Tuesday, September 2, 2014


News Clips For The Day


To Model Manhood, Immigrant Dads Draw From Two Worlds – NPR
by HANSI LO WANG
September 01, 2014

Lindolfo Carballo, an immigrant from El Salvador, meets his son, Raynel, outside school. In El Salvador, he says, families often "teach their boys one thing and their girls differently." He's trying to set a different example for his children.

Lindolfo Carballo knows there's a stereotype about men like him. He grew up in San Miguel, El Salvador, he says, in a male-dominant culture.

"I'm coming from a so-called 'machista' country, right? I mean, in this country, we all think that Latin America, in general, is where machismo is promoted," Carballo says.

In many families in Latin America, he adds, "parents — fathers and even mothers — teach their kids that men are to be served by their sisters."

But that wasn't what his parents taught him and his nine siblings, says Carballo, who lives in Silver Spring, Md., near Washington, D.C.

For immigrant men, life in the U.S. can be a transformative experience. But many immigrant fathers work hard to hold onto what it means to be a man in their native countries — while also rejecting more rigid gender roles that are sometimes the norm in their homelands.

That's what Carballo, now 52 and a father of a 10-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, is trying to do.

As a teenager, he supported leftist revolutionaries in El Salvador's civil war, which, along with his parents' teachings, helped shape his egalitarian views about gender roles. After coming to America in 1990, he says, he's found that same machismo that defined mainstream culture in El Salvador here in America.

"I don't think it's a Latino thing," he says. "I think it's a family thing, where families teach their boys one thing and their girls differently."

Carballo, who works full time as a community organizer for an immigrant rights group, often makes door-to-door visits to immigrant families — sometimes meeting with husbands and wives together.

"I ask the woman a question, and it is the man answering the question for her," he explains. "They don't do it on purpose. But I think they feel it's normal for them because that's how they grew up."

Carballo says he's trying to model a different normal for his children by sharing household duties with his wife.

"Doing dishes, it relaxes you," he says. "Doing some work at home, some people think that it's for women only. No, not true!"

Samuel Adewusi, a 54-year-old immigrant father of four living in D.C. agrees. Adewusi, a lawyer, was born in Lagos, Nigeria. His father had no formal schooling and worked as a carpenter. When his mother wasn't around, Adewusi says, his father would often cook and clean.

"The women usually make fun of him, and the men usually just pretend as if they didn't see him," he says. "It's like, 'Oh, leave that man alone! He's something else, you know.' "
Adewusi says his father taught him a man's true strength comes from his character.

"You don't have to fit yourself in any mold that people are trying to put you [in]," he says. "What is necessary to be done has to be done, without trying to say, 'Well, I am in this mold. Men are not supposed to cook.' But you are starving! And you are saying men are not supposed to cook? What kind of crap is that?"

After more than three decades living in the U.S., Adewusi has decided that there are some fundamental differences between Nigerian and American men.

Men holding hands platonically is "totally cool" in Nigeria, he says. But in America, Adewusi learned, it is taboo unless you're in a romantic relationship with another man. He recalls a former classmate in the U.S. who once told him, "Men don't do that! We don't touch each other. We don't hold each others' hands."

That's a shame, Adewusi says. "This doesn't let human beings live to their full extent. [Though] I don't mean to say, 'Well, all of us should go around and start singing 'Kumbaya,' and holding each others' hands.' "

Since moving to the U.S., Adewusi has traveled back to Nigeria occasionally to visit his family. One airport arrival was especially memorable.

"Everybody was there to welcome me and all that good stuff. And my younger brother tried to [hold] my hands. And I said, 'Ah! Don't do that! Don't touch me!' " he recalls with a laugh.

Adewusi says he eventually adjusted back to Nigerian culture during his visit, but the incident reminded him of the limits of being a so-called "man" in America.

Still, he says, he has seen a positive development for men in the U.S. since moving here. "Nowadays you see grown men actually hug each other."

This story was produced for broadcast by Marisa Peñaloza. You can find other stories from All Things Considered's series on what it means to be a man in America today here.




“In many families in Latin America, he adds, 'parents — fathers and even mothers — teach their kids that men are to be served by their sisters.' But that wasn't what his parents taught him and his nine siblings, says Carballo, who lives in Silver Spring, Md., near Washington, D.C.... As a teenager, he supported leftist revolutionaries in El Salvador's civil war, which, along with his parents' teachings, helped shape his egalitarian views about gender roles. After coming to America in 1990, he says, he's found that same machismo that defined mainstream culture in El Salvador here in America.... Carballo says he's trying to model a different normal for his children by sharing household duties with his wife. 'Doing dishes, it relaxes you,' he says. 'Doing some work at home, some people think that it's for women only. No, not true!'

Nigerian born Samuel Adewusi said that he shares the housework with his wife as did his father before him. “'The women usually make fun of him, and the men usually just pretend as if they didn't see him,' he says. 'It's like, 'Oh, leave that man alone! He's something else, you know.'" Adewusi says his father taught him a man's true strength comes from his character. This is what all people in a society that would be ruled by justice must believe – “character” is the key for both women and men, and it has to be taught to the children. If it is they probably won't grow up to be juvenile delinquents. The funny thing about this article was his comments and thoughts about men in the US holding hands or hugging. I can remember a time when I had never seen two men hug, but by the 1980s I was seeing it. There is affection without the assumption of sex between people of the same sex. Women have always hugged, and now I am glad to say men do, too. About the hand holding, I will never forget the day I was watching President George W. Bush walk out of a building holding hands with someone from Saudi Arabia – I can't remember who, but I remember the long flowing robes. I was a little bit shocked and dismayed. I have since heard that men in some of the Middle Eastern cultures do regularly hold hands with their negotiation partner when they are discussing the issue at hand. This is to insure that they will both be speaking the truth.






UKRAINE – Four Articles

Leaked Putin remark on Ukraine enrages Russia
CBS/AP September 2, 2014, 8:16 AM

MOSCOW -- A Kremlin aide on Tuesday sharply criticized EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso for breaching confidentiality when he quoted President Vladimir Putin as saying Moscow could take over Kiev in two weeks, if it wished.

Yuri Ushakov, the Russian leader's foreign policy adviser, told reporters that Putin's statement was "taken out of context and carried a completely different meaning."

Ushakov lashed out at Barroso, saying it was a breach of diplomatic practices and "unworthy of a serious politician" to speak publicly about a private conversation.

Putin's private remarks were revealed as a Ukrainian official said Russian forces had been spotted in both of the major rebel-held cities in eastern Ukraine.

The claim by Col. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's national security council, came as the country's defense minister said Ukraine's armed forces were expanding their strategy from just fighting separatist rebels to facing the Russian army in a war that could cost "tens of thousands" of lives.

Lysenko told reporters that Russian troops had been seen in the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as other locations throughout the east, but he did not give details and the claim could not be confirmed independently. Lysenko also said 15 servicemen had been killed over the previous day.

Several European publications earlier this week cited diplomats quoting Barroso as saying that Putin had said in a private conversation that Russian forces could take over Ukraine's capital in two weeks' time, if they wished.

Putin's comment reportedly came in response to Barroso pointing out Ukrainian and Western claims that Russia had sharply escalated the conflict in eastern Ukraine by sending regular army units into Ukraine. NATO has estimated that at least 1,000 Russian soldiers have entered Ukraine, helping turn the tide in favor of pro-Russian insurgents.

Ushakov on Tuesday reaffirmed Moscow's denial that it has sent any soldiers in, even though a rebel leader said last week that Russian servicemen on official leave were among some 4,000 Russians fighting in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Valeriy Heletey said on his Facebook page Monday that the counter-insurgency operation is over and the nation's military is now facing the Russian army in a war that could cost "tens of thousands" of lives.

Russia's Foreign Ministry dismissed Heletey's remarks as "shocking" and accused him of making the statement in a bid to shift blame and keep his seat amid a series of defeats suffered by the Ukrainian military.

Pro-Russian rebels have been fighting Ukrainian government troops since mid-April in a conflict that has left more than 2,500 people dead. In recent weeks, the rebels have scored significant gains on the ground, launching an offensive along the coast of the Sea of Azov.

Efforts to negotiate a peaceful settlement to the hostilities, which followed the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russian president and Russia's annexation of Crimea, have failed.

Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, pro-Russian rebels and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe made another attempt to reach an accord Monday in Minsk, the Belarusian capital. Rebels presented a negotiating platform that dropped their previous demand for full independence and expressed readiness to negotiate a settlement that would respect Ukraine's territorial integrity in exchange for a broad autonomy for eastern provinces.

The talks lasted several hours and were adjourned until Friday, when the parties are expected to discuss specifics of a possible cease-fire and a prisoners' exchange.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday urged the United States to use its influence in Ukraine to encourage efforts to reach a political settlement. "It's necessary to restrain the party of war in Kiev, and only the United States can do it," he said at a briefing.



Russia and ISIS take center stage on Obama's Europe trip
By REBECCA KAPLAN CBS NEWS September 2, 2014, 5:38 AM

President Obama leaves for Europe Tuesday with stops in Estonia and a NATO summit in Wales amid escalating crises in Ukraine and in Iraq and Syria, crises that are having a direct impact on a number of European nations.

While the Russian threat in Ukraine will be the focus of the upcoming summit, the meeting also puts President Obama, Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel face to face with European countries who may be willing to join the U.S. in dealing with the other crisis in Iraq and Syria.

Officially, however, NATO says it doesn't want to be involved in dealing with the Islamic militant group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) that has swept across Iraq and Syria and poses a growing threat to the U.S. and parts of Western Europe that might be targeted by foreign fighters.

"NATO itself is trying to ensure it that it is staying out, as an alliance," said Kathleen Hicks, the Director of the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

But that doesn't mean it isn't at the forefront for U.S. and European leaders and it's expected to be a major topic of conversation on the sidelines in Wales.

The president's events begin Wednesday in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Mr. Obama is the second U.S. president to visit the country, after former President George W. Bush who was there ahead of another NATO summit in 2006.

"It is clearly not accidental that the president has decided to stop in Estonia on the way to the NATO Summit. The two stops are essentially part of the same effort to send a message to the Russians that their behavior is unacceptable," said Charles Kupchan, the White House's senior director for European Affairs.

Estonia, like Ukraine, has a large Russian population and is concerned about the potential of pro-Russian unrest there too. But Kupchan said Mr. Obama will send the message that the Article 5 commitment to common defense of other nations is ironclad.

"Russia, don't even think about messing around in Estonia or in any of the Baltic areas in the same way you have been messing around in Ukraine," Kupchan said the president would relay to allies there.

Mr. Obama will meet with the leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and also speak to young people there.

The chief focus of the NATO summit in Wales will be crafting a more robust response to Russia in the hopes of de-escalating tensions in the region but also bolstering the ability of member nations to defend themselves against new kinds of threats. Kupchan said that countries, "may be facing not armored columns coming across their border...but guys coming across in masks."

Even though Ukraine is not a member of the alliance, NATO will be asked to approve the creation of a high-readiness force and the stockpiling of military equipment and supplies in Eastern Europe to help protect member nations there, the NATO secretary general announced Monday.

"In some ways, NATO should thank Vladimir Putin because it was really searching for its purpose, post-[International Security Assistance Force], and it was having a fairly significant identity crisis," said Heather Conley, the director of CSIS' Europe program. "It has now not only been repurposed, it's been reinvigorated."

But the geopolitical conflict in Eastern Europe has served as a reminder that many NATO member states have let their defense spending lag behind the commitment to devote 2 percent of GDP to that purpose.

Mr. Obama will once again push nations to increase their financial commitments, with may carry more weight with the emerging threats.

"The Ukraine crisis has been a wake-up call," Conley said. "Now, whether the Europeans will hit the snooze button or not, again, I don't know, but it has certainly shaken them."

The alliance is shifting away from its prominent role leading the fighting in Afghanistan to a training and advisory mission. But discussions are complicated by the fact that neither outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, nor the rival candidates vying to replace him, are expected to attend the summit. Instead, the Afghanistan's defense minister will attend.

But even as NATO pulls back from a robust mission in Afghanistan and has worked to stay out of the current crisis in Iraq and Syria, Mr. Obama may urge his colleagues to take on a heightened role.

"I think the president is forward leaning on getting NATO more involved in the Middle East and, in particular, dealing with the threat from [ISIS], dealing with the humanitarian urgencies in the region. And so one can expect NATO to make advances on that front," Kupchan said.



NATO To Create New 'Spearhead' Force For Eastern Europe – NPR
by L. CAROL RITCHIE
September 01, 2014

NATO leaders are expected to set up a rapid-response force to deploy quickly to eastern Europe to defend against potential Russian aggression at their meeting in Wales later this week.

The force of about 4,000 troops will be ready to move on 48 hours notice from a station in a member country close to Russia, The New York Times reported.

The "spearhead" force would be defensive in nature and able to respond "to Russia's aggressive behavior — but it equips the alliance to respond to all security challenges, wherever they may arise," said Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen in a speech on the NATO website.

The Obama administration supports the plan, but emphasized the force's defensive posture, National Security Spokesman Caitlin Hayden tells CNN.

The force is "not intended as a provocation, or as a threat to Russia, but rather as a demonstration of NATO's continued commitment to our collective defense," Hayden said.

Poland and other NATO members in eastern and Baltic states had expressed concerns about Russian actions in Ukraine, and had demanded a stronger response, says the Guardian. The new force will not help with the current situation in Ukraine, but may serve as a deterrent if Russia considers destabilizing the Baltic states.

"The spearhead group will be trained to deal with unconventional actions, from the funding of separatist groups to the use of social media, intimidation and black propaganda," writes the Guardian's Ewen MacAskill.

Russia is bound to view it as an act of aggression, MacAskill says.

The NATO summit, featuring some 60 heads of state, including President Obama, is set for Thursday and Friday at the Celtic Manor Resort, a luxury hotel complex in Newport, Wales.

Update at 7:09 a.m. ET. Russia Reconsiders Military Doctrine:

In response to what it called a military threat, Mikhail Popov, deputy secretary of Russia's military Security Council, said Russia would reconsider its military doctrine.
The New York Times reports:

"Mr. Popov said Russia expected that leaders of NATO would seek to strengthen the alliance's long-term military presence in Eastern Europe by establishing new military bases in the region and by deploying tanks in Estonia, a member of NATO that borders Russia.

"'We believe that the defining factor in our relationship with NATO remains the unacceptability for Russia of plans to move military infrastructures of the alliance to our borders, including by means of expanding the bloc,' Mr. Popov said."





Pro-Russia Rebels Say They Will Settle For Autonomy In Ukraine – NPR
by KRISHNADEV CALAMUR
September 01, 2014

Pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine are no longer demanding full independence, telling negotiators in Belarus that they will respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for autonomy.

The Associated Press adds:

"It's a shift that reflects Moscow's desire to strike a deal at a new round of peace talks — possibly avoiding tougher Western sanctions. The talks follow last week's meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine. Similar talks earlier this summer produced no visible results."

Today's talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, lasted for several hours before being adjourned until Friday.

Earlier Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the meeting's goals should be a cease-fire, but he demanded that Ukrainian troops leave positions from which they can "harm the civilian population."

Karoun Demirjian, who is reporting for NPR from Moscow, tells our Newscast unit:

"[A] rebel leader in Donetsk told Russian news service Interfax that their main goal is to win recognition of their independence from Kiev.

"During a television interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin said statehood in eastern Ukraine should be one of the topics up for discussion; the Kremlin stressed, though, that Russia isn't directly supporting calls for independence.

"Meanwhile, Ukraine's military spokesman says that Russian formations were directly firing on troops at the Luhansk airport overnight. Russian-backed separatists say they seized the airport today."

Monday's meeting in Minsk comes a day after a Ukrainian border guard vessel was attacked near the eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol.

NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, who is reporting from Mariupol for Newscast, says Ukrainian officials blamed Russian-backed separatists for the attack on the vessel patrolling in the Sea of Azov. She adds: "The separatist fighters last week launched an offensive along the coastline and now control several towns and villages here."

The crisis in Ukraine has resulted in the worst ties between Moscow and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Indeed, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN on Sunday that the U.S. should "provide the Ukrainians with the type of defensive weapons that will impose a cost upon Putin for further aggression."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., echoed those calls in an interviewwith CBS' Face the Nation.

"Give them the weapons they need," he said. "Give them the wherewithal they need. Give them the ability to fight."

In a news conference last week, President Obama blamed Russia for the violence in Ukraine. The administration's actions against Russia have so far mainly been limited to economic sanctions on Russia's banking, energy and defense sectors.

"Capital is fleeing, investors are increasingly staying out, his economy is in decline," Obama said last week. "This ongoing Russian incursion into Ukraine will only bring more costs and consequences for Russia."




The key information in these articles is that NATO is setting up a force to be deployed to the Baltic and Eastern European countries, but that it will not protect Ukraine. “The new force will not help with the current situation in Ukraine, but may serve as a deterrent if Russia considers destabilizing the Baltic states.” Russia, meanwhile, has reiterated their demand that no NATO forces or bases should be put into those nations that directly border Russia, as it considers that a threat. American lawmakers, however, are calling for the US to provide defensive weapons to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the rebels have backed away from their demand of independence to a position of autonomy, and that they will “respect Ukraine's sovereignty” in exchange. There is some progress here.





Depressed Teens May Need Extra Support To Stick With Treatment – NPR
by MAANVI SINGH
August 26, 2014

Say a pediatrician notices that one of her teenage patients is showing signs of depression. In most cases, the doctor will notify parents and prescribe an antidepressant or recommend a therapist.

The trouble is, many of those teens won't go to therapy or won't stick with it. And that's part of a bigger problem: Nearly two-thirds of adolescents who have had a major depressive episode don't get treatment, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Getting parents more involved is a way to start reversing that trend, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And pairing depressed teens with a counselor or clinician who can help them follow through with treatment can help as well.

In a clinical trial, researchers from the University of Washington and Seattle Children's Hospital split a group of 100 teens who screened positive for depression into two categories. Half were encouraged to seek treatment and had their screening results mailed to their parents.

The rest were treated with what doctors call a collaborative care model. These kids were paired with a depression care manager (a specially trained clinican) who worked with them and their parents develop a treatment plan. The care manager also followed up with the teens every week or two, and called their parents every month.

After a year, only 27 percent of the teens who didn't get that extra coaching had enlisted in the recommended treatment, while 86 percent of the collaborative care group got treatment.

Dr. Laura Richardson, who led the study, says just the process of finding a therapist or psychiatrist can overwhelm teens and their parents. "We're asking them to go and access a system they've never navigated before," she says.

The care managers can help get the ball rolling, and also serve as mediators when teens and parents have different ideas about treatment, Richardson says. In some cases, she notes, "the teens really didn't want to go talk to somebody — they really would rather take a pill. And most commonly, the parents were opposed to that. Working through that sort of thing is really important for teens. They need to feel heard, and they need to feel supported."

The study's findings are in line with other research showing the collaborative care model works well for adults with mental disorders, says David Kolko, an adolescent psychologist and professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

"I think it shows great promise as a model," he says. "But I don't think it's an easy thing yet for us to implement." In general, the primary care system and the mental health care system are still separate in the United States, Kolko notes; primary care physicians don't get much training in mental health. Plus, most insurance companies have different reimbursement systems for mental and physical health.

The medical community's attitude about the best way to treat mental health problems also needs to change, Richardson says. The care manager the study employed cost about $1,400 per teen, she says. "When we compare that to what we pay for an MRI or any diagnostic testing, it's not that much."

"If I told you we could have a threefold improvement in cancer outcomes, people would jump on that," Richardson says. "I think we're a little more skeptical when it comes to mental health," she says




Many people in this country, including many doctors, don't “believe” in mental health treatment, just as they don't believe in evolution. The result is that psychiatric symptoms are likely to result in “a whipping” by parents, and maybe if they feel overwhelmed, advice from their church minister. Religion is preferred by many over non-religious counseling or drug therapy. Then there is the fact that insurance won't always pay all the costs for a psychiatrist. Since the Affordable Health Care law they have to pay something for it, though.

This article stresses the weekly visit with a “depression care manager” for keeping the teenager cooperating and engaged, doing some talk therapy and if he has been prescribed any, taking his medication. This manager provides a regular one to one contact and helps get the patient lined up with a therapist. 86% of the patients under this type of plan get care as opposed to only 27% when the parents are required to make their own contacts for treatment.

I'm glad to see this, because with the teenage years being the period when the body is flooded with new hormones, they are likely to get depressed or experience self-doubt even if they aren't psychotic, and having a rough time as a teenager can set them back literally for the rest of their lives. Adults in their thirties who are finally driven to seek psychiatric help usually have many years of negative thought to work through with a therapist. With this plan, the kids are receiving help before their condition gets too far out of hand.





For these students, lunch is personal
By HEBA KANSO CBS NEWS September 2, 2014, 5:30 AM

Yves Millien checks the acidity levels in the water to make sure the arugula grows properly. It's February in Newark, New Jersey - not your typical time to farm. But Millien is not your typical farmer. She's one of about 160 students getting hands-on experience cultivating crops in Philips Academy Charter School.

"I didn't know you could grow food inside," Millien, then in 8th grade, said of the vertical farm found inside the school's cafeteria, conveniently just a few feet from the salad bar.

Every 6th through 8th grader gets involved with the farm at some point during the year. Besides arugula, they grow various Asian greens.

"We harvest it and then it's used in the kitchen and therefore the salad bar and [we're] eating it during lunch and it's fun," said Millien.

The stacked farm produces about eight pounds of leafy greens every three weeks and is estimated to save Philips Academy around $300 to $400 per year.

"To me it adds a whole dimension of just creating excitement and an interest in learning more. It connects to science and it also connects to health and wellness," said Catkin Flowers, the environmental science teacher and EcoSpaces coordinator who helps the students learn how to farm.

The greens grow under an artificial sun of LED lights and they are fed a nutrient-rich water mixture.

Greens under LED lights

AeroFarms, the company that created the stacked farm for Philips Academy, wants to not only help students learn about vertical farming, but to help improve issues around childhood obesity by adopting healthy eating patterns.

"We found that instead of giving leafy greens, donating to a school, but where we can put a farm in a school, it really helps change behavior," said CEO David Rosenberg.

For Millien, this isn't just a cool science project.

"I see foods differently. It definitely has a huge impact on what I eat now and what I would have eaten a few years ago."

The students even develop a sense of pride from growing their own food.

"We so often find that students have an aversion to eating healthy food. Especially in the middle school years it's not really cool to be eating healthy and they're like 'greens eww.' So when students really have an opportunity to really take ownership of their food, to be able to grow it and prepare it themselves then instead of becoming something that's being forced on them because it's quote unquote healthy, they have a vested interest in saying 'I made this and I want to eat it because it's good and I am proud of it'," said Flowers.

And for many of these students, this is the first time they are seeing how their food is produced.

"It was definitely like kind of eye opening because I didn't know about this stuff," said Millien. "And when I got here it was so cool to see that food has a big impact on your life, your energy, how you see the day."




“'We harvest it and then it's used in the kitchen and therefore the salad bar and [we're] eating it during lunch and it's fun,' said Millien. The stacked farm produces about eight pounds of leafy greens every three weeks and is estimated to save Philips Academy around $300 to $400 per year. 'To me it adds a whole dimension of just creating excitement and an interest in learning more. It connects to science and it also connects to health and wellness,' said Catkin Flowers, the environmental science teacher and EcoSpaces coordinator who helps the students learn how to farm.”

Vertical farming is a new idea, which I only recently clipped an article about, and which has very real usefulness for food production in the US. Land for farms may become scarce in the US, and in cities it is non-existent. The other article was about a high rise building about 8 of whose floors were dedicated to farming, with the equivalent production of several acres of land in an outdoor setting. The fact that the kids at school are getting to see the plants grow is very good, because the sprouting and growth from seed is one of the most miraculous processes for a young person to see. It creates that first experience with science outside the pages of a book, and especially in this case since the kids get to eat the produce. All schools should do this. It will help increase the kids grades, I feel sure. Too much of education is about dry facts and memorization, and this fires the imagination. Great stuff!!




China and the U.S.: Ever-tighter economic ties – CBS
By BRUCE KENNEDY MONEYWATCH September 2, 2014

Relations between the U.S. and China have never been especially warm. But over the past several decades, as China has developed into the world's second-largest economy, the two nations' financial futures have become all the more intertwined.

That's why many economic experts and analysts are carefully watching as China's economy slows down. On Monday, two surveys showed China's manufacturing growth slowed in August, which may mean authorities will have to inject stimulus to reach their 7.5 percent annual growth target.

China is in the midst of an epic transition from a manufacturing and investment-driven economy to one based on services and consumption. Experts don't expect that transition to be seamless for either the Chinese people or their leadership.

"There are a number of very difficult reforms ahead of them," said Elizabeth Economy, director for Asia Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. She expects challenges to arise as China deals with major changes in its banking, educational and legal systems, and has to grapple with such issues as the protection of intellectual property rights.

But these reforms, and China's shift toward a consumer-led economy, could also end up benefiting the U.S.

Economy said the long-time dream of some American export firms, "of 1 billion Chinese consumers," may finally become a reality.

"As the Chinese middle class is growing and the upper-middle class is growing, they have demonstrated themselves to be real consumers, along the lines of Americans," she noted. "They like to try new products, which creates opportunities for U.S. Companies."

And as the government in Beijing complies with the World Trade Organization and other international regulatory guidelines, China might start making substantial investments, as well as mergers and acquisitions, linked to U.S. companies in the near future.

"There are opportunities for China, really for the first time, to contribute to actual job-making on the ground in the United States," said Economy. "And that's a big shift. The numbers are still small, but nonetheless it's potentially a very positive trend."

Of course, serious concerns remain about Chinese investment in the U.S.

Last year's sale of U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods to a Chinese firm raised fresh worries about ongoing food quality and safety issues in China, and what the new foreign ownership might mean for the U.S. food supply.

But Economy said any lessening of food quality at Smithfield would also end up undermining the Chinese company's desire "to have a high-end producer in their portfolio."

China's growing population and ongoing food insecurity have also created international concerns about Chinese companies buying entire food harvests in some countries, while attempting to purchase farmland outside of China.

Countries such as Brazil and Argentina have revised their land laws in the face of widespread Chinese investment, fearful that Chinese companies might attempt to buy up significant portions of their agricultural acreage.

And then there's the issue of technology. Economy mentioned the potential for Chinese tech firms to overwhelm their American counterparts.

While technology deals should be welcomed, "we don't want Chinese companies buying up U.S. technology companies," she warned, "stripping them of the technology and shutting down companies here in the United States, so that they can't compete with China."

Another concern is that any major negative changes in the Chinese economy could cause a financial drag on the U.S. But William Yu, an economist at UCLA's Anderson School of Management, doesn't buy into that argument.

Yu looked at 20 years of Chinese and U.S economic data, and determined that a 1 percentage-point slowdown in China's overall GDP would contribute just a 0.05 percent slowdown to the American economy.

Still, the Council on Foreign Relations' Economy expects a variety of issues will make U.S.-Chinese relations contentious for years to come.

"Everybody needs to be cognizant of any company's track record, as it comes to invest in the United States," she noted. "But I don't think that we should demonize all Chinese companies. We should look at them as individual companies. Some are good actors, some are not. We should try to not be paranoid about Chinese investment."




“Countries such as Brazil and Argentina have revised their land laws in the face of widespread Chinese investment, fearful that Chinese companies might attempt to buy up significant portions of their agricultural acreage. And then there's the issue of technology. Economy mentioned the potential for Chinese tech firms to overwhelm their American counterparts. While technology deals should be welcomed, 'we don't want Chinese companies buying up U.S. technology companies,' she warned, 'stripping them of the technology and shutting down companies here in the United States, so that they can't compete with China.'”

The growing consumer economy in China should help the US as a trading partner, it seems to me, but the idea of Chinese people owning property or businesses on a large scale looks like a problem. I think maybe our country should follow the path of Brazil and Argentina to change the laws about that. Economy states “I don't think that we should demonize all Chinese companies. We should look at them as individual companies. Some are good actors, some are not.” The Chinese food companies that have sold dangerous products would find themselves in the daylight of a free press, which could make them toe the line about product quality, and any tendency to pay unfair wages or deal in other labor crimes would quickly make them have to change their ways. Of course they would also have to pay taxes and follow federal regulations. I think they would quickly begin to look much like an American firm. I remember a labor dispute in a Toyoto plant in the South a few years ago, in which some women were sexually “touched inappropriately,” and the press had a field day with it. I'm not too worried about having Chinese companies here. Having them own vast tracts of land is another matter. I wouldn't like that.