Thursday, January 29, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/29/382276085/obamas-budget-would-undo-broad-cuts-made-during-recession

Obama's Budget Would Undo Broad, Automatic Cuts Made In 2013
Christopher Dean Hopkins
January 29, 2015

When President Obama meets with House Democrats tonight during their retreat in Philadelphia, officials say he'll lay out the details of his budget proposal, which will include reversal of large cuts to federal spending instituted in 2013.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that those spending cuts, known as the sequester, hit both the defense and domestic budgets. The cuts were the result of an uncomfortable congressional agreement in 2011 that triggered across-the-board cuts if a "supercommittee," or a panel of bipartisan leaders, could not agree on a way to cut the budget by $1.5 trillion over a decade. When talks on budget cuts fell apart, the automatic spending reductions began — to the tune of $85 billion in 2013.

The president officially will release his fiscal 2016 budget to the public on Monday; White House officials say it also will include boosted spending on education, infrastructure and the military, offset by closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy.

Congressional Republicans are unlikely to accept those proposals, Mara reports.

Responding to Obama's State of the Union address earlier this month, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said her party would support tax reform "to lower rates — and create jobs, not pay for more government spending." She also said the Republican caucus would pursue a balanced budget.

A White House official said Obama hopes to work with Republicans to build on 2013's bipartisan budget agreement.

"The president believes we should end the era of manufactured crises and mindless austerity," the statement read.

The stuffed-full "cromnibus" spending bill was passed by a lame-duck Senate in December and funds the government through the end of the fiscal year in September.




“When President Obama meets with House Democrats tonight during their retreat in Philadelphia, officials say he'll lay out the details of his budget proposal, which will include reversal of large cuts to federal spending instituted in 2013.... When talks on budget cuts fell apart, the automatic spending reductions began — to the tune of $85 billion in 2013. The president officially will release his fiscal 2016 budget to the public on Monday; White House officials say it also will include boosted spending on education, infrastructure and the military, offset by closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy.Congressional Republicans are unlikely to accept those proposals, Mara reports. ... "The president believes we should end the era of manufactured crises and mindless austerity," the statement read. The stuffed-full "cromnibus" spending bill was passed by a lame-duck Senate in December and funds the government through the end of the fiscal year in September.”

All three of Obama's proposed budget spending increases are needed. The increases in Russia's military spending lately and the decreases in US and European spending on ours are making me nervous. I'm afraid we aren't a match for Russia should they try to move into more Ukrainian territory or other former USSR states, and I don't trust Putin not to do it. Closing tax loopholes for the wealthy will probably be prevented, but at least some money for infrastructure will probably be voted in. Education is always in need of more money, just like food stamps for the poor. Hopefully some of this money will “trickle down” to the poor someway – jobs building bridges, maybe. Unfortunately, this budget will have to pass the Republican dominated legislature, so it will probably be cut. That will be news for another day.



Excerpt from Lucy Warner's blog January 29, 2015 “A Day At A Time,” on website lucywarner2013.blogspot.com/:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-dismal-state-of-americas-child-poverty/

1 in 5 American kids rely on food stamps
By AIMEE PICCHI MONEYWATCH
January 28, 2015

America is a global leader on a number of fronts, including having the largest economy in the world. But here is one area where the U.S., given its general affluence, would rather not distinguish itself: It has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world.

Even as the economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, 1 in 5 children are on food stamps, the U.S. Census said on Wednesday. Before the housing crash, 1 in 8 received federal food assistance.

This dismal statistic reflects how the recovery is failing to reach families at the lower end of the economic spectrum. While the stock market has reached record highs and the richest 1 percent are on a path to own most of the world's wealth by 2016, many American families continue to struggle to put food on the table. The U.S. now has the second-highest rate of child poverty among 35 industrialized nations, according to the Children's Defense Fund, a child advocacy group.

That is a "shameful distinction," the group said in a new report. "Many countries with fewer resources have lower poverty rates, including the U.K., New Zealand, the Czech Republic and Hungary, a clear indication the U.S. could do much more to reduce child poverty."


 U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

The only industrialized country with a higher poverty rate? Romania, a country that is still struggling to emerge from brutal decades under Communism and is only now starting to create a middle class.

About 15 million U.S. children live below the official poverty level of about $24,000 for a family of four, the Children's Defense Fund found. Children in the U.S. have a 20 percent chance of being poor, while children of color are twice as likely to be poor as white kids.

"It's shocking, and it doesn't have to be this way," Caroline Fichtenberg, director of research at the Children's Defense Fund, told CBS MoneyWatch. "It's in our economic interest to address child poverty."

There's a cost to America's high rate of child poverty, the Children's Defense Fund said. Because financially strapped parents have fewer resources and less time -- many work multiple jobs to make ends meet -- they are less likely to spend time talking and reading to their children. Hunger and food insecurity also lead to health problems, as well as a higher chance of obesity, and poor students are less likely to graduate from high school, which depresses their earnings potential.

"The lost productivity and extra health and crime costs stemming from child poverty add up to roughly half a trillion dollars a year, or 3.8 percent of GDP," the report noted.

Food stamps are just one of the costs. Last year, the food-assistance program provided benefits for 16 million children, compared with 9 million before the recession started in December of 2007. The rate of children who live with married parents and who are receiving food stamps, meanwhile, has doubled in that same time period, the Census said.

The findings come amid increased concern from economists and policy makers about the growing gap in the U.S. between the rich and everyone else. The top 1 percent of income earners captured all the income gains since the recession officially ended in June 2009 in 16 states, while capturing at least half of all gains in another 22 states, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.

While the "War on Poverty," started by President Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s to lower America's poverty rate, has been successful, the recession hit many lower- and middle-income families hard.

"Why we have the feeling we're treading water is the economy has changed," Fichtenberg said. "We have fewer jobs that pay enough to get by, we have wage stagnation and all the benefits have gone to the top 1 percent. Coming out of the recession, children have been the first to suffer and the last to benefit."

Boosting the fortunes of the middle class was the main theme of President Obama's State of the Union address last week. His proposals include raising the capital gains tax and eliminating a loophole that benefits wealthy families, with the additional tax monies used to fund educational benefits and tax cuts for middle-income earners.

Reducing poverty among America's children could be achieved through policy measures such as increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower-income families and boosting the minimum wage, the Children's Defense Fund said. Those and other policy measures could reduce the country's child poverty rate by 60 percent, the group said.

"By investing more in protecting children from poverty the U.S. could rejoin the ranks of peer nations," the report noted. "Shrinking the U.S. relative child poverty rate by 60 percent would cut child poverty in the U.S. from 23.1 to 9.2 percent, placing the U.S. in line with countries like Germany and Switzerland."

Many of the government's social safety net benefits help families as they cope with periods of income loss or financial stress, and don't necessarily lead to dependence on government handouts, Fichtenberg added.

"We have a culture that focuses on individual responsibility, and we completely agree with that, but we are all in the same boat and it's in everybody's interest" to lift children out of poverty, she said. "Children don't choose their parents or who they are born to."




“America is a global leader on a number of fronts, including having the largest economy in the world. But here is one area where the U.S., given its general affluence, would rather not distinguish itself: It has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the industrialized world. Even as the economy continues to recover from the Great Recession, 1 in 5 children are on food stamps, the U.S. Census said on Wednesday. Before the housing crash, 1 in 8 received federal food assistance. This dismal statistic reflects how the recovery is failing to reach families at the lower end of the economic spectrum. While the stock market has reached record highs and the richest 1 percent are on a path to own most of the world's wealth by 2016, many American families continue to struggle to put food on the table. The U.S. now has the second-highest rate of child poverty among 35 industrialized nations, according to the Children's Defense Fund, a child advocacy group.... Children in the U.S. have a 20 percent chance of being poor, while children of color are twice as likely to be poor as white kids. "It's shocking, and it doesn't have to be this way," Caroline Fichtenberg, director of research at the Children's Defense Fund, told CBS MoneyWatch. "It's in our economic interest to address child poverty." There's a cost to America's high rate of child poverty, the Children's Defense Fund said. Because financially strapped parents have fewer resources and less time -- many work multiple jobs to make ends meet -- they are less likely to spend time talking and reading to their children. Hunger and food insecurity also lead to health problems, as well as a higher chance of obesity, and poor students are less likely to graduate from high school, which depresses their earnings potential.... The top 1 percent of income earners captured all the income gains since the recession officially ended in June 2009 in 16 states, while capturing at least half of all gains in another 22 states, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank..... Boosting the fortunes of the middle class was the main theme of President Obama's State of the Union address last week. His proposals include raising the capital gains tax and eliminating a loophole that benefits wealthy families, with the additional tax monies used to fund educational benefits and tax cuts for middle-income earners. Reducing poverty among America's children could be achieved through policy measures such as increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for lower-income families and boosting the minimum wage, the Children's Defense Fund said. Those and other policy measures could reduce the country's child poverty rate by 60 percent, the group said.... "We have a culture that focuses on individual responsibility, and we completely agree with that, but we are all in the same boat and it's in everybody's interest" to lift children out of poverty, she said. "Children don't choose their parents or who they are born to."

“The U.S. now has the second-highest rate of child poverty among 35 industrialized nations....” The only nation whose situation is worse than our is Romania. I am not only horrified to see this information, I am ashamed. This is the result of the long austerity program that the Tea Party has been embarked upon since it's emergence on the political scene. The article also describes a situation that will undoubtedly cause the growth of a “permanent underclass,” which I'm afraid is already in existence and can only be made worse. That's one of the reasons people talk so much about “child poverty” specifically – those kids who don't have good nutrition or even sufficient caloric intake cannot learn as well, and can even have brain damage.

We are raising a generation who will be relatively speaking incapable of getting a good education because they can't absorb the information (even when it is of a high quality and taught very well.) The fact that too many of our kids are underperforming in basic reading and math is to me the result of poor books, poor parental vocabulary and uninspired, poor teaching, with the classes so full that the teachers can't give the slower learners the extra help they need. We are raising a generation who can't do a job above a menial level without providing as many menial jobs as we used to generate. Offshoring and the use of ever higher levels of technology in American workplaces have reduced those jobs, while increasing the amount of money in the pockets of already wealthy business owners. I hate to be a ludite, but we need our factory jobs back again. I really miss the unions. They are responsible for most pay raises down through our history, and for keeping those jobs requiring factory skills and a high school education rather than a Masters Degree in Business. Besides many of our young men and women who do have a 4 year degree or even a Masters are not, too often, getting employment when they graduate, especially well-paid work.

I am very worried about our present time, much less our future. I want to see a newly aroused and very progressive Democratic Party that will march on picket lines and become politically more active on the grassroots level. People who are one step above being homeless are living in crowded, decrepit housing on crime ridden streets. They need to talk to each other and work to form pressure groups to force congressional representatives to vote in laws that will benefit them, rather than merely giving in to emotional depression and hopelessness. Those people need to go to whatever lengths are needed to get those hated Voter ID cards and then do some block voting like they did in the Civil Rights days. That's how Obama got elected, I have no doubt, because the average white American didn't vote for him, no matter what their economic position. Race is deeply involved in the economic problems we're having now, but the key element is a jobless economy. Believe me, white mine workers will benefit too if the underclass stands up together and votes the friends of the Koch brothers out.

Businesses have always hated the unions, but they kept business owners aware that if they didn't want a crippling strike they would keep full employment rather than the endless cutbacks on labor that have been occurring for some 15 or 20 years in this country. When I was young, there were no racial riots, but there were union actions. I grew up in an industrialized part of North Carolina, so I saw union workers walking picket lines. We desperately need them back again in full force. I notice there is some union activity now at the fast food establishments. Great stuff!

All the articles talk about the recession of 2007, but the problem goes back farther than that to the time that laws were written to allow the massive movement of our manufacturing businesses to Southeast Asia. While Obama is focusing on making the wealthy pay, he needs to make it illegal for a company to send all its jobs oversees while it keeps its corporated status and low tax levels as a USA bases company. Many of them have set up their corporate offices in the US, but sent their actual manufacturing sites to places where labor is very cheap. Very little is actually being manufactured in this country anymore. Giving young people a higher level of education won't bring those jobs back. We need a “revolution,” and no, I'm not advocating the overthrow of the US government violent or otherwise, but the grassroots involvement of the poor in our politics as we used to have. If that happens, the 1% will have to give up some of their tax sheltered wealth to help feed, heal, educate and house the poor and the middle class. I do hope this happens sooner rather than later. Amen.







http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/230866-sen-sanders-files-1t-infrastructure-bill

Sen. Sanders files $1T infrastructure bill
By Keith Laing 
 01/27/15

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is introducing a bill to spend $1 trillion over the next five years to boost the nation's transportation infrastructure. 

The measure, which has been dubbed “Rebuild America Act,” comes as lawmakers have been discussing the possibility of raising the federal gas tax to help pay for a new round of transportation spending, prices at the pump having reached their lowest levels in years. 

Sanders did not suggest raising the gas tax to pay for his measure in an op-ed that was published in The Hill on Tuesday, but he said a large transportation funding package in Congress was long overdue.

“For many years we have underfunded the maintenance of our nation’s physical infrastructure,” he wrote. “That has to change. It is time to rebuild America. A $1 trillion investment to modernize our country’s physical infrastructure would not just rebuild our country but create and maintain 13 million good-paying jobs that our economy desperately needs.” 

Sanders did not offer a concrete funding mechanism for his transportation proposal. 

The gas tax, which predates the development of the Interstate Highway System, has been the traditional source for transportation projects since its inception in the 1930s.

The tax, which has not been increased since 1993, brings in about $34 billion per year. The federal government typically spends about $50 billion per year on road and transit projects, and transportation advocates have maintained that the larger figure is only enough to maintain the current state of the U.S. infrastructure network. 

The current transportation funding bill, which authorizes the collection of the gas tax at its current rate, is scheduled to expire in May. 

Sanders said U.S. voters would support an increase in funding for the transportation networks they use often. 

“Our infrastructure is collapsing, and the American people know it,” he wrote. “Every day, they drive on roads with unforgiving potholes, over bridges that are in disrepair and wait in traffic jams on congested roads. They see railroads and subways that arrive late and that are overcrowded. They see airports bursting at the seams. They worry that a local levee could fail in a storm.” 

Republicans are unlikely to go along with a large increase in transportation spending without an offset somewhere else in the federal budget. 

High-profile Republicans such as Speaker John Boehner (Ohio) and House Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. Bill Shuster (Pa.) have expressed skepticism about asking drivers to pay more at the pump to finance new transportation projects. 

However, other lawmakers, including a few influential Republicans in the Senate, have indicated that they would be open to raising the gas tax now.

Sanders said it was time to make a large investment in boosting U.S. infrastructure. 

“To get our infrastructure to a state of good repair by 2020, the American Society of Civil Engineers says we must invest $1.6 trillion more than what we now spend,” he wrote. “If that sounds a like a lot of money, consider for a moment that the sad state of our infrastructure already costs the economy close to $200 billion per year.

“A $1 trillion investment would put 13 million people to work repairing the backlog of infrastructure projects all across this country,” he continued. “Moreover, each project would require equipment, supplies and services, and the hard-earned salaries from the jobs created would be spent in countless restaurants, shops and other local businesses. And, all of this economic activity would generate new tax revenues to pay for the services that the American people expect and deserve.”  




“Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is introducing a bill to spend $1 trillion over the next five years to boost the nation's transportation infrastructure. The measure, which has been dubbed “Rebuild America Act,” comes as lawmakers have been discussing the possibility of raising the federal gas tax to help pay for a new round of transportation spending, prices at the pump having reached their lowest levels in years.  Sanders did not suggest raising the gas tax to pay for his measure in an op-ed that was published in The Hill on Tuesday, but he said a large transportation funding package in Congress was long overdue. “For many years we have underfunded the maintenance of our nation’s physical infrastructure,” he wrote. “That has to change. It is time to rebuild America. A $1 trillion investment to modernize our country’s physical infrastructure would not just rebuild our country but create and maintain 13 million good-paying jobs that our economy desperately needs.”  Sanders did not offer a concrete funding mechanism for his transportation proposal. … transportation advocates have maintained that the larger figure is only enough to maintain the current state of the U.S. infrastructure network. The current transportation funding bill, which authorizes the collection of the gas tax at its current rate, is scheduled to expire in May. Sanders said U.S. voters would support an increase in funding for the transportation networks they use often. “Our infrastructure is collapsing, and the American people know it,” he wrote.... However, other lawmakers, including a few influential Republicans in the Senate, have indicated that they would be open to raising the gas tax now. Sanders said it was time to make a large investment in boosting U.S. infrastructure. “To get our infrastructure to a state of good repair by 2020, the American Society of Civil Engineers says we must invest $1.6 trillion more than what we now spend,” he wrote.... “A $1 trillion investment would put 13 million people to work repairing the backlog of infrastructure projects all across this country,” he continued. “Moreover, each project would require equipment, supplies and services, and the hard-earned salaries from the jobs created would be spent in countless restaurants, shops and other local businesses. And, all of this economic activity would generate new tax revenues to pay for the services that the American people expect and deserve.”  

Bernie Sanders is a good statesman and a true Democrat, with an eye to satisfying the needs of our country. I like him lots. On his website one commenter suggested that Sanders might run for president of the US rather than just the Senate. I would definitely consider voting for him. I like his practicality and logical mind.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/01/28/382218351/amid-fighting-in-donetsk-on-edge-and-seeking-safety-underground

Amid Fighting In Donetsk, On Edge And Seeking Safety Underground
Corey Flintoff
January 28, 2015

Photograph – A woman sits inside a bomb shelter in Donetsk on Wednesday. Some local residents have lived in bomb shelters and basements for more than a month, looking for cover from artillery strikes.

As war rages in eastern Ukraine, European Union foreign ministers are preparing to meet Thursday to consider drastic new sanctions against Russia.

The EU and the United States say Moscow's troops and weapons are directly involved in an offensive by anti-government militias in Ukraine's eastern provinces.

The offensive is the latest phase in a war that has racked the region since last April — and it's grinding hard on the civilians who are caught in the middle.

There are a lot fewer people in Donetsk these days than there were during my last visit in November, but I did find Nadezhda Stolyarenko.

Her apartment was wrecked by shelling, and she's been taking shelter in the basement of her building, shaken by almost constant sounds of artillery.

She and others have already spent about a month living in the basement, she says, and people are very frightened and scared.

"We're all here, and we're scared," she says.

Stolyarenko is a small, dark-haired woman, living with her sister, Galina. They say they sent their children away to safety, but they stay because Nadezhda still has work in the office of a local mine.

They don't have running water or heat, she says. The space where they sleep is about 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

"We want peace," she says, "nothing bad to anyone, just peace."

After she left, I walked into the snowy courtyard, trying to come up with a way to describe what was going on: Separatist leaders say that they've advanced beyond the airport and that they're now fighting for some suburbs and small cities on the other side of the airport, where the Ukrainians have their positions.

Then, a gunshot went off nearby.

It was my cue to hit the ground.

I looked back to see that my two companions were on the ground already, surrounded by about 10 local militiamen with Kalashnikovs.

They swarmed around us, demanding to know who we were and what we were doing.

We produced passports and passes from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

They quickly let us go and told us to get out of the area.

It was a measure of how jumpy people are in this city, both civilians and military. They told us a local resident had called them after spotting us in the courtyard. And ominously, they said that they had recently caught two Ukrainian "saboteurs" in the neighborhood.




“As war rages in eastern Ukraine, European Union foreign ministers are preparing to meet Thursday to consider drastic new sanctions against Russia. The EU and the United States say Moscow's troops and weapons are directly involved in an offensive by anti-government militias in Ukraine's eastern provinces. The offensive is the latest phase in a war that has racked the region since last April — and it's grinding hard on the civilians who are caught in the middle. There are a lot fewer people in Donetsk these days than there were during my last visit in November, but I did find Nadezhda Stolyarenko. Her apartment was wrecked by shelling, and she's been taking shelter in the basement of her building, shaken by almost constant sounds of artillery. She and others have already spent about a month living in the basement, she says, and people are very frightened and scared.... After she left, I walked into the snowy courtyard, trying to come up with a way to describe what was going on: Separatist leaders say that they've advanced beyond the airport and that they're now fighting for some suburbs and small cities on the other side of the airport, where the Ukrainians have their positions. Then, a gunshot went off nearby.

It was my cue to hit the ground. I looked back to see that my two companions were on the ground already, surrounded by about 10 local militiamen with Kalashnikovs. They swarmed around us, demanding to know who we were and what we were doing. We produced passports and passes from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. They quickly let us go and told us to get out of the area.”

The pictures in this article could have taken in a Palestinian community after an Israeli onslaught. I sympathise with the Israelis because they are our allies and are a more democratic nation, but I empathize with the Palestinians. Their lives are being decimated. Still they keep shooting shells across the border into Israel. The result in these kinds of situations is total and mindless destruction. The old doctrine “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is shared by both the Islamists and the Israelis. Too bad.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2015/01/22/378873364/police-fire-tear-gas-on-kenyan-kids-protecting-a-soccer-field

Police Fire Tear Gas On Kenyan Kids Protecting A Soccer Field
Gregory Warner
January 22, 2015

Photograph – Schoolchildren and activists scramble up a bridge Monday after police try to break up a protest with tear gas at the Langata Road Primary School in Nairobi, Kenya.

Hundreds of elementary schools were protesting the illegal seizure of their playground by a private developer in Nairobi, Kenya, when police fired tear gas into the crowd.

The incident sparked outrage across the city — and on social media, where Kenyans tweeted with the hashtag #OccupyPlayGround.

But the shocking images and videos of the ordeal provoked a surprisingly proactive response. In the end, these Kenyan kids did what ordinary Kenyans are rarely able to do: defend disappearing public space.

The process is known as "land-grabbing." A fence suddenly appears overnight around a parcel of government property. Those who protest are warded off — sometimes violently — by police. In time, a new high-rise or hotel or parking lot appears, owned by a politically connected magnate.

But this time, the land in question was next to an elementary school, Langata Road Primary School. And the protesters were kids as young as 8, who used the land to play soccer.

When developers set up a fence separating the school from the playground over the winter break, several hundred kids showed up on Monday to protest. They ended up breaking down the new fence. In response, heavily armed police fired tear gas on the kids.

"The tear gas was so bad!" Kevin Sande, 10, said Tuesday.

The gas made their eyes red and caused them to cough, other kids said.

In full disclosure, I can't be sure that Sande and his classmates I interviewed at Langata Road Primary School were the ones that got tear-gassed. In the disturbing photos from that day, it's hard to make out the faces on the green uniforms engulfed in white smoke.

"I didn't understand whether we are in Kenya or the Gaza Strip," says Rahab Mwikali, an activist, who came to the school to express sympathy. "I thought what could this be?"

But the deeper question for Kenyans — besides how could police do this — was who were they were doing it for? Who was trying to snatch the kids' playground? No one, not even the government, would say.

Nairobi is one of the fastest growing real estate markets in the world. According to the annual Knight Frank Report, the growth rate of Nairobi's housing cost is rated no. 31 in the world, ahead of Miami, Washington, D.C. and Istanbul.

The growth of Nairobi's real estate market is driven by Kenya's rising economy, which is an unbalanced one: All good jobs are in the capital. But the registration of titles and deeds is murky in Nairobi. They're controlled by an elite group that ordinary Kenyans are usually powerless to stop.

Except this time.

A day after the incident, Kenya's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, condemned the use of tear gas and suspended the senior officer involved. The acting interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery, came to the school personally to apologize.

And then the bulldozers came.

Standing in front of the bulldozers, in a shiny suit and white tie, was the chief surveyor from the Kenyan Land Ministry, Cesare Mbaria. He told reporters the government was delineating the school's real boundary — which includes the playground.

"We need to put a proper wall for the school to ensure we secure the property," Mbaria said.

But why the bulldozers, just to build a wall? Turned out the kids were also getting a brand new flattened soccer field.

"Yes! We are happy. Very happy happy," a bunch of kids at the school cheer. "Because we now have the ground. We can play now."

That's not how these stories usually end. Land grabs are such a divisive issue in Kenya that the most controversial ones have sparked deadly ethnic riots and even acts of terrorism.

But when I drove away from the school in a different part of the city, I saw another victory for the public. I passed another prime piece of real estate with a private developer's illegal fence around it. Government bulldozers were destroying the fence, reclaiming public land, to a surprised and swelling crowd.

It seemed that, at least for now, the school kids in Nairobi had won more than just their own playground.




“Hundreds of elementary schools were protesting the illegal seizure of their playground by a private developer in Nairobi, Kenya, when police fired tear gas into the crowd. The incident sparked outrage across the city — and on social media, where Kenyans tweeted with the hashtag #OccupyPlayGround. But the shocking images and videos of the ordeal provoked a surprisingly proactive response. In the end, these Kenyan kids did what ordinary Kenyans are rarely able to do: defend disappearing public space. … In response, heavily armed police fired tear gas on the kids. "The tear gas was so bad!" Kevin Sande, 10, said Tuesday. The gas made their eyes red and caused them to cough, other kids said.... A day after the incident, Kenya's president, Uhuru Kenyatta, condemned the use of tear gas and suspended the senior officer involved. The acting interior minister, Joseph Nkaissery, came to the school personally to apologize. And then the bulldozers came. Standing in front of the bulldozers, in a shiny suit and white tie, was the chief surveyor from the Kenyan Land Ministry, Cesare Mbaria. He told reporters the government was delineating the school's real boundary — which includes the playground.... "Yes! We are happy. Very happy happy," a bunch of kids at the school cheer. "Because we now have the ground. We can play now."

At least this story has a happy ending, and the police were reprimanded for teargassing six year olds. If only transparency had been used in this case there probably wouldn't have been an angry conflict at all. All the government needed to do was tell the school officials what they were about. The process of suddenly finding a fence around a public area which had been a school playground wouldn't have occurred, and nobody would have been hurt.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/measles-outbreak-california-family-wants-schools-to-ban-kids-without-vaccine/

Measles outbreak: California family wants schools to ban kids without vaccine
CBS NEWS
January 29, 2015

As the measles outbreak spreads, so does the debate over vaccines.

Seventy-nine of the at least 95 known cases in the United States are in California. Some parents are rushing to get their kids vaccinated, while others refuse.

Now one family wants schools to ban kids who haven't been vaccinated, and for good reason, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

Six-year-old Rhett Krawitt has already beaten the odds. He fought leukemia for the past four-and-a-half years and the disease is now in remission. Carl and Jodi are Rhett's parents.

"There were times we weren't sure he was going to pull through," Jodi said. "So it's been very much, what I call a roller coaster."

But now the Krawitts are worried about measles. Rhett cannot get vaccinated because his immune system is still too weak from chemotherapy. Exposure to measles could be deadly. His school has made sure the kids in his classroom are vaccinated, but other kids in the school are not.

"So let's say if you are not vaccinated with a medical exemption you can't come to school," Carl said. "Let's get ahead of it and ensure we don't have an outbreak."

"They can mandate behaviors like no nuts, why can't they say you must be vaccinated to come on campus?" Jodi added.

The Krawitts live in Marin County, California, where more than 6 percent of kindergartners have "personal beliefs exemptions" allowing them to bypass state laws requiring vaccinations. That's nearly three times the statewide average of 2.5 percent. School district superintendent Steve Herzog told CBS News that "families do have the legal right to submit personal belief exemptions for their children, but as a school district we will exercise our right to ask them to leave school, should the county have an outbreak."

Some parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids say they do so fearing side effects. However, side effects are extremely rare and a link between the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism has been widely discredited.

"We rely on the people who can be immunized to be immunized to protect the rest of the population," Carl said. "It's been proven now that the disease is back and that's scary not just for us but for millions of people out there; everybody who has a baby under the age of one."

Infants and those who cannot be immunized benefit from what's known as herd immunity; if the vast majority of the population is immunized that keeps measles outbreaks from occurring and spreading to at-risk populations.

The Krawitts don't want Rhett to have to beat the odds again.

"We don't want to bar kids from going to school, but we think it might be a way to get people to vaccinate their kids," Jodi said.




“Now one family wants schools to ban kids who haven't been vaccinated, and for good reason, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy. Six-year-old Rhett Krawitt has already beaten the odds. He fought leukemia for the past four-and-a-half years and the disease is now in remission. Carl and Jodi are Rhett's parents. "There were times we weren't sure he was going to pull through," Jodi said. "So it's been very much, what I call a roller coaster." But now the Krawitts are worried about measles. Rhett cannot get vaccinated because his immune system is still too weak from chemotherapy. Exposure to measles could be deadly. His school has made sure the kids in his classroom are vaccinated, but other kids in the school are not.... Infants and those who cannot be immunized benefit from what's known as herd immunity; if the vast majority of the population is immunized that keeps measles outbreaks from occurring and spreading to at-risk populations.”

An article on this subject in yesterday's news quotes a doctor who has been allowing large numbers of patients to refuse vaccinations. Measles is not a very serious disease, he says. Unfortunately it sometimes is. There are deaths from measles and sexual sterilization, and adults are often affected more seriously than children. When not enough people are getting a vaccination it allows the disease to spread in epidemic proportions, and deaths and other serious reactions go up in numbers. But what does that doctor care? Parents who don't want to vaccinate are coming to see him now. He's making more money. Maybe we need a law to enforce vaccinations, since some people – even some doctors – aren't using good common sense.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/uva-sororities-told-to-avoid-frat-parties-after-alleged-gang-rape/

U.Va. sororities told to avoid frat parties after alleged gang rape
CBS NEWS
January 29, 2015

More controversy has erupted involving Greek life on the campus of the University of Virginia, still reeling from a now discredited Rolling Stone article detailing an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house.

While the university has lifted a suspension on all Greek events and imposed more regulations in the wake of that story, 16 U.Va. sororities have been told that, for their safety, they will have to avoid a campus tradition -- boys' bid night, reports CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman.

As many students prepare for one of the biggest party weekends of the year, 2,000 sorority sisters are being told to find something else to do.

"Initially, I was very upset," U.Va. sophomore Ellie Kayton said.

Her sorority, which she asked not be identified, is one of the 16 being told to stay away from the fraternity houses hosting the parties.

"It became obvious to me that while it was well-intentioned, it was having the wrong effect on the culture here at U.Va.," she said.

Fraternities and sororities agreed to new regulations in the wake of the explosive Rolling Stone piece last November. Some of the allegations in the article were later discredited, but the sorority's national chapter presidents are still concerned for members' safety.

In a statement, the national group representing the 16 sororities said the "support the safety of their women, so they support those national presidents making that decision and encouraging sorority women to plan sisterhood events and other 'safer' options."

But students say their decision vilifies U.Va.'s entire Greek system.

"It taking away the ability for girls in sororities to make their own choice," a male U.Va. student said.

"I think the manner in how it's approached, the entire culture is the issue," a female student added.

This week, sorority members created an online petition urging U.Va. to revoke the order, which they said promotes "gender discrimination and "perpetuates the idea that women are inferior, sexual objects."

"You have to take the responsibility off of the women, you can't put rules on them and not punish the fraternities, they don't have any punishments right now, yet we have to stay indoors," Kayton said.

The Change.org petition has garnered more than 2,000 signatures -- the number of women making up the 16 sororities.

Still, some of the sororities are planning those so-called "sisterhood events" in their sorority houses because they are concerned about losing their charters.





“More controversy has erupted involving Greek life on the campus of the University of Virginia, still reeling from a now discredited Rolling Stone article detailing an alleged gang rape at a fraternity house. While the university has lifted a suspension on all Greek events and imposed more regulations in the wake of that story, 16 U.Va. sororities have been told that, for their safety, they will have to avoid a campus tradition -- boys' bid night, reports CBS News correspondent Julianna Goldman.... This week, sorority members created an online petition urging U.Va. to revoke the order, which they said promotes "gender discrimination and "perpetuates the idea that women are inferior, sexual objects." "You have to take the responsibility off of the women, you can't put rules on them and not punish the fraternities, they don't have any punishments right now, yet we have to stay indoors," Kayton said. The Change.org petition has garnered more than 2,000 signatures -- the number of women making up the 16 sororities. Still, some of the sororities are planning those so-called "sisterhood events" in their sorority houses because they are concerned about losing their charters.”

Society is still trying to “protect” young women, I see, but no such thing occurs for male students. Young male students should perhaps be protected from living in fraternity houses before they are 21, since every year there are hazing incidents that cause injury or death. If I had a son or daughter on his way to college I really might prevent him from joining a fraternity for that reason. Besides, it's expensive. It's a waste of money. It's not as though young people on college campuses won't form friendships and go out on the town together. I think young people should spend much more time studying than carrousing, any way. Between frat parties and the overemphasis on sports, the whole purpose of being at a university is being missed, I think. That should be to study and grow into a mature young person. Fraternities don't help with either of those thing, it seems to me.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/france-police-detain-boy-8-over-remarks-on-charlie-hebdo-terrorists/

France cops detain boy, 8, over "terrorist" remarks
CBS/AP
January 29, 2015

PARIS -- Police detained and questioned an 8-year-old boy from the south of France who claimed to support the men who attacked the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, drawing criticism Thursday that France's measures to prevent people from defending terrorism have gone overboard.

Dozens of people have been arrested and accused of defending terrorism since the attacks, with some already drawing years-long prison terms in special expedited court proceedings. But the child from the southern city of Nice appears to be the youngest by far.

The boy declared "The French must be killed. I am with the terrorists. The Muslims did well, and the journalists got what they deserved," Fabienne Lewandowski, deputy director for public security in the Alpes-Maritimes region, told BFM television. She said the child also refused to take part in the national minute of silence for the victims in early January.

As CBS Radio News correspondent Elaine Cobbe reported, across France, an estimated 200 students refused to stand in silence when the call came in their schools.

While few defended the killings, some students said they were angry that the newspaper had printed cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, and so believed the murdered cartoonists did not merit respect. The refusals shocked many teachers, and sparked lively debate among students -- and even a few tussles.

The storming of the newspaper offices left 12 people dead and launched three days of terror in the Paris region that killed a total of 20 people, including the gunmen. The school director brought a complaint against the child on Jan. 21 and he was questioned that day with his father and a lawyer present.

"The reason we questioned him was to determine what could have influenced, what could have driven this child to say something like this," Lewandowski said. "It's a shame that it happened in a formal questioning, but given what he said it was necessary to go further than usual."

Sefen Guez Guez, a lawyer for the family, said the decision to question the child at a police station that day shows a "collective hysteria."

"An 8-year-old does not belong in a police station. This is disproportionate and completely unreal," he said.



http://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2015/01/19/to-counter-terror-europes-police-reconsider-their-arms

After Paris attacks some of Europe's police reconsider their weapons to counter terror
By LORI HINNANT, Associated Press
Jan. 19, 2015 

Photograph – FILE - In this Monday Jan. 12, 2015 file photo,elite police officers take position outside the kosher market where four hostages were killed and shortly before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the site, in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File) 

PARIS (AP) — One was a young policewoman, unarmed on the outskirts of Paris and felled by an assault rifle. Her partner, also without weapons, could do nothing to stop the gunman. Another was a first responder with a side arm, rushing to the Charlie Hebdo offices where a pair of masked men with high-powered weapons had opened fire on an editorial meeting. Among their primary targets: the armed police bodyguard inside the room.

With the deaths of the three French officers during three days of terror in the Paris region and the suggestion of a plot in Belgium to kill police, European law enforcement agencies are rethinking how — and how many — police should be armed.

Scotland Yard said Sunday it was increasing the deployment of officers allowed to carry firearms in Britain, where many cling to the image of the unarmed "bobby." In Belgium, where officials say a terror network was plotting to attack police, officers are again permitted to take their service weapons home.

On Monday, French law enforcement officials demanding heavier weapons, protective gear and a bolstered intelligence apparatus met with top officials from the Interior Ministry. An official with the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing talks, said automatic weapons and heavier bulletproof vests were on the table.

Among the most horrific images from the Paris attacks was the death of police officer Ahmed Merabet, who can be seen on eyewitness video lying wounded on the pavement as a gunman approaches and fires a final bullet into his head. Merabet, who is seen alone on the street, had a service gun and a bullet proof vest, said Michel Thooris, of the France Police labor union.

"But he did not come with the backup he needed, and the psychology to face a paramilitary assault," Thooris said. "We were not prepared in terms of equipment or mind-set for this kind of operation."

One of the attackers, Amedy Coulibaly, said in a posthumous video that his plan all along was to attack police.

"We don't want necessarily the arms that American police have. We need weapons that can respond," said Philippe Capon of French police union UNSA.

Among those weapons, he added, are modernized criminal databases, because the current databases are out of date, and firewalled between different law enforcement branches. "The databases are not interactive. They are not accessible to all. They are not up to date," he said.

Unlike their British counterparts, French national police are armed although their municipal counterparts tend to be weaponless. But Thooris said they are not permitted to have their service weapons while off duty, raising the possibility that they could be targeted when vulnerable or unable to help if they stumble across crime afterhours.

Because of increasing unease and last week's anti-terror raids, police in Belgium are again allowed to carry weapons home rather than put their handguns and munition in specialized lockers.

"The conditions we have now are clearly exceptional," said Fons Bastiaenssens, a police spokesman in Antwerp, where there are many potential targets, especially in the Jewish quarter.

In addition, firearms suddenly became far more visible, with some police carrying heavier weaponry as they guard sensitive buildings and police offices, and paratroopers in the streets of the major cities.

In Britain, the overall threat level is "severe" — meaning intelligence and police officials have evidence that a terrorist attack is highly likely. The threat to police officers themselves is judged to be very high after the Paris attacks as well as the recent disruption of a reported Islamist extremist plot to attack individual police officers in west London. ….




CBS – “...drawing criticism Thursday that France's measures to prevent people from defending terrorism have gone overboard. Dozens of people have been arrested and accused of defending terrorism since the attacks, with some already drawing years-long prison terms in special expedited court proceedings. But the child from the southern city of Nice appears to be the youngest by far. The boy declared "The French must be killed. I am with the terrorists. The Muslims did well, and the journalists got what they deserved," Fabienne Lewandowski, deputy director for public security in the Alpes-Maritimes region, told BFM television. She said the child also refused to take part in the national minute of silence for the victims in early January. As CBS Radio News correspondent Elaine Cobbe reported, across France, an estimated 200 students refused to stand in silence when the call came in their schools.... The refusals shocked many teachers, and sparked lively debate among students -- and even a few tussles.... The school director brought a complaint against the child on Jan. 21 and he was questioned that day with his father and a lawyer present. "The reason we questioned him was to determine what could have influenced, what could have driven this child to say something like this," Lewandowski said. "It's a shame that it happened in a formal questioning, but given what he said it was necessary to go further than usual."

US NEWS – “With the deaths of the three French officers during three days of terror in the Paris region and the suggestion of a plot in Belgium to kill police, European law enforcement agencies are rethinking how — and how many — police should be armed. Scotland Yard said Sunday it was increasing the deployment of officers allowed to carry firearms in Britain, where many cling to the image of the unarmed "bobby." In Belgium, where officials say a terror network was plotting to attack police, officers are again permitted to take their service weapons home. On Monday, French law enforcement officials demanding heavier weapons, protective gear and a bolstered intelligence apparatus met with top officials from the Interior Ministry. An official with the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing talks, said automatic weapons and heavier bulletproof vests were on the table.... "But he did not come with the backup he needed, and the psychology to face a paramilitary assault," Thooris said. "We were not prepared in terms of equipment or mind-set for this kind of operation." One of the attackers, Amedy Coulibaly, said in a posthumous video that his plan all along was to attack police. "We don't want necessarily the arms that American police have. We need weapons that can respond," said Philippe Capon of French police union UNSA. Among those weapons, he added, are modernized criminal databases, because the current databases are out of date, and firewalled between different law enforcement branches. "The databases are not interactive. They are not accessible to all. They are not up to date," he said.... Because of increasing unease and last week's anti-terror raids, police in Belgium are again allowed to carry weapons home rather than put their handguns and munition in specialized lockers. "The conditions we have now are clearly exceptional," said Fons Bastiaenssens, a police spokesman in Antwerp, where there are many potential targets, especially in the Jewish quarter. In addition, firearms suddenly became far more visible, with some police carrying heavier weaponry as they guard sensitive buildings and police offices, and paratroopers in the streets of the major cities.... The threat to police officers themselves is judged to be very high after the Paris attacks as well as the recent disruption of a reported Islamist extremist plot to attack individual police officers in west London.”

Islam is not going to be as highly protected in Western cultures as it has been in the recent past, I imagine. It was just a couple of months ago when the King of Saudi Arabia publically warned the West via a news report of planned attacks by ISIS followers. These in Paris were al Qaeda, I thought, but perhaps that's the same thing, just another group. It seems clear to me that it is going to be a true war and that it has started already.

This young boy of 8 years is too young to be able to put together such a sophistocated set of statements as this article says, so I feel sure it's coming from his parents. Still, school students in a separate incident refused to maintain a period of silence in honor of the cartoonists. There is conversation going on among young people about this, and some are taking the side of the Islamic groups. I can see how the hard core political drawings could be seen as genuinely provocative, however, and even I have to wonder if it is a fair tactic. It reminds me of a picture I saw a few years ago of a “Jew” as drawn by a Nazi leaning cartoonist, and it was truly grotesque. I personally don't believe in such cartoons. President Obama has been charactured pretty crudely in a couple of websites. It does not conform to the command of Jesus to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” I've always admired the Quakers who, though operating the Underground Railroad during our Civil War, did not behave abusively to their political opponents. There is something to be said for that.