id
stringlengths 30
34
| text
stringlengths 16
65.5k
| industry_type
stringclasses 1
value |
|---|---|---|
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7534 | NPR CEO Gary Knell Announces He's Leaving By Mark Memmott
Aug 19, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email NPR CEO and President Gary Knell.
Originally published on August 19, 2013 5:58 pm After fewer than 21 months on the job, NPR CEO Gary Knell announced at mid-day Monday that he's leaving the organization to become president and CEO at the National Geographic Society. In a message to a surprised staff, Knell said he was "approached by the organization recently and offered an opportunity that, after discussions with my family, I could not turn down." Click here to jump down to his full statement. Knell came to NPR from Sesame Workshop in December 2011, in the wake of considerable upheaval. Vivian Schiller had resigned as CEO and president earlier that year, after two high-profile controversies — the mishandled firing of NPR analyst Juan Williams and video of a NPR fundraising executive slamming conservatives. NPR's board of directors concluded that she could no longer effectively lead the organization. Once Knell arrived on the scene, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik says, the turmoil seemed to ease as the sense grew that NPR was being "led by grownups who were working constructively in a shared direction" — even as the organization continued to face significant budget pressures. Now comes Knell's looming departure. The outgoing executive says he feels he's leaving NPR in better shape than when he arrived, and that the organization is "way bigger than, frankly, the CEO." He's expecting that before he leaves in November, NPR's board will have approved a strategic plan — highlighted by an increasing emphasis on collaborations between member stations and the national staff. Knell believes his successor will be able to pick up and continue that "strategic trajectory." We've followed the news of Knell's departure as it has developed. Scroll down to see our updates from throughout the day. Update at 2:15 p.m. ET. NPR Is "Bigger Than A CEO": Pressed by NPR's David Folkenflik about the seeming turmoil atop NPR, which is now about to have its seventh CEO in seven years, and the message that sends to the public, Knell just said that this is a "strong institution ... it's going to be around for many, many years" and that NPR is "much bigger than a CEO." He believes his successor will inherit an organization that's in better shape than when he arrived, Knell said, and that NPR's increasing emphasis on "station collaboration" (highlighted recently by the launch of the WBUR/NPR Here & Now show), is a strategy that will live on. Kit Jensen, chair of NPR's board, told David that directors have been "absolutely thrilled and pleased" with Knell's performance as CEO. Both she and Knell said they had been working on an extension of his two-year contract with the organization when he was approached by National Geographic. The board will meet in September to begin work on finding a successor, she added. Knell said he "loves NPR and the people here," but that the job with National Geographic will allow him to focus on one of his passions — education. And, he said, "I didn't have an opportunity to say 'call me in a year.' " The offer had a short window. Update at 1:38 p.m. ET. "He Calmed The Waters": After the controversies at NPR that preceded his joining the organization, Knell "calmed the waters," NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik said moments ago on Here & Now. There was a sense, according to David, that NPR was being "led by grownups who were working constructively in a shared direction." But with another CEO's departure, an astonished staff is wondering why there's again turmoil at the top. And, David added, there is "no idea" who Knell's replacement will be. Update at 1:27 p.m. ET. Here & Now To Have More Shortly: "I'll be on @hereandnow at 1.34p to talk abt departure of NPR CEO Knell - can stream on http://wbur.org or http://whyy.org," tweets NPR's David Folkenflik. Update at 1:20 p.m. ET. "No Difference Of Opinion": Knell and members of NPR's board are talking with the staff this hour. According to NPR media reporter David Folkenflik: "Knell says no difference of opinion w NPR informed departure. Board VP tells NPR staffers that directors learned of his decision this AM." NPR's Elise Hu tweets: "Knell: This is not about me not believing in public radio. Thought this journey would last longer. But timing is never right." Update at 1:10 p.m. ET. More On Compensation: In 2011, National Geographic paid its CEO $1.4 million, WHYY's Zack Seward reports. As we said earlier, Knell took a pay cut when he joined NPR vs. the more than $700,000 he had earned with Sesame Workshop. Update at 12:57 p.m. ET. "A Blow To NPR." Here what NPR's David Folkenflik is set to report on our next newscast: "Knell's decision arrives with none of the acrimony or sensation that accompanied the departure of several of his predecessors. His decision to leave is nonetheless a blow to NPR — Knell has been seen as a steadying presence and a champion for NPR's journalism. He has been leading its efforts to address tough budgetary challenges amid a changing media landscape. "Knell arrived in 2011 from Sesame Workshop — the not-for-profit behind Sesame Street — and in the National Geographic Society he will find one of the world's leading educational and conservation institutions. Knell said it was an opportunity he did not solicit. His replacement will be NPR's seventh acting or full-time CEO in little over seven years." Update at 12:50 p.m. ET. Took Pay Cut To Come To NPR: When Knell left his previous job to join NPR, our colleague David Folkenflik reported that "in 2009, the most recent year for which Sesame Workshop's tax returns are publicly available, Knell received pay of $684,144 and additional compensation of $62,000. He said he would be taking a pay cut to accept the [NPR] job." Update at 12:35 p.m. ET. Seven CEOs In Seven Years: "By my count," tweets NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, "Knell's replacement will be the seventh permanent or acting NPR CEO in little more than seven years." Update at 12:30 p.m. To Succeed John Fahey: According to the National Geographic Society, Knell will "succeed John M. Fahey as president and chief executive officer. Fahey will continue to serve as chairman of the board. Knell's appointment will occur later this year, following a transition from his current role as president and CEO of National Public Radio." Update at 12:20 p.m. ET. To Depart This Fall: According to a press release from NPR, Knell will leave in the fall. He'll "remain with NPR until then to work with the board to ensure a smooth transition as it launches a search for his successor." "Gary and the management team have worked effectively to strengthen NPR as a world-class media organization, technological innovator and industry leader," Kit Jensen, chair of NPR's board says in that statement. "NPR has built a firm foundation for providing the highest quality journalism and programming. We will be working closely with Gary over the next few months, and deeply appreciate the lasting impact he has made." Knell's statement to the NPR staff: "Dear Friends, "Before I even started at NPR, I had huge respect for this organization. And from the first minute of my first day at NPR, my respect has only grown. Seven days a week, around the clock, NPR is 'on the story' no matter where it happens. That's because of what each of you make happen. The power of this organization rests in the collective brilliance, courage, and dedication of our staff and our station community – and in our shared commitment to making this institution better each day. "Knowing this makes it a little easier to share a difficult decision I've made. I will be leaving NPR after my term ends in late fall to join the National Geographic Society as its President and CEO. I was approached by the organization recently and offered an opportunity that, after discussions with my family, I could not turn down. "As President and CEO, supporting NPR's success – your success – has been my highest ambition. Working together, we have put NPR on more solid footing to continue to deliver the highest-quality journalism and programming. We have launched innovative new platforms and made meaningful strides in attracting new audiences and new funding. We have promoted a series of collaborations in news gathering, development, and a digital future. And we have an exceptionally strong leadership team in place that is charting an ambitious path for our future. "We also face challenges, including the mandate to bring NPR to break-even cash operations. We are completing a plan to focus our limited resources which support our essential services to stations and audiences. We will present that plan to the Board soon, go over it carefully, and make it a reality. "The Board, under the leadership of Chair Kit Jensen, has been incredibly supportive of my leadership and is more than up to the task of finding a great successor. This is a remarkable organization and being NPR's CEO is a remarkable job, the best part of which has been engaging with each of you and with thousands and thousands of our supporters around the country. This is a job that demands everything of you, but returns more than you'd thought possible. "It has taken a great deal of personal reflection on my part to reach this decision. I will leave with a sense of enormous gratitude to each of you for all you do to make this organization a national treasure. "In the upheaval of today's media environment, you offer something few other media companies can. NPR is and will always be a beacon of journalistic integrity, commitment, and courage. We do what we do so that we can serve our audiences and give them what they need to be informed and connected with their communities, their country, and the world we live in. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with you." Return to the top of this post.Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Transcript AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: We have some news now from inside NPR. The network's CEO, Gary Knell, announced earlier today that he will leave in November to take the same job at the National Geographic Society. Knell has gotten high marks since taking charge in late 2011 and his departure came as a surprise to NPR staff and leadership. NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik joins us now. And David, you actually spoke to Gary Knell today. What reasons did he give to explain his leaving? DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: Well, no scandal, no drama. But Gary Knell said simply he had an offer that was too appealing to pass up. National Geographic Society is one with which he's been affiliated as a member of the board of their foundation for some years. It is an institution with both an educational mission, a conservation mission, and also one that has a strong television presence. He used to be the head of Sesame Workshop, the institution behind "Sesame Street." And, of course, in this case the National Geographic has a channel both here and ventures abroad. It's an institution with a global scale. It's an institution that's a lot larger than NPR. Gary Knell said this is just too appealing to pass up. CORNISH: Now, Knell arrived during a tumultuous time for NPR. Give us a sense of what he was able to accomplish in this time. FOLKENFLIK: Well, he will have been here two years. It's the full length of his first contract, a short one. He told staffers earlier today that he had expected to re-up and sign a longer one. But he will have established a record of soothing roiled waters after some tough times. There was the termination of Juan Williams that created national controversy. There was, some months later, these undercover videos taken of NPR top fundraising executives by conservative activists. And those led to a series of resignations and departures from NPR. You know, he said, look, we're going to have calm here; we're going to restore capable management, and was seen to have done so. In addition, he worked to soothe relations with stations; the implementation of the show HERE AND NOW, in conjunction with WBUR, was taken as a big step in that direction. And he's been addressing what's a real looming budget shortfall for this year - about $6 million - seen to be bigger next year, but working with senior managers to come up with a strategy for addressing that. So he can say, look, I've accomplished a lot of things in a relatively short time. Nobody looks at NPR at this moment, or at least before today, and said there was doubt about the leadership or the integrity of the leadership with his journalism either. CORNISH: David, there have been obviously many CEOs that have passed through in the last couple of years. What does this say about NPR? FOLKENFLIK: Well, you're not kidding. I mean, if you think about it, there will have been when he is succeeded, a seventh either acting or permanent CEO in a little over seven years at NPR. I talked to him about that earlier this afternoon and here's what he's had to say about it. GARY KNELL: This is a strong organization. It has a strong balance sheet. It has an endowment. It's going to be around for many, many years. Morning Edition will come on the air at 5 AM tomorrow morning, hell or high water, and the day after, and the day after that. This is a very strong organization. It's way bigger than, frankly, a CEO. FOLKENFLIK: But that said, you know, the turnover itself is destabilizing both for the journalists and for the people who want to support NPR externally, particularly people like major donors; they can wonder whether even if they get a new CEO, will that person enact the same kind of priorities? CORNISH: Meanwhile, what issues will confront his successor? FOLKENFLIK: Well, I think you're still going to see a real question about the two major prongs, which are the budget shortfalls and the issues of picking what they're going to continue, what they're going to invest in, what they may have to pare back, and the relationship with stations in a really changing media landscape. We've got a more digital age. NPR has to figure out its relationship with its audience and its listeners, even as it gets through, through the most part, to the tens of millions of listeners every week through the member stations themselves. CORNISH: That's NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik. David, thank you so much. FOLKENFLIK: You bet. (SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.Related Programs: All Things ConsideredWeekend All Things ConsideredView the discussion thread. Our Partners | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7536 | Print08 Feb 2013
Press conference by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
Reportfrom
UN Department of Public Information, UN Department of Political Affairs
Briefing reporters at Headquarters today, the United Nations political chief cited movement on the Government’s road map to heal divisions in Mali, and the recent tentative offer by the Syrian opposition to open negotiations with the Assad Government as signs of positive developments in two of the world’s major crisis flashpoints.
Just back from a two-week trip to Africa and Belgium with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, while not underestimating the challenges ahead in both situations, drew those signs of hopeful change from his round of meetings with officials in Eastern and Northern Africa, as well as in Brussels.
Focusing most of his comments on the situation in Mali, he said that the international community was coalescing around a comprehensive strategy to deal with the crisis, and the Secretary-General had stressed the need to take actions that drew on the comparative advantages of the United Nations. While discussions on replacing the African-led International Support Mission in Mali — known as AFISMA — were ongoing, the United Nations was making plans based on the new reality that was emerging in Northern Mali; “ensuring the right tools are on hand to make the right types of interventions at the right time”. The United Nations multidisciplinary office in Bamako was working towards that end, he added.
Yet, today’s headlines revealed that there was a long way to go to heal political divisions inside the country and build professional military and security forces that could maintain security, he said, referring to this morning’s reports of deadly fighting between rebel factions in and around Bamako. It was important for the United Nations to remain sensitive to the views of the Malian people and leaders, he said, underscoring that, in all his talks, interlocutors had stressed the need for broad scale involvement of all political factions and groups.
Therefore, the United Nations would need to strike the right balance so the country was not overburdened with its presence. More broadly, rhetoric about military and political interventions proceeding simultaneously would have to be backed with action. Indeed, stabilizing Mali was going to take more than military intervention; there was a need for strong political initiatives, since political differences were at the heart of the crisis. “As long as these political problems exist, the State will remain weak, especially to those wishing to undermine political progress,” he said.
In the short term, the French-backed military intervention had sidelined many of those seeking to interfere in the political transition. At the same time, that intervention had perhaps inadvertently led the Malian authorities to believe that they did not need to reach out to the various political factions or opposition groups. “That is not the case. We needed to move forward on the political track,” he said, adding that, thankfully, the Malian President had announced a road map that would lead to elections, set for the end of July. The United Nations was prepared to help.
It was important that the election timeline be kept, but also important that the polls were seen as “good elections”. “I encourage all of us to remain focused on the political developments, even as we focus on the security issues,” he said, urging attention to such vital matters as the launching of an inclusive national dialogue, consensual political transition road map, and credible elections.
Reflecting on his first trip to Mogadishu, he expressed great optimism about the “profound” and positive changes under way there. The transition, he believed, had yielded significant results, and in his talks with Government officials, they had pledged to press ahead on all remaining issues. “Changing a failed State into a functioning one will take a long and determined effort. But for the first time, I feel like the Somalis have a lot going in their favour,” he said, adding that the Somali people had “a real chance” to build a rights-respecting society.
At the same time, he did not want to understate the challenges: indeed the recent headlines showed how much work still needed to be done, including bolstering the promotion and protection of human rights for all, and ultimately, a major restructuring of the United Nations presence — inside and outside Somalia.
On his visit to Kenya, he said that he had focused on next month’s elections and had stressed the United Nations readiness to assist, as well as the fact that there should be no violence. All Kenyans should participate, but they should do so peacefully, he said, reiterating that any form of violence would be unacceptable. He said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was carrying out education-related initiatives and the Organization, while not monitoring the elections, was working with monitors.
As for Syria, he said the Organization was continuing to work on a number of fronts to address the crisis. But, at some point, “the guns will fall silent” and the Organization would need to consider how it could play a positive role “on that day”, whatever the political situation. He said that the most promising thing that the United Nations had heard recently was the tentative offer of the opposition leaders to sit down with the Assad Government. So, perhaps the long-locked door was starting to be unlocked. “I don’t know whether we will be able to seize this opportunity,” he said, but he added that Joint Special representative Lakhdar Brahimi was closely following the situation.
Still, he said that with very little credible polling in the country, no one had any real idea of how popular or influential any figure was. But it did seem that the opposition leadership was “putting a hand out”, and given the horrors that the Syrian people had experienced for the past two years, he believed that any opportunity for dialogue was better that the status quo.
On Madagascar, he said that any political changes should be carried out through consensus. The United Nations had called for elections to take place according to the stated timeline. Given the fact that there was a plan in place, the Organization would support that plan unless the people of the country decided otherwise.
Responding to questions on Mali, he said that the ultimate goal was for the Malian security forces to be professional and accountable to the people, and in charge of the country’s security. “We need to put in the types of programmes and assistance that can help [them] achieve that goal as quickly as possible.” Obviously, that would take time, so the discussions now revolved around what tools were appropriate, including at what point a United Nations peacekeeping force could be deployed. That decision was ultimately up to the Security Council.
Mr. Feltman said that it was obvious that the situation had changed dramatically since the Council last adopted a resolution on the matter, so the feeling might be that the time for such deployment would be sooner rather than later. But, every effort should be made to ensure that there was no gap when the French and Chadian forces withdrew. His sense was that everyone agreed that the re-occupation of Mali’s north, or any other reversal, should not be permitted to occur, when the French force left the country. The French accelerated the military track, but the recent steps taken by Malian authorities pointed in the direction of similar political movements.
He said that the multidisciplinary office in Bamako was working to ensure that United Nations staff was on the ground to engage the Malian people and authorities “now” on the political track. The United Nations was already in a position to have closed door conversations with many Malian officials, as well as representatives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). As the Council moved towards a decision on peacekeepers, he was certain the Secretary-General would step up with efforts to bolster the broader United Nations political presence.
As for the broader security situation, he said that Mali’s neighbourhood was quite aware of the risk of spillover affects of the military effort. “Their eyes are open,” he said, but the countries of the region were also aware of the dangers of terrorist groups “digging in deeper” inside Mali.
Responding to other questions on Mali, he said that the political picture was “very complicated, with layers and layers of grievances to sift through”, which was why senior United Nations officials believed the Organization had a crucial role to play in providing its good offices, and in supporting national dialogue towards elections that covered the vast majority of the Malian people.
“This has to be a Malian process; the UN is not going to come in and impose a process,” he continued, noting that the Malian President had launched a road map that had been approved by Parliament. That road map had set out, among other things, a strategy for a national dialogue. Complementary to that was the willingness of the Malian authorities to re-launch the ECOWAS mediation process, as a way to address grievances in the north, in Bamako and throughout the country and region. He added that preparing for and carrying out credible elections would be a “big, complicated task”, but it would be absolutely essential if Mali was to become — and remain — stable.
For information media • not an official record
Primary countryMali
Sahel Crisis: 2011-2016
Theme: Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding
Protection and Human Rights
Content format: News and Press Release
Disaster type: Drought | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7542 | A Reporter Reflects On Rwanda: 'It's Like A Madness Took Over' By Jackie Northam
NPR's Jackie Northam reporting from Rwanda during the country's genocide in 1994.
A Rwandan woman collapses with her baby on her back on the road near Goma, Zaire, in 1994. Many Rwandans fled across the border into what was then Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ulli Michel
Rwandan refugees cross the border into Tanzania on May 30, 1994.
Jeremiah Kamau
Originally published on April 10, 2014 8:54 am There was a thin mist in the early morning air when we set off for the Rwandan capital, Kigali, on April 11, 1994. The genocide had begun four days earlier. There were no flights into the country, so I and three fellow journalists crossed into Rwanda from neighboring Burundi, hitching a ride with a French priest who was shuttling Tutsi nuns out of the country. He took us to the town of Butare, where a Belgian inn keeper rented us an old cream-colored Renault and drew us a map of how to get to Kigali. We drove north, winding our way through Rwanda's soaring hills and deep lush valleys. Our progress was soon slowed to a crawl by thousands and thousands of terrified Rwandans, fleeing — in almost complete silence — in the opposite direction, away from Kigali. They were carrying whatever they could on their heads, their backs and in wheelbarrows. As we got closer to Kigali, we began to see deep pools of blood. There were discarded machetes, and bodies crumpled on the side of the road, their limbs hacked off. We came to a checkpoint manned by a half-dozen Hutu militiamen, drunk and carrying machetes. They surrounded our car. One demanded my passport — he accused me of being Belgian, the colonial power that had kept the majority Hutu down. He pressed his machete sideways across my neck. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as I tried to grab my Canadian passport from the front pocket of my jean shirt. It felt like forever, but finally my hands stopped shaking long enough to undo the button. I showed him my passport; we passed the roadblock and made our way to the Hotel des Mille Collines — also known as the Hotel Rwanda. I came to realize how lucky my escape was that day as I reported on the systematic butchery over the next three months. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in their sleep, trying to hide or seeking solace in a church. They were burned and bludgeoned and hacked to death. Across Rwanda, towns emptied out, shops were looted and houses abandoned. Wild dogs roamed the streets feasting on corpses. You couldn't escape the smell of death. Every day I woke up thinking things couldn't get worse, but they did. Even now, two decades later, images of my time in Rwanda will spring up. I see blood splatters on the walls of a church, with the bodies of hundreds of dead scattered on the floor. There's the Canadian general, Romeo Dallaire, the head of the U.N.'s mission to Rwanda, tense and pacing outside the small U.N. compound in the capital. He had begged the world to help stop the genocide, but he was ignored. And then there was the Hutu man I talked with several months after the genocide ended. Fat and middle-aged, he was in jail for beating to death more than a dozen of his Tutsi neighbors. He told me they were people he'd been friends with and regularly shared dinner with. He was a godfather to one of the children he killed. He couldn't explain why; he said didn't know what came over him. For me, this sums up the Rwanda genocide. It's like a madness took over the country, turning otherwise normal, reasonable, loving people into monsters. It took me a long time afterward to try to make sense of what I had witnessed. But I finally concluded there was no use trying. I believe mankind, at its base, is good. What happened in Rwanda 20 years ago was an aberration. Jackie Northam is NPR's international affairs correspondent.Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 Rhode Island Public Radio | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7551 | News | Vermont News Moment of silence marks 6 months since Newtown
By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSENThe Associated Press | June 15,2013
AP photo Lauren Brenneman, left, holds her son Isaac Brenneman as friend Valerie Guerin holds her son Stephen Guerin during a ceremony on the six-month anniversary of the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School held at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, Conn., on Friday.
NEWTOWN, Conn. � Newtown held a moment of silence Friday for the victims of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School at a remembrance event that doubled as a call to action on gun control, with the reading of names of thousands of victims of gun violence. Two sisters of slain teacher Victoria Soto asked the crowd gathered at Edmond Town Hall for a 26-second moment of silence, honoring the 20 children and six adults gunned down at the school on Dec. 14. �This pain is excruciating and unbearable but thanks to people like you, that come out and support us, we are able to get through this,� said Carlee Soto, who held hands with her sister Jillian before taking the stage. The event then moved to the reading of the names of more than 6,000 people killed by gun violence since the tragedy in Newtown. The reading of names is expected to take 12 hours.Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which organized the event in Newtown, also launched a bus tour that will travel to 25 states over 100 days to build support for legislation to expand background checks for gun buyers. Such legislation failed in the Senate in April.The mayors group is also holding events in 10 states calling for lawmakers to expand background checks and urging senators who opposed the bill to reconsider. Those events, which include gun violence survivors and gun owners, will be held in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.The gunman in Newtown killed his mother and then the 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School with a semiautomatic rifle before committing suicide as police arrived.Some of the victims� families are in Washington this week lobbying lawmakers for action. Jillian and Carlee Soto met with President Barack Obama as they campaigned for gun control. �He just told us to have faith,� said Jillian Soto, 24. �It isn�t something that happens overnight. It�s something that you have to continue to fight for. Within good time we will have this passed and we will have change.�New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who co-founded the mayors group, this week sent a letter asking donors not to support Democratic senators who opposed the bill to expand background checks.On the other side of the debate, the National Rifle Association is focusing on Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who co-sponsored the bill to expand background checks, with a TV ad urging viewers to phone Manchin�s office and tell him �to honor his commitment to the 2nd Amendment.� The NRA plans to spend $100,000 airing the ad in West Virginia markets over the next two weeks. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7605 | Lower Jobless Rate Is Killing Extended Benefits | Sweetness & Light
« Another Poll Says Most Want To Tax The Rich | Food Stamp Rolls Hit Another Record In Sept. »
Lower Jobless Rate Is Killing Extended Benefits
From an irony proof Associated Press:
Democrats want extension of unemployment benefits for 2 million Americans as part of fiscal cliff deal
Jobless benefits for 2.1 million people who have been out of work for more than six months will stop four days after Christmas
WASHINGTON — Hovering in the background of the "fiscal cliff" debate is the prospect of 2 million people losing their unemployment benefits four days after Christmas.
Isn’t it amazing how these heartbreaking ‘cuts’ always happen right at Christmas? It’s almost as if the politicians schedule things that way.
"This is the real cliff," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. He’s been leading the effort to include another extension of benefits for the long-term unemployed in any deal to avert looming tax increases and massive spending cuts in January…
Lest we forget, the states provide 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. When those are exhausted, federal benefits last another 47 weeks. That is a total of 73 weeks. (It used to be 99 weeks.) That is not quite a "cliff."
Emergency jobless benefits for about 2.1 million people out of work more than six months will cease Dec. 29, and 1 million more will lose them over the next three months if Congress doesn’t extend the assistance again.
That is because the length of the federal benefits is determined by the unemployment rate. States with jobless rates below 9% are losing their extended benefits. This is the downside of the Department Of Labor fudging the unemployment rate to get Obama re-elected. But we’re sure the denizens of those states will realize it was worth it.
Since the collapse of the economy in 2008, the government has poured $520 billion — an amount equal to about half its annual deficit in recent years — into unemployment benefit extensions.
But it’s not enough. We have to give more. After all, the recession has only been since July 2009.
White House officials have assured Democrats that Obama is committed to extending them another year, at a cost of about $30 billion, as part of an agreement for sidestepping the fiscal cliff and reducing the size of annual increases in the federal debt.
"The White House has made it clear that it wants an extension," said Michigan Rep. Sander Levin, the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.
Of course, they do. Jobs lift people out poverty and keep them out of poverty. Unemployment benefits keep people in poverty and dependent on the government.
Republicans have been relatively quiet on the issue lately. They demanded and won savings elsewhere to offset the cost of this year’s extension…
Sure they did.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent from 7.9 percent, the lowest in nearly four years. But much of the decline was due to people so discouraged about finding a job that they quit looking for one. Much of the decline was due to Obama needing to be re-elected. But it’s too late now. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.
Democrats have tried to keep a flame burning under the issue. Ending the extended benefits would "deal a devastating blow to our economy," 42 Democratic senators wrote Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., this past week. The Congressional Budget Office said in a study last month that extending the current level of long-term unemployment benefits another year would add 300,000 jobs to the economy. The average benefit of about $300 a week tends to get spent quickly for food, rent and other basic necessities, the report said, stimulating the economy…
Absolutely. That is why the record unemployment we have had under Obama has generated such a high GDP. We need more and more unemployment.
By the way, this is the same administration that likes to lecture us about ‘math.’
Opponents of benefit extensions argue that they can be a disincentive for taking a job. "Prolonged benefits lead some unemployed workers to spend too much time looking for jobs that they would prefer to find, rather than focusing on jobs that they are more likely to find," said James Sherk [sic], a labor policy analyst at the conservative Heritage Foundation. But Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, noted that unemployment checks add up to about $15,000 a year. "That’s poverty level," he said. "This is not something people just want to continue on, they want to get jobs."
Maybe Sen. Harkin is unaware that when you are on unemployment you automatically qualify for other welfare benefits, including food stamps, subsidized housing and Obama-phones.
by Steve on Monday, December 10th, 2012.
Comments are currently closed. 2 Responses to “Lower Jobless Rate Is Killing Extended Benefits”
Enthalpy says: December 10, 2012 at 11:03 am Our alleged representatives continue to aid and abet Progressives’ constituency building policy.
GetBackJack says: December 10, 2012 at 11:36 am Well, then … borrow some more money. Geez, what’s so hard about that? | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7643 | New Whitney Houston Doc To Air Before GRAMMYs
Filed Under: grammys, Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston waves to the crowd at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in 1994 after she won Record of the Year for 'I'll Always Love You,' and Album of the Year for 'The Bodyguard' soundtrack. (POOL/AFP/Getty Images)
With less than 24 hours before the GRAMMYs were set to go live, Whitney Houston passed away. In a new one-hour special, fans get a behind-the-scenes look at how last year’s show was able to pull together not only the awards ceremony, but a last-minute tearful tribute to the fallen diva.
The GRAMMYs Will Go On: A Death In The Family, airing February 9 on CBS, documents the hours right before the show and features interviews with artists like LL Cool J, Katy Perry, Dave Grohl, Bruno Mars, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Jennifer Hudson, who sang “I Will Always Love You” to a teary-eyed crowd.
The special also includes never-before-seen rehearsal footage like Adele preparing for her first performance since undergoing vocal surgery and Paul McCartney practicing with his all-star band for the show’s finale. This new special started out as a 28-minute documentary called A Death in the Family: The Show Must Go On, which was housed at the GRAMMY museum as part of the exhibit, Whitney! Celebrating The Musical Legacy of Whitney Houston, which included stage costumes, photos and scrapbooks that were owned by the late singer.
Last year, the Recording Academy also aired a tribute special, We Will Always Love You: A GRAMMY Salute to Whitney Houston, featuring performances from Hudson, Usher and Celine Dion.
Watch the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards the following night, February 10, at 8 pm EST on CBS. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7700 | A new attack on the Gaspee
THEATRE OF THE MIND: Mentalist Rory Raven has been baffling audiences for over a decade with his "Mentalist & Mindbender" persona, but has recently performed the neat trick of making history easy to read. His latest book, "Burning the Gaspee," is as readable as "The Dorr War," which was published last year. SCENE OF THE CRIME: While Rory Raven was researching his "Gaspee" book, a local historian suggested he visit the site of the 1772 sinking of the Gaspee near Salter's Grove Park in Warwick. Raven said the visit helped bring the story alive. Posted
Joe Kernan
While he is more widely known as a mentalist, “a performer who, using a variety of techniques, is able to produce results that would only seem possible by psychic or paranormal means,” Cranston resident Rory Raven has recently set his mind to writing history and, so far, it has been quite a neat trick.A while back, he released a book about the Dorr Rebellion that read like a well-written adventure story without sacrificing the essential details of the historical record.This time, Raven has gone a little further back in Rhode Island’s history for yet another telling of the Gaspee legend. Just about everybody who grew up in Rhode Island is absolutely sure they know all about the sinking of the British ship Gaspee but Raven admits to being surprised at a number of facts his research turned up.“I was surprised, for instance, how much impact the event had beyond Rhode Island at the time,” said Raven. “Thomas Jefferson mentioned it, and Benjamin Franklin; they were aware of the significance of it.”In case you grew up in Boston, (where comparisons with the Boston Tea Party a year later are discouraged if not actively forbidden) or some other place, the Gaspee affair was the first armed confrontation between colonial dissidents and agents of the Crown: Except that the men were not dressed up as Indians and were smart enough not to throw significant quantities of a valuable commodity into the bay.“One of the things it did was to reawaken the ‘Committees of Correspondence,’” said Raven, “which was a network of rebels like Samuel Adams in Boston who would write letters to each other, keeping themselves apprised of what was going on in various parts of the country. That was a step toward uniting the colonies and it led to them all agreeing to meet in Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was formed.”But, at the time, it was a local affair and the reaction of the Crown and royal sympathizers was harsh. There had been attacks on British ships before but this was a direct affront to his majesty’s navy, which had been assigned to collecting customs taxes in the colonies. The Crown was no longer at war with the French after the Seven Years War, but it was broke after years of defending the colonists and seemed to think the colonists should pay for it and be happy for it.Unfortunately, most of the people in the colonies had come to believe that a little smuggling and customs avoidance was a good thing, personally and civilly. In fact, there had been other customs ships that had been mauled by colonists with more or less impunity but the Gaspee was the last straw. It was a British Navy ship and its mugging could not go unpunished. Or could it?“A handful of longboats glided across the water on a moonless night,” opens “The Burning of the Gaspee,” and Raven is riding a current of telling detail and delivering facts about what led up to the affair that never got the same attention, like the attack on the St. John at Newport in 1764. According to Raven, a “press gang” was a recruitment tool of the British Navy. They were sent ashore to find able-bodied seamen or anything resembling them and “pressing” them onto ships [whenever the British Navy’s traditions of wormy rations and regular floggings failed to entice enough recruits to join]. A fight between the St. John press gang and the citizens who arrested a gang member in Newport brought a cannonade down on the St. John as it sailed out of the harbor after refusing to give up the press gang for justice. It was damaged but got away. The next year, the frigate Maidstone pressed several Newport men and refused the governor’s request to free them. The captain refused, but one of his officers was captured by a mob that gave the officer a drubbing and then dragged his boat through the streets and burned it. In those instances, it could be argued that the Navy “started it” in the language of the schoolyard, but in the eyes of Loyalists, the Gaspee was different. In early 1772, Lt. William Dudingston sailed the Gaspee into Narragansett Bay to aid customs collection and the inspection of cargo. The Gaspee was chasing a packet boat up the bay on June 9 and ran aground in the shallow water of low tide. She could have been freed by a high tide later that night, but the local chapter of the Sons of Liberty decided to carpe deum and carpe the Gaspee as well. They boarded the ship, shot and wounded Dudingston and burned the Gaspee to the waterline. A Royal Commission of Inquiry was formed that charged the Gaspee raiders with treason and tried in London. The Commission was unable to obtain sufficient evidence and declared their inability to deal with the case.“What was truly surprising was that so many people knew who did it but refused to talk,” said Raven. He said there was one person who, having been dragged into the affair in the first place, was willing to tell about it but was “dissuaded” on the way to court. Raven said his research made him some friends and taught him that little Rhode Island really is justified in its Revolutionary pride.“Henry Brown was one of the people I spoke with about the book and he was immensely helpful,” said Raven. “He gave me a presentation box of [facsimile] old newspapers and other material he published about the Gaspee in the 1970s and some great advice. He told me to go down to the Point and just stand there, where it happened, and let it get into your being. I did it, and he was right.” As the Crown moved to find and punish the Gaspee raiders, colonists became alarmed at the prospect of Americans being tried in England for trial. That was when the “Committee of Correspondence” was formed in Boston, as others formed in other colonies to consult with each other about the crisis provoked by the Gaspee and the issues it goaded into public debate. The Battle of Lexington and Concord was only a few more years away.What Raven found to be almost an eerie occurrence, even for a man who regularly challenges claims of the paranormal, happened while Raven and Barnaby Evans were staging a special Gaspee-inspired Waterfire last month.“We actually had to request that the Hurricane Barrier be used to make sure there was enough water to float Barnaby’s boats,” said Raven. “There was a low tide on June 9, the same date as the low tide that grounded the Gaspee.”“Burning the Gaspee” is available at Amazon.com and select area bookstores. Visit roryraven.com for news of upcoming performances and events.
Pooped! Dancing Stars ready, set... Be Bold! Labor of love: Cranston’s Ann Stamp one of five finalists in national ’Farm Moms‘ competition Trending stories | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7721 | Justices Uphold Arizona's Show Me Your Papers Provision By Nina Totenberg
Originally published on June 26, 2012 8:25 am Transcript STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST: And I'm Renee Montagne. News junkies yesterday had one of those classic moments involving the Supreme Court. The High Court ruled on Arizona's immigration law. INSKEEP: And there was a period of frantic uncertainty as reporters and analysts tried to figure out what the ruling meant. Now it is clear the Court has given a mixed verdict to Arizona's law, casting doubt on copycat laws in other states. MONTAGNE: The Court struck down key sections of the law but upheld the most controversial provision, at least for now. NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg begins our coverage. NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE: The justices upheld the so called, Show Me Your Papers provision. It requires all state and local law enforcement officers, upon reasonable suspicion, to detain anyone stopped for any offense no matter how minor, until their immigration status can be checked. But the Court had an important caveat. In allowing the law to go into effect, the justices said they were adopting a wait and see attitude. And if the law ends up being used to target ethnic minorities, or if people are detained for an unreasonably long time while the immigration check takes place; or if the state detains illegal immigrants whom the federal government does not want detained, well then, the court strongly suggested the law would not pass Constitutional muster. Regardless of all those caveats, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer proclaimed the ruling a victory. GOVERNOR JAN BREWER: We will move forward, instructing law enforcement to begin practicing what the United States Supreme Court has upheld. TOTENBERG: Opponents of the law are not optimistic, noting that even people who are U.S. citizens could have a hard time when stopped for a minor traffic infraction. Yale Law Professor Lucas Guttentag. LUCAS GUTTENTAG: There's obviously no data base for United States citizens. And so, the targets of the arrest and detention are those who a police officer may think look or sound foreign, which necessarily leads to discrimination and profiling. TOTENBERG: The provisions that the Court struck down outright made it a state crime for illegal immigrants to seek work in Arizona, or to fail to register under federal law. A third provision allowed state and local police to arrest anyone based solely on suspicion that the individual was in the country illegally. The Court said all of those provisions conflict with federal law. Congress made a different judgment on these questions, the Court observed, and that judgment trumps state law. The Court noted, for instance, that Congress affirmatively decided not to do what Arizona did - make it a crime for an illegal immigrant to seek or perform work. Instead, Congress put the legal burden on the employer. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Court's decision was its apparent endorsement of wide discretion for executive branch decisions on immigration policy. The Obama administration has said it simply doesn't have the resources to deport everyone who's in the country illegally, and it set priorities. Most recently, the president announced the administration would stop deporting some immigrants brought here when they were children. Writing for the Court majority yesterday, Justice Anthony Kennedy seemed to accept the president's power to adopt such priorities. Referring to the Arizona law, he said that that even when an immigration status check determines that someone is in the country illegally, it's up to federal officials to decide whether it makes sense to detain or deport that individual. After all, observed Kennedy, there are human reasons not to deport children brought to the U.S. by parents, or illegal immigrants who have lived here a long time and served honorably in the military. And in assessing where to spend resources, he said, federal officials may reasonably conclude that an illegal immigrant who's struggling to support his family poses less danger than alien smugglers or aliens who are convicted felons. Arizona may have understandable frustration over its problems with illegal immigration, the Court said, but the state may not pursue policies that undermine federal law. Joining Kennedy in the majority were Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Ginsburg, Breyer and Sotomayor. Justice Kagan was recused because of her involvement in the case prior to her appointment to the Court. Dissenting from some or all of the decision were Justices Scalia, Thomas and Alito Scalia blasted the majority, saying that if the original 13 colonies had known they had so little power to control immigration along their borders, they would never have joined the Union. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.Related Program: Morning EditionView the discussion thread. Our Partners: | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7726 | 4 held in Detroit killing of French street artist
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit police have arrested four people in the robbery and killing of a French street artist whose body was found in the ruins of an abandoned public housing project last year, authorities said Wednesday.Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy filed first-degree murder charges against three young males and expects to charge a 14-year-old boy in the killing of 23-year-old Bilal Berreni, her office announced. Worthy says Berreni was killed during a robbery but has not provided additional details.Berreni's body was found July 4, 2013, with a gunshot wound in the face outside the Frederick Douglass Homes. No identification was on his body, and it was seven months before Michigan State Police identified him, using fingerprints."It sickens me that a young, talented artist who had traveled the world to pursue his passion was murdered here, thus reinforcing the stereotypes for many about our city of Detroit," Worthy said in a statement.Dionte Travis, 17; Jasin Curtis, 18; and Drequone Rich, 20, were arraigned last week and ordered jailed pending a probable cause hearing Sept. 11 in Detroit District Court, Worthy said. It wasn't immediately known if they have lawyers.Worthy said she expects to charge the 14-year-old Thursday.Mourad Berreni told the Detroit Free Press in March that his son's art had a social message and that he was drawn to Detroit."For him, it represented the failure of capitalism and (he) believed that from that chaos something can be born," Mourad Berreni said from Paris.Bilal Berreni painted large pieces in black and white on buildings, his father said.Berreni grew up in Paris and began painting on walls in his neighborhood at age 15, according to French media reports. He later graduated from an applied arts school, then left to pursue his work around the world. He signed his work under the name the Zoo Project, gaining attention in 2011 through work in Tunisia in which he made life-size pictures of people killed in unrest in that North African nation.Berreni was in Detroit in 2012 and returned in 2013. His father said he occasionally may have lived as a squatter in vacant structures.___Follow David N. Goodman at http://twitter.com/davidngoodman | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7736 | More Ways to LISTEN In Christmas Message, Queen Elizabeth Returns To 3-D After 59 Years By Bill Chappell
Dec 20, 2012 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Queen Elizabeth II wears 3-D glasses during a visit to the University of Sheffield, in 2010. This year, the queen's annual Christmas message will broadcast in 3-D.
WPA Pool
It's been 80 years since Britain's royal family began broadcasting a Christmas message — and 60 years since Queen Elizabeth took up the duty. Now, the monarch will deliver her 2012 holiday address in 3-D. The TV broadcast is the latest innovation for a message that began as a radio transmission by the queen's grandfather, King George V. Queen Elizabeth's Christmas message has also been podcast since 2006; one year later, she took to YouTube to spread her message, according to the British monarchy's website. But this year's broadcast is not the first time the queen has been filmed in 3-D. That moment came in the summer of 1953, when the coronation of the queen, then 27, was filmed by a two-man crew. Footage of that event, and others from the same summer, wasn't made public until 2009. Here's a clip, which you can fully enjoy if you have 3-D glasses handy: One of the men who shot that film, Arthur Wooster, recalls that Queen Elizabeth had a knack for the camera — and that at one point in the clip above, with only his crew filming as she approached, the queen obviously noticed their cameras. "But she didn't allow herself to look at it. She deliberately walked straight past us, giving us one of the few close-up shots ever taken of the young Queen," Wooster, who was 24 at the time, told The Daily Mail. "I was knocked back by her beauty. She radiated film-star quality.' The British monarchy's website says the queen's 2012 Christmas Day message will be broadcast at 3 p.m. — that's 10 a.m. ET, here in the U.S. In Britain, the royal Christmas messages are seen a chance for the monarch to communicate directly with the public. Queen Elizabeth reportedly writes her own speeches for the occasion. Here's what the queen told her people back in 1952, according to a transcript of the live radio broadcast: "Many grave problems and difficulties confront us all, but with a new faith in the old and splendid beliefs given us by our forefathers, and the strength to venture beyond the safeties of the past, I know we shall be worthy of our duty." "Above all, we must keep alive that courageous spirit of adventure that is the finest quality of youth; and by youth I do not just mean those who are young in years; I mean too all those who are young in heart, no matter how old they may be. That spirit still flourishes in this old country and in all the younger countries of our Commonwealth."Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 WKAR | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7739 | 'Enough,' Says Giffords As She Launches Campaign For New Gun Laws By Mark Memmott
Jan 8, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., during her interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer.
ABCNews.com
Originally published on January 8, 2013 8:22 am When children are gunned down in their classrooms, as happened last month in Newtown, Conn., it's time to say "enough," former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., tells ABC News. So she and her husband Mark Kelly, as they write this morning in USA Today, are launching a campaign "to balance the influence of the gun lobby" and push for "responsible changes in our laws to require responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence." Their announcement comes two years to the day after Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman who attacked an event she was hosting in Tucson, Ariz. he killed six people and wounded 13, including the congresswoman. The campaign Giffords and Kelly unveiled today is called Americans for Responsible Solutions. At its website, Giffords writes that: "Two years ago, a mentally ill young man shot me in the head, killed six of my constituents, and wounded 12 others. Since that terrible day, America has seen 11 more mass shootings — but no response from Congress to prevent gun violence. After the massacre of 20 children and six of their teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary though, it's clear: This time must be different. "Americans for Responsible Solutions will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership by communicating directly with the constituents that elect them." In USA Today, she and Kelly write that those who oppose any new gun laws should: "Forget the boogeyman of big, bad government coming to dispossess you of your firearms. As a Western woman and a Persian Gulf War combat veteran [Kelly] who have exercised our Second Amendment rights, we don't want to take away your guns any more than we want to give up the two guns we have locked in a safe at home. What we do want is what the majority of NRA members and other Americans want: responsible changes in our laws to require responsible gun ownership and reduce gun violence." Much more from the ABC interview with Giffords and Kelly is due on Tuesday evening's World News with Diane Sawyer. Giffords and Kelly visited families of the Newtown victims last week. A local state legislator is apologizing for having posted a message on Facebook that urged Giffords to "stay out of my towns."Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 WKU Public Radio | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7740 | The World Capital Of Counterfeit Dollars By editor
Sep 5, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email A policeman shows printed sheets of counterfeit bills seized by Peruvian police.
This just in from the AP: With its meticulous criminal craftsmen, cheap labor and, by some accounts, less effective law enforcement, Peru has in the past two years overtaken Colombia as the No. 1 source of counterfeit U.S. dollars, says the U.S. Secret Service, protector of the world's most widely traded currency. ... Over the past decade, $103 million in fake U.S. dollars "made in Peru" have been seized — nearly half since 2010, Peruvian and U.S. officials say. Unlike most other counterfeiters, who rely on sophisticated late-model inkjet printers, the Peruvians generally go a step further — finishing each bill by hand. We've reported a few times on counterfeit dollars. In our show last week on the birth of the dollar bill, we talked about the huge wave of counterfeiting in the 19th century (including the fake notes from the Bank of the Golden Fleece). A while back, we talked to Ma Young Ae, who used to live in North Korea, where printing counterfeit dollars is a government-run business. Ma helped the North Korean government export counterfeit dollars them to China Also, we devoted a whole show to the one, family-owned company that for more than a century has made all the paper that real dollar bills are printed on. That paper is made mostly from cotton — and, apparently, it's one of the few things that separates real bills from fakes. As the AP reports: For all their skill, says Portocarrero, Peruvian counterfeiters' handiwork will always get tripped up by the infrared scanner banks used to authenticate currency. That, he says, owes to their continued reliance on standard "bond" paper, the variety used by consumers that is available in stores and that easily disintegrates when wet. If they were able to obtain "rag" paper, the cloth type used for banknotes, all bets would be off, Portocarrero said. "The day they get it and perfect the finish a bit more, (their bills) will go undetected." Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 WLRN | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7742 | U.S. Wants Global Trafficking Report To Hit Home By editor
Jun 19, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Prostitutes arrested in Guatemala City in 2012, as part of an operation against human trafficking.
Johan Ordonez
Originally published on June 19, 2013 4:42 pm The U.S. State Department releases its report on human trafficking every year, naming the countries it believes aren't doing enough to combat modern-day slavery. The department released a new report Wednesday, and NPR's Michele Kelemen is reporting on the story for All Things Considered. One thing that jumped out at us is that the State Department wants the report to hit home this year. Luis CdeBaca, the official in charge of the office that monitors and combats trafficking, put it this way: "This year's report looks at things like the fishing industry — and actually raises a question that I think all of us should be asking: Which is how much of my life is impacting modern-day slavery? Do I know where the shrimp is being caught or processed that is on my plate? Do I know where the cotton is coming from that's on my clothes? ... And instead of it being somebody else's problem, how can I make it my problem? How can I actually do something about it?" The State Department has worked with a nonprofit organization on a website, slaveryfootprint.org, where consumers can take a survey that answers the question: How many slaves work for me? The idea is to alert consumers to who works to create the products they consume. "As consumers start to make their voices heard, that'll be a real big driver out in the private sector," CdeBaca told Michele. Consumer pressure has had an impact on industry standards: Last month, four major Western retailers announced they'll help finance safety upgrades at apparel factories in Bangladesh following the collapse of a garment complex in April that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 people. NPR's Talk of the Nation devoted a segment last year to modern-day slavery in the U.S. Some of those workers were brought from overseas. "We need to keep our eyes open. We need to stay vigilant, and we need to realize that this can appear in almost any industry," Bradley Myles, executive director and CEO of the Polaris Project, said on that program. "There's been a case of elder-care workers in a nursing home. There's been a case of golf course groundskeepers in a fancy golf course. There have been cases in the fishing industry and nail salons and restaurants, all these different places where we need to stay vigilant."Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 WNCW | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7743 | Video May Show Rebels Executing Syrian Soldiers By Mark Memmott
Nov 2, 2012 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email In Aleppo, Syria, this week: A rebel crossed a ruined street. This image shows him in a mirror's reflection.
Javier Manzano / AFP/Getty Images
A video that appears to show rebels in Syria executing a small group of soldiers from the regime of President Bashar Assad has prompted human rights groups and officials to appeal to all sides to respect the human rights of their prisoners. NPR's Kelly McEvers reports from Beirut that the video, which appeared online Thursday, "shows Syrian rebels beating eight to 10 soldiers before lining them up on the ground and executing them with automatic rifles. .. One rebel is heard telling a prisoner, 'do you know that we belong to the people of this country?' The authenticity of the video could not be verified. The incident reportedly was part of a rebel surge to overtake government checkpoints." Now, Amnesty International is urging the Assad regime and its opponents "to respect the laws of war and to refrain from torturing, ill-treating or killing their prisoners" and says it is investigating the incident. The U.N. is also on the case. According to the BBC: "A spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said: 'It seems very likely that this is a war crime, another one.' " Human rights groups and Syrian activists estimate that more than 30,000 people have been killed during fighting in Syria since protests against the Assad regime began in early 2011 and a civil war eventually broke out.Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 WNCW | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7758 | About WUOT News
Tenn Words
TruckBeat
Search WUOT News Archive
Contact WUOT News
Next Wave Radio Project
WUOT Schedule
WUOT-2 Schedule
Station/Member Events
WUOT-Sponsored Events
E-Notes Monthly Newsletter
Leadership Members
Evergreen Member Club
WUOT Endowment
Guidelines and Copy Samples
91.9 Inc. Board
WUOT Staff
WUOT News
Egypt, Turkey Expel Each Others Ambassadors, Testing Ties By editor
Nov 23, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures the four-finger salute used by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Saturday.
Originally published on November 23, 2013 6:11 pm The relationship between Egypt and Turkey took a big hit today, when Egypt announced it was expelling the Turkish ambassador, and Turkey responded in-kind, declaring the Egyptian ambassador "persona non grata." The AP reports: "Saturday's decisions, which fall short of closing diplomatic missions in the two countries, are a dramatic reversal of the warming relations between the two countries over the past year. "Egypt's interim government vehemently has protested remarks by Turkish leaders criticizing the popularly backed military coup that toppled Islamist President Mohammed Morsi. The decision Saturday followed another critical comment by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday." On Saturday, Erdogan said that he would never "have respect for those who come to power through coups." The AP adds some more background: "Since Egypt's 2011 uprising against Morsi's predecessor, autocrat Hosni Mubarak, Turkey sought to strengthen ties with the country's new political order. The Turkish president was the first to visit Egypt after the fall of Mubarak in February 2011. Trade between the two countries increased by about 27 percent in the following year to $3.8 billion in the first nine months of 2012. Turkey also increased its investment in Egypt and currently has some 26 development projects in Egypt. "Turkey's Islamic-rooted ruling party strongly backed toppled Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi — a leading figure in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood — as an example for the Arab world of a democratically elected Islamist leader. Turkey criticized his popularly backed July 3 overthrow by Egypt's military, while also criticizing the West for what it deemed as a weak response to the coup. "Turkey and Egypt previously recalled their ambassadors in August after Turkey condemned the ouster and a subsequent bloody crackdown on pro-Morsi protests. Turkey's ambassador returned weeks later, but Egypt declined to return its envoy to Ankara." The U.S. for its part has refused to call the ouster of Morsi a coup. In fact, this week Secretary of State John Kerry upped his rhetoric accusing the Muslim brotherhood of stealing the Egyptian revolution. Kerry said, according to AFP: "'Those kids in Tahrir Square, they were not motivated by any religion or ideology. "'They were motivated by what they saw through this interconnected world, and they wanted a piece of the opportunity and a chance to get an education and have a job and have a future, and not have a corrupt government that deprived them of all of that and more," the top U.S. diplomat said. "'They tweeted their ways and Face-timed their ways and talked to each other, and that's what drove that revolution. "'And then it got stolen by the one single-most organized entity in the state, which was the Brotherhood.'" Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. © 2016 WUOT 209 Communications Building, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996-0322
Support WUOT | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7775 | 'Bob Marley Day' in Toronto marks reggae icon's birthday Local by News Staff
Posted Feb 6, 2013 6:04 pm EDT
TORONTO – Rapper and hip-hop artist Drake was among eight Torontonians who received humanitarian awards Wednesday, as the city celebrated Bob Marley Day.
Live reggae music played in council chambers at city hall as the ceremony got underway. The 26-year-old Toronto rapper did not attend the event.
One of the event organizers said the theme of this year’s event was “unity through diversity.”
“Our community in this city is diverse,” said Kara Lambie. “Marley was an international icon, so even though he came from the island culture, he really represents the world, just like we do.”
The city said the award winners promoted humanitarianism in various ethnic and social groups in Toronto.
Rowan Barrett, the executive vice-president of Canada Basketball, won the Bob Marley award for encouraging diversity in sports.
“Our organization has been working tirelessly to open the doors for all Canadians,” said Barrett. “We now have athletes from India, from Eastern Europe and from South America over a range of age groups.”
Barrett, the captain of the Canadian men’s Olympic basketball team in 2000, was in Jamaica when Marley died from cancer in 1981.
“It was total despair,” said Barrett. “But decades later, his message of peace, equality and love stays with us today.”
Retired judge Pamela Appelt, the first female judge of colour to be appointed to the Court of Canadian Citizenship, also won an award.
“Through this city I see the face of Canada,” said Appelt. “If Bob Marley were around today I know he would applaud us for our diversity.”
Other award winners were Scott Crowley, Ben Hum, Manuel Rodriguez, Marlon Reid and Pradeep Sood.
In the future, Lambie said the city will try to engage more young people by turning the day-long celebration into a three-day festival with concerts, plays and other entertainment.
“There’s really no person on this Earth, except for maybe Mother Teresa, who better embodies the spirit of giving from the heart,” said Lambie.
“The only way to teach them (youth) about the legacy of Bob Marley is to find ways to reach them.”
birthday|Bob Marley Day|city hall|Humanitarian Awards ON AIR RIGHT NOW
'Bob Marley Day' in Toronto marks reggae icon's birthday Here in a time and place: Tragically Hip to play two shows in T... | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7792 | Updated Jan 25 2011 at 11:12 AM
Margaret River coal a threat to vines Share
by Peter Kerr
The owner of a major vineyard in Western Australia’s Margaret River region says a proposed coalmine one kilometre from his property has halved its value.David Atkinson, who owns Jane Brook Estate Wines, said the project – which has yet to win environmental approval – would also pose an unacceptable risk to the region’s water supply and a dam on his vineyard (which grows grapes for his Shovelgate label).“We have a large dam at the bottom of the property – 1.6 hectares in surface area – and the issue is there is not enough catchment areas on the property to fill the dam and most of the water comes from winter springs, which arise from the tops of hills," he said. “There is a lot of water that comes out of the ground."Mr Atkinson said he feared the natural springs would be contaminated by the mine and remained unconvinced by the company’s pledge to seal its mine shafts to prevent water escaping into the surrounding underground aquifer. “I have seen the drill samples of the mine area and to me it looks like porous sandstone," he said. LD Operations, which is based in NSW, wants to mine coal on behalf of US billionare Hans Mende in a paddock 15 kilometres from the town of Margaret River. Mr Atkinson’s vines are the closest commercial vineyards.LD Operations managing director Peter Ross said the project was in its early stages and would be subject to intense environmental scrutiny.“The final decision on the project lies with the Environmental Protection Authority, whose operations are governed by the Environmental Protection Act and whose job it is to use its best endeavours to protect the environment and to prevent, control and abate pollution and environmental harm," he said. Related Quotes
“We welcome the opportunity to work with government agencies and regulators to ensure the EPA has sufficient accurate information to allow an informed determination to be made on all fronts."Residents are also opposed to the underground mine, which is on a tenement once held by Rio Tinto.They are concerned about possible contamination to their drinking supplies from the Margaret River and the effect on the region’s reputation. The coal project has recently suffered a two-month delay, with the EPA requesting more information on the mine. The issue has become a heated issue not just for the local community but politically. The state’s Transport Minister and local MP Troy Buswell is openly opposed to the development.
Colin Barnett
, who oversees a state that has grown rich on mining, has said while due process will be followed, he is considering special laws to protect the region’s character.Mr Atkinson said independent valuations of his vineyard showed the price of his property had fallen from $1.6 million in 2008 to about $750,000 now. He conceded that some of this fall was caused by a general decline in the industry, but said even if he wanted to sell he would struggle. “It is a quiet rural area and it is obviously going to be affected by trucks rumbling through," he said. The Australian Financial Review | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7798 | Planning Commission considers plan to relieve Chukker Creek traffic
Cease-fire largely holding around Nagorno-Karabakh
Russia’s new National Guard will be tasked to suppress riots
Kerry breaks record for miles traveled by secretary of state
Madison Keys loses in 3 sets in Charleston; finalist in 2015
Like the azaleas, skipping balls on 16 a Masters tradition
Top-ranked Jason Day downplays role as Masters’ favorite
MARTI HEALY: The colt with no name
Restaurant of the week: Malia’s options change
SMIDGE WITH MIDGE: Get in gear with spring events
USC Aiken Jazz ensemble to perform on Thursday Country legend Merle Haggard dies at 79 of pneumonia
Janet Jackson delays tour; planning family, ordered to rest
Column: Republicans may be in disarray, but conservative principles aren’t
Letter: Conduct of officers in lawsuit is appalling
Letter: SCDOT comes to the rescue
Vehicles pile up on Chukker Creek Road at 7 a.m. Thursday morning. At 7 a.m. on Thursday morning, a line of vehicles about a quarter of a mile long waited to get into Chukker Creek Elementary School.
This is typical on a school day at that time and again starting at approximately 2 p.m. as parents wait to drop off or pick up their children. At times, the traffic is said to be backed up all the way to Whiskey Road.
On Tuesday evening, a plan was presented to the City of Aiken in hopes to alleviate that problem that has left some sitting in traffic as long as 45 minutes. The Aiken City Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of an amendment to a concept plan to extend the school’s driveway by 1,800 feet to allow two lanes for more vehicles to pull into the drop-off area rather than spilling out onto Chukker Creek Road. An additional 40 parking spots were also requested.
S.C. Sen. Tom Young was happy to hear that a solution has been presented to the City and that the Planning Commission found it acceptable. He has heard from a number of constituents, either parents of Chukker Creek students or residents living in near the school, and said a project to resolve the problem has been in the works for more than a year.
“It was important that we found a solution to this ongoing problem,” Young said. “It’s been a real problem for some time and I’m glad this is moving along.”
Young said that input was requested from the S.C. Department of Transportation and the issue later was brought up to the Aiken County Transportation Committee. The Aiken County School District hired an engineer, and now its up to the City on whether the concept plan revisions will be made.
On Tuesday evening, about two dozen residents came to the Planning Commission meeting to discuss the traffic issue. A majority of those residents are in favor of the driveway extension proposal as is.
The school has 852 students with about only 10 to 15 percent of them using the bus. The school currently has 650 feet of driveway for drop offs and pick ups, according to Civil Engineer Tilden Hilderbrand.During pick-up, which is said to be the peak traffic time, approximately 1,800 feet of cars have been seen parked on Chukker Creek Road toward Whiskey Road and approximately 500 feet toward Plantation South, Hilderbrand said.
Residents in that area expressed concern for both the students’ safety and their own. Virginia Dunkelbarger said years ago, a neighbor saw smoke coming from her home and called the fire department. The fire trucks came in with ease. Now, if a fire or some other incident occurred, emergency responders would have a hard time passing the traffic if it’s during drop-off or pick-up times on a school day.
“We want to make sure nobody dies from a fire or an accident and I think all of the Chukker Creek families here agree,” she said, then asking the audience, “What do you think?”
Applause erupted from those there to support the driveway extension.
Brenda Klein, another resident, said it’s like being “held hostage” at her home if she doesn’t leave before the traffic begins to pile up and if she’s out, she can’t return to her house during those times either.
Only a few expressed concern with the extension, stating that they’re not against it but feel the plan wasn’t sufficient.
Michael Sweeney said that something certainly needs to be done, but he’s grown up in the area and watched it expand over the years. He feels that the proposed plan would only be a short-term solution rather than a long term one as the population and the school itself grows. Sweeney said he’d hate to see a meeting five to 10 years later addressing the same exact issue.
“I just wanted to bring that up,” Sweeney said. “The kids’ safety is a number one priority. I’m not against this project at all.”
The first reading by City Council will be held at its Feb. 11 meeting.
UPDATE: Aiken County detention deputy terminated after charges of child molestation surface Aiken County bookings for April 5 Dog found with duct tape over mouth, head Friends, family to hold candlelight vigil for Aiken man killed in wreck Kids’ quest for McDonald’s lands woman in jail | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7801 | Memo gives basis for drone strikes vs US citizens
How one woman’s friendship inspired her to become a foster parent
By PETE YOSTAssociated Press
This photo shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. WASHINGTON, D.C. — An unclassified Justice Department memo reveals that the Obama administration has had more lenient rules than publicly known for when drone attacks can be launched to kill U.S. citizens working abroad with terrorists.
The government does not need evidence that a specific attack is imminent, the newly disclosed Justice Department white paper says, only that the targeted suspect is involved in ongoing plotting against the United States.
“The threat posed by al-Qaida and its associated forces demands a broader concept of imminence in judging when a person continually planning terror attacks presents an imminent threat,” the document says.
The undated document surfaced as Obama administration official John Brennan, who helped manage the drone program, heads to Capitol Hill on Thursday for his confirmation hearing to become CIA director. The hearing will take place as a growing number of senators are asking to see a still-classified Justice Department legal opinion that justifies the administration’s position on drones and is binding on the entire executive branch.
White House press secretary Jay Carney declined Tuesday to discuss details, saying only that President Barack Obama takes seriously his responsibility to protect the United States and its citizens from al-Qaida terrorists.
“He also takes his responsibility in conducting the war against al-Qaida as authorized by Congress in a way that is fully consistent with our Constitution and all the applicable laws,” Carney said.
Carney said care is taken to execute the strikes with precision and avoid the loss of innocent life.
“These strikes are legal, they are ethical and they are wise,” Carney said.
Controversy over U.S. policy for drone attacks mushroomed after a September 2011 drone strike in Yemen killed Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan, both U.S. citizens.
In a speech last March, Attorney General Eric Holder said that in assessing when a targeted killing against a U.S. citizen is legal, the government must determine after careful review that a citizen poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the U.S. Brennan had made a similar speech justifying the strikes as self-defense against imminent threat of attack.
Asked Tuesday about the definition of “imminent threat” at a news conference on an unrelated topic, Holder said that “so many of these things are fact-based” and that “you can’t examine the terms without reference to the facts.” He said such details can be discussed only in a classified setting.
“Our primary concern is to keep the American people safe, but do so in a way that is consistent with our law and our values,” Holder said.
The Justice memo says that delaying action against U.S. citizens who are linked to al-Qaida would create an unacceptably high risk because some al-Qaida leaders are continually plotting attacks on the U.S., and the U.S. may not always be aware of each specific plot as they develop.
This week, a bipartisan group of 11 senators asked President Barack Obama for all legal opinions underlying the authority to kill American citizens. The newly disclosed Justice Department document, first reported by NBC News on Monday night, represents an unclassified summary of those legal opinions and may have been prepared to deflect demands to see the actual classified legal opinions.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that her panel received the unclassified document, and others, from the administration in June 2012 on a confidential basis. She said this document, coupled with other documents and closed briefings, “has allowed the Intelligence Committee to conduct appropriate and probing oversight into the use of lethal force.”
Noting that she had been calling for public release of the legal basis for using lethal force, particularly against U.S. citizens, for more than a year, Feinstein said with disclosure of the white paper “the American people can review and judge the legality of these operations.”
She added, however, that the committee continues to seek the actual legal opinions that provide details not contained in the white paper.
The Justice memo does require that capture of a terrorist suspect not be feasible and that any such lethal operation by the United States targeting a person comply with fundamental law-of-war principles.
“A decision maker determining whether an al-Qaida operational leader presents an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States must take into account that certain members of Al-Qaida ... are continually plotting attacks against the United States” and that “al-Qaida would engage in such attacks regularly to the extent it were able to do so,” says the document.
The document also says that a decision maker must take into account that “the U.S. government may not be aware of all al-Qaida plots as they are developing and thus cannot be confident that none is about to occur; and that ... the nation may have a limited window of opportunity within which to strike in a manner that both has a high likelihood of success and reduces the probability of American casualties.”
With this understanding, the document added, a high-level official could conclude, for example, that an individual poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States where he is an operational leader of al-Qaida or an associated force and is personally and continually involved in planning terrorist attacks against the United States.
The American Civil Liberties Union said the document is “profoundly disturbing.”
“It’s hard to believe that it was produced in a democracy built on a system of checks and balances,” the ACLU said.
The document says that the use of lethal force would not violate the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution when a targeted person is an operational leader of an enemy force and an informed, high-level government official has determined that he poses an imminent threat of violent attack against the U.S.
The document said the courts have no role to play in the matter.
“Under the circumstances described in this paper, there exists no appropriate judicial forum to evaluate these constitutional considerations. It is well established that ‘matters intimately related to foreign policy, and national security are rarely proper subjects for judicial intervention,”’ the document said. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7802 | Winter storm blankets Great Plains with snow
By JIM SALTERAssociated Press
Feb 21 2013 11:18 pm
U.S. Postal Service employee Craig Conner tries to navigate a mail cart to his vehicle Thursday in downtown St. Joseph, Mo. ST. LOUIS (AP) — Blinding snow, at times accompanied by thunder and lightning, bombarded much of the nation’s midsection Thursday, causing whiteout conditions, shutting down large swaths of interstate highways and forcing schools, businesses and even state legislatures to close.
Kansas was the epicenter of the winter storm, with parts of the state buried under 14 inches of powdery snow, but winter storm warnings stretched from eastern Colorado through Illinois. Freezing rain and sleet were forecast for southern Missouri, southern Illinois and Arkansas. St. Louis received all of the above – a treacherous mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Several accidents were blamed on icy and slushy roadways, including two fatal accidents. Most schools in Kansas and Missouri, and many in neighboring states, were closed. Legislatures shut down in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska and Iowa.
“Thundersnow” rumbled through Kansas and Missouri earlier Thursday. National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Truett said that’s the result of an unstable air mass, much like a thunderstorm.
“Instead of pouring rain, it’s pouring snow,” Truett said. And pouring was a sound description, with snow falling at a rate of 2 inches per hour or more in some spots.
Topeka got 3 inches of snow in one 30-minute period, leaving medical center worker Jennifer Carlock to dread the drive home.
“It came on fast,” Carlock said as she shoveled around her car. “We’re going to test out traction control on the way home.”
Snow totals passed the foot mark in many places: Monarch Pass, Colo., had 17½ inches, Hutchinson, Kan., 14 inches and Wichita, Kan., 13 inches. A few places in far northern Oklahoma saw between 10 to 13½ inches of snow. The National Weather Service said up to 18 inches of snow were possible in central Kansas.
With that in mind, Kansas transportation officials – and even the governor – urged people to simply stay home.
Drivers were particularly warned away from the Kansas Turnpike, which had whiteout conditions. Interstate 70 was also snow-packed and a 90-mile stretch of that road was closed between Salina and Hays.
“If you don’t have to get out, just really, please, don’t do it,” Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback said.
Travelers filled hotels rather than skating across dangerous roadways. At the Econo Lodge in WaKeeney, Kan., assistant manager Michael Tidball said the 48-room hotel was full.
But there were a few that came down with cabin fever, like Jennifer McCoy of Wichita. She loaded her nine children – ages 6 months to 16 years – in a van for lunch at Applebee’s.
“I was going crazy, they were so whiny,” McCoy said. They planned to build an igloo after lunch.
Just south of Wichita near the small community of Clearwater, Scott Van Allen had already shoveled the sidewalks and was on his tractor clearing the driveway of the 10 inches of snow. For once, he didn’t mind the task.
“I kind of enjoyed it this time,” he said. “We were certainly needing the moisture terribly.”
The storm brought some relief to a region of the country that has been parched for nearly a year, engulfed in the worst drought in decades. Climatologists say 12 inches of snow is equivalent to about 1 inch of rain, depending on the density of the snow.
Vance Ehmke, a wheat farmer near Healy, Kan., said the nearly foot of snow was “what we have been praying for.”
“The big question is, `Is the drought broke?’ “ Ehmke asked.
Near Edwardsville, Ill., farmer Mike Campbell called the snow – or any precipitation – a blessing after a bone-dry growing season in 2012. He hopes it is a good omen for the spring.
“The corn was just a disaster,” Campbell said of 2012.
In Colorado, the U.S. Forest Service planned to take advantage of the snow to burn piles of dead trees on federal land.
Near the Nebraska-Kansas border, as much as 8 inches fell overnight, while western Nebraska saw about half of that amount, National Weather Service forecaster Shawn Jacobs said. Areas in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle also had up to 8 inches of snow.
Elsewhere, Arkansas saw a mix of precipitation – a combination of hail, sleet and freezing rain in some place, 6 inches of snow in others. Forecasters warned northern Arkansas could get a half-inch of ice.
Two fatal accidents were attributed to winter weather on Wednesday. In Oklahoma, 18-year-old Cody Alexander of Alex died when his pickup truck skidded into oncoming traffic and hit a truck. And in Nebraska, 19-year-old Kristina Leigh Anne Allen of Callaway died when a SUV lost control, crossed the median and struck her car.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency Thursday morning. Kansas City International Airport shut down by midmorning; more than 320 flights were canceled at Lambert Airport in St. Louis.
The University of Missouri canceled classes for one of the few times in its 174-year history. At a nearby Wal-Mart, some students passed the ice scrapers and snow melt, heading directly to the aisles containing sleds and alcohol.
“This isn’t our usual Thursday noon routine,” Lauren Ottenger, a senior economics major from Denver, said as she stockpiled supplies.
Alex Sosnowski, a meteorologist for Accuweather, said the storm will push off into the Great Lakes and central Appalachians, and freezing rain could make it as far east and south as North Carolina. He also said a “spin-off” storm was expected to create heavy snow in New England on Saturday, and could push Boston to a February record.
Accuweather said that by the time the storm dies out, at least 24 states will be affected.
Associated Press writers Chris Clark in Kansas City, Mo.; Alan Scher Zagier and Jordan Shapiro in Columbia, Mo.; David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Mo.; Josh Funk and Nelson Lampe in Omaha, Neb.; John Hanna in Topeka, Kan.; Roxana Hegeman in Wichita, Kan.; Tim Talley in Oklahoma City; David Warren in Dallas; Chuck Bartels in Little Rock, Ark.; Jim Suhr in St. Louis; and Steven K. Paulson in Denver contributed to this report. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7843 | Good News! - Myanmar: Prisoner of Conscience Myat Nu Khaing Released (UA 237/15)
Myat Nu Khaing, medical doctor and former election candidate, was released from Insein prison in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, on 17 April. She was released as part of a Presidential pardon which...
Your rights in jeopardy, global assault on freedoms, warns Amnesty International
International protection of human rights is in danger of unravelling as short-term national self-interest and draconian security crackdowns have led to a wholesale assault on basic freedoms and rig...
Amnesty International’s Annual State of the World Report Slams Governments, Including the U.S., for Global Assault on Freedoms
On the launch of its 2015 State of the World report, Amnesty International USA urged President Obama to use his last year in office to bring U.S. laws and policies in line with international human...
Amnesty International State of the World 2015-2016 | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7858 | Army competition switches to video for interviews
By BROCK VERGAKIS , Associated Press Jul. 31, 2013 9:17 AM ET
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Some contestants for the Army's soldier of the year no longer compete against one another in person, but now must be judged remotely. It's another change prompted by federal budget cuts.This week, in a conference room in a modern Army office building, a camouflage-clad sergeant major barked out orders like the director on a film set.He told a handful of uniformed soldiers on posts across the country to move a camera up — no down — so he could get a full view of the person standing in front of him on each of their bases. He needed to see not just their faces, but their boots too. The lighting had to be just right; he wanted to judge their demeanor when they entered a room.Every detail was important."We don't want the soldier behind the desk. That's not going to work," a frustrated Sgt. Maj. Jerry Taylor told soldiers viewing him from a conference room at Fort Benning, Ga. "I've been to Fort Benning. The whole post don't have tables in every conference room."Taylor was speaking to a camera at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, where the Army's Training and Doctrine Command is based. The command is in the final days of its annual Soldier of the Year contest and for the first time, the command is conducting board interviews with contestants around the country via video-teleconference. Army officials say it is the first of the service's 12 major commands to make that switch for the competition.The Defense Department has been required to cut nearly $42 billion by the end of September. The Army's share of the automatic cuts over that period has been $7.6 billion.Ordinarily, the soldiers would travel to Fort Eustis for four to five days of competition where they would directly compete with and learn from each other. That shared knowledge is particularly valuable for TRADOC soldiers, who are responsible for running the Army's basic training as well as more advanced specialty training and education programs at posts around the country.Among other things, the competition includes a physical fitness test, land navigation, a written exam and a 12-mile march. With a soldier of the year and non-commissioned officer of the year being named Thursday, several contestants were only a few points apart and the live interviews were going to determine the winner. Four interviewers — including Taylor — planned to question and score each soldier Wednesday. The questions can range from Army doctrines and mottos to the U.S. Constitution."The top contenders, those scores are pretty close. So it's going to come down to who has the most knowledge," Taylor said. "This can go either way."A final dress rehearsal using the technology took place Tuesday just hours before two days of interviews with soldiers on 11 bases around the U.S. were set to begin.The limitations of relying on technology to make small distinctions quickly became evident. The video quality on the large screens broadcasting from each base was a little fuzzy. While soldiers could easily be made out, their facial expressions could not. Audio on some bases was clearer than others. It was not clear if the high-pressure atmosphere of sitting just a few feet away from senior Army leaders could truly be duplicated."Would it be better to have them here in person? I really do believe that it would be. But we couldn't afford to do that, so this is the next best thing," Taylor said.Army officials said it was difficult to pinpoint the savings from doing the competition remotely. In part, that's because travel costs vary depending on which bases soldiers come from each year. But the soldiers typically travel with their immediate supervisors and have their meals and lodging paid for by the Army.Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Dailey said this year's changes would likely continue in the future as the Army continues looking to cut costs."Everybody knows that sequestration is here and we've got to save money," Dailey said. But he added that this program benefits the entire command, not just the winning soldier."It builds inspiration, esprit de corps with the units, the drive for soldiers to want to be the best. ... Will the Army function without it? I'm sure it will. Will the Army be better with it? Absolutely."The winner of the soldier of the year competition will advance to the Armywide Best Warrior competition this fall, which pits the winners of all 12 major Army commands around the globe against each other at Fort Lee, Va.Soldiers in the running for the Training and Doctrine Command title are based at Fort Huachuca, Ariz.; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Sill, Okla.; Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Fort Lee, Va.; Fort Knox, Ky.; Fort Rucker, Ala.; Fort Meade, Md.; Fort Jackson, S.C.___Brock Vergakis can be reached at www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis
Jul. 31, 2013 9:17 AM ET
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — Some contestants for the Army's soldier of the year no longer compete against one another in person, but now must be judged remotely. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7893 | Man held over 1992 Johanna murder
A man has been arrested over the murder of 14-year-old Johanna Young in Norfolk in December 1992 (Norfolk Police/PA)
A man has been arrested over the murder of a teenage girl who disappeared more than 20 years ago.
Johanna Young was 14 when she went missing from her family home in Watton, Norfolk, on December 23 1992.
Her partially clothed body was found, covered in scratches and lying face down in water, on Boxing Day.
Today, Norfolk Police said a man in his 40s from the Watton area had been arrested. A spokesman added: "The man remains in custody and police inquiries continue."
Johanna's parents, Carol and Robert Young, recently made a fresh appeal for information on the 21st anniversary of her disappearance. Mrs Young, 58, said: "We do celebrate Christmas but it's never quite the same.
"We tried to carry on for the sake of our other children, and as a family we just continue the best we can, but Johanna is in our thoughts all the time."
Mr Young, 60, described Johanna as "full of fun and always up to tricks".
On the night she went missing, the family presumed Johanna had stayed at her boyfriend's parents' home because it was a foggy night. Her alarm clock went off at 6am on Christmas Eve because she was due to go on her paper round. Her family realised she was gone and called the police. Officers searched the town and surrounding countryside in the hope of finding her alive.
After her body was recovered, investigations targeted local men and although three people were arrested and questioned, no charges were brought. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7904 | ‘One day at a time, and be happy’
Caption(Photo contributed)Blake and Eunice MorrisBy Goldie Currie
- gcurrie@bcrnews.comDOVER –�Blake and Eunice Morris of Dover celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Wednesday.
Earlier this week, they were willing to sit down and retell the story of how they met ... and how they were engaged a day-and-a-half before catching a midnight train to Kahokia, Mo., in 1943 to elope.The couple first met in passing at a nightclub in Spring Valley, but it took awhile before they actually had a first date.“He was so shy,” Eunice said. “He had his brother ask me for the first date.”Shortly after, Blake went into the service, but their relationship continued.Eunice said she always teased Blake saying he would have to ask her mother, who was a “strong woman” for permission before proposing.“He never did,” she said. “He just said, ‘Someday we’ll be marred,’ and that’s it.”As the couple thought back on this memory they chuckled, Blake especially.“She was old enough,” he said as Eunice remembered being 21 when he finally popped the big question.Blake proposed during a short break from the service. Within days before having to return, they quickly decided to catch a single-car train to Kahokia.“It had people; it had chickens; and it had eggs and cream on it,” Eunice laughed.They were married by a Methodist minister in his home. Afterward, they ate asparagus and sauerkraut for lunch, took a taxi to the train station where they caught a train back to Kewanee. When they arrived, they hitched-hiked to his sister’s home in rural Kewanee where they spent the night before getting a ride back to Princeton.“That was the honeymoon,” laughed Eunice. “It was wartime, and gas was rationed.”In September 1944, Blake returned from the service and worked a bit before purchasing a farm west of Tiskilwa. Throughout the years they moved five times, but spent 32 years on a farm in rural Princeton.Blake said they always had “good neighbors.”“It didn’t matter where we lived, we had wonderful neighbors,” he said. “We didn’t have any trouble with them at all. We enjoyed them.”“We farmed all our lives, which I thought was a very good living,” Eunice said.While raising their three daughters and keeping up with the farm, the Morris family kept quite busy throughout the years.“When I was first married, it was wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday. Wednesday you shopped for groceries. Thursday you cooked, and then there was Friday and Saturday … There was mending somewhere in there, too. It was a regular routine,” Eunice said.What’s their secret for 70 years of marriage. Eunice said there isn’t one.“Not in our case anyhow,” she said. “You take one day at a time, and be happy.”On Wednesday, the Morrises ate coconut cream pie and played cards with their good friends, Joyce and Jerry Linker of Malden.“They are such good friends. They take such good care of us,” Eunice said.Joyce said one thing she admired about the Morrises was once a week they used to visit every resident in the area nursing homes ... even if they didn’t know them.
“They did it for many years and put a spark in a lot of peoples’ lives,” Joyce said.Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7911 | Work & Family Site
BellaOnline's Work & Family Editor
Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, And The Unexpected On The Journey To Motherhood
Guest Author - Sonja Meyer"Misconceptions: Truth, Lies, And The Unexpected On The Journey To Motherhood," by Naomi Wolf. (Anchor Books/Random House, 2003; 340 pages; paperback, $14). This is certainly not your traditional book about pregnancy and motherhood. In fact, one of its purposes is to critically examine what best-selling author Wolf says is lacking in most books available to pregnant women today. Wolf relies on the journal she kept during her first pregnancy as well as conversations with many women who share the trials, pains, and life-altering forces, both good and bad, of pregnancy and new motherhood. She looks at how the role of motherhood is perceived in our society. She also describes how being newly pregnant affects her feminist views, her stance on abortion and her sense of self. Much of the book is an extremely critical review of how the medical community treats women, of what she says is the sterile --- both clinically and emotionally --- hospital setting where epidurals and episiotomies are the norm and compassionate, empowering deliveries are not. She embraces the idea of caring and skilled midwives. She describes old-time methods of allowing women to self-pace their labor, acknowledge and deal with their pain, and find delivery poses and methods that work for individual women and not for the convenience of a health care system. Saying she is not writing a "Hallmark card," she details many problems she says other books gloss over: postpartum depression; the loss of liberty that comes with breastfeeding; the way society expects women to unflinchingly sacrifice themselves for the good of their children; the pain and lingering bad feelings of a cesarean birth; and more.
For all the bad, Wolf, in the end, holds onto the good. She describes both the challenges and joys of nursing, and shares how she falls in love with her baby: "Even with the rude lessons in how low my status had become, there was abundant recompense: a love that flayed me with its tenderness. To put my cheek against hers, to be able to still her cries, was a joy and a privilege." Later, she says: "It is no dilution of our great love for our children to honor the effort that women make." What does she say is the answer for pregnant women and new mothers, whom she calls "the front-line warriors for our species"? She calls for more flextime that allows both parents to cycle in and out of the workplace, compensated for time off with a kind of Social Security; at least six months of paid Family Leave; on-site day care; an overhaul of the "birthing industry" to support midwifery with obstetrical backup; and more.
Wolf calls for a "Motherhood Feminism," a vocal movement to push these kinds of changes, including creating new social structures to bring children closer to work. "Women should not have to choose between two such starkly exclusive worlds as 'work' and 'home with kids.'" And when women are home with their newborns, they should not be penalized financially.
"The real transformation is one of the heart," Wolf declares. "It will be a revolution when we don't just say that mothers are important. It will be a revolution when we finally start treating motherhood and caring for children in general as if it were truly the most important task of all."
This book is at times depressing and overall very critical of the health care system and of society in general. However, even if you do not agree with every detail of Wolf's exposition (for example, you may not have had as bad an experience with your own hospital deliveries), you will still find plenty to contemplate in her narrative. It is densely-packed with issues you can debate with others (like the status of mothers and the future of working women) and will have you examining your own life.
For FREE email updates, subscribe to the Work & Family Newsletter
Content copyright © 2015 by Sonja Meyer. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Sonja Meyer. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact
It's Not Always Be About PerfectionWhen the Shoe Fits...A Book ReviewIs Your Family Bored? | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7981 | Cambridge panel OK’s Google’s expansion - The Boston Globe
Cambridge panel OK’s Google’s expansion
Revised proposal gets City Council’s, neighbors’ support E-Mail
Kayana Szymczak for the Boston Globe A view of the rooftop public park between Four and Five Cambridge Center. Google wants to build on top of this park to expand its local office. By Michael B. Farrell
Cambridge City Council voted Monday night to approve a plan for Google Inc. to increase its Kendall Square office in an expansion that would halve a public rooftop garden.The proposal sparked an outcry late last month when it was presented to the City Council by Boston Properties Inc., Google’s landlord, after some councilors and residents said they were surprised by losses to the park, which sits atop a Kendall Square parking garage and is protected by an open-space covenant.
Boston Properties returned to the City Council Monday with a slightly revised proposal that includes bumping up the amount of new park space the developer will construct in exchange for reducing the garden and pledging $2 million to design and construct that green space.“This is a step in a process,’’ said Steve Vinter, head of Google’s Cambridge office, after the council’s 7-to-2 vote in favor of the plan. “Growing is a thing that takes time, and we are really appreciative of the work done by the community and the council.’’During the public comment session of the meeting, he said, “What this has really been about is about how to make Kendall Square more vibrant, and that should really be what we are discussing.’’
Vinter said previously that Google needs to expand in Cambridge to accommodate a growing workforce. Last night, he said Google’s local headcount was about 800, growing from 40 people just five years ago. The search engine giant acquired ITA Software Inc., another Kendall Square tech company with about 500 employees, in 2010 for $700 million. The expansion plan includes the construction of two glass-wall connectors that will link Four, Five, and Three Cambridge Center. Boston Properties said construction should begin later this year with an expected completion date of mid-2013. The expansion will add about 40,000 square feet between the buildings, and allow Google to spread out across 300,000 square feet of office space.
The outcry was focused largely on the connector between Four and Five Cambridge Center because it sits on top of a parking garage and will lop off 18,000 square feet from the rooftop garden, which dates back to 1983. Boston Properties needed council approval to build on top of the public park.“It is an oasis, an Eden, a marvel, something that Boston Properties should be incredibly proud of because of the stellar job they did and do creating and maintaining it. Destroying it should be the last thing on their minds,’’ said Heather Hoffman, a Cambridge resident and member of the East Cambridge Planning Team, who spoke out against the expansion.The East Cambridge group, which met with Boston Properties and Google officials last week to discuss the proposal, originally voted against supporting it in its current form, and instead offered an alternative plan. It suggested that Boston Properties attempt to extend the rooftop garden onto an adjacent building instead of developing another ground-level park nearby.Boston Properties said it explored that proposal but it is not structurally feasible.But on Monday night the East Cambridge group said its board members opted to back the revised plan, which Boston Properties submitted to the City of Cambridge last Friday.Charles Marquardt, a member of the East Cambridge Planning Team’s executive board, said his group would still like to see more of a commitment from Boston Properties to build residential units in the neighborhood in the near future. As part of the revised plan, which adds 50,000 square feet of open space to Cambridge, Boston Properties said it would present plans for about 180 residential units after the additions to Google are completed.Councilor Minka vanBeuzekom, who voted against the expansion along with Councilor Craig Kelley, agreed that the city should have a stronger commitment from Boston Properties that it would pursue residential development. “It doesn’t sound like a good deal to me,’’ she said.Despite the two opposing voices on the council, the overwhelming majority appeared eager to see Google expand in Kendall Square.“We value companies like Google in this community,’’ said Councilor David Maher. “We live in a very competitive economic development world right now - competitive around the country, but also competitive around the area. All of us saw how very quickly Boston was ready to pounce at the opportunity to court one of our companies.’’After the Google expansion plan was delayed last month in Cambridge, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino invited Google to consider moving across the Charles River. Michael B. Farrell can be reached at michael.farrell@globe.com. Get Today’s Headlines from the Globe in your inbox: Privacy Policy | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7991 | You are here: Brandon Sun > Local > Festival goers travel the world opening night Local
Festival goers travel the world opening night
By: Lindsey Enns
Freezing temperatures didn’t stop community members from visiting some of the pavilions on opening night of the 10th annual Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival Thursday evening.
The festival, which runs until Saturday, features 13 pavilions, including Brazilian, Colombian, Salvadoran, English, First Nations, German, Irish, Mauritius, Métis, Scottish and Ukrainian.
While each pavilion offers an arrangement of eclectic and traditional dishes, entertainment and drinks, they’re also giving Brandonites the opportunity to experience a new culture and travel around the world, without having to leave the Wheat City.
Salvadoran pavilion
Aside from the live entertainment, the focus of the Salvadoran pavilion is on delicious traditional Salvadoran dishes, including pupusas, a crowd favourite.
Pupusas are made of thick homemade corn tortilla filled with a blend of cheese and cooked pork meat that are served with rice and a spicy dipping sauce to add a little kick that’s sure to warm you up.
"That’s what people seem to like the most so we wanted to dedicate more time to the making of all the ingredients of it," said Jackie Rodriguez, master of ceremonies at the Salvadoran pavilion.
While taking in one of the many live shows, happening each hour throughout the evening and all day Saturday, Joiri Gibb and her sister Caelin were grabbing some dinner at the pavilion with their grandparents Friday night.
"The food is really good and it’s different, something I’ve never tried," Joiri said while munching on a traditional Salvadoran dish. "I’ve been coming to pavilions since I was really young and we’re glad we stopped in here."
Joiri and her sister also took in the first show of the evening and watched a live band and dancers perform. Being musicians themselves, Joiri plays the flute, piano and guitar, while Caelin sings, they enjoyed the entertainment.
"I like to experience different cultures and try different foods," Caelin said. "The music is really good."
The Salvadoran pavilion is located inside the Knox United Church, 451 - 18th St. and is open Friday 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturday 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.
While other pavilions focus is on food, drink and entertainment, the Global Village pavilion is all about unity.
"We wanted to include as many countries and ethnic groups as we could, a lot of them were invited and several did commit and came in so we’re working together," said Marilyn Walton, member of the Icelandic Canadian Club of Western Manitoba and one of the event organizers.
Due to a low number of interested volunteers this year, the usual Icelandic pavilion was turned into the Global Village pavilion so that they could join forces with an arrangement of other cultural groups. The Global Village pavilion is also a unique feature of the festivals 10th year anniversary.
"It’s been really nice because we’ve all been working really well together," Walton said.
Although the pavilion unites and showcases Egypt, Costa Rica, Kenya and Chile, there is still a large focus on the Icelandic community.
"There will be continuous entertainment throughout the weekend including a viking mock battle on the stage on Saturday afternoon and evening and also there’s a young Icelander from a university in Edmonton coming to sing on Saturday so that’s sort of our focus," Walton said.
Traditional Costa Rican cuisine, an assortment of Icelandic desserts, Turkish coffee along with early pioneer coffee known as "sock coffee" that is brewed through a sock, are being served all weekend.
The Global Village pavilion is located inside St. Matthew’s Anglican Cathedral, 403 - 13th St., and is open until 11 p.m. on Saturday.
English pavilion
For those looking to wet their whistles and keep warm in a more unconventional sense, visiting the 007 martini bar or trying some imported brew at the English pavilion would be one fine way of tapping off an evening.
They are also one of the few pavilions open until 12:30 a.m. on Friday and 1 a.m. on Saturday.
"We’re the late pavilion," said Mo Karrouze, chair of the Westman English Society. "It’s just a big cultural event and we like to mix it up a bit with live bands including Until Red for the first time this year, a Beetles cover band and Adele covers."
At the English pavilion you can expect to try some imported English beers, a martini for every 007 movie ever made along with some traditional stew, steak and kidney pies along with traditional bangers and mash.
Last year the pavilion attracted over 3,000 visitors and for the 10th anniversary volunteers are expecting about the same turnout.
"We usually have about the same every year because it’s not one the biggest holes but once people get in they usually stay," Karrouze said.
Jaennalisa Pavlin chose to visit the English pavilion for the first time this year on opening night and was really enjoying it, despite the fact that she couldn’t try any of the food.
"I’m a vegetarian," she said while tasting some imported candy. "I’ve never been to this pavilion before so we wanted to come out and see it and I'm really enjoying it."
The English pavilion is located inside the ANAF Hall, 31 - 14th St., and is open Friday 6 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Mauritius pavilion
While only a small island nation east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, Winter Festival goers will feel the big love of the Mauritian people at the nation’s pavilion located at the Knight’s Inn.
"It’s very easy going and they’re such caring and giving people," said festival goer Connie McClain.
With the drums pumping island music, dancers took the stage to perform traditional sega dances.
"It’s a cultural dance," pavilion organizer Kumar Hurrydass said. "We would do it at a party or celebration."
Two authentic Mauritian bands will take the stage throughout the weekend, combining sega and reggae into "seggae."
Now in its third year, Hurrydass said the pavilion has grown and evolved since it’s inception, beginning in the Global Pavilion its first year. The group has worked hard to bring the diverse food, music and culture of the island.
"The food is so diverse and everyone should try it," Hurrydass said, adding that the food is influenced by east asian culture and spices.
And it wouldn’t be a Mauritian pavilion without a dodo bird.
The bird represents a point of pride for the island and is featured on the nation’s currency — all information that can be learned on the pavilion’s cultural education board.
"Nobody else in the world has it," Kerslin Fumier said.
» Brandon Sun
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition February 1, 2013 Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition February 1, 2013 Print
Not yet a subscriber? Click here to sign up Freezing temperatures didn’t stop community members from visiting some of the pavilions on opening night of the 10th annual Lieutenant Governor’s Winter Festival Thursday evening.
Return to Local | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/7999 | CBS NEWS Delivers Seven Hours of Election Night Coverage Today
CBS EVENING NEWS Anchor and Managing Editor Scott Pelley will lead CBS NEWS' seven hours of division-wide, multi-platform original reporting on Election Night 2012 today, Nov. 6 (7:00 PM-2:00 AM, ET) from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
CBS NEWS will deliver up-to-the-minute original reporting on television, radio, online and mobile devices using the full force of the division's journalists and the latest, easy-to-understand integrated graphics and virtual storytelling tools. Election night projections will be made by the CBS News Election Desk.
The CBS NEWS team will use eight studios and three state-of-the-art control rooms at the CBS Broadcast Center for the coverage. Pelley will be joined in Studio 47 by the most experienced team of political reporters in broadcast journalism, including Chief Washington Correspondent and FACE THE NATION Anchor Bob Schieffer, CBS THIS MORNING Co-Host Norah O'Donnell and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson. In addition, CBS News correspondents will report live from around the country, including the key battleground states.
Byron Pitts will report from 60 MINUTES' Studio 33 and use virtual reality models of the House and Senate to explain the impact key races.
Anthony Mason will report from CBS THIS MORNING's Studio 57, where he'll deliver exit polling data on the race using fully augmented reality on-screen graphics. Mason will provide context for exit poll data in an effort to explain how and why people voted the way theydid.
In the field, CBS News will have correspondents and video journalists delivering breaking news from around the country. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8003 | Winners of 3rd Annual Jerry Herman Awards Announced
Tweet The Nederlander Organization and Hollywood Pantages Theatre are proud to announce major winners in all categories from the 3rd Annual JERRY HERMAN AWARDS, which took place on Sunday June 1st. KABC 7 Eyewitness News Entertainment Reporter George Pennacchio served as the master of ceremonies for the evening.
Grand prize winning students of a $1,000 cash prize and all-expense paid trip to New York City for a chance to compete in The National High School Musical Theatre Awards in July are Joshua Velez from HArts Academy ("Pippin") and Ayla Stackhouse from Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual & Performing Arts ("In The Heights"). Best actor & actress runners up included Sawyer Patterson from John Burroughs High School, Kelsey Smith from Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, Nick Sparks from Oakwood High School and Julia McDermott from Mira Costa High School. Notre Dame Academy's Luelle Robles won the "No Small Parts" Award for her role in Hairspray. The evening's highest number of awards went to Mira Costa High School's production of Peter Pan which received four awards, including Best Musical, Best Musical Direction, Best Lighting Design & Best Ensemble or Chorus. The Ed Lester Lifetime Achievement Award was presented this year to Paul G. Gleason.
Other awards recipients for the evening included Sheldon Donenberg (Los Angeles County High School for the Arts) and Holly Gould (Palos Verdes Peninsula High School) for Best Actor and Actress respectively. Winners in creative and technical categories included Santa Monica High School (Pippin) for Best Musical Staging or Choreography, Marina High School (Crazy for You) for Best Costumes, The Academy of Music at Hamilton High School (Anything Goes) for Best Orchestra, Agoura High School (Into the Woods) for Best Scenic Design & Chaffey High School (Monty Python's Spamalot) for Best Technical Crew.
Personalities from the worlds of Broadway, film & television performed and presented at the 3rd Annual awards ceremony, celebrating its first year on the stage of Pantages Theatre. Presenters included Shirley Jones, Peyton List, Kevin Chamberlin, Obba Babatunde, George Chakiris, Russ Tamblyn, Monty Hall, Renee Marino, Richard Chamberlain & Ben Vereen. Judges for the evening included John Bowab, Nancy Dussault, Brad Ellis, Cathy Rigby and Kay Cole.
The awards show also included production numbers from four participating high school productions this season. Performances included The Academy of Music at Hamilton High School performing the title song from Anything Goes, Mira Costa High School performing "Ugg-A-Wugg" from Peter Pan, John Burroughs High School performing "Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat" from Guys & Dolls and Los Angeles County High School of the Arts performing the title song from Footloose.
THE 4TH ANNUAL JERRY HERMAN AWARDS will take place on Sunday May 31st, 2015.
THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS is a local celebration dedicated to recognizing, encouraging, and rewarding achievements and excellence in high school musical theatre. It is the local award ceremony for THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS, also known as The Jimmy's, which take place annually at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway in New York City. Every year two students are sent to New York to represent Los Angeles at The Jimmy's to participate in a week long workshop and compete for the coveted Jimmy Award, named after the owner of the Pantages Theatre: James M. Nederlander.
Instituted by The Nederlander Organization, THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS is an initiative with the goal to stimulate new partnerships between theatres and the schools in Los Angeles while engaging entire families in the activities of their children and contributing to the development of future audiences for live performing arts. THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS will focus much needed attention on the meaningful work being done by today's dedicated teachers and celebrate kids with wide ranging talents on and off the stage.
THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS had a running time of 2 Hours and 50 Minutes.
For more information on THE JERRY HERMAN AWARDS or to register your high school for participation, please visit www.JerryHermanAwards.com.
For tickets or more information about THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS and THE JIMMY AWARDS, please visit www.nhsmta.com. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8015 | Home > Issues
Research dispels falsehoods about pioneering German Buddhist monk
By Janaka Perera, Asian Tribune, June 1, 2007
Colombo, Sri Lanka -- A three-year scholarly research on the life and times of the pioneering German Buddhist monk, the Venerable Nyanatiloka has helped to dispel inaccuracies and falsehoods about him – especially the allegation that he had affinities to National Socialism in the 1930s. The research work has been undertaken by a European bhikku who wishes to remain anonymous at this point of time.
The Ven. Nyanatiloka's most important disciple was Jewish whose lay name Siegmund Feniger. Born in Germany on July 21, 1901, he was the only child of a Jewish couple. He was ordained as the Venerable Nyanaponika and became adviser to Asoka Weeraratne, Secretary of the German Dharmaduta Society from its very inception.
The Ven. Nyanatiloka also ordained a Sinhala rodiya (so-called low caste) boy who was named the Venerable Nyanaloka. He later became the abbot of the Island Hermitage, Polgasduwa, Dodanduwa. It is inconceivable that these acts of ordination were the characteristics of a person who believed in racial superiority, anti-Semitism, class or caste distinctions.
After the British authorities allowed him to return to Sri Lanka in 1926, the Venerable Nyanatiloka resided in the Island Hermitage until the outbreak of World War II. A few years before war broke out another German Buddhist monk, the well-known Lama Anagarika Govinda wrote to him inquiring about some Nazi troublemakers who had visited the hermitage and later defamed the Ven. Nyanatiloka.
During the war years the British authorities detained all Germans in the colonies regardless of their political views. After detention in Diyatalawa , Sri Lanka , the Ven. Nyanatiloka and other German bhikkus were transferred to Dehra Dunn , India . There the detention camp was divided into two sections to prevent clashes between those leaning towards National Socialism and opponents of Fascism. On the section where loyalists to the German Government were quartered there were private rooms while on the opposite camp detainees were billeted in cramped conditions.
Since Nyanatiloka preferred privacy for meditation he was eventually able to obtain a private room in the section where it was available.
But there is absolutely nothing in his writings or speeches to suggest that he held anti-Semitic views or leaned towards National Socialism. On the contrary, the thrust of his life was to follow the path of the Buddha.
In today's Germany except for those in the lunatic fringe (neo-Nazis and skin-heads) calling a German a Nazi is considered highly defamatory and is the ultimate insult that can be hurled against him/her. It reduces the instantaneously the standing of the person in the contemporary German society. It has become a convenient weapon for some to discredit others.
Sri Lanka honoured the Ven. Nyanatiloka with a State funeral and commemorated his 100 th birth anniversary in 1978 but completely neglected to keep his memory alive either by issuing stamps, erecting a statue or naming a road or building after the Maha Thera. The same goes for his associates and pupils like the Ven. Nyanaponika.
But foreign Christian missionaries like Fr. Joseph Vaz and Fr. Gonsalvez who came from Goa to revive Roman Catholism and convert Sri Lankan Buddhists and Hindus to Christianity in the 17th Century have been honoured by the State with commemorative stamps and even institutions that have been named after them.
Sri Lanka can claim to be a leader in the Buddhist world only if she honours and keeps alive the memory of foreign spiritual seekers who came here, studied Buddhism and disseminated the message of the Enlightened One in their native lands. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8021 | Secretary Kerry Warns State Of Texas Over Plan To Execute Mexican Citizen
REUTERS/BeawihartaU.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gestures during a news conference at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali island October 5, 2013. See Also
Secretary of State John Kerry has intervened to delay the execution of a convicted Mexican saying his rights may have been violated, in a case that could endanger Americans abroad, a US official said.
Edgar Arias Tamayo was found guilty of the 1994 fatal shooting of a Houston police officer, and is set to be put death by the state of Texas next month.
But Kerry has warned that he was not given his right to see Mexican consular officials as the United States is obligated to do under an international convention.
In a letter, Kerry urged Texas Governor Rick Perry to delay the execution until a judicial review of Tamayo's case is completed.
Kerry "doesn't have any reason to doubt the facts of the conviction," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters, adding that, as a former prosecutor, the top US diplomat has "no sympathy for anyone who would murder police officers."
But it was clear that Tamayo had not been afforded consular access as laid out in what is known as the Vienna Convention.
Ensuring that the United States complies with international law "is critical to our ability to ensure consular access and protection for our own citizens," Harf stressed.
"How can we go around the world and ask other countries to give our folks consular access if they are in imprisoned (and) if we don't do the same thing here?" she asked.
Kerry has urged the governor to stay the execution until it can be determined whether lack of consular access "prejudiced the outcome of the case."
"This issue is particularly important to our bilateral relationship with Mexico," Kerry wrote in the September 16 letter, a copy of which was sent to AFP.
"If an execution date is set... it would unquestionably damage these vital US interests," he added.
Tamayo is, in fact, one of 51 Mexican nationals named in the so-called 2004 Avena case, in which the UN's International Court of Justice ordered the US to review whether their sentences and convictions were prejudiced by the violation of the Vienna Convention.
Texas has yet to comply with the ICJ order.
Mexico's ambassador to the US, Eduardo Medina Mora, wrote to Kerry in August warning the issue has become "a significant irritant in the relations between our two countries."
Copyright (2013) AFP. All rights reserved.
Secretary of State John Kerry has intervened to...
More "Innovators" » Get Law & Order Emails & Alerts
Law & Order Select More | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8022 | Germany Tells Italy: No, Nutella Isn't Healthy
MacGeekGirl via Flickr See Also
A German court has ordered Italian chocolate manufacturer, Ferrero, to change the labels on its popular chocolate product Nutella which indicate that it's healthier than it actually is. The Local reports that the product's nutritional value labels indicate the amount of fat and sugar in a 15-gram serving. However, the amount of vitamins and minerals said to be contained in the spread corresponds to a 100-gram serving. That's a quarter of a jar. So, in order to get those important nutrients, you'll have to also consume almost half of your daily fat intake.
According to reports in Die Welt, Frankfurt’s Court of Appeals has ordered the company to change its labels, threatening a fine of €250,000 ($338,000) for every future violation. Ferrero will appeal the decision, saying there is nothing wrong with its current labels, but it will also change Nutella's packaging in the meantime. More:
Darn it. Recommended For You | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8029 | Teacher's presumed killer ID'd, but dead
Thirty-two months after Steven Russo, a popular Seneca Valley High School math teacher, was gunned down at his home, investigators have identified his suspected murderer. But state police will never arrest 46-year-old Richard Laszczynski — the presumed killer. Laszczynski, who apparently spent the better part of his life battling mental demons, blew himself up last month with a homemade bomb at his Hampton Township home, authorities said. An autopsy ruled the June 27 death a suicide caused by a “blast injury to the head and neck,” according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office. “It appears he may have had something to do with his own death, while making bombs at his house,” said one investigator who did not want to be identified. But the source also seemed to leave open the possibility that Laszczynski's death by explosive could have been accidental. know.”Problems in the past
“He had a past history of problems,” the investigator said, declining to elaborate. Those problems — psychological, pathological or whatever, say friends — also may have contributed to his criminal past. Laszczynski in 1994 was convicted of the armed robbery of a post office in Warrendale. While serving time in federal prison, he would later become a jailhouse informant for prosecutors investigating a triple murder in Virginia. More recently, he was arrested last fall after attacking his wife and stepson with a hammer and knife, Hampton Township police said. But before Hampton officers could get there, the highly intoxicated Laszczynski used the same knife to intentionally cut himself on the side of his face, according to court documents. The assault and endangerment case that was pending against him in Allegheny County Court now is awaiting formal dismissal, upon his death. “He was a suspect in the Russo homicide,” Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said of Laszczynski on Wednesday. “But our investigation is still ongoing.” While state police suspected Laszczynski almost from the outset of their investigation, they never publicly named him or anyone as a suspect in the slaying. Russo, 48, was shot in the head Nov. 24, 2010, inside the log cabin-style home in Lancaster Township that he shared with girlfriend Heidi Smith. Russo's daughter, one of his two children, found her father's body when she came to visit him at his Route 19 home the day before Thanksgiving, police said. Police during the investigation obtained numerous search warrants. They simultaneously got court orders that kept those warrants sealed, arguing that public disclosure of the material could jeopardize their probe.
Quickly a suspect
But at least some of those court papers were unsealed with Laszczynski's death. In some of the documents is evidence suggesting why police suspected him of killing Russo. “I think it's pretty obvious,” Goldinger said. “He was the former boyfriend of (Russo's) live-in girlfriend.” The motive was an age old one. “We believe it was just jealousy,” said state police Cpl. Daniel Herr. And a lot of rage. “He had some real anger issues,” Herr said of Laszczynski. Heidi Smith, 43, of Beaver County, a second grade teacher at Mars Elementary School, briefly dated Laszczynski while she and Russo lived together in 2009 and 2010 at their Lancaster Township rental home. Smith declined to comment on Laszczynski's suicide or investigators naming him as a suspect in Russo's murder. However, in an interview last fall with the Butler Eagle, she revealed that she long believed Laszczynski killed Russo. She described Laszczynski as a “selfish sociopath” and a “monster.” So convinced of his guilt, Smith wore a wire and secretly recorded conversations in hopes of getting incriminating statements from Laszczynski to aid the police investigation. Goldinger declined to comment about those surveillance techniques. However, he acknowledged that Smith “cooperated with police from the very beginning.” It was Smith's decision to end her short-lived relationship with Laszczynski. But he was not so ready to walk out of her life for good. He made sure he kept in touch with Smith, whether she liked it or not. She admitted to the Butler Eagle that in the days leading up to Russo's killing she received “disturbing” text messages from Laszczynski. She would not disclose their contents. While the messages worried her, she acknowledged that she never conveyed any concerns to Russo.
A tragic event
On the morning of the Russo's killing, Smith left for work about 7 a.m. Russo had the day off due to the Thanksgiving holiday school recess. Police believe Russo was killed between 7 and 10:30 a.m. with a small-caliber gun. Investigators quickly ruled out burglary or robbery because the house was not ransacked and nothing was apparently stolen — not even Russo's wallet. At her lunch period about 11 a.m., Smith said she sent Russo a text message. He didn't immediately respond, which was out of character. Soon after, she got a text from her neighbor, telling her that police helicopters were flying over the house. Her principal granted her request to leave and she sped home. She was met by scores of police cars and troopers. “I ran up to a bunch of police standing by the door,” she told the Butler Eagle. “I yelled, 'Where's Steve?' One of the police blurted out, 'Steven Russo is dead.'” Within an hour, Smith was question by the police. She provided investigators with Laszczynski's name, and why she believed they should look at him as the killer. Police then brought Laszczynski in for an interview. But any hope of getting a statement ended quickly when he asked to speak to his attorney. Laszczynski's attorney, Carl Parise of Pittsburgh, did not return telephone calls left his at his office or his home Wednesday. Laszczynski's wife, Heather McClain, also could not be reached for comment. Police acknowledged that Smith was quickly ruled out as a suspect based on her cooperation and a solid alibi. About as quickly, Laszczynski went to the top of the list of potential suspects. Goldinger would not say how many names ever made it on that list. But police admitted it was a short list. “(Laszczynski) was the only suspect,” Herr said.
Family kept waiting
During the more than 2� years of investigating the case, police have methodically collected evidence and conducted countless interviews. “Our family got frustrated as time went by and there still was no arrest,” Jayme Russo, one of Russo’s three brothers, said Wednesday. It also did not help, he said, that police did not share much about their findings with the family. But the Russo clan never lost confidence in police. “Sometimes we’d like to know more,” said the 49-year-old Jayme Russo of Butler Township, “but the police have a job to do. Besides, whatever they did, it wasn’t going to bring Steve back.” Since the killing, the family has met regularly with Trooper Randy Guy, the lead investigator, and Patricia McLean, the lead prosecutor, to get updates about the investigation. Only recently learning of Laszczynski’s suicide, the family hastily arranged a meeting with Guy on Tuesday at the state police barracks in Butler Township. Tuesday, purely coincidental Jayme Russo assured, was his late brother’s birthday. “We didn’t know if (Laszczynski) was a prime suspect,” he said, “but we kind of had an idea.” Not surprisingly, police provided the family with few details about their case against the suspect or what Laszczynski’s sudden death means for the investigation. “The investigation doesn’t end just because he died,” Goldinger said. “We’re still going to try to prove he was the one.” He noted that police are “very close” to solving the crime once and for all. “We’re waiting for tests to come back on one more piece of forensic evidence,” Goldinger said. He would not elaborate. For the Russo family, Laszczynski’s death gives no comfort. “It’s the worst thing that could have happened,” Jayme Russo said. “It leaves a lot of unanswered questions. “We would have liked to have seen this go to trial and get some of those questions answered. But now there’s probably a lot we’ll never know." | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8032 | Exploring the lives and careers of lawmakers and journalists.
Veterans of World War II talk about their experiences during the war, including those of the "Doolittle Raiders", who conducted the first air raid on Japan in the spring of 1942.
Life and Career of Margaret Thatcher
Panelists discussed the legacy of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, her character, her successes, and…
Life and Career of Godfrey Weitzel
G. William Quatman talked about Union Army Major General Godfrey Weitzel and his role in the fall of Richmond and the…
Life and Career of Dalton Trumbo
Laurena Davis talked about the life and career of Dalton Trumbo, a novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and a native of…
Life and Career of Colonel Richard Hallock
Dan Crosswell talked about the life and career of Colonel Richard R. Hallock. Mr. Crosswell said that Colonel…
Medal of Honor recipients talked about their inspirations for joining the military and how they believe receiving the…
Reminiscences on Military Service
Former Marine Corps Commandant General P.X. Kelley (Ret.) talked about his life and career from witnessing the Pearl…
American Veterans Center 17th Annual Conference Opening Remarks
Major General Mark Brilakis opened the American Veterans Center’s conference with an overview of the…
The Last Air Force Ace Pilot
Retired Brigadier General Steve Ritchie, called the “Last Flying Ace", told the story of an effort to rescue a…
View all videos from this series About C-SPAN | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8040 | Twitter Facebook Google+ Share LinkedIn HomeNewsAmerican Express to sell half of business travel unit for $900 million
American Express to sell half of business travel unit for $900 million
The Associated Press NEW YORK, N.Y. – American Express Co. said on Monday that it is selling half of its business-travel division for $900 million, creating a joint venture with a group led by Certares International Bank LLC, in a deal that allows American Express to keep a stake in corporate travel while freeing up cash to invest in faster-growing businesses.
The Certares group includes money from the Qatar Investment Authority, which is that country’s sovereign wealth fund, as well as investment funds managed by BlackRock and Macquarie Capital. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter. American Express said it will use the money “to invest in growth initiatives.”
The business will still be run under the American Express Global Business Travel name. It currently employs 14,000 people and manages some $19 billion in corporate travel spending, according to the company. The deal does not include American Express’ consumer travel business.
American Express said it will keep close ties between the new joint venture and other units, such as Global Corporate Payments, which issues its corporate credit card.
American Express had said in September that it was exploring such a sale, which it said at the time might bring in $700 million to $1 billion.
The new joint venture is to be run by Bill Glenn, who is currently president of Global Commercial Services at American Express. That division includes the corporate travel operation.
American Express shares had risen $1.09 to close at $91.26 before the deal was announced.
Previous High Arctic boosts dividend 20%; rewards shareholders for strong results
Next New uncertainty arises over when communications went out aboard missing Malaysian jetliner | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8047 | Irrigators seek seat at Columbia River Treaty table
Pacific Northwest irrigators are concerned that they were left out of the process to determine whether to renegotiate an updated Columbia River Treaty with Canada.
Matthew WeaverCapital Press
Published on October 3, 2013 10:27AM
Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers public affairs specialist Amy Echols takes notes during the discussion on the draft recommendation of the Columbia River Treaty Oct. 2 in Spokane.
Buy this photo Matthew Weaver/Capital Press
Bonneville Power Administration public involvement specialist Kurt Lynam moderates the discussion of the U.S. recommendation for the Columbia Basin Treaty Oct. 2 in Spokane, Wash.
Tim Culbertson is secretary-manager of the Grand Coulee Project Hydroelectric Authority in Ephrata, Wash.
SPOKANE — Pacific Northwest irrigators should have a seat at the table as the U.S. nears its final recommendation on a Columbia River treaty with Canada, the manager of an Eastern Washington hydropower company says.The Bonneville Power Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division, which make up the U.S. entity in the treaty review, recently released a draft recommendation that the United States decide by mid-2014 to proceed with renegotiating the treaty with Canada.The treaty, designed to manage flood control and power generation on the river, expires in 2024. The nations can terminate the treaty with 10 years of advance notice.The present power benefits of the treaty are not equitable and Canada receives substantially greater value from coordinated hydropower operations than the United States, according to the document.Tim Culbertson, secretary-manager for the Grand Coulee Project Hydroelectric Authority in Ephrata, Wash., said he was concerned that the word “irrigation” doesn’t appear anywhere in the latest draft. Instead, the term “water supply” is used.Farmers who irrigate their land within the Columbia Basin Project represent more than 680,000 acres and $1.2 billion in agricultural production, Culbertson said. They also have a pre-existing water right for another 3 million acre-feet of water to fully develop the project.“We are pretty sure ‘water supply’ is the word that’s the preference of the sovereign review team because there will be competitive demands for those incremental withdrawals,” Culbertson said.Culbertson said irrigators want a seat at the table to represent their interests for the water right.“We firmly believe there was a disservice done that the sovereign review process didn’t include a broader stakeholder interest,” he said.Stephen Oliver, U.S. entity coordinator for Bonneville Power Administration, said there has been ongoing dialogue with irrigators in Idaho and Eastern Washington.The only reason “water supply” was used was to cover all the collective interests of the region, he said.“We understand that is very much driven by irrigation needs and interests,” he said.Oliver said the treaty will not make a difference in the amount of water moving through the river system annually. The timing might shift, he said, but there aren’t “massive differences” in flow regimes in different times or seasons.Other discussions are scheduled throughout the Pacific Northwest, culminating in a meeting Oct. 16 in Portland that can be attended in person or watched via webinar.The public comment period for the current draft statement ends Oct. 25. The U.S. entity will then work on a final draft document, which will be made public. The entity expects to make its recommendation to the U.S. Department of State by mid-December.A U.S. interagency policy committee will then decide whether to move forward with renegotiating the treaty. If they decide to continue, they will begin the renegotiation process, said Mike Hansen, spokesman for Bonneville Power Administration.Onlinehttp://www.crt2014-2024review.gov | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8064 | Home » News » US Pope Benedict to baptize California convert at Easter Vigil
Modesto, Calif., Feb 25, 2009 / 03:18 am (CNA).- A convert to Catholicism who lives in California will be one of seven people baptized by Pope Benedict XVI during the Easter Vigil at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
Ceres, California resident Heidi Sierras, 29, completed the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) at St. Joseph’s parish in Modesto last year. But through a series of connections—a parishioner who knew a nun at the Vatican—Sierras was chosen for an open spot for a North American to be baptized by the Pope at the 2009 vigil. Sierras told the Modesto Bee there was never any question whether she would make the trip to Rome.
“It's incredible," she commented. "I feel like, 'Why me?' I felt undeserving. But how could I say no to that? It's an incredible opportunity.” “It's almost like I'm going to be baptized by Jesus himself. It's an incredible feeling,” said Serras, who will also receive her First Communion from Pope Benedict. Her husband Dan was also enthusiastic.
"To say I'm excited would be an understatement," he told the Modesto Bee. "It's unbelievable that she's going to be baptized by the Pope, considering there are only seven people selected in the world. I'm extremely happy because it's a true blessing, what she's going to experience. Sierras reported that she did not attend church as a child, but her husband Dan was raised as a Catholic. He began attending Mass more frequently about three years ago, with Mrs. Sierras accompanying him. She decided she wanted to know more about the Catholic faith and signed up for RCIA classes.
Serras will be accompanied to Rome by St. Joseph’s pastor Fr. Joseph Illo, RCIA instructor Stacy Phillips and about 40 other parishioners.
The seven people whom the Pope baptizes every Easter in Rome are chosen to represent the seven continents of the globe and the universality of the Church. Read next » | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8103 | Ghost Town Greets Residents Returning to New Jersey Barrier Islands After Sandy
Emily Belz
| WORLD Magazine
| Tuesday, November 27, 2012
#disaster relief
#Superstorm Sandy
(WNS) -- Natalie Zozzaro is so tired, when she falls asleep at night she feels like she is going unconscious.
Last week, the state began allowing homeowners back on New Jersey’s destroyed barrier islands to do cleanup on their homes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Zozzaro took off work as a therapist at a school for the disabled, and every day she drives an hour and a half north from her brother’s house, where she has been staying, to the house she shares with her mother in Seaside Park. She cleans and trashes all day, and her boyfriend Dave McKay and her brother Jim Zozzaro join whenever they can. It’s been all-consuming: “I don’t even know what time the Giants [football] game is,” Dave said.
When the police come around at 3 p.m. to kick everyone off the island, Natalie drives another half hour north to the hospital where her mother is recovering from heart surgery (see "On the front lines," Nov. 20). Then she and Jim drive two hours back to his home. Then they do it all over again the next day. The last couple days were harder because their mother was admitted to the intensive care unit. The family has set up a rotation to be with her at all times, but she might be transferred to a hospital farther away. Thousands of people like Natalie have a home but no home after Superstorm Sandy. The strict curfews are likely to continue for some time, with the gas company predicting that its service would not be functioning in Seaside Park until the end of December. The storm caused extensive infrastructure damage to the islands, especially to the gas lines. The local police have checkpoints onto the islands, so only residents and contractors with special permits can enter. Because of these restrictions, the Jersey barrier islands have been uniquely cut off from the rest of the ongoing relief efforts. Natalie drove past the checkpoints, over a bridge, and onto empty, quiet streets. Police guarded the edges of town, as copper thieves had snuck in and looted earlier. One Salvation Army truck puttered around the town offering hot drinks and cleaning supplies. It was a stark contrast to the hard-hit neighborhoods in Staten Island, N.Y., for example, where the blocks were buzzing with National Guardsmen, police, relief workers, and church volunteers helping residents dig out. On the side of Seaside Park facing the bay, house after house after house displayed the red “condemned” sticker. One house’s porch dangled off the front, another had the bottom half kicked out from under it, many others had gaping holes where rooms used to be.
“Yeah, this one is condemned,” Natalie pointed. “There are just so many.”
The boardwalk is broken in pieces. But Seaside Park wasn’t hit as hard as some of the other barrier towns because it has tall dunes protecting the oceanfront. Earthmovers worked the beachfront. The storm washed sand onto the first block of houses, filling up sidewalks like snow after a blizzard. An elderly man repaired his roof. The few neighbors there jawed about what work they have left to do. The homeowners were mostly upbeat, happy to be alive. But Natalie said some weren’t ever coming back. When Natalie arrived at her house, she first opened all the windows -- despite a moldy house she had to lock them because of the threat of looters. Then she gunned up the generator, which had a web of cords running from it to fans and dehumidifiers around the house. She checked on the “drying room,” where she had laid out soaked photo albums and yearbooks in front of fans in hoping to salvage them to the point that she could at least scan them into digital files. Then she continued doing what she had done all week, hauling possessions soggy with contaminated water to the curb. Earlier in the week her boyfriend Dave heroically climbed into the crawlspace under the house to pull out soaked insulation. The Zozzaros had flood and homeowners insurance on their house, which covers some of the damage, but Natalie discovered after the fact that their policy has a hurricane rider that doubles their deductible. “We’d be better off without insurance,” she said, because she could access more benefits through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and relief groups.
One room was virtually untouched by the floodwaters -- Cameron’s room. Cameron is a 19-year-old with cerebral palsy whom Natalie and her mother have raised. His art and photos of him are plastered all over the house. The Zozzaros have a special beach chair for Cameron’s needs and a special bicycle where he can sit in the front and Natalie does the pedaling from behind. But Cameron’s biological parents have reentered his life and since July asked the Zozzaros to step back from contact with him. It’s killing both Natalie and her mother, who asked to see him in the hospital. “My mom and my sister -- Cameron is their life,” said Jim, who is the interim pastor at Redeemer Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Seaside Park.
On Friday, Natalie carefully packed up Cameron’s stuffed animals, books, and his Halloween costume from last year. It was the first time she looked really sad. She said she was glad Halloween was canceled this year because of the storm. “I want all holidays to be canceled until I get him back,” she said. She hoped his wheelchairs and bikes, all worth thousands of dollars, would be salvageable.
Dave described his girlfriend Natalie as “tough,” and that characteristic comes out in her unfailing optimism. As we were leaving the island we drove past a new landfill, many stories tall, of Sandy wreckage. If the islands get a lot of snow this winter, “it’d be a great sledding hill,” she said.
As Natalie left the island, she switched to what she calls “hospital mode.” She has to drive north to go check on her mother in the ICU. When word came that the hospital might have to transfer her, even farther away, Natalie said something that might sound pat but isn’t coming from someone who has suffered: “I might have been more upset about losing stuff if I hadn’t had such a crazy summer. I’ve learned that God’s plan is better than mine.”
c. 2012 WORLD News Service. Used with permission. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8109 | Kershaw County
County council revising procurement code
gphillips@chronicle-independent.com
Kershaw County Council unanimously passed second reading Tuesday of an ordinance that would modify the county’s procurement code that regulates purchases. Before the vote, County Attorney Ken DuBose explained a proposed amendment to the ordinance.
“It provides a more formal process to open requests for proposals. It (specifies) that they be done in public and that two people be present, that it be certified, and that … the contents of the requested proposals will not be disclosed until one is awarded,” DuBose said. “The reason for that is so they can evaluate the request and negotiate with anyone they deem appropriate. It just makes it more formal.”
Council passed the amendment unanimously and then did the same with the ordinance.
Council also unanimously passed third and final reading of an ordinance on the development of a joint industrial park with neighboring Chesterfield County. Carpenter said a Chesterfield County industry that wants to be part of the park requested a change.
“They have requested the inclusion in the industrial park. This council must approve it,” Carpenter said.
No one spoke during a public meeting ahead of the vote.
Council also passed first reading of an ordinance to modify the Kershaw County Unified Code of Zoning and Land Development Regulations.
“We’re adding an additional use to the B2 classification that would allow towing of vehicles,” Carpenter said. “B2 is a business category where you would have residential properties backing up to it. It’s been determined that conditional use allowing tow trucks in some of those areas is not going to be harmful. The planning commission has reviewed it and unanimously endorsed it.”
During public comments, county resident Sidney Butler spoke about improvements being made to Camden’s Amtrak railroad station.
“They are getting ready to remodel the station out here,” Butler said. “They’ve got the plans down at the city. That is the only place in this county that the train stops at. We pay all these taxes for everything. We get all these grants. Two years ago I was down sick and I had some family members that wanted to come here and check on me. It (the station) wasn’t fit for them to get off at.
“I told them if I ever got up again, something was going to get done. I called all the representatives and I told them, even the Public Service Commission. They told me I couldn’t do nothing. I said, ‘just watch and see.’ Now I’m seeing improvement to the property. The councils should work together, the city and the county council should work together to make sure the citizens of this county have what they need.”
County council will next meet at 5:30 p.m. August 5. All meetings are held at the Kershaw County Government Center, 515 Walnut St., and are open to the public. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8118 | The WSJ editorial page and Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan
Bogus numbers and rewritten history
By Ryan Chittum
The Wall Street Journal editorial board’s Joseph Rago makes a whopper of an error in a column Tuesday extolling Paul Ryan’s plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program that probably wouldn’t cover the cost of old folks’ health care.
Under the 2008 roadmap, seniors would get a straight cash voucher for $9,500 a year (the amount Medicare then spent per person), indexed to a blended measure of general inflation and the rise of health costs…
The 2012 budget, renamed the Path to Prosperity, indexed the payments to general inflation, starting at $15,000 (the amount Medicare now spends per person).
Wow. Medicare costs per recipient have jumped 58 percent in four years in a depressed economy? We’re doomed!
Fortunately, these numbers are just wrong. Medicare spent $10,945 per beneficiary in 2008 and projects spending $12,351 per person this year, according to its trustees:
That’s a 13 percent increase, or 6 percent in real terms. Too high, yes, but far from the WSJ’s apocalyptic numbers, and quite a bit less than private-sector costs, which jumped 19 percent from 2008 through last year, nearly twice the growth rate of Medicare’s costs.
So what’s with that $15,000 number? That’s what the Congressional Budget Office projects Ryan’s plan would cost Medicare per beneficiary in 2022, not 2012. That $9,500 was what Ryan pitched for 2009. Big difference.
Those numbers aren’t all that’s misleading here. Here’s Rago implying that Bill Clinton supported premium support/vouchers:
President Clinton’s 17-member Medicare commission, chaired by Louisiana Democrat John Breaux, endorsed the reform in 1999.
But it wasn’t Clinton’s commission, it was a bipartisan one formed by a law passed by the Republican Congress and signed by Clinton. You might as well call it the Gingrich commission. Clinton appointed just four of its 17 members, as many as Gingrich, and all four of them voted against it. Clinton himself immediately rejected the majority’s findings, and the commission itself, far from “endorsing” anything, deadlocked one vote short of the required 11 to approve a report. Or as the WSJ news pages put it back in 1999, “the 17-member Medicare commission met for the final time and failed, by a single vote, to endorse the plan as a formal recommendation to Congress and the White House.”
FactCheck.org was on this back in May of last year, responding to a Paul Ryan claim cribbed from the WSJ edit page, apparently (his office sent out a 2010 WSJ editorial making the claim as a press release), about the commission and premium support.
But any attempt to cast the 1999 report as bipartisan or suggest it was Clinton’s commission is misleading.
The Journal editorial page has done so at least eight times in the last two years in a bid to suggest that privatizing Medicare had more Democratic support than it ever actually did. First reader to prove to me that WSJ is genuinely interested in Bill Clinton’s thoughts on vouchers gets a complete set of Whitewater: From the Editorial Pages of the Wall Street Journal Vols. 1-5.
Anyway, the faster rise in private health costs means you have to have a certain amount of cognitive dissonance to claim, as Ryan and the WSJ do, that shifting health-care spending into the private sector would curb medical inflation. Here’s a Paul Krugman chart that shows how much faster private health care costs have risen compared to government-run Medicare’s:
Ryan Chittum is a former Wall Street Journal reporter, and deputy editor of The Audit, CJR's business section. If you see notable business journalism, give him a heads-up at rc2538@columbia.edu. Follow him on Twitter at @ryanchittum.
Tags: campaign coverage, Medicare, numeracy, The Wall Street Journal editorial page Trending stories | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8128 | Offbeat Travel
Sen. Clinton re-enters health care frayFormer first lady blasts Medicare plan; alleges 'deliberate neglect'From Phil Hirschkorn CNN RELATED
Sen. Clinton's remarks draw fire
Bush previews State of the Union
ROCHESTER, New York (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton put her pet issue, health care, at the center of her Senate re-election effort Monday, accusing the Bush administration of "deliberate neglect" of the issue."I'm ready to get back into the fray, knowing how difficult and controversial it is," Clinton told an audience of about 100 health care and business professionals at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "The status quo is not sustainable."In a campaign swing that touched down in the three most populous cities in upstate New York, the junior senator described the introduction of the Bush administration's prescription drug plan under the Medicare program as a "confusing and complex transition." (Watch Hillary, national GOP do battle -- 1:43 )Earlier, while visiting a pharmacy, Clinton said many elderly residents were paying far more for drugs than they used to and have found themselves hamstrung by paperwork."A lot of pharmacists are giving the drugs to their customers because they know how much their customers need it," she said. "One of the bills I've introduced is to make sure the pharmacists get reimbursed."Rochester has a population of about 200,000, and about 2 in 5 jobs in the area are in the health care industry.Clinton also visited pharmacies in Buffalo and Syracuse to call for improvements to the Medicare drug plan, which took effect January 1. Since then, at least 26 states have had to step in to make sure some of the poorest seniors receive needed prescriptions, an association of state health care officials said last week. (Full story)"We have people that are coming up that should have $1 and $3 co-pays that have $40 co-pays on their medications," said Dawne Rizio, a pharmacy technician at Rochester's Saratoga Pharmacy. "They're not getting their meds, or we're spending hours on the phone fighting with insurance companies."In her speech, Clinton said the administration was not doing enough to help the 45 million Americans who have no health insurance or to lower health care costs, which now consume 15 percent of the nation's gross national product."The response in Washington to our health care crisis has been to cut Medicaid, erode patent protections and to promote strategies that increase costs and reduce access to care," she said.Clinton said Bush's State of the Union speech January 31 was likely to include new proposals, which she characterized "in three words: on your own."She said the failed effort to provide universal insurance coverage that she led as first lady early in her husband's first term as president may have been "too much, too fast." But she added, "Today, we're making things worse with deliberate neglect and flawed policies that are diminishing the coverage that Americans have. That is shifting costs to others and leaving consumers, businesses and local governments with the bill."Clinton is seeking a second Senate term in November without a well-funded opponent, and she has not ruled out a run for the presidency in 2008."I'm just running for re-election now -- that's my most important job is to get re-elected," she told a supporter at the pharmacy. "But I need your help for that, too. I don't want to take anything for granted."Clinton's comments on health care were the latest in a series of sharp criticisms of the White House. Last week, she took aim at the administration's handling of the nuclear standoff in Iran, just two days after saying it would go down as "one of the worst" presidencies in U.S. history. Bush health care proposalsIn his national radio address Saturday, Bush pushed two proposals he said would limit health care costs. "For the sake of America's small businesses, workers, and families, we must also make health care more affordable and accessible," he said.Bush said he will ask Congress to make "health savings accounts" -- which would allow people to save for health care in tax-free accounts -- more available, affordable and portable."Congress also needs to pass association health plans, which allow small businesses across the country to join together and pool risk so they can buy insurance at the same discounts big companies get," he said.Last month, Bush visited a retirement home in suburban Washington to push the Medicare drug plan. He acknowledged that seniors could find signing up for it to be "a daunting task." "What we want to assure seniors around the country is that there is help," Bush said. "You can call 1-800-Medicare or you can get on the Internet with medicare.gov, ask your son or daughter, ask people in your church, ask people in AARP, ask people in your community center, to help look at what's available for you. "It's a good deal for our seniors." (Full story) Story Tools | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8130 | Airplane crash-lands into Hudson River; all aboard reported safeStory Highlights NEW: Flight's pilot, C.B. Sullenberger, emerges as hero of "miracle on the Hudson" All 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549 alive, FAA says President says he is inspired by skill, heroism of flight crew, rescue teams Flight was headed from New York to Charlotte, North Carolina Next Article in U.S. » Read VIDEO PHOTOS MAP TIMELINE NEW YORK (CNN) -- A US Airways plane with 155 people on board ditched into a chilly Hudson River on Thursday, apparently after striking at least one bird upon takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport, according to officials and passengers. iReporter Julie Pukelis used a camera and a telescope to get this view of the scene in the river.more photos » Everyone on board was accounted for and alive, officials said. About 15 people were being treated at hospitals and others were being evaluated at triage centers. Flight 1549, headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, was airborne less than three minutes, according to FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown. The pilot radioed to air traffic controllers that he had experienced a bird strike and declared an emergency, a New Jersey State Police source said. "I think a lot of people started praying and just collecting themselves," said passenger Fred Berretta. "It was quite stunning." Watch passenger describe landing » He said he was expecting the plane to flip over and break apart, but it did not. "It was a great landing," Berretta said. Air traffic controllers at LaGuardia saw the plane clear the George Washington Bridge by less than 900 feet before gliding into the water about 3:31 p.m., an aviation source told CNN. iReport.com: Are you there? Send images Don't Miss Passengers praise 'phenomenal landing'
Videos from crash-landing site
U.S. airlines fly 2 years without fatality
Statement from US Airways Web site
Witness Ben Vonklemperer said he watched the plane from the 25th floor of an office building. "If someone's going to land a plane in the water, this seemed the best possible way to do it," Vonklemperer said. "The way they hit it was very gradual. A very slow contact with the water." As the situation began to settle Thursday evening, the flight's pilot, Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, emerged as a hero, with praise being heaped on him by passengers, officials and aviation experts. "I don't think there's enough praise to go around for someone who does something like this. This is something you really can't prepare for," said former Delta pilot Denny Walsh. "You really don't practice water landings in commercial airplanes. Just the sheer expertise he demonstrated is amazing." US Airways CEO Doug Parker said it would be premature to speculate about the cause of the accident until the National Transportation Safety Board, which is sending a team to the site, completed an investigation. A source familiar with the situation, however, told CNN the pilot reported a double bird strike, but it was unclear whether that meant birds in both engines or two birds in one engine. The pilot initially said he needed to go back, and air traffic controllers started to give him clearance to do so, but the pilot said he wanted to head to Teterboro, New Jersey, because it was closer. That was the last transmission from the pilot, the source said. Passenger Alberto Panero said that within a few minutes after takeoff, he heard a loud bang and smelled smoke. Watch passenger say he heard a loud bang » "That's when we knew we were going down and into the water. We just hit, and somehow the plane stayed afloat and we were able to get on the raft. It's just incredible right now that everybody's still alive." Passenger Jeff Kolodjay of Norwalk, Connecticut, said he was sitting in seat 22A, near one of the engines. "The captain came on and said, 'Look, we're going down. Brace for impact.' Everyone looked at each other and we said our prayers. I said about five Hail Marys," said Kolodjay, who was headed to Charlotte to play golf. "The plane started filling with water pretty quick," he said. "It was scary. There was a lady with her baby on my left-hand shoulder, and she was crawling over the seats." Watch footage of plane in water » Police, fire and Coast Guard boats, along with commercial ferries, were quickly on the scene as passengers lined up on slightly submerged safety chutes. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said later Thursday that the plane was tied to a pier at Battery Park City in lower Manhattan. As night fell, Coast Guard and FDNY boats remained at the scene. President Bush commended those involved in the rescue. "Laura and I are inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew as well as the dedication and selflessness of the emergency responders and volunteers who rescued passengers from the icy waters of the Hudson," he said. Bloomberg also commended the pilot for not leaving the plane until he had checked to make sure everyone had been been evacuated. "It would appear that the pilot did a masterful job of landing the plane in the river and then making sure that everybody got out," Bloomberg said. "I had a long conversation with the pilot," Bloomberg said. "He walked the plane twice after everybody else was off, and tried to verify that there was nobody else on board, and assures us there were not." "There is a heroic pilot," said Gov. David Paterson. "We have had a miracle on 34th Street, I believe we now have a miracle on the Hudson." The temperature in New York was 20 degrees about the time of the crash off Manhattan's west side. See map of crash site » Dr. Gabriel Wilson, associated medical director of the emergency room at Roosevelt Hospital, said 55 survivors were checked out and cleared to leave from the scene. Those being treated at hospitals included a husband and wife with hypothermia at Roosevelt Hospital, as well as a flight attendant with a leg fracture, hospital spokeswoman Michelle Stiles said. Since 1975, five large jetliners have had major accidents in which bird strikes played a role, according to the Web site of Bird Strike Committee USA, a volunteer group dedicated to reducing the frequency and severity of the strikes. More than 56,000 bird strikes were reported to the FAA from 1998 to 2004, according to the group's Web site. People who believe they may have had relatives on the flight may call US Airways at 1-800-679-8215 within the United States, the airline said.
CNN's Mike Brooks, Jeanne Meserve and Mike Ahlers contributed to this report.
All About US Airways Group Inc. • Air Travel • U.S. National Transportation Safety Board | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8132 | What is it about mid-April and violence in America? By Tricia Escobedo, CNN From left, the Waco siege, the Oklahoma City bombing, memorial for the Columbine victims and Virginia Tech's Norris Hall STORY HIGHLIGHTSSeveral U.S. tragedies happened in mid-April, including Waco and Oklahoma CityWhile some are related, Robert Blaskiewicz says others are just a coincidenceBlaskiewicz teaches course on conspiracy theories at Georgia Institute of TechnologyHe says conspiracy theories are "a contemporary mythology, not unlike the Greek gods"Nearly 20 years ago, 76 people lost their lives during an FBI raid near Waco, Texas. CNN's Drew Griffin looks at those events at 8 ET/PT and 11 ET/PT Saturday night in "Waco: Faith, Fear & Fire." (CNN) -- Mid-April marks the anniversaries of several horrendous attacks in recent U.S. history: -- April 19, 1993: the FBI's siege of the Waco compound leaves 76 dead. -- April 19, 1995: the bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City kills 168 people. -- April 20, 1999: A mass shooting at Columbine High School leaves 15 dead. -- April 16, 2007: The Virginia Tech massacre kills 33. The Oklahoma City bombing was timed to coincide with the Waco anniversary. And it's unclear whether the Columbine shooters timed that attack to mark Adolf Hitler's birthday or possibly Waco. Is there something about this time of the year that makes these types of attacks more prevalent? For an answer, CNN spoke with Robert Blaskiewicz, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He teaches a course examining conspiracy theories and runs a blog, called Skeptical Humanities. CNN: Is there any evidence or are there any theories that suggest attackers are more likely to strike around this time of the year? Robert Blaskiewicz: I have seen nothing to suggest that anything about April itself makes people violent. That said, the reason why we see certain types of political violence in mid- to late April is because of a few unhappy coincidences: that Waco happened to fall on the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first battles in a war against a tyrannical oppressor. For many people who labor under the idea that the federal government is a tyrannical foreign oppressor like the British monarchy, Waco symbolizes a war of a government against its people. 1995: Oklahoma City bombing
Remembering Columbine, 10 years later
How Waco began
FBI split on David Koresh
[Timothy] McVeigh chose to bomb the Murrah Building [in Oklahoma City] on the anniversary of Waco because of that symbolic importance (indeed, the forged drivers license he rented the truck with had the date of issuance as 19 April 1993, the date of the Branch Davidian fire). If you want to squint, you might also lump in the opening of the Civil War to this part of the year, but the timing of that was chronologically tied to events following Lincoln's election, not the Revolution. Regarding the Virginia Tech shootings, my first impression is sheerest coincidence. Now, by raising this question, I think that you illustrate an important principle behind the conspiratorial mindset (something that actually undergirds even normal psychology), and that is seeing patterns in unrelated events. Seeing a cluster of completely unrelated events fires up the conspiracy theorist's mind. I have recently seen speculation about four different television personalities who recently have displayed incoherent speech during taping (including a news reporter and Judge Judy). Conspiracy theorists made the leap that they were all related and that there was probably some mind-control weapon being used. Go figure. CNN: How strong are the beliefs/outrage surrounding the Waco disaster, nearly 20 years after the siege? Blaskiewicz: I don't have a sense of the strength of the feelings about Waco specifically; however, after Oklahoma City, the numbers of militia groups dropped. Following the election of [Barack] Obama, however, there was a steep rise in the number of hate groups, which has been ably tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Political Research Associates. Interestingly, last year on the 19th of April, gun advocates had a rally in Washington (a sort of "bring your guns to the Capitol day") to rally behind the Second Amendment, even though the Second Amendment has not really been on the Obama administration's radar at all. For a while, it was difficult to even buy ammunition, since terrified gun owners started stockpiling it. [April]19th has become a sort of high holiday for those who think that they live under the thumb of a tyranny. --Robert Blaskiewicz, Georgia Tech professor
Columbine High School
Nonetheless, in the mythology that has grown up around Waco and Oklahoma City among self-identified patriots, the 19th has become a sort of high holiday for those who think that they live under the thumb of a tyranny. CNN: What do you think is behind the need to see patterns in unrelated events, such as several attacks that happened all around the same time? In other words, what purpose do conspiracy theories serve? Blaskiewicz: There are several possible answers, and I'm not sure any one answer is better than any other answer. People are extremely social critters, and part of what makes that possible is the ability to perceive others as deliberately acting in the world, in other words to detect agency. It's extremely useful in building respectful communities. Sometimes that faculty doesn't turn off when it should, and you associate "agency" with events and ideas that are unrelated. When a responsible agent is not easily discernible, that sense that something is still deliberate endures, and you are left wondering, "Well, who caused it, then?" You fill in the blanks. Conspiracy theories are a contemporary mythology, not unlike the Greek gods. Everything that happens has a reason, and the gods affect the course of human events through direct intervention. The ill-defined "they," whether referring to the U.N., CIA, international bankers, Jews or interdimensional shapeshifting reptilian space aliens living in the hollowed-out artificial moon (yeah, it's a real one), really seem to me to be a secular version of religious mythology. On the other side, when you are already convinced that agents are working to manipulate world events, people tend to seek out information that reinforces what they already believe. It's a tendency called confirmation bias, and it is a sort of perceptual filter for what you accept as evidence. Even the apparent clustering of events, in itself, can serve as evidence for someone who is looking for things to confirm their worldview, and allows the conspiracy theorist to discount reams of information that directly refute that belief. Each human brain comes equipped with a whole series of generally useful shortcuts to help us make sense of the immense amount of information that we have to process everyday. Conspiracy theories, I suspect, are simply an interesting (occasionally dangerous) byproduct of those mental shortcuts. Share this on: | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8195 | Washington, Monday, November 2, 2009
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this week's visit to Washington by the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, is an appropriate occasion to renew calls for the reopening of the Halki Seminary, without further delay. Founded in 1844, the Theological School of Halki, located outside modern-day Istanbul, served as the principal seminary for Ecumenical Patriarchate until its forcible closure by the Turkish authorities in 1971. Counted among alumni of this preeminent educational institution are numerous prominent Orthodox scholars, theologians, priests, and bishops as well as patriarchs, including Bartholomew I. Many of these scholars and theologians have served as faculty at other institutions serving Orthodox communities around the world. Despite occasional indications by the authorities of pending action to reopen the seminary, to date all have failed to materialize. Earlier this year, several of my colleagues from the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which I chair, joined me in a letter to President Obama to underscoring our longstanding concern over the continued closure of this unique institution. The continued denial of requests for the reopening of the seminary stands in clear violation of Turkey's obligations under the 1989 OSCE Vienna Concluding Document, which affirmed the right of religious communities to provide ``training of religious personnel in appropriate institutions.'' While there is no question that the Halki Seminary is the appropriate institution for training Orthodox clergy in Turkey , the Government of Turkey continues to refuse to reopen the school. In his address to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in April, President Obama said, ``Freedom of religion and expression lead to a strong and vibrant civil society that only strengthens the state, which is why steps like reopening Halki Seminary will send such an important signal inside Turkey and beyond.'' In a welcomed development, Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the Ecumenical Patriarch in August. In an address to a wider gathering of minority religious leaders that day, Erdogan concluded by stating, ``We should not be of those who gather, talk and disperse. A result should come out of this.''
Mr. President, I urge Prime Minister Erdogan to follow through on the sentiment of those remarks by actions that will facilitate the reopening of the Halki Seminary without further delay. I am told that the Theological School of Halki is situated atop the summit of the Hill of Hope. For those of us who have pursued this issue over the years, our hope has been that we would indeed witness the reopening of this historic institution. I remain hopeful and encourage Prime Minister Erdogan to act decisively and without condition on this matter before his upcoming visit to Washington.
Calling Upon the Government of Turkey to Facilitate the Reopening of the Ecumenical Patriarchate's Theological School of Halki Without Condition of Further Delay
Urging the Obama Administration to Support Efforts to Bring About a Resolution of the Cyprus Conflict
Condemning July 27, 2008 Bombings in Istanbul, Turkey | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8205 | Hate speech and the mainstreaming of extremism Save for later
The First Amendment protects the media or web messenger, but the message can have murderous consequences. By
Patrik Jonsson, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Atlanta — Violent suggestion posed as commentary has long been part of the tactic known as "leaderless resistance" popularized by Ku Klux Klan leader Lewis Beam in the early 1990s and co-opted by groups ranging from the Aryan Nations to the Earth Liberation Front.Since there's no direct incitement, the First Amendment protects the messenger. That the message is a suggestion, however, is often clear for anyone to see.Such strategies have for a long time concerned those who study the politics of extremism in America.
But in the wake of several high-profile and deadly attacks by anti-abortion, anti-government, and anti-Jewish extremists in recent weeks and months, the focus of the debate is shifting from the darker corners of the Internet and shortwave radio to the halls of some of the country's most successful and popular media networks and web sites.
A new factor that is "causing us even more concern than in the past is the mainstreaming of the extremism by people who should know better," said James McElroy of the Southern Poverty Law Center, in a speech given before a string of deadly, politically-motivated attacks this year, including the alleged shooting of a Holocaust Memorial Museum guard by white separatist James von Brunn on Wednesday.Critics point to popular mainstream cable figures like Lou Dobbs on CNN, who once falsely claimed that illegal Mexican immigrants are spreading leprosy in the US, and Fox commentator Bill O'Reilly, who repeatedly referred to "Tiller the Baby Killer" when talking about Kansas abortion doctor George Tiller, who was gunned down two weeks ago in his church.Commentators say they are simply offering analysis based on facts. And the demagoguery flows both ways on the political airwaves, with constructive debate being replaced on both the left and the right with venom and invective.Fox News' Dan Gainor tut-tutted the criticism in a column yesterday, calling it partisan hackery. "It's now the big theme in the media with the New York Times, ABC, CNN and lefty outlets like Salon joining a rising media chorus that conservatives are dangerous," Mr. Gainor writes.To be sure, there have been far more violent times in America, long before the advent of the Internet and increasingly partisan media. What's more, there's another counter-argument: The First Amendment, especially in angry times, can be a peaceful vent for pent-up social frustrations – surely part of the Founders' intent.Yet social observers like Thomas Palaima, professor of classics at the University of Texas in Austin, are discomfited – and conflicted – by the sheer growth and ratings power of hate-tinged speech. He specifically points out the reams of coded homophobia, racism, and sexism found in the comment sections of major national sports web sites."It's a moral swamp," he says in an interview. "After studying war and violence, I do not have a romantic idea about human nature. But historically almost all societies are based on redirecting individual desires and turning them into things that are social goods. I don't think by suppressing expression of these strong, violent emotions, hatreds, prejudices, that you do society a service. Yet I agree that somehow having them out there is also a problem."Barring Canada-style hate speech regulations, which make it a crime to even snarkily critique people based on their race or creed, the US is unlikely to curb the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech for everyone.But absence of legislation doesn't bar media firms and bloggers from taking a closer look at the effect of their stories, commentaries, and comment sections on viewers and readers.And to an extent, that's happening. MSNBC commentator Keith Olbermann said in the wake of Dr. Tiller's death that "we need to separate television from terrorism." Hate-filled e-mail from viewers caused Fox News commentator Shepard Smith last week to call out those who fill chat rooms and comment sections with "hate not based on fact.""More and more it seems like people are taking the extra step and taking a gun out," he warned.Indeed, even in the cantankerous, open forums of the US media, it is possible to go too far.Last week, Connecticut blogger Harold Turner was arrested and charged with inciting violence against lawmakers by warning on his blog: "Obey the Constitution or die!" He was angry over a law that would give lay Roman Catholic parishioners more power over church finances.Mr. Turner defended the post as "crude political hyperbole." He is to appear in court on June 22.
With the Holocaust Museum shooting, the Army is eyeing recruits more closely for extremist and gang ties
Holocaust Memorial shooting renews concern about military vets' ties to extremist violence
Hate groups decline: Is the US less hateful or just less public? (+video) | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8214 | Giant sing-along to help local food banks
Jocelyn Turner
Highways have taken their toll
Justice money can buy
Wasting tax dollars on self-promotional ad campaign
Senate should be a place of honour, integrity
New school not a replacement of West Highlands’ spirit
In defence of prayer
How persuasive are our political leaders?
AMHERST – The iconic song Imagine, written by John Lennon, may be heard all through Amherst this week. Empowering Beyond Barriers is hosting a sing-along in Victoria Square to help raise donations and food donations for the local food banks.
“Yoko Ono initiated it because of the 40th anniversary of the song, Imagine,” said Colleen Dowe, one of the event organizers. “We thought we could do it here and we did it last year in Victoria Square.”
Dowe said her group thought it would be a great way to help out the food bank while showcasing some of the great talent in the area.
“We have great talent here, more than I was ever aware of,” she said. “People jumped on the idea and loved it. It was something we could do that cost us very little money and the community rallied for it. Any time we can get the community to rally together is good.”
Susan Robichaud, one of the performers for the event, said there will be different acts, all performing their own version of the famous song.
“The Jazz choir from Amherst Regional High School is going to do one,” she said. “We also have Ed Cooke, the Fellas, Michele (Maltby) LeBlanc is going to do a version as well as Tony Robichaud and Michelle LeBlanc. Ms. Liz and Elizabeth Cooke-Sumbu are going to be doing a hip-hop version.”
Jim Scopie will be playing the song on the church bells at the beginning and end of all of the performances.
“I’m going to be doing a jazz version with a surprise accompaniment,” said Robichaud.
Last year, the event raised over $200 plus food donations for the food bank. This year, the singing will take place Thursday in Victoria Square, if the weather is good. If the weather is bad, the event will move into the First Baptist Church. Singing will commence at 12:30 and run until 1 p.m. All cash and food donations will go to both the Amherst and Springhill food banks.
jturner@amherstdaily.com
Amherst Regional High School, First Baptist Church Geographic location:
AMHERST, Victoria Square Colleen Dowe (left) of Empowering Beyond Barriers, and Susan Robichaud are busy getting ready for the Imagine No Hunger sing-along to take place in Victoria Square on Thursday. All cash and food donations from the event will go to the Amherst and Springhill food banks. © Jocelyn Turner - Amherst Daily News
Mom Jeans
October 28, 2012 - 11:28 I am a frequent supporter of the food bank and think this is a great idea BUT I think it's happening too soon after the recent Amherst Y Service Club food drive. Not only that but a couple of churches also held food drives. You don't want to go to the well too soon or too often.
October 28, 2012 - 08:54 12:30 - 1:00, or is this another misprint? | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8228 | Missing Northridge girl Nicole Ryan found in 'shock' in Woodland Hills
By Mariecar Mendoza and Eric Hartley, Staff Writers
A 10-year-old girl went missing from her Northridge home early Wednesday morning, triggering a massive police response until she was found in the afternoon with bruising and in apparent "shock" from the unexplained ordeal. After an 11-hour search, Nicole Ryan was found near a strip mall in Woodland Hills about six miles from her home, Los Angeles police Capt. Kris Pitcher said. Apparently she had been spotted by a person who recognized her photo from media reports and contacted officers who were at a nearby Starbucks at Oxnard Street and Canoga Avenue. Nicole was taken by ambulance to a hospital for a medical assessment and had "facial bruising and lacerations," Pitcher said. Pitcher said Nicole had been dropped off at the Woodland Hills strip mall by an unidentified person, whom police were still seeking Wednesday afternoon. She was not wearing shoes and had on a white T-shirt, though she was last seen at her home wearing a black T-shirt.Nicole was talking and walking in the hospital and appeared to be healthy. "She basically is in shock right now," Pitcher said. At a 4 p.m. news conference, police said they had not questioned Nicole in detail because they were attending to her medical needs first. Her mother said she had last seen the girl in bed about 1 a.m. Wednesday in their home in the 8000 block of Oakdale Avenue, the LAPD said. The mother went to check on the girl about 3:40 a.m., but she was not there. Her mother searched the house and then called police. The LAPD spent much of Wednesday searching for Nicole. Pitcher said officers and detectives from every division in the San Fernando Valley joined in the search, along with other officers and FBI agents with the juvenile abduction unit. "We launched a very large, house-to-house search covering a two-square-mile area," said Pitcher, commander of the LAPD's Devonshire Division.Police said there had been no indications of foul play and were no recent incidents that would have prompted Nicole to run away. The girl's mother told detectives that she did not have a history of running away. Neighbor Amanda Velasquez said she has lived behind Nicole Ryan's family for two years, and described the girl as reserved. "She is very withdrawn and very quiet. She doesn't say much," Velasquez said. Velasquez said she became aware that something was wrong when she talked with her 4-year-old son in the morning. "He came in my room about 3:30 or 4 and didn't say anything. Then, in the morning, he told me he'd heard a door slamming," she said. Nicole Ryan's family also seemed to be up late a lot, Velasquez said. "They are up at all hours of the night sometimes. I know because their lights shine right on my French doors," she said Staff writer Gregory J. Wilcox contributed to this report. mariecar.mendoza@dailynews.com twitter.com/LADNMarMendoza eric.hartley@dailynews.com twitter.com/ethartley | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8236 | California to move inmates over illness
By DON THOMPSON/Associated Press
SACRAMENTO -- State corrections officials said Tuesday they will comply with a federal court order to move thousands of inmates out of two Central Valley prisons where an airborne fungus has led to widespread illnesses.The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation does not yet know where it will put the 2,600 displaced inmates as it juggles the population within California's 33 adult prisons, department spokeswoman Deborah Hoffman told The Associated Press.Officials could seek an extension if they cannot completely comply within the 90-day deadline set last week by U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco.Officials had said they might appeal Henderson's order but then decided to comply.The judge's order requires corrections officials to transfer most black, Filipino and medically at-risk inmates from Avenal and Pleasant Valley state prisons because they are more vulnerable to health problems from Valley fever, a fungal infection that is not contagious and originates in the soil of the San Joaquin Valley.About half of the infections produce no symptoms, while most of the rest can bring mild to severe flu-like symptoms. In a few cases, the infection can spread from the lungs to the brain, bones, skin or eyes, causing blindness, skin abscesses, lung failure and occasionally death.The two prisons, which house a combined 8,100 inmates, are about 10 miles apart and 175 miles southeast of San Francisco."Transferring thousands of inmates is an extremely complex process. It will take time," Hoffman said. "We must identify where to send individual inmates and which inmates from other facilities can be transferred into Avenal and Pleasant Valley."Transferring less vulnerable inmates into the two prisons could create an additional problem if those inmates object."This is a hard question. We are concerned about the risk to other prisoners," said Don Specter, director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office and lead attorney in the lawsuit involving Valley fever. "The question is, 'How great is the risk?"'He deferred to J. Clark Kelso, who was appointed by Henderson to oversee medical care within the state prison system.Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver, said inmates who believe they may be vulnerable to the illness could challenge being moved into the two prisons if they can demonstrate that they fall into one of the excluded categories.Inmates who previously had the infection are exempt from the judge's order because they can't get it again. Inmates who don't want to move from the two prisons can decline to be transferred.The department has moved more than 560 inmates from the two prisons since January because they are considered to be medically at risk, Hoffman said. Hayhoe said an additional 397 at-risk inmates remain at the two prisons and must be moved by August.The corrections department will have to move far more inmates at the same time other transfers are underway.The department is set to begin a six-month transfer of 1,700 seriously sick and mentally ill inmates into a nearly $840 million medical complex in Stockton. The California Correctional Health Care Facility is designed to accept patients who cannot be treated in the basic medical clinics at other prisons including Avenal and Pleasant Valley.The department also is appealing a court order that will otherwise force the state to release 10,000 inmates by year's end to reduce prison crowding, a measure the federal courts have said is needed to improve inmates' health care.Moreover, moving large groups of inmates based on their race creates its own dilemma because most prison gangs in California also are racially segregated."That can dramatically affect the safety and stability of prisons," Hoffman said. "We have to be careful about sparking racial and gang violence."Henderson and attorneys representing inmates had criticized the department for not doing enough to protect inmates and employees from the potentially deadly Valley fever fungus, a problem that has been known for years.The state previously said it was premature to move inmates until officials could gauge the effectiveness of other measures, including installing air filters, minimizing dust and screening out more dust from entering prison buildings. They also wanted to wait until the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can complete health studies at the prisons, a report that is not expected until December.However, a preliminary report made public Tuesday from the affiliated National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health offered 16 practical recommendations, such as keeping doors and windows closed and sealing gaps in exterior walls, windows and doors.In one case, inspectors found that employees at a clinical treatment center at Pleasant Valley State Prison had been propping open an exterior door with a rock, letting in unfiltered air. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8237 | More NewsDistricts
Flood cash 'a drop in the ocean' compared to what is needed
/ Joseph Curtis, Social Media Editor / dailyecho_joe
IT’S just a drop in the ocean.
That was a council boss’s reaction after the Government revealed how much money it is handing out to fix roads and other infrastructure devastated by the winter floods.
Hampshire County Council is to receive £11m out of a total of £183.5m while Southampton City Council will get just £221,057.
City council leader Simon Letts said: “While we are grateful for any extra government cash the amount on offer is tiny compared to the massive cuts we have suffered in the course of this Parliament cut which amounts to £148 per person over the five years.
“This money will allow us to resurface about 0.3 per cent of our road network and represents a drop in the ocean in terms of the money we need to bring the roads in the city up to a decent standard.”
County council leader Roy Perry added that a figure closer to £50m could be needed.
He said: “It’s a very complicated picture but our current estimates have the damage to our infrastructure costing around £36m to repair.
“We are still waiting for the water to recede in some places so we can send divers down to inspect our bridges. I would not be surprised if our estimates go above £50m.”
Cllr Perry said it was a “significant contribution” and added: “We are grateful for this significant contribution to what we believe could be a liability of at least £35m, so getting a third of that initially is a really helpful first step.”
The county council has more than 5,000 miles of roads to maintain and Cllr Perry said fixing them “as quickly as possible” was a priority.
For residents in flood-hit areas the priority is on preventing such a scenario happening ever again.
Chris Egg, a part-time driver who was forced to leave his home in Budds Lane, Romsey, when it was flooded in February, said: “We need a permanent solution like a sluice gate or some diversion method to stop them flooding again. It was only sandbags and manpower that stopped it last time.”
Chris and wife Caroline are currently living in rented accommodation while dealing with insurers over their house.
He added: “The road looks back to normal now but there is a massive clean-up going on because of all the sewage that washed up. It’s not as pleasant as things may look on the surface.”
On top of the money being shared out to councils today, Chancellor George Osborne announced in the Budget that another £200million will be provided for pothole repairs in 2014-15.
Meanwhile the Government has also announced grants of up to £5,000 are available to homeowners to protect their property against future floods, to be distributed through local councils.
KSO16R
Good job we got parking charges etc to subsidise the repair bill.
Lone Ranger.
I thought that Slippery Dave said that "Money was no object" ....... Perhaps that was only for the Tory Heartlands .......
S!monOn
How soon before fraudsters abuse the system and claim some of the money meaning there be less for those who really need it for flood repairs....
derek james
1:13pm Fri 21 Mar 14
no shortage of money for "overseas aid" that frequently ends up in the likes of mugabe's bank accounts | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8245 | Dordogne-shire: How British expats could be be destroying an idyllic French paradiseBy TOM RAWSTONELast updated at 00:52 29 February 2008 Described as Britain 50 years ago, Dordogne is an idyllic village with more expats per head than anywhere else in France. But there are fears they could be in danger of destroying this paradiseTo archeologists charting the spread of ancient civilisations, it is the detritus of life that so often holds the key - discarded coins, shards of pottery and the like.And so it is that when historians of the future study the French region that is the Dordogne, the humble jar of Marmite will no doubt assume enormous significance. For while previous invasions of this rural Gallic idyll were marked by charging knights on horseback, the British interlopers of the 21st century stake their territorial claims with condiments and comfort foods - with HP brown sauce, Frank Cooper's Original Oxford Marmalade (thick cut) and Sarson's malt vinegar. No richer evidence of this is there to be found than in the town of Eymet where a shop called L'Epicerie Anglaise, or The English Grocer, plies its trade. Scroll down for more...
The good life: The Eymet Cricket Club go through their paces
There, while the rest of the town stumbles soporifically towards the traditional two-hour lunch, the tills ring and the aisles echo to the battle-cries of the barbarian hordes. "Wagon Wheels!" they shriek. "And Angel Delight! Look, look! Next to the John Smith's bitter!"Elsewhere in this chocolate-boxpretty conurbation there are other, unmistakable, signs of Anglicisation. There's the pub in the square where chilli con carne outsells salade de chevre three to one; the cinema poster advertising "It's A Free World - version Anglaise, film de Ken Loach"; and the communal playing field, slashed down the centre by 22 yards of livid green matting - a cricket wicket, no less. Most indicative of all, however, of the fate that has befallen Eymet is the sign that hangs outside an "interiors" shop."Farrow&Ball" (upmarket wallpaper and paint manufacturers) is all it says, but like some standard raised over a victorious Roman legion, those three words mean that not only are the British here but they're here to stay. Indeed, just how embedded British expats have become in this corner of south-west France was brought home earlier this week, when it was announced that five of their number are standing for election to the town's council. It is the first time that they have had the chance to do so following changes to French law, and the eagerness with which they have jumped at the opportunity has made headlines across this fiercely proud nation. "The English Storm The Ballots In The South-West" blared one newspaper headline. "Expats Hope To Rule Their Little Britain In France" said another. But the candidates insist their motives are sound, that they're doing it because they love the place and that all they want to do is to preserve it as it is. "I have lived in France for 15 years and in Eymet for eight of them," explains 52-year-old retired solicitor Caroline Haynes, a would-be councillor. "It's like the Britain of old - I'm really fond of it, I have made it my home and I want to give something back." So what exactly is it about Eymet that makes it such a magnet for expats? For many years now the region in which Eymet lies has been jokingly known as Dordogneshire because of its popularity with the British. It is home to 10,000 expats - a figure that grows tenfold during the summer months. The town itself had its first brush with the English during the Hundred Years War when it was fortified in a bid to keep out the marauding invaders. Today it is home to 2,500 permanent residents of whom roughly a quarter are British. Again, in holiday times that number rises significantly. Budget flights pour into nearby Bergerac disgorging their passengers into the thousands of gites that dot the area. These visitors are attracted by a variety of factors. The countryside is beautiful, the climate is hotter than home, the food is fine (foie gras is a local speciality) and the wine plentiful and good quality. But in persuading people to stay for good, there are two major factors. First and most important is the price of property. Detached, period houses cost a fifth or even less than they would in a similarly rural location such as Dorset, Somerset or Devon. One stunning five-bed, wooden-shuttered farmhouse complete with imposing outbuildings, swimming pool and two-and-a-half acres of land is on sale for just under £250,000. That would buy a two-bed flat, at a push, in an average part of South London. As they say in America - do the math. "British buyers account for 50 per cent of all properties," says Steve Hedgeland, a Briton who works for the Agence Eleonor, one of four estate agents in Eymet. "They will be looking to spend between £190,000 and £380,000 on an old stone building that will be considerably larger than anything they ever owned in Britain." It will also boast a swimming pool - essential, he says, for persuading the children to leave their friends and move without moans to France. He says: "A typical British buyer will be aged early-30s to late-40s, will be from the professional classes and will have children of varying ages. "Generally they will have had enough of being tied down by a huge mortgage and will want a quieter life. "They will often be looking to take their children away from negative influences that they see in Britain - be it drink, drugs or gangs." Once in France they will hope to live mortgage-free and to cover any bills by earning a relatively small wage through setting up a business (gites are very popular) or returning periodically to the UK to work as a freelance in their chosen profession. Scroll down for more...
The Colebourne family say the move to Dordogne was the best thing they ever did
Typical are Simon and Karen Colebourn, who moved to Eymet in 2003. Francophiles, they had been living in Malmesbury, Gloucestershire, but decided to move across the Channel when 53-year-old Simon was diagnosed with heart problems and made redundant from the PR company he worked for. Renting out their English home, they paid £75,000 for a derelict grain store which they have since converted into a thriving business and home. On the ground floor there is an internet cafe that Simon runs while upstairs are two apartments - one with three bedrooms and another self-contained, single-bed flat. Karen, who is 42, continues to work from France for a British telecommunications company - renting an office nearby for just £200 a year. The couple are both fluent French speakers and have easily embraced the changes to their life. But they say it is their children, 11-year-old Harry, and Megan, 13, who have benefited most from the move. "This place is like Britain was 50 years ago," says Simon. "Back in the UK we used to live in a small village but there is no way that we would have let our children wander around there on their own. "Here we feel perfectly safe doing that. There is very little crime and very little petty crime - shopkeepers leave their displays outside their shops when they go for lunch and I can't count the number of times we've left wallets and phones in unlocked cars without having them stolen." Further, the couple have nothing but praise for the education their children are receiving. They pay a token £15 a month for them to attend a local private Catholic school. It has 70 children in it, with 23 to a class. Discipline is high on the agenda. "They are very strict," says Karen. "I am not saying the teachers hit or smack the children but I have heard of them pulling disobedient kids out of classes by the ear." "It is all about respect," adds her husband. "The family unit is strong here. Three generations will regularly get together for lunch and that develops a huge amount of respect for elders - teachers included." He is also impressed by the fact that there is far less peer-pressure on youngsters to abuse alcohol. "Here you will get guys of 22 or 23 walking into a bar and ordering a coffee. They don't feel the need to drink, there is no embarrassment. That wouldn't happen in England." Simon has also had positive experiences of the French health system. When he suffered problems with his heart in the UK he was placed on a six-week waiting list for treatment, forcing him to go private. In France, it took three days for him to be admitted into a specialist heart clinic in Bordeaux - the majority of the cost is paid for by the state. Julian Urrutia is another Briton who has taken advantage of the region's cheap property prices. A former tree-surgeon from Ascot, he recently purchased a period three-storey property in the centre of Eymet. The ground floor houses his business, Mandarin Stone France, selling luxury stone flooring, while he, his partner and newborn son live above. The cost of the property? Just £60,000. Mr Urrutia is one of the five Brits up for election to the council. A no-nonsense sort of chap, he admits that the amount of expats in Eymet mean it would not be everyone's cup of tea, and says he tries to spend as much time as he can with the French. Indeed, he feels so strongly about this that if elected he will attempt to stop plans to introduce a dedicated council committee to help the British incomers. "There is a danger that any special treatment would cause resentment," he says. Although outwardly everyone is quick to deny there is any ill-feeling between the two communities, scratch the surface and the jealousies are still clearly there. A common gripe among the French is that the British have pushed house prices through the roof - meaning young locals have no chance of getting on the property ladder. Further, renowned French academic Professor Jean-Claude Delarue, says it's not just marmalade and crisps the expats have imported to the Dordogne. A surge in benefit fraud and binge-drinking are also laid firmly at the feet of the British. "You cannot stop British people moving abroad to improve their lifestyle, but this does not mean they should be allowed to brutalise the environment they arrive in," he says. "French people are not used to seeing drunk people pouring out of pubs, but this is the kind of thing which goes on within British communities. "There is huge frustration felt, especially by youngsters, who now no longer have a chance of buying their own homes. "In Corsica there have been incidents of local people vandalising or bombing holiday villas. If the situation is not controlled in traditional communities like Eymet, the same kind of trouble could break out." As for Eymet, where such trouble seems a long way off, it will continue to provide a backdrop for the flow and ebb of different cultures as it has done for the past 700 years: its 13th-century streets echoing to the sounds of leather on willow and the "uncorking" of pots of Farrow&Ball paint. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8247 | Officials target immigration scammers
By C.J. Lin, Staff Writer
A West Hills man accused of visa fraud became the posterboy of a nationwide crackdown on immigration scam artists launched Thursday by local and federal officials. The arrest of Carlos Alberto Silva, 29, at his Canoga Park business this week was announced as officials unveiled a multi-agency effort to target notarios - the Spanish word for those offering legal advice, representation or other services on immigration issues even though they are not qualified to do so. The notarios who take advantage of confusion between notario publicos - which in Latin American countries, are specialized lawyers - and notary publics, which witness document signings in the U.S., take off with thousands of dollars in upfront fees they charge immigrants without delivering services, officials said. "We have to do everything we can to stop scam artists from ripping unwitting immigrants off," said John Morton, director of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during a teleconference from Washington, DC. "They need to be unmasked and they need to be punished." Officials said they were working to up the number of accredited legal organizations or representatives, and more federal prosecutors were being trained to handle immigration fraud cases. In addition to urging victims to report fraud, officials kicked off a campaign to teach immigrants about the immigration process and how to avoid scams. Resources are being offered to connect immigrants with a pro-bono or low-cost licensed attorney. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office is currently investigating about a dozen cases involving immigration fraud. Officials did not have any hard numbers on the actual number of victims or scams because many go unreported by those who are afraid to come forward because of their legal status. Scammers hook victims by claiming to know of secret immigration laws that can quickly get them legal status, and have built websites to resemble official-looking government immigration sites that charge fees for forms available to the public for free. "Quite frankly, they're scum artists in my humble opinion," said U.S. Atty. Andr Birotte Jr. Silva, who ran Silva and Associates, allegedly submitted fake employment-based immigration petitions to get work visas for immigrant workers on behalf of legitimate businesses to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. Department of Labor, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday. He also filed petitions for more visas than the businesses had actually requested, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Silva is also accused of being involved with Mexican recruitment agencies that charged immigrants up to $4,000 for visas. Federal law prohibits petitions where the applicant paid a job-placement or recruiting fee. He was released on $40,000 bail and scheduled to return to court July 5. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison. For more information, call U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at 800-375-5283 or visit www.uscis.gov/avoidscams. Advertisement | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8250 | « Barrons named ‘Volunteer Fam...
Local man has lived storied life
Save | STONINGTON - One could say that Robert "Bob" Williams, who recently turned 89, has lived a successful and fulfilling life. He has been active locally in music - both performing and teaching - well into his 80's. Born in Dallas, Texas, on May 15, 1925, Bob was a man of many talents. He would become an inventor, rancher, teacher for the CCC in Texas, and writer, and who had been around the world as radio man for a Merchant Marine ship. His wife Betty Lou was also an accomplished pianist. Bob was a premature baby and one of the early incubator survivals in Texas. His dad paid for the expensive birth by writing publicity stories for Baylor Hospital. After one that hit the front pages of the area papers, the hospital declared the bill null and void. Article Photos
Robert ‘Bob’ Williams
Bob's two siblings, Don and Linda, were born five and 13 years later. Don became a professor and writer, with several fiction, non-fiction and poetry books published, and Linda became a violinist, most recently with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Bob attended the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver and graduated with a bachelor's degree in piano performance in 1949. He completed his master's degree in piano performance at Northwestern University in 1951. Bob married Lucile "Lukie" Babbitt of Riverside, Ill., on Aug. 13, 1949, in Denver, and the couple moved to Shreveport, La., where Bob taught piano and Lukie taught third-grade. From there they moved to Illinois where the first of their four children, Kathryn (Morski) was born. After graduating from Northwestern, Bob moved the family west to Santa Ana, Calif., where his parents had settled. His other three children, Martha (Andrew) Nichols of Fort Collins, Colo., Givhan of Seattle, and Kip Travis (Cathy Doyle) of New York, were born. He taught piano there for several studios and was organist for various churches. The family moved to Fort Collins in 1960 where Bob taught private classes for years and at Colorado State University and played organ for various churches. After the children left home, Bob and Lukie moved to Sweetwater and Bandera, Texas, and eventually to Kerrville. An avid outdoorsman, Bob has always hiked and climbed. In later years he developed a passion for small wooden boats, which he builds and enjoys. Lukie had a series of small strokes that resulted in a growing dementia, and Bob cared for her for 15 years before her death at Christian Park Village in 2008. In 2010, after moving back to Kerrville, Bob suffered a small stroke at the home of his daughter Kathryn Morski on Stonington, and has mainly resided with her ever since. Bob attends First Presbyterian Church in Escanaba and the Bay de Noc Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. He has six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, Menolly Lucile Kirchenwitz. © Copyright 2016 Daily Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8251 | « Newspaper delivery becomes a...
A woman on a mission»
‘Walk a mile in my shoes!’ — Challenge to create disability awareness
By Dorothy McKnight (dmcknight@dailypress.net)
Save | ESCANABA - Do you find yourself feeling impatient while waiting for an individual with a wheelchair, walker or crutches to maneuver across the street or through the aisles of a busy mall? Are you frustrated when you are trying to communicate with someone who has difficulty speaking or staying on focus? Then Saturday's "Walk a Mile In My Shoes" event at the Delta Plaza Mall will hopefully change your prospective. The disability awareness event will take place from 1-3 p.m. with registration the Plaza Food Court. Participants will have the opportunity to use equipment that people with physical challenges need for daily use, such as wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, canes and other means for mobility. They will use these tools to complete a mile walk throughout the mall. Along the way, there will be stations to visit to learn about different aspects of the lives, jobs, recreation and social life of those dealing with disabilities. "The goal of this event is to bring awareness and greater understanding of people who have disabilities," said Brenda Crow, Mix and Mingle and Community Events coordinator for Pathways. "Children need to know it is okay to ask questions when they see someone who is 'different' instead of staring. Education of our young people is the key to our future." The awareness event is sponsored by the Delta County RICC (Regional Inclusive Community Coalition), a local group made up of people with developmental disabilities, family members, advocates, and service providers, all of whom want people - regardless of their abilities - to have a voice in their community. RICC focuses on issues that affect the daily living of those living with disabilities, such as employment, transportation, rights & responsibilities, self-advocacy, community living, education, civil rights, accessibility, and housing. "I am proud to be a member of the RICC," said Bonnie. "The RICC has helped me advocate for myself." "I am more active in the community and I shot my first deer this past year," said Bill, another RICC member. In their quest for acceptance and inclusion, members of RICC take part in additional programs and services offered by the community and through a host of service organizations. These include the Aktion Club, ARC of Delta County, CHAT (Community Handicap Awareness Team), Delta Area Transit Authority, Lakestate Industries, Pathways Community Mental Health, Mix and Mingle Community Events Group, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Salvation Army and Wheelin' Sportsmen. RICC meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at various locations throughout Escanaba. © Copyright 2016 Daily Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8291 | Is the Danish welfare state crumbling? Fierce debate erupts over story in The New York Times
Compiled by Eric Schulzke, Deseret News Follow @eschulzke
Published: Wednesday, May 8 2013 1:30 p.m. MDT
A recent report in The New York Times suggests that Denmark is re-thinking its generous welfare state, facing increasing pressures to provide for an aging population.
A recent report in The New York Times suggests that Denmark is re-thinking its generous welfare state, facing increasing pressures to provide for an aging population. The debate over Danish welfare takes place against pressure throughout the developed world to reign in entitlements in the face of growing debt and aging populations. Suzanne Dailey's report in The New York Times, which caused the stir, is incredulous in tone, notable in a newspaper not known for questioning big government largesse. The Times noted that Denmark has "among the highest marginal income-tax rates in the world," which Danes offer in exchange for a "cradle-to-grave safety net that includes free health care, a free university education and hefty payouts to even the richest citizens. "Parents in all income brackets," Dailey reported, "for instance, get quarterly checks from the government to help defray child care costs. The elderly get free maid service if they need it, even if they are wealthy." The controversy in Denmark centered on a single welfare mom code named "Carina," who had been living on welfare from the age of 16 and was currently pulling in $2,700 a month in benefits. A second furor centered on an able-bodied 45-year-old man named Robert Nielson, who had been on welfare for over 10 years, and, Dailey wrote, "had no intention of taking a demeaning job, like working at a fast-food restaurant." “Luckily, I am born and live in Denmark, where the government is willing to support my life,” he said. Dailey noted a series of reforms underway in Denmark, including raising the retirement age, shortening the duration of welfare benefits, and shortening the pension period for college students to get free money. Remapping Debate's Mike Alberti pushed back aggressively at the Times report, calling it "an excuse to bash the welfare state," and arguing that key facts were distorted. Alberti argued that Denmark is well-positioned to sustain its welfare state because it has very low debt levels and "an extremely robust private pension system." “It would be easy to argue that Denmark is actually the country that is the best prepared for the coming demographic changes,” Lars Andersen, the director of the Economic Council of the Labour Movement, told Alberti. Matthew Yglesias at Slate also jumped into the fray, arguing that Danes are employed at higher rates than Americans, even though they work significantly fewer hours. "What is true is that the average employed Danish person works about 16 percent fewer hours than the average employed American person. Not coincidentally, GDP per capita in Denmark is about 16 percent lower than in the United States. The median Danish household consequently has less disposable income than the median American household, and in exchange it has more vacation and public services." But questions linger. For while it seems obvious that the Danes do exchange higher leisure time for per lower capita GDP, it is less clear how the resulting lower productivity and disposable income can, as Yglesias argued, be "exchanged" for "more public services." Figures that show high Danish workforce participation are misleading, Dailey argued, because “many Danes work short hours and enjoy perks like long vacations and lengthy paid maternity leaves, not to mention a de facto minimum wage approaching $20 an hour.” In response, Alberti quoted Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., who argued that the Danes' shorter hours are simply a trade-off of wages for leisure. “There’s nothing scary about that,” Baker told Alberti. “In the U.S. we have higher incomes and in Denmark they have longer vacations. That doesn’t have any bearing on the sustainability of the welfare state.” Eric Schulzke writes on national politics for the Deseret News. He can be contacted at eschulzke@desnews.com. Recommended Stories
William Gronberg
Payson, UT
"A second furor centered on an able-bodied 45-year-old man named RobertNielson..."Niels"O"n.A Dane with an "ohh-n". Is that a typo error??
Eric Schulzke
Eric Schulzke writes on national politics and policy for the Deseret News and directs The Apollo 13 Project, a prisoner reentry awareness initiative at Utah Valley University. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at more .. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8331 | Home Page »News »Local News » Firefighting tankers spread thin
Firefighting tankers spread thin
Aging fleet under increased demand as climate change extends fire season
By Leigh GiangrecoHerald Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: Tuesday, December 11, 2012 11:36am
Keywords: Wildfire, Print
The U.S. Forest Service is struggling to field enough air tankers to meet firefighting needs during a time when fire seasons seem to be getting worse.
WASHINGTON � The U.S. Forest Service is in desperate need of additional firefighting air tankers, and future climate change could stretch already depleted resources.Last week, NASA scientists met at the annual American Geophysical Union to discuss forest fires and climate change. If carbon emissions continue at current rates, scientists predict an increase in fire risk across the United States. Widespread fires, like those in 2012, would likely occur three to four times per decade by then, instead of once per decade, said Doug Morton of NASA�s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.Doug McBee, executive director of Colorado State Fire Chiefs, said the wildfire season, which used to end in October, appears to be expanding to year-round. This year, the U.S. Forest Service has had to return resources to combat the fires.When a fire breaks out, air tankers are flown to contain it. The Forest Service typically starts sending contracted air tankers in mid-February and returning them by mid-November, said Forest Service spokeswoman Jennifer Jones. If a fire breaks out before or after that period, the Forest Service delivers tankers available on �optional-use periods.� Currently, the Forest Service has two large air tankers in service that normally would be grounded. Still, there are no plans to change the schedule of availability for the tankers, Jones said.Though demand is clearly rising, the number of air tankers available to the Forest Service has plummeted over the last decade. In 2002, the Forest Service had 42 tankers available compared to 11 in 2012.The fleet has diminished after crashes and reductions from aircraft that could not meet safety standards. Much of the aging fleet is made up of planes such as P2V-7s, aluminum bombers from World War II, one of which crashed in June in Utah. Bloomberg Businessweek reported that from June to July alone this year, three planes crashed, leaving six dead. When the Forest Service is using its full supply of tankers, the Air National Guard steps in to provide them with more planes. In 2012, the Air National Guard supplied eight military C-130 planes. Although the C-130s are newer, a crash killed four men while fighting a fire in South Dakota in July, marking the first wildfire crash for the Air National Guard since the 1970s.Contracts are pending for modernized tankers that would allow the Forest Service to expand its fleet in 2013. However, Jones said the Forest Service will continue supplementing its fleet in 2013 with C-130s. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., recently called for air-tanker modernization in a November letter to the Senate subcommittee overseeing the Forest Service appropriations.Last week, a law passed giving the Forest Service and the Coast Guard priority to surplus C-27Js from the Department of Defense.This allows the Forest Service to acquire 14 C-27Js to enhance its diminished firefighting fleet at no cost to the Air Force or Forest Service, according to the Helicopter Association International. The C-27Js, manufactured in 2007, would become the newest planes on the Forest Service fleet. But over the summer, the Air Force grounded its entire C-27Js fleet as a precautionary measure after a mechanical failure on one flight.Leigh Giangreco is an intern for The Durango Herald and a student at American University in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at herald@durangoherald.com
After crashes and tankers were pulled for safety, the U.S. National Forest Service fielded only 11 air tankers during the 2012 fire season. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8332 | Home Page »News »Obituaries » Samuel Dawson Puller Jr.
Samuel Dawson Puller Jr.
Durango resident Samuel Dawson Puller Jr. died Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, in Durango. He was 65. The cause of death is undetermined at this time.Known as �Sam,� he was born to Ruth Ann (Wiberg) and Samuel Dawson Puller Sr., on April 13, 1947, in Panama City, Panama. He maintained and treasured the friendships he made in Panama throughout his life, his family said.The Puller family moved to the United States when Mr. Puller was in eighth grade. He graduated from New Trier East High School in Winnetka, Ill., and went on to earn a bachelor�s degree from Arizona State University in Tempe.�Although Sam was challenged with cerebral palsy from birth, he was disciplined and accomplished and maintained a strong sense of independence,� his family said. �He swam every day of his life unless there was a lightning storm or too much snow on the ground. He kept very high standards for himself and accomplished so much in his life.�Mr. Puller worked as a civilian accountant in the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz., for 39 years. He retired in 2011.�He took great pride in his service to the U.S. military,� his family said. �For Sam, this was an extended family where he developed lifelong friends, who cherished his strength, optimism and sense of humor, including political jokes.�He was a member of the Ott Family YMCA in Tucson for more than 40 years. In addition to swimming every day, he walked and lifted weights, saying if he didn�t exercise, he wouldn�t be able to walk.In Durango, he swam regularly at the Durango Recreation Center and when in the river current pool, Mr. Puller would laugh and say that he was able to run.�He was an exceptional, kind, generous human being,� his family said. �He lived his life honestly and directly. Sam will be remembered for his �get-through-anything� attitude and his infectious and cheerful laugh by all who knew him.�Mr. Puller is survived by his sisters Mary Puller of Durango and Ann Slauter of Tucson; one niece and one nephew.A memorial service will be held at a later date at Davis Monthan Air Force Base.Memorial contributions may be made to the Samuel Puller Memorial Fund, Ott Family YMCA, 401 S. Prudence Road, Tucson, AZ 85710. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8333 | Home Page »News »Local News » A man, a plan, a scam
A man, a plan, a scam
Herald investigation pulls back curtain on Durangoan’s worldwide scheme
Keywords: Fraud, U.S. District Court, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Print
Back in 2006, Frederick H.K. Baker came to Durango and dangled the promise of safe, easy money. With his secret formula for trading foreign currency, select investors could make a guaranteed 10 percent profit a month – enough for that trip to Europe or holidays in the tropics.More than six years later, the retirement dreams of his investors are grounded. But Baker did take their money for the ride of a lifetime.A few million dollars spent the winter in sunny Los Angeles with a company whose president now is on death row. When the law closed in, Baker moved the money to Portugal, placing it in the trust of a company registered in New Zealand, with an address in Panama and directors in the United Kingdom.That’s when it disappeared. Baker is serving a 41-month prison sentence in Missouri, after pleading guilty to operating a Ponzi scheme. But the court case told only one chapter of Baker’s story.The Durango Herald took a closer look at his case and found that Baker was less of a mastermind and more of a free-rider on other schemes – schemes whose perpetrators remain unpunished. There were more victims and much more money than were ever revealed in court proceedings.Prosecutors did not charge Baker for his involvement in a second – and larger – scheme, in addition to the so-called currency-trading scam. And the Herald has found evidence that connects Baker to a third scheme, this one in Utah, that began as soon as Baker left Durango.Ray Fite of Hawaii thought he was investing in a humanitarian project in Africa when he lost money to the same scheme that snagged Baker’s Colorado victims. He did not invest through Baker.“It’s much bigger than a couple of monkeys in Durango,” Fite said. “It’s a worldwide phenomenon. They’re in Europe. They’re in Australia. And they get away with it.” No ordinary victimKevin Bryden was looking to invest in housing in Durango.He had just sold a house in California when he approached Cameron Winters, owner of a small construction firm, about investing in one of his projects.But Fred Baker, who shared an office with Winters, offered Bryden something different – something better. Bryden bought it.“I would say over $150,000 of my money went to an investment with Fred Baker,” Bryden said. “I lost it all.”Bryden wasn’t an ordinary victim. He became Baker’s bookkeeper, recording “investments” from about 80 people in Durango, California, Washington, Florida and elsewhere. His roommate, Durango native Mark Akins, became the scheme’s chief marketer. Akins never invested his own money, but he earned at least $170,000 in commissions for signing up investors, according to court documents. For six months, he and Bryden ran the Durango end of Baker’s scheme.(Bryden’s comments in this story come from his sworn testimony in U.S. District Court in November 2012. He returned a call from the Herald and left a message after hours, but subsequent attempts to reach him failed.)Akins confessed to knowing by March 2007 that Baker was running a scam, but he continued to send investors’ money to Baker through that May. For that crime, Akins is serving a 27-month prison sentence. With time served, he’s scheduled to be released this month.Through prison spokesmen, both Baker and Akins declined to be interviewed for this story.Bryden was not charged with a crime. Before he testified for several hours last fall, U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer told him that although the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado was not going to prosecute him, his testimony could be used against him in another state or a foreign country. Bryden testified anyway and never used his Fifth Amendment right to avoid a question.A mysterious paybackBy his own admission, Baker never did any currency trading. But unlike many Ponzi schemes, Baker actually was investing in something – other Ponzi schemes.The nature of those schemes wasn’t disclosed in court.Meanwhile, he spent lavishly on himself – $260,000 on debit card withdrawals, $50,000 to sponsor an off-road racing team in Utah, $40,000 for a down payment on a house and $69,500 for work on the Durango house that he had leased with the option to buy, according to his plea agreement.Through Bryden and Akins, Baker offered two “investments.” The first was currency trading, and the second was “private placement” with a company called Methwold International Finance Corp. Victims were told few details about what “private placement” meant, but they were told it would make even more money than Baker’s so-called currency trades.In the spring of 2007, Baker pulled all of his victims’ money out of the online bank he was using and put it into a Methwold account in Portugal. That’s the last that investors in the United States saw of their money.The scam collapsed in May 2007, and Baker fled Durango with his family shortly after. Bryden and Akins angrily confronted Baker, and, surprisingly, Bryden got four $100,000 checks that fall to repay victims. The checks came from Kristine Kimball of Utah.Federal investigators learned of the scheme in 2007, but Baker and Akins weren’t indicted until 2011. The indictment covered the period from mid-2006 to May 2007, and the case did not include charges related to Methwold.It did not delve into what Baker, Akins and several associates were up to in the summer and fall of 2007.And it did not solve the mystery of those four $100,000 checks.Monday, the Herald takes on these questions.jhanel@durangoherald.com
For a Ponzi payout, call the tooth fairyAfter the scheme collapses, scammers recede into shadowsScammers often earn victims� trust through shared hopes, dreams, beliefs
A century of Ponzi schemes
Ponzi schemes are named for Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant who ran a scam that was the talk of Boston in 1920.Ponzi began his scheme when he discovered international reply coupons – a voucher purchased in one country that is redeemable for postage stamps in another. He figured out that he could pay people to purchase cheap IRCs in countries like Italy and redeem them for costlier stamps in the United States.Ponzi rounded up investors for his gambit, but soon he was making all his money from new investors and not from the postal coupon idea.He paid off old investors with money from new ones – the classic definition of what has become known as a “Ponzi scheme.”Ponzi made $15 million in less than a year. When his scam fell apart, he was prosecuted and served time in prison.He died in a charity hospital in 1949 in Brazil.“It was easily worth 15 million bucks to watch me put the thing over,” said Ponzi, according to Smithsonian magazine.Ponzi’s name lives in infamy thanks to the hundreds of similar frauds that criminals pull every year. The largest such scheme operated for decades. Celebrity financier Bernie Madoff lost about $65 billion of his clients’ money when his scheme collapsed in 2008.jhanel@durangoherald.com
Today: Fred Baker is serving time for his part in a Ponzi scheme, but he was just one player in a worldwide network of fraud.Monday: Four mysterious $100,000 checks to Baker’s victims coincide with another fraud case in Utah.Tuesday: The money trail from Baker’s victims, and many others, leads to a company with ties to Panama, New Zealand and Europe.Wednesday: Victims often fail to heed advice for spotting financial fraud. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8368 | GIRL SAYS FATHER SAVED HER IN WRECK
Newark Star
Miss Lillian Cribb Led Through Passageways on Titanic to Lifeboat
To the rare presence of mind of her father, John H. Cribb, who lost his life when the Titanic sank, Miss Lillian M. Cribb, 17 years old, believes she owes her life. Controlling her overtaxed nerves as best she could upon her arrival at the home of her uncle, John W. Welch, at 106 Pennington street, last night, she recited the incidents attending her rescue aboard the Carpathia.
It was a beautifully clear night, with the stars lighting the sky, that but few of the third cabin passengers had retired. I myself had been asleep only a few minutes when the alarm was sounded, and hardly realizing any danger, I dressed and went out. I found my father waiting for me. He grasped me by the hand and almost dragged me to the deck above by a passageway which was known only to persons familiar with the ship.
As a butler in prominent homes around New York he had acquired friendships which gave him entry to circles of that vocation, and some of those acquaintances renewed on board the Titanic stood him in good stead at this time, for we were permitted to mount to the upper decks by this stairway, used ordinarily only by employees. He escorted me to a lifeboat and, placing me in one which was about to be lowered, he bade me good-by, saying that he would get into another and meet me in a short while.
HORROR OF SITUATION NOT KNOWN FOR HOURS
I did not see him again. But, oh, the awfulness of it all did not come to me until long afterward. I didn't think it was so serious. I kept hearing them say over and over, "Women and children first," and I permitted myself to be placed into a lifeboat, but I could not realize that it was anything but a sort of a dream. There were thirty-five people in our boat, which was the fourth to leave the Titanic, and all but five, who were sailors sent to man the boat, were women. We pushed away and the men rowed as hard as they could, so, as they said, we would not be caught in the suction when the vessel should go down. I saw the big iceberg which we struck and it looked as though the ship was stuck fast into it. The lights were lit for perhaps a half-hour after we left the ship and they disappeared and we did not see the ship or the iceberg again. After drifting about until daylight we discerned a wide field of ice with several high icebergs protruding, but I could not say that any one of them was that which we had struck.
SURVIVORS GRADED BY COST OF THEIR PASSAGE
When we were taken aboard the Carpathia we were asked to what class we belonged. I, of course, told them I was of the third-class, as did others, but immediately we became aware that there was a difference between the accommodations of the two ships for the same classification of passengers. Such things as table linens and other homelike features were missing in our new habitations, we found. But eventually foreigners of a certain class were relegated to another part of the ship and we were given what was probably more attention than was usual for that grade of passengers. In fact, there was one of my father's old friends who saw that I and some of my new acquaintances got some of the things on the bill of fare that the second-class passengers got, and so we did not fare so badly after all, so far as eating was concerned.
Miss Cribb is decidedly English in her speech and manner, but by birth she is an American, having been born in Newark seventeen years ago. The last eight years she has lived in Bornemouthe, England, where her mother and two brothers and a sister still remain. She and her father had preceded the rest of the family on what was to have been their return to this country for the purpose of making their home.
Mr. Cribb was for several years assistant steward of the Essex Club of this city and he was later butler for Herbert Ballentine. In a similar capacity he was in the employ of Frank Gould on the yacht, Helenita, and until last September was butler at the home of E. S. Repello, 841 Madison avenue, New York. It was to the last mentioned place to which he had expected to return on his arrival upon the Titanic.
John Hatfield Cribb Laura Mae Cribb Relates to Ship:
Carpathia
ContributorMark BaberCite this page
(1912) GIRL SAYS FATHER SAVED HER IN WRECK Newark Star (ref: #3079, accessed 25th May 2016 03:58:25 PM)
URL : http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/girl-says-father-saved-her-wreck.html
LinkPlease link to this page using the following URLhttp://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/girl-says-father-saved-her-wreck.html
Or copy the link text belowGIRL SAYS FATHER SAVED HER IN WRECK
Thursday 24th June 2004, last updated Saturday 12th September 2015.
Titanic's centre anchor was at the time, and for some time to follow, the largest anchor ever forged by hand. Jonathan Smith explores the construction of the anchor and the company that created it.Posted by Encyclopedia Titanica on Monday, 3 August 2015 | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8382 | FKA twigs and Robert Pattinson are ''Just Fine'' Despite Putting Wedding Plans on Hold
Baker Machado
Did Kelly Osbourne Cross the Line by Blasting Hairstylist?
Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Don't believe everything you see, folks.Despite rumors of trouble brewing between Robert Pattinson and his ladylove FKA twigs, a source tells E! News that "things are just fine" with the engaged twosome.While some outlets claim that the singer and her Twilight fiancé have found themselves on the brink of splitsville, our insider is happy to report that this simply isn't the case."They haven't drifted apart [despite claims], but they haven't spoken as much lately because of his filming schedule," the source explained."He is in Belfast and she is currently in the United States."Being busy with their successful careers has landed them on separate continents, and it seems as though plans for their upcoming wedding have taken a backseat for the time being.
PHOTOS: FKA twigs' wild styles
PacificCoastNews
"There most likely won't be a wedding this year, but that has been the expectation for months."The pal reiterated, however, that a halt in wedding planning doesn't really imply anything beyond that."There isn't a rush to get married. Fall plans turned into winter plans and now there are no specific plans, but they still plan on getting married."News of the couple's engagement first surfaced in April of this year, after the Brit songstress was spotted with an ornate, unique diamond sparkler on her engagement finger.At the time, a friend of the duo told E! News that "there is a special connection between the two of them. Music is a big part of the relationship, because it means so much to them. They clicked instantly and they literally have been inseparable."
PHOTOS: Robert Pattinson and FKA twigs' cutest pics | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8383 | Demi Lovato Is Fired Up About Women Empowerment and Wants Fans to Start "Taking Action Now"
Mike Vulpo
Lester Cohen/WireImag
Demi Lovato has a voice and she's not afraid to use it.After showing her support for Kesha and her legal battle with Dr. Luke, the "Heart Attack" singer spoke freely and honestly about women empowerment in a series of tweets early Sunday morning."Frustrating to see women come forward with their past only to be shot down, not believed & disrespected for their bravery in taking action," she shared with her 34 million followers. "Happens way too often. I'm ready for women to be taken just as seriously as men."She continued, "Someone tell me why anyone would ever feel brave enough to come forward if they are most likely to be ignored or called a liar? I'm also ready for self-proclaimed feminists to start speaking out or taking action for women's rights."
PHOTOS: Demi Lovato's best looks The messages come just a couple of days after Kesha was overcome with emotion in the courtroom after a judge denied her request for a preliminary injunction that would allow her to release new music outside of Dr. Luke's purview.Fans of the "Tik Tok" singer immediately got #FreeKesha to trend on social media for several hours as stars including Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande, Lorde and Kelly Clarkson voiced their support online.While Demi didn't directly address Kesha's legal battle in her latest tweets, it may have propelled the artist to speak out on women empowerment and educating followers on what it entails.
APP: Download the E! Online app to get the latest red carpet news on the go!
"Women empowerment is using your voice to help the voiceless women be heard. Women empowerment is taking action now, not when it's convenient," she explained. "Women empowerment is leading other women to make actual changes in our society. Women empowerment is tweeting at 2:30 am knowing the consequences of these tweets and not giving a single f--k."We told you she was fired up! But wait, there's just one more thing. Demi isn't just rooting for women. She's supporting "equality" for everyone."Okay I'm really tired.. Going to bed," she concluded during her early morning posts. "Love you all. #equalityforALL (not just women)."
PHOTOS: Stars' powerful quotes about feminism TAGS/ | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8397 | Eurasia Review
A Journal of Analysis and News
Denver Shooting: Strong Gun Control Law Means Fewer Crimes? – OpEd
By VOR July 20, 2012
By Yulia Monakhova
The Denver shooting has once again brought the discussion whether strengthen gun control laws could reduce terrible cases of violence in the US. The United States is the country with the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world. There is a gun for almost for every person living in US. And this right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment, but there is no law that could justify such cruelty as occurred in Denver.
The Denver shooting that took lives of 12 people and injured 50 more during the premier showing of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora movie theater. Sometime after midnight a heavily armed 24-year-old male entered the movie theater.
Witnesses say the gunman was wearing all black and a gas mask. Most people thought that his appearance was a part of the show until the masked man open fire and started shooting at random people. A witness to the shooting said that it sounded like firecrackers until someone ran in yelling “they’re shooting out here!” – Denver Post reports. A chaos broke down after that, people were running to emergency exits to save their lives. Shortly after the police arrested the gunman, who was behind the movie theater.
Unfortunately, as devastating as such tragedies are no one considers this to be an isolated case. Just two days prior the Denver Shooting the Associated Press reported of a shooting in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A 44-year-old gunman stood outside of a crowded downtown bar and opened fire from two different positions. At least 17 people were hurt before the police arrested the shooter.
On April 2, 2012 a former student of Oikos University in Oakland, California shot at people inside the college killing seven and wounding three more. It was the third-deadliest university shooting in United States history.
Same year, February 27th will now forever mark a tragic shooting at the Chardon High School, when a seventeen-year-old T.J. Lane at approximately 7.30 am began shooting in the cafeteria while students were eating breakfast. According to reports, Lane just stood up and began shooting, killing three people and injuring three more. These are just some examples of gun violence that happened within the first half of 2012.
Gun control is one of the hottest and most controversial topics in the US politics to this day. The Obama administration has planned out a long list of gun control reforms to the current gun law, including adaptation of the Arm Trade Treaty. But seeing how the Congress is hostile to even the slightest restriction to the Second Amendment rights (the right of an individual to own a firearm for the purposes of self defense) it will not be an easy job to carry out. And of course there is the National Rifle Association which is not only the largest and best-known gun rights and gun sports advocacy group in the US, but also a very powerful lobby group. NRA has been viciously protecting the gun ownership in US since 1871.
But with each year that passes voices of gun control groups, such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun violence, are heard more often. The Brady Campaigns’ mission is “to pass and enforce sensible federal and state gun laws, regulations, and public policies through grassroots activism, electing public officials who support common sense gun laws, and increasing public awareness of gun violence”.
According to the Brady Campaigns’ website in the US there are an estimated 283 million guns in civilian hands, which is almost one gun for every man, woman and child in the country. Current federal law requires criminal background checks only for guns sold by licensed dealers, which account for just 60% of gun sales. Meaning that two of every five guns acquired in the US are sold without a background check. This includes guns bought at gun shows, between individuals and even through the internet. According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control in one year 31,593 US citizens have died from gun violence and 66,769 people have suffered gun injuries.
The arms industry is a global business that has the entire world participating. It is estimated that yearly over 1,5 trillion dollars are spent on military expenditures worldwide. But there seems to be a global effort in adopting stronger gun control laws around the world. Thus from July 2nd to 27th the Arms Trade Treaty or ATT will be negotiated among the 193 UN member states. The Treaty will establish common international standards for the import, export and transfer of conventional arms.
The ATT’s objective is to help prevent human suffering by controlling the gun trafficking. Such measures are absolutely necessary on the global, because the worn-out slogan “guns don’t kill, people do” might be somewhat true, but it is also true that no mass murder has been carried out with a knife.
VOR, or the Voice of Russia, was the first radio station to broadcast internationally. On the air since October 29th 1929, VOR has been shaping Russia’s image worldwide and introducing Russia to the world and highlighting its opinions on global events
1 Comment on "Denver Shooting: Strong Gun Control Law Means Fewer Crimes? – OpEd"
Clint |
July 20, 2012 at 5:21 pm |
Reply Thought I would point out your ignorance before it spreads. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre
Leave a comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.CommentName *
Authors and Partners
Recent Articles May 25, 2016
Chinese Maritime Expansion Poses Challenge For Region – Analysis
Anti-Trump Protestors In Albuquerque Clash With Police
Israel: New Coalition Deal To Move Government Even Further To Right
Modi’s Iran Visit: Chabahar To Provide Strategic Edge To India – Analysis
Recent CommentsMatthew Ng on What Duterte Portends For Philippine Foreign Policy – AnalysisFrank on Obama’s ‘Pakistan Care’: Are The Days Over? – AnalysisRabia on Of Ranks And Scores In Nuclear Security: 18 Years Of South Asian Nuclearisation – AnalysisGreg on Is The BRICS Dream Over? – OpEdA Reader on Bill Clinton To Poland And Hungary: Do As We Say On Immigration, You Dirty Little Putins! – OpEdAnalysis May 25, 2016
What Duterte Portends For Philippine Foreign Policy – Analysis
Growth Of Nuclear Energy: Issues In Safety, Safeguards And Security – Analysis
India And Iran: Recalibrating Engagement With Region – Analysis
Eurasia Review Newsletter Copyright 2016 | By Eurasia Review (ISSN 2330-717x)
This popup will close in: We need your help! It's that simple. We have no financial backing, and are not supported by any institution, corporation or organization. We are truly an independent news organization dedicated to providing a publishing venue for alternative, global views, news and analysis. Furthermore, we are entirely self-financed, and yet our costs continue to increase. If you enjoy reading Eurasia Review please consider donating today to ensure that we are able to provide our service. We thank you in advance. CLOSE | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8449 | Mother of US official killed in Libya attack calls Obama's comment 'disrespectful'
Print The mother of a State Department official who was killed last month in the terrorist attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, lashed out at President Obama on Friday for saying in a TV interview that the deaths in the attack were "not optimal." Obama was appearing on "The Daily Show" when host Jon Stewart confronted the president about the administration's shifting explanation for the attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans, saying the post-attack confusion wasn't an "optimal response." "Here's what I'll say: If four Americans get killed, it's not optimal, and we're going to fix it," Obama said, in an episode that aired Thursday night.. Pat Smith, whose son, foreign service information management officer Sean Smith, was one of those Americans killed in the attack, called Obama's choice of words "disrespectful." "How can you say somebody being killed is not very optimal?" Smith told the Daily Mail. "I don't think the president has the right idea of the English language." She added: "It's insensitive to say my son is not very 'optimal.' He also is very dead. I've not been 'optimal' since he died, and the past few weeks have been pure hell." Smith has been vocal in her criticism of the Obama administration ever since the deadly attack, suggesting that authorities have yet to tell her the full story of how and why her son died. Advertisement | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8468 | Chicopee had its own ‘fix-it’ guy to turn to
Vardeman
vardeman1956@att.net
In just about every community, there is somebody who is the “go-to” guy or gal. In Chicopee Village for many years that was Joe Holcomb.
Joe died right after Christmas last year.
He was one of the few left who actually were born in Chicopee, lived there all his life except during service in World War II, and worked for Chicopee Manufacturing Co. almost four decades. He and wife Dean lived in the same house — always immaculate inside and out — all their married life and raised three daughters in the village.
He became the unofficial historian as Chicopee’s best known resident. He researched the history of the village and the company, working with Gainesville State College to compile it.
Joe was a good storyteller, too, especially when the story related to Chicopee. For example, he told about the company doctor, Raleigh Garner, making house calls to the village.
Dr. Garner said doctors should have good sense, wear good clothes and drive a Cadillac. He fulfilled all those requirements, Joe said, and when a Cadillac would be parked at a residence, everyone knew somebody was sick.
Dr. Garner also would deliver babies in homes. One day, the doctor’s wife went with him in his Cadillac on his rounds, taking their new baby with her. Children, attracted by the rare sight of a Cadillac in the village, looked in the car, saw Mrs. Garner and her baby and were said to exclaim, “Hey, this man does deliver babies,” right to the front door, they thought.
Neal Anthony, a close friend, recalled his wife Suzanne calling him from home, asking what to do about a bird that had flown into their foyer. “Just call Joe,” Anthony reacted spontaneously. Joe was there within a few minutes, and within a few minutes the bird was gone, and Suzanne had her house back.
The Rev. Carrie Myers, former minister at Chicopee United Methodist, recalled that she once saw Joe walking up the street with a load of PVC pipe on his shoulders. When he came back by, she asked him what he’d been doing. Joe just kind of brushed her off in his characteristically modest manner, not caring for anybody to know he was helping a neighbor fix a leak in his basement. He had found out about the problem, showed up with the pipe and had it resolved shortly.
That was typical, Myers said, helping people however he could, refusing payment and preferring not to say much about it. “He was all over the village with his tool box,” she said. “He fixed toilets, washing machines, things in the parsonage, things in church.”
He lost part of some fingers working on a door to the children’s department in the church, Myers said.
Joe was at Chicopee Methodist whenever the church doors were open. He served as treasurer and on the board of trustees for many years. Reba Ruth worked with him on church finances and said he set up the first accounting system for her on a computer. “He loved working on the computer,” she said, and he would often email her and others bits of humor.
Taking pride in his yard, he kept it up himself as long as he was able. When he offered to pay a villager to do his yard, the man said he couldn’t accept any money because Joe had done so much for him and others. Joe wouldn’t allow the man to do the work without pay, so he had to find somebody who would accept pay.
Describing Joe, Reba Ruth used words such as “honest,” “dependable,” funny,” “great character,” “perfect gentleman.” A good Christian with a big heart, she said.
Joe’s daughter, Dale Stone, used the quote, “All else may pass, but a good name endures,” to characterize her father. “He lived that every day, and he endures,” she said.
Chicopee has changed over the years since the textile company employed hundreds, provided a store, pharmacy, doctor and numerous other amenities. But the constant was Joe Holcomb, as much a fixture in the village as its model brick homes, churches and well-kept grounds.
The Rev. Myers said she got a lot of sermon topics just from watching Joe. Indeed, a life well lived is a sermon in itself.
Johnny Vardeman is retired editor of The Times. He can be reached at 2183 Pinetree Circle NE, Gainesville, GA 30501; phone, 770-532-2326. His column appears Sundays and at gainesvilletimes.com/viewpoint. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8482 | Fire leads to hotel/restaurant evacuation in Lake Geneva
Gazette staff Thursday, September 26, 2013
Sprecher's Restaurant re-opens in Lake Geneva
LAKE GENEVA—The Cove Resort and Sprecher's Restaurant were evacuated as a fire did serious damage to a kitchen on Thursday morning, the Lake Geneva Fire Department reported.
No injuries were reported. The fire appears to be accidental, as there were no indications that it was set, and it started in the exhaust hood in the kitchen, said the department's Capt. Mark Moeller-Gunderson.
The cause, however, remains under investigation, the department said in a news release.
Moeller-Gunderson said the department usually does not give damage estimates.
The alarm at the multistory building at 111 Center St. went off at 7:55 a.m.� The first arriving police officer reported smoke coming from the roof. The building houses both the hotel and restaurant.
Firefighters attacked the fire in the kitchen and on the roof, according to a news release.
Mutual aid came from fire companies from the city of Delavan, town of Delavan, Elkhorn, Lyons, Linn, Walworth, Williams Bay and Sharon.
All units were back in quarters at 11:15 am.
Assistant Chief Patrick Heindl stated in the news release that working sprinklers and smoke detectors made a big difference in notification and fighting the fire.
The Lake Geneva Fire Department offers to install smoke detectors free of charge. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8488 | WJJO's Band Camp coming to Janesville airport
JANESVILLE—The vote was unanimous: Rock on.
On Tuesday, the Rock County Board's public works committee approved a contract with Mid-West Management that will allow radio station WJJO to host a concert at the Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport in September. No further approval is needed.
The county will receive $1 for every ticket sold.
Last year, about 10,000 people attended WJJO's Band Camp at Willow Island, adjacent to the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. Headlining acts included Sevendust, Jackyl, Pop Evil, Asking Alexandria and Nonpoint.
Although the airport event will feature similar music and target the same demographic, it will not be called Band Camp, said Randy Hawke, WJJO program manager.
Hawke said he expects about 15 bands to play at the single-day event. Booking will begin immediately, and the names of bands will be announced as soon as contractually possible.
The event is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 20.
The concert will be on about 50 acres near Highway 51 in an area that is fenced off from airport runways. The airport will be open during the concert, said Ron Burdick, airport director.
This is the second time Rock County has considered hosting such an event. Last year, the committee killed the idea after Sheriff Bob Spoden expressed concerns about safety and the lack of time to plan.
Supervisor Brent Fox said he supported the concept last year despite reservations of safety officials.
“It's time to take it for a test drive,” Fox said.
This year, Mid-West Management approached the county much earlier. Public safety officials have already met with radio station management and staff.
The contract calls for the county to receive a $2,500 deposit and $1 of each ticket sale.
In addition, Mid-West Management is required to contract with the public safety agencies to cover the cost of overtime and any additional officers.
Mid-West Management also must provide $2 million in general liability and insurance coverage. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8515 | Home :: WMD :: Library :: News :: Libya :: 2011 :: SITREP
EU Leaders Pile On Pressure As Pro-Qaddafi Forces Advance Last updated (GMT/UTC): 11.03.2011 16:10
By RFE/RL
European Union leaders gathered for a crisis summit in Brussels today are increasing pressure on Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi's regime, with calls for him to step down and threats to impose possible further sanctions.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron, in a joint letter, said it had become clear that Qaddafi's regime had lost legitimacy and that he and his elite circle should leave power.
Hungary's foreign minister, Janos Martonyi, told Hungarian public radio today that before any military step is taken against Qaddafi's regime, very clear political messages would be sent by European officials from today's summit.
Martonyi said "the essence of the political message" is that Qaddafi must quit and the conditions for a democratic transition must begin to be created in Libya. He said extra sanctions could include freezing the assets of Libya's state-controlled oil and natural gas producer as well as export firms from Libya with ties to the regime. Hungary currently holds the EU's rotating presidency.
The summit comes a day after European nations extended international sanctions to include Libya's government and its banks. It also follows recognition by France of the opposition's so-called "interim transitional National Council" as the "legitimate representative of the Libyan people."
Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim criticized France's move, suggesting that the Libyan government would cut off all diplomatic ties with Paris if France carries out its intention to send an ambassador to the opposition-controlled eastern city of Benghazi.
The United States has also said it would hold talks with Libya's opposition leaders.
But U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper told a U.S. Senate hearing that Washington should be prepared for the likelihood that Qaddafi will remain in power for the duration of what is now being described as a civil war.
"We believe that Qaddafi is in this for the long haul,” Clapper said. “I don't think he has any intention, despite some of the press speculation to the contrary, of leaving [power]."
Range Of Options
France has said it would use today's EU summit to discuss a range of options that the international community -- mandated by the United Nations -- could use to curtail Qaddafi's ability to attack Libyan civilians.
German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere told journalists that any military action by NATO "needs to be thought out." He said NATO and its partners "cannot become engaged in a military conflict which we later are not convinced about and which cannot be pushed through." He also said European officials should not threaten Qaddafi with actions that are not implemented.
Pro-Government Troops On The Offensive
Reports from Tripoli today say Libyan security forces used tear gas and fired into the air after Friday Prayers to disperse worshippers near a mosque who were planning to protest against Qaddafi's regime.
But it was impossible to verify reports about what was happening in the Tajoura district of Tripoli because foreign journalists have been prevented from reporting from the area and anti-Qaddafi activists were not answering phone calls.
Government troops appeared early today to be taking the military initiative with advances against opposition fighters to the east of the capital.
Libyan opposition fighters pulled back their last main checkpoint near the eastern oil port city of Ras Lanuf early in the day as their forces continued to fight an offensive by government troops loyal to Qaddafi's regime.
That followed a vow by Qaddafi's son Saif al-Islam on March 10 that the regime would use force to crush the three-week-old uprising and retake territory seized by opposition fighters in the eastern parts of the country.
Qaddafi loyalists also had advanced into residential neighborhoods of Ras Lanuf overnight. But later, after opposition fighters moved tanks and armored personnel carriers from Brega toward Ras Lanuf, opposition forces claimed they had pushed pro-Qaddafi troops out of the oil terminal city.
written by Ron Synovitz, with agency reports
Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/libya_france_britain/2334529.html
Copyright (c) 2011. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8579 | Actor Gerard Depardieu gets Russian passport
Associated Press Published: Sunday, January 6, 2013, 11:48 a.m.
French actor Gerard Depardieu with his new Russian passport in Saransk, Russia, on Sunday.
MOSCOW — The day after receiving his new Russian passport from President Vladimir Putin, French actor Gerard Depardieu flew Sunday to the provincial town of Saransk, where he was greeted as a local hero and offered an apartment for free.Depardieu had sought Russian citizenship as part of his battle against a proposed super tax on millionaires in France.Putin granted his request last week and then welcomed the actor late Saturday to his residence in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russian television showed the two men embracing and then chatting over supper, discussing a soon-to-be-released film in which Depardieu plays Russian monk Grigory Rasputin.Depardieu flew Sunday to Saransk, a town about 500 kilometers (300 miles) east of Moscow, where he was met at a snow-covered airport by the governor and a group of women in traditional costume singing folk songs. He flashed his new passport to the crowd before setting out on a tour of the town.The governor invited Depardieu to settle in Saransk and offered him an apartment of his choice, according to reports on state television.Depardieu has not said where he would take up residence in Russia, only that he did not want to live in Moscow because it is too big and he prefers a village.The Frenchman has spent a fair bit of time in Russia in recent years, including for the filming of the French-Russian film "Rasputin," and he expresses an admiration for Putin. But it is Russia's flat 13 percent income tax that appears to be the biggest draw at the moment as he flees high taxes in France.France's new Socialist government tried to raise the tax on income above €1 million ($1.3 million) to 75 percent from the current 41 percent. That plan was struck down by the highest court, but Budget Minister Jerome Cahuzac said Sunday that the government is reworking the law so the superrich will still be asked to pay an elevated rate. He said the government is also considering putting the new tax in place for longer than the two years initially imagined."I find it a bit pathetic that for tax reasons this man — whom by the way I admire infinitely as an actor — has decided to exile himself," Cahuzac said.
Story tags » • Movies • Taxes • Europe | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8581 | It's an egg hunt, without the Easter part
By Julie MuhlsteinHerald Columnist Published: Wednesday, March 27, 2013, 3:04 p.m.
The Buzz: Super fans March 27, 2013
It's the Edmonds Egg Hunt. No, organizers did not forget to add a word -- Easter."We just want to respect all of our community," said Tammy Rankins, recreation coordinator for Edmonds Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services. "No matter what my religious belief is, we want to be aware of who's making up our community. We are definitely not all Christians."She doesn't see skipping Easter in describing an egg hunt as "anti-Christian."More than 1,000 people are expected at the Edmonds event, set for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Frances Anderson Center field, 700 Main St.Hosted by the city, the hunt is funded by private sponsors, including two Edmonds Rotary clubs, Sound Women's Care and Nama's Candy Store, Rankins said.Edmonds isn't the first place to have an egg hunt without acknowledging Easter. Last year, a blogger in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., wrote about that community's Spring Egg Hunt, even adding "not to be confused with the Easter Egg Hunt." Bill O'Reilly, host of Fox TV's "The O'Reilly Factor," has updated what he earlier called a "war on Christmas," saying Thursday that a "war on Judeo-Christian tradition" is back for the Easter season.Marysville is one of several area cities following tradition, calling its public event the Marysville Parks Easter Egg Hunt."Ours has always been an Easter egg hunt. It's affiliated with the Easter season," Marysville Parks and Recreation Director Jim Ballew said Tuesday. "In 25 years we've never had a complaint about the affiliation with Easter," he said.That's not the case in Edmonds, Rankins said. She said that last year someone complained about the city being involved in an egg hunt at all. Edmonds has hosted a community egg hunt for decades, she said."We hear the same debate with Christmas, with happy holidays and winter break," said Jerry Schiffelbein, president of Humanists of Washington. He doesn't mind Easter egg hunts or Christmas trees in public places, but said the group would take issue with a religious display in a park. Easter and Christmas, he said, are secular as well as religious celebrations.Marysville's egg hunt is at 10 a.m. Saturday in Jennings Memorial Park, 6915 Armar Road. Like the Edmonds hunt on public land, it happens thanks to private donors. At both the Edmonds and Marysville egg hunts, which are free, participants are encouraged to bring nonperishable food to be donated to their communities' food banks.Steve Fulton, owner of a State Farm Insurance business at Smokey Point, has been the Marysville egg hunt's primary sponsor for about seven years. He was amazed the first year he went to the hunt and saw thousands of kids and families. "It was a blast," he said.Since then, Fulton said, the egg hunt has become a venue for encouraging people to grow "giving gardens" that can provide the Marysville Food Bank with fresh produce come summertime. "It's a very significant community event," he said.Describing himself as an evangelical Christian, Fulton said that Easter eggs, like Christmas trees, are borrowed from pagan traditions. Taking Easter out of the celebration is "a shame," he said."Sometimes we hide special events behind the curtain, with everybody's beliefs in mind," said Ballew, adding that he has seen that with Halloween in schools.And while Everett welcomed the 2012 December holidays with a public event called Wintertide, Marysville held its annual Merrysville for the Holidays, with a parade and photo opportunities with Santa.Bill Toskey is an Edmonds Rotary member involved with that city's egg hunt. About the word Easter, Toskey said "the Rotary Club does not have an official position." Personally, he sees no harm in calling it an Easter egg hunt. His family didn't go to church when he was a boy, Toskey said, "yet my mother had Easter egg hunts and baskets."This year, his club is donating baskets for families helped by YWCA Seattle-King-Snohomish. At the agency's request, he said, they are "spring baskets."Why should cities be involved in egg hunts at all?"Events bring people out. You're meeting your neighbors. It creates the community," Rankins said. Michael Stevens, a Marysville City Council member, agrees. "These are the events that I really love in Marysville and other small communities," Stevens said. "It's participation at will. We at the city are not pushing any message."Stevens did state the obvious, that "Easter hunts came as a result of the Easter holiday.""Why ignore that?" he said. In Edmonds, the answer is about respecting others. It's not chocolate, but it is food for thought.Happy hunting. UPDATE: The City of Edmonds released this statement this afternoon and asked that it be posted: The City of Edmonds is excited to be working with various sponsors to provide an Edmonds Egg Hunt for this community on March 30, 10:00 am, Frances Anderson Center Field. This event has been happening for the past 30+ years at City Park. This year, due to popularity, we changed the venue to the Frances Anderson Center field. The City, in the spirit of being inclusive of all of our citizens, decided to name this event the Edmonds Egg Hunt in the year 2000, and is not new for this community. We have received no complaints about this until this year following a recent Everett Herald news article. The removal of specific religious references is common throughout many cities recreation departments, schools, and other government agencies. We want to recognize and welcome all citizens to our events, regardless of faith.Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
Story tags » • Customs & Traditions • Edmonds • Marysville • Easter
A dying request: ‘Please don’t vote for ...’ Haggen switches to sell only sustainable seafood
State GOP leader says Trump can win Washington
Disappointed Sounders forward accepts USA roster decision State golf roundup: Pair of Panthers contending after Day 1 Master Builders team up to build ramp for Arlington family | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8582 | China reports 3 more cases of new bird flu virus
Associated Press Published: Sunday, April 7, 2013, 1:32 p.m. BEIJING -- China reported three more cases of human infection of a new strain of bird flu on Sunday, raising the total number of cases to 21.Six of those who contracted the H7N9 virus have died. All 21 cases have been reported in the eastern part of the country.Health officials believe people are contracting the virus through direct contact with infected fowl and say there's no evidence the virus is spreading easily between people.China's official Xinhua News Agency reported two new cases in Shanghai and one in east China's Anhui Province on Sunday, citing local authorities.Shanghai has been ordered by the agriculture ministry to halt its live poultry trade and slaughter all fowl in markets where the virus has been found.The capital cities of the neighboring provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu also have suspended sales of live poultry. Both provinces have reported H7N9 cases. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8583 | Plan to use sewage worries Lake Stevens residents
By Bill SheetsHerald Writer Published: Thursday, May 9, 2013, 12:01 a.m. advertisement | your ad here
LAKE STEVENS -- A family business with a history of odor complaints is applying for a permit to mix solids left over from sewage treatment with soil, apparently to make fertilizer.Tenelco has applied for a permit from the city of Lake Stevens for the soil operation. A similar business might have operated on the site in the past without permission from the city, according to city officials.Dave Eldredge operates Evergreen Sanitation on the 22-acre site at 2910 and 3024 Old Hartford Road. This operation -- separate from the soils mixing business -- installs and pumps out septic systems and grease traps, and pumps out portable toilets. This business also has been operating without a permit, according to city officials.Dave Eldredge said in a brief phone interview that his father's wife*, Catherine Eldredge, heads up Tenelco.The site is located in the northeastern part of Lake Stevens, across Old Hartford Road from the Centennial Trail. A neighborhood abuts the western* side of the property. A "for sale" sign is attached to the fence in front of the business. The entire parcel, including the buildings, is for sale for $3.8 million, according to the Workman Real Estate Service website. The site is owned by Eldredge Industrial LLC, according to Snohomish County property records.Dave Eldredge did not respond to a list of email questions sent Monday -- including an inquiry about why the property is up for sale while the family is trying to obtain business permits.Neighbors of the site say the businesses generate odor, noise and dust.The question often is, "Can we open our window today?" said Bryan Alldredge, who lives near the business site."The odors are just awful. It's raw sewage," said Judy Bales, whose home abuts the business property. "It's really disgusting, we have to shut our windows. We can't entertain in the summer. It's a nauseating stench."Tenelco has been cited 10 times for offensive odors in recent years by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, said Laurie Halvorson, compliance officer for the Seattle-based agency. She did not say whether the company had been fined for the violations.The family must have a plan for odor control to receive the permit for the soil mixing, Lake Stevens planning director Becky Ableman said.Some type of sewage byproduct or sludge from a treatment plant likely would be used for the soil mixing, though Tenelco has not specifically said where it would come from, Ableman said. The company would not be able to use raw sewage from the sanitation business, she said.Noise from Evergreen Sanitation also has been a problem for neighbors, Bales said."It's really noisy all the time," she said. "It's a constant drill in my head. We were hearing trucks at 3 in the morning last summer."Dave Eldredge said in a brief email that Evergreen Sanitation sometimes must operate around the clock, seven days a week."Normally we shut down by 6 p.m., but if we get an emergency call, from say a municipality with a sewer line break, we fire up the trucks and go to protect public health and the environment," he said. "Sewer lines and pumps don't care if it's 2 a.m., they break when they break."Ableman said the businesses will have to comply with city noise rules to receive the permit, but she couldn't say how that would affect the current decibel level coming from the business.Tenelco was issued a biosolids permit in 2010 by the state Department of Ecology, even though it wasn't operating in Lake Stevens at the time, said Peter Christiansen, section manager for waste resources for the department. The permit is good for five years, he said.The family has run several businesses on the Lake Stevens site since about 1990, according to the city, under different names -- Evergreen Sanitation, Series Seven, Evergreen On-site and Eldredge Industrial. All have operated without city permits, Ableman said.Tenelco applied for a permit from the city in 2004 but did not follow through, Ableman said. Still, there was evidence of grading and soil moving on the site from 2004 to 2007, according to a 2009 letter from the city to Eldredge Industrial."We have been working with them since I've been here (since 2006) to get them into compliance and we have made progress," Ableman said.Evergreen Sanitation installed an odor control system in 2010, she said."It has had some success. We do think there is another phase of that system that needs to be installed."Ableman said she doesn't know why the businesses were allowed to operate without permits before 2006."There have been a number of things occur on the site and we have limited documentation on what that was," she said.City staff visited the site in early February and found several other problems, according to a city letter to Tenelco dated March 7. The city found piles of garbage and debris, including car parts and hulk vehicles, along with algae blooms in standing water near a ditch that drains off of the property.The ditch runs into Catherine Creek, which empties into Lake Stevens and Little Pilchuck Creek.The city will need more information about the potential effect on the water in the creeks before deciding whether to approve the permit, Ableman said. Tenelco will have to improve drainage control on the site, according to the March 7 letter.Clearing away the debris and junk would fall under grading and building permits that would be required for the operating permit to be issued, Ableman said.The city aims to bring all the conditions on site into compliance with city rules, she said. So if a permit is issued to Tenelco, it would also bring Evergreen Sanitation into compliance as well.In 2005 and 2006, more than 25,000 cubic yards of wood fiber waste from Kimberly-Clark operations was taken to the Lake Stevens site, presumably to be used for soil mixing, according to the city of Everett.The city acquired the pile of wood waste when it bought the Kimberly-Clark Riverside site in 2004, said Chris Chesson, senior environmental specialist for the city.The city paid Series Seven, doing business as Evergreen On-site, $355,600 to take the material.The pile was tested before being trucked to Lake Stevens and found to contain high amounts of nitrogen and some amounts of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper and lead, according to a 2003 document. The state Department of Agriculture, which has jurisdiction over topsoil, signed off on it before it was removed, Chesson said. "There was no indication that these levels are above anything that's going to create a problem," he said.The soil will have to be tested as part of environmental studies on the site, Ableman said.The family could either hire a firm to do the studies and have the results reviewed by the city, or the family could pay the city to supervise the work, she said."Either way it's got to be verified by the city," Ableman said.The city then will decide whether a more detailed environmental study needs to be done. At that point, the public can weigh in, Ableman said. She did not have a timeline.Judy Bales said that she and her husband, Mike, knew about the business when they moved into the home eight years ago, but didn't investigate it enough. "If we had known what we were moving into we would not have bought this house."Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439; sheets@heraldnet.com. *Correction, Aug. 22, 2013: This story originally incorrectly identified the location of the neighborhood in relationship to the business. It also incorrectly state Catherine Eldredge's relation to the family. Story tags » • Lake Stevens • Pollution • Waste
Fatal falls continue to plague Snohomish County work sites Judge bars release of Oso double-murder records for now
Police: Bothell teacher had head injury, zip tie around neck Longtime Superior Court judge won't seek re-election | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8586 | Iraq fights militants around oil refinery
Associated Press Published: Wednesday, June 18, 2014, 12:36 p.m.
Signs of reprisal killings emerge in Iraq June 18, 2014
Prospect of new Iraq fight turns hawks into doves June 17, 2014
After treaty, Iranian moderates gain strength February 28, 2016
After treaty, reformists gain in Iranian election February 27, 2016
UAE says it�s prepared to send ground forces to Syria
Saudi Arabia ready to send ground troops to Syria
Saudis cut ties with Iran after Shiite cleric's execution January 4, 2016
Fighting in Yemen kills at least 75
Iran war game simulates capture of Jerusalem
BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces battled insurgents targeting the country's main oil refinery and said they regained partial control of a city near the Syrian border Wednesday, trying to blunt a weeklong offensive by Sunni militants who diplomats fear may have also seized some 100 foreign workers.
In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki struck an optimistic tone and vowed to teach the attackers a "lesson" — even though Iraqi soldiers abandoned their posts in the wake of the initial militant offensive.
"We have now started our counteroffensive, regaining the initiative and striking back," al-Maliki said.
The campaign by the al-Qaida-inspired Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has raised the specter of the sectarian warfare that nearly tore the country apart in 2006 and 2007. The relentless violence that followed the 2003 U.S.-led invasion now haunts those trying to decide how to respond.
At the White House, President Barack Obama was to brief lawmakers later Wednesday on what options the U.S. could pursue.
The U.S. is pressing al-Maliki to undermine the insurgency by making overtures to Iraq's once-dominant Sunni minority, which has long complained of discrimination by al-Maliki's government and excesses by his Shiite-led security forces.
Al-Maliki, a Shiite, has consistently rejected charges of bias against the Sunnis and has in recent days been stressing the notion that the threat posed by the Islamic State will affect all Iraqis regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliations. He appeared Tuesday night on television with Sunni leaders and politicians as a sign of solidarity.
The prime minister's relatively upbeat assessment came as the Iraqi military said its forces regained parts of the strategic city of Tal Afar near the Syrian border, which Islamic State fighters captured on Monday. Its closeness to the Syrian border strengthens the Islamic State's plan to carve out an Islamic caliphate, or state, stretching across parts of the two countries.
It also came hours after the chief military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said government forces repelled an attack by militants on the country's largest oil refinery at Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of the capital, Baghdad.
Al-Moussawi said 40 attackers were killed in fighting there overnight and early Wednesday.
Video footage posted online shows smoke billowing in the background from an area near the refinery. Another clip uploaded by the ISIL shows its heavily armed fighters arriving in the town, waving black flags out of cars. The videos appear genuine and correspond to Associated Press reporting of the events depicted.
There was no independent confirmation either of al-Moussawi's claims or those of the Iraqi military's retaking neighborhoods in Tal Afar. The areas are in territories held by insurgents that journalists have not been able to access.
The Beiji refinery accounts for a little more than a quarter of the country's entire refining capacity — all of which goes toward domestic consumption for things like gasoline, cooking oil and fuel for power stations. Any lengthy outage at Beiji risks long lines at the gas pump and electricity shortages, adding to the chaos already facing Iraq.
Meanwhile, the Indian government said 40 Indian construction workers have been seized near Iraq's second-largest city, Mosul, which ISIL and allied Sunni fighters captured last week. Roughly 10,000 Indian citizens work and live in Iraq, with only about 100 in violent, insecure areas like Mosul, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.
And the Turkish Foreign Ministry said its diplomats were investigating a Turkish media report that militants grabbed 60 foreign construction workers, including some 15 Turks, near the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk.
Ethnic Kurds now control Kirkuk, moving to fill a vacuum after the flight of Iraqi soldiers. They too are battling the Sunni extremist militants.
On Wednesday, Kurdish security and hospital officials said that fighting has been raging since morning between Kurdish fighters known as peshmerga and militants who are trying to take the town of Jalula, in the restive Diyala province some 80 miles northeast of Baghdad.
Two civilians were killed and six peshmerga fighters were wounded, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Also in the Kirkuk area, Sunni militants attacked a cluster of villages Tuesday night, killing at least 20 ethnic Turkomen Shiites and burning 13 Shiite homes, said Shalal Abdoul, the mayor of the nearby town of Tuz Khormato. Two more Tukromen Shiites remain missing. Following the fighting, residents of the three villages left for Tuz Khormato, which is held by the peshmerga.
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders said shelling in the city of Tikrit on Friday caused severe damage to one of its clinics, disrupting medical care for tens of thousands of people displaced by the violence.
The Sunni militants of the Islamic State have vowed to march to Baghdad and the Shiite holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in the worst threat to Iraq's stability since U.S. troops left in late 2011. The three cities are home to some of the most revered Shiite shrines. The Islamic State also has tried to capture Samarra, a city north of Baghdad and home to another major Shiite shrine.
Iran, a neighboring Shiite country, already has seen thousands volunteer to defend the shrines. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, speaking Wednesday to a crowd gathered at a stadium near his country's border with Iraq, said that the Islamic State and others would be defeated.
"We declare to all superpowers, their mercenaries, murderers and terrorists that the great Iranian nation will not miss any effort in protecting these sacred sites," Rouhani said.
The U.S. and Iran are discussing how the longtime foes might cooperate to ease the threat from the al-Qaida-linked militants. Still, the White House ruled out the possibility that Washington and Tehran might coordinate military operations in Iraq.
Some 275 armed American forces are being positioned in and around Iraq to help secure U.S. assets as Obama also considers an array of options.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Wednesday during a trip to Saudi Arabia that his country had formally asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes against positions of the Islamic State.
But U.S. officials say Obama has shifted his focus away from airstrikes as an immediate option, in part because there are few clear targets the U.S. could hit. Obama has made no final decisions and could ultimately approve limited strikes if stronger targets emerge.
Ahead of his meeting at the White House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the U.S. had no business sending troops into the midst of what he called Iraq's civil war.
"It's time for the Iraqis to resolve it themselves," said Reid, a Nevada Democrat. Taking on Republicans who have blamed the current violence on the withdrawal of U.S. forces, Reid said, "Those who attack President Obama for bringing our troops home from Iraq are wrong and out of step with the American people. After a decade of war, the American people have had enough."
Story tags » • Iraq War
Veteran �60 Minutes� newsman Morley Safer dies at 84
9:36 a.m. Oklahoma passes bill making it a felony to perform abortions
11:28 a.m. Colorado movie theater isn�t liable for 2012 mass shooting
11:22 a.m. Egypt plane crashes in Mediterranean; terror attack possible
8:29 a.m. Mars, Earth, sun line up perfectly in sky this weekend
11:41 a.m. Manning appeal seeks reversal of charges in Wikileaks case
11:29 a.m. Cathy McMorris Rodgers backs Trump, isolating Paul Ryan
8:38 a.m. PM Trudeau apologizes again in Parliament after elbow
11:26 a.m. > More stories | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8589 | Games ban on refugees faces legal challenge
/ Victoria Weldon, Reporter
THE Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is being urged to take legal action over prospective refugees being denied the chance to volunteer at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The director of Positive Action in Housing (PAIH), Robina Qureshi, called for the commission's Scottish office to challenge the rule in the Court of Session and warned that campaign groups are likely to protest over the "discriminatory and unjust" policy.
Under strict criteria for volunteering for the Games, all applicants must be permitted to work in the UK, a regulation which rules out Glasgow's large population of asylum seekers, many from Commonwealth countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.
Qureshi said: "The organising committee is supposed to ensure the Games celebrate diversity and inclusion, but the criteria they have set for volunteering breaches that.
"We think the EHRC should speak out on this important issue of diversity and launch a legal challenge in the Court of Session."
She added: "If they don't open their eyes and change that policy, the Games will be tainted, and we anticipate protests by refugee and human-rights groups."
Under current UK Border Agency (UKBA) rules, asylum seekers can volunteer in the UK but cannot take up paid work.
However, Glasgow 2014 organisers claim the criteria for volunteers was set after consultation with the Home Office, UKBA and the police.
Gary Christie of the Scottish Refugee Council (SRC) said: "The blanket ban has disappointed many refugees and asylum seekers.
"It would seem the organising committee have fallen at the first hurdle in ensuring the accessibility and diversity of the Games for everyone in Scotland.
A spokesman for Glasgow 2014 said they are "committed to delivering an accessible, diverse and inclusive Games".
He added: "We understand that most refugees and individuals with humanitarian protection status, and a small number of asylum seekers, will be able to meet the criteria.
"There may, however, be some who will not meet the criteria, or will not be able to provide the necessary documents. This will typically include those who have made recent claims for asylum.
"In these circumstances, we cannot anticipate whether individual cases will have been considered and concluded by Games time and therefore whether those individuals would be able to take up volunteer roles even if offered."
The spokesman added that the committee will look at other ways of ensuring refugees can get involved in the Games.
A spokeswoman for the EHRC was unable to comment.
ASYLUM seekers in Glasgow are disappointed at their exclusion from the Games.
Tabraiz Burki, 20, originally from Pakistan, said he was surprised to find out he was unable to volunteer as he has already carried out charity work in Scotland.
Burki, who has been in the UK for three years, said: "I really wanted to volunteer. I thought it would be a nice thing to do. I was really keen to get involved and contribute something. I'm really disappointed that I can't, as it would have been a great experience.
"Life as an asylum seeker is very monotonous and this would have allowed me to do something worthwhile. I won't be getting paid or anything so I don't see the problem." | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8594 | House blaze doctor loses last child
Maheen Shakoor died three days after she was rescued from a fire at her family home in Essex
A doctor is facing life without his wife and all five of his children after his three-year-old daughter lost her fight for life following a devastating house fire.Maheen Shakoor had been in a critical condition in the burns units at the Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford since being transferred there after the blaze in Harlow, Essex.Her mother, Dr Sabah Usmani, brothers Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, 9, and Rayyan, six, and 12-year-old sister Hira died in their end-of-terrace house in Barn Mead in the early hours of Monday. Her father Abdul Shakoor, also a doctor, suffered minor injuries as he fought to rescue his family from the blaze.A spokesman for the Princess Alexandra Hospital, where Dr Shakoor worked and where Maheen was initially taken, said on Thursday that the girl had also died.He said: "On behalf of all our staff at Princess Alexandra Hospital, we extend our deepest sympathy to Dr Shakoor. All of us have been saddened by this tragedy and as a close-knit hospital community, many of us know Dr Shakoor and have been overwhelmed by what has happened."Our book of condolence, which is available for staff to sign in our hospital, is being filled with the most heartfelt and genuine messages which are truly humbling. Our thoughts and our prayers are with our dear friend and colleague."Essex Police initially treated the blaze as a suspected arson attack but no trace of an accelerant used to spark the flames has so far been found. Although officers are continuing to investigate all possibilities, it is now thought "increasingly likely" the fire was a tragic accident.The results of tests carried out at the scene have been released and show that the fire started in the lounge at the rear of the property.Detective Superintendent Rob Vinson said: "We know already from the fire service and our own findings that temperatures would have been extremely high, with thick toxic smoke permeating the house... The ferocity of the blaze has made the forensic work more challenging."A mound of floral tributes has been left near the family home and friends and neighbours have paid tribute to the "wonderful, hard-working" family. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8598 | Browse Historic Joplin
Historic Joplin
The History of Joplin
Big Trouble in Little Joplin Despite the widespread fear of the “Yellow Peril,” not all Americans viewed their Chinese neighbors as economic competitors or sinister agents of the Chinese Emperor. It also helped if they were hard working Christians. Preston McGoodwin, a reporter for the Joplin Globe who went on to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, profiled one of Joplin’s Chinese residents, Ah King.
King, owner of the Crystal Laundry located at 818 South Main Street, was lauded by McGoodwin as a “devout Christian worker.” He arrived in San Francisco, California, at the age of fourteen sometime around 1880. Although he did not tell McGoodwin how he ended up in the Midwest, he did relate that he arrived in Joplin in 1900 after living in nearby Springfield, Missouri. He reportedly astounded members of Joplin’s small Chinese community when he announced he was a devout Baptist. McGoodwin informed the Globe’s readers that King “differs materially from the average church and association members in that he is at all times devout and intensely sincere.” McGoodwin also praised King for his “scrupulously clean” business that employed several white girls who washed and ironed customer’s clothes. King’s luck did not last.
A few months later, the Joplin Globe reported that Ah King and his brother Sam Long left town after he fell behind on rent to the Leonard Mercantile and Realty Company. It was noted that King had always borne an “excellent reputation” and was a “consistent member of the Baptist Church.” Joplin residents who knew King insisted he left to find money to pay his landlord, he left behind in his wake two angry female employees who were forced to wash and iron laundry to make up for their lost wages. “He owes us, the wretch,” one of the girls growled as she starched shirts. Her compatriot added, “It’s a perfect outrage to treat us girls so.” Others thought that King was spirited away by members of the Boxers, an anti-Western Chinese group, because he openly expressed his disapproval of the group. King did not return to Joplin.
Chinese Christians, as pictured here, were detested by the Chinese Boxer Movement. This may have been why some believed the Boxers to be involved with King's disappearance.
Another one of the handful of Chinese residents in Joplin, Jung Sing, also experienced misfortune. Sing, who ran a “chop suey restaurant” on East Fifth Street, was arrested for selling opium. After he bonded out of jail, he returned home to find that his American wife had left him, taking his entire savings of $700. As Sing said (as crudely rendered by a Joplin Globe reporter), “She done skippee. When I fin’ she make getaway, I lookee in clash legister. All empty. Lookee in safe. Empty. I makee to fin’ out how much gone. Seven hundred dollar. I marry China gal next time.”
It was not the first time that Sing had had bad luck with women. After arriving in New York, he opened up a restaurant and married an American citizen. Together they lived in New York City’s Chinatown until one morning he woke up to find that she had disappeared. After searching their abode, he found she had taken $1000 of his money. Sing soon left for San Francisco where he met his second American wife. Together they moved to Joplin and lived there until she left with his money. When asked if he planned on catching her, Sing shook his head and said, “No, no. Makee no fuss. Never get seven hundred dollar back anyhow. Marry China gal next time.”
A chop suey restaurant in Chicago. Restaurants were always an option for immigrants seeking to find their place in a community, like Sing in Joplin. Sing’s luck did not get any better. A few days later after his wife left him, two men came into his restaurant and refused to pay the bill. When Sing demanded they pay, the men attacked him. The proprietor ran to the back of his restaurant, grabbed a revolver, and chased the two men out onto the street. He fired two shots but failed to hit either man. After an investigation, Sing was arrested for disturbing the peace by Deputy Constable Norman Bricker. His fate is unknown, but one can hope that he found a wife who would not run off with his cash.
The experiences of Sing and King represent one more window into the world of Joplin’s Chinese immigrants. Did every immigrant come across similar bad luck or were our two migrants featured here the exception? Although historians cannot judge whether or not either man was truly accepted as a member of Joplin society, King may have been looked upon more favorably, as he was a devout Christian. Sing, on the other hand, may not have been as tolerated because he had been charged with selling opium and was married to a white woman during a time of great racial intolerance. Perhaps both men were fortunate enough to obtain their American dream far from the shores of the Celestial Kingdom.
Sources: Library of Congress, Joplin Globe.
Brown, March 6th 2010 | Tags: Chinese dry cleaning, Chinese Immigrants, Chinese immigrants in joplin, chop suey, chop suey restaurant, Crystal Laundry, history of joplin, immigrants in Joplin, Jasper County Missouri, Jasper County Missouri history, joplin history, Joplin Missouri, Missouri, opium, Preston McGoodwin, Southwest Missouri Posted in People of Joplin May 2016
Recent Posts Images from the 1943 Joplin Flood
1910s – 1920s Joplin Miners
1928 and 1930 Joplin Miners
The Yuletide Season
Halloween in Joplin
Post Archive2015
This page took 0.181 seconds of computer labor to produce.
Historic Joplin pimped by
preuro.eu | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8606 | Click for weather forecast A birthday so special it only comes every four years Written by Darci Tomky “It’s kind of fun,” said Logan Tharp, referring to the anticipation of his upcoming birthday. This HHS sophomore will be celebrating his fourth birthday next week.
Please don’t jump to conclusions. This 10th-grader is actually on the brink of turning 16, but since his unique birthday only comes around every four years, Tharp can simply laugh when he tells people he’ll only be 4 years old next Wednesday.
Tharp is a leap year baby, born Feb. 29, 1996. He will end up with fewer birthday anniversaries than his age in years.
“I used to hate it in elementary school,” he said, remembering how the kids would tease him about being only 2 or 3 years old. Now he finds the fun in it, joking around with the little kids who actually believe him when he says he’s only 3 years old.
Tharp usually celebrates his birthday on Feb. 28, but he said he couldn’t get his driving permit until March 1 last year, because they told him he wasn’t a full 15 years old yet.
This year he’ll be able to get his license on March 1, but the thing he’d really like to be doing is preparing for a regional basketball game on his birthday.Leap year baby Logan Tharp is pictured eight years ago at a district basketball game on his second official birthday. This 16-year-old is excited to celebrate his fourth birthday next Wednesday, Feb. 29.
—Enterprise file photo
Leap days occur in most years that are divisible by four, like 2008, 2012 and 2016. The exception is that years divisible by 100 don’t get a leap day unless they are evenly divisible by 400. For example, the year 1900 didn’t have a leap day, but the years 1600 and 2000 did.
Even though most calendar years contain 365 days, the actual number of days it takes the earth to revolve around the sun is 365.2425. That’s 365 days, five hours, 49 minutes and 12 seconds!
To compensate for this and keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year, an extra 24-hour day (Feb. 29) is included every four years in the Gregorian calendar. Since it’s slightly inaccurate to add an extra six hours every year, the end-of-the-century years don’t have a leap day unless they are divisible by 400. A year that is not a leap year is called a common year.
The percent of the population born on leap day is 0.274 percent. Over 4.7 million people worldwide are leaplings, or leap year babies, with birthdays on Feb. 29. Around 10,800 babies are born in the United States on leap day.
A long-standing tradition in the British Isles is that women may only propose marriage to a man on leap day. Compensation for a refusal ranged from a silk gown to a kiss.
On the other hand, however, marriage in a leap year is considered unlucky in Greece and will be avoided by many couples.
Many famous people have been born on leap day, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance brought even more popularity to the special birthday. In this opera, the pirate apprentice learns, to his dismay, that he’s bound to serve the pirates until his 21st birthday rather than until his 21st year.
Now the question is: What will everyone do next week with their extra special, extra day in February?Holyoke Enterprise February 23, 2012 | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8608 | Retail briefs
Retail Editor 4, Home & Textiles Today Staff -- Home Textiles Today, November 19, 2001
Wal-Mart: Vendors will foot the bill for inventory
After closing the books on another record-breaking quarter and poised to break the $200 billion sales mark this fiscal year, Wal-Mart continues to look for ways to pare its costs and boost profitability.
And inventory costs are now on its radar.
In recorded remarks to discuss third quarter results last week, executive vp and cfo Tom Schoewe said the company is looking toward the day when vendors completely cover the costs for inventory.
"Payables for the corporation as a percentage of inventory rose to approximately 65 percent, and our goal remains to have 100 percent of our inventory financed by our suppliers," Schoewe said. "This does not mean that we're going to be waiting for months to pay our suppliers. Rather, it means increasing our inventory turns to a point where we have sold the merchandise before we have to pay for it."
Ames announces another round of store closings
Embattled Ames Department Stores said that it will close 16 stores by early 2002. The majority were part of Ames' robust expansion into the Midwest during the late 1990s, when the company acquired the bankrupt Hills Department Store chain as well as seven defunct Goldblatt's units in Chicago.
The company, which filed for Chapter 11 three months ago, announced the closing of 47 stores in August and in November 2000 closed 32 stores. The company now will close 10 stores in Illinois, three in Tennessee and one each in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The company also opened five stores this year, three of them in Illinois.
Hanover Direct to relocate headquarters
Hanover Direct has announced it will relocate its offices to Edgewater, NJ, putting 57,000 square feet of office space in Weehawken, NJ, up for sale.
The company said that this was part of the strategic business realignment, where it has reduced the scope of the operations to core brands, announced in January. The Company Store and Gump's By Mail are remaining in Weehawken, relocating to previously vacated space on the second floor of the site.
Retailers urge government to endorse sales tax holiday
Retail ceos from some of the largest companies in the U.S. joined the National Retail Federation in asking Congress and President Bush to pass a nationwide sales tax holiday, positioning it as an economic stimulus that would save consumers $6.5 billion.
The legislation, which has already been introduced into the senate and house, would allow participating states to stop collecting state and local sales tax for a 10-day period. Congress would reimburse the lost revenue. All big-ticket items would be covered by the holiday, including automobiles. However, taxes on alcoholic beverages and tobacco would not be suspended.
Currently, 45 states collect sales taxes, which average 6 percent to 8 percent.
Among the 33 executives who signed the NRF letter were Gordon Segal, ceo, Crate & Barrel; John Dunham, president, May Department Stores Co.; George Heller, president and ceo, Hudson's Bay Co., Alan Lacy, chairman, president and ceo, Sears; Brad Martin, chairman and ceo, Saks Inc.; Bill Podany, chairman, president and ceo, ShopKo; Allen Questrom, chairman and ceo, J.C. Penney Co.; and Jim Zimmerman, chairman and ceo, Federated Department Stores.
Lands' End opens new facility
Lands' End, based in Dodgeville, WI, has opened a $11 million facility in Stevens Point, WI, which houses the company's second corporate sales phone center, embroidery and distribution facility and its fourth consumer phone center. The 200,000-square-foot facility contains a warehouse, production space, a distribution area to handle corporate sales orders, two phone center, a logo design area and management offices. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8625 | Anna Ford Attacks BBC Director General Mark Thompson Over Alleged Ageism
PA Posted: 18/03/2012 06:42 GMT Updated: 17/05/2012 10:12 BST Share
Former newsreader Anna Ford has waded into the debate about ageism on television, accusing the BBC of "tokenism" and taking a swipe at Director-General Mark Thompson.Appearing on Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, she told host Kirsty Young she would not go back in front of the camera.When Young asked her about Mr Thompson's recent comments regretting the lack of older women on television, Ford said: "It's a bit late, isn't it? He's been here for a long time, he hasn't done a lot about it."The issue came to a head at the corporation last year when former Countryfile presenter Miriam O'Reilly won an age discrimination case against the BBC after being rejected for a role on a revamped version of the show.Ford said: "They have asked people like Julia Somerville back and I did bump into her recently and said 'Congratulations, I'm really pleased that you've taken this job' and she said 'Yes, I know, but I've only got 24 days a year on my contract'. It seems to me tokenism."Ford, who read the news at ITN as well as the BBC in a long career, also discussed the early death of her husband, cartoonist Mark Boxer.She said: "We'd just really got to know each and we were settling down in this wonderful house in west London and everything was wonderful so to have that whipped away was about the worst thing that could possibly happen to you and yet you cope with it because you've got to."She also discussed her spat with novelist Martin Amis whom she accused - in an open letter to The Guardian - of neglecting his role as a godfather to her daughter after Boxer's death.Ford said the letter was one of her "occasional bursts of spontaneity" and revealed that Amis had written "an extremely nice letter" to her daughter afterwards.Ford, who famously inspired fellow newsreader Reginald Bosanquet to write her love poems while the pair were on air, said she was not "completely happy alone".She said: "One of the difficulties of being famous is that the wrong men feel able to approach you and the right men wouldn't dream of approaching you because they think 'She'd never look at me' whereas I probably would."Ford, a clergyman's daughter, declined to take the Bible which is routinely given to castaways and opted to take a book of poetry.
Anna Ford
Itn | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8626 | Huffpost UK Culture
Get UK CultureNewsletters
Go to World
Protecting Journalists
Iranathon
MyDaily
Angelina Jolie And Brad Pitt's Wedding Plans Revealed
Go to MyDaily
More in MyDaily
BLOGS View all featured blog posts Culture
Sam Parker
sam.parker@huffingtonpost.com
Are Killers Born, Or Made? Author Noah Hawley Discusses New Book 'The Good Father' (INTERVIEW)
Carolyn Fong
Noah Hawley's fourth book - The Good Father - is rapidly turning into America's latest publishing sensation.And no wonder. Recently reviewed on HuffPost Culture, the book deals with some of the biggest issues in American life, from the challenges of parenthood to political assassinations and gun crime, subjects that collide when the protagonist's son is accused of shooting the next president.Here author Noah Hawley discusses the accusation that he based his victim on Obama, whether or he's railing against gun culture and where he stands on the novel's central question: namely, are killers born, or made?What inspired The Good Father?
When my wife was pregnant with our daughter, I began thinking about what kind of person my daughter would grow up to be and what kind of father I would make. This idle curiosity turned to late night worry. Nobody sets out to be a bad parent, but what if it happens without you realising it? What if our best isn’t good enough? The book came out of that fear.Some people have suggested Seagram, the assassinated politician, is based on Obama. Did you intend this to be a political book?
I began writing the book before Obama was president, but I suppose it was a political choice to say here is this man who was the hope of his generation, and he is a Democrat. I can’t deny that some of had to do with the fact that I started it in the dog days of the Bush administration - I think everyone was looking for a change at that point, even the Republicans. It was also important to me to have a charismatic candidate – like a Clinton or an Obama or a Ronald Reagan - larger than life figures who attract the most polarising attention. People who don’t believe in them feel like it’s just smoke and mirrors, and the people who do believe in them 100%.The son, Danny, embarks on a journey that ultimately leads to his involvement in a crime – was this a deliberate attempt to subvert the romance of the great American road trip?
America’s a huge country that’s easy to get lost in. For Danny, this journey which started in the spirit of adventure quickly darkens. I remember when I first moved to California from New York I jumped in a car for two weeks and drove down to Utah and Arizona and the Grand Canyon and I was all by myself and I would sometimes go days without talking to anybody. It has a pretty powerful effect on you, this sort of isolation and I felt like for Danny this was the key. Is there a lot of your younger self in Danny? I like to say that if you have a good childhood, your childhood becomes invisible in your life. But if you had a bad childhood it’s part of your everyday life. People I know who have had those childhoods have to spend every day overcoming obstacles that were put in their way when they were that age. I had a very healthy family, grew up with a strong sense of self. I never really had Danny’s kind of searching.One question that goes through your head when you’re reading the book is the same that goes through the father’s: to what extent is Danny to blame for what he does?
I didn’t want to explain it. I like that it’s open ended for readers, I didn’t want to make it easy and say ‘this is the moment’ when he turns bad. What I wanted to say is that it’s impossible to figure out what the moment is. I think when you look at these real life cases like John Hinckley, these guys you read about their lives and the journey’s they took there are so many moments where they could have made a different choice or something different might have happened to them and they wouldn’t have ended up where they ended up. That’s what makes it a tragedy is that it’s avoidable.The book’s been described as a ‘brutal attack on US gun culture’ – did you intend it to be that?
Not at all. The gun issue in the UK is clearly a polarising one and a polarising one worldwide, but as you can see from recent events in France and other countries, and it’s not an American only problem. I didn’t write this to be a critique of gun culture. Last week someone in England started talking about America’s gun problems and I said: you know sir, there’s a lot of stabbings over here! It’s not that the guns make people violent, it’s just that when you are violent with a gun the results are catastrophic, you know. I can it see it being a source of fascination for readers of the books in the UK.
My father-in-law is a libertarian, and I gave him an early draft to read, and he pointed out to me the liberal biases that I had unknowingly included in the book. I really appreciated that and I went back through and changed the language to make it more objective, because I don’t want a reader with a certain political bent picking up the book and throwing it away in disgust. I would be defeating myself as a story teller if I did. What reaction have you had from readers?
I got an email from a woman who was in a fishing village somewhere in England on the coast. She wrote to me to say how the book had such an impact for her because her son was the captain of a fishing boat and they’d been out on a trip and one of the men had fallen overseas and drowned, and her son became vilified in this town. She wrote this very powerful email to me about how this book affected her because of the idea that she couldn’t help her son, there was nothing she could do to protect him, he hadn’t done anything wrong but he’d still suffered the consequences. And I think that’s the most amazing thing about this book, because parenting is such a personal thing that we do and one of the most important. That people are relating to this book in a very personal way is something that is humbling, and I wrote her back a long letter. It’s very hard in this day and age to reach people on that intimate level and when you do don’t take it for granted - you have to acknowledge that it’s kind of extraordinary. More:
Noah Hawley
"The Huffington Post" is a registered trademark of TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc. All rights reserved. 2016© Part of HuffPost Culture | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8651 | NewsUKHome News Curse of the Krankies: John Barrowman hurt after live panto horse fall
Lewis Smith
Scottish-American actor John Barrowman, 45, was playing the lead in a matinée performance of Jack and the Beanstalk when a live horse was spooked and threw him on to the stage at the SECC Clyde Auditorium.After telling the audience he was feeling unwell, he was taken to the city’s Western Infirmary as a precaution. He is thought to have received a minor back injury.Barrowman, who has TV roles in Doctor Who, Torchwood and Animals At Work, was appearing in the show with comedy duo The Krankies. In 2004 Janette Tough, better known as “Wee Jimmy Krankie”, was almost killed when she fell off a beanstalk at Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre and fractured her skull. A spokeswoman for the SECC said: “During the matinée performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, John Barrowman suffered an injury on stage and has been taken to hospital as a precaution. His understudy stepped in.”The performance was halted for 40 minutes before Barrowman’s stand-in, his cousin Greg Barrowman, was able to finish the show. The spokeswoman added: “John is completely fine. He is just a little bit bruised.”It is hoped the Glasgow-born actor will return this afternoon, as the show is due to finish its run tomorrow. It is Barrowman’s third consecutive year performing with the Krankies in panto, after Aladdin and Robinson Crusoe. More about: | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8681 | The inside story on emergencies
Please choose your preferred language
arالعربية
Aid and Policy
Environment and Disasters
Environment and DisastersClimate change
AfricaEast AfricaBurundi
Southern AfricaLesotho
West AfricaBurkina Faso
Middle EastEgypt
Asia-PacificAfghanistan
EuropeFrance
AmericasBrazil
Film and Photo
Maps and Graphics
Featured Topics:
WHS Blog
Forgotten Conflicts
Conflict Forty killed in clashes in northern governorate of Al-Jawf
Adel Yahya/IRIN
SANA'A, 23 March 2011
The anti-government uprising, backed by opposition parties, has sparked clashes between pro- and anti-government tribesmen in the northern Yemeni governorate of Al-Jawf where at least 40 people have been killed in the past few days, said Sheikh Abdulhamid Amer, chairman of local NGO Social Development and Peace Association. "The clashes broke out five days ago when government-paid thugs opened fire on peaceful protesters supporting the `Youth Revolution’ in front of the governorate administrative buildings in Al-Jawf city,” he told IRIN. The governorate administrative buildings and the locally-based 115th Infantry Division are both controlled by anti-government tribesmen. Amer expected further casualties in the ongoing clashes with pro-government forces. Anti-government tribesmen took over control of the 115th Infantry Division after its commander, Brig Abdurabu Hussein, refused to hand over to Brig Ali Haidara al-Henshi, appointed by President Ali Abdullah Saleh to replace Hussein, local independent news website barakish.net reported on 22 March. According to the website, Hussein, who declared his support for the “Youth Revolution”, handed over control of the division and its equipment to the tribesmen. The website said Hussein was dismissed by Saleh a day after Houthi gunmen on 20 March seized two tanks, eight vehicles and four artillery pieces from a contingent of the 115th Infantry Division deployed in the governorate’s Al-Safraa area. Houthi rebels have waged an on-off war with the government since 2004, demanding greater autonomy for the northern region of Sa'dah. The tribes in the Al-Jawf area are part of the Bakil confederation, many of whose senior sheikhs are now opposed to Saleh. "Strategic military positions in the governorate are now controlled by anti-government tribesmen and Houthi gunmen," NGO chairman Amer told IRIN. "About 20 troops and Houthi gunmen were killed in the latter's attack on the contingent." Military defections During a meeting with members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on 22 March, Saleh urged military commanders who had defected to return to what he called "constitutional legitimacy". "The era of coups has ended. He who wants to come to power must get there through the ballot box. All of us know that the Yemeni people possess arms. Those who defected from the government's armed forces want to drag the country into a civil war," Saleh warned. "Military defections will have a negative impact on the homeland. The homeland will divide into several parts. Those dissidents must have thought well before taking such emotional decisions," he said. Fears of more widespread fighting have grown following the defection of Gen Ali Mohsen Saleh, commander of the Northwestern Military Zone (NWMZ), and Gen Mohamed Ali Mohsen, commander of the Eastern Military Zone (EMZ), plus several other division commanders in northern and eastern governorates. They announced their support for the ongoing "Youth Revolution" after the 18 March attack on protesters in front of Sanaa University, which left some 52 people dead and more than 250 injured. Hadhramaut clashes Accusations have been traded between Saleh and his opponents in the army following clashes between EMZ troops, supporting the uprising, and Republican Guard forces in Hadhramaut. Three soldiers and an officer were killed in these clashes, eyewitnesses told IRIN from Hadhramaut on 22 March. They said EMZ tanks are now deployed on the streets of Mukalla, capital of Hadhramaut Governorate. The era of civil wars has ended. It is Saleh himself who is provoking civil war rumours
The Republican Guard, which has divisions in most Yemeni governorates, is led by Brig Ahmad Ali Abdullah Saleh, one of Saleh’s sons. On the same day, Aljazeera TV reported that Republican Guard forces were besieging the Aerial Defence Division in the western governorate of Hodeidah, after its commander declared his support for the “Youth Revolution”. The opposition has rejected Saleh’s offer of a peaceful transfer of power after parliamentary elections in early 2012, and demanded his ouster. "Saleh must quit as soon as possible," said Mohammed Qahtan, spokesperson for Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), an opposition coalition of six major parties. "The era of civil wars has ended. It is Saleh himself who is provoking civil war rumours." Qahtan said next Friday would be the "Friday of Advancing", with protesters advancing towards the presidential palace. JMP Chairman Yasin Saeed Numan said Saleh's offers should have been made before the Yemeni people took to the streets, "not now". "Now, we are led by people in the street. We don't have the capacity to persuade protesters to accept such offers." Even before the current political troubles, Yemen was ranked 140 out of 182 countries on the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Index. The country is grappling with poverty, water scarcity, internal conflicts, terrorism, and decreasing oil production. Humanitarian access to beneficiaries is limited due to banditry, the presence of armed groups, and Al-Qaeda influence in some areas. It is the poorest country in the Middle East. ay/cb Get latest reports in your inbox.
Share this report
Is the Grand Bargain a Big Deal?
24 May 2016 Analysis
Burundi’s peace talks going nowhere
Sweating the small stuff at the World Humanitarian Summit
24 May 2016 Feature
Rising toll of dead and injured in anti-government protests advertisement
UNHCR concerned over allegations of Somali mercenaries
Next for you
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says it is concerned by opposition media reports alleging the Yemen government is recruiting Somali refugees as mercenaries to help put down a growing protest movement demanding the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Twitter
Get the inside story
Enter your email address to sign up for updates with our latest news and reports. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8682 | Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson says execution of Lennox was “folly” - VIDEO ANTOINETTE KELLY
Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson took to Twitter yesterday to condemn the decision to put Lennox to sleep, the dog who was put down on orders from Northern Ireland's highest courts after it was deemed to be a pitbull-type and dangerous to the public.
The dog belonged to Belfast woman Caroline Barnes before it was seized by Belfast City Council two years ago. On Wednesday the council confirmed it had been put down after a 28-day reprieve ran out at midnight.'Destroying a dog that had no history of aggression is folly and shames society,' DUP leader Peter Robinson tweeted.However the city council said that while it regretted that the court action was necessary the safety of the public remained its priority.'Whilst there is an exemption scheme to which dogs of this type may be admitted as an alternative to destruction, there were no such measures that could be applied in this case that would address the concerns relating to public safety,' the council said in a statement. 'The Council's expert described the dog as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous dogs he had come across.'
On Tuesday evening Lennox's owners claimed they had been denied the chance to say goodbye to their pet.'We are sorry to say at the present time Belfast city council seem to be intent on killing our boy,' their statement read. 'Despite previous assurances otherwise, we have been denied the opportunity to say goodbye. We have also been told that we cannot collect his body and bring Len home. We have been informed however that we will receive 'some' ashes in the mail.'Animal Rights Action Network director John Carmody described Northern Ireland's Dangerous Dogs Act told UTV: 'People are today heartbroken, shedding tears and crying out loud with the news that Belfast City Council has murdered Lennox. Northern Ireland's Dangerous Dogs Act is a complete shambles and does nothing to protect their guardians, or the safety of the public from possible dog attacks. The legislation needs to be scrapped and completely reviewed with a view to Deed not Breed.'Meanwhile First Minister Robinson said that he has written to the minister responsible, Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, asking for a review of the law.
Belfast City councillor Pat McCarthy said he understands the family's position.'I can understand because I'm a dog owner myself and over the years I have had to have dogs put to sleep, and they become part of the family,' he told UTV. 'But we had to implement the law - we don't make the law, we are just charged with implementing it.'The council has claimed some of its members have received threats from campaigners and so they have been in contact with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) with regard to the threats. MostPopular | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8684 | Those We Lost: recent Irish-American passings
Kara Rota
Liam Clancy 1935-2009
Liam Clancy, the last surviving member of the Clancy Brothers, died December 4 in Cork, Ireland, at age 74. He had been treated for the lung disease pulmonary fibrosis.Born the youngest of 11 children in Co. Tipperary, Clancy immigrated to America in 1956 with plans for a career on the stage. He joined his older brothers Tom and Paddy in New York, and they began performing Irish folk songs along with friend and fellow immigrant Tommy Makem at local clubs. In the early 1960’s, the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem, as they were billed, starred on The Ed Sullivan Show, and their career took off in the folk music center of Greenwich Village, where Clancy became friends with fellow musician Bob Dylan. In 1984, Dylan said, “I never heard a singer as good as Liam ever. He was just the best ballad singer I’d ever heard in my life. Still is, probably.”
In 1973, Clancy began a solo career and starred in his own television show in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In the 1980s, he again teamed up with Tommy Makem and the pair recorded such classics as “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” and “The Dutchman.” Clancy published his memoir, The Mountain of the Women, in 2002, and a documentary about his life, The Yellow Bittern, came out in 2009. Tom Deignan’s poignant last interview with Liam Clancy in the April/May 2009 issue of Irish America covered the quartet’s historic rise to fame. “With their Aran sweaters, tin whistles and banjos, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem might seem to be the quintessential Irish trad artists. But they were, in many ways, a radical departure who then went on to change Irish-American culture,” wrote Deignan. Liam Clancy told Irish America: “Irish people in Ireland were surprised. They’d never heard these songs this way.” Recalling the popularity that ensued after their breakthrough performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1961, Clancy recalled, “We just did not understand the significance…It was like getting a blessing from the Pope!”Tom Clancy died in 1990, Paddy Clancy in 1998, and Tommy Makem in 2007. Liam Clancy is survived by his wife Kim, sisters Joan and Peg, children Eban, Siobhan, Donal and Fiona, and eight grandchildren.
Tim Costello
1945-2009 Noted labor advocate and author Tim Costello died December 4 at his home in Cambridge, Massachusetts of pancreatic cancer. He was 64. A Boston native, Costello spent two decades as a truck driver and was a vital voice for workers’ rights. Born in 1945 with a father who was a union president, he joined Students for a Democratic Society at the New School in New York, around the same time that he began driving oil trucks. In 1971, he moved back to Boston and became an outspoken voice and writer against corruption in the Teamsters union. In 1999, Costello founded the Campaign on Contingent Work, which evolved into the North American Alliance for Fair Employment, and in 2005, he helped to found Global Labor Strategies, which encouraged cross-border alliances to improve wages and working conditions in the context of a new climate of outsourcing and globalization. He was the co-author of four books: Common Sense for Hard Times in the 1970s, Building Bridges: The Emerging Grassroots Coalition of Labor and Community in 1990, and Global Village or Global Pillage: Economic Reconstruction From the Bottom Up in 1994, all with co-author Jeremy Brecher. Brecher and Costello teamed up with Brendan Smith in 2000 to publish Globalization From Below: The Power of Solidarity.
Costello is survived by his brother Sean, his wife Susanne Rasmussen, his daughters Pia and Gillian, and two grandchildren.
John Crofton
1912-2009Sir John Crofton, a medical pioneer, researcher and clinician who demonstrated the effectiveness of combinations of antibiotics in curing tuberculosis, died November 3 at age 97 in his home in Edinburgh. He began his work in the late 1940s, when antibiotics were first being used in clinical practice, but tuberculosis was resistant to each drug that doctors attempted to treat it with. Crofton used a three-antibiotic combination on tuberculosis patients in Edinburgh and announced his findings at the 1958 meeting of the British Medical Association. His treatment had cured tuberculosis in 63 patients over 18 months.Born the son of a physician in Dublin, Ireland, Crofton received bachelor and doctor of medicine degrees from Cambridge University. During WWII, he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and served in France, Germany and the Middle East, including Egypt, where he met Dr. John Guyett Scadding, a British expert who invited Crofton to work with him after the war and steered him towards the research that would form the basis of his career.Crofton is survived by his wife Eileen, three daughters, two sons, 11 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8691 | Police to focus on red light running
Local police are concentrating efforts to curb motorists who see red and go ahead.
Island police departments are working with state and county law enforcement agencies to curb aggressive driving and red light running in the area, said Holmes Beach Lt. Dale Stephenson.
The campaign gets under way March 19 and continues through March 23. During that time, a task force of 20 police officers and sheriff's deputies will patrol roads focusing on enforcing laws against running red lights and aggressive driving.
"We're going to target 10 to 15 areas around the county," Stephenson said, though he didn't disclose the specific locations.
Officers will also focus on enforcing speed laws and the "Move Over" law that requires motorists to move over when they approach a traffic stop or crash scene.
About a year ago, area officers stepped up efforts to educate motorists on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The sheriff's office reported last week that the number of alcohol-related fatalities in Manatee County decreased from fiscal 2004-05 to fiscal 2005-06 from 18 deaths to three deaths.
Still, 75 people died in traffic-related fatalities in Manatee County last year. The campaign next week is intended to reduce the number by educating motorists about the risks in running red lights and aggressive driving, said Sgt. Paul Fieber, of the sheriff's office. Aggressive driving usually involves a motorist violating several traffic laws at one time.
Partners in the effort include the sheriff's office, the state highway patrol, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and Bradenton, Palmetto, Bradenton Beach, Holmes Beach and Longboat Key police departments. The Stop Red Light Running Coalition of Florida also is involved.
Stephenson said Holmes Beach would dedicate two officers to the task force.
"Every now and then the county asks us to assist in traffic-related situations," he said, adding that about once a month the Holmes Beach Police Department helps with a checkpoint for drunk driving.
"Hopefully this might make more motorists think twice," Stephenson said, referring to the stepped-up enforcement.
The lieutenant noted that Holmes Beach officers closely watch the busy intersection at Manatee Avenue and East Bay Drive for red light violations. The addition several months ago of white lights to signal which motorists are facing a red light helps officers monitor the intersection.
"Since the white lights have gone up, we've written a lot of citations and warnings," Stephenson said.
While law enforcement officers pursue red light runners on the road, a campaign resumed last week in Tallahassee to catch red light runners on camera.
Florida state Rep. Ron Reagan, a Republican lawmaker representing portions of Manatee County, has filed the 2007 Uniform Traffic Control Act.
The measure, which at press time had not yet been assigned to a committee, would create the Mark Wandall Traffic Safety Program to be administered by the state motor vehicle department and provide counties and municipalities the authority to enforce traffic control signals using traffic infraction detectors such as cameras. The measure would also require an annual report on the effectiveness of cameras.
The program is named for a Manatee County man killed when a motorist ran a red light on State Road 70 on Oct. 24, 2003. Mark Wandall was 30 and he and his wife, Melissa, were expecting their first child. Madison Grace Wandall was born two weeks after her father died.
Reagan introduced a similar bill last year, but it did not pass. Two recent studies, one conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety using data from Philadelphia and one from researchers at Old Dominion University in Virginia, show that cameras deter red light running.
In the insurance institute study, researchers tracked signal violation rates before and after an extension of yellow light time and again after the installation of cameras. After extending the length of time for yellow lights, violations fell by 36 percent. After the addition of cameras, violations fell by 96 percent.
In the Virginia study, researchers analyzed data from before the installation of cameras, during the operation of cameras and after cameras had been turned off. Violations more than tripled in the first year after the cameras were deactivated. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8708 | National / History | JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Death before dishonor, more rights for Ainu, J.F.K. elected, Swatches hit Japan
by Edan Corkill
Nov 21, 2010 Article history
Death chosen before dishonor
Wednesday, Nov. 23, 1910
Waka Kato, a handsome girl, living in a house owned by Hanshichi Nakagawa in Aoyama, attempted suicide on Sunday afternoon with Shunji Noda, a young medical student, with whom she had kept up conjugal relations, by taking a strong drug. She died early next morning while the man survives. It is reported that Hanshichi and his wife, Tatsu, who knew of the poor standing of Noda, had resolved between themselves to send Waka to Dairen for immoral purposes. On hearing this the girl was aghast but, no good thoughts having come into her mind, she decided to end her life after having persuaded her lover to do the same. Waka was the younger sister of Hanshichi’s wife.
Ainu rights set to be updated
Thursday, Nov. 21, 1935 As a positive measure for the protection of the Ainu race, the Home Office has decided to revise the current Hokkaido native protection regulations, it is understood. The regulations in question were promulgated in 1898, and are not adapted to the times. The main points of the revision are as follows:
In order to abolish the distinctive education system between the Japanese and Ainu children, Japanese primary schools shall be open to Ainu children.
Though up to the present the occupation of the Ainu has been limited to agriculture, he shall hereafter be allowed freedom to exercise any occupation he cares to.
The Ainu shall hereafter be legally allowed the freedom to exercise the right of land-ownership with permission of the Hokkaido Government, though he has hitherto been denied various rights on land, such as the right of lease and surface rights.
The U.S. election
Thursday, Nov. 10, 1960 The spectacular triumph of Mr. John Kennedy in the United States presidential election was perhaps the result of a widespread desire among the American people for a change at the very top.
Mr. Kennedy’s opponent, Mr. Richard Nixon, not only held the advantage of already being Vice President, but he also had the vigorous backing of President Eisenhower, yet the American people gave their verdict for the newcomer.
With Mr. Kennedy in the White House, there will doubtless be an opportunity for new ideas to enter into policy-making, but whether these will cure the international tensions is doubtful. It takes two parties to find this solution, and we don’t think the Eisenhower Administration could have done much more than it has done to find the answer to the “Cold War.” It is the intransigence of the Communist bloc that has been the great stumbling block.
In one respect the victory of Mr. Kennedy breaks all precedents. He is the first Roman Catholic to be elected President of the Unites States. Although we do not think religion played a vital part in this election, it may be said that only a few years ago it would have been unthinkable that anyone professing the Roman Catholic faith could have attained to the highest office in the nation. In this, as in much else, America has changed. Mr. Kennedy has made it clear that his religion will not stand in the way of his performing his duties with fairness.
At this distance, it has seemed all along that the differences between the two great parties in the United States do not go very deep and therefore that the election was fought largely on personal issues.
In reply to Mr. Nixon’s charge that he would not uphold the U.S. firmly against the Kremlin, Mr. Kennedy said the issue was not who could “best stand up to Mr. Khrushchev” or who could best swap threats and insults. The real issue was who could summon America’s vast resources to the defense of freedom, he said.
In this shrunken world, U.S. policies affect the lives of people the world over. The American people have chosen a man new to executive power and our hope is that their choice will prove a wise one.
Swatch takes on Japanese market
Thursday, Nov. 21, 1985 “Swatch,” the inexpensive quartz watch that has been an overnight success in other countries, will be launched in Japan this week, the company announced Tuesday.
Swatch is the Swiss answer to the Japanese challenge that dealt a heavy blow to the once dominant Swiss watchmaking industry in the 1970s, Swatch S.A. Chairman Ernst Thomke said at a press conference in Tokyo.
“We learned from the Japanese manufacturers that the cost of a product is very important for marketing,” he said. “We decided to come into this country to compete against our teachers.”
Since its introduction in Switzerland in March 1983, 11 million Swatches have been sold in 16 countries including the United States and most of Western Europe.
While Swatch first drew attention as the first Swiss-made low-priced watch, much of its subsequent success has been a result of the company’s unusual marketing strategy. “Swatch is not a watch,” company president Ernst Marquardt said. “It’s a fashion accessory that happens to tell the time.”
Every six months, 22 to 24 new watch designs are introduced to keep up with current fashion trends. Swatch Japan K.K., capitalized at ¥20 million, will introduce 22 fall and winter models, all at ¥7,000, at seven Tokyo and Yokohama department stores on Saturday.
In this feature, which appears in Timeout on the third Sunday of each month, we delve into The Japan Times’ 114-year-old archive to present a selection of stories from the past. Stories may be edited for brevity. History
Declassified U.S. cables reveal lead-up to Hiroshima A-bomb decision
Hibiya Park plaque to honor late Filipino leader Quirino
Stimson Center offers A-bomb damage assessment photos to Hiroshima museum
South Korean hibakusha urge Obama to apologize in Hiroshima | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8734 | Journalist Yehuda Lev, who smuggled Holocaust survivors to Palestine, dies U.S.
Journalist Yehuda Lev, who smuggled Holocaust survivors to Palestine, dies
August 6, 2013 7:39am LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Yehuda Lev, an iconoclastic journalist and veteran of World War II and Israel’s War of Independence who established a European underground route to smuggle Holocaust survivors to Palestine, has died.
Lev died Aug. 3 in Providence, R.I., following a prolonged illness. He was 86.
Lev became the first associate editor of the newly founded Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles in 1986, continuing until 1993. He was best known for his column “A Majority of One,” which went after the Jewish community’s sacred cows.
Lev was born in New York City and raised in Forest Hills, N.Y., as John Lewis Low, the son of a successful businessman and a mother noted as one of the first female labor lawyers.
He dropped out of Cornell University to enlist in the U.S. Army during the latter part of World War II and was discharged in Germany when the war ended.
Moved by the plight of Holocaust survivors languishing in Displaced Persons camps, Lev established a route, mostly by foot, to bring the DPs to Mediterranean ports, where they embarked on “illegal” ships past the British naval blockade into Palestine.
Returning to the United States, Lev earned master’s degrees from the University of Chicago in political science/Arabic studies and Stanford University in communication arts.
He set off in 1947 to Palestine to help the Jews in their struggle to establish an independent state. Changing his name to Yehuda Lev, he joined the Israeli army when war broke out in May 1948.
While on patrol in the Negev, Lev’s jeep was blown up by a land mine that killed everyone else and shattered his feet.
Lev remained in Israel at the end of the war and established himself as a popular radio host of “Jerusalem Calling,” a daily one-hour variety and discussion show in English on Kol Israel, the country’s national network.
Later, as the only native English speaker at Kol Israel, Lev became the network’s voice in reporting the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann to the outside world.
In Los Angeles, Lev resumed his writing career on Jewish newspapers and a self-published broadsheet, also titled A Majority of One.
He moved to Providence in 1993 when his wife, Rosa Maria (Shoshana) Pegueros, took up a professorship in history and women’s studies at the University of Rhode Island.
SPONSORED: "Why Be Jewish?" Edgar Bronfman's clarion call to a generation of secular, disaffected and unaffiliated Jews. Next: Eydie Gorme, two-time Grammy winner, dies at 84 > Featured Stories | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8861 | News Calendars Forums Opinion Life Sports Special Community Info CU Ads Jobs Classifieds Contact Us Local News
« Summer tourism preview: Lots...
City free to expand areas fo...»
EMT staffing a key issue for local fire departments
By Kevin Pierson - The Marietta Times (kpierson@mariettatimes.com)
Save | Post a comment | On May 31, a call went out to the Little Muskingum Volunteer Fire Department to help an elderly man who had fallen in his driveway and could not get up. Nearly 30 minutes later, after Fearing Township and Salem Township were called, area volunteer fire departments finally had the people to meet the state mandate needed to transport a patient. "We're understaffed. Basically, all of the departments are understaffed anymore," said Fearing Volunteer Fire Department President Mike Moore, who was on that run. Unfortunately for area departments, not enough EMTs to meet the state mandate for transport is becoming a far too common occurrence, and it's something they're fighting to resolve. Even departments like Fearing, which is able to handle roughly 99 percent of its calls due to having small business owners on the department, are finding it difficult to answer every time the tone goes off, Moore said. Moore said he and his son, who was also on the May 31 run, once even left a family wedding to handle a call. Fact Box
The staffing issue facing volunteer fire departments To transport a patient, volunteer fire departments must have a minimum of one Emergency Medical Technician and one first responder. A driver is also needed, which can be a firefighter. It is possible to transport with just an EMT and first responder, but it is usually not done since CPR and advanced medical treatment requires two people with the patient. Becoming an EMT requires a minimum of 132 hours of training. An additional 40 hours of training are needed within a three year span for a basic EMT. There are different levels of medical training. First responders are the entry level of medical training that can assist an EMT only. Basic EMT can provide beginning patient treatment. Advanced or intermediate EMTs can begin IVs and provide more treatment. Paramedics can perform operations such as using a defibrillator.Source: Washington County EMA Director Jeff
Decreasing numbers of volunteers, particularly during the daytime hours, has many departments short of available Emergency Medical Technicians when a call goes out. "I don't know what the answers are," said Fearing Township Fire Chief Jeff Lauer, who is also the county EMA director. "Definitely more volunteers would help, but we have to understand these calls are 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the service." By state law, to transport a patient an emergency squad must be staffed by at least one EMT and a first responder. A driver is also needed, although a firefighter can serve in that capacity. It is permissible by law for an EMT and a first responder to transport a patient with just the two of them, but most departments shy away from that since it requires two people to perform CPR. The unfortunate thing, Moore said, is that a civilian with no training can come upon the scene of an accident, put the victim in their car and take them to the hospital and be covered under the good Samaritan act, but state statute prohibits fire departments from transporting. "The really sad part is if you've got one EMT and a driver, we can't transport," Moore lamented. "They could lose their life while we're waiting because our hands are tied." First responders are the beginning level of certified medical personnel. The next level of training is a basic EMT, followed by an advanced or intermediate EMT and finally a paramedic. With testing fees included, training for an EMT costs roughly $1,000, which is typically paid for by the fire departments. Even with mutual aid, where multiple fire departments respond on the same call, it can be a challenge to answer the way they'd like for their community, officials said. "We usually get the run covered," said Lowell-Adams Fire Chief Josh Harris. "It's just sometimes it's not as fast as we'd like it to be." Lowell-Adams has five paramedics, two advanced EMTs and about 10 basics, but even then can struggle to respond to every call without mutual aid. "We still have problems ourselves," Harris explained. "It just depends on the time of day for us." Like Lowell-Adams, Warren Township has been able to answer most calls, but occasionally struggles with the daytime hours. Warren Township has several shift workers, who can be off on certain days during the week, and a couple EMTs who are retired, explained Warren Volunteer Fire Chief Mark Wile. "So far we've been able to cover most of our daytime runs. It's kind of hit or miss," Wile said. "We may go through a time period where we'll go a few weeks and hardly have anybody get out." The inability to find enough volunteers to cover the daytime hours has prompted several county departments to go to a paid, day-time EMS service. Newport, Devola and Reno all have paid emergency squads during the day-time hours. A levy to support the day-time squad and another levy to fund round-the-clock service in Reno will appear on the November ballot. The Reno levy to support the day-time squad is a 1-mill levy, operating at an effective rate of 0.92 mills, and will be a renewal. The levy generates $78,862 for the department and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $28.27 over the course of the year. Figures for the second levy, to support full time squad service, are not available as the department has not determined exactly what the millage will be. The amount will be the balance between what the 1-mill renewal levy brings and the figure anticipated for full time service. In the March primary, a 3.25 mill levy for round-the-clock service failed by 66 votes. That levy would have raised $293,239 for the department and cost the owner of a $100,000 home $99.53 per year, according to the Washington County Auditor's office. As more and more departments struggle to get volunteer EMTs, paid squads are becoming increasingly common. "I can't foresee the future, but it kind of looks like that's the way things are heading," Wile said. "The more people that go to the paid service during the day, the more people are expecting the paid day service." Rather than going to paid service, most fire chiefs say they would like to see more volunteers. The time commitment may sound huge as there are more than 130 hours of training needed to become an EMT, but it's spread out over several months so it doesn't require massive concessions on the part of the volunteer, Wile explained. An additional 40 hours of training are needed within a three year period for an EMT basic. A paramedic is required to have 86 hours of training in the three-year time frame while an intermediate needs 60 and a first responder just 15, according to Ohio Emergency Medical Services. In the end, the reward for helping others makes all the time of being a volunteer worthwhile, officials said. "There's nothing better than to go to a scene and get someone out, and know they're going to be alright," Moore said. © Copyright 2016 The Marietta Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8864 | Kursk Rescue Plans Coming
President Vladimir Putin will formally announce plans to raise the nuclear submarine Kursk when he meets European Union leaders this weekend. "It will be the first time that the president of the Russian Federation will announce this," Rio Praaning, secretary general of the Kursk Foundation, said. Kursk sank in the Barents Sea last August killing all 118 men on board. The 150-m (492-ft.) vessel has remained at the bottom of the sea, 100 m below the surface, ever since. Russia plans to raise the submarine at the end of August or in September before Autumn weather makes the operation impossible. Late last year divers recovered 12 bodies from the wreck and the new plan has the aim of recovering the other victims still on board as well as clearing a major environmental hazard from the seabed.
Russia is hoping to raise half of the estimated $70 million needed to raise the vessel from foreign donors, but will fund the whole operation itself if monies are not forthcoming, the Kursk Federation -- an independent body which aims to drum up support for the project -- said. - (Reuters) | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8909 | Print Email Font ResizeMinn. Capitol sees spike in gun noticesBy PATRICK CONDON Associated PressPosted:
02/22/2013 05:56:11 PM PSTST. PAUL, Minn.—Handgun holstered on his hip, Anthony Triemert showed up to Minnesota's Capitol on Friday for the latest in a number of recent legislative hearings on various gun control proposals. "I just came down here today to show support for Second Amendment rights," he said. But Triemert's right to carry a loaded gun is safe in this building. Minnesota is one of at least nine states that allow people to carry guns into the brick-and-mortar homes of government. All he and other Minnesotans have to do is notify the Minnesota Department of Public Safety in advance. As hundreds of pro-gun activists have streamed into the state's legislative hearings on gun controls, such notifications have spiked in the last month—almost 1/5th of all notifications given since the current permit law took effect in 2006. Between Jan. 18 and Feb. 22, 150 people notified DPS of the intent to carry their weapons on the Capitol complex. By contrast, only 56 such notifications were filed in all of 2012. And since the law took effect, a total of 723 individuals have notified the agency. On Friday, gun rights activists again came out in force for the second day of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Most of them didn't wear their guns openly like Triemert, though he was not the only one. An auto mechanic from Brooklyn Park who's now on disability, Triemert said he wears the gun almost everywhere he goes. "I don't believe in gun safe zones. I think it's an advertisement for a killing zone," Triemert said, noting he carries a weapon for protection because of his own physical limitations.Advertisement
Private establishments in Minnesota are allowed to post signs stating that guns are not allowed on the premises. But no such rules are in place at the Capitol, which has no metal detectors at its public entrances. "I don't like people carrying weapons in the Capitol," said Sen. Barb Goodwin, DFL-Columbia Heights, a Judiciary Committee member and outspoken gun control supporter. "This is a place where controversial decisions are made all the time. Emotions can run high." Still, Goodwin said, any nerves about guns in the Senate hearing room wouldn't dissuade her from speaking out. Armed State Patrol officers were posted at the House and Senate hearings, a relative rarity in legislative proceedings. Goodwin said she and colleagues tried to prohibit guns in the Capitol in 2006, but lacked the votes to do so. Some lawmakers have acknowledged carrying their own weapons at the Capitol, including Republican Rep. Tony Cornish of Good Thunder, a strong opponent of tighter gun laws. Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-ST. Louis Park, and state Rep. Michael Paymar, DFL-St. Paul, both plan to assemble separate sets of gun control measures for lawmakers to consider. But there's been no talk of changing the state's carry permit law that allows guns at the Capitol. Latz has said he would not pursue an assault weapons ban, which is sought by gun control activists but strongly opposed by the National Rifle Association and its allies. Since Latz took that off the table, the debate has increasingly focused on a bill that would require background checks for all gun purchases in Minnesota—not just those that go through federally licensed dealers, but also sales at gun shows, online and between individuals. The NRA and Minnesota pro-gun groups oppose that measure, too. Joe Isaacs, a real estate agent from the Stillwater area who has helped organize gun control opponents at the Capitol hearings, said he typically wears his gun everywhere. He notified DPS of plans to wear it at the Capitol, but changed his mind after realizing it could be seen as a provocative act. "It could have been a distraction, and take the focus off the issue," Isaacs said. "I don't wear it to be political. It's for safety."Print Email Font ResizeReturn to Top RELATED | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8925 | ‘Lives interrupted’ are recognized
— image credit: Islander gets diploma 66 years after internment camp detention
By Nancy HilliardMercer Island Reporter
Two Mercer Island octogenarians are celebrating unexpected graduations this season — 66 years after the moment in history that dashed their college careers and sent 120,000 people of Japanese descent to internment camps in 1942.
Among the 14,400 Japanese-Americans from Washington state was Hiromi Nishimura, then a University of Washington student; and of the 3,500 from Oregon was Jack Nomi, who attended Oregon State University.
Their former universities have granted them and other Nisei students of the 1940s honorary degrees “to do the right thing” in face of the great wrong done to them earlier, said OSU President Edward Ray. He will confer Nomi’s degree on June 15, along with 42 others. Nishimura received his honorary degree on May 18 at the UW’s “Long Journey Home” ceremony honoring 440.
Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta, the keynoter at UW’s Nisei ceremony and a WWII internee, told the 100 or so “late graduates” that “it’s never too late to rejoice that the right thing has been done.” The majority of UW’s 440 Japanese-American students from the ’40s are deceased, including Mercer Island’s Haruo Kato and Ben Ugeno. Among the event’s many planners and sponsors were Tets Kashima, William and Beth Kawahara and Julie Ogata, also from Mercer Island.
“We should use the memory of this unconscionable chapter of our history to strengthen our resolve to stand up for each and every member of our community when we are tested, as we surely will be in the future,” said Dr. Ray. When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Nishimura, in Seattle, and Nomi, in Oregon, had to quit college and pull up roots. Their families had to liquidate possessions and businesses within a month of President Franklin Roosevelt’s evacuation orders. Nishimura’s father, Hisao, had to sell his Seattle apartments, just as Nomi’s family had to “sell for a pittance” its restaurant and farm equipment. Most locals went to Camp Harmony in Puyallup, Camp Minidoka in Idaho or, as Nomi did, to a livestock pavilion in Portland. For diversion, he and his fellow “inmates” played lots of baseball after clearing the center of animal waste, while guards with machine guns watched in the towers.
Instead of being interned, Nishimura was inducted into military service — a mixed blessing, he said. “It was traumatic to worry about my parents and brother and be separated from them as they went to an armed camp in Hunt, Idaho. Those who went as a family could suffer together.” By enlisting in the Army, as did 68 other fellow UW Nisei students, Nishimura eventually joined the Army’s Military Intelligence Service with 6,000 Japanese-Americans who interrogated POWs, did translations and radio interceptions. While in Burma, he contracted malaria. He served the United States from 1942-46.
Although Nomi was not called into military service for medical reasons, he eventually became part of the team that oversaw Boeing’s airplane sales to Japan, until his retirement in 1990.
The pieces of paper given to Nishimura on May 18 and Nomi on June 15 are not what is meaningful, they say. Both already have completed their educations — Nomi in engineering at the Missouri School of Mines, and Nishimura in biology at UW. Nomi worked for Boeing for 35 years, and Nishimura was on the UW faculty in physiology and biochemistry for 25 years. Both have resided on Mercer Island for more than three decades.
Instead, the honorary graduates consider this a “teaching moment.”
“We are Americans first, and of Japanese heritage second,” said Nishimura, wearing a stars and stripes tie and carrying his Veterans of Foreign Wars card. He manages the VFW Hall on Mercer Island. “I am not bitter, but full of gratitude at this benevolent gift of righteousness that my university has given us,” he added. “My hope is that recognizing this injustice shows we can’t judge [loyalties] by looks or heritage.” Nishimura cites recent violations of Arab or Muslim civil rights in America as dangerously close to repeating that wartime mistake. “My wife, Dorothy Hoshida Nishimura, and I tell our offspring the story of our parents’ struggles, and that we cannot take for granted our good lives today.” The Nishimuras have three daughters, Celia Sekijima, of Issaquah, Karen, who works in Palo Alto, and Robin, who lives at their Mercer Island home. For his descendants, he has written a book, “Trials and Triumphs of Nikkei.”
Nomi’s wife, Tamaye; his daughter Julie Arzenti, in a Boston suburb; sons, Russell, of Sammamish, Jeffrey, of Issaquah, and other relatives will attend the Corvallis event on June 15 “to show appreciation.”
“Hopefully, this [honorary graduation] will let others know about the evacuation movement of our history, so we don’t repeat it ever again,” said Nomi.
‘Nap-time project’ becomes Eastside mothers’ resource
Islanders up for ‘the challenge’
Kids can be ‘incredible’ | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8928 | news/mid-ulster-news
LATEST: Pomeroy mother-of-three admits dissident terrorist training camp charges
A mother of three from Pomeroy today (Wednesday) admitted three charges linked to a dissident training camp set up in a Co Tyrone forest.
Sharon Rafferty is the last of four defendants to plead to offences arising from the discovery of a firing range at Formil Wood between Greencastle and Broughdery in March 2012. The prosecution believe the training camp was in an advanced state of preparation for an attack by dissident republicans.
Rafferty, from Cabhan Aluinn in Pomeroy, initially denied a string of charges levelled against her. However, after she was produced in the dock of Belfast Crown Court today, her defence barrister asked that she be re-arraigned on two of the charges she faced.
The 38-year old admitted possessing a .22 Walther rifle and ammunition in suspicious circumstances on March 30, 2012, and also attending a place used for terrorist training, namely Formil Wood, on the same date. She also entered a guilty plea when charged with preparing or helping others in the preparation of an improvised firing range.After the guilty pleas were entered, a prosecutor said the Crown was accepting the plea. He also asked that two other charges Rafferty faced - including belonging to a proscribed organisation, namely the Irish Republican Army - be left on the books.Rafferty was the last of four people charged in connection with the training camp to admit her guilty. Her and three co-accused, Co Tyrone brothers Gavin (38) and Aiden Coney (35) and Toomebridge man Sean Kelly, were all due to stand trial before a non-jury court this month.All four initially denied the charges and the Diplock trial was due to commence at Belfast Crown Court. However Kelly pleaded guilty to several charges last week, while the Coney brothers admitted various charges yesterday.
As all four have now pleaded guilty, they are due to be sentenced on charges arising from the training camp on July 1. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8943 | President Obama signs emergency declaration over Flint's water crisis
Roberto Acosta | racosta1@mlive.com
President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)Pablo Martinez Monsivais FLINT, MI – President Barack Obama has signed an emergency declaration following a request from Gov. Rick Snyder that would open the door for federal aid to deal with Flint's water crisis.
"The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Genesee County," reads a statement from FEMA.
Snyder asked on Jan. 14 for President Obama to declare a federal emergency, after a state of emergency was declared by the governor on Jan. 5 in Genesee County.
FEMA is authorized to provide equipment and resources to "alleviate the impacts of the emergency," according to the statement."Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent federal funding," reads the statement. "This emergency assistance is to provide water, water filters, water filter cartridges, water test kits, and other necessary related items for a period of no more than 90 days."
W. Craig Fugate, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, has named David G. Samaniego as the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the Flint area.
U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Township, said he welcomed the president's announcement. "The residents and children of Flint deserve every resource available to make sure that they have safe water and are able to recover from this terrible man-made disaster created by the state," Kildee said. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/8975 | Station Directory Sponsor Sponsor A Love That Defied A Cancer Diagnosis News & Features NPR
Listen Story audio When Andrea St. John and Kevin Broderick met in 2006, they were both teaching high school in Lake Placid, N.Y. Kevin was in recovery from Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. That didn't stop them from falling in love. Broderick had been diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma in 2004. Ewing's typically occurs in the teenage years; it often strikes boys and is usually found in the bone. Recently, St. John spoke with Broderick's brother, Tom, about the early days of their relationship. Kevin Broderick taught U.S. history, St. John math. "I think it took a little while for him to build up the courage to ask me to do something alone. We had a lot of seventh-grade-style dates," St. John told Tom Broderick. By then, she knew about his cancer. But that didn't worry her, St. John said — not until he went back in for a checkup and took several scans to see if his recovery from cancer was still a success. They were both at work when Broderick's doctor called with the news that the cancer had returned. "I walked into the faculty room, and his eyes were red," St. John said. She was distracted by her work; she needed to make some copies. But then she turned to Broderick. "Are your eyes OK?" she asked him. "And then, as soon as the words were out of my mouth," St. John said, "I realized: Oh no." "Yeah, I think you should get your jacket," Broderick said. "Maybe we'll go for a walk." Broderick told St. John what the doctors had said. "There's a spot in my thigh, and my ribs, and in my pelvis," St. John remembered him saying. "And he paused, and he said, 'The scans lit up like a Christmas tree.'" One morning after that walk, St. John told Broderick that she had picked out what she would wear at his wake. But she wanted his opinion. So she put on the dress and stood on the bed, modeling it for him. It was then that Broderick started to cry. But when St. John apologized, he stopped her. "It's just that you look so beautiful," he said. "I'm so glad I got to see you in that dress." When St. John asked him why he was so upset, Broderick said that when he had awoken that morning, he realized he felt more prepared to face what was coming. St. John asked him what that was like. "Well," Broderick said, "I guess it's the same thing you felt when you put the dress on this morning." Broderick's diagnosis didn't stop the couple from getting engaged this past May. A week later, Broderick died. He was 36. Produced for Morning Edition by Katie Simon. The senior producer for StoryCorps is Michael Garofalo. Copyright 2016 NPR. Stay Informed The news on your schedule from MPR News Update Email Address* Zip Code MPR News Update AM Edition MPR News Update PM Edition See our Privacy Policy. Must be age 13. Help us cover this story Sponsor MPR News apps for Android and iOS MPR News for iOS MPR News for iOS MPR News for Android MPR Radio for iOS MPR Radio for Android MPR News Podcasts The Ticker Kerri Miller Tom Weber Brains On All Podcasts @MPRNews Facebook newsroom@mpr.org Tips: 651-290-1424 Subscribe to email newsletters MPR News Update AM Edition MPR News Update PM Edition Capitol View The Thread Listen Live Program Schedule Station Directory Audio Help About Minnesota Public Radio Contact Us Shop Become a Member Volunteer Fundraising Credentials Terms of use Your privacy rights Public Inspection Files Minnesota Public Radio ©2016. All rights reserved. Weather data powered by Forecast. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9000 | Newsroom News
Alliance prepares to move iconic ''NATO star''
The oxidised steel sculpture known as the “NATO star” has stood in front of the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels since August 1971. As part of the move to NATO’s new headquarters, the star will be moved across Boulevard Leopold III to its new home this weekend. Physical preparations for the move began on Wednesday (25 May 2016).
Taking action nationally on the Women, Peace and Security agenda
National action plans on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) are today the most common strategy used by 63 nations globally to show their commitment to the United Nations’ WPS agenda. While in the last few years there has been a proliferation of national action plans, implementation remains problematic.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow stressed NATO’s role in projecting stability to the east and to the south at the House of Commons, UK Parliament, on Monday (23 May 2016). Addressing the Henry Jackson Society, Ambassador Vershbow outlined NATO’s current security challenges and what the Alliance is doing to respond.
The Government of Afghanistan and the US Government have confirmed that an operation by US forces resulted in the death of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansur.
Foreign Ministers from the nations participating in Resolute Support agreed today (20 May 2016) to sustain the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan beyond 2016 in a sign of strong commitment to the stability of the country.
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg opened Friday’s (20 May 2016) meetings of NATO Foreign Ministers by stressing the need for closer cooperation with the European Union. Speaking alongside High Representative Federica Mogherini, Mr. Stoltenberg called the two organisations “unique partners”, working closely to support partners and fight illegal trafficking in the Aegean Sea. At the Warsaw Summit, NATO and the EU aim for a joint statement on cooperation, new “playbooks” on fighting hybrid threats, and a programme of NATO and EU exercises. The Secretary General concluded: “we need to take our cooperation to a high level, and that is exactly what we are working on now.”
NATO Foreign Ministers to set the stage for the Warsaw Summit
NATO Foreign Ministers are meeting in Brussels on Thursday (19 May 2016) to begin two days of talks on key issues, setting the stage for the Warsaw Summit in July. Today, Ministers will take a historic step by signing the Accession Protocol with Montenegro. “As of today, Montenegro will have a seat at NATO’s table, taking part in all our meetings as an observer,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Ministers will also consider how best to project stability beyond NATO’s borders, relations with Russia, the future of the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, and stepping up cooperation with the European Union.
Foreign Ministers agree NATO must do more to project stability in its neighbourhood Foreign Ministers agreed on Thursday (19 May 2016) that NATO should do more to project stability beyond the Alliance’s borders. While stressing that NATO must retain the ability to deploy combat forces when needed, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said “we must also do more to train up local forces, to secure their own territory, and push back against extremist groups.” He underlined that such efforts are important for “preserving security here at home”.
NATO Foreign Ministers sign Accession Protocol with Montenegro
Today, NATO Foreign Ministers signed the Accession Protocol for Montenegro, marking a historic step in Montenegro’s path to the Alliance. Speaking at a joint press conference with Montenegrin Prime Minister Djukanovic, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that today’s decision is “a clear sign that NATO’s door remains open for partners that share and promote our values.” | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9007 | Grand Junction takes on the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
By Amy Lipman | Posted: Tue 8:19 PM, Aug 12, 2014
| Updated: Wed 7:08 AM, Aug 13, 2014 GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. A new type of fundraising campaign is taking social media by storm, a watery ice storm that is, delivered via a bucket.
"It was very refreshing, especially this summer. It's been hot," said Joe Burtard of the Ute Water Conservancy District. "I don't need any more coffee for the day, I'm definitely awake."
The Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS has thousands of people pouring icy pails of water over their heads to raise awareness and money for the ALS Association.
ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.
"When I was nominated the first time, I had to go to the website and I kind of found myself doing my own individual research," Burtard said.
Adam Cochran, a social media expert and Colorado Mesa University professor, said this type of campaign has all the components to go as viral as it has with its emotional elements, but it also has another ingredient to help it continue to spread.
"There's a little bit of an element of guilt if you don't participate," Cochran said. "So people once they've shared it because they thought it was fun and interesting, the people who receive it kind of feel obligated to participate as well."
The ALS Association has received $4 million in donations in the past two weeks, compared to the usual $1 million in the same time period.
Colorado's ALS chapter has also seen an increase in donations at a time when donations are usually down for the summer months, according to Pamela Rush-Negri, the chapter's executive director.
To donate to the ALS Association, visit the link to the right.
ALS Association | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9011 | Dec 13 2013, 4:01 am ET
The most loved, and hated, gun in America
by Andrew Blankstein, NBC News Share
In this Saturday Aug. 3, 2013, photo Kym Cross gestures down the shooting range as Loren Reese helps her aim an AR-15 during a Women on Target class at the Snowshoe Gun Club in Kenai, Alaska. Rashah Mcchesney / AP file
It has become one of the most popular — and one of the most infamous — weapons in American history. The Colt AR-15, often known as the assault rifle, has captured the imagination of gun enthusiasts who are drawn to its sleek form, portability and ease of use, as well as a mystique born of its connection to the M-16, its combat cousin from the Vietnam War. Part of the appeal of the firearm stems, as one gun aficionado told NBC News, from the ability to “accessorize it like a Barbie doll," given extras like interchangeable optics systems and gun barrels. Its military pedigree and appeal to hobbyists has helped spur sales of 5 million AR-15s in the last two decades, with most of those buys coming in just the past six years. According to industry figures, nearly one of five guns sold in the U.S. is now a semi-automatic AR-15-style rifle. Yet the AR-15-style rifle has also been used in many of the mass shootings that have stunned the nation. advertisement
Adam Lanza used a variant of the gun to kill 26 people — 20 of them children — at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. last Dec. 14. An AR-15 style rifle sits on the counter by Craig Marshall as he assists a customer at Freddie Bear Sports sporting goods store on December 17, 2012, in Tinley Park, Ill. Scott Olson / Getty Images file
Months earlier, James Holmes allegedly opened fire with the weapon in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 people. And suspected L.A. airport gunman Paul Ciancia, accused of killing a TSA agent and wounding three others, allegedly fired dozens of rounds inside LAX with yet another iteration of the gun, a Smith & Wesson 223 M&P-15 assault rifle. The shootings have sparked calls to revive a lapsed federal ban that outlawed military-style semi-automatic weapons and their features, notably high-capacity, detachable magazines. advertisement
But even with the renewed drive to ban them, AR-15-style rifles appear to have attained a level of cultural currency rivaling the six-shooter that “Won the West” and Dirty Harry’s .44 Magnum. Related: Daily drumbeat of child homicides gets little noticeWhat 25 years of FBI data show about child homicidesTighten gun seller licensing to cut sales to criminals, mayors group saysSuburban Chicago school leads the way in keeping kids safe The AR-15 was designed in the 1950s by ArmaLite, a division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, to sell to the military as a replacement for the clunky rifles of World War II, the M-1 and M-14. But despite the futuristic lightweight design, the U.S. military didn’t want it. By 1959, Fairchild had sold the AR-15's manufacturing rights to Colt Firearms. Colt embarked on a marketing blitz. It courted the military, and won its first important convert with the man who became famous for the phrase “bomb them back into the Stone Ages." advertisement
In 1960, Curtis LeMay, then U.S. Air Force vice chief of staff, was invited to a demonstration of the rifle using watermelons at a birthday party for a Fairchild exec on a Maryland farm. "When struck by the little rifle’s ultra-fast bullets, the first two fruits exploded in vivid red splashes," wrote journalist C.J. Chivers in his book "The Gun." "General LeMay was so impressed … that he spared the third melon; the party decided to eat it." In 1961, LeMay became Air Force chief of staff. Under LeMay’s influence, Defense Secretary Robert McNamara ordered thousands of the weapons for the Air Force and for the military’s special forces. Other branches of the military followed, and the military version of the gun became known as the M-16. By the late 1960s, with the Vietnam War in full swing, the gun was a fixture among infantry soldiers, despite widespread reports of jamming, and a grudging belief that the Russian assault rifle used by the enemy, the AK-47, was a better fit for jungle warfare. In this Friday, March 19, 2010, file photo, Navy Corpsman Michael Lang, of Camden County, Ga., right, with an M-4 carbine, and Lance Cpl. Ard Bizahaloni of Pinon, Ariz., with an M-16 rifle, with the First Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment, take up positions as their patrol is fired upon, in Marjah, Afghanistan. Dusan Vranic / AP file
On the civilian front, however, sales of AR-15-style guns were not spectacular until recently. Even as sales of hunting rifles have fallen, industry stats indicate that sales of guns based on the AR and AK platforms — so-called assault rifles — have spiked since 2007. More than half a million of the guns have been purchased annually, with numbers soaring to 1 million in 2009 and hitting 1 million again in 2012, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. advertisement
The pace shows no sign of slowing. According to a recent NSSF survey of gun owners, the rate of ownership of “modern sporting rifles” — the industry rejects the term "assault rifle" — “has increased dramatically since 2010.” Half of all “MSR” owners had bought their first MSRs earlier this year. The rest were adding to existing collections. In 2011, 19 percent of all guns purchased were MSRs. Scott Reitz, a former LAPD SWAT team member and a national firearms tactics and deadly force expert, said there are a number of reasons behind the gun’s popularity. Like many firearms, it provides self-defense for the user and is relatively easy to use. But it also allows the individual to “experience what a special forces or SWAT officer might experience.” “It’s got a bit of a Walter Mitty factor to it,” Reitz said, recalling the meek character of fiction and movies who loses himself in heroic daydreams. Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, an anti-gun-violence group, said that pro-gun forces have turned their marketing and lobbying might to military-style weapons to counter a long-term drop in overall gun sales. They’ve found a new pitch to gun enthusiasts, he says, that combines military code words like “honor” and “duty” with a heavy dose of fear. “The gun industry working with the NRA has become expert at using outside events to promote fear-driven gun buying,” said Sugarmann, “whether it’s the threat of federal gun legislation, the election of Barack Obama, Y2K, 9-11 terrorist attacks or the Mayan apocalypse.” Neither the NRA nor Colt responded to requests for comment. An AR-15 style rifle is displayed at the Firing-Line indoor range and gun shop, on July 26, 2012, in Aurora, Colo., six days after a shooting inside a crowded movie theater nearby. Alex Brandon / AP file
Chuck Michel, a California attorney who has defended gun owners and vendors in numerous cases, disputes the contention that the AR-15 sales pitch winks at the conspiracy-minded. He says the weapon’s accuracy, light recoil and simplicity give it a versatility that few other weapons can match. "It's got a universal appeal,” Michel said, “because no matter what you want to use the gun for — hunting, target shooting or plinking — you can interchange the parts of the gun for that use.” Complete coverage of the Newtown anniversary Despite high-profile shootings, the AR-15-style rifle is not found at many murder scenes. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, of the 8,855 homicides committed with firearms in 2012, only 322 were known to have been committed with any type of rifle. The report does not describe the type of rifles used in slayings. But Tom Diaz, author of the “The Last Gun: How Changes in the Gun Industry Are Killing Americans and What It Will Take to Stop It,” said the stats don’t change the fact that the AR-15 and its imitators and descendants were designed for law enforcement and the battlefield. “It’s a highly effective killing machine,” he said, “(and did) exactly what it was designed to do in places like Newtown, the Aurora movie theater and elsewhere.” With the brisk sales of the weapon, Diaz said, “It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when (there will be another mass killing). It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to think of even worse scenarios than Newtown.” More from NBC News Investigations: Newtown report: Lanza had no clear motive, was obsessed with ColumbineNBC reporters gain access to some schools with ease, exposing security gapsUS schools keep trying wrong fixes to deter school shootings, experts say Follow NBC News Investigations on Twitter and Facebook Andrew Blankstein, NBC News Topics First Published Dec 13 2013, 4:01 am ET | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9028 | Woman, 64, offers burly thief a fierce fight for her purse | New Hampshire Contact us
Woman, 64, offers burly thief a fierce fight for her purse
MANCHESTER — Nidia Toker, 90 pounds and barely 5-feet-tall, didn't hesitate to go after the six-foot, muscular purse snatcher who made off with her stylish pocketbook that "contained my life."Toker, 64, a native of Argentinian who became a U.S. citizen in 1998, said she didn't think of the possible danger to herself when she tussled with the robber over her purse. Afterwards, her two adult daughters, she said, weren't happy about what she did, telling her that the man could have had a knife or a gun, and no purse was worth her life..."I didn't think. I just reacted," she said. "When I saw my purse leaving, I saw my life leaving."The robbery happened about 10:40 am. Thursday. Toker, who is separated from her husband and whose only income is her monthly $475 Social Security check, was walking to the Currier Institute of Art, her woven brown bag accented with a large bow in a dark brown and white giraffe pattern tucked under one arm. In her other hand, she carried a paper tote containing all her personal and financial papers...She said she could feel someone come up close behind her and then she was grabbed by the back of the neck. The man pushed her head down and automatically she raised both arms. In an instant, he had her purse and the paper tote...Toker said she immediately grabbed for the tote, which ripped, dumping all her documents onto the ground.The robber took off running with her purse and Toker ran right after him. She caught up to him in a nearby alley where he had stopped and was rummaging through her purse. He had her purple wallet, one she bought for herself on her birthday 10 years ago, and was tearing through it..."Money, money, money, money," were the only words the man said, Toker recalled as she grabbed at her purse, yelling "No, no, no, no."He shoved her to the ground, but Toker still kept trying to get her property back. The purse, she said, contained her life: the cell phone with all the numbers of her children and friends; a wallet with her daughters' photographs; the $2 lucky bill she had carried for years; and very little money because, she explained, she really doesn't have any...The robber pulled out a leather case and she told him it contained make-up. He dumped the contents on the ground. He pulled out another leather case and she told him "make-up" and he tossed that to the ground. It actually contained her cell phone...The man, apparently satisfied he got all the money out of the purse, threw it to the ground and fled.Toker recovered her pocketbook, which also contained her eyeglasses, and her cell phone, which was undamaged in the incident. The wallet is torn, but still useable, although she would like to get a new one...On Friday, she was nursing her injuries and said she felt like she was 95 years old. And, having gone through the experience, she now is afraid when she goes out. She has no car and her only way to get around is walking...Police are looking for the robber, whom Toker described as Middle Eastern — Toker believes he was Egyptian — and in his 20s. He spoke with an accent.He had short dark hair, was clean-shaven and wore a red T-shirt, black shorts and light-colored tennis shoes...Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to call police at 668-8711. Anonymous tips for cash rewards may be made through Manchester Crimeline at 624-4040.pgrossmith@unionleader.com.. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9057 | Bob Shryock: Dad's special gift to mom on Christmas
Bob Shryock | For NJ.com
I’ve heard my favorite holiday song, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” at least a dozen times in recent days, and every time, I get choked with emotion because of the memories that come cascading.
I’m named for my uncle, Robert Elden, a professional musician who played bass with both Dorseys, Alvino Rey, Charlie Barnet, Frankie Carle and other magic names from the Big Band era.
Obviously, Uncle Bob was an accomplished bassist. But he had a problem that he shared with other elite musicians from the ’30s, ’40s, and ’50s. He was an alcoholic. An occupational hazard for bandsmen who toured for a living and had too much time on their hands. He lost jobs but was so good at his trade he had no trouble getting another.
He made very good money but drank it away. And every time the phone rang, in the middle of the night, Mom knew her brother was making a collect call from Lord-knows-where, asking for money to bail him out of trouble. And Mom, with her soft heart, never learned tough love. She always helped him. Always.
One year, in early December, the call came from Texas. Bob had been fired by one of the big bands and was in a halfway house, broke. He needed money. Mom took his phone number, wired him $100 from her Christmas fund, and told him to call collect to acknowledge receipt.
She fretted the rest of the day. There was no phone call. She considered the obvious: He’d used the $100 to go on another binge.
For three or four days, contact was lost, and Mom feared the worst.
Dad, understanding her deep love for her brother, volunteered to go to Texas to find Bob and bring him home, a daunting challenge at best.
“Bib, it’s asking too much,” Mom said. She was right. It was asking too much.
“No, Lib, I’ll go.”
Dad was able to track down, via phone calls, where Bob had been staying.
So with 15 or 16 days left before Christmas and commercial flights pretty much non-existent in the early ’40s, Dad hopped on a bus and headed southwest toward Dallas.
Dad called several times en route. Mom regretted letting dad go, but tried keeping her Christmas spirit alive by playing her classic 78s. She worried Dad might not return home in time for Christmas.
Dad made it to Dallas, found the halfway house, but learned Bob had left a week earlier. Somehow, by asking a ton of questions, Dad amazingly tracked him down, living on the street. He called Mom with the news. She was deliriously happy her brother was alive.
So, with just a few days left before Christmas, Dad and Uncle Bob boarded an eastbound bus and started home.
In Waynesboro, Mom gleefully prepared for their arrival, boosting the volume on her beloved Christmas music. She played Sinatra’s version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” repeatedly.
On Christmas Eve afternoon, Dad called from western Pennsylvania, glumly telling Mom the roads were impassable because of a snowstorm and the earliest he and Uncle Bob would make it home was late Christmas Day.
Mom felt a strong sense of guilt over Dad’s bizarre Christmas. She and I had a strangely quiet Christmas together. Without Dad, nothing seemed right.
But around 11 o’clock Christmas night, Dad and Uncle Bob wearily trudged in the front door. Mom hugged both of them for a long time.
“Bib,” she said, “this is my best Christmas ever ... thanks to you.”
As far as I know, Uncle Bob was sober the rest of his life. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9101 | Campaign ID: 277474 | Creative: bar1_button_inyt_usd_4L9UF -- 413757 | Page: www.nytimes.com/archive/article/dining / Targeted Page: www.nytimes.com/archive/article/dining | Position: Bar1
EATING WELL; F.D.A. Issues Warning on a 60's Health Food, Alfalfa Sprouts
By Marian Burros
PEOPLE with weakened or developing immune systems -- those for whom food-borne diseases pose a severe health risk -- now have something else to worry about. And it is something normally billed as a health food: alfalfa sprouts. No, rabid alfalfa sprouts are not exactly running amok on avocado sandwiches. But enough sprouts have been found to be contaminated with salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7 for the Food and Drug Administration to issue a warning about special dangers to children under 10, the elderly, pregnant women and those with certain diseases like AIDS and cancer. Even healthy adults can get sick from these food-borne illnesses, but they are less likely to end up in the hospital. For years, sprouts have been sprinkled on salads and sandwiches with a carefree abandon because they are supposed to be so healthful. The popularity of sprouts came out of the hippie culture of the 1960's, when natural and nutritious became synonymous. Until 1995, when the first outbreak occurred in this country, no one gave the safety of these crunchy add-ons a second thought. Alfalfa sprouts are only the third food item in the Food and Drug Administration's recent effort to direct special warnings at this most vulnerable part of the population. Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned scientists and health professionals a year ago about alfalfa sprouts, it was not until the end of last month that the Food and Drug Administration issued its warning. ''I'm not saying we shouldn't have done it sooner,'' William Schultz, deputy director of the F.D.A. for policy, said. He added: ''A warning directed at special populations is a new tool the F.D.A. has started to use. It is a new concept for high-risk food.'' In 1993, raw oysters became the first food to carry an F.D.A. warning for those with weakened immune systems. No new foods were added to this list until two years ago, when unpasteurized juices were pinpointed as risks; warnings, however, did not go up in supermarkets until just last month. Alfalfa sprouts are No. 3. Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy group, agrees that such warnings are necessary, but she says the F.D.A. takes too long to issue them. ''It should be a big part of F.D.A.'s job to warn consumers,'' Ms. DeWaal said, ''but no one is taking responsibility to alert them about the changing food supply.'' According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since 1995, outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli 0157:H7 in alfalfa sprouts in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Virginia and California have resulted in 1,300 confirmed cases of food poisoning and the likelihood of thousands more. There has been one death. ''I think it is a serious problem,'' Dr. Larry Slutsker, a medical epidemiologist with the centers, said. The warning on the sprouts, issued on Aug. 31, came in an F.D.A. news release. But there is no telling when, if ever, consumers will be informed in any systematic way: for example, with mandatory warning labels in supermarkets. Doing that is a long bureaucratic process involving everyone from growers and consumer groups to the Office of Management and Budget. The problem with sprouts, which are almost always eaten raw, seems to be in the sprouts themselves, not in the way they are served. The fact that the sprouting process takes place in water may enhance the ability of hazardous bacteria to multiply. Three confirmed outbreaks this summer in California -- with a fourth under investigation -- have prompted the California Health Services Department to issue a statewide advisory about the potential risks. The F.D.A. followed suit. Its warning is considered an interim measure, the Federal agency said, ''until such time as intervention methods are in place to improve the safety of these products.'' Growers of sprouts are aware of the problem but not quite sure how to fix it. One new decontamination procedure involves soaking sprout seeds in a solution containing chlorine. The method is still being evaluated by the Environmental Protection Agency, but in the interim, California has given its sprout industry emergency permission to try the system out for one year. As a follow-up to its Aug. 31 warning, the F.D.A. held a two-day public meeting this week to discuss possible solutions. Industry, scientists and consumer groups were among the participants, and they took up the possibility of the F.D.A. reissuing its warning, the improvement of growing practices, irradiation and the chlorine effort. Photo: A POSSIBLE DANGER -- Infected alfalfa sprouts threaten those with weak immune systems. (Katrina De Leon for The New York Times) Inside NYTimes.com Health » Too Hot to Handle
campaign: nyt2014_edu_propensity_cookie_dropper -- 256873, creative: nyt2015_edu_personalized_isEDU_cookie_dropper -- 401071, page: www.nytimes.com/archive/article/dining, targetedPage: www.nytimes.com/archive/article/dining, position: Inv1 | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9106 | Star line-up for festive event By Kiri Gillespie
7:29 AM Tuesday Nov 19, 2013
Little Big Markets organisers Chris and Rachelle Duffy with musician Tiki Taane have announced a Christmas in the Park, with all proceeds going to Tauranga Community Foodbank.Photo / File. A Christmas in the Park for Tauranga has been announced. New Zealand music stars Tiki Taane, Hollie Smith, Anna Coddington and Anika Moa will headline the December 21 event, to be held at Blake Park. The independent event is the first of its kind for Tauranga and entry will be a gold coin donation. All proceeds raised will go to Tauranga Community Foodbank and Christmas present drop-offs will be arranged for Women's Refuge and Homes of Hope. The event has been organised by Rachelle and Chris Duffy, founders of the Little Big Markets held monthly at Mount Maunganui. The Christmas in the Park was a natural progression from the markets, Ms Duffy said. "Every year at Christmas we have a late night market and Tiki has played at all of them. After last year's performance we thought 'let's make this more a Christmas in the Park'." Taane will also act as the event's MC. "We wouldn't be able to do it without the help of Tiki Taane. He's absolutely been the support network to make that happen for us." Taane was overseas and could not be reached yesterday but Ms Duffy said he got behind the event because it was local, homegrown and "non-corporate". Ms Duffy said she hoped to give people a reason to celebrate and enjoy Christmas with the concert and to extend the celebration to those less fortunate through the fundraising and Christmas present drop-offs. Continued below.Related Content
Little Hannah's up for big Christmas job
Christmas in the Park 2014 - line up announced
Tauranga laser strikes alarm pilots
"Obviously Christmas time is a time where it's about giving and we are very community- focused. "A part of who we are is we are able to create an event for everyone, but also there's a purpose," Ms Duffy said. "We all live in the sunny Bay of Plenty and we should be able to celebrate that and also give back." The event will run from 2pm to 10pm. "We are calling it Christmas in the Park because we don't really have anything in the Bay of Plenty that is family- focused, youth-focused, elderly-focussed. It's one event for everybody around that time of year," Ms Duffy said. She said she planned on the Christmas in the Park becoming an annual event for Tauranga. "I think it's good that we are able to fly that flag." Tauranga Community Foodbank chairman Mike Baker said he was humbled by the efforts being put in to help the organisation and the announcement of the concert was "absolutely awesome". "I know there are many organisations out there needing funding so it's very humbling. It really makes a difference to us," Mr Baker said. - Bay of Plenty Times
By Kiri Gillespie Email
Bay of Plenty Times Services
Volunteers needed for Parkinson's research
Volunteers are needed for ground-breaking research into the effects of singing and music… | 新闻 |
2016-22/0601/en_head.json.gz/9107 | Man rescued from Puketi Forest 4:57 PM Friday Sep 21, 2012
A man attempting to walk the length of New Zealand found himself off the beaten path in a Northland forest but luckily emergency services knew exactly where he was. The 24-year-old tramper was rescued from Puketi Forest, west of Kerikeri, after he activated his Personal Locator Beacon at 11:08am yesterday. Daniel Snelling is on a mission to walk the length of New Zealand and had set off from the far north earlier this month but got into difficulties on Thursday. Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand search controller Chris Henshaw said Mr Snelling raised the alarm via the locator beacon he was carrying. "We were able to obtain information from Daniel's emergency contacts about his intentions and along with the GPS location information from his Personal Locator Beacon, were able to dispatch the Northland Emergency Services Trust (NEST) helicopter to the scene quickly," Mr Henshaw said. "He was well and truly lost, cold and wet, so it was important to get him to a place of safety." Mr Snelling was transferred to Kerikeri by the rescue helicopter, and was checked over by an ambulance crew. Other than cold and wet, he was not injured. "This incident really shows the importance of carrying a registered PLB with GPS capability. RCCNZ was able to respond immediately, turning what had the potential to be a serious incident into a straightforward rescue operation," Mr Henshaw said. He added carrying such equipment took the search out of search and rescue and increased the likelihood of a successful outcome. - Northern Advocate | 新闻 |