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<p>In March, Chicago Public School officials predicted that a third of new teachers for the coming 2004-05 school year would be hired from alternative certification programs, a figure that CPS said would be more than double the number hired from such programs in 2003-04.</p>
<p>Most alternative programs are aimed at career-changers, and Schools CEO Arne Duncan called such programs “extremely valuable,” touting the benefits of bringing experienced professionals into the classroom where they could have a positive impact on students’ lives.</p>
<p>But the prediction fell short. By late August, only 25 percent of all new teachers hired were from alternative certification programs, according to CPS data.</p>
<p>Even so, for the past five years, the number of teachers from alternative programs has been growing steadily, from 140 in 2000 to 417 this year. Chicago’s hiring trend is part of a national one. School districts in California, Texas, New Jersey and New York are relying more and more on alternative programs as a hiring pool. The percentage of Chicago’s hires from alternative programs is about the same as that of Los Angeles, Houston and Newark, and higher than New York and Miami, says Emily Feistritzer, president and CEO of the National Center for Alternative Certification in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>Surge of interest</p>
<p>The hiring surge is just one sign of the district’s growing interest in alternative certification. CPS now has partnerships with nine alternative programs, most of which take one to two-and-a-half years to complete and put participants into the classroom while they earn their teaching credentials. Another partnership with Rockford College in Rockford, Ill., is in the works, but the school’s alternative program is sending 14 elementary bilingual teachers to CPS this fall.</p>
<p>In addition, CPS now has an office called Routes to Teaching, created by Duncan almost two years ago to manage the partnerships and coordinate hiring from alternative programs. Director Toni Hill explains that alternative programs previously had to work with several departments. “Now, they are all getting the same message and have one place to call to resolve issues and concerns,” she says.</p>
<p>And last year, CPS instituted a requirement that teachers hired through alternative programs commit to stay for three years after completing coursework and obtaining certification. If they do not, they must reimburse the district for tuition costs.</p>
<p>Research in the works</p>
<p>But while CPS increases its hiring from alternative programs, research on their effectiveness is limited. Experts say that those studies that have been done are inconclusive and often not well-designed (see related story).</p>
<p>However, one noted expert says there’s a larger issue than simply whether alternative certification is better than traditional four-year training from a school or college of education.</p>
<p>“One is not better than the other, if you look at what it takes to prepare a teacher,” says Barnett Berry, executive director of the Southeast Center for Teaching Quality at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. “There are horrible alternative certification programs and terrific programs. There are horrible college of education programs. There are terrific ones. It is not a question of alternative certification vs. traditional programs. It is high quality vs. low quality. “</p>
<p>CPS will try to determine the effectiveness of programs it partners with by launching a major study this fall. With a $45,000 grant from the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL), CPS and the University of Illinois at Chicago will begin the first phase of a study examining how well alternative-certification teachers are performing in the classroom and the quality of training programs.</p>
<p>“We don’t know much nationwide about these programs,” says Steve Tozer, a professor of education at UIC who is overseeing the study. “And in Chicago, we don’t know how these programs work and the steps they are taking to produce quality teachers.” Among the questions the study will seek to answer, he explains, is whether teachers are receiving adequate support from trained mentors and whether they are teaching in hard-to-staff schools.</p>
<p>“One of the arguments we hear for alternative programs is that they are meeting needs that are not being met otherwise,” says Tozer. “So we want to see if they are. These are not hostile questions. It is just that we don’t know much about what these programs are contributing to the picture.”</p>
<p>The first part of the study, expected to be complete by spring 2005, will examine how alternative certification programs operate and how well they meet staffing needs. In addition, using a sample of 30 classrooms, researchers will measure teacher attrition and instructional quality.</p>
<p>The second part of the study will focus on the critical question of achievement, measuring student test-score gains over a year’s time. It will compare students whose teachers were trained in alternative certification programs with students whose teachers came from traditional programs.</p>
<p>CPS and UIC have not yet obtained funding for this second phase.</p>
<p>Janet Knupp, president of The Chicago Public Education Fund, says the district deserves credit for planning the research study. The Fund has raised over $18 million to support several education initiatives, including three alternative programs: Teach for America (in Chicago), the Golden Apple Teacher Education (GATE) program and the Academy for Urban School Leadership.</p>
<p>“Now they are taking the next logical step and plan to look deeply and find out which ones are really quality programs,” says Knupp.</p>
<p>Filling in the gaps</p>
<p>While the question of quality is up in the air, there is one plus about alternative certification: The programs appear to be helping the district solve its teacher shortage problems. The majority of teachers hired through alternative certification are filling slots in math, science, special education, bilingual education and other subjects for which the district has a chronic shortage of teachers.</p>
<p>“The universities were not producing enough teachers in the areas we need,” explains Hill. She estimates that 50 percent of all math and science teachers hired in the district for 2004-05 are from alternative programs, up from 45 percent last year.</p>
<p>However, final hiring figures for math, science and other shortage areas will not be available until the end of September.</p>
<p>“The big positive [of alternative programs] for school districts is you recruit for where the demand is great,” says Feistritzer.</p>
<p>Former Fenger High Principal Phyllis Hodges turned to alternative certification programs when she could not find the special education teachers her school needed. She hired four.</p>
<p>“They are very effective teachers and two of them are pursuing additional certification in math and English,” says Hodges. “They are real serious about this.”</p>
<p>Unequal supply, demand</p>
<p>At a CPS teachers’ fair this summer, half the 300 resumes Manley High Principal Katherine Flanagan received were from social studies teachers. (For more on Manley, see related story.)</p>
<p>“There were droves of them,” says Flanagan, who questions why colleges do not do more to dissuade education majors from getting credentials to teach subjects that already have a glut of candidates.</p>
<p>Hill says her office has had mixed results when asking colleges and universities to guide students into teaching careers in high-need areas.</p>
<p>Private universities have mainly been unresponsive. “Some of them have said, ‘Hey, these kids are paying big money, they should be able to take what they want,'” Hill says.</p>
<p>Public universities, she adds, have been more receptive.</p>
<p>“We do try to steer them to shortage areas. We have more kids than we can handle in the elementary education program,” says Chris Sorensen, the dean of the College of Education at Northern Illinois University. “We are encouraging special education, but a lot of students have their hearts set on teaching small children. It is very difficult to convince them to do anything other than that.”</p>
<p>NIU has 1,200 students studying elementary education, compared to only 600 studying special education. Sorensen says counselors do not have contact with most elementary education majors early in their college careers—when it would be easier to steer them down another path—because 60 percent of them are transfer students from community colleges.</p>
<p>When students cannot get in the elementary program because of the glut, some parents have even called the school to ask if they are aware of the teacher shortage, Sorensen says. “I tell them, ‘Yeah, but it’s just not in elementary education.'”</p>
<p>NIU began trying another approach three years ago, pairing students studying elementary education with those studying special education.</p>
<p>The groups do joint classroom observations, take some courses together and talk about what they’re seeing.</p>
<p>“We’ve had some kids switch majors because of this program,” says Sorensen. “It has helped to change the perspective of the elementary ed student.”</p>
<p>CPS calls the shots</p>
<p>Alternative programs have been a growing source of teachers in shortage areas. But the district, which pays partner colleges and universities between $2,000 and $12,000 for each candidate who wants to work in CPS, also looks to these programs to find teachers who have a strong interest in teaching children in low-income communities.</p>
<p>“These people will be going into the neediest classrooms. They are not going to the Whitney Young’s or the Walter Payton’s,” Hill explains, referring to two of the district’s selective-admissions high schools.</p>
<p>Hill’s office also looks for male, bilingual and minority teachers. About half of teachers in CPS are minorities, according to state school report card data, but data from the Department of Human Resources shows that some schools still need minority teachers in order to comply with the faculty integration requirements found in the federal desegregation consent decree. Only 23 percent of CPS teachers are men.</p>
<p>Chicago launched Illinois’ first alternative certification program, Teachers for Chicago, in 1991. The partnership brought together CPS, the Chicago Teachers Union, the Golden Apple Foundation and area colleges, but it was discontinued three years ago in part because it was structured for schools with at least three teacher vacancies, leaving out schools that were interested in participating but had fewer job openings.</p>
<p>With the exception of Teach for America and the Golden Apple program, any applicant to an alternative program who wants to teach in CPS must apply through the district, not the school. “We are the customers, so we do the screening,” Hill explains. “If we think these people suit our needs, then they go to the university to be admitted. The universities have never said no to anyone we’ve sent to them.”</p>
<p>Since last year, each candidate has been paired with a mentor from GOLDEN, the district-wide mentoring program for new teachers.</p>
<p>Previously, teachers on the alternative certification track did not get a mentor until they finished their program. But the district realized that, as novices, the new teachers needed help with classroom management and day-to-day tasks such as keeping grade books, marking attendance properly and planning lessons.</p>
<p>Principal becomes supporter</p>
<p>Once they are in the classroom, advocates say teachers from alternative certification programs are just as capable as those from traditional routes.</p>
<p>One advocate is Principal Patricia Johnson of Kershaw Elementary in Englewood. When Johnson was working as a teacher at Tilton Elementary in West Garfield Park, she didn’t think much of teachers from alternative certification programs.</p>
<p>But Johnson discovered that the now-defunct Teachers for Chicago program would send teachers to schools with three or more vacancies and persuaded her principal to give it a try, since Tilton had problems filling teaching positions because of its location in an impoverished community.</p>
<p>“At that point, I thought they would be better than nothing,” Johnson recalls.</p>
<p>But once they were on board, she was surprised to discover that the newcomers were competent. In fact, Johnson was so impressed that she later became a coordinator for Teachers for Chicago.</p>
<p>“Before, I was certainly biased because I came from a college of education,” says Johnson, who attended Illinois State University. “But that experience made me take a second look at alternative certification programs and change my perspective of teachers that come from them.”</p>
<p>To contact Debra Williams, call (312) 673-3873 or send an e-mail to [email protected].</p>
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march chicago public school officials predicted third new teachers coming 200405 school year would hired alternative certification programs figure cps said would double number hired programs 200304 alternative programs aimed careerchangers schools ceo arne duncan called programs extremely valuable touting benefits bringing experienced professionals classroom could positive impact students lives prediction fell short late august 25 percent new teachers hired alternative certification programs according cps data even past five years number teachers alternative programs growing steadily 140 2000 417 year chicagos hiring trend part national one school districts california texas new jersey new york relying alternative programs hiring pool percentage chicagos hires alternative programs los angeles houston newark higher new york miami says emily feistritzer president ceo national center alternative certification washington dc surge interest hiring surge one sign districts growing interest alternative certification cps partnerships nine alternative programs take one twoandahalf years complete put participants classroom earn teaching credentials another partnership rockford college rockford ill works schools alternative program sending 14 elementary bilingual teachers cps fall addition cps office called routes teaching created duncan almost two years ago manage partnerships coordinate hiring alternative programs director toni hill explains alternative programs previously work several departments getting message one place call resolve issues concerns says last year cps instituted requirement teachers hired alternative programs commit stay three years completing coursework obtaining certification must reimburse district tuition costs research works cps increases hiring alternative programs research effectiveness limited experts say studies done inconclusive often welldesigned see related story however one noted expert says theres larger issue simply whether alternative certification better traditional fouryear training school college education one better look takes prepare teacher says barnett berry executive director southeast center teaching quality university north carolina chapel hill nc horrible alternative certification programs terrific programs horrible college education programs terrific ones question alternative certification vs traditional programs high quality vs low quality cps try determine effectiveness programs partners launching major study fall 45000 grant north central regional educational laboratory ncrel cps university illinois chicago begin first phase study examining well alternativecertification teachers performing classroom quality training programs dont know much nationwide programs says steve tozer professor education uic overseeing study chicago dont know programs work steps taking produce quality teachers among questions study seek answer explains whether teachers receiving adequate support trained mentors whether teaching hardtostaff schools one arguments hear alternative programs meeting needs met otherwise says tozer want see hostile questions dont know much programs contributing picture first part study expected complete spring 2005 examine alternative certification programs operate well meet staffing needs addition using sample 30 classrooms researchers measure teacher attrition instructional quality second part study focus critical question achievement measuring student testscore gains years time compare students whose teachers trained alternative certification programs students whose teachers came traditional programs cps uic yet obtained funding second phase janet knupp president chicago public education fund says district deserves credit planning research study fund raised 18 million support several education initiatives including three alternative programs teach america chicago golden apple teacher education gate program academy urban school leadership taking next logical step plan look deeply find ones really quality programs says knupp filling gaps question quality air one plus alternative certification programs appear helping district solve teacher shortage problems majority teachers hired alternative certification filling slots math science special education bilingual education subjects district chronic shortage teachers universities producing enough teachers areas need explains hill estimates 50 percent math science teachers hired district 200405 alternative programs 45 percent last year however final hiring figures math science shortage areas available end september big positive alternative programs school districts recruit demand great says feistritzer former fenger high principal phyllis hodges turned alternative certification programs could find special education teachers school needed hired four effective teachers two pursuing additional certification math english says hodges real serious unequal supply demand cps teachers fair summer half 300 resumes manley high principal katherine flanagan received social studies teachers manley see related story droves says flanagan questions colleges dissuade education majors getting credentials teach subjects already glut candidates hill says office mixed results asking colleges universities guide students teaching careers highneed areas private universities mainly unresponsive said hey kids paying big money able take want hill says public universities adds receptive try steer shortage areas kids handle elementary education program says chris sorensen dean college education northern illinois university encouraging special education lot students hearts set teaching small children difficult convince anything niu 1200 students studying elementary education compared 600 studying special education sorensen says counselors contact elementary education majors early college careerswhen would easier steer another pathbecause 60 percent transfer students community colleges students get elementary program glut parents even called school ask aware teacher shortage sorensen says tell yeah elementary education niu began trying another approach three years ago pairing students studying elementary education studying special education groups joint classroom observations take courses together talk theyre seeing weve kids switch majors program says sorensen helped change perspective elementary ed student cps calls shots alternative programs growing source teachers shortage areas district pays partner colleges universities 2000 12000 candidate wants work cps also looks programs find teachers strong interest teaching children lowincome communities people going neediest classrooms going whitney youngs walter paytons hill explains referring two districts selectiveadmissions high schools hills office also looks male bilingual minority teachers half teachers cps minorities according state school report card data data department human resources shows schools still need minority teachers order comply faculty integration requirements found federal desegregation consent decree 23 percent cps teachers men chicago launched illinois first alternative certification program teachers chicago 1991 partnership brought together cps chicago teachers union golden apple foundation area colleges discontinued three years ago part structured schools least three teacher vacancies leaving schools interested participating fewer job openings exception teach america golden apple program applicant alternative program wants teach cps must apply district school customers screening hill explains think people suit needs go university admitted universities never said anyone weve sent since last year candidate paired mentor golden districtwide mentoring program new teachers previously teachers alternative certification track get mentor finished program district realized novices new teachers needed help classroom management daytoday tasks keeping grade books marking attendance properly planning lessons principal becomes supporter classroom advocates say teachers alternative certification programs capable traditional routes one advocate principal patricia johnson kershaw elementary englewood johnson working teacher tilton elementary west garfield park didnt think much teachers alternative certification programs johnson discovered nowdefunct teachers chicago program would send teachers schools three vacancies persuaded principal give try since tilton problems filling teaching positions location impoverished community point thought would better nothing johnson recalls board surprised discover newcomers competent fact johnson impressed later became coordinator teachers chicago certainly biased came college education says johnson attended illinois state university experience made take second look alternative certification programs change perspective teachers come contact debra williams call 312 6733873 send email williamscatalystchicagoorg
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<p>BERLIN, Germany — Reeling from revelations that a neo-Nazi cell allegedly robbed banks and murdered immigrants with impunity for more than a decade, the authorities have been at pains to show they’re acting against extremism.</p>
<p>Leading the effort is a drive to ban the far-right National Democratic Party, which is alleged to have neo-Nazi links.</p>
<p>All 16 German states filed a motion in the federal constitutional court to ban the NPD in December, arguing that it propagates racism and aims to overthrow the democratic government. But the court's dismissal of a similar case in 2003 suggests the going won't be easy, especially when neither Angela Merkel's government in Berlin nor parliament has joined the fight.</p>
<p>More than that, critics say, the move will do little to stop hardcore neo-Nazi street fighters even as it galvanizes support for a political organization that was already about to self-destruct.</p>
<p>Germany has tough laws to prevent the resurgence of Nazism, such as a ban on displaying the swastika and an edict that makes it illegal to deny the Holocaust.</p>
<p>However, constitutional protections for free speech have made it difficult to ban the NPD just because its ideology bears some similarity to Adolph Hitler's. To do that, the plaintiffs must show the party is actually working to overthrow the state through violence.</p>
<p>Experts say that may be very difficult to prove.</p>
<p>“There are some similarities between today's neo-Nazis and the Nazi Party of the 1920s and '30s,” says Bernd Wagner, a longtime veteran of the anti-extremist unit of the German police. However, he adds, the party lacks a formal structure with a leader at the top. “There are countless cells and networks with separate activities and projects and horizontal, vertical and diagonal connections.”</p>
<p>The danger those informal networks pose hit home in 2011, when police allegedly connected a string of bank robberies and murders to a terrorist cell that called itself the National Socialist Underground (NSU).</p>
<p>Among the group's alleged crimes are the murders of nine immigrants between 2000 and 2006, the bombing of an immigrant-owned barbershop in Cologne in 2004 and the murder of a policewoman and attempted murder of her partner in 2007.</p>
<p>Police initially failed to link the crimes to an ideological motive and insisted at first that the Cologne bombing couldn’t have been a terrorist attack.</p>
<p>It soon surfaced that the earlier effort to ban the NPD may have aided the terrorist group.</p>
<p>In 2012, the Interior Ministry announced it was investigating suspicions that an NPD official named Ralf Wohlleben — who had acted as a confidential informant for the authorities seeking to ban the party — had during the same period <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/alleged-terrorist-accomplice-new-suspect-arrested-in-neo-nazi-investigation-a-800599.html" type="external">supplied the terror cell</a> with the gun allegedly used in the murders of the nine immigrants.</p>
<p>The development gave ominous new meaning to the constitutional court's 2003 dismissal of the case against the NPD.</p>
<p>Back then, the court ruled that the authorities had flooded the party with so many undercover agents and informants that it was impossible to ascertain whether its alleged plotting to overthrow the government had actually been hatched in the minds of the police.</p>
<p>Now it looked as if they had also indirectly supplied the weapons.</p>
<p>“Wohlleben and other functionaries of the NPD were also active in this terror network,” says Wagner, who now heads a group that helps neo-Nazis who want to leave the movement.</p>
<p>“Even though in public they presented themselves as a non-violent democratic party, at the same time they were providing support and logisitics for violent activities.”</p>
<p>Prompted toward new vigilance by the revelations, the Interior Ministry <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-police-may-have-to-sharply-revise-figures-in-far-right-killings-a-937169.html" type="external">reopened investigations</a> into some 3,300 unsolved murders and attempted murders committed between 1990 and 2011. As a result, nearly 750 cases were added to the 60 killings previously attributed to right-wing extremists.</p>
<p>The 16 state governments now seeking to ban the NPD argue that the party gives the network real political power. They allege that as many as 1 out of 3 party members is a convicted criminal or faces police investigation, according to a <a href="http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/npd-verbotsverfahren-ein-drittel-der-npd-funktionaere-vorbestraft,10809148,25661212.html" type="external">copy of the complaint</a> leaked to a German newspaper.</p>
<p>By providing the NPD with the state funding afforded to all German political parties, German taxpayers are essentially paying for the neo-Nazi groups' propaganda, the interior minister for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia argued.</p>
<p>“We can't be the shoemaker who continually resoles their combat boots with this party financing,” Ralf Jäger <a href="http://www.derwesten.de/politik/nrw-innenminister-jaeger-sieht-in-npd-gefahr-fuer-demokratie-id8729767.html" type="external">told German media</a> after the case was lodged.</p>
<p>However, police say it will be difficult to establish the existence of a command structure or a money trail from allegations that the membership rosters of the NPD and informal Kameradschaften, or “fellowships” of neo-Nazis, share some common names.</p>
<p>There's little or no direct proof to suggest that the NPD operates like the political wing of a broader, militant neo-Nazi movement — as Sinn Fein acted for the IRA in Ireland, says Oliver Stepien of the Berlin police.</p>
<p>“The inland intelligence service and our own information suggests that the neo-Nazi action groups try to use the NPD structure to advance their own goals,” he says.</p>
<p>“But there's no general rule that the NPD pays for the lawyers when a right-wing activist is accused of a crime. In fact, the party distances itself from the action groups when they break the law.”</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/140128/lviv-western-ukraine-revolution" type="external">How western Ukraine is driving a revolution</a></p>
<p>Some worry that the renewed effort to ban the NPD will galvanize its supporters and bolster its credibility with the hard-core street fighters just as it's about to fade away on its own.</p>
<p>The NPD has seats in only two state parliaments and no presence whatsoever in the Bundestag. In recent elections, it won a paltry 1.3 percent of the popular vote, although that total is much higher than the support it earned between 1990 and 2005.</p>
<p>The party is also practically broke. Its 300,000 euro ($410,000) annual government subsidy has already been frozen due to an outstanding fine of 1.27 million euros ($1.7 million) for accounting irregularities.</p>
<p>And it was thrown into disarray in December when former party chairman Holger Apfel was drummed out following allegations of a “homosexual assault.”</p>
<p>Bringing the full might of the German court system to bear now could grant the party new legitimacy in the minds of potential supporters as well as stoke long-held resentment toward the liberal state's supposed persecution of “patriotic” Germans.</p>
<p>And it would do nothing to eliminate the neo-Nazi “fellowships” and other informal networks that keep the underground movement alive, Wagner says.</p>
<p>“Some might say,” he says, “that the federal government is just trying to silence its critics.”&#160;</p>
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berlin germany reeling revelations neonazi cell allegedly robbed banks murdered immigrants impunity decade authorities pains show theyre acting extremism leading effort drive ban farright national democratic party alleged neonazi links 16 german states filed motion federal constitutional court ban npd december arguing propagates racism aims overthrow democratic government courts dismissal similar case 2003 suggests going wont easy especially neither angela merkels government berlin parliament joined fight critics say move little stop hardcore neonazi street fighters even galvanizes support political organization already selfdestruct germany tough laws prevent resurgence nazism ban displaying swastika edict makes illegal deny holocaust however constitutional protections free speech made difficult ban npd ideology bears similarity adolph hitlers plaintiffs must show party actually working overthrow state violence experts say may difficult prove similarities todays neonazis nazi party 1920s 30s says bernd wagner longtime veteran antiextremist unit german police however adds party lacks formal structure leader top countless cells networks separate activities projects horizontal vertical diagonal connections danger informal networks pose hit home 2011 police allegedly connected string bank robberies murders terrorist cell called national socialist underground nsu among groups alleged crimes murders nine immigrants 2000 2006 bombing immigrantowned barbershop cologne 2004 murder policewoman attempted murder partner 2007 police initially failed link crimes ideological motive insisted first cologne bombing couldnt terrorist attack soon surfaced earlier effort ban npd may aided terrorist group 2012 interior ministry announced investigating suspicions npd official named ralf wohlleben acted confidential informant authorities seeking ban party period supplied terror cell gun allegedly used murders nine immigrants development gave ominous new meaning constitutional courts 2003 dismissal case npd back court ruled authorities flooded party many undercover agents informants impossible ascertain whether alleged plotting overthrow government actually hatched minds police looked also indirectly supplied weapons wohlleben functionaries npd also active terror network says wagner heads group helps neonazis want leave movement even though public presented nonviolent democratic party time providing support logisitics violent activities prompted toward new vigilance revelations interior ministry reopened investigations 3300 unsolved murders attempted murders committed 1990 2011 result nearly 750 cases added 60 killings previously attributed rightwing extremists 16 state governments seeking ban npd argue party gives network real political power allege many 1 3 party members convicted criminal faces police investigation according copy complaint leaked german newspaper providing npd state funding afforded german political parties german taxpayers essentially paying neonazi groups propaganda interior minister state north rhinewestphalia argued cant shoemaker continually resoles combat boots party financing ralf jäger told german media case lodged however police say difficult establish existence command structure money trail allegations membership rosters npd informal kameradschaften fellowships neonazis share common names theres little direct proof suggest npd operates like political wing broader militant neonazi movement sinn fein acted ira ireland says oliver stepien berlin police inland intelligence service information suggests neonazi action groups try use npd structure advance goals says theres general rule npd pays lawyers rightwing activist accused crime fact party distances action groups break law globalpost160 western ukraine driving revolution worry renewed effort ban npd galvanize supporters bolster credibility hardcore street fighters fade away npd seats two state parliaments presence whatsoever bundestag recent elections paltry 13 percent popular vote although total much higher support earned 1990 2005 party also practically broke 300000 euro 410000 annual government subsidy already frozen due outstanding fine 127 million euros 17 million accounting irregularities thrown disarray december former party chairman holger apfel drummed following allegations homosexual assault bringing full might german court system bear could grant party new legitimacy minds potential supporters well stoke longheld resentment toward liberal states supposed persecution patriotic germans would nothing eliminate neonazi fellowships informal networks keep underground movement alive wagner says might say says federal government trying silence critics160
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<p>On late Thursday morning local time, a mass shooting took place at Umpqua Community College, in Douglas County, Oregon. A total of 10&#160;people were killed, and nine&#160;injured. Situated three hours south of Portland, Umpqua has a student body of 3,300 full-time students, and 16,000 part-time. <a href="https://twitter.com/cbsnlive/status/649745920494538752" type="external">CBS News</a> has identified the shooter&#160;as Chris Harper Mercer.&#160;After an exchange of fire with law enforcement, an officer in the field <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDSjVJ1cigg&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=8m50s" type="external">reported to a dispatcher</a> that the “suspect is down.” According to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect is deceased.</p>
<p>You can watch KOIN News (Portland) reporting here.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr64/nvsr64_02.pdf" type="external">According</a> to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oregon residents were killed by firearms at a rate of 11 per 100,000 people in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available. That’s slightly above the national average.&#160;States with the highest rates include Alaska and Louisiana, at 19.8 and 19.3 respectively; while Massachusetts and Hawaii have some of the lowest rates, with 3.1 and 2.6.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncsl.org/research/education/guns-on-campus-overview.aspx" type="external">In 2011, the Oregon Court of Appeals</a> overturned the Oregon University System’s longstanding ban of firearms on college campuses, allowing those with concealed carry permits to bring weapons on university grounds.</p>
<p>The following year, the Oregon Senate considered a bill that would have again prohibited the carrying of guns onto school, college, or university grounds in the state. That legislation lost by a single vote. The state Senator who represents the city where Umpqua Community College is located was among the lawmakers voting against the measure. From the <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2012/03/gun_rights_advocates_score_a_d.html" type="external">Oregonian</a>:</p>
<p>Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, characterized the proposal as a “solution in search of a problem.”</p>
<p>He asked: “Is there an issue with violence in schools? Yes.”</p>
<p>In most cases, Kruse said the violence is committed by teens who have obtained a weapon illegally.</p>
<p>“This is purely a political move.”</p>
<p>The day after the vote, the Oregon State Board of Higher Education took up the issue, setting a policy that allows guns on campus, but bars them from college buildings and sporting venues. Umpqua Community College upholds this ban, <a href="http://www.ammoland.com/2015/10/shooting-at-gun-free-umpqua-community-college-oregon/#axzz3nLOPNwUC" type="external">making an allowance</a> for those “expressly authorized by law or college regulations.”</p>
<p />
<p>The audio,&#160;released two hours after the shooting, reveals that the attack was centered in one classroom. “Somebody is outside one of the doors, shooting through the doors,” an operator says. “We’re exchanging shots with him, he’s in a classroom,” an officer reports. He adds&#160;that the gunman was armed with a “long gun” — a rifle — before saying that the suspect was “down.”</p>
<p>As the news broke in Washington, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said during the daily briefing that the issue of gun control has not fallen on the administration’s priority list, but that President Barack Obama is “quite realistic that we’ll need to see a fundamental change in terms of the way the American people communicate this priority to Congress before we’ll see a different outcome in the legislative process.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/gun-control-umpqua-community-college-oregon-shooting-white-house-214336#ixzz3nLXpNrwt" type="external">Politico</a></p>
<p>In August, Oregon <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/mapes/index.ssf/2015/08/oregon_gun_background_checks_w.html" type="external">became</a> the 12th state to institute universal background checks for all gun transfers, including private gun sales between individuals, at gun shows, and sales arranged over the internet. That was quickly followed by a mass demonstration of gun owners on the State Capitol’s steps and claims by some gun dealers that they would refuse to perform the checks.</p>
<p>Umpqua Community College is located in Roseburg, Oregon., which is in Douglas County. In April, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeTD-zezDNU" type="external">said</a> it would be impossible to enforce recently passed state laws extending background checks to private sellers. “This law is not going to protect citizens of Oregon,” said Hanlin.</p>
<p>The Oregon Firearm Federation is a prominent gun rights group that has successfully litigated for the right to carry weapons on college campuses. Following the news of today’s shooting, the group’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/oregonfirearms?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook page</a> reprinted Umpqua’s “Safety &amp; Security” policies, lamenting that the college prohibits guns in campus buildings. “Gun free zones are death traps,” wrote one commenter. “People are sitting ducks and at the mercy of evil.”</p>
<p>Joe Olson, who retired as president of Umpqua Community College in June, <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/10/01/the-latest-multiple-casualties-reported-in-oregon-shooting" type="external">told</a> the Associated Press that the school employed a single unarmed security guard at any one time, and that there was a contentious debate over whether to equip the guard. Olson added that local law enforcement agencies led the school in three active shooter training drills in the past two years.</p>
<p>Kortney Moore, 18, from Rogue River, was in her Writing 115 class in Snyder Hall when one shot came through a window. She saw her teacher get shot in the head. The shooter was inside at that point, and he told people to get on the ground. The shooter was asking people to stand up and state their religion and then started firing away, Moore said. Moore was lying there with people who had been shot.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nrtoday.com/news/18445375-113/ucc-shooting-rampage-at-least-13-reported-dead" type="external">The News-Review</a></p>
<p>The Oregonian reports:</p>
<p>In 2006, Roseburg High freshman Vincent Leodoro shot fellow student Joseph Monti four times in the back while both were in the school courtyard. Monti survived.</p>
<p>Leodoro was convicted of intentionally shooting Monti with a semiautomatic pistol loaded with hollow-point bullets.</p>
<p>As a result, Roseburg-area institutions, including Umpqua Community College, made plans for how to handle and try to prevent active shooter scenarios.</p>
<p>Roseburg hit twice by school shootings; last one in 2006</p>
<p>Douglas County Sheriff <a href="http://www.dcso.com/staff_N.asp" type="external">John Hanlin</a> is involved in the local chapter of the staunchly pro-gun rights Oath Keepers militia, according to the group’s county coordinator. Rob Price told The Trace that while Hanlin is not an official member, he does come to meetings, and gives guidance to the chapter on gun laws and Second Amendment issues. “I would say he’s active,” Price said.</p>
<p>The Oath Keepers are made up of current and former military, law enforcement, and first-responder personnel. (Sympathetic citizens from other occupations can sign on as “associate members.”) Those who declare allegiance to the militia “declare that they will not obey unconstitutional orders,” <a href="http://oathkeepers.org/oktester/about/" type="external">the group’s website</a> states, “such as orders to disarm the American people.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.kpic.com/news/local/Douglas-County-sheriff--187165681.html#hanlin_letter" type="external">According to local news outlet KPIC</a>, in 2013&#160;Hanlin sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden in 2013 stating that he and his deputies would not enforce&#160;legislation expanding background checks in Oregon to private gun sales. The bill, defeated that year, passed this spring. In the letter, Hanlin said, “Gun control is NOT the answer to preventing heinous crimes like school shootings.”</p>
<p>This letter serves two purposes. First, to make a formal request that you NOT tamper with or attempt to amend the 2nd Amendment. Gun control is NOT the answer to preventing heinous crimes like school shootings. Any actions against, or in disregard for our U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights by the current administration would be irresponsible and an indisputable insult to the American people.&#160;</p>
<p>Sheriff: 'I will NOT violate my constitutional oath'</p>
<p>First elected in 2009, Hanlin is currently serving his second four-year term as sheriff. He spoke at a news conference a few hours after today’s shooting.</p>
<p>“It’s been a terrible day,” Hanlin told reporters. “At this point, it’s a very active scene. It’s a very active investigation.”</p>
<p>John Parker Jr., a student at Umpqua Community College and a concealed handgun carrier, was studying with his fellow military veterans when the gunman opened fire, but they chose not to get involved.</p>
<p>Here’s what he told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mOJf9HW2Zo&amp;feature=youtu.be" type="external">MSNBC</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>If there was something we were able to do, we were going to try to do it. Luckily we made the choice not to get involved. We were quite a distance away from the actual building where it was happening, which could have opened us up to being potential targets ourselves. Not knowing where SWAT was on the their response time, they wouldn’t know who we were, and if we had our guns ready to shoot they could think we were the bad guys.</p>
<p />
<p><a href="http://digg.com/2015/oregon-college-shooting-umpqua-community-college" type="external">The Trace&#160;is collaborating&#160;with Digg to cover active shootings.</a> Digg is what the Internet is talking about right now.&#160;</p>
<p>[Photo: Google maps]</p>
| false | 3 |
late thursday morning local time mass shooting took place umpqua community college douglas county oregon total 10160people killed nine160injured situated three hours south portland umpqua student body 3300 fulltime students 16000 parttime cbs news identified shooter160as chris harper mercer160after exchange fire law enforcement officer field reported dispatcher suspect according douglas county sheriffs office suspect deceased watch koin news portland reporting according centers disease control prevention oregon residents killed firearms rate 11 per 100000 people 2013 recent year data available thats slightly national average160states highest rates include alaska louisiana 198 193 respectively massachusetts hawaii lowest rates 31 26 2011 oregon court appeals overturned oregon university systems longstanding ban firearms college campuses allowing concealed carry permits bring weapons university grounds following year oregon senate considered bill would prohibited carrying guns onto school college university grounds state legislation lost single vote state senator represents city umpqua community college located among lawmakers voting measure oregonian sen jeff kruse rroseburg characterized proposal solution search problem asked issue violence schools yes cases kruse said violence committed teens obtained weapon illegally purely political move day vote oregon state board higher education took issue setting policy allows guns campus bars college buildings sporting venues umpqua community college upholds ban making allowance expressly authorized law college regulations audio160released two hours shooting reveals attack centered one classroom somebody outside one doors shooting doors operator says exchanging shots hes classroom officer reports adds160that gunman armed long gun rifle saying suspect news broke washington white house press secretary josh earnest said daily briefing issue gun control fallen administrations priority list president barack obama quite realistic well need see fundamental change terms way american people communicate priority congress well see different outcome legislative process politico august oregon became 12th state institute universal background checks gun transfers including private gun sales individuals gun shows sales arranged internet quickly followed mass demonstration gun owners state capitols steps claims gun dealers would refuse perform checks umpqua community college located roseburg oregon douglas county april douglas county sheriff john hanlin said would impossible enforce recently passed state laws extending background checks private sellers law going protect citizens oregon said hanlin oregon firearm federation prominent gun rights group successfully litigated right carry weapons college campuses following news todays shooting groups facebook page reprinted umpquas safety amp security policies lamenting college prohibits guns campus buildings gun free zones death traps wrote one commenter people sitting ducks mercy evil joe olson retired president umpqua community college june told associated press school employed single unarmed security guard one time contentious debate whether equip guard olson added local law enforcement agencies led school three active shooter training drills past two years kortney moore 18 rogue river writing 115 class snyder hall one shot came window saw teacher get shot head shooter inside point told people get ground shooter asking people stand state religion started firing away moore said moore lying people shot newsreview oregonian reports 2006 roseburg high freshman vincent leodoro shot fellow student joseph monti four times back school courtyard monti survived leodoro convicted intentionally shooting monti semiautomatic pistol loaded hollowpoint bullets result roseburgarea institutions including umpqua community college made plans handle try prevent active shooter scenarios roseburg hit twice school shootings last one 2006 douglas county sheriff john hanlin involved local chapter staunchly progun rights oath keepers militia according groups county coordinator rob price told trace hanlin official member come meetings gives guidance chapter gun laws second amendment issues would say hes active price said oath keepers made current former military law enforcement firstresponder personnel sympathetic citizens occupations sign associate members declare allegiance militia declare obey unconstitutional orders groups website states orders disarm american people according local news outlet kpic 2013160hanlin sent letter vice president joe biden 2013 stating deputies would enforce160legislation expanding background checks oregon private gun sales bill defeated year passed spring letter hanlin said gun control answer preventing heinous crimes like school shootings letter serves two purposes first make formal request tamper attempt amend 2nd amendment gun control answer preventing heinous crimes like school shootings actions disregard us constitution 2nd amendment rights current administration would irresponsible indisputable insult american people160 sheriff violate constitutional oath first elected 2009 hanlin currently serving second fouryear term sheriff spoke news conference hours todays shooting terrible day hanlin told reporters point active scene active investigation john parker jr student umpqua community college concealed handgun carrier studying fellow military veterans gunman opened fire chose get involved heres told msnbc something able going try luckily made choice get involved quite distance away actual building happening could opened us potential targets knowing swat response time wouldnt know guns ready shoot could think bad guys trace160is collaborating160with digg cover active shootings digg internet talking right now160 photo google maps
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<p>Meet the Press - September 18, 2016</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>This Sunday an explosion in New York City injuries dozens. Another device is found blocks away.</p>
<p>MALE BYSTANDER:</p>
<p>It sounded like a million pianos just dropped or there was just like a big thunderstorm.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>We'll have the very latest. Plus Donald Trump ends one false claim.</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP:</p>
<p>President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>And embraces new ones.</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP:</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the Birther controversy. I finished it.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Did he end it? Or did he just revive an issue that's bound to hurt him? I'll talk to Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine and Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway. And “margin of panic.” With the polls tightening, that's one way to describe what Hillary Clinton's supporters are feeling. What's behind Clinton's sinking numbers? Joining me for insight and analysis are Republican political strategist Alex Castellanos, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher and NBC News correspondent Katy Tur. Welcome to Sunday, it's Meet the Press.</p>
<p>ANNOUNCER:</p>
<p>From NBC News in Washington, this is Meet The Press with Chuck Todd.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Good Sunday morning. Americans woke up with yet another reminder that we're all living under the threat of violence and terror these days. An explosion rocked lower Manhattan around 8:30 last night, wounding more than two dozen people. Later, a second pressure cooker device, a pressure cooker bomb like the one used in the Boston Marathon attack, was found just four blocks to the north. NBC News chief foreign correspondent, Richard Engel, who happened to be on the scene last night, joins me this morning. So Richard, what can you tell us what we've learned about this incident this morning?</p>
<p>RICHARD ENGEL:</p>
<p>Well, it was a loud explosion. It didn't cause a great deal of damage. It shattered a lot of windows and apparently went off inside a dumpster. Some windows up as high as the fourth story of nearby buildings were shattered. But we're not seeing a lot of scorched ground. We're not seeing a huge crater. It seems to have been quite a crude explosive device.</p>
<p>And then just a few blocks from where I am, that unexploded device was located in a pressure cooker, looked very homemade, the kind of thing you could find a recipe for online. The investigation right now is focusing on the linkages. Who may have been responsible? Was it a group of people? Is it linked to a pipe bomb explosion that went off earlier yesterday in New Jersey?</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Right.</p>
<p>RICHARD ENGEL:</p>
<p>But so far, it doesn't seem to have caused many casualties. About half of those two dozen people or so who were injured have already been sent home.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Given that your beat usually takes you to the Middle East, and obviously, you spend a lot of time in Turkey, any of your international sources finding any claims? Anybody taking credit for this outside the United States?</p>
<p>RICHARD ENGEL:</p>
<p>I haven't seen any credible claim, just talk and chatter. But I haven't heard of any connection to international terrorism or anything on that level. And unfortunately, it is not just the Middle East. The last year or so, I've been covering a lot of scenes like this all across Europe, as well. And that's what the immediate concern was, did something happen in the United States.</p>
<p>But I will say, this doesn't seem to be the kind of attack that one would stage if you want to kill many people. Putting a bomb in a dumpster or putting it with a timer by a race, it is not the kind of-- similar to the attacks that we've seen where people open fire with assault rifles and things like that.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>All right. Richard Engel happened to be on the scene last night when this happened. Richard, thanks very much. That explosion last night in New York, as Richard was referring to, was not the only event yesterday. They may be unrelated, they may not be. But there were incidents where a pipe bomb style explosion along a 5K route in Seaside Park, New Jersey during a race there that Richard was just talking about, it is being investigated as a potential terror incident. But no one was hurt there.</p>
<p>Plus eight people were injured at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, where a man dressed as a security officer and armed with a knife reportedly made references to Allah before he was killed by an off-duty police officer. Let me bring in our justice correspondent, Pete Williams. So Pete, let me start first with the New York City incident. Mayor Bill de Blasio specifically, essentially, said it's not clear this is a terror incident. Okay. What did he mean by that? But it was an intentional device. That seems like we're parsing words.</p>
<p>PETE WILLIAMS:</p>
<p>Well, I think that's right. I think when he was speaking he literally meant we don't have enough evidence to say whether it's a terrorist incident or not. But there's a considerable amount of luck involved here, Charles. First of all, the bomb went off in New Jersey before the race started. So that was apparently a timer. The race was delayed. That's luck number one.</p>
<p>Secondly, that device in New Jersey, which was three pipe bombs taped together, didn't go off entirely. So a lot of evidence was left behind. That's the second piece of good luck. Third piece of good luck, the second device in New York, the pressure cooker, also didn't go off. So there's a lot of evidence for the investigators to look at. And one big question is what do they see in common with the two devices, the one in New Jersey, the one in New York, assuming they can ultimately--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>So investigators are working, New Jersey and New York--</p>
<p>PETE WILLIAMS:</p>
<p>Oh yes.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>--as potentially one person or one group.</p>
<p>PETE WILLIAMS:</p>
<p>Well, they want to know whether there's a connection. They want to know if it's the same person or group. Broadly speaking, there are some similarities. Electronic timers, probably cell phones, in both those things. But on the other hand, these are instructions that are, unfortunately, widely available. The al-Qaeda magazine Inspire for years has run articles about how to build similar devices. So they're going to look at the very microscopic level, how were the wires connected together, that kind of thing.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>You know, now tell me what we know about Minnesota. Is that also definitely unconnected, or is there some thought that there could be a--</p>
<p>PETE WILLIAMS:</p>
<p>Well, there's no reason to think that they're connected at all. It's just that appears to be a coincidence of timing. Nothing similar at all. They'll be looking at the man's past that was shot and killed in the Minnesota incident, looking at his residence, seeing if he was inspired by ISIS propaganda or whatever.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Going back to New York City, New York City, there are probably more cameras in New York than any city in the world.</p>
<p>PETE WILLIAMS:</p>
<p>Right.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>I assume, I've got to think, they may even already think they might have some suspects in mind or persons of interest.</p>
<p>PETE WILLIAMS:</p>
<p>Well, they have some video. It appears that the device that did go off in New York was dropped into this dumpster outside the buildings there. So that's another difference between New York and New Jersey, Chuck, there are cameras everywhere in New York. Not so lucky in New Jersey in finding surveillance video beforehand. But that's another very productive line of inquiry for them.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>All right, Pete Williams, I know you'll be working this story to get more. We'll share. Thank you, sir. Both presidential candidates responded to the news last night. In Colorado Springs, as the news was just breaking, Donald Trump called it a bomb, a description that still isn't technically being used by officials in New York.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP:</p>
<p>Just before I got off the plane, a bomb went off in New York. And nobody knows exactly what's going on. But, boy, we are living in a time, we've got to get very tough, folks. We've got to get very, very tough.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Later, after an event for the Congressional Black Caucus, Hillary Clinton also responded.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>HILLARY CLINTON:</p>
<p>I think there's always wiser to wait until you have information before making conclusions.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>News in the explosion comes after the new, more controlled Donald Trump has looked more like the old, unscripted Donald Trump in the past 48 hours. First Trump finally dropped his false suggestion that President Obama wasn't born in the United States and then immediately made another one.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP:</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the Birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it. You know what I mean. President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>For what it's worth the so-called "Birther controversy" did not start with Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign, though there were-- there is some evidence some supporters did go rogue in spreading around the rumor. It did start on the fringes and was perpetuated on the far right. And has been promoted and nurtured by Donald Trump for the past five years. Second on Friday night, Trump against raised the specter of violence against Hillary Clinton. And he did it while arguing, again, falsely that Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>DONALD TRUMP:</p>
<p>I think that her bodyguards should drop all weapons. They should disarm. Let's see what happens to her. Take their guns away. Okay? It'd be very dangerous.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Clinton campaign immediately condemned those remarks, but also hopes that they will help slow Trump's momentum in the polls.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>And joining me now is Democratic vice presidential nominee, the Senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine. Senator Kaine, welcome back to Meet the Press.</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>Good to be with you, Chuck.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Before I get into the campaign, I want to get your reaction to the events that happened yesterday, the explosion in New York City. You also had incidents both in Minnesota and New-- New Jersey, all unrelated. Now let me ask you this. It certainly creates concern, this idea that terror now is an everyday part of life that we have to worry about. What can a president do? What should a president do to try to deal with this threat that is now hitting the homeland?</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>Well Chuck, it's really important. And I would say experience really matters. As you know, Hillary Clinton was New York Senator on 9-11 and was there at The World Trade Centers. They were still looking for survivors. And she's been through this. It's been a searing experience in her life. And she was part of the national security team that worked together to revive the hunt and wipe out bin Laden.</p>
<p>And so it is an important time where you have to have experience. You've got to support the military. That's really important. But on these instances, whether they're in our cities or in European cities, the key is having intelligence and having strong alliances where you can share intelligence. That's the way you stop one-off attacks is through intelligence sharing. And you don't get the intelligence sharing unless the alliances, like the N.A.T.O. Alliance, are strong.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>But this is a new normal that Americans just have to deal with?</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>Well look, I don't accept that. I don't accept that it's a new normal. You know, we don't know yet about the cause of these incidents. But we're not allowing it to be a normal. We're trying to destroy ISIS right now. And the second news from yesterday is, you know, the punishing campaign that we're waging against ISIS is shrinking ISIS on the battlefield. That's good news. But the challenge is, as ISIS realizes that they're losing ground, then they see whether they can exploit weaknesses elsewhere.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Right.</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>So military strength to shrink ISIS and beat them on the ground. But then the intelligence sharing to stop attacks, that's what we have to do.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Senator, let me move to the campaign. You know, in New Hampshire the other day, you called the choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton "near existential." Is that hyperbole? Do you believe that our existence is at stake here?</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>I think the fidelity to our values is at stake, Chuck. And let me just say I do think it's a contrast in vision. One of the things I've been doing on the trail the last couple of days is just showing these two books. Hillary has a book filled with all of our campaign platforms and policies. We call it "Stronger Together."</p>
<p>Donald Trump wrote a book when he decided, "I want to run for president." And the book is called Crippled America. And that is the vision choice that Americans have in this election. And let's just use one example. The equality principle. Donald Trump, for five years, was pushing the completely false notion that President Obama wasn't born in the United States and wasn't an American citizen.</p>
<p>And Chuck, it's really important to know how painful that is to so many people. Because, as you know, from the time African-Americans came here to Jamestown in 1619, through the Dred Scott decision in the 1850s, if you were African-American in this country, you could not be a citizen. Whether you were slave or free or born here or born elsewhere, you could not be a citizen. And we had to fight a civil war and change the constitution to change that.</p>
<p>So when Donald Trump, for five years, has been promoting the notion that an African-American president is not a citizen, that is extremely powerful and painful to African-Americans and to others who know this painful chapter in America's history.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Then Senator, why is this election so close? Why is, all of sudden in the last three weeks, this election's gone from where you guys had a durable lead, and we can debate the margin of it, to now where he now has a viable path to the presidency that, frankly, didn't seem to exist? How did this happen?</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>I think--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>If everything you're saying is true, how did this happen?</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>I think it's because we're a close nation. Chuck, you know I come from Virginia. I am used to only the close races. And I encouraged Secretary Clinton to run in April of 2014. But I told her, "Look, you're going to be the underdog until they call you the winner." We went into the conventions and it was essentially tied.</p>
<p>We did come out of the Philadelphia conventions with a good lead. But it settled back down and it's close. And we think it's going to be close. And we just have to make our case every day about the basic pillars of the campaign: an economy that works for all, being safe through stronger alliances, and building that community of respect rather than disrespect.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well clearly one of the problems, though, that you guys have is you're struggling to rebuild the Obama coalition, particularly voters under 35. I want you to take a listen to some voters we talked to yesterday who were Bernie Sanders supporters, who are struggling to support Hillary Clinton. Here it is.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>JAKE, 22-YEAR-OLD VOTER:</p>
<p>I think it's a lack of trust. You know, I mean she, you know, from releasing transcripts with big speeches on Wall Street, you know some of the things that Bernie brought out himself in the debates and other things like that, I think that's what people are still holding onto. That's what I'm still holding onto for little bit.</p>
<p>FEAGIN, 23-YEAR-OLD VOTER:</p>
<p>I think a lot of people who were so supportive of Bernie during the primaries feel offended, feel betrayed. And I think it is going to take a little while to earn that trust back with her.</p>
<p>HARSHA, 19-YEAR-OLD VOTER:</p>
<p>Her message wasn't really directed towards millennials and those who are in college. And I definitely think Bernie can help her with that.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>The numbers are clear, Senator Kaine. Voters under 35 are not enthusiastic about her. They're as interested in Gary Johnson as they are Hillary Clinton. And if you don't have them, you don't carry North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Virginia. I think you know that.</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>Yeah, we've got to win them, Chuck. And let me just lay it on the line. Do you believe in climate science or don't you? Millennials do, Hillary Clinton and I do. Donald Trump doesn't. Do you believe women should be able to make their own healthcare decisions or don't you? Millennials do, Hillary Clinton and I do, Donald Trump doesn't.</p>
<p>Do you believe in immigration reform or don't you? We do, millennials do, Donald Trump doesn't. Do you believe in LGBT equality or don't you? We do, millennials do, Donald Trump doesn't. And finally, do you have a plan to deal with college affordability? We have one. Millennials need one. And Donald Trump, with Trump University, has ripped off students. So look, it's on our shoulders to make the case. But on at least five litmus test issues, the differences between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are vast.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>But you didn't mention one thing, and that is this issue of trust and transparency. And one thing I've noticed, with all of the policies that the Hillary Clinton campaign and your ticket has put out, there is nothing on government reform, there's nothing on transparency, there's nothing on how she would -- it's a big difference between her and what Senator Obama promised. He talked about bans about lobbyists working in the executive administration. Look, some of his proposals, they didn't all go through. But he made some pledges and he created some transparency, made some decisions that were necessary and a lot of people wanted to see. Why nothing from that, from Secretary Clinton? Trust is her biggest problem. And yet, there's no pledge about what's she's going to do to conduct a transparent White House.</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>Two things on that, Chuck. First, I think it's understandable that young voters and others want to get into this question. And they need to also assess a Donald Trump who won't release his tax returns, and who has ties with foreign governments that he refuses to reveal. But let's go to Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>She has said one of the first three pieces of legislation that she's going to push in the first 100 days of her administration is to dramatically change the way campaigns are financed. This is fundamentally about reform and transparency. As you know, we've allowed our campaign finance system to go to a dark money Super PAC, non-transparent system.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>All right.</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>And Democrats support significant reform. We view that as at the heart of the reform of government--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Do you think she's credible on this issue, though, considering how associated she is with big fundraising and things like that?</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>Absolutely. Because we disclose our donors. We disclose them in the campaign. The foundation discloses the donors. Remember, it was the Trump Foundation that was just caught making an illegal campaign contribution and trying to cover it up. We're all about disclosure and transparency. And we really do think that reforming the way campaigns are financed is the most important transparency government reform that the nation needs right now.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Senator Kaine, I have to leave it there. I know we're pressed for time. I appreciate you coming on this morning. Thank you, sir. Be safe on the trail.</p>
<p>SENATOR TIM KAINE:</p>
<p>You got it, Chuck, thanks.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>When we come back, we're going to hear from the other side, Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway will join me.</p>
<p>***COMMERCIAL BREAK***</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Welcome back. It’s been a whirlwind 96 hours. That’s pretty much the description you can do for any 96 hours during this campaign. But joining me now is the campaign manager for Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway. Kellyanne welcome back to the show.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Hi Chuck, thank you.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>All right, let me start with Friday's news first. How and when did Donald Trump conclude that the President was born in the United States?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>You’ll have to ask him that. That’s a personal decision. But we heard very clearly the three things he said on his own timeline in his own terms on Friday. Number one, that associates of the Clinton campaign started this Birtherism question in 2007. Mark Penn, in a famous memo questioning President-- Senator Obama's American roots, the Iowa volunteer coordinator, and then of course, as the McClatchy DC bureau chief at the time, now former, Chuck, has confirmed that Sid Blumenthal, big Clinton confidante, on the payroll for the Clinton Foundation, went and told him that President-- Senator Obama was born in Kenya. And in fact, they sent somebody to Africa to check it out.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>So this, you know, Donald Trump is not running for president against Barack Obama in a very bruising, vicious primary in 2008. That was Hillary Clinton. Number two, Donald Trump said he put this to rest. Hillary Clinton couldn't close it, get the information, he did.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>And number three, you heard him say that President Obama was born in this country, period, and he's moving on to all the things he talked about this week, tax reform, child care, tax credits. We got the endorsement of the FOP, the Fraternal Order of Police, huge endorsement. They did not endorse anybody four years ago. They endorsed the more popular, more likable Clinton in 1996. And so we're very happy with developments like that.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>So I guess what I'm curious about, though, is who cares about the Clinton incident? Donald Trump, for five years, perpetuated this. This has been, arguably, part of his political identity for the last five years. So what difference does it make whether Clinton does it? Why do two wrongs make a right in this case? That's what I'm-- forget the Clinton incident for a minute. Why did he perpetuate it for five years after some associates from Hillary Clinton, in your words?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Well, respectfully, Chuck, I disagree. And I disagree with the use of Hillary Clinton famous words, "What difference does it make?" It makes a huge difference as to who started this. Hillary Clinton never saw Barack Obama coming in 2008. That was her campaign. She was going to win. He beat her in the primary fairly and squarely.</p>
<p>Then they never saw Bernie Sanders coming. And they certainly haven't seen our comeback of the last month coming. So she's just not nimble, she's not resilient. She just, it's expected, she deserves it, she's next in line, it's her turn, darn it. And so I do think it matters where it started.</p>
<p>And frankly, on this, as he's been running for president of the United States this year, Donald Trump has talked about every policy issue that there is. We have a few more to go. But if people want to hear what he thinks about policies that affect--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Okay.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>--the economy, radical Islamic terrorism, but let's be fair. Tim Kaine, Senator Kaine, just told you before this segment, "Hey, if you want to see what we think about policy, we just wrote a book. Go to our website." Really? We're out there every single day--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>But-- but Kellyanne--</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>--taking the case directly to the voters.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>--hang on a minute. You guys, in a press release on Friday, called Birtherism a smear. You used the word "smear." So for five years, and you were doing it to try to attack Hillary Clinton, does that mean for five years Donald Trump was perpetuating a smear? So if he was, why didn't Donald Trump apologize to the president? Why didn't Donald Trump apologize to the family of somebody who died in a plane crash where he tweeted out innuendo that this person somehow was involved in some cover-up with the birth certificate? If your campaign believes it's a smear, shouldn't Donald Trump apologize to the president?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>We were reminding people where this started. It was used as a smear against Senator Obama by Clinton campaign associates. And by the way, not a bunch of summer interns who just got it all wrong and were a little bit too ambitious. These were chief strategists, pollsters, long-term confidence-- confidantes, who were pushing this.</p>
<p>In 2007 and 2008, Chuck, Donald Trump wasn't running against Barack Obama for president. He wasn't smearing him about this. He was building buildings. He was being his successful self, a job creator. He was revitalizing communities. He was doing economic development everywhere that he had a new project. So let's be fair as to where-- I think it does matter.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Okay.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree, it does matter where it started.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>But Kellyanne, in-- in 2012, when he was thinking about running for president, he tweeted things like this: "An extremely credible source has called my office and told me that Barack Obama's birth certificate is a fraud." Also in 2012, "When I was 18, people called me Donald Trump. When he was 18, Barack Obama was Barry Soweto. Weird." Those are just a number of examples, when he was running for president, where he was bringing up this issue. So how can you just totally dismiss this as part of his political identity?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Chuck, I think the only people less obsessed about this are those still covering it. Mr. Trump made very clear, and we hardly get any kind of clarity from the Clinton campaign on very much. And he took to the podium and took maybe a minute or less to state three very crisp things. And now he's moved onto the issues people care about. I mean it just-- I have to say it's remarkable to me, to be out there with people and hear what they want covered, I'm looking at NBC's poll this morning, Chuck, and I don't see this issue anywhere in the top 40. So I mean top 20.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well, look.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Is what I see, and you know--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>I get what you're deflecting. And if I were in your shoes, I understand why you're deflecting.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>I'm not deflecting.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>You are deflecting.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>But why--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>This was five years--</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>You know --</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>But hang on. This was five years of his political identity. And by the way, let me ask this. Now that he believes the president was born in the United States, I think he has made a $5 million charity offer or a $50 million charity offer. Is he going to pay up on that front?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>You'd have to tell me the details of that before I can answer that question. However, I do have to say, I want to get back to the poll. I know nobody wants to talk about the polls because they're tightening and were up in many of these swing states--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>After we're talking about it throughout this show. But--</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Well, but let's be fair.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>--I want to talk about Friday.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>The other thing-- okay, we could talk about Friday all you want. I really appreciate-- I can't believe so many in the media were upset that they had to give 25 minutes of coverage to these incredible veterans and military heroes who took the stage to them. Don't they deserve 25 minutes of coverage? I mean everybody's stomping their feet again because people get themselves up in this tizzy and they project onto our campaign what they think--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Alright.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>--is about to happen. And they keep on being dissuaded--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well, wait a minute, though. Why--</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>--of that.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>I want to talk about the Friday event. Why is he so comfortable using the presidential campaign, using, teasing out this announcement where he called, "I want to keep the suspense going?" He talked about that, "Keep the suspense going." Why did he feel so comfortable using this event on Friday to promote the opening of his new hotel? Is that how he's going to conduct himself in the White House?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Our campaign event wasn't the opening the hotel. Our campaign event were military generals and heroes. Frankly, real heroes.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>First words out of his mouth were nice--</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>--showing their support.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>--"Nice hotel." I mean it's pretty clear he was there to promote the hotel, as well.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Because, unlike Hillary Clinton, he doesn't read everything from a binder that somebody has prepared for him. He's a funny guy. He went on Jimmy Fallon this week and showed America his lighter side, Chuck. He just got up and said, "Nice hotel." He can't-- he has gone to other people's hotels and said, "Nice hotel, nice crowd, nice baby in the front." I mean seriously?</p>
<p>So look, I'm sorry that the media thinks that it was going there for something-- they didn't need to go there. They don't need to cover it at all. But they want to cover him. And by the way, you know, if you look at people's Twitter feeds after that event, I think it was they were not profiles in courage. People are supposed to be covering our candidate, not slandering him consistently on social media. And I would say there's a lot of cleaning up to go there.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Let me ask, though, another way of asking this issue on whether he truly believes this or whether this was just him looking at the election 15 days away and you telling him, "Hey, you've got to soften your image." Because he has been on now both sides of the following issues: Birtherism, taxes for the wealthy, the Muslim ban, minimum age, Iraq invasion, the Libya intervention, abortion, self-funding his campaign, accepting Syrian refugees, the issue of Japan and nuclear weapons. He's been-- totally changed his position on all of these issues within the last year. Why shouldn't voters look at this and, including the Birtherism comment on Friday, and say, "He's just another politician who will say and do anything to get elected in the moment?"</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>So first, let me address something you said earlier in the question, Chuck. Let me put to rest everybody's presumption that I have ever, ever a single time told Donald Trump, quote, "Soften your image." I walk into Trump Tower every day and I'm quickly reminded this man did very well for himself before I got here. He is his own person. His instincts are excellent. He is a people person. He been successful in T.V., he's been successful in business.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>Secondly, to answer your question, this is a man who's running for office the first time. And he's the nominee for president why? Because people do not see him as a politician. You want to take statements he made, positions he took as a private citizen when he was not running and conflate them with-- people see who he is now.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>And Hillary Clinton has changed her mind. You just told her running mate, this woman, you very legitimately said to Tim Kaine. Hillary Clinton has these twin pillar problems of transparency and trustworthiness. And she's done nothing to put to rest either one with all these days to go. I would argue that somebody who is not particularly liked and not particularly trusted by the public, as Hillary Clinton is not, really has nowhere to go.</p>
<p>I mean don't they feel trapped that the polls are tightening now that we're out there giving our message directly to the voters and they're running $22 million of ads, according to Democratic Congressman Alcee Hastings, quoted in The New York Times in the last couple days, Chuck, saying "$22 million of ad was a waste." And so she's nowhere near where President Obama was in among some of these coalitions.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Before election day, are we going to get a definitive explanation from Donald Trump on how, if he's elected president, that he will wall off his corporation, wall off his kids, so that foreign policy decisions don't somehow get intertwined with his international business dealings? Doesn't he owe the voters a detailed explanation of how he's going to do this?</p>
<p>Oh, it looks like we lost the feed there. This was not on her or anybody. We will figure that out. It's been a busy morning. Our apologies for that. Our apologies to Kellyanne. That is not-- we will figure out this technical difficulty in a moment, and we'll be back in a moment with the panel to break everything down of what we just heard. And Later, we're going to discuss the other issue for Clinton. Where have all her supporters gone? Clinton voters, that is. We'll look at one group that may be slipping away from her.</p>
<p>***COMMERCIAL BREAK***</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well as you know we do tape this live and in a few minutes as soon as we can get Kellyanne Conway back, we will let her answer that last question. But let me bring in the panel. In fact, I’m going to go to her right now. Kellyanne Conway, I understand we have you back. I want to give you an opportunity to answer that last question that I have and then we’ll end the interview. And that question is: Is Donald Trump going to present the American public an explanation of how he’s going to wall off his business so that there are not even illusions or any sort of cloud that would hang over foreign policy decisions and his international business dealings?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>So Chuck, thanks for the opportunity to answer the question. So his son-- one of his sons-- Don Jr. addressed this is part on a different network on Friday and of course we will consult with experts on what must be done and comply with the laws and what is needed. Let me just say I hope the same question is asked of Secretary Clinton now. I mean they’ve said they’ll shut down the Clinton Foundation or they’ll get away from it, the family will get away from it if she’s elected, why not now when we know the foundation was using the State Department,which you and I pay for as taxpayers, as a concierge for foreign governments who came in with wads of cash asking for favors. They were given seats at state dinners, they were given favors. You’ll see in emails that folks were talking, dropping the “friend of Bill” --</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>So Donald Trump’s not going to do any -- he is going to make a pledge that he will never do any business even remotely related to the Trump Organization while in the White House?</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>I don’t make pledges on behalf of him, but as I said he complies with the law and he will ask-- we will ask experts at this campaign what needs to be done, and we will follow the law accordingly. When he is president, he is going to be president for all Americans and he’s going to be-- it’s going to be a full time job for him.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>All right so Kellyanne Conway I think the good news here is there are no conspiracy theories now, either on our end or your end about that little satellite blip there.</p>
<p>KELLYANNE CONWAY:</p>
<p>I would never feel that way. Thanks for having me Chuck.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>You got it, thanks for your patience.</p>
<p>Alright so the panel is here. Alex Castellanos, political strategist now working for a Trump Super PAC, Building America Now. NBC News campaign correspondent Katy Tur, who’s been covering the Trump campaign. New York Times Columnist Maureen Dowd, whose new book is called The Year of Voting Dangerously. She loves being-- hawking a book, huh? And a first-timer-- Cornell Belcher, one of President Obama’s pollsters in 2008 and 2012. Well, he, live television, it’s all good.</p>
<p>Katy, let me ask you, I do find it interesting Donald Trump, over the last 48 hours has been a lot different than the Donald Trump you covered for the last three weeks.</p>
<p>KATY TUR:</p>
<p>Yeah, he was on prompter quite a bit. He's been off prompter more. Certainly that campaign event or hotel promotion on Friday was a lot different. He did try to give the cameras only, no editorial presence, a tour of his hotel. So that doesn't jive with what Kellyanne was saying.</p>
<p>But he was off-script when he was talking about Robert Gates over the weekend, trashing him, off-script when he was talking about calling it a bomb in New York before any of the officials were calling it a bomb in New York.</p>
<p>He's been going after people on Twitter quite a bit lately. Maureen, you know about this. So this is the Donald Trump that we were seeing more in the past. And I think it's because he is getting more comfortable with the polls. He's rising in the polls and he feels like he can do it.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Alex, are you getting-- it's like you must have been happy for the three weeks, and then suddenly you're like, "Oh, there's old Donald Trump again, undisciplined Donald Trump." Is he cocky?</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>I don't think you're seeing that. I think you're seeing Donald-- you know, he's always going to be Donald Trump. There is no other Donald Trump, I think as we've learned in this campaign. But I still think this long-term trend has been longer than three weeks, that Donald Trump is moving up in the polls, Hillary Clinton is moving down in the polls.</p>
<p>Donald Trump is strength in an uncertain world. And he is change where we're heading in the wrong direction. And I think sometimes we get lost in the minutiae of the campaign, all these small issues that aren't really central to anyone in making a decision about picking a president.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Maureen, you know him a little bit better than anybody at this table, I think, even more so than Alex. He loves members of the media. So he does spend a lot of time talking to members of the media, even as he simultaneously hates on them. What are you seeing from him?</p>
<p>MAUREEN DOWD:</p>
<p>Well, I started covering him when he made his first foray in 1999. So a lot is the same because it's all his ego arithmetic. So I said, "Why would voters vote for you?" And he said, "Because I got great ratings on Larry King, and because X number of men hit on Melania." And it was these numbers as sentinels of his success. He said he was going to put his name X number of times on a building he had just built.</p>
<p>So in that sense, he's exactly the same. He's judging himself by these numbers. But in another sense, he's completely the opposite because he was this New York, bon vivant kind of white rapper bling king, and liberal. And now he is an alt-right conservative, women should be punished for abortions, you know, completely different guy. So which guy would he be as president?</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Let me bring up the Birtherism issue, Cornell. Does this-- what happened Friday-- did it put an end, as Donald Trump wants to say? Or did it suddenly give the Clinton campaign a way to motivate President Obama more to help?</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Thanks for poking me with the stick with the birther issue.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>I know.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>I mean it is something that we've been tracking ever since 2008, through the campaign and it is -- and I'm going to be hawking a book next month, myself. That sort of tracks sort of what has been happening with racial aversion and how it's been impacting the electorate.</p>
<p>And look, I'm not going to play nice games with this. This birtherism stuff is a soft place for racism to land. It is a soft place for racism to land, plain and simple. We've had a couple hundred years of presidents now. And none of them have had this attack on them. The "othering" of the president, the making him not a real American, it is--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Let me, by the way, Cornell, let me ask you. You were on the '08 campaign with Barack Obama.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Do you want to clear up what you guys thought about what the Clinton campaign and Sidney Blumenthal? What did you guys believe?</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>If-- if the-- It's news to us that this was coming in. It’s news that --</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:Oh I don’t think so.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Well, I was on the campaign. So for us on the campaign, we never saw this as something being driven by the Clinton campaign.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>You never thought Mark Penn was trying to--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>You can’t-- you can’t</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>You said “otherness.” Mark Penn wrote about other. Did you think he was toying in that world?</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Well, I--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Before you answer, I have it here, from his memo, which Mark called "lack of American roots," in which Mark Penn says, quote, "I cannot imagine America electing a president during a time of war who is not, at his center, fundamentally American in his thinking and values." Now, if Donald Trump had said that in 2008, we would all be sitting here saying, "Well, that was the start of Birtherism."</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>But no, he's been saying it for several years--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>But Mark Penn said this in her campaign--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>That never--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:The Hillary Clinton campaign--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>--never came from Hillary's mouth. And I--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Just her strategist.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Well, it's di--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Just her strategist.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Well it’s coming from your candidate.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>It did come from--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>It's been coming from him for quite a while.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>But it did also come from Hillary Clinton on the 60 Minutes interview, where it said he was born in America, he was a Christian, as far as I know. So the otherness of--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Well, that's further than Barack Obama has gotten.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well, answer that part of it, Alex. Answer that part. When do two wrongs make a right? Why-- He did it for five years after the fact. How do you explain that away?</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>I would explain it this way. Being on the Trump team that I think these two candidates are being treated very differently on this very issue, because this is something that Hillary Clinton's campaign started when it was convenient for her. But the media covers it as if it is only Donald Trump who has taken the--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Alex, I've got to tell you that--</p>
<p>KATY TUR:</p>
<p>That's not really an answer, Alex.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>And by the way, well, there isn't-- there's an answer here. I think the big question about Obama is not where he was born or his faith. The big question about Obama has been-- has he considered himself more of a globalist than an American? There is an otherness to this president. And people have tried to exploit that politically in different ways. The Clinton campaign tried to exploit it this way, the way their strategists said, by saying his lack of American roots is an issue.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>To make what Donald Trump has been doing for five, six years--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>I don't think that's racism--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>--comparable to what--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>I don't think that--</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Alex, that's not fair. It's not fair at all. It's not even close to being the same.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Then you should take that up with Mark Penn and the Clinton campaign.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>I know, I can take it up with Hillary Clinton, and it's something that she's done, it's not something that she's pushed. And it's not the same.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>All right, I'm going to pause the conversation here. We're going to come back, talk a little bit about the campaign and demographics after this. When we come back, in fact, it is headlines like this one from the weekend's Wall Street Journal that may be keeping the Clinton campaign up at night. We'll look at why Clinton's troubles with millennials could play a big role this November.</p>
<p>***COMMERCIAL BREAK***</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>And we are back. It’s time for Data Download.Is Hillary Clinton’s problem with millennials enough to cost her the election? Look at this recent national poll that shows Clinton struggles with this age group. In a four-way race, Quinnipiac has Clinton’s advantage among voters under 25 dropping from a 24-point lead in August to only 5 now here in September. Fox news poll also only has her up single digits among this group.</p>
<p>So, now you may know why Democrats are worried. Why? Because both of these polls show her lagging far behind President Obama’s performance among younger voters. In fact, among voters under 30 he won them by 23 points nationally in 20-12.</p>
<p>Let’s look at the battleground state of Michigan, for instance, where a Detroit Free Press poll shows Clinton’s lead among voters under 35 plummeting. A 24-point lead in August, now just 7. Not good news for her. President Obama won voters under 30 in Michigan by 28 points in 20-12.</p>
<p>We can look at Wisconsin. A recent Marquette Law School poll shows Clinton’s advantage among voters under 30 dropping from 30 to 23 points in the month of August. Despite the drop, this poll still shows her with the same margin Obama won by in 20-12. But, she can’t afford to keep falling with that group.</p>
<p>So, what do we learn from this? Where are the millennials going if they’re leaving Clinton? Well, in many cases, it’s Gary Johnson who has gained. In others, those voters are simply moving to the undecided column. Now, Clinton is trying to deploy surrogates across the country in an effort to try to yank these voters out and rebuild this Obama coalition. And among those surrogates is President Obama himself. In fact, we’re going to get to him when we come back in a moment.</p>
<p>(BEGIN TAPE)</p>
<p>PRESIDENT OBAMA:</p>
<p>I will consider it a personal insult. An insult to my legacy if this community lets down its guard and fails to activate itself in this election. You want to give me a good send off? Go vote.</p>
<p>(END TAPE)</p>
<p>***COMMERCIAL BREAK***</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Let’s bring back the panel, New York Times, I think it was Saturday, Maureen had a lead that said, basically interviewing all these upper west siders panicking now. And in fact I think referred to it as ‘The polls are showing a “margin of panic” for Clinton supporters.’ Describe this east coast freakout that I feel like you’ve seen among the elites this week.</p>
<p>MAUREEN DOWD:</p>
<p>Right. Well my friends, one of my friends, Leon Wieseltier, calls it a national emergency. And my friends won’t even read, if I do interviews with Donald Trump, they won’t read them. And basically they would like to censor any stories about Trump and also censor any negative stories about Hillary. They think she should have a total free pass. Because as she said at that fundraiser recently, ‘I’m the only thing standing between you and the abyss.’ Oh, and they’re taking-- Democratic strategists are taking antacids. In the Times today.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well there you go. Cornell, though, there is-- Let’s talk about the numbers behind this concern.</p>
<p>I have pointed out the millennial issue. You have noted some of your work appeared in the New York Times. You haven’t noted that there is an enthusiasm issue with the Obama coalition. It’s voters under 30, it’s young African Americans, it’s young Latinos. What is the concern here? What hasn’t she addressed?</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>A couple things. One is, look, Obama was a great love affair for these young voters and in 2008 11 percent of the electorate were new voters. 62 percent of those voters were under 35. We brought in a whole cadre of new voters and expanded the electorate. That’s part of why he won. But there were Obama voters, Chuck. They weren’t necessarily democratic voters. They are more with us than they are with republicans on the issues. And so, to frame this conversation, does she have to expand and get that vote? Yes. But at the same time, you see Trump right now. He’s probably going to get the lowest percentage of millennial voters of any candidate in the last decade. And this will be three elections now where republicans have lost young voters in a way that does not bode well for them in the future.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Let me show the importance of it, though. I want to put up these battleground states. In 2012, Barack Obama lost voters under thirty in Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. But he carried all four of those states Alex, because he clobbered Romney among voters under thirty. This is a double-edged sword for Trump. On one hand, you must be excited that she has an enthusiasm issue. But Trump is not getting these voters, Gary Johnson is.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Well, Trump’s voters are excited. They are, you know, Reagan democrats. The excitement is there in the Trump campaign. Where is the excitement in the Clinton campaign? Usually it’s in young voters, black voters in a Democratic Presidential Campaign. It’s not there. The democratic establishment candidate is Hillary Clinton. If Obama was a love affair, this is “nana Clinton.” Nobody’s excited about more of the same continuity in the democratic party. And by the way, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Obama even can campaign all they want for her, and they're pouring enthusiasm into a leaky bucket.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Let me--</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>It does not work. Referred enthusiasm does not work in politics.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Let me rejoin real quick with this, Chuck. I've got to tell you, in two months out in 2012, we were wringing our hands over young voters, as well, because a lot of my Republican friends say, "Cornell, you're never going to get the turnout again from those voters." But when you look at the issues that lock in with where she is and where he is, it's not a contest there.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Those issue are there today, and they're not excited now. Look, if referred enthusiasm does not work, if you were to ask me, "Am I really excited that Cornell is going to have sex with Sofia Vergara," I'd say no. I’d be more excited if I were.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Well you got everybody’s attention with that one.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>Elizabeth Warren. Bernie Sanders, you can't excite Hillary Clinton voters.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Katy, talk about what you see at a Trump event. There is excitement at Trump events. But there was excitement at John Kerry events on '04, too.</p>
<p>KATY TUR:</p>
<p>There's a lot of excitement at Trump events. And I will say this about what Alex is mentioning. We would see Trump voters wait in negative 5 degree snowy temperatures in Iowa for hours on end, six hours, to go see Donald Trump at a rally. My question is, are they going to wait in line to vote for Trump if there are long lines at the polling stations? Yeah, I think so.</p>
<p>Are Hillary Clinton voters going to take a day off work and wait in line? And that is the big question. The excitement level is a little bit different on the Trump side because they are so enthusiastic about him.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Let me sneak in another quick break. We'll be back in 45 seconds with a little Endgame. And what makes running for president these days so different than it used to be?</p>
<p>***COMMERCIAL BREAK***</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>We are back now with Endgame. I did mention the great Maureen Dowd is here. But you’re here because you also have a book. And you wrote something interesting in the introduction about just covering presidential candidates in your life. You yourself have come to the conclusion that there are different things that go into what makes a good presidential candidate. And then you noted the whole resume argument. That just because you have the longest resume doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to make a good decision, and you refer to Rumsfeld and Cheney. But you were noting that you thought this was not necessarily the best argument for President Obama to make on behalf of Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>MAUREEN DOWD:</p>
<p>Yes. Well, I think we learned a lesson with Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld that you can have the longest resume, the most qualifications, and still make the biggest mistake in American foreign policy history.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>You know, Cornell, I wonder looking back on what we’ve seen with Clinton, I wanted to bring this up in the last part of the conversation. Has she spent too much time bashing Trump?</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>I think over the next, you know, 50, 60-some days we have there I think you’re going to see from the Clinton campaign a focus to sort of turning her attention to talking about who she is and what she’s going to fight for. Younger voters, we’ve been talking about earlier, to a certain extent they still don’t know her they still don’t know her history and sort of what she’s fighting for. I think you’re going to see a laser-like focus on--</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>It’s September 18th, man.</p>
<p>CORNELL BELCHER:</p>
<p>Again, we were nervous about these younger voters, too, in 2012, but they came out, Alex.</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>It’ll be tougher this time.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>No, I guess-- so then go to how does Donald Trump deal with this temperament problem? If she’s got this trustworthy problem, how does he deal with this temperament problem? And what has he done in the last few days to make this temperament problem go away?</p>
<p>ALEX CASTELLANOS:</p>
<p>I think it’s all the same question we were just discussing. Which is, if this campaign is about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump and their character, temperament, then it stays the way it does now this jumpball. What Donald Trump does well when he makes his campaign not about either of them but about the American people and their future and is there something better than we have now? She has a problem with that. Hillary Clinton has made this campaign about her and still-- she can’t find a vision or a message. Trump has “Make America Great Again.” I think ultimately that’s what might blow this up.</p>
<p>CHUCK TODD:</p>
<p>Alright, well, as we proved to you we do this live not pre-taped, that’s for sure. Before we go, a quick programming note. Amal Clooney is at the United Nations this week. She’s fighting on behalf of prosecuted Yazidi minorities at the hands of ISIS. And the international human rights lawyer will appear tomorrow on The Today Show for an exclusive interview. That’s all we have for today. We’ll be back next week, the Sunday before the first debate, because if it is sunday it’s Meet The Press.</p>
<p>***END OF TRANSCRIPT***</p>
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meet press september 18 2016 begin tape chuck todd sunday explosion new york city injuries dozens another device found blocks away male bystander sounded like million pianos dropped like big thunderstorm chuck todd well latest plus donald trump ends one false claim donald trump president barack obama born united states period chuck todd embraces new ones donald trump hillary clinton campaign 2008 started birther controversy finished chuck todd end revive issue thats bound hurt ill talk democratic vice presidential nominee tim kaine trump campaign manager kellyanne conway margin panic polls tightening thats one way describe hillary clintons supporters feeling whats behind clintons sinking numbers joining insight analysis republican political strategist alex castellanos new york times columnist maureen dowd democratic pollster cornell belcher nbc news correspondent katy tur welcome sunday meet press announcer nbc news washington meet press chuck todd end tape chuck todd good sunday morning americans woke yet another reminder living threat violence terror days explosion rocked lower manhattan around 830 last night wounding two dozen people later second pressure cooker device pressure cooker bomb like one used boston marathon attack found four blocks north nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel happened scene last night joins morning richard tell us weve learned incident morning richard engel well loud explosion didnt cause great deal damage shattered lot windows apparently went inside dumpster windows high fourth story nearby buildings shattered seeing lot scorched ground seeing huge crater seems quite crude explosive device blocks unexploded device located pressure cooker looked homemade kind thing could find recipe online investigation right focusing linkages may responsible group people linked pipe bomb explosion went earlier yesterday new jersey chuck todd right richard engel far doesnt seem caused many casualties half two dozen people injured already sent home chuck todd given beat usually takes middle east obviously spend lot time turkey international sources finding claims anybody taking credit outside united states richard engel havent seen credible claim talk chatter havent heard connection international terrorism anything level unfortunately middle east last year ive covering lot scenes like across europe well thats immediate concern something happen united states say doesnt seem kind attack one would stage want kill many people putting bomb dumpster putting timer race kind similar attacks weve seen people open fire assault rifles things like chuck todd right richard engel happened scene last night happened richard thanks much explosion last night new york richard referring event yesterday may unrelated may incidents pipe bomb style explosion along 5k route seaside park new jersey race richard talking investigated potential terror incident one hurt plus eight people injured mall st cloud minnesota man dressed security officer armed knife reportedly made references allah killed offduty police officer let bring justice correspondent pete williams pete let start first new york city incident mayor bill de blasio specifically essentially said clear terror incident okay mean intentional device seems like parsing words pete williams well think thats right think speaking literally meant dont enough evidence say whether terrorist incident theres considerable amount luck involved charles first bomb went new jersey race started apparently timer race delayed thats luck number one secondly device new jersey three pipe bombs taped together didnt go entirely lot evidence left behind thats second piece good luck third piece good luck second device new york pressure cooker also didnt go theres lot evidence investigators look one big question see common two devices one new jersey one new york assuming ultimately chuck todd investigators working new jersey new york pete williams oh yes chuck todd potentially one person one group pete williams well want know whether theres connection want know person group broadly speaking similarities electronic timers probably cell phones things hand instructions unfortunately widely available alqaeda magazine inspire years run articles build similar devices theyre going look microscopic level wires connected together kind thing chuck todd know tell know minnesota also definitely unconnected thought could pete williams well theres reason think theyre connected appears coincidence timing nothing similar theyll looking mans past shot killed minnesota incident looking residence seeing inspired isis propaganda whatever chuck todd going back new york city new york city probably cameras new york city world pete williams right chuck todd assume ive got think may even already think might suspects mind persons interest pete williams well video appears device go new york dropped dumpster outside buildings thats another difference new york new jersey chuck cameras everywhere new york lucky new jersey finding surveillance video beforehand thats another productive line inquiry chuck todd right pete williams know youll working story get well share thank sir presidential candidates responded news last night colorado springs news breaking donald trump called bomb description still isnt technically used officials new york begin tape donald trump got plane bomb went new york nobody knows exactly whats going boy living time weve got get tough folks weve got get tough end tape chuck todd later event congressional black caucus hillary clinton also responded begin tape hillary clinton think theres always wiser wait information making conclusions end tape chuck todd news explosion comes new controlled donald trump looked like old unscripted donald trump past 48 hours first trump finally dropped false suggestion president obama wasnt born united states immediately made another one begin tape donald trump hillary clinton campaign 2008 started birther controversy finished finished know mean president barack obama born united states period end tape chuck todd worth socalled birther controversy start hillary clintons 2008 campaign though evidence supporters go rogue spreading around rumor start fringes perpetuated far right promoted nurtured donald trump past five years second friday night trump raised specter violence hillary clinton arguing falsely hillary clinton wants abolish second amendment begin tape donald trump think bodyguards drop weapons disarm lets see happens take guns away okay itd dangerous end tape chuck todd clinton campaign immediately condemned remarks also hopes help slow trumps momentum polls begin tape joining democratic vice presidential nominee senator virginia tim kaine senator kaine welcome back meet press senator tim kaine good chuck chuck todd get campaign want get reaction events happened yesterday explosion new york city also incidents minnesota new new jersey unrelated let ask certainly creates concern idea terror everyday part life worry president president try deal threat hitting homeland senator tim kaine well chuck really important would say experience really matters know hillary clinton new york senator 911 world trade centers still looking survivors shes searing experience life part national security team worked together revive hunt wipe bin laden important time experience youve got support military thats really important instances whether theyre cities european cities key intelligence strong alliances share intelligence thats way stop oneoff attacks intelligence sharing dont get intelligence sharing unless alliances like nato alliance strong chuck todd new normal americans deal senator tim kaine well look dont accept dont accept new normal know dont know yet cause incidents allowing normal trying destroy isis right second news yesterday know punishing campaign waging isis shrinking isis battlefield thats good news challenge isis realizes theyre losing ground see whether exploit weaknesses elsewhere chuck todd right senator tim kaine military strength shrink isis beat ground intelligence sharing stop attacks thats chuck todd senator let move campaign know new hampshire day called choice donald trump hillary clinton near existential hyperbole believe existence stake senator tim kaine think fidelity values stake chuck let say think contrast vision one things ive trail last couple days showing two books hillary book filled campaign platforms policies call stronger together donald trump wrote book decided want run president book called crippled america vision choice americans election lets use one example equality principle donald trump five years pushing completely false notion president obama wasnt born united states wasnt american citizen chuck really important know painful many people know time africanamericans came jamestown 1619 dred scott decision 1850s africanamerican country could citizen whether slave free born born elsewhere could citizen fight civil war change constitution change donald trump five years promoting notion africanamerican president citizen extremely powerful painful africanamericans others know painful chapter americas history chuck todd senator election close sudden last three weeks elections gone guys durable lead debate margin viable path presidency frankly didnt seem exist happen senator tim kaine think chuck todd everything youre saying true happen senator tim kaine think close nation chuck know come virginia used close races encouraged secretary clinton run april 2014 told look youre going underdog call winner went conventions essentially tied come philadelphia conventions good lead settled back close think going close make case every day basic pillars campaign economy works safe stronger alliances building community respect rather disrespect chuck todd well clearly one problems though guys youre struggling rebuild obama coalition particularly voters 35 want take listen voters talked yesterday bernie sanders supporters struggling support hillary clinton begin tape jake 22yearold voter think lack trust know mean know releasing transcripts big speeches wall street know things bernie brought debates things like think thats people still holding onto thats im still holding onto little bit feagin 23yearold voter think lot people supportive bernie primaries feel offended feel betrayed think going take little earn trust back harsha 19yearold voter message wasnt really directed towards millennials college definitely think bernie help end tape chuck todd numbers clear senator kaine voters 35 enthusiastic theyre interested gary johnson hillary clinton dont dont carry north carolina florida ohio virginia think know senator tim kaine yeah weve got win chuck let lay line believe climate science dont millennials hillary clinton donald trump doesnt believe women able make healthcare decisions dont millennials hillary clinton donald trump doesnt believe immigration reform dont millennials donald trump doesnt believe lgbt equality dont millennials donald trump doesnt finally plan deal college affordability one millennials need one donald trump trump university ripped students look shoulders make case least five litmus test issues differences hillary clinton donald trump vast chuck todd didnt mention one thing issue trust transparency one thing ive noticed policies hillary clinton campaign ticket put nothing government reform theres nothing transparency theres nothing would big difference senator obama promised talked bans lobbyists working executive administration look proposals didnt go made pledges created transparency made decisions necessary lot people wanted see nothing secretary clinton trust biggest problem yet theres pledge whats shes going conduct transparent white house senator tim kaine two things chuck first think understandable young voters others want get question need also assess donald trump wont release tax returns ties foreign governments refuses reveal lets go hillary clinton said one first three pieces legislation shes going push first 100 days administration dramatically change way campaigns financed fundamentally reform transparency know weve allowed campaign finance system go dark money super pac nontransparent system chuck todd right senator tim kaine democrats support significant reform view heart reform government chuck todd think shes credible issue though considering associated big fundraising things like senator tim kaine absolutely disclose donors disclose campaign foundation discloses donors remember trump foundation caught making illegal campaign contribution trying cover disclosure transparency really think reforming way campaigns financed important transparency government reform nation needs right chuck todd senator kaine leave know pressed time appreciate coming morning thank sir safe trail senator tim kaine got chuck thanks end tape chuck todd come back going hear side trump campaign manager kellyanne conway join commercial break chuck todd welcome back whirlwind 96 hours thats pretty much description 96 hours campaign joining campaign manager donald trump kellyanne conway kellyanne welcome back show kellyanne conway hi chuck thank chuck todd right let start fridays news first donald trump conclude president born united states kellyanne conway youll ask thats personal decision heard clearly three things said timeline terms friday number one associates clinton campaign started birtherism question 2007 mark penn famous memo questioning president senator obamas american roots iowa volunteer coordinator course mcclatchy dc bureau chief time former chuck confirmed sid blumenthal big clinton confidante payroll clinton foundation went told president senator obama born kenya fact sent somebody africa check kellyanne conway know donald trump running president barack obama bruising vicious primary 2008 hillary clinton number two donald trump said put rest hillary clinton couldnt close get information kellyanne conway number three heard say president obama born country period hes moving things talked week tax reform child care tax credits got endorsement fop fraternal order police huge endorsement endorse anybody four years ago endorsed popular likable clinton 1996 happy developments like chuck todd guess im curious though cares clinton incident donald trump five years perpetuated arguably part political identity last five years difference make whether clinton two wrongs make right case thats im forget clinton incident minute perpetuate five years associates hillary clinton words kellyanne conway well respectfully chuck disagree disagree use hillary clinton famous words difference make makes huge difference started hillary clinton never saw barack obama coming 2008 campaign going win beat primary fairly squarely never saw bernie sanders coming certainly havent seen comeback last month coming shes nimble shes resilient expected deserves shes next line turn darn think matters started frankly hes running president united states year donald trump talked every policy issue go people want hear thinks policies affect chuck todd okay kellyanne conway economy radical islamic terrorism lets fair tim kaine senator kaine told segment hey want see think policy wrote book go website really every single day chuck todd kellyanne kellyanne conway taking case directly voters chuck todd hang minute guys press release friday called birtherism smear used word smear five years try attack hillary clinton mean five years donald trump perpetuating smear didnt donald trump apologize president didnt donald trump apologize family somebody died plane crash tweeted innuendo person somehow involved coverup birth certificate campaign believes smear shouldnt donald trump apologize president kellyanne conway reminding people started used smear senator obama clinton campaign associates way bunch summer interns got wrong little bit ambitious chief strategists pollsters longterm confidence confidantes pushing 2007 2008 chuck donald trump wasnt running barack obama president wasnt smearing building buildings successful self job creator revitalizing communities economic development everywhere new project lets fair think matter chuck todd okay kellyanne conway respectfully disagree matter started chuck todd kellyanne 2012 thinking running president tweeted things like extremely credible source called office told barack obamas birth certificate fraud also 2012 18 people called donald trump 18 barack obama barry soweto weird number examples running president bringing issue totally dismiss part political identity kellyanne conway chuck think people less obsessed still covering mr trump made clear hardly get kind clarity clinton campaign much took podium took maybe minute less state three crisp things hes moved onto issues people care mean say remarkable people hear want covered im looking nbcs poll morning chuck dont see issue anywhere top 40 mean top 20 chuck todd well look kellyanne conway see know chuck todd get youre deflecting shoes understand youre deflecting kellyanne conway im deflecting chuck todd deflecting kellyanne conway chuck todd five years kellyanne conway know chuck todd hang five years political identity way let ask believes president born united states think made 5 million charity offer 50 million charity offer going pay front kellyanne conway youd tell details answer question however say want get back poll know nobody wants talk polls theyre tightening many swing states chuck todd talking throughout show kellyanne conway well lets fair chuck todd want talk friday kellyanne conway thing okay could talk friday want really appreciate cant believe many media upset give 25 minutes coverage incredible veterans military heroes took stage dont deserve 25 minutes coverage mean everybodys stomping feet people get tizzy project onto campaign think chuck todd alright kellyanne conway happen keep dissuaded chuck todd well wait minute though kellyanne conway chuck todd want talk friday event comfortable using presidential campaign using teasing announcement called want keep suspense going talked keep suspense going feel comfortable using event friday promote opening new hotel hes going conduct white house kellyanne conway campaign event wasnt opening hotel campaign event military generals heroes frankly real heroes chuck todd first words mouth nice kellyanne conway showing support chuck todd nice hotel mean pretty clear promote hotel well kellyanne conway unlike hillary clinton doesnt read everything binder somebody prepared hes funny guy went jimmy fallon week showed america lighter side chuck got said nice hotel cant gone peoples hotels said nice hotel nice crowd nice baby front mean seriously look im sorry media thinks going something didnt need go dont need cover want cover way know look peoples twitter feeds event think profiles courage people supposed covering candidate slandering consistently social media would say theres lot cleaning go chuck todd let ask though another way asking issue whether truly believes whether looking election 15 days away telling hey youve got soften image sides following issues birtherism taxes wealthy muslim ban minimum age iraq invasion libya intervention abortion selffunding campaign accepting syrian refugees issue japan nuclear weapons hes totally changed position issues within last year shouldnt voters look including birtherism comment friday say hes another politician say anything get elected moment kellyanne conway first let address something said earlier question chuck let put rest everybodys presumption ever ever single time told donald trump quote soften image walk trump tower every day im quickly reminded man well got person instincts excellent people person successful tv hes successful business kellyanne conway secondly answer question man whos running office first time hes nominee president people see politician want take statements made positions took private citizen running conflate people see kellyanne conway hillary clinton changed mind told running mate woman legitimately said tim kaine hillary clinton twin pillar problems transparency trustworthiness shes done nothing put rest either one days go would argue somebody particularly liked particularly trusted public hillary clinton really nowhere go mean dont feel trapped polls tightening giving message directly voters theyre running 22 million ads according democratic congressman alcee hastings quoted new york times last couple days chuck saying 22 million ad waste shes nowhere near president obama among coalitions chuck todd election day going get definitive explanation donald trump hes elected president wall corporation wall kids foreign policy decisions dont somehow get intertwined international business dealings doesnt owe voters detailed explanation hes going oh looks like lost feed anybody figure busy morning apologies apologies kellyanne figure technical difficulty moment well back moment panel break everything heard later going discuss issue clinton supporters gone clinton voters well look one group may slipping away commercial break chuck todd well know tape live minutes soon get kellyanne conway back let answer last question let bring panel fact im going go right kellyanne conway understand back want give opportunity answer last question well end interview question donald trump going present american public explanation hes going wall business even illusions sort cloud would hang foreign policy decisions international business dealings kellyanne conway chuck thanks opportunity answer question son one sons jr addressed part different network friday course consult experts must done comply laws needed let say hope question asked secretary clinton mean theyve said theyll shut clinton foundation theyll get away family get away shes elected know foundation using state departmentwhich pay taxpayers concierge foreign governments came wads cash asking favors given seats state dinners given favors youll see emails folks talking dropping friend bill chuck todd donald trumps going going make pledge never business even remotely related trump organization white house kellyanne conway dont make pledges behalf said complies law ask ask experts campaign needs done follow law accordingly president going president americans hes going going full time job chuck todd right kellyanne conway think good news conspiracy theories either end end little satellite blip kellyanne conway would never feel way thanks chuck chuck todd got thanks patience alright panel alex castellanos political strategist working trump super pac building america nbc news campaign correspondent katy tur whos covering trump campaign new york times columnist maureen dowd whose new book called year voting dangerously loves hawking book huh firsttimer cornell belcher one president obamas pollsters 2008 2012 well live television good katy let ask find interesting donald trump last 48 hours lot different donald trump covered last three weeks katy tur yeah prompter quite bit hes prompter certainly campaign event hotel promotion friday lot different try give cameras editorial presence tour hotel doesnt jive kellyanne saying offscript talking robert gates weekend trashing offscript talking calling bomb new york officials calling bomb new york hes going people twitter quite bit lately maureen know donald trump seeing past think getting comfortable polls hes rising polls feels like chuck todd alex getting like must happy three weeks suddenly youre like oh theres old donald trump undisciplined donald trump cocky alex castellanos dont think youre seeing think youre seeing donald know hes always going donald trump donald trump think weve learned campaign still think longterm trend longer three weeks donald trump moving polls hillary clinton moving polls donald trump strength uncertain world change heading wrong direction think sometimes get lost minutiae campaign small issues arent really central anyone making decision picking president chuck todd maureen know little bit better anybody table think even alex loves members media spend lot time talking members media even simultaneously hates seeing maureen dowd well started covering made first foray 1999 lot ego arithmetic said would voters vote said got great ratings larry king x number men hit melania numbers sentinels success said going put name x number times building built sense hes exactly hes judging numbers another sense hes completely opposite new york bon vivant kind white rapper bling king liberal altright conservative women punished abortions know completely different guy guy would president chuck todd let bring birtherism issue cornell happened friday put end donald trump wants say suddenly give clinton campaign way motivate president obama help cornell belcher thanks poking stick birther issue chuck todd know cornell belcher mean something weve tracking ever since 2008 campaign im going hawking book next month sort tracks sort happening racial aversion impacting electorate look im going play nice games birtherism stuff soft place racism land soft place racism land plain simple weve couple hundred years presidents none attack othering president making real american chuck todd let way cornell let ask 08 campaign barack obama cornell belcher yes chuck todd want clear guys thought clinton campaign sidney blumenthal guys believe cornell belcher news us coming news alex castellanosoh dont think cornell belcher well campaign us campaign never saw something driven clinton campaign chuck todd never thought mark penn trying cornell belcher cant cant chuck todd said otherness mark penn wrote think toying world cornell belcher well alex castellanos answer memo mark called lack american roots mark penn says quote imagine america electing president time war center fundamentally american thinking values donald trump said 2008 would sitting saying well start birtherism cornell belcher hes saying several years alex castellanos mark penn said campaign cornell belcher never alex castellanosthe hillary clinton campaign cornell belcher never came hillarys mouth alex castellanos strategist cornell belcher well di alex castellanos strategist cornell belcher well coming candidate alex castellanos come cornell belcher coming quite alex castellanos also come hillary clinton 60 minutes interview said born america christian far know otherness cornell belcher well thats barack obama gotten chuck todd well answer part alex answer part two wrongs make right five years fact explain away alex castellanos would explain way trump team think two candidates treated differently issue something hillary clintons campaign started convenient media covers donald trump taken cornell belcher alex ive got tell katy tur thats really answer alex alex castellanos way well isnt theres answer think big question obama born faith big question obama considered globalist american otherness president people tried exploit politically different ways clinton campaign tried exploit way way strategists said saying lack american roots issue cornell belcher make donald trump five six years alex castellanos dont think thats racism cornell belcher comparable alex castellanos dont think cornell belcher alex thats fair fair even close alex castellanos take mark penn clinton campaign cornell belcher know take hillary clinton something shes done something shes pushed chuck todd right im going pause conversation going come back talk little bit campaign demographics come back fact headlines like one weekends wall street journal may keeping clinton campaign night well look clintons troubles millennials could play big role november commercial break begin tape chuck todd back time data downloadis hillary clintons problem millennials enough cost election look recent national poll shows clinton struggles age group fourway race quinnipiac clintons advantage among voters 25 dropping 24point lead august 5 september fox news poll also single digits among group may know democrats worried polls show lagging far behind president obamas performance among younger voters fact among voters 30 23 points nationally 2012 lets look battleground state michigan instance detroit free press poll shows clintons lead among voters 35 plummeting 24point lead august 7 good news president obama voters 30 michigan 28 points 2012 look wisconsin recent marquette law school poll shows clintons advantage among voters 30 dropping 30 23 points month august despite drop poll still shows margin obama 2012 cant afford keep falling group learn millennials going theyre leaving clinton well many cases gary johnson gained others voters simply moving undecided column clinton trying deploy surrogates across country effort try yank voters rebuild obama coalition among surrogates president obama fact going get come back moment begin tape president obama consider personal insult insult legacy community lets guard fails activate election want give good send go vote end tape commercial break chuck todd lets bring back panel new york times think saturday maureen lead said basically interviewing upper west siders panicking fact think referred polls showing margin panic clinton supporters describe east coast freakout feel like youve seen among elites week maureen dowd right well friends one friends leon wieseltier calls national emergency friends wont even read interviews donald trump wont read basically would like censor stories trump also censor negative stories hillary think total free pass said fundraiser recently im thing standing abyss oh theyre taking democratic strategists taking antacids times today chuck todd well go cornell though lets talk numbers behind concern pointed millennial issue noted work appeared new york times havent noted enthusiasm issue obama coalition voters 30 young african americans young latinos concern hasnt addressed cornell belcher couple things one look obama great love affair young voters 2008 11 percent electorate new voters 62 percent voters 35 brought whole cadre new voters expanded electorate thats part obama voters chuck werent necessarily democratic voters us republicans issues frame conversation expand get vote yes time see trump right hes probably going get lowest percentage millennial voters candidate last decade three elections republicans lost young voters way bode well future chuck todd let show importance though want put battleground states 2012 barack obama lost voters thirty florida ohio pennsylvania virginia carried four states alex clobbered romney among voters thirty doubleedged sword trump one hand must excited enthusiasm issue trump getting voters gary johnson alex castellanos well trumps voters excited know reagan democrats excitement trump campaign excitement clinton campaign usually young voters black voters democratic presidential campaign democratic establishment candidate hillary clinton obama love affair nana clinton nobodys excited continuity democratic party way elizabeth warren bernie sanders obama even campaign want theyre pouring enthusiasm leaky bucket cornell belcher let alex castellanos work referred enthusiasm work politics cornell belcher let rejoin real quick chuck ive got tell two months 2012 wringing hands young voters well lot republican friends say cornell youre never going get turnout voters look issues lock contest alex castellanos issue today theyre excited look referred enthusiasm work ask really excited cornell going sex sofia vergara id say id excited chuck todd well got everybodys attention one alex castellanos elizabeth warren bernie sanders cant excite hillary clinton voters chuck todd katy talk see trump event excitement trump events excitement john kerry events 04 katy tur theres lot excitement trump events say alex mentioning would see trump voters wait negative 5 degree snowy temperatures iowa hours end six hours go see donald trump rally question going wait line vote trump long lines polling stations yeah think hillary clinton voters going take day work wait line big question excitement level little bit different trump side enthusiastic chuck todd let sneak another quick break well back 45 seconds little endgame makes running president days different used commercial break chuck todd back endgame mention great maureen dowd youre also book wrote something interesting introduction covering presidential candidates life come conclusion different things go makes good presidential candidate noted whole resume argument longest resume doesnt necessarily mean youre going make good decision refer rumsfeld cheney noting thought necessarily best argument president obama make behalf hillary clinton maureen dowd yes well think learned lesson dick cheney donald rumsfeld longest resume qualifications still make biggest mistake american foreign policy history chuck todd know cornell wonder looking back weve seen clinton wanted bring last part conversation spent much time bashing trump cornell belcher think next know 50 60some days think youre going see clinton campaign focus sort turning attention talking shes going fight younger voters weve talking earlier certain extent still dont know still dont know history sort shes fighting think youre going see laserlike focus chuck todd september 18th man cornell belcher nervous younger voters 2012 came alex alex castellanos itll tougher time chuck todd guess go donald trump deal temperament problem shes got trustworthy problem deal temperament problem done last days make temperament problem go away alex castellanos think question discussing campaign hillary clinton donald trump character temperament stays way jumpball donald trump well makes campaign either american people future something better problem hillary clinton made campaign still cant find vision message trump make america great think ultimately thats might blow chuck todd alright well proved live pretaped thats sure go quick programming note amal clooney united nations week shes fighting behalf prosecuted yazidi minorities hands isis international human rights lawyer appear tomorrow today show exclusive interview thats today well back next week sunday first debate sunday meet press end transcript
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<p>Seven years ago, I became a founding teacher at a new, small CPS high school on the South Side.&#160; We replaced a neighborhood high school and admitted 150 students from the Englewood area.&#160; The initial year was incredibly challenging for many reasons. But a main factor in our struggles arose from the mismatch of teachers’ expectations and students’ academic skills and work habits.&#160;</p>
<p>Many students did not complete homework assignments. &#160;Some students did not complete class assignments even when they were present in class.&#160; One student – Vanessa –walked out on the final exam because she did not want to take it.&#160; Instead, she looked through the exam and said she would take it the next day.&#160; I asked her if something was wrong, but she admitted she just wasn’t ready.&#160; I told her I couldn’t give her the exam the next day because she had already seen it, and it wouldn’t be fair.&#160; She walked out, saying she was going to fail anyway.&#160;</p>
<p>That year, we gave our students zeroes for the work they did not turn in. And those zeroes had an impact. Many students tried to make up the zeroes for partial credit through tutoring sessions in the morning, on lunch periods, and after school.&#160; I remember grabbing kids at lunch to work with them to improve their grades and skills. When, in spite of these efforts, only 59 percent of our students were considered on-track to graduate in four years by the end of the school year, many of the off-track students signed up for summer school.</p>
<p>No more incentive</p>
<p>After our first year, our principal proposed that we move to what is called a “no-zero policy,” because a zero could bring a student’s grade down so far that recovery was not an option.&#160; She had us read an article that argued that the traditional grading scale of 90-100 for an A, 80-89 for a B, 70-79 for a C, 69-60 for a D, and 59-0 as an F unfairly penalized students because the range for an ‘F’ was 59 points while the other grades spanned only 10 points.&#160;</p>
<p>The principal’s proposal was quickly put to a vote, and teachers had the notion that we could always change the policy if we thought it wasn’t working.&#160; The majority of teachers voted in favor of the policy, which meant that if a student did not complete an assignment, he or she would receive a 50 percent.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Many students continued to fall into similar categories–the students who didn’t do homework still didn’t do it, those who didn’t do much class work still didn’t do much class work, and a few opted out of an exam.&#160; But there was one major change: The kids who once worked hard to pass by attending tutoring sessions instead decided to forego the sessions and do other things.</p>
<p>In fact, even though both batches of freshmen were similar academically, our on-track rate rose from 59 percent to 87 percent.&#160; Since few students were truly failing, hardly anyone thought they needed to work hard to improve.</p>
<p>With 87 percent of our freshmen considered on-track, one would expect that those in the second group would have much higher standardized test scores. But in fact, the ACT scores of both groups were nearly the same, and equally abysmal—a 15.1 for those with a 59 percent on-track rate, and a 15.4 for the group with 87 percent on-track.&#160;</p>
<p>After one year, some teachers wanted to reverse the no-zero policy, but the administration would not allow it.&#160; Why would they, when a major metric for rating a school, the freshman on-track rate, had increased nearly 30 percentage points and was far higher than the CPS average?&#160;</p>
<p>However, the statistic was not accurate in comparison to schools that did not have a no-zero policy. It was just that our expectations weren’t as high: If a student earned a D at our school for the same work that would have earned an F somewhere else, of course our on-track rates were higher.</p>
<p>Solutions for better academics, accountability</p>
<p>Now, with the new school ratings system in CPS, many networks and schools are trying out no-zero policies, especially schools that are already on probation and have experienced little improvement.&#160; My suggestion to these schools is to not lower your expectations for students by giving them the academic equivalent of a Monopoly-like “Get out of jail free” card.&#160; With the no-zero policy, I saw us telling our students, “You can get a pass even when you don’t work hard for it.”</p>
<p>It is incredibly difficult for people in our country to claw their way out of generational poverty.&#160; A good education is central to that struggle. And yet we are saying to young people in Chicago who have grown up in the deepest poverty, “You don’t have to work hard to pass. You can miss half of your assignments in all of your classes, and you can still graduate from our high school.”&#160; Most suburban schools and selective enrollment schools would never even consider this rule.&#160; And no, most colleges will not apply it either.&#160; But we are allowing our students in CPS to believe they are on-track because of it.&#160;</p>
<p>A better solution to the problem of ensuring that students get on-track is to offer clear, school-wide standards for revision of work and late assignments.&#160; The selective enrollment school where I currently work has implemented such policies as determined by departments.&#160; For example, in our English department, kids have up to two weeks to hand in late work, but their grade declines by a certain percentage each class day that their work is late.&#160; They also have two weeks to revise assignments for a higher grade.&#160;</p>
<p>We must also find a solution for how schools are held accountable for growth.&#160; If a school does have a no-zero policy, it is incredibly unfair to rank them equally alongside schools that do not. For accountability reasons, schools that have a no-zero policy should have an asterisk beside all of the numbers that are affected by the policy and explaining that the policy is in place. These schools should be held responsible for their D’s as well as their F’s when it comes to on-track data reporting.&#160;</p>
<p>It is a terrible lesson to teach any student in America that it is okay to be lazy, but this lesson is exactly what the no-zero policy says to our Chicago students.&#160; Teachers in schools where this policy is under consideration need to band together to fight it. We know that lowering academic expectations will only hurt our students in the long run.&#160;</p>
<p>Parents can be allies for teachers on this issue.&#160; During parent-teacher conferences at my old school, parents were surprised and put off by the no-zero policy.&#160; Many parents felt that students should receive zeroes if they didn’t do work, and that receiving a grade of 50 percent instead was not giving students real consequences.&#160;</p>
<p>It may seem like an uphill battle, but keeping our expectations high will help our students in school as well as in their future careers.</p>
<p>Gina Caneva is a National Board Certified teacher and Teach Plus teaching policy fellow who has been in CPS for 10 years. Currently, she is a librarian, English teacher, and Instructional Leadership Team Lead at Lindblom Math and Science Academy.</p>
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seven years ago became founding teacher new small cps high school south side160 replaced neighborhood high school admitted 150 students englewood area160 initial year incredibly challenging many reasons main factor struggles arose mismatch teachers expectations students academic skills work habits160 many students complete homework assignments 160some students complete class assignments even present class160 one student vanessa walked final exam want take it160 instead looked exam said would take next day160 asked something wrong admitted wasnt ready160 told couldnt give exam next day already seen wouldnt fair160 walked saying going fail anyway160 year gave students zeroes work turn zeroes impact many students tried make zeroes partial credit tutoring sessions morning lunch periods school160 remember grabbing kids lunch work improve grades skills spite efforts 59 percent students considered ontrack graduate four years end school year many offtrack students signed summer school incentive first year principal proposed move called nozero policy zero could bring students grade far recovery option160 us read article argued traditional grading scale 90100 8089 b 7079 c 6960 590 f unfairly penalized students range f 59 points grades spanned 10 points160 principals proposal quickly put vote teachers notion could always change policy thought wasnt working160 majority teachers voted favor policy meant student complete assignment would receive 50 percent160160 many students continued fall similar categoriesthe students didnt homework still didnt didnt much class work still didnt much class work opted exam160 one major change kids worked hard pass attending tutoring sessions instead decided forego sessions things fact even though batches freshmen similar academically ontrack rate rose 59 percent 87 percent160 since students truly failing hardly anyone thought needed work hard improve 87 percent freshmen considered ontrack one would expect second group would much higher standardized test scores fact act scores groups nearly equally abysmala 151 59 percent ontrack rate 154 group 87 percent ontrack160 one year teachers wanted reverse nozero policy administration would allow it160 would major metric rating school freshman ontrack rate increased nearly 30 percentage points far higher cps average160 however statistic accurate comparison schools nozero policy expectations werent high student earned school work would earned f somewhere else course ontrack rates higher solutions better academics accountability new school ratings system cps many networks schools trying nozero policies especially schools already probation experienced little improvement160 suggestion schools lower expectations students giving academic equivalent monopolylike get jail free card160 nozero policy saw us telling students get pass even dont work hard incredibly difficult people country claw way generational poverty160 good education central struggle yet saying young people chicago grown deepest poverty dont work hard pass miss half assignments classes still graduate high school160 suburban schools selective enrollment schools would never even consider rule160 colleges apply either160 allowing students cps believe ontrack it160 better solution problem ensuring students get ontrack offer clear schoolwide standards revision work late assignments160 selective enrollment school currently work implemented policies determined departments160 example english department kids two weeks hand late work grade declines certain percentage class day work late160 also two weeks revise assignments higher grade160 must also find solution schools held accountable growth160 school nozero policy incredibly unfair rank equally alongside schools accountability reasons schools nozero policy asterisk beside numbers affected policy explaining policy place schools held responsible ds well fs comes ontrack data reporting160 terrible lesson teach student america okay lazy lesson exactly nozero policy says chicago students160 teachers schools policy consideration need band together fight know lowering academic expectations hurt students long run160 parents allies teachers issue160 parentteacher conferences old school parents surprised put nozero policy160 many parents felt students receive zeroes didnt work receiving grade 50 percent instead giving students real consequences160 may seem like uphill battle keeping expectations high help students school well future careers gina caneva national board certified teacher teach plus teaching policy fellow cps 10 years currently librarian english teacher instructional leadership team lead lindblom math science academy
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<p>&#160;</p>
<p>“California has consistently had one of the worst lawsuit climates in the nation, currently ranked at 47th for lawsuit fairness,” concluded&#160;the Institute for Legal Reform’s <a href="http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/uploads/sites/1/Lawsuit_Climate_Report_2012.pdf" type="external">2012 Lawsuit Climate Report</a>. “The courts in Los Angeles rank as the country’s second worst for legal fairness, with San Francisco’s courts coming in at fourth worst.”</p>
<p>Unlikely to improve California’s litigious image is <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_1151-1200/sb_1188_bill_20140409_amended_sen_v98.htm" type="external">Senate Bill 1188</a>, which would make it easier to file lawsuits over defective products with expired warranties. Currently, post-warranty product defect lawsuits must meet the threshold of the defect harming the health or safety of the plaintiff.</p>
<p>SB1188 was approved by the <a href="http://sjud.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Senate Judiciary Committee</a> on <a href="http://calchannel.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=7&amp;clip_id=2103" type="external">May 6</a>. Committee Chairwoman <a href="http://sd19.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson</a>, D-Santa Barbara, introduced the bill to the committee, saying it merely codifies the original intent of the state’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Consumers_Legal_Remedies_Act" type="external">Consumer Legal Remedies Act</a>. Jackson said:</p>
<p>“The CLRA is a consumer protection statute designed to prevent unfair and deceptive business practices from taking hold in California’s marketplace.&#160;Among other things, the act prohibits sellers from making fraudulent claims about their goods and services, and from fraudulently withholding or omitting material information about a product from California consumers in the course of a transaction.</p>
<p>“Since 1970 this act has allowed Californians to hold merchants accountable when they commit fraud in the course of selling goods and services, and is one of the stronger consumer protection statutes in California law. Unfortunately for California’s consumers, however, the CLRA has been somewhat weakened in recent years through a handful of court decisions that have narrowed the act’s original scope.”</p>
<p>Federal courts limit product defect litigation to complaints that affect health and safety, she said. Since 2005, class-action lawsuits have to be filed in federal court, taking much of the product defect judicial review out of California’s more liberal interpretation of the CLRA.</p>
<p>“Because of the confusion in the courts, California consumers may not be able to rely on the CLRA to protect them from certain fraudulent practices not directly involving risk to health and safety,” said Jackson. “SB1188 addresses this confusion in the courts by codifying longstanding California law that the CLRA holds merchants accountable whenever they commit fraud by failing to disclose material facts about a product, when they knowingly conceal the existence of a material defect in a product – and regardless of whether the defect presents a safety hazard.”</p>
<p>Jackson said the bill defines a “material defect” as, “If a reasonable person would attach importance to its existence or non-existence in determining a choice of action in the transaction in question.”</p>
<p>She summed up the bill: “Essentially it will sort of revitalize a law that was passed in 1970 and has been sort of mucked up a little bit in recent years.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.lieffcabraser.com/Attorneys/Kristen-L-Sagafi.shtml" type="external">Kristen Law Sagafi</a>, representing the <a href="https://www.caoc.org/ca/" type="external">Consumer Attorneys of California</a>&#160;(formerly called the <a href="https://www.caoc.org/index.cfm?pg=caochistory" type="external">California Trial Lawyers Association</a>), told the committee that the CLRA has been essential in nearly every lawsuit she’s filed in the last 12 years “involving defective products ranging from roofing shingles to refrigerators to cars and personal electronics.”</p>
<p>Sagafi provided a hypothetical example of the need for SB1188:</p>
<p>“Let’s say a consumer buys a product with a one-year warranty. This might be an appliance costing thousands of dollars, say a high-end refrigerator or washing machine. Under the current precedence, the manufacturer can sell that product knowing it will fail the day after the express warranty expires. Indeed, under current law the manufacturer could install some kind of chip that would cause the product to fail on day 366.</p>
<p>“Let’s say the product does fail the day after the warranty runs. As long as the product fails safely in a way that does not create a safety hazard, as the law currently stands, the consumer cannot state a consumer fraud claim under the CLRA. This interpretation of the statute is utterly at odds with the plain language of the statute, which says nothing about a safety requirement. And it also contradicts many years of interpretive case law in California.”</p>
<p>Richard Holober, executive director of the bill’s cosponsor, the <a href="http://consumercal.org/" type="external">Consumer Federation of California</a>, cited thwarted litigation efforts under the current interpretation of the law:</p>
<p>“Consumers who bought certain Sony television sets that started to show spots, stains, haze, garish colors soon after the warranty expires, but not long after the purchase, were not able to bring a case, because, while the television was worthless, the worthless nature of the television did not threaten their life or limb.</p>
<p>“Purchasers of washing machines that were marketed by Sears Roebuck of being the highest quality, that malfunctioned after the warranty period but long before a reasonable person would say that its useful life had expired, were not able to bring a case when the electronic control panel of those washing machines malfunctioned, making the washing machine no longer of value to that consumer.”</p>
<p>Katherine Pettibone, legislative director of the <a href="http://cjac.org/" type="external">Civil Justice Association of California</a>, is concerned that SB1188 will result in a deluge of frivolous lawsuits. She said:</p>
<p>“We fear that this is going to open the floodgates. As courts have noted, all product failures at some point can be attributed to latent defects. Outside warranty periods, the courts have noted, average consumers would only expect the manufacturer to guarantee against unreasonable safety risk. So, many, many courts have now upheld this idea that if the product performs as warranted, then they have fulfilled their duty.</p>
<p>“We have all purchased products that went awry on us or made us absolutely crazy because we think, ‘Wow, it just broke and should have lasted longer.’ But that’s what the warranty period is. And I can buy an extended warranty to protect against that. At what stage does that thing that the manufacturer failed to identify lose the liability? Our products would have to reflect those costs.”</p>
<p>Pettibone said that if SB1188 passes, then iPhone owners whose expired warranty phones break after being dropped “would be able to sue under the concept, ‘I was not warned that if I dropped it on granite it would fracture.’ That probably is obvious to many of us, but I would be able to sue no matter how late that was after the warranty expired.”</p>
<p>She said that California’s <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=bpc&amp;group=17001-18000&amp;file=17200-17210" type="external">Unfair Competition Act</a> also provides protection for consumers from manufacturers fraudulently concealing defective products. Cases such as the consumer victory in <a href="http://www.impactlitigation.com/2012/01/12/collins-v-emachines-computer-defect-is-actionable/" type="external">Collins vs. eMachines</a>, in which a manufacturer was successfully sued for concealing a defective computer chip, show that system is working, she said.</p>
<p>“So there are remedies when manufacturers are fraudulently concealing,” said Pettibone. “You cannot make misleading and fraudulent claims and get away with it when they know there is a defect.”</p>
<p>Jennifer Barrera, policy advocate for the <a href="http://www.calchamber.com/pages/default.aspx" type="external">California Chamber of Commerce</a>, said the issue has already been settled judicially and shouldn’t be changed:</p>
<p>“We don’t believe there is confusion in the courts over whether or not you have a duty to disclose a material fact that is unrelated to safety. The weight of the authority is quite clear that a manufacturer’s failure to admit a material fact is limited to safety. After the warranty period expires, your duty to disclose something is only related to a safety issue.</p>
<p>“If you require a manufacture to forever basically warrant against a product that it will last a lifetime, then what is the point of a warranty? Because there would no longer be a point if you always had to guarantee that that product was going to last forever no matter if the defect was related to health and safety.</p>
<p>“And the court specifically said, ‘Failure of the product to last forever would become a defect. A manufacturer would no longer be able to issue warranties. And product defect litigation would become as widespread as manufacturing itself.’</p>
<p>“So we are concerned with the expansion of litigation. We believe that this bill is trying to get at the expansion of the CLRA that the courts have been unwilling to go to.”</p>
<p>Jackson disputed the hypothetical iPhone example.</p>
<p>“If Apple told you that it didn’t matter how hard you hit the thing and it would bounce off the floor, it would still work – and they knew that it wouldn’t, and they told you that it would – then you have a potential fraud case,” she said. “But if you have a warranty that says, ‘We will replace in case X, Y and Z happens,’ that’s a different story. It’s the fact that they make the claim or intentionally omit telling you something about the product.”</p>
<p><a href="http://sd10.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Sen. Ellen Corbett</a>, D-East Bay, disputed that manufacturers would now have to guarantee their products forever.</p>
<p>“That’s not what this is about at all,” she said. “This is about omitting, forgetting to tell somebody something very important about the good and how it may operate. You’re trying to make sure that if somebody has intentionally left out something very important about a good, then that’s where someone would be able to have their recourse.”</p>
<p>The committee approved SB1188 on a party line 5-2 vote, with Democrats backing it and Republicans opposed. It next goes for consideration by the full Senate.</p>
| false | 3 |
160 california consistently one worst lawsuit climates nation currently ranked 47th lawsuit fairness concluded160the institute legal reforms 2012 lawsuit climate report courts los angeles rank countrys second worst legal fairness san franciscos courts coming fourth worst unlikely improve californias litigious image senate bill 1188 would make easier file lawsuits defective products expired warranties currently postwarranty product defect lawsuits must meet threshold defect harming health safety plaintiff sb1188 approved senate judiciary committee may 6 committee chairwoman sen hannahbeth jackson dsanta barbara introduced bill committee saying merely codifies original intent states consumer legal remedies act jackson said clra consumer protection statute designed prevent unfair deceptive business practices taking hold californias marketplace160among things act prohibits sellers making fraudulent claims goods services fraudulently withholding omitting material information product california consumers course transaction since 1970 act allowed californians hold merchants accountable commit fraud course selling goods services one stronger consumer protection statutes california law unfortunately californias consumers however clra somewhat weakened recent years handful court decisions narrowed acts original scope federal courts limit product defect litigation complaints affect health safety said since 2005 classaction lawsuits filed federal court taking much product defect judicial review californias liberal interpretation clra confusion courts california consumers may able rely clra protect certain fraudulent practices directly involving risk health safety said jackson sb1188 addresses confusion courts codifying longstanding california law clra holds merchants accountable whenever commit fraud failing disclose material facts product knowingly conceal existence material defect product regardless whether defect presents safety hazard jackson said bill defines material defect reasonable person would attach importance existence nonexistence determining choice action transaction question summed bill essentially sort revitalize law passed 1970 sort mucked little bit recent years kristen law sagafi representing consumer attorneys california160formerly called california trial lawyers association told committee clra essential nearly every lawsuit shes filed last 12 years involving defective products ranging roofing shingles refrigerators cars personal electronics sagafi provided hypothetical example need sb1188 lets say consumer buys product oneyear warranty might appliance costing thousands dollars say highend refrigerator washing machine current precedence manufacturer sell product knowing fail day express warranty expires indeed current law manufacturer could install kind chip would cause product fail day 366 lets say product fail day warranty runs long product fails safely way create safety hazard law currently stands consumer state consumer fraud claim clra interpretation statute utterly odds plain language statute says nothing safety requirement also contradicts many years interpretive case law california richard holober executive director bills cosponsor consumer federation california cited thwarted litigation efforts current interpretation law consumers bought certain sony television sets started show spots stains haze garish colors soon warranty expires long purchase able bring case television worthless worthless nature television threaten life limb purchasers washing machines marketed sears roebuck highest quality malfunctioned warranty period long reasonable person would say useful life expired able bring case electronic control panel washing machines malfunctioned making washing machine longer value consumer katherine pettibone legislative director civil justice association california concerned sb1188 result deluge frivolous lawsuits said fear going open floodgates courts noted product failures point attributed latent defects outside warranty periods courts noted average consumers would expect manufacturer guarantee unreasonable safety risk many many courts upheld idea product performs warranted fulfilled duty purchased products went awry us made us absolutely crazy think wow broke lasted longer thats warranty period buy extended warranty protect stage thing manufacturer failed identify lose liability products would reflect costs pettibone said sb1188 passes iphone owners whose expired warranty phones break dropped would able sue concept warned dropped granite would fracture probably obvious many us would able sue matter late warranty expired said californias unfair competition act also provides protection consumers manufacturers fraudulently concealing defective products cases consumer victory collins vs emachines manufacturer successfully sued concealing defective computer chip show system working said remedies manufacturers fraudulently concealing said pettibone make misleading fraudulent claims get away know defect jennifer barrera policy advocate california chamber commerce said issue already settled judicially shouldnt changed dont believe confusion courts whether duty disclose material fact unrelated safety weight authority quite clear manufacturers failure admit material fact limited safety warranty period expires duty disclose something related safety issue require manufacture forever basically warrant product last lifetime point warranty would longer point always guarantee product going last forever matter defect related health safety court specifically said failure product last forever would become defect manufacturer would longer able issue warranties product defect litigation would become widespread manufacturing concerned expansion litigation believe bill trying get expansion clra courts unwilling go jackson disputed hypothetical iphone example apple told didnt matter hard hit thing would bounce floor would still work knew wouldnt told would potential fraud case said warranty says replace case x z happens thats different story fact make claim intentionally omit telling something product sen ellen corbett deast bay disputed manufacturers would guarantee products forever thats said omitting forgetting tell somebody something important good may operate youre trying make sure somebody intentionally left something important good thats someone would able recourse committee approved sb1188 party line 52 vote democrats backing republicans opposed next goes consideration full senate
| 841 |
<p>PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Of the many mass atrocities committed in the 20th century, the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror stands out among the most heinous.</p>
<p>Making matters worse for the survivors, the country has been remarkably slow to address the crimes or attempt to heal the lingering wounds. &#160;</p>
<p>From April 17, 1975 to January 7, 1979, an estimated 1.7 million people — 21 percent of the population — perished under the Khmer Rouge’s merciless rule. There were executions and forced marriages, sexual assaults and starvation, and there were fatal illnesses that could have been treated with proper access to medicine.</p>
<p>For years, these crimes were denied or underestimated, falling victim to Cold War-era politics. Many of the perpetrators lived freely for more than a quarter century, some in comfortable homes in the capital. It wasn’t until 2012 that a tribunal convicted a major player, putting prison warden Kaing Guek Eav, alias Duch, away for life.</p>
<p>Cambodia has a few small-scale sites recognizing the atrocities. These include Tuol Sleng, one of the regime’s most notorious torture chambers; the mass “Killing Fields” graves on the outskirts of Phnom Penh; and various poorly preserved crime sites in the provinces. But experts have long argued that these sites are inadequate relative to the scope of the suffering.</p>
<p>Awarding so-called reparations to victims who have participated in the court as civil parties, giving testimony and statements of suffering, was long ago ruled out due to a combination of fears. Instead, the tribunal has chosen to award “collective and moral reparations” and has accepted proposals for funded projects that are meant to represent as wide a group of victims as possible.</p>
<p>To save time, the court broke up the case against Chea and Samphan into mini-trials, and August’s verdict mainly covers forced population transfer and specific executions of government soldiers. Reparations may be secured for the next phase of the trial, which has yet to begin, but the defendants’ age and funding fatigue at the court make it likely that the verdict in August will be the only one.</p>
<p>All reparations are, of course, contingent on guilty verdicts. The full list, representing the most comprehensive reparations to date, can be found <a href="http://www.eccc.gov.kh/sites/default/files/articles/Annex%20Case%20002-01%20ReparationProjects.pdf" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, as the first phase of a trial against two more senior Khmer Rouge leaders — octogenarians Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan — nears its verdict on August 7, a $800,000 has been secured for a dozen projects meant to commemorate the regime's victims.</p>
<p>Here are of five categories reflecting the twelve projects for which funding has been secured. Many say that, despite the absence of financial restitution, these initiatives could genuinely make a difference.&#160; Others contend these measure are largely symbolic gestures funded by foreigners, and fall short of what’s needed.</p>
<p>National Day of Remembrance: It may seem strange, but Cambodia still has no universal memorial date during which all can mourn together. There are, however, other kinds of dates. January 7, marking the entrance of Vietnamese forces into Cambodia and the fall of the regime, is celebrated every year by the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, whose leaders were ushered in by the Vietnamese. It has turned into a highly politicized and not very inclusive anniversary. Cambodia also carries out an annual Day of Anger on May 20. In this bizarre set up, pains of the past are dealt with by reenacting Khmer Rouge atrocities wearing period costumes. The new National Day of Remembrance will replace the Day of Anger.</p>
<p>Memorials: In Phnom Penh, there are no standalone monuments to the fallen other than the macabre Tuol Sleng, which commemorates at least 12,000 victims who suffered at the torture chamber. Now, there is the “Memorial for Khmer Rouge Victims: For Those Who are No Longer Here,” being carried out by Cambodian artist Sera Ing. The collection of sculptures evokes events in April of 1975, when the population of the city was forced to march into the countryside and nearly four years of terror began. Separately, a “Monument for Khmer Rouge Victims in France” is planned for Cambodians living in France (where many fled to escape the Khmer Rouge) at the Vincennes Pagoda in Paris. The purpose is to provide “a space where survivors and relatives of the victims can hold ceremonies and honor the memory of those lost.”</p>
<p>Exhibitions and education: Several aspects of these funded projects aim to ensure that the younger generation won’t forget. To that end, a multimedia exhibition will be created; an extra chapter in the official history book on the Khmer Rouge will be added; exhibitions on forced transfers and executions will be set up in several provincial museums; and a “Community Learning Center” will go up in a province known for having a mass killing site.</p>
<p>Recognition: An illustrated and narrative book will tell stories of the victims, offering a space for their words to last. Projects will include printing books and publishing on the web the names of Cambodian civil parties who have filed claims of suffering with the tribunal and participated in its proceedings through testimony. In a closely related proposal, the court will provide summaries of the judgment on its public website. Similar small-scale gestures of recognition were awarded in the first case against Duch.</p>
<p>Therapy: With the help of Cambodia’s Transcultural Psychosocial Organization, or TPO, this section envisions creating grassroots self-help organizations to help cope with trauma and offer a space for reflection. On a smaller scale, though notable in a country that has limited options for psychiatric care, some 200 civil parties in the current phase of this case will receive testimonial therapy sessions with mental health professionals.</p>
<p>So what about money?</p>
<p>As the court launched its first trial in 2009, ideas for a trust fund and other ad hoc financial projects were floated — including diverting ticket sales from Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields site to victims — but “collective and moral reparations” won out in the end. To this day, disagreements exist over the approach.</p>
<p>“I cannot say whether my ex-clients still claim financial compensation. Maybe they gave up doing so,” said Silke Studzinsky, a former civil party lawyer at the tribunal, who called the decision to refrain from awarding reparations due to a defendant’s indigence an “error.”</p>
<p>“But many of those Civil Parties who are very poor and who struggle on a daily basis to survive somehow, would welcome tangible reparations that repair, at least in parts,&#160;what they have lost,” she added.</p>
<p>Defense lawyer Michael Karnavas, who has dismissed the offerings as “notional,” said that meaningful reparations “require the creation of a fund” from which victims can be compensated. He acknowledged, however, that creating such a fund and deciding who benefits is “no easy task.”
</p>
<p>On a blog dedicated to analyzing the issue of reparations at the Khmer Rouge tribunal, a scathing entry posted on May 1 recommends nationwide consultation to determine the best projects, and a nationwide fundraising drive to pay for them. Otherwise, they will lack scope and consensus.</p>
<p>“Simply giving money to a couple of NGOs who have attached themselves to this process is not either what is known as ‘reparations’ under the Cambodian criminal law, nor is it a commemorative Cambodian effort that is a corollary to this process,” the post says. “Most Cambodians will look at these so-called reparations and see them as yet another instance of Westerners giving money to the NGOs. And they will be correct thinking that.”</p>
<p>Still, analysts say collective and moral reparations being put forth are just as important, if not more.</p>
<p>“What Cambodian people have suffered during the [Khmer Rouge] regime is too painful and too hard to forget and endure. I think we cannot do anything perfectly to make sure it is enough to repay what they went through,” said Sokvisal Kimsroy, a team leader of the Victims Participation Project within the Documentation Center of Cambodia, the country’s central archive for Khmer Rouge history.</p>
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phnom penh cambodia many mass atrocities committed 20th century khmer rouges reign terror stands among heinous making matters worse survivors country remarkably slow address crimes attempt heal lingering wounds 160 april 17 1975 january 7 1979 estimated 17 million people 21 percent population perished khmer rouges merciless rule executions forced marriages sexual assaults starvation fatal illnesses could treated proper access medicine years crimes denied underestimated falling victim cold warera politics many perpetrators lived freely quarter century comfortable homes capital wasnt 2012 tribunal convicted major player putting prison warden kaing guek eav alias duch away life cambodia smallscale sites recognizing atrocities include tuol sleng one regimes notorious torture chambers mass killing fields graves outskirts phnom penh various poorly preserved crime sites provinces experts long argued sites inadequate relative scope suffering awarding socalled reparations victims participated court civil parties giving testimony statements suffering long ago ruled due combination fears instead tribunal chosen award collective moral reparations accepted proposals funded projects meant represent wide group victims possible save time court broke case chea samphan minitrials augusts verdict mainly covers forced population transfer specific executions government soldiers reparations may secured next phase trial yet begin defendants age funding fatigue court make likely verdict august one reparations course contingent guilty verdicts full list representing comprehensive reparations date found finally first phase trial two senior khmer rouge leaders octogenarians nuon chea khieu samphan nears verdict august 7 800000 secured dozen projects meant commemorate regimes victims five categories reflecting twelve projects funding secured many say despite absence financial restitution initiatives could genuinely make difference160 others contend measure largely symbolic gestures funded foreigners fall short whats needed national day remembrance may seem strange cambodia still universal memorial date mourn together however kinds dates january 7 marking entrance vietnamese forces cambodia fall regime celebrated every year ruling cambodian peoples party whose leaders ushered vietnamese turned highly politicized inclusive anniversary cambodia also carries annual day anger may 20 bizarre set pains past dealt reenacting khmer rouge atrocities wearing period costumes new national day remembrance replace day anger memorials phnom penh standalone monuments fallen macabre tuol sleng commemorates least 12000 victims suffered torture chamber memorial khmer rouge victims longer carried cambodian artist sera ing collection sculptures evokes events april 1975 population city forced march countryside nearly four years terror began separately monument khmer rouge victims france planned cambodians living france many fled escape khmer rouge vincennes pagoda paris purpose provide space survivors relatives victims hold ceremonies honor memory lost exhibitions education several aspects funded projects aim ensure younger generation wont forget end multimedia exhibition created extra chapter official history book khmer rouge added exhibitions forced transfers executions set several provincial museums community learning center go province known mass killing site recognition illustrated narrative book tell stories victims offering space words last projects include printing books publishing web names cambodian civil parties filed claims suffering tribunal participated proceedings testimony closely related proposal court provide summaries judgment public website similar smallscale gestures recognition awarded first case duch therapy help cambodias transcultural psychosocial organization tpo section envisions creating grassroots selfhelp organizations help cope trauma offer space reflection smaller scale though notable country limited options psychiatric care 200 civil parties current phase case receive testimonial therapy sessions mental health professionals money court launched first trial 2009 ideas trust fund ad hoc financial projects floated including diverting ticket sales tuol sleng killing fields site victims collective moral reparations end day disagreements exist approach say whether exclients still claim financial compensation maybe gave said silke studzinsky former civil party lawyer tribunal called decision refrain awarding reparations due defendants indigence error many civil parties poor struggle daily basis survive somehow would welcome tangible reparations repair least parts160what lost added defense lawyer michael karnavas dismissed offerings notional said meaningful reparations require creation fund victims compensated acknowledged however creating fund deciding benefits easy task blog dedicated analyzing issue reparations khmer rouge tribunal scathing entry posted may 1 recommends nationwide consultation determine best projects nationwide fundraising drive pay otherwise lack scope consensus simply giving money couple ngos attached process either known reparations cambodian criminal law commemorative cambodian effort corollary process post says cambodians look socalled reparations see yet another instance westerners giving money ngos correct thinking still analysts say collective moral reparations put forth important cambodian people suffered khmer rouge regime painful hard forget endure think anything perfectly make sure enough repay went said sokvisal kimsroy team leader victims participation project within documentation center cambodia countrys central archive khmer rouge history
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<p>KYIV, Ukraine — A paramilitary group that played an important role in removing Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych last month is now in a confrontation with the revolutionary government in Kyiv.</p>
<p>Pravy Sektor, or Right Sector, a nationalist group formed by right-wing demonstrators on Kyiv’s central Maidan, or Independence Square, in December, picketed the country’s parliament on Thursday amid tension with the government following the slaying of a party leader.</p>
<p>Police <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140325/police-kill-far-right-leader-west-ukraine" type="external">shot and killed</a>&#160;the head of Pravy Sektor in Western Ukraine earlier this week in unclear circumstances. The group is demanding the interior minister resign over the incident.</p>
<p>After Thursday's demonstration, interim President Olexander Turchynov accused Pravy Sektor of trying to “destabilize” Kyiv. He called the group’s protest a Russian-inspired attempt to unsettle the country.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140301/ukraines-protest-radicals-force-be-reckoned" type="external">nationalists</a>’ challenge to the government comes after the paramilitary group announced it was purging extremist elements and adding a political party to its combat brigades.</p>
<p>The newly constituted party says its ideology is nationalist, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/140228/the-language-ukraines-revolution" type="external">not fascist or neo-Nazi</a> — which means it wants Ukraine to be the master of its geopolitical destiny, and not the servant of larger powers such as the European Union or Russia. Publically, at least, it advocates “brotherliness” to the country’s minorities, including Russians and Jews.</p>
<p>On that platform, Pravy Sektor's leaders want to grab power at the ballot box across Ukraine — and to see leader Dmitro Yarosh elected president in May’s poll.</p>
<p>“Losing is not an option,” Pravy Sektor spokesman Arten Skoropadsky said in the lobby of party-occupied Hotel Dnipro. “Over the last two months we have grown from a small social organization to a national force. Ten thousand people have now said they are willing to join.”</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/politics/140221/ukraine-kyiv-kiev-key-people-figures-groups-political-crisis" type="external">A Who's Who of the key figures and groups in Ukraine's political crisis</a></p>
<p>Until recent days, Pravy Sektor’s reputation as an apparently effective enemy of Yanukovych has won it support in Kyiv — including from protesters aligned with the new Ukrainian leadership.</p>
<p>During the winter demonstrations, protesters say, Pravy Sektor proved an agile force that was able to largely maintain security at the Maidan encampment and spearhead protesters' attempts to storm police lines and capture new ground in downtown Kyiv.</p>
<p>“They were organized and effective — they always carried out every task we gave them,” said Danielo Klech, the head of the Maidan self-defense committee, which is close to interim government National Security Council head and former Maidan commander Andrej Paruby.</p>
<p>Although Pravy Sektor helped bring the current government to power, since Yanukovych’s departure, the party has become a de facto challenger to the former parliamentary opposition leaders who are now in charge.</p>
<p>“We need to clean out everyone,” said Alexander Konomko, a militiaman in Pravy Sektor's 23rd brigade on Maidan.</p>
<p>“We need to change the political system — they are trampling the bodies of the dead.”</p>
<p />
<p>Questions remain about the group's history of anti-Russian activities. Russian media says presidential hopeful Yarosh fought in Chechnya during the first war there in the 1990s. Other party leaders are also rumored to have served among the forces there fending off Russian advances.</p>
<p>Pro-Russian activists in the country's second city, Kharkiv, accuse members of Pravy Sektor's local branch of prompting ethnic conflict by drafting what they see as a group of neo-fascists from the central city of Dnepropetrovsk to attack pro-Russians in recent weeks. Pravy Sektor blame persecution by pro-Russian activists — a group including bikers and the self-proclaimed Russian fight club "Oplot" — for the ethnic unrest in Kharkiv. Locals partly support their version of events.</p>
<p>Two people died in clashes between pro-Russians and Pravy Sektor earlier this month. Afterward, police arrested around 30 nationalists.</p>
<p>“If [the nationalists] are freed ... it will cause massive unrest,” says Alexandr Alexandrovskiy, a political consultant to Yanukovych's Party of Regions. “This is a neo-fascist organization.”</p>
<p>Pravy Sektor's stance toward the Kyiv interim government has also been criticized. The party has pushed the authorities to be firmer with Russia in Crimea. Government supporters say that risks provoking an escalation of the crisis.</p>
<p>“They should not put as much pressure on the interim government,” said Klech, from the Maidan self-defense committee. “Right now, they are making ultimatums to the government to storm or capture something. Those tactics were suited to Yanukovych's time, but they aren't suitable now.”</p>
<p>Pravy Sektor's electoral appeal remains as uncertain as its future. However, straw polls conducted in Kyiv suggest a level of admiration if not support for the group.</p>
<p>“If it wasn't for Pravy Sektor we'd still be sitting on Maidan,” says Svetlana Klitskaya, who attended a meeting on the square last Sunday. “But they are not competent politicians — and they are too radical.”</p>
<p>Kyiv's Maidan revolution began last November with a call by an Afghan-Iranian journalist, Mustafa Nayem, for people to take to the streets in support of the European Union after Yanukovych refused to sign a political and economic pact with the organization.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/politics/world-leaders/140222/inside-yanukovych-compound-mezhyhirya-kyiv" type="external">26 things found in Yanukovych's compound that make him look even worse</a></p>
<p>In the final days of his regime, protesters clamped on helmets, carried shields and fell to police bullets — and Pravy Sektor was prominent among those facing down riot police.</p>
<p>But it remains unclear in these post-revolutionary days how the paramilitary group intends to transform itself into a political movement, and to what end. Leaders have made a broad vow to maintain the party’s paramilitary brigades so long as Ukraine faces “external or internal enemies.”</p>
<p>“A political party is a weapon of political struggle,” Pravy Sektor's Kyiv head Igor Mazok said at the party’s media launch, “like a Kalashnikov is an instrument of military struggle.”</p>
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kyiv ukraine paramilitary group played important role removing ukrainian president viktor yanukovych last month confrontation revolutionary government kyiv pravy sektor right sector nationalist group formed rightwing demonstrators kyivs central maidan independence square december picketed countrys parliament thursday amid tension government following slaying party leader police shot killed160the head pravy sektor western ukraine earlier week unclear circumstances group demanding interior minister resign incident thursdays demonstration interim president olexander turchynov accused pravy sektor trying destabilize kyiv called groups protest russianinspired attempt unsettle country nationalists challenge government comes paramilitary group announced purging extremist elements adding political party combat brigades newly constituted party says ideology nationalist fascist neonazi means wants ukraine master geopolitical destiny servant larger powers european union russia publically least advocates brotherliness countrys minorities including russians jews platform pravy sektors leaders want grab power ballot box across ukraine see leader dmitro yarosh elected president mays poll losing option pravy sektor spokesman arten skoropadsky said lobby partyoccupied hotel dnipro last two months grown small social organization national force ten thousand people said willing join globalpost whos key figures groups ukraines political crisis recent days pravy sektors reputation apparently effective enemy yanukovych support kyiv including protesters aligned new ukrainian leadership winter demonstrations protesters say pravy sektor proved agile force able largely maintain security maidan encampment spearhead protesters attempts storm police lines capture new ground downtown kyiv organized effective always carried every task gave said danielo klech head maidan selfdefense committee close interim government national security council head former maidan commander andrej paruby although pravy sektor helped bring current government power since yanukovychs departure party become de facto challenger former parliamentary opposition leaders charge need clean everyone said alexander konomko militiaman pravy sektors 23rd brigade maidan need change political system trampling bodies dead questions remain groups history antirussian activities russian media says presidential hopeful yarosh fought chechnya first war 1990s party leaders also rumored served among forces fending russian advances prorussian activists countrys second city kharkiv accuse members pravy sektors local branch prompting ethnic conflict drafting see group neofascists central city dnepropetrovsk attack prorussians recent weeks pravy sektor blame persecution prorussian activists group including bikers selfproclaimed russian fight club oplot ethnic unrest kharkiv locals partly support version events two people died clashes prorussians pravy sektor earlier month afterward police arrested around 30 nationalists nationalists freed cause massive unrest says alexandr alexandrovskiy political consultant yanukovychs party regions neofascist organization pravy sektors stance toward kyiv interim government also criticized party pushed authorities firmer russia crimea government supporters say risks provoking escalation crisis put much pressure interim government said klech maidan selfdefense committee right making ultimatums government storm capture something tactics suited yanukovychs time arent suitable pravy sektors electoral appeal remains uncertain future however straw polls conducted kyiv suggest level admiration support group wasnt pravy sektor wed still sitting maidan says svetlana klitskaya attended meeting square last sunday competent politicians radical kyivs maidan revolution began last november call afghaniranian journalist mustafa nayem people take streets support european union yanukovych refused sign political economic pact organization globalpost160 26 things found yanukovychs compound make look even worse final days regime protesters clamped helmets carried shields fell police bullets pravy sektor prominent among facing riot police remains unclear postrevolutionary days paramilitary group intends transform political movement end leaders made broad vow maintain partys paramilitary brigades long ukraine faces external internal enemies political party weapon political struggle pravy sektors kyiv head igor mazok said partys media launch like kalashnikov instrument military struggle
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<p>From opening “pop-up” preschools in Cicero to building new partnerships with existing service agencies, teams of parents, educators and health care providers are developing locally-based projects to improve access to early childhood education in the communities that most need it.</p>
<p>With the help of some Race to the Top Early Childhood federal grant money, the teams will begin testing their strategies this fall – and fine-tuning the projects as data comes in about enrollment. All of this, advocates say, will help the state analyze what works best in building local community systems around early childhood education.</p>
<p>“This can help us figure out which of the strategies we’d been thinking about might be the most useful in the end,” explains Theresa Hawley, director of the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, which is overseeing the initiative. &#160;“The best way for us to look at this problem is to zero in on the local level.”</p>
<p>Last month, the state approved the so-called “Innovation Zone” projects and will provide each team between $100,000 and $250,000, in addition to in-kind and technical services, next fiscal year so that they can put the plans into action. Funding for the Innovation Zones will continue through 2016. The Illinois Action for Children partnered with the state to convene the teams in Aurora, Cicero, Thornton Township, Greater East St. Louis, and Williamson County, as well as the Pilsen/Little Village and North Lawndale areas of Chicago.</p>
<p>The Innovation Zones funding model flips the script on the traditional government funding method, where organizations tailor their applications to fit parameters drafted by the state, says Leah Pouw, director of program innovations at Illinois Action for Children. Instead, the state guided the teams as thought about and researched their own communities, identified high-needs groups, and proposed projects to get more children into early childhood education.</p>
<p>“It’s a bottom-up approach, not top-down,” Pouw said. “Each community has unique characteristics. We’re trying to see it from their point of view.”</p>
<p>Children of immigrants, children with special needs</p>
<p>Early in the process, the teams honed in on outreach, screening and follow-up; transportation; program quality; and pipelines – or connecting families who are in contact with one organization to other services – as key issues. High-need groups included teen parents, homeless families, children with disabilities, children living in deep poverty, children in license-exempt child care, children of migrant workers and families that are unable to access services because they do not speak English.</p>
<p>In Cicero, for example, the team found that language and cultural barriers were keeping immigrant parents from enrolling their children in preschool programs. Many immigrants were unfamiliar with the concept of preschool simply because these state-funded programs don’t exist in their home countries. To target this specific group, the team will create “pop-up” structured play groups close to where families live that simulate the preschool experience.</p>
<p>“Maybe they need to try it out in a less threatening environment than dropping off your kids every day,” says Hawley.</p>
<p>The team will then analyze whether any of the parents who take their 2- or 3-year-olds to the “pop-up” preschools enroll those same children in traditional preschools later down the line.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in both the North Lawndale and the Pilsen/Little Village communities, the teams are building a “pipeline” between families in deep poverty to early childhood education options. They’re doing this by identifying and partnering with a variety of partners that already provide some needed service to families – including neighborhood clinics and the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) office – and can agree to share the same message about the importance of early childhood education.</p>
<p>&#160;“When parents take their children in for their immunizations, when they’re in the health clinics, are we talking about how those children can gain access to the early care and education?” asks Cerathal Burnett, CEO of the Carole Robertson Center for Learning and a core member of the planning teams in both Innovation Zones. “We want to make sure we’re all connected across the different service points, to make sure whoever touched the family was talking about the same thing.”</p>
<p>One area of focus in the North Lawndale community has been homeless families, who struggle to get the official required paperwork together in order to enroll their children in pre-school programs. Documents such as birth certificates and proof of income, for example, sometimes disappear when families are evicted from their homes and become transient or move into shelters.</p>
<p>“The documentation can be a barrier to them having everything ready for the applications,” Pouw says.</p>
<p>The team in Little Village and Pilsen, meanwhile, aims to increase the number of children with special needs, ages 3 to 5, in early childhood education programs.</p>
<p>“You want to get them screened as early as possible,” Burnett said. “The earlier you can catch and diagnose them, in many cases you can resolve the issues before going forward in their education.”</p>
<p>Teams in both Chicago communities plan to offer training to parents to be ambassadors in their own communities and talk with other parents about the benefits of early childhood education.</p>
<p>For Burnett, who has been working in the early childhood education field for 18 years, participating in the Innovation Zones has also really nailed down the understand the importance of collaboration—and making time for it.</p>
<p>Former Catalyst Chicago Associate Editor Rebecca Harris contributed to this report.</p>
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opening popup preschools cicero building new partnerships existing service agencies teams parents educators health care providers developing locallybased projects improve access early childhood education communities need help race top early childhood federal grant money teams begin testing strategies fall finetuning projects data comes enrollment advocates say help state analyze works best building local community systems around early childhood education help us figure strategies wed thinking might useful end explains theresa hawley director governors office early childhood development overseeing initiative 160the best way us look problem zero local level last month state approved socalled innovation zone projects provide team 100000 250000 addition inkind technical services next fiscal year put plans action funding innovation zones continue 2016 illinois action children partnered state convene teams aurora cicero thornton township greater east st louis williamson county well pilsenlittle village north lawndale areas chicago innovation zones funding model flips script traditional government funding method organizations tailor applications fit parameters drafted state says leah pouw director program innovations illinois action children instead state guided teams thought researched communities identified highneeds groups proposed projects get children early childhood education bottomup approach topdown pouw said community unique characteristics trying see point view children immigrants children special needs early process teams honed outreach screening followup transportation program quality pipelines connecting families contact one organization services key issues highneed groups included teen parents homeless families children disabilities children living deep poverty children licenseexempt child care children migrant workers families unable access services speak english cicero example team found language cultural barriers keeping immigrant parents enrolling children preschool programs many immigrants unfamiliar concept preschool simply statefunded programs dont exist home countries target specific group team create popup structured play groups close families live simulate preschool experience maybe need try less threatening environment dropping kids every day says hawley team analyze whether parents take 2 3yearolds popup preschools enroll children traditional preschools later line meanwhile north lawndale pilsenlittle village communities teams building pipeline families deep poverty early childhood education options theyre identifying partnering variety partners already provide needed service families including neighborhood clinics federal women infants children wic office agree share message importance early childhood education 160when parents take children immunizations theyre health clinics talking children gain access early care education asks cerathal burnett ceo carole robertson center learning core member planning teams innovation zones want make sure connected across different service points make sure whoever touched family talking thing one area focus north lawndale community homeless families struggle get official required paperwork together order enroll children preschool programs documents birth certificates proof income example sometimes disappear families evicted homes become transient move shelters documentation barrier everything ready applications pouw says team little village pilsen meanwhile aims increase number children special needs ages 3 5 early childhood education programs want get screened early possible burnett said earlier catch diagnose many cases resolve issues going forward education teams chicago communities plan offer training parents ambassadors communities talk parents benefits early childhood education burnett working early childhood education field 18 years participating innovation zones also really nailed understand importance collaborationand making time former catalyst chicago associate editor rebecca harris contributed report
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<p>D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke at an Oct. 22 rally for D.C. statehood outside the offices of the Board of Elections. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro Jr.)</p>
<p>LGBT activists who turned out on Oct. 22 for a “Statehood Yes!” rally outside the D.C. Board of Elections offices said a vote for a D.C. statehood advisory referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot would be a vote for LGBT rights.</p>
<p>The activists joined Mayor Muriel Bowser, six members of the City Council, and about 200 other D.C. statehood supporters who gathered on the plaza outside the city municipal building at 441 4th St., N.W., where the Board of Elections opened its doors on the first day of early voting in the city.</p>
<p>“The LGBT community definitely should get behind this,” said longtime gay activist John Fanning, who serves as chair of the Logan Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission.</p>
<p>“We have marriage equality and we have employment non-discrimination for LGBT people,” he said, but noted that Congress currently has full authority to repeal those laws.</p>
<p>Fanning and at least a dozen other LGBT activists attending the rally are calling on LGBT people and all city residents to vote “yes” on Advisory Referendum B, which asks voters if the city should petition Congress in 2017 to admit D.C. as the nation’s 51st state.</p>
<p>“I would say this is more relevant to LGBT people than it is to the average person because right now Congress can do whatever it wants,” said Michael Brown, one of the city’s two shadow U.S. Senators.</p>
<p>“Conservatives in Congress have attacked our gun laws and they’ve attacked gay people in our city as well,” he said. “So if you want to secure things like LGBT equality you want to be in control of your own destiny as a state.”</p>
<p>In the 1980s, the city created two shadow senator positions and one shadow U.S. House position to serve as unpaid advocates to promote D.C. statehood. They have no congressional powers.</p>
<p>Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority to approve statehood for U.S. territories as well as the proposed state of Washington, D.C., by a simple majority vote.</p>
<p>Most political observers believe a D.C. statehood petition would have no chance of passing in 2017 if Republicans retain control of Congress. Many observers believe its approval would be difficult but possible in the unlikely development that Democrats win control of both the House and Senate in the November election.</p>
<p>Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has expressed support for D.C. statehood.</p>
<p>Most Republican lawmakers have long opposed D.C. statehood, among other reasons, because it would almost certainly result in the new state electing two Democratic senators that could help Democrats gain or retain control of the Senate.</p>
<p>The city’s statehood movement evolved from an earlier “voting rights” movement in the 1970s that initially called for providing the city with two U.S. senators and one U.S. representative with full voting rights in Congress without creating a new state. But doing that requires a constitutional amendment.</p>
<p>Such an amendment was approved by Congress in 1978 and was sent to the states, where it died after it failed to receive the required approval by three-fourths of the nation’s state legislatures. At the time the proposed amendment expired in 1985, only 16 states had approved it.</p>
<p>Gay political consultant Bo Shuff, who served as manager of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s 2014 election campaign, currently serves as director of advocacy for the pro-statehood group D.C. Vote. Shuff stood behind a table handing out statehood literature during the Oct. 22 rally.</p>
<p>He told the Washington Blade that the LGBT community, like all of the city’s constituency groups, would benefit by having two voting U.S. senators and a voting representative in Congress that would come about through statehood for the District.</p>
<p>He and other LGBT activists attending the rally noted that under the city’s current limited Home Rule government, Congress retains full authority to pass or repeal D.C. laws should it decide to exercise that authority.</p>
<p>Although Congress has not exercised that authority very often, its decision to do so in 1981 targeted the city’s gay community. In an action that startled city officials and outraged gay activists, the House voted 218-119 to overturn a bill passed by the City Council that would have repealed the city’s sodomy law.</p>
<p>The sodomy repeal measure was part of a larger bill that called for reforming the city’s sexual assault laws. Conservative House members, pressured by the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority organization, said their aim was to kill the sodomy repeal provision, which would have removed an archaic law making it illegal for consenting adults to engage in oral or anal sex in private.</p>
<p>While the law was rarely enforced in recent times against consenting adults in private places, gay activists said it was used as a means of discriminating against gay people in employment and other areas because it labeled them as lawbreakers.</p>
<p>More than a decade later, the D.C. Council passed another sodomy repeal bill which Congress did not attempt to overturn.</p>
<p>“The upcoming advisory referendum for statehood is yet another step in calling the nation’s attention to the immoral and anti-democratic treatment of almost 700,000 U.S. citizens,” said gay activist John Klenert, a former board member of D.C. Vote.</p>
<p>Klenert was referring to the fact that D.C. residents have no voting representation in Congress, making the U.S. one of only a few countries throughout the world considered a democracy where residents of the capital city don’t have representation in the national legislative body.</p>
<p>Congressional Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), a longtime supporter of D.C. statehood who cannot vote on the House floor, told participants at the Oct. 22 rally that the city’s lack of voting representation in Congress imposed “taxation without representation” on all city residents.</p>
<p>Bowser told the Blade after the rally that she, too, believes the LGBT community has an important stake in pushing for statehood.</p>
<p>“I think LGBTQ voters are like all Washingtonians in that they want their taxes to be paid fairly like other Americans but they also want a vote in Congress just like every other American,” Bowser said. “So I think the LGBTQ community especially knows what it’s like to be treated as second-class or third-class citizens. And we’re demanding to be treated like first-class citizens.”</p>
<p>LGBT rights advocates and D.C. statehood supporters, from left, Sean Wieland, David Meadows, John Fanning, Bo Shuff, and Jim Slattery attended a statehood rally on Oct. 22 outside a polling place on the first day of the city’s early voting. (Washington Blade photo by Lou Chibbaro, Jr.)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">D.C.</a> <a href="" type="internal">D.C. Council</a> <a href="" type="internal">D.C. statehood</a> <a href="" type="internal">District of Columbia</a> <a href="" type="internal">Eleanor Holmes Norton</a> <a href="" type="internal">employment non-discrimination</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hillary Clinton</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jerry Falwell</a> <a href="" type="internal">John Fanning</a> <a href="" type="internal">John Klenert</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a> <a href="" type="internal">Logan Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission</a> <a href="" type="internal">marriage equality</a> <a href="" type="internal">Michael Brown</a> <a href="" type="internal">Moral Majority</a> <a href="" type="internal">Muriel Bowser</a> <a href="" type="internal">Referendum B</a> <a href="" type="internal">Statehood Yes!</a> <a href="" type="internal">U.S. Congress</a></p>
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dc mayor muriel bowser spoke oct 22 rally dc statehood outside offices board elections washington blade photo lou chibbaro jr lgbt activists turned oct 22 statehood yes rally outside dc board elections offices said vote dc statehood advisory referendum nov 8 ballot would vote lgbt rights activists joined mayor muriel bowser six members city council 200 dc statehood supporters gathered plaza outside city municipal building 441 4th st nw board elections opened doors first day early voting city lgbt community definitely get behind said longtime gay activist john fanning serves chair logan circle advisory neighborhood commission marriage equality employment nondiscrimination lgbt people said noted congress currently full authority repeal laws fanning least dozen lgbt activists attending rally calling lgbt people city residents vote yes advisory referendum b asks voters city petition congress 2017 admit dc nations 51st state would say relevant lgbt people average person right congress whatever wants said michael brown one citys two shadow us senators conservatives congress attacked gun laws theyve attacked gay people city well said want secure things like lgbt equality want control destiny state 1980s city created two shadow senator positions one shadow us house position serve unpaid advocates promote dc statehood congressional powers us constitution congress authority approve statehood us territories well proposed state washington dc simple majority vote political observers believe dc statehood petition would chance passing 2017 republicans retain control congress many observers believe approval would difficult possible unlikely development democrats win control house senate november election democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton expressed support dc statehood republican lawmakers long opposed dc statehood among reasons would almost certainly result new state electing two democratic senators could help democrats gain retain control senate citys statehood movement evolved earlier voting rights movement 1970s initially called providing city two us senators one us representative full voting rights congress without creating new state requires constitutional amendment amendment approved congress 1978 sent states died failed receive required approval threefourths nations state legislatures time proposed amendment expired 1985 16 states approved gay political consultant bo shuff served manager mayor muriel bowsers 2014 election campaign currently serves director advocacy prostatehood group dc vote shuff stood behind table handing statehood literature oct 22 rally told washington blade lgbt community like citys constituency groups would benefit two voting us senators voting representative congress would come statehood district lgbt activists attending rally noted citys current limited home rule government congress retains full authority pass repeal dc laws decide exercise authority although congress exercised authority often decision 1981 targeted citys gay community action startled city officials outraged gay activists house voted 218119 overturn bill passed city council would repealed citys sodomy law sodomy repeal measure part larger bill called reforming citys sexual assault laws conservative house members pressured rev jerry falwells moral majority organization said aim kill sodomy repeal provision would removed archaic law making illegal consenting adults engage oral anal sex private law rarely enforced recent times consenting adults private places gay activists said used means discriminating gay people employment areas labeled lawbreakers decade later dc council passed another sodomy repeal bill congress attempt overturn upcoming advisory referendum statehood yet another step calling nations attention immoral antidemocratic treatment almost 700000 us citizens said gay activist john klenert former board member dc vote klenert referring fact dc residents voting representation congress making us one countries throughout world considered democracy residents capital city dont representation national legislative body congressional del eleanor holmes norton ddc longtime supporter dc statehood vote house floor told participants oct 22 rally citys lack voting representation congress imposed taxation without representation city residents bowser told blade rally believes lgbt community important stake pushing statehood think lgbtq voters like washingtonians want taxes paid fairly like americans also want vote congress like every american bowser said think lgbtq community especially knows like treated secondclass thirdclass citizens demanding treated like firstclass citizens lgbt rights advocates dc statehood supporters left sean wieland david meadows john fanning bo shuff jim slattery attended statehood rally oct 22 outside polling place first day citys early voting washington blade photo lou chibbaro jr dc dc council dc statehood district columbia eleanor holmes norton employment nondiscrimination gay hillary clinton jerry falwell john fanning john klenert lgbt logan circle advisory neighborhood commission marriage equality michael brown moral majority muriel bowser referendum b statehood yes us congress
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<p>WASHINGTON (ABP) — If the authors of “An Evangelical Manifesto,” released May 7, aimed to inspire conversation and self-reflection among their kindred, they certainly succeeded.</p>
<p>Among Baptists at the intersection of faith and public life, the conversation and reflection have included both praise and critique of the document itself — from the left and the right. Southern Baptist critics on the right, including Al Mohler and Richard Land — complained mostly about what they consider the document's omissions, such as a condemnation of sexual immorality.</p>
<p>The 20-page statement, initially endorsed by about 75 prominent evangelical pastors, scholars and writers, delivers a barely concealed rebuke of the methods and rhetoric of the Religious Right from many either within its own ranks or very close to it.</p>
<p>The document specifically denounces what it describes as the “two equal and opposite errors” of privatizing faith and politicizing it.</p>
<p>The manifesto emphasizes that evangelicalism should be primarily a theological identity rather than a political or theological one. It calls on conservative evangelicals to contribute to a more civil public discourse rather than simply adding ammunition to the culture wars.</p>
<p>The manifesto also calls on evangelicals to broaden their social advocacy beyond the classic issues of abortion rights and sexuality into other areas, such as the environment, poverty and international human rights.</p>
<p>Its initial endorsers included a broad range of evangelical leaders — such as popular author Os Guinness, who spearheaded the effort, Fuller Theological Seminary President Richard Muow and Christianity Today Editor David Neff.</p>
<p>The first signatories also included a wide range of Baptists, such as Bethel University President George Brushaber, Liberty Theological Seminary President Ergun Caner, Mercer University professor (and Associated Baptist Press columnist) David Gushee, and Beeson Divinity School Dean Timothy George.</p>
<p>But even before it was released, some conservatives denounced the document for leaving out the most politically prominent evangelical leaders, such as James Dobson of Focus on the Family, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.</p>
<p>Land, in a May 13 opinion column for the SBC's news arm, said he was “in full agreement with at least 90 percent of what [the statement] has to say” but that details — such as what he called theological imprecision — would prevent him from signing it.</p>
<p>He also took issue with the authors' decision to offer a specific critique of rampant consumerism and materialism in some parts of evangelical culture without offering a similarly specific critique of sexual immorality or other sins.</p>
<p>“[I]f the manifesto can take time to denounce ‘consumerism' by name, why can't it take time to specify the sins of premarital and extramarital sex?” Land asked. “When evangelicals, who proclaim the sanctity of marriage, have the same rate of divorce as the general society, they have indeed shamed the gospel they proclaim with their lips but deny with their libidos.”</p>
<p>Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a prominent conservative social critic, took similar issue with the document's finer points, while praising its overall thrust. His overarching criticism was that the manifesto lacked specific proposals for how evangelicals could increase civility in public discourse and engage in public affairs without appearing as if they were attempting to hijack the government for purely theological ends.</p>
<p>“There can be no doubt that far too many evangelicals have confused the gospel with a political agenda — and even with the Republican Party,” wrote Mohler, in a May 12 entry on his AlbertMohler.com blog. “But what the document never makes clear is how to hold to deep moral and political convictions, based in biblical principles, without running the danger of identification with a political agenda — at least to some extent. Does the manifesto suggest a Gnostic form of political engagement?”</p>
<p>While praising the document's call for civility — much of which echoes the thrust of Guinness' most recent book, The Case for Civility — Mohler said it didn't lay out a plan for engaging civilly when debating principles of the highest importance.</p>
<p>“[N]either Guinness nor the manifesto can construct the framework for civility that Guinness brilliantly imagines. This is due to the fact that we are now dealing with the very fundamental questions of existence that the manifesto acknowledges; the questions that, in the end, will shape the civilization,” Mohler wrote.</p>
<p>“Issues such as abortion and marriage are not only important, but urgent …. The manifesto is wonderfully prophetic in calling for civility, but it never explains how civility can survive a policy conclusion — or how civil parties to a conversation about ultimate things can speak the truth and always be considered civil.”</p>
<p>Guinness, in a written response sent to an Associated Baptist Press reporter, welcomed Mohler's praise for the document but said his criticism was misdirected.</p>
<p>“Would that Dr Mohler's simple agreement with [a] hotly contested statement in the manifesto be heard widely by supporters of the Religious Right! What even the pope now acknowledges about the errors of Christendom, and most thoughtful Christians confess sadly about many expressions of faith on both left and right, has been rejected by many as a statement of unfaithfulness and a pandering to the left,” he said.</p>
<p>Of the accusation that the manifesto calls for a political engagement that is “Gnostic — disconnecting knowledge from physical action — Guinness said: “God forbid, and why so? The manifesto calls for evangelicals to be ‘fully engaged' in politics but never ‘completely equated' with any party or ideology. In other words, Christian engagement that is faithful always requires the same steps as any other Christian engagement in any other field, such as economics or academic scholarship. It requires: 1) discernment (what actually is the truth of the matter and the facts of the case?), 2) assessment (from a biblical standard, is it true or false, right or wrong, wise or foolish?), and 3) engagement (where it is true, right, and wise, we use it gratefully; where it is false, wrong, and foolish, we resist it wholeheartedly). There is nothing Gnostic here.”</p>
<p>As for a lack of specificity about what the statement means when it extols “civility,” Guinness said it should “not be confused with niceness, etiquette or squeamishness about differences, and it is most certainly not a recipe for any syncretistic form of interfaith dialogue.”</p>
<p>Instead, he said, “A civil public square is a carefully constructed framework of the ‘three Rs' — rights, responsibilities and respect — within which people of all faiths are free to enter and engage public life but with a due respect for the rights of all others too.”</p>
<p>It's like the sport of boxing, which uses a set of long-established rules to structure a fight, Guinness said. “So a civil public square is not a grand, ecumenical love-in, at the end of which everybody agrees about everything. It is a political framework that acts like the ring within which important differences are ‘fought out' robustly but always civilly,” he said.</p>
<p>Baptist critics with a different view of the relationship between church and state, meanwhile, also expressed agreement with the overall thrust of the manifesto but criticism of some of its finer points.</p>
<p>“From the perspective of the [Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty], this is a welcome contribution to the ongoing conversation about religion in public life and an important declaration of a Christian commitment to religious freedom,” said Holly Hollman, general counsel for the Washington-based BJC in an e-mail message. “The statement rejects the idea that Christianity should be treated preferentially [by government entities] and commits to a ‘civil public square' to include all perspectives. By doing so, the signers seem to be signaling a greater willingness to reach across dividing lines and work toward common ground than many would assume.”</p>
<p>The document uses familiar terminology to describe two views of the proper place of religion in public life — so-called “sacred public square” versus the “naked public square.” That framework has been described by some who have supported government endorsements of religion in the past but denounced by some religious supporters of strict church-state separation as a false dichotomy.</p>
<p>In the case of the manifesto authors, Hollman said, “the utility of their statement on … religious expression in the public square is limited by their failure to define terms. Whether the word ‘public' is being used to mean ‘government-sponsored' or simply ‘outside one's home and church community' has significant practical and legal implications.”</p>
<p>Guinness said he was closer to Hollman's view of church-state separation than many religious conservatives. “Every term and label has been abused by someone. But that said, no such suspicion should be read into this,” he said. “I have been a constant critic, for example, of the president's ‘faith-based initiatives,' though that argument is no part of the manifesto.”</p>
<p>Melissa Rogers, professor of public policy at the Baptist-related Wake Forest University Divinity School, welcomed the statement's robust defense of religious liberty. But, in a May 8 post on her blog (melissarogers.typepad.com), she added: “A philosophical commitment to this principle is good; a pledge to act on that commitment is better. The next step is to pledge to go to bat for this principle in some specific debates about policy and law over the next year. If more evangelicals take this step, the cause of religious freedom will be advanced in important ways.”</p>
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washington abp authors evangelical manifesto released may 7 aimed inspire conversation selfreflection among kindred certainly succeeded among baptists intersection faith public life conversation reflection included praise critique document left right southern baptist critics right including al mohler richard land complained mostly consider documents omissions condemnation sexual immorality 20page statement initially endorsed 75 prominent evangelical pastors scholars writers delivers barely concealed rebuke methods rhetoric religious right many either within ranks close document specifically denounces describes two equal opposite errors privatizing faith politicizing manifesto emphasizes evangelicalism primarily theological identity rather political theological one calls conservative evangelicals contribute civil public discourse rather simply adding ammunition culture wars manifesto also calls evangelicals broaden social advocacy beyond classic issues abortion rights sexuality areas environment poverty international human rights initial endorsers included broad range evangelical leaders popular author os guinness spearheaded effort fuller theological seminary president richard muow christianity today editor david neff first signatories also included wide range baptists bethel university president george brushaber liberty theological seminary president ergun caner mercer university professor associated baptist press columnist david gushee beeson divinity school dean timothy george even released conservatives denounced document leaving politically prominent evangelical leaders james dobson focus family tony perkins family research council richard land southern baptist conventions ethics religious liberty commission land may 13 opinion column sbcs news arm said full agreement least 90 percent statement say details called theological imprecision would prevent signing also took issue authors decision offer specific critique rampant consumerism materialism parts evangelical culture without offering similarly specific critique sexual immorality sins manifesto take time denounce consumerism name cant take time specify sins premarital extramarital sex land asked evangelicals proclaim sanctity marriage rate divorce general society indeed shamed gospel proclaim lips deny libidos al mohler president southern baptist theological seminary louisville ky prominent conservative social critic took similar issue documents finer points praising overall thrust overarching criticism manifesto lacked specific proposals evangelicals could increase civility public discourse engage public affairs without appearing attempting hijack government purely theological ends doubt far many evangelicals confused gospel political agenda even republican party wrote mohler may 12 entry albertmohlercom blog document never makes clear hold deep moral political convictions based biblical principles without running danger identification political agenda least extent manifesto suggest gnostic form political engagement praising documents call civility much echoes thrust guinness recent book case civility mohler said didnt lay plan engaging civilly debating principles highest importance neither guinness manifesto construct framework civility guinness brilliantly imagines due fact dealing fundamental questions existence manifesto acknowledges questions end shape civilization mohler wrote issues abortion marriage important urgent manifesto wonderfully prophetic calling civility never explains civility survive policy conclusion civil parties conversation ultimate things speak truth always considered civil guinness written response sent associated baptist press reporter welcomed mohlers praise document said criticism misdirected would dr mohlers simple agreement hotly contested statement manifesto heard widely supporters religious right even pope acknowledges errors christendom thoughtful christians confess sadly many expressions faith left right rejected many statement unfaithfulness pandering left said accusation manifesto calls political engagement gnostic disconnecting knowledge physical action guinness said god forbid manifesto calls evangelicals fully engaged politics never completely equated party ideology words christian engagement faithful always requires steps christian engagement field economics academic scholarship requires 1 discernment actually truth matter facts case 2 assessment biblical standard true false right wrong wise foolish 3 engagement true right wise use gratefully false wrong foolish resist wholeheartedly nothing gnostic lack specificity statement means extols civility guinness said confused niceness etiquette squeamishness differences certainly recipe syncretistic form interfaith dialogue instead said civil public square carefully constructed framework three rs rights responsibilities respect within people faiths free enter engage public life due respect rights others like sport boxing uses set longestablished rules structure fight guinness said civil public square grand ecumenical lovein end everybody agrees everything political framework acts like ring within important differences fought robustly always civilly said baptist critics different view relationship church state meanwhile also expressed agreement overall thrust manifesto criticism finer points perspective baptist joint committee religious liberty welcome contribution ongoing conversation religion public life important declaration christian commitment religious freedom said holly hollman general counsel washingtonbased bjc email message statement rejects idea christianity treated preferentially government entities commits civil public square include perspectives signers seem signaling greater willingness reach across dividing lines work toward common ground many would assume document uses familiar terminology describe two views proper place religion public life socalled sacred public square versus naked public square framework described supported government endorsements religion past denounced religious supporters strict churchstate separation false dichotomy case manifesto authors hollman said utility statement religious expression public square limited failure define terms whether word public used mean governmentsponsored simply outside ones home church community significant practical legal implications guinness said closer hollmans view churchstate separation many religious conservatives every term label abused someone said suspicion read said constant critic example presidents faithbased initiatives though argument part manifesto melissa rogers professor public policy baptistrelated wake forest university divinity school welcomed statements robust defense religious liberty may 8 post blog melissarogerstypepadcom added philosophical commitment principle good pledge act commitment better next step pledge go bat principle specific debates policy law next year evangelicals take step cause religious freedom advanced important ways
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<p>When one approaches school reform you can stay at the wading pool level or dive into the deep end. Either way you’re engaged. But the deeper you go, the closer you come to the intractable problems in the neighborhoods, where for generations schools have been failing and kids drowning.</p>
<p>I’ve certainly been at the wading pool level. But gradually over the last 25 years, I’ve realized that meaningful change will come only when talented professional educators are given the freedom and opportunity to truly change the circumstances for children in public schools.</p>
<p>The real heavy lifting is not done by do gooders like me. It must be done by extraordinary principals, assistant principals, and teachers who have talent and training. Too few of us actually have an opportunity to work with talented educators who can make it happen at the school level. The work is harder, it’s dirtier, and it’s not as much fun.</p>
<p>After generations of deprivation, these kids have learned how to survive in a world that lies to them. They’ve seen people come and go, and their eyes just glaze over. Who can blame them? They’ve seen it too often. But when you see the real thing happening with professionals like Jarvis Sanford and his staff at Dodge, then you know you’re backing people who will make a real difference.</p>
<p>Here’s an example of misguided activity on my part. Not that many years ago, I had an idea to improve Englewood High School—one of the city’s worst—through a combination of curricular enhancement, such as athletics, music and so forth. I said to then-CEO Paul Vallas that if he found a good principal, I would raise the money for music, athletics and other after-school activities.</p>
<p>Well that was an incredibly well meaning, but naïve idea. We did add some surface things, but the principal was not up to it, other leadership was not strong, and there were far too few teachers who were really devoted to change. I could show up at a football game, and parents would cheer.</p>
<p>But nothing was happening at Englewood. Maybe just a better football team. The school remained a mess.</p>
<p>So beware of the do-gooder who hasn’t learned the hard lessons of what it takes to change an elementary school or a high school. It requires a major infusion of men and women who are trained and deeply committed to working with those kids over a five-, ten-year period to change the dynamic and the culture of that school.</p>
<p>Smarter people than I might have seen from the beginning that this was the correct approach. Looking back, I would have been far more efficient, more far-sighted and would have listened more carefully to smart, experienced principals and teachers. It took me a long time to get there.</p>
<p>Everybody counts Golden Apple as a success. I do too. Most Chicagoans know about the 10 teachers awarded each year. Less well known is that the Golden Apple Scholars program graduates 125 young people each year from college who are mentored by Golden Apple teachers and dedicated and committed to teaching in schools of need for at least five years. Teachers for Chicago was my first attempt at teacher training. We were trying to capture mid-career people, bring them into schools and train them. It was a good idea at the time., but until it evolved into the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) of today, it was a weak sister, a mere shadow. But we didn’t know any better.</p>
<p>Then there was LAUNCH, the principal training program. It was not very effective and needs to be revitalized or replaced. The district no longer supports it, but surely there must be an initiative that is capable of training 40 or 50 principal candidates each year.</p>
<p>Those years of dabbling at Englewood and starting and stopping Teachers for Chicago gradually led to creation of an entity that would do a first-rate, thorough job of training men and women as teachers, and then finding a way to place them at disadvantaged schools. That then led to the idea of turnaround schools. Years ago, we talked to Arne Duncan and asked if he was willing to consider a conversion strategy. His leadership has given AUSL the opportunity to create turnaround schools in Chicago’s most disadvantaged situations. Sherman was the first such turnaround school staffed by Residents trained by AUSL together with a group of master teachers. Harvard, the second such school, will open in September. We expect a steady stream of elementary and high schools to follow in this pattern. All schools will be staffed by mentor teacher leaders and AUSL trained Residents.</p>
<p>The biggest challenge has been getting everyone to come together to make the American dream come alive for these kids and not wasting time fighting with each other about whether it’s better to be a contract school or a charter or this or that. As long as they’re staffed with well-trained men and women, they will show the way to real change.</p>
<p>There’s a plan that says the bottom 100 schools in Chicago must not be allowed to prevail. We must attack those schools and see to it that life for those kids is simply better. That they are well educated. That they can read and compute. That they understand their history and are eager to go on to high school, not waiting to drop out.</p>
<p>As good as district leaders are in Chicago—and there is positive movement—they are so beset with day-to-day problems and outside criticisms that, politically, they are forced to talk about successes. That’s human nature. But by the same token, we have to draw lines in the sand. Mayor Daley is drawing those lines. One of those lines must be raising the high school graduation rate to 80 percent or 90 percent.</p>
<p>Chicago has been fortunate among big American cities to have a unique civic culture, but today, business people are so committed to success in their businesses, they really don’t have a lot of time to devote to outside activities, particularly not for a hands-on effort. We need to look to retired businessmen and women or people who have achieved success and can stop doing what they’re doing to look for new avenues for their experiences and talents.</p>
<p>For these people to make a real difference in schools, they need to be briefed on the essential elements that can change a school and change a neighborhood. They’ve got to listen to educators and people who are doing a good job in secondary schools having to do with job readiness. What does it take for a kid to be job ready in today’s world? I don’t think we yet have a good fix on that in Chicago. Businessmen helping Chicago Public Schools could do a hell of a job.</p>
<p>If there were 10 more business people deeply involved in improving public education, I think that you’d find a fair number of high schools would be performing better.</p>
<p>As far as improving schools goes, we’re about one third of the way to the finish line. We’ve got to get this Governor to raise more money for schools. At a time like this, a no-tax increase pledge is ludicrous. We’ve got to have more money. Job readiness programs don’t happen without thoughtful expenditure. Curricular enhancement—whether it’s dance or music or drama or athletics or whatever—is necessary, too. Starting in 3rd and 4th grade, it’s important to capture kids, to get them hooked. When I was in high school I didn’t care a whole lot about algebra, but I knew if I didn’t show up for class I wasn’t going to make the baseball team.</p>
<p>Three things must be on Chicago Public Schools’ agenda going forward: principal recruitment and training, teacher quality and school turnarounds. In a good year, New Leaders for New Schools trains about 20 principal candidates in Chicago and the doctoral program at the University of Illinois-Chicago trains another 15.</p>
<p>We have to consciously prepare literally hundreds of men and women for work in our most demanding schools. And frankly, what I’ve learned is that it takes a yearlong program like the Academy for Urban School Leadership to accomplish this, and this General Assembly has got to be prepared to raise more money for such quality programs.</p>
<p>Last, we must execute more school turnarounds. Whether they’re managed by AUSL or several other vendors, we must have a conscious effort to turn around those lowest-performing 75 elementaries and 20 high schools. For the next decade, that should be the highest priority for CPS.</p>
<p>Our team at the Academy for Urban School Leadership is looking to take on up to 15 more elementaries and four more high schools. I think CPS must also turn to Noble Street, Perspectives, San Miguel’s Catalyst and others to manage future turnaround schools.</p>
<p>Martin “Mike” J. Koldyke is founder and chairman of the Academy for Urban School Leadership, which manages six elementary schools and two high schools. Koldyke also created the Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Teaching, which is annually presented to 10 teachers in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, and Will counties. He is the retired founder of Frontenac Co., a venture capital firm.</p>
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one approaches school reform stay wading pool level dive deep end either way youre engaged deeper go closer come intractable problems neighborhoods generations schools failing kids drowning ive certainly wading pool level gradually last 25 years ive realized meaningful change come talented professional educators given freedom opportunity truly change circumstances children public schools real heavy lifting done gooders like must done extraordinary principals assistant principals teachers talent training us actually opportunity work talented educators make happen school level work harder dirtier much fun generations deprivation kids learned survive world lies theyve seen people come go eyes glaze blame theyve seen often see real thing happening professionals like jarvis sanford staff dodge know youre backing people make real difference heres example misguided activity part many years ago idea improve englewood high schoolone citys worstthrough combination curricular enhancement athletics music forth said thenceo paul vallas found good principal would raise money music athletics afterschool activities well incredibly well meaning naïve idea add surface things principal leadership strong far teachers really devoted change could show football game parents would cheer nothing happening englewood maybe better football team school remained mess beware dogooder hasnt learned hard lessons takes change elementary school high school requires major infusion men women trained deeply committed working kids five tenyear period change dynamic culture school smarter people might seen beginning correct approach looking back would far efficient farsighted would listened carefully smart experienced principals teachers took long time get everybody counts golden apple success chicagoans know 10 teachers awarded year less well known golden apple scholars program graduates 125 young people year college mentored golden apple teachers dedicated committed teaching schools need least five years teachers chicago first attempt teacher training trying capture midcareer people bring schools train good idea time evolved academy urban school leadership ausl today weak sister mere shadow didnt know better launch principal training program effective needs revitalized replaced district longer supports surely must initiative capable training 40 50 principal candidates year years dabbling englewood starting stopping teachers chicago gradually led creation entity would firstrate thorough job training men women teachers finding way place disadvantaged schools led idea turnaround schools years ago talked arne duncan asked willing consider conversion strategy leadership given ausl opportunity create turnaround schools chicagos disadvantaged situations sherman first turnaround school staffed residents trained ausl together group master teachers harvard second school open september expect steady stream elementary high schools follow pattern schools staffed mentor teacher leaders ausl trained residents biggest challenge getting everyone come together make american dream come alive kids wasting time fighting whether better contract school charter long theyre staffed welltrained men women show way real change theres plan says bottom 100 schools chicago must allowed prevail must attack schools see life kids simply better well educated read compute understand history eager go high school waiting drop good district leaders chicagoand positive movementthey beset daytoday problems outside criticisms politically forced talk successes thats human nature token draw lines sand mayor daley drawing lines one lines must raising high school graduation rate 80 percent 90 percent chicago fortunate among big american cities unique civic culture today business people committed success businesses really dont lot time devote outside activities particularly handson effort need look retired businessmen women people achieved success stop theyre look new avenues experiences talents people make real difference schools need briefed essential elements change school change neighborhood theyve got listen educators people good job secondary schools job readiness take kid job ready todays world dont think yet good fix chicago businessmen helping chicago public schools could hell job 10 business people deeply involved improving public education think youd find fair number high schools would performing better far improving schools goes one third way finish line weve got get governor raise money schools time like notax increase pledge ludicrous weve got money job readiness programs dont happen without thoughtful expenditure curricular enhancementwhether dance music drama athletics whateveris necessary starting 3rd 4th grade important capture kids get hooked high school didnt care whole lot algebra knew didnt show class wasnt going make baseball team three things must chicago public schools agenda going forward principal recruitment training teacher quality school turnarounds good year new leaders new schools trains 20 principal candidates chicago doctoral program university illinoischicago trains another 15 consciously prepare literally hundreds men women work demanding schools frankly ive learned takes yearlong program like academy urban school leadership accomplish general assembly got prepared raise money quality programs last must execute school turnarounds whether theyre managed ausl several vendors must conscious effort turn around lowestperforming 75 elementaries 20 high schools next decade highest priority cps team academy urban school leadership looking take 15 elementaries four high schools think cps must also turn noble street perspectives san miguels catalyst others manage future turnaround schools martin mike j koldyke founder chairman academy urban school leadership manages six elementary schools two high schools koldyke also created golden apple awards excellence teaching annually presented 10 teachers cook dupage kane lake counties retired founder frontenac co venture capital firm
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<p>Photo credit: 401kcalculator.org</p>
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<p>Placing a tax on business services in California has the potential to raise an additional $122.6 billion annually for state and local governments, according to a recent <a href="http://www.boe.ca.gov/legdiv/pdf/ServicesRevEstimate.pdf" type="external">Board of Equalization study</a>. A services tax could become a reality if <a href="http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB8" type="external">Senate Bill 8</a> is approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown.</p>
<p>Although SB8 has yet to be considered by a policy committee, legislators are keen to see increased funding and stabilized revenue for state programs, while leaders in California’s $1.45 trillion services industry are panicking and threatening to leave the state. The BOE is concerned about the major bureaucratic expansion needed to administer the new tax.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />The bill, dubbed the “Upward Mobility Act” by its author <a href="http://sd18.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Sen. Bob Hertzberg</a>, D-Van Nuys, is actually intended to increase tax revenue by only $10 billion. It proposes to dispense $3 billion of that to K-14 education, $3 billion to local governments, $2 billion to higher education and $2 billion to earned income tax credits for low-income residents.</p>
<p>In addition, the bill states that it “would enhance the state’s business climate, create jobs, and incentivize entrepreneurship by evaluating the current corporate income tax to determine whether it is meeting its intended purpose while at the same time linking changes to a more reasonable minimum wage.”</p>
<p>The bill exempts health care and education services as well as businesses with less than $100,000 in annual gross sales. The services tax would not replace the state sales tax, which brought in $48 billion in 2013-14 — equivalent to $1,300 for each California resident, according to the <a href="http://lao.ca.gov/reports/2015/finance/sales-tax/understanding-sales-tax-050615.aspx" type="external">Legislative Analyst’s Office</a>.</p>
<p>According to the bill, a services tax is needed to keep up with the changing nature of the California economy, and provide a better balance and less volatility in government revenue:</p>
<p>“Over the past 60 years, California has moved from an agriculture- and manufacturing-based economy to a services-based economy,” the bill said. “As a result, state tax revenues have become less reliant on revenues derived from the Sales and Use Tax on goods and more reliant on revenues derived from the Personal Income Tax.</p>
<p>“In 1950, the Sales and Use Tax comprised 61 percent of all state revenues; today, it accounts for about 30 percent. The Personal Income Tax accounted for 12 percent of total state revenues in 1950; today, it accounts for more than 60 percent.</p>
<p>“Moreover, California’s General Fund tax collections are heavily dependent on the earnings of its top earners. This has led to dramatic revenue swings year over year … [which] have led to the suffering of California’s residents.</p>
<p>“Essential services, such as health care and child care for low-income families, were cut at a time when they were needed most. In addition, the state cut billions of dollars to education, including adult vocational and literacy education, which could have helped low-income families recover from the recession.</p>
<p>“Relying on the wealthiest taxpayers to support California’s needs is outdated and dangerous fiscal policy. Not only does it increase the uncertainty of tax collections, but there is evidence that California’s high tax rates may be driving high income earners out of the state, which only deepens revenue shortfalls.”</p>
<p>Business services comprise 80 percent of the economy today, according to the bill. Exempting them creates inequities; for example, taxing the purchase of TurboTax software but not taxing H&amp;R Block.</p>
<p>The bill seeks to make three changes to the tax code:</p>
<p>The Board of Equalization was asked by the <a href="http://sgf.senate.ca.gov/" type="external">Senate Governance and Finance Committee</a>, which Hertzberg chairs, to analyze the services tax. On April 14, BOE staff issued its $122.6 billion revenue estimate along with a <a href="http://www.boe.ca.gov/legdiv/pdf/Servicesfactsheet2015.pdf" type="external">fact sheet</a> listing numerous concerns about the implementation of the tax. Those concerns include:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" />At the BOE’s April 28 meeting, several board members expanded on those concerns. Board member&#160; <a href="http://www.boe.ca.gov/harkey/" type="external">Diane Harkey</a> said she’s concerned about trying to enforce the tax on small businesses. “I for one don’t want the BOE to once again be hunting down all the little guys to try to eke a few dollars out of them,” Harkey said.</p>
<p>“So I’m not real pleased with this. I think it’s going down a path that, unless we totally overhaul all taxes in the state, this probably doesn’t work. And I think we’ll build up a ton of opposition. I do appreciate your study. But in reality, the take would not be that [much] in real terms. I think we’d be gathering sufficiently less.”</p>
<p>Business leaders have expressed their concerns to Harkey.</p>
<p>“They were very panicked about this bill,” she said. “[One] industry representative said, ‘We’re planning expansion here and … we’re not going to go forward if this is going to happen. People watch California. And, you know, this academic discussion we’re having could very dramatically affect capital investment.”</p>
<p>Board member <a href="http://www.boe.ca.gov/runner/" type="external">George Runner</a> is concerned that the BOE might have to quadruple its staffing to 20,000 employees to deal with an additional 2.5 million businesses paying the services tax. But, he said, the BOE analysis is a good starting point for a discussion of the impacts of the tax.</p>
<p>“I look at this as just base information,” said Runner. “And then it’s going to be up to the legislators down the street to figure out how to narrow the bill. I think, as Sen. Hertzberg has said, he’s got some thoughts in his head in regards to what [services] he’s going to include and exclude.</p>
<p>“And I think the next discussion that’s going to take place is who’s in and who’s out. I’ve heard from lots of folks in the industries in terms of who are concerned about it, feeling like this gives them something, some real meat for them to deal with it.”</p>
<p>Board member <a href="http://www.boe.ca.gov/horton/" type="external">Jerome Horton</a> said he hopes legislators will not focus on taxes simply as revenue generators.</p>
<p>“If you look at what I believe the initial purpose that the founding fathers had when it came to taxation, was to modify the behavior,” he said. “If the behavior that we want in California is to create jobs, if the behavior that we want is to address poverty and those things in our society, I believe we can find a consensus in order to be able to fund that.</p>
<p>“Part of the challenge, I think, is there’s folks who fundamentally believe that the money isn’t spent right, and the return on the investment isn’t there.”</p>
<p>Those folks include the <a href="http://caltax.org/" type="external">California Taxpayers Association</a>, whose fiscal policy director, Therese Twomey, has dissected the idea of taxing services.</p>
<p>“In addition to problems related to competitive disadvantages, job loss and tax administration, taxes on services raise a host of other concerns, including increasing costs for government, disproportionately impacting small businesses, tax pyramiding, etc.,” she said in a CalTax newsletter.</p>
<p>Hertzberg responded to the BOE analysis in a <a href="http://sd18.senate.ca.gov/news/4142015-sen-bob-hertzberg-author-tax-reform-plan-modernize-state-taxes-responds-state-tax-study" type="external">press release</a>.</p>
<p>“This landmark study confirms that California’s economy has undergone a revolution,” he said. “Eighty percent of California’s economy is now providing services, not goods, and most of these services are untaxed, making California more dependent on personal income taxes, which fluctuate year to year. It is that dependence on an unstable revenue source — not high taxes — that threatens our state’s economy.”</p>
<p>He noted that the BOE estimate overstates the revenue expected from his bill because the estimate includes education and health-care services, which the bill excludes. “Details about SB8 will continue to unfold during the year; its first policy hearing has not yet been set,” he said.</p>
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photo credit 401kcalculatororg placing tax business services california potential raise additional 1226 billion annually state local governments according recent board equalization study services tax could become reality senate bill 8 approved legislature signed gov jerry brown although sb8 yet considered policy committee legislators keen see increased funding stabilized revenue state programs leaders californias 145 trillion services industry panicking threatening leave state boe concerned major bureaucratic expansion needed administer new tax bill dubbed upward mobility act author sen bob hertzberg dvan nuys actually intended increase tax revenue 10 billion proposes dispense 3 billion k14 education 3 billion local governments 2 billion higher education 2 billion earned income tax credits lowincome residents addition bill states would enhance states business climate create jobs incentivize entrepreneurship evaluating current corporate income tax determine whether meeting intended purpose time linking changes reasonable minimum wage bill exempts health care education services well businesses less 100000 annual gross sales services tax would replace state sales tax brought 48 billion 201314 equivalent 1300 california resident according legislative analysts office according bill services tax needed keep changing nature california economy provide better balance less volatility government revenue past 60 years california moved agriculture manufacturingbased economy servicesbased economy bill said result state tax revenues become less reliant revenues derived sales use tax goods reliant revenues derived personal income tax 1950 sales use tax comprised 61 percent state revenues today accounts 30 percent personal income tax accounted 12 percent total state revenues 1950 today accounts 60 percent moreover californias general fund tax collections heavily dependent earnings top earners led dramatic revenue swings year year led suffering californias residents essential services health care child care lowincome families cut time needed addition state cut billions dollars education including adult vocational literacy education could helped lowincome families recover recession relying wealthiest taxpayers support californias needs outdated dangerous fiscal policy increase uncertainty tax collections evidence californias high tax rates may driving high income earners state deepens revenue shortfalls business services comprise 80 percent economy today according bill exempting creates inequities example taxing purchase turbotax software taxing hampr block bill seeks make three changes tax code board equalization asked senate governance finance committee hertzberg chairs analyze services tax april 14 boe staff issued 1226 billion revenue estimate along fact sheet listing numerous concerns implementation tax concerns include boes april 28 meeting several board members expanded concerns board member160 diane harkey said shes concerned trying enforce tax small businesses one dont want boe hunting little guys try eke dollars harkey said im real pleased think going path unless totally overhaul taxes state probably doesnt work think well build ton opposition appreciate study reality take would much real terms think wed gathering sufficiently less business leaders expressed concerns harkey panicked bill said one industry representative said planning expansion going go forward going happen people watch california know academic discussion could dramatically affect capital investment board member george runner concerned boe might quadruple staffing 20000 employees deal additional 25 million businesses paying services tax said boe analysis good starting point discussion impacts tax look base information said runner going legislators street figure narrow bill think sen hertzberg said hes got thoughts head regards services hes going include exclude think next discussion thats going take place whos whos ive heard lots folks industries terms concerned feeling like gives something real meat deal board member jerome horton said hopes legislators focus taxes simply revenue generators look believe initial purpose founding fathers came taxation modify behavior said behavior want california create jobs behavior want address poverty things society believe find consensus order able fund part challenge think theres folks fundamentally believe money isnt spent right return investment isnt folks include california taxpayers association whose fiscal policy director therese twomey dissected idea taxing services addition problems related competitive disadvantages job loss tax administration taxes services raise host concerns including increasing costs government disproportionately impacting small businesses tax pyramiding etc said caltax newsletter hertzberg responded boe analysis press release landmark study confirms californias economy undergone revolution said eighty percent californias economy providing services goods services untaxed making california dependent personal income taxes fluctuate year year dependence unstable revenue source high taxes threatens states economy noted boe estimate overstates revenue expected bill estimate includes education healthcare services bill excludes details sb8 continue unfold year first policy hearing yet set said
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<p>First lady Michelle Obama is receiving praise for her <a href="" type="internal">powerful stump speech</a> in New Hampshire on Thursday, in which she eviscerated Donald Trump for misogynistic rhetoric without ever mentioning him by name.</p>
<p>It has been a remarkable political trajectory for the first lady, who just eight years ago was perceived as <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87943583" type="external">potential liability</a> for her husband, then seeking to become the first African-American president.</p>
<p>Today, she <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/3340/presidential-ratings-first-lady.aspx" type="external">polls</a> as one of the most beloved and trusted figures in the country, and her Thursday speech — which comes on the heels of a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/what-the-michelle-obama-speech-tells-us-about-her-future-on-the-political-stage/2016/07/26/4f627a06-0fdc-4b6d-abc9-e2e29e022331_story.html" type="external">celebrated performance</a> at the Democratic National Convention in August — is already being hailed as the <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/10/women-needed-to-hear-michelle-obamas-new-hampshire-speech.html" type="external">"most important"</a> address of the 2016 election so far.</p>
<p>But is Michelle Obama's impact on the 2016 race unprecedented?</p>
<p>Certainly, the argument has been made that she is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/michelle-obama-talks-to-voters-in-a-way-hillary-clinton-cant/2016/10/11/b8fbda96-8bf7-11e6-bff0-d53f592f176e_story.html" type="external">uniquely positioned</a> to speak about the mistreatment of women and girls in a way that Hillary Clinton — for complicated reasons — cannot. And she has parlayed her <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/michelle-obama/12196377/Michelle-Obama-rules-out-running-for-president.html" type="external">immense</a> — largely apolitical — popularity to become and extremely effective advocate for causes she cares about, like childhood obesity.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Clinton Supporters to Michelle Obama: We Want More</a></p>
<p>And throughout Barack Obama's presidency, her approval ratings have stayed lofty even when his fluctuated, making her a reliable surrogate in <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/First-Lady-In-Demand-on-Campaign-Trail-215979-1.html" type="external">2012</a> and <a href="" type="internal">2014</a> when his fortunes appeared to be at a downturn.</p>
<p>Eleanor Roosevelt is often still held up as the gold standard for first ladies (she consistently ranks as the <a href="https://www.siena.edu/assets/files/news/FirstLadies2014Release_Final.pdf" type="external">most admired</a> by Americans) and she is widely believed to have been President Franklin Roosevelt's progressive conscience. But her many of her most significant contributions from a political standpoint were made in private.</p>
<p>The first presidential spouse to take a <a href="http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/04/first-ladies-campaign-trail-history-213806" type="external">truly active campaign role</a> was Lady Bird Johnson, who headlined her own <a href="http://www.pbs.org/ladybird/epicenter/epicenter_report_train.html" type="external">whistle stop tour</a> separate from her husband ("The Lady Bird Special") during the 1964 campaign.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Michelle Obama on Trump's Comments Towards Women: 'Enough Is Enough'</a></p>
<p>Lady Bird Johnson was tasked specifically with touring the South in an attempt to soothe more conservative voters who were turned off by President Lyndon Johnson's support for the Civil Rights Act of that year. Still, Johnson's foray into campaign politics was more of a charm offensive than a partisan one.</p>
<p>More recently, Nancy Reagan took up the anti-drug crusade with her "Just Say No" campaign and Laura Bush made literacy her signature issue, but neither were drawn into the campaign narratives quite like Michelle Obama has this cycle.</p>
<p>"There has never been anything quite like this," said Kate Andersen Brower, author of " <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062439659/first-women" type="external">First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies</a>."</p>
<p>Brower says she was "stunned" by how emotional Michelle Obama's speech was, but argued that "people assume first ladies enjoy being in the background but in my research they seem much more political and in tune with what's going on than they get credit for."</p>
<p>The closest corollary may be Jackie Kennedy, the first lady to whom Michelle Obama is most often compared. Like Obama, Kennedy was viewed coldly by voters at first and some saw her glamorous background as alienating. According to their private correspondence, Jackie lamented to her husband that she was a <a href="http://parade.com/321431/jerylbrunner/remembering-jacqueline-kennedys-birthday-with-her-reflective-words/" type="external">"dud,"</a> and he encouraged her to stop wearing scarves because it made her look too much like a movie star.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Michelle Obama Gives Final Commencement Speech as First Lady</a></p>
<p>But once she was in the White House, the public warmed to Kennedy and her French designer wares gave way to more affordable knock-offs, which average Americans could potentially afford.</p>
<p>"[Jackie Kennedy] held her ground in a way I think Michelle Obama does too," said Brower. "She was interested in fashion, but there was something accessible about her when she was in the White House."</p>
<p>On the other end of the spectrum, Hillary Clinton, unlike Michelle Obama — who, reportedly, was reticent to be a political spouse and didn't want her husband to seek the White House in the first place — has long been perceived as the impetus for her husband's ambition.</p>
<p>Endless <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/comedians-welcome-the-return-the-clintons" type="external">parodies</a> and punditry have cast her as ambitious to a fault, and the Clintons' eager promotion of the notion that voters would get " <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/21/AR2007122102588.html" type="external">two for the price of one"</a> in the 1992 election didn't help matters either.</p>
<p>Former first lady Betty Ford, with her outspoken fervor for women's rights, <a href="http://www.firstladies.org/blog/presidential-candidates-spouses-becoming-an-issue/" type="external">presented problems for Gerald Ford</a> with the more conservative elements of his base, but there was no precedent for the divisive impact Hillary Clinton had then and now.</p>
<p>The future first lady became such a lightning rod that conservative candidate Pat Buchanan made opposition to <a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/patrickbuchanan1992rnc.htm" type="external">"the agenda that Clinton and Clinton would impose on America"</a> a major talking point in his infamous 1992 Republican National Convention address. And Hillary Clinton's antipathy towards <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EGranwN_uk" type="external">baking cookies</a> and willingness to <a href="http://people.com/archive/george-bush-confronts-a-rumor-vol-38-no-8/" type="external">take veiled shots</a> at her predecessor Barbara Bush, did little to endear her to many voters, some of whom <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/cover_story/2016/07/the_people_who_hate_hillary_clinton_the_most.html" type="external">vilify her</a> to this day.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Why Michelle Obama's DNC Speech Matters</a></p>
<p>While sitting and potential first ladies have been pitted against each other in past, Hillary Clinton may have been the most polarizing and politically toxic, in part because she was vying to take a more active role in shaping policy than any presidential spouse before or since.</p>
<p>"I don't think we'll see a first lady have a West Wing office again [like Clinton did]," said Brower. "People don't want to see the first lady too engaged in politics. Voters suggest they're open-minded, but throughout history research has shown that they don't want to see activist first ladies."</p>
<p>Besides her "Let's Move" healthy eating campaign, Michelle Obama has comfortably settled into the role of "mom-in-chief," which reportedly has <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3534294/How-Michelle-Obama-refused-invite-Hillary-Bill-Clinton-dinner-wanted-Joe-Biden-run-t-wait-leave-White-House-make-money-book-deals-speaking-fees.html" type="external">disappointed some Hillary Clinton acolytes</a>, but suits her just fine.</p>
<p>"She told us at the beginning that everyone in that role [of presidential spouse] has to make it their own and she really has been herself in this job," said Susan Swain, <a href="https://www.c-span.org/person/?susanswain" type="external">C-SPAN host</a> and the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/First-Ladies-Presidential-Historians-American/dp/1610395662" type="external">"First Ladies: Presidential Historians on the Lives of 45 Iconic American Women."</a> "She's been I think a real asset to this administration because she reaches constituencies in a way that politicians can't because she has such a human touch."</p>
<p>Despite being "pretty traditional" in many ways, Brower also believes that Michelle Obama has left big shoes to fill for the the first ladies who follow her.</p>
<p>"People will expect a first lady to be engaging and relatable in the way that she is," she said.</p>
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first lady michelle obama receiving praise powerful stump speech new hampshire thursday eviscerated donald trump misogynistic rhetoric without ever mentioning name remarkable political trajectory first lady eight years ago perceived potential liability husband seeking become first africanamerican president today polls one beloved trusted figures country thursday speech comes heels celebrated performance democratic national convention august already hailed important address 2016 election far michelle obamas impact 2016 race unprecedented certainly argument made uniquely positioned speak mistreatment women girls way hillary clinton complicated reasons parlayed immense largely apolitical popularity become extremely effective advocate causes cares like childhood obesity related clinton supporters michelle obama want throughout barack obamas presidency approval ratings stayed lofty even fluctuated making reliable surrogate 2012 2014 fortunes appeared downturn eleanor roosevelt often still held gold standard first ladies consistently ranks admired americans widely believed president franklin roosevelts progressive conscience many significant contributions political standpoint made private first presidential spouse take truly active campaign role lady bird johnson headlined whistle stop tour separate husband lady bird special 1964 campaign related michelle obama trumps comments towards women enough enough lady bird johnson tasked specifically touring south attempt soothe conservative voters turned president lyndon johnsons support civil rights act year still johnsons foray campaign politics charm offensive partisan one recently nancy reagan took antidrug crusade say campaign laura bush made literacy signature issue neither drawn campaign narratives quite like michelle obama cycle never anything quite like said kate andersen brower author first women grace power americas modern first ladies brower says stunned emotional michelle obamas speech argued people assume first ladies enjoy background research seem much political tune whats going get credit closest corollary may jackie kennedy first lady michelle obama often compared like obama kennedy viewed coldly voters first saw glamorous background alienating according private correspondence jackie lamented husband dud encouraged stop wearing scarves made look much like movie star related michelle obama gives final commencement speech first lady white house public warmed kennedy french designer wares gave way affordable knockoffs average americans could potentially afford jackie kennedy held ground way think michelle obama said brower interested fashion something accessible white house end spectrum hillary clinton unlike michelle obama reportedly reticent political spouse didnt want husband seek white house first place long perceived impetus husbands ambition endless parodies punditry cast ambitious fault clintons eager promotion notion voters would get two price one 1992 election didnt help matters either former first lady betty ford outspoken fervor womens rights presented problems gerald ford conservative elements base precedent divisive impact hillary clinton future first lady became lightning rod conservative candidate pat buchanan made opposition agenda clinton clinton would impose america major talking point infamous 1992 republican national convention address hillary clintons antipathy towards baking cookies willingness take veiled shots predecessor barbara bush little endear many voters vilify day related michelle obamas dnc speech matters sitting potential first ladies pitted past hillary clinton may polarizing politically toxic part vying take active role shaping policy presidential spouse since dont think well see first lady west wing office like clinton said brower people dont want see first lady engaged politics voters suggest theyre openminded throughout history research shown dont want see activist first ladies besides lets move healthy eating campaign michelle obama comfortably settled role mominchief reportedly disappointed hillary clinton acolytes suits fine told us beginning everyone role presidential spouse make really job said susan swain cspan host author first ladies presidential historians lives 45 iconic american women shes think real asset administration reaches constituencies way politicians cant human touch despite pretty traditional many ways brower also believes michelle obama left big shoes fill first ladies follow people expect first lady engaging relatable way said
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<p>For nearly 27 years, the kidnapping of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling remained an open and active investigation — his family never giving up hope that the truth would one day be uncovered.</p>
<p>On Tuesday afternoon, Danny Heinrich admitted in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis to taking Jacob's life — a confession made as part of a larger plea agreement. He said he abducted and molested the boy, fatally shot him and buried his body near a gravel pit on Oct. 22, 1989.</p>
<p>"Finally, we know," U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger said during an emotional news conference following Heinrich's confession. "We know what the Wetterling family and all of Minnesota has sought to know since 1989 — we know the truth."</p>
<p>Heinrich, 53, was in federal court to plead guilty to child pornography charges unrelated to Jacob's killing. He could get the statutory maximum of 20 years for the child pornography count and face possible additional time under civil laws.</p>
<p>But as part of a plea deal for giving up information in Jacob's disappearance — a high-profile case that led to laws requiring states to establish sex offender registries — Heinrich will face no charges in the boy's death, officials said Tuesday.</p>
<p>Prosecutors said the statute of limitations had already passed to prosecute anyone for Jacob's kidnapping and assault. Charging anyone for murder, meanwhile, would be impossible without a body.</p>
<p>In order to get information that could lead investigators to Jacob, prosecutors had to agree to a deal with Heinrich in which a murder charge was off the table, Luger said. Prosecutors said they wanted closure for the boy's family.</p>
<p>Heinrich is "a volatile and unpredictable person, and we knew he could change his mind at any time," Luger said.</p>
<p>"For the Wetterlings, we did not want that to happen," he added.</p>
<p>With the Wetterling family watching in court Tuesday, Heinrich gave the first public account of what happened to Jacob.</p>
<p>Heinrich calmly described how in October 1989 he donned a mask and found three children biking on a rural road near Jacob's home in St. Joseph, a city of around 6,500 in central Minnesota. Armed with a gun, he said he told two of the children to leave; one was Jacob's younger brother, Trevor, and the other was Jacob's best friend.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Jacob Wetterling's Family 'Deeply Grieving' After Remains Found</a></p>
<p>Heinrich said he took Jacob, handcuffed him in his car and drove near a gravel pit, where he assaulted him in a grove of trees.</p>
<p>The boy, who had been forced to strip, said he was cold, and asked if he could go home.</p>
<p>At one point, Heinrich said, Jacob asked him: "What did I do wrong?"</p>
<p>Heinrich said he was panicking and loaded his revolver with two bullets. He shot the boy twice. He said he then buried the body using a Bobcat construction vehicle he found at a nearby site to dig the hole.</p>
<p>A year later, he said, he returned to the area and noticed the makeshift grave was becoming noticeable. He gathered the human remains and reburied them at a farm.</p>
<p>Heinrich <a href="" type="internal">has been held in custody since last October</a> on federal child pornography charges at which point authorities said he was a person of interest in Jacob’s disappearance. He was first questioned shortly after Jacob’s abduction, but had always maintained his innocence.</p>
<p>A tire track and shoe print were found at the scene, but investigators said they could not scientifically match them to Heinrich.</p>
<p>Through the plea deal, which the Wetterling family had agreed to, Heinrich led authorities to Jacob's remains last week.</p>
<p>He confessed and detailed where he buried the body, Luger said. Investigators found bones, teeth and a T-shirt that said "Wetterling."</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">The Mysterious Disappearance of Jacob Wetterling</a></p>
<p>Also in the dig, a red St. Cloud hockey jacket was located — the same clothing that Jacob was wearing when he vanished. Luger said uncovering that piece of clothing solidified Heinrich was telling the truth.</p>
<p>"I will never forget that moment," he told reporters.</p>
<p>Heinrich was known to police already at the time of Jacob's death — but for another case. He was suspected of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy named Jared Scheierl elsewhere in Stearns County in 1989. Evidence, however, was flimsy.</p>
<p>But DNA testing on Scheierl's clothing last year helped to definitively tie Heinrich after all these years, police said. He cannot be charged because the statute of limitations has run out.</p>
<p>Investigators believed Heinrich was still responsible for what happened to Jacob as well.</p>
<p>At Tuesday's news conference, surrounded by her family, Jacob's mother thanked authorities for not giving up and also apologized to her son for what he endured at the hands of a man officials called an "evil serial predator."</p>
<p>"I want to say to Jacob, I’m so sorry. It’s incredibly painful to know his last days, his last hours, his last minutes," Patty Wetterling said. "We love you Jacob, we will continue to fight. Our hearts are hurting."</p>
<p>Wetterling became a national advocate for children after her son vanished. She said the years of not knowing what happened are now replaced by a darker truth that her family is slowly coming to grips with.</p>
<p>"For us, Jacob was alive," Wetterling said, her voice breaking, "until we found him. We need to heal."</p>
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nearly 27 years kidnapping 11yearold jacob wetterling remained open active investigation family never giving hope truth would one day uncovered tuesday afternoon danny heinrich admitted us district court minneapolis taking jacobs life confession made part larger plea agreement said abducted molested boy fatally shot buried body near gravel pit oct 22 1989 finally know us attorney andrew luger said emotional news conference following heinrichs confession know wetterling family minnesota sought know since 1989 know truth heinrich 53 federal court plead guilty child pornography charges unrelated jacobs killing could get statutory maximum 20 years child pornography count face possible additional time civil laws part plea deal giving information jacobs disappearance highprofile case led laws requiring states establish sex offender registries heinrich face charges boys death officials said tuesday prosecutors said statute limitations already passed prosecute anyone jacobs kidnapping assault charging anyone murder meanwhile would impossible without body order get information could lead investigators jacob prosecutors agree deal heinrich murder charge table luger said prosecutors said wanted closure boys family heinrich volatile unpredictable person knew could change mind time luger said wetterlings want happen added wetterling family watching court tuesday heinrich gave first public account happened jacob heinrich calmly described october 1989 donned mask found three children biking rural road near jacobs home st joseph city around 6500 central minnesota armed gun said told two children leave one jacobs younger brother trevor jacobs best friend related jacob wetterlings family deeply grieving remains found heinrich said took jacob handcuffed car drove near gravel pit assaulted grove trees boy forced strip said cold asked could go home one point heinrich said jacob asked wrong heinrich said panicking loaded revolver two bullets shot boy twice said buried body using bobcat construction vehicle found nearby site dig hole year later said returned area noticed makeshift grave becoming noticeable gathered human remains reburied farm heinrich held custody since last october federal child pornography charges point authorities said person interest jacobs disappearance first questioned shortly jacobs abduction always maintained innocence tire track shoe print found scene investigators said could scientifically match heinrich plea deal wetterling family agreed heinrich led authorities jacobs remains last week confessed detailed buried body luger said investigators found bones teeth tshirt said wetterling related mysterious disappearance jacob wetterling also dig red st cloud hockey jacket located clothing jacob wearing vanished luger said uncovering piece clothing solidified heinrich telling truth never forget moment told reporters heinrich known police already time jacobs death another case suspected kidnapping sexually assaulting 12yearold boy named jared scheierl elsewhere stearns county 1989 evidence however flimsy dna testing scheierls clothing last year helped definitively tie heinrich years police said charged statute limitations run investigators believed heinrich still responsible happened jacob well tuesdays news conference surrounded family jacobs mother thanked authorities giving also apologized son endured hands man officials called evil serial predator want say jacob im sorry incredibly painful know last days last hours last minutes patty wetterling said love jacob continue fight hearts hurting wetterling became national advocate children son vanished said years knowing happened replaced darker truth family slowly coming grips us jacob alive wetterling said voice breaking found need heal
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<p>Last month, the Barna Research Group called 1,000 American adults to ask them about their faith. Specifically, they asked, “Has anything related to your religious beliefs, practices, or preferences changed in the past five years?” The results, which they claim are reliable to within 3.2 percentage points, hold a few surprises.</p>
<p>The survey revealed that more than two-thirds of adults say their religious faith is very important to them and a large majority said they regularly talk to others about matters of faith.</p>
<p />
<p>The great majority also said, “No, nothing has changed in my religious life in the past five years.” In fact, 93 percent of those sampled said there had been no change in their beliefs, practices or preferences. Even allowing for a maximum margin of error, it still means that 90 percent haven’t changed a thing. Only 3 percent of people over 65 acknowledged religious changes while change occurred most often (13 percent) among the 18-26 year age group.</p>
<p>What about the 7 percent who did change? The good news is one-third of them cited a change that brought them closer to God. But others, 16 percent, said they moved further from their Christian roots. Another 11 percent said their feelings about churches had deteriorated over the past five years and 8 percent had changed churches or denominations. Another 8 percent said they had become less active in church.</p>
<p>Among the 7 percent who changed, 10 percent of those said their perception of some moral issue had shifted. Which moral issues? In two-thirds of the cases it was homosexuality. The number shifting their views from opposition to support and from support to opposition was the same.</p>
<p>Barna reaches four conclusions. First, he says, because not much change is occurring, perhaps it is time churches began to evaluate what they do.</p>
<p>Second, the number of those whose change reflected a move toward the church and God and those who moved in the opposite direction was about the same.</p>
<p>Third, greater devotion driven by emotions accounted for more change, “while the least amount of movement is exhibited in relation to the integration of faith into every dimension of life and the recalibration of personal biblical interpretation or spiritual perspectives,” says Barna. In other words, most of the changes were in feeling rather than doing.</p>
<p>Finally, Barna concludes that our faith-talk appears to be much about comforting and very little about challenging.</p>
<p>If Barna’s research is accurate, and there is no reason to believe it is not, it should constitute enough of a shock to get the church’s attention. Discipleship implies movement. One can’t very well be a “Christ-follower” and remain stationary.</p>
<p>A portion of the blame can surely be laid at the doorstep of a clergy focused too narrowly on attracting new members. Comforting the afflicted has always attracted greater crowds than afflicting the comfortable. Some pulpiteers, conscious of the danger of offending parishioners, have opted to soft-pedal the demands of Christ, or, even worse, they have chosen to reinforce attitudes that should be challenged, evaluated and changed.</p>
<p>While I believe congregational church polity is biblical and has been largely responsible for the effectual spread of Baptists, the down side is a clergy dependent on the good graces of the congregation for continued employment. If preachers become too challenging or too prophetic, church members are apt to take offense and send them packing.</p>
<p>As Christian singer/humorist, Dan McBride, once sang in his “Tiptoe Through the Tithers,” “You can preach brimstone and fire, as long as those offerings go higher.”</p>
<p>Educational psychologist William James is reported to have once remarked, “The only time people think is when they are confronted by a problem.” In examining many of Jesus’ sermons and parables, he often presented his hearers with a problem.</p>
<p>Take, for example, the prodigal son. He didn’t deserve to be accepted back as though nothing had happened. It was the elder son who was faithful. Jesus created an uncomfortable reality causing his hearers to ask, “What is God like?”</p>
<p>Or, consider the good Samaritan. Jesus’ congregation at the time didn’t want to hear that a Samaritan might have redeeming qualities while their own religious leaders could be lacking in charity. He caused them to ask questions; to think critically; to evaluate behavior; to change. But if the clergy must shoulder some of the blame, the greater portion must lie at the feet of congregations who are so self-consumed that they have lost sight of their missions. They don’t want to be challenged. They are intolerant of perspectives, even from the pulpit, that do not match and reinforce their own viewpoints.</p>
<p>To be sure, preachers are not perfect. In my 25 years in the pulpit I can recall some retractions and corrections I needed to make later. A healthy congregation will listen and evaluate what their pastor says, even if it is uttered from “behind that sacred desk.” Occasionally, as Priscilla and Aquila did with Apollos, a pastor also may need to be lovingly challenged. But unless their ideas are opposed to biblical teaching, to become angry at preachers because their messages don’t fit your own ideas is spiritually dangerous.</p>
<p>An example of this is found on page 17 in the article about Lynn Litchfield’s ministry to Teresa Lewis. Lynn confessed to me in an interview that the hatred directed at her by some brothers and sisters in Christ because she dared to challenge their thinking about capital punishment left her disappointed and somewhat disillusioned. The death penalty is an issue people feel strongly about; and good people come down on both sides of the question. But what is exceedingly unfortunate is when we Christians can’t continue to love and serve beside people who disagree with us.</p>
<p>Barna is right. The church needs to heed this wake-up call. When Christians claim that their faith is very important to them, but they aren’t interested in finding ways to apply it to real life situations, something is wrong.</p>
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last month barna research group called 1000 american adults ask faith specifically asked anything related religious beliefs practices preferences changed past five years results claim reliable within 32 percentage points hold surprises survey revealed twothirds adults say religious faith important large majority said regularly talk others matters faith great majority also said nothing changed religious life past five years fact 93 percent sampled said change beliefs practices preferences even allowing maximum margin error still means 90 percent havent changed thing 3 percent people 65 acknowledged religious changes change occurred often 13 percent among 1826 year age group 7 percent change good news onethird cited change brought closer god others 16 percent said moved christian roots another 11 percent said feelings churches deteriorated past five years 8 percent changed churches denominations another 8 percent said become less active church among 7 percent changed 10 percent said perception moral issue shifted moral issues twothirds cases homosexuality number shifting views opposition support support opposition barna reaches four conclusions first says much change occurring perhaps time churches began evaluate second number whose change reflected move toward church god moved opposite direction third greater devotion driven emotions accounted change least amount movement exhibited relation integration faith every dimension life recalibration personal biblical interpretation spiritual perspectives says barna words changes feeling rather finally barna concludes faithtalk appears much comforting little challenging barnas research accurate reason believe constitute enough shock get churchs attention discipleship implies movement one cant well christfollower remain stationary portion blame surely laid doorstep clergy focused narrowly attracting new members comforting afflicted always attracted greater crowds afflicting comfortable pulpiteers conscious danger offending parishioners opted softpedal demands christ even worse chosen reinforce attitudes challenged evaluated changed believe congregational church polity biblical largely responsible effectual spread baptists side clergy dependent good graces congregation continued employment preachers become challenging prophetic church members apt take offense send packing christian singerhumorist dan mcbride sang tiptoe tithers preach brimstone fire long offerings go higher educational psychologist william james reported remarked time people think confronted problem examining many jesus sermons parables often presented hearers problem take example prodigal son didnt deserve accepted back though nothing happened elder son faithful jesus created uncomfortable reality causing hearers ask god like consider good samaritan jesus congregation time didnt want hear samaritan might redeeming qualities religious leaders could lacking charity caused ask questions think critically evaluate behavior change clergy must shoulder blame greater portion must lie feet congregations selfconsumed lost sight missions dont want challenged intolerant perspectives even pulpit match reinforce viewpoints sure preachers perfect 25 years pulpit recall retractions corrections needed make later healthy congregation listen evaluate pastor says even uttered behind sacred desk occasionally priscilla aquila apollos pastor also may need lovingly challenged unless ideas opposed biblical teaching become angry preachers messages dont fit ideas spiritually dangerous example found page 17 article lynn litchfields ministry teresa lewis lynn confessed interview hatred directed brothers sisters christ dared challenge thinking capital punishment left disappointed somewhat disillusioned death penalty issue people feel strongly good people come sides question exceedingly unfortunate christians cant continue love serve beside people disagree us barna right church needs heed wakeup call christians claim faith important arent interested finding ways apply real life situations something wrong
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<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) —Pullen Memorial Baptist Church, which celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2009, is turning heads with a new eco-friendly building addition that eases overcrowding, allows for expanded missions and establishes a strong architectural presence along a prominent business and cultural thoroughfare in Raleigh, N.C.</p>
<p />
<p>On Feb. 1, the church dedicated a metal-shingled 9,800- square-foot addition affectionately nicknamed the “shiny diner” tied in with Pullen’s original brick-and-mortar sanctuary built in 1923.</p>
<p>“We’ve been holding Sunday school in the hallways for more than 15 years, so it was clear the church needed a solution,” said Nancy Petty, the church’s co-pastor.</p>
<p>More than 200 people have joined Pullen Memorial since 2000, according to the church website, bringing the church membership to 700 and active participants to more than 1,000.</p>
<p>Youth and children make up a large part of the growth. Youth Sunday school classes previously scattered throughout three floors now have their own classrooms alongside a new nonprofit Hope Center to minister to the community’s homeless, jobless and marginalized.</p>
<p>A 2003 master plan set goals of making the building more welcoming and accessible and expanding the church’s mission. “The more we discussed it, the clearer it became that we also wanted to have as ‘green’ a structure as we could,” said Regina Parham, chair of the church’s design and construction committee.</p>
<p>Building “as green as can be” while remaining affordable in a flagging economy provided a major challenge.</p>
<p>Since heating and cooling account for 30 percent of an average building’s energy consumption and power plant emissions contribute significantly to air pollution, Pullen Memorial opted for a geothermal heating, ventilation and air conditioning system.</p>
<p>Composed of 20 wells drilled to a depth of 375 feet to tap Raleigh’s average soil temperature of 64 degrees, the HVAC unit cost $170,000 more than a regular heat-pump unit, but church leaders believe the system, with a 50-year lifespan, will begin paying for itself after 10 years.</p>
<p>The system is expected to save $6,000 a year at current energy costs, and will stop more than 250,000 pounds of carbon emissions into the atmosphere—the equivalent of taking 22 cars off the road each year.</p>
<p>Other green features include orienting the building and placing windows to make best use of natural light. The design provides sunlight to 80 percent of the new space, including work and dining areas.</p>
<p>The addition also implements a “green roof”—covered with vegetation and soil over a waterproofing membrane—expected to reduce storm-water runoff, the No. 1 source of water pollution, by 25 percent. An underground cistern captures runoff from three areas, including the original church roof. The water will be used for landscape irrigation. Waterless urinals, dual-flush toilets and water-consider appliances will further cut water use and save costs.</p>
<p>Recycled building materials were used where possible. The wall and roof shingles are made from recycled metal and never will need painting, while flooring is made of renewable resources.</p>
<p>Pullen Memorial has a high-profile location on Hillsborough Street, a historic Raleigh thoroughfare viewed as a front door to North Carolina State University and corridor to the State Capitol, but primary access to the old building was from a smaller side street.</p>
<p>The new addition opens up access to Hillsborough Street, and a contemplation garden of preserved trees and replanted treasured flowers, shrubs and bushes, adds a touch of green space open to the public to a crowded urban space.</p>
<p>The addition also allows Pullen Memorial to expand services to the working poor, an emphasis that characterized the congregation at its founding in 1884. Created for people who fall through the gaps in social services, the Hope Center holds two offices for staff, a multipurpose space with computers to aid job-seekers, expanded space for tutoring and restrooms with showers and laundry facilities for the down and out.</p>
<p>New Raleigh magazine described the architecture as “simple,” “confident” and “sensitive.”</p>
<p>“This addition to a historic building melds the slope of the earth with new and redefined usable spaces,” the magazine said. “The lower story of the building addition cuddles up to the existing structure and acts to negotiate all of the elements of the project: a new chapel and fellowship hall, a roof garden, and a new entrance to the church. A courtyard space outside of the original sanctuary on the Cox Avenue side continues around to the rear of the building and becomes the vegetative roof of the new spaces. This exercise in placemaking yields an elegant transition that weaves the building and its surrounding landscape into a singular architecture.”</p>
<p>Another conscious decision involved forgoing construction on undeveloped land. Instead of adding parking, Pullen Memorial members reduced their 28 parking spaces to 14, meaning most worshippers will continue to park at nearby businesses or on the street.</p>
<p>The new building cost $3.7 million. A three-year capital campaign raised $2.2 million in gifts and pledges. An unexpected bequest in 2008 left just 20 percent of total costs to be financed with a bank loan.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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raleigh nc abp pullen memorial baptist church celebrates 125th anniversary 2009 turning heads new ecofriendly building addition eases overcrowding allows expanded missions establishes strong architectural presence along prominent business cultural thoroughfare raleigh nc feb 1 church dedicated metalshingled 9800 squarefoot addition affectionately nicknamed shiny diner tied pullens original brickandmortar sanctuary built 1923 weve holding sunday school hallways 15 years clear church needed solution said nancy petty churchs copastor 200 people joined pullen memorial since 2000 according church website bringing church membership 700 active participants 1000 youth children make large part growth youth sunday school classes previously scattered throughout three floors classrooms alongside new nonprofit hope center minister communitys homeless jobless marginalized 2003 master plan set goals making building welcoming accessible expanding churchs mission discussed clearer became also wanted green structure could said regina parham chair churchs design construction committee building green remaining affordable flagging economy provided major challenge since heating cooling account 30 percent average buildings energy consumption power plant emissions contribute significantly air pollution pullen memorial opted geothermal heating ventilation air conditioning system composed 20 wells drilled depth 375 feet tap raleighs average soil temperature 64 degrees hvac unit cost 170000 regular heatpump unit church leaders believe system 50year lifespan begin paying 10 years system expected save 6000 year current energy costs stop 250000 pounds carbon emissions atmospherethe equivalent taking 22 cars road year green features include orienting building placing windows make best use natural light design provides sunlight 80 percent new space including work dining areas addition also implements green roofcovered vegetation soil waterproofing membraneexpected reduce stormwater runoff 1 source water pollution 25 percent underground cistern captures runoff three areas including original church roof water used landscape irrigation waterless urinals dualflush toilets waterconsider appliances cut water use save costs recycled building materials used possible wall roof shingles made recycled metal never need painting flooring made renewable resources pullen memorial highprofile location hillsborough street historic raleigh thoroughfare viewed front door north carolina state university corridor state capitol primary access old building smaller side street new addition opens access hillsborough street contemplation garden preserved trees replanted treasured flowers shrubs bushes adds touch green space open public crowded urban space addition also allows pullen memorial expand services working poor emphasis characterized congregation founding 1884 created people fall gaps social services hope center holds two offices staff multipurpose space computers aid jobseekers expanded space tutoring restrooms showers laundry facilities new raleigh magazine described architecture simple confident sensitive addition historic building melds slope earth new redefined usable spaces magazine said lower story building addition cuddles existing structure acts negotiate elements project new chapel fellowship hall roof garden new entrance church courtyard space outside original sanctuary cox avenue side continues around rear building becomes vegetative roof new spaces exercise placemaking yields elegant transition weaves building surrounding landscape singular architecture another conscious decision involved forgoing construction undeveloped land instead adding parking pullen memorial members reduced 28 parking spaces 14 meaning worshippers continue park nearby businesses street new building cost 37 million threeyear capital campaign raised 22 million gifts pledges unexpected bequest 2008 left 20 percent total costs financed bank loan 160
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<p>NEW YORK (RNS) — Did leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention hurt their missionary cause by opting not to change the denomination’s name to something a bit more, well, marketable?</p>
<p>Maybe, but as the advertising executives of Madison Avenue here could attest, as tempting as it is to try to solve a missionary slump with a marketing campaign, religious groups — like commercial businesses — should think twice before undergoing a brand overhaul.</p>
<p>After months of deliberations, an SBC task force on Feb. 20 recommended against trying to re-brand the denomination, an idea that has been bandied about for more than a century.</p>
<p />
<p>Proponents of a change made a good case: for a denomination that was born in 1845 out of a defense of slavery, the name has since saddled Southern Baptists with a problematic name and historical baggage.</p>
<p>Advocates — including top SBC leaders — argued that the name of the nation’s largest Protestant body wasn’t helping reverse a decline in baptisms and church plantings. One reason, they said, was the “Southern” part of their name made it hard to expand beyond its largely white base in the Bible Belt, and racial and ethnic minorities often balk when they see the Southern Baptist name.</p>
<p>“There is so much to celebrate in the heritage of our beloved denomination, but there is also a deep stain that is associated with slavery,” R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, wrote as the debate heated up.</p>
<p>“If these issues can be resolved, even to any significant degree, by a name change, a Gospel-minded people would never hesitate to consider such a proposal.”</p>
<p>There were also strong currents running against a change, however. Some objections were rooted in an emotional loyalty to tradition and culture that can make a debate over repainting the church walls into an occasion for schism.</p>
<p>“We believe that the equity that we have in the name Southern Baptist Convention is valuable,” said Jimmy Draper, head of the SBC task force. “It is a strong name that identifies who we are in theology, morality and ethics, compassion, ministry and mission in the world. It is a name that is recognized globally in these areas.”</p>
<p>Makeovers are not only expensive and fraught with potential legal problems — factors that were raised by the SBC task force — but they may not work. Exhibit A: Coca-Cola’s failed 1985 effort to introduce “New Coke,” or Tropicana’s updated but deeply unpopular package design for its orange juice, or Gap’s swift rejection of a poorly received new logo.</p>
<p>“Brands that play against consumer behavior always lose,” said Josh Feldmeth, head of the New York office of Interbrand, an international brand consultancy business.</p>
<p>Even so, religious groups won’t stop trying if they feel their “brand” isn’t working.</p>
<p>Campus Crusade for Christ, the worldwide ministry started in 1951 by the late Bill Bright and his wife, is this year introducing a new moniker, “Cru,” that some worry could become the “New Coke” of evangelical Christianity.</p>
<p />
<p>Elsewhere, evangelical leader Tony Campolo has taken to calling himself a “Red Letter Christian” because he worries that the evangelical brand has become too politicized. The rock-ribbed Christians at Bob Jones University in South Carolina have been looking — so far in vain — for an alternative to the “fundamentalist” label that they once wore so proudly.</p>
<p>Mormon leaders are also making a push to have the church called only by its formal name, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because they feel the “Mormon” label can be derogatory or raise undesirable associations with polygamist splinter groups.</p>
<p>But Feldmeth, who was raised an evangelical and graduated from Wheaton College, said LDS leaders might want to think twice.</p>
<p>The word “Mormon,” like “Southern Baptist,” has strong name recognition and immediately conveys a clear image — both valuable assets. If that image is not the one you want to project — for example, a LifeWay Research survey showed that 40 percent of Americans have a negative impression of Southern Baptists — then you have to figure out why rather than just slapping a new label on the same old product.</p>
<p>“I think you should stick to your mission and just work harder to explain why your mission matters,” said Feldmeth, who is now a practicing member of the Episcopal Church, which was forced to re-brand after the Revolutionary War made associations with Anglicanism dicey.</p>
<p>“Brands exist to change behavior. That applies to the religious world as much as it does to the business world,” he said. “You create a McDonald’s to change the way people eat.”</p>
<p>It’s also not easy to find a good alternative. “Mormon” is memorable and short, while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a mouthful. The “American Baptist” name was taken in 1950 by the Baptists’ northern branch, and black Baptists snagged the “National Baptist” brand way back in 1895. For what it’s worth, “Primitive Baptist” and “Hard Shell Baptist” are taken, too.</p>
<p>In the end, all the Southern Baptist task force could do was offer an unofficial alternative, “Great Commission Baptists,” for congregations that want at least something a little different.</p>
<p>It seems unlikely the “GCB” moniker will win out, but an evolutionary approach to re-branding can work; International Business Machines effectively reinvented itself as IBM, and General Electric did the same by switching to GE.</p>
<p>If all else fails, Southern Baptists and Mormons can take heart from historical precedent. The early followers of Jesus were disparagingly referred to as “little Christs” — hence the term Christians, a brand few churches are eager to give up.</p>
<p>Likewise, the name “Lutheran” was first used to mock the Protestant reformer Martin Luther, who didn’t much like the term either. But it stuck, and worked. In that same period, members of the new Catholic Counter-Reformation order, the Society of Jesus, were dismissively referred to as “Jesuits,” yet that brand has had some staying power.</p>
<p>And in the 18th century, followers of John and Charles Wesley were derided for their “methodical” approach to spiritual growth — but thanks to those cultured despisers, we now have Methodists.</p>
<p>“In the end,” said Feldmeth, “they made the brand what they wanted it to be.”</p>
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new york rns leaders southern baptist convention hurt missionary cause opting change denominations name something bit well marketable maybe advertising executives madison avenue could attest tempting try solve missionary slump marketing campaign religious groups like commercial businesses think twice undergoing brand overhaul months deliberations sbc task force feb 20 recommended trying rebrand denomination idea bandied century proponents change made good case denomination born 1845 defense slavery name since saddled southern baptists problematic name historical baggage advocates including top sbc leaders argued name nations largest protestant body wasnt helping reverse decline baptisms church plantings one reason said southern part name made hard expand beyond largely white base bible belt racial ethnic minorities often balk see southern baptist name much celebrate heritage beloved denomination also deep stain associated slavery r albert mohler president southern baptist theological seminary wrote debate heated issues resolved even significant degree name change gospelminded people would never hesitate consider proposal also strong currents running change however objections rooted emotional loyalty tradition culture make debate repainting church walls occasion schism believe equity name southern baptist convention valuable said jimmy draper head sbc task force strong name identifies theology morality ethics compassion ministry mission world name recognized globally areas makeovers expensive fraught potential legal problems factors raised sbc task force may work exhibit cocacolas failed 1985 effort introduce new coke tropicanas updated deeply unpopular package design orange juice gaps swift rejection poorly received new logo brands play consumer behavior always lose said josh feldmeth head new york office interbrand international brand consultancy business even religious groups wont stop trying feel brand isnt working campus crusade christ worldwide ministry started 1951 late bill bright wife year introducing new moniker cru worry could become new coke evangelical christianity elsewhere evangelical leader tony campolo taken calling red letter christian worries evangelical brand become politicized rockribbed christians bob jones university south carolina looking far vain alternative fundamentalist label wore proudly mormon leaders also making push church called formal name church jesus christ latterday saints feel mormon label derogatory raise undesirable associations polygamist splinter groups feldmeth raised evangelical graduated wheaton college said lds leaders might want think twice word mormon like southern baptist strong name recognition immediately conveys clear image valuable assets image one want project example lifeway research survey showed 40 percent americans negative impression southern baptists figure rather slapping new label old product think stick mission work harder explain mission matters said feldmeth practicing member episcopal church forced rebrand revolutionary war made associations anglicanism dicey brands exist change behavior applies religious world much business world said create mcdonalds change way people eat also easy find good alternative mormon memorable short church jesus christ latterday saints mouthful american baptist name taken 1950 baptists northern branch black baptists snagged national baptist brand way back 1895 worth primitive baptist hard shell baptist taken end southern baptist task force could offer unofficial alternative great commission baptists congregations want least something little different seems unlikely gcb moniker win evolutionary approach rebranding work international business machines effectively reinvented ibm general electric switching ge else fails southern baptists mormons take heart historical precedent early followers jesus disparagingly referred little christs hence term christians brand churches eager give likewise name lutheran first used mock protestant reformer martin luther didnt much like term either stuck worked period members new catholic counterreformation order society jesus dismissively referred jesuits yet brand staying power 18th century followers john charles wesley derided methodical approach spiritual growth thanks cultured despisers methodists end said feldmeth made brand wanted
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<p>Charter schools in Chicago would get easier access to facilities and a likely increase in per-pupil funding under a proposed district-charter compact that would also make charters subject to some of the same testing and accountability standards as traditional schools.</p>
<p>The draft agreement between CPS and its charters was handed out at a Tuesday conference for participants in the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation initiative called “District-Charter Collaboration Compacts.” <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2011/12/chicago-join-gates-foundation-charter-compact/" type="external">Chicago Public Schools</a>and Spring Branch Independent School District, outside of Houston, are joining the 12 districts across the country that already signed on</p>
<p>Mayor Rahm Emanuel said at Tuesday’s announcement that he hopes high-performing charter operators from around the country will “look at this as an opportunity to set up shop.” Chicago has historically had trouble bringing in some nationally-known operators because of its relatively low per-pupil funding.</p>
<p>Yet Emanuel added that “just because you’re a charter, that doesn’t mean you get a pass. Creating more schools of excellence is my goal.”</p>
<p>Chicago and the other cities will be eligible to compete for a pot of $20 million in implementation funding that the Gates Foundation will dole out over the next three to five years. The foundation expects about 10 districts to earn grants; two or three could get $4 million to $7 million, the rest $2 million or less.</p>
<p>In addition, the foundation expects to award five program grants of up to $20 million in all, to bolster school districts’ ability to help charter schools find or buy facilities—something that many charters in Chicago have struggled to do. Facilities questions have been a big bone of contention between charters and traditional schools.</p>
<p>Charters, too, have long complained that they receive fewer dollars per pupil than traditional schools (although they typically receive more private funds). The compact would change that, with a commitment to funding both types of schools at the same level.</p>
<p>“We are concerned with creating equity between charter schools and traditional schools, to make sure all students are receiving the education they deserve,” CEO Jean-Claude Brizard said.</p>
<p>Chicago’s draft compact pledges extra help for charter schools that want access to district and other facilities, more transparency in how school facilities are assigned, and a process that is the same for all new school operators.</p>
<p>The compact proposes that CPS prioritize giving district facilities over to charter schools in high-need neighborhoods, while asking charter schools in low-need neighborhoods to find their own buildings. <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2007/06/going-head-class/" type="external">A 2007 Catalyst Chicago analysis</a>found that the district was prioritizing new schools, including charters, for capital improvements.</p>
<p>Those schools that find their own buildings currently receive just $425 per student to cover facilities costs; under the compact, the district could make a one-time increase in fall 2012. Charters could get even more per-pupil in neighborhoods with a high need for good schools.</p>
<p>“The availability and supply of CPS facilities should not limit the number of quality charter openings in any given year,” the compact states. “The mutual goal of CPS and charters is to ensure that charters do not have to divert operating funds for facility capital needs.”</p>
<p>That could be a costly proposition for the district, but so far, CPS communications officials say they don’t know whether it will cost extra.</p>
<p>Michael Milkie, superintendent and CEO of the Noble Street Charter Network, said at the announcement that the compact “creates a climate in terms of funding, in terms of facilities, that has corrected some of the struggles charters have had in the past.”</p>
<p>“I think we’ll really raise everybody’s game,” he said. “Because now we are going to be compared [to other schools] in the most transparent ways. We’re going to have to up our game; traditional schools are going to have to up their game.”</p>
<p>Among other changes outlined in Chicago’s draft compact:</p>
<p>&#160;*An identical accountability system for neighborhood and charter schools in the 2012-13 school year. Students would take the same tests, including the EXPLORE, PLAN, ACT and to-be-determined elementary school tests. The district would have the same standards for opening, turning around, and closing both types of schools.</p>
<p>*A working group to make sure charters provide high-quality services for English learners, at-risk students, and students with disabilities.</p>
<p>*A centralized enrollment system that would include charter schools, slated to begin in fall 2013 for high schools and in fall 2016 for elementaries. “I have heard so many times from parents who say, I have to navigate 40 or 50 applications,” schools CEO Jean-Claude Brizard said on a conference call announcing Chicago’s participation.</p>
<p>*An expedited authorization process for charter managers with a track record of success. The criteria for success are not defined in the compact.</p>
<p>*A decrease in the red tape that charter operators have to deal with, by “minimizing unnecessary reporting” and streamlining CPS compliance rules. However, details are not yet clear.</p>
<p>*A change that would allow charters to participate in the Chicago Leadership Collaborative principal preparation program, with internships available in both charter and neighborhood schools.</p>
<p>*A “High School Strategy Team” that aims to bring ideas from Noble Street Charter Schools and the Academy for Urban School Leadership to all the district’s high schools.</p>
<p>Reigniting the original vision</p>
<p>Through its initiative, the Gates Foundation is pushing to increase collaboration between traditional schools and charter schools. To some extent, that’s in line with the original vision of charters as laboratories of innovation for ideas that would then be brought into traditional schools.</p>
<p>Anna Hall, chief operating officer for Uncommon Schools in Rochester and Troy, New York, says Rochester’s compact process offered “the opportunity to get everyone around the table.” As a result of the collaboration, Uncommon Schools founder Doug Lemov offered training for Rochester’s teachers on his “Taxonomy of Effective Teaching Practices.”</p>
<p>“Our goal is always to work as partners with the district, but there often lack formal structures,” she says. “Misperceptions existed on both sides” about what changes charters and non-charters could, or would, be open to.</p>
<p>For instance, Hall says, many charter school operators did not realize neighborhood schools could create flexibility in how they disciplined students or created a school climate.</p>
<p>“We feel like we’ve gained advocates in the district,” Hall says.</p>
<p>Examples from charter compacts elsewhere:</p>
<p>*In Spring Branch Independent School District, officials plan to bring the KIPP and YES Prep charter school instruction models to regular schools via “school-within-a-school” programs.</p>
<p>*In Nashville, Tenn., the district has worked with teacher preparation programs to track teacher effectiveness and create an elite “Green Beret” group of teachers for turnaround schools.</p>
<p>*In Hartford, Conn., charter school representatives are working with district officials to redesign middle schools and “create a model that draws on the charters’ success in educating middle school students.” Chicago has a similar plan for high schools.</p>
<p>*New York City, like Chicago, is opening up its principal training programs to charter school leaders. The Charter Center there has also increased charter school efforts to recruit and retain special-needs and Spanish-speaking students.</p>
<p>*Denver Public Schools is expanding the charter networks that are doing well, and closing low-performing charter and traditional schools. It also created a school choice process for students who enter the district mid-year, so they’re not left out of charters.</p>
<p>*New Orleans’ Recovery School District will be closing and replacing the bottom one-fifth of its schools.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
charter schools chicago would get easier access facilities likely increase perpupil funding proposed districtcharter compact would also make charters subject testing accountability standards traditional schools draft agreement cps charters handed tuesday conference participants bill amp melinda gates foundation initiative called districtcharter collaboration compacts chicago public schoolsand spring branch independent school district outside houston joining 12 districts across country already signed mayor rahm emanuel said tuesdays announcement hopes highperforming charter operators around country look opportunity set shop chicago historically trouble bringing nationallyknown operators relatively low perpupil funding yet emanuel added youre charter doesnt mean get pass creating schools excellence goal chicago cities eligible compete pot 20 million implementation funding gates foundation dole next three five years foundation expects 10 districts earn grants two three could get 4 million 7 million rest 2 million less addition foundation expects award five program grants 20 million bolster school districts ability help charter schools find buy facilitiessomething many charters chicago struggled facilities questions big bone contention charters traditional schools charters long complained receive fewer dollars per pupil traditional schools although typically receive private funds compact would change commitment funding types schools level concerned creating equity charter schools traditional schools make sure students receiving education deserve ceo jeanclaude brizard said chicagos draft compact pledges extra help charter schools want access district facilities transparency school facilities assigned process new school operators compact proposes cps prioritize giving district facilities charter schools highneed neighborhoods asking charter schools lowneed neighborhoods find buildings 2007 catalyst chicago analysisfound district prioritizing new schools including charters capital improvements schools find buildings currently receive 425 per student cover facilities costs compact district could make onetime increase fall 2012 charters could get even perpupil neighborhoods high need good schools availability supply cps facilities limit number quality charter openings given year compact states mutual goal cps charters ensure charters divert operating funds facility capital needs could costly proposition district far cps communications officials say dont know whether cost extra michael milkie superintendent ceo noble street charter network said announcement compact creates climate terms funding terms facilities corrected struggles charters past think well really raise everybodys game said going compared schools transparent ways going game traditional schools going game among changes outlined chicagos draft compact 160an identical accountability system neighborhood charter schools 201213 school year students would take tests including explore plan act tobedetermined elementary school tests district would standards opening turning around closing types schools working group make sure charters provide highquality services english learners atrisk students students disabilities centralized enrollment system would include charter schools slated begin fall 2013 high schools fall 2016 elementaries heard many times parents say navigate 40 50 applications schools ceo jeanclaude brizard said conference call announcing chicagos participation expedited authorization process charter managers track record success criteria success defined compact decrease red tape charter operators deal minimizing unnecessary reporting streamlining cps compliance rules however details yet clear change would allow charters participate chicago leadership collaborative principal preparation program internships available charter neighborhood schools high school strategy team aims bring ideas noble street charter schools academy urban school leadership districts high schools reigniting original vision initiative gates foundation pushing increase collaboration traditional schools charter schools extent thats line original vision charters laboratories innovation ideas would brought traditional schools anna hall chief operating officer uncommon schools rochester troy new york says rochesters compact process offered opportunity get everyone around table result collaboration uncommon schools founder doug lemov offered training rochesters teachers taxonomy effective teaching practices goal always work partners district often lack formal structures says misperceptions existed sides changes charters noncharters could would open instance hall says many charter school operators realize neighborhood schools could create flexibility disciplined students created school climate feel like weve gained advocates district hall says examples charter compacts elsewhere spring branch independent school district officials plan bring kipp yes prep charter school instruction models regular schools via schoolwithinaschool programs nashville tenn district worked teacher preparation programs track teacher effectiveness create elite green beret group teachers turnaround schools hartford conn charter school representatives working district officials redesign middle schools create model draws charters success educating middle school students chicago similar plan high schools new york city like chicago opening principal training programs charter school leaders charter center also increased charter school efforts recruit retain specialneeds spanishspeaking students denver public schools expanding charter networks well closing lowperforming charter traditional schools also created school choice process students enter district midyear theyre left charters new orleans recovery school district closing replacing bottom onefifth schools 160
| 743 |
<p>The Syrian conflict can seem like a distant reality for most Americans, but for 26-year-old Syrian American activist Suzan Boulad, there was a time when it was too close for comfort —&#160;when the thud of the shells landing was no longer coming from YouTube, but from outside the house where she sat, huddled under flickering lights, wondering how close they were.</p>
<p>The walls of the house would shake every few minutes. She was in a village outside of Idlib, Syria, in an area then controlled by the Free Syrian Army that was being bombarded by forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.&#160;It was March 2013, a time in the war when the Free Syrian Army was still ascendant and ISIS had yet to fully emerge. It was a moment fraught with risk for Boulad and the Syrian activists she was working with — but also one still full of possibility.</p>
<p>She had come to Syria with a delegation of American activists. Earlier that day they had participated in a protest in the city of Kafranbel, a city famous for its anti-regime protests featuring clever signs written in English, often with pop culture references.</p>
<p>Raised in the Sacramento area, she often visited her native&#160;Syria&#160;as a child&#160;and was hushed by anxious relatives whenever the conversation veered toward Assad. When the anti-regime protests begin in 2011, she followed along via Twitter, quickly becoming absorbed in the cycle of protests, causality reports and more protests that marked that stage of the Syrian version of the Arab Spring.</p>
<p>Boulad's family is from&#160;Homs, a city that at one point was called the “capital of the revolution.”&#160;When there were protests there, she would look through footage and scan the crowd for faces she knew. Soon, she was helping to organize protests in the US with the <a href="http://www.sacouncil.com/" type="external">Syrian American Council</a> in&#160;solidarity with her friends and family in Syria.</p>
<p>She'll be speaking about her experience and what we can do to help refugees, along with artists and experts. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/144843549199958/" type="external">Oct. 29 at Macalaster College in St. Paul</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/144843549199958/" type="external" /></p>
<p />
<p>Joining the protest in Kafranbel became a defining moment for her.</p>
<p>“I was shouting in the streets of my native country. I was speaking my mind in a place where I had only ever been told to hush, and to stop asking questions. I had heard activists in Syria say for years that the fear barrier had been broken, that they were no longer afraid, and I didn't really internalize what that meant until I was speaking out for myself.”</p>
<p>But that night, the thrill of protest would give way to stark fear. Her Syrian guides dropped her off in a house with five other female Syrian American activists, and went to get the rest of the group. That's when the shelling started. They stayed in the darkness in the hallway until the rest of their group came, then huddled in a circle in the living room.&#160;There were no Syrians with them when the explosions started getting closer.</p>
<p>It quickly became apparent that her suburban California upbringing had not prepared her for this moment.</p>
<p>“The bombs sound like they are literally about to fall on top of us. If we had a Syrian with us, even a child, they know what the sounds are and can prepare. Should we stand on one side of the house, or the center? They know these things. But there really isn't that much we could do. It's just a matter of staying as calm as you can. There was lots of praying.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The shelling eventually faded and,&#160;the next morning, Boulard saw smoke rising from a destroyed building less than a mile away from where she had been. Some of her fellow American activists decided not to stay, but Boulad was part of a group of about eight of them who decided to continue to Aleppo, which to this day continues to be&#160;one of the most contentious conflict zones in the Syrian Civil War. &#160;</p>
<p>Her decision to say would shape her life in ways she couldn't have predicted. It was there that she met an unlikely group of young revolutionaries called the Free Lawyers of Aleppo.</p>
<p>Most were recent law school graduates who had grown frustrated with the corrupt, nepotistic and suffocatingly bureaucratic legal system of the dictatorship. They hoped to create a new, more principled system in FSA-controlled territory, one that would lay the groundwork for the rule of law in a new post-Assad Syria. There were some religious tones to it as well — as in most revolutionary moments, there was a healthy debate about what the new system would look like, once they won the war.</p>
<p>Boulard knew two things: She wanted to help this movement;&#160;and she wanted to be a lawyer.</p>
<p>“I saw the most value in [law] as a tool. It felt like if there is no rule of law, then you can't advocate for women's rights, you can't advocate for minority rights,” she says. “They convinced me that that was the foundation of a stable and solid country going forward, and that's what I wanted to work on.”</p>
<p>“And I felt like there was this huge opportunity to do something really radical, but also to get academics and international institutions to come in and help out. I was thinking that the regime going away was going to be a matter of maybe a couple of years. ... I was thinking that if the regime falls soon, we can have all of these great minds, working with brilliant Syrians who finally have a chance to show what they are made of, and create something really lasting. That's what I wanted to be a part of. And I also felt like that's where I could work as a Syrian American too."</p>
<p>It didn't work out that way. The moment of heady optimism in the Syrian Civil War that occurred around 2013 feels like an eternity ago. Syria has become&#160;more of a proxy way. As Russia and Iran pumped up their support for the regime, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States more aggressively funded militant rebels. ISIS broke away from the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nursa Front and has taken over swaths of Syria and Iraq. The US stepped up its own involvement, eventually sending in anti-tank missiles, which undercut the regime's advantage in heavy armor.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Rebel forces <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-15625642" type="external">abandoned the old city in Homs</a> in May 2014. Two weeks ago, Kafranbel was reportedly <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/borzoudaragahi/what-its-like-to-be-a-syrian-civilian-under-russian-bombs#.ip3l8pLGq" type="external">hit by Russian airstrikes</a>.</p>
<p>While the Syrian conflict is more complex than ever, one thing that’s clear to Boulad is that the civil society she witnessed during her trip to Syria has been slowly worn down. The Free Lawyers of Aleppo, for instance, still have a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Aleppo.Free.Lawyers.state.of.law?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook page</a>, but it hasn’t been updated since April.</p>
<p>Boulad eventually would like to return, but now, as a third year law student at the University of Minnesota, she has been focused on organizing rallies in the Twin Cities calling for more support for Syrian refugees.</p>
<p>Suzan Boulad at a rally for Syrian refugees in Minneapolis on Sat. Oct. 3</p>
<p>Photo by Angilee Shah / PRI&#160;</p>
<p>It’s an issue that hits close to home,&#160;and one she’ll be addressing at a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/144843549199958/" type="external">forum PRI is organizing with the nonprofit Gazillion Strong&#160;in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Oct. 29</a>.</p>
<p>“My family left Syria a long time ago, I was raised here in the US, but I was very close to my cousins and considered them sisters. And it felt like under any other different set of circumstances, that could have been me,” she says.</p>
<p>And while the situation on the ground in Syria seems bad, Boulad still finds plenty of reasons to press on.</p>
<p>“Eventually, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel, and the conflict will have to come to an end, and if I can’t say I did my best, in whatever way I could, from the very beginning, then I don’t think I would ever forgive myself. Emotional as it is for me, there are people that won’t give up and so I can’t either.”</p>
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syrian conflict seem like distant reality americans 26yearold syrian american activist suzan boulad time close comfort 160when thud shells landing longer coming youtube outside house sat huddled flickering lights wondering close walls house would shake every minutes village outside idlib syria area controlled free syrian army bombarded forces loyal syrian dictator bashar assad160it march 2013 time war free syrian army still ascendant isis yet fully emerge moment fraught risk boulad syrian activists working also one still full possibility come syria delegation american activists earlier day participated protest city kafranbel city famous antiregime protests featuring clever signs written english often pop culture references raised sacramento area often visited native160syria160as child160and hushed anxious relatives whenever conversation veered toward assad antiregime protests begin 2011 followed along via twitter quickly becoming absorbed cycle protests causality reports protests marked stage syrian version arab spring boulads family from160homs city one point called capital revolution160when protests would look footage scan crowd faces knew soon helping organize protests us syrian american council in160solidarity friends family syria shell speaking experience help refugees along artists experts oct 29 macalaster college st paul joining protest kafranbel became defining moment shouting streets native country speaking mind place ever told hush stop asking questions heard activists syria say years fear barrier broken longer afraid didnt really internalize meant speaking night thrill protest would give way stark fear syrian guides dropped house five female syrian american activists went get rest group thats shelling started stayed darkness hallway rest group came huddled circle living room160there syrians explosions started getting closer quickly became apparent suburban california upbringing prepared moment bombs sound like literally fall top us syrian us even child know sounds prepare stand one side house center know things really isnt much could matter staying calm lots praying shelling eventually faded and160the next morning boulard saw smoke rising destroyed building less mile away fellow american activists decided stay boulad part group eight decided continue aleppo day continues be160one contentious conflict zones syrian civil war 160 decision say would shape life ways couldnt predicted met unlikely group young revolutionaries called free lawyers aleppo recent law school graduates grown frustrated corrupt nepotistic suffocatingly bureaucratic legal system dictatorship hoped create new principled system fsacontrolled territory one would lay groundwork rule law new postassad syria religious tones well revolutionary moments healthy debate new system would look like war boulard knew two things wanted help movement160and wanted lawyer saw value law tool felt like rule law cant advocate womens rights cant advocate minority rights says convinced foundation stable solid country going forward thats wanted work felt like huge opportunity something really radical also get academics international institutions come help thinking regime going away going matter maybe couple years thinking regime falls soon great minds working brilliant syrians finally chance show made create something really lasting thats wanted part also felt like thats could work syrian american didnt work way moment heady optimism syrian civil war occurred around 2013 feels like eternity ago syria become160more proxy way russia iran pumped support regime saudi arabia gulf states aggressively funded militant rebels isis broke away alqaeda affiliated alnursa front taken swaths syria iraq us stepped involvement eventually sending antitank missiles undercut regimes advantage heavy armor rebel forces abandoned old city homs may 2014 two weeks ago kafranbel reportedly hit russian airstrikes syrian conflict complex ever one thing thats clear boulad civil society witnessed trip syria slowly worn free lawyers aleppo instance still facebook page hasnt updated since april boulad eventually would like return third year law student university minnesota focused organizing rallies twin cities calling support syrian refugees suzan boulad rally syrian refugees minneapolis sat oct 3 photo angilee shah pri160 issue hits close home160and one shell addressing forum pri organizing nonprofit gazillion strong160in st paul minnesota oct 29 family left syria long time ago raised us close cousins considered sisters felt like different set circumstances could says situation ground syria seems bad boulad still finds plenty reasons press eventually light end tunnel conflict come end cant say best whatever way could beginning dont think would ever forgive emotional people wont give cant either
| 681 |
<p>The first thing you need to know is that Iceland is changing.</p>
<p>Icelander Sveinbjörn Steinþôrsson, a muscular guy in his 40s, grew up hiking on glaciers here. And he says he’s actually seen the changes.</p>
<p>"First trips to the glacier, I was, like, 14, 15 years old," Steinþôrsson says. "It was easy to find a spot on a glacier to see only white. You could not see the mountain in the north. And you thought you were alone in the world."</p>
<p>But now, when Steinþôrsson goes to those same places and looks out, he sees mountains and bare land poking through.</p>
<p>"So it has melt[ed] quite a lot, and it is melting fast," Steinþôrsson says.</p>
<p>And he's hardly the only one who's&#160;noticed. Freysteinn Sigmundsson, a geophysicist at the University of Iceland, says over his lifespan, he’s seen new landscape open up.</p>
<p />
<p>A waterfall cascades in an otherwise desolate volcanic landscape.</p>
<p>Ari Daniel</p>
<p>The melting isn't just affecting Iceland's surface — it's also affecting what's happening underground. And on this geologically active island,&#160;it could lead to more volcanic eruptions.</p>
<p>But to explain, we need to go on a road trip in the highlands of Iceland&#160;— over a landscape of barren rolling hills of volcanic rock&#160;and peaks the colors of dark chocolate and butterscotch.</p>
<p>I hop in a truck that Sigmundsson calls a super jeep. It has&#160;modified tires so it can drive across rivers and snow.</p>
<p />
<p>Sveinbjörn Steinþôrsson (L) and Freysteinn Sigmundsson from the University of Iceland stand beside one of their GPS stations that measures the latitude, longitude, and vertical position of the ground.</p>
<p>Ari Daniel</p>
<p>We pass between a couple of the biggest glaciers in Iceland — Vatnajökull and Hofsjökull, for those of you keeping track. They sprawl in the distance, on either side of us.</p>
<p>When the jeep stops, we set out by foot up a shallow hillside. After a few minutes, we stop walking.</p>
<p>"We have arrived at the site we want to measure," Sigmundsson says.</p>
<p>It looks like an ordinary slab of brown rock. But mounted to that rock is a metal button the size of a coin.</p>
<p>"So now we just need to get an accuracy of a few millimeters," Sigmundsson says.</p>
<p>He and his colleague maneuver a big tripod into position over the button below. They secure the whole setup with large rocks, to keep it from being pushed around by the crazy fast winds and heavy rains. On top of the tripod, Sigmundsson perches a special kind of GPS sensor that measures not just latitude and longitude, but vertical position as well. The reason is that the ground here is pushing up.</p>
<p>"Iceland is definitely rising," Sigmundsson says.</p>
<p />
<p>Steinþôrsson and Sigmundsson return to their super Jeep, a hearty vehicle required to traverse the snow, water, and uneven landscape of the Icelandic Highlands.</p>
<p>Ari Daniel</p>
<p>It's called post-glacial rebound. Think of how heavy all that ice is, pushing down on the Earth. As the warming atmosphere causes the glaciers to melt, that pressure eases and the ground rises up. Sigmundsson's out here to measure that change.</p>
<p>"The rate of growth is comparable to the growth of your fingernails — about 2-3 centimeters per year if you would not cut them," Sigmundsson suggests.</p>
<p>In fact, Iceland's getting higher faster than anywhere else in the world. And the rate is accelerating.</p>
<p>The reason for the quick pace isn't just the receding glaciers. The land here is also being pushed up by the volcanic hotspot below the Atlantic that originally formed Iceland. In other words, the country's parked above a churning furnace.</p>
<p>“It's a melting pot down there,” Sigmunddson says. “I think of it as the fire heart of Iceland.”</p>
<p>For as long as people have been here, glaciers have kept that fire heart reasonably contained. But Sigmundsson's concerned that the melting ice may trigger a volatile cascade.</p>
<p>"The pressure change induced by the retreating ice caps is enough to generate extra ... magma inside the Earth," he says. "So we can say that global warming is not only causing melting of the ice caps, it is causing melting of the solid earth here under Iceland."</p>
<p>And here's what that could mean: More volcanic activity, volcanoes erupting sooner than they would have otherwise, or more powerfully. It could even mean more eruptions of volcanoes still partially covered with ice. That’s bad news.</p>
<p />
<p>Only the most tenacious of organisms can survive the conditions of the Iceland Highlands, like this moss hugging the ground.</p>
<p>Ari Daniel</p>
<p>“If it is a subglacial eruption,” Sigmundsson says, “it melts massive amounts of ice rapidly and generates floods.”</p>
<p>The effects of more volcanoes here could also be felt internationally. Just think back to the eruption here of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 that shut down air space across northern Europe for weeks.</p>
<p>Now, no one has proven yet that this chain reaction from less ice to more volcanic activity actually happens. It's also possible that disappearing glaciers could mean a delay for some volcanic activity. All of that is what Sigmundsson and his team are here to figure out.</p>
<p>"We can say Iceland is like a laboratory to study this," he says. "This applies to the whole world, really. If you take the more than 1,000 volcanoes on Earth, many of them are ice covered."</p>
<p>So what's learned here will shape our understanding elsewhere. It's part of a growing field of research into the geological impacts of climate change.</p>
<p>For Sigmundsson's team, the work starts by collecting data from each GPS station for a couple of days, before moving them to new locations. That's what he and technician Sveinbjörn Steinþôrsson are doing out here.</p>
<p>The goal is to measure the vertical movement across a broad swath of Iceland — on land that’s undeniably alive.</p>
<p>"[It’s] not just the land sitting there — it [is] a live thing," Steinþôrsson says. "And it move[s], and it's breathing."</p>
<p>And when Iceland exhales, it may just move heaven and Earth.</p>
<p>This story was supported by the <a href="http://pulitzercenter.org/" type="external">Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting</a>.</p>
| false | 3 |
first thing need know iceland changing icelander sveinbjörn steinþôrsson muscular guy 40s grew hiking glaciers says hes actually seen changes first trips glacier like 14 15 years old steinþôrsson says easy find spot glacier see white could see mountain north thought alone world steinþôrsson goes places looks sees mountains bare land poking melted quite lot melting fast steinþôrsson says hes hardly one whos160noticed freysteinn sigmundsson geophysicist university iceland says lifespan hes seen new landscape open waterfall cascades otherwise desolate volcanic landscape ari daniel melting isnt affecting icelands surface also affecting whats happening underground geologically active island160it could lead volcanic eruptions explain need go road trip highlands iceland160 landscape barren rolling hills volcanic rock160and peaks colors dark chocolate butterscotch hop truck sigmundsson calls super jeep has160modified tires drive across rivers snow sveinbjörn steinþôrsson l freysteinn sigmundsson university iceland stand beside one gps stations measures latitude longitude vertical position ground ari daniel pass couple biggest glaciers iceland vatnajökull hofsjökull keeping track sprawl distance either side us jeep stops set foot shallow hillside minutes stop walking arrived site want measure sigmundsson says looks like ordinary slab brown rock mounted rock metal button size coin need get accuracy millimeters sigmundsson says colleague maneuver big tripod position button secure whole setup large rocks keep pushed around crazy fast winds heavy rains top tripod sigmundsson perches special kind gps sensor measures latitude longitude vertical position well reason ground pushing iceland definitely rising sigmundsson says steinþôrsson sigmundsson return super jeep hearty vehicle required traverse snow water uneven landscape icelandic highlands ari daniel called postglacial rebound think heavy ice pushing earth warming atmosphere causes glaciers melt pressure eases ground rises sigmundssons measure change rate growth comparable growth fingernails 23 centimeters per year would cut sigmundsson suggests fact icelands getting higher faster anywhere else world rate accelerating reason quick pace isnt receding glaciers land also pushed volcanic hotspot atlantic originally formed iceland words countrys parked churning furnace melting pot sigmunddson says think fire heart iceland long people glaciers kept fire heart reasonably contained sigmundssons concerned melting ice may trigger volatile cascade pressure change induced retreating ice caps enough generate extra magma inside earth says say global warming causing melting ice caps causing melting solid earth iceland heres could mean volcanic activity volcanoes erupting sooner would otherwise powerfully could even mean eruptions volcanoes still partially covered ice thats bad news tenacious organisms survive conditions iceland highlands like moss hugging ground ari daniel subglacial eruption sigmundsson says melts massive amounts ice rapidly generates floods effects volcanoes could also felt internationally think back eruption eyjafjallajökull 2010 shut air space across northern europe weeks one proven yet chain reaction less ice volcanic activity actually happens also possible disappearing glaciers could mean delay volcanic activity sigmundsson team figure say iceland like laboratory study says applies whole world really take 1000 volcanoes earth many ice covered whats learned shape understanding elsewhere part growing field research geological impacts climate change sigmundssons team work starts collecting data gps station couple days moving new locations thats technician sveinbjörn steinþôrsson goal measure vertical movement across broad swath iceland land thats undeniably alive land sitting live thing steinþôrsson says moves breathing iceland exhales may move heaven earth story supported pulitzer center crisis reporting
| 533 |
<p>By Greg Warner</p>
<p>Sixteen months from now, Southern Baptists should know if they have been able to reverse their evangelistic decline-or if there is a deeper problem that will require a more drastic remedy-said Bobby Welch as he concluded a year as Southern Baptist Convention president that has focused almost full-time on the SBC's flagging evangelism.</p>
<p />
<p>At Welch's urging, the SBC will soon launch a 12-month, all-out effort, called “Everyone Can,” to evangelize and baptize 1 million new Christians. It will address the most critical need Welch sees among the nation's 16 million Southern Baptists-a five-year slump in baptisms that belies the denomination's legendary evangelistic image.</p>
<p>Welch's ambition is to see the SBC baptize 1 million people between October 2005 and September 2006-a statistical year for the SBC. That total would be almost three times the annual average. After a year promoting the need, and months of preparation, Welch said Southern Baptists now must prove they believe what they say about the urgency of salvation.</p>
<p>“After that year has passed, it will be as clear as the handwriting on the wall,” Welch told Associated Baptist Press June 14 in a telephone interview from Nashville, site of the June 21-22 convention. If Southern Baptists can't turn around the baptism decline after more than a year of “extraordinary effort,” he said, “we are going to have to face some reality out here in the convention.”</p>
<p>“When we get to the end of that year, if something significant hasn't happened in baptisms, we'll have to look ourselves in the face and say, ‘Something is wrong.' If it does show improvement, it will demonstrate that, if the convention goes to the people with a message that's near and dear to their hearts, then you can expect the people to respond.”</p>
<p>Either way, he said, “There will be a tale told.”</p>
<p>Welch and convention leaders set the tone for the two-day convention-and the year ahead-with a successful weekend of door-to-door witnessing in Nashville, an annual pre-convention project called Crossover.</p>
<p>The urgency of evangelism was expected to be the centerpiece when the annual meeting returned-for the first time since 1914-to Nashville, home base for the SBC and several of its agencies. But, as with each annual SBC meeting, unexpected issues may steal the spotlight from what Welch might hope would be a single-minded convention.</p>
<p>Some messengers want the SBC to denounce public schools. One proposed resolution would decry the secularization of public schools and urge Southern Baptists to start Christian schools or home-school their children. Another resolution goes further, urging churches to investigate their local school districts to determine if they promote homosexuality and calling for a wholesale withdrawal from such schools. A similar resolution failed last year. The SBC resolutions committee will decide which statement, if any, to propose for adoption.</p>
<p>Welch said he doesn't agree with the proposal to withdraw from public schools. Ultimately, the SBC must trust parents to make those decisions, he said, since they have the biblical responsibility. Besides, he says, “The schools are North America's greatest mission field. We don't need to be withdrawing from the mission field.”</p>
<p>Other “culture war” issues could come up during the meeting, perhaps during a live video message from President George W. Bush scheduled for Tuesday.</p>
<p>And the SBC may vote to end its eight-year boycott of the Disney Co., which was prompted by alleged pro-gay policies and immoral entertainment content. Anti-Disney activist Donald Wildmon of the American Family Association said recently Disney is now “one of the less egregious perpetrators of the homosexual agenda.” And SBC ethics leader Richard Land said the SBC, as the largest boycott supporter, may vote to “declare victory in this matter and move on.”</p>
<p>The least contentious event of the two-day meeting could be the scheduled tribute to Billy Graham, who is ending a long and storied career in evangelism. The special recognition of Graham-which will be accepted by his grandson-makes perfect sense, Welch said, since the North Carolina native is a Southern Baptist, is the best-known Christian leader in the world, and has devoted his life to “what Southern Baptists say they love most”-evangelism.</p>
<p>Welch is expected to be re-elected to the customary second term as SBC president without opposition. While moderates quit fielding candidates in the early 1990s, conservatives have continued to rally around a consensus candidate rather than risk splitting the vote.</p>
<p>But some convention leaders-including SBC chief executive Morris Chapman and LifeWay president Jimmy Draper-worry the close-to-the-vest pattern of SBC politics is no longer necessary and discouraging to younger and lesser-known Baptists ready to lead.</p>
<p>At the 2004 SBC, Chapman said conservatives have not made good on their pledge to bring a broader range of Southern Baptists into leadership positions. “We cannot let this convention be driven by politics,” he told messengers.</p>
<p>There is a hint Chapman's warning is being heard. With Welch's re-election assured, the convention powerbrokers apparently have stepped aside this year and let nominees for other offices surface on their own.</p>
<p>Two nominees have emerged for first vice president-Dan Spencer, pastor of First Baptist Church in Thomasville, Ga., and Mike Boyd, pastor of Wallace Memorial Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn. Each is a conservative who will be nominated by a conservative, but neither candidacy bears the marks of a political effort. Meanwhile, widely loved evangelism professor Roy Fish of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary will be nominated for second vice president.</p>
<p>“There appears to be less emphasis upon enlisting nominees to be nominated for the various SBC offices-and rightly so,” Chapman observed in an email interview with ABP. “For 25 years, interest in who would be nominated to these offices was intense because the convention was in transition and the election of these officers was critical to assuring that the convention would return to the biblical roots of our forefathers. There is a lessening of that intensity, and that fact alone likely will give rise to a number of highly qualified and strongly conservative nominees being nominated for the same office in the near future.”</p>
<p>Welch said many conservatives agree with Chapman's and Draper's desire to bring new blood into the conservative leadership. “I would like to think we're all after the same thing,” he said. “It's just hard to know how to get at it.”</p>
<p>Although Welch said he is reluctant to assume he'll be re-elected, he is already mulling plans for a second term, While he has been the busiest president in memory-essentially taking a leave from his Florida pastorate to work full-time for the SBC-he has a plan he says will make future presidents even more effective. Make the presidency an automatic two-year post, he advises, so future presidents can plan longer and think more strategically.</p>
<p>Welch is asking the Executive Committee to study the change. Committee president Chapman told ABP he has not had much time to weigh Welch's suggestion, but he added: “I did promise to try to determine if the idea would have any traction with the Executive Committee between now and [the committee's meeting in] September. On the surface, I can see certain advantages for the president, but also certain disadvantages for the convention. It's an idea that may ultimately fall under the category, ‘If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' I personally appreciate Dr. Welch's desire to improve the use of the tenure given a president and his belief that a two-year term could possibly enhance the president's leadership.”</p>
<p>Welch's role as “a full-time president” is “a rarity that may never occur again in the convention,” Chapman said. “We owe him and his church family our profound thanks.”</p>
<p>Welch's actions as president reflect the urgency he feels about the SBC's future-which is tied to recovering its urgency for evangelism. The stakes are high for the nation's largest Protestant denomination, which in his view lives or dies by its evangelistic zeal. He said his year of meeting Baptists nationwide has convinced him of this: “We've got good people doing good things. But we haven't got enough people doing the main thing.”</p>
<p>To drive his point home, Welch drove-or rode at least-through all 50 states, mostly by bus, meeting rank-and-file Baptists and touting the need to recover the evangelistic edge. He logged more than 20,000 miles and spoke more than 200 times in his 365-day term. “The SBC is all about the people, an eclectic people that love the Lord,” he told ABP. “Everyone is important and everyone's contribution is critical.”</p>
<p>Welch even moved to Nashville for three months this spring to lay the groundwork and stir enthusiasm for the Crossover effort-an estimated 12,000 volunteers pitching in for what convention leaders predict will be the largest door-to-door witnessing event ever.</p>
<p>For the first time in five years, Southern Baptists saw a slight upturn in their baptism count last year-from 377,357 in 2003 to 387,947 in 2004. That's not enough to signal a turnaround, but Welch and Draper say it could be a good harbinger.</p>
<p>Winning a million conversions isn't a good enough goal, Welch says. Baptism is a better measurement of evangelism because it requires churches and converts to follow through on those decisions.</p>
<p>Always serious about modeling desired behaviors, Welch has given the ordinance of baptism a high place in the upcoming SBC meeting. A new convert will be baptized during each session of the convention-actually baptized by a local church, with the convention-goers as observers, since only a church can baptize, in strict Baptist doctrine.</p>
<p>Why is it important to demonstrate baptism? “You have to realize, 10,000 [of the SBC's 43,000] churches haven't seen a baptism in a year,” Welch said.</p>
<p>He is encouraged by the response he's received to his call to recommitment, although most of the indicators are preliminary or anecdotal-churches and state conventions raising their evangelism goals, pastors urging him on, more speaking invitations than he can accept, even working full time.</p>
<p>“No doubt about it, we've got a heightening of awareness for evangelism, of what we haven't done, what we should be doing. … But the key, as you know, is getting that interest to the local level and putting some feet to it.”</p>
<p>One early measurable indicator will be participation in Crossover and the SBC meeting, he said. But the real work still lies in the months that follow, he said.</p>
<p>Welch's only regrets during year No. 1 were a cancelled trip to Iraq and turning down so many speaking invitations. “Everything else was beyond expectation.”</p>
<p>He has steeled himself for the almost-certain second term, trying to decide how to follow up his 50-state barnstorming tour and ambitious million-baptism challenge. He wants to travel to the mission field, which he hasn't had time to do, and there's probably another bus tour in the offing-though he doesn't know where it will go.</p>
<p>“I'm not looking for an encore,” he adds. But neither is he willing to let any grass grow under his feet.</p>
<p>Associated Baptist Press</p>
<p>Greg Warner is executive editor of ABP.</p>
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greg warner sixteen months southern baptists know able reverse evangelistic declineor deeper problem require drastic remedysaid bobby welch concluded year southern baptist convention president focused almost fulltime sbcs flagging evangelism welchs urging sbc soon launch 12month allout effort called everyone evangelize baptize 1 million new christians address critical need welch sees among nations 16 million southern baptistsa fiveyear slump baptisms belies denominations legendary evangelistic image welchs ambition see sbc baptize 1 million people october 2005 september 2006a statistical year sbc total would almost three times annual average year promoting need months preparation welch said southern baptists must prove believe say urgency salvation year passed clear handwriting wall welch told associated baptist press june 14 telephone interview nashville site june 2122 convention southern baptists cant turn around baptism decline year extraordinary effort said going face reality convention get end year something significant hasnt happened baptisms well look face say something wrong show improvement demonstrate convention goes people message thats near dear hearts expect people respond either way said tale told welch convention leaders set tone twoday conventionand year aheadwith successful weekend doortodoor witnessing nashville annual preconvention project called crossover urgency evangelism expected centerpiece annual meeting returnedfor first time since 1914to nashville home base sbc several agencies annual sbc meeting unexpected issues may steal spotlight welch might hope would singleminded convention messengers want sbc denounce public schools one proposed resolution would decry secularization public schools urge southern baptists start christian schools homeschool children another resolution goes urging churches investigate local school districts determine promote homosexuality calling wholesale withdrawal schools similar resolution failed last year sbc resolutions committee decide statement propose adoption welch said doesnt agree proposal withdraw public schools ultimately sbc must trust parents make decisions said since biblical responsibility besides says schools north americas greatest mission field dont need withdrawing mission field culture war issues could come meeting perhaps live video message president george w bush scheduled tuesday sbc may vote end eightyear boycott disney co prompted alleged progay policies immoral entertainment content antidisney activist donald wildmon american family association said recently disney one less egregious perpetrators homosexual agenda sbc ethics leader richard land said sbc largest boycott supporter may vote declare victory matter move least contentious event twoday meeting could scheduled tribute billy graham ending long storied career evangelism special recognition grahamwhich accepted grandsonmakes perfect sense welch said since north carolina native southern baptist bestknown christian leader world devoted life southern baptists say love mostevangelism welch expected reelected customary second term sbc president without opposition moderates quit fielding candidates early 1990s conservatives continued rally around consensus candidate rather risk splitting vote convention leadersincluding sbc chief executive morris chapman lifeway president jimmy draperworry closetothevest pattern sbc politics longer necessary discouraging younger lesserknown baptists ready lead 2004 sbc chapman said conservatives made good pledge bring broader range southern baptists leadership positions let convention driven politics told messengers hint chapmans warning heard welchs reelection assured convention powerbrokers apparently stepped aside year let nominees offices surface two nominees emerged first vice presidentdan spencer pastor first baptist church thomasville ga mike boyd pastor wallace memorial baptist church knoxville tenn conservative nominated conservative neither candidacy bears marks political effort meanwhile widely loved evangelism professor roy fish southwestern baptist theological seminary nominated second vice president appears less emphasis upon enlisting nominees nominated various sbc officesand rightly chapman observed email interview abp 25 years interest would nominated offices intense convention transition election officers critical assuring convention would return biblical roots forefathers lessening intensity fact alone likely give rise number highly qualified strongly conservative nominees nominated office near future welch said many conservatives agree chapmans drapers desire bring new blood conservative leadership would like think thing said hard know get although welch said reluctant assume hell reelected already mulling plans second term busiest president memoryessentially taking leave florida pastorate work fulltime sbche plan says make future presidents even effective make presidency automatic twoyear post advises future presidents plan longer think strategically welch asking executive committee study change committee president chapman told abp much time weigh welchs suggestion added promise try determine idea would traction executive committee committees meeting september surface see certain advantages president also certain disadvantages convention idea may ultimately fall category aint broke dont fix personally appreciate dr welchs desire improve use tenure given president belief twoyear term could possibly enhance presidents leadership welchs role fulltime president rarity may never occur convention chapman said owe church family profound thanks welchs actions president reflect urgency feels sbcs futurewhich tied recovering urgency evangelism stakes high nations largest protestant denomination view lives dies evangelistic zeal said year meeting baptists nationwide convinced weve got good people good things havent got enough people main thing drive point home welch droveor rode leastthrough 50 states mostly bus meeting rankandfile baptists touting need recover evangelistic edge logged 20000 miles spoke 200 times 365day term sbc people eclectic people love lord told abp everyone important everyones contribution critical welch even moved nashville three months spring lay groundwork stir enthusiasm crossover effortan estimated 12000 volunteers pitching convention leaders predict largest doortodoor witnessing event ever first time five years southern baptists saw slight upturn baptism count last yearfrom 377357 2003 387947 2004 thats enough signal turnaround welch draper say could good harbinger winning million conversions isnt good enough goal welch says baptism better measurement evangelism requires churches converts follow decisions always serious modeling desired behaviors welch given ordinance baptism high place upcoming sbc meeting new convert baptized session conventionactually baptized local church conventiongoers observers since church baptize strict baptist doctrine important demonstrate baptism realize 10000 sbcs 43000 churches havent seen baptism year welch said encouraged response hes received call recommitment although indicators preliminary anecdotalchurches state conventions raising evangelism goals pastors urging speaking invitations accept even working full time doubt weve got heightening awareness evangelism havent done key know getting interest local level putting feet one early measurable indicator participation crossover sbc meeting said real work still lies months follow said welchs regrets year 1 cancelled trip iraq turning many speaking invitations everything else beyond expectation steeled almostcertain second term trying decide follow 50state barnstorming tour ambitious millionbaptism challenge wants travel mission field hasnt time theres probably another bus tour offingthough doesnt know go im looking encore adds neither willing let grass grow feet associated baptist press greg warner executive editor abp
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<p>Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa is one of Africa's towering heroes for her principled and courageous battles to uphold the rule of law.</p>
<p>Mtetwa was awarded the <a href="http://www.case.edu/events/inamori/" type="external">2011 Inamori Ethics Prize</a> at Case Western Reserve University for her zealous defense of human rights and press freedom.</p>
<p>"I am optimistic that democracy and the rule of law will be restored in Zimbabwe," said Mtetwa in Cleveland, Ohio, for the prize-giving ceremony. "I abhor injustice and I fight it wherever I see it. I am driven to defend people who are struggling for their basic human rights. ... I am optimistic that the rule of law will be restored in Zimbabwe in my lifetime."&#160;</p>
<p>Mtetwa said she shared the honor of the Inamori Ethics Prize with "all the people out there who challenge the system knowing there are consequences and yet still do it."</p>
<p>"I come in after they have already exercised their rights," Mtetwa said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. " <a href="http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/09/zimbabwean_lawyer_beatrice_mte.html" type="external">They are the brave ones</a> for doing it. Without them I would have nobody to defend. I feel it is my duty to join them in the battle for basic democratic rights."</p>
<p>Mtetwa has earlier won awards from the Committee to Protect Journalists which presented her with the Burton Benjamin award for lifetime achievement in 2008 for her defense of journalists who had been arrested by Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe's regime. In 2009 Mtetwa won the Ludovic-Trarieux International Human Rights Prize in France for her defense of human rights in Zimbabwe.</p>
<p>But Mtetwa's most notable awards are not the trophies and medallions that are given to her. I'm sure her most treasured awards are the freedom of the many journalists, politicians, human rights workers and ordinary Zimbabweans whom she has ably defended in court.</p>
<p>I am one of Mtetwa's devoted fans because she got me out of a Zimbabwean jail in May 2002 and she brilliantly won my acquittal when I was charged with "publishing a falsehood." If I had been found guilty I faced a sentence of two years in prison.</p>
<p>Mtetwa also successfully represented me in court when the Mugabe regime tried to deport me. After hearing Mtetwa's argument, the High Court ruled that I had the right to stay and work in Zimbabwe.</p>
<p>And in May, 2003, when Zimbabwe government agents illegally abducted me, held me captive and forced me on a plane out of the country, Mtetwa got a court order declaring those actions unlawful.</p>
<p>I am a beneficiary of Beatrice Mtetwa's dogged determination to make Zimbabwe's justice system uphold the rule of law. And I am in awe of her principled dedication to the law.&#160;</p>
<p>Mtetwa has also represented a number of foreign journalists including New York Times reporter Barry Bearak, after he was arrested and charged under an obsolete law requiring press accreditation.</p>
<p>She has defended a number of Zimbabwean journalists and human rights workers.</p>
<p>Consider the story of Jestina Mukoko, a Zimbabwean human rights worker. Mukoko was abducted from her home before dawn in December 2008. Armed men took&#160;Mukoko away from her home, still in her nightgown and barefeet. Police said they had not arrested Mukoko and many feared that she would never be seen alive.</p>
<p>Mtetwa refused to give up in her search for Mukoko. She used a court order to force the state media to publicize Mukoko's case. The public responded by sending in reports that Mukoko had been seen at an army base. Mtetwa's persistence brought such attention to the case that Zimbabwean authorities were forced to release Jestina Mukoko. She had been so badly tortured that she needed immediate medical care.</p>
<p>Mukoko said she believes that her life was saved by Beatrice Mtetwa's efforts.</p>
<p>Mtetwa's career is dangerous. She has received death threats and has been beaten twice by Zimbabwean police.</p>
<p>The mother of two said she learned to challenge authority as the eldest daughter in a large polygamous family in rural Swaziland. Mtetwa said she began challenging her father's authoritarian rules at an early age.&#160;Her defiance sometimes caused her to be beaten.</p>
<p>She said that she was determined to get a university education so that she could have an independent life and she encouraged her sisters to get university educations, too.&#160;</p>
<p>In the past few years, Mtetwa said despite being disliked, she's earned a measure of respect from many in the Zimbabwean police force.</p>
<p>I can attest to that. When I was held by Zimbabwean police, my interogating officers often displayed an arrogant attitude and threatened me. But when Mtetwa came into the station, the officers snapped to attention and treated both of us with respect.&#160;</p>
<p>Mtetwa's shining reputation as a human rights lawyer has not come without cost. Many big corporate clients in Zimbabwe have stopped being represented by Mtetwa because they are fearful that the Mugabe regime will rule against them.</p>
<p>Mtetwa has inspired a generation of Zimbabwean lawyers, both by her courtroom work and by leading the Zimbabwe Law Society. However, many other lawyers and activists have fled Zimbabwe.&#160;</p>
<p>"Those fighting are fewer and fewer and some of the few left are fearful because they don't know what will happen to them," said Mtetwa.</p>
<p>Mtetwa said that she is determined to be optimistic.</p>
<p>She knows what Zimbabwe needs: an impartial judiciary, a professional and apolitical police force and army, a proper human rights commission and electoral body, and an independent attorney general.</p>
<p>"If we can get one or two of those things accomplished the rest will start to fall into line," she said.</p>
<p>When she received the Inamori ethics award, Mtetwa spoke to the hundreds of students who gathered at Severance Hall, the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.</p>
<p>"It is not what you make that counts," she said. "It is what difference you make that counts. It the the difference you can make with your life to make other people's lives better that is important."&#160;</p>
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zimbabwean human rights lawyer beatrice mtetwa one africas towering heroes principled courageous battles uphold rule law mtetwa awarded 2011 inamori ethics prize case western reserve university zealous defense human rights press freedom optimistic democracy rule law restored zimbabwe said mtetwa cleveland ohio prizegiving ceremony abhor injustice fight wherever see driven defend people struggling basic human rights optimistic rule law restored zimbabwe lifetime160 mtetwa said shared honor inamori ethics prize people challenge system knowing consequences yet still come already exercised rights mtetwa said cleveland plain dealer brave ones without would nobody defend feel duty join battle basic democratic rights mtetwa earlier awards committee protect journalists presented burton benjamin award lifetime achievement 2008 defense journalists arrested zimbabwean president robert mugabes regime 2009 mtetwa ludovictrarieux international human rights prize france defense human rights zimbabwe mtetwas notable awards trophies medallions given im sure treasured awards freedom many journalists politicians human rights workers ordinary zimbabweans ably defended court one mtetwas devoted fans got zimbabwean jail may 2002 brilliantly acquittal charged publishing falsehood found guilty faced sentence two years prison mtetwa also successfully represented court mugabe regime tried deport hearing mtetwas argument high court ruled right stay work zimbabwe may 2003 zimbabwe government agents illegally abducted held captive forced plane country mtetwa got court order declaring actions unlawful beneficiary beatrice mtetwas dogged determination make zimbabwes justice system uphold rule law awe principled dedication law160 mtetwa also represented number foreign journalists including new york times reporter barry bearak arrested charged obsolete law requiring press accreditation defended number zimbabwean journalists human rights workers consider story jestina mukoko zimbabwean human rights worker mukoko abducted home dawn december 2008 armed men took160mukoko away home still nightgown barefeet police said arrested mukoko many feared would never seen alive mtetwa refused give search mukoko used court order force state media publicize mukokos case public responded sending reports mukoko seen army base mtetwas persistence brought attention case zimbabwean authorities forced release jestina mukoko badly tortured needed immediate medical care mukoko said believes life saved beatrice mtetwas efforts mtetwas career dangerous received death threats beaten twice zimbabwean police mother two said learned challenge authority eldest daughter large polygamous family rural swaziland mtetwa said began challenging fathers authoritarian rules early age160her defiance sometimes caused beaten said determined get university education could independent life encouraged sisters get university educations too160 past years mtetwa said despite disliked shes earned measure respect many zimbabwean police force attest held zimbabwean police interogating officers often displayed arrogant attitude threatened mtetwa came station officers snapped attention treated us respect160 mtetwas shining reputation human rights lawyer come without cost many big corporate clients zimbabwe stopped represented mtetwa fearful mugabe regime rule mtetwa inspired generation zimbabwean lawyers courtroom work leading zimbabwe law society however many lawyers activists fled zimbabwe160 fighting fewer fewer left fearful dont know happen said mtetwa mtetwa said determined optimistic knows zimbabwe needs impartial judiciary professional apolitical police force army proper human rights commission electoral body independent attorney general get one two things accomplished rest start fall line said received inamori ethics award mtetwa spoke hundreds students gathered severance hall home cleveland orchestra make counts said difference make counts difference make life make peoples lives better important160
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<p>CAPE COD, Massachusetts - Seagulls cawing, song birds chirping, salt breezes blowing - I am about to go mad. The sun sparkling on the water gives me a headache, and I have developed swimmer's ear from my daily dunks in the Atlantic.</p>
<p>In the month since I left Kabul, I am starting to remember why I have lived outside the United States for the past 20 years.</p>
<p>Getting my television hooked up was a major trial, since I had no idea what an HD-DVR was. I have had to mortgage my house to buy health insurance, and the domestic political debate inspires alternate fits of hysteria and depair.</p>
<p>Now my eagerly awaited exit from Afghanistan is beginning to look like the expulsion from Paradise, albeit from an Eden with a serpent behind every bush.</p>
<p>Since my departure at the end of June, all hell has broken loose. There was <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/110628/nighttime-attack-paralyzes-kabul" type="external">a coordinated attack</a> on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, the most powerful man in the south was assassinated, and a man I met at a dinner party a few months ago <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/110717/mayhem-kabul" type="external">was gunned down</a> in a private residence, along with a close aide to the president.</p>
<p>(GlobalPost in Kabul: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/dispatches-afghanistan/kabul-hotel-travel-spa-bombing" type="external">In search of a good time in Afghanistan's capital</a>)</p>
<p>As any jaded journalist will tell you, the worst feeling of all is being left out of the story. Under the azure skies of beautiful Cape Cod, I might as well be on the moon. While tragedy and mayhem swirl around my friends and colleagues in Kabul, I bite my nails, go for long walks on the beach and comb the internet for news.</p>
<p>The only time I have felt comfortable in the past few weeks was during Fourth of July celebrations, when the rockets and firecrackers finally made me feel at home.</p>
<p>I guess it's a case of "be careful what you wish for." I had burned out badly on Afghanistan, and could not wait to board my plane for the flight home. Over the past seven years I had gone from euphoria to despair, following the trajectory of most of my Afghan friends.</p>
<p>In 2004, when I first arrived, the future seemed unfailingly bright. Afghanistan had just held its first direct presidential elections, and the country seemed tremendously proud of its accomplishment. Aside from a few hiccups - "indelible" ink that easily washed off with water or spit, ballot boxes transported by donkey that never quite made it to the polling stations - things went pretty well.</p>
<p>Hamid Karzai won handily, gaining three times the number of votes of his closest rival. Afghanistan, we were told, was well and truly on its way to stability, prosperity, and democracy.</p>
<p>I used to walk all over Kabul, shopping, daydreaming, sightseeing. I took yellow city cabs, alone, and hesitated for only a few minutes before donning a burqa and driving from Kandahar, in the south, to Kabul, in the winter of 2005.</p>
<p>None of those activities would be possible today. Foreign women walking alone in Kabul frequently have stones thrown at them, and too many of my friends have been kidnapped for me to dismiss the danger of road travel in the south.</p>
<p>I stopped taking Afghan yellow cabs after I was groped by a driver, and my daily workouts at the Serena Hotel gym were all too often interrupted by rockets attacks or gun battles.</p>
<p>In some ways, however, Kabul has improved. An energetic mayor has repaired many of the roads, there are numerous restaurants and bars, and one can easily find an ATM to get cash. There are well-stocked supermarkets, and several "safe taxi" firms now exist to ferry foreigners around.</p>
<p>Food delivery was a welcome addition; on any given night, I could call Easy Food or Meals 2 Go and order pizza, Chinese food, a Lebanese feast or a mountain of Pad Thai. Even alcohol, which is officially banned, could be had for a price: an enterprising pair of brothers started a company improbably known as "Alkidrop," and deliver bottles of really bad wine for really high prices.</p>
<p>But ultimately I found that fast food and ready cash could not take away the constant stress of being in a country where I could no longer understand what we were doing or why we were there.</p>
<p>My Afghan friends are growing more and more cynical. "Democracy is a joke" has become a common refrain, and the hostility that many of them feel toward the foreign troops in the country can no longer be masked.</p>
<p>(GlobalPost in Kabul: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/110630/parliament-hamid-karzai-democracy" type="external">The myth of Afghan democracy</a>)</p>
<p>When the president's half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, was gunned down in his Kandahar home last week, one of my erstwhile colleagues advanced the theory that it must have been done by the U.S. forces. Nothing, it seems, is too shocking too be blamed on the Americans.</p>
<p>Another friend tried to convince me, with some success, that the country would be much better off if all of the foreigners just left, and the Afghans were forced to fight it out on their own.</p>
<p>These are young, highly-educated, well-traveled city boys, most of them working in international ventures of one sort or another. I cannot begin to imagine the stories being spun in the remote, insurgency-ridden provinces, where illiteracy can reach 90 percent and where many locals see the foreigners as no better than the Taliban.</p>
<p>I have covered civilian casualties that made my blood boil, and have run out of patience with apologies and cover-ups. I know that the insurgents kill many more civilians than the international forces, but somehow I find that of little comfort when reporting on pregnant women shot in botched night raids, or small children gunned down as they gather firewood. I thought we were supposed to be the good guys?</p>
<p>My hope for the future was gone, and my tolerance for the present was rapidly wearing thin. So, yes, it was time for me to go.</p>
<p>But the pull is still there. My first day back in the United States coincided with the Taliban attack on the Intercontinental Hotel, which is just a few blocks away from what used to be my house.</p>
<p>I immediately called a friend in Kabul, with whom I had shared an office. At 1 a.m., he and some friends were camped out in the remnants of my living room, monitoring the action by phone, Twitter, and personal observation.</p>
<p>(More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/kabul-bombing-attack-taliban" type="external">It's been a bad year so far for Afghanistan</a>)</p>
<p>I desperately wanted to be there, in the front row of the action.</p>
<p>Some of my friends shake their heads in dismay. "You have to learn to let go," said one. Another old Afghanistan hand, who has just recently left, sent me what I'm sure was intended to be a reassuring message on message on Facebook: "I don't miss it one little bit," he said.</p>
<p>But others understand. A good friend with whom I shared adventures and brandy in Helmand province reacted soothingly to my angst. He himself has been a bit of an Afghanistan boomerang - as soon as he leaves he seems to land a job that necessitates his immediate return.</p>
<p>"You'll be back," he wrote me.</p>
<p>I suspect he is right.</p>
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cape cod massachusetts seagulls cawing song birds chirping salt breezes blowing go mad sun sparkling water gives headache developed swimmers ear daily dunks atlantic month since left kabul starting remember lived outside united states past 20 years getting television hooked major trial since idea hddvr mortgage house buy health insurance domestic political debate inspires alternate fits hysteria depair eagerly awaited exit afghanistan beginning look like expulsion paradise albeit eden serpent behind every bush since departure end june hell broken loose coordinated attack intercontinental hotel kabul powerful man south assassinated man met dinner party months ago gunned private residence along close aide president globalpost kabul search good time afghanistans capital jaded journalist tell worst feeling left story azure skies beautiful cape cod might well moon tragedy mayhem swirl around friends colleagues kabul bite nails go long walks beach comb internet news time felt comfortable past weeks fourth july celebrations rockets firecrackers finally made feel home guess case careful wish burned badly afghanistan could wait board plane flight home past seven years gone euphoria despair following trajectory afghan friends 2004 first arrived future seemed unfailingly bright afghanistan held first direct presidential elections country seemed tremendously proud accomplishment aside hiccups indelible ink easily washed water spit ballot boxes transported donkey never quite made polling stations things went pretty well hamid karzai handily gaining three times number votes closest rival afghanistan told well truly way stability prosperity democracy used walk kabul shopping daydreaming sightseeing took yellow city cabs alone hesitated minutes donning burqa driving kandahar south kabul winter 2005 none activities would possible today foreign women walking alone kabul frequently stones thrown many friends kidnapped dismiss danger road travel south stopped taking afghan yellow cabs groped driver daily workouts serena hotel gym often interrupted rockets attacks gun battles ways however kabul improved energetic mayor repaired many roads numerous restaurants bars one easily find atm get cash wellstocked supermarkets several safe taxi firms exist ferry foreigners around food delivery welcome addition given night could call easy food meals 2 go order pizza chinese food lebanese feast mountain pad thai even alcohol officially banned could price enterprising pair brothers started company improbably known alkidrop deliver bottles really bad wine really high prices ultimately found fast food ready cash could take away constant stress country could longer understand afghan friends growing cynical democracy joke become common refrain hostility many feel toward foreign troops country longer masked globalpost kabul myth afghan democracy presidents halfbrother ahmed wali karzai gunned kandahar home last week one erstwhile colleagues advanced theory must done us forces nothing seems shocking blamed americans another friend tried convince success country would much better foreigners left afghans forced fight young highlyeducated welltraveled city boys working international ventures one sort another begin imagine stories spun remote insurgencyridden provinces illiteracy reach 90 percent many locals see foreigners better taliban covered civilian casualties made blood boil run patience apologies coverups know insurgents kill many civilians international forces somehow find little comfort reporting pregnant women shot botched night raids small children gunned gather firewood thought supposed good guys hope future gone tolerance present rapidly wearing thin yes time go pull still first day back united states coincided taliban attack intercontinental hotel blocks away used house immediately called friend kabul shared office 1 friends camped remnants living room monitoring action phone twitter personal observation globalpost bad year far afghanistan desperately wanted front row action friends shake heads dismay learn let go said one another old afghanistan hand recently left sent im sure intended reassuring message message facebook dont miss one little bit said others understand good friend shared adventures brandy helmand province reacted soothingly angst bit afghanistan boomerang soon leaves seems land job necessitates immediate return youll back wrote suspect right
| 619 |
<p>There is a difference between ‘church work’ and ‘the work of the church’. For many churchless believers, they are weary of the ‘busyness of churchwork’ and hungry to engage the mystery of the ‘work of the church’. The ‘work of the church’ is found in the mission activities of serving the poor, being advocates for the homeless, abused, disillusioned and seekers of God. There is certainly value in this activity. Some churchless believers have moved from the activities due to a hunger for the mystery of ‘how God works in and through believers engaged in the mission activities’. Others declare, “I’m not burned out, just tired of getting burned in church.”</p>
<p>How does God do work that only God can do? The absence of such conversation, amidst the activity, pushes some away to search for meaning and mystery. One told me, “My church keeps us so busy doing activities, we have no chance to unpack the mission experience so that it nurtures my soul.” It is a hunger for acknowledging and valuing the mystery that creates the yearning heart of the Churchless Believer. Some explain, “‘The abundance of activities of the church’ leaves us no time to know and reflect on the mystery of God AS church.” Churchless believers are searching to understand, engage and rest in the mysteries of the faith rather than the mission of the church. What is this saying to us as church? Where is this likely to take us? How might the institutional church value, explore and learn from this part of the Churchless believer’s journey?</p>
<p>News reports continue to present snapshots of a <a href="" type="internal">deterioration of religious institutions</a> – whether local churches or state or national denominational agencies.&#160;Increasingly I’m feeling that maybe God is up to something new amidst the shakiness of existing structures that worked well in earlier decades and cultures but are quickly losing their impact in today’s 21st-century culture. What if the churchless believers, done’s and none’s are hints of and nudges toward something new?</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-peter-m-wallace/engaging-the-spiritually-_b_8177250.html" type="external">Huffington Post article</a> recently captured my attention and spoke to the new emerging.</p>
<p>“Recently I heard a presentation by Episcopal Bishop Andy Doyle of the Diocese of Texas who spoke of the difference between the attractional church and the sending church. The former engages the world around it to draw people through its doors to become an active part of their congregation–nothing wrong with that, but in this culture it’s an increasingly difficult task. The sending church is all about mission–sending out people who sense a particular call to serve and witness in their communities, simply for the purpose of fulfilling the missional call of God.</p>
<p>Bishop Doyle said we must work with the culture we have, not wait for it to change. We must find the gospel symbols in this new culture to retell our story in fresh ways. And by the way, this is a phenomenon that has repeatedly occurred throughout history.</p>
<p>To do this, we need to redefine where Christian community happens, and it’s not necessarily inside a building on a Sunday morning. Bishop Doyle said, “Church has always been crazy people doing crazy things.” So we need to open our minds and hearts to new ways, even seemingly crazy ways, to engage a spiritually disengaged culture with a goal of loving them and sharing with them the richness of the spiritual life, in whatever ways it might be expressed.”&#160;&#160; <a href="#_edn1" type="external">[i]</a></p>
<p>I think there may be some wisdom and guidance in the Bishop’s words. My sense is Churchless Believers are not motivated as much by engaging in institutionally based mission activities but in exploring the mystery anchored in the mission and movement of God. I might suggest the following as a basic roadmap of exploring ‘new skills and intentional strategies’ as paths to reengaging churchless believers and exploring the mystery of the faith.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Encouragement and Space to Pay Attention to the moves of God and the functioning AS church. Silence more than soliloquies, reflection more than ritual and participation more than spectator worship.</p>
<p>Opportunities and Resources for Reflection that helps believers to connect the dots of life, work, faith, community engagement, health and issues of justice, mercy and grace. Create guides and opportunities for casual and structured reflection on daily life experiences. Where do they intersect with faith? What are the lessons to be learned and embraced? What scriptural narratives inform and illuminate the experiences?</p>
<p>Intentional and Prayerful Process for Connecting the dots of life and faith, with people of various beliefs, cultures, traditions, and lifestyles. Connection takes intentionality in a busy world. It takes an intentional commitment to creating space in time, energy and focus to explore ‘What is that God is doing now? How is God moving in our midst? Where is God moving us next?’ Could it be that our typical ‘mission trips/activities’ might be replaced for a while by ‘mystery engagement experiences’ for intergenerational groups seeking God through connections, prayer, and reflections? My experience with this is rooted in the work of the Church of the Savior’s Inward/Outward Journey and the School of Christian Ministry experience found in my Gathered and Scattered Church book. <a href="#_edn2" type="external">[ii]</a></p>
<p>Opportunities to Explore Beyond the Known or Assumed. Dialogue might be in various arenas of work, social, family, faith and community life. Looking at what is but also willing to ask the hard questions, often ignored, of ‘What is not? What is being missed/overlooked/ignored here?’</p>
<p>Shift of perspective from ‘churchwork’ to ‘work of the Spirit’. So much energy, time, and the resource is focused on church work that frequently the work of Spirit is missed. Other times intentionally avoiding preserving what is, rather than moving into where the Spirit is leading. How critical is maintaining the institution we know for discovering and birthing the next form church will take to speak to this generation? Our immediate answer is maintaining what is critical and important because we value what the institution gives to us. But church history reveals practices, structures, forms, leadership styles and focus of mission has shifted several times throughout church history. Could it be its shifting again? We just lost Phyllis Tickle’s voice in this dialogue. She worked through her speaking and writing to help us open to the next transition in history. Maybe it is in exploring the mystery that we uncover the move and mission of God for today. Maybe the churchless believers are nudging us in this direction. What do you think?</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p><a href="#_ednref" type="external">[i]</a> Wallace, Peter. “Engaging the Spiritually Disconnected: Inviting the Culture to Move to the Deeper End of Life’s Pool,” Huffington Post, Sept 23, 2015. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-peter-m-wallace/engaging-the-spiritually-_b_8177250.html" type="external">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-peter-m-wallace/engaging-the-spiritually-_b_8177250.html</a></p>
<p><a href="#_ednref" type="external">[ii]</a> Book published by Smyth &amp; Helwys Publisher <a href="http://www.helwys.com" type="external">www.helwys.com</a>. Church of the Savior in Washington DC founded by Gordon and Mary Cosby</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
difference church work work church many churchless believers weary busyness churchwork hungry engage mystery work church work church found mission activities serving poor advocates homeless abused disillusioned seekers god certainly value activity churchless believers moved activities due hunger mystery god works believers engaged mission activities others declare im burned tired getting burned church god work god absence conversation amidst activity pushes away search meaning mystery one told church keeps us busy activities chance unpack mission experience nurtures soul hunger acknowledging valuing mystery creates yearning heart churchless believer explain abundance activities church leaves us time know reflect mystery god church churchless believers searching understand engage rest mysteries faith rather mission church saying us church likely take us might institutional church value explore learn part churchless believers journey news reports continue present snapshots deterioration religious institutions whether local churches state national denominational agencies160increasingly im feeling maybe god something new amidst shakiness existing structures worked well earlier decades cultures quickly losing impact todays 21stcentury culture churchless believers dones nones hints nudges toward something new huffington post article recently captured attention spoke new emerging recently heard presentation episcopal bishop andy doyle diocese texas spoke difference attractional church sending church former engages world around draw people doors become active part congregationnothing wrong culture increasingly difficult task sending church missionsending people sense particular call serve witness communities simply purpose fulfilling missional call god bishop doyle said must work culture wait change must find gospel symbols new culture retell story fresh ways way phenomenon repeatedly occurred throughout history need redefine christian community happens necessarily inside building sunday morning bishop doyle said church always crazy people crazy things need open minds hearts new ways even seemingly crazy ways engage spiritually disengaged culture goal loving sharing richness spiritual life whatever ways might expressed160160 think may wisdom guidance bishops words sense churchless believers motivated much engaging institutionally based mission activities exploring mystery anchored mission movement god might suggest following basic roadmap exploring new skills intentional strategies paths reengaging churchless believers exploring mystery faith 160 encouragement space pay attention moves god functioning church silence soliloquies reflection ritual participation spectator worship opportunities resources reflection helps believers connect dots life work faith community engagement health issues justice mercy grace create guides opportunities casual structured reflection daily life experiences intersect faith lessons learned embraced scriptural narratives inform illuminate experiences intentional prayerful process connecting dots life faith people various beliefs cultures traditions lifestyles connection takes intentionality busy world takes intentional commitment creating space time energy focus explore god god moving midst god moving us next could typical mission tripsactivities might replaced mystery engagement experiences intergenerational groups seeking god connections prayer reflections experience rooted work church saviors inwardoutward journey school christian ministry experience found gathered scattered church book ii opportunities explore beyond known assumed dialogue might various arenas work social family faith community life looking also willing ask hard questions often ignored missedoverlookedignored shift perspective churchwork work spirit much energy time resource focused church work frequently work spirit missed times intentionally avoiding preserving rather moving spirit leading critical maintaining institution know discovering birthing next form church take speak generation immediate answer maintaining critical important value institution gives us church history reveals practices structures forms leadership styles focus mission shifted several times throughout church history could shifting lost phyllis tickles voice dialogue worked speaking writing help us open next transition history maybe exploring mystery uncover move mission god today maybe churchless believers nudging us direction think 160 160 wallace peter engaging spiritually disconnected inviting culture move deeper end lifes pool huffington post sept 23 2015 httpwwwhuffingtonpostcomrevpetermwallaceengagingthespiritually_b_8177250html ii book published smyth amp helwys publisher wwwhelwyscom church savior washington dc founded gordon mary cosby 160 160
| 607 |
<p>'I Have a Dream' was delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. on Aug. 28, 1963, at the National Mall in Washington DC to a crowd of over 200,000 people who marched on Washington to demand civil liberties.&#160;</p>
<p>I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.</p>
<p>Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.</p>
<p>But 100 years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.</p>
<p>In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men -- yes, black men as well as white men -- would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check that has come back marked "insufficient funds."</p>
<p>But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and security of justice. We have also come to his hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.</p>
<p>It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. 1963 is not an end but a beginning. Those who hoped that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.</p>
<p>But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.</p>
<p>As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "for whites only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.</p>
<p>I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.</p>
<p>Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.</p>
<p>Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. I say to you today my friends -- so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.</p>
<p>I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."</p>
<p>I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.</p>
<p>I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.</p>
<p>I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.</p>
<p>I have a dream today.</p>
<p>I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.</p>
<p>I have a dream today.</p>
<p>I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.</p>
<p>This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.</p>
<p>This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"</p>
<p>And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.</p>
<p>But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.</p>
<p>Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.</p>
<p>Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi -- from every mountainside.</p>
<p>Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring -- when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children -- black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics -- will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"</p>
| false | 3 |
dream delivered martin luther king jr aug 28 1963 national mall washington dc crowd 200000 people marched washington demand civil liberties160 happy join today go history greatest demonstration freedom history nation five score years ago great american whose symbolic shadow stand today signed emancipation proclamation momentous decree came great beacon light hope millions negro slaves seared flames withering injustice came joyous daybreak end long night captivity 100 years later negro still free one hundred years later life negro still sadly crippled manacles segregation chains discrimination one hundred years later negro lives lonely island poverty midst vast ocean material prosperity one hundred years later negro still languished corners american society finds exile land weve come today dramatize shameful condition sense weve come nations capital cash check architects republic wrote magnificent words constitution declaration independence signing promissory note every american fall heir note promise men yes black men well white men would guaranteed unalienable rights life liberty pursuit happiness obvious today america defaulted promissory note insofar citizens color concerned instead honoring sacred obligation america given negro people bad check check come back marked insufficient funds refuse believe bank justice bankrupt refuse believe insufficient funds great vaults opportunity nation weve come cash check check give us upon demand riches freedom security justice also come hallowed spot remind america fierce urgency time engage luxury cooling take tranquilizing drug gradualism time make real promises democracy time rise dark desolate valley segregation sunlit path racial justice time lift nation quicksands racial injustice solid rock brotherhood time make justice reality gods children would fatal nation overlook urgency moment sweltering summer negros legitimate discontent pass invigorating autumn freedom equality 1963 end beginning hoped negro needed blow steam content rude awakening nation returns business usual neither rest tranquility america negro granted citizenship rights whirlwinds revolt continue shake foundations nation bright day justice emerges something must say people stand warm threshold leads palace justice process gaining rightful place must guilty wrongful deeds let us seek satisfy thirst freedom drinking cup bitterness hatred must forever conduct struggle high plane dignity discipline must allow creative protest degenerate physical violence must rise majestic heights meeting physical force soul force marvelous new militancy engulfed negro community must lead us distrust white people many white brothers evidenced presence today come realize destiny tied destiny come realize freedom inextricably bound freedom walk alone walk must make pledge shall always march ahead turn back asking devotees civil rights satisfied never satisfied long negro victim unspeakable horrors police brutality never satisfied long bodies heavy fatigue travel gain lodging motels highways hotels cities satisfied long negros basic mobility smaller ghetto larger one never satisfied long children stripped selfhood robbed dignity signs stating whites satisfied long negro mississippi vote negro new york believes nothing vote satisfied satisfied justice rolls like waters righteousness like mighty stream unmindful come great trials tribulations come fresh narrow jail cells come areas quest freedom left battered storms persecution staggered winds police brutality veterans creative suffering continue work faith unearned suffering redemptive go back mississippi go back alabama go back south carolina go back georgia go back louisiana go back slums ghettos northern cities knowing somehow situation changed let us wallow valley despair say today friends even though face difficulties today tomorrow still dream dream deeply rooted american dream dream one day nation rise live true meaning creed hold truths selfevident men created equal dream one day red hills georgia sons former slaves sons former slave owners able sit together table brotherhood dream one day even state mississippi state sweltering heat injustice sweltering heat oppression transformed oasis freedom justice dream four little children one day live nation judged color skin content character dream today dream one day alabama vicious racists governor lips dripping words interposition nullification one day right alabama little black boys black girls able join hands little white boys white girls sisters brothers dream today dream one day every valley shall exalted every hill mountain shall made low rough places made plain crooked places made straight glory lord shall revealed flesh shall see together hope faith go back south faith able hew mountain despair stone hope faith able transform jangling discords nation beautiful symphony brotherhood faith able work together pray together struggle together go jail together stand freedom together knowing free one day day day gods children able sing new meaning country tis thee sweet land liberty thee sing land fathers died land pilgrims pride every mountainside let freedom ring america great nation must become true let freedom ring prodigious hilltops new hampshire let freedom ring mighty mountains new york let freedom ring heightening alleghenies pennsylvania let freedom ring snowcapped rockies colorado let freedom ring curvaceous slopes california let freedom ring stone mountain georgia let freedom ring lookout mountain tennessee let freedom ring every hill molehill mississippi every mountainside let freedom ring happens allow freedom ring let ring every village every hamlet every state every city able speed day gods children black men white men jews gentiles protestants catholics able join hands sing words old negro spiritual free last free last thank god almighty free last
| 842 |
<p>On a frigid&#160;morning in Portland, Oregon, a tour through Dignity Village follows the same path its residents are required to travel.&#160;All were, or are, homeless.</p>
<p>Newcomers to this homeless refuge huddle in the warming station, a small portable building with photos of smiling former residents and where they are required to stay during a 60-day probationary period.</p>
<p>They hope to graduate to a small, makeshift home like Karen, a three-month resident whose boisterous laugh carries through the village.</p>
<p>Should it become a permanent home, they may find themselves in the position of Rick Proudfoot, a longtime resident who works in the site’s main office, keeping track of finances.</p>
<p>If they’re really lucky, they may end up like Lisa Larson, Dignity Village’s CEO.</p>
<p>A peppy 40-something, she’s lived at Dignity Village the last six years after falling into homelessness to escape an abusive husband. She initially thought she’d stay no more than a few months. Today, Larson, who has been in her position for a year, can’t imagine living anywhere else.</p>
<p>“There’s a real sense of pride here, a real sense of community that you don’t find elsewhere,” she says.</p>
<p>Called an “intentional community” by its members and a homeless encampment by outsiders, Dignity Village is a step toward curbing Portland’s skyrocketing homeless population.</p>
<p>Located in northeast Portland, Dignity Village is a self-governed, gated community that&#160;currently serves 60 people on any given night — the city limits the number — and provides shelter in the form of tiny houses built mainly from donated and recycled materials.</p>
<p />
<p>Dignity Village housing structures built mainly from recycled material by residents.</p>
<p>Paul Dunn</p>
<p>The village emerged in the winter of 2000 as a tent city called Camp Dignity. Stationed in downtown Portland, it served as an act of protest against Portland’s then-existing ban on homeless encampments.</p>
<p>But it moved. After more than a year of public controversy, the city sanctioned a permanent campsite on Sunderland Yard, city-owned land&#160;six miles west of Portland International Airport.</p>
<p>The village has resided on this site since 2004, when advocates and officials reached a compromise on a location after contentious negotiations, but there are no more tents.</p>
<p>Now officially a nonprofit, Dignity Village is governed by a democratically elected council of nine residents, who are responsible for day-to-day decisions; all residents can vote on big decisions, like whether to remove a resident or enter into contracts with service providers,&#160;in town-hall-style meetings. On a typical night, it provides food, housing, bathrooms&#160;and a mailing address for nearly 60 adults, <a href="http://dignityvillage.org/about-2/" type="external">who pay $35 a month in rent</a> and would otherwise be taking their chances alone, sleeping on park benches or city streets.</p>
<p>This is why community may be Dignity Village’s most essential offering.</p>
<p>“It’s really what sets [the community]&#160;apart from other homeless shelters and encampments, above all else,” says Katie Mays, who works as a social worker at Dignity Village three days a week.</p>
<p />
<p>Dignity Village CEO Lisa Larson with village newbies in the warming station.</p>
<p>Paul Dunn</p>
<p>The village’s five rules help cultivate that sense of community: no violence, no theft, no alcohol or drugs within a one-block radius, no constant disruptive behavior, and all residents must contribute at least 10 hours per week of work for village upkeep.</p>
<p>No children are allowed at the village because background checks are not a requirement to stay there. Larson says this allows the village to avoid any problems that could arise if any resident, also known as a “villager,” were a registered sex offender or had a violent criminal history.</p>
<p>Seattle, which <a href="http://murray.seattle.gov/homelessness/#sthash.ItKe4XoS.dpbs" type="external">in November declared a state of emergency</a> to tackle its own homeless crisis, recently moved to expand micro-housing communities for the <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/portlands-dignity-village-cleared-path-for-seattles-housing-for-homeless/" type="external">chronically homeless</a>;&#160;The Seattle Times cited Dignity Village as a huge influence on the city’s decision.</p>
<p>The city has its own problems with pervasive homelessness. The issue prompted Mayor Ed Murray to deliver a rare televised address on Tuesday. Moments before he went on air, two people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting at a homeless encampment in the city’s Sodo district.</p>
<p>Murray recently met with Portland Mayor Charlie Hales to discuss how their cities are grappling with homelessness. On&#160;Tuesday, he called on the city council to provide an additional $49 million to&#160;increase&#160;services for Seattle’s roughly 3,000 homeless, which would include&#160;additional campsites. The city already spent $50 million on homelessness last year, the most in its history.</p>
<p>Elsewhere, cities are trying out the model of Dignity Village. In Eugene, Oregon, Opportunity Village has lifted the concept wholesale. Like Dignity Village, it is mostly self-governed, its residents are required to adhere to the same five rules, and tiny homes dot its landscape.</p>
<p>“We didn’t feel it was necessary to reinvent the wheel,” says Andrew Heben, project director for Square One Villages, which partially funds the Eugene development.</p>
<p>Heben, whose book, "Tent City Urbanism," frequently cites Dignity Village as a model for sustainable housing for the homeless, says there are a few key differences between the two, pointing to one in particular:&#160;Dignity Village allows its residents to be members of their nonprofit entity, which can lead to logistical challenges.</p>
<p>“Since many residents eventually transition out of there, that means new people can completely undo rules that others have put in place,” says Heben.</p>
<p>In contrast, Opportunity Village is overseen by a separate board consisting of residents, clergy, and other community members.</p>
<p>Dignity Village’s influence also has spread to Nashville, where a micro-housing community&#160;called Sanctuary&#160;has cropped up. In a recent Al-Jazeera report, residents said Sanctuary provides them with “dignity, security&#160;and a place to plot their futures.”</p>
<p>What the residents of these communities hold in common are the bonds forged from shared experience — of finally finding a welcome environment after being discarded and stigmatized by larger society.</p>
<p>The homeless population in Portland has steadily increased since 2007, even while national rates have dropped by 11 percent during the same period. The Oregonian has characterized it as a problem <a href="http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2015/07/portland_oregons_homeless_prob.html" type="external">“spinning out of control.”</a></p>
<p>The city estimates that 4,000 men, women&#160;and children are without shelter <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/phb/60643" type="external">most nights</a> in Multnomah County. The image of people emerging from tents and napping on benches is often the first one to greet visitors outside the city’s train station.</p>
<p>Although city and county officials have recently pledged more than <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/11/portland_wants_new_homeless_sh.html" type="external">$30 million</a> to combat homelessness, the situation persists.</p>
<p>“We’re victims of our own success,” says Josh Alpert, Hales'&#160;chief of staff.</p>
<p>Alpert says Portland’s problems stem from three major issues: housing demand that exceeds supply; rising rent prices in response to an influx of new residents; and a lack of financial resources to dedicate to the homeless population.</p>
<p>The city has at least 17 dedicated shelters for the homeless. One of its newest, the eight-story Bud Clark Commons, was built by the city in <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/01/six_months_later_bud_clark_com.html" type="external">June 2011</a> and houses about 150 people. It cost taxpayers $47 million, a price tag that continues to anger some residents and business owners.</p>
<p>Portland’s city council recently approved $1 million for a <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2015/11/portland_wants_new_homeless_sh.html" type="external">new shelter</a>.</p>
<p>The dilemma has forced city officials to consider new approaches and revisit old ones that have proved successful.</p>
<p />
<p>Residents walk through the village on a cold day.</p>
<p>Paul Dunn</p>
<p>One has been its partnership with Dignity Village, which began three years after the village officially became a nonprofit in December 2001. Today, the collaboration is all the more attractive to a cash-strapped city: The village’s annual operations amount to just $27,750.</p>
<p>Besides granting public land, the city provides funding for a dedicated social worker, Mays, to help members with job searches, resume writing, and transportation to medical and counseling appointments. Mays also functions as a liaison to the city.</p>
<p>Dealings between Dignity Village and the city haven’t always been smooth, though.</p>
<p>“We’ve been in a constant state of anxiety with the city,” says Proudfoot.</p>
<p>The city has imposed rules, such as the two-year limit on how long a resident can stay, for example. And, Proudfoot says, there’s always the possibility that the city could reclaim the village's land.</p>
<p>Many Dignity Village members would prefer no interaction with the city, Proudfoot says, because they find its system too bureaucratic and hard to navigate, which they blame for leaving many of them to sleep on the pavement prior to become villagers.</p>
<p>But they view the city’s involvement as necessary to reach their goal of owning land where members can build permanent settlements, not just tents and make-do tiny homes.</p>
<p>Officials, meanwhile, view the village as transitional housing, wanting people to stay there only as long as it takes them to find permanent residences. The city instituted its two-year maximum stay as part of the partnership, (Larson estimates the average member’s stay is between 24 and 36 months)&#160;something the city has been unable to enforce.</p>
<p>“The problem is there’s no housing for people to go to, and the city doesn’t have another plan,” says Proudfoot.</p>
<p>Portland’s current affordable housing shortage is estimated at <a href="http://invw.org/2015/10/01/a-benchmark-of-housing-affordability-solutions-for-portland/" type="external">about 42,720 units</a>. When subsidized units do become available, people most often are required to compete in a lottery for them. The shortage also extends to rental units, prices for which have risen at the <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/front-porch/index.ssf/2015/03/portlands_rents_rose_at_nation.html" type="external">sixth-fastest rate</a> in the nation. When rentals do come on the market, they’re often snatched up by the highest bidder, a predicament that has sent much of the city’s working poor scurrying for places to live.</p>
<p>Alpert says the city is attempting some innovative ideas, including replicating the village, because it's one of the best (and cheapest) bets to curb homelessness, at least for now.</p>
<p>“Dignity Village sits well with what the city is attempting to do. We’ve had 15 years to study it,” says Alpert.</p>
<p>As other cities look to Dignity Village, Alpert has some advice: Be mindful of location.</p>
<p>“A lot of infrastructure goes with being homeless,” he points out.&#160;He notes a problem with creating another Dignity Village is trying to find land close to social services and public transportation for its population.</p>
<p>Proudfoot, for one, hopes that, in time, the village will become known for more than just its tiny homes.</p>
<p>“We built [the tiny homes] in hopes of being able to put them on a flatbed one day and move them to land of our own,” he says.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the village continues to save money — about $2,000 so far — to build larger and more permanent structures on&#160;a site not owned by the city. And members look forward to the day when a tour of Dignity Village will take place on land collectively owned by its residents. They’d have another word for it.</p>
<p>Home.</p>
<p>This&#160; <a href="http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/-in-a-tiny-house-village-portlands-homeless-find-dignity-20160128" 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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frigid160morning portland oregon tour dignity village follows path residents required travel160all homeless newcomers homeless refuge huddle warming station small portable building photos smiling former residents required stay 60day probationary period hope graduate small makeshift home like karen threemonth resident whose boisterous laugh carries village become permanent home may find position rick proudfoot longtime resident works sites main office keeping track finances theyre really lucky may end like lisa larson dignity villages ceo peppy 40something shes lived dignity village last six years falling homelessness escape abusive husband initially thought shed stay months today larson position year cant imagine living anywhere else theres real sense pride real sense community dont find elsewhere says called intentional community members homeless encampment outsiders dignity village step toward curbing portlands skyrocketing homeless population located northeast portland dignity village selfgoverned gated community that160currently serves 60 people given night city limits number provides shelter form tiny houses built mainly donated recycled materials dignity village housing structures built mainly recycled material residents paul dunn village emerged winter 2000 tent city called camp dignity stationed downtown portland served act protest portlands thenexisting ban homeless encampments moved year public controversy city sanctioned permanent campsite sunderland yard cityowned land160six miles west portland international airport village resided site since 2004 advocates officials reached compromise location contentious negotiations tents officially nonprofit dignity village governed democratically elected council nine residents responsible daytoday decisions residents vote big decisions like whether remove resident enter contracts service providers160in townhallstyle meetings typical night provides food housing bathrooms160and mailing address nearly 60 adults pay 35 month rent would otherwise taking chances alone sleeping park benches city streets community may dignity villages essential offering really sets community160apart homeless shelters encampments else says katie mays works social worker dignity village three days week dignity village ceo lisa larson village newbies warming station paul dunn villages five rules help cultivate sense community violence theft alcohol drugs within oneblock radius constant disruptive behavior residents must contribute least 10 hours per week work village upkeep children allowed village background checks requirement stay larson says allows village avoid problems could arise resident also known villager registered sex offender violent criminal history seattle november declared state emergency tackle homeless crisis recently moved expand microhousing communities chronically homeless160the seattle times cited dignity village huge influence citys decision city problems pervasive homelessness issue prompted mayor ed murray deliver rare televised address tuesday moments went air two people killed three others wounded shooting homeless encampment citys sodo district murray recently met portland mayor charlie hales discuss cities grappling homelessness on160tuesday called city council provide additional 49 million to160increase160services seattles roughly 3000 homeless would include160additional campsites city already spent 50 million homelessness last year history elsewhere cities trying model dignity village eugene oregon opportunity village lifted concept wholesale like dignity village mostly selfgoverned residents required adhere five rules tiny homes dot landscape didnt feel necessary reinvent wheel says andrew heben project director square one villages partially funds eugene development heben whose book tent city urbanism frequently cites dignity village model sustainable housing homeless says key differences two pointing one particular160dignity village allows residents members nonprofit entity lead logistical challenges since many residents eventually transition means new people completely undo rules others put place says heben contrast opportunity village overseen separate board consisting residents clergy community members dignity villages influence also spread nashville microhousing community160called sanctuary160has cropped recent aljazeera report residents said sanctuary provides dignity security160and place plot futures residents communities hold common bonds forged shared experience finally finding welcome environment discarded stigmatized larger society homeless population portland steadily increased since 2007 even national rates dropped 11 percent period oregonian characterized problem spinning control city estimates 4000 men women160and children without shelter nights multnomah county image people emerging tents napping benches often first one greet visitors outside citys train station although city county officials recently pledged 30 million combat homelessness situation persists victims success says josh alpert hales160chief staff alpert says portlands problems stem three major issues housing demand exceeds supply rising rent prices response influx new residents lack financial resources dedicate homeless population city least 17 dedicated shelters homeless one newest eightstory bud clark commons built city june 2011 houses 150 people cost taxpayers 47 million price tag continues anger residents business owners portlands city council recently approved 1 million new shelter dilemma forced city officials consider new approaches revisit old ones proved successful residents walk village cold day paul dunn one partnership dignity village began three years village officially became nonprofit december 2001 today collaboration attractive cashstrapped city villages annual operations amount 27750 besides granting public land city provides funding dedicated social worker mays help members job searches resume writing transportation medical counseling appointments mays also functions liaison city dealings dignity village city havent always smooth though weve constant state anxiety city says proudfoot city imposed rules twoyear limit long resident stay example proudfoot says theres always possibility city could reclaim villages land many dignity village members would prefer interaction city proudfoot says find system bureaucratic hard navigate blame leaving many sleep pavement prior become villagers view citys involvement necessary reach goal owning land members build permanent settlements tents makedo tiny homes officials meanwhile view village transitional housing wanting people stay long takes find permanent residences city instituted twoyear maximum stay part partnership larson estimates average members stay 24 36 months160something city unable enforce problem theres housing people go city doesnt another plan says proudfoot portlands current affordable housing shortage estimated 42720 units subsidized units become available people often required compete lottery shortage also extends rental units prices risen sixthfastest rate nation rentals come market theyre often snatched highest bidder predicament sent much citys working poor scurrying places live alpert says city attempting innovative ideas including replicating village one best cheapest bets curb homelessness least dignity village sits well city attempting weve 15 years study says alpert cities look dignity village alpert advice mindful location lot infrastructure goes homeless points out160he notes problem creating another dignity village trying find land close social services public transportation population proudfoot one hopes time village become known tiny homes built tiny homes hopes able put flatbed one day move land says meanwhile village continues save money 2000 far build larger permanent structures on160a site owned city members look forward day tour dignity village take place land collectively owned residents theyd another word 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>Watching Bernie Sanders address a packed arena at Chicago State University last week, it was not hard to imagine a better world.</p>
<p>“We’re going to create an economy that works for working families, not the 1 percent,” Sanders thundered, and the crowd roared back its approval.</p>
<p>That was Thursday.&#160; Then came the South Carolina primary on Saturday, followed by Super Tuesday, where Sander’s campaign to transform the Democratic Party from the bottom up ran into resistance from a key element of the party’s progressive base: black voters.</p>
<p>At Chicago State, Sanders said his campaign had come from nowhere and generated significant momentum by “telling the truth to the American people” about our “corrupt campaign finance system,” our “rigged economy” and our “broken criminal justice system.”</p>
<p>Sanders has succeeded in channeling some of the energy of the Occupy and Fight For 15 movements, he’s adopted much of the critique of the Black Lives Matter, and he’s plugged into the discontent of young Americans caught up in the college debt crisis and older Americans with declining living standards.</p>
<p>The “rigged economy,” Sanders said, is symbolized by the Walton family, owners of Wal-Mart and the wealthiest family in America, whose <a href="/corporations-should-pay-for-their-employees-benefits-not-taxpayers/" type="external">low-wage workforce is subsidized by taxpayers</a> via Medicaid and food stamps, while millions of Americans work longer hours for less pay.</p>
<p>Sanders pointed out that his proposals for Medicare for all and free higher education – common in other industrialized countries – are derided by the “establishment” as unaffordable, but “the redistribution of trillions of dollars of wealth to the top one-tenth of 1 percent, the rich getting richer, the middle class disappearing, and 47 million people living in poverty” is considered acceptable, or at least inevitable.</p>
<p>He has succeeded in challenging that consensus and putting millions of people on record supporting an alternative.</p>
<p>Last Thursday the young crowd gave Sanders some of his biggest cheers when he called for making public universities tuition-free, but the cheers grew even louder when he added, “And we’re going to pay for it with a tax on Wall Street speculation.”</p>
<p>“Everybody knows that greed and reckless and illegal behavior on Wall Street drove this country into the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, and that Wall Street after that went begging to Congress, ‘Bail us out, bail us out,’” he said with deadpan sarcasm.&#160; “Well, now it’s Wall Street’s turn to help the middle class.”</p>
<p>In pure policy terms, Sanders’ populist program should appeal to African -Americans, who disproportionately experience the economic and social inequities he seeks to ameliorate.&#160; In political terms, if he wants to move the Democratic Party away from its neoliberal moorings, he needs the backing of its most progressive bloc.</p>
<p>His campaign has gone to some lengths to appeal to black voters, including staking out a strong position on criminal justice reform.&#160; He’s attracted support from progressives like Cornel West and Harry Belafonte, as well as from younger black elected officials like Illinois State Representatives LaShawn Ford and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld0gjNo_EZ4&amp;feature=youtu.be&amp;t=41m22s" type="external">Carol Ammons</a>, both of whom spoke at Chicago State.</p>
<p>Second-generation civil rights leader Jonathan Jackson, a Chicago State faculty member, introduced Sanders, citing his <a href="http://portside.org/2016-02-12/heres-what-bernie-sanders-actually-did-civil-rights-movement" type="external">activism against segregation in Chicago</a> in the early 1960s to his support for Jesse Jackson’s presidential races in the 1980s.</p>
<p>“If you want affordable health care, there’s only one candidate,” Jackson said.&#160; “If you want someone who was against the war in Iraq before it was popular … if you want someone who will stop banks and their destructive behavior in pickpocketing the American people … if you want your child to pursue their education and have a stable job, there’s only one candidate.”</p>
<p>But in South Carolina, black voters preferred another candidate, Hillary Clinton, by a margin of 9 to 1.&#160; She won overwhelming support from black voters in Southern primaries on Super Tuesday as well.</p>
<p>There’s a “messaging gap,” Jackson told me following the South Carolina vote.&#160; “His opponent has been involved in national campaigns for 30 years. … I think if people know more about his history that will close that relationship gap.” People are just starting to pay attention, he said. He criticized the Democratic National Committee for scheduling so few debates.</p>
<p>The Sanders campaign is committed “all the way to the convention,” Jackson said, adding that Sanders’ supporters remain enthusiastic – and his small-donor base continues to back him.&#160; “Something like 1 in 9 Americans lives in California,” he said. “I don’t know how you can call the race before we get to California.”&#160; And by pushing through to the convention, the campaign can keep pushing Clinton in a progressive direction, he said.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.blackagendareport.com/bernie-sanders-hits-black-brick-wall" type="external">series</a> of <a href="http://www.blackagendareport.com/bogus_power_of_black_vote" type="external">viewpoints</a> at Black Agenda Report, editor Glen Ford takes another view, noting the irony that black voters, “the most progressive segment” of the Democratic base are “acting as a bulwark” for “the right wing of the (party).”&#160; It’s <a href="http://www.blackagendareport.com/victor_of_fear_blacks_and_dems" type="external">overwhelming fear</a> of what Republicans might do if they retake the White House that leads African- Americans to favor “the candidate that is richer, better connected to the party appartus and more acceptable to masses of white voters” over the candidate whose positions may be closer to their own.</p>
<p>That could be especially relevant this year, with a possible <a href="https://ourfuture.org/20160229/why-trump-cant-disavow-david-duke-and-the-gop-cant-disavow-trump" type="external">Republican nominee who has trouble disavowing the Ku Klux Klan</a>.</p>
<p>In Ford’s analysis, the two-party system is a dead end, and what’s needed is <a href="http://blackagendareport.com/dead_weight_democratic_party" type="external">“real black grassroots movement politics,”</a> capable of taking on the establishment embodied in both parties.</p>
<p>Interestingly, Sanders made a somewhat similar point last week – arguing that “no president … can address the enormous problems facing this country alone,” and that “real change has always taken place from the bottom up.”</p>
<p>His campaign has made a strong statement for a progressive direction for this country and for fundamental economic and political reform. And I hope and expect that whoever is president next year, the young people who filled Chicago State’s arena last week will continue (in the words of their candidate) “standing up and fighting” for what they believe.</p>
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watching bernie sanders address packed arena chicago state university last week hard imagine better world going create economy works working families 1 percent sanders thundered crowd roared back approval thursday160 came south carolina primary saturday followed super tuesday sanders campaign transform democratic party bottom ran resistance key element partys progressive base black voters chicago state sanders said campaign come nowhere generated significant momentum telling truth american people corrupt campaign finance system rigged economy broken criminal justice system sanders succeeded channeling energy occupy fight 15 movements hes adopted much critique black lives matter hes plugged discontent young americans caught college debt crisis older americans declining living standards rigged economy sanders said symbolized walton family owners walmart wealthiest family america whose lowwage workforce subsidized taxpayers via medicaid food stamps millions americans work longer hours less pay sanders pointed proposals medicare free higher education common industrialized countries derided establishment unaffordable redistribution trillions dollars wealth top onetenth 1 percent rich getting richer middle class disappearing 47 million people living poverty considered acceptable least inevitable succeeded challenging consensus putting millions people record supporting alternative last thursday young crowd gave sanders biggest cheers called making public universities tuitionfree cheers grew even louder added going pay tax wall street speculation everybody knows greed reckless illegal behavior wall street drove country worst economic downturn since 1930s wall street went begging congress bail us bail us said deadpan sarcasm160 well wall streets turn help middle class pure policy terms sanders populist program appeal african americans disproportionately experience economic social inequities seeks ameliorate160 political terms wants move democratic party away neoliberal moorings needs backing progressive bloc campaign gone lengths appeal black voters including staking strong position criminal justice reform160 hes attracted support progressives like cornel west harry belafonte well younger black elected officials like illinois state representatives lashawn ford carol ammons spoke chicago state secondgeneration civil rights leader jonathan jackson chicago state faculty member introduced sanders citing activism segregation chicago early 1960s support jesse jacksons presidential races 1980s want affordable health care theres one candidate jackson said160 want someone war iraq popular want someone stop banks destructive behavior pickpocketing american people want child pursue education stable job theres one candidate south carolina black voters preferred another candidate hillary clinton margin 9 1160 overwhelming support black voters southern primaries super tuesday well theres messaging gap jackson told following south carolina vote160 opponent involved national campaigns 30 years think people know history close relationship gap people starting pay attention said criticized democratic national committee scheduling debates sanders campaign committed way convention jackson said adding sanders supporters remain enthusiastic smalldonor base continues back him160 something like 1 9 americans lives california said dont know call race get california160 pushing convention campaign keep pushing clinton progressive direction said series viewpoints black agenda report editor glen ford takes another view noting irony black voters progressive segment democratic base acting bulwark right wing party160 overwhelming fear republicans might retake white house leads african americans favor candidate richer better connected party appartus acceptable masses white voters candidate whose positions may closer could especially relevant year possible republican nominee trouble disavowing ku klux klan fords analysis twoparty system dead end whats needed real black grassroots movement politics capable taking establishment embodied parties interestingly sanders made somewhat similar point last week arguing president address enormous problems facing country alone real change always taken place bottom campaign made strong statement progressive direction country fundamental economic political reform hope expect whoever president next year young people filled chicago states arena last week continue words candidate standing fighting believe
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<p>By Miguel De La Torre</p>
<p>A study conducted by the <a href="http://www.guttmacher.org/" type="external">Guttmacher</a> Institute reveals that issues related to reproductive health received unprecedented attention at the state level in 2011.</p>
<p>Legislators in all 50 states introduced more than 1,100 reproductive health-related provisions, a sharp increase from the 950 in 2010. By year’s end, 135 of these provisions had been enacted in 36 states, an increase from the 89 enacted in 2010 and the 77 enacted in 2009. By 2012, an additional 43 provisions were enacted in 19 states.&#160;</p>
<p>The present strategy is to incrementally narrow abortion laws in states where Republicans control the legislature until a sympathetic Supreme Court is in place to overturn Roe v Wade.</p>
<p>For example, 26 states require a waiting period for a woman seeking an abortion, 35 require mandatory counseling, and three states established stringent regulations that only affects abortion providers but not other providers of outpatient surgical and medical care.</p>
<p>Three states require abortion providers to have hospital admitting privileges but not other providers of outpatient surgical and medical care. Eight states mandate invasive ultrasound prior to having an abortion.</p>
<p>Attempts have been made in several states to either declare that life begins at conception or grant human rights to embryos as a pathway to legally overturn abortion.</p>
<p>By 2012, 10 states banned abortion at or beyond 20 weeks’ gestation. The most restrictive ban, and strongest challenge to Roe v Wade, was <a href="at%2012%20weeks%20of%20pregnancy,%20when%20a%20fetal%20heartbeat%20can%20typically%20be%20detected%20by%20abdominal%20ultrasound" type="external">passed</a> in Arkansas. There, no abortion can be performed past 12 weeks when the fetal heartbeat can be detected with an abdominal ultrasound.</p>
<p>By May 21, a federal appellate panel <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/05/21/us/abortion-9th-circuit-opinion.html" type="external">struck down</a> an Arizona abortion ban, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/22/us/arizonas-ban-on-abortions-struck-down-in-federal-court.html?ref=fernandasantos" type="external">finding</a> it unconstitutional “under a long line of invariant Supreme Court precedents” that guarantee a woman’s right to end a pregnancy any time before a fetus is deemed viable outside her womb — generally at 24 weeks.</p>
<p>Within 24 hours, House Republicans <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/house-republicans-promote-20-week-abortion-ban" type="external">proposed</a> federal legislation that would ban all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. This is not the first time Congress has tried to pass such legislation. In 2011, the House <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/opinion/sunday/the-attack-on-women-is-real.html" type="external">attempted</a> to allow hospitals receiving federal funds from refusing to perform emergency abortions even when the life of the mother was at stake.</p>
<p>Regardless of differing views on abortion, the political system seems to be moving toward a political stance that the reproductive organs of women must be regulated by the government (if not state, then federal), whose majority of legislators are comprised of men.</p>
<p>Numerous studies show that the best way to prevent abortions and unintended pregnancies is sex education and the availability of birth control. Yet, those most opposed to abortion are paradoxically also usually opposed to the availability of contraceptives and sex education.&#160;</p>
<p>Title X, the main federal family planning program created in 1970 with the support of then-Republican president Richard Nixon and Congressman George Bush Sr., does not pay for abortions. A 2009 Congressional Research Service report credited Title X with preventing nearly a million annual unintended pregnancies. Experts estimate that Title X helps prevent about 400,000 abortions a year.&#160;</p>
<p>Additionally, the majority of Title X’s funds provide about five million women, especially poor women, with lifesaving cervical and breast-cancer screening, HIV and STD testing, adolescent abstinence counseling and infertility counseling.&#160;</p>
<p>Some of its funds cover birth control. About a quarter of Title X’s $300 million budget went to Planned Parenthood, which serviced about a third of Title X’s patients in 2011. The poor women of San Carlos, an impoverished town in southern Texas, for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/us/texas-womens-clinics-retreat-as-finances-are-cut.html?pagewanted=all" type="external">example</a>, have relied on Planned Parenthood to obtain breast-cancer screenings, free birth-control pills and pap smears for cervical cancer.</p>
<p>Maria Romero, a housecleaner with four children, is one of those women. Before the clinic closed in the fall of 2011, a lump was discovered in her breast. The San Carlos clinic closed, along with over a dozen others throughout the state, because financing for women’s health was slashed by about two-thirds by the state’s Republican controlled legislature. Some 400,000 women across Texas were left without services.</p>
<p>The next-closest clinic to Ms. Romero is 16 miles away in Edinburg. She has no means by which to get there, and even if she did, the wait time for an appointment is four weeks. To make matters worse, she cannot afford the $20 for a monthly supply of birth-control tablets, which before she obtained for free.</p>
<p>None of these clinics performed abortions, but supporters of the cutbacks were mainly motivated by their opposition to abortion. Gov. Rick Perry rejected receipt of $35 million in federal funds that would have financed women health programs in order to ensure that Planned Parenthood received none of those funds. Other states are following Texas’ lead in one way or another.</p>
<p>Such tactics are not limited to the state level. Since 2011 the Republican controlled House of Representatives has attempted to pass legislation that would have eliminated all funding for Title X, mainly because of its connection to Planned Parenthood.</p>
<p>The illogical attack on women’s health continues under an anti-abortion guise that stereotypes Planned Parenthood and garners votes. As predominately good Christian men continue to play politics, women — especially poor women — continue to be denied basic health options, which in turn causes more unwanted pregnancies and abortions.</p>
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miguel de la torre study conducted guttmacher institute reveals issues related reproductive health received unprecedented attention state level 2011 legislators 50 states introduced 1100 reproductive healthrelated provisions sharp increase 950 2010 years end 135 provisions enacted 36 states increase 89 enacted 2010 77 enacted 2009 2012 additional 43 provisions enacted 19 states160 present strategy incrementally narrow abortion laws states republicans control legislature sympathetic supreme court place overturn roe v wade example 26 states require waiting period woman seeking abortion 35 require mandatory counseling three states established stringent regulations affects abortion providers providers outpatient surgical medical care three states require abortion providers hospital admitting privileges providers outpatient surgical medical care eight states mandate invasive ultrasound prior abortion attempts made several states either declare life begins conception grant human rights embryos pathway legally overturn abortion 2012 10 states banned abortion beyond 20 weeks gestation restrictive ban strongest challenge roe v wade passed arkansas abortion performed past 12 weeks fetal heartbeat detected abdominal ultrasound may 21 federal appellate panel struck arizona abortion ban finding unconstitutional long line invariant supreme court precedents guarantee womans right end pregnancy time fetus deemed viable outside womb generally 24 weeks within 24 hours house republicans proposed federal legislation would ban abortions 20 weeks pregnancy first time congress tried pass legislation 2011 house attempted allow hospitals receiving federal funds refusing perform emergency abortions even life mother stake regardless differing views abortion political system seems moving toward political stance reproductive organs women must regulated government state federal whose majority legislators comprised men numerous studies show best way prevent abortions unintended pregnancies sex education availability birth control yet opposed abortion paradoxically also usually opposed availability contraceptives sex education160 title x main federal family planning program created 1970 support thenrepublican president richard nixon congressman george bush sr pay abortions 2009 congressional research service report credited title x preventing nearly million annual unintended pregnancies experts estimate title x helps prevent 400000 abortions year160 additionally majority title xs funds provide five million women especially poor women lifesaving cervical breastcancer screening hiv std testing adolescent abstinence counseling infertility counseling160 funds cover birth control quarter title xs 300 million budget went planned parenthood serviced third title xs patients 2011 poor women san carlos impoverished town southern texas example relied planned parenthood obtain breastcancer screenings free birthcontrol pills pap smears cervical cancer maria romero housecleaner four children one women clinic closed fall 2011 lump discovered breast san carlos clinic closed along dozen others throughout state financing womens health slashed twothirds states republican controlled legislature 400000 women across texas left without services nextclosest clinic ms romero 16 miles away edinburg means get even wait time appointment four weeks make matters worse afford 20 monthly supply birthcontrol tablets obtained free none clinics performed abortions supporters cutbacks mainly motivated opposition abortion gov rick perry rejected receipt 35 million federal funds would financed women health programs order ensure planned parenthood received none funds states following texas lead one way another tactics limited state level since 2011 republican controlled house representatives attempted pass legislation would eliminated funding title x mainly connection planned parenthood illogical attack womens health continues antiabortion guise stereotypes planned parenthood garners votes predominately good christian men continue play politics women especially poor women continue denied basic health options turn causes unwanted pregnancies abortions
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<p>President Obama has spoken a lot about the need for "comprehensive" immigration reform. That means taking on a lot: Securing the border, providing more visas, protecting worker's rights, and figuring out how to deal with an estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the US. That's a lot to sort out. Some argue, too much to take on at once, especially when the parties agree on small pieces of the immigration debate.</p>
<p>One of the downsides of this all-or-nothing approach is that a lot of immigration issues that have bipartisan support don't get done.</p>
<p>Consider agriculture. Here's the worst kept secret on fruit and vegetable farms in Arizona and California: "The existing workforce is approximately 70 percent illegal, or undocumented, or falsely documented workers," said Tom Nasif, president of Western Growers, an association that represents fruit, vegetable, and nut farmers in Arizona and California.</p>
<p>Nasif arrived at that 70 percent figure from university and think tank studies, along with statistics from W-2 forms that have mismatched social security numbers.</p>
<p>Every farmer will insist they check legal documents before hiring. But it's well known that phony documents are rampant on American farms. It's a risky game: Workers with fraudulent papers can get deported. The farmer can lose his workforce – and his harvest.</p>
<p>Politicians on both sides of the aisle agree that the system needs fixing. A bill in Congress called AgJobs has enjoyed bipartisan support. It offers a path to citizenship for undocumented agricultural workers and makes it easier for growers to hire temporary immigrant workers. But the bill has died, mostly because politicians couldn't reach a bigger compromise on the entire immigration problem.</p>
<p>Nasif said American agriculture can't go on like this.</p>
<p>"When the legislature wants to act on a sticky issue, such as immigration reform, they can do it very quickly," said Nasif, pointing to the example of Major League Baseball. When baseball teams exceeded their visa allotments, Congress quickly made things right in 2006.</p>
<p>"We have an adequate supply of outstanding baseball players in the United States. And so if anyone is taking jobs Americans would love to have, it's foreign baseball players," said Nasif.</p>
<p>(Nasif makes this point for effect, not because he wants foreign baseball players out of the country.)</p>
<p>Meanwhile, plenty of other interest groups want their own issues addressed as well. So-called "Dreamers," young people brought to this country illegally by their parents as children, want a path to citizenship. And then there are high-tech companies that want more visas granted to foreign engineers and scientists.</p>
<p>On tech worker and agricultural visas, Democrats and Republicans actually agree on key points. But as political scientist Mark Jones at Houston's Rice University points out, politics over who gives up what, or who gets what, in a massive immigration debate can kill smaller bills. With the AgJobs bill, the Democrats blocked it.</p>
<p>"They don't want to give away what they know is the one immigration reform that most Republicans want without getting something in return," said Jones.</p>
<p>Of course Republicans have stopped immigration-related bills that Democrats want too.</p>
<p>Frustrating, for many, but avoiding the piecemeal approach to immigration reform makes political sense to Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.</p>
<p>"It's a very tough tactical question and it always has been. And the reason has to do with the most difficult issue of all, which is: Do you do some kind of legalization for the 10 to 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States? And every time the discussion comes of doing immigration reform piecemeal, the problem is that that's the issue that gets left to last. And if that's the issue that left to last, it probably does not happen.</p>
<p>That's why many people on the bottom of the food chain in America — undocumented immigrants — favor going after comprehensive reform during this presidential term.</p>
<p>"It's harder to do, but it's harder if we keep another four years separating families, thousands of families," said Alain Cisneros, a community organizer in Houston with the Texas Organizing Project.</p>
<p>Cisneros said working immigrants without papers are basically trapped — they can't return to their home countries to visit family and they're afraid to speak out against abusive employers. When he came here, he worked as a janitor cleaning buildings in downtown Houston.</p>
<p>"Clean up every single night for hours, go and clean up the buildings. I see many, many people just come in and for any reason get fired. And the companies pay less, like in the black market. And (the workers) don't receive protection for the time working. I say, 'This is something wrong.'"</p>
<p>Cisneros said with comprehensive immigration reform, everybody's rights and needs will be on the table.</p>
<p>Like many who follow the immigration debate, Mark Jones at Rice University said if comprehensive reform has a chance of passing, now is the time.</p>
<p>"In the end, I think a lot will depend on what type of priority President Obama and the Democratic Party give to comprehensive immigration reform. If he really does make this the healthcare reform of his second term, it's likely to be passed," said Jones.</p>
<p>There are, of course, a lot of other important issues the president would like to address in the next four years. And don't underestimate party politics. Hispanic voters have been flocking to the Democratic Party, in large part, because of the Party's support for immigration reform. Jones said this puts Democrats in a position of strength.</p>
<p>"Really it's in the best interest of the Republican Party to remove this issue. For the Democrats, it's a win-win situation. Either they get the immigration reform they want, or they keep this alive as an issue that allows them to drive a wedge between the Republican Party and Hispanic voters, which means the Democratic Party just does better and better electorally."</p>
<p>In Washington, political gamesmanship can mean stalemate. There hasn't been meaningful immigration reform since 1986 when Ronald Reagan was president.</p>
| false | 3 |
president obama spoken lot need comprehensive immigration reform means taking lot securing border providing visas protecting workers rights figuring deal estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants living us thats lot sort argue much take especially parties agree small pieces immigration debate one downsides allornothing approach lot immigration issues bipartisan support dont get done consider agriculture heres worst kept secret fruit vegetable farms arizona california existing workforce approximately 70 percent illegal undocumented falsely documented workers said tom nasif president western growers association represents fruit vegetable nut farmers arizona california nasif arrived 70 percent figure university think tank studies along statistics w2 forms mismatched social security numbers every farmer insist check legal documents hiring well known phony documents rampant american farms risky game workers fraudulent papers get deported farmer lose workforce harvest politicians sides aisle agree system needs fixing bill congress called agjobs enjoyed bipartisan support offers path citizenship undocumented agricultural workers makes easier growers hire temporary immigrant workers bill died mostly politicians couldnt reach bigger compromise entire immigration problem nasif said american agriculture cant go like legislature wants act sticky issue immigration reform quickly said nasif pointing example major league baseball baseball teams exceeded visa allotments congress quickly made things right 2006 adequate supply outstanding baseball players united states anyone taking jobs americans would love foreign baseball players said nasif nasif makes point effect wants foreign baseball players country meanwhile plenty interest groups want issues addressed well socalled dreamers young people brought country illegally parents children want path citizenship hightech companies want visas granted foreign engineers scientists tech worker agricultural visas democrats republicans actually agree key points political scientist mark jones houstons rice university points politics gives gets massive immigration debate kill smaller bills agjobs bill democrats blocked dont want give away know one immigration reform republicans want without getting something return said jones course republicans stopped immigrationrelated bills democrats want frustrating many avoiding piecemeal approach immigration reform makes political sense edward alden senior fellow council foreign relations tough tactical question always reason difficult issue kind legalization 10 11 million unauthorized immigrants living united states every time discussion comes immigration reform piecemeal problem thats issue gets left last thats issue left last probably happen thats many people bottom food chain america undocumented immigrants favor going comprehensive reform presidential term harder harder keep another four years separating families thousands families said alain cisneros community organizer houston texas organizing project cisneros said working immigrants without papers basically trapped cant return home countries visit family theyre afraid speak abusive employers came worked janitor cleaning buildings downtown houston clean every single night hours go clean buildings see many many people come reason get fired companies pay less like black market workers dont receive protection time working say something wrong cisneros said comprehensive immigration reform everybodys rights needs table like many follow immigration debate mark jones rice university said comprehensive reform chance passing time end think lot depend type priority president obama democratic party give comprehensive immigration reform really make healthcare reform second term likely passed said jones course lot important issues president would like address next four years dont underestimate party politics hispanic voters flocking democratic party large part partys support immigration reform jones said puts democrats position strength really best interest republican party remove issue democrats winwin situation either get immigration reform want keep alive issue allows drive wedge republican party hispanic voters means democratic party better better electorally washington political gamesmanship mean stalemate hasnt meaningful immigration reform since 1986 ronald reagan president
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<p>CAIRO, Egypt — The US decision to suspend a substantial chunk of military aid to Egypt may have prompted a defiant response from the Egyptian government, but it is not the blow that it seems.</p>
<p>The State Department announced Wednesday that it would be suspending deliveries of tanks, fighter aircraft, helicopters and missiles to Cairo as well as $260 million in cash assistance to the government, “pending credible progress toward an inclusive, democratically elected civilian government.”</p>
<p>However, it said that counterterrorism funding would remain unaffected, as would support for an ongoing military operation targeting jihadist militants in <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/131012/terror-sinai-egypt-war-3-questions-globalpost-cairo" type="external">restive North Sinai</a>.</p>
<p>Despite public consternation from Egypt’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, experts say the partial suspension amounts to little more than a symbolic warning for a country with which the US wishes to maintain strong ties.</p>
<p>“I don’t see it as any more than a symbolic slap on the wrist,” said Dr. H. A. Hellyer, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.</p>
<p>“This is only a partial suspension of aid, it is a bluff from everybody. Egypt is too important to the American regional paradigm, and America is too vital for Egypt’s current strategic positioning, for either to cut [the] other off.”</p>
<p>The State Department has told congressional aides that it is respecting a law that bars aid to foreign governments in the event of a coup, Reuters reported Saturday. Egypt’s first freely elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was unseated in a July 3 military takeover.</p>
<p>American officials have grown uneasy at Egypt’s political trajectory in the months since. The country's military-backed authorities have embarked on a sweeping crackdown against the former president’s supporters, diminishing short-term prospects for reconciliation.</p>
<p>The continuation of military aid in the aftermath of Morsi’s ouster prompted fierce debate within Washington.</p>
<p>But changes to Egypt’s aid package had started long before this past week. According to Robert Springborg, a professor of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., $100 million had already been earmarked to shift from weapons procurement to counterterrorism measures. “This was not a bolt from the blue for the military or government of Egypt,” he said.</p>
<p>Egypt has been one of the world’s largest recipients of US military and economic aid since its 1979 peace treaty with Israel. The annual sum of $1.55 billion, including $1.3 billion in direct military assistance, is often seen as a financial incentive for upholding the peace treaty and cooperating on other issues.</p>
<p>The specifics of the US aid suspension have yet to be formally revealed, but it is expected to affect deliveries of M1A1 battle tanks, F-16 fighter jets, and a dozen Apache AH-64D helicopters that were part of an $820 million order dating back to 2009.</p>
<p>Although these are not vital to core army functions at present, Egypt’s military-backed authorities nonetheless reacted haughtily to the decision to freeze some aid.</p>
<p>According to London-based Al-Hayat newspaper, General Sisi used a Thursday telephone conversation with US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to stress that Egypt is "bigger" than any American threats, and that it rejects the manner in which the US is dealing with it.</p>
<p>Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdelatty described the US aid decision as “wrong,” telling a local radio station: “Egypt will not surrender to American pressure and is continuing its path towards democracy as set by the roadmap.” Unveiled in July, Egypt’s political&#160;“roadmap”&#160;sets out the steps the country will take toward fresh parliamentary and presidential elections, expected to be held next year.</p>
<p>The US decision is also likely to prompt further hostility from the Egyptian street. Anti-American sentiment has risen significantly since the coup. Many Egyptians believe that international condemnation of the putsch fails to give credit to millions of protesters who took to the streets on&#160;June 30, demanding Morsi’s ouster.</p>
<p>In downtown Cairo, banners decry US foreign policy. Outside one petrol station, a large poster depicts President Barack Obama’s face nestled in Osama bin Laden’s beard.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, US officials suggested that their decision had been prompted by an “accumulation of events,” presumably since Morsi’s ouster.</p>
<p>Three state-led crackdowns against Morsi supporters between July and August left over one thousand people dead. On Oct. 6, 57 anti-coup protesters were shot dead by police after a national holiday ended in deadly clashes.</p>
<p>Although it has been widely suggested that the US decision was taken in direct response to the latest deaths, Hellyer, of the Royal United Services Institute, believes it was more closely linked to the events of the summer. “This is a natural consequence of <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130815/egypt-day-after-rabaa-massacre-muslim-brotherhood-military-obama-aid" type="external">the bloodshed at Rabaa</a> [el Adaweya, the mosque in Cairo where hundreds of Muslim Bortherhood supporters were killed] and of no measures having taken place to address violence from the security forces since then,” said Hellyer. “But it could have happened the week before or the week after.”</p>
<p>He added: “The main thing of concern to the Americans was the impact of a certain level of violence and the way it destabilises the country. Stability is primary to any American administration’s security paradigm to the region.”</p>
<p>In recent years, the US has tried to convince Egypt’s generals to broaden the scope of their equipment requests, arguing that they need to prepare for the sorts of conflicts that Egypt might face in the future. Much of its current arsenal is geared toward a land war with neighboring countries.</p>
<p>“It’s a political decision, taken to get the Obama administration off the hook with Congress and global public opinion while at the same time not really imposing any real pain or suffering either on the Egyptian military or on American-Egyptian relations,” said Springborg, the national security professor.</p>
<p>Speaking to GlobalPost on the condition of anonymity, a Cairo-based western diplomat said that the suspension of American aid would be unlikely to affect the funding decisions of their European counterparts, either.</p>
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cairo egypt us decision suspend substantial chunk military aid egypt may prompted defiant response egyptian government blow seems state department announced wednesday would suspending deliveries tanks fighter aircraft helicopters missiles cairo well 260 million cash assistance government pending credible progress toward inclusive democratically elected civilian government however said counterterrorism funding would remain unaffected would support ongoing military operation targeting jihadist militants restive north sinai despite public consternation egypts military leader general abdel fattah elsisi experts say partial suspension amounts little symbolic warning country us wishes maintain strong ties dont see symbolic slap wrist said dr h hellyer associate fellow royal united services institute partial suspension aid bluff everybody egypt important american regional paradigm america vital egypts current strategic positioning either cut state department told congressional aides respecting law bars aid foreign governments event coup reuters reported saturday egypts first freely elected president mohamed morsi unseated july 3 military takeover american officials grown uneasy egypts political trajectory months since countrys militarybacked authorities embarked sweeping crackdown former presidents supporters diminishing shortterm prospects reconciliation continuation military aid aftermath morsis ouster prompted fierce debate within washington changes egypts aid package started long past week according robert springborg professor national security affairs naval postgraduate school monterey calif 100 million already earmarked shift weapons procurement counterterrorism measures bolt blue military government egypt said egypt one worlds largest recipients us military economic aid since 1979 peace treaty israel annual sum 155 billion including 13 billion direct military assistance often seen financial incentive upholding peace treaty cooperating issues specifics us aid suspension yet formally revealed expected affect deliveries m1a1 battle tanks f16 fighter jets dozen apache ah64d helicopters part 820 million order dating back 2009 although vital core army functions present egypts militarybacked authorities nonetheless reacted haughtily decision freeze aid according londonbased alhayat newspaper general sisi used thursday telephone conversation us defense secretary chuck hagel stress egypt bigger american threats rejects manner us dealing foreign ministry spokesman badr abdelatty described us aid decision wrong telling local radio station egypt surrender american pressure continuing path towards democracy set roadmap unveiled july egypts political160roadmap160sets steps country take toward fresh parliamentary presidential elections expected held next year us decision also likely prompt hostility egyptian street antiamerican sentiment risen significantly since coup many egyptians believe international condemnation putsch fails give credit millions protesters took streets on160june 30 demanding morsis ouster downtown cairo banners decry us foreign policy outside one petrol station large poster depicts president barack obamas face nestled osama bin ladens beard tuesday us officials suggested decision prompted accumulation events presumably since morsis ouster three stateled crackdowns morsi supporters july august left one thousand people dead oct 6 57 anticoup protesters shot dead police national holiday ended deadly clashes although widely suggested us decision taken direct response latest deaths hellyer royal united services institute believes closely linked events summer natural consequence bloodshed rabaa el adaweya mosque cairo hundreds muslim bortherhood supporters killed measures taken place address violence security forces since said hellyer could happened week week added main thing concern americans impact certain level violence way destabilises country stability primary american administrations security paradigm region recent years us tried convince egypts generals broaden scope equipment requests arguing need prepare sorts conflicts egypt might face future much current arsenal geared toward land war neighboring countries political decision taken get obama administration hook congress global public opinion time really imposing real pain suffering either egyptian military americanegyptian relations said springborg national security professor speaking globalpost condition anonymity cairobased western diplomat said suspension american aid would unlikely affect funding decisions european counterparts either
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<p>When the Walton Family Foundation began doling out hundreds of millions of dollars to launch charter schools in cities across the country, Chicago soon headed to the top of the list.</p>
<p>Just a few years ago, Walton spent more money to help start charters here than anywhere else in the nation. In large part, the money flowed in because of the presence of a powerful pro-charter mayor who controlled the city’s school system.</p>
<p>“We’re very confident in the city’s leadership, particularly the mayor, to help expand and strengthen the charter sector in Chicago,” the foundation’s then-deputy director of education reform <a href="https://www.wbez.org/shows/wbez-news/foundation-gives-record-amount-to-new-schools-in-chicago/2995c1b5-a7a6-44e3-8ace-f447517bbf30" type="external">said in 2013.</a></p>
<p>But now, a deep and seemingly intractable financial crisis, an unprecedented wave of public backlash against privately run charters and the district’s own slowdown of charter expansion have made Walton shift its course.</p>
<p>The foundation—which says it has given start-up funds to one of every four charter schools nationwide—is pulling out of Chicago. Between 2009 and 2014, Walton gave nearly $7 million in direct grants to charters in Chicago, including the UNO Network of Charter Schools and Urban Prep Academies, among others, <a href="http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/who-we-are/grant-reports-financials" type="external">according to tax records.</a>(Another $8 million was targeted to fund state policy and advocacy work, and to start charters elsewhere in Illinois.)</p>
<p>“We take no pleasure in this,” says Marc Sternberg, Walton’s director of K-12 education programs. “When you look at the Nobles and the Perspectives and KIPPs in Chicago and the impact they’re having, and when you look at their aggregate performance, Chicago does very well. It is unfortunate that there aren’t opportunities to help [organizations] like them grow their impact, especially when the need in Chicago is so acute.”</p>
<p>Walton’s withdrawal is just one of the signs that Chicago’s once-rapidly expanding charter sector is facing a harder sell in an increasingly hostile political climate.</p>
<p>Just last week, two reports—one from <a href="http://genallplan.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Gen_All_ActionPlan.pdf" type="external">Generation All</a>, an initiative of The Chicago Community Trust, and another from a district working group—came out <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2016/04/better-support-for-neighborhood-high-schools-should-be-part-of-cps-strategy-say-two-reports/" type="external">calling for more support for neighborhood high schools,</a>which have lost enrollment to charters.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools approved <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/10/cps-recommends-approval-of-noble-kipp-proposals/" type="external">only two new charter schools last year,</a>and <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2014/10/cps-wont-consider-new-charter-proposals-year/" type="external">none in 2014</a>as Mayor Rahm Emanuel faced a tough re-election fight in which his decision to close 49 neighborhood schools <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/series/2014-11-race-city-hall/" type="external">fueled his opposition.</a></p>
<p>In addition, charters have lost access to start-up grants from the district, and CPS has <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2016/02/citing-lack-of-trust-ctu-rejects-latest-contract-offer/" type="external">offered to cap charter school growth</a>in its labor negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union.</p>
<p>“Now charters are being used as political football in the union negotiations,” says Andrew Broy, of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools. “Any external group would say, what’s the chance of adding 10 to 15 schools here, versus doing it in Los Angeles or New York?”</p>
<p>Walton’s critics, who view charters as an instrument to bust unions and destabilize traditional public schools, say Walton’s decision is a small victory.</p>
<p>“It shows that resistance works. There’s very active resistance there, not just from the union but from parents on the ground,” says Diane Ravitch, a professor of education history at New York University and a one-time proponent of education reform, in which charters play a central role. “What [the funders] are seeing is that the community is saying, ‘We don’t want you. Go away. You’re outside people and you don’t know our community.’ ”</p>
<p>Like Chicago, like Newark&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Like Chicago, Newark, New Jersey has also lost Walton funding for charters. Tax records show Walton — which was&#160;started by Walmart founder Sam Walton — gave a charter school fund in that city nearly $1.9 million in 2013 and again in 2014.</p>
<p>Newark’s current mayor, Ras Baraka, won office in 2014 on a campaign against education reform initiatives like charters. Baraka left his job as a high school principal to run in the mayoral election, and his victory came on the heels of a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-good-intentions-in-school-reform-fail-students-and-the-community/2015/09/09/7dd54aa4-3d12-11e5-b3ac-8a79bc44e5e2_story.html" type="external">failed effort</a> to drastically transform schools with the help of private philanthropy, including a $100 million gift from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.</p>
<p>Sternberg says he wouldn’t draw too many parallels between the political climate around Walton’s withdrawal from Newark and Chicago, adding that he’s “very optimistic about Newark.” The conditions for charter growth in Newark are strong, he says. New Jersey has direct state authorization of charters and Newark schools are under state control.</p>
<p>“We’re probably more active in New Jersey than in Illinois and are investing deeply in Camden,” he says. Camden is on Walton’s list of 13 target cities that will receive the bulk of the $1 billion in education dollars from the foundation over the next five years. The target cities, listed in a <a href="http://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/~/media/documents/k12-strategic-plan-overview.pdf?la=en" type="external">strategic report released earlier this year</a>, include New York City, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and Houston.</p>
<p>“We are taking a step away from dramatic investments in Newark, but it’s a very different set of conditions there than in Chicago,” Sternberg says.</p>
<p>Still, the environment in Newark, as in Chicago, is not as friendly to charters as it was just a few years ago, says Trina Scordo of New Jersey Communities United, which is funded primarily by progressive unions.</p>
<p>“It may not be at the scale the way it is in Chicago, but it’s a volatile situation around charter expansion right now,” Scordo says. But she has no illusions that Walton’s departure will slow charter expansion in Newark.</p>
<p>“They will go to places where they can get more of a bang for their buck,” she says. “That does not mean they might not come back. It’s just less of a clear path for them right now.”</p>
<p>Will other players fill in Walton’s gap?&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Former state Sen. Miguel del Valle, a longtime opponent of charter schools, points out that Walton, while an important source of money for charters in Chicago, isn’t the only source.</p>
<p>“From a financial standpoint, there have been other players, hedge fund folks and others who have come in and have been providing support,” del Valle says. “You look at the growth of Noble charters, and it’s been dramatic. They’ve been able to secure private dollars from other sources.”</p>
<p>In addition, the state of <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/10/take-5-charter-expansion-roosevelt-walkout-new-school-ratings/" type="external">Illinois received a five-year, $42 million grant</a>from the U.S. Department of Education last fall to expand charter schools and share best practices. Broy of INCS says the impact of Walton’s departure is “blunted to some degree” by the influx of federal dollars. Chicago will have to compete with other districts for grants, however.</p>
<p>Still, Broy says he does “worry about the long-term, national view of Chicago as a place that’s getting things done and moving things forward in the right way.”</p>
<p>He&#160;adds that Chicago continues to have a strong local base of philanthropic support for charter schools.</p>
<p>(INCS will continue to receive Walton funding for state-level policy work. Tax documents show that Walton grants accounted for a little less than one-third of the $3 million that INCS reported in revenues in 2014.)</p>
<p>Sternberg left the door open to a return to Chicago and says he’s mindful of the impact Walton’s decision had on smaller organizations. One small parent group, Charter Parents United, received a two-year, $400,000 seed grant from Walton in 2014 but recently had to shut down because it couldn’t raise enough money elsewhere to stay afloat long-term.</p>
<p>“We should be clear: we want to be able to look back, take another look at Chicago, in a few years, and see that the opportunities that may not be available today are available then,” Sternberg says.</p>
<p />
| false | 3 |
walton family foundation began doling hundreds millions dollars launch charter schools cities across country chicago soon headed top list years ago walton spent money help start charters anywhere else nation large part money flowed presence powerful procharter mayor controlled citys school system confident citys leadership particularly mayor help expand strengthen charter sector chicago foundations thendeputy director education reform said 2013 deep seemingly intractable financial crisis unprecedented wave public backlash privately run charters districts slowdown charter expansion made walton shift course foundationwhich says given startup funds one every four charter schools nationwideis pulling chicago 2009 2014 walton gave nearly 7 million direct grants charters chicago including uno network charter schools urban prep academies among others according tax recordsanother 8 million targeted fund state policy advocacy work start charters elsewhere illinois take pleasure says marc sternberg waltons director k12 education programs look nobles perspectives kipps chicago impact theyre look aggregate performance chicago well unfortunate arent opportunities help organizations like grow impact especially need chicago acute waltons withdrawal one signs chicagos oncerapidly expanding charter sector facing harder sell increasingly hostile political climate last week two reportsone generation initiative chicago community trust another district working groupcame calling support neighborhood high schoolswhich lost enrollment charters meanwhile chicago public schools approved two new charter schools last yearand none 2014as mayor rahm emanuel faced tough reelection fight decision close 49 neighborhood schools fueled opposition addition charters lost access startup grants district cps offered cap charter school growthin labor negotiations chicago teachers union charters used political football union negotiations says andrew broy illinois network charter schools external group would say whats chance adding 10 15 schools versus los angeles new york waltons critics view charters instrument bust unions destabilize traditional public schools say waltons decision small victory shows resistance works theres active resistance union parents ground says diane ravitch professor education history new york university onetime proponent education reform charters play central role funders seeing community saying dont want go away youre outside people dont know community like chicago like newark160160160160160160160160 like chicago newark new jersey also lost walton funding charters tax records show walton was160started walmart founder sam walton gave charter school fund city nearly 19 million 2013 2014 newarks current mayor ras baraka office 2014 campaign education reform initiatives like charters baraka left job high school principal run mayoral election victory came heels failed effort drastically transform schools help private philanthropy including 100 million gift facebook founder mark zuckerberg sternberg says wouldnt draw many parallels political climate around waltons withdrawal newark chicago adding hes optimistic newark conditions charter growth newark strong says new jersey direct state authorization charters newark schools state control probably active new jersey illinois investing deeply camden says camden waltons list 13 target cities receive bulk 1 billion education dollars foundation next five years target cities listed strategic report released earlier year include new york city los angeles washington dc new orleans houston taking step away dramatic investments newark different set conditions chicago sternberg says still environment newark chicago friendly charters years ago says trina scordo new jersey communities united funded primarily progressive unions may scale way chicago volatile situation around charter expansion right scordo says illusions waltons departure slow charter expansion newark go places get bang buck says mean might come back less clear path right players fill waltons gap160160160160160160160160160160160160 former state sen miguel del valle longtime opponent charter schools points walton important source money charters chicago isnt source financial standpoint players hedge fund folks others come providing support del valle says look growth noble charters dramatic theyve able secure private dollars sources addition state illinois received fiveyear 42 million grantfrom us department education last fall expand charter schools share best practices broy incs says impact waltons departure blunted degree influx federal dollars chicago compete districts grants however still broy says worry longterm national view chicago place thats getting things done moving things forward right way he160adds chicago continues strong local base philanthropic support charter schools incs continue receive walton funding statelevel policy work tax documents show walton grants accounted little less onethird 3 million incs reported revenues 2014 sternberg left door open return chicago says hes mindful impact waltons decision smaller organizations one small parent group charter parents united received twoyear 400000 seed grant walton 2014 recently shut couldnt raise enough money elsewhere stay afloat longterm clear want able look back take another look chicago years see opportunities may available today available sternberg says
| 733 |
<p>The Education Department under Betsy DeVos has issued new Title IX memo for transgender students. (Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>After revoking Obama-era guidance assuring transgender kids in school have access to the restroom consistent with their gender identity, the Department of Education has issued new rules indicating the Trump administration may seek to adjudicate situations in which schools are allowing student harassment based on gender identity.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://files.eqcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/2017.06.06_OCR-Instructions-to-the-Field-Re-Transgender-Students.pdf" type="external">three-page memo</a>, signed by acting Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights Candice Jackson, says despite the withdrawal of guidance determining Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 bars discrimination against transgender students, the administration will rely on Title IX in accordance with court decisions and regulations when&#160;“evaluating complaints of sex discrimination against individuals whether or not the individual is transgender.”</p>
<p>That would suggest the Department of Education is repositioning itself in the Trump administration against anti-trans discrimination in schools. A growing of numbers of federal courts are determining prohibitions on sex discrimination under federal law, including Title IX, bars discrimination against transgender people. For Title IX, a series of courts have determined the law assures transgender students have access to the school restrooms consistent with their gender identity.</p>
<p>The instructions, sent to Education Department employees, indicate the Office of Civil Rights “may assert subject matter jurisdiction” over a investigation if the administration deems a school isn’t handling allegations of anti-trans discrimination adequately. The new rules are dated June 6, but were first reported by the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/transgender-students-civil-rights-rules_us_5943f1a3e4b06bb7d272a1ca?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004" type="external">Huffington Post</a> late Friday.</p>
<p>Identified as such allegations in the letter is “failure to promptly and equitably resolve a transgender student’s complaint of sex discrimination”; failure to assess whether harassment of transgender students, including the refusal to use their preferred gender pronouns, is motivated by animus; or retaliation against a transgender student for looking into potential sex discrimination claims.</p>
<p>The Department of Education under Education Secretary Betsy DeVos issues the new instructions after DeVos and&#160;U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revoked the Obama-era guidance during the early months of the Trump administration. Media reports indicated DeVos privately resisted the move, but agreed go along with it on the insistence of President Trump.</p>
<p>The Trump administration guidance is considerably shorter than the more robust <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201605-title-ix-transgender.pdf" type="external">nine-page guidance</a> the Obama administration issued more than a year ago. Moreover, the Trump administration makes no reference to restrooms and locker rooms — which was the most contentious point of the Obama-era rules — nor does the new guidance address allowing transgender kids to join athletic teams consistent with the gender identity as the Obama-era guidance did.</p>
<p>On the issue of bathrooms, the Trump memo says the administration may seek to resolve one portion of a transgender student’s complaint while the leaving the bathroom issue behind.</p>
<p>“It is permissible, for example, for one allegation in a complaint (such as harassment based on gender stereotypes) to go forward while another allegation (such as denial of access to restrooms based on gender identity) is dismissed,” the memo says.</p>
<p>James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT &amp; HIV Project, said in a statement the new guidance under Trump is insufficient compared to the guidance issued during the Obama administration.</p>
<p>“The Trump administration’s decision to revoke the guidance on Title IX and transgender students was a shameful move,” Esseks said. “That guidance provided clarity to schools, as well as to transgender students and their families. These new instructions from the Department of Education are far from clear, and federal court rulings are increasingly on the side of transgender students.”</p>
<p>Condemning the instructions as “unclear” was Vanita Gupta, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil &amp; Human Rights, who under the Obama administration was principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.</p>
<p>“The unclear instructions issued by the Department of Education sow a new level of confusion and doubt for students, families and schools,” Gupta said. “Federal court rulings are increasingly on the side of transgender students, even if Secretary DeVos and Attorney General Sessions are not. The civil and human rights community continues to stand united, supporting the right of every student to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be protected by the law regardless of gender identity.”</p>
<p>Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said her organization is still reviewing the new instructions, but said it’s “unclear and seems to be further rollback of federal civil rights enforcement.”</p>
<p>“It seems that what they are saying is that they will enforce the law for some students and not others,” Keisling said. “That is never acceptable. Using the bathroom is a significant and necessary part of being a student. If a student can’t use the right bathroom at school, they simply can’t go to school. So if a student is kept from using the right bathroom, it is illegal Title IX sex discrimination.”</p>
<p>A social conservative legal firm that has litigated against LGBT rights also expressed displeasure with the memo.</p>
<p>Mat Staver, chair of the Liberty Counsel, said the Title IX rules violate of freedom of speech and called on the Trump administration to reverse the policy.</p>
<p>“Title IX is silent regarding the use of pronouns, and it cannot be a violation to refer to students by pronouns consistent with their actual sex,” Staver said in a statement. “Requiring false pronoun usage by teachers is a compelled speech violation for teachers and compelling students to participate in a lie violates their right to free speech. I thought we had seen the last of this nonsense coming out of the Department of Education. I call upon Betsy DeVos to end this new policy.”</p>
<p>A White House spokesperson made a general assertion President Trump supports LGBT rights when asked if he supports the new Department of Education memo.</p>
<p>“President Trump is committed to protecting the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community, and continues to be respectful and supportive of LGBTQ rights, just as he was throughout the election,” the spokesperson said.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Betsy Devos</a> <a href="" type="internal">James Esseks</a> <a href="" type="internal">Liberty Counsel</a> <a href="" type="internal">Title IX</a></p>
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education department betsy devos issued new title ix memo transgender students blade photo michael key revoking obamaera guidance assuring transgender kids school access restroom consistent gender identity department education issued new rules indicating trump administration may seek adjudicate situations schools allowing student harassment based gender identity threepage memo signed acting assistant secretary education civil rights candice jackson says despite withdrawal guidance determining title ix education amendments 1972 bars discrimination transgender students administration rely title ix accordance court decisions regulations when160evaluating complaints sex discrimination individuals whether individual transgender would suggest department education repositioning trump administration antitrans discrimination schools growing numbers federal courts determining prohibitions sex discrimination federal law including title ix bars discrimination transgender people title ix series courts determined law assures transgender students access school restrooms consistent gender identity instructions sent education department employees indicate office civil rights may assert subject matter jurisdiction investigation administration deems school isnt handling allegations antitrans discrimination adequately new rules dated june 6 first reported huffington post late friday identified allegations letter failure promptly equitably resolve transgender students complaint sex discrimination failure assess whether harassment transgender students including refusal use preferred gender pronouns motivated animus retaliation transgender student looking potential sex discrimination claims department education education secretary betsy devos issues new instructions devos and160us attorney general jeff sessions revoked obamaera guidance early months trump administration media reports indicated devos privately resisted move agreed go along insistence president trump trump administration guidance considerably shorter robust ninepage guidance obama administration issued year ago moreover trump administration makes reference restrooms locker rooms contentious point obamaera rules new guidance address allowing transgender kids join athletic teams consistent gender identity obamaera guidance issue bathrooms trump memo says administration may seek resolve one portion transgender students complaint leaving bathroom issue behind permissible example one allegation complaint harassment based gender stereotypes go forward another allegation denial access restrooms based gender identity dismissed memo says james esseks director american civil liberties unions lgbt amp hiv project said statement new guidance trump insufficient compared guidance issued obama administration trump administrations decision revoke guidance title ix transgender students shameful move esseks said guidance provided clarity schools well transgender students families new instructions department education far clear federal court rulings increasingly side transgender students condemning instructions unclear vanita gupta ceo leadership conference civil amp human rights obama administration principal deputy assistant attorney general justice departments civil rights division unclear instructions issued department education sow new level confusion doubt students families schools gupta said federal court rulings increasingly side transgender students even secretary devos attorney general sessions civil human rights community continues stand united supporting right every student treated dignity respect protected law regardless gender identity mara keisling executive director national center transgender equality said organization still reviewing new instructions said unclear seems rollback federal civil rights enforcement seems saying enforce law students others keisling said never acceptable using bathroom significant necessary part student student cant use right bathroom school simply cant go school student kept using right bathroom illegal title ix sex discrimination social conservative legal firm litigated lgbt rights also expressed displeasure memo mat staver chair liberty counsel said title ix rules violate freedom speech called trump administration reverse policy title ix silent regarding use pronouns violation refer students pronouns consistent actual sex staver said statement requiring false pronoun usage teachers compelled speech violation teachers compelling students participate lie violates right free speech thought seen last nonsense coming department education call upon betsy devos end new policy white house spokesperson made general assertion president trump supports lgbt rights asked supports new department education memo president trump committed protecting rights americans including lgbtq community continues respectful supportive lgbtq rights throughout election spokesperson said betsy devos james esseks liberty counsel title ix
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<p>Teachers at William Rainey Harper High School have gathered in a large conference room to explore creative ways to conduct 100-minute classes.</p>
<p>On the spur of the moment, five teachers put one idea into practice: role playing. They conjure up a special education classroom. Four teachers portray students; one of them can’t grasp the lesson, asks that everything be repeated and then forgets what she’s just been told. The fifth teacher plays a frustrated teacher, struggling to keep his cool.</p>
<p>“They’ve definitely got it, that’s it, that’s my class,” says one teacher in the audience, amid peels of laughter. “I can absolutely identify.”</p>
<p>As the 50-minute session comes to an end, most teachers seem energized by the interaction. But not Queen Weiner, a special education teacher. “I did learn some things here today, but I thought it was going to give us some meat about how to keep their attention,” she says. “I’ve been doing a lot of this all along. I’ve never been a teacher who just lectured.”</p>
<p>Weiner also worries how students with attention deficit disorders would fare if classes met two or three days a week, as typically occurs with 100-minute classes and block scheduling, instead of every day. “I’m afraid they’ll forget a lot in between,” she tells a reporter. “And how do you keep the attention of someone who can’t sit still for even 20 minutes? Block scheduling is not necessarily for everyone.”</p>
<p>Asked whether she would feel comfortable bringing her concerns to Nathaniel Mason, Harper’s new principal, Weiner replies without hesitation: “Oh yes, definitely yes.”</p>
<p>Weiner’s response speaks volumes about the new, reconstituted Harper High, a West Englewood school of 1,350 students. The principal is approachable and responsive, and the faculty trusts him; both are well documented essentials of school change. Indeed, when Mason talks about the school, he usually begins with “we.”</p>
<p>“When he identifies a problem, he proceeds to solve it with the help of his staff,” says Albert Williams, manager of reconstitution in the Office of Accountability. “That way, his whole staff is having an impact.”</p>
<p>Teachers, administrative staffers, students and parents give varying accounts of how much has changed at Harper, with some still questioning the value of reconstitution. However, everyone Catalyst interviewed said Nathaniel Mason, whom schools chief Paul Vallas plucked out of Lincoln Park High School, has been the best change of all—even above extra personnel and resources.</p>
<p>“I’m really impressed with Mr. Mason. He’s been a gold mine for our school, a steal,” says Morris Ross, local school council chair. “I’m observing teachers really making an effort to teach. I used to walk into the building, and 15 to 20 people would come to me complaining. Now hardly anyone approaches me. In comparison to when I came here three years ago, the changes are dramatically pleasing.”</p>
<p>Leadership, says Williams, will determine the rate of recovery at Harper and the six other high schools that were restaffed last summer. Englewood Technical Preparatory Academy and Orr Community Academy also are making notable progress, he says, citing their principals’ cooperative approach to management.</p>
<p>While serving as an assistant principal at Lincoln Park, Mason received management training at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. “This training taught me that it’s important to incorporate the input of staff,” he says. “Along those lines, when you form committees and a committee comes up with a solution, you really will try it—as long as it does not violate any laws.”</p>
<p>At Harper, even the numbers have begun to improve:</p>
<p>The course failure rate has dropped 4 percent since last year, from 64.2 percent to 60.8 percent. “It’s a beginning,” Mason says. “It’s still not where we want to be.”</p>
<p>Attendance has risen from 74.8 percent to 78.5 percent.</p>
<p>91 percent of the school’s 10th- and 11th-graders took the state IGAP tests this year, up from 72 percent last year. “It shows me that kids are taking the testing seriously,” Mason says. “At least we’ve accomplished this much. I think it also shows how they regard coming to school.”</p>
<p>While tardiness remains a problem for first period, it has decreased dramatically for subsequent classes.</p>
<p>The number of prank fire alarms is down, too. So far this year, there’s been only one, compared with a total of 34 last year.</p>
<p>Getting to class</p>
<p>An active attendance committee is behind the improvement in attendance and punctuality.</p>
<p>Harper cut absences by changing its staff development schedule. Previously, the those meetings were held for a whole afternoon every other Friday. “A lot of students weren’t coming to school for just the half day,” Mason says. Now, the meetings are held every Monday afternoon for 50 minutes. “By eliminating those half days, we solved some of our attendance problem almost immediately,” Mason says.</p>
<p>The school’s attendance committee also maintains an outreach program for students who fail to show up three days running and whose families cannot be reached by telephone: Members make house calls.</p>
<p>One teacher came up with her own novel way of getting students to class. Maxine Powell walks around with a cellular telephone. “If a student doesn’t show up, she calls the parent from class,” reports Assistant Principal Robert Anderson.</p>
<p>“I gave one girl a clock so she could know what time it is,” says Powell, adding, “You do what you have to do.”</p>
<p>Powell says other teachers are putting cell phones to work, too.</p>
<p>Stitching together ideas from other schools with some of its own, the attendance committee adopted a carrot-and-stick approach to tardiness. During passing periods, an intercom blares the Chicago Bull’s theme song, and later the theme from “Rocky” and other energetic tunes. A recording of Mason’s voice punctuates the music with a countdown, ticking off the number of minutes remaining until the next period begins. Once the recording says, “Teachers close your doors,” security officers “sweep” through the halls, rounding up tardy students and escorting them to the auditorium, where they remain until the next class.</p>
<p>“At the beginning of October, when we started the sweeps, there were 160 students per day tardy to class,” Mason says. “Now there are less than 50.” Chalk up five tardies, and the school calls home.</p>
<p>Michelle Hicks, a sophomore, appreciates the new order. “Last year, they’d let you roam about your business,” she says. “If people are constantly in the halls, it’s a distraction to the kids in classes, who are going to want to know what’s happening out there. Now kids go to class. They get more work done. They’re participating more in class.”</p>
<p>During classes, the school, for the most part, is quiet and orderly. The hallways are empty and appear to be buttoned up. Lockers and classroom doors are shut, and hallways are free of trash and debris.</p>
<p>“In order to change the climate of the school, we have also stressed high expectations in terms of students’ behavior,” says Mason.</p>
<p>The principal delivered that message personally to several students after a recent fire alarm gave way to a fight. The alarm went off around noon on a chilly, gray day in March. Students burst into the hallways and, along with teachers, streamed out of the school. One student dropped some paper onto a neighbor’s front lawn, the man became upset, and a fight broke out, involving 10 students. A teacher was slightly injured in the fracas.</p>
<p>Mason says he spoke with students at length about his disappointment in their behavior. “I told them this was a situation where we’ve taken five steps forward and two steps backward. I told them I had expected more from them.”</p>
<p>Losing good teachers</p>
<p>As at other reconstituted schools, Harper lost some of its better faculty members over the summer; uncertain about the future, they chose less stressful options, Anderson says.</p>
<p>Assistant Principal Mary Randle adds that there wasn’t enough time to make good hiring decisions about replacing them or the some 20 teachers who were not invited to return to Harper. “In some cases, time didn’t allow us to do the kind of research needed to determine the best candidates,” she says. “Sometimes people interview well, but later things don’t work out as well as expected.”</p>
<p>She adds that, Harper had no choice but to take some teachers who had been dismissed from other reconstituted schools. “I think some good and some bad came with reconstitution,” she says.</p>
<p>Some new teachers are standouts. Aretha Collins, chair of the Science Department, points, for example, to Nicholas Miklusak, who came to the school from the Teachers for Chicago program. “I have to marvel at how he is able to cut through the scientific jargon for these kids,” she says. “He allows students to have input into the lesson.”</p>
<p>If Mason is unhappy with any of his 92 teachers, he isn’t saying so. However, he does suggest that the Reform Board offer incentives to draw and retain quality teachers at reconstituted schools.</p>
<p>The bottom line</p>
<p>The bottom line for all reconstituted schools, as well as schools on probation, is improvement in reading and math. So far, Harper has concentrated on reading.</p>
<p>“I applaud the Office of Accountability for trying to end social promotion,” says John Campbell, chair of the Social Studies Department, “but I’m still seeing students reading at the 4th- and 5th-grade level.”</p>
<p>One of the first actions Mason took at Harper, acting on the wishes of the LSC, was to sever the school’s relationship with Sylvan Learning Systems, which, for $250,000 a year, had supplied tutoring services to only 130 students a year, according to Anderson. “They also wanted only students who were performing at a certain level to begin with, and they wanted students who came to school everyday. Well, don’t we all!” he says.</p>
<p>Mia Gamble, a reading teacher who joined Harper at the start of this year, says the program was more disruptive than helpful because students had to leave regular classes to get the special tutoring.</p>
<p>Williams, of the accountability office, says the decision to split was “mutual.” “They were ready to leave,” he says of Sylvan. “And we tell principals in these schools, ‘If your external partners are not doing the job, divorce them.'”</p>
<p>Harper’s probation manager, Frank W. Gardner, says he admires Mason’s ability to move swiftly on this and other matters. “He moves very quickly, and he has a sense of what has to be done. He will support those persons who are getting tangible results. He’s not punitive or vindictive, but the bottom line for him is success in the use of people’s efforts.”</p>
<p>With the money saved by dismissing Sylvan, the school stocked a reading lab with new computers.</p>
<p>Harper also hired two teachers with elementary school experience, Gamble and Powell, to teach freshmen with reading scores below 8.0 level, or the beginning of 8th grade. Each teacher has five classes of 19 to 28 students each; they meet daily for 50 minutes.</p>
<p>“My students still seem to have a lack of motivation,” says Gamble, who came from a school in the suburbs. “I’m not used to that.”</p>
<p>Gamble stresses active learning. Students work in groups after reading aloud or silently. They present their findings to each other and discuss their work. In analyzing literature, they incorporate role playing, skits, rap poetry and art. They read and analyze novels. In a nod to standardized tests, they do timed readings, too.</p>
<p>“They all seem to like the novels,” Gamble says. “I do see progress with some students.” She notes, for example, that students sometimes stop her in the hall to ask for clarification of lessons or for feedback on their progress.</p>
<p>Reading is stressed across the curriculum, with all teachers using strategies suggested by Harper’s external partner, Northeastern Illinois University.</p>
<p>One strategy is teaching students to use so-called graphic organizers to analyze reading material. For example, in comparing two political systems, students would draw two slightly overlapping circles, using the overlap section to record characteristics that the two systems share. Each of the other two sections of the drawing would be used to record characteristics unique to one of the systems.</p>
<p>“Basic skills are our biggest problem,” says Campbell of the Social Studies Department. “The focus now is with reading and vocabulary. “Many times, when they see [unfamiliar] words, they just give up. I’m trying to get them to slow down and say to themselves, ‘Hey, here are some clues.'”</p>
<p>Campbell also sees progress. He notes that sometimes students will say, “We did this in English and science!”</p>
<p>Northeastern’s role</p>
<p>While Northeastern has taught teachers how to design tests and quizzes to reinforce basic skills and to familiarize students with test formats, it also is promoting innovative teaching strategies and lesson plans. Occasionally, Northeastern faculty members take over a class to demonstrate, and video tapes of the demonstrations are shared with teachers.</p>
<p>Northeastern gets generally favorable reviews. However, at least one teacher views it as an unknowing outsider. “They know all the stuff from research, but who are they to come in here and tell us how to reach these kids?” he says, asking not to be identified. “What do they know about teaching in the urban setting?”</p>
<p>Honors courses, schools-within-a-school and extracurricular activities also are on Harper’s agenda.</p>
<p>An honors program already has been set up for freshmen and will expand next year to upper levels. “You have to recognize kids and provide challenges for those who excel,” says Mason. “I don’t buy that because of the neighborhood, kids should not be expected to. I say that because I came from Lincoln Park, where over 50 percent of the students were from Cabrini Green. We had kids there who would really perform well academically.”</p>
<p>Harper already had three small schools—Academy of Business and Entrepreneurship, ComETS (Communication, Education Technology for Success) and FACETS (Foods Academy Connecting Education to Technology). Before reconstitution, it had proposed, as part of an application to become a career academy, to create three more. However, the board rejected the application, and small-school planning has slowed.</p>
<p>“I don’t think small schools is the answer to everything, but based on the research I’ve done, students do much better,” says Assistant Principal Mary Randle. “The kids get to know the teachers. The teachers get to know the students and parents. The teachers work with each other.”</p>
<p>Harper believes its three small schools-are serving students well. For example, their attendance rates are better than that of students in the larger school.</p>
<p>Mason is a strong believer in extracurricular activities. “My thinking is that the more fun things a student wants to participate in at school, the more he’ll feel a sense of belonging, the more he’ll care about what he does, what he achieves, here,” he says.</p>
<p>Mason hired a band teacher and constantly encourages students to participate in athletic and academic competitions, as well as extracurricular clubs and activities.</p>
<p>The school’s sports teams have performed exceptionally well, winning five conference championships. Sophomore Michelle Hicks says the success of the football and basketball teams is drawing transfer students to Harper.</p>
<p>If Harper has an Achilles heel, it may be its 53 percent mobility rate, suggests probation manager Gardner. While the school is planning to market its unique offerings to feeder elementary schools, it can’t keep families from moving, he notes. “That’s something we can’t control. Parents who manage to do better for themselves move out of the neighborhood and take their kids away from the gangs.”</p>
<p>However, Mason simply won’t entertain the vision of a failed reconstitution effort. “That’s not anything to do with my vision for the school at all,” he says.</p>
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teachers william rainey harper high school gathered large conference room explore creative ways conduct 100minute classes spur moment five teachers put one idea practice role playing conjure special education classroom four teachers portray students one cant grasp lesson asks everything repeated forgets shes told fifth teacher plays frustrated teacher struggling keep cool theyve definitely got thats thats class says one teacher audience amid peels laughter absolutely identify 50minute session comes end teachers seem energized interaction queen weiner special education teacher learn things today thought going give us meat keep attention says ive lot along ive never teacher lectured weiner also worries students attention deficit disorders would fare classes met two three days week typically occurs 100minute classes block scheduling instead every day im afraid theyll forget lot tells reporter keep attention someone cant sit still even 20 minutes block scheduling necessarily everyone asked whether would feel comfortable bringing concerns nathaniel mason harpers new principal weiner replies without hesitation oh yes definitely yes weiners response speaks volumes new reconstituted harper high west englewood school 1350 students principal approachable responsive faculty trusts well documented essentials school change indeed mason talks school usually begins identifies problem proceeds solve help staff says albert williams manager reconstitution office accountability way whole staff impact teachers administrative staffers students parents give varying accounts much changed harper still questioning value reconstitution however everyone catalyst interviewed said nathaniel mason schools chief paul vallas plucked lincoln park high school best change alleven extra personnel resources im really impressed mr mason hes gold mine school steal says morris ross local school council chair im observing teachers really making effort teach used walk building 15 20 people would come complaining hardly anyone approaches comparison came three years ago changes dramatically pleasing leadership says williams determine rate recovery harper six high schools restaffed last summer englewood technical preparatory academy orr community academy also making notable progress says citing principals cooperative approach management serving assistant principal lincoln park mason received management training northwestern universitys kellogg graduate school management training taught important incorporate input staff says along lines form committees committee comes solution really try itas long violate laws harper even numbers begun improve course failure rate dropped 4 percent since last year 642 percent 608 percent beginning mason says still want attendance risen 748 percent 785 percent 91 percent schools 10th 11thgraders took state igap tests year 72 percent last year shows kids taking testing seriously mason says least weve accomplished much think also shows regard coming school tardiness remains problem first period decreased dramatically subsequent classes number prank fire alarms far year theres one compared total 34 last year getting class active attendance committee behind improvement attendance punctuality harper cut absences changing staff development schedule previously meetings held whole afternoon every friday lot students werent coming school half day mason says meetings held every monday afternoon 50 minutes eliminating half days solved attendance problem almost immediately mason says schools attendance committee also maintains outreach program students fail show three days running whose families reached telephone members make house calls one teacher came novel way getting students class maxine powell walks around cellular telephone student doesnt show calls parent class reports assistant principal robert anderson gave one girl clock could know time says powell adding powell says teachers putting cell phones work stitching together ideas schools attendance committee adopted carrotandstick approach tardiness passing periods intercom blares chicago bulls theme song later theme rocky energetic tunes recording masons voice punctuates music countdown ticking number minutes remaining next period begins recording says teachers close doors security officers sweep halls rounding tardy students escorting auditorium remain next class beginning october started sweeps 160 students per day tardy class mason says less 50 chalk five tardies school calls home michelle hicks sophomore appreciates new order last year theyd let roam business says people constantly halls distraction kids classes going want know whats happening kids go class get work done theyre participating class classes school part quiet orderly hallways empty appear buttoned lockers classroom doors shut hallways free trash debris order change climate school also stressed high expectations terms students behavior says mason principal delivered message personally several students recent fire alarm gave way fight alarm went around noon chilly gray day march students burst hallways along teachers streamed school one student dropped paper onto neighbors front lawn man became upset fight broke involving 10 students teacher slightly injured fracas mason says spoke students length disappointment behavior told situation weve taken five steps forward two steps backward told expected losing good teachers reconstituted schools harper lost better faculty members summer uncertain future chose less stressful options anderson says assistant principal mary randle adds wasnt enough time make good hiring decisions replacing 20 teachers invited return harper cases time didnt allow us kind research needed determine best candidates says sometimes people interview well later things dont work well expected adds harper choice take teachers dismissed reconstituted schools think good bad came reconstitution says new teachers standouts aretha collins chair science department points example nicholas miklusak came school teachers chicago program marvel able cut scientific jargon kids says allows students input lesson mason unhappy 92 teachers isnt saying however suggest reform board offer incentives draw retain quality teachers reconstituted schools bottom line bottom line reconstituted schools well schools probation improvement reading math far harper concentrated reading applaud office accountability trying end social promotion says john campbell chair social studies department im still seeing students reading 4th 5thgrade level one first actions mason took harper acting wishes lsc sever schools relationship sylvan learning systems 250000 year supplied tutoring services 130 students year according anderson also wanted students performing certain level begin wanted students came school everyday well dont says mia gamble reading teacher joined harper start year says program disruptive helpful students leave regular classes get special tutoring williams accountability office says decision split mutual ready leave says sylvan tell principals schools external partners job divorce harpers probation manager frank w gardner says admires masons ability move swiftly matters moves quickly sense done support persons getting tangible results hes punitive vindictive bottom line success use peoples efforts money saved dismissing sylvan school stocked reading lab new computers harper also hired two teachers elementary school experience gamble powell teach freshmen reading scores 80 level beginning 8th grade teacher five classes 19 28 students meet daily 50 minutes students still seem lack motivation says gamble came school suburbs im used gamble stresses active learning students work groups reading aloud silently present findings discuss work analyzing literature incorporate role playing skits rap poetry art read analyze novels nod standardized tests timed readings seem like novels gamble says see progress students notes example students sometimes stop hall ask clarification lessons feedback progress reading stressed across curriculum teachers using strategies suggested harpers external partner northeastern illinois university one strategy teaching students use socalled graphic organizers analyze reading material example comparing two political systems students would draw two slightly overlapping circles using overlap section record characteristics two systems share two sections drawing would used record characteristics unique one systems basic skills biggest problem says campbell social studies department focus reading vocabulary many times see unfamiliar words give im trying get slow say hey clues campbell also sees progress notes sometimes students say english science northeasterns role northeastern taught teachers design tests quizzes reinforce basic skills familiarize students test formats also promoting innovative teaching strategies lesson plans occasionally northeastern faculty members take class demonstrate video tapes demonstrations shared teachers northeastern gets generally favorable reviews however least one teacher views unknowing outsider know stuff research come tell us reach kids says asking identified know teaching urban setting honors courses schoolswithinaschool extracurricular activities also harpers agenda honors program already set freshmen expand next year upper levels recognize kids provide challenges excel says mason dont buy neighborhood kids expected say came lincoln park 50 percent students cabrini green kids would really perform well academically harper already three small schoolsacademy business entrepreneurship comets communication education technology success facets foods academy connecting education technology reconstitution proposed part application become career academy create three however board rejected application smallschool planning slowed dont think small schools answer everything based research ive done students much better says assistant principal mary randle kids get know teachers teachers get know students parents teachers work harper believes three small schoolsare serving students well example attendance rates better students larger school mason strong believer extracurricular activities thinking fun things student wants participate school hell feel sense belonging hell care achieves says mason hired band teacher constantly encourages students participate athletic academic competitions well extracurricular clubs activities schools sports teams performed exceptionally well winning five conference championships sophomore michelle hicks says success football basketball teams drawing transfer students harper harper achilles heel may 53 percent mobility rate suggests probation manager gardner school planning market unique offerings feeder elementary schools cant keep families moving notes thats something cant control parents manage better move neighborhood take kids away gangs however mason simply wont entertain vision failed reconstitution effort thats anything vision school says
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<p>WANGENINGEN, Netherlands - One billion people on earth are currently <a href="http://www.wfp.org/1billion" type="external">starving</a>. But Arnold van Huis says the solution to food security is right beneath our feet.</p>
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<p>Van Huis is one of the world's preeminent researchers and advocates of eating insects. An entomology professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, he believes that bugs are the meal of the future.</p>
<p>More Futurists: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/111123/amitabh-kant-urbanization-industrialization-new-delhi-mumbai-the-futurists" type="external">Turning India's farms into factories</a></p>
<p>He and his colleagues say it's only a matter of time, not of taste nor temerity, before we're all gazing upon our backyards as burgeoning bug buffets.</p>
<p>"People will certainly do it when they find out it's very sustainable," he said.</p>
<p>Now, van Huis is working to convince the Western world to join the other 80 percent of the planet that already sees insects as an integral and attractive part of its diet.</p>
<p>More Futurists: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/costa-rica/111121/futurists-UAVs-drones-volcanoes" type="external">Getting up-close with volcanoes</a></p>
<p>He has several arguments for why people should start munching bugs - they're environmentally friendly and improve the quality of nutrition, he says. Ultimately, people may turn to bugs for no other reason than economics.</p>
<p>Beef, for example, is simply getting too expensive as a food staple, van Huis said. "The FAO [United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization] has already predicted that only rich people will be able to buy [beef] in 20 years' time," he said.</p>
<p>"If your Big Mac is going to cost about $100, and your Bug Mac is going to cost only $4, people will change to a Bug Mac."</p>
<p>The European Union announced in June that it would award more than $4 million in grant money for research into insects as a protein source. Wageningen University is competing for some of that EU cash.</p>
<p>Not everyone's on the bug bandwagon. A member of the European Parliament from the generally anti-EU United Kingdom Independence Party railed against the whole concept being promoted by "wastrel bureaucrats."</p>
<p>"I think it's scary just how much time the European Commission spends dreaming up nonsense ideas to waste taxpayers' money," said Paul Nuttell. "Roasted scorpions and pan-fried locusts might be great if you are starving and have no choice. But for heaven's sake, civilization has actually moved on from a Stone Age diet."</p>
<p>A buggy diet is better for you, Van Huis says. Insects generally contain between 30 and 70 percent protein, as well as significant amounts of essential fatty acids, B vitamins and minerals such as iron and zinc.</p>
<p>The FAO has <a href="http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2004/51409/" type="external">calculated</a> that dried caterpillars have a higher proportion of protein and fat than beef and fish, which gives them a high energy value. They're also a great source of vitamins and minerals.&#160;</p>
<p>It's also more sustainable to produce them. Livestock cultivation is blamed for almost one-fifth of greenhouse-gas emissions.</p>
<p>On a recent afternoon, a Ph.D. candidate at Wageningen, Dennis Oonincx, measured out portions of different powders made up of substances like brewers' yeast, leftover cookie crumbs and cast-off potato peelings to boxes of writhing mealworms.</p>
<p>The bugs will be put into a deep freeze, then "harvested" and analyzed. Oonincx is also painstakingly tracing the life cycles of the products he's feeding the worms, including counting the costs of everything, as well as the gas to transport it.</p>
<p>Oonincx also does his part to promote insect consumption at home, feeding crickets dusted with cinnamon sugar to his poker buddies, who he says have become big fans. He suggested to his girlfriend they include some bug-based dishes in the family Christmas dinner but said although she eats insects too, she didn't bite.</p>
<p>Advocates acknowledge that to overcome resistance to making things like mealworms a regular dish, it's going to have to be disproportionately delicious.</p>
<p>Marian Peters and her partners at <a href="http://www.venik.nl" type="external">Venik</a>, a consortium of six Dutch insect producers, are working on that.</p>
<p>Peters spends a lot of time in the "Restaurant of the Future" on Wageningen's campus, where Chef Johan Verbon and trainees concoct various delicacies with insects. He says grinding them up in pasta sauce is the best way to serve them.</p>
<p>He's crunching on freeze-dried grasshoppers - "first you have to take off the wings and legs" - and a pan of chocolate candy topped generously with mealworms sits nearby.</p>
<p>"The worms add a bit of a nutty flavor," Peters said. Her favorite is the mealworm trailmix she snacked on while talking. She and Verbon talk briefly about what to do with a batch of buffalo-worm meatballs in the freezer.</p>
<p>Peters has no doubt her team can concoct tantalizing dishes that will win over consumers - if they get over their hesitation to take the first bite.</p>
<p>A quick attempt to get a few bystanders in the "Restaurant of the Future" to chomp on a freeze-dried grasshopper, however, went 0 for 3.</p>
<p>Peters says attitudes are changing, though, both according to consumer polling her organization is conducting and to public interest. Venik sends representatives into schools to talk about insects as a food source, hoping to head off kids from ever building up the mental resistance of the "ick factor."</p>
<p>Since the market is so small, production costs are still very high, making bug protein far too expensive even for those who might be willing to try it. And at the moment, even beef is cheaper than mealworms because of the expensive freeze-drying process used for the limited product range.</p>
<p>Van Huis expects widespread change in European society may take a decade or two, but he doesn't doubt it's underway. He's organizing an expert-level conference at FAO headquarters in Rome in January, where there will also be representatives of industry wanting to get in on the ground floor of the bug market.</p>
<p>So while European holiday-makers may not be putting plump braised queen termites on their meal tables yet this year, Van Huis says, "We will be putting this on the food agenda." &#160;</p>
| false | 3 |
wangeningen netherlands one billion people earth currently starving arnold van huis says solution food security right beneath feet must eat bugs says cant quite stomach idea summoning family festive holiday meal sauteed scorpion160with cornborer cornbread cabbage cricket salad160on side wait van huis one worlds preeminent researchers advocates eating insects entomology professor wageningen university netherlands believes bugs meal future futurists turning indias farms factories colleagues say matter time taste temerity gazing upon backyards burgeoning bug buffets people certainly find sustainable said van huis working convince western world join 80 percent planet already sees insects integral attractive part diet futurists getting upclose volcanoes several arguments people start munching bugs theyre environmentally friendly improve quality nutrition says ultimately people may turn bugs reason economics beef example simply getting expensive food staple van huis said fao united nations food agriculture organization already predicted rich people able buy beef 20 years time said big mac going cost 100 bug mac going cost 4 people change bug mac european union announced june would award 4 million grant money research insects protein source wageningen university competing eu cash everyones bug bandwagon member european parliament generally antieu united kingdom independence party railed whole concept promoted wastrel bureaucrats think scary much time european commission spends dreaming nonsense ideas waste taxpayers money said paul nuttell roasted scorpions panfried locusts might great starving choice heavens sake civilization actually moved stone age diet buggy diet better van huis says insects generally contain 30 70 percent protein well significant amounts essential fatty acids b vitamins minerals iron zinc fao calculated dried caterpillars higher proportion protein fat beef fish gives high energy value theyre also great source vitamins minerals160 also sustainable produce livestock cultivation blamed almost onefifth greenhousegas emissions recent afternoon phd candidate wageningen dennis oonincx measured portions different powders made substances like brewers yeast leftover cookie crumbs castoff potato peelings boxes writhing mealworms bugs put deep freeze harvested analyzed oonincx also painstakingly tracing life cycles products hes feeding worms including counting costs everything well gas transport oonincx also part promote insect consumption home feeding crickets dusted cinnamon sugar poker buddies says become big fans suggested girlfriend include bugbased dishes family christmas dinner said although eats insects didnt bite advocates acknowledge overcome resistance making things like mealworms regular dish going disproportionately delicious marian peters partners venik consortium six dutch insect producers working peters spends lot time restaurant future wageningens campus chef johan verbon trainees concoct various delicacies insects says grinding pasta sauce best way serve hes crunching freezedried grasshoppers first take wings legs pan chocolate candy topped generously mealworms sits nearby worms add bit nutty flavor peters said favorite mealworm trailmix snacked talking verbon talk briefly batch buffaloworm meatballs freezer peters doubt team concoct tantalizing dishes win consumers get hesitation take first bite quick attempt get bystanders restaurant future chomp freezedried grasshopper however went 0 3 peters says attitudes changing though according consumer polling organization conducting public interest venik sends representatives schools talk insects food source hoping head kids ever building mental resistance ick factor since market small production costs still high making bug protein far expensive even might willing try moment even beef cheaper mealworms expensive freezedrying process used limited product range van huis expects widespread change european society may take decade two doesnt doubt underway hes organizing expertlevel conference fao headquarters rome january also representatives industry wanting get ground floor bug market european holidaymakers may putting plump braised queen termites meal tables yet year van huis says putting food agenda 160
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<p>BASHIQA, Iraq — At a small military base just outside of Mosul, a few hundred Iraqi troops stand at attention in three neat rows.&#160;</p>
<p>Within a prefab office nearby, a group of US officials is sitting down with some local commanders. They make introductions and exchange pleasantries, before the Americans ask the question they came all this way to ask: “How can we help?”</p>
<p>When the US announced its intention to support Iraq in its fight against the Islamic State (IS), it did so on the condition that the government undergo serious reforms to reach out to the country’s Sunni population, who were severely marginalized under the sectarian rule of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.</p>
<p>US-backed legislation to create an Iraqi “national guard” — first proposed in September — was aimed at diluting Sunni support for IS by promising Sunni fighters, including tribal forces, weapons and supplies from Iraq’s central government. A former <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4133039.stm" type="external">Iraqi National Guard force</a> was absorbed into the army a decade ago.</p>
<p>It was hoped that these groups would recapture the Sunni areas held by IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL, in western Iraq.</p>
<p>But with the Iraqi government failing to make headway in the fight, and the national guard legislation languishing in parliament, the US has begun to work behind the scenes to train and prepare to arm Iraq’s Sunnis on its own.</p>
<p>Enter General Khaled al-Hamdani’s fighters — all of whom are Sunni.</p>
<p>“They asked me ‘what do you want exactly,’” Gen. Hamdani said shortly after his meeting earlier this month with the Americans, one of whom Iraqi officials identified as belonging to the CIA.</p>
<p>When an offensive begins to take back Mosul from IS, says Hamdani — formerly the province’s chief of police — it will be these men who lead the way.</p>
<p>“[The Americans] asked: ‘How can we help you with weapons, with supplies, with life here in this camp?’”</p>
<p>A State Department official described US involvement with groups like Hamdani’s as “encouraging and facilitating the outreach that has been underway by the Iraqi government to Sunni communities across Iraq.”</p>
<p>The official told GlobalPost that the national guard legislation is “a longer-term goal,” but stated that arming other Sunni groups including tribal elements “will be a ‘bridge’ to the [Iraqi] National Guard with these tribal forces eventually subsumed into the national guard once established.”</p>
<p>‘We’ll take it back in a month’</p>
<p>Dobardan Base, about 10 kilometers from the front lines with IS, houses a division of more than 6,000, mostly former Nineveh province security forces, including a 250-man “SWAT” or special forces unit.</p>
<p>At the compound, the unit jogged in formation from one side of the base to the other while the US officials were taken on a tour of the facilities. The US officials declined to comment, but one confirmed they were there to assess the needs of Hamdani’s men.</p>
<p>“Once we get all the training and the weapons we need,” General Hamdani said flatly, “we’ll take back Mosul in just one month.” The clutch of bodyguards and assistants hovering around the general nodded and murmured in agreement.</p>
<p>But despite Hamdani’s resolve, the means to launch his envisioned counter-attack have not been forthcoming until recently. That has a lot to do with the distrust between Iraq’s different sects — which has deepened since the Islamic State’s rise.</p>
<p>Many of Iraq’s Shia, the sect that dominates the central government and the country’s most effective fighting forces, partially blame Sunnis for the rapid IS sweep across the country’s north and steady progress in Iraq’s western Anbar province.</p>
<p>When IS fighters first advanced on Mosul in June, four entire divisions of the Iraqi army collapsed. Thousands of troops fled, thousands more were killed or captured. Many of the city’s majority Sunni residents, at the time chafing under the brutal rule of then-Prime Minister Maliki’s Shia dominated security forces, welcomed the extremist group.</p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/14/us-mideast-crisis-gharawi-special-report-idUSKCN0I30Z820141014" type="external">Reuters special report</a> on the fall of Mosul, top generals in the city, short-staffed and undersupplied to begin with, anticipated the June IS attack and called for reinforcements. Their requests were ultimately denied by the central government.&#160;</p>
<p>Since the fall of Iraq’s second largest city in June, Hamdani’s men, looking for a way to join the fight to reclaim it, have been largely ignored. Distrusted by both Iraq’s central government in Baghdad and authorities in the autonomous Kurdish region directly on their border, the men were denied the weapons and training they say they need to fight back against IS.</p>
<p>Things began to change this past week. On Dec. 7, a small shipment of weapons that was being held up at Erbil’s international airport by a tangle of politics and bureaucracy was delivered to the base.</p>
<p>Analysts and Iraqi officials say this follows a weeks-long US campaign to pressure Baghdad to facilitate the arming of the country’s Sunnis as part of an effort to retake territory from IS in the majority Sunni provinces of Anbar and Nineveh.</p>
<p>Outside Mosul, Hamdani's men received 30 heavy machine guns and 2,000 kalashnikov rifles, just a fraction of what Iraqi officials at the base say was promised to them from the Ministry of Interior.</p>
<p>“For six months we had been asking our government [for help],” explains the general, “and they gave us nothing, just tents and beds.” Hamdani says despite the initial shipment from Baghdad, he hopes the US will bypass the central government and arm his men directly.</p>
<p>“I always thought we will get weapons from the Americans before we get anything from [the central government], because the Americans, they are serious.”</p>
<p>Asked if last week’s shipment of arms shows the government in Baghdad is serious, General Hamdani simply replied: “No.”</p>
<p>There are dangers to the strategy being pursued by the US.</p>
<p>Arming Sunni groups without also incorporating them into the country’s armed forces, could, some analysts warn, further fracture the country by militarizing sectarian rifts.</p>
<p>“If there’s going to be a unified Iraq of any kind coming out of this war with Daash [the Arabic acronym for IS], this national guard concept is an absolutely critical element of it,” said Ken Pollack, an Iraq analyst with the Brookings Institution.</p>
<p>“For the Sunni community, this is it … if they are going to move forward and be part of a new Iraq it is going to have to be a highly federalized system, one in which [the Sunnis] have their own security forces.”</p>
<p>Relatively small arms shipments like those made to Hamdani’s men outside of formal legislation appear to just be “paying lip service” to US demands for a more inclusive security force, Pollack said. In order to forge a longer lasting solution, he argues, agreements need to be formalized through law.</p>
<p>“Someone is going to have to help the Iraqis forge a new power sharing arrangement,” he said. “There’s just no evidence to suggest that the Iraqis are going to do it by themselves.”</p>
<p />
<p>‘We just talk about guns’</p>
<p>As the visit last week wound down and US officials along with their security detail drove off in a fleet of GMCs, the Iraqi troops stopped jogging. The general’s bodyguards, shadowing him moments before, put down their weapons and lit cigarettes. The rest of the troops dispersed, some to lie down in the sun; others returned to their bunks in the neat rows of tents along the camp’s edge.</p>
<p>“The Americans, yeah they visit, but all they do is talk,” explains Colonel Ibrahim al-Hamdani, another commander at the base, leaning back in a plastic chair. “The US has been very slow,” he adds.</p>
<p>Like many of the men here, Col. Hamdani — no direct relation to the general — wants the US to play a larger role in retaking Mosul, to commit more trainers and directly arm the Sunni fighters.</p>
<p>In the meantime, Hamdani says the men spend most of their day preparing for the eventual Mosul offensive.</p>
<p>“We do physical training every morning,” the Colonel said between drags on a cigarette. “We run for one kilometer, you know, about 30 minutes, then we do stretching for 15 minutes and then we rest.”</p>
<p>When asked what the men do for the remainder of the day, the colonel replied: “Weapons training.” But when asked to elaborate, he reluctantly explained that because until recently the men had no weapons, “for weapons training we just talk about the guns.”</p>
<p>At a peshmerga checkpoint just down the road from the base, Kurdish fighters skeptically eye their Sunni counterparts. While both forces are fighting against IS, there is very little coordination between the two due just as much to decades of animosity as to tensions recently inflamed by IS advances.</p>
<p>“Even I wouldn’t give them weapons,” said one low-ranking peshmerga fighter, of the men from Mosul based just up the road from him. “Half of them, their brothers are still in Mosul and fighting on the side of [IS],” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press. “Giving them weapons is just like arming the enemy.”</p>
<p>Many of Iraq’s Kurdish armed forces share this fighter’s opinion, blaming Iraq’s military and security forces stationed in Mosul not only for facilitating the IS sweep across the country’s north, but also for directly aiding the group by abandoning weapons that IS later pocketed. Many of the men at Dobardan camp openly admit to abandoning their posts in June, leaving behind weapons and supplies.</p>
<p>Camped out in a temporary office above a hair salon in the nearby city of Dohuk, the deputy governor of Mosul becomes visibly frustrated when asked about the lack of weapons for men at bases like Dobardan and slow progress in developing an operation to take back Mosul.</p>
<p>“[The central government] says it’s because they don’t have the capability to send us arms,” Nuraddin Kaplan says from behind a sparse desk. “But I cannot say if that is true or not,” he adds, smiling.</p>
<p>Then he turns serious, and shrugs. “Honestly, it’s because Baghdad doesn’t trust us.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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bashiqa iraq small military base outside mosul hundred iraqi troops stand attention three neat rows160 within prefab office nearby group us officials sitting local commanders make introductions exchange pleasantries americans ask question came way ask help us announced intention support iraq fight islamic state condition government undergo serious reforms reach countrys sunni population severely marginalized sectarian rule former prime minister nouri almaliki usbacked legislation create iraqi national guard first proposed september aimed diluting sunni support promising sunni fighters including tribal forces weapons supplies iraqs central government former iraqi national guard force absorbed army decade ago hoped groups would recapture sunni areas held also known isis isil western iraq iraqi government failing make headway fight national guard legislation languishing parliament us begun work behind scenes train prepare arm iraqs sunnis enter general khaled alhamdanis fighters sunni asked want exactly gen hamdani said shortly meeting earlier month americans one iraqi officials identified belonging cia offensive begins take back mosul says hamdani formerly provinces chief police men lead way americans asked help weapons supplies life camp state department official described us involvement groups like hamdanis encouraging facilitating outreach underway iraqi government sunni communities across iraq official told globalpost national guard legislation longerterm goal stated arming sunni groups including tribal elements bridge iraqi national guard tribal forces eventually subsumed national guard established well take back month dobardan base 10 kilometers front lines houses division 6000 mostly former nineveh province security forces including 250man swat special forces unit compound unit jogged formation one side base us officials taken tour facilities us officials declined comment one confirmed assess needs hamdanis men get training weapons need general hamdani said flatly well take back mosul one month clutch bodyguards assistants hovering around general nodded murmured agreement despite hamdanis resolve means launch envisioned counterattack forthcoming recently lot distrust iraqs different sects deepened since islamic states rise many iraqs shia sect dominates central government countrys effective fighting forces partially blame sunnis rapid sweep across countrys north steady progress iraqs western anbar province fighters first advanced mosul june four entire divisions iraqi army collapsed thousands troops fled thousands killed captured many citys majority sunni residents time chafing brutal rule thenprime minister malikis shia dominated security forces welcomed extremist group according reuters special report fall mosul top generals city shortstaffed undersupplied begin anticipated june attack called reinforcements requests ultimately denied central government160 since fall iraqs second largest city june hamdanis men looking way join fight reclaim largely ignored distrusted iraqs central government baghdad authorities autonomous kurdish region directly border men denied weapons training say need fight back things began change past week dec 7 small shipment weapons held erbils international airport tangle politics bureaucracy delivered base analysts iraqi officials say follows weekslong us campaign pressure baghdad facilitate arming countrys sunnis part effort retake territory majority sunni provinces anbar nineveh outside mosul hamdanis men received 30 heavy machine guns 2000 kalashnikov rifles fraction iraqi officials base say promised ministry interior six months asking government help explains general gave us nothing tents beds hamdani says despite initial shipment baghdad hopes us bypass central government arm men directly always thought get weapons americans get anything central government americans serious asked last weeks shipment arms shows government baghdad serious general hamdani simply replied dangers strategy pursued us arming sunni groups without also incorporating countrys armed forces could analysts warn fracture country militarizing sectarian rifts theres going unified iraq kind coming war daash arabic acronym national guard concept absolutely critical element said ken pollack iraq analyst brookings institution sunni community going move forward part new iraq going highly federalized system one sunnis security forces relatively small arms shipments like made hamdanis men outside formal legislation appear paying lip service us demands inclusive security force pollack said order forge longer lasting solution argues agreements need formalized law someone going help iraqis forge new power sharing arrangement said theres evidence suggest iraqis going talk guns visit last week wound us officials along security detail drove fleet gmcs iraqi troops stopped jogging generals bodyguards shadowing moments put weapons lit cigarettes rest troops dispersed lie sun others returned bunks neat rows tents along camps edge americans yeah visit talk explains colonel ibrahim alhamdani another commander base leaning back plastic chair us slow adds like many men col hamdani direct relation general wants us play larger role retaking mosul commit trainers directly arm sunni fighters meantime hamdani says men spend day preparing eventual mosul offensive physical training every morning colonel said drags cigarette run one kilometer know 30 minutes stretching 15 minutes rest asked men remainder day colonel replied weapons training asked elaborate reluctantly explained recently men weapons weapons training talk guns peshmerga checkpoint road base kurdish fighters skeptically eye sunni counterparts forces fighting little coordination two due much decades animosity tensions recently inflamed advances even wouldnt give weapons said one lowranking peshmerga fighter men mosul based road half brothers still mosul fighting side said speaking condition anonymity authorized speak press giving weapons like arming enemy many iraqs kurdish armed forces share fighters opinion blaming iraqs military security forces stationed mosul facilitating sweep across countrys north also directly aiding group abandoning weapons later pocketed many men dobardan camp openly admit abandoning posts june leaving behind weapons supplies camped temporary office hair salon nearby city dohuk deputy governor mosul becomes visibly frustrated asked lack weapons men bases like dobardan slow progress developing operation take back mosul central government says dont capability send us arms nuraddin kaplan says behind sparse desk say true adds smiling turns serious shrugs honestly baghdad doesnt trust us 160
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<p>This feature first appeared on our web site in March 2016.</p>
<p>Jim Coston, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, is still planning to use his guns.</p>
<p>He lives outside the city and wants to protect his goats and chickens, and firearms greatly diminish a wild predator’s return on investment when it comes to killing livestock and poultry.</p>
<p>The place that Coston isn’t taking his firearms is church.</p>
<p>Church leaders around Texas are — no surprise — under the impression that an openly displayed handgun doesn’t promote a worshipful environment.</p>
<p>Texas became an open carry state in January, when a law that passed last year by the state legislature went into effect. That means people who have had a license to carry certain concealed weapons, which has been allowed since the 1990s, can carry their guns out in the open.</p>
<p><a href="https://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/no-gun_web.jpg" type="external" />Private property owners, however, have a say in whether or not they will allow those openly carried weapons in their establishments.</p>
<p>Now churches in the state are deciding among their options for how they want to adjust to the new rule.</p>
<p>“Our deacons and church council … discussed the situation in great detail and decided we would not allow any open carry in the sanctuary,” says Scott Chapman, chair of deacons at First Baptist Church in Austin, Texas.</p>
<p>They can’t do anything about sidewalks in and around the building, Chapman says. The law allows prohibition only inside the main building.</p>
<p>Chapman says he attended a seminar with almost 80 people representing 20 different churches to discuss the implications of the new law. They considered a variety of solutions. They could hand people small cards stating that the church doesn’t allow open carry or they could approach people and tell them verbally.</p>
<p>What First Baptist Church in Austin is opting to do is to put up a sign.</p>
<p>The sign must be “be displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public,” according to resources from the Texas Department of Public Safety. They have to “appear in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height; and be displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public at each entrance to the property.”</p>
<p>Chapman says he was not happy about having a large sign mar the entryway to the church, but that it was preferable to putting an elderly church staff woman into situations that could potentially “get ugly.”</p>
<p>As for the why they wanted the ban?</p>
<p>“Many people thought it would be hard to be worshipful if they’re sitting in a pew next to someone with a gun exposed,” Chapman says. “It’s just not conducive to a worshipful experience.”</p>
<p>Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston was still in the process of making a decision in mid-January, said Larry Heslip, pastor of administration at the church. It’s taken a position against it but is still waiting for a congregational vote.</p>
<p>“We’re a very democratic bunch,” Heslip says.</p>
<p>First Baptist Church of Austin has opted to post a sign on its doors to prohibit firearms in the sanctuary.</p>
<p>Texas had a couple of major laws at stake in the most recent legislative session. The open carry law was one.</p>
<p>A more conservative Senate weighed in and, with the Republican governor’s backing, an open carry bill became law.</p>
<p>More outcry came from a different law, however, one that lets people carry guns on college campuses. That bill’s opposition lightened a little when private — including religious — universities were allowed to opt out, which virtually all of them did.</p>
<p>Even before the concealed carry law, people were allowed to carry long-guns, such as rifles, openly down the street.</p>
<p>According to the new law, the unconcealed handguns have to be holstered whether they’re loaded or not.</p>
<p>Roger Olson, a professor of theology at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, says one of the core considerations is whether or not the church should choose pacifism.</p>
<p>In the Gospels, Jesus tells Peter to put away his sword at the Garden of Gethsemane. On the other hand, Luke 22:36 reads:</p>
<p>“He said to them, ‘But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.’”</p>
<p>The Scripture takes place at the Last Supper in Luke, and later, verse 38 reads: “The disciples said, ‘See, Lord, here are two swords.’</p>
<p>“‘That’s enough!’ he replied.”</p>
<p>“Both sides, pacifists and non-pacifists, can defend their position from the New Testament itself,” Olson says.</p>
<p>Pacifism seems to have solid support in theory.</p>
<p>“Would Jesus carry, open or concealed? I would suspect not,” Olson says.</p>
<p>Pacifism comes with its own quandaries, however. Olson says he recommends&#160;people watch films like The Machine Gun Preacher, in which the main character is invited to use violence against the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, which captures and brutalizes children to turn them into soldiers.</p>
<p>“Then the question is, does God expect us to defend the weak among us? If yes, then how?” Olson says.</p>
<p>Roger Olson (Photo/Truett Seminary)</p>
<p>In principle, he says he isn’t opposed to people carrying weapons where there is real danger. But he adds: “Better to have someone who is trained,” referring to professional law enforcement.</p>
<p>Baptist churches aren’t the only ones trending against allowing openly visible weapons in worship. The Catholic Diocese of El Paso, Texas, is set against open and concealed carry.</p>
<p>“We talk a lot about safe environment,” says Diocese Chancellor Patricia Fierro. “We felt like this was part of that. … We’re not going to allow concealed or open carry weapons inside our churches.”</p>
<p>She says people just feel safer “sitting next to someone who doesn’t have a gun.”</p>
<p>As of mid-January, the diocese was still printing signs. Some locations have general, dedicated security in their facilities already, Fierro says.</p>
<p>The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is not allowing firearms in its churches either.</p>
<p>“The Episcopal Diocese of Texas does not permit any person, including clergy, staff, students, volunteers and visitors, to carry a weapon in our churches or schools. This prohibition applies even if the person is licensed to carry a concealed weapon under Texas law,” an online resource for the diocese states. The site even has samples of the prohibition signs and cards ready for printing.</p>
<p>A post by the co-chancellors of the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church states: “Believing that the open carry of handguns on church property is inconsistent with an atmosphere of prayer and worship, it is the recommendation of the Conference Chancellors that oral and/or written notice be given in accordance with the statute prohibiting the ‘open carry’ of handguns in churches of the Conference. We make no recommendation regarding the prohibition of concealed handguns on church property and suggest that this be left up to individual congregations.”</p>
<p>Doug Dubois, executive director of the Texas State Rifle Association, which promotes gun rights, claims he hasn’t heard much concern from churches about the new law.</p>
<p>“We felt like concealed carry is going to be more likely the rule of thumb for most churches,” Dubois says. “The perception that a church might be a gun-free zone is really not the case anymore.”</p>
<p>Calvary Baptist Church in Waco went ahead and voted to prohibit bringing any kind of firearm into the church.</p>
<p>Waco made the news in 2015 when nine bikers were killed in a motorcycle gang shootout.</p>
<p>“The church has never had anything official,” Coston, the pastor, said before the decision. “We’re a house of worship. We’re seeking to follow Jesus. We would like to break the swords into ploughshares now instead of having to wait.”</p>
<p>Calvary Baptist has opted to have people approach staff members if they see anyone holding guns, rather than have the large sign.</p>
<p>“To many of us [the sign] seemed somewhat surreal,” Coston says. “I would rather people see the cross than see that sign.”</p>
<p>Coston says he didn’t expect there to be any problems. For 80 years, in no one’s&#160;memory has there been an issue.</p>
<p>But Coston adds that, even with firearms banned at the church, he would be using them himself.</p>
<p>“I live outside of Waco,” he said, and he will defend his goats and chickens from predators with the weapons.</p>
<p>“As it comes to bringing handguns to church, we’re called to live differently, and we’re trying to do that.”</p>
<p><a href="https://1648o73kablq2rveyn64glm1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/opencarry_web.jpg" type="external" />Laws on open carry vary greatly among states. More than 40 of the 50 states already allow open carry.&#160; In Nevada, people don’t need a license to carry a gun openly, but they do need a permit to carry a concealed weapon.</p>
<p>Other states allow for open carry, but they effectively are no-carry states.</p>
<p>Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott said soon after his election that he supports open carry efforts.</p>
<p>“If open carry is good enough for Massachusetts, it’s good enough for the state of Texas,” Abbott said.</p>
<p>In Massachusetts, however, a person who is bothered by seeing a gun can prompt an assault charge and license removal, Jim Wallace, executive director of the Gun Owners’ Action League in the state, has told Scripps News.</p>
<p>In 2014, a Georgia Baptist lobbying group supported legislation in Georgia to let churches opt-in to allowing guns in churches.</p>
<p>At a House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee meeting, Mike Griffin a public affairs representative for the Georgia Baptist Convention, testified in favor of allowing guns.</p>
<p>“The protection of innocent human life is paramount,” Griffin said. “It’s the most important protection we can have in our country. If we don’t have life, we don’t have liberty. If we don’t have liberty, we don’t have property rights. So that’s very important that we protect, and I think among law-abiding citizens as qualified in this legislation, no one would have any reason to fear having more people like that around you.”</p>
<p>North Carolina allows for open carry, and David Blackmon, coordinating pastor at First Baptist Church of Asheville, said his congregation hasn’t taken any positions on the matter. “We haven’t done anything,” Blackmon says. “We don’t have signs that say don’t bring weapons in. Our general culture here is that people aren’t going to walk in with a gun. We’ll probably just gently say, don’t bring that in.</p>
<p>“I think the harder part for churches now is deciding what to do just in general around security.”</p>
<p>The topic of church security heightened after the Charleston, S.C., shooting last summer, when nine people were shot and killed at Emanuel African Methodist Church in an act of racial terrorism. Open carry is illegal in South Carolina.</p>
<p>— This feature first appeared in the March/April 2016 issue of&#160;Herald magazine, published by Baptist News Global five times a year and distributed to donors to the&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Annual Fund</a>. Bulk copies are also mailed to BNG’s Church Champion congregations.</p>
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feature first appeared web site march 2016 jim coston senior pastor calvary baptist church waco texas still planning use guns lives outside city wants protect goats chickens firearms greatly diminish wild predators return investment comes killing livestock poultry place coston isnt taking firearms church church leaders around texas surprise impression openly displayed handgun doesnt promote worshipful environment texas became open carry state january law passed last year state legislature went effect means people license carry certain concealed weapons allowed since 1990s carry guns open private property owners however say whether allow openly carried weapons establishments churches state deciding among options want adjust new rule deacons church council discussed situation great detail decided would allow open carry sanctuary says scott chapman chair deacons first baptist church austin texas cant anything sidewalks around building chapman says law allows prohibition inside main building chapman says attended seminar almost 80 people representing 20 different churches discuss implications new law considered variety solutions could hand people small cards stating church doesnt allow open carry could approach people tell verbally first baptist church austin opting put sign sign must displayed conspicuous manner clearly visible public according resources texas department public safety appear contrasting colors block letters least one inch height displayed conspicuous manner clearly visible public entrance property chapman says happy large sign mar entryway church preferable putting elderly church staff woman situations could potentially get ugly wanted ban many people thought would hard worshipful theyre sitting pew next someone gun exposed chapman says conducive worshipful experience tallowood baptist church houston still process making decision midjanuary said larry heslip pastor administration church taken position still waiting congregational vote democratic bunch heslip says first baptist church austin opted post sign doors prohibit firearms sanctuary texas couple major laws stake recent legislative session open carry law one conservative senate weighed republican governors backing open carry bill became law outcry came different law however one lets people carry guns college campuses bills opposition lightened little private including religious universities allowed opt virtually even concealed carry law people allowed carry longguns rifles openly street according new law unconcealed handguns holstered whether theyre loaded roger olson professor theology baylor universitys truett theological seminary says one core considerations whether church choose pacifism gospels jesus tells peter put away sword garden gethsemane hand luke 2236 reads said purse take also bag dont sword sell cloak buy one scripture takes place last supper luke later verse 38 reads disciples said see lord two swords thats enough replied sides pacifists nonpacifists defend position new testament olson says pacifism seems solid support theory would jesus carry open concealed would suspect olson says pacifism comes quandaries however olson says recommends160people watch films like machine gun preacher main character invited use violence lords resistance army uganda captures brutalizes children turn soldiers question god expect us defend weak among us yes olson says roger olson phototruett seminary principle says isnt opposed people carrying weapons real danger adds better someone trained referring professional law enforcement baptist churches arent ones trending allowing openly visible weapons worship catholic diocese el paso texas set open concealed carry talk lot safe environment says diocese chancellor patricia fierro felt like part going allow concealed open carry weapons inside churches says people feel safer sitting next someone doesnt gun midjanuary diocese still printing signs locations general dedicated security facilities already fierro says episcopal diocese texas allowing firearms churches either episcopal diocese texas permit person including clergy staff students volunteers visitors carry weapon churches schools prohibition applies even person licensed carry concealed weapon texas law online resource diocese states site even samples prohibition signs cards ready printing post cochancellors texas annual conference united methodist church states believing open carry handguns church property inconsistent atmosphere prayer worship recommendation conference chancellors oral andor written notice given accordance statute prohibiting open carry handguns churches conference make recommendation regarding prohibition concealed handguns church property suggest left individual congregations doug dubois executive director texas state rifle association promotes gun rights claims hasnt heard much concern churches new law felt like concealed carry going likely rule thumb churches dubois says perception church might gunfree zone really case anymore calvary baptist church waco went ahead voted prohibit bringing kind firearm church waco made news 2015 nine bikers killed motorcycle gang shootout church never anything official coston pastor said decision house worship seeking follow jesus would like break swords ploughshares instead wait calvary baptist opted people approach staff members see anyone holding guns rather large sign many us sign seemed somewhat surreal coston says would rather people see cross see sign coston says didnt expect problems 80 years ones160memory issue coston adds even firearms banned church would using live outside waco said defend goats chickens predators weapons comes bringing handguns church called live differently trying laws open carry vary greatly among states 40 50 states already allow open carry160 nevada people dont need license carry gun openly need permit carry concealed weapon states allow open carry effectively nocarry states republican texas governor greg abbott said soon election supports open carry efforts open carry good enough massachusetts good enough state texas abbott said massachusetts however person bothered seeing gun prompt assault charge license removal jim wallace executive director gun owners action league state told scripps news 2014 georgia baptist lobbying group supported legislation georgia let churches optin allowing guns churches house public safety homeland security committee meeting mike griffin public affairs representative georgia baptist convention testified favor allowing guns protection innocent human life paramount griffin said important protection country dont life dont liberty dont liberty dont property rights thats important protect think among lawabiding citizens qualified legislation one would reason fear people like around north carolina allows open carry david blackmon coordinating pastor first baptist church asheville said congregation hasnt taken positions matter havent done anything blackmon says dont signs say dont bring weapons general culture people arent going walk gun well probably gently say dont bring think harder part churches deciding general around security topic church security heightened charleston sc shooting last summer nine people shot killed emanuel african methodist church act racial terrorism open carry illegal south carolina feature first appeared marchapril 2016 issue of160herald magazine published baptist news global five times year distributed donors the160 annual fund bulk copies also mailed bngs church champion congregations
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<p>A group of Fresno taxpayers hoping to overturn the <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/2014/01/14/fresno-mayor-ashley-swearengin-raises-water-rates-then-sues-taxpayers/" type="external">city’s recent water rate hike</a> has filed a <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Fresno-Water-Petition-Improper-Title-Summary.pdf" type="external">formal complaint</a> accusing the city attorney of <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/2014/01/23/fresno-complies-with-court-order-issues-water-petition-title-summary/" type="external">issuing a biased and misleading title and summary</a> for their referendum.</p>
<p>It’s the latest development in a bitter fight between the city and taxpayers.&#160;Last August, the city approved a controversial plan by <a href="http://johnhrabe.com/did-fresno-mayor-ashley-swearengin-break-the-law/" type="external">Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin</a> to double water rates in order to fund a $410 million upgrade to the city’s water system. But when a group of taxpayers led by former Fresno County Supervisor Doug Vagim objected to the plan, the city took the taxpayers to court in order to stop a referendum campaign.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, a&#160;state appeals court upheld a lower court ruling that ordered the city to fulfill its ministerial duties and issue a petition title and summary. Now the taxpayers say that the title and summary, as prepared by City Attorney Doug Sloan, are biased in favor of the water tax hike.</p>
<p>“Frankly, I don’t believe this Title and Summary filed by the Fresno City Attorney can be considered to represent an impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure,” <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/tag/fresno-county-supervisor-doug-vagim/" type="external">&#160;Vagim</a>&#160;said&#160; “This text belongs in the con-argument side of the ballot’s voter guide for Measure W.”</p>
<p>This is the full text:</p>
<p>“Title: Initiative Measure To Repeal City of Fresno’s Four-Year Water Rate Plan And Related Water Fees”</p>
<p>“Summary: A ‘yes’ vote on this measure would repeal water rates to be charged over four years that the Fresno City Council adopted on August 15, 2013, and cause the rates to return to what the Council adopted in 2008. The City Council adopted the 2013 water rates to pay for increased costs to provide adequate water that is safe to drink. The increased costs are caused by changes in state and federal drinking water standards, depletion of ground water, costs of maintenance and repairs to old water pipes and other parts of the water system, and the necessity to build a surface water treatment plant. If the current rates are repealed, the City Council could impose higher rates again. However, it would delay the City’s work to repair and improve the water system.”</p>
<p>Vagim points to state law, which requires the city attorney to issue an impartial analysis. The&#160; <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=elec&amp;group=09001-10000&amp;file=9050-9054" type="external">Election Code</a>&#160;states:</p>
<p>“In providing the ballot title, the city attorney shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language that the ballot title shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.”</p>
<p>In the complaint letter submitted to the city attorney on Thursday, Vagim’s group cited factual errors in the title and summary, including the last time the city raised water rates. The petition summary references a water rate hike in 2008, when the last such increase passed the council in 2010.</p>
<p>“The prejudicial nature of this misstatement falsely informs voters that water rates have not been raised since 2008, when in fact rates were last increased in 2010,” the letter objecting to the petition summary states.</p>
<p>After five months of delays,&#160;the taxpayers say they’ll circulate the biased petition&#160;rather than wait for another title and summary.&#160;</p>
<p>“Moreover, the City’s intentional, unreasonable and unlawful delay over the course of the last five (5) months has deprived my client of time to challenge the petition title and summary for petition circulating,” the complaint states.</p>
<p>If they can gather enough signatures, they’ll be looking for a revised&#160;title and summary before the election and could recoup legal fees and court costs in the process.</p>
<p>The city attorney maintains that the title complies with the law.&#160;“We believe the title is fair, complete, and complies with the law,” said Sloan, Fresno’s City Attorney.</p>
<p>But the state’s leading taxpayer advocacy group contended otherwise.&#160;“The language is most certainly slanted,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. “But we have not yet determined whether it crosses the line from the perspective of potential litigation.”</p>
<p>Earlier this month, CalWatchdog.com&#160; <a href="" type="internal">reported</a>the story of the bully tactics by the City of Fresno in defense of <a href="http://johnhrabe.com/did-fresno-mayor-ashley-swearengin-break-the-law/" type="external">Mayor Swearengin’s</a> water rate increases. Under Swearengin’s plan, the average <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/12/10/3659963/fresno-mayor-swearengin-makes.html" type="external">water bill would be doubled</a> to fund a $410 million upgrade to the city’s water system.</p>
<p>In September, a group of taxpayers, led by former Fresno County Supervisor Doug Vagim, organized a campaign to overturn the rate hikes. But the taxpayers were denied a title and summary for their petition. Without a title and summary, the group couldn’t collect the necessary signatures to get a referendum on the ballot.</p>
<p>Then the <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/2014/01/14/fresno-mayor-ashley-swearengin-raises-water-rates-then-sues-taxpayers/" type="external">city</a> <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/2014/01/14/fresno-mayor-ashley-swearengin-raises-water-rates-then-sues-taxpayers/" type="external">sued the taxpayers</a>in an effort to stall the petition from reaching the 2014 ballot.&#160;In late November, a Superior Court sided with taxpayers and ordered the city attorney to issue the title and summary. Instead of compiling with the court order, the city filed a notice of appeal, which stayed the court’s order, as part of a strategy to run out the clock on the initiative.</p>
<p>The city of Fresno is facing major financial problems after years of fiscal mismanagement and irresponsible spending. It owes $3.4 million per year in annual construction bond payments for a city-owned minor league baseball stadium. The bond payments were supposed to be covered by a $1-per-ticket fee collected by the team. However, City Manager Renena Smith told the <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/18/3617727/fresno-city-hall-grizzlies-fight.html" type="external">Fresno Bee in November</a> that the team is two years in arrears. To solve its cash flow problems, the city had to borrow $14 million from the water department to balance its books.</p>
<p>Even supporters of the water rate hike have become disgusted with the city’s hardball tactics. Shortly after the first ruling, the Fresno Bee editorial board, which backs the water rate increases, <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/29/3638323/thumbs-up-thumbs-down.html" type="external">chastised</a> <a href="http://www.fresnobee.com/2013/11/29/3638323/thumbs-up-thumbs-down.html" type="external">Swearengin</a>.</p>
<p>“We support the water-rate increases; they are vital to the city’s future,” the paper wrote. “But with these stalling and blocking tactics, <a href="http://johnhrabe.com/did-fresno-mayor-ashley-swearengin-break-the-law/" type="external">Swearengin</a>sends a message that she doesn’t trust Fresno voters to do what’s best for the city.”</p>
<p>The “stalling and blocking tactics” stopped the referendum from reaching the June 2014 ballot. To qualify their proposed initiative for the regularly scheduled November 2014 election, taxpayers would need to submit 4,846 valid signatures to the City Clerk by May 8.</p>
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group fresno taxpayers hoping overturn citys recent water rate hike filed formal complaint accusing city attorney issuing biased misleading title summary referendum latest development bitter fight city taxpayers160last august city approved controversial plan fresno mayor ashley swearengin double water rates order fund 410 million upgrade citys water system group taxpayers led former fresno county supervisor doug vagim objected plan city took taxpayers court order stop referendum campaign earlier month a160state appeals court upheld lower court ruling ordered city fulfill ministerial duties issue petition title summary taxpayers say title summary prepared city attorney doug sloan biased favor water tax hike frankly dont believe title summary filed fresno city attorney considered represent impartial statement purpose proposed measure 160vagim160said160 text belongs conargument side ballots voter guide measure w full text title initiative measure repeal city fresnos fouryear water rate plan related water fees summary yes vote measure would repeal water rates charged four years fresno city council adopted august 15 2013 cause rates return council adopted 2008 city council adopted 2013 water rates pay increased costs provide adequate water safe drink increased costs caused changes state federal drinking water standards depletion ground water costs maintenance repairs old water pipes parts water system necessity build surface water treatment plant current rates repealed city council could impose higher rates however would delay citys work repair improve water system vagim points state law requires city attorney issue impartial analysis the160 election code160states providing ballot title city attorney shall give true impartial statement purpose proposed measure language ballot title shall neither argument likely create prejudice proposed measure complaint letter submitted city attorney thursday vagims group cited factual errors title summary including last time city raised water rates petition summary references water rate hike 2008 last increase passed council 2010 prejudicial nature misstatement falsely informs voters water rates raised since 2008 fact rates last increased 2010 letter objecting petition summary states five months delays160the taxpayers say theyll circulate biased petition160rather wait another title summary160 moreover citys intentional unreasonable unlawful delay course last five 5 months deprived client time challenge petition title summary petition circulating complaint states gather enough signatures theyll looking revised160title summary election could recoup legal fees court costs process city attorney maintains title complies law160we believe title fair complete complies law said sloan fresnos city attorney states leading taxpayer advocacy group contended otherwise160the language certainly slanted said jon coupal president howard jarvis taxpayers association yet determined whether crosses line perspective potential litigation earlier month calwatchdogcom160 reportedthe story bully tactics city fresno defense mayor swearengins water rate increases swearengins plan average water bill would doubled fund 410 million upgrade citys water system september group taxpayers led former fresno county supervisor doug vagim organized campaign overturn rate hikes taxpayers denied title summary petition without title summary group couldnt collect necessary signatures get referendum ballot city sued taxpayersin effort stall petition reaching 2014 ballot160in late november superior court sided taxpayers ordered city attorney issue title summary instead compiling court order city filed notice appeal stayed courts order part strategy run clock initiative city fresno facing major financial problems years fiscal mismanagement irresponsible spending owes 34 million per year annual construction bond payments cityowned minor league baseball stadium bond payments supposed covered 1perticket fee collected team however city manager renena smith told fresno bee november team two years arrears solve cash flow problems city borrow 14 million water department balance books even supporters water rate hike become disgusted citys hardball tactics shortly first ruling fresno bee editorial board backs water rate increases chastised swearengin support waterrate increases vital citys future paper wrote stalling blocking tactics swearenginsends message doesnt trust fresno voters whats best city stalling blocking tactics stopped referendum reaching june 2014 ballot qualify proposed initiative regularly scheduled november 2014 election taxpayers would need submit 4846 valid signatures city clerk may 8
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<p>In August, as Tyrone Hudson gathered the money he planned to give to his 7-year-old son for school supplies, uniforms and private school tuition, he realized that his phone bill would have to go unpaid for the month. “My bills always have to compromise,” said Hudson, 29, a full-time clerk at a downtown law firm. “I’ve been trying to save up for a car, but there’s always a bill coming out of nowhere.”</p>
<p>The prices of everything from gasoline to white bread have risen, exponentially in some cases. But the salaries many Chicagoans earn have not grown at the same rate. Hudson is just one of thousands feeling financially squeezed by the increasing costs of city living and near-stagnant wages—in several occupations, especially those paying less than the citywide median. As a result, a widening gulf has appeared between what some people are being paid and how much they need.</p>
<p>Many, especially the elderly and families with two children, can barely cover the basics: food, housing, clothing and transportation.</p>
<p>“If you ask how they are making ends meet, we shouldn’t like the answers because there’s something basic being compromised,” said Diana Pearce, a director for the Center for Women’s Welfare at the University of Washington in Seattle, who created a “self-sufficiency” standard for Chicago in 2001. “You can’t budget your way if you only have half of what you need according to the standards.”</p>
<p>Using Pearce’s standards for a single-person household and a four-person household with two adults and two school-aged children, adjusted for inflation, The Chicago Reporter analyzed census data and found that 37 percent of single-person households and 46 percent of four-person households were not self-sufficient in 1999, the most recent year for which comprehensive data were available for earnings by household size in Chicago.</p>
<p>Furthermore, a Reporter analysis of 2004 wage estimates from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that wages for nearly half of those earning below the citywide median—about $40,720—have not risen as fast as inflation since 2000.</p>
<p>The gap between what Chicagoans get paid and what they need—referred to by many as a “living wage”—spans all races, professions and education levels. But Asian, black and Latino families in Chicago were much more likely to feel the pinch than white families. Individuals working in retail and service industries, even supervisors, did not earn a living wage as often as lawyers and teachers. And individuals without a high school diploma were below that mark much more often than college graduates.</p>
<p>To stay afloat, some make minor adjustments with bill payments, while others make life-changing decisions.</p>
<p>Marlene Mosby is already worried about the rising and fluctuating costs of her heating bill, months before the razor-sharp freeze of winter slices through Chicago. In the past, she has gone without paying telephone and electric bills to ensure that her apartment stayed warm. “I don’t know what’s going to happen trying to live in the city,” said Mosby, 72, a retired state worker. “Some of my friends said they were leaving Chicago because it was just too expensive.”</p>
<p>Ociel Espinoza, 30, admits that he’d love to spend more time with his wife and 2-year-old son, but he works two jobs—averaging 70 to 80 hours per week. “We don’t spend too much time as a family together, and it’s a big problem. Sometimes the baby needs his father,” he said.</p>
<p>Mike, a 29-year-old husband and father who did not want his real name used for fear that he might lose his construction job, said it’s hard to meet his family’s basic costs on his salary. “I can’t imagine how it is if you’re a single parent with kids,” he said. “People are still trying to live on what they made eight years ago, and it just doesn’t work.”</p>
<p />
<p>Hudson, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Chicago State University, can do the math on how far his $23,500-a-year salary stretches.</p>
<p>He said he lives at his mother’s home in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side since he cannot afford his own place and still take care of his son, Ean, who lives with his mother in south suburban Country Club Hills. Hudson has contributed regularly to household bills since his father’s death in April. A former postal worker for about 36 years, Hudson’s father had paid the family’s bills. Hudson’s mother is a homemaker, currently drawing on her husband’s life insurance and pension.</p>
<p>Hudson gives his mother around $250 per month to cover utilities and bills. He sends around $300 per month to Ean, mostly for school uniforms and tuition—about $225 per month. After another $80 a month on CTA passes and other expenses that periodically surface, like $75 for Ean’s books, Hudson says he has barely anything left. “I don’t even eat lunch at work, because I really can’t afford it,” said Hudson, whose $10-an-hour salary is far less than what experts say he needs. “The only time I’ll eat lunch is on a payday because I know after that it’s all for the bills.”</p>
<p>This year, a four-person household needs about $15 an hour—with one adult working 40 hours a week, and the other working 20 hours a week—to cover its basic needs, said Ron Baiman, a researcher for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago.</p>
<p>In 2002, researchers with the university’s Center for Urban Economic Development generated a living wage benchmark based on the consumer price index and Pearce’s estimated expenses. For that same family of four, Pearce calculated that basic monthly expenses in 2001 would equal $3,543. They included $891 for a two-bedroom home or apartment, $888 for child care, $675 for taxes, $544 for food, $298 for healthcare costs, $150 for transportation and $277 for miscellaneous expenses. She deducted $180 for tax credits.</p>
<p>In August of this year, those expenses would total $3,891, adjusted for inflation using figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Chicago metropolitan area. And this isn’t living “high on the hog,” Pearce said. “It’s not even enough money for saving.”</p>
<p>“Miscellaneous costs cover clothing, diapers, school supplies, soap. It doesn’t allow for savings, education or entertainment. Just the basics,” said Pearce, who has continued to develop self-sufficiency standards for cities nationwide.</p>
<p>Census 2000 data show that there were more than 63,000 households with two adults and two children in Chicago. In 1999, nearly 46 percent of them earned less than the $40,158 they would need by Pearce’s self-sufficiency standard adjusted for inflation.</p>
<p>About 20 percent of whites in those four-person households earned below the self-sufficiency mark, compared with more than 50 percent of Asians, blacks and Latinos.</p>
<p>And, among those four-person households, individuals working as cashiers or cooks were below the self-sufficiency mark more than 70 percent of the time. Those were also individuals who’ve seen their wages rise at a slower rate than inflation since 2000, according to federal wage estimates for the Chicago area.</p>
<p>Hudson said he likes his job, and he’s thankful that it allows him to help take care of his mother and his son. “But this pay isn’t really cutting it. I feel like I’m struggling,” he said. “I feel like I would need at least $50,000 to $60,000 [a year] to be comfortable.”</p>
<p>With the country slowly staggering out of an economic recession, there is a short supply of higher-paying jobs, even for college graduates. “You can educate people all you want,” said Baiman, “but if the jobs aren’t out there, it doesn’t matter.”</p>
<p>Baiman said many working people in Chicago are supporting their families on low wages. “These would be typically low-wage jobs: retail work, low-end service jobs, home healthcare workers and agricultural workers,” he said.</p>
<p>But, in order to do it, they have to work a lot of hours.</p>
<p>In 1999, among Chicago’s four-person households earning above the self-sufficiency mark, the adults averaged 73 hours of work a week. Among those households below the mark, the adults averaged about 49 hours of work a week.</p>
<p>Espinoza helps support his family by working six days a week at two relatively low-paying jobs. His days are spent making pizzas and other Italian fare at a downtown restaurant from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. He then hightails it to another downtown restaurant where he works as a busboy late into the evening—until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights—before he finally heads home to his three-bedroom apartment on the Southwest Side.</p>
<p>Espinoza’s job as a cook pays him around $8.50 an hour, while his second job is dependent on tips. His wife also holds a part-time job as a telemarketer. He doesn’t see the hours as a struggle. “In the U.S., people don’t work as much as you would in Mexico,” said Espinoza, a Mexican immigrant who came to Chicago in 1993. “Where I’m from, people work 11, 12 hours a day. I think everybody is looking for something better, and it’s hard sometimes.”</p>
<p>The family doesn’t really have problems paying their rent and utility bills, but they are slowly saving money, Espinoza said. To cut costs, he and his wife live modestly—he rides the bus and train during the week instead of driving, and, occasionally, he walks to work. They shop only when they need something.</p>
<p>Espinoza would like to go to culinary school and to continue learning English. “I like my job, but I maybe can learn something better. And, if you learn how to speak English better, you can ask for more money or take a better job,” he added, half-jokingly with a shrug.</p>
<p>Although families acutely feel the squeeze, adults with no children also have problems keeping up, especially the elderly. In 1999, more than 37 percent of the nearly 350,000 individuals living alone in Chicago were not earning the $17,092 necessary to meet Pearce’s self-sufficiency standard for single-person households. Nearly 60 percent of those 65 years and older, about 55,000 people, had incomes below that mark.</p>
<p>Thanks to rising heating costs, Marlene Mosby, a former hearing officer for the Illinois Department of Public Aid, who lives on her state pension, has had to juggle various bills. Sometimes she keeps them afloat, and sometimes they come crashing down around her. “I just got a disconnection notice for the last [heating] bill and had to pay by credit card to prevent it from being cut off,” said Mosby, who rents her large two-bedroom apartment in the South Side’s Chatham neighborhood from a friend who gives her a discount on the rent. But, even with the savings, fluctuations with the heating bill—$85 one month, $180 another month, then up to $360 the next month—have been too hard for Mosby to manage. “If I could get on a budget plan that’s reasonable, like $100 or $120, I can do that,” she said. “But, if they start going back and forth, I don’t know what to do.”</p>
<p>Mosby stays one step ahead by basically pushing the limits of her due dates on other bills. She has gone some months skipping her light bill payments and has waited until she received disconnection notices from the phone company before making arrangements to stretch out those payments for another couple of weeks.</p>
<p>Because she lives alone—she is divorced and her four grown children left home long ago—Mosby said she saves a lot on food, and senior discounts are also a lifesaver. She is also a few payments away from owning her car, which she said will be a $300-a-month financial burden off of her back. “But I’m a little apprehensive about how things are going to go in the next 10 years,” she said. “I might have to adjust my living spaces and get a smaller apartment or senior living apartment.”</p>
<p>Mosby has reason to be especially concerned about her heating bill this winter; Hurricanes Katrina and Rita temporarily shut down production at natural gas refineries in the Gulf region, said Elizabeth Castro, a spokeswoman for People’s Energy. The loss of production will ultimately increase home heating bills, she said.</p>
<p>Some said the living wage gaps have widened, in part, because of the deterioration of strong, unified labor unions and the loss of well-paying, low-skilled jobs.</p>
<p>Keith Kelleher, head organizer of Service Employees International Union Local 880, estimated that about 35 percent of U.S. workers in the private sector were members of labor unions back in the 1950s. According to the Illinois Department of Labor, among the state’s workforce in 2002, about 24 percent of men and 17 percent of women were members of labor unions. “Those numbers hurt,” Kelleher said. “If you don’t have as many members out there pushing politically for things, you can’t get what you want.”</p>
<p>Despite their decreasing strength, unions are still fighting for living wages, said Carl Rosen, president of District 11 United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America. “If you come into new organizing with a situation [with low wages] there’s pressure to get $1 or $2 an hour. [The employees] may still be in poverty because they’re so low to begin with, but it’s a step up.”</p>
<p>Rosen also points to the exodus of manufacturing jobs in Chicago as a reason why some workers don’t earn a living wage. Those jobs, which often paid well and helped create a middle-class existence for many, have been stripped away, leaving many low-skilled workers with the lowest-paying jobs available.</p>
<p>However, successful living wage movements have coalesced in cities across the nation, including Chicago, around the idea of paying wages that, at the very least, can be increased for inflation. The movements are usually loosely knit groups of unions, city workers, think tanks and nonprofit organizations, such as the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now, known as ACORN, who have started grassroots campaigns.</p>
<p>In the summer of 1998, the Living Wage Movement, a coalition spearheaded by Service Employees International Union’s Local 880 and ACORN’s Chicago branch, successfully completed a three-year battle for a living wage ordinance in Chicago. The ordinance, which went into effect in 1999, assured a minimum of $7.60 per hour to home and healthcare workers, security guards, parking attendants, day laborers, cashiers, custodial workers, clerical workers and elevator operators that are city contractors and subcontractors. The ordinance only applies to for-profit companies and doesn’t require employers to provide health benefits, but the minimum pay increases every July—it currently stands at $9.68 an hour.</p>
<p>Jen Kern, director of ACORN’s Living Wage Resource Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., said 130 cities or counties across the nation have added living wage ordinances with help from the center’s organizing efforts. But she believes the Living Wage movement is starting to emphasize statewide minimum wages for all workers. She points to Illinois, where lawmakers signed a bill in 2003 raising the statewide minimum wage from $5.15 per hour to $5.50 per hour. The state increased it again to $6.50 an hour this January.</p>
<p>Wisconsin, Minnesota and states along the East and West Coasts also have established statewide minimum wages, Kern said. Congress hasn’t raised the federal minimum wage since 1997.</p>
<p>Madeline Talbott, Chicago ACORN’s head organizer, would love to see a law that causes the minimum wage to rise with inflation. “A minimum wage increase has a measurable impact on poverty,” Talbott said. “There’s families who benefited dramatically from that [first] increase who could now pay utility bills and who could consider purchasing a used car.”</p>
<p>The coalition that fought for a living wage in Chicago is also spearheading an effort to establish a big-box living wage ordinance, which would require retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target to pay their employees a minimum of $10 an hour plus benefits, Talbot said.</p>
<p>“Many people who have inadequate income are working hard; many of them have two jobs. The issue is costs,” said Pearce. “We’re forcing people to make bad choices and they’re looking at paying the rent or paying childcare but not doing both.”</p>
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august tyrone hudson gathered money planned give 7yearold son school supplies uniforms private school tuition realized phone bill would go unpaid month bills always compromise said hudson 29 fulltime clerk downtown law firm ive trying save car theres always bill coming nowhere prices everything gasoline white bread risen exponentially cases salaries many chicagoans earn grown rate hudson one thousands feeling financially squeezed increasing costs city living nearstagnant wagesin several occupations especially paying less citywide median result widening gulf appeared people paid much need many especially elderly families two children barely cover basics food housing clothing transportation ask making ends meet shouldnt like answers theres something basic compromised said diana pearce director center womens welfare university washington seattle created selfsufficiency standard chicago 2001 cant budget way half need according standards using pearces standards singleperson household fourperson household two adults two schoolaged children adjusted inflation chicago reporter analyzed census data found 37 percent singleperson households 46 percent fourperson households selfsufficient 1999 recent year comprehensive data available earnings household size chicago furthermore reporter analysis 2004 wage estimates us department labors bureau labor statistics shows wages nearly half earning citywide medianabout 40720have risen fast inflation since 2000 gap chicagoans get paid needreferred many living wagespans races professions education levels asian black latino families chicago much likely feel pinch white families individuals working retail service industries even supervisors earn living wage often lawyers teachers individuals without high school diploma mark much often college graduates stay afloat make minor adjustments bill payments others make lifechanging decisions marlene mosby already worried rising fluctuating costs heating bill months razorsharp freeze winter slices chicago past gone without paying telephone electric bills ensure apartment stayed warm dont know whats going happen trying live city said mosby 72 retired state worker friends said leaving chicago expensive ociel espinoza 30 admits hed love spend time wife 2yearold son works two jobsaveraging 70 80 hours per week dont spend much time family together big problem sometimes baby needs father said mike 29yearold husband father want real name used fear might lose construction job said hard meet familys basic costs salary cant imagine youre single parent kids said people still trying live made eight years ago doesnt work hudson graduated bachelors degree accounting chicago state university math far 23500ayear salary stretches said lives mothers home englewood neighborhood south side since afford place still take care son ean lives mother south suburban country club hills hudson contributed regularly household bills since fathers death april former postal worker 36 years hudsons father paid familys bills hudsons mother homemaker currently drawing husbands life insurance pension hudson gives mother around 250 per month cover utilities bills sends around 300 per month ean mostly school uniforms tuitionabout 225 per month another 80 month cta passes expenses periodically surface like 75 eans books hudson says barely anything left dont even eat lunch work really cant afford said hudson whose 10anhour salary far less experts say needs time ill eat lunch payday know bills year fourperson household needs 15 hourwith one adult working 40 hours week working 20 hours weekto cover basic needs said ron baiman researcher institute government public affairs university illinois chicago 2002 researchers universitys center urban economic development generated living wage benchmark based consumer price index pearces estimated expenses family four pearce calculated basic monthly expenses 2001 would equal 3543 included 891 twobedroom home apartment 888 child care 675 taxes 544 food 298 healthcare costs 150 transportation 277 miscellaneous expenses deducted 180 tax credits august year expenses would total 3891 adjusted inflation using figures bureau labor statistics chicago metropolitan area isnt living high hog pearce said even enough money saving miscellaneous costs cover clothing diapers school supplies soap doesnt allow savings education entertainment basics said pearce continued develop selfsufficiency standards cities nationwide census 2000 data show 63000 households two adults two children chicago 1999 nearly 46 percent earned less 40158 would need pearces selfsufficiency standard adjusted inflation 20 percent whites fourperson households earned selfsufficiency mark compared 50 percent asians blacks latinos among fourperson households individuals working cashiers cooks selfsufficiency mark 70 percent time also individuals whove seen wages rise slower rate inflation since 2000 according federal wage estimates chicago area hudson said likes job hes thankful allows help take care mother son pay isnt really cutting feel like im struggling said feel like would need least 50000 60000 year comfortable country slowly staggering economic recession short supply higherpaying jobs even college graduates educate people want said baiman jobs arent doesnt matter baiman said many working people chicago supporting families low wages would typically lowwage jobs retail work lowend service jobs home healthcare workers agricultural workers said order work lot hours 1999 among chicagos fourperson households earning selfsufficiency mark adults averaged 73 hours work week among households mark adults averaged 49 hours work week espinoza helps support family working six days week two relatively lowpaying jobs days spent making pizzas italian fare downtown restaurant 6 230 pm hightails another downtown restaurant works busboy late eveninguntil 1 friday saturday nightsbefore finally heads home threebedroom apartment southwest side espinozas job cook pays around 850 hour second job dependent tips wife also holds parttime job telemarketer doesnt see hours struggle us people dont work much would mexico said espinoza mexican immigrant came chicago 1993 im people work 11 12 hours day think everybody looking something better hard sometimes family doesnt really problems paying rent utility bills slowly saving money espinoza said cut costs wife live modestlyhe rides bus train week instead driving occasionally walks work shop need something espinoza would like go culinary school continue learning english like job maybe learn something better learn speak english better ask money take better job added halfjokingly shrug although families acutely feel squeeze adults children also problems keeping especially elderly 1999 37 percent nearly 350000 individuals living alone chicago earning 17092 necessary meet pearces selfsufficiency standard singleperson households nearly 60 percent 65 years older 55000 people incomes mark thanks rising heating costs marlene mosby former hearing officer illinois department public aid lives state pension juggle various bills sometimes keeps afloat sometimes come crashing around got disconnection notice last heating bill pay credit card prevent cut said mosby rents large twobedroom apartment south sides chatham neighborhood friend gives discount rent even savings fluctuations heating bill85 one month 180 another month 360 next monthhave hard mosby manage could get budget plan thats reasonable like 100 120 said start going back forth dont know mosby stays one step ahead basically pushing limits due dates bills gone months skipping light bill payments waited received disconnection notices phone company making arrangements stretch payments another couple weeks lives aloneshe divorced four grown children left home long agomosby said saves lot food senior discounts also lifesaver also payments away owning car said 300amonth financial burden back im little apprehensive things going go next 10 years said might adjust living spaces get smaller apartment senior living apartment mosby reason especially concerned heating bill winter hurricanes katrina rita temporarily shut production natural gas refineries gulf region said elizabeth castro spokeswoman peoples energy loss production ultimately increase home heating bills said said living wage gaps widened part deterioration strong unified labor unions loss wellpaying lowskilled jobs keith kelleher head organizer service employees international union local 880 estimated 35 percent us workers private sector members labor unions back 1950s according illinois department labor among states workforce 2002 24 percent men 17 percent women members labor unions numbers hurt kelleher said dont many members pushing politically things cant get want despite decreasing strength unions still fighting living wages said carl rosen president district 11 united electrical radio machine workers america come new organizing situation low wages theres pressure get 1 2 hour employees may still poverty theyre low begin step rosen also points exodus manufacturing jobs chicago reason workers dont earn living wage jobs often paid well helped create middleclass existence many stripped away leaving many lowskilled workers lowestpaying jobs available however successful living wage movements coalesced cities across nation including chicago around idea paying wages least increased inflation movements usually loosely knit groups unions city workers think tanks nonprofit organizations association community organizations reform known acorn started grassroots campaigns summer 1998 living wage movement coalition spearheaded service employees international unions local 880 acorns chicago branch successfully completed threeyear battle living wage ordinance chicago ordinance went effect 1999 assured minimum 760 per hour home healthcare workers security guards parking attendants day laborers cashiers custodial workers clerical workers elevator operators city contractors subcontractors ordinance applies forprofit companies doesnt require employers provide health benefits minimum pay increases every julyit currently stands 968 hour jen kern director acorns living wage resource center brooklyn ny said 130 cities counties across nation added living wage ordinances help centers organizing efforts believes living wage movement starting emphasize statewide minimum wages workers points illinois lawmakers signed bill 2003 raising statewide minimum wage 515 per hour 550 per hour state increased 650 hour january wisconsin minnesota states along east west coasts also established statewide minimum wages kern said congress hasnt raised federal minimum wage since 1997 madeline talbott chicago acorns head organizer would love see law causes minimum wage rise inflation minimum wage increase measurable impact poverty talbott said theres families benefited dramatically first increase could pay utility bills could consider purchasing used car coalition fought living wage chicago also spearheading effort establish bigbox living wage ordinance would require retailers walmart target pay employees minimum 10 hour plus benefits talbot said many people inadequate income working hard many two jobs issue costs said pearce forcing people make bad choices theyre looking paying rent paying childcare
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<p>DAMASCUS, Syria — Like Cairo’s Pyramids and Shiraz’s roses, to paraphrase travel writer Colin Thubron, the oasis of Damascus conjures running water. But that was 40 years ago.</p>
<p>These days the Barada River runs dry through one of the world’s oldest cities. Meanwhile tourists, long a rarity in the socialist Syria of Hafez al-Assad, are now flocking to the historic center of Damascus.</p>
<p>But a boon for the country’s economy and image is also a threat to the capital’s heritage, as a spate of often-hasty building restorations and conversions in the UNESCO-protected Old City has turned the area into a kind of historicist fantasyland of nostalgic architecture driven less by preservation than development.</p>
<p>Along with Aleppo, Damascus boasts the highest concentration of preserved, traditional Arab residential architecture in the Middle East. For decades the Ottoman-era courtyard houses and merchant palaces in the half-square-mile Old City crumbled as wealthier residents left for Western-style apartments in garden suburbs outside the city center. The flight began under the French Mandate in the 1930s and continued after Syrian independence in 1946 and throughout the end of the 20th century as the city's suburbs expanded along the dry hills that edge the city.</p>
<p>Since the 1990s and the gradual opening of Syria’s economy under Bashar al-Assad after 2000, new life came into the Old City, with the first conversions of large but faded houses into restaurants meant to capture the spirit and space of an “Old Damascus.”</p>
<p>Investments in boutique hotels soon followed. The attendant spikes in tourism have landed the boutique hotels of Damascus on the pages of international travel sections; British Vogue ran a 16-page fashion spread on visiting Damascus in May 2009.</p>
<p>Many restaurants and more than a dozen hotels now operate in the Christian Quarter, along the refurbished Straight Street, near the Omayyad Mosque, and in the once-deserted Jewish Quarter.</p>
<p>But the effect of such development on the historic architecture and space of the Old City, is a growing concern for architects and historians here.</p>
<p>“The only idea investors have about the Old Town is from an idealistic image that was given through [television] series, or old paintings,” said architect Naim Zabida. “It's more of an imaginary, Orientalist scene. So they keep adding elements to the house that do not necessarily fit with the style or function.”</p>
<p>Traditional materials of wood and dried mud bricks, used for hundreds of years because they are appropriate for the city's winter and summer weather, have often been replaced by concrete blocks and cement plaster to cut costs and maximize returns.</p>
<p>Fourteen boutique hotels operate in the Old City “and we are heading for another 10, minimum,” said May Mamarbachi, a tour operator and architectural historian who carefully restored and opened the first boutique hotel in the Old City, Beit al-Mamlouka, in 2005, as part of a doctorate in Islamic architecture. She sold the hotel in 2008 and laments that others have not followed a similar mode of preservation.</p>
<p>“I see cement in all of the renovations,” Mamarbachi said. “[Developers] don't take care of the renovation as a renovation in itself. They are just taking into consideration the end product that tourists will see and how much money it's going to bring back.”</p>
<p>The government has issued nearly 50 hotel and 120 restaurant and cafe licenses, according to the Associated Press, although Zabida disputed those numbers. They are part of an overdue master plan for zoning the Old City being drafted by Municipal Administration Modernization (MAM), he explained, a body funded by the European Union. Zabida is a consultant with MAM and serves on a number of government committees that oversee preservation and restoration work in the Old City.</p>
<p>“I don't see the ratio between sustainable renovations and unsustainable ones done to attract more tourists,” said Daniela Gurlt, an advisor at German Development Services, which cooperates with German Technical Advising and the Syrian government on the rehabilitation of the Old City. “People want to cover the costs of the conversion work in one year, which isn't possible and results in poor architectural choices.”</p>
<p>Often rooms have been halved in size to increase occupancy. Hotel managers demand a private bathroom in every guestroom, though the centuries-old houses were never designed to support so much plumbing. “You may not see the effect immediately,” Gurlt said “but over a few years, if the pipes leak or the structure just can't maintain a bathroom added to every room, you'll start to see erosion in the wooden floors.”</p>
<p>“You don't use mud bricks because it's nice to use traditional materials. It costs more and it takes more time,” Gurlt said. “But you should use it, or at least we encourage using it because these are the sustainable materials always used in the houses that won't damage the building over time.”</p>
<p>In the end, tourist operators and historians say, shoddy renovations and commercial development could threaten the very heritage that makes Syria one of the Middle East’s fastest growing tourist attractions.</p>
<p>“It's a positive thing for the income that is generated for the people here,” Mamarbachi said. “But it's not a positive thing also because with too many tourists we will lose the soul of the city.”</p>
<p>“We are trying to control it,” Zabida said. “Not only as a number, but as an influence on the surrounding houses and areas. Most of the time it's only helping the house that is transformed into a restaurant itself and not really looking to influence the surroundings whether it's infrastructure or noise or whatever else in the neighborhood.”</p>
<p>“It's not nice to have a country that is sold to become big hotels,” Mamarbachi said. “But I'm not selling a country. There is an equilibrium that we have to do.”</p>
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damascus syria like cairos pyramids shirazs roses paraphrase travel writer colin thubron oasis damascus conjures running water 40 years ago days barada river runs dry one worlds oldest cities meanwhile tourists long rarity socialist syria hafez alassad flocking historic center damascus boon countrys economy image also threat capitals heritage spate oftenhasty building restorations conversions unescoprotected old city turned area kind historicist fantasyland nostalgic architecture driven less preservation development along aleppo damascus boasts highest concentration preserved traditional arab residential architecture middle east decades ottomanera courtyard houses merchant palaces halfsquaremile old city crumbled wealthier residents left westernstyle apartments garden suburbs outside city center flight began french mandate 1930s continued syrian independence 1946 throughout end 20th century citys suburbs expanded along dry hills edge city since 1990s gradual opening syrias economy bashar alassad 2000 new life came old city first conversions large faded houses restaurants meant capture spirit space old damascus investments boutique hotels soon followed attendant spikes tourism landed boutique hotels damascus pages international travel sections british vogue ran 16page fashion spread visiting damascus may 2009 many restaurants dozen hotels operate christian quarter along refurbished straight street near omayyad mosque oncedeserted jewish quarter effect development historic architecture space old city growing concern architects historians idea investors old town idealistic image given television series old paintings said architect naim zabida imaginary orientalist scene keep adding elements house necessarily fit style function traditional materials wood dried mud bricks used hundreds years appropriate citys winter summer weather often replaced concrete blocks cement plaster cut costs maximize returns fourteen boutique hotels operate old city heading another 10 minimum said may mamarbachi tour operator architectural historian carefully restored opened first boutique hotel old city beit almamlouka 2005 part doctorate islamic architecture sold hotel 2008 laments others followed similar mode preservation see cement renovations mamarbachi said developers dont take care renovation renovation taking consideration end product tourists see much money going bring back government issued nearly 50 hotel 120 restaurant cafe licenses according associated press although zabida disputed numbers part overdue master plan zoning old city drafted municipal administration modernization mam explained body funded european union zabida consultant mam serves number government committees oversee preservation restoration work old city dont see ratio sustainable renovations unsustainable ones done attract tourists said daniela gurlt advisor german development services cooperates german technical advising syrian government rehabilitation old city people want cover costs conversion work one year isnt possible results poor architectural choices often rooms halved size increase occupancy hotel managers demand private bathroom every guestroom though centuriesold houses never designed support much plumbing may see effect immediately gurlt said years pipes leak structure cant maintain bathroom added every room youll start see erosion wooden floors dont use mud bricks nice use traditional materials costs takes time gurlt said use least encourage using sustainable materials always used houses wont damage building time end tourist operators historians say shoddy renovations commercial development could threaten heritage makes syria one middle easts fastest growing tourist attractions positive thing income generated people mamarbachi said positive thing also many tourists lose soul city trying control zabida said number influence surrounding houses areas time helping house transformed restaurant really looking influence surroundings whether infrastructure noise whatever else neighborhood nice country sold become big hotels mamarbachi said im selling country equilibrium
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<p>Recently, I was in the Atlanta airport waiting on a flight and I noticed two groups of people standing off to the side of the boarding gate. The first was a Muslim woman in full burka with three children between the ages of 3 and 5. The kids, also in traditional clothing, were nestled on the floor watching a video. Next to them was a white woman with a little boy, also about 5. She occasionally eyed the woman in the burka with suspicion.</p>
<p>After a few minutes, when his mother wasn’t watching, the little boy slowly sneaked over behind the other kids and began watching their video. Something funny happened in the piece and he and the other kids started giggling. Without hesitation, he sat down, curled up beside the little girl and kept watching. Without even looking up, the little girl turned the iPhone a bit so he could see it. The moms looked down, looked up at each other, then smiled and shrugged.</p>
<p>Those kids didn’t see the differences — clothes, race, nationality, religion; they saw common ground. And that, my friends, is what could happen in our world. Could happen. But we have to be the ones to make it happen.</p>
<p>Ah, if there was only a video the entire world could gather around, watch and laugh about together. Short of that, let me suggest three other ways we can find common ground, practical ways based on our recent tragic headlines.</p>
<p>Education</p>
<p>This week (and weeks past), we’ve watched as our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/25/us/hurricane-maria-puerto-rico/index.html" type="external">struggle to meet basic needs</a> after the devastating hurricane strikes. We’ve also watched as aid to Puerto Rico has lagged. And more importantly, we’ve seen public outrage over this lack of support lag. Why is this happening? Overt prejudice is certainly one reason. But another is ignorance.</p>
<p>While most everyone knows that our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico are struggling after Hurricane Maria, what most everyone doesn’t seem to know is that these brother and sisters … are American citizens! A recent poll found that only <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/upshot/nearly-half-of-americans-dont-know-people-in-puerto-ricoans-are-fellow-citizens.html" type="external">54 percent of Americans</a> knew that people born in Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, are U.S. citizens.</p>
<p>Hel-lo.</p>
<p>Besides being really embarrassing, why does it matter? Two reasons: No. 1, It means one half of Americans think that what happened there is a foreign disaster and not a domestic one, which leads us to problem No. 2: Studies show that people attach an overwhelming priority to problems at home — and that includes <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/26/upshot/nearly-half-of-americans-dont-know-people-in-puerto-ricoans-are-fellow-citizens.html?_r=0" type="external">prioritizing aid distribution</a>.</p>
<p>There is absolutely no excuse for such ignorance, especially given the access to information these days through the Internet, the media, Amazon.com or the free library system.</p>
<p>Jesus commanded that we love our neighbor as ourselves, and sometimes that may seem a hard road. Our neighbor may seem separated from us by a mountain of differences. They may seem like a foreign nation. However, if we educate ourselves about each other (which might include learning about the states and territories of our own country, or learning about an unfamiliar religion, or someone’s sexual orientation, or a different political party), we will eventually find common ground.</p>
<p>Public conversation</p>
<p>This week, we witnessed a gunman perched on a high floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel take a cache of automatic weapons and systematically kill 59 people and wound more than 525.</p>
<p>Many are once again crying out for public debate on gun control. But rather than engage in debate, gun lobbyists are dismissing the effort at conversation, arguing that it is simply politicizing the tragedy.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/trevor-noah-allowed-talk-guns-article-1.3537490" type="external">Trevor Noah</a>, the comedian and host of The Daily Show, had some thoughts on this. He said: “I wish I had used this logic as a kid when I’d done something wrong, when my mom wanted to ground me. I should have just said, ‘Is this the time, Mom, when we politicize what’s happening right now? This is not the time to talk about my lack of discipline. This is the time for us to unite as a family to focus on the fact that I’m stuck in the kitchen window trying to sneak back in.’”</p>
<p>I can’t help but think about Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:1-5 : “… with the judgment you make you will be judged. … Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?” I’m going to go out on a limb and say, if you applied Jesus’ parable to the gun debate, you might get something like this:</p>
<p>&#160;“I can’t believe the speck in the eye of these gun control advocates. They are politicizing this tragedy by using it to force a debate. OK, yeah,&#160; <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gun-death-statistics-assault-mass-shootings-accidents-2017-10" type="external">11,000 people in the U.S. are killed annually</a>&#160;by firearms; and yeah, the U.S. <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts" type="external">leads every developed country</a> in gun violence; and yeah, America has <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/2/16399418/us-gun-violence-statistics-maps-charts" type="external">4.5 percent of the world’s population, but 50 percent of the civilian-owned guns</a>, and yeah, there are <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/gun-dealers-stores-mcdonalds-las-vegas-shooting-2017-10" type="external">50,000 more gun shops in this country than McDonald’s</a>; and yeah, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/02/investing/las-vegas-shooting-gun-stocks-sturm-ruger-american-outdoor-brands/index.html" type="external">gun stocks do tend to rally</a> after shootings. But pushing public debate on gun control during this tragedy is just reprehensible.”</p>
<p>Like in any human dynamic, without conversation, without public debate, we shut ourselves off from the possibility of information, insight and empathy. We shut out the possibility of reconciliation. We shut down the possibility of ever finding common ground.</p>
<p>Overcoming blame</p>
<p>So many of our tragic headlines, including those around racial violence, can be traced not only hate and judgment, but also blame. Case in point: Claireborne P. Ellis, a Klan leader turned civil rights activist. Our church’s Bible study class recently read about his life story as documented through his <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2005/nov/09/local/me-ellis9" type="external">obit</a> and an <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4994854" type="external">NPR</a> interview.</p>
<p>Ellis grew up in poverty in Durham, N.C., in the 1920s and ’30s. The son of a mill worker who was himself a Klan leader, he married at 17, fathered three children young, including a special needs child. Despite working two jobs, he could rarely pay his bills.</p>
<p>He said: “They say abide by the law, go to church, do right and live for the Lord and everything will work out. Well, it didn’t work out. It kept gettin’ worse and worse. I began to get bitter. So I joined the Klan. … It made me feel like somebody.”</p>
<p>Ellis eventually became the leader of the local Klan and battled for years over race issues, including battles with a local desegregation activist, a black woman named Ann Atwater.</p>
<p>For years they fought vicious fights. But then, over time, something happened. Ellis said, “During those days it became clear to me that she [Ann Atwater] had some of the identical problems that I had, and that I’d suffered like she had and what … had I spent all my life fighting people like Ann for?”</p>
<p>It took years, but in the end, Ellis resigned the Klan; he began fighting for desegregation. When he died back in 2005, Ann Atwater spoke at his funeral and said, “God had a plan for both of us.”</p>
<p>I read that obit and immediately thought of Colossians 3:14: “Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.” Love is the glue that has the potential to unify the world. And if we can get past our blame, then that love will slowly seep in and bond us back together.</p>
<p>Brothers and sisters, these are glimpses of what could happen in our world. Could happen. But we have to be the ones to make it happen. We have to be the ones to educate ourselves, to engage in public conversation, to transcend blame, and to laugh together. It’s only then, that we will begin to truly heal. It is only then, that we will begin to see common ground.</p>
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recently atlanta airport waiting flight noticed two groups people standing side boarding gate first muslim woman full burka three children ages 3 5 kids also traditional clothing nestled floor watching video next white woman little boy also 5 occasionally eyed woman burka suspicion minutes mother wasnt watching little boy slowly sneaked behind kids began watching video something funny happened piece kids started giggling without hesitation sat curled beside little girl kept watching without even looking little girl turned iphone bit could see moms looked looked smiled shrugged kids didnt see differences clothes race nationality religion saw common ground friends could happen world could happen ones make happen ah video entire world could gather around watch laugh together short let suggest three ways find common ground practical ways based recent tragic headlines education week weeks past weve watched brothers sisters puerto rico struggle meet basic needs devastating hurricane strikes weve also watched aid puerto rico lagged importantly weve seen public outrage lack support lag happening overt prejudice certainly one reason another ignorance everyone knows brothers sisters puerto rico struggling hurricane maria everyone doesnt seem know brother sisters american citizens recent poll found 54 percent americans knew people born puerto rico commonwealth united states us citizens hello besides really embarrassing matter two reasons 1 means one half americans think happened foreign disaster domestic one leads us problem 2 studies show people attach overwhelming priority problems home includes prioritizing aid distribution absolutely excuse ignorance especially given access information days internet media amazoncom free library system jesus commanded love neighbor sometimes may seem hard road neighbor may seem separated us mountain differences may seem like foreign nation however educate might include learning states territories country learning unfamiliar religion someones sexual orientation different political party eventually find common ground public conversation week witnessed gunman perched high floor mandalay bay hotel take cache automatic weapons systematically kill 59 people wound 525 many crying public debate gun control rather engage debate gun lobbyists dismissing effort conversation arguing simply politicizing tragedy trevor noah comedian host daily show thoughts said wish used logic kid id done something wrong mom wanted ground said time mom politicize whats happening right time talk lack discipline time us unite family focus fact im stuck kitchen window trying sneak back cant help think jesus words matthew 715 judgment make judged see speck neighbors eye notice log eye im going go limb say applied jesus parable gun debate might get something like 160i cant believe speck eye gun control advocates politicizing tragedy using force debate ok yeah160 11000 people us killed annually160by firearms yeah us leads every developed country gun violence yeah america 45 percent worlds population 50 percent civilianowned guns yeah 50000 gun shops country mcdonalds yeah gun stocks tend rally shootings pushing public debate gun control tragedy reprehensible like human dynamic without conversation without public debate shut possibility information insight empathy shut possibility reconciliation shut possibility ever finding common ground overcoming blame many tragic headlines including around racial violence traced hate judgment also blame case point claireborne p ellis klan leader turned civil rights activist churchs bible study class recently read life story documented obit npr interview ellis grew poverty durham nc 1920s 30s son mill worker klan leader married 17 fathered three children young including special needs child despite working two jobs could rarely pay bills said say abide law go church right live lord everything work well didnt work kept gettin worse worse began get bitter joined klan made feel like somebody ellis eventually became leader local klan battled years race issues including battles local desegregation activist black woman named ann atwater years fought vicious fights time something happened ellis said days became clear ann atwater identical problems id suffered like spent life fighting people like ann took years end ellis resigned klan began fighting desegregation died back 2005 ann atwater spoke funeral said god plan us read obit immediately thought colossians 314 clothe love binds everything together perfect harmony love glue potential unify world get past blame love slowly seep bond us back together brothers sisters glimpses could happen world could happen ones make happen ones educate engage public conversation transcend blame laugh together begin truly heal begin see common ground
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<p>By Jeff Brumley</p>
<p>The term “Baptist peacemaking” conjures up images of President Jimmy Carter observing elections on troubled continents. For others it means human rights activists brokering peace deals between warring factions in Africa or the Middle East.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t mean only that, says LeDayne McLeese Polaski, the program coordinator for the <a href="http://www.bpfna.org/" type="external">Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America</a>.</p>
<p>Peacemaking can also include actions like mentoring inner-city children and writing members of Congress about public policy issues trying to understand why a local school is under-resourced, Polaski said.</p>
<p>Basically, any action that promotes justice leads to peace, and that means a lot of Baptists and other Christians are peacemakers without even knowing it.</p>
<p>“Part of our job is to help others see what they are already doing and name it as peacemaking,” Polaski said. “A lot of churches are already doing something.”</p>
<p>Creating new traditions</p>
<p>The nature and state of Baptist peacemaking has entered the spotlight with <a href="ministry/people/item/28631-glen-stassen-baptist-peacemaker-dead-at-78#.U2AKAK1dWaE" type="external">the April 26 death</a> of Baptist theologian Glen Stassen, known for his writings and teachings on the ethics of war and peace.</p>
<p>Stassen, who was 78 when he died in California, taught at Southern Baptist Theological and Fuller Theological seminaries, among other colleges and universities. He was for 30 years a leading voice for peace and his groundbreaking book, Just Peacemaking, promoted positive and practical steps to end war.</p>
<p>Stassen propelled Baptists into a Christian context where the active peace movement was led by Mennonites, Quakers and others.</p>
<p>“Glen Stassen created a new tradition for peacemaking among Baptists,” said Robert Parham, the founder and executive director of the <a href="http://www.ethicsdaily.com/" type="external">Baptist Center for Ethics</a>&#160;and a former student of Stassen’s at Southern.</p>
<p>Parham and other members of an ethics course taught by Stassen drafted a resolution in support of nuclear arms control. The resolution was adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 1978.</p>
<p>‘On the outer circle’</p>
<p>The core of Stassen’s theology on peacemaking was that the Sermon on the Mount was a commandment his followers were to take seriously, Parham said. &#160;</p>
<p>“He challenged the common reading in many churches that [the sermon] was an idealistic statement,” he said. “Glen believed it was a realistic statement.”</p>
<p>He also lived out his theology, still traveling the world as an advocate and activist for peace.</p>
<p>But Stassen’s single-minded focus on peacemaking didn’t make huge inroads in Baptist life, Parham said.</p>
<p>While working to educate and motivate Baptists to take a practical view of the Sermon on the Mount as the basis for peacemaking and human rights, he was limited by a denominational context “where Southern Baptist fundamentalists were more committed to Leviticus than the synoptic Gospels.”</p>
<p>He was also challenged by a larger culture —&#160;reflected by his denomination —&#160;that is predisposed to the use of military force, Parham added.</p>
<p>“He created a new tradition of peacemaking among Baptists, but he was never successful in moving that tradition into the mainstream of Baptist churches,” Parham said. “Peacemaking remains on the outer circle of the Baptist moral agenda.”</p>
<p>‘Increasing incrementally’</p>
<p>But there is reason to be optimistic about the present and future of Baptist peace activism, as some participants note an increasing presence of Baptists in ongoing campaigns.</p>
<p>The Baptist World Alliance and the Baptist Peace Fellowship continue to do excellent work while individual Baptist scholars and theologians are more and more involved in peace delegations to war-torn and hostile nations, said Jim Jennings, the founder of <a href="http://www.conscienceinternational.org/" type="external">Conscience International</a> and a member of First Baptist Church in Gainesville, Ga.</p>
<p>In January, Jennings led&#160; <a href="" type="internal">a delegation of American scholars</a> to Iran for talks with Iranian academics and government officials. One of the leading American delegates was Rob Nash of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology.</p>
<p>“I think that’s increasing incrementally,” Jennings said. There will be natural limits to that increase based on the attitudes of society.</p>
<p>“Baptists are a reflection of the political spectrum of our country —&#160;and probably in other countries as well.”</p>
<p>Personally, Jennings said his Baptist faith is a “100 percent” motivator of the peace and justice work he does around the world.</p>
<p>That work has taken him to Iran, Syria, the Sudan and Lebanon. He’s also met with “Islamic organizations that have intimidating names” to Americans.</p>
<p>His drive matches Stassen’s in this regard, Jennings said.</p>
<p>“Everything springs out of a vision of peace that when Jesus says ‘blessed are the peacemakers,’ it is incumbent on us as Christians to follow that.”</p>
<p>Bringing ‘real change’</p>
<p>Another trend some are noticing is that many Baptist peace and justice activists are flat-out exhausted, Polaski said.</p>
<p>That comes from years spent, domestically and internationally, combating poverty, racism, education inequality and other social ills.</p>
<p>“There are a lot who … are tired because they are working on issues that don’t get fixed in a lifetime,” Polaski said. “No matter how faithful you are, no matter how hard you try, you are not going to fix poverty.”</p>
<p>But there is a positive trend at the same time where the work by Baptists around the world are being seen to influence more positive behavior among those being helped, she added.</p>
<p>Those strides are made where Baptists are teaching conflict transformation skills in settings ranging from American churches to villages in Africa.</p>
<p>“Peacemakers are people who respond to inevitable conflict in ways that go deeper, in ways that bring real healing and ways that bring real change,” Polaski said.</p>
<p>Baptist peacemaking is moving ahead, she added.</p>
<p>“While some people are tired and frustrated because a lot of injustice is still out there, I also see people who are making a real difference every single day.”</p>
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jeff brumley term baptist peacemaking conjures images president jimmy carter observing elections troubled continents others means human rights activists brokering peace deals warring factions africa middle east doesnt mean says ledayne mcleese polaski program coordinator baptist peace fellowship north america peacemaking also include actions like mentoring innercity children writing members congress public policy issues trying understand local school underresourced polaski said basically action promotes justice leads peace means lot baptists christians peacemakers without even knowing part job help others see already name peacemaking polaski said lot churches already something creating new traditions nature state baptist peacemaking entered spotlight april 26 death baptist theologian glen stassen known writings teachings ethics war peace stassen 78 died california taught southern baptist theological fuller theological seminaries among colleges universities 30 years leading voice peace groundbreaking book peacemaking promoted positive practical steps end war stassen propelled baptists christian context active peace movement led mennonites quakers others glen stassen created new tradition peacemaking among baptists said robert parham founder executive director baptist center ethics160and former student stassens southern parham members ethics course taught stassen drafted resolution support nuclear arms control resolution adopted southern baptist convention 1978 outer circle core stassens theology peacemaking sermon mount commandment followers take seriously parham said 160 challenged common reading many churches sermon idealistic statement said glen believed realistic statement also lived theology still traveling world advocate activist peace stassens singleminded focus peacemaking didnt make huge inroads baptist life parham said working educate motivate baptists take practical view sermon mount basis peacemaking human rights limited denominational context southern baptist fundamentalists committed leviticus synoptic gospels also challenged larger culture 160reflected denomination 160that predisposed use military force parham added created new tradition peacemaking among baptists never successful moving tradition mainstream baptist churches parham said peacemaking remains outer circle baptist moral agenda increasing incrementally reason optimistic present future baptist peace activism participants note increasing presence baptists ongoing campaigns baptist world alliance baptist peace fellowship continue excellent work individual baptist scholars theologians involved peace delegations wartorn hostile nations said jim jennings founder conscience international member first baptist church gainesville ga january jennings led160 delegation american scholars iran talks iranian academics government officials one leading american delegates rob nash mercer universitys mcafee school theology think thats increasing incrementally jennings said natural limits increase based attitudes society baptists reflection political spectrum country 160and probably countries well personally jennings said baptist faith 100 percent motivator peace justice work around world work taken iran syria sudan lebanon hes also met islamic organizations intimidating names americans drive matches stassens regard jennings said everything springs vision peace jesus says blessed peacemakers incumbent us christians follow bringing real change another trend noticing many baptist peace justice activists flatout exhausted polaski said comes years spent domestically internationally combating poverty racism education inequality social ills lot tired working issues dont get fixed lifetime polaski said matter faithful matter hard try going fix poverty positive trend time work baptists around world seen influence positive behavior among helped added strides made baptists teaching conflict transformation skills settings ranging american churches villages africa peacemakers people respond inevitable conflict ways go deeper ways bring real healing ways bring real change polaski said baptist peacemaking moving ahead added people tired frustrated lot injustice still also see people making real difference every single day
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<p>GLOBALPOST LIVE BLOG: SYDNEY HOSTAGE CRISIS</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 4:00 PM ET</p>
<p>Signing off</p>
<p>This live blog is now closed.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 3:52 PM ET</p>
<p>A timeline of how the hostage crisis unfolded</p>
<p>This <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/International/timeline-sydney-hostage-crisis-police-siege/story?id=27613309" type="external">timeline</a> published by ABC News tracks in detail how events unfolded.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 3:16 PM ET</p>
<p>Iran condemns deadly Australia hostage-taking</p>
<p>Agence France-Presse — Tehran on Monday condemned the deadly hostage-taking in Australia reportedly by an Iranian-born gunman, branding it an act foreign to Islam, state media quoted a government official as saying.</p>
<p>"Undertaking such inhuman acts and provoking fear and panic in the name of merciful Islam is not in any way justifiable," Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, according to IRNA news agency.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 1:45 PM ET</p>
<p>3 dead, several injured in hostage crisis</p>
<p>Sydney police confirmed that three people died, including the gunman, and several were injured in the hostage situation.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 1:41 PM ET</p>
<p>Australian police press conference at 2 p.m. ET</p>
<p>Watch it live on NBC News:</p>
<p />
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 12:34 PM ET</p>
<p>Sydney police press conference at 1 p.m. ET</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 12:03 PM ET</p>
<p>Here's why #illridewithyou is trending</p>
<p>GlobalPost's Timothy McGrath <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/141215/illridewithyou-trending-because-some-australians-refuse-bl" type="external">writes</a>:</p>
<p>The writing was on the wall from the moment when hostages held in a downtown Sydney cafe held up a black flag with Arabic script emblazoned on it.</p>
<p>The hostage situation in Sydney comes three months after a major counterterrorism operation in which 15 people allegedly influenced by the Islamic State were arrested in connection with a plan to carry out random public beheadings in Sydney and Brisbane.</p>
<p>So tensions are understandably high in Australia when it comes to terrorism and the influence of the Islamic State. But nevermind that the siege turned out NOT to be the work of a team of Islamic State operatives, but rather, a single lone wolf named Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee with a criminal record of sexual assault and hobbies that include sending hate mail to the families of Australian soldiers. Close enough for some people.</p>
<p>Within hours, according to Reuters, there were reports that Muslim women in hijab had been spat on, right-wing groups were calling for protests at mosques, and the Australian National Imam's Council, an umbrella organization for the country's Muslim groups, found itself in that all-too-familiar and absurd position of having to defending all of Islam thanks to the actions of a very few lunatics — in this case, just one lunatic. Encouragingly, many Australians are standing up against Islamophobic backlash, and they're using the Twitter hashtag #illridewithyou to do it.</p>
<p>It started with these tweets.</p>
<p>Read on <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/141215/illridewithyou-trending-because-some-australians-refuse-bl" type="external">here</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 11:30 AM ET</p>
<p>Reports of fatalities, injuries</p>
<p>The number of people who have been killed and injured is still unknown. Channel <a href="http://www.9news.com.au/National/2014/12/15/10/00/Major-police-operation-in-Sydneys-Martin-Place" type="external">9NEWS</a>, citing police, is reporting that two people have been killed.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 11:05 AM ET</p>
<p>Hostages flee from the cafe</p>
<p>This Mashable video shows hostages running from the cafe:</p>
<p>Police have confirmed that the siege is over, according to Agence France-Presse.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 10:43 AM ET</p>
<p>Police break siege</p>
<p>Kate Smithers of 7 News Perth is reporting that the siege has ended:</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 10:36 AM ET</p>
<p>Bomb disposal robot in building</p>
<p>The Guardian is reporting that a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2014/dec/15/sydney-siege-reports-of-hostage-situation-inside-martin-place-cafe-live#block-548efe9fe4b0be1a0a4344cf" type="external">bomb disposal robot</a> has entered the cafe.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 10:30 AM ET</p>
<p>Police storm cafe, hostages flee</p>
<p>Reuters — Police stormed the Sydney cafe where a gunman has been holding an unknown number of people hostage for more than 15 hours, and heavy gunfire was heard, a Reuters witness at the scene said.&#160;</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 10:15 AM ET</p>
<p>More hostages reportedly released</p>
<p>There are unconfirmed reports coming in of more hostages fleeing the cafe. Earlier, five hostages ran to safety. Here's what we're seeing:</p>
<p>The foreign editor of ABC News just tweeted this:</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 10:04 AM ET</p>
<p>Background details on the gunman</p>
<p>This Sydney Morning Herald piece <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/martin-place-sydney-siege-gunman-identified-as-man-haron-monis-20141215-127sxt.html" type="external">goes into detail</a> on the hostage taker Man Haron Monis's background:&#160;</p>
<p>Most recently, he was charged with more than 50 allegations of indecent and sexual assault relating to time allegedly spent as a self-proclaimed "spiritual healer" who dealt with black magic at a premises in western Sydney more than a decade ago.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 9:12 AM ET</p>
<p>Australian hostage taker named as Iranian refugee with criminal past</p>
<p>Reuters — An Iranian refugee convicted of sexual assault and known for sending hate letters to the families of Australian soldiers killed overseas is the armed man holding an unknown number of hostages in a Sydney cafe, a police source said on Tuesday. Man Haron Monis, an Iranian refugee and self-styled sheikh, remained holed up in the cafe some 15 hours after the siege began. "There's no operational reason for that name to be held back by us now," said the police source, who declined to be identified.</p>
<p>UPDATE: 12/15/14 8:45 AM ET</p>
<p>Brief summary of events so far</p>
<p>Agence France-Presse —&#160;A lone gunman kept terrified staff and customers captive into Monday night in a downtown Sydney cafe, brandishing an Islamic flag, as five of his hostages managed to flee for their lives.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>#color { border-color:#bbbbbb; border-style:solid; border-width:1px; background-color:#F8F8F8; float:center; margin-left: 5px; , , , margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 30px; line-height:14px display:block; padding: 15px; }</p>
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globalpost live blog sydney hostage crisis update 121514 400 pm et signing live blog closed update 121514 352 pm et timeline hostage crisis unfolded timeline published abc news tracks detail events unfolded update 121514 316 pm et iran condemns deadly australia hostagetaking agence francepresse tehran monday condemned deadly hostagetaking australia reportedly iranianborn gunman branding act foreign islam state media quoted government official saying undertaking inhuman acts provoking fear panic name merciful islam way justifiable iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman marzieh afkham said according irna news agency update 121514 145 pm et 3 dead several injured hostage crisis sydney police confirmed three people died including gunman several injured hostage situation update 121514 141 pm et australian police press conference 2 pm et watch live nbc news update 121514 1234 pm et sydney police press conference 1 pm et update 121514 1203 pm et heres illridewithyou trending globalposts timothy mcgrath writes writing wall moment hostages held downtown sydney cafe held black flag arabic script emblazoned hostage situation sydney comes three months major counterterrorism operation 15 people allegedly influenced islamic state arrested connection plan carry random public beheadings sydney brisbane tensions understandably high australia comes terrorism influence islamic state nevermind siege turned work team islamic state operatives rather single lone wolf named man haron monis iranian refugee criminal record sexual assault hobbies include sending hate mail families australian soldiers close enough people within hours according reuters reports muslim women hijab spat rightwing groups calling protests mosques australian national imams council umbrella organization countrys muslim groups found alltoofamiliar absurd position defending islam thanks actions lunatics case one lunatic encouragingly many australians standing islamophobic backlash theyre using twitter hashtag illridewithyou started tweets read here160 update 121514 1130 et reports fatalities injuries number people killed injured still unknown channel 9news citing police reporting two people killed update 121514 1105 et hostages flee cafe mashable video shows hostages running cafe police confirmed siege according agence francepresse update 121514 1043 et police break siege kate smithers 7 news perth reporting siege ended update 121514 1036 et bomb disposal robot building guardian reporting bomb disposal robot entered cafe update 121514 1030 et police storm cafe hostages flee reuters police stormed sydney cafe gunman holding unknown number people hostage 15 hours heavy gunfire heard reuters witness scene said160 update 121514 1015 et hostages reportedly released unconfirmed reports coming hostages fleeing cafe earlier five hostages ran safety heres seeing foreign editor abc news tweeted update 121514 1004 et background details gunman sydney morning herald piece goes detail hostage taker man haron moniss background160 recently charged 50 allegations indecent sexual assault relating time allegedly spent selfproclaimed spiritual healer dealt black magic premises western sydney decade ago update 121514 912 et australian hostage taker named iranian refugee criminal past reuters iranian refugee convicted sexual assault known sending hate letters families australian soldiers killed overseas armed man holding unknown number hostages sydney cafe police source said tuesday man haron monis iranian refugee selfstyled sheikh remained holed cafe 15 hours siege began theres operational reason name held back us said police source declined identified update 121514 845 et brief summary events far agence francepresse 160a lone gunman kept terrified staff customers captive monday night downtown sydney cafe brandishing islamic flag five hostages managed flee lives 160 color bordercolorbbbbbb borderstylesolid borderwidth1px backgroundcolorf8f8f8 floatcenter marginleft 5px marginright 15px marginbottom 30px lineheight14px displayblock padding 15px
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<p>This columnist was the anniversary speaker for Sharon Baptist Church in Buckingham County for its 150th and again on Palm Sunday, March 28, for its 175th. I think it would be wise for the anniversary planning committee to begin lining up another person for the 200th.</p>
<p>Actually, there were several references to the 200th which should occur in 2035. At the beginning of the service there was happy noise made by infants and toddlers, and Pastor Perry Clore said: “Doesn’t that sound good! They are the hope of the future of the church.”</p>
<p>The pastor also referred to the happy sounds in his children’s message. He looked in the eyes of the little ones and said: “You are the future of churches and 25 years from now you will be adults and will be in charge. Now is the time for you to come to church to learn.” And then he gave them a challenge:&#160; “Do the best you can to find out who is the best in the world and that’s God.”</p>
<p />
<p>The little ones gathered across the front of the old auditorium on the 175th anniversary were white and black. Most of the black children were guests from one of the four African-American Baptist churches which were constituted by former members of Sharon.</p>
<p>In the congregation were the parents and grandparents of some of those children. Several older African-American women climbed the stairs to the three-sided gallery where once their spiritual forebears were designated to sit in slave days. In the end, the women wisely chose the downstairs pews which, unlike the old days, were upholstered.&#160;</p>
<p>In the service Gordon Ragland, the church’s historian, shared historical information. He noted that the building dated to 1855 and was built at a cost of $1,126. Ragland married into a Sharon family and quickly adopted the church’s heritage. He has captured its story in an engaging book entitled The Tie That Binds. Also in the service Bessie Rush, the longest serving church clerk, was recognized for her 38 years of devoted work.&#160;</p>
<p>There have been 27 pastors who have served the church. Keith Williams, pastor of Falling River Baptist Church near Brookneal, served as pastor of Sharon from 1999-2004; and he returned to deliver the anniversary sermon. Seated toward the front were his wife, Tammy, and the three handsome and attentive Williams boys — Isaac, Nathan and Caleb.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Keith Williams also referred to the 200th anniversary. “The evidence of Jesus Christ in your daily living, your character and commitments, will&#160; determine&#160; not&#160; only&#160; your&#160; future&#160; but&#160; also&#160; the future of the church. The fruit that you give will determine whether this is a museum at its 200th or the presence of Jesus Christ offering help to a hurting and dying world.”</p>
<p>The weather was cold and rainy and many abandoned the idea of sitting under tents for the dinner-on-the-grounds and huddled instead in the small space of the lower level of the building. The Sharon people happily enjoyed food and fellowship with their guests from four African-American Baptist churches: Spreading Oak, Union Branch, Mourners Valley and Ridgeway.&#160;</p>
<p>In the afternoon, the auditorium was crowded once again with members and guests. The choir of Union Branch presented a concert and their lively gospel music was well received. Interspersed with the music were wise and thoughtful words from the pastor of Union Branch, Maynard Jones.&#160;</p>
<p>And then it was time for this columnist to appear in his favorite persona, William E. Hatcher. The real Hatcher once lived just across the James at Fork Union. In the anniversary message, the make-believe Hatcher reminded the congregation that up until about 1873 Sharon had a membership of over 400 and the majority was black. The antebellum blacks had been drawn to Baptist churches partly because they offered a degree of freedom not found in most religious societies. It was not a perfect or complete freedom but it was an introduction to freedom. It was freedom of the soul, the spirit, expression, service and an entrance into the Kingdom of God.</p>
<p>It took Sharon folks eight years after emancipation to decide to separate; and when they did, the new black churches often began out of brush arbor meetings. Hatcher told about a noted black Baptist preacher in Buckingham, Watson “Watt” Jennison, who taught himself to read by unloading packet boats on the James River and learning from the advertisements printed on fertilizer bags. The old-time preacher used his new skill to learn Scripture and reach generations of his race with knowledge of Christ.</p>
<p>The make-believe Hatcher issued a challenge: “Let’s not wait another 25 years to the 200th anniversary to get together again. I challenge you to pray for ways your churches can cooperate together and perhaps it could be in a great shared missions project in Buckingham.”&#160;</p>
<p>After the service, one of the first men to approach this columnist was a tall distinguished black man holding a green book. I took a chance and said: “You’re White, aren’t you?” I was referring to his name, Charles White. He answered in the affirmative and presented me a copy of his book, entitled The Hidden and the Forgotten: Contributions of Buckingham Baptists to American History. In the 1980s he had come to the Virginia Baptist Historical Society to research the early history of blacks in the Baptist churches of the county. I had discovered the book by accident the week before in a public library which explains why I was so quick on the draw when I said, “You’re White ….”</p>
<p>The 175th anniversary Sunday was “an all-day-meetin’ ” and it seemed to some of us that a spark was ignited which might lead to increased and greater cooperation among these joint heirs to the Kingdom.</p>
<p>Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies, located on the campus of the University of Richmond. He may be contacted at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> or at P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.</p>
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columnist anniversary speaker sharon baptist church buckingham county 150th palm sunday march 28 175th think would wise anniversary planning committee begin lining another person 200th actually several references 200th occur 2035 beginning service happy noise made infants toddlers pastor perry clore said doesnt sound good hope future church pastor also referred happy sounds childrens message looked eyes little ones said future churches 25 years adults charge time come church learn gave challenge160 best find best world thats god little ones gathered across front old auditorium 175th anniversary white black black children guests one four africanamerican baptist churches constituted former members sharon congregation parents grandparents children several older africanamerican women climbed stairs threesided gallery spiritual forebears designated sit slave days end women wisely chose downstairs pews unlike old days upholstered160 service gordon ragland churchs historian shared historical information noted building dated 1855 built cost 1126 ragland married sharon family quickly adopted churchs heritage captured story engaging book entitled tie binds also service bessie rush longest serving church clerk recognized 38 years devoted work160 27 pastors served church keith williams pastor falling river baptist church near brookneal served pastor sharon 19992004 returned deliver anniversary sermon seated toward front wife tammy three handsome attentive williams boys isaac nathan caleb160160 keith williams also referred 200th anniversary evidence jesus christ daily living character commitments will160 determine160 not160 only160 your160 future160 but160 also160 future church fruit give determine whether museum 200th presence jesus christ offering help hurting dying world weather cold rainy many abandoned idea sitting tents dinneronthegrounds huddled instead small space lower level building sharon people happily enjoyed food fellowship guests four africanamerican baptist churches spreading oak union branch mourners valley ridgeway160 afternoon auditorium crowded members guests choir union branch presented concert lively gospel music well received interspersed music wise thoughtful words pastor union branch maynard jones160 time columnist appear favorite persona william e hatcher real hatcher lived across james fork union anniversary message makebelieve hatcher reminded congregation 1873 sharon membership 400 majority black antebellum blacks drawn baptist churches partly offered degree freedom found religious societies perfect complete freedom introduction freedom freedom soul spirit expression service entrance kingdom god took sharon folks eight years emancipation decide separate new black churches often began brush arbor meetings hatcher told noted black baptist preacher buckingham watson watt jennison taught read unloading packet boats james river learning advertisements printed fertilizer bags oldtime preacher used new skill learn scripture reach generations race knowledge christ makebelieve hatcher issued challenge lets wait another 25 years 200th anniversary get together challenge pray ways churches cooperate together perhaps could great shared missions project buckingham160 service one first men approach columnist tall distinguished black man holding green book took chance said youre white arent referring name charles white answered affirmative presented copy book entitled hidden forgotten contributions buckingham baptists american history 1980s come virginia baptist historical society research early history blacks baptist churches county discovered book accident week public library explains quick draw said youre white 175th anniversary sunday alldaymeetin seemed us spark ignited might lead increased greater cooperation among joint heirs kingdom fred anderson executive director virginia baptist historical society center baptist heritage studies located campus university richmond may contacted fredandersonvbmborg po box 34 university richmond va 23173
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<p>Although often portrayed as a new and foreign element, Arabs have been a part of Chicago since the first large wave of Arab immigration to the United States occurred between 1899 and 1921, according to Louise Cainkar, a fellow with the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute.</p>
<p>The vast majority came from the region known today as Lebanon, Syria, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, according to Cainkar’s study of the Chicago-area Arab community, “Meeting Community Needs, Building on Community Strengths.” Most were Syrian-Lebanese Christians, who tended to assimilate quickly into American society. Almost exclusively male, they were economically successful and brought over their families before U.S. immigration quotas took effect.</p>
<p>Palestinian Muslims arrived as well but took a different path. They, too, had left their wives and children behind to venture to the United States for work as peddlers or small shop owners, hoping to amass money and return to their homeland. But, being Muslim, they were less able and less willing to assimilate, according to Cainkar. Many lived in all-male rooming houses near East 18th Street and South Michigan Avenue, and sold their goods in the nearby and newly emerging African American community, where some eventually opened food and dry goods stores. Today, Palestinians are the largest Arab group in the Chicago area.</p>
<p>Palestinian migration increased after World War II, this time bringing wives of men already living here. The war following the founding of Israel in 1948 and the Six-Day War in 1967 created new waves of immigrants.</p>
<p>In 1965, the United States dramatically loosened immigration policies, and by 1969 the number of Palestinian and Jordanian immigrants in Chicago had quadrupled. Now reunited with their families, Palestinian males moved into homes and apartments in South Side neighborhoods that whites were leaving. By the 1970s, they had settled in the Chicago Lawn and Gage Park areas, which remain ports of entry for the city’s Arab community.</p>
<p>Arab-owned grocery stores, insurance companies, restaurants, law offices and community centers sprung up on West 63rd Street between South Kedzie Avenue and South Pulaski Road, and along Pulaski between West 55th and West 87th streets. Now, the growing Muslim community turned to constructing houses of worship. Arab Muslims “had prayer halls in different locations, but their aspiration and dream was to build a mosque,” said Ayoub Talhami, a longtime Arab community activist.</p>
<p>In 1981, after years of planning and fundraising, the Mosque Foundation was constructed at 7360 W. 93rd St. in southwest suburban Bridgeview. After Arab immigration surged in the late 1980s, the complex expanded to include two Islamic schools.</p>
<p>Arab families began buying homes around the mosque, and an “Arab village” started to form in an out-of-the-way enclave to the west of Harlem Avenue, where side streets now bustle with Muslim children on roller blades and bicycles.</p>
<p>By the 1990s, most of the successful, middle-class Palestinians and Jordanians had moved to Bridgeview and other suburbs, including Oak Lawn and Palos Hills. Census data show that Bridgeview had become 7 percent Arab by 2000, up from 2 percent in 1990. The Arab village had an American twist, however. The Mosque Foundation runs in a decidedly democratic fashion, according to Rafeeq Jaber, the organization’s past president. Governed by a constitution, each member of the mosque has voting rights and elects a president who is subject to term limits.</p>
<p>Arab charitable societies first began to appear locally in the late 1960s. Many, like the United Holy Land Fund, incorporated in 1968, were dedicated to sending aid to Palestinians worldwide. In the 1990s, Global Relief Foundation and Benevolence International Foundation established headquarters in the southwest suburbs, both with the stated mission of helping impoverished Muslims and others throughout the world.</p>
<p>But the federal government has repeatedly placed Arabs here under surveillance for their political activity. “Beginning in the late 1960s, there was surveillance of anything Palestinian,” said Talhami, who explains this was the heyday of the Palestine Liberation Organization–”and also the era of the Chicago Police Department’s Red Squad, a secret unit that investigated hundreds of groups because of their political beliefs.</p>
<p>“This was a time when, whatever function we had, you can bet the police would come and pick up the license plate numbers of every car parked within three blocks of the event,” he said. During the 1960s and 1970s, the FBI pursued Talhami, who was once visited at work by two federal agents. Through a Freedom of Information Act request, he obtained a two-inch-thick FBI file noting his involvement with a weekly radio show called “Voice of Palestine,” he said.</p>
<p>During the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980, “every Middle Eastern person was subject to harassment,” recalled Ghassan Barakat, who publishes Al-Bostaan, a local Arab American newspaper. In 1987, it was first reported that a secret inter-agency committee, including the FBI and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, drafted a contingency plan to intern Arab and other non-citizens at a federal detention facility in Oakdale, La., in an attempt to implement counterterrorism efforts, according to press reports. It was never implemented.</p>
<p>During the crisis leading into the Gulf War, a Jan. 12, 1991, article in The New York Times detailing FBI interviews with Arab Americans asked a question that is still on peoples’ minds after Sept. 11: “Does national origin imply a connection with terrorism?”</p>
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although often portrayed new foreign element arabs part chicago since first large wave arab immigration united states occurred 1899 1921 according louise cainkar fellow university illinois chicagos great cities institute vast majority came region known today lebanon syria israel occupied palestinian territories according cainkars study chicagoarea arab community meeting community needs building community strengths syrianlebanese christians tended assimilate quickly american society almost exclusively male economically successful brought families us immigration quotas took effect palestinian muslims arrived well took different path left wives children behind venture united states work peddlers small shop owners hoping amass money return homeland muslim less able less willing assimilate according cainkar many lived allmale rooming houses near east 18th street south michigan avenue sold goods nearby newly emerging african american community eventually opened food dry goods stores today palestinians largest arab group chicago area palestinian migration increased world war ii time bringing wives men already living war following founding israel 1948 sixday war 1967 created new waves immigrants 1965 united states dramatically loosened immigration policies 1969 number palestinian jordanian immigrants chicago quadrupled reunited families palestinian males moved homes apartments south side neighborhoods whites leaving 1970s settled chicago lawn gage park areas remain ports entry citys arab community arabowned grocery stores insurance companies restaurants law offices community centers sprung west 63rd street south kedzie avenue south pulaski road along pulaski west 55th west 87th streets growing muslim community turned constructing houses worship arab muslims prayer halls different locations aspiration dream build mosque said ayoub talhami longtime arab community activist 1981 years planning fundraising mosque foundation constructed 7360 w 93rd st southwest suburban bridgeview arab immigration surged late 1980s complex expanded include two islamic schools arab families began buying homes around mosque arab village started form outoftheway enclave west harlem avenue side streets bustle muslim children roller blades bicycles 1990s successful middleclass palestinians jordanians moved bridgeview suburbs including oak lawn palos hills census data show bridgeview become 7 percent arab 2000 2 percent 1990 arab village american twist however mosque foundation runs decidedly democratic fashion according rafeeq jaber organizations past president governed constitution member mosque voting rights elects president subject term limits arab charitable societies first began appear locally late 1960s many like united holy land fund incorporated 1968 dedicated sending aid palestinians worldwide 1990s global relief foundation benevolence international foundation established headquarters southwest suburbs stated mission helping impoverished muslims others throughout world federal government repeatedly placed arabs surveillance political activity beginning late 1960s surveillance anything palestinian said talhami explains heyday palestine liberation organizationand also era chicago police departments red squad secret unit investigated hundreds groups political beliefs time whatever function bet police would come pick license plate numbers every car parked within three blocks event said 1960s 1970s fbi pursued talhami visited work two federal agents freedom information act request obtained twoinchthick fbi file noting involvement weekly radio show called voice palestine said iranian hostage crisis 1980 every middle eastern person subject harassment recalled ghassan barakat publishes albostaan local arab american newspaper 1987 first reported secret interagency committee including fbi us immigration naturalization service drafted contingency plan intern arab noncitizens federal detention facility oakdale la attempt implement counterterrorism efforts according press reports never implemented crisis leading gulf war jan 12 1991 article new york times detailing fbi interviews arab americans asked question still peoples minds sept 11 national origin imply connection terrorism
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<p>By Jim White</p>
<p>I’m all about the United States Constitution. Next to the Bible, it may be my favorite document. I support and defend the rights of individuals to speak even if everything inside me is shouting, “Shut up!” Like when a thoughtless person shouts “Fire” in a crowded theater. Or when Fox News’ Glenn Beck said last week that church members should leave if their church is committed to social justice.</p>
<p>“I’m begging you,” he pontificated, “your right to religion and freedom to exercise religion and read all of the passages of the Bible as you want to read them and as your church wants to preach them … are going to come under the ropes in the next year. If it lasts that long it will be the next year. I beg you, look for the words ‘social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes!”</p>
<p>Perhaps Beck, who is a recent convert to Mormonism, needs a refresher course in biblical justice mandates. Though I trust Baptists reading this do not, a little review couldn’t hurt us. What does the Bible say about justice? Here’s a sample:</p>
<p>• Those who please the Lord will “keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice” (Gen. 18:19).</p>
<p>• God “has established his throne for justice” (Psalm 9:7) and “loves righteousness and justice” (Ps. 33:5).</p>
<p>• Princes are to “rule in justice” (Is. 32:1) even as the Lord “will fill Zion with justice and righteousness” (Is. 33:5).</p>
<p>• God speaks for himself, “For I the Lord love justice” (Is. 61:8).</p>
<p>• Amos thundered: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:18).</p>
<p>• Micah wrote what has become a classic: “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).</p>
<p>• Neither was Jesus silent about justice issues: “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them” (Luke 18:7-8).</p>
<p>• “Woe to you … for you have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith” (Matt. 23:23).</p>
<p>Justice is so inextricably linked with God’s goodness that a church member should flee any church that is not firmly committed to social justice.</p>
<p>Even Al Mohler took issue with Beck’s comments after an initial false start in which he tweeted, “Glenn Beck’s comments were basically right — just an incindiary [sic] overstatement. I will post a commentary at AlbertMohler.com Monday morning.” By Monday morning, Mohler <a href="content/view/4938/53/" type="external">had moderated</a>: “To assert that a call for social justice is reason for faithful Christians to flee their churches is nonsense, given the Bible’s overwhelming affirmation that justice is one of God’s own foremost concerns.” He went on, however, to assert that Beck’s comments were intended to be political and were understood in that context by his “loyal audience.”</p>
<p>Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of a persistent blog, also took exception with the whole idea that Christians should attempt to sway the social agendas of their times. “As an evangelical Christian, my concern is the primacy of the gospel of Christ — the gospel that reveals the power of God in the salvation of sinners through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church’s main message must be that gospel. The New Testament is stunningly silent on any plan for governmental or social action. The apostles launched no social reform movement. Instead, they preached the gospel of Christ and planted gospel churches. Our task is to follow Christ’s command and the example of the apostles.” This must explain why he has never attempted to influence social action on the subjects of abortion or homosexuality.</p>
<p>I agree with Mohler, however, at the point of the gospel. Some religious people, lacking any clear acquaintance with the gospel, substitute a social agenda. This, incidentally, was not Beck’s concern. It is, however, mine.</p>
<p>A student recently responded to a blog (not Mohler’s) with an illustration of what I mean. “I’m a seminarian,” she wrote, “and I don’t attend church regularly. How about that? I alternate attendance among a Unitarian Universalist fellowship, an African Methodist Episcopal Church, whatever type service is going on at seminary in a given week, and Cedar Ridge Community Church (AKA the church Brian McLaren founded). None of these ‘work for me’ on a regular basis. This is one reason why I don’t know if I’ll ever get ordained or be the minister at a particular place. I think my calling is more to social justice. I think church attenders can pick and choose what they follow/agree with of any given church; kinda hard to do that when you are ‘the’ minister!”</p>
<p>If the church this seminarian is part of ever has the misfortune of ordaining her, I hope the members will react. Not against social ministries, but because that is the sum total of the gospel being preached. I have never agreed with the sentiment expressed by one fundamentalist, “Why should we make this world a better place to go to hell from,” but I certainly don’t want to concentrate only on making this world a better place. That said, perhaps we Virginia Baptists do need to open the “social justice and evangelism” dialogue.</p>
<p>Virginia Baptists have always struck a balance between social justice and evangelism. Even so, it seems to me that if one or the other is being neglected by us, it may well be evangelism. I was struck this week by something Virginia Baptist leader Rick Clore said. It is one thing to try to get people into heaven. It is another to try to get heaven into them. The authentic, saving, powerful, transforming gospel of Jesus Christ is both. And we are called to preach the full gospel. If your church is only concerned with social justice, it’s half right.</p>
<p>If you feel like you just need to flee something, I suggest Glenn Beck’s program is a good place to start. To link social justice concerns of churches with communism and Nazism, as he did in the program, is too incredibly stupid to be tolerated by a network known (at least by itself) to be “fair and balanced.”</p>
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jim white im united states constitution next bible may favorite document support defend rights individuals speak even everything inside shouting shut like thoughtless person shouts fire crowded theater fox news glenn beck said last week church members leave church committed social justice im begging pontificated right religion freedom exercise religion read passages bible want read church wants preach going come ropes next year lasts long next year beg look words social justice economic justice church web site find run fast social justice economic justice code words advising people leave church yes perhaps beck recent convert mormonism needs refresher course biblical justice mandates though trust baptists reading little review couldnt hurt us bible say justice heres sample please lord keep way lord righteousness justice gen 1819 god established throne justice psalm 97 loves righteousness justice ps 335 princes rule justice 321 even lord fill zion justice righteousness 335 god speaks lord love justice 618 amos thundered let justice roll like waters righteousness like everflowing stream amos 518 micah wrote become classic told man good lord require justice love kindness walk humbly god micah 68 neither jesus silent justice issues god grant justice chosen ones cry day night delay long helping tell quickly grant justice luke 1878 woe neglected weightier matters law justice mercy faith matt 2323 justice inextricably linked gods goodness church member flee church firmly committed social justice even al mohler took issue becks comments initial false start tweeted glenn becks comments basically right incindiary sic overstatement post commentary albertmohlercom monday morning monday morning mohler moderated assert call social justice reason faithful christians flee churches nonsense given bibles overwhelming affirmation justice one gods foremost concerns went however assert becks comments intended political understood context loyal audience mohler president southern baptist theological seminary author persistent blog also took exception whole idea christians attempt sway social agendas times evangelical christian concern primacy gospel christ gospel reveals power god salvation sinners death resurrection lord jesus christ churchs main message must gospel new testament stunningly silent plan governmental social action apostles launched social reform movement instead preached gospel christ planted gospel churches task follow christs command example apostles must explain never attempted influence social action subjects abortion homosexuality agree mohler however point gospel religious people lacking clear acquaintance gospel substitute social agenda incidentally becks concern however mine student recently responded blog mohlers illustration mean im seminarian wrote dont attend church regularly alternate attendance among unitarian universalist fellowship african methodist episcopal church whatever type service going seminary given week cedar ridge community church aka church brian mclaren founded none work regular basis one reason dont know ill ever get ordained minister particular place think calling social justice think church attenders pick choose followagree given church kinda hard minister church seminarian part ever misfortune ordaining hope members react social ministries sum total gospel preached never agreed sentiment expressed one fundamentalist make world better place go hell certainly dont want concentrate making world better place said perhaps virginia baptists need open social justice evangelism dialogue virginia baptists always struck balance social justice evangelism even seems one neglected us may well evangelism struck week something virginia baptist leader rick clore said one thing try get people heaven another try get heaven authentic saving powerful transforming gospel jesus christ called preach full gospel church concerned social justice half right feel like need flee something suggest glenn becks program good place start link social justice concerns churches communism nazism program incredibly stupid tolerated network known least fair balanced
| 578 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />July 13, 2012</p>
<p>By John Seiler</p>
<p>Political campaigns always cough up a strong element of comedy. The latest is Los Angeles Times marquee columnist Meghan Daum dissing Sarah Palin. It’s amusing because Meghan believes a) Sarah was a disaster for McCain in 2008; and b) Sarah, or at least the Alaskan’s image, still is influential, even though Sarah’s 15 minutes of fame lasted precisely two weeks, then ended.</p>
<p>Meghan writes:</p>
<p>“It’s unlikely a woman will share the spotlight at the top of the GOP ticket.</p>
<p>“It’s not for lack of qualified candidates — former Secretary of State&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/condoleezza-rice-PEHST001669.topic" type="external">Condoleezza Rice</a>, Sen.&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/kelly-ayotte-PEPLT007758.topic" type="external">Kelly Ayotte</a>&#160;of New Hampshire, Gov.&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/nikki-haley-PEPLT00007695.topic" type="external">Nikki Haley</a>&#160;of South Carolina and&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/economy-business-finance/hewlett-packard-co.-ORCRP007258.topic" type="external">Hewlett-Packard</a>&#160;CEO&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/meg-whitman-PEPLT0000017264.topic" type="external">Meg Whitman</a>&#160;are often mentioned — but because of the tortured legacy of one former nominee: the inimitable, unpredictable, irascible and, oh yeah, female former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.</p>
<p>“This is the quote that turns up most often in response to the female veep question, from a source typically identified as an ‘unnamed informal Romney advisor’: ‘Unfortunately, Palin poisoned the well on that.'”</p>
<p>I wonder who that “unnamed informal Romney advisor” is. Romney’s staff is stacked with GOP establishment hacks who always hated Sarah. What kind of quote would one expect?</p>
<p>Meghan again:</p>
<p>“Palin has had more staying power than initially anticipated, but is she really potent enough to poison an entire well? Are we still operating under the bizarre — and blatantly sexist — assumption that American women are such a monolithic entity that Palin, whose fame is largely the result of her celebrated incompetence, is interchangeable with, say, Whitman, who’s one of the most powerful executives in the world? Is the Republican Party turning into an angry bachelor who chooses the wrong girl, gets burned and, rather than trying to love again, just writes off the whole gender?”</p>
<p>This has everything completely backward.</p>
<p>First, picking Sarah gave McCain the only boost he&#160;ever got in his 2008 general-election campaign. Doesn’t Meghan remember that? Maybe she never knew it in the first place.</p>
<p>Here’s the <a href="http://www.pollster.com/polls/us/08-us-pres-ge-mvo.php?nr=1" type="external">Pollster.com graph</a> of the 2007-08 campaign showing McCain vs. Obama. The early part, until the summer, was the primaries. Obama wasn’t well known nationally until he started beating Hillary Clinton in the primaries. And McCain in the primaries was seen as a war hero and former POW, instead of the cranky warmonger and sellout he showed himself to be in the campaign. But look at what happened at the end of 2008:</p>
<p />
<p>The red blip upward, the&#160;only time McCain led Obama during the general election, was right after he chose Sarah. Meghan seems oblivious to what goes on in the minds of Republicans, especially conservatives. But McCain was widely seen by conservatives as someone who had shredded First Amendment free speech rights with his McCain-Feingold bill, worked on immigration amnesty with the McCain-Kennedy bill and was weak on supporting tax cuts.</p>
<p>That changed instanter when he gave the nod to Sarah. Conservatives saw one of their own: a feisty, moose-hunting cheerleader with five kids who took on a corrupt state political machine.</p>
<p>Meghan mentioned Meg Whitman as supposedly being vice presidential material. Doesn’t Meghan remember Meg’s disastrous, control-freak, deer-in-the-headlights 2010 gubernatorial bid? Despite blowing $180 million of her own fortune and facing a retread Gov. Moonbeam, Meg <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gubernatorial_election,_2010" type="external">was wiped out</a>, 54 percent to 41 percent. Meg refused even to attack Jerry on his weak point, his lunar 1990s radio show, of which copious tapes exist in which he <a href="http://24ahead.com/will-jerry-brown-far-left-radio-diatribes-be-used-gavin-news" type="external">took up nutty left-wing positions</a>&#160;(some of which I agree with, such as ending the drug war).</p>
<p>Meg also melted down&#160; <a href="http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2010/08/05/after-meg-whitmans-grilling-on-radio-poizner-says-shes-still-misrepresenting-my-track-record/" type="external">on the John &amp; Ken show</a>.</p>
<p>By contrast, in 2006 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin#Governor_of_Alaska" type="external">Sarah defeated</a> the incumbent governor, Frank Murkowski in the GOOP primary, besting his powerful statewide machine. Then, in the general election — despite being outspent, and&#160;in a year Democrats swept back into control of the U.S. Senate and House — she beat Democratic ex-Gov. Tony Knowles, 48 percent to 41 percent. So Sarah beat two powerful ex-governors, but Meg couldn’t even get close to one Moonbeam.</p>
<p>Here’s what Meghan’s own newspaper, the L.A. Times, <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/10/nation/na-palineffect10" type="external">reported on Sept. 10, 2008</a>:</p>
<p>“The emergence of Sarah Palin as a political force in the presidential race has left many top Democrats fretting that, just two weeks after their convention ended on an emotional high, Barack Obama’s campaign has suddenly lost its stride….</p>
<p>“A series of new polls suggests that Palin has given a major boost to John McCain’s campaign, exciting the GOP base, winning over white women and all but erasing Obama’s lead….</p>
<p>“A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Tuesday, for instance, shows that McCain is now winning among white women 52% to 41% after having been statistically tied with Obama in that crucial category just a month ago.</p>
<p>“‘Whenever you see that kind of movement, you ought to be concerned; you ought to try to address it,’ said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), a strong Obama backer.</p>
<p>“David Bonior, the former Michigan congressman who managed Democrat John Edwards’ unsuccessful presidential bid, called the new poll findings a ‘real concern,’ adding: ‘We can’t lose white women and expect to do well in this race.'”</p>
<p>Of course, it didn’t last. I’m sure you remember what happened next: a couple of days later, the economy collapsed. On Sept. 15, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehman_Brothers" type="external">Lehman Bros filed for bankruptcy</a>.</p>
<p>After that, nobody cared about Sarah any more. It was all about the economy, and what President Bush and Barack and John would do about it.</p>
<p>President Bush, as typical of his reign, panicked. His staff came up with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program" type="external">Troubled Asset Relief Program</a>. The TARP scheme bailed out Wall Street with $700 million from Main Street. In the U.S. Senate, Obama supported it. For his 2008 campaign, <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cid=N00009638" type="external">he received</a> $1,013,091 from Goldman Sach, $808,799 from JP Morgan Chase &amp; Co., $736,711 from Citigroup Inc., etc. He was bought and paid for by the Big Banks.</p>
<p>This was McCain’s chance — time for the self-styled “Maverick” to pounce on his opponent and win the desk in the Oval Office he always had longed for. Instead — remember this? — <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/campaign-2008/articles/2008/09/24/mccain-suspends-campaign-shocks-republicans" type="external">he suspended his campaign</a>!</p>
<p>Then he backed the TARP sellout of his own middle-class voters. People forgot that, far from being a Maverick, he was a member in bad standing of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keating_Five" type="external">Keating Five</a> Savings and Loan Scandal of 1987-89. He long had been bought by the banks, too.</p>
<p>By failing to lead, the air went out of McCain’s campaign. He couldn’t use Barack’s vote for the TARP against him, because John himself had voted for it.</p>
<p>Obama tied McCain to the failed Bush policies and the onrushing Great Recession. McCain was wiped out on election day. It’s McCain’s own fault that he squandered the boost Palin provided him.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t her fault. Since the election, Palin cannily has used her brief celebrity to boost her family’s fortunes with book, TV and speaking deals. It’s the American way: Cash in while you can.</p>
<p>Her hints about possibly running for the Big Enchilada in 2012 teased naive conservatives (who are, let’s face it, 95 percent of conservatives), while infuriating clueless leftists like Meghan Daum. But I always knew Sarah never would run for anything again. She knew her time was up.</p>
<p>Her autobiography, “Going Rogue” (better title: “Going Rouge”), detailed her distaste for the Republican operatives who sidelined her while running McCain’s campaign into the ditch. But they’re almost the only people who know how to run modern, highly complex campaigns. If she had run for president, what was she going to do, hire Ron Paul’s people?</p>
<p>I also sense some class snobbery in Meghan’s dissing of Sarah. Meghan <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meghan_Daum" type="external">grabbed her B.A. from Vassar</a>. Sarah graduated from the University of Idaho, helping pay her way by winning the Miss Congeniality award in an Alaska pageant. She also attended a JC, North Idaho College. Compared to the august Vassar, how <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/d%C3%A9class%C3%A9" type="external">déclassé</a>.</p>
<p>And get this snooty Meghan sequence:</p>
<p>As we know, Republicans turned out to be spectacularly wrong on nearly every front. They not only lost an election, the party conveyed the idea that any GOP woman who deserved to be a heartbeat away from the presidency would get there not on substance but on a particular kind of easily recognizable and (to some) highly palatable style, one characterized by a generic suburban glamour and a bullying affect often passed off as spirited or gutsy. Think helmet-like hairdos; think Arizona Gov.&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/jan-brewer-PEPLT00007661.topic" type="external">Jan Brewer</a>&#160;with her finger in&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/barack-obama-PEPLT007408.topic" type="external">President Obama</a>‘s face. It paved the way for&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/michele-m.-bachmann-PEPLT000207.topic" type="external">Michele Bachmann</a>&#160;and made the road too rocky, finally, for a veteran such as&#160; <a href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/politics/government/olympia-j.-snowe-PEPLT006200.topic" type="external">Olympia Snowe</a>. The GOP made a mockery of its female leaders while pretending to elevate them.</p>
<p>Actually, Snowe went out of favor because she’s a liberal Republican. As to the rest, Meghan really looks down on ordinary, middle-class women: “a generic suburban glamour,” “a bullying affect often passed off as spirited or gutsy,” “helmet-like hairdos” and “Michelle Bachman.” Presumably Michelle’s offense, like Sarah’s, is having all those kids. The brats grow up and ruin the environment, dontcha know.</p>
<p>Meghan even brings up: “The term ‘gender gap’ may sound like a cliche, but it’s also real.” The “gender gap” means that, in recent elections, women have tended to favor the Democratic candidate. But like most people who bring this up, she makes as logical mistake. If there’s a “gap” one way, then there’s a “gap” the other way: That men favor Republicans over Democrats by large margins.</p>
<p>Perhaps Meghan skipped logic class at Vassar.</p>
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july 13 2012 john seiler political campaigns always cough strong element comedy latest los angeles times marquee columnist meghan daum dissing sarah palin amusing meghan believes sarah disaster mccain 2008 b sarah least alaskans image still influential even though sarahs 15 minutes fame lasted precisely two weeks ended meghan writes unlikely woman share spotlight top gop ticket lack qualified candidates former secretary state160 condoleezza rice sen160 kelly ayotte160of new hampshire gov160 nikki haley160of south carolina and160 hewlettpackard160ceo160 meg whitman160are often mentioned tortured legacy one former nominee inimitable unpredictable irascible oh yeah female former governor alaska sarah palin quote turns often response female veep question source typically identified unnamed informal romney advisor unfortunately palin poisoned well wonder unnamed informal romney advisor romneys staff stacked gop establishment hacks always hated sarah kind quote would one expect meghan palin staying power initially anticipated really potent enough poison entire well still operating bizarre blatantly sexist assumption american women monolithic entity palin whose fame largely result celebrated incompetence interchangeable say whitman whos one powerful executives world republican party turning angry bachelor chooses wrong girl gets burned rather trying love writes whole gender everything completely backward first picking sarah gave mccain boost he160ever got 2008 generalelection campaign doesnt meghan remember maybe never knew first place heres pollstercom graph 200708 campaign showing mccain vs obama early part summer primaries obama wasnt well known nationally started beating hillary clinton primaries mccain primaries seen war hero former pow instead cranky warmonger sellout showed campaign look happened end 2008 red blip upward the160only time mccain led obama general election right chose sarah meghan seems oblivious goes minds republicans especially conservatives mccain widely seen conservatives someone shredded first amendment free speech rights mccainfeingold bill worked immigration amnesty mccainkennedy bill weak supporting tax cuts changed instanter gave nod sarah conservatives saw one feisty moosehunting cheerleader five kids took corrupt state political machine meghan mentioned meg whitman supposedly vice presidential material doesnt meghan remember megs disastrous controlfreak deerintheheadlights 2010 gubernatorial bid despite blowing 180 million fortune facing retread gov moonbeam meg wiped 54 percent 41 percent meg refused even attack jerry weak point lunar 1990s radio show copious tapes exist took nutty leftwing positions160some agree ending drug war meg also melted down160 john amp ken show contrast 2006 sarah defeated incumbent governor frank murkowski goop primary besting powerful statewide machine general election despite outspent and160in year democrats swept back control us senate house beat democratic exgov tony knowles 48 percent 41 percent sarah beat two powerful exgovernors meg couldnt even get close one moonbeam heres meghans newspaper la times reported sept 10 2008 emergence sarah palin political force presidential race left many top democrats fretting two weeks convention ended emotional high barack obamas campaign suddenly lost stride series new polls suggests palin given major boost john mccains campaign exciting gop base winning white women erasing obamas lead new wall street journalnbc news poll released tuesday instance shows mccain winning among white women 52 41 statistically tied obama crucial category month ago whenever see kind movement ought concerned ought try address said rep elijah e cummings dmd strong obama backer david bonior former michigan congressman managed democrat john edwards unsuccessful presidential bid called new poll findings real concern adding cant lose white women expect well race course didnt last im sure remember happened next couple days later economy collapsed sept 15 lehman bros filed bankruptcy nobody cared sarah economy president bush barack john would president bush typical reign panicked staff came troubled asset relief program tarp scheme bailed wall street 700 million main street us senate obama supported 2008 campaign received 1013091 goldman sach 808799 jp morgan chase amp co 736711 citigroup inc etc bought paid big banks mccains chance time selfstyled maverick pounce opponent win desk oval office always longed instead remember suspended campaign backed tarp sellout middleclass voters people forgot far maverick member bad standing keating five savings loan scandal 198789 long bought banks failing lead air went mccains campaign couldnt use baracks vote tarp john voted obama tied mccain failed bush policies onrushing great recession mccain wiped election day mccains fault squandered boost palin provided wasnt fault since election palin cannily used brief celebrity boost familys fortunes book tv speaking deals american way cash hints possibly running big enchilada 2012 teased naive conservatives lets face 95 percent conservatives infuriating clueless leftists like meghan daum always knew sarah never would run anything knew time autobiography going rogue better title going rouge detailed distaste republican operatives sidelined running mccains campaign ditch theyre almost people know run modern highly complex campaigns run president going hire ron pauls people also sense class snobbery meghans dissing sarah meghan grabbed ba vassar sarah graduated university idaho helping pay way winning miss congeniality award alaska pageant also attended jc north idaho college compared august vassar déclassé get snooty meghan sequence know republicans turned spectacularly wrong nearly every front lost election party conveyed idea gop woman deserved heartbeat away presidency would get substance particular kind easily recognizable highly palatable style one characterized generic suburban glamour bullying affect often passed spirited gutsy think helmetlike hairdos think arizona gov160 jan brewer160with finger in160 president obamas face paved way for160 michele bachmann160and made road rocky finally veteran as160 olympia snowe gop made mockery female leaders pretending elevate actually snowe went favor shes liberal republican rest meghan really looks ordinary middleclass women generic suburban glamour bullying affect often passed spirited gutsy helmetlike hairdos michelle bachman presumably michelles offense like sarahs kids brats grow ruin environment dontcha know meghan even brings term gender gap may sound like cliche also real gender gap means recent elections women tended favor democratic candidate like people bring makes logical mistake theres gap one way theres gap way men favor republicans democrats large margins perhaps meghan skipped logic class vassar
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<p>Millions of moviegoers around the country witnessed the brilliance that is Hidden Figures, making it the #1 film in the country. While navigating a white supremacist social structure and raising families, Dorothy Johnson Vaughan, Katherine Johnson, and Mary Jackson programmed the first IBMs, did math that did not exist, and took engineering to new heights. Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Figures-American-Untold-Mathematicians/dp/006236359X" type="external">Hidden Figures: The American Dream and Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win The Space Race,</a> the movie Hidden Figures sheds light on the true stories of these influential women who, until now, have been largely unknown to the masses.</p>
<p>As I watched this inspiring film, I wondered why the significant contributions of Vaughan, Johnson, and Jackson were not part of the American story I was taught. Why had the mental images I conjured of scientists not included women in knee length skirts and pearls? The fact is, women contribute to and shape every facet of life but too often, they do not receive the acknowledgement or credit they are due. This is particularly true within the realm of Hip Hop, as illustrated by the 2016 Netflix documentary Hip Hop Evolution.</p>
<p>In this four-part series, a male rap artist goes on a journey to find the roots of Hip Hop culture. And in typical fashion, with the exception of Sylvia Robinson, women and girls who were pillars of the movement, did not even receive a mention in the film. The most glaring elimination being Cindy Campbell “The Mother of Hip Hop.” Unfortunately, this Netflix documentary is more of the trend than an isolated example. Like Ms. Campbell, many women make contributions to Hip Hop culture, but are conveniently left out of the story; even me.</p>
<p>In 2003, I made the decision to use my doctoral dissertation as a platform to advance the field of psychology by creating a curriculum using Hip Hop culture as the intervention. At the time, no social science dissertation had attempted to explore Hip Hop as a positive movement. No books existed with Hip Hop Therapy in the title, and only a few articles had been published on the subject. In 2007, I successfully defended the first Hip Hop Therapy dissertation, and in 2009 became the first author to publish a book with “Hip Hop Therapy” in the title. And while countless undergraduate and graduate students have studied my work, I am conveniently left out of many conversations, unless the subject is “Women in Hip Hop” (or the supposed lack there of).</p>
<p>In March 2016, I penned an editorial titled <a href="http://www.newblackmaninexile.net/2016/03/hip-hop-sisters-rise-up-on-silencing-of.html?view=magazine&amp;m=1" type="external">Hip Hop Sisters Rise Up: On the Silencing of Women in Hip Hop</a>, celebrating women and girls in Hip Hop and challenging us to claim our space within the culture. Many women whose contributions were in my heart as I was writing thanked me for speaking on this subject. Maybe it is the humility we were taught to cherish, or the effortless efficiency of our execution that causes us to faze our own selves out. But those days are done! Through the power of Hidden Figures I understand we must remain vocal about the leadership of women within Hip Hop, or our stories too will be lost in time.</p>
<p>Here are 3 of Hip Hop’s Hidden Figures that changed the game. Get familiar.</p>
<p />
<p>Cindy Campbell- The Mother of Hip Hop</p>
<p>As a 17-year-old high school student, young Cindy had the vision and talent to organize and promote a back to school party on August 11, 1973. Initially planned as a venture to raise money for new school clothes, the “Back to School Party” went on to become the birth of Hip Hop. Djayed by her younger brother Kool Herc, and held at the now legendary 1520 Sedgwick Avenue recreation center in the West Bronx, Ms. Campbell described this party as a spiritual experience attended by most of the youth and parents in the neighborhood. In addition to being the spark that ignited the evolution of Hip Hop culture, she is also the first Hip Hop promoter.</p>
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<p>Toni Blackman- The First U.S. Hip Hop Ambassador</p>
<p>Toni Blackman became the first Hip Hop artist invited to be a Foreign Service Worker with the U.S. State Department in 2000. An award-winning artist, teacher, and writer, Toni has served in over 30 countries leading master classes and performing. A proponent of holistic health who travels the globe speaking about the healing properties of freestyling (improvised rapping) and artistic expression, Toni has shaped a generation of Hip Hop educators and artists on almost every continent. In 2012, she was a spokesperson for the Dove© Real Woman Campaign, promoting the empowerment of girls and women.</p>
<p />
<p>Martha Diaz- Hip Hop Education Pioneer</p>
<p>Martha Diaz is a community organizer, media producer, and archivist who laid the foundation for the emerging field of study known as Hip Hop Education. From 2002-2012, she served as chair and executive director of the Hip-Hop Association, which produced the Hip-Hop Education Summit and published <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Hip-Hop-Education-Guidebook-1/dp/0615142621/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1484319146&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=hip+hop+education+guidebook" type="external">The Hip Hop Education Guidebook Volume 1 (2007)</a> created by she and Marcella Runnel Hall. In 2010, Diaz was key in the founding of the Hip Hop Education (H2Ed) Center for Research, Evaluation, and Training at NYU. The H2Ed Center was instrumental in the initial archiving and evaluation of programs using Hip Hop to educate and empower.</p>
<p>Hip Hop Sisters Rise Up!</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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millions moviegoers around country witnessed brilliance hidden figures making 1 film country navigating white supremacist social structure raising families dorothy johnson vaughan katherine johnson mary jackson programmed first ibms math exist took engineering new heights based margot lee shetterlys book hidden figures american dream untold story black women mathematicians helped win space race movie hidden figures sheds light true stories influential women largely unknown masses watched inspiring film wondered significant contributions vaughan johnson jackson part american story taught mental images conjured scientists included women knee length skirts pearls fact women contribute shape every facet life often receive acknowledgement credit due particularly true within realm hip hop illustrated 2016 netflix documentary hip hop evolution fourpart series male rap artist goes journey find roots hip hop culture typical fashion exception sylvia robinson women girls pillars movement even receive mention film glaring elimination cindy campbell mother hip hop unfortunately netflix documentary trend isolated example like ms campbell many women make contributions hip hop culture conveniently left story even 2003 made decision use doctoral dissertation platform advance field psychology creating curriculum using hip hop culture intervention time social science dissertation attempted explore hip hop positive movement books existed hip hop therapy title articles published subject 2007 successfully defended first hip hop therapy dissertation 2009 became first author publish book hip hop therapy title countless undergraduate graduate students studied work conveniently left many conversations unless subject women hip hop supposed lack march 2016 penned editorial titled hip hop sisters rise silencing women hip hop celebrating women girls hip hop challenging us claim space within culture many women whose contributions heart writing thanked speaking subject maybe humility taught cherish effortless efficiency execution causes us faze selves days done power hidden figures understand must remain vocal leadership women within hip hop stories lost time 3 hip hops hidden figures changed game get familiar cindy campbell mother hip hop 17yearold high school student young cindy vision talent organize promote back school party august 11 1973 initially planned venture raise money new school clothes back school party went become birth hip hop djayed younger brother kool herc held legendary 1520 sedgwick avenue recreation center west bronx ms campbell described party spiritual experience attended youth parents neighborhood addition spark ignited evolution hip hop culture also first hip hop promoter 160 toni blackman first us hip hop ambassador toni blackman became first hip hop artist invited foreign service worker us state department 2000 awardwinning artist teacher writer toni served 30 countries leading master classes performing proponent holistic health travels globe speaking healing properties freestyling improvised rapping artistic expression toni shaped generation hip hop educators artists almost every continent 2012 spokesperson dove real woman campaign promoting empowerment girls women martha diaz hip hop education pioneer martha diaz community organizer media producer archivist laid foundation emerging field study known hip hop education 20022012 served chair executive director hiphop association produced hiphop education summit published hip hop education guidebook volume 1 2007 created marcella runnel hall 2010 diaz key founding hip hop education h2ed center research evaluation training nyu h2ed center instrumental initial archiving evaluation programs using hip hop educate empower hip hop sisters rise 160
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<p>No matter where you are in the nation, if you’re black and you’re in the market for a home loan, you can expect to get higher interest rates for your mortgage than your white counterparts will receive for theirs–”even if you earn more money.</p>
<p>An analysis by The Chicago Reporter of more than 8.5 million mortgages granted nationwide in 2006, the most recent data available, shows that African American borrowers were nearly two-and-half times more likely than their white counterparts to get “high-cost” home loans. The racial gap was even wider among the wealthiest individuals. African Americans earning $100,000 a year or more were three times more likely than their white counterparts to get high-cost loans.</p>
<p>Nearly 53 percent of the more than 750,000 mortgages granted to African Americans in 2006 were high-cost loans, compared with 22 percent of the 5.3 million mortgages granted to whites that year.</p>
<p>The disparities were not as great for Latinos and Native Americans. Nearly 41 percent of the 1.1 million mortgages to Latinos in 2006 were high-cost, and about 34 percent of the 25,000 home loans to Native Americans were high-cost.</p>
<p>Asians fared better than whites. About 17 percent of 330,000 mortgages to Asian borrowers were high-cost, according to the Reporter’s analysis.</p>
<p>The Reporter analyzed more than 8.5 million conventional, first-lien mortgages granted for owner-occupied, one-to-four family properties in the United States during 2006. Through the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, the data is provided by lenders annually to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.</p>
<p>High-cost mortgages were those with interest rates at least 3 percentage points above the rates for U.S. Treasury bonds of the same duration at that time. For example, on May 15, 2006, the rate for 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds was 5.26 percent. Therefore, 30-year mortgages granted at that time with interest rates of 8.26 percent or higher would be considered high-cost.</p>
<p>According to a mortgage payment calculator on bankrate.com, the difference in payments between a $200,000, 30-year mortgage at 5.26 percent and 8.26 percent is nearly $400 a month. Those added costs are why many fair lending advocates point to high-cost and subprime mortgages as the chief culprits in the nation’s foreclosure debacle and why it has disproportionately affected African Americans.</p>
<p>“There is absolutely a correlation between the high-cost loans and the foreclosure rates,” said Peter Skillern, executive director of the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina or CRA-NC. “That disparity keeps appearing, and now the foreclosure rate is having a disproportionate affect of African-American households.”</p>
<p>In addition, over the life of a home loan, the additional costs resulting from higher interest rates can equal tens of thousands of dollars, noted Joshua Silver, vice president of research and policy at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition or NCRC. In the summer of 2007, the NCRC released a study with similar findings to the Reporter’s analysis.</p>
<p>“You’re draining wealth from minority communities,” Silver said. “That money could be used for education, or hospitals, or so many other good uses in communities that could really use the help.”</p>
<p>The racial disparities between black and white borrowers were pervasive.</p>
<p>There were no major metro areas where black borrowers and white borrowers received high-cost loans at equal rates. In each of the 251 metropolitan areas where more than 100 mortgages were granted to both African American and white borrowers in 2006, black borrowers were at least 1.5 times as likely as their white counterparts to get high-cost loans.</p>
<p>The widest racial disparities were found in North Carolina, home to three of the four metro areas with the widest gaps in high-cost lending rates between blacks and whites.</p>
<p>Durham, N.C. led the nation. According to the Reporter’s analysis, black borrowers in the Durham metro area received high-cost loans 46 percent of the time, compared with 10 percent of white borrowers–”meaning black borrowers were 4.6 times more likely than their white counterparts to receive a high-cost home loan in 2006.</p>
<p>Greenville, N.C. ranked second, College Station-Bryan, Tex. ranked third and Raleigh-Cary, N.C. ranked fourth.</p>
<p>According to a February 2008 report by CRA-NC, in Durham County, 78 percent of homes in default or foreclosure had African American residents.</p>
<p>But many of the African Americans in Durham County might have qualified for home loans with better interest rates or better terms, according to Stella Adams, the economic empowerment coordinator and housing chair for the North Carolina state conference of the NAACP.</p>
<p>“We have been very aggressive in trying to combat predatory lending,” Adams said. “We identified 936 borrowers who had credit scores of 660 and qualified for prime-rate loans but were in subprime products. We are disturbed by the way African Americans have been targeted, and discrimination has to be playing a role.”</p>
<p>One of the leading lending institutions giving out high-cost loans disagrees.</p>
<p>“Our lending decisions are only based on financial risk, and race is not a factor,” said Jay Lawrence, a spokesman for Wells Fargo. In 2006, according to the Reporter’s analysis, 21.5 percent of the mortgages Wells Fargo granted nationwide were high-cost. But 53.9 percent of the lender’s African Americans borrowers received high-cost mortgages compared with just 18.1 percent of the lender’s white borrowers.</p>
<p>Cheryl Crespin, senior vice president of marketing and communications for the Mortgage Bankers Association or MBA, said it is in the best interests of these lenders to ensure that people can repay their loans. In the event of a foreclosure, the borrower loses his or her home, and the lending institution loses its investment, she said. “It’s not as though this is something that benefits the industry. We’re working aggressively to make sure people can afford their loans.”</p>
<p>Organizations like the Federal Reserve and the MBA are doing their best to help people facing foreclosure, Crespin said, noting that job loss, illness and divorce are the three biggest factors leading to foreclosure. “That’s not to say that the industry doesn’t bear responsibility,” she added.</p>
<p>Like Wells Fargo, many of the nation’s largest lenders simply granted high-cost loans far more often to their black and Latino customers than to their white and Asian customers.</p>
<p>Those wide racial disparities were not present for several other mortgage companies and lenders that specialize in high-cost or subprime products. However, African Americans and Latinos were two to three times more likely than whites and Asians to do business with these companies, according to the Reporter’s analysis.</p>
<p>“The whole justification for making these loans is that people said the subprime market was opening doors for people,” said Kathleen Day, a spokeswoman for the Center for Responsible Lending. “But it’s not helping if they lose their homes as a result.”</p>
<p>Although she didn’t realize it at the time, a subprime loan helped Mildred Kennedy, a 61-year-old black woman and lifelong resident of Durham, N.C., became a homeowner for the first time in 2001.</p>
<p>Kennedy, a mother of three adult children, grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother of three, said she chose her home, a 46-year old brick house with a small garden shed and a spacious backyard in a quiet neighborhood, because she wanted somewhere for her family to spend time together.</p>
<p>Kennedy said the bank told her that the mortgage payments would remain the same at around $525 a month. But as they became more and more expensive, eventually reaching more than $760 a month, Kennedy began to realize she would no longer be able to afford her home.</p>
<p>“I told [the bank] it would take one of my paychecks and half of my next paycheck to make this payment,” she said. “I depleted all my cash and all my pension plan to keep from losing my house, and so I just didn’t have anything left to pay.”</p>
<p>Kennedy filed for chapter seven bankruptcy to have one last shot at keeping her house, she said, adding that the house needed a great deal of repairs, and she was unable to afford both that work and the mortgage payments.</p>
<p>“I have spent all my money and now I am in bankruptcy, and they tell me I have to move, and I say–”to where? I have nothing left to lose,” she said. “It happened to me, but I pray that it never happens to another human being, black or white.”</p>
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matter nation youre black youre market home loan expect get higher interest rates mortgage white counterparts receive theirseven earn money analysis chicago reporter 85 million mortgages granted nationwide 2006 recent data available shows african american borrowers nearly twoandhalf times likely white counterparts get highcost home loans racial gap even wider among wealthiest individuals african americans earning 100000 year three times likely white counterparts get highcost loans nearly 53 percent 750000 mortgages granted african americans 2006 highcost loans compared 22 percent 53 million mortgages granted whites year disparities great latinos native americans nearly 41 percent 11 million mortgages latinos 2006 highcost 34 percent 25000 home loans native americans highcost asians fared better whites 17 percent 330000 mortgages asian borrowers highcost according reporters analysis reporter analyzed 85 million conventional firstlien mortgages granted owneroccupied onetofour family properties united states 2006 home mortgage disclosure act data provided lenders annually federal financial institutions examination council highcost mortgages interest rates least 3 percentage points rates us treasury bonds duration time example may 15 2006 rate 30year us treasury bonds 526 percent therefore 30year mortgages granted time interest rates 826 percent higher would considered highcost according mortgage payment calculator bankratecom difference payments 200000 30year mortgage 526 percent 826 percent nearly 400 month added costs many fair lending advocates point highcost subprime mortgages chief culprits nations foreclosure debacle disproportionately affected african americans absolutely correlation highcost loans foreclosure rates said peter skillern executive director community reinvestment association north carolina cranc disparity keeps appearing foreclosure rate disproportionate affect africanamerican households addition life home loan additional costs resulting higher interest rates equal tens thousands dollars noted joshua silver vice president research policy national community reinvestment coalition ncrc summer 2007 ncrc released study similar findings reporters analysis youre draining wealth minority communities silver said money could used education hospitals many good uses communities could really use help racial disparities black white borrowers pervasive major metro areas black borrowers white borrowers received highcost loans equal rates 251 metropolitan areas 100 mortgages granted african american white borrowers 2006 black borrowers least 15 times likely white counterparts get highcost loans widest racial disparities found north carolina home three four metro areas widest gaps highcost lending rates blacks whites durham nc led nation according reporters analysis black borrowers durham metro area received highcost loans 46 percent time compared 10 percent white borrowersmeaning black borrowers 46 times likely white counterparts receive highcost home loan 2006 greenville nc ranked second college stationbryan tex ranked third raleighcary nc ranked fourth according february 2008 report cranc durham county 78 percent homes default foreclosure african american residents many african americans durham county might qualified home loans better interest rates better terms according stella adams economic empowerment coordinator housing chair north carolina state conference naacp aggressive trying combat predatory lending adams said identified 936 borrowers credit scores 660 qualified primerate loans subprime products disturbed way african americans targeted discrimination playing role one leading lending institutions giving highcost loans disagrees lending decisions based financial risk race factor said jay lawrence spokesman wells fargo 2006 according reporters analysis 215 percent mortgages wells fargo granted nationwide highcost 539 percent lenders african americans borrowers received highcost mortgages compared 181 percent lenders white borrowers cheryl crespin senior vice president marketing communications mortgage bankers association mba said best interests lenders ensure people repay loans event foreclosure borrower loses home lending institution loses investment said though something benefits industry working aggressively make sure people afford loans organizations like federal reserve mba best help people facing foreclosure crespin said noting job loss illness divorce three biggest factors leading foreclosure thats say industry doesnt bear responsibility added like wells fargo many nations largest lenders simply granted highcost loans far often black latino customers white asian customers wide racial disparities present several mortgage companies lenders specialize highcost subprime products however african americans latinos two three times likely whites asians business companies according reporters analysis whole justification making loans people said subprime market opening doors people said kathleen day spokeswoman center responsible lending helping lose homes result although didnt realize time subprime loan helped mildred kennedy 61yearold black woman lifelong resident durham nc became homeowner first time 2001 kennedy mother three adult children grandmother 10 greatgrandmother three said chose home 46year old brick house small garden shed spacious backyard quiet neighborhood wanted somewhere family spend time together kennedy said bank told mortgage payments would remain around 525 month became expensive eventually reaching 760 month kennedy began realize would longer able afford home told bank would take one paychecks half next paycheck make payment said depleted cash pension plan keep losing house didnt anything left pay kennedy filed chapter seven bankruptcy one last shot keeping house said adding house needed great deal repairs unable afford work mortgage payments spent money bankruptcy tell move sayto nothing left lose said happened pray never happens another human black white
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<p>The castaway who claims he spent more than a year lost at sea, drifting some 6,000 miles from Mexico to a remote Pacific atoll, said Monday that he contemplated suicide after his traveling companion starved to death before his eyes.</p>
<p>"I was going to commit suicide," Jose Salvador Alvarenga told NBC News partner Telemundo in Spanish during a phone interview from the Marshall Island hospital where he is recovering from his ordeal.</p>
<p>"I wanted to kill myself, but no. I asked God that he was going to save me."</p>
<p>Alvarenga, 37, has told authorities in the archipelago, which sits in the middle of the ocean between Hawaii and Australia, that he survived for months on fish, small birds, sharks and rainwater.</p>
<p>"When there was nothing, I would eat nothing," he said. "I would drink my urine. I spent a lot of time without eating."</p>
<p>Fishermen in the Mexican state of Chiapas <a href="http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion-mexico/2014/reconocen-a-naufrago-rescatado-en-islas-marshall-984707.html" type="external">told the El Universal newspaper</a> that they knew Alvarenga and remembered the day he went missing.</p>
<p>"It’s a great surprise," fisherman Belarmino Rodriguez Solis told the newspaper in the Spanish-language article published Tuesday. "Nobody survives more than two or three months in those conditions.</p>
<p>"We even laid flowers in the palm hut where he lived," Solis added. "When fishermen leave and do not return we look for them."</p>
<p>Another fisherman, Williams Decuir Uscanga, said: "We’re surprised, we couldn't believe it, now that we saw him on the news we’re totally sure it is him."</p>
<p>The fishermen were from a village in the municipality of Pijijiapan, in Chiapas, and said this was where Alvarenga set sail in 2012.</p>
<p>"We want him to come [here] … when he left here he was a kid, he didn't have a beard," another fisherman, Jose Luis Ovando Corzo, told El Universal. "In 27 years I haven’t seen anyone survive so much time at sea, until this guy who is a world record [holder] for all fishermen."</p>
<p>The teenage son of a co-worker who had joined him on the fishing trip could not stomach the bizarre diet and died of hunger and thirst four weeks after a storm pushed their 24-foot fishing boat off course, Alvarenga told officials. He said he threw the body overboard.</p>
<p>The battered vessel finally washed up on a reef on Ebon Atoll last Thursday to the shock of islanders who found Alvarenga in ragged underwear, sporting a bushy beard and long hair — and telling a mind-boggling story.</p>
<p>Two days later he was taken by boat to the main island, Majuro, where he gave officials information about his background, including the names of relatives scattered from his hometown in El Salvador to the suburbs of the United States.</p>
<p>After being contacted by NBC News early Monday, his siblings gathered together at a home in Maryland, hoping to confirm that the castaway was their long-lost brother, who had lost touch with the family a decade earlier.</p>
<p>They crowded around a television and watched a video of the fisherman after he landed in Majuro, grasping a can of Coke in his hand and smiling broadly.</p>
<p>"That's him!" they said.</p>
<p>They also said a photo taken of Alvarenga in the Marshall Islands on Monday appeared to be their flesh and blood. They remembered he had a tattoo of barbed wire — a detail also described by officials on the island. A list of relatives’ names he gave authorities all checked out, and he said he is from the same tiny town as the rest of the family.</p>
<p>“It’s incredible,” said Jorge Bonilla, who believes the castaway is his brother-in-law. “I am so happy.”</p>
<p>The family said their Jose Salvador Alvarenga left Garita Palmera, in El Salvador, more than a decade ago — and the last they heard he was fishing for a living in Mexico. So many years had passed, some feared he was dead.</p>
<p>Now they are poised for the most unlikely of reunions.</p>
<p>Asked what he would say to his family, Alvarenga told Telemundo: "That I miss the very much and I will be with them soon."</p>
<p>But officials have not yet verified his identity or his remarkable account. The man could not recall his own birth date or home addresses, did not know the last name of his employer, and could not explain why there was no fishing gear on the battered vessel, they said.</p>
<p>He said he set off on either Dec. 21, or Sept. 21, 2012, according to two different summaries of the interviews. Alvarenga specifically remembered it was a Saturday — but both of those dates fell on a Friday.</p>
<p>To confuse matters further, one of the fishermen interviewed by El Universal said Alvarenga set sail at 1.30 p.m. or 2 p.m. on Nov. 20, 2012, which was a Tuesday.</p>
<p>Marshall Islands resident Matt Riding, who served as a translator, told NBC News that Alvarenga was "super loopy and out of it but incredibly friendly."</p>
<p>"My mind is scrambled. I can’t think anymore," he said, according to Riding.</p>
<p>Alvarenga also had trouble standing and his joints were swollen. His main concern, though, was his unruly mane — which seemed to have been lightened by the sun.</p>
<p>"When do I get a haircut? I need a haircut," he kept asking.</p>
<p>I wanted to kill myself, but no. I asked God that he was going to save me.</p>
<p>Those who met him were skeptical but not dismissive of his story.</p>
<p>"He has gone through an ordeal, that’s clear," U.S. Ambassador Thomas Hart Armbruster told NBC News, but noted that Alvarenga did not fit the classic image of a person lost at sea for months on end.</p>
<p>"If he did survive on fish and turtles and birds he did a pretty good job of keeping himself fed,” he added.</p>
<p>“He has a story that can be verified so those are the next steps — to find out when he left Mexico and then add up the evidence and the information he has provided. But certainly if what he is saying is true, he is one of the best survivalists around."</p>
<p>Ambruster said that while he would expect someone who spent more than a year at sea without supplies to "be in worse shape," he conceded that "there is no alternate explanation at this point for how he wound up there."</p>
<p>Riding said he was skeptical at first, as well, because Alvarenga was not skin and bone. "But after taking to him I don’t have reason to doubt it," he said.</p>
<p>The fisherman has been fingerprinted and authorities in Mexico are trying to track down the details of his life there — which would provide the first real confirmation of how long he had been adrift on the Pacific.</p>
<p>"For a long time, we heard nothing about him. Nobody knew what happened to him," said Carlos Orellana, who believes he is the man’s brother.</p>
<p>"Everybody is so surprised. Everybody is so happy. But we need to find out more.”</p>
<p>NBC News' Kerry Sanders, Carlo Dellaverson, Alexander Smith and Brinley Bruton contributed to this story.</p>
<p />
| false | 3 |
castaway claims spent year lost sea drifting 6000 miles mexico remote pacific atoll said monday contemplated suicide traveling companion starved death eyes going commit suicide jose salvador alvarenga told nbc news partner telemundo spanish phone interview marshall island hospital recovering ordeal wanted kill asked god going save alvarenga 37 told authorities archipelago sits middle ocean hawaii australia survived months fish small birds sharks rainwater nothing would eat nothing said would drink urine spent lot time without eating fishermen mexican state chiapas told el universal newspaper knew alvarenga remembered day went missing great surprise fisherman belarmino rodriguez solis told newspaper spanishlanguage article published tuesday nobody survives two three months conditions even laid flowers palm hut lived solis added fishermen leave return look another fisherman williams decuir uscanga said surprised couldnt believe saw news totally sure fishermen village municipality pijijiapan chiapas said alvarenga set sail 2012 want come left kid didnt beard another fisherman jose luis ovando corzo told el universal 27 years havent seen anyone survive much time sea guy world record holder fishermen teenage son coworker joined fishing trip could stomach bizarre diet died hunger thirst four weeks storm pushed 24foot fishing boat course alvarenga told officials said threw body overboard battered vessel finally washed reef ebon atoll last thursday shock islanders found alvarenga ragged underwear sporting bushy beard long hair telling mindboggling story two days later taken boat main island majuro gave officials information background including names relatives scattered hometown el salvador suburbs united states contacted nbc news early monday siblings gathered together home maryland hoping confirm castaway longlost brother lost touch family decade earlier crowded around television watched video fisherman landed majuro grasping coke hand smiling broadly thats said also said photo taken alvarenga marshall islands monday appeared flesh blood remembered tattoo barbed wire detail also described officials island list relatives names gave authorities checked said tiny town rest family incredible said jorge bonilla believes castaway brotherinlaw happy family said jose salvador alvarenga left garita palmera el salvador decade ago last heard fishing living mexico many years passed feared dead poised unlikely reunions asked would say family alvarenga told telemundo miss much soon officials yet verified identity remarkable account man could recall birth date home addresses know last name employer could explain fishing gear battered vessel said said set either dec 21 sept 21 2012 according two different summaries interviews alvarenga specifically remembered saturday dates fell friday confuse matters one fishermen interviewed el universal said alvarenga set sail 130 pm 2 pm nov 20 2012 tuesday marshall islands resident matt riding served translator told nbc news alvarenga super loopy incredibly friendly mind scrambled cant think anymore said according riding alvarenga also trouble standing joints swollen main concern though unruly mane seemed lightened sun get haircut need haircut kept asking wanted kill asked god going save met skeptical dismissive story gone ordeal thats clear us ambassador thomas hart armbruster told nbc news noted alvarenga fit classic image person lost sea months end survive fish turtles birds pretty good job keeping fed added story verified next steps find left mexico add evidence information provided certainly saying true one best survivalists around ambruster said would expect someone spent year sea without supplies worse shape conceded alternate explanation point wound riding said skeptical first well alvarenga skin bone taking dont reason doubt said fisherman fingerprinted authorities mexico trying track details life would provide first real confirmation long adrift pacific long time heard nothing nobody knew happened said carlos orellana believes mans brother everybody surprised everybody happy need find nbc news kerry sanders carlo dellaverson alexander smith brinley bruton contributed story
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<p>Eight years ago, Laura Margoscin showed up at Lutheran Social Services’ Project SAFE program with a substance-exposed child, a drinking habit she couldn’t kick and an abusive boyfriend she couldn’t leave.</p>
<p>During the first six months, nothing really changed. Her daughter stayed between grandparents under the watch of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.</p>
<p>Her alcoholism followed her into group meetings in the form of headaches. And her boyfriend kept giving her bruises on her face and neck.</p>
<p>But somewhere along the line, she began to find meaning in group book readings, meditations, writing exercises and the startlingly peppy and nonconfrontational caseworkers.</p>
<p>She says she found God. Then she found a way to sneak out of her boyfriend’s house and come clean to her caseworker about her inability to stay clean.</p>
<p>Margoscin credits Project SAFE with giving her the persistent positive reinforcement that the previous six treatment agencies she tried didn’t and helping her get back full custody of her daughter. “I feel like they saved my life,” she says.</p>
<p>But in the summer, Lutheran had to cut the very program that apparently saved Margoscin’s life.</p>
<p>In July, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich cut $55 million from the Illinois Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse’s budget, which had funded specialized treatment programs for substance-abusing parents referred by DCFS to Lutheran and other agencies.</p>
<p>“I cannot in good conscience sign an appropriations bill that is not supported by current funding sources,” Blagojevich said at the time.</p>
<p>In September, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to restore the funding, and the Senate followed suit in early October. It took Blagojevich until December–” five months into the fiscal year–”to finally sign off.</p>
<p>Despite the budget restoration, treatment agencies statewide say that addicted patients with children in the child welfare system are still less able to receive timely drug treatment–”the lynchpin for parents who must show some progress within 12 months to be able to reclaim full custody of their children.</p>
<p>That’s because these agencies, which receive their funds from the Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, have been forced to cut interagency programs that work to reunite substance abusing parents with their children since the former governor’s initial announcement of budget cuts.</p>
<p>With new funding, these programs are slowly getting back on their feet–”albeit with more people waiting their turn for treatment.</p>
<p>With longer waiting times, more parents continue to use drugs and are less equipped to take care of the problem when a treatment bed becomes available, said Margaret Berglind, president and CEO of the Child Care Association, which links DCFS patrons to drug treatment and other services.</p>
<p>And their children in turn will spend more time in limbo, with neither a stable biological parent nor a permanent substitute caregiver, Berglind added. “We’re no longer able to get them out [of the child welfare system] and back to their parents in a timely way because of lack of drug treatment and substance abuse treatment available,” she said.</p>
<p>Sally Thoren, the Chicago community director of the Gateway Foundation, said her agency had to lay off a number of staff members, and 176 of its 500 treatment beds went unused when the cuts occurred. It has since managed to restore most of the beds, but Thoren said the series of events has likely led to more clients, with more pressing conditions. “The whole field is four months behind,” she said.</p>
<p>Drug addiction appears in a significant portion of child welfare cases, according to both local and national research. DCFS was unable to provide the number of clients it refers to drug treatment, but a 1998 General Accounting Office report found that 74 percent of Illinois foster children had at least one parent who was obliged to undergo drug or alcohol treatment to comply with the case plan for family reunification. During the 2004 fiscal year, the latest year for which the data are available, 9,045 DCFS clients received the Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse treatment, according to the Illinois Alcoholism and Drug Dependency Association.</p>
<p>These parents are already unlikely to reunite with their children, but without treatment, their odds are “exceptionally low,” said Joe Ryan, assistant professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign’s School of Social Work and researcher at the school’s Children and Family Research Center. When Ryan studied families under child protection with parents in substance abuse treatment, the experiment group that was more able to complete substance abuse treatment was also more likely to reunite with children.</p>
<p>Such findings were reasons why Lutheran and other agencies had prioritized this population with Project SAFE. According to Kathy Dwyer, associate executive director at Lutheran, an official at the Department of Alcohol and Substance Abuse contacted her agency after the governor’s cuts in July, saying that specific funding for DCFS clients could no longer be billed for. By the time the budget was eventually restored, it had already dismantled Project SAFE and laid off its band of outreach workers, who picked up clients, took their children to child care and did anything else to get the parents into treatment.</p>
<p>Similarly, Wendy Bailie, director of the substance abuse division at downstate Marion-based Franklin-Williamson Human Services, lost three of her four Project SAFE outreach workers when its funding for the program was cut off.</p>
<p>Bailie said her Project SAFE workers are “care professionals who are trained in techniques to help people stop with all the excuses of why they can’t get involved with treatment. –˜Oh, I don’t have anyone to watch my children, I don’t have any way to get there, I don’t have food.’ They help them overcome those barriers.” According to a 2006 study by the Children and Family Research Center, parents with such case workers–”or “recovery coaches”–”were more likely to complete substance abuse treatment and therefore more likely to reunite with their families.</p>
<p>Fifty percent of the recovery- coached parents used drug treatment within 40 days, while it took 100 days before 50 percent of parents without recovery coaches did the same.</p>
<p>Ryan pointed out that parents trying to reunite with their children have few other prospects. “If those services are not available, it’s not like there can be some sort of backup plan,” he said. “–˜Well, there weren’t services available for your heroin or cocaine or alcohol abuse issues, so, you can do X instead.’ That’s not going to happen–”they have no control over that.”</p>
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eight years ago laura margoscin showed lutheran social services project safe program substanceexposed child drinking habit couldnt kick abusive boyfriend couldnt leave first six months nothing really changed daughter stayed grandparents watch illinois department children family services alcoholism followed group meetings form headaches boyfriend kept giving bruises face neck somewhere along line began find meaning group book readings meditations writing exercises startlingly peppy nonconfrontational caseworkers says found god found way sneak boyfriends house come clean caseworker inability stay clean margoscin credits project safe giving persistent positive reinforcement previous six treatment agencies tried didnt helping get back full custody daughter feel like saved life says summer lutheran cut program apparently saved margoscins life july thengov rod blagojevich cut 55 million illinois department alcoholism substance abuses budget funded specialized treatment programs substanceabusing parents referred dcfs lutheran agencies good conscience sign appropriations bill supported current funding sources blagojevich said time september illinois house representatives voted restore funding senate followed suit early october took blagojevich december five months fiscal yearto finally sign despite budget restoration treatment agencies statewide say addicted patients children child welfare system still less able receive timely drug treatmentthe lynchpin parents must show progress within 12 months able reclaim full custody children thats agencies receive funds department alcohol substance abuse forced cut interagency programs work reunite substance abusing parents children since former governors initial announcement budget cuts new funding programs slowly getting back feetalbeit people waiting turn treatment longer waiting times parents continue use drugs less equipped take care problem treatment bed becomes available said margaret berglind president ceo child care association links dcfs patrons drug treatment services children turn spend time limbo neither stable biological parent permanent substitute caregiver berglind added longer able get child welfare system back parents timely way lack drug treatment substance abuse treatment available said sally thoren chicago community director gateway foundation said agency lay number staff members 176 500 treatment beds went unused cuts occurred since managed restore beds thoren said series events likely led clients pressing conditions whole field four months behind said drug addiction appears significant portion child welfare cases according local national research dcfs unable provide number clients refers drug treatment 1998 general accounting office report found 74 percent illinois foster children least one parent obliged undergo drug alcohol treatment comply case plan family reunification 2004 fiscal year latest year data available 9045 dcfs clients received department alcohol substance abuse treatment according illinois alcoholism drug dependency association parents already unlikely reunite children without treatment odds exceptionally low said joe ryan assistant professor university illinois urbana champaigns school social work researcher schools children family research center ryan studied families child protection parents substance abuse treatment experiment group able complete substance abuse treatment also likely reunite children findings reasons lutheran agencies prioritized population project safe according kathy dwyer associate executive director lutheran official department alcohol substance abuse contacted agency governors cuts july saying specific funding dcfs clients could longer billed time budget eventually restored already dismantled project safe laid band outreach workers picked clients took children child care anything else get parents treatment similarly wendy bailie director substance abuse division downstate marionbased franklinwilliamson human services lost three four project safe outreach workers funding program cut bailie said project safe workers care professionals trained techniques help people stop excuses cant get involved treatment oh dont anyone watch children dont way get dont food help overcome barriers according 2006 study children family research center parents case workersor recovery coacheswere likely complete substance abuse treatment therefore likely reunite families fifty percent recovery coached parents used drug treatment within 40 days took 100 days 50 percent parents without recovery coaches ryan pointed parents trying reunite children prospects services available like sort backup plan said well werent services available heroin cocaine alcohol abuse issues x instead thats going happenthey control
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<p>For most of her life, Kamal Rahirashi has had just enough to get by —&#160;and sometimes not even that. When her income was limited, a lot of personal needs took a backseat, including the need for personal hygiene and health products.</p>
<p>“We didn’t even get sanitary napkins in shops where I come from; but even if we did, I wouldn’t be able to afford them,” says Kamal, who was raised in a small hamlet about 120 kilometers from the metropolitan city of Mumbai. “It was something only the really privileged and rich women used."</p>
<p>She hopes things will be different for her teenage daughter.</p>
<p>However, that's unlikely. Last month, the Indian government rolled out a new tax plan — the Goods and Service Tax (GST) —&#160;labeling sanitary products "nonessential,"&#160;making them eligible for a 12 percent tax.</p>
<p>The increase in the cost&#160;of sanitary napkins has forced Kamal, 34, who&#160;is a house cleaner in Mumbai and&#160;already living on an extremely tight budget, to reconsider her family's usage. At a rate of 8 rupees per pad (13 cents), and on a paltry salary of 10,000 rupees per month ($150), it's not an easy expense to bear.&#160;“I will continue to provide for my daughter’s needs, but I will have to go back to using the cloth,” says a disappointed Kamal. Kamal&#160;has suffered from vaginal infections in the past that are caused by poor menstrual care.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.isca.in/IJSS/Archive/v5/i7/3.ISCA-IRJSS-2016-044.pdf" type="external">Only 12 percent of Indian women</a> have access to sanitary products. This number also largely reflects the realities of urban India. Women who live in the rural part of the country, about 75 percent of India’s female population, have far less access to affordable hygiene products.</p>
<p>Most women use old cloth;&#160;others, who are even less fortunate, use leaves and dung cakes to soak menstrual blood. Kamal, who is going back to using cloth, says every piece of cloth is reused several times before being disposed of. Since her infections, she has made it a point to wash the cloth with antiseptic soap after every use, but she still uses it for four to six months before disposing of it.</p>
<p>Mumbai-based women’s organization SheSays has led a campaign against the new tax, using the&#160;social media hashtag #LahuKaLagaan, which literally translates as&#160;"blood tax."</p>
<p>“Sanitary napkins are used by girls/women to hygienically address a bodily function of which they have no control. It would be unreasonable to tax them on such products,” says Sudarshan Mohta, head of legal research at SheSays. “Our argument is to declare sanitary napkins as an essential commodity and with that regards introduce a price ceiling and also remove the tax."</p>
<p>Others on social media agreed. “Women menstruate without choice. Remove taxes on pads in India!” one tweet read. “Menstrual hygiene is every women’s right. 12% #GST on sanitary napkins amounts to an injustice. Tax-free status necessary,” Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of the state of Kerala added.</p>
<p>Incidentally, the new tax system does classify another women’s product as “essential" and makes it entirely tax-free. Sindoor, the bright red cosmetic powder married Hindu women wear,&#160;and bangles are now tax-exempt — raising serious questions about whether the government truly understands what women need.</p>
<p>The irony wasn’t lost on the public who protested the government's tax decisions.</p>
<p>“I would like to ask the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is he aware of how many Indian women use sindoor? But every single women could benefit from the use of the sanitary pads,” an upset Kamal says.</p>
<p>The SheSays team filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court, asking for an injunction on taxes for menstrual hygiene products. The suit also goes further, asking the court to order the government to implement schemes for providing low-cost sanitary napkins and promoting menstrual hygiene. It also asks the court to order the government to set up sanitary product vending and disposal machines in rural areas.</p>
<p>Several existing schemes include&#160;provisions for free sanitary pads for girls in government schools, but haven't ever been fully implemented. Studies conducted by governmental and nongovernmental groups have repeatedly shown that lack of sanitation and menstrual hygiene have forced young girls to drop out of school, and often restrict women’s participation in the workforce.</p>
<p>“We promote campaigns such as Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao,&#160;but we do not account for the other necessities in the transition from girl to woman,” says Mohta, referring to Modi’s project to educate girls. “The very word [menstruate]&#160;is a taboo. ... Amidst all this, we expect Indian women to live with dignity by making them resort to unhygienic and unsafe alternatives."</p>
<p>SheSays hopes its campaign will&#160;yield tangible outcomes. “The introduction of GST only makes it far from reality for those who belong to economically lower groups to afford basic sanitary care, and that is one of the points we have pressed on in our [lawsuit],” says Mohta.</p>
<p>Another parallel campaign is being&#160;led by Member of Parliament Sushmita Dev. “Women are being taxed 12 months a year&#160;for about 39 years on a process they have no control over. How is that fair?” Dev told Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, to&#160;roaring response from women across the country.</p>
<p>Even though Dev managed to secure nearly 200,000 signatures from women across India who are opposed to the tax, their appeals fell on deaf years. In a meeting with Dev, Jaitely reportedly told her he was concerned over “the loss that the exchequer would incur if the tax on commercially produced sanitary pads was to be reduced or the tax on environment-friendly ones to be abolished.”</p>
<p>The government has defended its position, saying&#160;the new tax actually reduces an&#160;earlier tax imposed on hygiene products. “The tax incidence on this item before and after GST is the same or less,” a <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=167293" type="external">statement</a> from the Finance Ministry claimed. The cumulative tax on hygiene products in the past, according to the government, was 13.68 percent. <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=167293" type="external">&#160;</a></p>
<p>Further, the government claimed that because the&#160;raw material used to manufacture sanitary pads have new, increased taxes, it is imperative to impose the new tax on the finished product. Otherwise, the government argues, businesses&#160;would be unable to claim credits for their taxes paid, leading to higher prices.&#160;Since its election in 2014, the government led by Narendra Modi has increasingly focused on boosting capabilities of local producers through its Make in India campaign.</p>
<p>However, activists say, the government ignored that products made for low-income buyers are typically made from different, lower-taxed raw materials.</p>
<p>And, they say the government could reduce taxes on menstrual products. “The goods exempted under the GST [such as bindi, bangles and condoms]&#160;are also made from raw materials and are not naturally available as finished products. If the government has managed to make an exception for certain items, they need to make an exception for other [more necessary]&#160;items as well,” Mohta reasons.</p>
<p>Interestingly, the campaign against the tax isn’t isolated to Indian women. Last year, women’s rights activists in the US started a campaign against a similar tax on sanitary products, referred to as the tampon tax. Cristina Garcia, an assemblywoman from California, calculated that women in her state&#160;paid close to $7 per month for 40 years of tampons and sanitary napkins, totaling over $20 million annually in taxes. She proposed not just eliminating the tax on tampons, but proposed to replace the lost revenue&#160;by increasing taxes on liquor, because&#160;“there is no happy hour for menstruation.”</p>
<p />
<p>Despite the distances, Kamal found deep solidarity in Garcia’s words. Having supported a recovering alcoholic for a husband, Kamal said&#160;the Indian government could make a lot more taxing alcohol and cigarettes.</p>
<p>“This won’t affect the rich who make a lot more than I do. Why should I I be taxed for wanting a better life, even in poverty,” she adds.</p>
| false | 3 |
life kamal rahirashi enough get 160and sometimes even income limited lot personal needs took backseat including need personal hygiene health products didnt even get sanitary napkins shops come even wouldnt able afford says kamal raised small hamlet 120 kilometers metropolitan city mumbai something really privileged rich women used hopes things different teenage daughter however thats unlikely last month indian government rolled new tax plan goods service tax gst 160labeling sanitary products nonessential160making eligible 12 percent tax increase cost160of sanitary napkins forced kamal 34 who160is house cleaner mumbai and160already living extremely tight budget reconsider familys usage rate 8 rupees per pad 13 cents paltry salary 10000 rupees per month 150 easy expense bear160i continue provide daughters needs go back using cloth says disappointed kamal kamal160has suffered vaginal infections past caused poor menstrual care 12 percent indian women access sanitary products number also largely reflects realities urban india women live rural part country 75 percent indias female population far less access affordable hygiene products women use old cloth160others even less fortunate use leaves dung cakes soak menstrual blood kamal going back using cloth says every piece cloth reused several times disposed since infections made point wash cloth antiseptic soap every use still uses four six months disposing mumbaibased womens organization shesays led campaign new tax using the160social media hashtag lahukalagaan literally translates as160blood tax sanitary napkins used girlswomen hygienically address bodily function control would unreasonable tax products says sudarshan mohta head legal research shesays argument declare sanitary napkins essential commodity regards introduce price ceiling also remove tax others social media agreed women menstruate without choice remove taxes pads india one tweet read menstrual hygiene every womens right 12 gst sanitary napkins amounts injustice taxfree status necessary pinarayi vijayan chief minister state kerala added incidentally new tax system classify another womens product essential makes entirely taxfree sindoor bright red cosmetic powder married hindu women wear160and bangles taxexempt raising serious questions whether government truly understands women need irony wasnt lost public protested governments tax decisions would like ask prime minister narendra modi aware many indian women use sindoor every single women could benefit use sanitary pads upset kamal says shesays team filed lawsuit bombay high court asking injunction taxes menstrual hygiene products suit also goes asking court order government implement schemes providing lowcost sanitary napkins promoting menstrual hygiene also asks court order government set sanitary product vending disposal machines rural areas several existing schemes include160provisions free sanitary pads girls government schools havent ever fully implemented studies conducted governmental nongovernmental groups repeatedly shown lack sanitation menstrual hygiene forced young girls drop school often restrict womens participation workforce promote campaigns beti padhao beti bachao160but account necessities transition girl woman says mohta referring modis project educate girls word menstruate160is taboo amidst expect indian women live dignity making resort unhygienic unsafe alternatives shesays hopes campaign will160yield tangible outcomes introduction gst makes far reality belong economically lower groups afford basic sanitary care one points pressed lawsuit says mohta another parallel campaign being160led member parliament sushmita dev women taxed 12 months year160for 39 years process control fair dev told finance minister arun jaitley to160roaring response women across country even though dev managed secure nearly 200000 signatures women across india opposed tax appeals fell deaf years meeting dev jaitely reportedly told concerned loss exchequer would incur tax commercially produced sanitary pads reduced tax environmentfriendly ones abolished government defended position saying160the new tax actually reduces an160earlier tax imposed hygiene products tax incidence item gst less statement finance ministry claimed cumulative tax hygiene products past according government 1368 percent 160 government claimed the160raw material used manufacture sanitary pads new increased taxes imperative impose new tax finished product otherwise government argues businesses160would unable claim credits taxes paid leading higher prices160since election 2014 government led narendra modi increasingly focused boosting capabilities local producers make india campaign however activists say government ignored products made lowincome buyers typically made different lowertaxed raw materials say government could reduce taxes menstrual products goods exempted gst bindi bangles condoms160are also made raw materials naturally available finished products government managed make exception certain items need make exception necessary160items well mohta reasons interestingly campaign tax isnt isolated indian women last year womens rights activists us started campaign similar tax sanitary products referred tampon tax cristina garcia assemblywoman california calculated women state160paid close 7 per month 40 years tampons sanitary napkins totaling 20 million annually taxes proposed eliminating tax tampons proposed replace lost revenue160by increasing taxes liquor because160there happy hour menstruation despite distances kamal found deep solidarity garcias words supported recovering alcoholic husband kamal said160the indian government could make lot taxing alcohol cigarettes wont affect rich make lot taxed wanting better life even poverty adds
| 772 |
<p>Republican&#160; <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/2014/01/22/neel-kashkari-to-focus-on-jobs-education-in-governors-race/" type="external">Neel Kashkari</a>&#160;launched his campaign for governor on Tuesday, promising that, if elected, he’ll focus on two issues: jobs and education.</p>
<p>The&#160;former assistant U.S. treasury secretary, who is best known for his role in the controversial 2008 Wall Street bailout, criticized Democrat <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/tag/governor-jerry-brown/" type="external">Gov. Jerry Brown</a> for a record that has left millions of Californians unemployed and in poverty.</p>
<p>“Jobs and education. Jobs and education. That’s my platform, ” Kashkari said in&#160;a keynote address to the Sacramento Business Review at Sacramento State University. “Our schools, employment rate, and small business climate are ranked near the bottom, and we have the highest poverty rate in the country. The status quo our leaders defend is absolutely devastating for millions of our neighbors.”</p>
<p>Kashkari has never held public office and spent 2013 making the usual rounds meeting with the state’s prominent political leaders, elected officials and donors.&#160;But it’s his unconventional focus on poor and working class Californians left behind in the economic reovery that has many Republicans excited about Kashkari’s prospects.</p>
<p>“I’ve spent the last year talking with Californians about the challenges facing families, communities and small businesses across the state to determine how I can help give others the same opportunities America has given my family,” said Kashkari, who has spent a night in a homeless shelter and days with farm workers. “Today, the gift of a good education and the opportunity it creates are out of reach for millions of struggling Californians.”</p>
<p>Kashkari has repeatedly pointed to the state’s poverty rate, the country’s highest, as evidence of Brown’s failed record. In November, Brown downplayed the state’s record poverty rate in an interview on National Public Radio’s, “ <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=243537901" type="external">All Things Considered</a>.”</p>
<p>“California is a magnet,” said Brown, a former Jesuit seminarian. “People come here from all over the world — close by from Mexico and Central America and further out from Asia and the Middle East. So California beckons and people come.&#160;And then, of course, a lot of people who arrive are not that skilled and they take lower paying jobs, and that reflects itself in the economic distribution.”</p>
<p>Brown added, “So, yeah, it’s there. But it’s really the flip side of California’s incredible attractiveness and prosperity.”</p>
<p>Some political analysts say Brown’s overly rosy picture could be his biggest vulnerability in 2014.</p>
<p>“Californians think the state’s economy is stuck in neutral and that the prospects for future economic growth are dim at best,” <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-14/california-economy-could-cost-jerry-brown-re-election.html" type="external">writes Bloomberg columnist Lanhee Chen</a>, a research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. “And if he continues to ignore Californians’ interest in real plans to improve the jobs picture, Brown may find himself fighting for his political life later this year.”</p>
<p>Kaskari’s authentic style has distinguished him from previous GOP statewide candidates. &#160; <a href="https://i0.wp.com/www.calnewsroom.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Neel-headshot-close-low-res.jpg" type="external" /></p>
<p>“Kashkari is packaging Republican issues in a way that’s designed to appeal to people who wouldn’t normally vote for Republicans,” <a href="http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/jan/15/outsider-hopes-to-revive-state-GOP/" type="external">observes UT San Diego columnist</a> Steven Greenhut, who was impressed by Kashkari’s passion in a recent interview.</p>
<p>The son of immigrants from India, Kashkari grew up in Akron, Ohio, before attending the prestigious Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.&#160;In 2006, President George W. Bush appointed&#160;Kashkari to the Department of Treasury, where he helped write legislation to address the 2008 financial crisis. It’s Kashkari’s role as an architect of&#160;the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program, a $700 billion bailout to Wall Street bankers, that has already become a central criticism of his candidacy.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for conservative Assemblyman Tim Donnelly of Twin Peaks, a Republican also running for governor, welcomed Kashkari to the race with a jab at his record as “the bailout chief.”</p>
<p>“Neel Kashkari was responsible for taking nearly $1 trillion of taxpayer money and giving it to his cronies in the banking industry,” said Jennifer Kerns, manager and spokeswoman for the Donnelly campaign. “We’ll be educating voters about the impact that Mr. Kashkari’s policies have had on Californians. There isn’t a ‘tarp’ big enough to hide his record.”</p>
<p>Donnelly’s criticism was echoed by a similar attack from Brown’s campaign — perhaps the only issue on which the Tea Party favorite agrees with the incumbent Democrat.</p>
<p>“He was a banker at Goldman Sachs, and then his one public policy act was to hand $700 billion to Wall Street banks,” Dan Newman, an advisor to Brown, told&#160; <a href="http://www.scpr.org/news/2014/01/21/41719/tarp-s-700-billion-man-wants-to-lead-california/" type="external">Capitol Public Radio</a>. “So it’s hard to imagine how that makes one qualified to be governor of California.”</p>
<p>While his opponents believe he is vulnerable on the issue, Kashkari doesn’t think so. The Kashkari campaign is quick to point out that the Wall Street bailout program recouped all the money spent and earned a $13 billion profit for taxpayers.</p>
<p>“If we could break the back of the worst economic crisis our country has faced in 80 years, then I know we can break the back of the crisis that is destroying opportunity for California families and kids,” Kashkari said in a statement.”If we could get Republicans and Democrats to work together in Washington, D.C., then I know we can get them to work together in Sacramento.”</p>
<p>Last week, the GOP primary field winnowed as former <a href="http://www.calnewsroom.com/2014/01/16/maldonado-drops-out-donnelly-only-gop-candidate-for-governor/" type="external">Lt. Governor Abel Maldonado</a> suspended his campaign.&#160;No matter which Republican candidate makes the November run-off, he is unlikely to defeat the Democratic incumbent. According to <a href="http://www.field.com/fieldpollonline/subscribers/Rls2453.pdf" type="external">a Field Poll in December,</a> Brown enjoys a 58 percent approval rating. By comparison, Brown’s predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger,&#160; <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/us-politics/8236072/Arnold-Schwarzenegger-leaves-public-office-but-will-he-be-back.html" type="external">left office with an approval rating</a> of just 22 percent.</p>
<p>In addition to the major party candidates, author Luis Rodriguez and anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan are candidates representing the Green and Peace &amp; Freedom Parties, respectively.</p>
<p>This will be the first gubernatorial campaign under the state’s new Top Two rules. Although candidates can identify themselves with a party, they don’t have to. The June primary will reduce the field to just two candidates for the November ballot. Assuming Brown gains one slot, the second slot will be fought over by Kashkari, Donnelly, Rodriguez, Sheehan and other potential candidates.</p>
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republican160 neel kashkari160launched campaign governor tuesday promising elected hell focus two issues jobs education the160former assistant us treasury secretary best known role controversial 2008 wall street bailout criticized democrat gov jerry brown record left millions californians unemployed poverty jobs education jobs education thats platform kashkari said in160a keynote address sacramento business review sacramento state university schools employment rate small business climate ranked near bottom highest poverty rate country status quo leaders defend absolutely devastating millions neighbors kashkari never held public office spent 2013 making usual rounds meeting states prominent political leaders elected officials donors160but unconventional focus poor working class californians left behind economic reovery many republicans excited kashkaris prospects ive spent last year talking californians challenges facing families communities small businesses across state determine help give others opportunities america given family said kashkari spent night homeless shelter days farm workers today gift good education opportunity creates reach millions struggling californians kashkari repeatedly pointed states poverty rate countrys highest evidence browns failed record november brown downplayed states record poverty rate interview national public radios things considered california magnet said brown former jesuit seminarian people come world close mexico central america asia middle east california beckons people come160and course lot people arrive skilled take lower paying jobs reflects economic distribution brown added yeah really flip side californias incredible attractiveness prosperity political analysts say browns overly rosy picture could biggest vulnerability 2014 californians think states economy stuck neutral prospects future economic growth dim best writes bloomberg columnist lanhee chen research fellow hoover institution stanford university continues ignore californians interest real plans improve jobs picture brown may find fighting political life later year kaskaris authentic style distinguished previous gop statewide candidates 160 kashkari packaging republican issues way thats designed appeal people wouldnt normally vote republicans observes ut san diego columnist steven greenhut impressed kashkaris passion recent interview son immigrants india kashkari grew akron ohio attending prestigious wharton school university pennsylvania160in 2006 president george w bush appointed160kashkari department treasury helped write legislation address 2008 financial crisis kashkaris role architect of160the controversial troubled asset relief program 700 billion bailout wall street bankers already become central criticism candidacy spokeswoman conservative assemblyman tim donnelly twin peaks republican also running governor welcomed kashkari race jab record bailout chief neel kashkari responsible taking nearly 1 trillion taxpayer money giving cronies banking industry said jennifer kerns manager spokeswoman donnelly campaign well educating voters impact mr kashkaris policies californians isnt tarp big enough hide record donnellys criticism echoed similar attack browns campaign perhaps issue tea party favorite agrees incumbent democrat banker goldman sachs one public policy act hand 700 billion wall street banks dan newman advisor brown told160 capitol public radio hard imagine makes one qualified governor california opponents believe vulnerable issue kashkari doesnt think kashkari campaign quick point wall street bailout program recouped money spent earned 13 billion profit taxpayers could break back worst economic crisis country faced 80 years know break back crisis destroying opportunity california families kids kashkari said statementif could get republicans democrats work together washington dc know get work together sacramento last week gop primary field winnowed former lt governor abel maldonado suspended campaign160no matter republican candidate makes november runoff unlikely defeat democratic incumbent according field poll december brown enjoys 58 percent approval rating comparison browns predecessor arnold schwarzenegger160 left office approval rating 22 percent addition major party candidates author luis rodriguez antiwar activist cindy sheehan candidates representing green peace amp freedom parties respectively first gubernatorial campaign states new top two rules although candidates identify party dont june primary reduce field two candidates november ballot assuming brown gains one slot second slot fought kashkari donnelly rodriguez sheehan potential candidates
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<p>JERUSALEM — One hundred years on, and the trench lines are still there, carved with shovels and pickaxes into a rocky hillside overlooking the ancient walls of the holy city.</p>
<p>It was here that the Ottoman forces first dug in against advancing British army regiments under the command of General Allenby during World War I, which began in 1914 and lasted four long years. During that time, nearly 20 million soldiers and civilians were killed, 65 million troops were marshaled to war and three empires were toppled, including the Ottomans.</p>
<p>The “war to end all wars,” as the Great War was called, has instead become a war that has never ended. The lines and boundaries that were drawn on the world map in the war’s aftermath continue to define contemporary conflicts from Iraq to Nigeria and simmering hostilities from Northern Ireland to Bosnia.</p>
<p>But no single city held more emotional and sacred power in the First World War than Jerusalem, a power that still resonates and still stirs conflict —&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/141118/israeli-palestinian-leaders-powerless-to-control-violence" type="external">fueled by violence like the attack on a West Jerusalem synagogue Tuesday</a> that killed four worshippers and one police officer, injuring several others.</p>
<p>Jerusalem, the powerful emotion it stirs and the violence from which its residents so often suffer, is impossible to understand without understanding its history. Where one starts along Jerusalem’s timeline quite often defines one’s understanding of the place, and the boundaries one draws around it.</p>
<p>For Jews, it is the seat of the ancient temple and the Western Wall is the sacred touchstone to that past that dates back more than 3,000 years. It is where Jesus of Nazareth preached, where he gathered his disciples for the Last Supper, where he was crucified, and, as Christians believe, where he rose again. For Muslims, it is the place that holds the rock from which the Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>This overlapping sacred space of Jerusalem has made it a coveted city throughout history, violently contested time and time again since at least the Crusades. The fighting continued through World War I and in the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars and in the two decades of violence that have spiked there amid the lifeless Israeli-Palestinian “peace process.”</p>
<p>The Tuesday attacks on ultra-Orthodox worshipers, which claimed the life of Moshe Twerksy, the descendant of towering Jewish rabbis and philosophers, came after rising tensions between Israelis and Palestinians and marked the worst day of violence in Jerusalem in years.</p>
<p>With this renewed violence falling on the 100th anniversary of World War I, it is worthwhile to look back at the role the war played in defining the modern conflict over Jerusalem.</p>
<p>WWl trenches in the Jerusalem Forest in Jerusalem. (Heidi Levine/GlobalPost)&#160;</p>
<p>Back then, the defeated Ottomans were not just surrendering the holy city, which they had ruled for some 400 years, but also losing the Dome of the Rock, the third-holiest shrine in Islam. And for the British Empire, its European allies and all of Christendom, the reclaiming of Jerusalem was a triumph like no other in a global war that had largely stalemated in the trenches of France.</p>
<p>British General Edward Allenby was told by Prime Minister Lloyd George to conquer Jerusalem as a “Christmas present” for the people of Britain. On Dec. 11, 1917, Allenby rode his horse to Jaffa Gate, dismounted and walked in to claim victory as church bells rang out. Not since the Crusades had a Christian country proclaimed control over Jerusalem.</p>
<p>For the nascent movement of Zionism, the post-war British Mandate over Palestine and Jerusalem held out a promise of a Jewish state in the future where Jews would finally return to the site of the ancient Jewish temple from which they were expelled. It was a promise that was given shape in the form of a declaration made by British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour in a letter to Lord Rothschild, a leading Zionist.</p>
<p>For the Arab leaders and their armies who had fought alongside Sir T.E. Lawrence —&#160;Lawrence of Arabia — the so-called “Balfour Declaration” was seen as a double-cross, a betrayal of an agreement two years earlier that Britain would recognize the independence of Arab states and that the holy places would remain under the control of an “independent, sovereign Muslim state.”</p>
<p>The contradictory promises made by the British to Jews and Arabs during and after World War I set the stage for a battle over who will control the overlapping sacred space of Jerusalem. It was a bitter dispute left unresolved by two Arab-Israeli wars, decades of violence and seemingly endless attempts to breathe life back into the Oslo Peace Agreement which leaves Jerusalem as a so-called “final status” issue.</p>
<p>To this day, Jerusalem remains a flashpoint at the center of the peace process.</p>
<p>The remnants of the Western Wall of the Second Temple of Judaism rise up to the Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, where the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque form a compound. Just on the other side of the compound is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christian tradition holds that Jesus was crucified and buried. If there was thermal mapping of sacred space in the Abrahamic faith, this cluster of stone buildings and shrines would be burning bright red.</p>
<p>Israeli settlement expansion in and around East Jerusalem, which is traditionally Palestinian, is intended to secure boundaries of the municipality that will leave Israel in control of the city. The settlements are always a spark that can ignite conflict. Israel sees Jerusalem as the eternal, indivisible capital of the Jewish state. The Palestinians and their leaders see East Jerusalem as occupied land since 1967 and the place where they will have the capital of their future state.</p>
<p>The US like nearly all nations places its embassy in Tel Aviv, taking the official position that the status of Jerusalem must be decided through negotiations by the two sides.</p>
<p>In late October the battle over sacred space erupted when Israeli police tried to block Muslims from attending prayer services at the Al-Aqsa Mosque which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called “a declaration of war.” The move followed the shooting of Rabbi Yehuda Glick, a right-wing activist for Jews’ right to pray at Al-Aqsa, allegedly by a Palestinian suspect who was later shot dead by police.</p>
<p>Tuesday’s slaughter of Jewish worshipers leaves Jerusalem once again on a knife edge as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows swift retaliation for the killings.</p>
<p>The tensions have been simmering in Jerusalem for the last two months with many observers fearing that a third intifada, or Palestinian “uprising” against Israeli occupation, is about to erupt. That is, if it has not already.</p>
<p>The violence is still about boundaries and about who will control Jerusalem, just as it was during World War I when the Ottomans were dug in around Jerusalem and the British forces were advancing.</p>
<p>High on a grassy slope of Mount Scopus, overlooking the old city and all this sacred space, lies a Commonwealth War Cemetery, one of several scattered across this divided land in Gaza and in Har Megiddo, or the biblical site of Armageddon. Here in the Jerusalem War Cemetery, there are graves for some 3,500 soldiers who fought in World War, their white, marble headstones laid out in straight rows.</p>
<p>On a sunny day in October, Eron Tearosh, the head of Jerusalem’s Great War Heritage Society, walked through the rows touching the stones, reflecting on the meaning of the war.</p>
<p>The Jerusalem War Cemetery in Jerusalem.(Heidi Levine/GlobalPost)&#160;</p>
<p>He said, “There is a resurgence of interest in the war on this 100th anniversary. It’s dawning on all of us in this part of the world that the history surrounds us. Anyone who knows the history of the war, understands how relevant the lines and boundaries of that conflict are today and understands the fear that history seems to be repeating itself.”</p>
<p>GlobalPost Co-founder Charles M. Sennott is the head of The GroundTruth Project, based at WGBH. From 1997 to 2001, Sennott was posted in Jerusalem as the Middle East Bureau Chief for The Boston Globe. He recently returned on a reporting trip as part of a six-month reporting project titled “The Eleventh Hour: Unlearned Lessons of World War I.” &#160;</p>
<p>This story is Part Five of "The Eleventh Hour." See the rest of the series:</p>
<p>Part One: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/140624/why-world-war-one-still-matters-100-years-after-it-began" type="external">Why World War I still matters, 100 years after it began</a></p>
<p>Part Two: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/iraq/141109/borders-middle-east-redrawn" type="external">The borders of the Middle East are being redrawn by force</a> <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/iraq/141109/borders-middle-east-redrawn" type="external">&#160;(VIDEO)</a></p>
<p>Part Three: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/141110/the-west-bank-world-war-i-never-ended" type="external">In the West Bank, World War I never ended (VIDEO)</a></p>
<p>Part Four: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/141111/golan-heights-druze-syria-israel" type="external">Golan Heights Druze sit precariously between Syria and Israel</a></p>
<p>At The GroundTruth Project: <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/eleventh-hour/timeline" type="external">Past Forward, an Interactive Map</a>&#160;</p>
<p>This story is presented by <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/" type="external">The GroundTruth Project.</a>&#160;</p>
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jerusalem one hundred years trench lines still carved shovels pickaxes rocky hillside overlooking ancient walls holy city ottoman forces first dug advancing british army regiments command general allenby world war began 1914 lasted four long years time nearly 20 million soldiers civilians killed 65 million troops marshaled war three empires toppled including ottomans war end wars great war called instead become war never ended lines boundaries drawn world map wars aftermath continue define contemporary conflicts iraq nigeria simmering hostilities northern ireland bosnia single city held emotional sacred power first world war jerusalem power still resonates still stirs conflict 160 fueled violence like attack west jerusalem synagogue tuesday killed four worshippers one police officer injuring several others jerusalem powerful emotion stirs violence residents often suffer impossible understand without understanding history one starts along jerusalems timeline quite often defines ones understanding place boundaries one draws around jews seat ancient temple western wall sacred touchstone past dates back 3000 years jesus nazareth preached gathered disciples last supper crucified christians believe rose muslims place holds rock prophet mohammed ascended heaven overlapping sacred space jerusalem made coveted city throughout history violently contested time time since least crusades fighting continued world war 1948 1967 arabisraeli wars two decades violence spiked amid lifeless israelipalestinian peace process tuesday attacks ultraorthodox worshipers claimed life moshe twerksy descendant towering jewish rabbis philosophers came rising tensions israelis palestinians marked worst day violence jerusalem years renewed violence falling 100th anniversary world war worthwhile look back role war played defining modern conflict jerusalem wwl trenches jerusalem forest jerusalem heidi levineglobalpost160 back defeated ottomans surrendering holy city ruled 400 years also losing dome rock thirdholiest shrine islam british empire european allies christendom reclaiming jerusalem triumph like global war largely stalemated trenches france british general edward allenby told prime minister lloyd george conquer jerusalem christmas present people britain dec 11 1917 allenby rode horse jaffa gate dismounted walked claim victory church bells rang since crusades christian country proclaimed control jerusalem nascent movement zionism postwar british mandate palestine jerusalem held promise jewish state future jews would finally return site ancient jewish temple expelled promise given shape form declaration made british foreign secretary arthur balfour letter lord rothschild leading zionist arab leaders armies fought alongside sir te lawrence 160lawrence arabia socalled balfour declaration seen doublecross betrayal agreement two years earlier britain would recognize independence arab states holy places would remain control independent sovereign muslim state contradictory promises made british jews arabs world war set stage battle control overlapping sacred space jerusalem bitter dispute left unresolved two arabisraeli wars decades violence seemingly endless attempts breathe life back oslo peace agreement leaves jerusalem socalled final status issue day jerusalem remains flashpoint center peace process remnants western wall second temple judaism rise haram alsharif noble sanctuary dome rock alaqsa mosque form compound side compound church holy sepulcher christian tradition holds jesus crucified buried thermal mapping sacred space abrahamic faith cluster stone buildings shrines would burning bright red israeli settlement expansion around east jerusalem traditionally palestinian intended secure boundaries municipality leave israel control city settlements always spark ignite conflict israel sees jerusalem eternal indivisible capital jewish state palestinians leaders see east jerusalem occupied land since 1967 place capital future state us like nearly nations places embassy tel aviv taking official position status jerusalem must decided negotiations two sides late october battle sacred space erupted israeli police tried block muslims attending prayer services alaqsa mosque palestinian president mahmoud abbas called declaration war move followed shooting rabbi yehuda glick rightwing activist jews right pray alaqsa allegedly palestinian suspect later shot dead police tuesdays slaughter jewish worshipers leaves jerusalem knife edge israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu vows swift retaliation killings tensions simmering jerusalem last two months many observers fearing third intifada palestinian uprising israeli occupation erupt already violence still boundaries control jerusalem world war ottomans dug around jerusalem british forces advancing high grassy slope mount scopus overlooking old city sacred space lies commonwealth war cemetery one several scattered across divided land gaza har megiddo biblical site armageddon jerusalem war cemetery graves 3500 soldiers fought world war white marble headstones laid straight rows sunny day october eron tearosh head jerusalems great war heritage society walked rows touching stones reflecting meaning war jerusalem war cemetery jerusalemheidi levineglobalpost160 said resurgence interest war 100th anniversary dawning us part world history surrounds us anyone knows history war understands relevant lines boundaries conflict today understands fear history seems repeating globalpost cofounder charles sennott head groundtruth project based wgbh 1997 2001 sennott posted jerusalem middle east bureau chief boston globe recently returned reporting trip part sixmonth reporting project titled eleventh hour unlearned lessons world war 160 story part five eleventh hour see rest series part one world war still matters 100 years began part two borders middle east redrawn force 160video part three west bank world war never ended video part four golan heights druze sit precariously syria israel groundtruth project past forward interactive map160 story presented groundtruth project160
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<p>LONDON, UK — Outside the Tesco Extra supermarket in Neasden, a low-rent district toward the outer fringes of London, Samuel Okoro offers up a shopping bag for inspection.</p>
<p>"There you go: chicken nuggets, oven chips and frozen peas," the 29-year-old delivery driver lists off. "But no horse, as far as I know."</p>
<p>Okoro's broad grin and booming laugh indicates he, like several other customers emerging from the store into an afternoon flurry of fat snowflakes, has few qualms about equine ingredients creeping into his evening meal.</p>
<p>Indeed, for many in the UK, it's often been hard to see past the humor of a recent food scare caused by the detection of horse DNA in beef burgers sold across the country. Politicians, journalists and the general public seem to have swapped more jokes than concerns about the quality of food.</p>
<p>"It's an unbridled disaster," was one of the gags doing the rounds via the Twitter hashtag #horsepuns. "Horse meat in burgers? All part of a stable diet," was another.</p>
<p>But not everyone is laughing. Behind the punchlines is a major food scandal that has already cost the food retail industry millions of dollars in recalled produce and millions more in lost consumer confidence.</p>
<p>It has also generated new doubts about safeguards imposed on the supply and processing of animal carcasses following the emergence of so-called mad cow disease or BSE in the 1990s.</p>
<p>Given that the latest scandal involves lower quality meat, there are further concerns over whether this is an inevitable consequence of producers chasing dwindling profits in economic hard times.</p>
<p>Like most modern health scares involving food, it has quickly become an international problem. Just as the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/germany/110615/germany-e-coli-outbreak-sprouts" type="external">European E.coli outbreak</a> of 2011 claimed victims across Europe and America, Britain's horse meat scandal has already mapped its way to Ireland and mainland Europe.</p>
<p>The problem first emerged earlier in January when the Food Safety Authority of Ireland handed over results of DNA tests it had carried out on burgers produced in Ireland for sale in the UK. Samples from 10 of 27 products sourced from three processing plants had tested positive for horse DNA. One sample is said to have contained 29 percent horse.</p>
<p>The response was a relatively faultless exercise in damage control. APB, the European food processing giant whose companies produced the tainted burgers, immediately shuttered one plant identified by Irish authorities.</p>
<p>It then recalled 10 million frozen burgers supplied to the UK market, forcing shelves to be cleared at Tesco, Britain’s dominant supermarket and the world’s third-largest retailer by revenue. Aldi and Lidl, stores catering to lower income households, also emptied their freezer cabinets.</p>
<p>Several other supermarkets followed suit as a precautionary measure. Fast food chains issued reassurances that their burgers were unaffected. Burger King, suspended its use of the APB suppliers and warned it could suffer a product shortage until an alternative was found.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Tesco published <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9810767/Horse-meat-scandal-Tesco-apologises-over-hay-Twitter-post.html" type="external">full-page apologies</a> in UK national newspapers. “We and our supplier have let you down,” it said, before posting an unfortunate horse tweet of its own.</p>
<p>The gesture wasn’t enough to stop Tesco shares tumbling by 1 percent, wiping $475 million off their value.</p>
<p>The hunt for the source of the horse meat has so far proved inconclusive. Irish and Dutch food safety authorities are investigating the possibility the contamination came from additives imported from a company in the Netherlands.</p>
<p>Traces of pork were also detected in some products — much to the horror of many UK customers whose religion strictly forbids the consumption of pig meat. This contamination was blamed on plants using the same machinery to process different animals.</p>
<p>As the horse jokes continued to come thick and fast (“why the long faces?” was another favorite), doubts were cast over official reassurances that the meat presented no risk to health, and questions were asked about why Britain’s own food safety body hadn’t detected the rogue DNA.</p>
<p>“Until we know what the source is of the horse or something derived from horse that has been found in the beef products, we can’t be sure there is no food safety risk," said Duncan Campbell, a scientist at West Yorkshire Analytical Services, one of the UK’s leading food control laboratories.</p>
<p>Without knowing where the DNA was coming from, he pointed out, it was impossible to know how safe that source was. That the contamination has gone undetected until now also points to worrying holes in checks imposed to guarantee the provenance of all meat sold for human consumption.</p>
<p>There has been finger pointing at the Food Standards Agency, an independent UK body set up in the wake of the BSE crisis and other outbreaks of foodborne illness to protect public health, and criticism over recent government decisions that have weakened its powers.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/war/afghanistan-war/130122/Prince-Harry-Taliban-comments-Afghanistan-War" type="external">Did Harry kill Taliban?</a></p>
<p>“There are more legs to this story, if you excuse the pun,” said Ben Bradshaw, a lawmaker with the opposition Labour party. “When I spoke to a representative of the Food Standards Agency they couldn’t give me a guarantee it wouldn’t happen again because they don’t do testing, we had to rely on the Irish.”</p>
<p>Another consequence of the DNA scandal has been to open the debate over the acceptability of eating horse meat. While rarely seen on British menus, horse is consumed in large quantities in France, where sales amounted to $238 million in 2005.</p>
<p>Several newspapers helpfully printed <a href="" type="external">recipes featuring horse meat</a> alongside articles arguing for and against equine edibility. There was also speculation that economic hard times could revive a taste for horse meat that was relatively common in the UK during wartime food rationing in the last century.</p>
<p>For some, however, the prospect of eating horse, knowingly or otherwise, remains abhorrent.</p>
<p>"I've bought burgers for my boys in the past, so I hope they’ve not had any of the dodgy ones,” said Tesco customer Niamh Curran, 44. “My grandfather looked after race horses for a living and he would have been horrified. I’m not taking any chances today — we’re having fish.”</p>
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london uk outside tesco extra supermarket neasden lowrent district toward outer fringes london samuel okoro offers shopping bag inspection go chicken nuggets oven chips frozen peas 29yearold delivery driver lists horse far know okoros broad grin booming laugh indicates like several customers emerging store afternoon flurry fat snowflakes qualms equine ingredients creeping evening meal indeed many uk often hard see past humor recent food scare caused detection horse dna beef burgers sold across country politicians journalists general public seem swapped jokes concerns quality food unbridled disaster one gags rounds via twitter hashtag horsepuns horse meat burgers part stable diet another everyone laughing behind punchlines major food scandal already cost food retail industry millions dollars recalled produce millions lost consumer confidence also generated new doubts safeguards imposed supply processing animal carcasses following emergence socalled mad cow disease bse 1990s given latest scandal involves lower quality meat concerns whether inevitable consequence producers chasing dwindling profits economic hard times like modern health scares involving food quickly become international problem european ecoli outbreak 2011 claimed victims across europe america britains horse meat scandal already mapped way ireland mainland europe problem first emerged earlier january food safety authority ireland handed results dna tests carried burgers produced ireland sale uk samples 10 27 products sourced three processing plants tested positive horse dna one sample said contained 29 percent horse response relatively faultless exercise damage control apb european food processing giant whose companies produced tainted burgers immediately shuttered one plant identified irish authorities recalled 10 million frozen burgers supplied uk market forcing shelves cleared tesco britains dominant supermarket worlds thirdlargest retailer revenue aldi lidl stores catering lower income households also emptied freezer cabinets several supermarkets followed suit precautionary measure fast food chains issued reassurances burgers unaffected burger king suspended use apb suppliers warned could suffer product shortage alternative found meanwhile tesco published fullpage apologies uk national newspapers supplier let said posting unfortunate horse tweet gesture wasnt enough stop tesco shares tumbling 1 percent wiping 475 million value hunt source horse meat far proved inconclusive irish dutch food safety authorities investigating possibility contamination came additives imported company netherlands traces pork also detected products much horror many uk customers whose religion strictly forbids consumption pig meat contamination blamed plants using machinery process different animals horse jokes continued come thick fast long faces another favorite doubts cast official reassurances meat presented risk health questions asked britains food safety body hadnt detected rogue dna know source horse something derived horse found beef products cant sure food safety risk said duncan campbell scientist west yorkshire analytical services one uks leading food control laboratories without knowing dna coming pointed impossible know safe source contamination gone undetected also points worrying holes checks imposed guarantee provenance meat sold human consumption finger pointing food standards agency independent uk body set wake bse crisis outbreaks foodborne illness protect public health criticism recent government decisions weakened powers globalpost harry kill taliban legs story excuse pun said ben bradshaw lawmaker opposition labour party spoke representative food standards agency couldnt give guarantee wouldnt happen dont testing rely irish another consequence dna scandal open debate acceptability eating horse meat rarely seen british menus horse consumed large quantities france sales amounted 238 million 2005 several newspapers helpfully printed recipes featuring horse meat alongside articles arguing equine edibility also speculation economic hard times could revive taste horse meat relatively common uk wartime food rationing last century however prospect eating horse knowingly otherwise remains abhorrent ive bought burgers boys past hope theyve dodgy ones said tesco customer niamh curran 44 grandfather looked race horses living would horrified im taking chances today fish
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<p>OCT. 19, 2010</p>
<p><a href="http://www.city-journal.org/2010/bc1018sg.html" type="external">This book review was first published in City Journal.</a></p>
<p>By STEVEN GREENHUT</p>
<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0520266560/manhattaninstitu/" type="external">California Crackup: How Reform Broke The Golden State And How We Can Fix It</a>, by Joe Mathews and Mark Paul (University of California Press, 240 pp., $19.95)</p>
<p>California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/2010/09/25/3055045/the-buzz-schwarzenegger-goes-from.html" type="external">warned</a> that if voters approve a November initiative legalizing marijuana, the state will become a national “laughingstock.” The only thing more prevalent than non-Californians poking fun at the state’s enduring political and budget mess these days is Californians who offer counsel on how to save the Golden State from collapse. The latest entry comes from two scholars affiliated with the Washington, D.C.–based New America Foundation, a think tank that advances the politics of the “radical center” in an effort to forge a new political consensus. Journalists Joe Mathews and Mark Paul have penned a short and readable book, California Crackup, that’s ultimately as unsatisfying as the radical centrist philosophy itself.</p>
<p>Mathews and Paul ably describe key historical events that led to California’s latest crisis. But as they examine the state’s problems, it becomes clear where they place most of the blame: on the anti-tax activists who, in 1978, brought California the property-tax-limiting Proposition 13, with its tax restrictions and requirements for legislative supermajorities to pass tax increases. Though the authors sympathize with homeowners who supported Prop. 13 because of the vast increases in property taxes that were driving them out of their homes, they endorse the discredited idea that Prop. 13 so severely limited revenues that it destroyed public services. “California became a meaner, shabbier, more dangerous place, one with fewer opportunities to get ahead,” they charge. “A tax revolt set off by low- and middle-income homeowners had become, in the hands of [Prop. 13 coauthors Howard] Jarvis and [Paul] Gann, a lever to widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots.” They neglect to mention that total property-tax revenues to California’s local governments have <a href="http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_2_prop-13.html" type="external">risen</a> at a rate faster than inflation, or that state and local levels of government have far more money today, adjusted for inflation and population, than before the proposition passed.</p>
<p>Mathews and Paul claim that by capping property taxes—limiting the ability of localities to raise revenue and thereby directing more spending decisions to the capitol—Prop. 13 centralized power in Sacramento. Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association acknowledges that there’s some truth to this, but the real shift in power, he argues, came from a state Supreme Court decision (Serrano v. Priest) that mandated equalized school funding across the state. The amount of property tax collected at the local level remains generous and is plenty for localities to operate on, Coupal says. “The districts are complaining about state control because they have to go to the state for the extra revenue they seek to fund large pensions and salary packages.”</p>
<p>Though they claim the mantle of centrism, Mathews and Paul embrace the fundamental principles of the liberal mainstream: that activist government is a good thing, that it’s being starved of resources, and that there’s nothing necessarily wrong with raising taxes. Dismissing conservative complaints that California’s high tax burden is driving businesses from the state, the authors contend that California’s major problems have been “scapegoating” and the “clenched fist”— meaning divisive politics.</p>
<p>The authors champion the “commonsense progressive traditions of places such as Iowa and Minnesota”—states where, in my experience, liberal politics advance with little debate, and those critics who do speak up get maligned for lacking civic virtue. Mathews and Paul don’t reflect on the proper size of government, worrying instead about which governmental entity is making the decisions; they don’t fret over the issues of governmental waste and abuse, but they believe that better rules will address those ills. They don’t ask whether there might not be alternative, more efficient, ways to provide services.</p>
<p>Other centrist groups, like the Bay Area Council, have offered proposals to fix California’s mess. Mathews and Paul acknowledge the council’s stalled plan to call a constitutional convention. They criticize that proposal as too risky, however, even though the council shares one of their main goals—the elimination of the two-thirds legislative vote requirement to pass budgets. The authors fear that a convention would open much of the existing state constitution to tinkering, which could wind up eliminating as many good things as bad.</p>
<p>Mathews and Paul position themselves as post-partisan visionaries. “Our method has been to stand above the political fray—high enough to be out of earshot of the empty spin and consultant-speak that dominate political talk and the media, but not so high, we hope, as to lose sight of how politics work,” they write. “Our concern is not to advance the policy preferences of the left or the right. It is to re-imagine government in a way that lets Californians debate their choices, settle on the best ones, hold elected officials accountable for results, and choose anew if something doesn’t work or the world changes.”</p>
<p>Their reform package begins with remaking elections and the legislature. It proposes, as one alternative, a system of proportional representation that would let California voters elect legislators from multimember districts. “Instead of picking one representative in each of eighty Assembly and forty Senate districts,” they suggest, “California would elect five legislators each in sixteen Assembly districts and eight Senate districts.” The goal: allowing Republicans to elect more members in Democratic areas, and vice versa, to create more balanced representation.</p>
<p>Mathews and Paul also propose a unicameral legislature, which they claim would help limit lobbyists’ influence on legislation, because there would be fewer committees and processes for them to kill bills. Their logic here is particularly unpersuasive; a single body could just as well make it easier for lobbyists to wield their power. The authors would also increase the number of legislators, pointing out that California has the nation’s most populous and therefore least accountable legislative districts. They would make some statewide offices (attorney general, insurance commissioner) appointed rather than elected. They suggest a statewide election system of Instant Runoff Voting: one statewide election, without a primary, in which voters would rank the candidates by preference. The authors claim that this system would eliminate spoilers and elect more centrists. And freed from party primaries, such campaigns would be less polarizing.</p>
<p>Their best idea is a proposal to shift power from the state to local governments and to eliminate many of California’s special districts—such as its water districts, which often operate with little oversight or accountability. But far less persuasive is their desire to hobble the initiative process with many new rules and restrictions, seeking to reduce its use drastically. For instance, they would allow legislators to amend or eliminate proposed initiatives and to place a counterproposal beside the initiative on the same ballot. To counterbalance the gutting of the initiative process, the authors would make it easier for the public to overturn legislative acts through the referendum process. But given the state’s political demographics, these changes would strengthen the legislature and likely eliminate any hope for passing the sorts of government-cutting reform measures that could lift the state out of its fiscal morass.</p>
<p>A reader coming to the end of this book can’t help asking, “Is that it?” After all, Mathews and Paul promised a major solution for California’s crisis, suggesting that they were ready to swing for the fences. There is an oddity to a book’s claiming, on the one hand, that political reforms have ruined the state, and offering, on the other, yet another round of unproven political reforms to save it. Still, the authors could be forgiven that superficial fault if they had confronted the real tax and spending questions at the core of California’s problems. How about cutting government down in size, eliminating collective bargaining for public-employee unions, privatizing services, and slashing regulatory burdens? Instead, Mathews and Paul merely offer electoral gimmicks that won’t do anything to save a state on the fiscal brink.</p>
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oct 19 2010 book review first published city journal steven greenhut california crackup reform broke golden state fix joe mathews mark paul university california press 240 pp 1995 california governor arnold schwarzenegger recently warned voters approve november initiative legalizing marijuana state become national laughingstock thing prevalent noncalifornians poking fun states enduring political budget mess days californians offer counsel save golden state collapse latest entry comes two scholars affiliated washington dcbased new america foundation think tank advances politics radical center effort forge new political consensus journalists joe mathews mark paul penned short readable book california crackup thats ultimately unsatisfying radical centrist philosophy mathews paul ably describe key historical events led californias latest crisis examine states problems becomes clear place blame antitax activists 1978 brought california propertytaxlimiting proposition 13 tax restrictions requirements legislative supermajorities pass tax increases though authors sympathize homeowners supported prop 13 vast increases property taxes driving homes endorse discredited idea prop 13 severely limited revenues destroyed public services california became meaner shabbier dangerous place one fewer opportunities get ahead charge tax revolt set low middleincome homeowners become hands prop 13 coauthors howard jarvis paul gann lever widen gap haves havenots neglect mention total propertytax revenues californias local governments risen rate faster inflation state local levels government far money today adjusted inflation population proposition passed mathews paul claim capping property taxeslimiting ability localities raise revenue thereby directing spending decisions capitolprop 13 centralized power sacramento jon coupal howard jarvis taxpayers association acknowledges theres truth real shift power argues came state supreme court decision serrano v priest mandated equalized school funding across state amount property tax collected local level remains generous plenty localities operate coupal says districts complaining state control go state extra revenue seek fund large pensions salary packages though claim mantle centrism mathews paul embrace fundamental principles liberal mainstream activist government good thing starved resources theres nothing necessarily wrong raising taxes dismissing conservative complaints californias high tax burden driving businesses state authors contend californias major problems scapegoating clenched fist meaning divisive politics authors champion commonsense progressive traditions places iowa minnesotastates experience liberal politics advance little debate critics speak get maligned lacking civic virtue mathews paul dont reflect proper size government worrying instead governmental entity making decisions dont fret issues governmental waste abuse believe better rules address ills dont ask whether might alternative efficient ways provide services centrist groups like bay area council offered proposals fix californias mess mathews paul acknowledge councils stalled plan call constitutional convention criticize proposal risky however even though council shares one main goalsthe elimination twothirds legislative vote requirement pass budgets authors fear convention would open much existing state constitution tinkering could wind eliminating many good things bad mathews paul position postpartisan visionaries method stand political frayhigh enough earshot empty spin consultantspeak dominate political talk media high hope lose sight politics work write concern advance policy preferences left right reimagine government way lets californians debate choices settle best ones hold elected officials accountable results choose anew something doesnt work world changes reform package begins remaking elections legislature proposes one alternative system proportional representation would let california voters elect legislators multimember districts instead picking one representative eighty assembly forty senate districts suggest california would elect five legislators sixteen assembly districts eight senate districts goal allowing republicans elect members democratic areas vice versa create balanced representation mathews paul also propose unicameral legislature claim would help limit lobbyists influence legislation would fewer committees processes kill bills logic particularly unpersuasive single body could well make easier lobbyists wield power authors would also increase number legislators pointing california nations populous therefore least accountable legislative districts would make statewide offices attorney general insurance commissioner appointed rather elected suggest statewide election system instant runoff voting one statewide election without primary voters would rank candidates preference authors claim system would eliminate spoilers elect centrists freed party primaries campaigns would less polarizing best idea proposal shift power state local governments eliminate many californias special districtssuch water districts often operate little oversight accountability far less persuasive desire hobble initiative process many new rules restrictions seeking reduce use drastically instance would allow legislators amend eliminate proposed initiatives place counterproposal beside initiative ballot counterbalance gutting initiative process authors would make easier public overturn legislative acts referendum process given states political demographics changes would strengthen legislature likely eliminate hope passing sorts governmentcutting reform measures could lift state fiscal morass reader coming end book cant help asking mathews paul promised major solution californias crisis suggesting ready swing fences oddity books claiming one hand political reforms ruined state offering yet another round unproven political reforms save still authors could forgiven superficial fault confronted real tax spending questions core californias problems cutting government size eliminating collective bargaining publicemployee unions privatizing services slashing regulatory burdens instead mathews paul merely offer electoral gimmicks wont anything save state fiscal brink
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<p>On the back cover of Dan Washburn's new book, " <a href="https://www.oneworld-publications.com/books/dan-washburn/the-forbidden-game#.U8ldgfldXy0" type="external">The Forbidden Game: Golf and the Chinese Dream</a>," you can find this wildly appropriate tagline:&#160;"In China, just because something is banned, doesn't mean it can't boom."&#160;</p>
<p>“Golf has definitely had a … complicated relationship with China,” Washburn told me recently in an interview.</p>
<p>Start with this fact: in 1949, Mao Zedong banned the game, deeming it "bourgeois."</p>
<p>“Mao denounced it as the sport for millionaires,” says Washburn. “Existing golf courses were dug up and re-purposed. The Hongqiao golf course in Shanghai is now the home of the Shanghai Zoo.”</p>
<p>Washburn says that things started to change 30 years ago. That's when <a href="http://www.cshsgc.com.cn/Home/index.php/Index/intro?l=en&amp;t=en" type="external">the first modern golf course</a>, designed by none other than Arnold Palmer, opened in China.</p>
<p>“But golf still had an image problem, and it still does today. It's known as the rich man's game. And it is. It's a prohibitively expensive pursuit. It's tied to corruption in the minds of many. And it's not something that the government is eager to embrace, at least publicly.”</p>
<p>“You're not going to see Xi Jinping playing a round of golf with President Obama anytime soon. It's just too touchy of a subject, because you're in a country with a billion people living on less than $5 a day, and a round of golf costs upwards of $150," Washburn says.</p>
<p>Little wonder then that, statistically speaking, zero percent of the Chinese population play the game. Still, even if only a handful of Chinese are playing, that handful can be about a million people.</p>
<p>Washburn’s book focuses on one of those million who *really* wanted to play golf.</p>
<p>His name is Zhou Xunshu.&#160;</p>
<p>Zhou was first introduced to golf while working as security guard for a golf course.</p>
<p>Courtesy of Zhou Xunshu</p>
<p>He grew up helping his parents on their farm. But then in his early 20s, he moved to the city to find work.</p>
<p>“He landed a job as a security guard,” Washburn relates. “And he happened to be a security guard at a thing called a 'golf course.' He had no idea what golf was at that time.”</p>
<p>But Zhou watched. Closely.&#160;</p>
<p>“He studied the game, he studied the movements of the players, and just so badly wanted to play. So he started plotting how he could do this in secret.”</p>
<p>The problem was that low-level employees like Zhou weren't allowed to play on the course.</p>
<p>“But Zhou found ways around this,” Washburn says. “He even went so far as to make some practice clubs with the shafts of discarded clubs, then put a cement head on it made from discarded water bottles.”</p>
<p>“Then he'd go up to the roof of the worker dormitory and just swing, and with a little bit of anger, because he wasn't allowed to play on the course.”</p>
<p>Then one day, in a moment worthy of Hollywood, Zhou got his chance.</p>
<p>His bosses were on the driving range testing out some new golf clubs.</p>
<p>Zhou said, "Hey leader, can I have a shot?"</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuBZk9sGXcI" type="external">In a documentary posted on You Tube</a>, Zhou recounts what happens next.</p>
<p>"They said I could try it," Zhou says.</p>
<p>"It was my first time touching a real club."</p>
<p>Zhou says, "I was excited, you know? I missed the ball twice.&#160;On the third try, I hit the ball. More than 300 yards."</p>
<p>And then my boss said, "Hey, you're not bad!"</p>
<p>Author Dan Washburn goes on to trace Zhou's rise from security guard to golf instructor, to competitor on China's fledgling professional golf circuits.</p>
<p>Over the course of writing the book, Zhou and Washburn became good friends.</p>
<p>“Zhou is the ultimate underdog. I find his story very inspiring. I find him inspiring, and I'm lucky to have him in my life,” says Washburn, who even spoke at Zhou's wedding a few years ago.</p>
<p>He says that Zhou represents the first generation of Chinese golfers: self-taught players from humble backgrounds.</p>
<p>That's changing.</p>
<p>A new, wealthy Chinese elite are setting their kids up with professional golf instruction from a young age, and also paying for those kids to compete internationally. Think of the young phenom Guan Tianlang, who at the tender age of 14 years, five months won "low amateur" in last year's Masters — that's the award for the lowest-scoring amateur who makes the cut in the tournament.</p>
<p>And now, because golf is an Olympic sport, the Chinese government is — gingerly — sinking money and resources into building a national team that can win medals.</p>
<p>For its part, <a href="http://www.pgatour.com/pga-tour-china.html" type="external">the PGA is now officially sponsoring a dozen or so tournaments in China</a>.</p>
<p>All this at the same time that, for the past decade, the construction of new golf courses in China has been officially banned. There's even a unit called "The Golf Police" which is supposed to enforce this.</p>
<p>Although, Washburn notes, that hasn't stopped a boom in new courses.&#160;"Rule number one when building a golf course in China is to not call it a golf course. Maybe they'll call it an eco-park, or a green space, to get around this supposed ban."</p>
<p>Still, Chinese success on the&#160;international front may take some time.</p>
<p>China's <a href="http://www.pgatour.com/players/player.33870.wu-ashun.html" type="external">Wu Ashun</a>&#160;qualified for this year's British Open, but didn't play in Liverpool on Saturday and Sunday. He didn't make the cut.</p>
<p>Dan Washburn expects that, too, will soon change.</p>
<p>“I think it's something that golf fans are going to have to get used to — seeing a lot of Chinese names on the leaderboard. It's not going to happen overnight, but in the next ten years or so, I think it's going to become pretty commonplace. I think sportscasters around the world better brush up on their Chinese pronunciation.”</p>
<p>By the way, Washburn notes, a professional Chinese golfer has already won a major.&#160;In 2012, <a href="http://www.lpga.com/golf/players/f/shanshan-feng.aspx" type="external">Feng Shanshan</a> won the LPGA tournament.</p>
<p>Still, Washburn notes, Feng can't even find sponsorship in her own country, and is often not even recognized in her hometown.</p>
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back cover dan washburns new book forbidden game golf chinese dream find wildly appropriate tagline160in china something banned doesnt mean cant boom160 golf definitely complicated relationship china washburn told recently interview start fact 1949 mao zedong banned game deeming bourgeois mao denounced sport millionaires says washburn existing golf courses dug repurposed hongqiao golf course shanghai home shanghai zoo washburn says things started change 30 years ago thats first modern golf course designed none arnold palmer opened china golf still image problem still today known rich mans game prohibitively expensive pursuit tied corruption minds many something government eager embrace least publicly youre going see xi jinping playing round golf president obama anytime soon touchy subject youre country billion people living less 5 day round golf costs upwards 150 washburn says little wonder statistically speaking zero percent chinese population play game still even handful chinese playing handful million people washburns book focuses one million really wanted play golf name zhou xunshu160 zhou first introduced golf working security guard golf course courtesy zhou xunshu grew helping parents farm early 20s moved city find work landed job security guard washburn relates happened security guard thing called golf course idea golf time zhou watched closely160 studied game studied movements players badly wanted play started plotting could secret problem lowlevel employees like zhou werent allowed play course zhou found ways around washburn says even went far make practice clubs shafts discarded clubs put cement head made discarded water bottles hed go roof worker dormitory swing little bit anger wasnt allowed play course one day moment worthy hollywood zhou got chance bosses driving range testing new golf clubs zhou said hey leader shot documentary posted tube zhou recounts happens next said could try zhou says first time touching real club zhou says excited know missed ball twice160on third try hit ball 300 yards boss said hey youre bad author dan washburn goes trace zhous rise security guard golf instructor competitor chinas fledgling professional golf circuits course writing book zhou washburn became good friends zhou ultimate underdog find story inspiring find inspiring im lucky life says washburn even spoke zhous wedding years ago says zhou represents first generation chinese golfers selftaught players humble backgrounds thats changing new wealthy chinese elite setting kids professional golf instruction young age also paying kids compete internationally think young phenom guan tianlang tender age 14 years five months low amateur last years masters thats award lowestscoring amateur makes cut tournament golf olympic sport chinese government gingerly sinking money resources building national team win medals part pga officially sponsoring dozen tournaments china time past decade construction new golf courses china officially banned theres even unit called golf police supposed enforce although washburn notes hasnt stopped boom new courses160rule number one building golf course china call golf course maybe theyll call ecopark green space get around supposed ban still chinese success the160international front may take time chinas wu ashun160qualified years british open didnt play liverpool saturday sunday didnt make cut dan washburn expects soon change think something golf fans going get used seeing lot chinese names leaderboard going happen overnight next ten years think going become pretty commonplace think sportscasters around world better brush chinese pronunciation way washburn notes professional chinese golfer already major160in 2012 feng shanshan lpga tournament still washburn notes feng cant even find sponsorship country often even recognized hometown
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<p>What evil creature lurks beneath the thick white shell, black antenna extended forward and up, ready for the hunt?</p>
<p>In this case, just a high-performance sedan — the 2009 Infiniti G37 AWD. It was ready to stalk the snowy roads branching into an undulating and challenging world of white.</p>
<p>This $43,000, 328-horsepower beast proves that now, you can have your snow-frosted, iced-caked roads and eat them too – chewing them up, all wheels at work and controlled by computer, in sizzling cars once relegated to winter storage.</p>
<p />
<p>Sure, purists insisted on rear-wheel drive and power — and then parked their cars for winter — unless they were willing to put clunky and loud snow tires on all four wheels and lose performance in favor of little more than showing off their hot rides in cold weather.</p>
<p>Europeans, and some Asian countries, caught onto the notion of all-wheel drive long ago, mostly because rallying — a sport in which cars are tossed over wild terrain that includes mud, rocks, water and trees, and which involves spectators encroaching right up to the edge of narrow paths — is highly popular there.</p>
<p>Since the mid-1980s, all-wheel drive rally cars have been the virtually unbeatable jets of the international rally circuit.</p>
<p>So all-wheel drive came to be seen not just as a way to win races, but as a way to get the family to such winter playgrounds as Chamonix and Zermatt in Europe, the Furano, Niseko, and Rusutsu ski slopes of Hokkaido in Japan&#160;— where sub-Arctic storms howl in from Siberia, moisten as they cross the Sea of Japan, and engulf the region in deep, powdery snow.</p>
<p>So it is not a surprise that the first big push of all-wheel drive into the United States came from across both oceans: Subaru and Audi were the true progenitors of the all-wheel drive family car in the U.S., before the advent of the SUV.</p>
<p>Today, besides imports, you can find such American muscle cars as the Dodge Charger or Cadillac STS in all-wheel drive format.</p>
<p>The global popularity of all-wheel drive passenger cars arose among drivers who want improved safety without the added weight and — usually unnecessary — off-road capabilities of an SUV. With all-wheel drive, four wheels are in full play, as opposed to just a pair. That means critical electronic safety systems, which transmit power and braking to individual wheels, and have more ways to correct for driver error or sudden changes in road conditions.</p>
<p>Braking can be shifted wheel to wheel (ABS) to prevent brake lock and skidding. Engine power can be sent front to rear, side to side, wheel to wheel.</p>
<p>Studies have shown that cars with electronic safety systems — such as anti-lock brakes, electronic stability control, traction control, and antirollover protection — are more than 40 percent less likely to be involved in an accident. And if a crash does occur, the systems cut the death rate by more than 40 percent. Although studies incorporating all-wheel drive have not been done yet, it is likely that the systems will further reduce fatalities.</p>
<p>For instance, in a 2008 list of the five safest cars, compiled by SafestCars.net, four offered all-wheel drive: the Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Audi A6, and Subaru Legacy. The fifth car, Saab’s 9-3, has become, for 2009, part of a Saab package offering that feature.</p>
<p>They realized this first in Europe and Asia, then in the U.S., because as George Kang, a senior analyst for Edmunds.com, told me, consumers have come to see all-wheel drive as a safety feature that offers "all-weather, not necessarily all-terrain performance."</p>
<p>There's another consumer force at work: fuel efficiency.</p>
<p>While older four-wheel drive systems used all wheels continuously — and thus more gas&#160;— today's all-wheel drive systems send power to all four wheels only as needed, making them more fuel efficient. Kang said all-wheel drive typically reduces fuel economy by "about a mile per gallon," a cost he called "very acceptable in the consumers' eyes."</p>
<p>It doesn’t cost much to add safety and utility, while adding the thrill of performance and that, he said, is "a lot of bang for the buck."</p>
<p>The extra cost of all-wheel drive these days is about $1,000 to $2,000. But what an expansive global lineup.</p>
<p>Here, for instance, by price range, is an eclectic sampling of the world’s passenger cars, many of them very high performance, available with all-wheel drive:</p>
<p>$17,000-$25,000</p>
<p>Subaru Impreza sedan and wagon, Toyota Matrix, Pontiac Vibe, Subaru Legacy, Mercury Milan, Ford Taurus, Subaru WRX.</p>
<p>$26,000-$40,000</p>
<p>Dodge Charger, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Volvo V50 sedan and wagon, Audi A3 and A4, Volvo S 60, Chrysler 300 series, Lexus IS, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-class, Cadillac CTS, Volvo XC 70, Audi TT, Acura TL.</p>
<p>$40,000-$70,000</p>
<p>Lincoln MKS, Audi A5, Cadillac STS, BMW 5 Series, Lexus GS, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Lexus LS, Audi A8.</p>
<p>$70,000 and into the monetary ether</p>
<p>Nissan GTR, Porsche 911 series including Twin Turbo, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi S8 and R8, Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur, Lamborghini Gallardo and Murcielago.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
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evil creature lurks beneath thick white shell black antenna extended forward ready hunt case highperformance sedan 2009 infiniti g37 awd ready stalk snowy roads branching undulating challenging world white 43000 328horsepower beast proves snowfrosted icedcaked roads eat chewing wheels work controlled computer sizzling cars relegated winter storage sure purists insisted rearwheel drive power parked cars winter unless willing put clunky loud snow tires four wheels lose performance favor little showing hot rides cold weather europeans asian countries caught onto notion allwheel drive long ago mostly rallying sport cars tossed wild terrain includes mud rocks water trees involves spectators encroaching right edge narrow paths highly popular since mid1980s allwheel drive rally cars virtually unbeatable jets international rally circuit allwheel drive came seen way win races way get family winter playgrounds chamonix zermatt europe furano niseko rusutsu ski slopes hokkaido japan160 subarctic storms howl siberia moisten cross sea japan engulf region deep powdery snow surprise first big push allwheel drive united states came across oceans subaru audi true progenitors allwheel drive family car us advent suv today besides imports find american muscle cars dodge charger cadillac sts allwheel drive format global popularity allwheel drive passenger cars arose among drivers want improved safety without added weight usually unnecessary offroad capabilities suv allwheel drive four wheels full play opposed pair means critical electronic safety systems transmit power braking individual wheels ways correct driver error sudden changes road conditions braking shifted wheel wheel abs prevent brake lock skidding engine power sent front rear side side wheel wheel studies shown cars electronic safety systems antilock brakes electronic stability control traction control antirollover protection 40 percent less likely involved accident crash occur systems cut death rate 40 percent although studies incorporating allwheel drive done yet likely systems reduce fatalities instance 2008 list five safest cars compiled safestcarsnet four offered allwheel drive ford taurus mercury sable audi a6 subaru legacy fifth car saabs 93 become 2009 part saab package offering feature realized first europe asia us george kang senior analyst edmundscom told consumers come see allwheel drive safety feature offers allweather necessarily allterrain performance theres another consumer force work fuel efficiency older fourwheel drive systems used wheels continuously thus gas160 todays allwheel drive systems send power four wheels needed making fuel efficient kang said allwheel drive typically reduces fuel economy mile per gallon cost called acceptable consumers eyes doesnt cost much add safety utility adding thrill performance said lot bang buck extra cost allwheel drive days 1000 2000 expansive global lineup instance price range eclectic sampling worlds passenger cars many high performance available allwheel drive 1700025000 subaru impreza sedan wagon toyota matrix pontiac vibe subaru legacy mercury milan ford taurus subaru wrx 2600040000 dodge charger mitsubishi lancer evolution volvo v50 sedan wagon audi a3 a4 volvo 60 chrysler 300 series lexus bmw 3 series mercedesbenz cclass cadillac cts volvo xc 70 audi tt acura tl 4000070000 lincoln mks audi a5 cadillac sts bmw 5 series lexus gs mercedesbenz eclass lexus ls audi a8 70000 monetary ether nissan gtr porsche 911 series including twin turbo mercedesbenz sclass audi s8 r8 bentley continental gt flying spur lamborghini gallardo murcielago 160
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<p>After the failure of four gun measures in the Senate on Monday evening, a compromise proposal seeking to close the terror gap appears to be gaining bipartisan backing.</p>
<p>Maine Republican Susan Collins said she will introduce a compromise proposal Tuesday with support from senators on both sides of the aisle. The move will test whether Senate leaders in either party are actively working to pass a deal, or if they are calculating that, in advance of the November election, their parties are better served by leaving the status quo intact.</p>
<p>Collins aims to capitalize on bipartisan agreement that the terror gap should be closed — a reform that nearly every senator voted for yesterday, but&#160;one that, when considered as individual proposals,&#160;fell short of the 60 votes needed.&#160;Her plan is designed to address concerns raised about the dueling amendments offered by Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican John Cornyn of Texas. Both measures attracted scant support outside their sponsors’ respective parties.</p>
<p>Collins on Monday delayed a roll out of her plan until Tuesday, using the extra time to assess the results of last night’s vote and gather more support.</p>
<p>Even as the measure gains backers, however, it faces a tough climb. Her plan&#160;will need support from Republican or Democratic leadership to win 60 votes —&#160;and such help has not been forthcoming so far.</p>
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<p>Asked Monday night if Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will allow a vote on her proposal, Collins said, ”I believe he will.” But Republican leaders and many rank-and-file members have shown limited interest in Collins’s pending bill. Cornyn, the second-ranking Senate Republican, has <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/nra-backs-proposal-to-delay-gun-sales-to-those-on-terror-watch-list-1466354619" type="external">faulted</a> the proposal.</p>
<p>Among voters, there is&#160;wide support for preventing those on the U.S. government’s terrorist watch list from buying guns: A <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/192842/republicans-democrats-interpret-orlando-incident-differently.aspx?g_source=Politics&amp;g_medium=lead&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">Gallup poll</a> conducted last week found that 84 percent of Democrats back such a measure, as do 75 percent of Republicans.</p>
<p>Senate Democrats forced a vote on Feinstein’s bill in part to show voters that vulnerable Republicans are still marching in lockstep with the National Rifle Association, and may not be eager to give Republicans who voted against Feinstein’s plan a chance to seek political cover via the Collins plan.</p>
<p>“All they care about is taking care of the NRA,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said at a news conference yesterday evening. Reid said New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, who faces a tough reelection fight and voted for both Feinstein and Cornyn’s proposals Monday, “did everything but yoga on the Senate floor” to try to avoid choosing a side on the issue.</p>
<p>Amid Democratic attacks over her past opposition to expanding background checks, Ayotte is co-sponsoring the Collins plan.</p>
<p>“There is an opportunity for bipartisan compromise here,” she told reporters in the Senate on Monday. “We’re going to put together a good faith proposal. We have it. It makes sense.”</p>
<p>“How about we focus on a result instead of playing politics with this?” she said.</p>
<p>GOP Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona is also working with Collins. During the votes on Monday, those three Republicans pitched their plan to fellow senators, appearing to seek support from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who is poised to announce that he is running for reelection, and Rob Portman of Ohio, who faces a tough campaign. To create the necessary momentum, the Collins team is also trying to recruit Senators who don’t go before voters this cycle.</p>
<p>“Once you get a critical number, not just Republicans who are up for reelection, you can get a vote&#160;and hopefully get it passed,” Flake told The Trace.</p>
<p>Democratic Senators Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who votes with Republicans on gun issues, and Joe Donnelly of Indiana also support the Collins effort, aides said. Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who championed a background check bill in 2013, is still reviewing the plan but has been supportive.</p>
<p>Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat, and Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, are also working on the compromise. Collins told reporters she revised her proposal at their behest.</p>
<p>Supporters of the compromise measure hope to address concerns their colleagues had that Feinstein’s proposal, which allowed the Attorney General to bar people suspected of terror ties from purchasing guns, would infringe on due process rights. Democratic critics of Cornyn’s measure, which required the Justice Department to show probable cause within three business days to block a terror suspect from buying a gun, said it would impose an impossibly high burden.</p>
<p>While Feinstein’s proposal was based on barring anyone on a terror watch list from buying a gun, Collins says she would limit the ban to the smaller, federal “no-fly” and “selectee” lists, which is comprised of people subject to extra screening before boarding a plane. Collins’s plan would also create a mechanism that would alert the FBI if someone who had been on either list in the previous five years tried to buy a gun. It would not bar the suspect from making the purchase.</p>
<p>Republicans have repeatedly said that votes on gun regulations are a distraction following the shooting in Orlando, Florida, on June 12. “We’d like to actually talk about the real cause of that attack, and that is a terrorist attack on our own soil, and why the policies both in the Middle East and here at home are inadequate to deal with the threat of homegrown radicalization,” Cornyn <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/senate-gun-control-orlando-224505" type="external">told</a> Politico.</p>
<p>Senior Democrats offered a variety of messages regarding the Collins plan —&#160;though all suggested the measure is unlikely to succeed.</p>
<p>On Monday night, Reid said it was “interesting” that few Democrats had seen the measure, noting it “has been kind of secret.”</p>
<p>Reid and New York Senator Charles Schumer argued that McConnell and other Republicans will ultimately block Collins’s bill from receiving a vote, rendering bipartisan negotiations moot.&#160;</p>
<p>Schumer also told reporters that “from what I understand there are some problems with the proposal.” He argued that the plan would not have prevented Orlando gunman Omar Mateen from buying weapons since it applies only to the no fly and extra screening lists. While Mateen was twice placed under federal investigation, no indication has emerged that Mateen was on those lists.</p>
<p>Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey said Collins’s proposal would apply to so few people “that it would be be fig leaf” covering just a sliver&#160;of the roughly 800,000 people — both Americans and foreign citizens —&#160;on the larger terror watch list. Collins herself told reporters that there are about 2,700 people combined on the no-fly and selectee lists who could be barred from gun purchases under her plan.</p>
<p>“Unless it changes, it is not something I could support, or that I think most Democrats could support,” Menendez said.</p>
<p>[Photo: AP/J. Scott Applewhite, File]</p>
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failure four gun measures senate monday evening compromise proposal seeking close terror gap appears gaining bipartisan backing maine republican susan collins said introduce compromise proposal tuesday support senators sides aisle move test whether senate leaders either party actively working pass deal calculating advance november election parties better served leaving status quo intact collins aims capitalize bipartisan agreement terror gap closed reform nearly every senator voted yesterday but160one considered individual proposals160fell short 60 votes needed160her plan designed address concerns raised dueling amendments offered democratic senator dianne feinstein california republican john cornyn texas measures attracted scant support outside sponsors respective parties collins monday delayed roll plan tuesday using extra time assess results last nights vote gather support even measure gains backers however faces tough climb plan160will need support republican democratic leadership win 60 votes 160and help forthcoming far subscribe receive traces newsletters important gun news analysis asked monday night senate majority leader mitch mcconnell allow vote proposal collins said believe republican leaders many rankandfile members shown limited interest collinss pending bill cornyn secondranking senate republican faulted proposal among voters is160wide support preventing us governments terrorist watch list buying guns gallup poll conducted last week found 84 percent democrats back measure 75 percent republicans senate democrats forced vote feinsteins bill part show voters vulnerable republicans still marching lockstep national rifle association may eager give republicans voted feinsteins plan chance seek political cover via collins plan care taking care nra senate minority leader harry reid nevada democrat said news conference yesterday evening reid said new hampshire senator kelly ayotte new hampshire faces tough reelection fight voted feinstein cornyns proposals monday everything yoga senate floor try avoid choosing side issue amid democratic attacks past opposition expanding background checks ayotte cosponsoring collins plan opportunity bipartisan compromise told reporters senate monday going put together good faith proposal makes sense focus result instead playing politics said gop senator jeff flake arizona also working collins votes monday three republicans pitched plan fellow senators appearing seek support senator marco rubio florida poised announce running reelection rob portman ohio faces tough campaign create necessary momentum collins team also trying recruit senators dont go voters cycle get critical number republicans reelection get vote160and hopefully get passed flake told trace democratic senators heidi heitkamp north dakota votes republicans gun issues joe donnelly indiana also support collins effort aides said senator joe manchin west virginia democrat championed background check bill 2013 still reviewing plan supportive bill nelson florida democrat lindsey graham south carolina republican also working compromise collins told reporters revised proposal behest supporters compromise measure hope address concerns colleagues feinsteins proposal allowed attorney general bar people suspected terror ties purchasing guns would infringe due process rights democratic critics cornyns measure required justice department show probable cause within three business days block terror suspect buying gun said would impose impossibly high burden feinsteins proposal based barring anyone terror watch list buying gun collins says would limit ban smaller federal nofly selectee lists comprised people subject extra screening boarding plane collinss plan would also create mechanism would alert fbi someone either list previous five years tried buy gun would bar suspect making purchase republicans repeatedly said votes gun regulations distraction following shooting orlando florida june 12 wed like actually talk real cause attack terrorist attack soil policies middle east home inadequate deal threat homegrown radicalization cornyn told politico senior democrats offered variety messages regarding collins plan 160though suggested measure unlikely succeed monday night reid said interesting democrats seen measure noting kind secret reid new york senator charles schumer argued mcconnell republicans ultimately block collinss bill receiving vote rendering bipartisan negotiations moot160 schumer also told reporters understand problems proposal argued plan would prevented orlando gunman omar mateen buying weapons since applies fly extra screening lists mateen twice placed federal investigation indication emerged mateen lists democrat robert menendez new jersey said collinss proposal would apply people would fig leaf covering sliver160of roughly 800000 people americans foreign citizens 160on larger terror watch list collins told reporters 2700 people combined nofly selectee lists could barred gun purchases plan unless changes something could support think democrats could support menendez said photo apj scott applewhite file
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<p>INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — Candidates are lining up two-by-two for this year's Southern Baptist Convention presidency — two big-church pastors, two small-church pastors, two former missionaries.</p>
<p>For the first time in almost three decades, six men will be nominated for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention, to be held June 10-11 in Indianapolis.</p>
<p>Not since the first year of the SBC's conservative movement in 1979 have six nominees been offered for the annual presidential election, which for the subsequent 12 years was a showdown between two warring factions and later was dominated by the victorious conservatives. In their first victory in that succession, conservatives nominated one candidate — Memphis megachurch pastor Adrian Rogers — against five moderate or local candidates.</p>
<p>This year, all six candidates are conservatives who support the three-decade-long movement.</p>
<p>But the nature of the election has changed, said Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson.</p>
<p>“In the past, the presidency was all about prestige,” Burleson said. “If you had prestige, were a megachurch pastor, and waited your turn, you could be elected. Those days are over.” The lineup</p>
<p>• Two of the 2008 candidates fit the mold of most presidents since 1979 — well-known megachurch pastors — although in recent years the megachurches have gotten smaller and the pastors less famous.</p>
<p>In this case, both are from metro Atlanta. Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, Ga., and Johnny Hunt, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Woodstock, Ga., are both closely associated with the SBC's conservative power structure. Cox and Hunt were on trips to Israel and unavailable for comment for this story.</p>
<p>• Two of the candidates are small-church pastors who would qualify as SBC outsiders and — if history is a guide — longshots for the presidency. Wiley Drake is pastor of the 75-member First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif. Les Puryear, a North Carolina native who was a telecommunications executive for 25 years before entering the pastorate in 1996, serves Lewisville (N.C.) Baptist Church, with an average attendance of 195.</p>
<p>Both Drake and Puryear are better known than most small-church pastors. Drake served as SBC second vice president and is generally highly visible at the annual meeting, proposing the famous boycott of Disney because of questionable programming and support of gay rights. Puryear was organizer of the SBC's first Small Church Leadership Conference in March.</p>
<p>• Two candidates were career Southern Baptist missionaries. Bill Wagner, a 72-year-old seminary professor and current president of Olivet University International in San Francisco, served the SBC International Mission Board from 1965 to 1996. Avery Willis, former senior vice president of overseas operations for the IMB and author of the popular MasterLife discipleship curriculum, served 15 years as head of adult discipleship for LifeWay Christian Resources before retiring to Arkansas.</p>
<p>Like Drake, Wagner also served as SBC second vice president, in 2004.</p>
<p>The unusual election this year is being played out against a backdrop of decline in the country's second-largest religious group. For the first time in history, the 16 million-member Southern Baptist Convention posted a decline in membership last year, after several years of baptism losses and other signs of slumping vitality.</p>
<p>The statistics belie the battle cry of conservatives, that seizing control of the denominational hierarchy would prevent a slide into liberal-inspired lethargy, the graveyard of mainline denominations.</p>
<p>Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson, a prominent blogger and leader among younger SBC conservatives, welcomed the burgeoning field.</p>
<p>“I think it's healthy when there are a lot of different candidates,” said the pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid. He said there are “good choices” among the six announced candidates.</p>
<p>And he hinted the field may grow even larger. “When was the last time there were six, maybe seven, maybe eight candidates for president?” he asked. “There is a possibility [of more nominees], but it's not for certain.”</p>
<p>Influence of bloggers</p>
<p>The presidential winner will succeed South Carolina pastor Frank Page, who was elected with help from Burleson and other bloggers who advocated relaxing denominational control and spreading leadership around. Their goal is to broaden SBC involvement, innovation and inclusiveness in order to increase cooperation and turn around declining statistics.</p>
<p>“The issue is no longer who is president, but what are the issues?” Burleson continued. The issues are denominational cooperation, local-church autonomy and “resurgence of the gospel,” said Burleson.</p>
<p>The pastor promised there would be motions introduced at the June convention related to those issues — “either to stop progress or move it along.”</p>
<p>Burleson did not announce his favorite among the six nominees but said electing a small-church pastor “would represent a voice in the SBC that has not been heard.”</p>
<p>Puryear is an advocate for the SBC's helping small churches, which he said represent 83 percent of the convention's churches.</p>
<p>“Historically, the SBC has been a convention of small churches led by megachurch leaders,” he said in an e-mail interview. “I have nothing against those in megachurches. However, I don't think they understand the needs of the small church and its members and leaders as well as someone who ministers in that environment each day.”</p>
<p>Puryear admitted small-church pastors have not fared well in previous presidential elections. “I do know that now more than ever before I am hearing the small church included in convention discussions,” he said.</p>
<p>Puryear likewise welcomed the multitude of nominees. And he added, “Indianapolis will reveal whether the [2006] election of Frank Page was a true shift in the SBC or just a bump in the road for the establishment.”</p>
<p>In what has to be a first in SBC history, one candidate interviewed another about the SBC election on live radio May 15.</p>
<p>Wiley Drake, who hosts a daily radio show in Southern California that is also webcast on the Internet, interviewed fellow Californian Bill Wagner.</p>
<p>The interview focused more on the candidates' agreements than differences, and Drake pledged to support Wagner if the mission leader is elected.</p>
<p>Wagner said the SBC should develop a program to recruit and send out college students for two-year stints as missionaries, with the individuals, their families and their churches supporting them financially.</p>
<p>Relating to secular media</p>
<p>He also advocated creating a convention department to relate to the secular media. Baptist Press, the denomination's information arm, “does an outstanding job” of communicating with Southern Baptists but “a miserable job” with secular media, Wagner said.</p>
<p>“There is no apparatus to let people know who we are and the tremendous things we're doing,” Wagner said, to Drake's “amens.” Wagner, who has a website promoting his candidacy, added Southern Baptists are “behind on using the Internet.”</p>
<p>At the interview's conclusion, Drake said of Wagner: “I agree with his presidential platform and will do everything I can to assist him … if he is elected.”</p>
<p>Wagner, on his website (www.williamwagner.org), offers a “Contract with Southern Baptists” that advocates the “conservative resurgence,” expanding SBC involvement to include all conservatives, supporting the SBC mission boards, learning about world religions, deploying college students in missions, rebuilding relationships with national Baptist unions around the world, and involving younger Baptists, small churches and minority churches in SBC life.</p>
<p>Drake is emphasizing the spiritual dimension of his presidency, promising to promote “repentance and revival” in SBC churches and in America and to lead Southern Baptists to increase denominational cooperation and influence the social order — particularly as it concerns government “intimidation” of preachers.</p>
<p>“Win, lose or draw, I'm going to take on the [American Civil Liberties Union],” he pledged in an interview with ABP.</p>
<p>Drake, who supported Page's election, said he is “one of the few candidates who can make changes” needed in the SBC. “If we don't make those changes, we're going to be in deep, deep trouble.”</p>
<p>Avery Willis, who also promotes his candidacy on a website (www.averywillis.com), told Associated Baptist Press his presidency will stress the spiritual needs of Southern Baptists.</p>
<p>“The thing I see missing most in the churches I visit is God,” he said.</p>
<p>If elected, he would “talk about whatever it means to be a disciple,” said the longtime proponent of personal discipleship. Denominational emphasis on revival and evangelism is important, he said, “but it's not going to turn around the situation of 70 percent of our churches being stagnant or declining.”</p>
<p>“I will be calling for a spiritual returning to God on a personal level and a congregational level.”</p>
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indianapolis abp candidates lining twobytwo years southern baptist convention presidency two bigchurch pastors two smallchurch pastors two former missionaries first time almost three decades six men nominated presidency southern baptist convention held june 1011 indianapolis since first year sbcs conservative movement 1979 six nominees offered annual presidential election subsequent 12 years showdown two warring factions later dominated victorious conservatives first victory succession conservatives nominated one candidate memphis megachurch pastor adrian rogers five moderate local candidates year six candidates conservatives support threedecadelong movement nature election changed said oklahoma pastor wade burleson past presidency prestige burleson said prestige megachurch pastor waited turn could elected days lineup two 2008 candidates fit mold presidents since 1979 wellknown megachurch pastors although recent years megachurches gotten smaller pastors less famous case metro atlanta frank cox pastor north metro baptist church lawrenceville ga johnny hunt senior pastor first baptist church woodstock ga closely associated sbcs conservative power structure cox hunt trips israel unavailable comment story two candidates smallchurch pastors would qualify sbc outsiders history guide longshots presidency wiley drake pastor 75member first southern baptist church buena park calif les puryear north carolina native telecommunications executive 25 years entering pastorate 1996 serves lewisville nc baptist church average attendance 195 drake puryear better known smallchurch pastors drake served sbc second vice president generally highly visible annual meeting proposing famous boycott disney questionable programming support gay rights puryear organizer sbcs first small church leadership conference march two candidates career southern baptist missionaries bill wagner 72yearold seminary professor current president olivet university international san francisco served sbc international mission board 1965 1996 avery willis former senior vice president overseas operations imb author popular masterlife discipleship curriculum served 15 years head adult discipleship lifeway christian resources retiring arkansas like drake wagner also served sbc second vice president 2004 unusual election year played backdrop decline countrys secondlargest religious group first time history 16 millionmember southern baptist convention posted decline membership last year several years baptism losses signs slumping vitality statistics belie battle cry conservatives seizing control denominational hierarchy would prevent slide liberalinspired lethargy graveyard mainline denominations oklahoma pastor wade burleson prominent blogger leader among younger sbc conservatives welcomed burgeoning field think healthy lot different candidates said pastor emmanuel baptist church enid said good choices among six announced candidates hinted field may grow even larger last time six maybe seven maybe eight candidates president asked possibility nominees certain influence bloggers presidential winner succeed south carolina pastor frank page elected help burleson bloggers advocated relaxing denominational control spreading leadership around goal broaden sbc involvement innovation inclusiveness order increase cooperation turn around declining statistics issue longer president issues burleson continued issues denominational cooperation localchurch autonomy resurgence gospel said burleson pastor promised would motions introduced june convention related issues either stop progress move along burleson announce favorite among six nominees said electing smallchurch pastor would represent voice sbc heard puryear advocate sbcs helping small churches said represent 83 percent conventions churches historically sbc convention small churches led megachurch leaders said email interview nothing megachurches however dont think understand needs small church members leaders well someone ministers environment day puryear admitted smallchurch pastors fared well previous presidential elections know ever hearing small church included convention discussions said puryear likewise welcomed multitude nominees added indianapolis reveal whether 2006 election frank page true shift sbc bump road establishment first sbc history one candidate interviewed another sbc election live radio may 15 wiley drake hosts daily radio show southern california also webcast internet interviewed fellow californian bill wagner interview focused candidates agreements differences drake pledged support wagner mission leader elected wagner said sbc develop program recruit send college students twoyear stints missionaries individuals families churches supporting financially relating secular media also advocated creating convention department relate secular media baptist press denominations information arm outstanding job communicating southern baptists miserable job secular media wagner said apparatus let people know tremendous things wagner said drakes amens wagner website promoting candidacy added southern baptists behind using internet interviews conclusion drake said wagner agree presidential platform everything assist elected wagner website wwwwilliamwagnerorg offers contract southern baptists advocates conservative resurgence expanding sbc involvement include conservatives supporting sbc mission boards learning world religions deploying college students missions rebuilding relationships national baptist unions around world involving younger baptists small churches minority churches sbc life drake emphasizing spiritual dimension presidency promising promote repentance revival sbc churches america lead southern baptists increase denominational cooperation influence social order particularly concerns government intimidation preachers win lose draw im going take american civil liberties union pledged interview abp drake supported pages election said one candidates make changes needed sbc dont make changes going deep deep trouble avery willis also promotes candidacy website wwwaverywilliscom told associated baptist press presidency stress spiritual needs southern baptists thing see missing churches visit god said elected would talk whatever means disciple said longtime proponent personal discipleship denominational emphasis revival evangelism important said going turn around situation 70 percent churches stagnant declining calling spiritual returning god personal level congregational level
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<p>NEW YORK — The image of Najibullah Zazi, a 24-year-old Afghan-born bus driver from Denver and now a terror suspect, embodies the complex truths of where we are right now in the struggle against terrorism.</p>
<p>Zazi, who pleaded not guilty in federal court here Tuesday on charges of conspiring to set off a bomb in the U.S., represents the age-old axiom of counterterrorism that law enforcement officials have to be lucky every time and terrorists only need to be lucky once to carry out a mass killing of innocent civilians.</p>
<p>Thank God the FBI agents who arrested Zazi kept him from being lucky. As a result, the case reveals the level of intense investigative work that is going on every day by federal agents who keep us safe. Very often that work occurs far from view without any of us knowing how close the terror plots came to fruition.</p>
<p>But Zazi, with his long beard and his rag-tag appearance and the surveillance videos of him going around collecting beauty supplies allegedly for the chemicals needed to build small bombs, also embodies the current, desperate reality of Al Qaeda and those inspired by its apocalyptic vision of a holy war with the infidel, America.</p>
<p>Al Qaeda is very much on the run and wounded, albeit not yet dead.</p>
<p>Its decline has come as Muslims around the world and the governments that represent them increasingly see the movement for what it is, a cult of hatred and death that will just as easily target a Muslim as an American.</p>
<p>GlobalPost reported on that groundtruth this summer in our series “ <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/taliban?vidNum=0" type="external">Life, Death and the Taliban</a>,” when we documented the shift in mood in Pakistan as the country turned against the Pakistani Taliban and supported a government offensive in the Swat Valley. That offensive, which displaced more than 2 million civilians, has nevertheless effectively served to fracture the Taliban in Pakistan and sent affiliated Al Qaeda elements out of their caves and put them on the run. Consider the <a href="http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1338/declining-muslim-support-for-bin-laden-suicide-bombing" type="external">Pew Global Attitudes Project</a> which has tracked opinion in the Muslim world from 2002 to 2009. According to Pew, those who believe suicide bombings are “often or sometimes justified” have dramatically declined from alarmingly high percentages in the first years after Sept. 11, 2001. In Pakistan, it has dropped from 33 percent to 5 percent. In Jordan, from 43 percent to 12. And in Indonesia, from 26 percent to 13.</p>
<p>That represents a significant shift in the Muslim world that Americans should acknowledge and capitalize upon by continuing to recognize that ultimately the battle against Al Qaeda is not a conventional war, but one of ideas — a relentless struggle against what is, at the end of the day, a criminal enterprise. Effective surgical strikes and disruptive tactics will be necessary.</p>
<p>The CIA and the U.S. military’s Special Operations unit have worked very effectively with allies to kill key terrorist leaders, as was made evident earlier this month with precise and successful strikes on top leadership in <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/kenya/090915/us-kills-al-qaeda-leader-somalia" type="external">Somalia</a>, Yemen and <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/indonesia/090917/indonesian-commandos-kill-key-terrorism-figure" type="external">Indonesia</a>.</p>
<p>But when we view the complex struggle against terrorism only as a conventional war, we will lose and they will win.</p>
<p>In his June <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/egypt/090604/obama-speech-cairo" type="external">speech to the Muslim world</a>, President Barack Obama, then a candidate, embraced this more sophisticated sense of counterterrorism. Through public diplomacy, he was accomplishing a great deal to advance the ideas that America stands for among Muslims, and his efforts had some proven success as various opinion surveys have shown in the Muslim world.</p>
<p>But the recent debate over the proposed surge of troops in Afghanistan suggests a strong current within his administration and the Pentagon that wants to regress back to the conventional military approach and what is ultimately a doomed strategy against the Taliban and the Al Qaeda movement for which the now toppled Taliban government provided a base in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>The decline and creeping desperation of Al Qaeda may also be an inevitable historical truth among fundamentalist movements. It is a natural law of extremism that it will always inevitably implode, according to two new books on the subject.</p>
<p>They come from very different quarters. One emerges from the National War College and the other from Harvard University’s Divinity School. But they end up in the same place: Al Qaeda is following the trend of all violent, religious extremist movements and in the process of flaming out.</p>
<p>In a recently published book titled “ <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9012.html" type="external">How Terrorism Ends</a>,” author Audrey Kurth Cronin, a professor at the War College in Washington, assesses the patterns of the trajectory of violent extremist groups from the Provisional Irish Republican Army to Peru’s Shining Path. She recently told the New York Times: “I think Al Qaeda is in the process of imploding. This is not necessarily the end, but the trends are in a good direction.”</p>
<p>The respected religious scholar and Harvard University professor emeritus Harvey Cox comes to a similar conclusion in his latest book, “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061755524/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&amp;pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&amp;pf_rd_t=201&amp;pf_rd_i=1602580715&amp;pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&amp;pf_rd_r=0Y9H41WXTEEQNV6FZS9A" type="external">The Future of Faith</a>.” Cox has been on the money in predicting trends in religion throughout a distinguished career that spans a half century, and this book feels as prophetic in its predictions as it is sweeping in its scholarship. To make these conclusions, Cox draws on decades of work on the subject of religious fundamentalisms in Islam, Christianity and Judaism. And it is a book that is ultimately hopeful by asserting that faith will survive where dogma will grow rigid and disappear.</p>
<p>Cox taught a course at Harvard in recent years called “Fundamentalisms,” and I had the honor of serving as both a student and an occasional guest lecturer in his class. I would relate to the class street stories about Hamas and Hezbollah and Christian Zionists and the Jewish settler movement from years of reporting in the Middle East. And then Cox would frame those stories in historical and theological context for the class, and me.</p>
<p>So when I recently returned from Afghanistan, Cox and I had lunch and discussed the recent trends and once again he put all the street reporting on the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan in context.</p>
<p>“What you were witnessing, I believe, is a shift, the beginning of a decline,” Cox said, referring to the Taliban movement on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and the Al Qaeda elements that metastasized around it.</p>
<p>If the history of fundamentalism he chronicles so well teaches us about the present, Cox believes: “It is a decline that is inevitable.”</p>
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new york image najibullah zazi 24yearold afghanborn bus driver denver terror suspect embodies complex truths right struggle terrorism zazi pleaded guilty federal court tuesday charges conspiring set bomb us represents ageold axiom counterterrorism law enforcement officials lucky every time terrorists need lucky carry mass killing innocent civilians thank god fbi agents arrested zazi kept lucky result case reveals level intense investigative work going every day federal agents keep us safe often work occurs far view without us knowing close terror plots came fruition zazi long beard ragtag appearance surveillance videos going around collecting beauty supplies allegedly chemicals needed build small bombs also embodies current desperate reality al qaeda inspired apocalyptic vision holy war infidel america al qaeda much run wounded albeit yet dead decline come muslims around world governments represent increasingly see movement cult hatred death easily target muslim american globalpost reported groundtruth summer series life death taliban documented shift mood pakistan country turned pakistani taliban supported government offensive swat valley offensive displaced 2 million civilians nevertheless effectively served fracture taliban pakistan sent affiliated al qaeda elements caves put run consider pew global attitudes project tracked opinion muslim world 2002 2009 according pew believe suicide bombings often sometimes justified dramatically declined alarmingly high percentages first years sept 11 2001 pakistan dropped 33 percent 5 percent jordan 43 percent 12 indonesia 26 percent 13 represents significant shift muslim world americans acknowledge capitalize upon continuing recognize ultimately battle al qaeda conventional war one ideas relentless struggle end day criminal enterprise effective surgical strikes disruptive tactics necessary cia us militarys special operations unit worked effectively allies kill key terrorist leaders made evident earlier month precise successful strikes top leadership somalia yemen indonesia view complex struggle terrorism conventional war lose win june speech muslim world president barack obama candidate embraced sophisticated sense counterterrorism public diplomacy accomplishing great deal advance ideas america stands among muslims efforts proven success various opinion surveys shown muslim world recent debate proposed surge troops afghanistan suggests strong current within administration pentagon wants regress back conventional military approach ultimately doomed strategy taliban al qaeda movement toppled taliban government provided base afghanistan decline creeping desperation al qaeda may also inevitable historical truth among fundamentalist movements natural law extremism always inevitably implode according two new books subject come different quarters one emerges national war college harvard universitys divinity school end place al qaeda following trend violent religious extremist movements process flaming recently published book titled terrorism ends author audrey kurth cronin professor war college washington assesses patterns trajectory violent extremist groups provisional irish republican army perus shining path recently told new york times think al qaeda process imploding necessarily end trends good direction respected religious scholar harvard university professor emeritus harvey cox comes similar conclusion latest book future faith cox money predicting trends religion throughout distinguished career spans half century book feels prophetic predictions sweeping scholarship make conclusions cox draws decades work subject religious fundamentalisms islam christianity judaism book ultimately hopeful asserting faith survive dogma grow rigid disappear cox taught course harvard recent years called fundamentalisms honor serving student occasional guest lecturer class would relate class street stories hamas hezbollah christian zionists jewish settler movement years reporting middle east cox would frame stories historical theological context class recently returned afghanistan cox lunch discussed recent trends put street reporting taliban afghanistan pakistan context witnessing believe shift beginning decline cox said referring taliban movement sides afghanistanpakistan border al qaeda elements metastasized around history fundamentalism chronicles well teaches us present cox believes decline inevitable
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<p>She doesn't talk about it much on the campaign trail.</p>
<p>But as she is lauded at home with a&#160;historic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton is&#160;being praised abroad for decades of quiet work that put the rights of women around the world at the top of the agenda.</p>
<p>“She’s a strong voice for women since Beijing and that strong advocacy has not gone unnoticed by women around the world,” says Martha Karua, Kenya’s former justice minister, referring to a pioneering UN conference in 1995 on women.</p>
<p>Although the US press corps rarely asks her about it,&#160;Clinton is&#160;considered a champion of gender equality globally. Many&#160;know of her speech at that 1995&#160;conference in Beijing in which she declared “women’s rights are human rights.” Fewer understand the ins and outs of the feminist foreign policy she unrolled as America's top diplomat. Gender equality, she said, is critical both in itself and&#160;to achieve&#160;economic growth, security, health improvements and reduction of terrorism.&#160;</p>
<p>A so-called feminist foreign policy? It’s an approach to foreign policy that many women hope she will bring into the Oval Office.&#160;Already, she’s promised that half her Cabinet will be women, as Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, did to great acclaim last year&#160;when taking office.</p>
<p>“If Hillary were elected, all the groundwork she laid for women would still be there. She could just turn the light switch back on,” Dr. Valerie Hudson, co-author of&#160;"Hillary Clinton, Sex and American Foreign Policy,"&#160;told me.&#160;“No one in her inner circle would dare suggest gender be subordinated to more pressing issues — you’d see real commitment.”</p>
<p>Milllennials often say they find Clinton unlikeable. But her support is much stronger among older women, who recall the days when foreign policy was conducted in smoky, all-male rooms and dominated by discussion of weapons and territory.&#160;Issues around women and girls never came up.&#160;</p>
<p>Rape and sexual abuse of women in war — widespread in the Balkans war and going back to the Holocaust, for example —&#160;wasn’t recognized as a crime until 1996.&#160;Laws were commonplace that restricted women from owning land, having bank accounts, getting a divorce, participating politically, attending school or seeking protection from a violent spouse. Those laws went unchallenged by US foreign policy.</p>
<p>However, with the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa, and the calls for freedom ringing out from post-communist countries, Clinton demanded women have a place in the emerging human rights field, starting with her Beijing speech. She then launched a government-affiliated NGO, Vital Voices, which began researching and advocating around how oppression of women hurts societies. One milestone of this advocacy came in 2000, when the UN Security Council ratified Resolution 1325, which required women’s presence in peace and conflict resolution.</p>
<p>When she became secretary of state in 2009, Clinton accelerated this approach to foreign policy with “The Hillary Doctrine,”&#160;which argued in part that violence against women should be considered a matter of US national security.&#160;Observers credit her with not only steering program funding to issues that affect women, but to elevating recognition among&#160;State Department employees of the importance of including gender considerations in all their efforts.&#160;</p>
<p>Nowadays, it’s common to see multimillion dollar programs for women and girls rolled out in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and across Africa. Even if they do have mixed or uncertain results — many&#160;agree that&#160;it’s Clinton’s advocacy that got women’s issue on the agenda.</p>
<p>Promoting women is now considered integral to other goals such as establishing national security, promoting agricultural yields, increasing economic growth or stemming the spread of disease.&#160;Just last year, $70 million was dedicated to promoting adolescent girls in Pakistan.&#160;Another $27 million was just promised to promote literacy among girls in Africa. Nearly $30 million is being spent on increasing the ranks of women in security in places like Liberia, Afghanistan and Pakistan —&#160;where women make up less&#160;than 5 percent&#160;of the police force, according to The Institute for Inclusive Security.&#160;</p>
<p>Earlier this year, the defense and security studies journal <a href="http://cco.ndu.edu/Publications/PRISM/PRISM-volume-6-no1/Article/685108/gender-perspectives-and-military-effectiveness-implementing-unscr-1325-and-the/" type="external">PRISM</a> devoted an entire issue to analysing how women and girls status intersects with US security goals. It’s the kind of small moment of recognition by the male-dominated military establishment that women’s rights activists couldn’t have dreamed of a decade earlier.&#160;While these achievements are the result of much more than one person’s effort, Clinton is considered an ally and leader.</p>
<p>“She has set new standards of what a woman can do, not only in her role in foreign policy, but in general,” says Baroness Arminka Helic, a Bosnian-born conservative female Muslim peer in the UKs House of Lords.&#160;“It’s so heartening to see the strongest democracy and military in the world have its foreign policy led by a woman —&#160;and not just a figurehead but a woman with deep understanding of womens’ rights."</p>
<p>Clinton is not without her critics.&#160;While gains have been made for women and girls in health and education, they are nearly at a standstill in&#160;areas&#160;such as security and political participation.&#160;&#160; And even with the millions in aid —&#160;women are proportionally still shortchanged.&#160;</p>
<p>In 2014, for example, only 1 percent&#160;of all funding in fragile states went to women’s groups or ministries of women, according to the UN.&#160;Other complain that the State Department’s subcontracting process is so multilayered that efforts intended to promote women get watered down and forgotten by the implementation stage.&#160;Critics call <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/27/hillary-the-hawk-a-history-clinton-2016-military-intervention-libya-iraq-syria/" type="external">her foreign policy hawkish</a>&#160;— and blame her for conflict that ultimately hurt women and girls much more than aid programs help them.&#160;</p>
<p>Nonetheless,&#160;most recognize at least the symbolic nature of having a female US president. (Disclosure: In 1993, I worked six weeks on an unpaid White House internship when I was 19. I look back now and realize&#160;how unusual it was to see a working first lady.)</p>
<p>Says Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women:&#160;“People all over the world follow the US trends and this will have the same impact.&#160;It’s going to inspire women around the world to say, ‘I can do this.'”</p>
<p>Christina Asquith is director of the&#160;Across Women's Lives initiative and founder of the Fuller Project for International Reporting.&#160;</p>
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doesnt talk much campaign trail lauded home a160historic presidential nomination hillary clinton is160being praised abroad decades quiet work put rights women around world top agenda shes strong voice women since beijing strong advocacy gone unnoticed women around world says martha karua kenyas former justice minister referring pioneering un conference 1995 women although us press corps rarely asks it160clinton is160considered champion gender equality globally many160know speech 1995160conference beijing declared womens rights human rights fewer understand ins outs feminist foreign policy unrolled americas top diplomat gender equality said critical and160to achieve160economic growth security health improvements reduction terrorism160 socalled feminist foreign policy approach foreign policy many women hope bring oval office160already shes promised half cabinet women canadas prime minister justin trudeau great acclaim last year160when taking office hillary elected groundwork laid women would still could turn light switch back dr valerie hudson coauthor of160hillary clinton sex american foreign policy160told me160no one inner circle would dare suggest gender subordinated pressing issues youd see real commitment milllennials often say find clinton unlikeable support much stronger among older women recall days foreign policy conducted smoky allmale rooms dominated discussion weapons territory160issues around women girls never came up160 rape sexual abuse women war widespread balkans war going back holocaust example 160wasnt recognized crime 1996160laws commonplace restricted women owning land bank accounts getting divorce participating politically attending school seeking protection violent spouse laws went unchallenged us foreign policy however overthrow apartheid south africa calls freedom ringing postcommunist countries clinton demanded women place emerging human rights field starting beijing speech launched governmentaffiliated ngo vital voices began researching advocating around oppression women hurts societies one milestone advocacy came 2000 un security council ratified resolution 1325 required womens presence peace conflict resolution became secretary state 2009 clinton accelerated approach foreign policy hillary doctrine160which argued part violence women considered matter us national security160observers credit steering program funding issues affect women elevating recognition among160state department employees importance including gender considerations efforts160 nowadays common see multimillion dollar programs women girls rolled afghanistan iraq pakistan across africa even mixed uncertain results many160agree that160its clintons advocacy got womens issue agenda promoting women considered integral goals establishing national security promoting agricultural yields increasing economic growth stemming spread disease160just last year 70 million dedicated promoting adolescent girls pakistan160another 27 million promised promote literacy among girls africa nearly 30 million spent increasing ranks women security places like liberia afghanistan pakistan 160where women make less160than 5 percent160of police force according institute inclusive security160 earlier year defense security studies journal prism devoted entire issue analysing women girls status intersects us security goals kind small moment recognition maledominated military establishment womens rights activists couldnt dreamed decade earlier160while achievements result much one persons effort clinton considered ally leader set new standards woman role foreign policy general says baroness arminka helic bosnianborn conservative female muslim peer uks house lords160its heartening see strongest democracy military world foreign policy led woman 160and figurehead woman deep understanding womens rights clinton without critics160while gains made women girls health education nearly standstill in160areas160such security political participation160160 even millions aid 160women proportionally still shortchanged160 2014 example 1 percent160of funding fragile states went womens groups ministries women according un160other complain state departments subcontracting process multilayered efforts intended promote women get watered forgotten implementation stage160critics call foreign policy hawkish160 blame conflict ultimately hurt women girls much aid programs help them160 nonetheless160most recognize least symbolic nature female us president disclosure 1993 worked six weeks unpaid white house internship 19 look back realize160how unusual see working first lady says phumzile mlambongcuka executive director un women160people world follow us trends impact160its going inspire women around world say christina asquith director the160across womens lives initiative founder fuller project international reporting160
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<p>My husband Naeem and I sat at the Hard Rock Café. I laughed as a Turkish comedian joked about her father’s girlfriend, and the idiosyncrasies of life in the megalopolis I now call home. But I also looked around at the crowd in the unsecured restaurant on Istiklal Street, in the heart of the city, and thought what a good target this would be for terrorists: a room full of Westerners enjoying a night out.</p>
<p>I shared my thoughts with the comedian after she finished her act. She gave me an uncomfortable smile as if to say, let’s forget about that for now.</p>
<p>I couldn’t. When you live through suicide bombings like I did in Afghanistan, where I spent part of my childhood and later reported as an adult, security becomes a sense like smell or taste. Constant alertness replaces the feeling of safety. Anything can blow up anywhere at any time. Afghans already know this, but Turks were hoping they didn’t have to until now. The conflicts on Turkey’s borders with Syria, Iraq and Armenia were far enough from Istanbul to avoid the fear.</p>
<p>But that dread seized the city of 14 million on Tuesday night.</p>
<p>When the comedy show ended at 11 p.m., I turned on my phone to learn the news. Terrorists this time had attacked Ataturk Airport, a half-hour taxi ride from where we stood. It was the fourth terrorist attack in the city this year. Each time, the number of casualties and injured is greater. So far, 41 people are dead from Tuesday’s attack, and 230 injured. ISIS is the suspected culprit.</p>
<p>On Wednesday morning I told my two daughters that there had been an attack at the airport, but they would be safe at their summer day camp.</p>
<p>“How many were killed?” asked Bonoo, my 8-year-old.</p>
<p>I busied myself with breakfast and mumbled the number dead. She’s used to hearing me talk about terror attacks. It doesn’t seem to faze her much. Born in California, she was conceived amid the bombs in Kabul in 2007.</p>
<p>Bonoo was eager to grow up in Istanbul with her sister Andisha, who’s 5. We moved here seven months ago from the San Francisco Bay Area so that I could resume my foreign reporting career and expose our children to the city’s rich culture and diversity.</p>
<p>Istanbul seemed safe enough. Other journalists here moved from Cairo and Baghdad based on &#160;similar reasoning. Now I’m not so sure.</p>
<p>War is my normal, but it shouldn’t be for my children.</p>
<p>After my daughters left for camp, I made my round of calls to friends in the city as I took a walk in our neighborhood park. I was one of five people in a place usually crowded with dozens of strollers.</p>
<p>“I couldn’t sleep last night. Something has to be done. This can’t go on like this,” my landlord Seyda Zeynep said. “The politics has become so confusing. I just know that I don’t feel safe here.”</p>
<p>Some friends with foreign passports have left the country. Tiare Rath, a former journalist and mother of a 3-year-old son, moved to Los Angeles with her family recently.</p>
<p>“We left Istanbul on Saturday for good just after a few months. The situation was too unstable for us,” she wrote on Facebook.</p>
<p>Istanbulites watch the news on TV to stay aware after each attack. They stay inside, avoid the tourist bazaars, the big malls, museums, resorts, commuter trains. Some even keep their children home from school. Anger consumes many who have to leave their homes for work —&#160;against the government, the flood of refugees, the policies of the West. The biggest fear of residents is an attack on trains and buses.</p>
<p>Many of my friends only drive their cars now, despite the three hours it takes to cross the bridges from the European to the Asian side of the city in rush hour. Some wealthier Turks are moving to Portugal, where financial investment can earn a residency permit. For those who don’t have the means to hide or leave, life goes on with the uncertainty.</p>
<p>“I travel two hours on the bus, do my job and pray that nothing blows up near me so I can keep feeding my family,” said Orhan, a street vendor selling Turkish bagels in the Kadikoy neighborhood, a hipster hub on the Anatolian seaside.</p>
<p>After each attack, Istanbul recoils, holds its breath for a day or two, then exhales again. It’s as if nothing happened. Life buzzes as it should. The terrorists seem to wait for that moment of amnesia to strike again.</p>
<p>Before the latest airport attack, Istanbulites were focused on fasting for the holy month of Ramadan, shopping for Eid and staying cool in the simmering heat. Tourism was down but the peak summer season held promise.</p>
<p>That enthusiasm and much hope ended with last night’s bombing. This time the mood seems different, perhaps because it was among the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/istanbul-ataturk-airport-attack/timeline-terror-istanbul-airport-attack-just-latest-hit-turkey-n600671" type="external">bloodiest strikes</a> targeting civilians in Istanbul’s modern history.</p>
<p>It’s a cruel awakening that Turkey’s wars are no longer on its borders but in its cities, and no one is safe. This is what ISIS wants and its leaders are getting their wish: Fear has been instilled.</p>
<p>My last phone call was to my friend Tamim, a 23-year-old Afghan student in Istanbul. He reminded me of what resilience means.</p>
<p>Tamim told me he was at the airport on his way to Mazar, Afghanistan when the shooting began on Tuesday. He called another friend in the departure check-in section who was headed to Kabul. His friend Naz hid behind computer screens as she watched one of the gunmen fire, her legs frozen. She felt paralyzed and was transferred to the hospital where she’s recovering from the shock. Tamim was stuck at his departure gate for hours before he was allowed to exit the airport. But the airport re-opened quickly, and Tamim returned Wednesday to fly to Mazar for Eid.</p>
<p>“How can you return to the airport so soon?” I asked as he waited for boarding.</p>
<p>“Sister, I’m Afghan. We’re used to this. I just thank God for every moment I’m alive,” he said. “I’ll see you when I return to Istanbul.”</p>
<p>Fariba Nawa is an Afghan American journalist, speaker and author based in Istanbul.</p>
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husband naeem sat hard rock café laughed turkish comedian joked fathers girlfriend idiosyncrasies life megalopolis call home also looked around crowd unsecured restaurant istiklal street heart city thought good target would terrorists room full westerners enjoying night shared thoughts comedian finished act gave uncomfortable smile say lets forget couldnt live suicide bombings like afghanistan spent part childhood later reported adult security becomes sense like smell taste constant alertness replaces feeling safety anything blow anywhere time afghans already know turks hoping didnt conflicts turkeys borders syria iraq armenia far enough istanbul avoid fear dread seized city 14 million tuesday night comedy show ended 11 pm turned phone learn news terrorists time attacked ataturk airport halfhour taxi ride stood fourth terrorist attack city year time number casualties injured greater far 41 people dead tuesdays attack 230 injured isis suspected culprit wednesday morning told two daughters attack airport would safe summer day camp many killed asked bonoo 8yearold busied breakfast mumbled number dead shes used hearing talk terror attacks doesnt seem faze much born california conceived amid bombs kabul 2007 bonoo eager grow istanbul sister andisha whos 5 moved seven months ago san francisco bay area could resume foreign reporting career expose children citys rich culture diversity istanbul seemed safe enough journalists moved cairo baghdad based 160similar reasoning im sure war normal shouldnt children daughters left camp made round calls friends city took walk neighborhood park one five people place usually crowded dozens strollers couldnt sleep last night something done cant go like landlord seyda zeynep said politics become confusing know dont feel safe friends foreign passports left country tiare rath former journalist mother 3yearold son moved los angeles family recently left istanbul saturday good months situation unstable us wrote facebook istanbulites watch news tv stay aware attack stay inside avoid tourist bazaars big malls museums resorts commuter trains even keep children home school anger consumes many leave homes work 160against government flood refugees policies west biggest fear residents attack trains buses many friends drive cars despite three hours takes cross bridges european asian side city rush hour wealthier turks moving portugal financial investment earn residency permit dont means hide leave life goes uncertainty travel two hours bus job pray nothing blows near keep feeding family said orhan street vendor selling turkish bagels kadikoy neighborhood hipster hub anatolian seaside attack istanbul recoils holds breath day two exhales nothing happened life buzzes terrorists seem wait moment amnesia strike latest airport attack istanbulites focused fasting holy month ramadan shopping eid staying cool simmering heat tourism peak summer season held promise enthusiasm much hope ended last nights bombing time mood seems different perhaps among bloodiest strikes targeting civilians istanbuls modern history cruel awakening turkeys wars longer borders cities one safe isis wants leaders getting wish fear instilled last phone call friend tamim 23yearold afghan student istanbul reminded resilience means tamim told airport way mazar afghanistan shooting began tuesday called another friend departure checkin section headed kabul friend naz hid behind computer screens watched one gunmen fire legs frozen felt paralyzed transferred hospital shes recovering shock tamim stuck departure gate hours allowed exit airport airport reopened quickly tamim returned wednesday fly mazar eid return airport soon asked waited boarding sister im afghan used thank god every moment im alive said ill see return istanbul fariba nawa afghan american journalist speaker author based istanbul
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<p>The curriculum at the Love Learning Center, a state-subsidized child care center in Washington Park, is standard preschool fare: learning the alphabet, identifying numbers, building gross motor skills and the like.</p>
<p>Now, though, teachers are paying closer attention to how well youngsters learn those skills and are ready with new activities when they falter.</p>
<p>“We now have a guideline and benchmarks to gauge how well our kids are doing,” says Burchell Love, the center’s owner and director. “And when they are not doing well, we’ve learned all these creative ways to help them. If a child can’t walk a straight line, we create a contest, we’ll take walks around the block. Our curriculum has gotten much more interesting.”</p>
<p>The change came with a $75,000 infusion this year from the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) that allowed Love to hire a certified teacher with a specialty in early childhood education. The money also opened the door for her other staff members to participate in monthly professional development sessions conducted by CPS.</p>
<p>The money that CPS funneled to Love comes from the $50.8 million it receives from the state for programs aimed at preschoolers who lag in school readiness. By sharing these state pre-kindergarten funds with private day care and community-based Head Start centers, CPS is seeking to increase the number of children who come to kindergarten ready to learn.</p>
<p>“We are serving kids at a different setting, but they are still CPS kids,” says Christine Ryan, manager of CPS’ community partnership program.</p>
<p>“The percentage of 3- to 5-year-olds in child care and family care setting is overwhelming,” notes Roseanna Ander, a program officer at The Joyce Foundation, which has made preschool a priority. “One of our emphases is integrating early child care into education programs. Physically, it can’t be just in schools.”</p>
<p>CPS formed its first child care partnership 15 years ago, signing contracts with seven agencies. Today, it has contracts with 71 agencies, making it a leader not only in Illinois but also in the nation.</p>
<p>“Chicago has done a much better job than some other places,” says Anne Mitchell, president of Early Childhood Policy Research in Washington, D.C. “They get it. The attitude is ‘We are trying to make things better for all kids, not just the kids in our schools.'”</p>
<p>With the academic push of the federal No Child Left Behind law, Illinois school districts increasingly are looking to bolster child care services that their communities provide for poor children, says Portia Kennel, vice president for Program Development and Training at the Ounce of Prevention Fund.</p>
<p>Nancy Shier, a director at the Ounce of Prevention, says their organization encourages other Illinois districts to look at Chicago as a model.</p>
<p>Disjointed system</p>
<p>The practice of school districts contracting with private agencies is one attempt to break through the bureaucratic walls that have kept different kinds of preschool programs—subsidized child care, Head Start and state pre-k—separate and unequal.</p>
<p>The Balkanization is an historical artifact. Subsidized child care programs appeared in the early 1900s as a social service organized around low-income, working-class families, who needed day care for their youngsters. At the time, the purpose was to provide a service to parents, not to educate children.</p>
<p>Child care centers rely on state subsidies and co-payments from parents to survive. The reimbursement rates can be as low as $24.34 per day, per child. As a result, the centers cannot afford to pay their teachers very much. Reflecting this reality, the state requires only that teachers have one year of child development experience and 30 college credit hours, including six in child development.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, the federal government created Head Start to help communities meet the social and educational needs of disadvantaged preschoolers. Offered mainly through community organizations, Head Start initially had similarly low requirements for teachers, but it is beginning to upgrade them. Last year, 50 percent of Head Start teachers were required to have associate’s degrees.</p>
<p>Then in the 1980s, states began to launch state-financed pre-kindergarten programs for youngsters who were considered at-risk of educational failure due to poverty or other socioeconomic factors. In Illinois, it is the only preschool program that requires teachers to have a bachelor’s degree and an early childhood (Type 04) teaching certificate.</p>
<p>Since then, evidence that children advance more quickly when they are in preschools staffed by certified teachers has grown.</p>
<p>Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley recently reviewed eight studies on teacher quality and pre-k programs conducted across the country. “These reports and studies all echo the same message,” says Marcy Whitebook, director of the university’s Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. “Pre-k teachers who have at least a bachelor’s degree, coupled with specialized training in early childhood development [or] education, provide the best preparation for pre-kindergarteners’ advancement to the next level.”</p>
<p>The review was sponsored by the Trust for Early Education, a national advocacy group.</p>
<p>Combining programs</p>
<p>While early childhood education advocates would love for all preschools to have certified, specialized teachers, they know that is now unaffordable. Instead, they are pushing what they call blending, or using state pre-k money and its requirements to upgrade the other programs.</p>
<p>This year, Chicago received an additional $11 million from the state for early childhood programs. Of that, $7 million is being used to blend funding with child care programs.</p>
<p>Christine Ryan says CPS plans to add 67 classrooms this year, bringing the total to 341. CPS has another 364 state pre-k classrooms inside the system.</p>
<p>CPS lines up partners with a request-for-proposal process. It asks agencies to apply and then screens them on a variety of factors, including whether they are in underserved areas, the quality of their programs, and whether they have the capacity to implement their proposals.</p>
<p>CPS has blended programs with social services agencies, private and for-profit child care centers, hospitals and the City Colleges of Chicago.</p>
<p>“We are not funding full programs,” says Ryan. “This is an enhancement grant.”</p>
<p>Once CPS has selected its partners, it counsels them on how to screen for students and hire staff according to state pre-k guidelines. Each center hires its own staff. Ryan says this creates a buy-in from staff and shows them CPS is not trying to take over.</p>
<p>“If we just stick one of our teachers in their program, that ruffles feathers,” Ryan explains. “We give them the dollars and let them recruit. Maybe there’s someone on their staff that is interested in getting that 04 certificate. We truly want this to be a community program.”</p>
<p>Indeed, the next challenge is for the state to produce more certified early childhood teachers. The state has 14,392; of those, 4,650 are in Chicago.</p>
<p>“We know [centers] are having problems getting staff,” says Ryan. “Child care centers are not just competing with CPS for teachers, but also among themselves.”</p>
<p>“Still, our push is to do as many as we can,” she adds.</p>
<p>Advocates see blending as a stop-gap. The long-term goal is to create a universal preschool program in the state and make high-quality, affordable preschool programs available to any family that wants it. Last year, more than a third of the state’s 3- and 4-year-olds, about 148,500 children, were enrolled in government-funded preschool or child care programs.</p>
<p>Such a program could also require all early childhood teachers to have bachelor’s degrees and Type 04 certification. (See Catalyst, April 2003.)</p>
<p>“For years, child care and the education system have been so far apart,” says Tom Layman, who heads the Chicago Metropolitan Association for the Education of Young Children.</p>
<p>Layman says one reason is that the programs were created for different reasons. Because of that, there is a perception that programs in Chicago public schools are better than programs in the community.</p>
<p>“But programs should be complementary and not competitive,” says Layman. “And there should be enough quality programs available to meet the needs of all working families.”</p>
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curriculum love learning center statesubsidized child care center washington park standard preschool fare learning alphabet identifying numbers building gross motor skills like though teachers paying closer attention well youngsters learn skills ready new activities falter guideline benchmarks gauge well kids says burchell love centers owner director well weve learned creative ways help child cant walk straight line create contest well take walks around block curriculum gotten much interesting change came 75000 infusion year chicago public schools cps allowed love hire certified teacher specialty early childhood education money also opened door staff members participate monthly professional development sessions conducted cps money cps funneled love comes 508 million receives state programs aimed preschoolers lag school readiness sharing state prekindergarten funds private day care communitybased head start centers cps seeking increase number children come kindergarten ready learn serving kids different setting still cps kids says christine ryan manager cps community partnership program percentage 3 5yearolds child care family care setting overwhelming notes roseanna ander program officer joyce foundation made preschool priority one emphases integrating early child care education programs physically cant schools cps formed first child care partnership 15 years ago signing contracts seven agencies today contracts 71 agencies making leader illinois also nation chicago done much better job places says anne mitchell president early childhood policy research washington dc get attitude trying make things better kids kids schools academic push federal child left behind law illinois school districts increasingly looking bolster child care services communities provide poor children says portia kennel vice president program development training ounce prevention fund nancy shier director ounce prevention says organization encourages illinois districts look chicago model disjointed system practice school districts contracting private agencies one attempt break bureaucratic walls kept different kinds preschool programssubsidized child care head start state prekseparate unequal balkanization historical artifact subsidized child care programs appeared early 1900s social service organized around lowincome workingclass families needed day care youngsters time purpose provide service parents educate children child care centers rely state subsidies copayments parents survive reimbursement rates low 2434 per day per child result centers afford pay teachers much reflecting reality state requires teachers one year child development experience 30 college credit hours including six child development 1960s federal government created head start help communities meet social educational needs disadvantaged preschoolers offered mainly community organizations head start initially similarly low requirements teachers beginning upgrade last year 50 percent head start teachers required associates degrees 1980s states began launch statefinanced prekindergarten programs youngsters considered atrisk educational failure due poverty socioeconomic factors illinois preschool program requires teachers bachelors degree early childhood type 04 teaching certificate since evidence children advance quickly preschools staffed certified teachers grown researchers university california berkeley recently reviewed eight studies teacher quality prek programs conducted across country reports studies echo message says marcy whitebook director universitys center study child care employment prek teachers least bachelors degree coupled specialized training early childhood development education provide best preparation prekindergarteners advancement next level review sponsored trust early education national advocacy group combining programs early childhood education advocates would love preschools certified specialized teachers know unaffordable instead pushing call blending using state prek money requirements upgrade programs year chicago received additional 11 million state early childhood programs 7 million used blend funding child care programs christine ryan says cps plans add 67 classrooms year bringing total 341 cps another 364 state prek classrooms inside system cps lines partners requestforproposal process asks agencies apply screens variety factors including whether underserved areas quality programs whether capacity implement proposals cps blended programs social services agencies private forprofit child care centers hospitals city colleges chicago funding full programs says ryan enhancement grant cps selected partners counsels screen students hire staff according state prek guidelines center hires staff ryan says creates buyin staff shows cps trying take stick one teachers program ruffles feathers ryan explains give dollars let recruit maybe theres someone staff interested getting 04 certificate truly want community program indeed next challenge state produce certified early childhood teachers state 14392 4650 chicago know centers problems getting staff says ryan child care centers competing cps teachers also among still push many adds advocates see blending stopgap longterm goal create universal preschool program state make highquality affordable preschool programs available family wants last year third states 3 4yearolds 148500 children enrolled governmentfunded preschool child care programs program could also require early childhood teachers bachelors degrees type 04 certification see catalyst april 2003 years child care education system far apart says tom layman heads chicago metropolitan association education young children layman says one reason programs created different reasons perception programs chicago public schools better programs community programs complementary competitive says layman enough quality programs available meet needs working families
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<p>APRIL 14, 2010</p>
<p>By ANTHONY PIGNATARO</p>
<p>The metaphor Kit Enger uses most often when talking about the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is that of the mob enforcer. As in, “It was like I was forced to buy protection from a mob leader.” That was just in his discussion with me; when he testified before CARB itself, back On Nov. 19, 2009, he was even more graphic, telling the board that a CARB enforcement officer told him on two occasions, “If you guys don’t get on with this settlement, it doesn’t matter to us if you go out of business, change your name, move to another state, or die, we will find you and attach your assets.”</p>
<p>Enger is president of the Compliant Car Builders Association in Oceanside. They’re a coalition of 37 dune buggy and off-road vehicle manufacturers who ran afoul of CARB last year to the tune of $3.6 million, which they eventually whittled down to a settlement of $600,000 in April 2009. Their crime? Selling “illegal engines” – the phrase comes straight from an April 2, 2009 CARB press release – from 2006 to 2008.</p>
<p>Enger and the Association – which is currently pushing for a new law to change the way CARB enforces its regulations – agreed to pay their fines. But then they realized that CARB was apparently trying to enforce a law – which dated to Aug. 15, 2007 – that hadn’t even been on the books when the companies in the Association built many of the alleged “illegal engines.” That led to Enger and the Association filing a petition last October with the California Office of Administrative Law.</p>
<p>The Administrative Law Office declined to accept Enger’s petition, said Director Susan Lapsley. She declined to say why – the office’s governing statute says her office can keep its reasoning private – but her Jan. 7, 2010 letter to Enger said the rejection “in no way reflects on the merits of the underlying issue” or constitutes “a judgment or opinion on any issue raised” by the petition. Regardless, Enger’s petition is worth exploring in some detail, if only because it illustrates the actions of CARB, a growing force in state environmental regulation that generally operates without much scrutiny.</p>
<p>“CARB unlawfully used an underground regulation against the sand car industry,” the petition states. “Approximately two-thirds (or more) of the vehicles and engines subject to the April 2009 settlement were manufactured, distributed, or sold prior to August 15, 2007. For these vehicles and engines, this constitutes the unlawful enforcement using an underground regulation.”</p>
<p>CARB spokesperson Karen Caesar had no comment on the Sand Car Association petition beyond the press releases they’ve already published, though another member of the CARB media relations office said the Administrative Law Office petition didn’t surprise him because Enger had been so “acrimonious” about the whole affair. At the time of the $600,000 settlement, CARB released a press release that basically wagged a finger at the Sand Car Association. “Uncontrolled emissions from these vehicles add to California’s already serious smog problems,” CARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols said ominously in the above press release (the “chairman” title appears in the original).</p>
<p>But on April 20, 2009, CARB released another statement saying the whole matter made for a better, stronger industry: “This is a win-win for air quality and the sandcar [sic] industry, because the industry is now using ARB certified engines and self enforcing its members to comply.”</p>
<p>The whole issue of how the Sand Car Association’s “illegal” engines were allegedly harming the environment is ambiguous. Enger says no one from CARB ever provided him with an analysis of how much additional pollution his engines were putting out because they never tested them. “I never received anything in writing showing an increase in pollution from our modified engines,” Enger said. “I also never received a written notice of violation. And I never got any justification as to how CARB first arrived at the $3.6 million fine.”</p>
<p>Enger said this whole thing first came up back in September 2006, when CARB officials told him they were proposing new air pollution regulations for sand car engines. The next month, Enger said, CARB held an “implementation outreach workshop” with association members, where they explained how the companies could comply with the new regs. “Between September 2006, and January 2007, the sand car industry worked cooperatively and diligently with CARB certification staff to devise a program whereby all industry members could efficiently and effectively certify their vehicles and engines,” Enger wrote in a declaration filed with his October 2009 petition.</p>
<p>Things seemed to be going well. Enger says the sand car industry worked all through 2007 to get their vehicles into compliance. “By December 2007,” Enger wrote in his petition, “most engine providers of the Sand Car Association had successfully and timely certified the engines used by the industry to CARB under the OHRV [off-highway recreational vehicle] regulations, which had only become effective on August 15, 2007.”</p>
<p>Then the wheels came off. Enger said that in January 2008. CARB suddenly turned around and told him that “all of the MY [Model Year] 2007 sand cars and engines were in violation of CARB’s OHRV certification requirements,” Enger wrote in his petition. Soon after, CARB officials told Enger’s association that they owed $3.6 million in penalties – a number that Enger said CARB never explained.</p>
<p>Though his group had already signed onto the $600,000 settlement, when he found out CARB was, in effect, carrying out an ex post facto prosecution by fining him for engines that were modified before the new regulations went into effect, Enger appeared before the Air Resources Board on Nov. 19, 2009 and asked them to reopen the whole matter. “We respectfully request for CARB to rescind our settlement as it was fraudulently obtained and return to our members the ill-gotten $600,000 penalty,” he asked.</p>
<p>They said no.</p>
<p>“CARB is unaccountable,” was how one legislative aide familiar the Air Resources Board put it. “They’re a sacred cow.”</p>
<p>Since his petition with the Administrative Law Office went nowhere, Enger is helping promote SB1402. Introduced Feb. 19 by Senator Bob Dutton and cosponsored by a bipartisan coalition of eight other senators, the bill calls for multiple reforms of CARB, including an annual report to the Legislature and governor from the board on all administrative penalties they impose and the right of those accused of violations to an administrative hearing “in lieu of a civil action.” The Senate Environmental Quality Committee will take up the bill on April 19.</p>
<p>“This whole thing has been a frickin’ disaster,” Enger said. “My lawyers said it would cost more than $600,000 to fight it, so we might as well pay it. It’s like a protection racket – government out of control.”</p>
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april 14 2010 anthony pignataro metaphor kit enger uses often talking california air resources board carb mob enforcer like forced buy protection mob leader discussion testified carb back nov 19 2009 even graphic telling board carb enforcement officer told two occasions guys dont get settlement doesnt matter us go business change name move another state die find attach assets enger president compliant car builders association oceanside theyre coalition 37 dune buggy offroad vehicle manufacturers ran afoul carb last year tune 36 million eventually whittled settlement 600000 april 2009 crime selling illegal engines phrase comes straight april 2 2009 carb press release 2006 2008 enger association currently pushing new law change way carb enforces regulations agreed pay fines realized carb apparently trying enforce law dated aug 15 2007 hadnt even books companies association built many alleged illegal engines led enger association filing petition last october california office administrative law administrative law office declined accept engers petition said director susan lapsley declined say offices governing statute says office keep reasoning private jan 7 2010 letter enger said rejection way reflects merits underlying issue constitutes judgment opinion issue raised petition regardless engers petition worth exploring detail illustrates actions carb growing force state environmental regulation generally operates without much scrutiny carb unlawfully used underground regulation sand car industry petition states approximately twothirds vehicles engines subject april 2009 settlement manufactured distributed sold prior august 15 2007 vehicles engines constitutes unlawful enforcement using underground regulation carb spokesperson karen caesar comment sand car association petition beyond press releases theyve already published though another member carb media relations office said administrative law office petition didnt surprise enger acrimonious whole affair time 600000 settlement carb released press release basically wagged finger sand car association uncontrolled emissions vehicles add californias already serious smog problems carb chairman mary nichols said ominously press release chairman title appears original april 20 2009 carb released another statement saying whole matter made better stronger industry winwin air quality sandcar sic industry industry using arb certified engines self enforcing members comply whole issue sand car associations illegal engines allegedly harming environment ambiguous enger says one carb ever provided analysis much additional pollution engines putting never tested never received anything writing showing increase pollution modified engines enger said also never received written notice violation never got justification carb first arrived 36 million fine enger said whole thing first came back september 2006 carb officials told proposing new air pollution regulations sand car engines next month enger said carb held implementation outreach workshop association members explained companies could comply new regs september 2006 january 2007 sand car industry worked cooperatively diligently carb certification staff devise program whereby industry members could efficiently effectively certify vehicles engines enger wrote declaration filed october 2009 petition things seemed going well enger says sand car industry worked 2007 get vehicles compliance december 2007 enger wrote petition engine providers sand car association successfully timely certified engines used industry carb ohrv offhighway recreational vehicle regulations become effective august 15 2007 wheels came enger said january 2008 carb suddenly turned around told model year 2007 sand cars engines violation carbs ohrv certification requirements enger wrote petition soon carb officials told engers association owed 36 million penalties number enger said carb never explained though group already signed onto 600000 settlement found carb effect carrying ex post facto prosecution fining engines modified new regulations went effect enger appeared air resources board nov 19 2009 asked reopen whole matter respectfully request carb rescind settlement fraudulently obtained return members illgotten 600000 penalty asked said carb unaccountable one legislative aide familiar air resources board put theyre sacred cow since petition administrative law office went nowhere enger helping promote sb1402 introduced feb 19 senator bob dutton cosponsored bipartisan coalition eight senators bill calls multiple reforms carb including annual report legislature governor board administrative penalties impose right accused violations administrative hearing lieu civil action senate environmental quality committee take bill april 19 whole thing frickin disaster enger said lawyers said would cost 600000 fight might well pay like protection racket government control
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<p>The federal government will no longer provide heavy military equipment like tanks and grenade launchers to local cops following weeks of backlash against officers who confronted protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, in armored vehicles and camouflage last year, President Barack Obama said Monday.</p>
<p>And if they want other, less-imposing military equipment, local law enforcement agencies will have to submit to stringent federal oversight and restrictions, according to the White House.</p>
<p>"We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people the feeling like there's an occupying force — as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them," the president said Monday, adding that such gear "can alienate and intimidate residents and make them feel scared."</p>
<p>Obama outlined the reforms during a visit to Camden, New Jersey, for years one of the most dangerous cities in America but a place the president highlighted as having made great strides in reducing violent crime and building trust between law enforcement and the community.</p>
<p>Camden accomplished this, the president said, by doubling the size of its police force, moving more officers out into the community to set up basketball games and visitING schools and businesses. The city is also participating in a police data initiative that, for example, could help localities track incidents of police force.</p>
<p>If such an effort can work in Camden, "it can work anywhere," the president said.</p>
<p>The president's remarks are part of a recent series of comments Obama has made underscoring the nation's need to do some "soul searching" on such issues as race, poverty and the strained relationship between law enforcement and the minority communities they serve.</p>
<p>The president said a <a href="" type="internal">community task force</a> on policing that the White House convened suggested restricting providing military-style equipment to local law enforcement from the federal government. The recommendations also included enhanced officer training, improving the use of body cameras and other technologies.</p>
<p>A White House official told NBC News that the Justice Department is seeking to strike a balance by making only appropriate equipment available, and with clear operating standards, training and safety procedures.</p>
<p>The measures are the followup to an <a href="" type="internal">executive measure Obama issued in January</a> to crack down on the intimidating image presented by local agencies patrolling the streets bristling with advanced military weaponry.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">RELATED: Did Ferguson Cops Fuel Mob Psychology by Donning Battle Gear?</a></p>
<p>The controversy was fueled when Ferguson police took to the streets in camouflage with military gear after the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed. But complaints about paramilitary-style equipping of local police have been widespread at least since protests over the World Trade Organization exploded into riots in Seattle in 1999.</p>
<p>Local law enforcement agencies have been eligible to receive surplus military equipment through a Defense Department program enacted in 1997.</p>
<p>Some in Congress have been very reluctant to cut back on the equipment because of the program's popularity with many police departments, and previous legislation stalled.</p>
<p>Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, and Rep. Lacy Clay, a Democrat whose Missouri district includes Ferguson, applauded the White House's actions. The lawmakers have introduced a measure aimed at reducing excessive police force.</p>
<p>"Our bill directly addresses the excessive militarization of local police, which I witnessed first-hand in Ferguson," Clay said in a recent statement before the White House's announcement.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">RELATED: 'Militarized' SWAT Teams Under Scrutiny as Toddler Recovers From Grenade</a></p>
<p>The equipment that's being banned Monday includes tanks and other tracked armored vehicles, weaponized aircraft and vehicles, firearms and ammunition measuring .50-caliber and larger, grenade launchers and bayonets, the Justice Department said.</p>
<p>Restrictions and conditions will be put on other types of equipment — including armored tactical vehicles like those used in Ferguson, as well as many types of firearms, ammunition and explosives.</p>
<p>The conditions are likely to rankle some local agencies.</p>
<p>Besides having to give the feds a "clear and persuasive explanation of the need for the controlled equipment," local law enforcement agencies won't be eligible unless they've adopted what are known as General Policing Standards. Those include so-called community policing programs, with foot cops on the beat interacting with the public and regular consultation with community groups — a different approach from the "zero tolerance" policies adopted in recent years by many big-city police agencies.</p>
<p>Algonquin, Illinois, Police Chief Russell Laine, president of the International Association of Police Chiefs, said adopting community policing philosophies "allows law enforcement agencies to develop a partnership with their community to create a safer environment while combating traditional crimes, supporting homeland security and providing services to our community."</p>
<p>But their adoption has been slow in many police departments.</p>
<p>In December, a month after a Cleveland officer shot Tamir Rice, an unarmed 12-year-old African-American boy, a Justice Department report heavily criticized the city for having inadequately implemented community policing, resulting in what it called a "level of distrust between the police and the community [that] interferes with CDP's ability to work the various communities it serves."</p>
<p>And in its investigation of Ferguson police in March, the Justice Department said the abandonment of community policing principles had "resulted in practices that not only violate the Constitution and cause direct harm to the individuals whose rights are violated, but also undermine community trust, especially among many African Americans."</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">RELATED: Ferguson Mayor Defends Police Reaction to Michael Brown Protests</a></p>
<p>Agencies in more conservative communities suspicious of federal authority may have a particular problem with the new rules. Another primary condition of getting military equipment will be acceptance of close federal oversight and monitoring overseen by a new federal agency with the power to conduct local compliance reviews.</p>
<p>They'll also have to collect and retain data whenever such equipment is involved in a "significant incident" and make those data available to the federal government and, in some cases, the public.</p>
<p>One of the things the new agency will specifically be looking for, according to the White House: "protection of civil rights and civil liberties."</p>
<p>Halimah Abdullah of NBC News contributed to this report.</p>
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federal government longer provide heavy military equipment like tanks grenade launchers local cops following weeks backlash officers confronted protesters ferguson missouri armored vehicles camouflage last year president barack obama said monday want lessimposing military equipment local law enforcement agencies submit stringent federal oversight restrictions according white house weve seen militarized gear sometimes give people feeling like theres occupying force opposed force thats part community thats protecting serving president said monday adding gear alienate intimidate residents make feel scared obama outlined reforms visit camden new jersey years one dangerous cities america place president highlighted made great strides reducing violent crime building trust law enforcement community camden accomplished president said doubling size police force moving officers community set basketball games visiting schools businesses city also participating police data initiative example could help localities track incidents police force effort work camden work anywhere president said presidents remarks part recent series comments obama made underscoring nations need soul searching issues race poverty strained relationship law enforcement minority communities serve president said community task force policing white house convened suggested restricting providing militarystyle equipment local law enforcement federal government recommendations also included enhanced officer training improving use body cameras technologies white house official told nbc news justice department seeking strike balance making appropriate equipment available clear operating standards training safety procedures measures followup executive measure obama issued january crack intimidating image presented local agencies patrolling streets bristling advanced military weaponry related ferguson cops fuel mob psychology donning battle gear controversy fueled ferguson police took streets camouflage military gear police shooting 18yearold michael brown unarmed complaints paramilitarystyle equipping local police widespread least since protests world trade organization exploded riots seattle 1999 local law enforcement agencies eligible receive surplus military equipment defense department program enacted 1997 congress reluctant cut back equipment programs popularity many police departments previous legislation stalled sen claire mccaskill dmissouri rep lacy clay democrat whose missouri district includes ferguson applauded white houses actions lawmakers introduced measure aimed reducing excessive police force bill directly addresses excessive militarization local police witnessed firsthand ferguson clay said recent statement white houses announcement related militarized swat teams scrutiny toddler recovers grenade equipment thats banned monday includes tanks tracked armored vehicles weaponized aircraft vehicles firearms ammunition measuring 50caliber larger grenade launchers bayonets justice department said restrictions conditions put types equipment including armored tactical vehicles like used ferguson well many types firearms ammunition explosives conditions likely rankle local agencies besides give feds clear persuasive explanation need controlled equipment local law enforcement agencies wont eligible unless theyve adopted known general policing standards include socalled community policing programs foot cops beat interacting public regular consultation community groups different approach zero tolerance policies adopted recent years many bigcity police agencies algonquin illinois police chief russell laine president international association police chiefs said adopting community policing philosophies allows law enforcement agencies develop partnership community create safer environment combating traditional crimes supporting homeland security providing services community adoption slow many police departments december month cleveland officer shot tamir rice unarmed 12yearold africanamerican boy justice department report heavily criticized city inadequately implemented community policing resulting called level distrust police community interferes cdps ability work various communities serves investigation ferguson police march justice department said abandonment community policing principles resulted practices violate constitution cause direct harm individuals whose rights violated also undermine community trust especially among many african americans related ferguson mayor defends police reaction michael brown protests agencies conservative communities suspicious federal authority may particular problem new rules another primary condition getting military equipment acceptance close federal oversight monitoring overseen new federal agency power conduct local compliance reviews theyll also collect retain data whenever equipment involved significant incident make data available federal government cases public one things new agency specifically looking according white house protection civil rights civil liberties halimah abdullah nbc news contributed report
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<p>&#160; <a href="http://best-cell-phone-spy.com/" type="external">phone spy software</a> <a href="" type="internal" />The City of Richmond's move to seize the loans of over-mortgaged homes can continue, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer ruled this week. According to the <a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;ved=0CDYQqQIwAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.sfgate.com%2Fontheblock%2F2013%2F09%2F16%2Fjudge-declines-to-keep-eminent-domain-case-on-tap%2F&amp;ei=-7I4UqqLFOS9iwK--oCgBg&amp;usg=AFQjCNH0-aADhBDcbOW2uLAUZ68PhIlrnw&amp;sig2=P1ik4021XOn9pPDqs53cdA&amp;bvm=bv.52288139,d.cGE" type="external">San Francisco Chronicle</a>, the reason was because “he felt the case, brought by Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank on behalf of holders of loans on over-mortgaged homes, was not 'ripe for determination' since Richmond had not exercised eminent domain and might never do so.”</p>
<p>Despite an initial win in federal court, will Richmond first have to prove that loans on over-mortgaged homes in its city are “trapped” to meet the “blight” criteria of California redevelopment law? A recent study by the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323423804579024612669517406.html?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs%3Darticle" type="external">Wall Street Journal</a> indicates that Richmond would have to prove loans on over-mortgaged properties are “trapped” before they can justify there is public necessity to take the loans.</p>
<p>A “trapped” loan is where a government secondary mortgage market lender such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Mae" type="external">Fannie Mae</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddie_Mac" type="external">Freddie Mac</a> won’t buy up sub-prime mortgages from primary lenders or other secondary lenders.&#160; Therefore, homeowners with over-mortgaged homes cannot refinance by taking advantage of HARP or other mortgage payment programs. Their high-interest rate loans are “trapped” without any ability to refinance.</p>
<p>Wall Street Journal reporters Michael Corkey and Al Yoon sampled 36 out of 1,726 loans left in mortgage loan pool called <a href="http://google.brand.edgar-online.com/EFX_dll/EDGARpro.dll?FetchFilingHTML1?ID=4571348&amp;SessionID=zgW7Hjuc9vn9i77" type="external">CWABS Asset-Backed Certificates Trust 2006-7.</a>&#160;CWABS is an abbreviation for Country Wide Asset-Backed Securities; 836, or 48 percent, of homeowners in CWABS 2006-7 are current in their payments. &#160;About half of the mortgages in CWABS 2006-7 are from California and Florida.</p>
<p>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission presently manages this loan pool.&#160; Originally, the loan pool consisted of 5,954 mortgages.&#160; The Journal did not report if the 4,228 loans no longer part of the pool were foreclosed, paid off, or refinanced by other lenders.</p>
<p>To undertake its eminent domain loan payment reduction program, Richmond must file a Resolution of Necessity in Contra Costa County Superior Court justifying the reason why taking mortgages out of a lender’s loan portfolio serves a public purpose.&#160; Eminent domain law gives wide discretion to governments as to what qualifies as public purpose.&#160; However, cities must typically prove “blight” to justify the use of eminent domain for economic purposes. Under California law <a href="http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=hsc&amp;group=33001-34000&amp;file=33030-33039" type="external">blight is defined</a> as:</p>
<p>“An area that is predominantly urbanized…and…it constitutes a serious physical and economic burden on the community which cannot reasonably be expected to be reversed or alleviated by private enterprise or governmental action, or both, without redevelopment.”</p>
<p>However, there is no public necessity to take loans on over-mortgaged homes where the homeowners can avail themselves of loan reduction programs, can short sale their homes for less than the loan balance, or are in default and can be foreclosed. Conceivably, all those actions would prevent or alleviate neighborhood blight in the long run.</p>
<p>There may be a private necessity to renegotiate an over-mortgaged home loan.&#160; But aggregating the private necessity of all the over-mortgaged home loans in Richmond does not necessarily make a public necessity.</p>
<p>The City of Richmond incurred $ <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_23320588/eminent-domain-could-be-used-battle-against-foreclosures" type="external">7.9 million in 2012</a> in extra costs to prevent foreclosed homes from “blighting” neighborhood home values.&#160; Therefore, it would only be those homes where there would be a public necessity to prevent blight. But those homes are no longer over-mortgaged.</p>
<p>Loans on over-mortgaged homes where homeowners are making payments are not causing “blight.”</p>
<p>To further learn how mortgages become “trapped” one has to understand how the primary and secondary mortgage markets work.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_mortgage_marke" type="external">secondary mortgage market</a> is for the sale of securities or bonds in which the collateral is a pool of mortgage loans.&#160; There are five layers of participants in the government-regulated mortgage market:</p>
<p>1) Borrowers.&#160; These are homeowners whose loans have been re-sold by their bank to secondary banks;</p>
<p>2) Primary lenders or loan originators consisting of banks and mortgage banks;</p>
<p>3) Aggregators or secondary mortgage market banks like the federal government’s Fannie Mae&#160; and Freddie Mac. Because of the risk of holding loans that might default, government-sponsored aggregators hedge their risk by “securitizing” them into bonds and other debt instruments.</p>
<p>4) Securities Dealers who sell the re-packaged loans to investors; and</p>
<p>5) Investors, which could be pension funds, insurance companies, and foreign governments.</p>
<p>One of the objectives of this many-layered loan system is to buy the loans off of the primary banks so they can make more loans to homeowners.&#160; Each layer of the secondary mortgage market buys pools of loans based on risk-based discounts.</p>
<p>In the case of the City of Richmond’s mortgage consultant, Mortgage Resolution Partners is a mortgage securities dealer that buys loans on discounts.&#160; It believes that if Richmond can take the loans on over-mortgaged homes away from primary lenders by eminent domain, it can re-sell the loans to investors at a discount and pass that discount back to the homeowners.&#160; Mortgage Resolution Partners would also provide a <a href="" type="internal">$46 million windfall</a> to the City of Richmond.</p>
<p>But an unresolved question is: who pays the investors of the primary and secondary mortgage lenders for the difference in the balance due on the loan and the discount price in the securities market?&#160; The position of the City of Richmond and its mortgage securities consultant is: It's not their problem.&#160; They believe they can stick the investors of primary banks with losses because the market value of the loan is worth less in the securities market.</p>
<p>However, an unresolved issue is: Would over-mortgaged homeowners eventually be stuck with paying off the investors of primary lenders when the homes are sold at a windfall profit?</p>
<p>Eminent domain law explicitly requires that the property owners be made whole for any losses. But what happens to the investors of the banks that are holding the loans? &#160;So the whole scheme by the City of Richmond may <a href="" type="internal">backfire</a>.&#160; Here is where “trapped loans” come into the picture.</p>
<p>The City of Richmond’s scheme is to offer loan reductions to homeowners who are current on their loans payments.&#160; Richmond would even go so far as to reduce the loan balances on <a href="" type="internal">million-dollar homes</a>, which obviously are not blighted.</p>
<p>Richmond has a point that the loans contained in CWABS 2006-7 are high-interest sub-prime loans. CWABS 2006-7 is a high-interest rate loan pool averaging 8.5 percent, but ranging as high as 15 percent.</p>
<p>However, for homeowners to avail themselves of government loan payment reduction programs such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Affordable_Refinance_Program" type="external">HARP (Home Affordable Refinance Program),</a> their loan must be guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.&#160; Fannie and Freddie refused to invest in bonds loaded with so-called subprime loans.&#160; The buzzword in the mortgage industry for high-rate loans that can’t be refinanced due to government <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=rigamarole" type="external">rigamarole</a> is “trapped.”</p>
<p>Because lenders have limited offering HARP 2.0 loans to only their own customers, <a href="http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/04/13/banks-benefit-from-trapping-customers-in-harp-2-0/" type="external">they can raise rates on other homeowners with trapped mortgages and earn more than the market interest rate</a>.</p>
<p>This raises the question, however, whether an eminent domain action is the appropriate legal action to correct this situation?&#160; The definition of economic “blight” cited above specifies that it is where an economic burden is inflicted on a community that can’t be reversed or lessened by the private or government sectors or both.&#160; The only types of properties that would meet this definition would be those with “trapped” mortgages.&#160; All other types of homeowners with over-mortgaged homes have either private or public options available that would reverse or alleviate community blight.</p>
<p>Legally complex eminent domain actions in California are usually handled by <a href="http://clrc.ca.gov/pub/Printed-Reports/REC-EmDomEarlyIssueRes.pdf" type="external">bifurcating the trial</a> into a “legal issues phase” and a “valuation issues phase.”</p>
<p>Such a pathbreaking use of eminent domain by the City of Richmond could take as much as a year just to decide the legal aspects.&#160; Because Richmond may not be able to easily establish “public necessity,” it is unlikely that a court would authorize the automatic taking of mortgages with the value issue to be handled later.</p>
<p>But whatever happens in California’s court system, the matter of “trapped mortgages” is going to have to be raised.</p>
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160 phone spy software city richmonds move seize loans overmortgaged homes continue us district court judge charles breyer ruled week according san francisco chronicle reason felt case brought wells fargo deutsche bank behalf holders loans overmortgaged homes ripe determination since richmond exercised eminent domain might never despite initial win federal court richmond first prove loans overmortgaged homes city trapped meet blight criteria california redevelopment law recent study wall street journal indicates richmond would prove loans overmortgaged properties trapped justify public necessity take loans trapped loan government secondary mortgage market lender fannie mae freddie mac wont buy subprime mortgages primary lenders secondary lenders160 therefore homeowners overmortgaged homes refinance taking advantage harp mortgage payment programs highinterest rate loans trapped without ability refinance wall street journal reporters michael corkey al yoon sampled 36 1726 loans left mortgage loan pool called cwabs assetbacked certificates trust 20067160cwabs abbreviation country wide assetbacked securities 836 48 percent homeowners cwabs 20067 current payments 160about half mortgages cwabs 20067 california florida us securities exchange commission presently manages loan pool160 originally loan pool consisted 5954 mortgages160 journal report 4228 loans longer part pool foreclosed paid refinanced lenders undertake eminent domain loan payment reduction program richmond must file resolution necessity contra costa county superior court justifying reason taking mortgages lenders loan portfolio serves public purpose160 eminent domain law gives wide discretion governments qualifies public purpose160 however cities must typically prove blight justify use eminent domain economic purposes california law blight defined area predominantly urbanizedandit constitutes serious physical economic burden community reasonably expected reversed alleviated private enterprise governmental action without redevelopment however public necessity take loans overmortgaged homes homeowners avail loan reduction programs short sale homes less loan balance default foreclosed conceivably actions would prevent alleviate neighborhood blight long run may private necessity renegotiate overmortgaged home loan160 aggregating private necessity overmortgaged home loans richmond necessarily make public necessity city richmond incurred 79 million 2012 extra costs prevent foreclosed homes blighting neighborhood home values160 therefore would homes would public necessity prevent blight homes longer overmortgaged loans overmortgaged homes homeowners making payments causing blight learn mortgages become trapped one understand primary secondary mortgage markets work secondary mortgage market sale securities bonds collateral pool mortgage loans160 five layers participants governmentregulated mortgage market 1 borrowers160 homeowners whose loans resold bank secondary banks 2 primary lenders loan originators consisting banks mortgage banks 3 aggregators secondary mortgage market banks like federal governments fannie mae160 freddie mac risk holding loans might default governmentsponsored aggregators hedge risk securitizing bonds debt instruments 4 securities dealers sell repackaged loans investors 5 investors could pension funds insurance companies foreign governments one objectives manylayered loan system buy loans primary banks make loans homeowners160 layer secondary mortgage market buys pools loans based riskbased discounts case city richmonds mortgage consultant mortgage resolution partners mortgage securities dealer buys loans discounts160 believes richmond take loans overmortgaged homes away primary lenders eminent domain resell loans investors discount pass discount back homeowners160 mortgage resolution partners would also provide 46 million windfall city richmond unresolved question pays investors primary secondary mortgage lenders difference balance due loan discount price securities market160 position city richmond mortgage securities consultant problem160 believe stick investors primary banks losses market value loan worth less securities market however unresolved issue would overmortgaged homeowners eventually stuck paying investors primary lenders homes sold windfall profit eminent domain law explicitly requires property owners made whole losses happens investors banks holding loans 160so whole scheme city richmond may backfire160 trapped loans come picture city richmonds scheme offer loan reductions homeowners current loans payments160 richmond would even go far reduce loan balances milliondollar homes obviously blighted richmond point loans contained cwabs 20067 highinterest subprime loans cwabs 20067 highinterest rate loan pool averaging 85 percent ranging high 15 percent however homeowners avail government loan payment reduction programs harp home affordable refinance program loan must guaranteed fannie mae freddie mac160 fannie freddie refused invest bonds loaded socalled subprime loans160 buzzword mortgage industry highrate loans cant refinanced due government rigamarole trapped lenders limited offering harp 20 loans customers raise rates homeowners trapped mortgages earn market interest rate raises question however whether eminent domain action appropriate legal action correct situation160 definition economic blight cited specifies economic burden inflicted community cant reversed lessened private government sectors both160 types properties would meet definition would trapped mortgages160 types homeowners overmortgaged homes either private public options available would reverse alleviate community blight legally complex eminent domain actions california usually handled bifurcating trial legal issues phase valuation issues phase pathbreaking use eminent domain city richmond could take much year decide legal aspects160 richmond may able easily establish public necessity unlikely court would authorize automatic taking mortgages value issue handled later whatever happens californias court system matter trapped mortgages going raised
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<p />
<p>Sandra Morán, the first openly LGBT person elected to the Guatemalan Congress, speaks with the Washington Blade at her Guatemala City office on Jan. 31, 2017. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p />
<p>Congresswoman Sandra Morán told the Washington Blade during an interview at her office in Guatemala City that Trump is “everything” in response to a question about whether she thinks he is racist or xenophobic. Morán also said “groups that have a long history of violent racism that literally feel empowered again” by Trump “saddens me.”</p>
<p>“This racism has taken lives,” Morán told the Blade.</p>
<p>Morán spoke with the Blade six days after Trump <a href="" type="internal">signed two executive orders</a> that spur construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and call for cutting federal funding to so-called “sanctuary cities” in which undocumented immigrants are protected.</p>
<p>Statistics indicate that 2.1 million Guatemalans — including 80,000 in Maryland — currently live in the U.S. The Migration Policy Institute <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/research/migrants-deported-united-states-and-mexico-northern-triangle-statistical-and-socioeconomic" type="external">notes</a> the U.S. deported 478,000 Guatemalan, Salvadoran and Honduran migrants from 2010-2014.</p>
<p>“We have received a lot of deported migrants,” Morán told the Blade.</p>
<p>She said there is a lot of “uncertainly” in Guatemala about the wall and whether it will divide families.</p>
<p>“It is chaos,” said Morán. “The reality is that he (Trump) is creating chaos in people’s lives and in the community.”</p>
<p>Morán told the Blade the wall would cause more violence and “repressive acts” from the police and other law enforcement officials. She also stressed it will do nothing to stop the flow of drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and Central America.</p>
<p>“This chaos is who is yes, who is no,” said Morán. “The other thing is it instills fear; it instills fear in everyone.”</p>
<p>Morán also told the Blade that Trump has concentrated “negative energy of destruction, of violence, of tension.” She said the millions of people who have protested against him since his Jan. 20 inauguration have countered this rhetoric.</p>
<p>“Look at the large protests of thousands of people — women, men, children, young people, old people,” said Morán. “This is a force of positive energy. They are not killing each other. They are not hitting each other. They are dancing and playing music, writing poems. This is the positive energy of construction.”</p>
<p>Morán was among the elected officials and candidates from around the world who <a href="" type="internal">attended the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute’s International LGBT Leaders Conference</a> that took place in D.C. a month after Trump’s election.</p>
<p>“Nobody expected it,” said Morán, recalling how conference attendees felt about the election results. “I think there was a lot of confidence that Hillary was going to win.”</p>
<p>Morán told the Blade that Trump’s election “obviously caused depression, frustration and fear.” She said she also saw that LGBT Americans were not only worried about their “personal security, but were afraid of losing” the rights they gained during former President Obama’s administration.</p>
<p>The Human Rights Campaign and other LGBT advocacy groups <a href="" type="internal">were quick to announce their opposition</a> to the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court, which Trump announced less than an hour after the Blade interviewed Morán. The White House earlier on Tuesday said Trump would <a href="" type="internal">allow Obama’s 2014 executive order</a> that bans federal contractors from discriminating against their LGBT employees to remain in place.</p>
<p>Morán recalled a speech that Victory Institute President Aisha Moodie-Mills gave during the D.C. conference.</p>
<p>She told the Blade that Moodie-Mills spoke about the need to “prepare ourselves and get ready to fight.” Morán said her comments about participants having the necessary “conditions” and “capacities” to continue the fight for LGBT and intersex rights in spite of the incoming administration particularly resonated with her.</p>
<p>“As we know in Guatemala, the only way that we won all that we have is through fights,” said Morán. “Nobody gave us anything.”</p>
<p>Morán is a member of Convergencia, a left-leaning political movement that advocates on behalf of indigenous Guatemalans and other underrepresented groups in the Central American country that borders Mexico, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras.</p>
<p>Voters in Guatemala City elected Morán in September 2015. She and 157 other members of the Guatemalan Congress <a href="" type="internal">were sworn in</a> on Jan. 14, 2016.</p>
<p>Morán in 1981 sought exile in Mexico amid Guatemala’s civil war. She lived in Nicaragua and Canada before returning to the country in 1994.</p>
<p>Morán over the last two decades has become a prominent figure within the Guatemalan women’s and feminist movements. She has also emerged as a champion of LGBT and intersex issues in the country.</p>
<p>“My public identity has opened the door,” Morán told the Blade.</p>
<p>“They feel represented,” she added, referring to LGBT and intersex Guatemalans. “This is very important.”</p>
<p>Morán told the Blade the inclusion of LGBT and intersex Guatemalans in the Congress’ Human Rights Commission is among her legislative accomplishments. She also works on issues that relate to health, education, political participation, indigenous Guatemalans, women and young people.</p>
<p>She said her colleagues “have respect for her.”</p>
<p>Morán told the Blade she has nevertheless received death threats and “all sorts of terrible, violent” messages on Facebook from people who are not in Congress. She also highlighted the need to prevent violence against LGBT and intersex Guatemalans, workers, women and children.</p>
<p>“Unfortunately we have a life full of different forms of violence,” said Morán.</p>
<p>Graffiti near the Guatemalan Congresswoman Sandra Morán’s office in Guatemala City calls for safe and legal abortion and declares October 13 the Day of the Lesbian Rebellion. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Aisha Moodie-Mills</a> <a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">Donald Trump</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute</a> <a href="" type="internal">Guatemala</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hillary Clinton</a> <a href="" type="internal">intersex</a> <a href="" type="internal">lesbian</a> <a href="" type="internal">Neil Gorsuch</a> <a href="" type="internal">Sandra Morán</a> <a href="" type="internal">transgender</a></p>
| false | 3 |
sandra morán first openly lgbt person elected guatemalan congress speaks washington blade guatemala city office jan 31 2017 washington blade photo michael k lavers congresswoman sandra morán told washington blade interview office guatemala city trump everything response question whether thinks racist xenophobic morán also said groups long history violent racism literally feel empowered trump saddens racism taken lives morán told blade morán spoke blade six days trump signed two executive orders spur construction wall along usmexico border call cutting federal funding socalled sanctuary cities undocumented immigrants protected statistics indicate 21 million guatemalans including 80000 maryland currently live us migration policy institute notes us deported 478000 guatemalan salvadoran honduran migrants 20102014 received lot deported migrants morán told blade said lot uncertainly guatemala wall whether divide families chaos said morán reality trump creating chaos peoples lives community morán told blade wall would cause violence repressive acts police law enforcement officials also stressed nothing stop flow drugs us mexico central america chaos yes said morán thing instills fear instills fear everyone morán also told blade trump concentrated negative energy destruction violence tension said millions people protested since jan 20 inauguration countered rhetoric look large protests thousands people women men children young people old people said morán force positive energy killing hitting dancing playing music writing poems positive energy construction morán among elected officials candidates around world attended gay lesbian victory institutes international lgbt leaders conference took place dc month trumps election nobody expected said morán recalling conference attendees felt election results think lot confidence hillary going win morán told blade trumps election obviously caused depression frustration fear said also saw lgbt americans worried personal security afraid losing rights gained former president obamas administration human rights campaign lgbt advocacy groups quick announce opposition nomination judge neil gorsuch us supreme court trump announced less hour blade interviewed morán white house earlier tuesday said trump would allow obamas 2014 executive order bans federal contractors discriminating lgbt employees remain place morán recalled speech victory institute president aisha moodiemills gave dc conference told blade moodiemills spoke need prepare get ready fight morán said comments participants necessary conditions capacities continue fight lgbt intersex rights spite incoming administration particularly resonated know guatemala way fights said morán nobody gave us anything morán member convergencia leftleaning political movement advocates behalf indigenous guatemalans underrepresented groups central american country borders mexico belize el salvador honduras voters guatemala city elected morán september 2015 157 members guatemalan congress sworn jan 14 2016 morán 1981 sought exile mexico amid guatemalas civil war lived nicaragua canada returning country 1994 morán last two decades become prominent figure within guatemalan womens feminist movements also emerged champion lgbt intersex issues country public identity opened door morán told blade feel represented added referring lgbt intersex guatemalans important morán told blade inclusion lgbt intersex guatemalans congress human rights commission among legislative accomplishments also works issues relate health education political participation indigenous guatemalans women young people said colleagues respect morán told blade nevertheless received death threats sorts terrible violent messages facebook people congress also highlighted need prevent violence lgbt intersex guatemalans workers women children unfortunately life full different forms violence said morán graffiti near guatemalan congresswoman sandra moráns office guatemala city calls safe legal abortion declares october 13 day lesbian rebellion washington blade photo michael k lavers aisha moodiemills bisexual donald trump gay gay lesbian victory institute guatemala hillary clinton intersex lesbian neil gorsuch sandra morán transgender
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<p>In 2010, the Montgomery County, Maryland Public Schools was one of five finalists for the Broad Prize, awarded each year by the Broad Foundation to the urban school district that has made the most progress in raising student achievement and narrowing the gap between white students and students of color.</p>
<p>At the time, the district was led by Jerry Weast, under whose tenure the district raised graduation rates, test scores and college-going; increased International Baccalaureate offerings; and increased Advanced Placement course-taking and pass rates on AP exams. On a recent visit to Chicago, Weast, who retired in June, talked with Contributing Editor Cassandra West about creating high expectations for minority children and the importance of investing in the teaching force.</p>
<p>CATALYST: The successes in Montgomery County under your leadership were impressive. Talk about how the district accomplished this.</p>
<p>WEAST: &#160;First, we had to recognize that we weren’t doing well. We had to depict it in a way that caused an emotional response. And we had to understand that our workforce didn’t get up out of bed every morning wanting to do a bad job. But we really hadn’t invested in them and given them a clear definition of what we all wanted to accomplish. &#160;We were measuring things by activity level rather than productivity.</p>
<p>When we actually kept our initiatives going for 12 straight years and graduated kids that we had in early childhood programs, we saw extreme improvement among African American and Latino [students]. Our cultural problem was [differing] expectations, variability in what we expected out of children.</p>
<p>CATALYST: One of the things you hear teachers and educators talk about here in Chicago is the impact of poverty on learning. In Montgomery County schools, the poverty rate is much lower. Do you believe the strategies your district used can work even in a high-poverty district?</p>
<p>WEAST: Absolutely, and here’s why. We sit right next to the District of Columbia and right next to Prince George’s County. Our schools that were impacted by poverty sit right across the street, but they had different outcomes. Same kids, same families, same race, gender and socioeconomics–but different outcomes. The question is: Is Chicago ready to invest in its [teacher] workforce and is it willing to put together a coherent framework to see that it gets done? Do you have the will? If you have the will, you can build the skill.</p>
<p>CATALYST: What would Chicago have to do to invest in its workforce, specifically teachers?</p>
<p>WEAST: The unit of change is right in the classroom, the interaction between the teacher and the student. That is best facilitated by skillful teachers. If you invest in your workforce to build those skills, you will see amazing results.</p>
<p>The teacher is a learner, too. What we’re not doing as a country is investing in that workforce. Our military invests in its workforce, and it is the best in the world. Our police departments are always in constant training, along with the fire departments and rescue people. Our doctors are constantly getting education. But we’re giving our teachers short workdays and very little training. And we spend more time accusing, blaming and criticizing rather than trying to solve their problems.</p>
<p>CATALYST: Research has shown that good teachers are the most important in-school factor for improving learning. How did Montgomery County’s teaching force and recruitment change as a result of the reform plan?</p>
<p>WEAST: The first thing we did was to listen to them, and we understood what they were telling us. Time, isolation, clarity regarding what we wanted them to do and what their job was were real problems for them. Data from low-level exams that weren’t leading the child toward college and career, rather than predictive analytics that told [teachers] something about what they needed to do differently and the training they needed to have, was a problem.</p>
<p>When we started listening to [teachers], organizing them in teams and working with them on a systemic approach—not reintroducing hundreds of new things for them to do—and giving them a say-so in how to go about it, building their skills and helping them police their ranks, guess what? Everything started getting better. &#160;</p>
<p>CATALYST: How was your district able to increase the early literacy skills of 1st-graders and get such a high percentage of 3rd-graders reading proficiently?</p>
<p>WEAST: We found that the biggest issue was being able to think critically and apply those [literacy] skills. Children weren’t going to get that on rote memorization tests. We had to reach back into early childhood and develop a way to get at pre-literacy skills. We had to work with private and public [preschool] providers to set a standard of what a child needed to be able to do by the time they got to kindergarten. And we had to work with parents from right at birth. We got our retired teachers to give packets out to newborn’s [parents] and we put [ideas] into sensible language. Then we retrained all of our early childhood elementary teachers on how to teach literacy. And we asked them what kind of data they needed to know how well they were doing.</p>
<p>CATALYST: Chicago has increased its Advanced Placement course offerings in recent years, but pass rates on the AP exams are still low, mostly because so few black and Hispanic students pass. Did pass rates increase among minority students in Montgomery County? How did you accomplish this?</p>
<p>WEAST: It starts in preschool and having a coherent framework [for learning].</p>
<p>CATALYST: In Chicago, many parents distrust the school system. What do you think made the most difference in Montgomery County in terms of raising parent’s satisfaction with schools?</p>
<p>WEAST: When we first started, they didn’t trust us either because we didn’t speak their language. We found that a parent wants to know how their child is doing. We were almost speaking a foreign language to them. So we created study circles to really examine the issue about race and achievement, and put it right on the table. We created TV shows in different languages, parent academies to train parents.</p>
<p>We found out our bureaucracy was awful. We retrained all our people who were manning the desks and answering the phone about how to properly do that.</p>
<p>We did a lot to look in the mirror and quit blaming the parents and the kids, and try to figure out what is the culture we want to achieve? What is the structure necessary? What are the tools we need to re-learn about how to make our schools more engaging?</p>
<p>CATALYST: Was there resistance?</p>
<p>WEAST: Of course. Any time that you start to deal with socioeconomics and race, there’s always this feeling that, ‘We don’t need to change.’ Second, there’s this whole attitude that if certain groups get [more] resources, then I lose. You have to overcome those things, but you do it with common sense. The key to start building trust is truth. The key to start building engagement is not only listening but taking action on what you hear to make things better. The key to doing some of this is sound psychological theories that work everywhere. Let’s use the right psychology. Accuse, blame and criticize is not the right psychology.</p>
<p>CATALYST: Chicago Public Schools is so much larger than Montgomery County. What three steps would you recommend that the district take next to make academic progress?</p>
<p>WEAST: I’m not here to recommend anything for Chicago. I have no magic formula.</p>
<p>CATALYST: Jean-Claude Brizard is the first CEO in years to come from outside the city and to be an educator. Any parting words of advice for him?</p>
<p>WEAST: I wish him well. I think that anybody that comes into any school district should be prepared to stay a while and should understand what the real issues are prior to putting forth solutions. My best advice to any superintendent is that the biggest asset that you have is your workforce. You’ve got to figure out how to create the proper structures so you bring out the best of that workforce. If you do it right, that workforce will propel your student achievement to heights that you didn’t think was imaginable. It isn’t about you. It’s about what you can do to unlock the power of the people in your organization.</p>
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2010 montgomery county maryland public schools one five finalists broad prize awarded year broad foundation urban school district made progress raising student achievement narrowing gap white students students color time district led jerry weast whose tenure district raised graduation rates test scores collegegoing increased international baccalaureate offerings increased advanced placement coursetaking pass rates ap exams recent visit chicago weast retired june talked contributing editor cassandra west creating high expectations minority children importance investing teaching force catalyst successes montgomery county leadership impressive talk district accomplished weast 160first recognize werent well depict way caused emotional response understand workforce didnt get bed every morning wanting bad job really hadnt invested given clear definition wanted accomplish 160we measuring things activity level rather productivity actually kept initiatives going 12 straight years graduated kids early childhood programs saw extreme improvement among african american latino students cultural problem differing expectations variability expected children catalyst one things hear teachers educators talk chicago impact poverty learning montgomery county schools poverty rate much lower believe strategies district used work even highpoverty district weast absolutely heres sit right next district columbia right next prince georges county schools impacted poverty sit right across street different outcomes kids families race gender socioeconomicsbut different outcomes question chicago ready invest teacher workforce willing put together coherent framework see gets done build skill catalyst would chicago invest workforce specifically teachers weast unit change right classroom interaction teacher student best facilitated skillful teachers invest workforce build skills see amazing results teacher learner country investing workforce military invests workforce best world police departments always constant training along fire departments rescue people doctors constantly getting education giving teachers short workdays little training spend time accusing blaming criticizing rather trying solve problems catalyst research shown good teachers important inschool factor improving learning montgomery countys teaching force recruitment change result reform plan weast first thing listen understood telling us time isolation clarity regarding wanted job real problems data lowlevel exams werent leading child toward college career rather predictive analytics told teachers something needed differently training needed problem started listening teachers organizing teams working systemic approachnot reintroducing hundreds new things doand giving sayso go building skills helping police ranks guess everything started getting better 160 catalyst district able increase early literacy skills 1stgraders get high percentage 3rdgraders reading proficiently weast found biggest issue able think critically apply literacy skills children werent going get rote memorization tests reach back early childhood develop way get preliteracy skills work private public preschool providers set standard child needed able time got kindergarten work parents right birth got retired teachers give packets newborns parents put ideas sensible language retrained early childhood elementary teachers teach literacy asked kind data needed know well catalyst chicago increased advanced placement course offerings recent years pass rates ap exams still low mostly black hispanic students pass pass rates increase among minority students montgomery county accomplish weast starts preschool coherent framework learning catalyst chicago many parents distrust school system think made difference montgomery county terms raising parents satisfaction schools weast first started didnt trust us either didnt speak language found parent wants know child almost speaking foreign language created study circles really examine issue race achievement put right table created tv shows different languages parent academies train parents found bureaucracy awful retrained people manning desks answering phone properly lot look mirror quit blaming parents kids try figure culture want achieve structure necessary tools need relearn make schools engaging catalyst resistance weast course time start deal socioeconomics race theres always feeling dont need change second theres whole attitude certain groups get resources lose overcome things common sense key start building trust truth key start building engagement listening taking action hear make things better key sound psychological theories work everywhere lets use right psychology accuse blame criticize right psychology catalyst chicago public schools much larger montgomery county three steps would recommend district take next make academic progress weast im recommend anything chicago magic formula catalyst jeanclaude brizard first ceo years come outside city educator parting words advice weast wish well think anybody comes school district prepared stay understand real issues prior putting forth solutions best advice superintendent biggest asset workforce youve got figure create proper structures bring best workforce right workforce propel student achievement heights didnt think imaginable isnt unlock power people organization
| 708 |
<p>Editor's Note: This is the second piece in a three-part series that goes inside Bangladesh's garment industry to explore how the Rana Plaza collapse served as a wake-up call to an entire global supply chain and how Bangladesh is working furiously to reform itself before another tragedy strikes. <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/rana-plaza-collapse-bangladesh-garment-industry" type="external">Read Part One here</a>.</p>
<p>DHAKA, Bangladesh — As workers at the Tuba Group garment factory in Dhaka <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/aug/11/bangladeshi-garment-workers-receive-overdue-pay" type="external">begin to receive wages</a> after an 11-day hunger strike that began July 28, with demands focused on securing pay and economic justice rather than safety and inspections, the question remains: is the emphasis on safety reforms in the Bangladeshi garment industry driven by actual risk and worker outrage, or by international brands and consumers concerned about bad publicity?</p>
<p>In the aftermath of the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/rights/rana-plaza-collapse-bangladesh-garment-industry" type="external">Rana Plaza garment factory collapse</a>&#160;on April 23, 2014 that killed 1,129 workers and the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/photo-galleries/planet-pic/5727223/deadly-bangladesh-factory-fire-photos" type="external">Tuba Group’s Tazreen Factory fire</a> on November 24, 2012 that killed 117 workers, global attention has been focused on the working conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry, which is now struggling to reform itself before another mass tragedy strikes. International consumers and brands have put immense pressure on local producers to meet international safety and structural standards immediately, or risk being shut down.</p>
<p>The ready-made garment (RMG) industry, which constitutes 80 percent of Bangladesh’s exports and is currently worth $20 billion, <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/Retail/Articles/The_global_sourcing_map_Balancing_cost_compliance_and_capacity.ashx" type="external">is estimated to double in value</a>&#160;to roughly $36 to 42 billion by 2020.</p>
<p>Yet, the industry — and the country so dependent on it for growth — finds itself in a difficult bind.</p>
<p>On the one hand, a lack of reform could lead to another disaster like those seen at Tazreen and Rana Plaza, which could result in Western brands fleeing en masse. Factory owners are reporting that brands are testing out other countries for production, and in the most recent season factories have seen a drop in orders.</p>
<p>On the other hand, many factories simply cannot afford to comply with the expensive reforms now required by Western brands, especially with buyers refusing to pay even a few cents more per unit.</p>
<p>For an industry not even four decades old, it is precisely its rapid rise that has been both a blessing, allowing it to capture brands’ attention and orders, as well as a curse, with safety improvements often lagging behind its exponential growth.</p>
<p>FROM 130 TO 4 MILLION</p>
<p>In 1974, Richard Nixon, responding to pressure from domestic textile producers, enacted the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA), which set strict quotas on how many garments countries could export to the US and Europe every year.</p>
<p>After South Korea had exhausted its export limits to the US under the MFA, it began looking for a global partner in order to continue producing garments for the West. Bangladesh, then a brand-new country with crushing poverty and little infrastructure, was searching for a way to jumpstart its development.</p>
<p>Nooral Quader, a former civil servant and freedom fighter in the 1971 Bangladeshi Liberation War, saw this as an opportunity. “He came to an agreement with [Daewoo] whereby he would send off 130 workers to South Korea for a six-month training program,” said Quader’s daughter, Vidiya Khan, “and then he would bring them back and essentially start the first 100 percent export-oriented garment factory of Bangladesh.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>What ensued was a partnership: South Korea traded training and industry know-how for the ability to continue to export — through Bangladesh — to the US.</p>
<p>“He was a father to the industry,” Khan said. “You know how you have the village elder? He was something like that. Teaching and learning and growing.”</p>
<p>In 1979, the 130 Bangladeshis were sent to South Korea on a mission to learn garment production inside and out.</p>
<p>It was a move that would be considered the birth of the Bangladeshi garment industry.</p>
<p>Quader’s first factory, Desh Garments, opened in 1980 and was staffed by workers trained in South Korea.</p>
<p>When Quader died in 1998 after a long career, his daughter Khan said, the family considered handing over control of the business. But she couldn’t let it go.</p>
<p>“So I packed my bags,” Khan said. “My mother said, ‘You don’t know anything about garments.’ I said, ‘Well, I’m going to learn.’”</p>
<p>Today the industry that began with 130 employs over 4 million people —including 3.7 million women — in over 5,000 factories across the country. This exponential growth has been largely driven by Bangladesh’s plentiful and low-cost labor supply, and the country is now the second largest ready-made garments (RMG) producer in the world, falling only behind China.</p>
<p>Moreover, Bangladesh’s RMG industry has contributed significantly to other industries, adding even greater value to the larger economy. Demand for cell phones has increased — for garment workers who have come from surrounding villages to keep in touch with their families — and the need for new factories has led to a boom in construction. Clothes that need to be trucked to and from ports employ thousands of drivers, and garment workers shuttling between the city and their family homes in the countryside have made each holiday a significant revenue generator for the country.</p>
<p>There is a realization in Bangladesh that the future of the country's economic development depends on the continued growth of its RMG industry. According to Rubana Huq, managing director of the Mohammadi Group, which owns multiple garments factories in Bangladesh, “garments is the driving force behind the economy. It only contributes to about 11 percent of our GDP, but at the end of the day it’s a lot of employment — a lot of people.”</p>
<p>Yet infrastructure growth has not matched the rapid growth of the garment industry, and that weakness surfaced a year ago in the collapse of Rana Plaza, said Khondaker Golam Moazzem of Bangladesh’s Center for Public Dialogue (CPD).</p>
<p>“I think most of the stakeholders take that message and they are now in the process of actually rethinking their activities and the process,” he said.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF</p>
<p>The auditing and reform process is not new to Bangladesh’s garment industry. “It has evolved over time,” Moazzeem said. “But the problems in the factories and the workers’ safety as it is observed nowadays is a new issue.”</p>
<p>During its infancy, brands required factories they contracted with to meet certain technical standards. “It all related to machines, production processes, you know, basic things,” Huq said. “So that sort of standardized the industry, and was easy to comply with. We had to buy efficient machines, we had to have very organized lines, and that was fine.”</p>
<p>In the 1990s, Western consumers — and subsequently brands — began calling for social compliance to address child labor, long hours and poor working conditions. In July 1995, a memorandum of understanding was signed by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) to immediately remove from the garment industry all workers under 14 years of age, a move that was seen as more interested in <a href="http://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/files/chathamhouse/public/International%20Affairs/Blanket%20File%20Import/inta_469.pdf" type="external">placating consumers’ consciences</a>&#160;than promoting the young workers’ best interests.</p>
<p>Now, with tragedies like the Rana Plaza collapse and Tazreen factory fire garnering international attention, garment retailers fearful of negative brand association are demanding safety compliance, with audits now expanded to include structural, electrical, and fire protection.</p>
<p>A lead engineer at the auditing firm Bureau Veritas who has been at the agency since the 1980s — and who agreed to be interviewed under the condition he remain unidentified — said that he had noticed structural deficiencies while doing social compliance audits for years, yet was given no box in the report for those concerns. And if it was not in the audit’s scope, he simply couldn’t report on it.</p>
<p>“It’s the dynamics of the market,” the auditor said. “Only recently have these engineering audits begun—you can see it as an evolution taking place in the industry.”</p>
<p>While the safety audits are acknowledged to be vital by local producers and international consumers alike, the speed with which factories are being forced to comply with new standards is seen by factory owners as unachievable. Furthermore, the cost of the new systems requested are, for many factories, prohibitive. So the question remains: is the urgency of these reforms driven by actual risk, or rather by brands and consumers who are concerned with their reputations?</p>
<p>SAFE BUILDINGS, SAFE BRANDS?</p>
<p>The current reforms, now focusing on safety and structural integrity, are being carried out by NGOs, Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and industry groups, including the <a href="http://www.bangladeshaccord.org/" type="external">Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh</a>and the <a href="http://www.bangladeshworkersafety.org/" type="external">Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety</a>, commonly known as Accord and Alliance. Accord is a legally binding agreement between trade unions, UN organizations, and mainly European retailers, while Alliance is a group of 26 North American apparel companies, retailers, and brands, including Costco, GAP, Walmart and Target.</p>
<p>While garment industry insiders agree that the safety reforms being emphasized by Accord and Alliance are necessary, they also admit the fear that the audits interests lie with brands rather than the workers, seeing the overriding priority as protecting brand interest.</p>
<p>Some reforms call for changes that are prohibitively expensive and do not efficiently address safety concerns. For example, rather than installing $150,000 firefighting equipment, Huq said, factories should spend $25,000 on safety training. “Practicing and training [workers] in safety culture — I think that’s much more necessary.”</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Furthermore, some of the compliance standards set by Accord and Alliance are simply culturally irrelevant. Owners of the Azim and Sons (Pvt.) Ltd. factory in Gazipur said that misunderstandings between auditors — who are mostly foreign — and Bangladeshi factories are commonplace. Safia Azim, daughter of Azim and Sons’ founder, said that in the nineties, when a Western buyer saw children of workers in a daycare center at the factory, they mistook them for child laborers and demanded they be removed from the factory.</p>
<p>“I immediately started thinking that to leave a 10-year-old in a slum...is the most unsafe thing in Bangladesh,” Azim said. “Wouldn’t it just be better to have the 10-year-olds here? But you know, that’s not compliant.”</p>
<p>Even though auditors were informed of the misunderstanding, only the younger ones that could not be mistaken for workers were allowed to stay.</p>
<p>Auditors also insisted on the installation of Western-style toilets in Azim and Sons’ factory, even though workers preferred squat, or ‘Indian-style’ toilets. Azim said that a number of the Western-style toilets were so disused that the stalls were converted into storage closets.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the blanket standard that has been applied across the industry is not indicative of the wide degree of variation that exists between factories — from those that are simply a floor of 20 machines to those are state of the art.</p>
<p>The BGMEA has designed a three-tier system of rating factories based on size, quality, and safety. Tier 1 factories are often purpose-built in export processing zones (EPZ) using the latest safety protocols with the ability to implement whatever reforms are deemed necessary by buyers. These factories enjoy tax breaks and other manufacturing benefits. Along with their slightly downsized Tier 2 counterparts, they receive the most attention from safety auditing organizations like Accord and Alliance, and are the first factories to undergo inspections.</p>
<p>Tier 3 factories are smaller, and many deal solely in subcontracts, thereby escaping the attention of the international auditing system.These factories are in the most dangerous position. They often operate in rented spaces within commercial or residential highrises — buildings that have not been designed to bear loads required by garment factories. Furthermore, because land prices in Dhaka have continued to rise — <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/bangladesh/140408/why-price-real-estate-dhaka-rivals-manhattan-video" type="external">now nearly rivaling those in Manhattan</a> — to keep up with demand, landlords add unplanned and often illegal floors to the top of buildings, like the three that were added to the top of Rana Plaza.</p>
<p>While it is common knowledge that subcontracting occurs within the garment industry, transparency is lacking, leading to unauthorized shadow subcontracting. “Some vendors are transparent about [subcontracting] and they share it with their brands,” said Huq. “They say, look, I don’t have space, I’m using these factories, please audit them. Some vendors don’t.”</p>
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<p />
<p>BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE</p>
<p>Changes are happening, and there is a new sense of awareness along all levels of the industry — from garment workers to industry leaders — that safety reforms must be brought to the industry.</p>
<p>But there is also a sense that a more nuanced approach is needed. Factories in rented spaces cannot be expected to make the same changes as purpose-built factories. Many can't afford the new safety systems required, and buyers are barely budging, if at all, on prices. The government has promised financial aid for smaller factories to improve, but it's unclear how and to whom it will be delivered and when.</p>
<p>Furthermore, there is a sense throughout the industry that standards are not being applied evenly. “If compliance is going to be applicable for Bangladesh, we have to have a level playground, meaning it should be equally applicable in India or in China,” Huq said. “It should be standardized. It should be globalized. Otherwise, we are going to be the ones who are going to miss out on opportunities.”</p>
<p>And if these safety issues have been around for years, then why the immense pressure to reform immediately, or else face closure? Is it for the workers’ safety or that of the brands? What role do each of the stakeholders — producers, brands, consumers, workers — hold in bringing change to this industry?</p>
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editors note second piece threepart series goes inside bangladeshs garment industry explore rana plaza collapse served wakeup call entire global supply chain bangladesh working furiously reform another tragedy strikes read part one dhaka bangladesh workers tuba group garment factory dhaka begin receive wages 11day hunger strike began july 28 demands focused securing pay economic justice rather safety inspections question remains emphasis safety reforms bangladeshi garment industry driven actual risk worker outrage international brands consumers concerned bad publicity aftermath rana plaza garment factory collapse160on april 23 2014 killed 1129 workers tuba groups tazreen factory fire november 24 2012 killed 117 workers global attention focused working conditions bangladeshs garment industry struggling reform another mass tragedy strikes international consumers brands put immense pressure local producers meet international safety structural standards immediately risk shut readymade garment rmg industry constitutes 80 percent bangladeshs exports currently worth 20 billion estimated double value160to roughly 36 42 billion 2020 yet industry country dependent growth finds difficult bind one hand lack reform could lead another disaster like seen tazreen rana plaza could result western brands fleeing en masse factory owners reporting brands testing countries production recent season factories seen drop orders hand many factories simply afford comply expensive reforms required western brands especially buyers refusing pay even cents per unit industry even four decades old precisely rapid rise blessing allowing capture brands attention orders well curse safety improvements often lagging behind exponential growth 130 4 million 1974 richard nixon responding pressure domestic textile producers enacted multifiber arrangement mfa set strict quotas many garments countries could export us europe every year south korea exhausted export limits us mfa began looking global partner order continue producing garments west bangladesh brandnew country crushing poverty little infrastructure searching way jumpstart development nooral quader former civil servant freedom fighter 1971 bangladeshi liberation war saw opportunity came agreement daewoo whereby would send 130 workers south korea sixmonth training program said quaders daughter vidiya khan would bring back essentially start first 100 percent exportoriented garment factory bangladesh ensued partnership south korea traded training industry knowhow ability continue export bangladesh us father industry khan said know village elder something like teaching learning growing 1979 130 bangladeshis sent south korea mission learn garment production inside move would considered birth bangladeshi garment industry quaders first factory desh garments opened 1980 staffed workers trained south korea quader died 1998 long career daughter khan said family considered handing control business couldnt let go packed bags khan said mother said dont know anything garments said well im going learn today industry began 130 employs 4 million people including 37 million women 5000 factories across country exponential growth largely driven bangladeshs plentiful lowcost labor supply country second largest readymade garments rmg producer world falling behind china moreover bangladeshs rmg industry contributed significantly industries adding even greater value larger economy demand cell phones increased garment workers come surrounding villages keep touch families need new factories led boom construction clothes need trucked ports employ thousands drivers garment workers shuttling city family homes countryside made holiday significant revenue generator country realization bangladesh future countrys economic development depends continued growth rmg industry according rubana huq managing director mohammadi group owns multiple garments factories bangladesh garments driving force behind economy contributes 11 percent gdp end day lot employment lot people yet infrastructure growth matched rapid growth garment industry weakness surfaced year ago collapse rana plaza said khondaker golam moazzem bangladeshs center public dialogue cpd think stakeholders take message process actually rethinking activities process said history repeats auditing reform process new bangladeshs garment industry evolved time moazzeem said problems factories workers safety observed nowadays new issue infancy brands required factories contracted meet certain technical standards related machines production processes know basic things huq said sort standardized industry easy comply buy efficient machines organized lines fine 1990s western consumers subsequently brands began calling social compliance address child labor long hours poor working conditions july 1995 memorandum understanding signed bangladesh garment manufacturers exporters association bgmea immediately remove garment industry workers 14 years age move seen interested placating consumers consciences160than promoting young workers best interests tragedies like rana plaza collapse tazreen factory fire garnering international attention garment retailers fearful negative brand association demanding safety compliance audits expanded include structural electrical fire protection lead engineer auditing firm bureau veritas agency since 1980s agreed interviewed condition remain unidentified said noticed structural deficiencies social compliance audits years yet given box report concerns audits scope simply couldnt report dynamics market auditor said recently engineering audits begunyou see evolution taking place industry safety audits acknowledged vital local producers international consumers alike speed factories forced comply new standards seen factory owners unachievable furthermore cost new systems requested many factories prohibitive question remains urgency reforms driven actual risk rather brands consumers concerned reputations safe buildings safe brands current reforms focusing safety structural integrity carried ngos civil society organizations cso industry groups including accord fire building safety bangladeshand alliance bangladesh worker safety commonly known accord alliance accord legally binding agreement trade unions un organizations mainly european retailers alliance group 26 north american apparel companies retailers brands including costco gap walmart target garment industry insiders agree safety reforms emphasized accord alliance necessary also admit fear audits interests lie brands rather workers seeing overriding priority protecting brand interest reforms call changes prohibitively expensive efficiently address safety concerns example rather installing 150000 firefighting equipment huq said factories spend 25000 safety training practicing training workers safety culture think thats much necessary furthermore compliance standards set accord alliance simply culturally irrelevant owners azim sons pvt ltd factory gazipur said misunderstandings auditors mostly foreign bangladeshi factories commonplace safia azim daughter azim sons founder said nineties western buyer saw children workers daycare center factory mistook child laborers demanded removed factory immediately started thinking leave 10yearold slumis unsafe thing bangladesh azim said wouldnt better 10yearolds know thats compliant even though auditors informed misunderstanding younger ones could mistaken workers allowed stay auditors also insisted installation westernstyle toilets azim sons factory even though workers preferred squat indianstyle toilets azim said number westernstyle toilets disused stalls converted storage closets furthermore blanket standard applied across industry indicative wide degree variation exists factories simply floor 20 machines state art bgmea designed threetier system rating factories based size quality safety tier 1 factories often purposebuilt export processing zones epz using latest safety protocols ability implement whatever reforms deemed necessary buyers factories enjoy tax breaks manufacturing benefits along slightly downsized tier 2 counterparts receive attention safety auditing organizations like accord alliance first factories undergo inspections tier 3 factories smaller many deal solely subcontracts thereby escaping attention international auditing systemthese factories dangerous position often operate rented spaces within commercial residential highrises buildings designed bear loads required garment factories furthermore land prices dhaka continued rise nearly rivaling manhattan keep demand landlords add unplanned often illegal floors top buildings like three added top rana plaza common knowledge subcontracting occurs within garment industry transparency lacking leading unauthorized shadow subcontracting vendors transparent subcontracting share brands said huq say look dont space im using factories please audit vendors dont rock hard place changes happening new sense awareness along levels industry garment workers industry leaders safety reforms must brought industry also sense nuanced approach needed factories rented spaces expected make changes purposebuilt factories many cant afford new safety systems required buyers barely budging prices government promised financial aid smaller factories improve unclear delivered furthermore sense throughout industry standards applied evenly compliance going applicable bangladesh level playground meaning equally applicable india china huq said standardized globalized otherwise going ones going miss opportunities safety issues around years immense pressure reform immediately else face closure workers safety brands role stakeholders producers brands consumers workers hold bringing change industry
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<p />
<p>The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled against lesbian parents in a birth certificate case.</p>
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<p>In a <a href="https://docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://files.eqcf.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2016.12.08_Opinion-.pdf" type="external">37-page decision</a> written by Associate Justice Josephine Linker Hart, the court denies the request of three lesbian plaintiff couples to strike down a state law requiring the Arkansas to label on a birth certificate the “paternity of the person” when that person is born.</p>
<p>Arkansas Department of Health Director Richard Smith cited that law defending the department’s decision to place the name of the birth mother, but not the spouse, on the birth certificates of the children for each of the lesbian plaintiff couples.</p>
<p>“We conclude that the evidence presented by Smith — the affidavit of the vital records state registrar — established that the challenged classification serves an important governmental objective — tracing public-health trends and providing critical assistance to an individual’s identification of personal health issues and genetic conditions — and that the means employed — requiring the mother and father on the birth certificate to be biologically related to the child — are substantially related to the achievement of those objectives,” Hart writes.</p>
<p>Plaintiffs in the case first sought to overturn the state birth certificate law on the basis that it violated the state circuit court decision in the Wright case, which briefly brought marriage equality for seven days to Arkansas before the Arkansas Supreme Court placed a stay on the decision. But the Arkansas Supreme Court determined the marriage ruling doesn’t apply to birth certificates.</p>
<p>“A fair reading of the Wright orders indicates that the orders did not address the issues presented here relating to birth certificates,” Hart writes. “In fact, birth certificates are not mentioned at all in the orders. Instead, in examining the Wright orders, the Wright court ruled on the constitutionality of amendment 83 and statutes governing marriage.”</p>
<p>Plaintiffs also made the case the refusal to place both names of both lesbian parents on a child’s birth certificate runs afoul of the U.S. Supreme Court decision extending across the nation, but the Arkansas Supreme Court also denied this ruling affects the state’s birth certificate law.</p>
<p>“The question presented in this case does not concern either the right to same-sex marriage or the recognition of that marriage, or the right of a female same-sex spouse to be a parent to the child who was born to her spouse,” Hart writes. “What is before this court is the narrow issue of whether the birth-certificate statutes as written deny the appellees due process.”</p>
<p>Dissenting to the majority ruling is Associate Justice Paul Danielson, who determined the Arkansas marriage decision in state court applies to the birth certificate law, even though the statute wasn’t named, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court decision for same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>“The majority errs in suggesting that the right to be named as a parent on a birth certificate is not a benefit associated with marriage and likewise errs in holding that the specific statutes at issue here focus on biological relationships rather than marital ones,” Danielson writes.</p>
<p>Kate Oakley, senior legislative counsel for the Human Rights Campaign, blasted the majority decision as an attempt to undermine the U.S. Supreme Court ruling for nationwide same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>“It is clear that including both married spouses’ names — regardless of whether they are same-sex or opposite sex — on a child’s birth certificate is exactly the kind of benefit of marriage that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled should be extended to same-sex couples,” Oakley said. “This disappointing ruling from the Arkansas Supreme Court is a clear violation of equal protection for married, same-sex couples, as affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell, and it is a deliberate attempt to undermine the rights of couples who have been guaranteed equality under the law when it comes to marriage.”</p>
<p>The decision reverses the ruling of the circuit court below the Arkansas Supreme Court, which found Arkansas state law on birth certificates contravened decisions in state court and the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of same-sex marriage. Last year, the Arkansas Supreme Court <a href="" type="internal">placed a stay</a> on the circuit court decision pending appeal.</p>
<p>Holly Dickson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case and said Arkansas Supreme Court is taking an approach different from other state high courts in Wisconsin, Florida, Indiana, Texas, Utah, Iowa and Mississippi.</p>
<p>“Non-biological fathers are added to Arkansas birth certificates without need of court order (under assisted reproduction laws) and there is no reason to treat non-biological same sex parents different than non-biological opposite sex parents,” Dickson said.</p>
<p>A spokesperson for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who defended the birth-certificate law in court on behalf of Arkansas Department of Health, on the other hand expressed support for the decision.</p>
<p>“Attorney General Rutledge is gratified that the State Supreme Court agreed that the circuit court far exceeded its authority by unilaterally re-writing major sections of statutes passed by the General Assembly,” Rutledge spokeperson Judd Deere said. “If any changes are appropriate it is the job of legislators to do so, not the circuit court.”</p>
<p>Representing the plaintiff couples in the case was Searcy-based attorney Cheryl Maples, who said she was “disappointed in the decision and disagree with it” when asked if she would file a petition of certiorari before the U.S. Supreme Court to seek review.</p>
<p>“I am weighing our options at this point and have a meeting scheduled for today to discuss,” Maples said. “It is likely, though, that we will appeal.”</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">American Civil Liberties Union</a> <a href="" type="internal">Arkansas Supreme Court</a> <a href="" type="internal">birth certificates</a> <a href="" type="internal">Holly Dickson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Human Rights Campaign</a> <a href="" type="internal">Josephine Linker Hart</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kate Oakley</a> <a href="" type="internal">Leslie Rutledge</a> <a href="" type="internal">Paul Danielson</a></p>
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arkansas supreme court ruled lesbian parents birth certificate case 37page decision written associate justice josephine linker hart court denies request three lesbian plaintiff couples strike state law requiring arkansas label birth certificate paternity person person born arkansas department health director richard smith cited law defending departments decision place name birth mother spouse birth certificates children lesbian plaintiff couples conclude evidence presented smith affidavit vital records state registrar established challenged classification serves important governmental objective tracing publichealth trends providing critical assistance individuals identification personal health issues genetic conditions means employed requiring mother father birth certificate biologically related child substantially related achievement objectives hart writes plaintiffs case first sought overturn state birth certificate law basis violated state circuit court decision wright case briefly brought marriage equality seven days arkansas arkansas supreme court placed stay decision arkansas supreme court determined marriage ruling doesnt apply birth certificates fair reading wright orders indicates orders address issues presented relating birth certificates hart writes fact birth certificates mentioned orders instead examining wright orders wright court ruled constitutionality amendment 83 statutes governing marriage plaintiffs also made case refusal place names lesbian parents childs birth certificate runs afoul us supreme court decision extending across nation arkansas supreme court also denied ruling affects states birth certificate law question presented case concern either right samesex marriage recognition marriage right female samesex spouse parent child born spouse hart writes court narrow issue whether birthcertificate statutes written deny appellees due process dissenting majority ruling associate justice paul danielson determined arkansas marriage decision state court applies birth certificate law even though statute wasnt named well us supreme court decision samesex marriage majority errs suggesting right named parent birth certificate benefit associated marriage likewise errs holding specific statutes issue focus biological relationships rather marital ones danielson writes kate oakley senior legislative counsel human rights campaign blasted majority decision attempt undermine us supreme court ruling nationwide samesex marriage clear including married spouses names regardless whether samesex opposite sex childs birth certificate exactly kind benefit marriage us supreme court ruled extended samesex couples oakley said disappointing ruling arkansas supreme court clear violation equal protection married samesex couples affirmed us supreme court obergefell deliberate attempt undermine rights couples guaranteed equality law comes marriage decision reverses ruling circuit court arkansas supreme court found arkansas state law birth certificates contravened decisions state court us supreme court favor samesex marriage last year arkansas supreme court placed stay circuit court decision pending appeal holly dickson legal director american civil liberties union arkansas filed friendofthecourt brief case said arkansas supreme court taking approach different state high courts wisconsin florida indiana texas utah iowa mississippi nonbiological fathers added arkansas birth certificates without need court order assisted reproduction laws reason treat nonbiological sex parents different nonbiological opposite sex parents dickson said spokesperson arkansas attorney general leslie rutledge defended birthcertificate law court behalf arkansas department health hand expressed support decision attorney general rutledge gratified state supreme court agreed circuit court far exceeded authority unilaterally rewriting major sections statutes passed general assembly rutledge spokeperson judd deere said changes appropriate job legislators circuit court representing plaintiff couples case searcybased attorney cheryl maples said disappointed decision disagree asked would file petition certiorari us supreme court seek review weighing options point meeting scheduled today discuss maples said likely though appeal american civil liberties union arkansas supreme court birth certificates holly dickson human rights campaign josephine linker hart kate oakley leslie rutledge paul danielson
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<p>The Obama administration included a record number of openly LGBT officials serving across the federal government. The Blade reached out to some of them seeking their reflections on their time in public service. Their responses follow.</p>
<p>MIRA PATEL</p>
<p>Position and Years Served:&#160;Secretary’s&#160;Policy Planning Staff, U.S. Department of State (2009-2013); Senior Advisor to the Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration (2015-2016)</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama?&#160;Watching from the audience as Secretary Clinton launched the Global Equality Fund, the largest USG partnership on LGBT rights during her famous “Gay Rights are Human Rights” speech at the UN Human Rights Council. I established the fund in 2011 with the State Department’s&#160;human&#160;rights and partnership offices and it has grown to provide over $30 million to&#160;grassroots&#160;organizations fighting for LGBT equality in over 40 countries.</p>
<p>What are you doing now?&#160;Job searching! And founding&#160;my own non-profit to continue the Obama Administration’s legacy of international LGBT human rights promotion.</p>
<p>AMANDA SIMPSON</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: First with the Department of Commerce as the Senior Technical Advisor to the Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security. In mid-2011, I moved to the Department of the Army where I was the Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology.&#160;Two years later I moved within the Army to lead the Energy Initiatives Task Force, which I matured into the Office of Energy Initiatives as the Executive Director.&#160;In 2015, I was asked to lead all energy efforts for the Department of Defense as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy.</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? From my required letter of resignation to Secretary Carter last month: “It has been privilege to serve the American people these past seven years.&#160;During this time I’ve moved forward a reform of our export controls to best protect critical technologies and keep research and industrial capability in the United States, brought accountability to Army acquisition by establishing a review process that included a focus on systems-of-systems interoperability, created the largest renewable energy portfolio in the Federal government utilizing private sector financed projects that bring energy resiliency to Army installations, and updated the Department of Defense’s Operational Energy Strategy with specific and measurable goals that focus on military effectiveness and operational capabilities.”</p>
<p>What are you doing now? I am currently working with my team here at OE to ensure a smooth transition after I depart next week so that the requirements of our military forces are best supported and our warfighters are in the highest state of readiness and are the best capable to serve and protect the American people.&#160;The latter half of this month I will be taking a (what I believe is a well-deserved) break and skiing. Beyond that I do not have firm plans.</p>
<p>Amanda Simpson (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>GAUTAM RAGHAVAN</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: White House Liaison &amp; Deputy White House Liaison, U.S. Department of Defense (2009-2011); LGBT Liaison, The White House (2011-2014)</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? While there were certainly amazing moments along the way – for example, taking Edie Windsor to meet President Obama in the Oval Office, or seeing the president sign the Executive Order prohibiting discrimination by federal contractors – the greatest highlight for me was expanding our outreach to movement leaders from every part of the country and every part of our community, especially folks who had not been previously engaged by the White House. Our movement has such a diverse bench of smart, creative, resilient advocates and activists – and it was an honor to meet and work with them.</p>
<p>What are you doing now? I currently serve as Vice President of Policy for the Gill Foundation where I work with tenacious movement leaders advocating for pro-LGBT executive, administrative, and regulatory action at all levels of government.</p>
<p>Gautam Raghavan (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>CHAI FELDBLUM</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: Commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission April 2010 – Present (term ends in July 2018)</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? An ongoing highlight for me was to be able to advance employment civil rights for all people, including LGBT people. A specific highlight for me was to be part of leading the effort to clarify existing sex discrimination law to include protection for LGBT people. We did this through our decisions in Macy, Lusardi and Baldwin. Over the course of the past few years, we have helped approximately 1,000 LGBT people get relief from employment discrimination under existing federal law, in every state in the country.</p>
<p>What are you doing now? Because I serve as a Commissioner for a set term of five years, my service on the Commission will go past the Obama Administration. My term will end on July 1, 2018. Until that day, I will be working hard to safeguard all people from employment discrimination, including LGBT people.</p>
<p>Chai Feldblum (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key).</p>
<p>SHIN INOUYE</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Press Secretary and Acting Senior Advisor for Intergovernmental and External Affairs, Oct. 2014-Jan. 2017; Executive Office of the President, White House Office of Communications: Director of Specialty Media, Feb. 2009–Oct. 2014</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? There are many accomplishments to be proud of — strengthening the economy, passing the Affordable Care Act, bringing the world together around an historic climate agreement, the list goes on and on.&#160;For the LGBT community, a few points stand out.&#160;The president signed an inclusive Hate Crimes bill into law; recorded an It Gets Better video; worked for, secured, and signed into law a repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell;” became the first sitting president to do a sit-down interview with an LGBT media outlet; ended the legal defense of DOMA; announced his personal support for marriage equality; signed an Executive Order barring LGBT discrimination by federal contractors; and his Solicitor General argued for marriage equality before the Supreme Court, and after we won, the White House was lit in the colors of the rainbow.&#160;While at USCIS, I’ve had the privilege to participate in several naturalization ceremonies, and to administer the Oath of Allegiance.&#160;All along the way, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many outstanding individuals, and have made lifelong friends.&#160;While there remains work to be done, we can be proud of all that has been accomplished over the last eight years.</p>
<p>What are you doing now? While I don’t have my next steps sorted out yet, after Jan. 20, I plan on taking some personal time, and then hope to be part of the effort to ensure that the progress we’ve made over the past eight years is not easily undone.</p>
<p>Shin Inouye (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>DOUG WILSON</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs/ Senior Pentagon spokesman and communications strategist, 2010-2012</p>
<p>Highlights: Working with America’s outstanding men and women in uniform; serving as a key administration point person at Pentagon for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”; and conceiving and coordinating White House State Dinner for Iraq Veterans</p>
<p>What are you doing now?&#160;Chair, board of advisors, Truman National Security Project and co-founder, Vets’ Community Connections (soon-to-be nationwide initiative to bring more Americans from all walks of life into veteran and military family community reintegration by answering their questions about community life.&#160;“Got 10 minutes for a vet?&#160;Use your own experience and expertise to do more than just say “thanks for your service.”</p>
<p>Doug Wilson (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)</p>
<p>KEVIN JENNINGS</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe &amp; Drug Free Schools, Dept. of Education, 2009-2011</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? Staging the first-ever White House Summit on Bullying Prevention in March 2011, which the president keynoted, bringing unprecedented national attention to a scourge on the lives of countless LGBT youth.</p>
<p>What are you doing now? Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation, the nation’s largest private funder of LGBT rights.</p>
<p>Kevin Jennings (Photo by Jurek Wajdowicz; courtesy Beacon Press)</p>
<p>JEFF TILLER</p>
<p>Position and Years served: Strategic Communications Advisor, 2008-2017</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? My most memorable day at the White House was June 26, 2015. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality that morning, President Obama sang “Amazing Grace” in Charleston that afternoon, and by nightfall the North Portico was illuminated in the rainbow colors of the pride flag.</p>
<p>The lighting of the White House, though, almost didn’t happen. We had been storing the lights outside in gears boxes in anticipation of the ruling, and several days of inclement weather soaked the lights in rainwater. Half of the lights were malfunctioning when we plugged them in and turned on the power. After several hours of troubleshooting, the lights began to finally cooperate. We turned them up to full power and brightness just as the sun was setting on that historic day.</p>
<p>That evening, I sat on a lawn chair on Pebble Beach until 4 a.m. to monitor the lights. Thousands of Americans streamed to Pennsylvania Avenue during those early morning hours to celebrate together — they spontaneously sang our National Anthem, chanted “U-S-A!” and “Yes We Can!,” and snapped countless selfies with the rainbow White House as their backdrop. It was a joyous end to a day that was decades in the making.</p>
<p>What are you doing now? Sleeping in!</p>
<p>RAFFI FREEDMAN-GURSPAN</p>
<p>Position and Years Served: Senior Associate Director for Public Engagement &amp; Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel, Aug. 2015-Jan. 2017</p>
<p>What was the highlight of your service under Obama? I will never forget the unveiling of the Stonewall National Monument last June. It was two weeks after the tragic shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and the LGBT community was still reeling from the aftershocks of the worst mass shooting in American history. It was also 47 years since that fateful night in 1969 when LGBT New Yorkers made a stand for human rights and dignity at the site President Obama was honoring as a part of the National Park Service.</p>
<p>That’s the spirit of the Obama Administration to me – dignified, resolute and deeply connected to the people. That diverse crowd of faces at Christopher Street Park celebrating our triumph over hate sticks with me to this day. I will never forget it.</p>
<p>What are you doing now? Seeking employment.</p>
<p>Raffi Freedman-Gurspan (Photo courtesy NCTE)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Amanda Simpson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Barack Obama</a> <a href="" type="internal">Chai Feldblum</a> <a href="" type="internal">Doug Wilson</a> <a href="" type="internal">Gautam Raghavan</a> <a href="" type="internal">Jeff Tiller</a> <a href="" type="internal">Kevin Jennings</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a> <a href="" type="internal">Obama Administration</a> <a href="" type="internal">Raffi Freedman-Gurspan</a> <a href="" type="internal">Shin Inouye</a></p>
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obama administration included record number openly lgbt officials serving across federal government blade reached seeking reflections time public service responses follow mira patel position years served160secretarys160policy planning staff us department state 20092013 senior advisor administrator us small business administration 20152016 highlight service obama160watching audience secretary clinton launched global equality fund largest usg partnership lgbt rights famous gay rights human rights speech un human rights council established fund 2011 state departments160human160rights partnership offices grown provide 30 million to160grassroots160organizations fighting lgbt equality 40 countries now160job searching founding160my nonprofit continue obama administrations legacy international lgbt human rights promotion amanda simpson position years served first department commerce senior technical advisor undersecretary commerce industry security mid2011 moved department army special assistant assistant secretary army acquisition logistics technology160two years later moved within army lead energy initiatives task force matured office energy initiatives executive director160in 2015 asked lead energy efforts department defense deputy assistant secretary defense operational energy highlight service obama required letter resignation secretary carter last month privilege serve american people past seven years160during time ive moved forward reform export controls best protect critical technologies keep research industrial capability united states brought accountability army acquisition establishing review process included focus systemsofsystems interoperability created largest renewable energy portfolio federal government utilizing private sector financed projects bring energy resiliency army installations updated department defenses operational energy strategy specific measurable goals focus military effectiveness operational capabilities currently working team oe ensure smooth transition depart next week requirements military forces best supported warfighters highest state readiness best capable serve protect american people160the latter half month taking believe welldeserved break skiing beyond firm plans amanda simpson washington blade file photo michael key gautam raghavan position years served white house liaison amp deputy white house liaison us department defense 20092011 lgbt liaison white house 20112014 highlight service obama certainly amazing moments along way example taking edie windsor meet president obama oval office seeing president sign executive order prohibiting discrimination federal contractors greatest highlight expanding outreach movement leaders every part country every part community especially folks previously engaged white house movement diverse bench smart creative resilient advocates activists honor meet work currently serve vice president policy gill foundation work tenacious movement leaders advocating prolgbt executive administrative regulatory action levels government gautam raghavan washington blade photo michael key chai feldblum position years served commissioner equal employment opportunity commission april 2010 present term ends july 2018 highlight service obama ongoing highlight able advance employment civil rights people including lgbt people specific highlight part leading effort clarify existing sex discrimination law include protection lgbt people decisions macy lusardi baldwin course past years helped approximately 1000 lgbt people get relief employment discrimination existing federal law every state country serve commissioner set term five years service commission go past obama administration term end july 1 2018 day working hard safeguard people employment discrimination including lgbt people chai feldblum washington blade photo michael key shin inouye position years served department homeland security us citizenship immigration services press secretary acting senior advisor intergovernmental external affairs oct 2014jan 2017 executive office president white house office communications director specialty media feb 2009oct 2014 highlight service obama many accomplishments proud strengthening economy passing affordable care act bringing world together around historic climate agreement list goes on160for lgbt community points stand out160the president signed inclusive hate crimes bill law recorded gets better video worked secured signed law repeal dont ask dont tell became first sitting president sitdown interview lgbt media outlet ended legal defense doma announced personal support marriage equality signed executive order barring lgbt discrimination federal contractors solicitor general argued marriage equality supreme court white house lit colors rainbow160while uscis ive privilege participate several naturalization ceremonies administer oath allegiance160all along way ive pleasure working many outstanding individuals made lifelong friends160while remains work done proud accomplished last eight years dont next steps sorted yet jan 20 plan taking personal time hope part effort ensure progress weve made past eight years easily undone shin inouye washington blade photo michael key doug wilson position years served assistant secretary defense public affairs senior pentagon spokesman communications strategist 20102012 highlights working americas outstanding men women uniform serving key administration point person pentagon repeal dont ask dont tell conceiving coordinating white house state dinner iraq veterans now160chair board advisors truman national security project cofounder vets community connections soontobe nationwide initiative bring americans walks life veteran military family community reintegration answering questions community life160got 10 minutes vet160use experience expertise say thanks service doug wilson washington blade photo michael key kevin jennings position years served assistant deputy secretary safe amp drug free schools dept education 20092011 highlight service obama staging firstever white house summit bullying prevention march 2011 president keynoted bringing unprecedented national attention scourge lives countless lgbt youth executive director arcus foundation nations largest private funder lgbt rights kevin jennings photo jurek wajdowicz courtesy beacon press jeff tiller position years served strategic communications advisor 20082017 highlight service obama memorable day white house june 26 2015 supreme court ruled favor marriage equality morning president obama sang amazing grace charleston afternoon nightfall north portico illuminated rainbow colors pride flag lighting white house though almost didnt happen storing lights outside gears boxes anticipation ruling several days inclement weather soaked lights rainwater half lights malfunctioning plugged turned power several hours troubleshooting lights began finally cooperate turned full power brightness sun setting historic day evening sat lawn chair pebble beach 4 monitor lights thousands americans streamed pennsylvania avenue early morning hours celebrate together spontaneously sang national anthem chanted usa yes snapped countless selfies rainbow white house backdrop joyous end day decades making sleeping raffi freedmangurspan position years served senior associate director public engagement amp outreach recruitment director presidential personnel aug 2015jan 2017 highlight service obama never forget unveiling stonewall national monument last june two weeks tragic shooting pulse nightclub orlando lgbt community still reeling aftershocks worst mass shooting american history also 47 years since fateful night 1969 lgbt new yorkers made stand human rights dignity site president obama honoring part national park service thats spirit obama administration dignified resolute deeply connected people diverse crowd faces christopher street park celebrating triumph hate sticks day never forget seeking employment raffi freedmangurspan photo courtesy ncte amanda simpson barack obama chai feldblum doug wilson gautam raghavan jeff tiller kevin jennings lgbt obama administration raffi freedmangurspan shin inouye
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<p>Tracy Treadwell, a veteran on the local school council at Sumner Elementary, didn’t expect a quick fix of the West Garfield Park school’s roof supports when the district set aside more than $300,000 for repairs back in 2004. It can take months, and sometimes years, for the district to start projects after earmarking funds in its capital budget.</p>
<p>But workmen arrived that summer and finished repairs that fall, cleaning up and painting long-vacant rooms in the process. The school immediately used the newfound space for its learning center and music classes, and teachers moved in to decorate classrooms and post instructional materials the following summer. The LSC discussed opening a full-day preschool now that Sumner had more space.</p>
<p>But just weeks before school was set to start, central office dropped a bombshell: An unwanted neighbor, KIPP Ascend Charter, would be taking over the newly reopened classrooms. KIPP had been sharing space, and a rocky relationship, with McNair Academy in Austin.</p>
<p>“Somebody knew the master plan, but we didn’t,” says Treadwell, who suspects the district fixed Sumner’s roof knowing all along it would install KIPP. (Soon after the repairs, the district started to “show” the space to visitors brought in unannounced, he notes.)</p>
<p>Treadwell’s charges are backed by others at Sumner. The school’s longtime principal, W. Delores Robinson, declined to comment.</p>
<p>The district denies the charges. “We fixed it because it needed to be fixed,” says spokesman Michael Vaughn.</p>
<p>But the Sumner-KIPP saga illustrates how inequity in building repairs has become part of the politically charged atmosphere surrounding Renaissance 2010. A Catalyst Chicago analysis of capital spending data shows that CPS has given top priority to renovations for charters and other new schools—something that proponents of traditional neighborhood schools have suspected since Renaissance was launched.</p>
<p>In fact, David Vitale, outgoing chief administrative officer, concedes that CPS has put Renaissance projects at the head of the line.</p>
<p>Catalyst’s analysis shows:</p>
<p>* Nearly $50 million of $265 million in renovations now underway are being done in Renaissance and charter schools, according to April reports from area offices. That’s about 19 percent of renovations taking place in buildings that house just 4 percent of students.</p>
<p>* Renaissance and charter schools are getting repairs completed or funded at a faster pace than traditional schools: 62 percent compared to 45 percent, respectively.</p>
<p>* For every $1 already spent, CPS needs to spend another 61 cents to finish renovations in buildings housing Renaissance schools. But in traditional schools, the district needs to spend another $1.21—nearly twice as much—for every $1 already spent.</p>
<p>Vitale, who has overseen the capital program in recent years, admits the district has targeted help to its new schools. He says it makes sense to make repairs when a school is empty, as they generally are after a school closing makes way for a Renaissance project.</p>
<p>“We consciously prioritize these schools to get them into an acceptable level for reopening,” he adds.</p>
<p>For their part, charter operators contend that they need more help with facilities, not less. Many Renaissance buildings needed major work to get them ready, Vaughn notes, and some of those buildings are housing two schools and needed renovations to accommodate space-sharing.</p>
<p>Vitale also hopes that school funding reform in Springfield will end the state’s three-year freeze on capital dollars. If it does, then CPS should reap about $100 million in renovation money annually.</p>
<p>With that money, Vitale adds, “We’ll get more done like we should.”</p>
<p>Calumet ‘was the pits’</p>
<p>Communities that have been clamoring for school repairs, sometimes by shouting demands publicly at capital budget hearings, are dismayed at what they see as a lack of rhyme or reason to capital spending.</p>
<p>In Auburn Gresham, the costly renovation of long-neglected Calumet High to accommodate two new charters (one opened in the building last year) has raised questions from at least one parent. “The only time I’ve seen work being done on the school was when they decided they were going to phase it out,” says Bennie Sanders, a parent representative who chairs the soon-to-be-defunct Calumet local school council. “The Board of Education just neglected that school, period.”</p>
<p>But Ald. Howard Brookins credits the existing charter with energizing the community around better educational options. He labels the shuttered Calumet a “failure” that lacked the leadership needed to bring construction dollars to the community.</p>
<p>“From my perspective, it was already on the decline when it was time for me to go to high school in 1977,” says Brookins, who attended a Catholic school. “And when I was elected alderman in 2003, it was the pits. It was the school of last resort.”</p>
<p>Calumet, an 80-year-old neighborhood high school, is budgeted to get $17 million worth of rehab work. Of that, $11.5 million in work is underway, including more than 900 new windows, plumbing and electrical upgrades, roof repairs and a host of interior and exterior improvements.</p>
<p>Perspectives Charter, which already operates a college prep school in Calumet’s facility, will open two more this coming fall in the Calumet building: a middle school with an emphasis on discipline and a high school with a technology focus.</p>
<p>Brookins says Perspectives is also working to find the money to build a swimming pool that would also be used by the community. That project is a priority for Brookins, who wants to combat childhood obesity and says black children in low-income neighborhoods need community pools just like children in more affluent communities. The Perspectives staff is working to price out the project and find private partners to help pay for it, all of which has impressed Brookins.</p>
<p>“It’s very difficult to find a facility. When you do, you grab it,” says Perspectives’ Chief Operations Officer John Hayner, as he shows off state-of-the-art science labs and other new features during a walkthrough of the Calumet building.</p>
<p>The charter beat out several other proposals to take over Calumet. “The fact is, we rose to the challenge,” Hayner adds. Backers of Perspectives say that the community is getting better school options that are sorely needed.</p>
<p>Dion Miller Perez, executive director of Telpochcalli Community Education Project at Telpochcalli Elementary in Little Village, argues that it’s crucial to have a comprehensive capital plan that takes care of all schools fairly. The building that houses Telpochcalli and Saucedo Elementary is one of the district’s most unfunded when it comes to capital needs: For every $1 already spent, the district needs to spend $3.28 to finish renovations.</p>
<p>“It’s also important not to fall prey to the capriciousness or whims of whatever is the reform du jour,” Perez adds.</p>
<p>Private money to fill the gap</p>
<p>Charter school advocates aren’t happy either. They say their schools need even more help to find suitable buildings.</p>
<p>“Facilities are one of the greatest challenges facing charters across the country,” says Jill Levine, Director of School Services for the Illinois Facilities Fund, which helps charters finance their capital projects.</p>
<p>The district gives charters $425 per pupil for each of the 31 schools in non-CPS buildings, typically leased former Catholic schools. The five charters that opened this year in CPS-owned facilities are charged $775 per pupil ($1,025 for high schools) to cover the cost of building engineers, janitors, security personnel and technology support.</p>
<p>The 10 charters that opened in CPS facilities before fall 2006 paid nothing, but that’s changing: The district is starting to charge each charter operator as their contracts come up for renewal.</p>
<p>According to Levine, $425 per pupil is not nearly enough. It rarely covers rent, let alone maintenance and renovation costs. Charters, therefore, dip into their instructional money to cover facilities costs.</p>
<p>In addition, because charter funding is provided on a per-pupil basis, charter budgets can be especially tight in the initial years as schools ramp up to full enrollment. Fewer kids mean fewer dollars, yet the cost of renting, heating and maintaining a building remains the same.</p>
<p>Private backers, as a result, have stepped in to offer start-up funds.</p>
<p>The Renaissance Schools Fund, which connects businesses, foundations and other philanthropists with new school operators, has provided nearly $21 million to schools so far. Technically, these grants cannot be used for capital projects, but once schools establish relationships with funders, help for building repairs often follows.</p>
<p>But money is still tight, according to a report by the Progressive Policy Institute, which suggests that smaller charters face a difficult choice: Move into an available CPS facility, give the district its per-pupil ‘take back,’ and hope to make ends meet; or take a chance on finding a suitable, affordable facility in the neighborhood they’re trying to serve.</p>
<p>The situation may be even more difficult for charter high schools, according to MariBeth Welch, a special assistant to the president of ASPIRA. Mirta Ramirez Computer Science Charter School, run by ASPIRA, has been looking for a new site since it opened in 2003.</p>
<p>Welch says the Archdiocese of Chicago seems less comfortable renting to high schools, perhaps because they worry about charters drawing students from Catholic schools. CPS and the Illinois Facilities Fund should play a more active role in helping charters find facilities, she adds.</p>
<p>“They’ve been leaving it, to a great extent, to the local leaders and the local politics,” she says. “[But] we’re almost a persona non grata in these communities.”</p>
<p>Buying their own</p>
<p>Landing a space in a CPS school will be tough for operators applying for the next round of Renaissance schools. Officials are strongly encouraging prospective operators to find their own buildings, and are offering up just four buildings to house new schools in 2008: Woodson South, a newly renovated school in Grand Boulevard, will house one 600-student middle school; Parker, an elementary school in Englewood, will make room for a 600-student high school; Pershing West, a performance school in Douglas, will share with a 500-student high school; and two new schools in the old Austin High campus will make way for another 400- to 600-student high school.</p>
<p>Regardless, many charter operators have shied away from CPS buildings, citing concerns over the district’s bureaucratic capital improvement program. Some are even buying their own buildings, with help from the IFF.</p>
<p>United Neighborhood Organization, a nonprofit that runs four charters and will open four new ones this fall, rents most of its buildings from the Archdiocese. The charter’s rented space has helped the district find a less-expensive solution to its overcrowding problems on the city’s Southwest Side, since the money paid to charters is less than that spent in traditional schools. But it’s also part of a growing trend for charters to muster enough borrowing power to purchase buildings outright.</p>
<p>Andrew Alt, UNO’s director of operations, gives two reasons to avoid CPS buildings.</p>
<p>“CPS has to pick their battles, and I don’t want to be in a situation where I’m waiting for them to pick my [capital] project,” he says. “And too often, elements of the community will view you as the former school that was there before. We’d rather create our own identity.”</p>
<p>UNO has issued tax-exempt bonds to purchase two buildings; one is a vacated warehouse that will need substantial renovations. The loans were partially backed by an IFF bond program, making them far more attractive on the market.</p>
<p>Sharing not an option</p>
<p>The Chicago Charter School Foundation, which runs nine Chicago International Charter School campuses, is also moving toward buying its own. The Foundation has already purchased its Basil and Longwood campus buildings and is currently working out a deal for the Northtown facility.</p>
<p>Beth Delaney Purvis, executive director of the Foundation, says the charter considered starting a new school at Austin, but bowed out after learning it would have to share the facilities.</p>
<p>“When you start a new school, it’s a great challenge. Sharing is just an additional challenge,” says Purvis.</p>
<p>Of the 47 charters, just 11 share campus space with other schools, and only seven share with non-charters. Those relationships have proven most contentious, as in the cases of KIPP and Sumner; and Wadsworth Elementary and University of Chicago’s charter high school.</p>
<p>But some have found ways to co-exist peacefully. Legacy Charter has reportedly found a comfortable arrangement with Mason Elementary in North Lawndale.</p>
<p>The district doesn’t help the situation when it springs plans with little warning, notes Sumner’s Treadwell.</p>
<p>Sumner staff had to scramble into action, tearing down decorations in the new classrooms and working out a space arrangement, when plans to bring in KIPP were dropped on them just before the school year.</p>
<p>To their credit, says Treadwell, KIPP operators cut checks to teachers as compensation for the hassle.</p>
<p>Jim O’Connor, KIPP’s principal, admits the previous arrangement with McNair turned rocky as the two schools’ students occasionally clashed and KIPP’s growing enrollment put a strain on available space.</p>
<p>“We’re a much better neighbor than we were,” he surmises, pointing to a contract he signed with Sumner’s principal to better manage access to collective resources like the gym. “I would be in McNair if there was space, but we’re planning to stay here.”</p>
<p>Treadwell is less enthusiastic: “There’s nothing positive to say.”</p>
<p>Intern Rebecca Harris contributed to this report</p>
<p>Call John Myers at (312) 673-3874 or e-mail [email protected].</p>
<p>The Peace Corner Youth Center (PCYC) is a non-profit organization in the Austin neighborhood on Chicago's West Side. It was created to provide the neighborhood youth a safe place from gang violence and drug dealing.</p>
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tracy treadwell veteran local school council sumner elementary didnt expect quick fix west garfield park schools roof supports district set aside 300000 repairs back 2004 take months sometimes years district start projects earmarking funds capital budget workmen arrived summer finished repairs fall cleaning painting longvacant rooms process school immediately used newfound space learning center music classes teachers moved decorate classrooms post instructional materials following summer lsc discussed opening fullday preschool sumner space weeks school set start central office dropped bombshell unwanted neighbor kipp ascend charter would taking newly reopened classrooms kipp sharing space rocky relationship mcnair academy austin somebody knew master plan didnt says treadwell suspects district fixed sumners roof knowing along would install kipp soon repairs district started show space visitors brought unannounced notes treadwells charges backed others sumner schools longtime principal w delores robinson declined comment district denies charges fixed needed fixed says spokesman michael vaughn sumnerkipp saga illustrates inequity building repairs become part politically charged atmosphere surrounding renaissance 2010 catalyst chicago analysis capital spending data shows cps given top priority renovations charters new schoolssomething proponents traditional neighborhood schools suspected since renaissance launched fact david vitale outgoing chief administrative officer concedes cps put renaissance projects head line catalysts analysis shows nearly 50 million 265 million renovations underway done renaissance charter schools according april reports area offices thats 19 percent renovations taking place buildings house 4 percent students renaissance charter schools getting repairs completed funded faster pace traditional schools 62 percent compared 45 percent respectively every 1 already spent cps needs spend another 61 cents finish renovations buildings housing renaissance schools traditional schools district needs spend another 121nearly twice muchfor every 1 already spent vitale overseen capital program recent years admits district targeted help new schools says makes sense make repairs school empty generally school closing makes way renaissance project consciously prioritize schools get acceptable level reopening adds part charter operators contend need help facilities less many renaissance buildings needed major work get ready vaughn notes buildings housing two schools needed renovations accommodate spacesharing vitale also hopes school funding reform springfield end states threeyear freeze capital dollars cps reap 100 million renovation money annually money vitale adds well get done like calumet pits communities clamoring school repairs sometimes shouting demands publicly capital budget hearings dismayed see lack rhyme reason capital spending auburn gresham costly renovation longneglected calumet high accommodate two new charters one opened building last year raised questions least one parent time ive seen work done school decided going phase says bennie sanders parent representative chairs soontobedefunct calumet local school council board education neglected school period ald howard brookins credits existing charter energizing community around better educational options labels shuttered calumet failure lacked leadership needed bring construction dollars community perspective already decline time go high school 1977 says brookins attended catholic school elected alderman 2003 pits school last resort calumet 80yearold neighborhood high school budgeted get 17 million worth rehab work 115 million work underway including 900 new windows plumbing electrical upgrades roof repairs host interior exterior improvements perspectives charter already operates college prep school calumets facility open two coming fall calumet building middle school emphasis discipline high school technology focus brookins says perspectives also working find money build swimming pool would also used community project priority brookins wants combat childhood obesity says black children lowincome neighborhoods need community pools like children affluent communities perspectives staff working price project find private partners help pay impressed brookins difficult find facility grab says perspectives chief operations officer john hayner shows stateoftheart science labs new features walkthrough calumet building charter beat several proposals take calumet fact rose challenge hayner adds backers perspectives say community getting better school options sorely needed dion miller perez executive director telpochcalli community education project telpochcalli elementary little village argues crucial comprehensive capital plan takes care schools fairly building houses telpochcalli saucedo elementary one districts unfunded comes capital needs every 1 already spent district needs spend 328 finish renovations also important fall prey capriciousness whims whatever reform du jour perez adds private money fill gap charter school advocates arent happy either say schools need even help find suitable buildings facilities one greatest challenges facing charters across country says jill levine director school services illinois facilities fund helps charters finance capital projects district gives charters 425 per pupil 31 schools noncps buildings typically leased former catholic schools five charters opened year cpsowned facilities charged 775 per pupil 1025 high schools cover cost building engineers janitors security personnel technology support 10 charters opened cps facilities fall 2006 paid nothing thats changing district starting charge charter operator contracts come renewal according levine 425 per pupil nearly enough rarely covers rent let alone maintenance renovation costs charters therefore dip instructional money cover facilities costs addition charter funding provided perpupil basis charter budgets especially tight initial years schools ramp full enrollment fewer kids mean fewer dollars yet cost renting heating maintaining building remains private backers result stepped offer startup funds renaissance schools fund connects businesses foundations philanthropists new school operators provided nearly 21 million schools far technically grants used capital projects schools establish relationships funders help building repairs often follows money still tight according report progressive policy institute suggests smaller charters face difficult choice move available cps facility give district perpupil take back hope make ends meet take chance finding suitable affordable facility neighborhood theyre trying serve situation may even difficult charter high schools according maribeth welch special assistant president aspira mirta ramirez computer science charter school run aspira looking new site since opened 2003 welch says archdiocese chicago seems less comfortable renting high schools perhaps worry charters drawing students catholic schools cps illinois facilities fund play active role helping charters find facilities adds theyve leaving great extent local leaders local politics says almost persona non grata communities buying landing space cps school tough operators applying next round renaissance schools officials strongly encouraging prospective operators find buildings offering four buildings house new schools 2008 woodson south newly renovated school grand boulevard house one 600student middle school parker elementary school englewood make room 600student high school pershing west performance school douglas share 500student high school two new schools old austin high campus make way another 400 600student high school regardless many charter operators shied away cps buildings citing concerns districts bureaucratic capital improvement program even buying buildings help iff united neighborhood organization nonprofit runs four charters open four new ones fall rents buildings archdiocese charters rented space helped district find lessexpensive solution overcrowding problems citys southwest side since money paid charters less spent traditional schools also part growing trend charters muster enough borrowing power purchase buildings outright andrew alt unos director operations gives two reasons avoid cps buildings cps pick battles dont want situation im waiting pick capital project says often elements community view former school wed rather create identity uno issued taxexempt bonds purchase two buildings one vacated warehouse need substantial renovations loans partially backed iff bond program making far attractive market sharing option chicago charter school foundation runs nine chicago international charter school campuses also moving toward buying foundation already purchased basil longwood campus buildings currently working deal northtown facility beth delaney purvis executive director foundation says charter considered starting new school austin bowed learning would share facilities start new school great challenge sharing additional challenge says purvis 47 charters 11 share campus space schools seven share noncharters relationships proven contentious cases kipp sumner wadsworth elementary university chicagos charter high school found ways coexist peacefully legacy charter reportedly found comfortable arrangement mason elementary north lawndale district doesnt help situation springs plans little warning notes sumners treadwell sumner staff scramble action tearing decorations new classrooms working space arrangement plans bring kipp dropped school year credit says treadwell kipp operators cut checks teachers compensation hassle jim oconnor kipps principal admits previous arrangement mcnair turned rocky two schools students occasionally clashed kipps growing enrollment put strain available space much better neighbor surmises pointing contract signed sumners principal better manage access collective resources like gym would mcnair space planning stay treadwell less enthusiastic theres nothing positive say intern rebecca harris contributed report call john myers 312 6733874 email myerscatalystchicagoorg peace corner youth center pcyc nonprofit organization austin neighborhood chicagos west side created provide neighborhood youth safe place gang violence drug dealing permalink
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<p>(This is one of two Catalyst stories on efforts by CPS charter schools to respond to a new state law on bilingual education. See also:&#160; <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/08/charter-schools-take-steps-to-improve-bilingual-ed" type="external">Charter schools take steps to improve bilingual ed</a>.)</p>
<p>A year after a new state law required charter schools to provide native language support and other specialized services to English-language learners, some are sending staff to get necessary credentials, revamping curriculum and improving trainings.</p>
<p>But the UNO Charter School Network (now known as UCSN) — which serves more English-language learners than any other Chicago charter, and is a big reason for the new law — has made comparatively few strides to come into compliance.</p>
<p>When CPS pushed the network to speed up its compliance — and <a href="" type="internal">threatened to revoke UCSN’s charter</a> if it didn’t — the network <a href="" type="internal">agreed to push up its timeline</a>. But at the same time, network officials said doing so would have “a number of negative consequences,” including layoffs of up to half the teaching staff.</p>
<p>“That’s ridiculous,” says Rob Heise, a UCSN teacher and union leader who was abruptly fired at the end of the most recent school year. Heise says there’s no need to fire teachers when existing staff could start coursework to get the necessary credentials. “Look, I need the tools to help these kids. It’s frustrating for me, but imagine how frustrating it is for the kids, where they understand maybe half of what I’m saying.”</p>
<p>Officials from UCSN declined to be interviewed for this story, but answered questions in emailed statements.</p>
<p>The story of UCSN’s lagging compliance is clouded by bickering among the charter network, its beleaguered former parent organization, the United Neighborhood Organization (UNO), and CPS leaders — and by the network’s historic stance of providing English-only instruction to English-language learners, instead of native language supports.</p>
<p>But politics aside, how the network decides to comply with the law will significantly impact how English-learners are taught in charter schools. &#160;(UCSN officials say the district has no right to revise or approve its plans.)</p>
<p>More than 2,500 English-language learners attend UCSN’s 16 campuses. That’s nearly half of all English-learners enrolled in Chicago charters. The school system as a whole has 18 schools where at least one in three students is learning English, and UCSN manages eight of those.</p>
<p>Because of these numbers, many advocates of bilingual education — which the Legislature mandated in 1973 — have long worried about the schools’ English-only approach. (UCSN opened its first school campus in 1998.)</p>
<p>“I think there’s been concern for a number of years regarding the fact that UNO has been implementing ‘sink or swim’ English immersion at their schools,” says Josie Yanguas, who directs the Illinois Resource Center, a service agency that helps staff who work with English learners.&#160; “That type of language model flies in the face of federal law [ <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/qa-ell.html" type="external">that protects the civil rights of English-learners</a>]… You had other charter schools that got established and from the minute they opened their doors, they were able to be compliant.”</p>
<p>Big hurdles to overcome</p>
<p>In 2013, Juan Rangel — at the time the head of both the charter schools and the United Neighborhood Organization — <a href="http://educationnext.org/emphasize-civic-responsibility-and-good-citizenship/" type="external">wrote</a> that the network’s English-immersion model was chosen with an eye toward closing the achievement gap between English-learners and their peers and helping immigrants assimilate into American society.</p>
<p>As evidence, he pointed to UCSN schools that routinely outperformed district-run schools in the same neighborhoods on state assessments. And last year, most UCSN schools were rated in the district’s top two tiers for school performance.</p>
<p>(Rangel resigned from his post later in 2013 after the Chicago Sun-Times exposed a series of insider deals at UNO, prompting state and federal investigations. And this summer UCSN took over the management of the schools from UNO, which the charter network is now trying to distance itself from.)</p>
<p>Many parents believed in Rangel’s vision — which included taking pride in Latino heritage through music, celebrations and field trips — and chose UCSN schools for their children because of the English-only approach.</p>
<p>But because of that history, UCSN schools have perhaps some of the biggest hurdles to overcome in complying with a <a href="http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&amp;DocNum=4527&amp;GAID=12&amp;SessionID=85&amp;LegID=79003" type="external">new state law</a> that was passed last summer. The law clarifies that charter schools must follow the same stringent state laws regarding special education and English-language instruction as all other public schools. Previously, some charter school operators — including UNO — argued that the laws didn’t apply to them.</p>
<p>(It’s worth noting that UNO, other charter schools and the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, an advocacy group, lobbied against the bill before it passed. The Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers and Staff, which represents unionized UCSN workers, lobbied in favor of the bill.)</p>
<p>Now, charter teachers who work with English-language learners must hold an endorsement in bilingual education or English as a Second Language (ESL). Both credentials require six to eight courses and about three months of classroom time with English-language learners. The ESL credential doesn’t require knowledge of a second language, but a language exam is necessary for the harder-to-obtain bilingual endorsement.</p>
<p>Vague compliance plans</p>
<p>Last fall, CPS officials told all charter schools to begin offering bilingual programs and services with any credentialed staff already in place, and to work toward increasing the number of qualified teachers.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Documents obtained by Catalyst</a> show that the district gave charter schools until the 2016-2017 school year to have enough properly credentialed teachers and a “clear and coherent vision” for instruction of English-learners.</p>
<p>CPS officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.</p>
<p>Blanca Jara, a spokeswoman for UCSN, told Catalyst that network officials thought they were on the right path last year, after submitting a five-year plan as part of an application to get federal and state funding meant to assist English-learners.</p>
<p>In the application for one&#160;elementary&#160;campus with 133 English-learners, UCSN said it wanted to use federal money to buy Rosetta Stone software to provide extra help to students learning English.</p>
<p>The five-year plan fit onto a <a href="" type="internal">single page</a>. According to that document, the network wouldn’t “seek” a university partner for teacher credentialing until this fall. And it wouldn’t provide bilingual instruction in Spanish across all grade levels in core subjects until fall 2018 — two full school years after the compliance deadline CPS gave charter schools.</p>
<p>Jara says UCSN officials believed CPS had accepted that timeline because the district provided money for English-learners in response to the charter network’s funding request.</p>
<p>“The five-year plan was developed based on dialogue with CPS, during which the challenges of coming into compliance were discussed,” Jara wrote in an email. “Everything that we did was in concert and in collaboration with CPS and OLCE.” (OLCE is the Office of Language and Cultural Education, which oversees English-learner education.)</p>
<p>But emails obtained by Catalyst show that CPS officials questioned UCSN about its compliance plans on multiple occasions. Last September, a CPS official even <a href="" type="internal">told</a> UCSN to revise its short-term plans for the 2014-15 school year because of the mismatch between a high number of English-learners and few teachers to serve them.</p>
<p>Finally, CPS denied the network extra money for bilingual supports at seven schools because they lacked credentialed teachers.</p>
<p>“According to your office, this is based on the fact that currently there are not certified Bilingual/ESL teachers at each campus,” a UCSN official <a href="" type="internal">wrote</a> to the district’s Office of Language and Cultural Education last fall. “While this is the case, we were hoping to discuss our plan with you to further explain the need for funding on these specific campuses to help recruit or train teachers.”</p>
<p>Jara says after receiving this email UCSN added goals to its five-year compliance timeline, but she didn’t specify what they were. The seven campuses never received additional funds.</p>
<p>Audit shows problems</p>
<p>This past June, then-interim CPS CEO Jesse Ruiz called for an audit of UCSN to determine whether it was complying with state law governing English-learner services.</p>
<p>The audit was rushed. It was conducted over just two days, and the final document provided to UCSN is missing entire sections to explain compliance issues.</p>
<p>Ruiz defended the quality of the audit and explained it was done quickly to give UCSN as much notice as possible to try to hire more credentialed teachers.</p>
<p>In addition, the district was in the process of reviewing UCSN’s ability to run its schools as the network prepared to drop UNO as its paid schools manager. Ruiz thought it was “prudent to call for an ELL audit” at the same time.</p>
<p>But UCSN officials described the targeting of its network as “unfair and discriminatory conduct initiated against UCSN” by Ruiz, who had lobbied against the split between UNO and UCSN.</p>
<p>CPS did not conduct a similar audit in other charter schools, although Ruiz announced in July that the district will <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/07/audit-of-english-language-services-coming-to-all-schools/" type="external">audit all schools</a>, including charters, for compliance with English-learner services and spending requirements. That audit is expected to take at least until January to complete.</p>
<p>“It’s not just them,” Ruiz says. “We started with them because frankly, I suspected they were way off compliance, and they are.”</p>
<p>Although the UCSN audit may have problems, it still raises serious questions about how quickly the network will be able to offer state-mandated services for English-learners.</p>
<p>Auditors found that the network had not implemented 16 of 28 applicable legal standards for English-language learners — including failing to put a bilingual and ESL program in place and not providing appropriate instructional materials — and only partially implemented 10 others.</p>
<p>Teachers at UCSN campuses say their schools continued to follow the network’s English-only model throughout the 2014-2015 school year. It wasn’t until the very end of the school year — when <a href="http://chicago.suntimes.com/business/7/71/738159/cps-boss-threatens-yank-uno-schools-charter" type="external">news reports surfaced</a> that CPS might revoke its charter because of its failure to serve English-language learners — that teachers say administrators began discussing the issue.</p>
<p>By the end of the school year, UCSN employed just 11 teachers with credentials to serve students learning English, according to CPS. That number was up from earlier in the school year, CPS said, indicating an attempt to increase qualified staff. But the number was still well below the nearly 100 credentialed teachers CPS says UCSN would need to serve its English-learner population.</p>
<p>“Despite having staff in place,” CPS auditors wrote, “interviewees stated that the Network was gathering facts and assessing how it was going to implement programs and services over the coming years.”</p>
<p>(UCSN doesn’t agree with those figures. The network told Catalyst that in the most recent school year it employed 17 teachers with ESL endorsements and 11 with bilingual endorsements.)</p>
<p>A new plan for compliance</p>
<p>Most of the steps UCSN did take in the first year after the law was passed involved preliminary planning.</p>
<p>The network says it put together an “ELL Bilingual Task Force.” It’s made up of the same people&#160;who drafted the original five-year plan, plus teachers and parents — although some parent activists say they’ve never heard of any such group. The network also says it has trained staff on the proficiency test for English-learners and traveled to California to visit model schools, with more visits planned to schools in CPS, Elgin, Cicero and Waukegan.</p>
<p>Jara, the spokeswoman for UCSN, says the network is still working to choose a model and design a program for bilingual education. She declined to share any details about those plans.</p>
<p>Asked whether UCSN teachers had been advised of programs where they could seek credentials to serve English-learners — as is <a href="http://catalyst-chicago.org/2015/08/charter-schools-take-steps-to-improve-bilingual-ed" type="external">happening at other charters</a> — Jara said UCSN was continuing to “collaborate” with teachers to “explore and evaluate the available programs.”</p>
<p>In response to the CPS audit, UCSN now says it aims to achieve compliance with state law by July 2017. The network says it will purchase appropriate ESL materials and encourage teachers to begin coursework for a bilingual or ESL credential, as well as identify teachers eligible to get a provisional license. It also said that in hiring new teachers, it would prioritize those with the credentials.</p>
<p>But the network is not speeding up its compliance plan happily. And it has threatened to sue the district for interfering with its plans.</p>
<p>“Instead of fighting compliance, they should be complying with the law,” Ruiz says. “Focus on how you’re going to fix it — and how you’re going to fix it as quickly as possible.”</p>
| false | 3 |
one two catalyst stories efforts cps charter schools respond new state law bilingual education see also160 charter schools take steps improve bilingual ed year new state law required charter schools provide native language support specialized services englishlanguage learners sending staff get necessary credentials revamping curriculum improving trainings uno charter school network known ucsn serves englishlanguage learners chicago charter big reason new law made comparatively strides come compliance cps pushed network speed compliance threatened revoke ucsns charter didnt network agreed push timeline time network officials said would number negative consequences including layoffs half teaching staff thats ridiculous says rob heise ucsn teacher union leader abruptly fired end recent school year heise says theres need fire teachers existing staff could start coursework get necessary credentials look need tools help kids frustrating imagine frustrating kids understand maybe half im saying officials ucsn declined interviewed story answered questions emailed statements story ucsns lagging compliance clouded bickering among charter network beleaguered former parent organization united neighborhood organization uno cps leaders networks historic stance providing englishonly instruction englishlanguage learners instead native language supports politics aside network decides comply law significantly impact englishlearners taught charter schools 160ucsn officials say district right revise approve plans 2500 englishlanguage learners attend ucsns 16 campuses thats nearly half englishlearners enrolled chicago charters school system whole 18 schools least one three students learning english ucsn manages eight numbers many advocates bilingual education legislature mandated 1973 long worried schools englishonly approach ucsn opened first school campus 1998 think theres concern number years regarding fact uno implementing sink swim english immersion schools says josie yanguas directs illinois resource center service agency helps staff work english learners160 type language model flies face federal law protects civil rights englishlearners charter schools got established minute opened doors able compliant big hurdles overcome 2013 juan rangel time head charter schools united neighborhood organization wrote networks englishimmersion model chosen eye toward closing achievement gap englishlearners peers helping immigrants assimilate american society evidence pointed ucsn schools routinely outperformed districtrun schools neighborhoods state assessments last year ucsn schools rated districts top two tiers school performance rangel resigned post later 2013 chicago suntimes exposed series insider deals uno prompting state federal investigations summer ucsn took management schools uno charter network trying distance many parents believed rangels vision included taking pride latino heritage music celebrations field trips chose ucsn schools children englishonly approach history ucsn schools perhaps biggest hurdles overcome complying new state law passed last summer law clarifies charter schools must follow stringent state laws regarding special education englishlanguage instruction public schools previously charter school operators including uno argued laws didnt apply worth noting uno charter schools illinois network charter schools advocacy group lobbied bill passed chicago alliance charter teachers staff represents unionized ucsn workers lobbied favor bill charter teachers work englishlanguage learners must hold endorsement bilingual education english second language esl credentials require six eight courses three months classroom time englishlanguage learners esl credential doesnt require knowledge second language language exam necessary hardertoobtain bilingual endorsement vague compliance plans last fall cps officials told charter schools begin offering bilingual programs services credentialed staff already place work toward increasing number qualified teachers documents obtained catalyst show district gave charter schools 20162017 school year enough properly credentialed teachers clear coherent vision instruction englishlearners cps officials respond multiple requests comment story blanca jara spokeswoman ucsn told catalyst network officials thought right path last year submitting fiveyear plan part application get federal state funding meant assist englishlearners application one160elementary160campus 133 englishlearners ucsn said wanted use federal money buy rosetta stone software provide extra help students learning english fiveyear plan fit onto single page according document network wouldnt seek university partner teacher credentialing fall wouldnt provide bilingual instruction spanish across grade levels core subjects fall 2018 two full school years compliance deadline cps gave charter schools jara says ucsn officials believed cps accepted timeline district provided money englishlearners response charter networks funding request fiveyear plan developed based dialogue cps challenges coming compliance discussed jara wrote email everything concert collaboration cps olce olce office language cultural education oversees englishlearner education emails obtained catalyst show cps officials questioned ucsn compliance plans multiple occasions last september cps official even told ucsn revise shortterm plans 201415 school year mismatch high number englishlearners teachers serve finally cps denied network extra money bilingual supports seven schools lacked credentialed teachers according office based fact currently certified bilingualesl teachers campus ucsn official wrote districts office language cultural education last fall case hoping discuss plan explain need funding specific campuses help recruit train teachers jara says receiving email ucsn added goals fiveyear compliance timeline didnt specify seven campuses never received additional funds audit shows problems past june theninterim cps ceo jesse ruiz called audit ucsn determine whether complying state law governing englishlearner services audit rushed conducted two days final document provided ucsn missing entire sections explain compliance issues ruiz defended quality audit explained done quickly give ucsn much notice possible try hire credentialed teachers addition district process reviewing ucsns ability run schools network prepared drop uno paid schools manager ruiz thought prudent call ell audit time ucsn officials described targeting network unfair discriminatory conduct initiated ucsn ruiz lobbied split uno ucsn cps conduct similar audit charter schools although ruiz announced july district audit schools including charters compliance englishlearner services spending requirements audit expected take least january complete ruiz says started frankly suspected way compliance although ucsn audit may problems still raises serious questions quickly network able offer statemandated services englishlearners auditors found network implemented 16 28 applicable legal standards englishlanguage learners including failing put bilingual esl program place providing appropriate instructional materials partially implemented 10 others teachers ucsn campuses say schools continued follow networks englishonly model throughout 20142015 school year wasnt end school year news reports surfaced cps might revoke charter failure serve englishlanguage learners teachers say administrators began discussing issue end school year ucsn employed 11 teachers credentials serve students learning english according cps number earlier school year cps said indicating attempt increase qualified staff number still well nearly 100 credentialed teachers cps says ucsn would need serve englishlearner population despite staff place cps auditors wrote interviewees stated network gathering facts assessing going implement programs services coming years ucsn doesnt agree figures network told catalyst recent school year employed 17 teachers esl endorsements 11 bilingual endorsements new plan compliance steps ucsn take first year law passed involved preliminary planning network says put together ell bilingual task force made people160who drafted original fiveyear plan plus teachers parents although parent activists say theyve never heard group network also says trained staff proficiency test englishlearners traveled california visit model schools visits planned schools cps elgin cicero waukegan jara spokeswoman ucsn says network still working choose model design program bilingual education declined share details plans asked whether ucsn teachers advised programs could seek credentials serve englishlearners happening charters jara said ucsn continuing collaborate teachers explore evaluate available programs response cps audit ucsn says aims achieve compliance state law july 2017 network says purchase appropriate esl materials encourage teachers begin coursework bilingual esl credential well identify teachers eligible get provisional license also said hiring new teachers would prioritize credentials network speeding compliance plan happily threatened sue district interfering plans instead fighting compliance complying law ruiz says focus youre going fix youre going fix quickly possible
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<p>What do you normally picture when you hear the word "gaming?" A teenager with her eyes glued to the TV for hours? A commuter playing Candy Crush on his smart phone?</p>
<p>Scientists and researchers may soon change these common perceptions. They are creating new games designed for very different purposes. Here are a few examples.</p>
<p>Level 1: NeuroRacer — Gaming as a treatment tool</p>
<p>Your Goal: To improve cognitive control in older adults</p>
<p><a href="http://gazzaleylab.ucsf.edu/neuroracer.html" type="external">Adam Gazzaley</a>, an associate professor of neurology, physiology and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, says he created <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/gaming-improves-multitasking-skills-1.13674" type="external">Neuroracer</a> specifically to “target vulnerability in the brains of older adults in terms of <a href="http://carterlab.ucdavis.edu/research/control.php" type="external">cognitive control</a>, which is the set of skills that allow us to interact in complicated environments.”</p>
<p>The game has two tasks that players have to juggle at the same time: they must try to keep a car on a winding road, using a joystick, while simultaneously responding quickly and accurately to signs that appear on the road.</p>
<p>“As you get better at each [task], the challenge increases," Gazzaley says. "The rewards in the game happen only when both skills get better — so you can’t ‘trade off.’ [This] forces your brain to figure out how to do these two challenges simultaneously, which is very hard for our brains to do.”</p>
<p>The findings have been exciting, Gazzaley says. Older adults played NeuroRacer for 12 hours over the course of a month, using EEG to record what happened in their brains before and after game play. The players improve substantially at the tasks involved in the game — in some cases, 60-year-old participants exceeded the skill level of 20-year-olds who had played the game a single time.</p>
<p>But Gazzaley’s team noticed something else: other cognitive skills not specifically trained by the game, such as memory for faces over short periods of time, also improved in some of the players.&#160;The EEG results showed a “robust increase” in activation of the prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain associated most closely with cognitive control — during the most challenging point in the game. The players who showed the greatest increase in prefrontal cortex activity also showed the most improvement in skills not being trained by the game.</p>
<p>Gazzaley says this is a strong indication that by "putting pressure on the brain," games may be able to elicit measurable cognitive improvements in several areas at once.</p>
<p>Don’t expect to find this game in the App Store, however. Gazzaley has different ambitions for NeuroRacer.</p>
<p>Gazzaley is the science advisor for a&#160;company called&#160; <a href="http://www.brain.akiliinteractive.com" type="external">Akili Interactive Labs</a>, which&#160;plans to develop a new version of NeuroRacer that can be “validated as a therapeutic tool,” he says. This will take some time. Bringing a game out of the laboratory into a clinical setting is a huge challenge. The new game will have to travel through the standard pathways to the FDA to see if it can become a “prescribable video game.”</p>
<p>“It could still be a couple of years,” Gazzaley says, “until well-controlled studies occur and get approved, and papers get produced, and the medical community starts accepting it and are willing to prescribe it right alongside traditional pharmaceuticals. That's a big change of culture and we have a lot more work to do until that happens.”</p>
<p>Level 2: Foldit and Nanocrafter — Gaming as a tool for scientific discovery</p>
<p>Your Goal: To use collective intelligence to solve complex problems</p>
<p>Zoran Popovic, a professor of computer science and engineering and the director of the Center for Game Science at the University of Washington, designed a game called <a href="https://fold.it/portal/info/about" type="external">Foldit</a>&#160;to solve a specific problem: <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/p/protein_folding.htm" type="external">discover the shape</a> of a particular protein biochemists wanted to use to create new disease-fighting drugs.&#160;Foldit's innovation was that it invited people from all over the world to actively participate in the scientific process.</p>
<p>Biochemists had been working on this problem for 13 years before they approached him, Popovic says. Within 10 days, Foldit players solved the problem. Two weeks later, the results were confirmed in the laboratory — the players had found the shape scientists had been looking for.</p>
<p>Popovic says this was possible because people are still much better at certain tasks than <a href="http://folding.stanford.edu" type="external">computers</a>, especially when creativity is essential. Foldit worked so well, he says, because it harnessed the power of "collective intelligence" to solve a very hard problem.</p>
<p>"The biggest discovery of Foldit," Popovic says, "was that it is possible to create expertise on a rapid scale — and it's collective expertise. None of these discoveries were done by a single person. ... What's fascinating is that not only are people getting better, but they are self-organizing based on their particular propensities and strengths."</p>
<p>The way the game is structured, he says, information and strategies are transferred through mechanisms built into the game, such that new players become experts faster and faster. As the players increase their skills, they contribute their increased knowledge to the process of scientific discovery.</p>
<p>Now, Popovic has developed a new game, called&#160; <a href="http://nanocrafter.org" type="external">Nanocrafter</a>, which is&#160;designed for use in the field of synthetic biology. Nanocrafter is only about creativity, he says.</p>
<p>"The original Foldit," he says, "was solving a three-dimensional puzzle — trying to project what the shapes [of the proteins] should be.&#160;Nanocrafter is about protein design — people designing proteins that don't exist in nature."</p>
<p>Imagine, he says, taking DNA stuctures and pieces and working with them in an entirely new way. "Think of it like Legos, or a Tinkertoy set with motors that has a direct correlation with what you can actually do in a cell."</p>
<p>Only 50 to 100 people in the world are working in the field of synthetic biology, Popovic says, but it has huge implications for health in the long run. For him, it's becoming clear that this field is "not only a bigger 'sweet spot' for how people can outperform computers by a wide margin, but it is also a way to accelerate science on a large scale."&#160;</p>
<p>Level 3: Re-Mission — Gaming as a motivational tool</p>
<p>Your Goal: To increase treatment adherence in young cancer patients</p>
<p>“There are few things more challenging, that require resilience, than cancer," says Richard Tate, vice president of communications for <a href="http://www.hopelab.org/about-us/" type="external">HopeLab</a>. “For young cancer patients in particular, it’s a challenge to engage them effectively in their own treatment.”</p>
<p>To address this persistent issue, a company called HopeLab created a video game called <a href="http://www.re-mission.net" type="external">Re-Mission</a>. Its goal is to increase&#160;young cancer patients' adherence to their prescribed treatments. Re-Mission puts the player inside the body of fictional cancer patients and arms them with weapons, like chemotherapy, antibiotics and the body 's natural defenses. “Your job is to destroy cancer and win,” says Tate.</p>
<p>Tate says HopeLab’s research and their work with hospitals and clinics around the world indicates that playing Re-Mission works: young people who play Re-Mission stick to their cancer medications and their antibiotics more consistently.</p>
<p>“There is a concept in psychology called self-efficacy,” Tate says. “[It is] the notion that you can do what it takes to fight your disease or to overcome a particular circumstance. Part of what we see the games doing is boosting that sense of self-efficacy — engaging young people and tapping into their own resilience to help them do what it takes to fight the disease.”&#160;</p>
<p>HopeLab’s researchers also discovered that Re-Mission led to real changes in the brain. Looking at fMRI data in patients, they found that playing the game lit up the brain’s motivational centers.</p>
<p>“It [isn’t] a passive viewing of information,” Tate explains. “We often lecture people or give them things to read. That's different from engaging them in an experience that allows them to make choices and to experience contingencies — both successes and failures — that then inform the way that they engage with the real-world.”</p>
<p>Level 4: Measuring success</p>
<p>Your Goal: To achieve results outside of the lab</p>
<p>Everyone involved with gaming agrees on one thing: If the games aren’t fun, no one will play them. Gazzaley says this is the biggest challenge facing researchers and practitioners working to incorporate gaming into medicine.</p>
<p>“We work very closely with game professionals, designers, artists, developers — the whole host of different skill sets that go into making a game fun, which is very hard to do,” Gazzaley says. “Then we balance their motivation, which is to create something that's fun and engaging and immersive, with the underlying goal of pushing on a process in the brain and keeping the science really clean. ... It takes a long time and takes a lot of testing, but it's possible — and it’s really gratifying when you wind up with something at the end that preserves all the scientific elements that you baked into it, but also ends up being a lot of fun.”</p>
<p>Tate agrees that it can be challenging to bring great scientific minds and creative game developers together to achieve one goal. Critical to Re-mission’s success, he says, was engaging young cancer patients in the development process.</p>
<p>“Ultimately,” he says, “when we got stuck — and we often did — the kids helped us decide. They helped us decide what was going to be fun and effective for them.”</p>
<p>For Popovic, the proof is in the pudding.&#160;It took two years, he says, to create Foldit, but the results have been astonishing: three papers published in the journal Nature and another in the Proceedings of the Academies of Science. Originally, Popovic says, other scientists said of Foldit, "Oh, what a cute idea." Now things have changed drastically. Every other day, he says, a scientist calls with an idea about how to take a scientific problem and "map" it onto a game.</p>
<p>Popovic says his lab has created a “completely new pathway toward scientific discovery” — leveraging the input and creativity of a wide population of people into the standard mechanism of scientific discovery.</p>
<p>So, how will all of this affect ordinary people's lives?&#160;Is it possible to conclude that video games will lead the way to better health outcomes and accelerate scientific progress? And what are people to make of all the websites and games already out there claiming such amazing health benefits?</p>
<p>“The field is really still in its infancy,” Gazzaley cautions. “It's appropriate to question things and to look at the difference between what is being claimed to be ‘based on science’ and what's actually been validated by scientific methods. They’re not the same thing. ... I think we’re at that stage now where we’re applying all the scientific tools and approaches to really validate what works and what doesn't work before we can make strong recommendations.”</p>
<p>This story is based on an&#160; <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/04/25/2014/can-we-game-our-way-to-better-health.html" type="external">interview</a>&#160;by our partner&#160; <a href="http://www.sciencefriday.com" type="external">Science Friday</a>, a weekly radio show and website covering science, technology and other cool stuff.</p>
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normally picture hear word gaming teenager eyes glued tv hours commuter playing candy crush smart phone scientists researchers may soon change common perceptions creating new games designed different purposes examples level 1 neuroracer gaming treatment tool goal improve cognitive control older adults adam gazzaley associate professor neurology physiology psychiatry university california san francisco says created neuroracer specifically target vulnerability brains older adults terms cognitive control set skills allow us interact complicated environments game two tasks players juggle time must try keep car winding road using joystick simultaneously responding quickly accurately signs appear road get better task challenge increases gazzaley says rewards game happen skills get better cant trade forces brain figure two challenges simultaneously hard brains findings exciting gazzaley says older adults played neuroracer 12 hours course month using eeg record happened brains game play players improve substantially tasks involved game cases 60yearold participants exceeded skill level 20yearolds played game single time gazzaleys team noticed something else cognitive skills specifically trained game memory faces short periods time also improved players160the eeg results showed robust increase activation prefrontal cortex part brain associated closely cognitive control challenging point game players showed greatest increase prefrontal cortex activity also showed improvement skills trained game gazzaley says strong indication putting pressure brain games may able elicit measurable cognitive improvements several areas dont expect find game app store however gazzaley different ambitions neuroracer gazzaley science advisor a160company called160 akili interactive labs which160plans develop new version neuroracer validated therapeutic tool says take time bringing game laboratory clinical setting huge challenge new game travel standard pathways fda see become prescribable video game could still couple years gazzaley says wellcontrolled studies occur get approved papers get produced medical community starts accepting willing prescribe right alongside traditional pharmaceuticals thats big change culture lot work happens level 2 foldit nanocrafter gaming tool scientific discovery goal use collective intelligence solve complex problems zoran popovic professor computer science engineering director center game science university washington designed game called foldit160to solve specific problem discover shape particular protein biochemists wanted use create new diseasefighting drugs160foldits innovation invited people world actively participate scientific process biochemists working problem 13 years approached popovic says within 10 days foldit players solved problem two weeks later results confirmed laboratory players found shape scientists looking popovic says possible people still much better certain tasks computers especially creativity essential foldit worked well says harnessed power collective intelligence solve hard problem biggest discovery foldit popovic says possible create expertise rapid scale collective expertise none discoveries done single person whats fascinating people getting better selforganizing based particular propensities strengths way game structured says information strategies transferred mechanisms built game new players become experts faster faster players increase skills contribute increased knowledge process scientific discovery popovic developed new game called160 nanocrafter is160designed use field synthetic biology nanocrafter creativity says original foldit says solving threedimensional puzzle trying project shapes proteins be160nanocrafter protein design people designing proteins dont exist nature imagine says taking dna stuctures pieces working entirely new way think like legos tinkertoy set motors direct correlation actually cell 50 100 people world working field synthetic biology popovic says huge implications health long run becoming clear field bigger sweet spot people outperform computers wide margin also way accelerate science large scale160 level 3 remission gaming motivational tool goal increase treatment adherence young cancer patients things challenging require resilience cancer says richard tate vice president communications hopelab young cancer patients particular challenge engage effectively treatment address persistent issue company called hopelab created video game called remission goal increase160young cancer patients adherence prescribed treatments remission puts player inside body fictional cancer patients arms weapons like chemotherapy antibiotics body natural defenses job destroy cancer win says tate tate says hopelabs research work hospitals clinics around world indicates playing remission works young people play remission stick cancer medications antibiotics consistently concept psychology called selfefficacy tate says notion takes fight disease overcome particular circumstance part see games boosting sense selfefficacy engaging young people tapping resilience help takes fight disease160 hopelabs researchers also discovered remission led real changes brain looking fmri data patients found playing game lit brains motivational centers isnt passive viewing information tate explains often lecture people give things read thats different engaging experience allows make choices experience contingencies successes failures inform way engage realworld level 4 measuring success goal achieve results outside lab everyone involved gaming agrees one thing games arent fun one play gazzaley says biggest challenge facing researchers practitioners working incorporate gaming medicine work closely game professionals designers artists developers whole host different skill sets go making game fun hard gazzaley says balance motivation create something thats fun engaging immersive underlying goal pushing process brain keeping science really clean takes long time takes lot testing possible really gratifying wind something end preserves scientific elements baked also ends lot fun tate agrees challenging bring great scientific minds creative game developers together achieve one goal critical remissions success says engaging young cancer patients development process ultimately says got stuck often kids helped us decide helped us decide going fun effective popovic proof pudding160it took two years says create foldit results astonishing three papers published journal nature another proceedings academies science originally popovic says scientists said foldit oh cute idea things changed drastically every day says scientist calls idea take scientific problem map onto game popovic says lab created completely new pathway toward scientific discovery leveraging input creativity wide population people standard mechanism scientific discovery affect ordinary peoples lives160is possible conclude video games lead way better health outcomes accelerate scientific progress people make websites games already claiming amazing health benefits field really still infancy gazzaley cautions appropriate question things look difference claimed based science whats actually validated scientific methods theyre thing think stage applying scientific tools approaches really validate works doesnt work make strong recommendations story based an160 interview160by partner160 science friday weekly radio show website covering science technology cool stuff
| 971 |
<p>You know an invention has its drawbacks when even the guy who invented it says he's sorry he did so.</p>
<p>That would be John Sylvan, inventor of the easy-to-use Keurig coffee maker — an invention deemed <a href="http://qz.com/193138/the-worlds-growing-love-affair-with-the-most-wasteful-form-of-coffee-there-is/" type="external">“the most wasteful form of coffee”</a> on the planet.</p>
<p>Sylan says he regrets the creation largely due to its severe ecological impact. The Keurig uses disposable plastic coffee pods, called "K-Cups," which are not easily recyclable or biodegradable.</p>
<p>“I don’t have one," <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/the-abominable-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/" type="external">Sylvan said</a> of the Keurig. "They're kind of expensive to use. Plus it's not like drip coffee is tough to make.”</p>
<p>Convenience-obsessed America is the world's largest coffee consumer. Nearly <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/04/09/coffee-mania/2069335/" type="external">85 percent of adults in America</a> drink coffee. According to the <a href="http://powerpress.coffeetalk.com/files/ncamar.html" type="external">National Coffee Association</a>, nearly 1 in 5 adults drink single-cup-brewed coffee in a single day.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/science/wildlife-news/141231/13-species-we-might-have-say-goodbye-2015" type="external">13 species we might have to say goodbye to in 2015</a></p>
<p>Last year, Keurig Green Mountain sold a <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/the-abominable-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/" type="external">whopping 9.8 billion K-Cups</a> — enough to circle the Earth more than a dozen times. Keurig says it wants all <a href="http://www.keuriggreenmountain.com/en/Sustainability/Overview.aspx" type="external">K-Cups to be recyclable by 2020</a>, but by then it could be too late.</p>
<p>Egg Studios CEO Mike Hachey created the viral video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRGiGbX9lIo" type="external">“Kill the K-Cup”</a> last month, which highlights the fact that 13 billion K-Cups went into landfills last year.</p>
<p>"Do you feel OK contributing to that?” Hachey asks.</p>
<p>K-Cups are not the only culprits affecting the environment. America represents only 5 percent of the world’s population, but generates <a href="http://stateimpact.npr.org/texas/2012/06/04/how-americas-trash-became-a-worldwide-problem-an-interview-with-garbology-author-edward-humes/" type="external">nearly a quarter of the world’s trash</a>.</p>
<p>Many everyday items that we take for granted have a significant impact on Mother Earth. Here are a few humble household supplies that hurt the environment more than you'd expect:</p>
<p>Nearly <a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/fda-says-germ-killing-soap-could-pose-health-risks" type="external">75 percent of anti-bacterial liquid soaps</a> and body washes in the US include an ingredient called triclosan. Research shows that <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166445X10003292" type="external">small quantities of triclosan persist</a>&#160;after being flushed down the drain, and even after water is treated at sewage plants.</p>
<p>These small quanitities then end up in streams and other bodies of water. They can disrupt algae’s ability to perform photosynthesis and <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19410343" type="external">build up in fatty tissues of animals</a> higher up in the food chain.</p>
<p>Mowing the lawn is actually terrible for the environment. According to a <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98532" type="external">Swedish study</a>, a lawn mower produces nearly the same amount of oily air pollution as a 100-mile car trip.</p>
<p>“Lawn and garden equipment really does add to air pollution,” <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=98532" type="external">Cathy Milbourn</a>, spokeswoman for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), told ABC last year. "People can reduce the impact it has by using [lawn equipment] in the early morning or in the late afternoon. Or perhaps not at all.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.teausa.com/14655/tea-fact-sheet" type="external">Most of the tea</a> brewed in America is made with tea bags, which means that an average tea drinker consuming 5 cups a day gets through about <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/are-teabags-ruining-the-environment/story-fn5fsgyc-1226673213812" type="external">13 sq meters of perforated paper</a> every year.</p>
<p>According to a report by <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable" type="external">Which? Gardening</a>, teabags produced by the some of the top tea manufacturers — including Twinnings, Tetley and PG Tips — are only about 75 percent biodegradable.</p>
<p>While most teabags are made with paper fiber, they also include plastic polypropylene — an ingredient that makes teabags heat-resistant but is <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable" type="external">not fully biodegradable</a>.</p>
<p>Whitney Kakos, the sustainability manager for Teadirect, says the use of polypropylene is an&#160; <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jul/02/teabags-biodegradeable" type="external">“industry-wide practice.”</a> There are also the luxurious <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/are-tea-bags-turning-us-into-plastic/274482/" type="external">silken (basically plastic)</a> tea bags. Supposedly of higher quality and visually appealing, these bags are actually harmful to consumers and contribute to landfill waste.</p>
<p>About <a href="http://mslk.com/reactions/watershed-a-new-mslk-eco-installation/" type="external">50 billion bottles</a>&#160;of water&#160;are consumed every year, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facts-bottled-water-industry-2011-10?op=1" type="external">30 million of which</a> are consumed in the US alone.&#160;Nearly <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/clean-water/the-us-consumes-1500-plastic-water-bottles-every-second-a-fact-by-watershed.html" type="external">1,500 water bottles were consumed per second</a> in America as of 2009. About 17 million barrels of oil are used every year to produce these bottles.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/plastic-bottles-banned-concord-massachusetts_n_2395824.html" type="external">national recycle rate for PETs</a>, or bottles made with polyethylene terephthalate,&#160;is only 23 percent — which means <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100310/why-tap-water-is-better/" type="external">80 percent of plastic water bottles</a> end up in landfills. And even if we were on our environmentally best behavior, <a href="http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/06-when-recycling-is-bad-for-the-environment" type="external">not all plastic bottles placed in designated containers are recycled</a> because only certain types of plastic can be recycled in limited municipalities.</p>
<p>Found in everything from toothpaste to exfoliating face washes and body scrubs, microbeads actually wreak havoc on the environment.</p>
<p>According to a recent study by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, these tiny pieces of plastic find their way down our drains through filtration systems to the ocean. Soaking up toxins like a sponge, they then <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/microbeads-coral-study-plastic-face-wash_n_6788522.html" type="external">contribute to the plastic pollution</a> of water bodies, potentially starve coral reefs of proper food and negatively affect other marine organisms.</p>
<p>According to the EPA, about <a href="http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/clas_act/haz-ed/ff06.pdf" type="external">2 billion razors are thrown away</a> every year. Although you can recycle the steel blades, your good ol’ disposable razor most likely makes its way to the landfill.</p>
<p>Add that to the higher environmental cost of production using raw materials and the water used while actually shaving and you’ve got one of the <a href="http://www.earth911.com/living-well-being/health/can-you-recycle-disposable-razors/" type="external">most wasteful bathroom products</a>&#160;around.</p>
<p>If you think your morning paper cup of coffee is recyclable and environmentally friendly, think again.</p>
<p>Every year, Americans toss out more than <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/04/02/why-paper-cups-just-aren-greener/W3TIBJ9dff8INlumPQvHSI/story.html" type="external">80 billion single-use cups</a>, thanks to our morning coffee runs. These cups are also coated with <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/02/your-paper-cup-is-destroying-the-world.html" type="external">low-density, heat-resistant polyethylene</a> that is not biodegradable. In addition to these cups' heading for a landfill and taking more than 20 years to decompose, the very process of making them is extremely harmful to the environment. Production consumes forests and large volumes of water, and expels dirty water.</p>
<p>About <a href="http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/disposable-chopsticks-strip-asian-forests/?_r=1" type="external">3.8 million trees are torn down</a> to produce a staggering 57 billion disposable pairs of chopsticks every year, half of which are used within China. About 77 percent are exported to Japan, 21 percent to South Korea and 2 percent to America.</p>
<p>But despite <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/03/0322_060322_chopsticks.html" type="external">taxes levied in 2006</a> and warnings of <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/15/opinion/la-oe-0815-gardner-chopsticks-20100815" type="external">government regulations</a> to monitor production in 2010, disposable chopstick use, production and discard is <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/quick-click/disposable-chopsticks-deforestation-greenpeace-china" type="external">on the rise</a> and continues to devastate forests in China at an alarming rate.</p>
| false | 3 |
know invention drawbacks even guy invented says hes sorry would john sylvan inventor easytouse keurig coffee maker invention deemed wasteful form coffee planet sylan says regrets creation largely due severe ecological impact keurig uses disposable plastic coffee pods called kcups easily recyclable biodegradable dont one sylvan said keurig theyre kind expensive use plus like drip coffee tough make convenienceobsessed america worlds largest coffee consumer nearly 85 percent adults america drink coffee according national coffee association nearly 1 5 adults drink singlecupbrewed coffee single day globalpost 13 species might say goodbye 2015 last year keurig green mountain sold whopping 98 billion kcups enough circle earth dozen times keurig says wants kcups recyclable 2020 could late egg studios ceo mike hachey created viral video kill kcup last month highlights fact 13 billion kcups went landfills last year feel ok contributing hachey asks kcups culprits affecting environment america represents 5 percent worlds population generates nearly quarter worlds trash many everyday items take granted significant impact mother earth humble household supplies hurt environment youd expect nearly 75 percent antibacterial liquid soaps body washes us include ingredient called triclosan research shows small quantities triclosan persist160after flushed drain even water treated sewage plants small quanitities end streams bodies water disrupt algaes ability perform photosynthesis build fatty tissues animals higher food chain mowing lawn actually terrible environment according swedish study lawn mower produces nearly amount oily air pollution 100mile car trip lawn garden equipment really add air pollution cathy milbourn spokeswoman us environmental protection agency epa told abc last year people reduce impact using lawn equipment early morning late afternoon perhaps tea brewed america made tea bags means average tea drinker consuming 5 cups day gets 13 sq meters perforated paper every year according report gardening teabags produced top tea manufacturers including twinnings tetley pg tips 75 percent biodegradable teabags made paper fiber also include plastic polypropylene ingredient makes teabags heatresistant fully biodegradable whitney kakos sustainability manager teadirect says use polypropylene an160 industrywide practice also luxurious silken basically plastic tea bags supposedly higher quality visually appealing bags actually harmful consumers contribute landfill waste 50 billion bottles160of water160are consumed every year 30 million consumed us alone160nearly 1500 water bottles consumed per second america 2009 17 million barrels oil used every year produce bottles national recycle rate pets bottles made polyethylene terephthalate160is 23 percent means 80 percent plastic water bottles end landfills even environmentally best behavior plastic bottles placed designated containers recycled certain types plastic recycled limited municipalities found everything toothpaste exfoliating face washes body scrubs microbeads actually wreak havoc environment according recent study australian research council centre excellence coral reef studies james cook university tiny pieces plastic find way drains filtration systems ocean soaking toxins like sponge contribute plastic pollution water bodies potentially starve coral reefs proper food negatively affect marine organisms according epa 2 billion razors thrown away every year although recycle steel blades good ol disposable razor likely makes way landfill add higher environmental cost production using raw materials water used actually shaving youve got one wasteful bathroom products160around think morning paper cup coffee recyclable environmentally friendly think every year americans toss 80 billion singleuse cups thanks morning coffee runs cups also coated lowdensity heatresistant polyethylene biodegradable addition cups heading landfill taking 20 years decompose process making extremely harmful environment production consumes forests large volumes water expels dirty water 38 million trees torn produce staggering 57 billion disposable pairs chopsticks every year half used within china 77 percent exported japan 21 percent south korea 2 percent america despite taxes levied 2006 warnings government regulations monitor production 2010 disposable chopstick use production discard rise continues devastate forests china alarming rate
| 603 |
<p>One hundred and fifty years after Confederate artillery fired on Fort Sumter, S.C., and the Civil War began, reminders of the conflict that divided a nation remain fresh.</p>
<p>Some see them any given Sunday morning when black Christians and white Christians gather for worship—most often separately.</p>
<p>Historians continue to debate causes of the Civil War—the conflict between an agrarian-based and industrial-based economy, strong central government versus the autonomy of states, and rapid growth as opposed to maintenance of an established way of life. But slavery topped the list, along with related issues such as expansion of slavery into new territories and growth of an abolitionist movement.</p>
<p>“Had it not been for the institution of slavery, there would not have been a Civil War,” said <a href="http://www.africanastudies.siuc.edu/faculty/Smoot.html" type="external">Pamela Smoot</a>, who teaches history and African-American studies at Southern Illinois University.</p>
<p>Long after slavery ended, attitudes that allowed it to exist endured. The United States continues to feel the Civil War’s impact a century and a half after the first shots were fired because the nation in general, and Baptist Christians in particular, have failed to deal with racism, an African-American Texas Baptist leader said.</p>
<p>“Wars are always fought because of something else. The Civil War was symptomatic,” said Michael Bell, pastor of <a href="http://www.gssfc.org/" type="external">Greater St. Stephen First Baptist Church</a> in Fort Worth and president of the African-American Fellowship of Texas. “Race is the lingering issue, and it has not been adequately addressed by the faith community.”</p>
<p>Bell served as president of the <a href="http://www.texasbaptists.org/" type="external">Baptist General Convention of Texas</a> in 2005-2006, the first African-American to hold that post. Although he counts many white Baptists as good friends, Bell acknowledged some subjects remain off-limits in conversations across racial lines.</p>
<p>“Race lurks just beneath the surface of so much that we do, but we dance around it. We circumvent the issue rather than address it,” he said. “The faith community has the ability but not the will to deal with it.”</p>
<p>Smoot likewise noted how underlying attitudes about race still affect relationships among black and white Baptists.</p>
<p>“The ongoing effects of the Civil War on&#160;the way Baptists in the U.S. relate to each other are the issues of white paternalism, separatism and autonomy as individuals, with regard to&#160;congregations and on the denominational level,” she said.&#160;</p>
<p>“Of course, race has been and will always be a factor in this relationship, because there are&#160;African-American and white Baptists who&#160;still have very deep-seated feelings of racial prejudice.&#160;While numerous whites are joining African-American Baptists churches particularly in the North,&#160;how many African-Americans are affiliating with&#160;southern white&#160;Baptist congregations?&#160; Perhaps this could be another area of&#160;exploration.”&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>Citing W <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570750009/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=wwwbaptiststa-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217153&amp;creative=399353&amp;creativeASIN=1570750009" type="external">hile We Run This Race</a> by Nibs Stroupe and Inez Fleming, Bell noted two factors hinder honest communication between races—white Christians tend to deny racism, and African-American Christians often speak one way among themselves and another way around people of a different race.</p>
<p>“Because of that, there is a superficiality about our conversations. We are not willing to talk honestly for fear it may undermine our relationships. As a result, it can never go to a deeper level. It is never a whole relationship,” he said.</p>
<p>“The larger issue of how we relate as human beings of different races lies just outside the scope of our personal relationships. And that prevents us from growing.”</p>
<p>Christians who historically have been divided by race need to move beyond painful pasts and look instead to the common purpose they share, said Mark Croston, who serves as first vice president both of the predominantly white <a href="http://www.vbmb.org/" type="external">Baptist General Association of Virginia</a> and the historically African-American Virginia Baptist State Convention.</p>
<p>“As far as what happened in the past is concerned, I try not to let that have any impact on what I do or on the future,” said Croston, pastor of <a href="http://www.eebconline.com/" type="external">East End Baptist Church</a>, an African-American congregation in Suffolk, Va.</p>
<p>Croston, who grew up in Philadelphia, has served in Virginia 23 years. Any institutions or systems designed to separate black and white Christians disappeared long ago, he observed.</p>
<p>While Christians of different races often tend to operate in different spheres, he attributed that primarily to a narrow focus on individual, time-consuming local ministries—not a narrowness of spirit.</p>
<p>“Race relations is just not on the minds of most people. So, we just keep on doing what we are doing,” Croston said.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t come up on our radar as an area in which we need to make progress.”</p>
<p>Smoot agrees—at least up to a point.</p>
<p>“At this particular point, I do not see any specific barriers to racial reconciliation in American religious life today that can be directly traced to the Civil War,” she said.</p>
<p>Regarding the continuing existence of churches and denominations organized largely along racial lines, Smoot believes several factors must be held in tension. It remains true, as Martin Luther King Jr. once observed, that 11 a.m. on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week. But to a degree, that reflects differences in preference regarding worship style and a historic desire among African-Americans for autonomy.</p>
<p>“Black religious independence was extremely important to free African-Americans during the antebellum and from the&#160;Civil War to the present.&#160;It was about having the right to worship freely,” she said.</p>
<p>“Because African-Americans have successfully established their own churches, convention and foreign mission boards, their leadership skills are no longer subjected to the scrutiny of many white religious bodies and leaders who believed that African-Americans could not thrive without white supervision.”</p>
<p>If black Christians and white Christians would take the time and effort to get acquainted with each other at the personal level, the kingdom of God would benefit, Croston noted.</p>
<p>“When you get to know people, it breaks down the barriers that keep us apart,” he said.</p>
<p>Croston, a past president of the <a href="http://www.naafsbc.org/" type="external">National African-American Fellowship</a> of the Southern Baptist Convention, believes black Baptists and white Baptists can learn from the different facets of the gospel message each typically has emphasized.</p>
<p>“I love the Southern Baptist Convention’s unwavering focus on missions and evangelism. That has been the great strength of the convention,” he said.</p>
<p>African-American churches emphasize another aspect of Christ’s command—to love people and meet needs wherever they exist, he added.</p>
<p>“For us, it’s not an issue of other people, but rather an issue of all our people. There is something about having been left out, forced out and disenfranchised that makes you sensitive to hurting people anywhere in the world.”</p>
<p>Race remains the prism through which black and white Americans—whether Christians or not—view reality. They tend to see any national crisis from different race-based perspectives, Bell asserted.</p>
<p>“We operate out of a hermeneutic of suspicion,” Bell said. “Our interests don’t converge. … Part of what in-forms our relationships is a lack of trust.”</p>
<p>While Bell does not see significant movement toward making race relations a front-burner issue in Baptist life, he remains cautiously hopeful, based on the interest the topic seems to generate. He noted that when he has lectured at Baptist colleges, students packed the sessions and listened eagerly when the topic turned to race.</p>
<p>“Among the ashes of our relationships, that’s the spark, the ember of hope,” he said. “There are some Christians among whom there is a ‘want to’ about improving race relations. There are Baptists who want somebody to start the conversation. But change is difficult.”</p>
<p>Smoot sees a good example of racial harmony dating back about 90 years, with black and white Baptist women leading the way. She points specifically to the&#160;Women’s Convention, an auxiliary to the National Baptist Convention U.S.A., Inc., and the Woman’s Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention.</p>
<p>“They have attended and been speakers at each other’s conferences since the 1920s to reconcile past racist behaviors, shared Baptist literature, provided scholarships for girls, initiated fundraisers for various projects and planned joint activities related to&#160;the work of the Baptist denomination,” she said.&#160;“If these women were successful in their efforts at reconciliation decades ago, there is no doubt that racial reconciliation is&#160;possible.”</p>
<p>Even so, Christians often prefer vague platitudes about love and unity to the hard work of relationship building, Bell noted.</p>
<p>“Christ has the ability to change us. We know God shows no partiality. That’s what we preach. We know we are one in Christ. That’s what we say we believe,” Bell said.</p>
<p>“Too often, we are satisfied with the rhetoric, but the reality is different. We like the vision of oneness, but there is a hesitancy on our part to advocate for change and to move forward.”</p>
| false | 3 |
one hundred fifty years confederate artillery fired fort sumter sc civil war began reminders conflict divided nation remain fresh see given sunday morning black christians white christians gather worshipmost often separately historians continue debate causes civil warthe conflict agrarianbased industrialbased economy strong central government versus autonomy states rapid growth opposed maintenance established way life slavery topped list along related issues expansion slavery new territories growth abolitionist movement institution slavery would civil war said pamela smoot teaches history africanamerican studies southern illinois university long slavery ended attitudes allowed exist endured united states continues feel civil wars impact century half first shots fired nation general baptist christians particular failed deal racism africanamerican texas baptist leader said wars always fought something else civil war symptomatic said michael bell pastor greater st stephen first baptist church fort worth president africanamerican fellowship texas race lingering issue adequately addressed faith community bell served president baptist general convention texas 20052006 first africanamerican hold post although counts many white baptists good friends bell acknowledged subjects remain offlimits conversations across racial lines race lurks beneath surface much dance around circumvent issue rather address said faith community ability deal smoot likewise noted underlying attitudes race still affect relationships among black white baptists ongoing effects civil war on160the way baptists us relate issues white paternalism separatism autonomy individuals regard to160congregations denominational level said160 course race always factor relationship are160africanamerican white baptists who160still deepseated feelings racial prejudice160while numerous whites joining africanamerican baptists churches particularly north160how many africanamericans affiliating with160southern white160baptist congregations160 perhaps could another area of160exploration160160160 citing w hile run race nibs stroupe inez fleming bell noted two factors hinder honest communication raceswhite christians tend deny racism africanamerican christians often speak one way among another way around people different race superficiality conversations willing talk honestly fear may undermine relationships result never go deeper level never whole relationship said larger issue relate human beings different races lies outside scope personal relationships prevents us growing christians historically divided race need move beyond painful pasts look instead common purpose share said mark croston serves first vice president predominantly white baptist general association virginia historically africanamerican virginia baptist state convention far happened past concerned try let impact future said croston pastor east end baptist church africanamerican congregation suffolk va croston grew philadelphia served virginia 23 years institutions systems designed separate black white christians disappeared long ago observed christians different races often tend operate different spheres attributed primarily narrow focus individual timeconsuming local ministriesnot narrowness spirit race relations minds people keep croston said doesnt come radar area need make progress smoot agreesat least point particular point see specific barriers racial reconciliation american religious life today directly traced civil war said regarding continuing existence churches denominations organized largely along racial lines smoot believes several factors must held tension remains true martin luther king jr observed 11 sunday segregated hour week degree reflects differences preference regarding worship style historic desire among africanamericans autonomy black religious independence extremely important free africanamericans antebellum the160civil war present160it right worship freely said africanamericans successfully established churches convention foreign mission boards leadership skills longer subjected scrutiny many white religious bodies leaders believed africanamericans could thrive without white supervision black christians white christians would take time effort get acquainted personal level kingdom god would benefit croston noted get know people breaks barriers keep us apart said croston past president national africanamerican fellowship southern baptist convention believes black baptists white baptists learn different facets gospel message typically emphasized love southern baptist conventions unwavering focus missions evangelism great strength convention said africanamerican churches emphasize another aspect christs commandto love people meet needs wherever exist added us issue people rather issue people something left forced disenfranchised makes sensitive hurting people anywhere world race remains prism black white americanswhether christians notview reality tend see national crisis different racebased perspectives bell asserted operate hermeneutic suspicion bell said interests dont converge part informs relationships lack trust bell see significant movement toward making race relations frontburner issue baptist life remains cautiously hopeful based interest topic seems generate noted lectured baptist colleges students packed sessions listened eagerly topic turned race among ashes relationships thats spark ember hope said christians among want improving race relations baptists want somebody start conversation change difficult smoot sees good example racial harmony dating back 90 years black white baptist women leading way points specifically the160womens convention auxiliary national baptist convention usa inc womans missionary union southern baptist convention attended speakers others conferences since 1920s reconcile past racist behaviors shared baptist literature provided scholarships girls initiated fundraisers various projects planned joint activities related to160the work baptist denomination said160if women successful efforts reconciliation decades ago doubt racial reconciliation is160possible even christians often prefer vague platitudes love unity hard work relationship building bell noted christ ability change us know god shows partiality thats preach know one christ thats say believe bell said often satisfied rhetoric reality different like vision oneness hesitancy part advocate change move forward
| 815 |
<p>TWIN FALLS, Idaho (ABP) — With the last of 10 Southern Baptist mission volunteers released from a Haitian jail May 17, one of her "Idaho 10" co-laborers is breaking his silence and blames the whole ordeal on meddling by the United Nation's Children Fund, more commonly known as UNICEF.</p>
<p>Paul Thompson, pastor of Eastside Baptist Church in Twin Falls, Idaho, <a href="http://bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=32953" type="external">told</a> Baptist Press that things were going smoothly as the U.S. Baptists attempted to work out problems with documentation to allow the group to move 33 children from two earthquake-stricken areas near Port-au-Prince to a temporary orphanage in neighboring Dominican Republic until a group of workers wearing shirts with the UNICEF logo got involved.</p>
<p>Thompson said the widely broadcast video of the Haitian children crying and asking to return home was made right after a UNICEF representative told them in Creole the Baptists were kidnappers who wanted to sell the children into slavery or harvest their organs for the black market.</p>
<p>Thompson called the video "a complete setup" and said it was the beginning of building a case that eventually led to the group's arrest on charges of kidnapping and criminal association. Eight of the 10 were released Feb. 17. A ninth was set free March 8. The last one, team leader Laura Silsby, finally was allowed to return to Idaho after being convicted of a lesser crime and sentenced to time already served.</p>
<p>Silsby's church, Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, released a <a href="http://www.centralvalleybaptist.net/cvbc09/splash/haiti_statement.cfm?CFID=36477355&amp;CFTOKEN=68594389" type="external">statement</a> praising God for her safe return and expressing concern for her welfare and for her family to get back to normal.</p>
<p>The church <a href="http://www.esbctwinfalls.com/clientimages/24453/pdffiles/haiti/nlcrhaitianorphanrescuemission.pdf" type="external">co-sponsored</a> the "Haitian Orphan Rescue Mission" with New Life Children's Refuge, a ministry started by Silsby to rescue and care for impoverished Haitian and Dominican children, including "opportunities for adoption into a loving Christian family."</p>
<p>Ironically, backlash from the ill-fated mission effectively ended inter-country adoptions from Haiti. Taking advice from UNICEF, Haiti's welfare agency temporarily suspended new adoptions not already being processed, citing concern that vulnerable children could be snatched from the country and sold into slavery, prostitution or illicit adoption.</p>
<p>It also renewed a long-running debate in the complex issue of adoption in an impoverished country where children are often given up by destitute parents. An estimated 300,000 Haitian children have been turned over to more-affluent families who treat them as slaves known in Creole as "restaveks" — literally "stay with" — or to child smugglers who force them into prostitution.</p>
<p>Many are handed over voluntarily by living parents duped into believing they were giving their children an opportunity for a better life. In fact, under Haiti's adoption system a true orphan is <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704625004575089521195349384.html" type="external">less likely</a> to find a home overseas than a child with at least one living parent. Regulations require orphanages to document the ancestry of children before offering them for adoption, a lengthy process much harder than getting living parents to supply needed documentation.</p>
<p>Even before the Jan. 12 earthquake, many children were being funneled out of Haiti through a maze of more than 200 largely unregulated private orphanages across the country. For that reason Marie de la Soudiere, coordinator for UNICEF's separated-children fund <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1964884,00.html" type="external">told</a> Time magazine in February, "Our answer is 'no' to orphanages."</p>
<p>Diana Garland, dean of Baylor University's School of Social Work, said American society no longer removes children from their homes simply because they are impoverished, "because we know that children need to be raised in families."</p>
<p>"If we really love children, we need to help their families to develop the economic resources and stability to raise their children," Garland said.</p>
<p>Garland said in extreme cases where children are separated from parents, the next best thing is to place them with extended family members they know and love.</p>
<p>"When that fails we resort to foster care while we try to find a permanent family home for the children," she said. "Only in unusual circumstances and usually for short periods of time is an 'orphanage' the best choice for a child."</p>
<p>UNICEF's <a href="http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41118.html" type="external">stated</a> policy is that inter-country adoption in some cases may be the best solution, but the preference is for every child to have the right to know and be cared for by his or her own parents whenever possible. For those who cannot, UNICEF recommends finding an alternative family environment and views institutional care as a temporary measure of last resort.</p>
<p>Despite that, some conservative Christians <a href="http://www.downshoredrift.com/downshoredrift/2010/02/haitian-orphans-and-unicefs-war-against-international-adoption.html" type="external">accuse</a> UNICEF of waging a behind-the-scenes war against adoption by lobbying for policies that reduce or close adoptions in some countries, increasing the amount of time that children are forced to live in orphanages or on the street.</p>
<p>"We have discovered and understand from visiting with people and communicating through reports that there is clearly a problem in Haiti with first-unit evangelical Christian orphanages and UNICEF and their abilities to work together," Thompson <a href="http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/Idaho-pastor-blames-UNICEF-workers-for-their-arrests-in-Haiti-94337404.html" type="external">said</a> in an interview with Boise television station KTVB.</p>
<p>KTVB received a statement from UNICEF saying Thompson's account is mistaken. "UNICEF played no role in the arrests of the Baptist group and UNICEF staff were not present at the arrests," the statement said. "UNICEF does not have the power to order arrests in Haiti or anywhere else." UNICEF said the workers probably were from a Haitian child-services organization, some of which wear UNICEF logos alongside their own.</p>
<p>The arrest of the 10 Southern Baptists came at a time when interest in international adoption is at an all-time high. That is particularly true in the Southern Baptist Convention, where a number of high-profile leaders have begun to promote adoption as a means to spreading the gospel.</p>
<p>This year's SBC Pastors' Conference just prior to the SBC annual meeting will include launch of a national campaign to raise money to help pastors pay for the cost of adopting a child.</p>
<p>"I have six children — three are biological and three are adopted," Pastors' Conference President Kevin Ezell <a href="http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=32787" type="external">told</a> Baptist Press. "We just got home with a child from the Philippines six weeks ago, we have a little girl from China, and then we have a little girl from Ethiopia."</p>
<p>"We kind of look like the opening ceremony of the Olympics when we walk in," added Ezell, senior pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. "Adoption has changed my life personally. It brings missions home. I live with missions 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We have had over 120 children in our church adopted and it has helped our church focus on missions so much more."</p>
<p>Conference speakers include Russell Moore, senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Last year Moore published a book titled <a href="http://www.crossway.org/product/9781581349115" type="external">Adopted for Life</a> calling on Christians to adopt children as a "Great Commission priority."</p>
<p>UNICEF isn't alone in its view that children separated from parents by war or disaster should not be available for adoption until every effort is made to locate other living relatives.</p>
<p>Save the Children <a href="http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2010/haiti-adoption-statement.html" type="external">said</a> wanting to help children from Haiti by evacuating them to foster and adoptive homes in other countries is "a natural instinct," but that "long experience tells us that it is almost always in the best interests of a child to remain with their relatives and extended family when possible."</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Bob Allen</a> is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.</p>
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twin falls idaho abp last 10 southern baptist mission volunteers released haitian jail may 17 one idaho 10 colaborers breaking silence blames whole ordeal meddling united nations children fund commonly known unicef paul thompson pastor eastside baptist church twin falls idaho told baptist press things going smoothly us baptists attempted work problems documentation allow group move 33 children two earthquakestricken areas near portauprince temporary orphanage neighboring dominican republic group workers wearing shirts unicef logo got involved thompson said widely broadcast video haitian children crying asking return home made right unicef representative told creole baptists kidnappers wanted sell children slavery harvest organs black market thompson called video complete setup said beginning building case eventually led groups arrest charges kidnapping criminal association eight 10 released feb 17 ninth set free march 8 last one team leader laura silsby finally allowed return idaho convicted lesser crime sentenced time already served silsbys church central valley baptist church meridian idaho released statement praising god safe return expressing concern welfare family get back normal church cosponsored haitian orphan rescue mission new life childrens refuge ministry started silsby rescue care impoverished haitian dominican children including opportunities adoption loving christian family ironically backlash illfated mission effectively ended intercountry adoptions haiti taking advice unicef haitis welfare agency temporarily suspended new adoptions already processed citing concern vulnerable children could snatched country sold slavery prostitution illicit adoption also renewed longrunning debate complex issue adoption impoverished country children often given destitute parents estimated 300000 haitian children turned moreaffluent families treat slaves known creole restaveks literally stay child smugglers force prostitution many handed voluntarily living parents duped believing giving children opportunity better life fact haitis adoption system true orphan less likely find home overseas child least one living parent regulations require orphanages document ancestry children offering adoption lengthy process much harder getting living parents supply needed documentation even jan 12 earthquake many children funneled haiti maze 200 largely unregulated private orphanages across country reason marie de la soudiere coordinator unicefs separatedchildren fund told time magazine february answer orphanages diana garland dean baylor universitys school social work said american society longer removes children homes simply impoverished know children need raised families really love children need help families develop economic resources stability raise children garland said garland said extreme cases children separated parents next best thing place extended family members know love fails resort foster care try find permanent family home children said unusual circumstances usually short periods time orphanage best choice child unicefs stated policy intercountry adoption cases may best solution preference every child right know cared parents whenever possible unicef recommends finding alternative family environment views institutional care temporary measure last resort despite conservative christians accuse unicef waging behindthescenes war adoption lobbying policies reduce close adoptions countries increasing amount time children forced live orphanages street discovered understand visiting people communicating reports clearly problem haiti firstunit evangelical christian orphanages unicef abilities work together thompson said interview boise television station ktvb ktvb received statement unicef saying thompsons account mistaken unicef played role arrests baptist group unicef staff present arrests statement said unicef power order arrests haiti anywhere else unicef said workers probably haitian childservices organization wear unicef logos alongside arrest 10 southern baptists came time interest international adoption alltime high particularly true southern baptist convention number highprofile leaders begun promote adoption means spreading gospel years sbc pastors conference prior sbc annual meeting include launch national campaign raise money help pastors pay cost adopting child six children three biological three adopted pastors conference president kevin ezell told baptist press got home child philippines six weeks ago little girl china little girl ethiopia kind look like opening ceremony olympics walk added ezell senior pastor highview baptist church louisville ky adoption changed life personally brings missions home live missions 24 hours day seven days week 365 days year 120 children church adopted helped church focus missions much conference speakers include russell moore senior vice president academic administration dean school theology southern baptist theological seminary last year moore published book titled adopted life calling christians adopt children great commission priority unicef isnt alone view children separated parents war disaster available adoption every effort made locate living relatives save children said wanting help children haiti evacuating foster adoptive homes countries natural instinct long experience tells us almost always best interests child remain relatives extended family possible bob allen senior writer associated baptist press
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<p>GENEVA, Switzerland — <a href="http://www.muscohua.org" type="external">Mu Sochua</a>, one of the more impressive speakers at “Courage to Lead,” a recent gathering here of more than 40 women involved in human rights, is not a woman to be taken lightly.</p>
<p>After spending the last 20 years fighting for women's rights and against both human trafficking and general corruption in Cambodia, the deputy in Cambodia's leading opposition party has embroiled herself in a head-on clash with the country's perennial Prime Minister Hun Sen. The spat now seems likely to land her in jail.</p>
<p>At a superficial glance, the furor seems slightly silly. It began last spring when local tensions began to mount after Cambodian army soldiers burned several villages in an apparent land grab.</p>
<p>The army was not exactly popular in Mu Sochua's district, which includes Kampot, about two hours drive south of Phnom Penh. When Mu Sochua protested against a Cambodian army officer using official government vehicles during a political campaign, a scuffle ensued and Mu Sochua's blouse was accidentally ripped open. Hun Sen mentioned the incident in a speech, casually dismissing Mu Sochua as a hustler, who liked to expose herself and had a tendency to grab at men.</p>
<p>Mu Sochua has also accused the prime minister of calling her "cheung klang," which means "strong legs," in Khmer and is considered an insult.</p>
<p>If Hun Sen expected Mu Sochua to roll over, he was wrong. Mu Sochua promptly sued him for defamation in a Phnom Penh municipal court, demanding 500 Cambodian rials, or roughly 12 cents in damages along with an apology. Instead of apologizing, Hun Sen, who likes to go by the rather ungainly honorific “Samdach Akkak Moha Sena Padey Dekjo” promptly countersued.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly Mu Sochua's case was thrown out of court, while Hun Sen's stuck. Repeating his earlier slurs, Hun Sen went on to challenge Mu Sochua to take her case to international courts if she wanted, and to see how far that was likely to get her. Mu Sochua's parliamentary immunity was stripped away. An appeals court confirmed a lower court's verdict against her for libel, and the case is now headed for the Cambodia's Supreme Court, which Mu Sochua also expects to rule in favor of the “Samdach.” The penalty for losing the suit is a fine of roughly $4,100, but Mu Sochua refuses to pay it, and insists that she will go to jail for six months instead.</p>
<p>It may all seem like much ado about not very much, but Mu Sochua insists that there is a lot more at stake. Hun Sen, who was propelled into his current position after Vietnam ousted Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in 1979, has held onto power ever since by making sure that his party hand picks Cambodia's 13,000 village chiefs.</p>
<p>“This nation has to be built on the rule of law and not just one man,” says Mu Sochua. “These people are afraid of democracy. The way they maintain control is by not allowing the people to elect their village chiefs. The Cambodian people live in fear of the village chiefs. At the same time the country has opened itself up to a market economy, which brings in a lot of money that is not managed well, which is why there is so much corruption.”</p>
<p>Hun Sen, who at 57 shows no signs of planning an early retirement, has plenty of reason for wanting to take on Mu Sochua's party. In November 2009, he had Sam Rainsy, who leads the opposition, stripped of parliamentary immunity for the second time that year because Sam Rainsy had removed several posts marking the border with Vietnam. Rainsy contends that the Vietnamese, who were responsible for Hun Sen's rise to power in Cambodia, have been engaged in a land grab for themselves based on questionable treaty arrangements.</p>
<p>Mu Sochua insists that her spat focuses on Hun Sen's vulgar use of language and the corruption of Cambodia's legal system. “What is at stake,” she said, “is democracy. The space for democracy is narrowed by the power of the ruling party, and mainly by the power of Hun Sen, who has his hands in every institution, including the parliament and the courts. He didn't just insult me as a woman. He insulted the parliament as an institution. I am actually taking the justice system itself to court.”</p>
<p>The story gets a bit more complicated since Mu Sochua received a 2005 leadership award from the Vital Voices Global Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based foundation.</p>
<p>“This is also a challenge for the international community,” Mu Sochua says. “They invest $1 billion a year in Cambodia, but they never fulfilled their responsibilities by making it a condition that the government fulfills its obligations towards human rights.” Hillary Clinton delivered a brief address via satellite at the end of the Geneva meeting, but it was not clear what her take as Secretary of State would be on Mu Sochua's case.</p>
<p>Even more potentially troublesome for Hun Sen is the fact that Mu Sochua, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at San Francisco State University and a masters in Social Work at the University of California, Berkely, is married to an American who runs a major project on decentralization for the United Nations in Cambodia. “My husband is completely separate from my political life,” she explains. Her three children now live abroad, but both her husband and children are emotionally supportive. “I told my family that I am going to jail. Please don't talk me out of it. It has come to that point, Mom is going to jail,” she says. “It gives me peace in heart.” Whether it gives Hun Sen or his supporters peace of mind is another matter.</p>
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geneva switzerland mu sochua one impressive speakers courage lead recent gathering 40 women involved human rights woman taken lightly spending last 20 years fighting womens rights human trafficking general corruption cambodia deputy cambodias leading opposition party embroiled headon clash countrys perennial prime minister hun sen spat seems likely land jail superficial glance furor seems slightly silly began last spring local tensions began mount cambodian army soldiers burned several villages apparent land grab army exactly popular mu sochuas district includes kampot two hours drive south phnom penh mu sochua protested cambodian army officer using official government vehicles political campaign scuffle ensued mu sochuas blouse accidentally ripped open hun sen mentioned incident speech casually dismissing mu sochua hustler liked expose tendency grab men mu sochua also accused prime minister calling cheung klang means strong legs khmer considered insult hun sen expected mu sochua roll wrong mu sochua promptly sued defamation phnom penh municipal court demanding 500 cambodian rials roughly 12 cents damages along apology instead apologizing hun sen likes go rather ungainly honorific samdach akkak moha sena padey dekjo promptly countersued surprisingly mu sochuas case thrown court hun sens stuck repeating earlier slurs hun sen went challenge mu sochua take case international courts wanted see far likely get mu sochuas parliamentary immunity stripped away appeals court confirmed lower courts verdict libel case headed cambodias supreme court mu sochua also expects rule favor samdach penalty losing suit fine roughly 4100 mu sochua refuses pay insists go jail six months instead may seem like much ado much mu sochua insists lot stake hun sen propelled current position vietnam ousted pol pot khmer rouge 1979 held onto power ever since making sure party hand picks cambodias 13000 village chiefs nation built rule law one man says mu sochua people afraid democracy way maintain control allowing people elect village chiefs cambodian people live fear village chiefs time country opened market economy brings lot money managed well much corruption hun sen 57 shows signs planning early retirement plenty reason wanting take mu sochuas party november 2009 sam rainsy leads opposition stripped parliamentary immunity second time year sam rainsy removed several posts marking border vietnam rainsy contends vietnamese responsible hun sens rise power cambodia engaged land grab based questionable treaty arrangements mu sochua insists spat focuses hun sens vulgar use language corruption cambodias legal system stake said democracy space democracy narrowed power ruling party mainly power hun sen hands every institution including parliament courts didnt insult woman insulted parliament institution actually taking justice system court story gets bit complicated since mu sochua received 2005 leadership award vital voices global partnership washington dcbased foundation also challenge international community mu sochua says invest 1 billion year cambodia never fulfilled responsibilities making condition government fulfills obligations towards human rights hillary clinton delivered brief address via satellite end geneva meeting clear take secretary state would mu sochuas case even potentially troublesome hun sen fact mu sochua earned bachelor arts psychology san francisco state university masters social work university california berkely married american runs major project decentralization united nations cambodia husband completely separate political life explains three children live abroad husband children emotionally supportive told family going jail please dont talk come point mom going jail says gives peace heart whether gives hun sen supporters peace mind another matter
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<p>Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Each posting is for 30 days and is limited to 150 words. Businesses may purchase a post in the “And More” section for $1.20 per word (minimum of $50 for 30 days). To submit a ministry-related job or inquire about other advertising options on this page, contact Barbara Francis at 336-717-1135, ext. 8 or <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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<p>FULL-TIME ASSOCIATE MINISTER OF MUSIC AND ORGANIST. First Baptist Church in Huntsville, Alabama, is seeking a full-time Associate Minister of Music and Organist. For more information, please visit <a href="http://www.fbchsv.org/employment" type="external">www.fbchsv.org/employment</a>. Resumes and inquiries may be sent to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 04.17.17)</p>
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<p>FULL-TIME CHILDREN AND FAMILIES PASTORAL RESIDENCY. First Baptist Church, Colorado Springs, CO. The Pastoral Resident of First Baptist Church, a seminary graduate, will function as an associate pastor with special responsibility for children and families ministries. The Church will provide the Resident with a wide range of pastoral opportunities, under the guidance and supervision of the Senior Pastor. These opportunities include caring for our church family (with emphasis on children and families), preparing and teaching spiritual formation series, preaching and leading in worship, and developing lay leadership. Interested applicants can feel free to contact the Pastor for more information and for a more detailed job description. <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 06.12.17)</p>
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<p>FULL-TIME PASTOR.&#160; Hammock Community Church, an interdenominational fellowship in a retirement area in Palm Coast, FL., seeks a Pastor who effectively preaches &amp; teaches the Bible.&#160; Biblical studies and pastoral experience are required.&#160; We prefer traditional music.&#160; Email: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160;(Posted 05.08.17)</p>
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<p>ASSOCIATE PASTOR.&#160; Wieuca Road Baptist Church in Atlanta is looking to fill a newly created position of Associate Pastor. The Associate Pastor will have the primary responsibility of building a ministry designed for Young Adults. He/She will: Become the face of Wieuca in the community where young adults and their families live, study, work, exercise, dine, and play; &#160;Lead in the creation of a new “Expression of Worship” focused on reaching young adults;&#160; Design a small group strategy to reach young adults; Focus on un-churched individuals; Work collaboratively with current ministerial staff in creating ties between existing ministries and Young Adults. Interested candidates should have a Master’s Degree or higher from an accredited seminary or theological school and experience in nurturing and presiding over the growth of a church in a culturally relevant setting.&#160; Visit <a href="http://www.wieuca.org/apsearch" type="external">www.wieuca.org/apsearch</a> &#160;for a more detailed profile and application instructions. Applications accepted until June 15, 2017. (Posted 05.10.17)</p>
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<p>INTERIM PASTOR.&#160; First Congregational Methodist Church, Louisville, Ky., is seeking an interim pastor. FCMC is a Congregational Methodist Church with an average attendance of 50-65.&#160; The church has respectable facilities and room to expand; great location, and a desire for biblical spiritual growth. The Interim Pastor will lead the congregation, organizations, and the ministry staff to perform their tasks.&#160; He/she will work with the ministry staff to (1) lead the church in performing its tasks and (2) to lead the church to engage in a fellowship of worship, witness, education, and ministry among members and other persons in the community. The Interim Pastor will shepherd and guide the spiritual needs of the church. A bachelor degree is preferred.&#160; Please send letter of interest, resume, and references, CD or DVD (if available) to:&#160; First Congregational Methodist Church, Pastoral Selection Committee, c/o Ms. Marsha Anderson, 3810 Garland Avenue, Louisville, KY 40211. (Posted 05.23.17)</p>
<p>PASTOR.&#160; Small rural Southern Baptist church located in Central Kentucky is seeking a Pastor (due to our Pastor’s retirement). Send resume with photo and audio/video of two recent sermons to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 05.16.17)</p>
<p>FULL-TIME PASTOR.&#160; First Baptist Church, located in Winchester, Kentucky, (16 miles east of Lexington, Ky.) is seeking a full-time pastor. We are connected with both the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We seek a pastor who will be able to affirm our dual alignment. For over 157 years we have been a congregation who is Christ-centered, Bible-based and mission-minded. We are looking for someone with good leadership skills who can work with church staff, laity and affirm women in leadership. Candidates should be willing to embrace our church history, as well as be supportive to the congregation and wider community. We desire a pastor who can lead the church in outreach and growth. Seminary graduates with some experience preferred. Interested candidates or referrals should submit a cover letter and resume to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. Deadline June 30, 2017. (Posted 04.26.17)</p>
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<p>SENIOR PASTOR.&#160; Grace Baptist Church, an IFB KJV church in Zachary, La., is seeking a qualified and God-called individual for the position of Senior Pastor. Grace is a church of approx. 75 members, and ministries include a Christian school (ACE) and others. Our music style is traditional and conservative. The successful applicant will have formal Bible training, significant experience as an associate or pastor or associate and a burden for Christian education. Interested applicants should submit their resumes to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 05.22.17)</p>
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<p>FULL-TIME SENIOR PASTOR.&#160; Salem Avenue Baptist Church in Rolla, Missouri, is seeking a full-time senior pastor.&#160; The primary duties of the senior pastor at SABC are to preach the word of God, minister to the congregation, and guide our staff.&#160; The staff includes two full-time ministers, one part-time minister, and support personnel. SABC has an average worship attendance of 250, an average Sunday School attendance of 180, and an annual budget of approximately $500k.&#160; The church is committed to local, state, and international missions and also has several programs designed to minister to the physical needs of the people in our community. The city of Rolla has a population of approximately 20,000 and is located in south-central Missouri.&#160; It is home to the Missouri University of Science and Technology, one of the leading science and engineering universities in the country.&#160; The presence of the university provides many opportunities to minister to students from the state, region, and around the world.&#160; SABC is a 1963 Baptist Faith and Message church. Please visit <a href="http://www.sabchurch.org/" type="external">www.sabchurch.org</a>&#160; for more details.&#160; Resumes may be submitted to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 04.21.17)</p>
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<p>MUSIC MINISTER. Jersey Baptist Church, Lexington, NC, is calling a part-time (20hr/wk) Music Minister. The vision for this ministry position is to provide leadership within all aspects of the church’s ministry specifically focusing on music. The Music Minister will work collaboratively to meet ministry goals and objectives with the Pastor and other church leaders or ministers. The music minister will be responsible for coordinating and implementing the music involved with the contemporary worship service (8:30) and traditional worship service (11:00). Responsibilities also include working with the leaders of the graded choirs of Jersey Baptist Church. This position will initiate, plan and coordinate the music programs and activities in collaboration with the Pastor, and Music and Worship Committee. This position will encourage and promote Christian values, ideals and discipleship while demonstrating spiritual maturity. This position reports to the personnel committee but will receive direct coaching and mentorship from the pastor. Submit inquires and résumés to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 06.19.17)</p>
<p>DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S MINISTRY.&#160; Greenwood Forest Baptist Church, an inclusive community of faith in Cary, NC, is seeking a part-time (15 hrs/week) Director of Children’s Ministry. This director will provide leadership for the faith formation program for children (ages birth through 5th grade) and their families. They will work with the ministerial team to form and shape the disciples of Christ at GFBC. They will be supervised by the Associate Pastor of Worship and Faith Formation. Theological training from an accredited theological seminary preferred. Must support and endorse GFBC’s core values, which can be found on our website ( <a href="http://www.gfbccary.org/" type="external">www.gfbccary.org</a>). GFBC is affiliated with the Alliance of Baptists and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Send resume and cover letter to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. Applicant Review will begin July 1, 2017. (06.08.17)</p>
<p>MINISTER FOR LATINO MINISTRIES.&#160; The First Baptist Church of Huntersville, NC, is seeking a part-time Minister for Latino Ministries. FBCH is a moderate Baptist congregation located in Charlotte metro near Lake Norman, with about 450 active members, approximately 50 of whom worship in our Spanish-language service. We are seeking a candidate with strong preaching, pastoral care, and leadership skills who will also work with the staff team to strengthen the connection between the Anglo and Latino communities. Candidates must be bilingual. Bachelor’s degree is required; some seminary training from a recognized college or university is preferred. A detailed church profile and job description can be found at <a href="http://www.fbc-h.org/" type="external">www.fbc-h.org</a> &#160;under the “Link ‘n Learn” tab. Résumé and cover letter may be submitted to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> by August 31. &#160;(06.08.17)</p>
<p>MINISTRO A MEDIO TEMPO PARA LA CONGREGACIÒN LATINA.&#160; La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Huntersville, NC, está buscando un Ministro a medio tiempo para la Congregación Latina. La Primera Iglesia Bautista de Huntersville es una moderada congregación localizada en Charlotte area metropolitana cerca del Lago Norman, con cerca de 450 miembros activos,&#160; de los cuáles aproximadamente 50 quienes asisten al servicio en Español. Nosotros estamos buscando un candidato con grandes condiciones a la hora de predicar, cuidado pastoral, y un gran liderazgo,&#160; quién también trabaje con el personal de la iglesia y fortalezca la relación entre las comunidades angloamericanas y latinas. Los candidatos deberán ser bilingües. Un grado de Bachiller es requerido; algún&#160; entrenamiento de seminario de un reconocido colegio o universidad es preferible. Un detallado perfil de la iglesia y descripción del puesto puede se encontrado en la página web de nuestra iglesia&#160; <a href="http://www.fbc-h.org/" type="external">www.fbc-h.org</a>&#160;bajo el enlace “Link’n Learn” tab. Currìculum y hoja de portada puede ser enviada a&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>&#160;de 31 de agosto. &#160;(06.08.17)</p>
<p>PART-TIME CONSULTANT – LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. Woman’s Missionary Union of North Carolina is seeking a part-time consultant for leadership development. Work location: Raleigh, NC (exceptions considered). Please send resume and cover letter to: Judy Pettigrew at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160; Application deadline: July 15. For job description: <a href="http://www.wmunc.org/now-hiring" type="external">www.wmunc.org/now-hiring</a>.&#160;(06.08.17)</p>
<p>PART-TIME MINISTER OF MUSIC.&#160; Wilmar Park Baptist Church in Concord, NC is seeking a part-time worship leader.&#160; We are a traditional Southern Gospel style congregation with an established music program.&#160; We need a spiritually minded leader, called by God to provide leadership for our worship services.&#160; Please direct all inquiries and questions to David Wilson at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 05.16.17)</p>
<p>MINISTER OF MUSIC &amp; SENIOR ADULTS.&#160; First Baptist Church, Southern Pines, NC, is seeking a full-time Minister of Music &amp; Senior Adults.&#160;&#160; The ideal minister will be a person of deep faith in Christ and possess a desire to model a Christ-centered devotion in their personal and professional life.&#160; The ideal candidate will be a dynamic worship leader to direct a comprehensive music ministry for all ages. The successful leader will cast a broad vision of music excellence with a deep appreciation for diverse, eclectic, and traditional worship styles.&#160; The person will also have responsibilities to guide the Senior Adult ministry with a team of qualified lay leaders. First Baptist Church is located in a resort community with a vibrant and diverse population.&#160; This position requires an advanced music degree from an accredited theological or divinity school.&#160; All inquiries may be sent to John Kinney, 200 East New York Avenue, Southern Pines, NC 28387 or to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160; &#160;The deadline for receiving applications is July 15, 2017. (Posted 05.11.17)</p>
<p>ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF MUSIC AND WORSHIP ARTS.&#160; The Memorial Baptist Church in Greenville, NC, is seeking a full-time Associate Pastor of Music and Worship Arts, called by God to provide leadership for the entire music program. Responsibilities include: planning, conducting and evaluating a comprehensive ministry of music and worship program for all music genres/age levels and providing pastoral care. A minimum of 3 years of experience in Christian music ministry and seminary or graduate study is preferred. The successful candidate must be a cooperative, enthusiastic, and conscientious team member, displaying authentic Christian conduct in both private and public life. Compensation will be commensurate with experience. Please submit all inquiries, recommendations, cover letter and resume to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>.&#160;(Posted 05.11.17)</p>
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<p>ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF YOUTH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.&#160; Spring Creek Baptist Church, Oklahoma City, Okla., is now accepting candidates for Associate Pastor of Youth and Community Engagement. This&#160;minister&#160;will focus on the particular needs of our youth and their families, using these primary relationships to serve the larger church.&#160; For more information and submitting resumes, click&#160; <a href="http://springcreekbc.com/associatepastorsearch/" type="external">here</a>. (Posted 06.15.17)</p>
<p>YOUTH/ASSOCIATE PASTOR.&#160; First Baptist Church, Spiro, OK, is seeking a youth/associate pastor. Competitive salary and housing offered. Send resume to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 06.12.17)</p>
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<p>MINISTER TO STUDENTS AND FAMILIES.&#160; First Baptist Church, Austin, Texas, is an open, moderate to progressive, Baptist congregation located in the heart of Austin. We affiliate with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Alliance of Baptists. We are looking for a Minister to Students. This individual will be responsible for the creation and implementation for ministry to our students (6th-12th grade) and their families. This position will be 30 hours/week with great flexibility. The position will report to the Senior Pastor and is a member of the Ministerial Team. Job description: <a href="http://fbcaustin.org/jobs" type="external">http://fbcaustin.org/jobs</a>. Please email cover letters and resumes to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 04.10.16)</p>
<p>PASTOR. Lovera Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas, is seeking a Part-time/Bivocational Pastor. LBC is affiliated the San Antonio Baptist Association. LBC is seeking a Pastor who can lead the church in evangelism, discipleship, teaching, and missions to engage the community and the world with the Gospel.&#160; 10 years of ministerial experience and formal theological education preferred.&#160; Resumes and letters of reference should be sent to Pastor Search Committee at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> or mailed to Lovera Baptist Church, 333 Lovera Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78212.&#160; DVDs, CDs or links to online sermons are appreciated.&#160; The search committee is accepting applications and recommendations until the position is filled. Church phone 210-735-7837.&#160;(Posted 03.27.17)</p>
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<p>CHORAL DIRECTOR.&#160; First Baptist Church (ABC-USA), Burlington, Vermont, is seeking a part-time choral director to conduct the 15-20 voice chancel choir on Sunday mornings and Thursday evening rehearsals.&#160; The choir sings for services beginning September through mid-June with summers off.&#160; Salary is competitive and negotiable based on experience.&#160; First Baptist Church supports an active music program including a children’s choir, instrumental ensemble, hand bells, annual guest organist recital and hosts outside musical groups.&#160; Submit resumes and inquiries to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 04.24.17)</p>
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<p>FULL-TIME SENIOR PASTOR. Clover Bottom Baptist Church, Nathalie, VA, is looking for a full-time pastor . Clover Bottom Baptist is a rural country church located in Halifax County Va. We are in the Dan River Baptist Association and the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Send resumes to&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. (Posted 06.14.17)</p>
<p>SENIOR PASTOR.&#160; Walnut Grove Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, Va., is seeking a Senior Pastor. We are seeking an energetic shepherd with strong pastoral skills, flexibility in leading various worship styles and an effective communicator. Specific skills in expanding the scope of our mission programs and directing the continued growth of our&#160;Sunday&#160;school, Youth, Children, and Music Ministries. Proven ability to develop, train, and work with Church Staff and lay leadership. 5 years of experience and a minimum of a Master’s Degree from an accredited Seminary, Divinity School or College or the equivalent experience is preferred. Please send resume, references and any electronic media to Pastor Search Committee, 7001 Cornfield Lane, Mechanicsville, VA 23111 or via email to&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>&#160;by7/31/2017. (Posted 06.13.17)</p>
<p>FULL-TIME ASSOCIATE PASTOR.&#160; The Tabernacle Baptist Church in Richmond, VA, is searching for a full-time Associate Pastor.&#160; The church desires a dynamic, Christ-centered individual to equip our community with a more effective framework and systems both for and within our ministries. The ideal candidate will have a passion for both people and process, an ability to thrive in a team environment, and expertise in building teams.&#160; This pastoral ministry architect/administrator will guide the identification of gifted laity and, with them, create and implement a church wide, intergenerational structure that will better equip, communicate, and mobilize our efforts to support and extend ongoing and new ministries.&#160; A full position description can be found at <a href="http://www.tbcrichmond.org/" type="external">www.tbcrichmond.org</a>.&#160; Candidates should respond by email only to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> with their expression of interest and resume no later than July 15, 2017. No phone calls please. (Posted 06.12.17)</p>
<p>TWO OPENINGS – FULL-TIME COLLEGIATE/YOUNG ADULT MINISTER.&#160; The Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) is seeking a Full-Time Collegiate/Young Adult Minister to lead the collegiate ministry (BCM) at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, VA. The same position is also open at Radford University in Radford, Va. As a part of the statewide effort to develop collegiate ministries through the Kairos Initiative, the Collegiate/Young Adult minister will lead ministries on campus and in the surrounding community through the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and partnering local churches. We are seeking experienced and passionate ministers who can work well independently in their context while at the same time be a connected and contributing leader on our statewide team of Kairos ministries. Kairos ministers must possess a clear sense of call to collegiate and young adult ministry and love for the local congregation, with a desire to connect their ministries on campus with the ministries of the churches in their surrounding community. Collegiate/Young Adult Ministers engage young adults in Christian community through discipleship, worship, leadership development and mission service. At the same time they maintain meaningful relationships with BGAV churches in the surrounding area and help to advocate for young adult ministry in BGAV churches. Kairos ministers view their ministry efforts on campus and their relationships with the surrounding community of churches as both important expressions of their call to denominational collegiate/young adult ministry.&#160;Candidates should possess a Master’s degree or equivalent, from an accredited theological institution. They should have a strong record of ministry experience and demonstrate an ability to work independently, displaying high initiative and high quality ministry effort. Interested ministers can send his or her cover letter and resume to Welford Orrock, Kairos Team Coordinator,&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>. For more information about the ministry position and/or the campus setting, please contact Welford Orrock. (Posted 04.20.17)</p>
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<p>ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS.&#160; The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, an education and advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., is seeking an Associate Director of Communications to expand the base of support for religious liberty, implementing the BJC’s strategic communications program to convey the importance of religious liberty for all people and the separation of church and state. To apply, send the following to <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a>: Resume, cover letter, and three samples of work. More details are available <a href="https://www.idealist.org/en/nonprofit-job/6b37dbc721a84325b178061de0d113fa-associate-director-of-communications-baptist-joint-committee-for-religious-liberty-washington" type="external">here</a>. (Posted 05.23.17)</p>
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baptist news global provides free listing ministryrelated jobs baptist churches theological institutions organizations across united states posting 30 days limited 150 words businesses may purchase post section 120 per word minimum 50 30 days submit ministryrelated job inquire advertising options page contact barbara francis 3367171135 ext 8 barbarabaptistnewscom 160 fulltime associate minister music organist first baptist church huntsville alabama seeking fulltime associate minister music organist information please visit wwwfbchsvorgemployment resumes inquiries may sent searchfbchsvorg posted 041717 back top page 160 fulltime children families pastoral residency first baptist church colorado springs co pastoral resident first baptist church seminary graduate function associate pastor special responsibility children families ministries church provide resident wide range pastoral opportunities guidance supervision senior pastor opportunities include caring church family emphasis children families preparing teaching spiritual formation series preaching leading worship developing lay leadership interested applicants feel free contact pastor information detailed job description pastorfirstbaptistcsorg posted 061217 back top page 160 fulltime pastor160 hammock community church interdenominational fellowship retirement area palm coast fl seeks pastor effectively preaches amp teaches bible160 biblical studies pastoral experience required160 prefer traditional music160 email searchhammockcommunitychurch17gmailcom160posted 050817 back top page 160 associate pastor160 wieuca road baptist church atlanta looking fill newly created position associate pastor associate pastor primary responsibility building ministry designed young adults heshe become face wieuca community young adults families live study work exercise dine play 160lead creation new expression worship focused reaching young adults160 design small group strategy reach young adults focus unchurched individuals work collaboratively current ministerial staff creating ties existing ministries young adults interested candidates masters degree higher accredited seminary theological school experience nurturing presiding growth church culturally relevant setting160 visit wwwwieucaorgapsearch 160for detailed profile application instructions applications accepted june 15 2017 posted 051017 back top page interim pastor160 first congregational methodist church louisville ky seeking interim pastor fcmc congregational methodist church average attendance 5065160 church respectable facilities room expand great location desire biblical spiritual growth interim pastor lead congregation organizations ministry staff perform tasks160 heshe work ministry staff 1 lead church performing tasks 2 lead church engage fellowship worship witness education ministry among members persons community interim pastor shepherd guide spiritual needs church bachelor degree preferred160 please send letter interest resume references cd dvd available to160 first congregational methodist church pastoral selection committee co ms marsha anderson 3810 garland avenue louisville ky 40211 posted 052317 pastor160 small rural southern baptist church located central kentucky seeking pastor due pastors retirement send resume photo audiovideo two recent sermons pastorsearchpisgahoutlookcom posted 051617 fulltime pastor160 first baptist church located winchester kentucky 16 miles east lexington ky seeking fulltime pastor connected southern baptist convention cooperative baptist fellowship seek pastor able affirm dual alignment 157 years congregation christcentered biblebased missionminded looking someone good leadership skills work church staff laity affirm women leadership candidates willing embrace church history well supportive congregation wider community desire pastor lead church outreach growth seminary graduates experience preferred interested candidates referrals submit cover letter resume fbcwinchesterpastorsearchgmailcom deadline june 30 2017 posted 042617 back top page 160 senior pastor160 grace baptist church ifb kjv church zachary la seeking qualified godcalled individual position senior pastor grace church approx 75 members ministries include christian school ace others music style traditional conservative successful applicant formal bible training significant experience associate pastor associate burden christian education interested applicants submit resumes gbczacharygmailcom posted 052217 back top page 160 fulltime senior pastor160 salem avenue baptist church rolla missouri seeking fulltime senior pastor160 primary duties senior pastor sabc preach word god minister congregation guide staff160 staff includes two fulltime ministers one parttime minister support personnel sabc average worship attendance 250 average sunday school attendance 180 annual budget approximately 500k160 church committed local state international missions also several programs designed minister physical needs people community city rolla population approximately 20000 located southcentral missouri160 home missouri university science technology one leading science engineering universities country160 presence university provides many opportunities minister students state region around world160 sabc 1963 baptist faith message church please visit wwwsabchurchorg160 details160 resumes may submitted officesabchurchorg posted 042117 back top page 160 music minister jersey baptist church lexington nc calling parttime 20hrwk music minister vision ministry position provide leadership within aspects churchs ministry specifically focusing music music minister work collaboratively meet ministry goals objectives pastor church leaders ministers music minister responsible coordinating implementing music involved contemporary worship service 830 traditional worship service 1100 responsibilities also include working leaders graded choirs jersey baptist church position initiate plan coordinate music programs activities collaboration pastor music worship committee position encourage promote christian values ideals discipleship demonstrating spiritual maturity position reports personnel committee receive direct coaching mentorship pastor submit inquires résumés jerseybaptiststaffgmailcom posted 061917 director childrens ministry160 greenwood forest baptist church inclusive community faith cary nc seeking parttime 15 hrsweek director childrens ministry director provide leadership faith formation program children ages birth 5th grade families work ministerial team form shape disciples christ gfbc supervised associate pastor worship faith formation theological training accredited theological seminary preferred must support endorse gfbcs core values found website wwwgfbccaryorg gfbc affiliated alliance baptists cooperative baptist fellowship send resume cover letter gfbcsearchgmailcom applicant review begin july 1 2017 060817 minister latino ministries160 first baptist church huntersville nc seeking parttime minister latino ministries fbch moderate baptist congregation located charlotte metro near lake norman 450 active members approximately 50 worship spanishlanguage service seeking candidate strong preaching pastoral care leadership skills also work staff team strengthen connection anglo latino communities candidates must bilingual bachelors degree required seminary training recognized college university preferred detailed church profile job description found wwwfbchorg 160under link n learn tab résumé cover letter may submitted btclaytonmecom august 31 160060817 ministro medio tempo para la congregaciÒn latina160 la primera iglesia bautista de huntersville nc está buscando un ministro medio tiempo para la congregación latina la primera iglesia bautista de huntersville es una moderada congregación localizada en charlotte area metropolitana cerca del lago norman con cerca de 450 miembros activos160 de los cuáles aproximadamente 50 quienes asisten al servicio en español nosotros estamos buscando un candidato con grandes condiciones la hora de predicar cuidado pastoral un gran liderazgo160 quién también trabaje con el personal de la iglesia fortalezca la relación entre las comunidades angloamericanas latinas los candidatos deberán ser bilingües un grado de bachiller es requerido algún160 entrenamiento de seminario de un reconocido colegio universidad es preferible un detallado perfil de la iglesia descripción del puesto puede se encontrado en la página web de nuestra iglesia160 wwwfbchorg160bajo el enlace linkn learn tab currìculum hoja de portada puede ser enviada a160 btclaytonmecom160de 31 de agosto 160060817 parttime consultant leadership development womans missionary union north carolina seeking parttime consultant leadership development work location raleigh nc exceptions considered please send resume cover letter judy pettigrew judyjohnbellsouthnet160 application deadline july 15 job description wwwwmuncorgnowhiring160060817 parttime minister music160 wilmar park baptist church concord nc seeking parttime worship leader160 traditional southern gospel style congregation established music program160 need spiritually minded leader called god provide leadership worship services160 please direct inquiries questions david wilson at160 wdwilsonnovanthealthorg posted 051617 minister music amp senior adults160 first baptist church southern pines nc seeking fulltime minister music amp senior adults160160 ideal minister person deep faith christ possess desire model christcentered devotion personal professional life160 ideal candidate dynamic worship leader direct comprehensive music ministry ages successful leader cast broad vision music excellence deep appreciation diverse eclectic traditional worship styles160 person also responsibilities guide senior adult ministry team qualified lay leaders first baptist church located resort community vibrant diverse population160 position requires advanced music degree accredited theological divinity school160 inquiries may sent john kinney 200 east new york avenue southern pines nc 28387 musicfbcsporg160 160the deadline receiving applications july 15 2017 posted 051117 associate pastor music worship arts160 memorial baptist church greenville nc seeking fulltime associate pastor music worship arts called god provide leadership entire music program responsibilities include planning conducting evaluating comprehensive ministry music worship program music genresage levels providing pastoral care minimum 3 years experience christian music ministry seminary graduate study preferred successful candidate must cooperative enthusiastic conscientious team member displaying authentic christian conduct private public life compensation commensurate experience please submit inquiries recommendations cover letter resume ministersearchtmbcorg160posted 051117 back top page 160 associate pastor youth community engagement160 spring creek baptist church oklahoma city okla accepting candidates associate pastor youth community engagement this160minister160will focus particular needs youth families using primary relationships serve larger church160 information submitting resumes click160 posted 061517 youthassociate pastor160 first baptist church spiro ok seeking youthassociate pastor competitive salary housing offered send resume jamestsmithlivecom posted 061217 back top page 160 minister students families160 first baptist church austin texas open moderate progressive baptist congregation located heart austin affiliate cooperative baptist fellowship alliance baptists looking minister students individual responsible creation implementation ministry students 6th12th grade families position 30 hoursweek great flexibility position report senior pastor member ministerial team job description httpfbcaustinorgjobs please email cover letters resumes youthpastorsubmissionsfbcaustinorg posted 041016 pastor lovera baptist church san antonio texas seeking parttimebivocational pastor lbc affiliated san antonio baptist association lbc seeking pastor lead church evangelism discipleship teaching missions engage community world gospel160 10 years ministerial experience formal theological education preferred160 resumes letters reference sent pastor search committee loverabaptistchurchyahoocom mailed lovera baptist church 333 lovera blvd san antonio tx 78212160 dvds cds links online sermons appreciated160 search committee accepting applications recommendations position filled church phone 2107357837160posted 032717 back top page 160 choral director160 first baptist church abcusa burlington vermont seeking parttime choral director conduct 1520 voice chancel choir sunday mornings thursday evening rehearsals160 choir sings services beginning september midjune summers off160 salary competitive negotiable based experience160 first baptist church supports active music program including childrens choir instrumental ensemble hand bells annual guest organist recital hosts outside musical groups160 submit resumes inquiries fbcvtgmailcom posted 042417 back top page 160 fulltime senior pastor clover bottom baptist church nathalie va looking fulltime pastor clover bottom baptist rural country church located halifax county va dan river baptist association baptist general association virginia send resumes to160 micdocembarqmailcom posted 061417 senior pastor160 walnut grove baptist church mechanicsville va seeking senior pastor seeking energetic shepherd strong pastoral skills flexibility leading various worship styles effective communicator specific skills expanding scope mission programs directing continued growth our160sunday160school youth children music ministries proven ability develop train work church staff lay leadership 5 years experience minimum masters degree accredited seminary divinity school college equivalent experience preferred please send resume references electronic media pastor search committee 7001 cornfield lane mechanicsville va 23111 via email to160 pastorsearchwalnutgrovebaptistcom160by7312017 posted 061317 fulltime associate pastor160 tabernacle baptist church richmond va searching fulltime associate pastor160 church desires dynamic christcentered individual equip community effective framework systems within ministries ideal candidate passion people process ability thrive team environment expertise building teams160 pastoral ministry architectadministrator guide identification gifted laity create implement church wide intergenerational structure better equip communicate mobilize efforts support extend ongoing new ministries160 full position description found wwwtbcrichmondorg160 candidates respond email tbcrichassociatepastorgmailcom expression interest resume later july 15 2017 phone calls please posted 061217 two openings fulltime collegiateyoung adult minister160 baptist general association virginia bgav seeking fulltime collegiateyoung adult minister lead collegiate ministry bcm old dominion university odu norfolk va position also open radford university radford va part statewide effort develop collegiate ministries kairos initiative collegiateyoung adult minister lead ministries campus surrounding community baptist collegiate ministry partnering local churches seeking experienced passionate ministers work well independently context time connected contributing leader statewide team kairos ministries kairos ministers must possess clear sense call collegiate young adult ministry love local congregation desire connect ministries campus ministries churches surrounding community collegiateyoung adult ministers engage young adults christian community discipleship worship leadership development mission service time maintain meaningful relationships bgav churches surrounding area help advocate young adult ministry bgav churches kairos ministers view ministry efforts campus relationships surrounding community churches important expressions call denominational collegiateyoung adult ministry160candidates possess masters degree equivalent accredited theological institution strong record ministry experience demonstrate ability work independently displaying high initiative high quality ministry effort interested ministers send cover letter resume welford orrock kairos team coordinator160 welfordorrockbgavorg information ministry position andor campus setting please contact welford orrock posted 042017 back top page 160 associate director communications160 baptist joint committee religious liberty education advocacy organization washington dc seeking associate director communications expand base support religious liberty implementing bjcs strategic communications program convey importance religious liberty people separation church state apply send following resumesbjconlineorg resume cover letter three samples work details available posted 052317 back top page 160 back top page
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<p>BOSTON — We received more than 400 applications for the GroundTruth Reporting Fellowship on Rising Youth Unemployment, full of great ideas. Applicants from 77 countries proposed stories in 90 countries across six continents.</p>
<p>We have carefully read every application and after many meetings, several spreadsheets and much caffeine, we have narrowed down the field to 40 finalists, listed below. These finalists will now compete to carry out reporting projects in 10 countries. All finalists will be contacted directly with a set of questions, and the answers to these questions will inform the selection of the fellowship recipients, to be announced in early February.</p>
<p>We and our partners at <a href="http://www.ryot.org/" type="external">RYOT News</a> sincerely wish we could grant fellowships to everyone who applied — we will continue to explore ways to expand the project in the year ahead.</p>
<p>Summaries of the finalists’ ideas are also listed below. You can also see the their ideas on <a href="http://ground-truth.tumblr.com/" type="external">Tumblr</a>, where we invite you to <a href="http://ground-truth.tumblr.com/ask" type="external">share your thoughts</a> on the ideas.&#160;</p>
<p>Finalists (in alphabetical order) are:</p>
<p>Lauren Bohn Emanuela Campanella Juanita Ceballos Mika Chance Corinne Chin Anna Clark Laura El-Tantawy Molly Ferrill Jordan Fletcher Jika González Rob Hart Kareem Haruna Elizabeth Herman Juan Herrero Rachel Hoffman Valerie Hopkins Cindy Huang Saila Huusko Monica Ibrahim Mirela Iverac Vanessa Johnston Coleen Jose Emmanuel Julius Menan Khater Yana Kunichoff Fabiano Leal Christopher Livesay Morgan McBride Carter McCall Chika Oduah Edona Peci Maryam Rahmanian Tik Root Yeganeh Salehi Velma Saric Eleanor Stanford Gayathri Vaidyanathan Lucio Villa Monica Wnuk Johnny Wu &#160;</p>
<p>Here is a selection of the finalists’ ideas:</p>
<p>Vanessa Johnston — Italy “In Italy, where youth unemployment is at record levels, many young people are taking advantage of their country's greatest assets - its wine, olive oil, and food production - to turn themselves into agro-entrepreneurs. How much opportunity could this sector provide to Italy's ‘lost generation?’”</p>
<p>Christopher Livesay ( <a href="https://twitter.com/clivesay" type="external">@clivesay</a>) — Italy “A tale of two Italies – one whose native young are hamstrung by over 40 percent youth unemployment, and another that receives tens of thousands of migrants every year from countries plagued by war and poverty, most of whom are young men in search of work. Neither group wants to stay.”</p>
<p>Carter McCall and Mika Chance — Spain “Throughout the 20th century, squatting has been a form of civil disobedience for young Spaniards. After the economic crash, unemployed Spaniards are turning to squatting out of necessity, forming new, self-reliant communities in unoccupied apartment complexes and uncultivated farmland across the country.”</p>
<p>Valerie Hopkins ( <a href="https://twitter.com/Valeriein140" type="external">@Valeriein140</a>) and Edona Peci ( <a href="https://twitter.com/EdonaPeci" type="external">@EdonaPeci</a>) — Kosovo “In print and video, we will examine what 70 percent youth unemployment means in Kosovo, where 70 percent of the population is under thirty and more than half is under 25. We’ll focus on young leaders who are harnessing technology to provide opportunity to the country’s first truly post-war generation.”</p>
<p>Elizabeth Herman and Velma Saric ( <a href="https://twitter.com/velmmina" type="external">@velmmina</a>) — Bosnia-Herzegovina “This report examines the staggering rate of youth unemployment (57%) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, using it as a point of entry to examine the ethnic tensions that persist two decades after the Bosnian War.”</p>
<p>Rachel Hoffman ( <a href="https://twitter.com/rachelikewords" type="external">@rachelikewords</a>) and Cindy Huang ( <a href="https://twitter.com/chuang2012" type="external">@chuang2012</a>) — South Africa “Our story examines the impact of detention and incarceration policies on young people's ability to obtain work in South Africa. Through the story, we hope to enrich the discourse surrounding how policymakers and community leaders can work to stop the cycle of crime and poverty in South Africa.”</p>
<p>Lauren Bohn ( <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurenBohn" type="external">@LaurenBohn</a>) and Chika Oduah ( <a href="https://twitter.com/ChikaOduah" type="external">@ChikaOduah</a>) — Nigeria “A multimedia look at how Nigeria’s millennials are combating woeful inequities with crime, religion, and, at their best, politics and art. In an increasingly vital, though tenuous, oil-rich country, the stakes are high for a generation — and a country — whose fate is yet to be determined.”</p>
<p>Kareem Haruna ( <a href="https://twitter.com/kareemogori" type="external">@kareemogori</a>) and Emmanuel Julius — Nigeria “A look at the intersection of youth unemployment, terrorism and the lack of electricity that has darkened northeast Nigeria in the past decade and fueled the creation of militant Islamist sect Boko Haram. If we had power, could we create jobs and opportunities to curb radicalization?”</p>
<p>Monica Ibrahim ( <a href="https://twitter.com/Monica_Ibrahime" type="external">@Monica_Ibrahime</a>) and Menan Khater ( <a href="https://twitter.com/Menannn1" type="external">@Menannn1</a>) — Egypt “Despite the worsening employment status in Egypt and the growing political turmoil, Young entrepreneurs have emerged to address the government shortcomings. The report will shed light on the emerging entrepreneurial sector in Egypt, the challenges and the promises. It is presenting entrepreneurs' journey toward fulfilling their dreams and combating unemployment.”</p>
<p>Laura El-Tantawy ( <a href="https://twitter.com/lauraeltantawy" type="external">@lauraeltantawy</a>) — Egypt “This project explores how a small Egyptian village in the Nile Delta has transformed itself from a traditional, agriculturally dependent economy to a thriving mini metropolis through trade in Chinese-made products.”</p>
<p>Yeganeh Salehi ( <a href="https://twitter.com/yeganehsalehi" type="external">@yeganehsalehi</a>) and Maryam Rahmanian — Iran “An in-depth look at how youth unemployment is transforming Iran's traditional values, changing gender roles in a male dominated society. Women are gaining ground, but there are also troubling effects that are going largely ignored that will be investigated in this project.”</p>
<p>Eleanor Stanford ( <a href="https://twitter.com/elucylinnet" type="external">@elucylinnet</a>) and Saila Huusko ( <a href="https://twitter.com/sailajohanna" type="external">@sailajohanna</a>) — United States “This project explores what youth unemployment means for traditionally blue-collar communities in today’s United States. Through multimedia and written word portraits, it will tell the stories of 6 young unemployed men in towns that have felt the full force of America’s industrial decline: Gary, IN, Youngstown, OH, and Buffalo, NY.”</p>
<p>Molly Ferrill and Johnny Wu — United States “A short video piece on the young generation's struggle with unemployment and lack of opportunity on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The piece will follow several Lakota youth as they work to create a future for themselves in the face of extreme poverty, isolation, and pervasive generational trauma.”</p>
<p>Morgan McBride — United States “I hope to build an articulate photographic essay on the unemployed youth demographic in Detroit. Using the photographic medium, city image archives and a compelling written component I hope to tell an important, multi-dimensional story of violence, corruption, inequality, tenacity, strength and pure grit among the youth of Detroit.”</p>
<p>Gayathri Vaidyanathan ( <a href="https://twitter.com/gayathriv" type="external">@gayathriv</a>) and Mirela Iverac ( <a href="https://twitter.com/mirelaiverac" type="external">@mirelaiverac</a>) —India “In India’s most populous state, colleges churn out educated young men for whom there are few jobs. Some return home to villages and take up farming or other types of agricultural labor. Others enter politics, which is seen as the lottery ticket out of the intergenerational cycle of poverty.”</p>
<p>Coleen Jose ( <a href="https://twitter.com/coleenjose" type="external">@coleenjose</a>) — Philippines “I will examine how this rising economy is leaving behind millions of its unemployed youth by failing to support their technologically driven endeavors. This project will uncover how the most digitally engaged group on the planet is raising issue and innovation through social media.”</p>
<p>Juanita Ceballos ( <a href="https://twitter.com/jceballosv" type="external">@jceballosv</a>) and Jika González ( <a href="https://twitter.com/JikaGlez" type="external">@JikaGlez</a>) — Cuba “We want to tell the story of how today’s Cuban youth is circumventing an old and decayed system by taking alternate paths, not only to make ends meet but to make careers for themselves. We want to produce a collage of voices that paints the reality of Cuba’s youth.”</p>
<p>Corinne Chin ( <a href="https://twitter.com/CorinneChin" type="external">@CorinneChin</a>) and Fabiano Leal ( <a href="https://twitter.com/fabianohtl" type="external">@fabianohtl</a>) — Brazil “Geração nem-nem – "generation neither-nor" – is growing. One in five young Brazilians neither attend school nor work. In Rio de Janeiro's favelas, that number rises to 34%. They're losing faith in their country: “Imagina na Copa,” locals say – imagine how much worse it'll be during the World Cup.”</p>
<p>Anna Clark ( <a href="https://twitter.com/annaleighclark" type="external">@annaleighclark</a>) and Jordan Fletcher ( <a href="https://twitter.com/fletchjordan" type="external">@fletchjordan</a>) — United States “Unwilling to be marginalized, young people in Detroit fight to remake their communities – and their futures – even as the city itself struggles to survive.”</p>
<p>Rob Hart ( <a href="https://twitter.com/robhartphoto" type="external">@robhartphoto</a>) and Monika Wnuk ( <a href="https://twitter.com/Monzagnes" type="external">@Monzagnes</a>) — United States “Chicago is in the top 20 percent of U.S. cities with high rates of unemployment, and crime. We'd like to explore how crime and its aftermath affects economic outcomes of the city's residents. We aim to find the names you don't know but the faces you cannot forget.”</p>
<p>Yana Kunichoff ( <a href="https://twitter.com/yanazure" type="external">@yanazure</a>) and Lucio Villa ( <a href="https://twitter.com/luciovilla" type="external">@luciovilla</a>) — United States “We propose to look at the overlap between youth violence and youth unemployment in three American cities. Our focus will be on America’s urban youth of color, the way policies targeted at unemployment and violence affect them, and how young people themselves use activism to fight disenfranchisement.”</p>
<p>Emanuela Campanella ( <a href="https://twitter.com/emacampanella" type="external">@emacampanella</a>) — Italy “Italy is losing its best and brightest to a decade of high youth unemployment. A series of video features will be produced on young italian immigrants that will shed light on their motivations and reasons for leaving. ”</p>
<p>Tik Root ( <a href="https://twitter.com/tikroot" type="external">@tikroot</a>) and Juan Herrero ( <a href="https://twitter.com/DustWeAre" type="external">@DustWeAre</a>) — Spain “Far from cameras and reporters, the plight of young people in rural Spain — where youth unemployment rates climb over 90 percent — has gone largely unnoticed. Focusing on a northern region and southern province, we hope to paint fuller picture of Spain’s ‘lost generation.'” &#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/groundtruth/globalpost-groundtruth-reporting-fellowship-youth-unemployment" type="external">GlobalPost announces GroundTruth reporting fellowship on rising youth unemployment</a></p>
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boston received 400 applications groundtruth reporting fellowship rising youth unemployment full great ideas applicants 77 countries proposed stories 90 countries across six continents carefully read every application many meetings several spreadsheets much caffeine narrowed field 40 finalists listed finalists compete carry reporting projects 10 countries finalists contacted directly set questions answers questions inform selection fellowship recipients announced early february partners ryot news sincerely wish could grant fellowships everyone applied continue explore ways expand project year ahead summaries finalists ideas also listed also see ideas tumblr invite share thoughts ideas160 finalists alphabetical order lauren bohn emanuela campanella juanita ceballos mika chance corinne chin anna clark laura eltantawy molly ferrill jordan fletcher jika gonzález rob hart kareem haruna elizabeth herman juan herrero rachel hoffman valerie hopkins cindy huang saila huusko monica ibrahim mirela iverac vanessa johnston coleen jose emmanuel julius menan khater yana kunichoff fabiano leal christopher livesay morgan mcbride carter mccall chika oduah edona peci maryam rahmanian tik root yeganeh salehi velma saric eleanor stanford gayathri vaidyanathan lucio villa monica wnuk johnny wu 160 selection finalists ideas vanessa johnston italy italy youth unemployment record levels many young people taking advantage countrys greatest assets wine olive oil food production turn agroentrepreneurs much opportunity could sector provide italys lost generation christopher livesay clivesay italy tale two italies one whose native young hamstrung 40 percent youth unemployment another receives tens thousands migrants every year countries plagued war poverty young men search work neither group wants stay carter mccall mika chance spain throughout 20th century squatting form civil disobedience young spaniards economic crash unemployed spaniards turning squatting necessity forming new selfreliant communities unoccupied apartment complexes uncultivated farmland across country valerie hopkins valeriein140 edona peci edonapeci kosovo print video examine 70 percent youth unemployment means kosovo 70 percent population thirty half 25 well focus young leaders harnessing technology provide opportunity countrys first truly postwar generation elizabeth herman velma saric velmmina bosniaherzegovina report examines staggering rate youth unemployment 57 bosnia herzegovina using point entry examine ethnic tensions persist two decades bosnian war rachel hoffman rachelikewords cindy huang chuang2012 south africa story examines impact detention incarceration policies young peoples ability obtain work south africa story hope enrich discourse surrounding policymakers community leaders work stop cycle crime poverty south africa lauren bohn laurenbohn chika oduah chikaoduah nigeria multimedia look nigerias millennials combating woeful inequities crime religion best politics art increasingly vital though tenuous oilrich country stakes high generation country whose fate yet determined kareem haruna kareemogori emmanuel julius nigeria look intersection youth unemployment terrorism lack electricity darkened northeast nigeria past decade fueled creation militant islamist sect boko haram power could create jobs opportunities curb radicalization monica ibrahim monica_ibrahime menan khater menannn1 egypt despite worsening employment status egypt growing political turmoil young entrepreneurs emerged address government shortcomings report shed light emerging entrepreneurial sector egypt challenges promises presenting entrepreneurs journey toward fulfilling dreams combating unemployment laura eltantawy lauraeltantawy egypt project explores small egyptian village nile delta transformed traditional agriculturally dependent economy thriving mini metropolis trade chinesemade products yeganeh salehi yeganehsalehi maryam rahmanian iran indepth look youth unemployment transforming irans traditional values changing gender roles male dominated society women gaining ground also troubling effects going largely ignored investigated project eleanor stanford elucylinnet saila huusko sailajohanna united states project explores youth unemployment means traditionally bluecollar communities todays united states multimedia written word portraits tell stories 6 young unemployed men towns felt full force americas industrial decline gary youngstown oh buffalo ny molly ferrill johnny wu united states short video piece young generations struggle unemployment lack opportunity pine ridge reservation south dakota piece follow several lakota youth work create future face extreme poverty isolation pervasive generational trauma morgan mcbride united states hope build articulate photographic essay unemployed youth demographic detroit using photographic medium city image archives compelling written component hope tell important multidimensional story violence corruption inequality tenacity strength pure grit among youth detroit gayathri vaidyanathan gayathriv mirela iverac mirelaiverac india indias populous state colleges churn educated young men jobs return home villages take farming types agricultural labor others enter politics seen lottery ticket intergenerational cycle poverty coleen jose coleenjose philippines examine rising economy leaving behind millions unemployed youth failing support technologically driven endeavors project uncover digitally engaged group planet raising issue innovation social media juanita ceballos jceballosv jika gonzález jikaglez cuba want tell story todays cuban youth circumventing old decayed system taking alternate paths make ends meet make careers want produce collage voices paints reality cubas youth corinne chin corinnechin fabiano leal fabianohtl brazil geração nemnem generation neithernor growing one five young brazilians neither attend school work rio de janeiros favelas number rises 34 theyre losing faith country imagina na copa locals say imagine much worse itll world cup anna clark annaleighclark jordan fletcher fletchjordan united states unwilling marginalized young people detroit fight remake communities futures even city struggles survive rob hart robhartphoto monika wnuk monzagnes united states chicago top 20 percent us cities high rates unemployment crime wed like explore crime aftermath affects economic outcomes citys residents aim find names dont know faces forget yana kunichoff yanazure lucio villa luciovilla united states propose look overlap youth violence youth unemployment three american cities focus americas urban youth color way policies targeted unemployment violence affect young people use activism fight disenfranchisement emanuela campanella emacampanella italy italy losing best brightest decade high youth unemployment series video features produced young italian immigrants shed light motivations reasons leaving tik root tikroot juan herrero dustweare spain far cameras reporters plight young people rural spain youth unemployment rates climb 90 percent gone largely unnoticed focusing northern region southern province hope paint fuller picture spains lost generation 160 globalpost160 globalpost announces groundtruth reporting fellowship rising youth unemployment
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<p>CURWOOD: From the Jennifer and Ted Stanley Studios in Boston and PRI, this is Living on Earth. Im Steve Curwood. West Africa is caught in the grip of the largest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus that the world has ever seen and the death rate is rising. As we record this, over 3,000 cases have been reported across Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria, and so far more than 1,500 people have died. And recently, an outbreak of a different strain of Ebola emerged in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which got us wondering whether environmental factors might be playing a role in the spread of this scary disease. We called up Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Welcome back to Living on Earth, Dr. Fauci. FAUCI: Good to be with you. CURWOOD: So first, give us a little history on this disease. What is Ebola and where did it come from? FAUCI: Ebola is a viral disease that actually is fundamentally a disease of animals. It pops up and jumps species from animal to human intermittently. We don't know exactly how it occurs, but fruit bats, which people do eat for protein nourishment in the areas of Central Sub-Saharan Africa and even in West Africa, but also nonhuman primates and some animals get infected and people either through butchering them and eating them can get infected. It was first recognized in 1976 in the former Zare, currently to Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as in Sudan. Since 1976, there have been about two dozen outbreaks that range in size from just a few people to a few hundred people. As you know, right now the outbreak that's going on in West Africa is much much larger and by far the worst we've ever experienced. Generally, what we see is an outbreak that occurs and usually gets under control because of isolation and infection control practices in geographically restricted areas, because the outbreaks are usually in villages. The current outbreak now is different because it's not in a geographically restricted area, it is in three or four countries that have porous borders, that have high populations and it has gotten into the city. And that's one of the reasons why it is very much not in control. It is actually quite out-of-control. The Guinea Red Cross Society has trained over 400 volunteers to help respond to the outbreak. (Photo: European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Departmen CURWOOD: What do you make of recent reports of yet a different stain of Ebola developing in the Congo compared to what's going on in West Africa? FAUCI: That's not surprising to me because, as I said, there have been about two dozen outbreaks since 1976, and what we see now is unfortunately simultaneous ongoing epidemic and outbreak predominantly in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. That's an ongoing epidemic with a particular strain of Ebola. What we've seen now simultaneously in the Congo is an outbreak of Ebola thats a different strain. So they're not connected. It isn't as if there was transmission from the West African countries that we mentioned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It's a different outbreak. CURWOOD: Now, in the past we've seen these outbreaks. A few years go by, there's an outbreak and then more time goes by. Now we're having, what, this big outbreak and yet there's another different strain just a few weeks later. What could be going on here? FAUCI: Well, you know, it's difficult to determine that. These are random outbreaks. If you look at the two dozen outbreaks that have occurred since 1976, there is no rhythm or pattern to it. They come up in an unpredictable way. So I don't think you can make much out of the fact that at the time we're in the middle of a very serious outbreak in the West African countries that we also have what looks like the beginnings of a mini outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hopefully that second outbreak will be able to be contained more efficiently than the one that's currently going on in West Africa. A volunteer and Guineans gather in a market in the city of Conkary (Photo: European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department) CURWOOD: To what extent do you think environmental factors are playing a role here? FAUCI: Well, I'm sure there are some since this is what we call a zoonotic infection, by zoonotic we meant this is predominantly an animal infection that intermittently jumps species to the humans. For example, we know that fruit bats carry this virus, and when people encroach upon this environment into some of forest, into the rainforest, into the woods, into the jungles, into those areas they come into more frequent contact with animals that are actually infected, and that kind of encroachment on the environment could possibly theoretically play a role in what appears to be perhaps a more frequent outbreak. CURWOOD: So Ebola's a zoonotic disease...we have the bird flu, HIV, SARS. It seems like we've been a lot of these lately. What do you think is going on? Why so many diseases coming from animals in recent years? Map of Ebola outbreaks (Photo: Antoon Kuper, Creative Commons 2.0) FAUCI: Well, there are probably a lot of reasons that are complex, and then there are some reasons we own even fully appreciate, but some of the ones, for example, if you take influenza, it's the close proximity of chickens, waterfowl, pigs and people. If you look at the places where they generally originate, in the far east, in China, in those areas where we see many of the flus emerge, not all, but many of them. It's that kind of proximity of animals that serve as the host for these viruses and mankind, and again, it all comes under the big umbrella of the encroachment of mankind, again, upon environmental factors, including animal habitations. CURWOOD: Let's talk about population. Sub-Saharan Africa is having one of the biggest increases on the planet. A lot of those people are in cities. Something like Ebola in the city...that Sounds like the basis of the script for a horror movie. FAUCI: Well certainly when you get into the city it makes it much more difficult to contain, to isolate, and even to do contact tracing. One of the best tools for getting one's arms around and controlling and ultimately stamping out an outbreak is to do what we call contact tracing. Getting people who've come into contact with a sick person and may themselves be infected, and then putting them under isolation quarantine so that they will not infect others and if they do get infected you can treat them immediately as opposed to having them walk around in society. When you have a big city and you have an outbreak it becomes much more difficult to do contact tracing thaan if you have a mini outbreak in a small village in a remote area. CURWOOD: So what are the people doing in countries like Sierra Leona and Libera to cope with this disease? Ebola Virus (Photo: National Institutes of Health) FAUCI: Well, it's very, very difficult. They're trying both the in-country people themselves as well as help from the outside groups like Mdecins Sans Frontires, the WHO, the World Bank, and countries that have a special interest in trying to help out. I mean we are now trying to get hospital beds over there. The CDC has sent experienced medical personnel to help to do contact tracing, resources are going there, so it really needs a concerted global solidarity effort to help those West African countries control and hopefully eliminate this outbreak. CURWOOD: A series of Liberian musicians - F.A., Soul Fresh, Den G, they recently released a song called "Ebola is real". It's sort of a public service announcement about the disease that's one most popular songs right now in the country. Let's take a listen. [MUSIC: Various Artists Ebola Song (Self Produced)] CURWOOD: Dr. Fauci, how important are songs like this in raising public awareness in countries like Liberia? FAUCI: Well, I think anything that can effectively away, arise and fortify public awareness is important. Be it a song, be it a public service announcement, be it leadership of the country getting out, popular figures getting out and talking about it because you want to get away from the myths and the stigmas associated with it because when people get sick, they need to go to a proper healthcare facility, they need to be isolated under the proper conditions, and they need to have the protective equipment of the people to take care of them. When people are misinformed about this and they are gripped by the stigma associated with it, they will not seek the appropriate care, get taken care in their own homes, and when that happens, they spread it to their families, the people who take care of the bodies after people die can also get infected. All of that can be helped in the sense of in a positive way if messages, correct messages of what the dangers on what needs to be done. So be it a song, be it a popular rock group, be it a public service announcement. All of that can help. Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institutes of Healths National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Photo: Jim Wallace, Smithsonian Institution) CURWOOD: Now, a lot is being made about doctors and community workers being treated for Ebola in the United States. Set the record straight for us. How worried should we be about Ebola coming here to the US? FAUCI: Well, I would not be surprised if someone gets infected in a West African country, gets on a plane feeling well, and then gets here. It could be New York, Washington, Paris, London, or whatever and actually gets sick with Ebola. I don't think that's a big stretch of the imagination. What won't happen here is the kind of out-of-control outbreak that we're seeing in West Africa. You may have a person infected, and that person might infect someone else before one realizes that you're dealing with Ebola, but once you get the proper healthcare facility, the isolation, the quarantine, the contact tracing, that's what will prevent there being a major outbreak. CURWOOD: Fill us in on the state of the vaccines and treatment for this disease? FAUCI: Well, first of all, there is no treatment and no vaccine that is been approved to be safe and effective. There's a lot of work going on right now in trying to develop both therapies and vaccines, and in fact, here at the NIH we have a vaccine and it's one of several candidates - it's not the only one - that is shown to be effective in an animal model, a monkey model, to protecting these animals from lethal challenge with Ebola virus. This will soon go into humans in a phase one trial for safety right here at the NIH. It probably will be starting in a couple of weeks so the research is going on in an accelerated rate, but the bottom line is that this particular time we don't have a vaccine, we don't have treatment. The best way to address the Ebola outbreak is by good public health practices, namely isolation, protective equipment for people who are taking care of individuals, good infection control and quarantine where appropriate. CURWOOD: So, at the end of the day, what do we need to get a handle on the disease. We need the resources to allow the people in the West African countries to do the proper infection control. They are in the situation now where it's a bit out of control, in fact, quite out of control. They need help, they need supplies, they need equipment, and they need personnel, and that's what hopefully the rest of the world will help them get. CURWOOD: Dr. Anthony Fauci is an immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Thanks for taking the time today. FAUCI: Very good to be with you.</p>
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curwood jennifer ted stanley studios boston pri living earth im steve curwood west africa caught grip largest outbreak deadly ebola virus world ever seen death rate rising record 3000 cases reported across guinea liberia sierra leone nigeria far 1500 people died recently outbreak different strain ebola emerged democratic republic congo got us wondering whether environmental factors might playing role spread scary disease called dr anthony fauci head national institute allergy infectious diseases welcome back living earth dr fauci fauci good curwood first give us little history disease ebola come fauci ebola viral disease actually fundamentally disease animals pops jumps species animal human intermittently dont know exactly occurs fruit bats people eat protein nourishment areas central subsaharan africa even west africa also nonhuman primates animals get infected people either butchering eating get infected first recognized 1976 former zare currently democratic republic congo well sudan since 1976 two dozen outbreaks range size people hundred people know right outbreak thats going west africa much much larger far worst weve ever experienced generally see outbreak occurs usually gets control isolation infection control practices geographically restricted areas outbreaks usually villages current outbreak different geographically restricted area three four countries porous borders high populations gotten city thats one reasons much control actually quite outofcontrol guinea red cross society trained 400 volunteers help respond outbreak photo european commission humanitarian aid civil protection departmen curwood make recent reports yet different stain ebola developing congo compared whats going west africa fauci thats surprising said two dozen outbreaks since 1976 see unfortunately simultaneous ongoing epidemic outbreak predominantly guinea sierra leone liberia thats ongoing epidemic particular strain ebola weve seen simultaneously congo outbreak ebola thats different strain theyre connected isnt transmission west african countries mentioned democratic republic congo different outbreak curwood past weve seen outbreaks years go theres outbreak time goes big outbreak yet theres another different strain weeks later could going fauci well know difficult determine random outbreaks look two dozen outbreaks occurred since 1976 rhythm pattern come unpredictable way dont think make much fact time middle serious outbreak west african countries also looks like beginnings mini outbreak democratic republic congo hopefully second outbreak able contained efficiently one thats currently going west africa volunteer guineans gather market city conkary photo european commission humanitarian aid civil protection department curwood extent think environmental factors playing role fauci well im sure since call zoonotic infection zoonotic meant predominantly animal infection intermittently jumps species humans example know fruit bats carry virus people encroach upon environment forest rainforest woods jungles areas come frequent contact animals actually infected kind encroachment environment could possibly theoretically play role appears perhaps frequent outbreak curwood ebolas zoonotic diseasewe bird flu hiv sars seems like weve lot lately think going many diseases coming animals recent years map ebola outbreaks photo antoon kuper creative commons 20 fauci well probably lot reasons complex reasons even fully appreciate ones example take influenza close proximity chickens waterfowl pigs people look places generally originate far east china areas see many flus emerge many kind proximity animals serve host viruses mankind comes big umbrella encroachment mankind upon environmental factors including animal habitations curwood lets talk population subsaharan africa one biggest increases planet lot people cities something like ebola citythat sounds like basis script horror movie fauci well certainly get city makes much difficult contain isolate even contact tracing one best tools getting ones arms around controlling ultimately stamping outbreak call contact tracing getting people whove come contact sick person may infected putting isolation quarantine infect others get infected treat immediately opposed walk around society big city outbreak becomes much difficult contact tracing thaan mini outbreak small village remote area curwood people countries like sierra leona libera cope disease ebola virus photo national institutes health fauci well difficult theyre trying incountry people well help outside groups like mdecins sans frontires world bank countries special interest trying help mean trying get hospital beds cdc sent experienced medical personnel help contact tracing resources going really needs concerted global solidarity effort help west african countries control hopefully eliminate outbreak curwood series liberian musicians fa soul fresh den g recently released song called ebola real sort public service announcement disease thats one popular songs right country lets take listen music various artists ebola song self produced curwood dr fauci important songs like raising public awareness countries like liberia fauci well think anything effectively away arise fortify public awareness important song public service announcement leadership country getting popular figures getting talking want get away myths stigmas associated people get sick need go proper healthcare facility need isolated proper conditions need protective equipment people take care people misinformed gripped stigma associated seek appropriate care get taken care homes happens spread families people take care bodies people die also get infected helped sense positive way messages correct messages dangers needs done song popular rock group public service announcement help anthony fauci md director national institutes healths national institute allergy infectious diseases photo jim wallace smithsonian institution curwood lot made doctors community workers treated ebola united states set record straight us worried ebola coming us fauci well would surprised someone gets infected west african country gets plane feeling well gets could new york washington paris london whatever actually gets sick ebola dont think thats big stretch imagination wont happen kind outofcontrol outbreak seeing west africa may person infected person might infect someone else one realizes youre dealing ebola get proper healthcare facility isolation quarantine contact tracing thats prevent major outbreak curwood fill us state vaccines treatment disease fauci well first treatment vaccine approved safe effective theres lot work going right trying develop therapies vaccines fact nih vaccine one several candidates one shown effective animal model monkey model protecting animals lethal challenge ebola virus soon go humans phase one trial safety right nih probably starting couple weeks research going accelerated rate bottom line particular time dont vaccine dont treatment best way address ebola outbreak good public health practices namely isolation protective equipment people taking care individuals good infection control quarantine appropriate curwood end day need get handle disease need resources allow people west african countries proper infection control situation bit control fact quite control need help need supplies need equipment need personnel thats hopefully rest world help get curwood dr anthony fauci immunologist director national institute allergy infectious diseases thanks taking time today fauci good
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<p>[Editor's note:&#160;The <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/thailand/091123/eating-dogs-dog-meat-mafia-capture" type="external">Dog Meat Mafia</a> is a four-part special report on Southeast Asia's booming dog meat trade&#160;— a crime-ridden, multi-million dollar industry that stretches from upcountry Thailand, through Laos and into Vietnam. The series examines the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/thailand/091123/eating-dogs-dog-meat-mafia-capture" type="external">economic</a>, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/thailand/091123/eating-dogs-dog-meat-mafia-conscience" type="external">cultural</a> and illicit aspects of the controversial business, and features an <a href="../../../../../../video/commerce/091126/location-tae-rae-thailand" type="external">On Location video</a> that illustrates how it works.]</p>
<p>BAAN PEHNG, Thailand – By day, this is a forgettable farming village, a speck of civilization sprung from the Mekong River banks.</p>
<p>Buffalo and man work the earth, scenting the breeze with toiled dirt. Teenagers zip along rice pastures on noisy motorbikes. Across the river, Laos’ scrubby shore is visible through a silver mist.</p>
<p>But after nightfall, the howling begins.</p>
<p>Long-haul trucks chug into town with stinking loads, bound for makeshift platforms on the Mekong. Though tarps cover their cargo, there is no mistaking it: the nuclear-strength musk of fur, urine and frightened animal. Each truck can carry more than 700 dogs. Their stink singes the throat.</p>
<p>There is no permanent, sanctioned border crossing in the village of Baan Pehng. But each night, the riverbanks here come alive with cargo trucks, long-tail boats and smugglers working in sync to smuggle roughly 1,000 dogs across the border.</p>
<p>No fees, no customs, no inspections. Just cage after cage of stray dogs, freshly caught from the Thai countryside, secretly transported to Laos and trucked to Hanoi-area abattoirs.</p>
<p>“All this exportation of dogs, it’s a mafia,” says Phumpat Pachonsap, a motorcycle dealer who represents the Nakhon Phanom province in parliament for Thailand’s Bhumjai Thai party.</p>
<p />
<p>Recently, Phumpat has taken the parliament floor to recount the dog trade’s ills: animal cruelty, the spread of rabies, unchecked smuggling – even the rancid smell. So far, he says, his pleas have been met with apathy and even threats from other politicians.</p>
<p>“There hasn’t been a crackdown because the officials, the police, they all take bribes,” he says. “It’s deceitful. It’s corruption.”</p>
<p>According to police sources, politicians and traffickers themselves, the trade exports more than 30,000 dogs per month — and even more as winter approaches. During chilly weather, the meat is ceremonially consumed to warm the body.</p>
<p>Though reviled by mainstream Thai society, killing and eating dogs carries no legal penalty. Much of the other laws broken by regional dog traffickers — such as noise disturbance and transporting unvaccinated animals — are largely unenforced.</p>
<p>But Baan Pehng’s underground ports constitute the dog trade’s most criminal element: nightly cross-border smuggling. The village is ideal for trafficking to Vietnam, separated by only a 100-mile sliver of Laos.</p>
<p>Convincing authorities to tolerate the illegal ports requires extensive pay-offs, traffickers and police say. One inside source in Baan Pehng says the bribes amount to 25 baht per smuggled dog — about 75 cents — paid to a local administrator who provides a one-stop kickback service that divvies the cash out to every necessary authority.</p>
<p>“It’s a big network involving low-level politicians to high-level politicians … who then use it to fund their political activities,” says Phumpat. “I’m just asking the politicians and police to not look the other way. To follow the law.”</p>
<p>But provincial and customs police largely regard dog smuggling as minor compared to other illicit imports, such as drugs and illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>“Don’t give so much attention to these dogs,” says Maj. Gen. Panamporn Eithiprasert, chief of Nakhon Phanom province. The chief, who claims the highest volume of narcotic seizures in the region, insists that chasing dog traffickers would only distract from real police work.</p>
<p>“With drugs, even a small amount can ruin lives. With illegal immigrants, they take jobs from Thais,” he says. “But stray dogs? Is anyone taking something from us that we value?”</p>
<p>Baan Pehng’s mayor, in a 2007 Thai TV documentary, compared dog collectors to garbage men. “Society says those who trade dogs are low-lifes. But I’m a politician and I say it’s an honest business,” Mayor Narong Pansan told reporters. “It’s like selling garbage to foreigners for a profit.”</p>
<p>Villagers tend to regard dog syndicate bosses as Capone-like figures: untouchable, connected and extremely wealthy.</p>
<p>Baan Pehng locals say one smuggling boss paid tribute to his profession by commissioning a statue of a helmeted dog, displayed on a pole on his front lawn. Another recently murdered boss, a female called “Jae Gim,” still inspires wild rumors from the grave.</p>
<p>“She owned 50 cars,” says Tassanee Hemha, who runs of a home-based dog meat eatery in Nakhon Phanom province. “She was very rich, for sure. But they say she overpromised the Vietnamese.”</p>
<p>At $10 per dog, the price Lao or Vietnamese distributors are said to pay Thai traffickers, a night’s profit can easily reach into the tens of thousands. If 1,000 are smuggled per day — the most widely accepted estimate — the trade could generate as much as $3.6 million each year for Thai dog syndicates.</p>
<p>Others insist the traffic is much heavier. “I’ve seen 5,000 cross in one night. Never less than 2,000,” says Somchai, a former elected official and retired tobacco farmer in Baan Pehng. Publishing his full name, he says, would lead to payback from dog traffickers.</p>
<p>Somchai’s country estate sits within earshot of the noisy, illegal piers. He has only seen the traffickers shut down once: during this year’s swine flu scare. “There was some scrutiny then,” he says. “But, mostly, they never stop. The countryside will never run out of dogs to catch and sell.”</p>
<p>By the Mekong, Somchai revealed a string of muddy ports littered with bamboo ramps. Each was linked to the highway by cratered paths.</p>
<p>By 10 p.m., the first transfer truck arrived, creaking under the weight of 700-plus dogs. Through a gauzy tarp draped over the cages, hundreds of eyes flickered in the dark. The high yips and guttural woofs sounded out across the fields for miles.</p>
<p>“It’s noisy. It’s disgusting. It reeks … and outsiders mock us,” Phumpat says. “We just can’t allow this.”</p>
<p>Next in The Dog Meat Mafia: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/thailand/091123/eating-dogs-dog-meat-mafia-conscience" type="external">Conscience</a>. Many Thais wonder whether Southeast Asia's booming dog meat trade is animal cruelty, or taking out society's trash.</p>
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editors note160the dog meat mafia fourpart special report southeast asias booming dog meat trade160 crimeridden multimillion dollar industry stretches upcountry thailand laos vietnam series examines economic cultural illicit aspects controversial business features location video illustrates works baan pehng thailand day forgettable farming village speck civilization sprung mekong river banks buffalo man work earth scenting breeze toiled dirt teenagers zip along rice pastures noisy motorbikes across river laos scrubby shore visible silver mist nightfall howling begins longhaul trucks chug town stinking loads bound makeshift platforms mekong though tarps cover cargo mistaking nuclearstrength musk fur urine frightened animal truck carry 700 dogs stink singes throat permanent sanctioned border crossing village baan pehng night riverbanks come alive cargo trucks longtail boats smugglers working sync smuggle roughly 1000 dogs across border fees customs inspections cage cage stray dogs freshly caught thai countryside secretly transported laos trucked hanoiarea abattoirs exportation dogs mafia says phumpat pachonsap motorcycle dealer represents nakhon phanom province parliament thailands bhumjai thai party recently phumpat taken parliament floor recount dog trades ills animal cruelty spread rabies unchecked smuggling even rancid smell far says pleas met apathy even threats politicians hasnt crackdown officials police take bribes says deceitful corruption according police sources politicians traffickers trade exports 30000 dogs per month even winter approaches chilly weather meat ceremonially consumed warm body though reviled mainstream thai society killing eating dogs carries legal penalty much laws broken regional dog traffickers noise disturbance transporting unvaccinated animals largely unenforced baan pehngs underground ports constitute dog trades criminal element nightly crossborder smuggling village ideal trafficking vietnam separated 100mile sliver laos convincing authorities tolerate illegal ports requires extensive payoffs traffickers police say one inside source baan pehng says bribes amount 25 baht per smuggled dog 75 cents paid local administrator provides onestop kickback service divvies cash every necessary authority big network involving lowlevel politicians highlevel politicians use fund political activities says phumpat im asking politicians police look way follow law provincial customs police largely regard dog smuggling minor compared illicit imports drugs illegal immigrants dont give much attention dogs says maj gen panamporn eithiprasert chief nakhon phanom province chief claims highest volume narcotic seizures region insists chasing dog traffickers would distract real police work drugs even small amount ruin lives illegal immigrants take jobs thais says stray dogs anyone taking something us value baan pehngs mayor 2007 thai tv documentary compared dog collectors garbage men society says trade dogs lowlifes im politician say honest business mayor narong pansan told reporters like selling garbage foreigners profit villagers tend regard dog syndicate bosses caponelike figures untouchable connected extremely wealthy baan pehng locals say one smuggling boss paid tribute profession commissioning statue helmeted dog displayed pole front lawn another recently murdered boss female called jae gim still inspires wild rumors grave owned 50 cars says tassanee hemha runs homebased dog meat eatery nakhon phanom province rich sure say overpromised vietnamese 10 per dog price lao vietnamese distributors said pay thai traffickers nights profit easily reach tens thousands 1000 smuggled per day widely accepted estimate trade could generate much 36 million year thai dog syndicates others insist traffic much heavier ive seen 5000 cross one night never less 2000 says somchai former elected official retired tobacco farmer baan pehng publishing full name says would lead payback dog traffickers somchais country estate sits within earshot noisy illegal piers seen traffickers shut years swine flu scare scrutiny says mostly never stop countryside never run dogs catch sell mekong somchai revealed string muddy ports littered bamboo ramps linked highway cratered paths 10 pm first transfer truck arrived creaking weight 700plus dogs gauzy tarp draped cages hundreds eyes flickered dark high yips guttural woofs sounded across fields miles noisy disgusting reeks outsiders mock us phumpat says cant allow next dog meat mafia conscience many thais wonder whether southeast asias booming dog meat trade animal cruelty taking societys trash
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<p>CAIRO, Egypt — Five and a half months after the military coup that unseated Egypt's former President Mohamed Morsi, a handful of his closest aides remain in military detention, incarcerated in the headquarters of the country’s elite Republican Guard.</p>
<p>Egypt’s new interim government has yet to formally acknowledge the aides’ military detention, instead maintaining that they have remained in a formal prison throughout this period.</p>
<p>But relatives of the men speak of months of worry and confusion, during which they have gleaned only a trickle of information about their loved ones’ whereabouts through occasional phone calls from inside the Republican Guard headquarters. Each of those has lasted for little more than a minute.</p>
<p>“They're usually on speakerphone, or sometimes the first speaker is someone I don't know,” a relative of Khaled al-Qazzaz, one of the aides, told GlobalPost. “Then they hand [him] the phone and he tells me he is OK and asks how the kids are.”</p>
<p>The relative spoke on condition of anonymity, a sign of the fear that has gripped families of Muslim Brotherhood figures who previously held some of the highest offices in the country.</p>
<p>Under international law, the conditions of the aides’ detention constitute enforced disappearance, a fate that the UN General Assembly has repeatedly described as “an offense to human dignity” and a “grave and flagrant violation” of international human rights law.</p>
<p>Egypt’s interior ministry refused to comment on the allegations when approached by GlobalPost.</p>
<p>According to relatives and rights groups that have monitored the detentions, five of Morsi’s top aides, arrested on July 3 when members of the Republican Guard entered the president’s inner sanctum to announce that his time was up, were kept inside the force's Cairo facility until just this week.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, three were moved into formal prison facilities. Qazzaz, a member of Morsi’s campaign team and his Freedom and Justice Party’s foreign relations secretary, is now being held in Cairo’s notorious Tora prison, along with the former president's media advisor, Abdelmeguid al-Meshaly, and office secretary Ayman al-Serafy.</p>
<p>The charges against the three have yet to be announced, but are expected to emerge over the coming days.</p>
<p>As of Wednesday, two aides remained in the Republican Guard headquarters: foreign advisor Essam El-Haddad and expatriate affairs assistant Ayman Ali. Haddad was a powerful member of the Morsi administration, acting as a key link between the Muslim Brotherhood’s Guidance Bureau — its 16-member executive committee — and the presidency.</p>
<p>Charges against the five have taken months to emerge, and in the cases of Qazzaz, Haddad and Ali, they remain unclear. For Haddad, they include conspiring with foreign groups to commit terrorist acts and divulging military secrets to a foreign state, a charge that Morsi and 34 other Islamists <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/131218/morsi-tried-conspiracy-terrorism-espionage-muslim-brotherhood" type="external">also face</a>.</p>
<p>Other aides, also arrested with Morsi on July 3, have appeared in court alongside the former president. They face charges related to violent clashes outside the presidential palace in December 2012.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/131218/morsi-tried-conspiracy-terrorism-espionage-muslim-brotherhood" type="external">Morsi will be tried for conspiring to commit 'terrorist acts'</a></p>
<p>On Wednesday, one of Qazzaz's relatives awoke to phone calls from a friend who had spotted his name in local media reports.</p>
<p>“The articles implied he’d been moved, along with two others,” the relative told GlobalPost. “We eventually found them in Tora, a high security prison. They wouldn’t let me in, but they did allow a lawyer to enter and confirm that [he] was there.”</p>
<p>Four relatives of the detained aides interviewed by GlobalPost all expressed their lack of faith in the judicial process.</p>
<p>"Over the past six months, they have been detained and kidnapped without trial. Now they are trying to send a message to the international community that this is not the case," said Abdullah El-Haddad, Essam El-Haddad's son and a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman. "I expect to see the same fake accusations, the same sham trials, the same play every time."</p>
<p>Human Rights Watch, which has been following the case since July, when a total of nine of Morsi's closes aides were detained together, has said the conditions under which the men have been held violate international law.</p>
<p>“For a state to fail to acknowledge taking an individual into detention, and to conceal their state or whereabouts, constitutes enforced disappearance,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa Division. “This has been listed in international charters and by the UN as a very serious crime, and an offence to human dignity.”</p>
<p>The aides’ informal incarceration takes place in a political context of widespread popular support for the prosecution of Islamists, particularly those who wielded power during Morsi’s disastrous year in office.</p>
<p>The Egyptian authorities have launched a withering assault on the Muslim Brotherhood since Morsi’s removal, killing hundreds of his supporters during protests and arresting thousands. The public prosecutor routinely renews pre-trial detentions without specified reasons.</p>
<p>“For [the aides] to be transferred out of detention and into a criminal process is normally something that we would welcome, but we are very concerned about due process protections, given what has happened to them to date, including five and a half months of enforced disappearance,” Whitson told GlobalPost.</p>
<p>“In the broader context ... we have serious reason to be concerned over what sort of due process protections they are going to get,” she added.</p>
<p>However, analysts say that the legitimacy of the charges is beside the point. "There has been a coup and so it logically follows that these men will go to prison," said Eric Trager, the Esther K. Wagner Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.</p>
<p>"These mounting legal challenges can only be understood in light of the broader political context, in which the military-backed government is in an existential conflict with the Brotherhood, and intends to use every tool at its disposal to win that struggle. The law is one of those tools," he said.</p>
<p>Although the aides remain controversial figures within Egypt, where most of the public supported the military-backed coup that removed the Brotherhood leaders from power, rights groups emphasize that they are due the same legal protections as any other citizens.</p>
<p>Until the eventual trials conclude, families of the aides — like those of thousands of other detainees across the country — remain in limbo.</p>
<p>Several have left the country, fearful that they too will be targeted. Abdullah El-Haddad, the only family member who agreed to speak on the record, has moved to London.</p>
<p>He now acts in exile as a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood. Scholars who monitor the group believe it is trying to reconstitute itself within the safer confines of European and Gulf capitals, hoping to eventually gain back influence in Egypt.</p>
<p>Other relatives — especially wives now living as single mothers — have stayed behind to look after their families. Shocked at the fate that has befallen their once-powerful relatives, they have faced the difficult task of being left to hold the fort alone.</p>
<p>“We take it a day at a time,” said one.</p>
<p>“I have four young children and I have been a single mother for [six months] now. It is very difficult to explain to them where their dad is. They don't understand what is going on.”</p>
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cairo egypt five half months military coup unseated egypts former president mohamed morsi handful closest aides remain military detention incarcerated headquarters countrys elite republican guard egypts new interim government yet formally acknowledge aides military detention instead maintaining remained formal prison throughout period relatives men speak months worry confusion gleaned trickle information loved ones whereabouts occasional phone calls inside republican guard headquarters lasted little minute theyre usually speakerphone sometimes first speaker someone dont know relative khaled alqazzaz one aides told globalpost hand phone tells ok asks kids relative spoke condition anonymity sign fear gripped families muslim brotherhood figures previously held highest offices country international law conditions aides detention constitute enforced disappearance fate un general assembly repeatedly described offense human dignity grave flagrant violation international human rights law egypts interior ministry refused comment allegations approached globalpost according relatives rights groups monitored detentions five morsis top aides arrested july 3 members republican guard entered presidents inner sanctum announce time kept inside forces cairo facility week tuesday three moved formal prison facilities qazzaz member morsis campaign team freedom justice partys foreign relations secretary held cairos notorious tora prison along former presidents media advisor abdelmeguid almeshaly office secretary ayman alserafy charges three yet announced expected emerge coming days wednesday two aides remained republican guard headquarters foreign advisor essam elhaddad expatriate affairs assistant ayman ali haddad powerful member morsi administration acting key link muslim brotherhoods guidance bureau 16member executive committee presidency charges five taken months emerge cases qazzaz haddad ali remain unclear haddad include conspiring foreign groups commit terrorist acts divulging military secrets foreign state charge morsi 34 islamists also face aides also arrested morsi july 3 appeared court alongside former president face charges related violent clashes outside presidential palace december 2012 globalpost morsi tried conspiring commit terrorist acts wednesday one qazzazs relatives awoke phone calls friend spotted name local media reports articles implied hed moved along two others relative told globalpost eventually found tora high security prison wouldnt let allow lawyer enter confirm four relatives detained aides interviewed globalpost expressed lack faith judicial process past six months detained kidnapped without trial trying send message international community case said abdullah elhaddad essam elhaddads son muslim brotherhood spokesman expect see fake accusations sham trials play every time human rights watch following case since july total nine morsis closes aides detained together said conditions men held violate international law state fail acknowledge taking individual detention conceal state whereabouts constitutes enforced disappearance said sarah leah whitson director hrws middle east north africa division listed international charters un serious crime offence human dignity aides informal incarceration takes place political context widespread popular support prosecution islamists particularly wielded power morsis disastrous year office egyptian authorities launched withering assault muslim brotherhood since morsis removal killing hundreds supporters protests arresting thousands public prosecutor routinely renews pretrial detentions without specified reasons aides transferred detention criminal process normally something would welcome concerned due process protections given happened date including five half months enforced disappearance whitson told globalpost broader context serious reason concerned sort due process protections going get added however analysts say legitimacy charges beside point coup logically follows men go prison said eric trager esther k wagner fellow washington institute near east policy mounting legal challenges understood light broader political context militarybacked government existential conflict brotherhood intends use every tool disposal win struggle law one tools said although aides remain controversial figures within egypt public supported militarybacked coup removed brotherhood leaders power rights groups emphasize due legal protections citizens eventual trials conclude families aides like thousands detainees across country remain limbo several left country fearful targeted abdullah elhaddad family member agreed speak record moved london acts exile spokesman muslim brotherhood scholars monitor group believe trying reconstitute within safer confines european gulf capitals hoping eventually gain back influence egypt relatives especially wives living single mothers stayed behind look families shocked fate befallen oncepowerful relatives faced difficult task left hold fort alone take day time said one four young children single mother six months difficult explain dad dont understand going
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<p>SOCHI, Russia — After the Olympic Winter Games were awarded to Sochi in 2007, Russia's president Vladimir Putin said of his country: "This is an acknowledgment of its growing capabilities, first and foremost in the economic and social spheres."</p>
<p>The ongoing games, meant to celebrate a new, re-emerging Russia, are now testing these capabilities, sparking heavy criticism as the country faces new troubles, domestically and abroad.</p>
<p>For Putin, the games and their estimated $50 billion price tag — the most expensive Olympics ever — have turned into a risky bet on an old resort town.</p>
<p>Sochi, after all, is not a metropolis, but a seaside destination. On the shores of the Black Sea, it used to be famous for its sanatoriums and health spas, and the beaches were packed with tourists. But after the Soviet Union fell apart and the borders to the West opened, Sochi lost its cool.</p>
<p>"This is how it looked in the days of the Soviet Union," said Alexander Alasheer, showing a black-and-white photograph of a beach packed with tourists and umbrellas. Alasheer is the supervising doctor at the Matsesta sanatorium in Sochi. The health spa stands as a memorial of a bygone era: marble columns and tiled floors in the central hall built in the 1930s remind one of Soviet grandeur. Russian leaders including Joseph Stalin and Leonid Brezhnev stayed in the VIP building, and just like thousands of other guests over the decades took sulfur baths to improve their health or treat other conditions, or serious burns. In its heyday, about 20,000 treatments were given here every day.</p>
<p>"These days, we are only doing about 1,500 sessions per day at peak season, in the winter it's only a few hundred," said the supervising doctor, as he walked through the empty halls of the bath reminiscing of the bygone times of socialism, when the treatments were free.</p>
<p>"Now, most insurance companies don't cover the treatment," he said. "Out of pocket, each session cost $20. That's expensive if you live on a pension."</p>
<p>These old parts of Sochi hardly appear on television as the world watches the Winter Olympics. Instead, the cameras have shown off of the region's gleaming new sporting venues.</p>
<p>"Putin wants the world to celebrate Russia: Russia's modernizations, Russia's wealth, Russia's achievements," said Tanya Lokshina, Russia program director and senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, adding that the Kremlin has made the games highly political.</p>
<p>"They want to show off. They want the prestige associated with the games," she said. "But prestige always comes with responsibility and it seems that responsibility is actually something that the Kremlin does not want."</p>
<p>Human Rights Watch and other organizations have repeatedly said that Russia's leadership has not been willing to take on the responsibility for the negative effects the games have had on Russian people and the environment: a massive road and rail link connecting the Olympic venues was built through a pristine mountain valley and 2,000 families were resettled. Some of those families haven't been compensated yet. The games have also put a spotlight on the country's harsh anti-gay laws.</p>
<p>In an effort to focus on the grandiosity of the games, the Russian government has mostly overlooked these issues, observers say. Lilia Shevtsova, senior associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said with having focused the opening ceremony on Russia's history, organizers were able to appeal to Russia's population.</p>
<p>"Sochi is a glamorous project that is meant to appeal to the people inside Russia," she said. "It distracts the people from their utility bills."</p>
<p>The games also serve the vanity of Russia's leadership and offer citizens a strong fix of nostalgia of the country's once-great power status, she said.</p>
<p>At a recent press conference at Sochi's Olympic Park, Dmitri Kozak, a deputy prime minister and long-standing aide to President Putin, said the Games are a "huge victory" for the country.</p>
<p>"As they say, you don't judge the winners," he said confidently adding that the government investment in Sochi would be recouped within a decade.</p>
<p>Russian fans in downtown Sochi attested to that. Aleksandr Nekrasov, who traveled to Sochi from Syktyvkar in northern Russia, said the games bring out the country's pride.</p>
<p>"The whole country is cheering for the Olympics," he said. "Our relatives call us almost crying and having tears of happiness for the country."</p>
<p>But this newly found patriotism is unlikely to last long, Shevtsova said.</p>
<p>"People are watching glamorous ceremonies in shabby apartments," she said. "So they will sober up quickly."</p>
<p>Russia's economy is slowing, as foreign investment dries up and commodity prices fall. If economic woes worsen, the investment in the Olympic Games will turn from boost to liability, Shevtsova said. The hoped-for shot in the arm for Russia's image — domestically and abroad — could disappear quickly.</p>
<p>"In the short term, people will say 'he did it'," she said of Putin pulling off these games. But Sochi could quickly turn into a problem for his legacy. Shevtsova said the biggest issue is what will happen to the Olympic venues and infrastructure after the games end the world has gone home.</p>
<p>"Sochi will become a ghost city," she predicted. "For ordinary people, it's too expensive, and for rich people, why would they go the Northern Caucasus?"</p>
<p>If the glitzy venues in Sochi's Olympic park do fall into disrepair, they could soon become leftover reminders of Russia's hope for new glory, just as Matsesta Sanitorium's today is a memorial to the country's grand Soviet past.</p>
<p />
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sochi russia olympic winter games awarded sochi 2007 russias president vladimir putin said country acknowledgment growing capabilities first foremost economic social spheres ongoing games meant celebrate new reemerging russia testing capabilities sparking heavy criticism country faces new troubles domestically abroad putin games estimated 50 billion price tag expensive olympics ever turned risky bet old resort town sochi metropolis seaside destination shores black sea used famous sanatoriums health spas beaches packed tourists soviet union fell apart borders west opened sochi lost cool looked days soviet union said alexander alasheer showing blackandwhite photograph beach packed tourists umbrellas alasheer supervising doctor matsesta sanatorium sochi health spa stands memorial bygone era marble columns tiled floors central hall built 1930s remind one soviet grandeur russian leaders including joseph stalin leonid brezhnev stayed vip building like thousands guests decades took sulfur baths improve health treat conditions serious burns heyday 20000 treatments given every day days 1500 sessions per day peak season winter hundred said supervising doctor walked empty halls bath reminiscing bygone times socialism treatments free insurance companies dont cover treatment said pocket session cost 20 thats expensive live pension old parts sochi hardly appear television world watches winter olympics instead cameras shown regions gleaming new sporting venues putin wants world celebrate russia russias modernizations russias wealth russias achievements said tanya lokshina russia program director senior researcher human rights watch adding kremlin made games highly political want show want prestige associated games said prestige always comes responsibility seems responsibility actually something kremlin want human rights watch organizations repeatedly said russias leadership willing take responsibility negative effects games russian people environment massive road rail link connecting olympic venues built pristine mountain valley 2000 families resettled families havent compensated yet games also put spotlight countrys harsh antigay laws effort focus grandiosity games russian government mostly overlooked issues observers say lilia shevtsova senior associate carnegie moscow center said focused opening ceremony russias history organizers able appeal russias population sochi glamorous project meant appeal people inside russia said distracts people utility bills games also serve vanity russias leadership offer citizens strong fix nostalgia countrys oncegreat power status said recent press conference sochis olympic park dmitri kozak deputy prime minister longstanding aide president putin said games huge victory country say dont judge winners said confidently adding government investment sochi would recouped within decade russian fans downtown sochi attested aleksandr nekrasov traveled sochi syktyvkar northern russia said games bring countrys pride whole country cheering olympics said relatives call us almost crying tears happiness country newly found patriotism unlikely last long shevtsova said people watching glamorous ceremonies shabby apartments said sober quickly russias economy slowing foreign investment dries commodity prices fall economic woes worsen investment olympic games turn boost liability shevtsova said hopedfor shot arm russias image domestically abroad could disappear quickly short term people say said putin pulling games sochi could quickly turn problem legacy shevtsova said biggest issue happen olympic venues infrastructure games end world gone home sochi become ghost city predicted ordinary people expensive rich people would go northern caucasus glitzy venues sochis olympic park fall disrepair could soon become leftover reminders russias hope new glory matsesta sanitoriums today memorial countrys grand soviet past
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<p>CURWOOD: Now, verifying that the tuna in tins on our shelves is dolphin-safe requires careful monitoring of how fishing boats are operating. In the quarter century since that program was introduced, observation has become increasingly sophisticated. And as more and more marine protected reserves are created places where no fishing is allowed for conservation reasons technology is playing a critical role. Joining us to discuss the monitoring of marine protects areas is Joshua Reichert, Executive Vice President of the Pew Charitable Trusts, which has ambitious plans to facilitate the creation of marine protected areas and has developed advanced monitoring systems. Welcome to Living on Earth.</p>
<p>REICHERT: Thank you.</p>
<p>The Phoenix Islands Pacific Area is a marine reserve around the country Kiribati. (Photo: United Nations Photo; CC BY 2.0)</p>
<p>CURWOOD: I want to talk about your technology, but first, tell me why does it make sense from a conservation perspective to prevent fishing in large areas of the ocean?</p>
<p>REICHERT: Well, ocean systems are in many respects like land-based systems in that they harbor a lot of different life forms, and as time has gone on, extractive activities in the ocean fishing, mining, oil and gas production and exploration - all affect these systems in one way or another. And we're steadily losing examples of big ecosystems in the world's oceans that function the way they did before human intervention. So if we're going to protect these places in the way in which some of them need to be protected, marine reserves are the best way to do that.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Now the people who fish say, "Look, fish travel all over the ocean", the pelagic ones anyway. So, if people aren't catching fish in a marine protected area, why wouldn't they just catch them someplace else?</p>
<p>REICHERT: Well, sometimes they do catch them somewhere else, and obviously in the case of pelagic animals that move 3,000 miles a year, they go in and out of the exclusive economic zones of individual countries, and they head for the high seas. But the ability at least in select areas and areas where they spend a fairly large amount of time, to offer them some safe harbor where they're not constantly pursued, means that in general the mortality rates tend to go down.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Kiribati has a large marine protected area that it's announced that it would prohibit any fishing in beginning the first of this year. How do you monitor something like that?</p>
<p>Phoenix Islands, Kiribati (Photo: Szecska; Flickr CC BY 2.0)</p>
<p>REICHERT: Up until recently the conventional way to deal with the enforcement was to usually interdict vessels on the open ocean. It's too expensive to do that now, and the days of chasing illegal fishing vessels on the open ocean are really coming to an end. There was an incident back in 2003 in which a fishing vessel that was flagged to Uruguay and was suspected of carrying illegally caught Patagonian Toothfish was pursued by patrol boats belonging to Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa. After a chase that went on for 7,200 kilometers, and that lasted 21 days, the vessel which was named the Viarca 1 was apprehended, and the value of the cargo which was 97 tons of illegally caught Toothfish that was found on board, was estimated roughly $1.5 million US dollars. The cost of apprehending that vessel was calculated at more than $4.5 million. So, we're entering a period of time in which just the cost of diesel fuel and the cost of maintaining patrol vessels is getting to be prohibitive for many countries.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: When it comes to enforcement you say it's too expensive to go out and interdict these vessels. How then can you enforce these areas?</p>
<p>The Eyes on the Seas program will help monitor commercial fishing activity and track boats that maybe fishing illegally. (Photo: Nick Rahaim; Flickr CC BY 2.0)</p>
<p>REICHERT: Well, it's a little bit like a spider and the fly. There's a variety of technologies related to these satellites, radar systems, optical imagery -- theres a whole list of various technologies that can be used to determine whether or not there are boats in areas like this where they shouldn't be, and whether they're fishing. We have algorithms that can be used to determine whether a boat is traversing an area in more or less a straight line from point A to point B as opposed to movement patterns which would suggest that it's fishing.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Now as I understand it, your organization recently launched a technology that will help authorities monitor, detect and even respond to elicit fishing activity in various reserves around the world. You call this Project Eyes on the Seas. How does this work and how is it going to reduce illegal or pirate fishing?</p>
<p>REICHERT: This system that we've developed depends on a variety of different data sources to create a portrait of what a vessel is doing in a particular area. So the system is designed to be able to pick up whether a vessel is within a restricted area and then to identify it, and then after that essentially to track it as it moves along either in the restricted area or, as it leaves, to track it where it's going, and we have a whole group of people who were developing very comprehensive dossiers on fishing vessels to try and allow port authorities to make some kind of reasonable decision about whether or not these vessels should be searched when they come into port.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Before you go, Josh, what are your long-term goals or targets when it comes to marine protected areas?</p>
<p>Pew is hoping to establish a marine protected area around Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific. (Photo: doublecnz; Flickr CC BY 2.0)</p>
<p>REICHERT: We have a variety of goals, one of which is to try to ensure that there's a certain percentage of the world's oceans that's pretty much left intact, where the ecosystems and the life that inhabits them, that interacts with each other, can teach us what a natural system looks like when it's healthy. There're a few places that are of any size that haven't been impacted in one way or another by human activity.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: How large of a percentage are you talking about, do you think?</p>
<p>REICHERT: Well, I think that when we started this work about 10 years ago, the estimates were that there was less than one half of one percent of the world's oceans that was protected in a comprehensive way. So it's been a great challenge to try and increase the percentage of areas that really are protected.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: What is the goal of your campaign to increase the number and sizes of marine protected areas...are you looking for 10 percent around the world?</p>
<p>Joshua Reichert is the Executive Vice President of the Pew Charitable Trusts (Photo: Pew Charitable Trusts)</p>
<p>REICHERT: Fisheries biologists, marine ecologists will tell you 20 percent or more. You know, aside from climate change, which is eventually going to affect all life in the sea, the greatest threat to the world's oceans is fishing. The numbers in terms of tonnage are staggering. We're massively overfishing most of the world's oceans in ways that affect their health as a whole. We've been fishing as if there were no tomorrow, and we really need to stop that.</p>
<p>CURWOOD: Joshua Reichert is Executive Vice President of the Pew Charitable Trusts. Thanks so much for taking the time with me today, Josh.</p>
<p>REICHERT: Thank you, Steve. It was a pleasure.</p>
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curwood verifying tuna tins shelves dolphinsafe requires careful monitoring fishing boats operating quarter century since program introduced observation become increasingly sophisticated marine protected reserves created places fishing allowed conservation reasons technology playing critical role joining us discuss monitoring marine protects areas joshua reichert executive vice president pew charitable trusts ambitious plans facilitate creation marine protected areas developed advanced monitoring systems welcome living earth reichert thank phoenix islands pacific area marine reserve around country kiribati photo united nations photo cc 20 curwood want talk technology first tell make sense conservation perspective prevent fishing large areas ocean reichert well ocean systems many respects like landbased systems harbor lot different life forms time gone extractive activities ocean fishing mining oil gas production exploration affect systems one way another steadily losing examples big ecosystems worlds oceans function way human intervention going protect places way need protected marine reserves best way curwood people fish say look fish travel ocean pelagic ones anyway people arent catching fish marine protected area wouldnt catch someplace else reichert well sometimes catch somewhere else obviously case pelagic animals move 3000 miles year go exclusive economic zones individual countries head high seas ability least select areas areas spend fairly large amount time offer safe harbor theyre constantly pursued means general mortality rates tend go curwood kiribati large marine protected area announced would prohibit fishing beginning first year monitor something like phoenix islands kiribati photo szecska flickr cc 20 reichert recently conventional way deal enforcement usually interdict vessels open ocean expensive days chasing illegal fishing vessels open ocean really coming end incident back 2003 fishing vessel flagged uruguay suspected carrying illegally caught patagonian toothfish pursued patrol boats belonging australia united kingdom south africa chase went 7200 kilometers lasted 21 days vessel named viarca 1 apprehended value cargo 97 tons illegally caught toothfish found board estimated roughly 15 million us dollars cost apprehending vessel calculated 45 million entering period time cost diesel fuel cost maintaining patrol vessels getting prohibitive many countries curwood comes enforcement say expensive go interdict vessels enforce areas eyes seas program help monitor commercial fishing activity track boats maybe fishing illegally photo nick rahaim flickr cc 20 reichert well little bit like spider fly theres variety technologies related satellites radar systems optical imagery theres whole list various technologies used determine whether boats areas like shouldnt whether theyre fishing algorithms used determine whether boat traversing area less straight line point point b opposed movement patterns would suggest fishing curwood understand organization recently launched technology help authorities monitor detect even respond elicit fishing activity various reserves around world call project eyes seas work going reduce illegal pirate fishing reichert system weve developed depends variety different data sources create portrait vessel particular area system designed able pick whether vessel within restricted area identify essentially track moves along either restricted area leaves track going whole group people developing comprehensive dossiers fishing vessels try allow port authorities make kind reasonable decision whether vessels searched come port curwood go josh longterm goals targets comes marine protected areas pew hoping establish marine protected area around pitcairn island south pacific photo doublecnz flickr cc 20 reichert variety goals one try ensure theres certain percentage worlds oceans thats pretty much left intact ecosystems life inhabits interacts teach us natural system looks like healthy therere places size havent impacted one way another human activity curwood large percentage talking think reichert well think started work 10 years ago estimates less one half one percent worlds oceans protected comprehensive way great challenge try increase percentage areas really protected curwood goal campaign increase number sizes marine protected areasare looking 10 percent around world joshua reichert executive vice president pew charitable trusts photo pew charitable trusts reichert fisheries biologists marine ecologists tell 20 percent know aside climate change eventually going affect life sea greatest threat worlds oceans fishing numbers terms tonnage staggering massively overfishing worlds oceans ways affect health whole weve fishing tomorrow really need stop curwood joshua reichert executive vice president pew charitable trusts thanks much taking time today josh reichert thank steve pleasure
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<p>JERUSALEM - Friday has risen like a high noon over the Israeli and Palestinian horizons, as the day in which all claims will be staked even if nothing will be determined.</p>
<p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gave successive speeches within one hour of each other in New York Friday, at their turns during the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting.</p>
<p>And Abbas presented Palestine's bid for recognition as a full member state to the U.N. Security Council.</p>
<p>Procedurally, a vote won't be able to take place right away. And, significantly, in his U.N. speech at the General Assembly opening gala earlier this week, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that if the resolution were to pass, the United States would issue a veto.</p>
<p>WEST BANK: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/110920/ramallah-west-bank-state-independence-united-nations" type="external">It looks like independence day on the streets of Ramallah</a></p>
<p>The potential veto, while well-received by a relieved Israel, would be perceived as a major foreign policy setback for the Obama administration, which has failed in its attempts to leverage the Palestinian Authority away from the United Nations bid and back to the table of bilateral negotiations with Israel.</p>
<p>If the bid proceeds as now planned, past a successful Security Council vote and an American veto, the Palestinians, with well-organized allies among the powerful Gulf states, look set to resubmit their petition to the greater U.N. General Assembly. The Palestinians claim to be only two votes short of the support they need at the General Assembly.</p>
<p>If Palestine is recognized as a full member state of the international body, it will be the 194th country to join the United Nations.</p>
<p>In Jerusalem and in Ramallah, security personnel geared up in unusual numbers to stave off possible violence as Muslims gathered in mosques for weekly Friday prayers. Israel banned men under the age of 50 without Israeli ID cards form attending the Al Aksa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City.</p>
<p>In Ramallah, there were concerns that the Palestinian Authority celebrations set to coincide with the end of the holy day and Abbas' speech could devolve into angry or possibly even violent protests against Obama's speech, which was perceived in the region as a strongly pro-Israel statement and, in Arab nations, as all too one-sided.</p>
<p>For now, the Palestinian bid seems to be part provocation, part strategic maneuver, resulting from frustrated and truncated talks with the Israelis, and part kabuki theater. Technical requirements demanded by United Nations for full member states, such as defined borders, clear governmental structure and paid dues have yet to be addressed.</p>
<p>The Israeli and American failure to deter Abbas from this move has already brought about certain consequences. The Palestinian team, which unusually includes a member of the Israeli parliament, Dr. Ahmed Tibi, has already announced that it will not return to U.S.-brokered negotiations.</p>
<p>ISRAEL: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/110917/the-end-israel-we-know-it" type="external">The end of Israel as we know it?</a></p>
<p>The loss of American prestige may eventually harm Israeli and American interests in the region. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/110922/why-the-french-differ-obama-over-palestine" type="external">leapt in to fill the breach</a> (and address U.N. requirements) by offering a compromise whereby Palestine would be automatically advanced to full observer nation status, like that of the Holy See, with a rigid one year schedule for outstanding issues to be resolved before the new state is accepted at the United Nations.</p>
<p>Sarkozy has for many years presented himself as an alternative broker for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. But, until now, he has not been seen as a realistic alternative to the Americans. He faces a difficult battle for re-election this year and a prominent international role would burnish his credentials.</p>
<p>Electoral considerations are also at play in Israel, in Palestine and, of course, in the United States, where Obama faces a serious challenge by Republicans to the traditional Democratic hegemony over the Jewish vote.</p>
<p>Abbas has announced he will be retiring from politics within a year, but has made similar pronouncements in the past and seems eager, looking at the major efforts his government has made to ramp up the importance of the U.N. bid, to be seen as a heroic global figure in the mold of former Palestinian Liberation Organization President Yasser Arafat.</p>
<p>In Israel, Netanyahu is confronting what may be a perfect political storm. The labor party has been steadily rising in the polls and just two days ago elected a new leader, Shelly Yachimovitch, who for the first time in more than a decade presents a compelling new voice on the center-left.</p>
<p>EGYPT: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/110908/egypt-anti-israeli-hosni-mubarak-middle-east-protests" type="external">Anti-Israel sentiment high in Egypt</a></p>
<p>The wave of social protests, led by students and young people, that washed over Israel this summer will reach an apogee on Monday, with the presentation of the government-sponsored report on changing the nation's economic priorities. This is not expected to favor Netanyahu's public image.</p>
<p>Lastly, he now faces reinforced opposition from the center- and hard-right, in the form of Kadima leader Tsippi Livni, who has found her voice leading a potent critique of the government's botched mishandling of the Palestinian bid at the United Nations and the failure to reignite negotiations. On the far right, Netanyahu will have to confront his own foreign minister, the truculent Avigdor Leiberman, who is attempting to parlay Israeli fears of imposed negotiation results or a new intifada into electoral ballast.</p>
<p>Israeli elections are now scheduled for early 2013, but few now believe the government will last its full term.</p>
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jerusalem friday risen like high noon israeli palestinian horizons day claims staked even nothing determined israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu palestinian president mahmoud abbas gave successive speeches within one hour new york friday turns annual united nations general assembly meeting abbas presented palestines bid recognition full member state un security council procedurally vote wont able take place right away significantly un speech general assembly opening gala earlier week us president barack obama announced resolution pass united states would issue veto west bank looks like independence day streets ramallah potential veto wellreceived relieved israel would perceived major foreign policy setback obama administration failed attempts leverage palestinian authority away united nations bid back table bilateral negotiations israel bid proceeds planned past successful security council vote american veto palestinians wellorganized allies among powerful gulf states look set resubmit petition greater un general assembly palestinians claim two votes short support need general assembly palestine recognized full member state international body 194th country join united nations jerusalem ramallah security personnel geared unusual numbers stave possible violence muslims gathered mosques weekly friday prayers israel banned men age 50 without israeli id cards form attending al aksa mosque jerusalems old city ramallah concerns palestinian authority celebrations set coincide end holy day abbas speech could devolve angry possibly even violent protests obamas speech perceived region strongly proisrael statement arab nations onesided palestinian bid seems part provocation part strategic maneuver resulting frustrated truncated talks israelis part kabuki theater technical requirements demanded united nations full member states defined borders clear governmental structure paid dues yet addressed israeli american failure deter abbas move already brought certain consequences palestinian team unusually includes member israeli parliament dr ahmed tibi already announced return usbrokered negotiations israel end israel know loss american prestige may eventually harm israeli american interests region french president nicolas sarkozy leapt fill breach address un requirements offering compromise whereby palestine would automatically advanced full observer nation status like holy see rigid one year schedule outstanding issues resolved new state accepted united nations sarkozy many years presented alternative broker israelipalestinian negotiations seen realistic alternative americans faces difficult battle reelection year prominent international role would burnish credentials electoral considerations also play israel palestine course united states obama faces serious challenge republicans traditional democratic hegemony jewish vote abbas announced retiring politics within year made similar pronouncements past seems eager looking major efforts government made ramp importance un bid seen heroic global figure mold former palestinian liberation organization president yasser arafat israel netanyahu confronting may perfect political storm labor party steadily rising polls two days ago elected new leader shelly yachimovitch first time decade presents compelling new voice centerleft egypt antiisrael sentiment high egypt wave social protests led students young people washed israel summer reach apogee monday presentation governmentsponsored report changing nations economic priorities expected favor netanyahus public image lastly faces reinforced opposition center hardright form kadima leader tsippi livni found voice leading potent critique governments botched mishandling palestinian bid united nations failure reignite negotiations far right netanyahu confront foreign minister truculent avigdor leiberman attempting parlay israeli fears imposed negotiation results new intifada electoral ballast israeli elections scheduled early 2013 believe government last full term
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<p>Last fall, Orr High School administrators set a lofty goal: to persuade top-scoring 8th-graders at nearby elementary schools to stay in the neighborhood and attend Orr.</p>
<p>The goal would not be easy to achieve. Saddled with a bad reputation after years of dwindling enrollment and bottom-of-the-barrel test scores, Orr had been placed on intervention, a sanction imposed on the system’s lowest-performing schools. Orr had been reconstituted with a new principal two years earlier.</p>
<p>“That was a terrible stigma,” says senior-class counselor O. B. Routen, who worked closely with yet another new principal, Leon Hudnall, to recruit new students.</p>
<p>Orr hit the recruiting trail hard, particularly at schools in the neighborhood. Staffing a table at the high school fair. Visiting neighborhood elementary schools. Sending brochures home to parents. Sponsoring parent breakfasts and an open house. Inviting 8th graders to shadow Orr students for a day.</p>
<p>The aggressive strategy worked. This fall, for the first time in five years, Orr’s enrollment is up—1,243 students enrolled compared to 1,146 a year ago. Twenty-seven of this year’s freshmen graduated from Michelle Clark Middle, a school in Austin whose students often set their sights on college preps or magnet high schools.</p>
<p>“I knew Michelle Clark was not one of our regular [feeder] schools, and I knew most of those kids went everywhere but Orr,” says Hudnall, who visited Clark to recruit new students last year. “I decided that these are the kinds of kids I really wanted to get at Orr.”</p>
<p>Until last year, Orr’s TAP reading and math test scores had been inching up. But last year, they slipped a point or two, from 12.5 to 10.7 percent of students reading on grade level and from 16.6 to 15.9 percent in math.</p>
<p>More students at Clark scored at or above national norms on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS) compared to some of Orr’s regular feeder schools. Last spring, 23.3 percent of Clark students scored at or above average in reading compared to 13.9 percent at Piccolo . In math, 25.5 percent of Clark students were at or above grade level compared to 18.9 percent at Wright.</p>
<p>Happenstance played a role in the recruiting connection between Orr and Clark. Every year, a number of Clark 8th-graders apply to college prep schools but don’t get in, says Annette Gurley, an assistant principal at Clark. Last spring was no exception—competition was fierce and students who did not get accepted did not know what to do next, she explains.</p>
<p>To help them review options, Clark counselors set up an evening meeting with parents and students and called nearby high schools for information. At Orr, Routen responded to the call by offering to attend, and Hudnall decided to make a personal pitch to parents.</p>
<p>“I was really impressed when the principal himself came over,” says Gurley. “Never before has an administrator come over.”</p>
<p>At the meeting, Hudnall ran down the list of recent physical improvements at Orr: a fresh coat of paint, new windows and landscaping, and a major renovation of the gym facilities.</p>
<p>He also spelled out the school’s academic and career offerings: computer repair, broadcast technology, graphic communications, architectural drafting, carpentry and culinary arts. By fall 2002, Orr plans to add world history, math and science to its current Advanced Placement offerings.</p>
<p>He urged parents not to base their decision on Orr’s old reputation. Instead, he invited them to visit the school and see the changes for themselves. “Once they get here they are pleasantly surprised,” he says.</p>
<p>His pitch was simple: “Why would you get on a bus an hour earlier in the dark when you can get the same thing for a 15 minute walk?”</p>
<p>By the time the meeting ended, some parents were sold, says Gurley. “These people really want our kids there and they are going to take care of them,” she recalls parents telling her.</p>
<p>Orr was not freshman Maurice Person’s first choice for high school. The Clark graduate, who was a top student in his class, had applied but had not been accepted into Northside, Payton and Whitney Young. At first he considered Steinmetz, but had a change of heart.</p>
<p>“I was hearing stuff about how they fixed Orr up and it’s better and got new staff,” says Maurice, whose older brother attends Orr. “They say it’s almost like a new school since they did that stuff.”</p>
<p>His mother, Marguerite, agreed with Maurice’s decision to stay in the neighborhood, but other relatives were not as supportive. “My uncle told me he felt that I’m going to get cheated out of my education for going [to Orr] instead of going to the other schools,” says Maurice, who adds that Orr’s top-rated Junior ROTC program was a factor.</p>
<p>Denise Adkinson also chose Orr after being turned down by a number of selective schools. Last year, when Orr counselors came to Clark to recruit, she filled out an application on the spot. Upon learning she had been accepted, Denise decided to enroll.</p>
<p>“My friends had been asking me to come [to Orr] anyway,” she says. “They were all juniors and seniors and they were doing really good stuff.”</p>
<p>This year’s crop of Clark graduates may help draw more Clark students to Orr. Word of mouth is a powerful influence on students deciding where to go to high school.</p>
<p>And Hudnall is counting on it to attract future Clark graduates.</p>
<p>“There has been a perception that Orr is a bad place to be,” he says. “But now that [Clark students] are here, they can spread the word. Kids are talking to their friends. [My] hope is the word will get out and I won’t have to recruit.”</p>
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last fall orr high school administrators set lofty goal persuade topscoring 8thgraders nearby elementary schools stay neighborhood attend orr goal would easy achieve saddled bad reputation years dwindling enrollment bottomofthebarrel test scores orr placed intervention sanction imposed systems lowestperforming schools orr reconstituted new principal two years earlier terrible stigma says seniorclass counselor b routen worked closely yet another new principal leon hudnall recruit new students orr hit recruiting trail hard particularly schools neighborhood staffing table high school fair visiting neighborhood elementary schools sending brochures home parents sponsoring parent breakfasts open house inviting 8th graders shadow orr students day aggressive strategy worked fall first time five years orrs enrollment up1243 students enrolled compared 1146 year ago twentyseven years freshmen graduated michelle clark middle school austin whose students often set sights college preps magnet high schools knew michelle clark one regular feeder schools knew kids went everywhere orr says hudnall visited clark recruit new students last year decided kinds kids really wanted get orr last year orrs tap reading math test scores inching last year slipped point two 125 107 percent students reading grade level 166 159 percent math students clark scored national norms iowa tests basic skills itbs compared orrs regular feeder schools last spring 233 percent clark students scored average reading compared 139 percent piccolo math 255 percent clark students grade level compared 189 percent wright happenstance played role recruiting connection orr clark every year number clark 8thgraders apply college prep schools dont get says annette gurley assistant principal clark last spring exceptioncompetition fierce students get accepted know next explains help review options clark counselors set evening meeting parents students called nearby high schools information orr routen responded call offering attend hudnall decided make personal pitch parents really impressed principal came says gurley never administrator come meeting hudnall ran list recent physical improvements orr fresh coat paint new windows landscaping major renovation gym facilities also spelled schools academic career offerings computer repair broadcast technology graphic communications architectural drafting carpentry culinary arts fall 2002 orr plans add world history math science current advanced placement offerings urged parents base decision orrs old reputation instead invited visit school see changes get pleasantly surprised says pitch simple would get bus hour earlier dark get thing 15 minute walk time meeting ended parents sold says gurley people really want kids going take care recalls parents telling orr freshman maurice persons first choice high school clark graduate top student class applied accepted northside payton whitney young first considered steinmetz change heart hearing stuff fixed orr better got new staff says maurice whose older brother attends orr say almost like new school since stuff mother marguerite agreed maurices decision stay neighborhood relatives supportive uncle told felt im going get cheated education going orr instead going schools says maurice adds orrs toprated junior rotc program factor denise adkinson also chose orr turned number selective schools last year orr counselors came clark recruit filled application spot upon learning accepted denise decided enroll friends asking come orr anyway says juniors seniors really good stuff years crop clark graduates may help draw clark students orr word mouth powerful influence students deciding go high school hudnall counting attract future clark graduates perception orr bad place says clark students spread word kids talking friends hope word get wont recruit
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<p>We will always have Dupont Circle as ‘our’ neighborhood even if it isn’t truly ‘the’ gayborhood anymore. (Photo courtesy Gaich)</p>
<p>Is there still a gayborhood? It’s a question that many folks ask me, whether a visitor or a resident of Washington. There was once a defined gay area in Dupont Circle to call our own, and it seems different now. What happened to it?</p>
<p>For generations now, Dupont Circle has been the hub of gay nightlife; JR.’s, Cobalt, Larry’s Lounge, Duplex Diner, the Fireplace, Dupont Italian Kitchen and other establishments anchored the area as the gayborhood, even while Remingtons, Bachelor’s Mill, Tracks, Nation, Phase One and other hotspots were established in other parts of the city.</p>
<p>In 1974, we got a bookstore: a symbol of our right to exist in the bright sunlight and not just behind closed doors and in private clubs:</p>
<p>“We are proud of the history of gay culture and of the struggle for political and social equality. We want the shop to be a showcase for the wide variety of happy, healthy gay lifestyles found among the quarter of a million gay men and women in Washington Metropolitan area.”</p>
<p>With this announcement, Deacon Maccubbin opened the first LGBT bookstore in Dupont Circle, Lambda Rising. It started as a quaint 300-square-foot space, but the size didn’t matter as much as what it symbolized. It finally gave gays and lesbians in D.C. a visible, positive presence in the nation’s capital.</p>
<p>Whitman-Walker Clinic, named for the famous (assumed gay) poet and Mary Edwards Walker, a Civil War-era physician who shattered norms by achieving a medical degree and wearing men’s clothing (along with two pistols by her side in the operating room!), has had a long presence in the gayborhood as well. Its first location at 2335 18th St., N.W., was opened in 1980 and was an indispensable institution, saving lives during the height of the AIDS epidemic. It continues today with a half dozen offices in the region, and while it serves all clients, regardless of identity, it maintains its commitment to LGBT-oriented care.</p>
<p>With the vibrant bar scene, plus these two pillars of the community in Dupont Circle, the neighborhood was clearly a safe haven for the LGBT community in the area. Along with The Castro in San Francisco, Hillcrest in San Diego, Greenwich Village in NYC, Boystown in Chicago, and West Hollywood in Los Angeles, Dupont Circle is viewed as historic in American gay identity.</p>
<p>But these days, gays are branching out all across the city. One sports bar that identifies as gay seems to be predominantly heterosexual (and female) on most nights. There doesn’t seem to be a “gayborhood” the way it used to be. Is that a bad thing, though?</p>
<p>A few years ago, a gay buyer might have been attracted to the convenience and the feeling of comfort and security offered by a gay enclave like Dupont Circle. Conversely, there were probably a good number of straight buyers who might have shied away from the area because of their discomfort with our presence. But these days, it seems just the opposite; many of my clients who are not LGBT want to know where gays are living because they want to live among us. They might appreciate our lively, vibrant culture and fun traditions that can add a little spice to their city life—but they may also be after the bump in property values a neighborhood might experience after it gets a “gay makeover.” In fact, it is that bump in property values, both in rents and sale prices, that are pushing new D.C. residents, most often very young and with lower incomes, to areas that are less developed. Young gay buyers can no longer afford expensive Dupont prices.</p>
<p>Neighborhoods that might have felt unsafe to some a few years ago are now the most competitive neighborhoods to buy in. In some cases, people are fighting over the shell of a home that needs a complete remodel from top to bottom. Home values are skyrocketing in areas such as Shaw, Bloomingdale, Trinidad, Brookland, and even farther east of the city. These areas have blossomed with new apartment buildings, condos, retail space, restaurants, and endless coffee shops to support the gentrification of these neighborhoods.</p>
<p>But what about the neighborhood that once was the only part of town that LGBT lived and played in? Have we forgotten our roots in the city? Have we abandoned the area just because it’s not predominantly LGBT?</p>
<p>The truth is that we will always have Dupont Circle as “our” neighborhood even if it isn’t truly “the” gayborhood anymore. The most honest answer I can give when asked “Where are the gays?” is quite simple: “We are everywhere.” Not just in Dupont, not just in D.C., but all over the country. We are seeing more acceptance, which in turn makes us more comfortable, giving us more freedom to choose where we want to live and not where we have to. It means that while places like Dupont are still in our hearts, they no longer exist in the same reality. Even though D.C. may not have a defined gayborhood, we have certainly have a Gay City.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Stephen Gaich is a Realtor with Bediz Group, LLC at KWCP, winner of Washington Blade’s Best of Gay DC for Real Estate Group in 2015 and 2017. He can be reached at&#160; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a> or 202 304 9932.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">AIDS</a> <a href="" type="internal">Bachelor's Mill</a> <a href="" type="internal">Boystown</a> <a href="" type="internal">Chicago</a> <a href="" type="internal">Cobalt</a> <a href="" type="internal">Deacon Maccubbin</a> <a href="" type="internal">Duplex Diner</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dupont Circle</a> <a href="" type="internal">Dupont Italian Kitchen</a> <a href="" type="internal">gayborhood</a> <a href="" type="internal">Greenwich Village</a> <a href="" type="internal">Hillcrest</a> <a href="" type="internal">JR.'s</a> <a href="" type="internal">Lambda Rising</a> <a href="" type="internal">Larry's Lounge</a> <a href="" type="internal">LGBT</a> <a href="" type="internal">Los Angeles</a> <a href="" type="internal">Mary Edwards Walker</a> <a href="" type="internal">Nation</a> <a href="" type="internal">New York City</a> <a href="" type="internal">Phase One</a> <a href="" type="internal">Remington's</a> <a href="" type="internal">San Diego</a> <a href="" type="internal">San Francisco</a> <a href="" type="internal">The Castro</a> <a href="" type="internal">the Fireplace</a> <a href="" type="internal">Tracks</a> <a href="" type="internal">West Hollywood</a> <a href="" type="internal">Whitman-Walker Clinic</a></p>
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always dupont circle neighborhood even isnt truly gayborhood anymore photo courtesy gaich still gayborhood question many folks ask whether visitor resident washington defined gay area dupont circle call seems different happened generations dupont circle hub gay nightlife jrs cobalt larrys lounge duplex diner fireplace dupont italian kitchen establishments anchored area gayborhood even remingtons bachelors mill tracks nation phase one hotspots established parts city 1974 got bookstore symbol right exist bright sunlight behind closed doors private clubs proud history gay culture struggle political social equality want shop showcase wide variety happy healthy gay lifestyles found among quarter million gay men women washington metropolitan area announcement deacon maccubbin opened first lgbt bookstore dupont circle lambda rising started quaint 300squarefoot space size didnt matter much symbolized finally gave gays lesbians dc visible positive presence nations capital whitmanwalker clinic named famous assumed gay poet mary edwards walker civil warera physician shattered norms achieving medical degree wearing mens clothing along two pistols side operating room long presence gayborhood well first location 2335 18th st nw opened 1980 indispensable institution saving lives height aids epidemic continues today half dozen offices region serves clients regardless identity maintains commitment lgbtoriented care vibrant bar scene plus two pillars community dupont circle neighborhood clearly safe lgbt community area along castro san francisco hillcrest san diego greenwich village nyc boystown chicago west hollywood los angeles dupont circle viewed historic american gay identity days gays branching across city one sports bar identifies gay seems predominantly heterosexual female nights doesnt seem gayborhood way used bad thing though years ago gay buyer might attracted convenience feeling comfort security offered gay enclave like dupont circle conversely probably good number straight buyers might shied away area discomfort presence days seems opposite many clients lgbt want know gays living want live among us might appreciate lively vibrant culture fun traditions add little spice city lifebut may also bump property values neighborhood might experience gets gay makeover fact bump property values rents sale prices pushing new dc residents often young lower incomes areas less developed young gay buyers longer afford expensive dupont prices neighborhoods might felt unsafe years ago competitive neighborhoods buy cases people fighting shell home needs complete remodel top bottom home values skyrocketing areas shaw bloomingdale trinidad brookland even farther east city areas blossomed new apartment buildings condos retail space restaurants endless coffee shops support gentrification neighborhoods neighborhood part town lgbt lived played forgotten roots city abandoned area predominantly lgbt truth always dupont circle neighborhood even isnt truly gayborhood anymore honest answer give asked gays quite simple everywhere dupont dc country seeing acceptance turn makes us comfortable giving us freedom choose want live means places like dupont still hearts longer exist reality even though dc may defined gayborhood certainly gay city 160 stephen gaich realtor bediz group llc kwcp winner washington blades best gay dc real estate group 2015 2017 reached at160 stevebedizcom 202 304 9932 aids bachelors mill boystown chicago cobalt deacon maccubbin duplex diner dupont circle dupont italian kitchen gayborhood greenwich village hillcrest jrs lambda rising larrys lounge lgbt los angeles mary edwards walker nation new york city phase one remingtons san diego san francisco castro fireplace tracks west hollywood whitmanwalker clinic
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<p>When Ashor Jajou was released from prison after serving a year for drug and weapons possession, he thought college attendance might help to ease his parole restrictions. So he applied and was accepted to Northeastern Illinois University.</p>
<p>Jajou, whose family emigrated from Iraq when he was a child, had avoided school as an adolescent and young adult. But he excelled at Northeastern. He became a leader in campus and community organizing, and served a stint as student government president. Now Jajou, who has multiple degrees in social work, works at Curt’s Café, a non-profit organization that provides training in food service and life skills for young people in Evanston.&#160;&#160;A one-time gang member himself, Jajou describes the young men he works with as “much like my former self” and promotes college as a possible, and potentially positive, life pathway.</p>
<p>But Jajou knows that one challenge facing youth who have criminal records is “the box”—not on job applications, but on college applications. While efforts to “ban the box” asking about criminal records on job applications have gained widespread publicity, related initiatives to do the same on college applications have yet to gain broad traction.</p>
<p>“The box” on college applications has a disparate impact on African Americans and Latinos, who are a disproportionate share of the estimated 70 million people in the U.S. who have a criminal record.</p>
<p>Northeastern, along with City Colleges of Chicago, doesn’t ask about criminal record on its application. But other local universities and colleges, and many nationally, use the <a href="http://www.commonapp.org/" type="external">Common Application</a>, or “Common App.” It’s popular among both applicants and schools because it’s easy to use, convenient and affordable—fill it out once and your paperwork is good for every school you want to apply to.</p>
<p>Yet the Common App, and other application forms, reinforces discrimination with questions such as Have you ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or other crime? Have you ever been arrested? Have you ever been convicted of a felony or have felony charges pending against you?</p>
<p>The Common App even delves into school discipline, asking whether an applicant has “ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation”&#160;in school. Depending on the school, a violation could involve an exceedingly minor infraction such as being suspended for talking back to a teacher or not wearing a school uniform. Research has shown that black and brown students are far more likely to be disciplined, even for the same low-level infraction, than white students.</p>
<p>Neither criminal records nor school discipline are race-neutral, and having such a record requires an applicant to check “yes” to the box—potentially flagging their application for rejection. Colleges and universities <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15388220.2013.870061" type="external">are more likely to deny</a> or revoke admission if an applicant is found to have a criminal history.</p>
<p>Do we really want to discriminate against young people of color and deny them the chance at a college education based on the box?</p>
<p>No evidence of safety risk</p>
<p>Supporters of keeping the box on college applications say that asking about criminal records and school discipline history helps universities determine whether someone will be a risk to campus safety. They say, “Why wouldn’t we want to know if someone has committed a crime? Or was expelled from their high school?”</p>
<p>However, there is no evidence to suggest a connection. “No link has been established between having a criminal record and posing a risk to campus safety” according to a 2015 study conducted by the <a href="http://www.communityalternatives.org/pdf/Reconsidered-criminal-hist-recs-in-college-admissions.pdf" type="external">Center for Community Alternatives,</a> a New York-based public policy organization that examined the use of criminal history records in college admissions.</p>
<p>Other experts point out that providing access to college actually promotes public safety. Just ask <a href="http://www.latimes.com/science/la-sci-c1-prison-isolation-czifra-20131108-dto-htmlstory.html" type="external">Steven Czifra</a>, director of the <a href="http://www.undergroundscholars.org/about/" type="external">Underground Scholars</a>, an initiative at the University of California at Berkeley that aims to support students who have been incarcerated.</p>
<p>Research consistently illustrates that education is one of the most effective ways to keep people out of jail and prison, Czifra says. “Every community in this country has been impacted by mass incarceration and policing,” he adds. “How can excluding millions of people from a pathway that is proven to build a strong foundation promote public safety?”</p>
<p>Not only does the box provide a rationale for colleges to reject prospective students, but it deters many with records from even applying. The Center for Community Alternatives estimated that, throughout the entire State University of New York system, applicants who disclosed a previous felony conviction had an application attrition rate of 62.5 percent—or, put another way, of the 2,924 applicants who checked the box, 1,828 never even completed the application paperwork.</p>
<p>Despite clear evidence that the box deters applicants and pushes people away from education, nationally and in Chicago, institutions of higher education continue to rely on the Common App. Our research indicates that most Chicago colleges and universities, (excluding City Colleges and Northeastern) do so and ask about criminal history, including Columbia College, DePaul University, Loyola University, Northwestern University, School of the Art Institute, University of Chicago and University of Illinois at Chicago.</p>
<p>These institutions lock out too many young people who want and need a college education to succeed.</p>
<p>Students organizing for the formerly incarcerated</p>
<p>Nationally, efforts are underway to ban the box on all college applications. In May 2016, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. issued a “Dear Colleague Letter” asking colleges and universities to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/us/us-urges-colleges-to-rethink-questions-about-criminal-records.html" type="external">reconsider how information about criminal history</a> is used in the application process. Bowing to pressure, the Common App also recently announced it would <a href="http://krqe.com/2016/05/15/common-application-changing-question-on-criminal-record/" type="external">eliminate the ambiguous phrase</a>“other crime” from the question Have you ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor, felony or other crime? But that question itself, as well as the question about school discipline records, would remain.</p>
<p>College students are organizing too. With sit-ins and other organizing tactics, the New York-based <a href="https://iecforchange.wordpress.com/" type="external">Incarceration to Education Coalition</a> is pushing institutions such as New York University to remove the box and for institutions to pressure the Common App to remove all questions related to criminal and school disciplinary history.</p>
<p>College and university students in Illinois are slower to the gate, though some efforts are underway among student groups in Chicago to organize against mass incarceration by pushing institutions to divest from private prisons and companies that supply them.</p>
<p>While no campus in Illinois is currently running a “ban the box” campaign, formerly (and currently) incarcerated students are getting organized. At Northeastern Illinois University, the student group Formerly Incarcerated Students Together started in 2015 to support students with records. FIST has organized events, panel discussions and film screenings, including a spring 2016 standing room only panel discussion about prison reform with three recent graduates – all formerly incarcerated.</p>
<p>Gov. Bruce Rauner has publicly called for a <a href="http://www.icjia.org/cjreform2015/research/illinois-prison-overview.html" type="external">25% reduction</a> in the state’s prison population in 10 years. Access to high quality public education is part of the movement to end our state’s costly reliance on imprisonment. The box is part of the problem, not the solution.</p>
<p>Erica R. Meiners teaches in women’s and gender studies, justice studies and educational studies at Northeastern Illinois University. Pedro Nungaray is a graduate student in the political science program at Northeastern. Sarah&#160;Ross teaches at the School of the Art Institute. All are involved with the <a href="http://p-nap.org/" type="external">Prison + Neighborhood Arts Project</a>.</p>
| false | 3 |
ashor jajou released prison serving year drug weapons possession thought college attendance might help ease parole restrictions applied accepted northeastern illinois university jajou whose family emigrated iraq child avoided school adolescent young adult excelled northeastern became leader campus community organizing served stint student government president jajou multiple degrees social work works curts café nonprofit organization provides training food service life skills young people evanston160160a onetime gang member jajou describes young men works much like former self promotes college possible potentially positive life pathway jajou knows one challenge facing youth criminal records boxnot job applications college applications efforts ban box asking criminal records job applications gained widespread publicity related initiatives college applications yet gain broad traction box college applications disparate impact african americans latinos disproportionate share estimated 70 million people us criminal record northeastern along city colleges chicago doesnt ask criminal record application local universities colleges many nationally use common application common app popular among applicants schools easy use convenient affordablefill paperwork good every school want apply yet common app application forms reinforces discrimination questions ever adjudicated guilty convicted misdemeanor felony crime ever arrested ever convicted felony felony charges pending common app even delves school discipline asking whether applicant ever found responsible disciplinary violation160in school depending school violation could involve exceedingly minor infraction suspended talking back teacher wearing school uniform research shown black brown students far likely disciplined even lowlevel infraction white students neither criminal records school discipline raceneutral record requires applicant check yes boxpotentially flagging application rejection colleges universities likely deny revoke admission applicant found criminal history really want discriminate young people color deny chance college education based box evidence safety risk supporters keeping box college applications say asking criminal records school discipline history helps universities determine whether someone risk campus safety say wouldnt want know someone committed crime expelled high school however evidence suggest connection link established criminal record posing risk campus safety according 2015 study conducted center community alternatives new yorkbased public policy organization examined use criminal history records college admissions experts point providing access college actually promotes public safety ask steven czifra director underground scholars initiative university california berkeley aims support students incarcerated research consistently illustrates education one effective ways keep people jail prison czifra says every community country impacted mass incarceration policing adds excluding millions people pathway proven build strong foundation promote public safety box provide rationale colleges reject prospective students deters many records even applying center community alternatives estimated throughout entire state university new york system applicants disclosed previous felony conviction application attrition rate 625 percentor put another way 2924 applicants checked box 1828 never even completed application paperwork despite clear evidence box deters applicants pushes people away education nationally chicago institutions higher education continue rely common app research indicates chicago colleges universities excluding city colleges northeastern ask criminal history including columbia college depaul university loyola university northwestern university school art institute university chicago university illinois chicago institutions lock many young people want need college education succeed students organizing formerly incarcerated nationally efforts underway ban box college applications may 2016 us secretary education john b king jr issued dear colleague letter asking colleges universities reconsider information criminal history used application process bowing pressure common app also recently announced would eliminate ambiguous phraseother crime question ever adjudicated guilty convicted misdemeanor felony crime question well question school discipline records would remain college students organizing sitins organizing tactics new yorkbased incarceration education coalition pushing institutions new york university remove box institutions pressure common app remove questions related criminal school disciplinary history college university students illinois slower gate though efforts underway among student groups chicago organize mass incarceration pushing institutions divest private prisons companies supply campus illinois currently running ban box campaign formerly currently incarcerated students getting organized northeastern illinois university student group formerly incarcerated students together started 2015 support students records fist organized events panel discussions film screenings including spring 2016 standing room panel discussion prison reform three recent graduates formerly incarcerated gov bruce rauner publicly called 25 reduction states prison population 10 years access high quality public education part movement end states costly reliance imprisonment box part problem solution erica r meiners teaches womens gender studies justice studies educational studies northeastern illinois university pedro nungaray graduate student political science program northeastern sarah160ross teaches school art institute involved prison neighborhood arts project
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<p>Darwin Cuya never thought that he would make it. It didn’t seem possible.</p>
<p>He was wheeling his landlord to a dialysis clinic in lieu of rent and depending on his brother for food, all without his parents around to support him. And he was going to school.</p>
<p>But at ELLIS, the mission is to help students like Cuya graduate. The school’s name is an acronym which stands for English Language Learners and International&#160;Support. It was chosen to inspire hope, to be a beacon <a href="" type="internal">the way Ellis Island once was for immigrants</a>.</p>
<p>“When I think about it, it’s unbelievable,” says Cuya who, at 20 years old, graduated from high school with a prestigious Regents Diploma in June and was offered a full scholarship to study nursing at St. John Fisher College in Pittsford, New York.</p>
<p>Norma Vega founded ELLIS in 2008 as an alternative high school in the West Bronx to educate newly-arrived, older immigrants, from 16 to 21 years old, who have little or no education and a disadvantaged socio-economic background.</p>
<p>“The vast majority of these students,” says Vega, who is also the principal, “are systematically excluded from even enrolling in regular American high schools.” Their age, lack of language skills and patchy academics makes them unwanted or too hard to place.</p>
<p>Even if they can enroll, the students have often survived traumatic experiences of poverty, violence, displacement or other hardships, which most American public schools do not know how to deal with.</p>
<p>“Those who get in, often leave to go to work or out of frustration,” says Vega.</p>
<p />
<p>Darwin Cuya in New York.</p>
<p>Courtesy of Jeremy Heyman/ELLIS</p>
<p>As a child in the Philippines, he stopped going to school after fourth grade.&#160;</p>
<p>“My dad was in the US, and said that it won’t take long for me to come as well,” Cuya explains. But year after year, the papers didn’t arrive. While living with an aunt and waiting to leave, he decided to stay at home.</p>
<p>“[She] could use some help taking care of her children and the store,” he remembers.</p>
<p>He was 13 when he entered fifth grade in New York. He spoke only Tagalog, his native language. He had just moved to the US from Malolos City, in Bulacan, Philippines, and it was the first time his whole family was living together. Back then, he felt like he was living out a cherished fantasy.</p>
<p>“Finally, after all these years, I [could] go with my whole family to a restaurant, watch movies with them, have a picnic in a park or something,” he says.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the fantasy didn't last.</p>
<p>Cuya is part of a growing influx of immigrant students who are learning English and have had interrupted educations. According to the city’s Department of Education, there were 12,865 students who have had limited or interrupted formal education in New York City’s public schools in the 2013-14 school year ( <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/FC0B4035-00DF-4318-A1F7-6EF23C15B7F6/0/20132014DemographicReportFinalWINTER2015.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>). That’s 9.2 percent of all English-language learners (ELL) above first grade in New York City. The highest concentration of these students are in the Bronx and Brooklyn.</p>
<p>In Cuya's case, his father left him and his mother died. But&#160;this isn't only a challenge in New York.</p>
<p>“There’s great awareness now, because they’re arriving in smaller communities that haven’t really dealt with [them] before,” says Julie Sugarman, a policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute who specializes in education. The <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/meeting-education-needs-rising-numbers-newly-arrived-migrant-students-europe-and-united-states" type="external">arrival of unaccompanied minors from Central America over the last two years</a> has&#160;increased the numbers of students who come with interrupted education.</p>
<p>Also: <a href="" type="internal">This Kansas high school student must pay back $3,000 after smugglers helped him leave Guatemala</a></p>
<p>Many of these students start out years behind their peers. At most high schools, they have four years to absorb the language, make up for lost time and earn a diploma. The inevitable outcome is immigrants who are learning English have much lower graduation rates than their American counterparts.</p>
<p>In New York City ( <a href="http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AB773209-5CDE-49F2-87CE-2B10F5837F7B/0/2015GraduationRatesWebsite11116.pdf" type="external">PDF</a>), just 34 percent of ELL students (immigrant or not) graduate, compared to 70.5 percent of the overall student population. <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/tables/ACGR_RE_and_characteristics_2013-14.asp" type="external">Nationwide</a>, 62.6 percent of English-language learners graduate, compared to 82.3 percent overall.</p>
<p>“That’s a very big issue,” says Sugarman. “Not everybody in school will understand the context that these kids come from and be sensitive to that.”</p>
<p>At ELLIS, the average high school freshman is 17.5&#160;years&#160;old and speaks little to no English. Many are only accustomed to three to four hours per day of schooling, with anywhere from zero to 11 years of prior education upon enrollment, says Jeremy Heyman, ELLIS’s founding science teacher and former college advisor. The school’s 350 pupils come from 24 countries — Albania to Yemen — and English is often not the second, but the third or the fourth language. The majority are male and Latino.</p>
<p>Convinced that knowing the students is essential and that one “cannot remove the socio-emotional aspect of [their] life and expect that they will thrive academically,” Vega and her staff developed a strong counseling structure. “Each student is assigned to an advisor and a counselor to build them emotionally and academically.”</p>
<p>Unlike traditional American schools, there are no separate ELL classes. Instead, ELLIS focuses on both language acquisition and academic content together. It’s a teaching method shared by the Internationals&#160;Network for Public Schools, to which the school belongs. Students learn different subjects and demonstrate proficiency by developing projects, giving presentations, going on field trips and completing internships. An extended school year, September through July, helps them learn both in and out of the classroom.</p>
<p>The academy is also the only school in New York that accepts older teens who didn’t yet&#160;take New York state’s mandated standardized tests to earn a diploma, or have prior high school credits. Vega established it in the Bronx because the borough had a large share of ELL students in the 16 to 21 age group with high dropout rates. They were being “funneled” into GED programs to take high school equivalency tests, rather than complete their education in classrooms.</p>
<p>But earning students’ trust “so they will tell us when things are going on,” says Heyman, remains perhaps the most important factor.</p>
<p />
<p>Darwin Cuya never thought he’d get to graduate from high school. And from the beginning of his high school career, the odds were against him. But this year, he earned his diploma. Here he is getting his cap and gown.</p>
<p>Courtesy of&#160; <a href="http://internationalsnps.org/international-high-schools/school-map/international-high-school-pages/ellis-prep-academy/" type="external">ELLIS</a></p>
<p>Cuya was enrolled in ELLIS to stabilize a family situation that unraveled when his father returned to the Philippines without notice, leaving three young sons to care for their sick mother and no one to earn money.</p>
<p>He was the youngest. His middle brother Edward, who is now a senior at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, was at ELLIS at the time. Their father’s departure almost derailed Edward’s graduation. Darwin Cuya was only 15 then.</p>
<p>“We had an eye out from the beginning,” says science teacher Heyman. At ELLIS, they felt he could use the support and personalized attention of the school’s community.</p>
<p>“It wasn’t easy, but, then, I didn’t have a choice, did I?” Cuya says.</p>
<p>He was visiting his mother — she had leukemia — at the hospital when he realized he had a talent for nursing. “I wanted to help other people like her,” he says. “I wouldn’t want a kid to lose someone so precious.”</p>
<p>But his mother passed away just as he began high school. Soon after, Darwin’s oldest brother Alex, who was supporting the family, lost his construction job. They were on the verge of homelessness and Cuya wanted to drop out.</p>
<p>“I told myself, ‘I’m done, that’s it,’” he says.</p>
<p>But at ELLIS, Cuya was given individualized support to keep up with his academics and the&#160;opportunity to talk openly about his difficulties. He studied during breaks from caring for his landlord, and in the evenings, and eventually applied to college.</p>
<p>This level of support would be impossible for regular high schools, which are not designed to respond to such needs. It’s not an easy task at ELLIS either. The school’s graduation rate has been lingering around 44 percent, including this year’s class. Chief among the challenges is the pressure older students have to drop out and go to work full time.</p>
<p>Vega says she is planning to increase support for pupils entering their junior year, when coursework is more challenging. If all goes well, she says, next year’s graduation rate should improve.</p>
<p>Cuya stayed the course when he accepted that his mother was “really gone“ and that he was given a chance she never had. Without ELLIS, he doesn’t think he would have committed to school.</p>
<p>“I really think I wouldn’t be here telling my story,” he says.</p>
<p>Still, it’s one thing to do the work and another to walk the stage on graduation day knowing that the family you always wanted won’t be there.</p>
<p>He got fitted for a cap and gown, but the day he was supposed to walk, Cuya skipped his own graduation ceremony.</p>
<p>Jacqueline Pena, ELLIS’s college counselor and social worker, worked closely with Cuya.</p>
<p>“Darwin expressed to others that he did not go to graduation because his mother was not going to be present,” she says. “Graduation in essence is [another] ending. A time to say goodbye to familiar faces and come to terms with the reality that there is a new journey ahead.”</p>
<p>This weekend, his brother helped Cuya move upstate to start working on his next degree at St. John Fisher College.</p>
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darwin cuya never thought would make didnt seem possible wheeling landlord dialysis clinic lieu rent depending brother food without parents around support going school ellis mission help students like cuya graduate schools name acronym stands english language learners international160support chosen inspire hope beacon way ellis island immigrants think unbelievable says cuya 20 years old graduated high school prestigious regents diploma june offered full scholarship study nursing st john fisher college pittsford new york norma vega founded ellis 2008 alternative high school west bronx educate newlyarrived older immigrants 16 21 years old little education disadvantaged socioeconomic background vast majority students says vega also principal systematically excluded even enrolling regular american high schools age lack language skills patchy academics makes unwanted hard place even enroll students often survived traumatic experiences poverty violence displacement hardships american public schools know deal get often leave go work frustration says vega darwin cuya new york courtesy jeremy heymanellis child philippines stopped going school fourth grade160 dad us said wont take long come well cuya explains year year papers didnt arrive living aunt waiting leave decided stay home could use help taking care children store remembers 13 entered fifth grade new york spoke tagalog native language moved us malolos city bulacan philippines first time whole family living together back felt like living cherished fantasy finally years could go whole family restaurant watch movies picnic park something says unfortunately fantasy didnt last cuya part growing influx immigrant students learning english interrupted educations according citys department education 12865 students limited interrupted formal education new york citys public schools 201314 school year pdf thats 92 percent englishlanguage learners ell first grade new york city highest concentration students bronx brooklyn cuyas case father left mother died but160this isnt challenge new york theres great awareness theyre arriving smaller communities havent really dealt says julie sugarman policy analyst migration policy institute specializes education arrival unaccompanied minors central america last two years has160increased numbers students come interrupted education also kansas high school student must pay back 3000 smugglers helped leave guatemala many students start years behind peers high schools four years absorb language make lost time earn diploma inevitable outcome immigrants learning english much lower graduation rates american counterparts new york city pdf 34 percent ell students immigrant graduate compared 705 percent overall student population nationwide 626 percent englishlanguage learners graduate compared 823 percent overall thats big issue says sugarman everybody school understand context kids come sensitive ellis average high school freshman 175160years160old speaks little english many accustomed three four hours per day schooling anywhere zero 11 years prior education upon enrollment says jeremy heyman elliss founding science teacher former college advisor schools 350 pupils come 24 countries albania yemen english often second third fourth language majority male latino convinced knowing students essential one remove socioemotional aspect life expect thrive academically vega staff developed strong counseling structure student assigned advisor counselor build emotionally academically unlike traditional american schools separate ell classes instead ellis focuses language acquisition academic content together teaching method shared internationals160network public schools school belongs students learn different subjects demonstrate proficiency developing projects giving presentations going field trips completing internships extended school year september july helps learn classroom academy also school new york accepts older teens didnt yet160take new york states mandated standardized tests earn diploma prior high school credits vega established bronx borough large share ell students 16 21 age group high dropout rates funneled ged programs take high school equivalency tests rather complete education classrooms earning students trust tell us things going says heyman remains perhaps important factor darwin cuya never thought hed get graduate high school beginning high school career odds year earned diploma getting cap gown courtesy of160 ellis cuya enrolled ellis stabilize family situation unraveled father returned philippines without notice leaving three young sons care sick mother one earn money youngest middle brother edward senior canisius college buffalo new york ellis time fathers departure almost derailed edwards graduation darwin cuya 15 eye beginning says science teacher heyman ellis felt could use support personalized attention schools community wasnt easy didnt choice cuya says visiting mother leukemia hospital realized talent nursing wanted help people like says wouldnt want kid lose someone precious mother passed away began high school soon darwins oldest brother alex supporting family lost construction job verge homelessness cuya wanted drop told im done thats says ellis cuya given individualized support keep academics the160opportunity talk openly difficulties studied breaks caring landlord evenings eventually applied college level support would impossible regular high schools designed respond needs easy task ellis either schools graduation rate lingering around 44 percent including years class chief among challenges pressure older students drop go work full time vega says planning increase support pupils entering junior year coursework challenging goes well says next years graduation rate improve cuya stayed course accepted mother really gone given chance never without ellis doesnt think would committed school really think wouldnt telling story says still one thing work another walk stage graduation day knowing family always wanted wont got fitted cap gown day supposed walk cuya skipped graduation ceremony jacqueline pena elliss college counselor social worker worked closely cuya darwin expressed others go graduation mother going present says graduation essence another ending time say goodbye familiar faces come terms reality new journey ahead weekend brother helped cuya move upstate start working next degree st john fisher college
| 888 |
<p>Super Bowl ads are getting weird. Doritos " <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugo7Y2lRsxc" type="external">Finger Cleaner</a>." Audi's " <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl0zw1YVZd4" type="external">Doberhuaha</a>," a Chihuahua with the oversized head of Doberman. Because nothing covers up the odious like Axe, a funny body spray ad that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63b4O_2HCYM" type="external">echoes Vietnam War atrocities</a>.</p>
<p>Blame the internet. The pressure to make a big game commercial that goes viral is pushing advertisers into the realm of the uncomfortable.</p>
<p>With ads this year running $134,000 a second, it's no longer enough for a commercial to make a splash during the game and maybe filter its way to water cooler chitchat. It's got to rack up millions of hits online before it even airs, and get replayed for months and years to come.</p>
<p>"They have ratcheted up the level of shock, the level of awe."</p>
<p>"Just having a compelling film doesn't necessarily mean your spot will perform well online," said Matt Ian, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York's Executive Creative Director. "It has to have 'Internet-ness' - an 'X' factor that makes an ad shareable or 'sticky' - beyond what makes an ad perform well on TV."</p>
<p>So advertisers are currying the Internet's favor, using disturbing imagery and themes designed to bait the Internet's appetite for the fringe.</p>
<p>And if weird is hot, it's because that's what "the kids" online are into. "Advertising has always looked towards where young people are freely communicating and how they're doing it and co-opting it," said Chris Bruss, VP of branded entertainment for comedy video site "Funny or Die."</p>
<p>"Whether it's Twitter or Tumblr or Reddit, let's go in there and leverage that demographic to try to sell," he said, "or to come across as more authentic, as someone delivering a message in their voice."</p>
<p>Weird stuffClearly, that voice loves weird stuff.</p>
<p>The best example is "Finger Cleaner," a finalist in the Doritos long running crowdsourced "Crash the Superbowl" contest. A man sticks his Doritos-covered finger through a hole in the wall and another guy <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugo7Y2lRsxc" type="external">sucks the cheesy powder off his digit</a>.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63b4O_2HCYM" type="external">Axe tempts controversy</a> and targets teen boys with an ad that shows what appear to be acts of war that turn into expressions of love. The vignettes include a Kim Jong Un look-a-like ordering his army to make his girlfriend a valentine, and one that recalls Vietnam, with a M-14 wielding soldier rushing a woman in an Asian rice patty, only to drop his gun and embrace her.</p>
<p>As advertisers know, spots like these push our buttons, said neuroscientist Dr. Carl Marci, cofounder of Innerscope Research, which attaches biometric feedback equipment to viewers to measure their response to commercials. There's a spike in the readout. The heart rate elevates. The skin becomes more electrically conductive.</p>
<p>"Something that's new or surprising or titillating will turn this system on," said Marci, altering the brain to information that might be relevant. "That tells us that whatever the stimulus is we should commit some of our precious brain resources to it."</p>
<p>That tiny bit of cranial territory is what Super Bowl advertisers are spending millions colonizing, with our feelings as their Trojan Horse.</p>
<p>"To get cut-through, advertisers need to make a strong connection with viewers and stand out from the crowd. The best way to do this is to hit an emotional trigger hard," said Devra Prywes, VP of Marketing at Unruly, a global video technology firm which tracks Super Bowl ads.</p>
<p>"What the heck" is one of those emotions, judging by the imagery showing up in some ads this year. Audi's features a "Doberhuahua," <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl0zw1YVZd4" type="external">a Chihuahua with the head of a Doberman</a>. Another ad this year opens with a shot of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Or1f_RxKQ" type="external">a man holding a baby with whom he's switched heads</a>.</p>
<p>At other points, it almost seems like the ads are deliberately trying to have moments they hope will become the next animated GIF or "LOLCATS" text-overlaid pass around. Wouldn't the <a href="http://youtu.be/URgQdz7qd8A?t=34s" type="external">slow-clapping ranger and bear</a> in the Carmax ad look great as animated loop in a Reddit comments section congratulating another user for their clever riposte? What if taking off your shirt and shouting "There were singing vegetables! And chickens!" like <a href="http://youtu.be/N5A3R4XqhOA?t=51s" type="external">Terry Crews in the Toyota and Muppets ad</a> became the next YouTube challenge? Becoming an internet meme is the new "Where's the beef," the advertising catchphrase as cultural reference. In situ, though, working for it can look a little off. But that's worth it if it gets customers to give you free advertising.</p>
<p>"The concept of something “memeable” has been around for a long term- just in different form: mnemonics, jingles, and hooks," said the Mother New York advertising agency. "It was hard to tell before if a jingle was stuck in someone's head before Twitter. Now if they can’t get it out of their head, they’ll Tweet it."</p>
<p>Raunchy weird"Raunchy weird" is a subcategory of weird that advertisers are trying to mine this year, to mixed effect. A woman nearly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrcaeAumAZo" type="external">licks yogurt off John Stamos's pants</a>. A yellow <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNr1a-k3bwk" type="external">M&amp;M twerks like Miley Cyrus</a> on Robin Thicke at the MTV video music awards. In another case of sexualized candy, a Butterfingers preview ad featured a couple, "Cheese" and "Crackers" emerging from couple's therapy session <a href="https://redstone.nbcnewstools.net/StreamsEditorial/streams/entries/edit/entries/www.freep.com/article/20140116/BUSINESS07/301160081/Is-Butterfinger-Super-Bowl-ad-too-raunchy-" type="external">ecstatically fondling a giant salami</a>. After it began to pick up eyebrow-raising attention, the candy maker took the teaser down and uploaded <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnC4vhEiEf4" type="external">a tamer clip</a> instead.</p>
<p>Even for the Internet, it seemed the ad was too hot.</p>
<p>"They have ratcheted up the level of shock, the level of awe," said Robert Passikoff, founder of marketing firm Brand Keys, "because they need to be able to have some kind of interaction going on digitally."</p>
<p>The issue is one partly of context. Super Bowl ads aren't just competing with each other. They have to survive and stand out when they go up online against more audacious content with less to lose.</p>
<p>"While funny can spread, weird is what truly goes viral," said Steve Cronk, founding partner at the Aberro Creative Agency.</p>
<p>But it might not be long before weird is on the wane, another fad to be co-opted and discarded by advertisers like New Wave music or flash mobs.</p>
<p>"The current style of Old Spice "Tim and Eric" is working," said Funny or Die's Bruss, referring to an ad that broke a few weeks ago that had hysterical mothers stalking their sons and <a href="http://www.today.com/money/old-spices-new-mom-song-ad-freaky-or-funny-2D11862564" type="external">slithering on their backs</a>. "Once everyone is doing that it's no longer unexpected. The smarter advertisers will figure out what's next."</p>
<p>Freaky-deaky doesn't always win. As seen in the teases and previews already out there, a number of the ads this year tap feel-good themes. And the most-shared clip from the 2013 Super Bowl was a heartstring-tugging Budweiser commercial about <a href="http://youtu.be/Zq05zILv7-c" type="external">a Clydesdale horse reunited with his trainer</a>.</p>
<p>Of all the triggers, love is the strongest, and the hardest to hit right.</p>
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super bowl ads getting weird doritos finger cleaner audis doberhuaha chihuahua oversized head doberman nothing covers odious like axe funny body spray ad echoes vietnam war atrocities blame internet pressure make big game commercial goes viral pushing advertisers realm uncomfortable ads year running 134000 second longer enough commercial make splash game maybe filter way water cooler chitchat got rack millions hits online even airs get replayed months years come ratcheted level shock level awe compelling film doesnt necessarily mean spot perform well online said matt ian tbwachiatday new yorks executive creative director internetness x factor makes ad shareable sticky beyond makes ad perform well tv advertisers currying internets favor using disturbing imagery themes designed bait internets appetite fringe weird hot thats kids online advertising always looked towards young people freely communicating theyre coopting said chris bruss vp branded entertainment comedy video site funny die whether twitter tumblr reddit lets go leverage demographic try sell said come across authentic someone delivering message voice weird stuffclearly voice loves weird stuff best example finger cleaner finalist doritos long running crowdsourced crash superbowl contest man sticks doritoscovered finger hole wall another guy sucks cheesy powder digit meanwhile axe tempts controversy targets teen boys ad shows appear acts war turn expressions love vignettes include kim jong un lookalike ordering army make girlfriend valentine one recalls vietnam m14 wielding soldier rushing woman asian rice patty drop gun embrace advertisers know spots like push buttons said neuroscientist dr carl marci cofounder innerscope research attaches biometric feedback equipment viewers measure response commercials theres spike readout heart rate elevates skin becomes electrically conductive something thats new surprising titillating turn system said marci altering brain information might relevant tells us whatever stimulus commit precious brain resources tiny bit cranial territory super bowl advertisers spending millions colonizing feelings trojan horse get cutthrough advertisers need make strong connection viewers stand crowd best way hit emotional trigger hard said devra prywes vp marketing unruly global video technology firm tracks super bowl ads heck one emotions judging imagery showing ads year audis features doberhuahua chihuahua head doberman another ad year opens shot man holding baby hes switched heads points almost seems like ads deliberately trying moments hope become next animated gif lolcats textoverlaid pass around wouldnt slowclapping ranger bear carmax ad look great animated loop reddit comments section congratulating another user clever riposte taking shirt shouting singing vegetables chickens like terry crews toyota muppets ad became next youtube challenge becoming internet meme new wheres beef advertising catchphrase cultural reference situ though working look little thats worth gets customers give free advertising concept something memeable around long term different form mnemonics jingles hooks said mother new york advertising agency hard tell jingle stuck someones head twitter cant get head theyll tweet raunchy weirdraunchy weird subcategory weird advertisers trying mine year mixed effect woman nearly licks yogurt john stamoss pants yellow mampm twerks like miley cyrus robin thicke mtv video music awards another case sexualized candy butterfingers preview ad featured couple cheese crackers emerging couples therapy session ecstatically fondling giant salami began pick eyebrowraising attention candy maker took teaser uploaded tamer clip instead even internet seemed ad hot ratcheted level shock level awe said robert passikoff founder marketing firm brand keys need able kind interaction going digitally issue one partly context super bowl ads arent competing survive stand go online audacious content less lose funny spread weird truly goes viral said steve cronk founding partner aberro creative agency might long weird wane another fad coopted discarded advertisers like new wave music flash mobs current style old spice tim eric working said funny dies bruss referring ad broke weeks ago hysterical mothers stalking sons slithering backs everyone longer unexpected smarter advertisers figure whats next freakydeaky doesnt always win seen teases previews already number ads year tap feelgood themes mostshared clip 2013 super bowl heartstringtugging budweiser commercial clydesdale horse reunited trainer triggers love strongest hardest hit right
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<p>Editor's note: "Manufacturing Shangri-La" is a three-part series on a Tibetan Hamlet turned tourist trap. Read Part 1: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130213/china-shangri-la-global-economy-tourism-part-1" type="external">China attempts to manufacture “Shangri-La”</a>; Part 2: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130213/China-shangri-la-environmental-efforts-eco-tourism-part-2" type="external">Profit quest imperils one of world’s most stunning landscapes</a></p>
<p>SHANGRI-LA, China – Much like the mythical Shangri-La, the real-life Shangri-La is a haven of ethnic diversity.</p>
<p>As James Hilton described it in his 1933 novel "Lost Horizon," the fictional mountain utopia plays host to a mixture of Tibetans, Chinese and Europeans.</p>
<p>“As for our racial origins, there are representatives of a great many nations among us,” one character says, “though it is perhaps natural that Tibetans and Chinese make up the majority.”</p>
<p>Among the mosaic of ethnicities in this small corner of the Tibetan plateau, peaceful coexistence is a long-standing custom. Around "Old Town," Tibetans, the largest group, construct buildings while women from the Lisu and Bai minorities sell crafts on open-air tables in the plaza. Han Chinese, the third-largest group, operate many of the hostels and tourist shops.</p>
<p>"We feel this place really is Shangri-La, because it is special " says Yang Qiong, a member of the Naxi minority who grew up around Zhongdian. "Local people get along."</p>
<p>The relative harmony among groups in Shangri-La is increasingly rare in China. Feeling left behind and oppressed by the government, China's minorities often resent the Han Chinese, who make up 92 percent of the population.</p>
<p>Across the country, incidents of conflict are legion. In 2008, anti-Han riots in Tibet left as many as 80 dead. In 2009, Uighurs riots in Urumqi, the capital city in Xinjiang, killed nearly 200, most of them Han Chinese. Since 2011, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130213/tibetan-monks-protest-marks-100th-self-immolation-bid" type="external">100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire</a> to protest Chinese rule.</p>
<p>“Ethnic relations in China are at an all-time low,” writes Anne-Marie Brady, a professor studying China’s ethnic policies.</p>
<p>Few Americans realize the extent — and the importance — of China’s diversity. The government recognizes 55 individual groups in addition to the Han majority. While only 8 percent of China’s population belong to minorities, that adds up to more than 110 million people — three times California’s population. The strongest minorities, Tibetans and Uighurs, have often been the object of brutality.</p>
<p>“There are very clear signs that China is running out of time to start allowing more autonomy and less interference for its main minorities,” writes Odd Arne Westad, professor of international history at the London School of Economics, in his new book Restless Empire. “The younger generation of Tibetans and Uighurs will want increased recognition of their own identity within China."</p>
<p>Minorities occupy nearly half of China’s territory, in some of its most resource-rich areas. Yunnan, where Shangri-La is located, has the greatest ethnic diversity of any province. Twenty-five ethnic minorities comprise a third of the population. It is also China’s second-poorest province.</p>
<p>In terms of income and education, minorities generally lag far behind the Han, and they remain largely shut out from real political power. The Standing Committee of the Politburo, China’s most powerful institution, has never had a minority member.</p>
<p>Across China, minorities not seen as a threat (Tibetans, Uighurs) are generally portrayed as colorful people who sing and dance and love to entertain visitors.</p>
<p>This stereotype is visible at Yunnan's ethnic tourism sights. Strolling around Lijiang, a tourist-mobbed town south of Shangri-La, can be shocking for Americans accustomed to political correctness. Women in "native" costumes — many of them Han — wave clappers outside a raucous strip of bars, where patrons watch dancers in neon headdresses perform Tibetan, Lisu, and Yi moves to thumping music.</p>
<p>“The different cultures have different standards of what's a good tourist time,” says Ed Grumbine, an American professor who studies botany in Yunnan. “In the US, if you had a bunch of Hispanic people dressing up and doing a Navajo dance and claiming it was legitimate, it would be an outrage. In China, it’s not an outrage, it’s business as usual.”</p>
<p>Indeed, commercializing the culture is the whole point. And rather than being a source of tension, the added income is a key ingredient in Shangri-La’s peaceful coexistence.</p>
<p>One local government official of ethnic Pumi descent tells me, “I’m not worried about commodification and commercializing. It’s unstoppable. If people come and rent your house, that’s business."</p>
<p>When asked if he thinks there are too many tourists, a He Guo Gao, a poor Naxi farmer outside Lijiang, says “The more the better.” He earns money as an unlicensed taxi driver for tourists going to and from the train station.</p>
<p>Yet residents also regret the fading heritage. The Pumi official says, “I am worried about changing culture. All the souvenirs here are just like everywhere else in China.”</p>
<p>Jason Lees, a longtime resident of Shangri-La who left Lijiang when it became too touristy, lamented that Shangri-La seemed to be headed the same direction. He noted that many Tibetans now make money letting tour groups come into their homes and watch them do staged ceremonies. “They sing, they dance, they drink, which is totally against their culture.”</p>
<p>Of greater concern than authenticity is the distribution of benefits from tourism. Yang Qiong, who works at a non-profit dedicated to teaching Lisu and Yi how to make and sell their own crafts, said that "outsiders own 85 percent of the businesses" in town.</p>
<p>"Local people want to have businesses, too," she said, "but they do not have the experience."</p>
<p>In several respects, government policies toward minorities are actually favorable. They are exempt from the one-child policy. The government directs economic subsidies to minority regions, and grants extra points on the high-stakes university entrance exam, the gaokao, creating some resentment among the Han majority.</p>
<p>Yet for now, ethnic relations in Shangri-La seem unusually calm — a remarkable fact in light of the growing hostility between Tibetans and Chinese.</p>
<p>Matteo Pistono, a Tibet human rights monitor and author of In the Shadow of the Buddha, notes that Shangri-La has not experienced many of the flare-ups that have occurred in other Tibetan regions.</p>
<p>“There have not been the kind of political demonstrations we saw in 2008 all around the [Tibetan] plateau, nor have there been any self immolations,” he says. “The economy has always been a bit better there for Tibetans in the last decade.”</p>
<p>Nonetheless, he says, relations between Tibetans and Hans are — and will seemingly remain — tense.</p>
<p>“The tension has something to do with the general feeling of not being in control, like all Tibetans feel, for their own land, and a more than half a century of yearning for the Dalai Lama to return to his home in Tibet."</p>
<p>Read part one in this series: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130213/china-shangri-la-global-economy-tourism-part-1" type="external">China attempts to manufacture “Shangri-La”</a></p>
<p>Read part two in this series: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/130213/China-shangri-la-environmental-efforts-eco-tourism-part-2" type="external">Profit quest imperils one of world’s most stunning landscapes</a></p>
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editors note manufacturing shangrila threepart series tibetan hamlet turned tourist trap read part 1 china attempts manufacture shangrila part 2 profit quest imperils one worlds stunning landscapes shangrila china much like mythical shangrila reallife shangrila ethnic diversity james hilton described 1933 novel lost horizon fictional mountain utopia plays host mixture tibetans chinese europeans racial origins representatives great many nations among us one character says though perhaps natural tibetans chinese make majority among mosaic ethnicities small corner tibetan plateau peaceful coexistence longstanding custom around old town tibetans largest group construct buildings women lisu bai minorities sell crafts openair tables plaza han chinese thirdlargest group operate many hostels tourist shops feel place really shangrila special says yang qiong member naxi minority grew around zhongdian local people get along relative harmony among groups shangrila increasingly rare china feeling left behind oppressed government chinas minorities often resent han chinese make 92 percent population across country incidents conflict legion 2008 antihan riots tibet left many 80 dead 2009 uighurs riots urumqi capital city xinjiang killed nearly 200 han chinese since 2011 100 tibetans set fire protest chinese rule ethnic relations china alltime low writes annemarie brady professor studying chinas ethnic policies americans realize extent importance chinas diversity government recognizes 55 individual groups addition han majority 8 percent chinas population belong minorities adds 110 million people three times californias population strongest minorities tibetans uighurs often object brutality clear signs china running time start allowing autonomy less interference main minorities writes odd arne westad professor international history london school economics new book restless empire younger generation tibetans uighurs want increased recognition identity within china minorities occupy nearly half chinas territory resourcerich areas yunnan shangrila located greatest ethnic diversity province twentyfive ethnic minorities comprise third population also chinas secondpoorest province terms income education minorities generally lag far behind han remain largely shut real political power standing committee politburo chinas powerful institution never minority member across china minorities seen threat tibetans uighurs generally portrayed colorful people sing dance love entertain visitors stereotype visible yunnans ethnic tourism sights strolling around lijiang touristmobbed town south shangrila shocking americans accustomed political correctness women native costumes many han wave clappers outside raucous strip bars patrons watch dancers neon headdresses perform tibetan lisu yi moves thumping music different cultures different standards whats good tourist time says ed grumbine american professor studies botany yunnan us bunch hispanic people dressing navajo dance claiming legitimate would outrage china outrage business usual indeed commercializing culture whole point rather source tension added income key ingredient shangrilas peaceful coexistence one local government official ethnic pumi descent tells im worried commodification commercializing unstoppable people come rent house thats business asked thinks many tourists guo gao poor naxi farmer outside lijiang says better earns money unlicensed taxi driver tourists going train station yet residents also regret fading heritage pumi official says worried changing culture souvenirs like everywhere else china jason lees longtime resident shangrila left lijiang became touristy lamented shangrila seemed headed direction noted many tibetans make money letting tour groups come homes watch staged ceremonies sing dance drink totally culture greater concern authenticity distribution benefits tourism yang qiong works nonprofit dedicated teaching lisu yi make sell crafts said outsiders 85 percent businesses town local people want businesses said experience several respects government policies toward minorities actually favorable exempt onechild policy government directs economic subsidies minority regions grants extra points highstakes university entrance exam gaokao creating resentment among han majority yet ethnic relations shangrila seem unusually calm remarkable fact light growing hostility tibetans chinese matteo pistono tibet human rights monitor author shadow buddha notes shangrila experienced many flareups occurred tibetan regions kind political demonstrations saw 2008 around tibetan plateau self immolations says economy always bit better tibetans last decade nonetheless says relations tibetans hans seemingly remain tense tension something general feeling control like tibetans feel land half century yearning dalai lama return home tibet read part one series china attempts manufacture shangrila read part two series profit quest imperils one worlds stunning landscapes
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<p>For more than 100 years, the governments of both the United States and Canada forcibly assimilated generations of Native people, taking their children and sending them to English-only boarding schools — a process that&#160;pushed the majority of indigenous languages to the brink of extinction.</p>
<p>More than 35 years ago, a small Mohawk tribe in New York decided to fight back&#160;by creating a school of their own.</p>
<p />
<p>During a recent Friday morning at the Akwesasne&#160;Freedom School, some 65 teachers and kids, sporting a mix of headdresses and hoodies, form a circle and make their way around the room to the beat of a water drum, chanting in native Mohawk.</p>
<p>They always begin with this song, "Standing Quiver," a tribute to hunters. A lot of reservation schools maintain traditions like these, but when the drum stops beating, the kids usually go back to class and back to speaking English. But here at Akwesasne, English is the foreign language.</p>
<p>“We're not just teaching you to be a Mohawk who thinks like the outside system, but [a Mohawk who] thinks in Mohawk,” explains Iakonikonhriiosta, one of the founding teachers of the Freedom School.</p>
<p>Alina Simone</p>
<p>It’s not as simple as just speaking the language, says Kahentente, Akwesasne’s phonics teacher. They also have to find creative ways to adapt ancient words to a very modern world. Take, for instance, the board games that the kids play — like Monopoly.&#160;In Mohawk, it’s called Ohwihsta.</p>
<p>“There's a lot of money involved, so we just call it the Ohwihsta, because ohwihsta&#160;is [the word for] 'money,'” explains Kahentente.</p>
<p>Like many other teachers at the school, Kahentente is a native speaker of Mohawk, which is unusual among tribes on the East Coast of the United States. But the remoteness of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, which sprawls from New York State, across a necklace of islands, and into Canada, has made the Mohawk more resistant to assimilation, like when agents from Native boarding schools on both sides of the border came for their children.</p>
<p>“It was common just for the Indian agent or an official of the government, to come into the home and say, ‘We're taking your children because it's obvious to us you can't take care of them,’” says Kaia'tahente, an upper-level teacher at the Freedom School.</p>
<p>Kaia’tahente’s own father narrowly escaped being taken to a boarding school, she says.</p>
<p>“I know other people who hid their children,” she says, “We have islands on the St. Lawrence river [where] they hid their children ... to keep them safe, to keep them out of those institutions.”</p>
<p>The Freedom School inverts the practices of those institutions — boarding schools where traditional clothing, rituals and Native languages were banned —&#160; by putting Mohawk first.</p>
<p>“We're not just teaching you to be a Mohawk who thinks like the outside system, but thinks in Mohawk,” explains Iakonikonhriiosta, known by her nickname, Peachy.&#160;She was an early teacher at the Freedom School. “We're teaching our students to be Mohawks and to speak from the Mohawk perspective, or Khudaneshone perspective, which is controversial.”</p>
<p>Peachy helped found the school&#160;in the late 1970s — when enrollment in Native American boarding schools was at its peak.</p>
<p>From <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1980/09/14/the-siege-of-the-mohawks/dc8afb36-fc06-473d-a7c2-fa5be6821cbc/" type="external">1979-1980, the reservation was in tumult</a>, locked in an armed standoff with the US government, and divided against itself, over what began as a dispute about building a fence around the US side of the reservation. Parents began to question busing their kids past roadblocks to state schools off the reservation.</p>
<p>“I think there were 25 of us that used to sit and think, ‘How are we going to start a school?’” says Peachy.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, members of the Mohawk tribe on the Canadian side of the reservation had already created their own Mohawk school, called the Kahnawake Survival School&#160;— to literally <a href="http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/thesescanada/vol1/QMM/TC-QMM-62381.pdf" type="external">ensure their language and culture survived</a>.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Peachy and her group had a model for their own school.</p>
<p>“There were women that were here helping us protest that were from Kahnawake [school] and they were like, ‘We can do this. Don't be afraid to do this.’ So people took their kids out of school and we started,” Peachy says.</p>
<p>The Mohawk language was just part of the curriculum at first. The decision to go full immersion came five years later. And it was a bittersweet moment for Peachy.</p>
<p />
<p>“The Akwesasne Freedom School—the word freedom—has to do with the freedom to think. And to be able to think, you need to be able to understand the language,” says&#160;Iakonikonhriiosta.</p>
<p>Alina Simone</p>
<p>“I was one of the teachers, and I don't speak Mohawk. And there were several of us who didn’t speak Mohawk because we grew up in the public school system,” explains Peachy.&#160;“It was a heartbreak, actually, for us to make that decision to go total immersion, because I knew I wouldn't have a place here to teach anymore.”</p>
<p>Ultimately, as a parent, Peachy agreed with the decision to make the school a full immersion program.&#160;Peachy’s 10 children are graduates of the Freedom School.</p>
<p>“The Akwesasne Freedom School — the word freedom has to do with the freedom to think. And to be able to think, you need to be able to understand the language,” she says.&#160;“For us English speakers, we were able to say, ‘Yes, for our children, we think we should push that the language be number one.’”</p>
<p>Today, there’s a language gap between members of Peachy’s generation and the younger graduates of the Freedom School, one that students must grapple with.&#160;</p>
<p>“My parents don't speak Mohawk. I have some aunts and uncles that speak Mohawk, but not my parents,” says Tehonwenhniserathe.</p>
<p>Tehonwenhniserathe is a 17-year-old senior.&#160; He started attending the Freedom School when he was 3. Today, he says he’s almost fluent. But maintaining fluency outside of school can be a struggle.</p>
<p>“You don't hear it a lot in common culture, so every time you leave, it's usually all in English,” he says.</p>
<p>Remember, Mohawk is still an endangered language, spoken by a minority of the tribe.</p>
<p>“But it makes me want to help more people to be able to speak,” says Tehonwenhniserathe.&#160;He says that after he graduates he already has plans to return — this time as a teacher.</p>
| false | 3 |
100 years governments united states canada forcibly assimilated generations native people taking children sending englishonly boarding schools process that160pushed majority indigenous languages brink extinction 35 years ago small mohawk tribe new york decided fight back160by creating school recent friday morning akwesasne160freedom school 65 teachers kids sporting mix headdresses hoodies form circle make way around room beat water drum chanting native mohawk always begin song standing quiver tribute hunters lot reservation schools maintain traditions like drum stops beating kids usually go back class back speaking english akwesasne english foreign language teaching mohawk thinks like outside system mohawk thinks mohawk explains iakonikonhriiosta one founding teachers freedom school alina simone simple speaking language says kahentente akwesasnes phonics teacher also find creative ways adapt ancient words modern world take instance board games kids play like monopoly160in mohawk called ohwihsta theres lot money involved call ohwihsta ohwihsta160is word money explains kahentente like many teachers school kahentente native speaker mohawk unusual among tribes east coast united states remoteness st regis mohawk reservation sprawls new york state across necklace islands canada made mohawk resistant assimilation like agents native boarding schools sides border came children common indian agent official government come home say taking children obvious us cant take care says kaiatahente upperlevel teacher freedom school kaiatahentes father narrowly escaped taken boarding school says know people hid children says islands st lawrence river hid children keep safe keep institutions freedom school inverts practices institutions boarding schools traditional clothing rituals native languages banned 160 putting mohawk first teaching mohawk thinks like outside system thinks mohawk explains iakonikonhriiosta known nickname peachy160she early teacher freedom school teaching students mohawks speak mohawk perspective khudaneshone perspective controversial peachy helped found school160in late 1970s enrollment native american boarding schools peak 19791980 reservation tumult locked armed standoff us government divided began dispute building fence around us side reservation parents began question busing kids past roadblocks state schools reservation think 25 us used sit think going start school says peachy meanwhile members mohawk tribe canadian side reservation already created mohawk school called kahnawake survival school160 literally ensure language culture survived suddenly peachy group model school women helping us protest kahnawake school like dont afraid people took kids school started peachy says mohawk language part curriculum first decision go full immersion came five years later bittersweet moment peachy akwesasne freedom schoolthe word freedomhas freedom think able think need able understand language says160iakonikonhriiosta alina simone one teachers dont speak mohawk several us didnt speak mohawk grew public school system explains peachy160it heartbreak actually us make decision go total immersion knew wouldnt place teach anymore ultimately parent peachy agreed decision make school full immersion program160peachys 10 children graduates freedom school akwesasne freedom school word freedom freedom think able think need able understand language says160for us english speakers able say yes children think push language number one today theres language gap members peachys generation younger graduates freedom school one students must grapple with160 parents dont speak mohawk aunts uncles speak mohawk parents says tehonwenhniserathe tehonwenhniserathe 17yearold senior160 started attending freedom school 3 today says hes almost fluent maintaining fluency outside school struggle dont hear lot common culture every time leave usually english says remember mohawk still endangered language spoken minority tribe makes want help people able speak says tehonwenhniserathe160he says graduates already plans return time teacher
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<p>SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket broke up in a fiery blast on Sunday just minutes after its launch with a robotic Dragon cargo capsule headed for the International Space Station. It was the third failure of a space station resupply mission in eight months.</p>
<p>The Falcon took off right on time after a seemingly flawless countdown, rising into the sunny skies over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 10:21 a.m. ET. But a little more than two minutes after liftoff, video showed the Falcon 9 disintegrating.</p>
<p>"We appear to have had a launch vehicle failure," NASA spokesman George Diller observed. Air Force officials said the rocket "experienced an anomaly" 148 seconds into the flight. Debris from the breakup fell into the Atlantic Ocean without causing damage or injury on the ground.</p>
<p>SpaceX billionaire founder Elon Musk, who turned 44 years old on Sunday, <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/615185076813459456" type="external">reported in a tweet</a> that "there was an overpressure event in the upper-stage liquid oxygen tank."</p>
<p>SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, echoed that preliminary assessment during a news briefing later Sunday — but she said it was too early to say anything else about the cause of the mishap. SpaceX is in charge of the investigation, under the oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration. Shotwell said SpaceX crews were trying to recover debris from the sea.</p>
<p>Shotwell indicated that Falcon 9 rocket launches would be suspended until the FAA signs off on SpaceX's findings, a process that she said would probably take "a number of months" but not as long as a year. At least three payloads are <a href="http://spaceflightnow.com/launch-schedule/" type="external">on the manifest</a> for Falcon 9 launches in the near term, including the Jason 3 ocean-observing satellite and the SES 9 and Orbcomm OG2 telecom satellites.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/spacex_nasa_crs-7_presskit.pdf" type="external">primary objective</a>of Sunday's mission was to deliver the Dragon to the space station with more than two and a half tons of supplies, equipment and experiments — ranging from a <a href="https://blogs.nasa.gov/commercialcrew/2015/06/27/docking-adapter-to-set-stage-for-commercial-crew-craft/" type="external">new docking adapter</a> for accommodating future U.S.-built spaceships to a <a href="" type="internal">virtual-reality headset</a> for the station's crew.</p>
<p>After stage separation, the Falcon 9's first stage was supposed to attempt a landing on a oceangoing platform — but the flight never got that far.</p>
<p>The Associated Press reported that the fireworks initially confused some of the spectators who were watching the launch from beaches near Cape Canaveral: "It looked fine until it was almost out of sight. And then, a poof of smoke," said Whitney Jackson of Palm Beach, Florida. "Everyone was cheering and clapping. No one knew it meant failure."</p>
<p>This was to have been the first cargo delivery since <a href="" type="internal">the total loss of a robotic Russian Progress capsule in late April</a>. The Dragon's payload included food, oxygen and other basics — and its loss will put even more pressure on the crew and mission planners.</p>
<p>"This is a blow to us," Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations, acknowledged to reporters.</p>
<p>NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, who is spending almost a year on the station, <a href="https://twitter.com/StationCDRKelly/status/615169254392856576" type="external">observed via Twitter</a> that "space is hard."</p>
<p>The Dragon previously made six successful cargo runs under the terms of a $1.6 billion contract with NASA, plus <a href="" type="internal">an initial demonstration mission</a> in 2012. The last of those successful launches <a href="" type="internal">occurred in April</a>.</p>
<p>Sunday's loss marks SpaceX's first failed mission to the space station, and extends a string of setbacks for space station resupply. In addition to April's Progress failure, Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket <a href="" type="internal">malfunctioned after launch in October</a>, resulting in the loss of a space station shipment. One of the student experiments aboard the Dragon was a rebuilt version of an experiment that flew on the failed Orbital resupply mission.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Double Space Failure Teaches Students a Lesson</a></p>
<p>"Having three [failures] this close together is not what we hoped for," said Mike Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager.</p>
<p>Another Progress ship is scheduled to be sent to the station from Russia's Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 3, and a robotic Japanese HTV transport ship is due to follow in August. Suffredini said the station's residents currently have enough food and other supplies to see them through October. If the stockpile dwindles to a 45-day supply, he said NASA and its partners would have to consider bringing the crew back to Earth, he said.</p>
<p>Gerstenmaier noted that a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket was scheduled to launch Orbital's Cygnus cargo capsule to the station in December. He said that flight might now be rescheduled for as early as October.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-administrator-statement-on-the-loss-of-spacex-crs-7" type="external">statement</a>, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden voiced disappointment over Sunday's loss. "However, the astronauts are safe aboard the station and have sufficient supplies for the next several months," Bolden said. "We will work closely with SpaceX to understand what happened, fix the problem and return to flight."</p>
<p>SpaceX is working to upgrade the Falcon 9 and the Dragon to carry astronauts to the space station as early as 2017. It's not yet clear how much of an impact Sunday's failure will have on that NASA-supported spaceship development program, or on NASA's wider efforts to commercialize crew transport.</p>
<p>Just last month, SpaceX <a href="" type="internal">successfully tested a launch abort system</a> that's designed to fly a crew to safety in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the ascent to orbit. Shotwell said such a system "would certainly have taken the astronauts to a safe place after an anomaly like this."</p>
<p>"Some will attempt to make this the tombstone of commercial space." <a href="http://www.thelurioreport.com/" type="external">Charles Lurio</a>, an independent consultant on the space industry, told NBC News in an email. "But there is no alternative but to do more of it and more often. The only alternative Congress ever has is pork, and done so slowly that we never learn enough to make spaceflight practical."</p>
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spacexs falcon 9 rocket broke fiery blast sunday minutes launch robotic dragon cargo capsule headed international space station third failure space station resupply mission eight months falcon took right time seemingly flawless countdown rising sunny skies cape canaveral air force station florida 1021 et little two minutes liftoff video showed falcon 9 disintegrating appear launch vehicle failure nasa spokesman george diller observed air force officials said rocket experienced anomaly 148 seconds flight debris breakup fell atlantic ocean without causing damage injury ground spacex billionaire founder elon musk turned 44 years old sunday reported tweet overpressure event upperstage liquid oxygen tank spacexs president chief operating officer gwynne shotwell echoed preliminary assessment news briefing later sunday said early say anything else cause mishap spacex charge investigation oversight federal aviation administration shotwell said spacex crews trying recover debris sea shotwell indicated falcon 9 rocket launches would suspended faa signs spacexs findings process said would probably take number months long year least three payloads manifest falcon 9 launches near term including jason 3 oceanobserving satellite ses 9 orbcomm og2 telecom satellites primary objectiveof sundays mission deliver dragon space station two half tons supplies equipment experiments ranging new docking adapter accommodating future usbuilt spaceships virtualreality headset stations crew stage separation falcon 9s first stage supposed attempt landing oceangoing platform flight never got far associated press reported fireworks initially confused spectators watching launch beaches near cape canaveral looked fine almost sight poof smoke said whitney jackson palm beach florida everyone cheering clapping one knew meant failure first cargo delivery since total loss robotic russian progress capsule late april dragons payload included food oxygen basics loss put even pressure crew mission planners blow us bill gerstenmaier nasas associate administrator human exploration operations acknowledged reporters nasa astronaut scott kelly spending almost year station observed via twitter space hard dragon previously made six successful cargo runs terms 16 billion contract nasa plus initial demonstration mission 2012 last successful launches occurred april sundays loss marks spacexs first failed mission space station extends string setbacks space station resupply addition aprils progress failure orbital sciences corps antares rocket malfunctioned launch october resulting loss space station shipment one student experiments aboard dragon rebuilt version experiment flew failed orbital resupply mission related double space failure teaches students lesson three failures close together hoped said mike suffredini nasas space station program manager another progress ship scheduled sent station russias baikonur cosmodrome kazakhstan july 3 robotic japanese htv transport ship due follow august suffredini said stations residents currently enough food supplies see october stockpile dwindles 45day supply said nasa partners would consider bringing crew back earth said gerstenmaier noted united launch alliance atlas 5 rocket scheduled launch orbitals cygnus cargo capsule station december said flight might rescheduled early october statement nasa administrator charles bolden voiced disappointment sundays loss however astronauts safe aboard station sufficient supplies next several months bolden said work closely spacex understand happened fix problem return flight spacex working upgrade falcon 9 dragon carry astronauts space station early 2017 yet clear much impact sundays failure nasasupported spaceship development program nasas wider efforts commercialize crew transport last month spacex successfully tested launch abort system thats designed fly crew safety event emergency launch pad ascent orbit shotwell said system would certainly taken astronauts safe place anomaly like attempt make tombstone commercial space charles lurio independent consultant space industry told nbc news email alternative often alternative congress ever pork done slowly never learn enough make spaceflight practical
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<p>By Greg Warner</p>
<p>About 20 former Southern Baptist leaders met in Atlanta Dec. 4 to try to find ways to rebuild financial support for the Baptist World Alliance, which lost its largest member and funding source in October.</p>
<p>The leaders, which included several former Southern Baptist Convention agency heads and state convention executives, called themselves “Advocates of the Baptist World Alliance.” No formal organization has been formed, however.</p>
<p>Last June the Southern Baptist Convention voted to withdraw its membership and final $300,000 in funding from the Baptist World Alliance, an international umbrella organization representing 211 Baptist bodies. The convention's conservative leaders said the BWA harbors theological liberalism, a charge denied by the BWA and many of its member groups worldwide.</p>
<p>The Atlanta meeting was organized by Duke McCall, retired president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a former president of the BWA.</p>
<p>“Our purpose is to retain Southern Baptist participation in and support of the Baptist World Alliance,” said McCall, who also was president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and chief executive of SBC before conservatives rose to power.</p>
<p>“We function within Baptist freedom and the autonomy of every Christian church,” McCall said in a statement. “The BWA has inspired and instructed world Baptists in their intention to be biblical Christian witnesses to our Savior Jesus Christ.”</p>
<p>Other participants included Grady Cothen and Lloyd Elder, both former presidents of the Baptist Sunday School Board (now called LifeWay Christian Resources), and three former chief executives of the SBC Woman's Missionary Union-Alma Hunt, Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler and Dellanna O'Brien.</p>
<p>Two BWA staff members were present-Denton Lotz, executive director, and Ian Chapman, development director.</p>
<p>The group did not establish a strategy or fund-raising goal in support of the BWA but agreed to encourage churches and individuals to support the international organization, which is based in Falls Church.</p>
<p>McCall told Associated Baptist Press a formal organization was a possibility going into the meeting “but it never crystalized. I didn't hear this crowd wanting an ongoing organization.” Nonetheless, he said he was “impressed with the vigor of the support” for the BWA.</p>
<p>McCall said the best hope for raising money for the BWA is from churches and individuals. Although the SBC has withdrawn from the international organization, Southern Baptist churches and individuals are not required to do the same, he said.</p>
<p>Most support for the Baptist World Alliance traditionally has come from member Baptist bodies around the world, but the BWA recently added categories of associate membership for churches and individuals. Supporters are hoping to replace the money lost from the SBC-$425,000 annually until recent years-from churches and individuals who disagree with the SBC's action.</p>
<p>“The nature of the case is that's where you have to go now,” McCall said. That's because most state Baptist conventions that are likely to support the BWA already are, he said. That includes conventions in Texas, Virginia, North Carolina and Missouri. McCall said the Kentucky Baptist Convention might yet approve funding, even though it elected a conservative president last month. “We'll try to win Kentucky over, because it is still up for grabs in my judgment,” he said.</p>
<p>Proposals that could have resulted in more funding for BWA recently were defeated in the Alabama, Kentucky and Georgia Baptist conventions. But two moderate-controlled conventions-in Texas and Virginia-acted to increase their support.</p>
<p>Catherine Allen, former president of the BWA Women's Department, said many “rank-and-file” Baptist churches have quit participating in the SBC and state conventions but still want to support the BWA.</p>
<p>“There are a lot of churches that are SBC-identified who are going to have to make a decision about the BWA,” Allen, who also participated in the Dec. 4 meeting, told ABP. Encouragement from those former Southern Baptist leaders can be a persuasive factor, said Allen, former WMU associate executive director and now treasurer of Global Women.</p>
<p>Other participants included former executives of state conventions: Jere Allen, District of Columbia; Charles Barnes, Maryland; Bill Causey, Mississippi; James Griffith, Georgia; Jack Lowndes, New York; and Don Widemon, Missouri. Other former state executives who expressed support but were not able to attend included Earl Kelly, Mississippi; Ken Lyle, New England; Reggie McDonough, Virginia; William Pinson, Texas; and Roy Smith, North Carolina.</p>
<p>Also attending were Emmanuel McCall, former director of black church relations for the Home (now North American) Mission Board; Bill O'Brien, former vice president of the Foreign (now International) Mission Board; Truett Gannon, professor at Mercer's McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta; and three Georgia pastors-David Sapp of Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church in Atlanta, Bill Self of Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, and Craig Sherouse of First Baptist Church of Griffin.</p>
<p>McCall said the group is “not in a battle with anyone” and doesn't claim to “represent any group we may have served in the past.”</p>
<p>Instead, he said in a statement, “We serve the Baptist World Alliance, not because its membership includes no sinners, but because it has inspired and instructed world Baptists in their intention to be biblical Christian witnesses to our Savior Jesus Christ.”</p>
<p>Associated Baptist Press</p>
<p>Greg Warner is executive editor of ABP.</p>
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greg warner 20 former southern baptist leaders met atlanta dec 4 try find ways rebuild financial support baptist world alliance lost largest member funding source october leaders included several former southern baptist convention agency heads state convention executives called advocates baptist world alliance formal organization formed however last june southern baptist convention voted withdraw membership final 300000 funding baptist world alliance international umbrella organization representing 211 baptist bodies conventions conservative leaders said bwa harbors theological liberalism charge denied bwa many member groups worldwide atlanta meeting organized duke mccall retired president southern baptist theological seminary former president bwa purpose retain southern baptist participation support baptist world alliance said mccall also president new orleans baptist theological seminary chief executive sbc conservatives rose power function within baptist freedom autonomy every christian church mccall said statement bwa inspired instructed world baptists intention biblical christian witnesses savior jesus christ participants included grady cothen lloyd elder former presidents baptist sunday school board called lifeway christian resources three former chief executives sbc womans missionary unionalma hunt carolyn weatherford crumpler dellanna obrien two bwa staff members presentdenton lotz executive director ian chapman development director group establish strategy fundraising goal support bwa agreed encourage churches individuals support international organization based falls church mccall told associated baptist press formal organization possibility going meeting never crystalized didnt hear crowd wanting ongoing organization nonetheless said impressed vigor support bwa mccall said best hope raising money bwa churches individuals although sbc withdrawn international organization southern baptist churches individuals required said support baptist world alliance traditionally come member baptist bodies around world bwa recently added categories associate membership churches individuals supporters hoping replace money lost sbc425000 annually recent yearsfrom churches individuals disagree sbcs action nature case thats go mccall said thats state baptist conventions likely support bwa already said includes conventions texas virginia north carolina missouri mccall said kentucky baptist convention might yet approve funding even though elected conservative president last month well try win kentucky still grabs judgment said proposals could resulted funding bwa recently defeated alabama kentucky georgia baptist conventions two moderatecontrolled conventionsin texas virginiaacted increase support catherine allen former president bwa womens department said many rankandfile baptist churches quit participating sbc state conventions still want support bwa lot churches sbcidentified going make decision bwa allen also participated dec 4 meeting told abp encouragement former southern baptist leaders persuasive factor said allen former wmu associate executive director treasurer global women participants included former executives state conventions jere allen district columbia charles barnes maryland bill causey mississippi james griffith georgia jack lowndes new york widemon missouri former state executives expressed support able attend included earl kelly mississippi ken lyle new england reggie mcdonough virginia william pinson texas roy smith north carolina also attending emmanuel mccall former director black church relations home north american mission board bill obrien former vice president foreign international mission board truett gannon professor mercers mcafee school theology atlanta three georgia pastorsdavid sapp secondponce de leon baptist church atlanta bill self johns creek baptist church alpharetta craig sherouse first baptist church griffin mccall said group battle anyone doesnt claim represent group may served past instead said statement serve baptist world alliance membership includes sinners inspired instructed world baptists intention biblical christian witnesses savior jesus christ associated baptist press greg warner executive editor abp
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<p>MARCH 28, 2011</p>
<p>California Republicans love to talk about limiting government, fighting bureaucracy and keeping taxes low, but March 17 they proved that this is nothing more than a rhetorical device. Given the opportunity to rein in the size and power of government in a tangible way, Assembly Republicans — with a sole exception — punted. They rallied to save some of the most abusive and wastrel government agencies around.</p>
<p>California voters ought to at least understand where the overwhelming majority of GOP Assembly members stand — in this instance, on the side of big government, higher taxes and uncontrolled debt and against property rights, individualism and freedom. As the party blathers about luring minority and working-class voters, let it be clear that the GOP sided with the developers and government planners, folks who usually want to drive minorities and working-class people off their properties.</p>
<p>The Democrats, awful as they usually are, may be right: The GOP is the party of big business and privilege.</p>
<p>As part of the governor’s budget package, the Assembly voted on Senate Bill 77, which would have ended the state’s 400-plus redevelopment agencies. But only longtime redevelopment foe, Chris Norby of Fullerton, sided with taxpayers and property owners. Other Assembly Republicans voted “no” or didn’t vote at all.</p>
<p>Had even one of the Republicans joined Norby and the Democrats, the bill would have passed with a two-thirds majority. At press time, the voting roll remained open, but it didn’t look good for foes of redevelopment.</p>
<p>Republicans, far in the minority in the Legislature, may celebrate that they stopped Gov. Jerry Brown on this one issue. But they stopped Brown in one of the few areas where he was right. What’s the sense in that?</p>
<p>Redevelopment was started decades ago to upgrade decrepit urban areas, but in the ensuing years the state’s now-nearly 400 active redevelopment agencies have become horrific abusers of eminent domain. They routinely take private property from homeowners and small business owners and give it to developers on the cheap. Redevelopment agencies subsidize big-box stores and auto malls — it’s about luring sales taxes, not about upgrading blight. Government officials don’t care whose rights they erode in the process of gaining more money for government.</p>
<p>Brown has targeted Redevelopment agencies because they divert 12 percent of the state’s property taxes from traditional public services (schools, police, parks and firefighting) to corporate welfare. He figures the state can save about $1.7 billion as he seeks to close a gaping $26.6 billion budget hole. This should have been a no-brainer with any Republican with a brain. But the California GOP is the party of numbskulls.</p>
<p>Redevelopment is about everything Republicans claim to loath: bureaucracy, debt, abuses of property rights, big government, oppressive land-use rules, subsidized housing and fiscal irresponsibility. In California cities, redevelopment bureaucrats bully people and impose enormous burdens on taxpayers. The diversion of tax dollars to welfare queens mandates higher taxes, but the GOP sided with the redevelopment industry. They sided with agencies that run up hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-backed indebtedness. They sided with government-directed stimulus programs, albeit local ones rather than federal ones.</p>
<p>Some Republicans sided with redevelopment because of their support for some favored local development projects. Others acted out of pure partisanship. Most Republicans offered lame excuses. For instance, they argued that if redevelopment agencies were shut down, something new and equally bad would take its place. That’s an absurd argument. They might as well oppose tax cuts by arguing that the government will just find other ways to raise the revenue.</p>
<p>The truth is that California Republicans do not believe in limited government. They do not stand up for property owners. They are the party of corporate welfare. They oppose higher taxes, but that’s the only guiding principle of the party these days. And even that commitment is suspect. Many Assembly Republicans, such as the pro-union members who attended a rally against budget cuts hosted by the SEIU (Jim Silva of Huntington Beach, Brian Nestande and Paul Cook), vote in a way that virtually mandates higher taxes at some point. Then they get on their high horse and sign those bogus tax-fighting pledges. And you wonder why the GOP is fading away in this state?</p>
<p>After watching the Assembly GOP vote on redevelopment, we can conclude that their claims about demanding pension reform and spending caps also are bogus. They will never provide the margin of victory on these matters, either. When push comes to shove, they will be bought off again and will offer similar excuses for why they really support reform but just couldn’t vote for it this time. Yet Republicans wonder why they have been relegated to irrelevancy, the laughingstocks of the California political world. Sure, they usually are better than Democrats, but they offer no cohesive and believable alternative to the Party of Unions.</p>
<p>The Chamber of Commerce also loves redevelopment, and redevelopment is a core issue. Anyone who supports it cannot claim to be a conservative, not if the term conservative has any meaning. It is the epitome of bad public policy, in that it gives governmental powers to the most powerful and politically well-connected players at the expense of the average citizen.</p>
<p>Ironically, the Democrats claimed to love redevelopment, but voted to end the agencies as a way to save money. Republicans often criticized the redevelopment process, but then rallied the troops to save it.</p>
<p>So most Assembly Republicans are clear: They love Obama-style stimulus programs and corporate welfare. They trust planners and bureaucrats rather than the free market. They support higher taxes and more debt. And they believe that the government should be free to use eminent domain to take property from private owners and give that property to powerful private interests.</p>
<p>Let’s at least dispense with all the rhetoric. The party that saved redevelopment is no friend of the California taxpayer.</p>
<p>— Steven Greenhut</p>
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march 28 2011 california republicans love talk limiting government fighting bureaucracy keeping taxes low march 17 proved nothing rhetorical device given opportunity rein size power government tangible way assembly republicans sole exception punted rallied save abusive wastrel government agencies around california voters ought least understand overwhelming majority gop assembly members stand instance side big government higher taxes uncontrolled debt property rights individualism freedom party blathers luring minority workingclass voters let clear gop sided developers government planners folks usually want drive minorities workingclass people properties democrats awful usually may right gop party big business privilege part governors budget package assembly voted senate bill 77 would ended states 400plus redevelopment agencies longtime redevelopment foe chris norby fullerton sided taxpayers property owners assembly republicans voted didnt vote even one republicans joined norby democrats bill would passed twothirds majority press time voting roll remained open didnt look good foes redevelopment republicans far minority legislature may celebrate stopped gov jerry brown one issue stopped brown one areas right whats sense redevelopment started decades ago upgrade decrepit urban areas ensuing years states nownearly 400 active redevelopment agencies become horrific abusers eminent domain routinely take private property homeowners small business owners give developers cheap redevelopment agencies subsidize bigbox stores auto malls luring sales taxes upgrading blight government officials dont care whose rights erode process gaining money government brown targeted redevelopment agencies divert 12 percent states property taxes traditional public services schools police parks firefighting corporate welfare figures state save 17 billion seeks close gaping 266 billion budget hole nobrainer republican brain california gop party numbskulls redevelopment everything republicans claim loath bureaucracy debt abuses property rights big government oppressive landuse rules subsidized housing fiscal irresponsibility california cities redevelopment bureaucrats bully people impose enormous burdens taxpayers diversion tax dollars welfare queens mandates higher taxes gop sided redevelopment industry sided agencies run hundreds millions dollars taxpayerbacked indebtedness sided governmentdirected stimulus programs albeit local ones rather federal ones republicans sided redevelopment support favored local development projects others acted pure partisanship republicans offered lame excuses instance argued redevelopment agencies shut something new equally bad would take place thats absurd argument might well oppose tax cuts arguing government find ways raise revenue truth california republicans believe limited government stand property owners party corporate welfare oppose higher taxes thats guiding principle party days even commitment suspect many assembly republicans prounion members attended rally budget cuts hosted seiu jim silva huntington beach brian nestande paul cook vote way virtually mandates higher taxes point get high horse sign bogus taxfighting pledges wonder gop fading away state watching assembly gop vote redevelopment conclude claims demanding pension reform spending caps also bogus never provide margin victory matters either push comes shove bought offer similar excuses really support reform couldnt vote time yet republicans wonder relegated irrelevancy laughingstocks california political world sure usually better democrats offer cohesive believable alternative party unions chamber commerce also loves redevelopment redevelopment core issue anyone supports claim conservative term conservative meaning epitome bad public policy gives governmental powers powerful politically wellconnected players expense average citizen ironically democrats claimed love redevelopment voted end agencies way save money republicans often criticized redevelopment process rallied troops save assembly republicans clear love obamastyle stimulus programs corporate welfare trust planners bureaucrats rather free market support higher taxes debt believe government free use eminent domain take property private owners give property powerful private interests lets least dispense rhetoric party saved redevelopment friend california taxpayer steven greenhut
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<p>#embedded_player_83bd7693215f8 { margin-left: 30px; margin-top:3px;}</p>
<p>BRIDGEPORT, Connecticut — The distance from here to Bangkok, Thailand is 8,639 miles.</p>
<p>But then, it depends what one means by the word “distance.”</p>
<p>As we discovered in the first installment of this GlobalPost Special Report, by some measures there is not much distance at all.</p>
<p>Take the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/global-economy/130115/great-divide-gini-coefficient-methodology" type="external">Gini Index</a>, the scale that economists use to measure income equality, with zero equaling perfect equality and 1 representing absolute inequality in which one person owns everything. Thailand, where Bangkok is the bustling capital city of one of Southeast Asia’s fast growing “Tiger economies,” comes in at .536. The Bridgeport area — Fairfield County — is slightly worse at .539. The two places fall very close in their ranking on the Gini Index as highly unequal.</p>
<p>The Great Divide:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121226/connecticut-economic-divide-inequality" type="external">Two sides of Connecticut's economic divide reveal price of inequality</a></p>
<p>The Great Divide:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/thailand/121226/glitz-and-desperation-bangkok-divided-income" type="external">Glitz and desperation in a Bangkok divided by income</a></p>
<p>Put more simply, these are cities where you can move, often within minutes, between the wrenching poverty of the dispossessed and the opulence of the super-rich. The physical distance between rich and poor in these places is small. But for the people who live in Bangkok and Bridgeport, traveling from the lower economic rungs to the higher ones is extremely difficult.</p>
<p>That has long been true in the developing world. And in America, which has long lived with the idea of mobility and a belief that all have a shot at the American Dream, it is increasingly difficult, as new economic research reveals.</p>
<p>To explore these issues of global income inequality and its cost, GlobalPost begins today a series of reports by more than 20 reporters, photographers and videographers from every corner of the world. The result of more than six months of reporting and data analysis, the Special Report seeks to match and compare American metropolitan areas with foreign countries that have similar levels of income inequality.</p>
<p>For me, the assignment was to return home to Fairfield Country, Connecticut, where I grew up, and explore how the death of industry in Bridgeport has cost good jobs and how US government tax policy over at least two decades has favored the rich, particularly hedge fund managers in the tony town of Greenwich. The result has been vast income inequality.</p>
<p>The Great Divide: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/groundtruth/the-story-behind-the-story-michael-moran-income-inequality" type="external">The Story Behind the Story - Mike Moran on income inequality&#160;</a></p>
<p>On the other side of the world, GlobalPost senior correspondent Patrick Winn explored Bangkok with its similar level of income inequality in the Gini Index. Winn has lived and worked in Bangkok for the last four years, and his reporting for this project takes readers from the city’s infamous slums to its equally infamous glitzy shopping district where the rich search out world-class bargains on Gucci and Prada.</p>
<p>The Great Divide: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/groundtruth/patrick-winn-income-inequality-thailand" type="external">The Story Behind the Story - Patrick Winn on income inequality in Bangkok</a></p>
<p>The journey between Bridgeport and Bangkok was captured in a GlobalPost Special Report video segment titled “The Distance Between Rich and Poor” (above).</p>
<p>It was shot by the award-winning photojournalist Ed Kashi who followed Winn and me through the cities we consider our own.</p>
<p>In both of these places, the top 5 percent of the population controls over 60 percent of income. That translates, in Bridgeport’s case, to a median income for that top 5 percent of over $685,000 a year, while the bottom 20 percent, clustered primarily in dismal slums like Bridgeport’s East End, take home about $15,000, US Census bureau figures show.</p>
<p>For those who live on either side of this divide — in either country — there is a profound lack of identification with the other world. A profound distance.</p>
<p>“I don’t think of it [Bridgeport] at all,” said Karen Schiff, a well-dressed young woman heading home from Greenwich train station from her job in New York. “I don’t think I’ve ever even met someone from there — maybe I drove through, I don’t know.”</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>Clara Bing, a Bridgeport native who commutes to affluent Greenwich each day to work at a dry cleaning business, said she is not surprised people feel little responsibility for their poorer neighbors.</p>
<p>“As long as we go home at night, I guess, it’s okay. It’s like we’re invisible,” she said.</p>
<p>Vast economic disparity is often associated with developing nations sacrificing social goals in order to emphasize growth and move up in global rankings. In Thailand, the boom years of the 1980s and 1990s saw Thailand’s per capita income — the average annual pay a person takes home — soar from $680 to nearly $5,000, making it an “upper middle income” country in the parlance of global development experts.</p>
<p>Thailand has 47,000 millionaires today, many of them holding the reigns of political power. The concentration of wealth in the hands of a few has touched off a backlash. The so-called “Red Shirt” movement has clashed violently with government forces, contending that the poor are deliberately exploited by a corrupt elite. Its rallies have calmed of late, but outrage over song matratan — i.e. “double standards” — is now a feature of the Thai political debate.</p>
<p>In America, such disparities evoke memories of the so-called “Gilded Age,” the period between the 1880s and 1920s of westward expansion, massive immigration and tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller. The great divide of that age, with its strikebreaking massacres, slum epidemics and child labor, launched the career of Republican Teddy Roosevelt’s progressive reform movement and, after the Great Depression a generation later, his Democratic cousin Franklin Delano’s New Deal.</p>
<p>Income disparity dropped markedly during the years that followed World War II, only to begin widening again about 1968. Until the 2008 financial crisis, the stagnation of middle and lower class incomes in the US were masked by asset bubbles and cheap credit. Only recently, as the housing collapse and banking crisis pulled back the curtains, has income disparity become a topic for polite conversation in US political campaigns.</p>
<p>"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,” said President Obama in his 2012 State of the Union address. “Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules."</p>
<p>It’s not always so polite, of course. Two very different political movements, the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, both sprung up, in part, out of anger over the stagnating prospects of the US middle class.</p>
<p>The Tea Party stresses “inequality of opportunity” and believes pro-growth policies and an unbridled free markets will lift all boats. The left sees that as discredited and wants a tax code that reverses the inequality gap.</p>
<p>The focus on growth has come under new pressure from studies showing that America’s vaunted ability to create pathways to success may be flagging. Multiple studies, most recently by the Pew Center for the States, show that those born poor or in the lower middle class in America are far less likely than popularly imagined to “make it.”</p>
<p>“Only 4 percent of those raised in the bottom quintile make it all the way to the top as adults, confirming that the ‘rags-to-riches’ story is more often found in Hollywood than in reality,” the report said.</p>
<p>The study found that richer people have a greater chance of moving up in American society, but that the vast majority will remain in the same income category.</p>
<p>With studies challenging such a central component of the American Dream as social mobility, experts say, it should not be surprising that people are angry.</p>
<p>“Workers’ share of the pie is falling with inequality reaching levels similar to 100 years ago,” said Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, co-author of what many believe to be the definitive book on the 2008 crisis. “The status quo has to be vulnerable.”</p>
<p>Michael Moran is a London-based GlobalPost columnist and author of “The Reckoning: Debt, Democracy, and the Future of American Power” (Palgrave Macmillan). &#160;</p>
<p>This story is presented by <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/" type="external">The GroundTruth&#160;Project.</a></p>
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embedded_player_83bd7693215f8 marginleft 30px margintop3px bridgeport connecticut distance bangkok thailand 8639 miles depends one means word distance discovered first installment globalpost special report measures much distance take gini index scale economists use measure income equality zero equaling perfect equality 1 representing absolute inequality one person owns everything thailand bangkok bustling capital city one southeast asias fast growing tiger economies comes 536 bridgeport area fairfield county slightly worse 539 two places fall close ranking gini index highly unequal great divide160 two sides connecticuts economic divide reveal price inequality great divide160 glitz desperation bangkok divided income put simply cities move often within minutes wrenching poverty dispossessed opulence superrich physical distance rich poor places small people live bangkok bridgeport traveling lower economic rungs higher ones extremely difficult long true developing world america long lived idea mobility belief shot american dream increasingly difficult new economic research reveals explore issues global income inequality cost globalpost begins today series reports 20 reporters photographers videographers every corner world result six months reporting data analysis special report seeks match compare american metropolitan areas foreign countries similar levels income inequality assignment return home fairfield country connecticut grew explore death industry bridgeport cost good jobs us government tax policy least two decades favored rich particularly hedge fund managers tony town greenwich result vast income inequality great divide story behind story mike moran income inequality160 side world globalpost senior correspondent patrick winn explored bangkok similar level income inequality gini index winn lived worked bangkok last four years reporting project takes readers citys infamous slums equally infamous glitzy shopping district rich search worldclass bargains gucci prada great divide story behind story patrick winn income inequality bangkok journey bridgeport bangkok captured globalpost special report video segment titled distance rich poor shot awardwinning photojournalist ed kashi followed winn cities consider places top 5 percent population controls 60 percent income translates bridgeports case median income top 5 percent 685000 year bottom 20 percent clustered primarily dismal slums like bridgeports east end take home 15000 us census bureau figures show live either side divide either country profound lack identification world profound distance dont think bridgeport said karen schiff welldressed young woman heading home greenwich train station job new york dont think ive ever even met someone maybe drove dont know 160 clara bing bridgeport native commutes affluent greenwich day work dry cleaning business said surprised people feel little responsibility poorer neighbors long go home night guess okay like invisible said vast economic disparity often associated developing nations sacrificing social goals order emphasize growth move global rankings thailand boom years 1980s 1990s saw thailands per capita income average annual pay person takes home soar 680 nearly 5000 making upper middle income country parlance global development experts thailand 47000 millionaires today many holding reigns political power concentration wealth hands touched backlash socalled red shirt movement clashed violently government forces contending poor deliberately exploited corrupt elite rallies calmed late outrage song matratan ie double standards feature thai political debate america disparities evoke memories socalled gilded age period 1880s 1920s westward expansion massive immigration tycoons like andrew carnegie jp morgan john rockefeller great divide age strikebreaking massacres slum epidemics child labor launched career republican teddy roosevelts progressive reform movement great depression generation later democratic cousin franklin delanos new deal income disparity dropped markedly years followed world war ii begin widening 1968 2008 financial crisis stagnation middle lower class incomes us masked asset bubbles cheap credit recently housing collapse banking crisis pulled back curtains income disparity become topic polite conversation us political campaigns either settle country shrinking number people really well growing number americans barely get said president obama 2012 state union address restore economy everyone gets fair shot everyone fair share everyone plays set rules always polite course two different political movements tea party occupy wall street sprung part anger stagnating prospects us middle class tea party stresses inequality opportunity believes progrowth policies unbridled free markets lift boats left sees discredited wants tax code reverses inequality gap focus growth come new pressure studies showing americas vaunted ability create pathways success may flagging multiple studies recently pew center states show born poor lower middle class america far less likely popularly imagined make 4 percent raised bottom quintile make way top adults confirming ragstoriches story often found hollywood reality report said study found richer people greater chance moving american society vast majority remain income category studies challenging central component american dream social mobility experts say surprising people angry workers share pie falling inequality reaching levels similar 100 years ago said harvard economist kenneth rogoff coauthor many believe definitive book 2008 crisis status quo vulnerable michael moran londonbased globalpost columnist author reckoning debt democracy future american power palgrave macmillan 160 story presented groundtruth160project
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<p>When you cross the boulevard in the residential neighborhood of Basroch in Grande-Synthe, you enter a different world. The migrants’ camp of Grande-Synthe is spread out on a swampy field surrounded by woods. You can spot small blue and green tents along the sides of the road.</p>
<p>Once you pass through a gate guarded by police, the sight of the camp is gut-wrenching. Lines of tents planted in the mud. They’re crammed together between trees and piles of trash. Some are made of sticks and tarps, held down with anything from sacks of flour to rocks, cans, broken strollers or bicycles.</p>
<p>Shay Rojansky is an Israeli logistician with Doctors Without Borders. This is Rojansky’s first mission, though it is no beginner’s mission. He says even though he’d seen videos of the camp before he arrived, he couldn’t believe what he actually saw here.</p>
<p>“I was appalled, and then I actually heard from my colleagues that it’s actually, even comparing with other refugee camps they have seen in war-torn places and Africa and so on, this is actually a bad case,” He says. “I came here when the weather was worse in terms of rain and so on, and it was truly a swamp. I was walking around here in a swamp and seeing tents inside and it’s horrible.”</p>
<p>The wet mud is difficult to deal with, but the piles of trash here also have attracted rats who run around the camp, even inside the tents.</p>
<p>The camp’s population ballooned from 50 to 2500 over five months —&#160;which places a huge burden on this small suburban town of 21,000 people. That’s why the town and local charities called in Doctors Without Borders for help. So far, the town of Grande-Synthe and the NGOs have provided most of the support and funding for the camp. The French government has not done so yet.</p>
<p>Françoise Lavoisier works with a local group called Salam that provides clothing and hot meals at the camp. She says she has been volunteering for over 10 years but has never seen so many families here. She’s worried about the estimated 200 children under 10 who live here.</p>
<p />
<p>Adeline Sire</p>
<p>“It’s winter, it’s cold, the bad weather is going to last for a while,” she says, “and all these infants and children and mothers, what are we going to do with them?”</p>
<p>The town is preparing a new camp with heated tents, but it will take at least a month to get it ready and a few children have already suffered from hypothermia.</p>
<p>In the meantime, trucks deliver firewood a few times a day, which sends men and children running to grab armfuls. There are campfires everywhere.</p>
<p>Jort Baqi is from Mosul in northern Iraq. He left behind an elderly mother who couldn’t travel. Like most of the people here, he’s a Kurd fleeing the violence of ISIS, which controls his hometown.</p>
<p>“Our house is gone. Because of the war, all the stuff is gone. So we come to Europe for help,” he says.</p>
<p>He walked a lot of the way and took some trains to get here. He says he wants to go back home to Iraq when it’s safe. But for now he’s stuck at this camp.</p>
<p />
<p>Tents and trash thrown together</p>
<p>Adeline Sire</p>
<p>“I like these people,” he says. “The support is OK, but the place is no good place. Very cold. Jungle cold. Raining.”</p>
<p>Gona Aziz is also a Kurd who fled Iraq. Through an interpreter, she tells me she’s from Gwer, near Irbil. She undertook the perilous trip to France with her four young children. She says her husband was a Peshmerga fighter who lost both his legs. He went to stay with friends so she could take the children out of the country.</p>
<p>“On October 5, I had to leave my city,” she says, “because Daesh had taken it. They had captured my father and cut his throat;&#160;we found his body later on. They also kidnapped my two brothers and asked for ransom. We couldn’t pay ...&#160;so I put the children in the car, and drove to Erbil.”</p>
<p>She drove to the Turkish border, then took a bus to Greece, then a boat to Italy, then trains to France.&#160; Now she’s not sure she should have made the journey.</p>
<p>“I had so many ordeals,” she says. “If I’d known what I’d have to go through and how I would live in this camp, I would never have left Iraq. I would have stayed there so that Daesh&#160;could come and cut my throat and my children’s throats. That would have been better. No one is threatening us here, but we won’t be able to live in these conditions,” she says.</p>
<p>In spite of all, Aziz looks strong, but like many people at the camp, she is losing hope. She has no news from her husband, and her oldest child is sick.</p>
<p>“Nights are really cold,” she says, “and I don’t sleep much because I must watch over my children.”</p>
<p />
<p>Inside the tent</p>
<p>Adeline Sire</p>
<p>Fortunately, she has relatives in England who brought her food, clothes and money. For many here, Britain is the Promised Land.</p>
<p>“All my loved ones are there,” she says, “my husband’s brothers, my sisters. If I make it there, they may be able to help me, but if I stay here, I have nobody.”&#160;</p>
<p>Beyond the cold and the mud, another issue is the lack of sanitation.</p>
<p>There are only 20 chemical toilet stalls here for the entire camp. Rojanski of Doctors Without Borders says that’s about to change.</p>
<p>"Actually, at the moment, we’re looking into doubling the capacity and also doubling the frequency of the emptying of these toilets," he says.&#160;"You know, for 2500 people, that’s nothing really nothing. So it's a dangerous situation."</p>
<p>Showers are also an issue. The camp can only provide about 240 a day, mostly for men.</p>
<p>"There's a big population of women who don’t&#160;really leave their tents,"&#160;Rojansky says. "They’re afraid, making the trip from any corner of the camp all the way over there is not a trivial thing. There's questions of modesty — it's not easy.&#160;It’s a communication and a cultural thing.</p>
<p>On top of that, smugglers who hide at the camp used to charge migrants to use the showers.</p>
<p>Hassan Dyar is one of the newest residents. He, his wife and 5-year old daughter arrived from Sulaymaniyah in Iraq just a half hour ago. Dyar had to sell his house to pay a smuggler to bring them to France, and he has nothing left.</p>
<p />
<p>Hassan Dyar, his wife and daughter, just arrived at the camp. They are Iraqi Kurds from Sulaymaniyah</p>
<p>Adeline Sire</p>
<p>He is shocked that their shelter tonight will be a rudimentary tent, wedged between piles of garbage.</p>
<p>His daughter Dia’s not happy to be here either, but she knows she’s headed somewhere better.</p>
<p>“I want to go to England” she says, through the interpreter.</p>
<p>She might not get there anytime soon. The UK says it will consider asylum for migrants with family in Britain. But they have to apply for asylum in France first.</p>
<p>When I ask Dia if she has already learned a few English phrases, her mother jumps in with a prompt. And with a big smile on her face, the little girl begins to sing the ABCs in English.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p>Adeline Sire</p>
<p>Adeline Sire</p>
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cross boulevard residential neighborhood basroch grandesynthe enter different world migrants camp grandesynthe spread swampy field surrounded woods spot small blue green tents along sides road pass gate guarded police sight camp gutwrenching lines tents planted mud theyre crammed together trees piles trash made sticks tarps held anything sacks flour rocks cans broken strollers bicycles shay rojansky israeli logistician doctors without borders rojanskys first mission though beginners mission says even though hed seen videos camp arrived couldnt believe actually saw appalled actually heard colleagues actually even comparing refugee camps seen wartorn places africa actually bad case says came weather worse terms rain truly swamp walking around swamp seeing tents inside horrible wet mud difficult deal piles trash also attracted rats run around camp even inside tents camps population ballooned 50 2500 five months 160which places huge burden small suburban town 21000 people thats town local charities called doctors without borders help far town grandesynthe ngos provided support funding camp french government done yet françoise lavoisier works local group called salam provides clothing hot meals camp says volunteering 10 years never seen many families shes worried estimated 200 children 10 live adeline sire winter cold bad weather going last says infants children mothers going town preparing new camp heated tents take least month get ready children already suffered hypothermia meantime trucks deliver firewood times day sends men children running grab armfuls campfires everywhere jort baqi mosul northern iraq left behind elderly mother couldnt travel like people hes kurd fleeing violence isis controls hometown house gone war stuff gone come europe help says walked lot way took trains get says wants go back home iraq safe hes stuck camp tents trash thrown together adeline sire like people says support ok place good place cold jungle cold raining gona aziz also kurd fled iraq interpreter tells shes gwer near irbil undertook perilous trip france four young children says husband peshmerga fighter lost legs went stay friends could take children country october 5 leave city says daesh taken captured father cut throat160we found body later also kidnapped two brothers asked ransom couldnt pay 160so put children car drove erbil drove turkish border took bus greece boat italy trains france160 shes sure made journey many ordeals says id known id go would live camp would never left iraq would stayed daesh160could come cut throat childrens throats would better one threatening us wont able live conditions says spite aziz looks strong like many people camp losing hope news husband oldest child sick nights really cold says dont sleep much must watch children inside tent adeline sire fortunately relatives england brought food clothes money many britain promised land loved ones says husbands brothers sisters make may able help stay nobody160 beyond cold mud another issue lack sanitation 20 chemical toilet stalls entire camp rojanski doctors without borders says thats change actually moment looking doubling capacity also doubling frequency emptying toilets says160you know 2500 people thats nothing really nothing dangerous situation showers also issue camp provide 240 day mostly men theres big population women dont160really leave tents160rojansky says theyre afraid making trip corner camp way trivial thing theres questions modesty easy160its communication cultural thing top smugglers hide camp used charge migrants use showers hassan dyar one newest residents wife 5year old daughter arrived sulaymaniyah iraq half hour ago dyar sell house pay smuggler bring france nothing left hassan dyar wife daughter arrived camp iraqi kurds sulaymaniyah adeline sire shocked shelter tonight rudimentary tent wedged piles garbage daughter dias happy either knows shes headed somewhere better want go england says interpreter might get anytime soon uk says consider asylum migrants family britain apply asylum france first ask dia already learned english phrases mother jumps prompt big smile face little girl begins sing abcs english160 adeline sire adeline sire
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<p>Editor's note: This story was originally published on Oct. 31, 2012. It's still scary.</p>
<p>PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Halloween may be a largely American holiday, but remarkably creepy ghost stories are by no means restricted to the United States. Here are some weird and scary international legends to keep you up well past your post-Halloween party bedtime. Sweet dreams.</p>
<p>A beautiful young Cambodian woman walks outside her house at night. There's a mysterious red glow in the air, and she walks toward it - to be confronted with a floating female head, ghastly entrails hanging down from its neck. She screams. But it's already too late.</p>
<p>That's the Ap or Krasue, a <a href="http://www.fright.com/edge/leaks___.htm" type="external">Southeast Asian ghost</a>, represented by the head of a pretty young woman that floats in the air, guts, spine, and other assorted bloody organs dangling. It sounds remarkably bizarre, but it's a persistent legend in this region - and various myths exist about how the Ap got to be, well, an Ap.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.pseudoparanormal.com/2012/03/krasue.html" type="external">This source</a> states that women who abuse black magic may be forced to turn into an Ap or a Krasue as a penalty for their crimes.&#160; Others state she's the unfortunate victim of demonic possession.</p>
<p>You don't want to invite her inside for a snack. The repulsive witch feeds on blood, feces, fetuses, and other gory things, and is believed to take a particularly disturbing interest in pregnant women. If there's blood or feces spread on your house in the morning, that's a sign the Krasue has been there. Look sharp.</p>
<p>They can be repelled if you put thorny vines outside your house, as the witch's dangling entrails could get caught in them (eminently practical). An Ap or Krasue can turn you into one yourself if you ingest her saliva, so no sharing beverages with her.</p>
<p>Check out this remarkably awesome Thai movie footage to see a Krasue in action. High budget special effects ahead, watch out!</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>The American West is known for its Gold Rush-era ghost towns, but swiftly abandoned Bhangarh in Rajasthan goes one better: it's an entire royal ghost city. Further adding to the creepy mythos, this popular tourist destination is only frequented during the day, because apparently no one has the stones to actually spend the night here.</p>
<p>Legends differ about how the formerly busy 16th or 17th century royal city came to be deserted, but it's generally believed that a noble wizard princess named Rani Ratnawati foiled the black magic plot of a male sorcerer to seduce her.</p>
<p>The man cursed the city when the queen, skilled in tantric magic, repulsed the princess from his advances. (Or maybe the queen put the curse on the city. No one is really clear on this.) Bhangarh was soon abandoned, the legend goes.</p>
<p>Another tale states that the son of Madho Singh, the town's founder, was avaricious enough to build a palace that cast shadows over a forbidden place. Obviously that's a real mythological no-go, and the town was abandoned soon afterward. Locals claim that if they try to build a house in Bhangarh, the roof will swiftly collapse.</p>
<p>Why bother? Better to build somewhere that isn't polluted by black magic or evil ghosts. This is a particularly interesting phenomenon, because as any visitor to populous India knows, most historical ruins are actively occupied by people unless they are explicitly barred from doing so. Some claim modern-day <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7JNrJITLZQ" type="external">practitioners of black magic</a> are fond of heading to Bhangarh to perform their rituals.</p>
<p>Even the Indian Archeological Survey has bought into the creepy mythos of Bhangarh, situating its office a safe few kilometers out of the main area. No one is permitted to go there at night.</p>
<p>Well, except for these guys filming one of those shakily-shot <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkRzK19GWkM&amp;list=LP4WslFJ0gpY0&amp;index=1&amp;feature=plcp" type="external">REAL HORROR documentaries</a> that feature a lot of heavy, terrified breathing from attractive young people in the dark. Hours of fun!</p>
<p>Here's a much less cheesy VOA bit on the weirdness of Bhangarh.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A young boy is out alone at night - never a good idea, so we must assume he's had an inadequate dose of ghost stories in his young life. A woman with absolutely enormous breasts sprouting from her back approaches him, and he stares in silent, prepubescent awe. She gets closer, smiling - and her back-breasts mysteriously expand, smothering the shocked boy. He's never seen again. The breast ghost has got him in the clutches of her spectral mammaries.</p>
<p>Like a notably large proportion of world ghosts, she is known to prey particularly on both <a href="https://shriekingmonkeys.wordpress.com/tag/hantu-tetek/" type="external">young children and young men</a>. Parents often will use the Hantu Tetek as a threat to keep youngsters inside - though the possibility of seeing a ghost-witch with giant breasts on her back might prove <a href="http://www.hungzai.com/hantu-tetek-2/" type="external">too compelling</a> for some.</p>
<p><a href="http://books.google.com.kh/books?id=cq0Q6zOnpiQC&amp;pg=PA41&amp;lpg=PA41&amp;dq=hantu+tetek&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=1XTXeR_r6Y&amp;sig=M-7caiyu6pMjfxYVu5Jq-zWqMSs&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=dWqRUPi6FsforQe40ICICw&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q=hantu%20tetek&amp;f=false" type="external">Traditional Perankan Hindu dances</a> portray the Hantu Teteks as "devils with pendulous breasts" who are followers of Shiva.</p>
<p>It's dark outside on the island of Oahu, and you're staying up late watching trashy reality TV. You think you hear the distant thrum of tribal drums and unintelligible Hawaiian chants outside your home, but that wouldn't make a hell of a lot of sense, would it? Are the neighborhood kids drunk?</p>
<p>The sound gets louder, and you go to your window. Then you see them: ghostly lights in a line, thumping up and down. As if they were carried by marchers. You shrink away from the window: you know what will happen if you catch their eye, and you won't like it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.castleofspirits.com/pali.html" type="external">The night marchers or Hukai Po</a> are thought to be spectral beings who parade through specific areas in Hawaii, seemingly with a goal in mind. They're often considered to be the spirits of ancestral warriors.&#160;</p>
<p>They are usually accompanied by the sound of drums, and they are not known to deviate from their purpose - but woe betide the person who obstructs their progress or rests their gaze on them too long. They are known to <a href="http://www.weirdhawaii.com/2008/05/night-marchers-at-kamehameha.html" type="external">take people with them.</a></p>
<p>Night marchers are said to be most prone to take their march on nights when the spirit world is particularly active, according to <a href="http://www.to-hawaii.com/legends/night-marchers.php" type="external">this source</a>: they are often accompanied by heavy winds, rain and surf. Males and females march together, sometimes in separate lines.</p>
<p>It's late at night somewhere in Texas, and you're walking along the river because the weather is nice and your parents don't know you've left the house so late in the evening. Through the reeds by the water, you spot a strange white object, and as you draw closer, you realize it's a slim woman, with black hair. She's wearing a white dress, and she's crying noisily. Then you realize that she has no eyes, and she's crying blood - or are they black tears? Anyway, you wish she'd stop.</p>
<p>The story of La Llorona is a <a href="http://www.legendsofamerica.com/gh-lallorona.html" type="external">Latino ghost tale</a>, which has been transplanted in the US from Texas to Miami to Montana. There are a few variants on the tale and how La Llorona got to be the way she is, but she is always crying - sometimes blood, sometimes black tears. Sometimes La Llorona, also known as Bloody Mary, will come to you in a mirror if you say her name - especially on Halloween.</p>
<p>She is a child-snatcher who takes delight in the suffering of the young. Some say she killed her own children in a fit of rage when her husband rejected her, drowning them - and forcing her to wander the Earth forever to find them. Some claim she is the mother of Jesus Christ himself. Parents warn their children to avoid being out at night alone, invoking her name: she'll take them out to the river and drown them in the reeds.</p>
<p>La Llorona was featured in this <a href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1997-06-05/feature/myths-over-miami/3/" type="external">petrifying 1997 essay</a> about the creepy mythos of homeless Miami children. In that street tradition, La Llorona is considered a Satanic specter who rejoices when children die, especially in street violence.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">The Slender Man</a> originated only a few years ago, first popping up on popular forum Something Awful in a 2009 Photoshop battle. It was an image of a tall, faceless man in a suit who appeared to have writhing tentacles, menacing a group of children in a black and white image, supposedly salvaged from the Stirling City Library blaze in which 14 children went missing.</p>
<p>Something about the quite fictional figure proved rather compelling, and stories and other images of the newly-created Slender Man began to propagate themselves on the internet. A few short years later, and the Slender Man is now the stuff of millennial urban legend, starring in creepy blog projects, images, and even a remarkably good series of YouTube videos.</p>
<p>The Slender Man myth continues to evolve, and is a good example of how legends and horror stories begin and spread, aided and abetted by the internet. The only real constant about the Slender Man is that he is tall, extremely pale, skinny, has no face and wears a black suit and a (usually red) tie. His powers and what exactly he wants continue to be debated. As with many such myths, he is often considered to be particularly interested in pursuing and injuring children. Unsurprisingly, jokes have emerged about the Slender Man's real motivation for chasing people. (He just wants $20!!!)</p>
<p>Sometime he is portrayed with tentacles sprouting out of his back to grasp those who attempt to escape him. He is often thought to have weird psychic powers, and may have the ability to stop or otherwise alter time. Some who come into contact with the Slender Man fall prey to "slender sickness," causing coughing and other symptoms. The Slender Man may have an oddly symbiotic relationship with video cameras, as many modern-day horrors do.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/MarbleHornets" type="external">The Marble Hornets</a> series has been running since 2010 and is now up to 60-odd videos, following a young man's increasingly terrifying encounters with the Slender Man spectra (or whatever he is). They are low-budget terror at its finest, recommended for late night creep-yourself-out viewing. There's also a very creepy <a href="https://twitter.com/marblehornets" type="external">Twitter account.</a></p>
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editors note story originally published oct 31 2012 still scary phnom penh cambodia halloween may largely american holiday remarkably creepy ghost stories means restricted united states weird scary international legends keep well past posthalloween party bedtime sweet dreams beautiful young cambodian woman walks outside house night theres mysterious red glow air walks toward confronted floating female head ghastly entrails hanging neck screams already late thats ap krasue southeast asian ghost represented head pretty young woman floats air guts spine assorted bloody organs dangling sounds remarkably bizarre persistent legend region various myths exist ap got well ap source states women abuse black magic may forced turn ap krasue penalty crimes160 others state shes unfortunate victim demonic possession dont want invite inside snack repulsive witch feeds blood feces fetuses gory things believed take particularly disturbing interest pregnant women theres blood feces spread house morning thats sign krasue look sharp repelled put thorny vines outside house witchs dangling entrails could get caught eminently practical ap krasue turn one ingest saliva sharing beverages check remarkably awesome thai movie footage see krasue action high budget special effects ahead watch american west known gold rushera ghost towns swiftly abandoned bhangarh rajasthan goes one better entire royal ghost city adding creepy mythos popular tourist destination frequented day apparently one stones actually spend night legends differ formerly busy 16th 17th century royal city came deserted generally believed noble wizard princess named rani ratnawati foiled black magic plot male sorcerer seduce man cursed city queen skilled tantric magic repulsed princess advances maybe queen put curse city one really clear bhangarh soon abandoned legend goes another tale states son madho singh towns founder avaricious enough build palace cast shadows forbidden place obviously thats real mythological nogo town abandoned soon afterward locals claim try build house bhangarh roof swiftly collapse bother better build somewhere isnt polluted black magic evil ghosts particularly interesting phenomenon visitor populous india knows historical ruins actively occupied people unless explicitly barred claim modernday practitioners black magic fond heading bhangarh perform rituals even indian archeological survey bought creepy mythos bhangarh situating office safe kilometers main area one permitted go night well except guys filming one shakilyshot real horror documentaries feature lot heavy terrified breathing attractive young people dark hours fun heres much less cheesy voa bit weirdness bhangarh young boy alone night never good idea must assume hes inadequate dose ghost stories young life woman absolutely enormous breasts sprouting back approaches stares silent prepubescent awe gets closer smiling backbreasts mysteriously expand smothering shocked boy hes never seen breast ghost got clutches spectral mammaries like notably large proportion world ghosts known prey particularly young children young men parents often use hantu tetek threat keep youngsters inside though possibility seeing ghostwitch giant breasts back might prove compelling traditional perankan hindu dances portray hantu teteks devils pendulous breasts followers shiva dark outside island oahu youre staying late watching trashy reality tv think hear distant thrum tribal drums unintelligible hawaiian chants outside home wouldnt make hell lot sense would neighborhood kids drunk sound gets louder go window see ghostly lights line thumping carried marchers shrink away window know happen catch eye wont like night marchers hukai po thought spectral beings parade specific areas hawaii seemingly goal mind theyre often considered spirits ancestral warriors160 usually accompanied sound drums known deviate purpose woe betide person obstructs progress rests gaze long known take people night marchers said prone take march nights spirit world particularly active according source often accompanied heavy winds rain surf males females march together sometimes separate lines late night somewhere texas youre walking along river weather nice parents dont know youve left house late evening reeds water spot strange white object draw closer realize slim woman black hair shes wearing white dress shes crying noisily realize eyes shes crying blood black tears anyway wish shed stop story la llorona latino ghost tale transplanted us texas miami montana variants tale la llorona got way always crying sometimes blood sometimes black tears sometimes la llorona also known bloody mary come mirror say name especially halloween childsnatcher takes delight suffering young say killed children fit rage husband rejected drowning forcing wander earth forever find claim mother jesus christ parents warn children avoid night alone invoking name shell take river drown reeds la llorona featured petrifying 1997 essay creepy mythos homeless miami children street tradition la llorona considered satanic specter rejoices children die especially street violence slender man originated years ago first popping popular forum something awful 2009 photoshop battle image tall faceless man suit appeared writhing tentacles menacing group children black white image supposedly salvaged stirling city library blaze 14 children went missing something quite fictional figure proved rather compelling stories images newlycreated slender man began propagate internet short years later slender man stuff millennial urban legend starring creepy blog projects images even remarkably good series youtube videos slender man myth continues evolve good example legends horror stories begin spread aided abetted internet real constant slender man tall extremely pale skinny face wears black suit usually red tie powers exactly wants continue debated many myths often considered particularly interested pursuing injuring children unsurprisingly jokes emerged slender mans real motivation chasing people wants 20 sometime portrayed tentacles sprouting back grasp attempt escape often thought weird psychic powers may ability stop otherwise alter time come contact slender man fall prey slender sickness causing coughing symptoms slender man may oddly symbiotic relationship video cameras many modernday horrors marble hornets series running since 2010 60odd videos following young mans increasingly terrifying encounters slender man spectra whatever lowbudget terror finest recommended late night creepyourselfout viewing theres also creepy twitter account
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