that she invests in, while last week CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/06/take-5-byrd-bennett-resigns-no-budget-deal-koch-lands-a-job/" type="external">tendered her resignation</a>in the midst of a <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/04/feds-investigate-20-million-supes-contract-byrd-bennett-ties/" type="external">federal probe</a>into her ties with a company that got a $20-million no-bid contract to do principal training in CPS.</p>
<p>LSC members on steroids</p>
<p>Juan Jose Gonzalez, who directs the Chicago office for Stand for Children Illinois, an education reform and advocacy group, said he’s glad to see that the new board members come from varied professional backgrounds – including work in the banking sector, something he hopes will be an asset as the district faces a $1.1 billion deficit next year.</p>
<p>“People should see them as LSC members on steroids who are doing this as volunteers, and hopefully doing it for the right reasons,” he said.</p>
<p>Gonzalez added that the parents who work with Stand have generally been pleased at the accessibility of current board members, who they meet during office hours and during routine visits to schools.</p>
<p>“I hope they continue to be accessible and responsive to parents, maybe not at the board meetings, but in more subtle and effective ways,” he said.</p>
<p>But critics who have been advocating for an elected school board say who sits on the board is far less important than the man who puts them there. <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-chicago-election-referendums-met-0225-20150224-story.html" type="external">Earlier this year,</a> Chicago voters in 37 wards overwhelmingly approved a symbolic referendum to create an elected school board, though such a change would require the approval of the State Legislature.</p>
<p>“We have already learned through concrete experience that people may be placed on the board at various points to be a naysayer or a questioner or one who seems to criticize policies and take a stance that might seem to be more amenable to developing democracy in CPS,” says Rico Gutstein, a professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago who has been involved in the elected school board effort. “These are sham mechanisms and they’re designed to placate and make it look like were moving toward a real democracy.”</p>
<p>Clarice Berry, president of the Chicago Principals &amp; Administrators Association, says she’s never been a proponent of a fully elected board. “I favor a hybrid board with the mayor having some appointees and the others elected. Responsibility should be spread out.”</p>
<p>But however the board members get chosen, she wishes they did a better job of reviewing contracts before voting to make sure they even make sense. Berry brought up the controversial contract with Aramark to provide janitorial services in schools. <a href="http://www.wbez.org/news/chicago-school-cleaning-contract-millions-over-budget-111949" type="external">A recent WBEZ report</a>found that CPS miscounted the number of schools the private company was supposed to clean, leading to millions of dollars in cost overruns.</p>
<p>“These persons who are mayor-selected have the responsibility of due diligence,” Berry said. “How about the mayor and or the board sit down and talk to the middle management, the people who have to run the schools, and see if these contracts are workable?”</p>
<p>Churn at the top</p>
<p>The announcement of new board members came days after Byrd-Bennett resigned from her post as CEO of schools, a position she’d left on an interim basis in mid-April after the FBI subpoenaed records connected to the $20 million SUPES contract.</p>
<p>The mayor’s office did not release any information about the search for a new district leader – or say whether it’ll be another “chief executive officer” or an actual superintendent.</p>
<p>It’s unlikely, however, that the announcement will come before contract negotiations between CPS and the CTU are settled. That could take months as <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/05/after-cps-asks-for-7-percent-cut-teachers-union-asks-for-3-percent-raise/" type="external">negotiations have stalled</a>and union leaders are already telling members to start saving for a potential strike.</p>
<p>And CPS board member and interim CEO Jesse Ruiz has already said he’d stick around until a contract is signed.</p>
<p>“I don’t know what kind of person would want to jump in in the middle of a strike,” Berry said. “It was certainly a death knell for [former CEO Jean-Claude] Brizard.”</p>
<p>CTU leaders have repeatedly said the new schools chief ought to have an educational background</p>
<p>Back in April, when Byrd-Bennett first took a leave of absence, CTU President Karen Lewis told Catalyst her “preference for ‘CEO’ – and I wish we’d get rid of that title and go back to ‘superintendent’ – is someone with an educational background.”</p>
<p>Reached on Monday, Azcoitia said the new district leader ought to have a strong financial background to deal with the budget problems ahead. He also hopes Emanuel’s pick for the top job has connections to Chicago. “This type of work is about community investment,” he said. “It’s weekday work, it’s weekend work.”</p>
<p>Although Byrd-Bennett officially moved to Chicago for the job, many said she never truly became a Chicago resident, as she often returned on the weekends to the Cleveland suburb where she owns a home.</p>
<p>Azcoitia, a former school principal, said he hopes Emanuel’s pick for new district leader is someone with a good sense of what’s actually happening inside of schools. That way, initiatives that come from above are grounded in how schools work.</p>
<p>“You can’t have a lot of people in the trenches at the schools believing that what happens in Central Office isn’t connected to their reality,” he says. “We’ve got to develop that relational trust and accountability.”</p>
<p>The churn at the top has been hard on principals, who have had to deal with new initiatives and programs every few years. The district has gone through four CEOs since Arne Duncan left Chicago in 2009 to head the U.S. Department of Education.</p>
<p>“There has not been a stable senior staff in CPS since 2009,” Berry said. “You can’t keep rotating people in and out like this, with new programs and new textbooks and new tests and evaluations and think this is not going to have an effect.”</p>
<p>Sarah Duncan, co-director of the University of Chicago’s Network for College Success, says she wouldn’t be surprised if the new CEO changed how the district groups schools in networks. “That’s what people have done in the past,” she said, listing off all the ways schools have been regrouped in the past six years.</p>
<p>Regardless of who’s at the top, principals and teachers have no choice but to keep doing their job.</p>
<p>“People are just moving forward, which is what they have to do,” she said. “Right after Barbara Byrd-Bennett went on leave, people kept asking me, ‘What is happening?, and I said, ‘The kids keep showing up. The job doesn’t actually change when she’s not there.’ But it creates uncertainty.”</p>
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mayor rahm emanuels four new appointees cps board education dont look different board members theyll replacing july theres retired soontoretire presidents private local universities two former cps principals leaders two chicago nonprofits banker businesswoman strong interest education technology new appointees fit categories people theyre replacing remarked jesse sharkey vice president chicago teachers union might good interesting people problem rahms board vote unanimously discussions secret never board votes independently indeed rare occasion one board member votes item meeting agenda recent memory board hasnt voted single proposal mark furlong statement issued morning emanuel said new appointees bring valuable experience new roles help us build progress address challenges ensure every child every community education need bright future deserve new board members include mark furlong retired ceo bmo harris bank rev michael garazini retiring president loyola university chicago gail ward former teacher counselor principal previously headed districts principal preparation office dominique jordan turner president ceo chicago scholars foundation promotes college access disadvantaged youth rev michael j garanzini replace board members whose terms expire month carlos azcoitia former principal deborah quazzo education venture capitalist henry bienen former president northwestern university andrea zopp recently stepped head chicago urban league zopp announced senatorial bid previously resigned board absent last months board meeting azcoitias departure one seven board members latino160 although mayors office made point mention 160in press release160that turner speaks spanish african american hispanic though nearly 46 percent cps students hispanic dominique jordan turner turner previously worked kipp foundation posse foundation said email catalyst shes honored appointed board dedicated professional career helping underserved young people successful classroom beyond recently furlong also chair board leap innovations group thats involved educational technology personalized learning contracts work cps leap spokeswoman said furlong resigned friday order avoid potential appearance conflict interest joins cps board issues perceived conflicts interest come lot recent months quazzo dogged criticism contracts given companies invests last week ceo barbara byrdbennett tendered resignationin midst federal probeinto ties company got 20million nobid contract principal training cps lsc members steroids juan jose gonzalez directs chicago office stand children illinois education reform advocacy group said hes glad see new board members come varied professional backgrounds including work banking sector something hopes asset district faces 11 billion deficit next year people see lsc members steroids volunteers hopefully right reasons said gonzalez added parents work stand generally pleased accessibility current board members meet office hours routine visits schools hope continue accessible responsive parents maybe board meetings subtle effective ways said critics advocating elected school board say sits board far less important man puts earlier year chicago voters 37 wards overwhelmingly approved symbolic referendum create elected school board though change would require approval state legislature already learned concrete experience people may placed board various points naysayer questioner one seems criticize policies take stance might seem amenable developing democracy cps says rico gutstein professor university illinois chicago involved elected school board effort sham mechanisms theyre designed placate make look like moving toward real democracy clarice berry president chicago principals amp administrators association says shes never proponent fully elected board favor hybrid board mayor appointees others elected responsibility spread however board members get chosen wishes better job reviewing contracts voting make sure even make sense berry brought controversial contract aramark provide janitorial services schools recent wbez reportfound cps miscounted number schools private company supposed clean leading millions dollars cost overruns persons mayorselected responsibility due diligence berry said mayor board sit talk middle management people run schools see contracts workable churn top announcement new board members came days byrdbennett resigned post ceo schools position shed left interim basis midapril fbi subpoenaed records connected 20 million supes contract mayors office release information search new district leader say whether itll another chief executive officer actual superintendent unlikely however announcement come contract negotiations cps ctu settled could take months negotiations stalledand union leaders already telling members start saving potential strike cps board member interim ceo jesse ruiz already said hed stick around contract signed dont know kind person would want jump middle strike berry said certainly death knell former ceo jeanclaude brizard ctu leaders repeatedly said new schools chief ought educational background back april byrdbennett first took leave absence ctu president karen lewis told catalyst preference ceo wish wed get rid title go back superintendent someone educational background reached monday azcoitia said new district leader ought strong financial background deal budget problems ahead also hopes emanuels pick top job connections chicago type work community investment said weekday work weekend work although byrdbennett officially moved chicago job many said never truly became chicago resident often returned weekends cleveland suburb owns home azcoitia former school principal said hopes emanuels pick new district leader someone good sense whats actually happening inside schools way initiatives come grounded schools work cant lot people trenches schools believing happens central office isnt connected reality says weve got develop relational trust accountability churn top hard principals deal new initiatives programs every years district gone four ceos since arne duncan left chicago 2009 head us department education stable senior staff cps since 2009 berry said cant keep rotating people like new programs new textbooks new tests evaluations think going effect sarah duncan codirector university chicagos network college success says wouldnt surprised new ceo changed district groups schools networks thats people done past said listing ways schools regrouped past six years regardless whos top principals teachers choice keep job people moving forward said right barbara byrdbennett went leave people kept asking happening said kids keep showing job doesnt actually change shes creates uncertainty
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<p>Omar Ahmed, 27, carries the heavy burden of bearing witness to horrific things.</p>
<p>He saw public beheadings after ISIS stormed his home city of Mosul, Iraq.</p>
<p>Later came an attempted coup in the country he escaped to, Turkey.</p>
<p>“Helicopters were shooting, F-16 jets were bombing the parliament — it was terrifying,” he recalls of the incident in Turkey last July.</p>
<p>Now, Ahmed is on the Greek island of Samos, hoping to gain asylum in Europe. As he relays frenetic accounts, yachts and fishing boats are bobbing in the glistening Vathi harbor. But a lengthy limbo on this picturesque island is not easing his mind.</p>
<p>Ahmed is in detention along with more than 1,000 other migrants and refugees, in a squalid ex-military facility with capacity for barely 600 people. For five months he has lived under a plastic canopy. Most others are in either tents or metal containers. They are some of the <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/00f87964d1d246a78cf3f64e7cfc72cb/year-key-eu-turkey-migration-deal-looks-wobbly" type="external">reported 14,000</a> migrants still stuck on the Greek islands after a historic exodus to Europe.</p>
<p />
<p>The shelter in Samos, Greece, where migrants have to await the authorities' decision of what to do with them next.</p>
<p>Courtesy of Omar Ahmed</p>
<p>If their asylum is denied, a deal between the European Union and the Turkish government dictates that Greece will deport them to Turkey. Leading humanitarian groups have <a href="https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/reality-eu-turkey-statement" type="external">condemned</a> that agreement for “prolonging and exacerbating suffering” of refugees.</p>
<p>For many, this uncertainty is taking its toll. Mental health is one of the latest casualties of the refugee crisis.</p>
<p>That’s especially evident on Samos, where there were 12 suicide attempts and six instances of self-harm in the detention center in January alone. Ahmed recalls it painfully well.</p>
<p />
<p>Migrants went on hunger strike recently at the Samos shelter.</p>
<p>Courtesy of Omar Ahmed</p>
<p>“Some people are cutting their veins here, taking many tablets,” he says. “I know someone that took around 40 tablets. He’s lucky he didn’t die, but others have. People are literally tearing out their hair.”</p>
<p>In late March, a 25-year-old Syrian was found hanged in an <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/syrian-asylum-seeker-hangs-himself-greece-suicide-attempts-refugees-piraeus-eu-turkey-deal-athens-a7654261.html" type="external">apparent suicide</a> at Greece’s largest port of Piraeus. He had&#160;asylum application papers on him.</p>
<p>Despite the purgatorial misery in Greece, fear of deportation stalks migrants here. Turkey could also send them back to their countries of origin, <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/04/12/what-%E2%80%8Bwill%E2%80%8B-happen-migrants-returned-turkey" type="external">including Syria and Iraq.</a></p>
<p>Dr. William Gorman, a clinical psychologist at the Marjorie Kovler Center in Chicago, has worked for decades researching refugee trauma and treating survivors or torture. Last month he visited Samos and found many of the people in detention were in a disturbed state.</p>
<p>“The most common reactions of refugees I have witnessed on Samos include post-traumatic stress disorder with acute and pervasive anxiety symptoms and major depression, with grief and loss, guilt and remorse, helplessness, and hopelessness, at times accompanied by thoughts of suicide,” Gorman says.</p>
<p>“On the other hand, it is also important to recognize the incredible resilience many refugees show in the face of so much adversity — to still find meaning and value in their lives, solidarity and compassion with others, and determination to surmount all the hardships and find a better life.”</p>
<p>At its shortest point, the forbidding cliffs of Turkey’s Mount Mycale are barely half a mile across the Aegean Sea from Samos. <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/20/471180243/after-surviving-aegean-sea-syrian-swimmer-hopes-for-spot-in-olympics" type="external">Some refugees have been known to swim across</a> to Greece. But most are smuggled there on boats, now for as little as $200 per person, compared to an average of $1,200 during the peak flows of 2015.</p>
<p />
<p>The small stretch of water between the Greek island of Samos, left, and Turkey.</p>
<p>Andrew Connelly/PRI</p>
<p>In March 2016, when European leaders were desperate to prevent more of the record numbers of migrants from rushing in, they hastily signed the&#160;agreement with the Turkish government. In exchange for 6 billion euros in aid and visa waivers for Turks to travel to Europe, Turkey would increase sea and land border patrols and accept migrants deported from Greece.</p>
<p>Turkey is host to the <a href="http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=224" type="external">world’s largest population of refugees</a> — almost 3 million. Most of them fled the six-year-long conflict next door in Syria. The Turkish government insists it is working to integrate Syrians into its society. But many arriving in Samos speak badly of their time in Turkey, and of getting trapped in an intolerable web of exploitation and segregation in the workplace.</p>
<p>Majd Thabet, a 24-year-old from Damascus, used to fly around the world as cabin crew for an international airline, until Syria’s war broke out. His negative experience in Turkey propelled him to sail to Europe to rebuild his life and career.</p>
<p>“I don’t exist. I am nobody over there,” he says of Turkey. “[Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan is using us like a card in his hand to push Europe into giving him money. I understand some money is to help us, but I didn’t see any evidence of that when I was in Turkey. If you are going to make a deal to keep us there then you must ensure that every refugee has rights. If not, then of course people want to come to Europe.”</p>
<p>This corner of the world is steeped in historical significance and poignancy. During the sixth century BC, a wave of artisans and thinkers flocked to the island of Samos to help construct its thriving commerce and architecture, some remains of which still stand. Many of those newcomers arrived from Mesopotamia and Assyria, the same blood-strewn regions that hundreds of thousands of exiles escape from today.</p>
<p>Ahmed, the Iraqi asylum-seeker, recalls vivid details of the days when Mosul fell to ISIS, and of the campaign of gruesome executions, incessant religious harassment and plummeting economic conditions that followed.</p>
<p>“I still remember when they cut the head off the magician in the main square. The executioner used a sword. The first time didn’t cut the neck completely, so he had to try again,” he says. “That was in 2014. I have lost three years of my life.”</p>
<p>As European-Turkey <a href="" type="internal">relations deteriorate</a> over disputes related to foreign campaigning for Turkey’s upcoming constitutional referendum, senior Turkish cabinet members have made a series of belligerent statements seemingly threatening the refugee deal.</p>
<p>“I’m telling you Europe, do you have that courage? If you want, we’ll send the 15,000 refugees to you that we don’t send each month and blow your mind,” Turkey’s interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, told a <a href="http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/haber-detay.aspx?pageID=238&amp;nID=110926&amp;NewsCatID=510" type="external">crowd of supporters</a> last month.</p>
<p>Could the breakdown of Europe’s refugee deal wreak havoc on the Greek islands? Vangelis Orfanoudakis of the Samos branch of Doctors Without Borders thinks so.</p>
<p>“We have a dystopia now but what could happen in the near future would be an increase in arrivals but with the same detention polices that we are experiencing,” he says. “And that will be a ticking bomb.”</p>
<p>Andrew Connelly reported from Samos, Greece.&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
omar ahmed 27 carries heavy burden bearing witness horrific things saw public beheadings isis stormed home city mosul iraq later came attempted coup country escaped turkey helicopters shooting f16 jets bombing parliament terrifying recalls incident turkey last july ahmed greek island samos hoping gain asylum europe relays frenetic accounts yachts fishing boats bobbing glistening vathi harbor lengthy limbo picturesque island easing mind ahmed detention along 1000 migrants refugees squalid exmilitary facility capacity barely 600 people five months lived plastic canopy others either tents metal containers reported 14000 migrants still stuck greek islands historic exodus europe shelter samos greece migrants await authorities decision next courtesy omar ahmed asylum denied deal european union turkish government dictates greece deport turkey leading humanitarian groups condemned agreement prolonging exacerbating suffering refugees many uncertainty taking toll mental health one latest casualties refugee crisis thats especially evident samos 12 suicide attempts six instances selfharm detention center january alone ahmed recalls painfully well migrants went hunger strike recently samos shelter courtesy omar ahmed people cutting veins taking many tablets says know someone took around 40 tablets hes lucky didnt die others people literally tearing hair late march 25yearold syrian found hanged apparent suicide greeces largest port piraeus had160asylum application papers despite purgatorial misery greece fear deportation stalks migrants turkey could also send back countries origin including syria iraq dr william gorman clinical psychologist marjorie kovler center chicago worked decades researching refugee trauma treating survivors torture last month visited samos found many people detention disturbed state common reactions refugees witnessed samos include posttraumatic stress disorder acute pervasive anxiety symptoms major depression grief loss guilt remorse helplessness hopelessness times accompanied thoughts suicide gorman says hand also important recognize incredible resilience many refugees show face much adversity still find meaning value lives solidarity compassion others determination surmount hardships find better life shortest point forbidding cliffs turkeys mount mycale barely half mile across aegean sea samos refugees known swim across greece smuggled boats little 200 per person compared average 1200 peak flows 2015 small stretch water greek island samos left turkey andrew connellypri march 2016 european leaders desperate prevent record numbers migrants rushing hastily signed the160agreement turkish government exchange 6 billion euros aid visa waivers turks travel europe turkey would increase sea land border patrols accept migrants deported greece turkey host worlds largest population refugees almost 3 million fled sixyearlong conflict next door syria turkish government insists working integrate syrians society many arriving samos speak badly time turkey getting trapped intolerable web exploitation segregation workplace majd thabet 24yearold damascus used fly around world cabin crew international airline syrias war broke negative experience turkey propelled sail europe rebuild life career dont exist nobody says turkey turkish president recep tayyip erdogan using us like card hand push europe giving money understand money help us didnt see evidence turkey going make deal keep us must ensure every refugee rights course people want come europe corner world steeped historical significance poignancy sixth century bc wave artisans thinkers flocked island samos help construct thriving commerce architecture remains still stand many newcomers arrived mesopotamia assyria bloodstrewn regions hundreds thousands exiles escape today ahmed iraqi asylumseeker recalls vivid details days mosul fell isis campaign gruesome executions incessant religious harassment plummeting economic conditions followed still remember cut head magician main square executioner used sword first time didnt cut neck completely try says 2014 lost three years life europeanturkey relations deteriorate disputes related foreign campaigning turkeys upcoming constitutional referendum senior turkish cabinet members made series belligerent statements seemingly threatening refugee deal im telling europe courage want well send 15000 refugees dont send month blow mind turkeys interior minister suleyman soylu told crowd supporters last month could breakdown europes refugee deal wreak havoc greek islands vangelis orfanoudakis samos branch doctors without borders thinks dystopia could happen near future would increase arrivals detention polices experiencing says ticking bomb andrew connelly reported samos greece160
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