Friday, February 20, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/sundarbans-islands-disappearing-sea-india-bangladesh-exodus-13-million/

Rising seas could force largest-ever human exodus
AP February 19, 2015

Photograph – Villagers help a couple push their fishing boat to the water at Satyanarayanpur village in the Sundarbans, India, Feb. 1, 2015.  AP

BALI ISLAND, India -- The tiny hut sculpted out of mud at the edge of the sea is barely large enough for Bokul Mondol and his family to lie down. The water has taken everything else from them, and one day it almost certainly will take this, too.

Saltwater long ago engulfed the 5 acres where Mondol once grew rice and tended fish ponds, as his ancestors had on Bali Island for some 200 years. His thatch-covered hut, built on public land, is the fifth he has had to build in the last five years as the sea creeps in.

"Every year we have to move a little further inland," he said.

Seas are rising more than twice as fast as the global average here in the Sundarbans, a low-lying delta region of about 200 islands in the Bay of Bengal where some 13 million impoverished Indians and Bangladeshis live. Tens of thousands like Mondol have already been left homeless, and scientists predict much of the Sundarbans could be underwater in 15 to 25 years.

That could force a singularly massive exodus of millions of "climate refugees," creating enormous challenges for India and Bangladesh that neither country has prepared for.

Business leaders warn climate change threatens economy

"We can't wait" to combat effects of climate change

UN: Climate change already impacting food supplies

"This big-time climate migration is looming on the horizon," said Tapas Paul, a New Delhi-based environmental specialist with the World Bank, which is spending hundreds of millions of dollars assessing and preparing a plan for the Sundarbans region.

"If all the people of the Sundarbans have to migrate, this would be the largest-ever migration in the history of mankind," Paul said. The largest to date occurred during the India-Pakistan partition in 1947, when 10 million people or more migrated from one country to the other.

Mondol has no idea where he would go. His family of six is now entirely dependent on neighbors who have not lost their land. Some days they simply don't eat.

"For 10 years I was fighting with the sea, until finally everything was gone," he says, staring blankly at the water lapping at the muddy coast. "We live in constant fear of flooding. If the island is lost, we will all die."

On their own, the Sundarbans' impoverished residents have little chance of moving before catastrophe hits. Facing constant threats from roving tigers and crocodiles, deadly swarms of giant honeybees and poisonous snakes, they struggle to eke out a living by farming, shrimping, fishing and collecting honey from the forests.

Each year, with crude tools and bare hands, they build mud embankments to keep saltwater and wild animals from invading their crops. And each year swollen rivers, monsoon rains and floods wash many of those banks and mud-packed homes back into the sea.

Most struggle on far less than $1 a day. With 5 million people on the Indian side and 8 million in Bangladesh, the Sundarbans population is far greater than any of the small island nations that also face dire threats from rising sea levels.

Losing the 10,000-square-mile region -- an area about the size of Haiti - would also take an environmental toll. The Sundarbans region is teeming with wildlife, including the world's only population of mangrove forest tigers. The freshwater swamps and their tangles of mangrove forests act as a natural buffer protecting India's West Bengal state and Bangladesh from cyclones.

With rising temperatures melting polar ice and expanding oceans, seas have been rising globally at an average rate of about 3 millimeters a year -- a rate scientists say is likely to speed up. The latest projections suggest seas could rise on average up to about 3.3 feet this century.

That would be bad enough for the Sundarbans, where the highest point is around 9.8 feet and the mean elevation is less than a meter above sea level. But sea rise occurs unevenly across the globe because of factors like wind, ocean currents, tectonic shift and variations in the Earth's gravitational pull. The rate of sea rise in the Sundarbans has been measured at twice the global rate or even higher.

In addition, dams and irrigation systems upstream are trapping sediments that could have built up the river deltas that make up the Sundarbans. Other human activities such as deforestation encourage erosion.

A 2013 study by the Zoological Society of London measured the Sundarbans coastline retreating at about 650 feet a year. The Geological Survey of India says at least 81 square miles of coastline on the Indian side has eroded in the last few decades. At least four islands are underwater and dozens of others have been abandoned due to sea rise and erosion.

Many scientists believe the only long-term solution is for most of the Sundarbans population to leave. That may be not only necessary but environmentally beneficial, giving shorn mangrove forests a chance to regrow and capture river sediment in their tangled, saltwater-tolerant roots.

"The chance of a mass migration, to my mind, is actually pretty high. India is not recognizing it for whatever reason," said Anurag Danda, who leads the World Wildlife Fund's climate change adaptation program in the Sundarbans. "It's a crisis waiting to happen. We are just one event away from seeing large-scale displacement and turning a large number of people into destitutes."

West Bengal is no stranger to mass migration. Kolkata, its capital, has been overrun three times by panicked masses fleeing violence or starvation: during a 1943 famine, the 1947 partition and the 1971 war that created today's Bangladesh.

India, however, has no official plan either to help relocate Sundarbans residents or to protect the region from further ecological decline.

"We need international help. We need national help. We need the help of the people all over the world. We are very late" in addressing the problem, said West Bengal state's minister for emergencies and disaster management, Janab Javed Ahmed Khan. He said West Bengal must work urgently with the Indian and Bangladeshi governments to take action.

Bangladesh is supporting scientists "trying to find out whether it's possible to protect the Sundarbans," said Taibur Rahman, of the Bangladesh government's planning commission. "But we are already experiencing the effects of climate change. The people of the Sundarbans are resilient and have long lived with hardship, but many now are leaving. And we are not yet prepared."

A network of concrete dykes and barriers, like those protecting the Netherlands, offers limited protection to some of the islands in Bangladesh's portion of the Sundarbans. The World Bank is now spending some $200 million to improve those barriers.

Experts worry that politicians will ignore the problem or continue to make traditional promises to build roads, schools and hospital clinics. This could entice more people to the region just when everyone should be moving out.

"We have 15 years ... that's the rough time frame I give for sea level rise to become very difficult and population pressure to become almost unmanageable," said Jayanta Bandopadhyay, an engineer and science professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi who has studied the region for years.

Bandopadhyay and other experts say India and Bangladesh should be creating jobs, offering skills training, freeing lands and making urbanization attractive so people will feel empowered to leave.

Even if India musters that kind of political will, planning and funds, persuading people to move will not be easy.

Most families have been living here since the early 1800s, when the British East India Company -- which then governed India, Pakistan and Bangladesh for the British Empire -- removed huge mangrove forests to allow people to live on and profit from the fertile agricultural land.

Even those who are aware of the threat of rising seas don't want to leave.

"You cannot fight with water," said Sorojit Majhi, a 36-year-old father of four young girls living in a hut crouched behind a crumbling mud embankment. Majhi's ancestral land has also been swallowed by the sea. He admits he's sometimes angry, other times depressed.

"We are scared, but where can we go?" he said. "We cannot fly away like a bird."




“Saltwater long ago engulfed the 5 acres where Mondol once grew rice and tended fish ponds, as his ancestors had on Bali Island for some 200 years. His thatch-covered hut, built on public land, is the fifth he has had to build in the last five years as the sea creeps in. “Every year we have to move a little further inland," he said.... Tens of thousands like Mondol have already been left homeless, and scientists predict much of the Sundarbans could be underwater in 15 to 25 years.... Mondol has no idea where he would go. His family of six is now entirely dependent on neighbors who have not lost their land. Some days they simply don't eat.... That would be bad enough for the Sundarbans, where the highest point is around 9.8 feet and the mean elevation is less than a meter above sea level. But sea rise occurs unevenly across the globe because of factors like wind, ocean currents, tectonic shift and variations in the Earth's gravitational pull.... Many scientists believe the only long-term solution is for most of the Sundarbans population to leave. That may be not only necessary but environmentally beneficial, giving shorn mangrove forests a chance to regrow and capture river sediment in their tangled, saltwater-tolerant roots.... India, however, has no official plan either to help relocate Sundarbans residents or to protect the region from further ecological decline. "We need international help. We need national help. We need the help of the people all over the world. We are very late" in addressing the problem, said West Bengal state's minister for emergencies and disaster management, Janab Javed Ahmed Khan. … A network of concrete dykes and barriers, like those protecting the Netherlands, offers limited protection to some of the islands in Bangladesh's portion of the Sundarbans. The World Bank is now spending some $200 million to improve those barriers.”

Sundarbans are looking for worldwide help. India, their nearest large nation, is considering how to either protect the island with sea barriers like those in Holland, and/or find dwellings and jobs for the unfortunate island residents. They have been making a living with a combination of farming and fishing, but it is predicted that the entire set of islands will be under water within 15 to 25 years. I can remember news reports for many years now of Bangladesh experiencing massive flooding during the Monsoons, but this is more extreme than that.

While North America is in a deep freeze as Siberian (really?) air spreads down into Florida, still the polar ice is melting each summer for the last decade at least, causing the ocean water in the far North to become less saline. This process could cause the ocean currents called the Ocean Conveyor Belt to slow down or stop, thus changing the currents that presently warm most of earth's land area. This could lead to a so-called “Snowball Earth” condition – Brrrr! Severe drought due to increased atmospheric heat is bad, but Snowball Earth is worse. Either way we need to stop spewing CO2 into the atmosphere from our power plants and factories. See: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/ocean-conveyor-belt/?ar_a=1 for an explantion.





http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/football/paris-fan-reaction-chelsea/index.html

Abused Metro man wants racist Chelsea 'fans locked up'
Thu February 19, 2015

(CNN)A black man who was physically stopped from getting on the Paris metro by soccer fans says they should be "locked up" and that he intends to make a complaint.

Filmed on a mobile phone by a bystander waiting on the platform of Richelieu-Drouot station, the incident took place before a Champions League tie between English club Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

The group, who appear to be Chelsea supporters, can be heard chanting: "We're racist, we're racist and that's the way we like it."

Read: Chelsea fans at center of racism storm

The French newspaper Le Parisien has tracked down the metro passenger at the center of the incident, identifying him only as Souleymane S, a father-of-three who was born in Paris.

"What happened should not go unpunished," he told Le Parisien. "These people, these English supporters, should be found, punished and should be locked up.

"Having talked about it now gives me the courage to go to the police with a complaint. In any case, I intend to go to anti racism associations."

On his way home from his work as a chief operating officer in business near the metro station, Souleymane S says he was not surprised to find himself a victim of an apparent racist incident.

"They said things to me in English but I didn't really understand the meaning of what they said," he explained to Le Parisien. "I don't speak a word of English.

"I understood that Chelsea supporters were involved and I made the link with the PSG match.

"I also understood that they were attacking me because of the color of my skin.
"You know, I live with racism, I wasn't really surprised by what happened to me, even if it was the first time in the metro.

"I stayed for a long time in front of them. One person came to say that I had been brave to resist people like that.

"No (metro) user took up my defense but, in any case, what could one do?"

While the metro moved out of the Richelieu-Drouot station with the Chelsea fans on board, Souleymane S waited to catch the next train and went home.

The 33-year-old said he did not tell anyone about what happened, even though he realized he had lost his phone during the scramble with the soccer supporters.

He did not know the altercation had been filmed by British expatriate Paul Nolan, who broke the story by sending the video to British newspaper The Guardian, which then posted it on its website.

"I returned home without telling anyone about what had happened, not my wife nor my children," said Souleymane S told le Parisien.

"What would I say to my children? That papa was shoved in the metro because he was black? That's useless."

Souleymane S may have been unaware of the ramifications of the incident but it has acted as a catalyst to more soul searching about soccer's seeming inability to root out racism in the global game.

Chelsea has vowed to support any criminal action brought against its fans involved in the Paris altercation.

"Such behavior is abhorrent and has no place in football or society," the English Premier League club said in a statement released Wednesday.

"We will support any criminal action against those involved in such behavior, and should evidence point to the involvement of Chelsea season ticket holders or members the club will take the strongest possible action against them including banning orders."

Both French and British police have said they will analyze the footage.

UEFA, the body which governs European football, said it was appalled by the footage, but as it occurred outside of the stadium it could not take any punitive action.

Sepp Blatter, the president of football's global governing body FIFA, also took to Twitter to register his disapproval.

"I also condemn the actions of a small group of Chelsea fans in Paris," tweeted Blatter. "There is no place for racism in football!"

Queens Park Rangers boss Chris Ramsey -- the only black manager in the English Premier League -- was asked to comment on the incident in Paris during his media conference, Thursday.

"I don't believe they are Chelsea fans or fans of football," said Ramsey. "I believe they are acting in a manner which we all think is a thing of the past.

"Those views are intrinsic in everyday life. I've been saying for a long time these are social issues which manifest themselves in the football world.

"It would be good to see what the authorities are going to do to either weed these people out, what sanctions they're going to enforce, to try to make this an avoidable situation in the future."

This is not the first racism allegation to be leveled against London club Chelsea in recent times.

In 2012, team captain John Terry was banned for four matches and fined $356,000 for racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

Terry was, however, found not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing at Westminster Magistrates' Court in July of the same year.

Former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand, the brother of Anton Ferdinand, questioned whether football has the power to eradicate racism.

"The racist scene on the metro with the Chelsea fans - disgraceful behavior obviously. But can football change this? Does it have the power?" he wrote on Twitter, Thursday.
"Football has come a long way since the 70's & 80's but are we all guilty of becoming a bit complacent?

"Football has done a lot over the years to combat racism..but society has to do more to make change or is there too much hatred in society?"




"I don't believe they are Chelsea fans or fans of football," said Ramsey. "I believe they are acting in a manner which we all think is a thing of the past. "Those views are intrinsic in everyday life. I've been saying for a long time these are social issues which manifest themselves in the football world. "It would be good to see what the authorities are going to do to either weed these people out, what sanctions they're going to enforce, to try to make this an avoidable situation in the future." This is not the first racism allegation to be leveled against London club Chelsea in recent times.”... "The racist scene on the metro with the Chelsea fans - disgraceful behavior obviously. But can football change this? Does it have the power?" he wrote on Twitter, Thursday. Football has come a long way since the 70's & 80's but are we all guilty of becoming a bit complacent? Football has done a lot over the years to combat racism..but society has to do more to make change or is there too much hatred in society?"

To me, this isn't a question – of course there is “too much hatred in society.” What isn't always mentioned is that all group activities that focus highly on “team spirit,” group loyalty over individual interactions, hazing rituals, and scapegoating or bullying of any kind are a part of human instincts. Moreover, they are considered by “conservative” people to be a good human characteristic. Those people in society who are individualistic and who don't believe in abusive group activities can be “punished” by a highly cohesive group. Indeed, as in this case, an individual who was not in any way behaving negatively, was harassed and bullied by a gang who were hyped up by their “team spirit,” and probably by a good deal of alcohol and other drugs in addition. Sports and other competitive activities are prone to this kind of emotional and mental group insanity. I've always hated bullying of all kinds, and I believe that the path forward to goodness involves strong individual logic and empathy. Positive group activity is good, of course, but these things definitely are not positive. The “sheeplike” thinking in group hysteria and the lack of empathy are to me not only a weakness, but a sin. I just don't get a kick out of football, soccer, hockey and all sports that are so competitive and physical that they more closely resemble a war than a sport. There are ways in which the human creature is not only capable of real evil, but shows a lack of intelligence. These kinds of incidents are in that category.





http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/18/politics/ferguson-justice-department-lawsuit/index.html

Justice Dept. could sue Ferguson for racial discrimination
By Evan Perez and Alexandra Jaffe, CNN
Thu February 19, 2015

Will the Attorney General sue Ferguson's police? 

Washington (CNN)The Justice Department is preparing to bring a lawsuit against the Ferguson, Missouri, police department over a pattern of racially discriminatory tactics used by officers, if the police department does not agree to make changes on its own, sources tell CNN.

Attorney General Eric Holder said this week he expects to announce the results of the department's investigation of the shooting death of Michael Brown and a broader probe of the Ferguson Police Department before he leaves office in the coming weeks.

Brown's shooting death at the hands of Officer Darren Wilson has thrust Ferguson into the center of a nationwide debate over police tactics and race relations. The Justice Department is expected to announce it won't charge Wilson for the shooting, but it's also expected to outline findings that allege a pattern of discriminatory tactics used by the Ferguson police.

If they don't agree to review and revise those tactics, sources say, the Justice Department would sue to force changes in the department.

Asked to comment, Ferguson police Chief Thomas Jackson told CNN's Sara Sidner, "I have received nothing new.

"Everything they suggested in the past has been reasonable and we have tried to comply."

​Among the issues expected to be part of the Justice Department's lawsuit are allegations made in a recent lawsuit filed by a group of low-income people who claimed officers in Ferguson and nearby Jennings targeted minorities with minor traffic infractions and then jailed them when they couldn't pay fines.

The Justice Department action would ask for court supervision of changes at the Ferguson Police Department to improve how police deal with the minority communities they are supposed to protect.
​
Holder hinted at plans to announce the outcome of the dual investigations during an appearance at the National Press Club on Tuesday.

"I think everybody will see when we announce our results that the process that we have engaged in is, as I said back at the time when I went to Ferguson, independent, thorough and based on all the facts," he said. "And I am confident that people will be satisfied with the results that will be announced."




“If they don't agree to review and revise those tactics, sources say, the Justice Department would sue to force changes in the department. Asked to comment, Ferguson police Chief Thomas Jackson told CNN's Sara Sidner, "I have received nothing new. "Everything they suggested in the past has been reasonable and we have tried to comply."... "And I am confident that people will be satisfied with the results that will be announced."

“... officers in Ferguson and nearby Jennings targeted minorities with minor traffic infractions and then jailed them when they couldn't pay fines.” This is vile, but it isn't limited to Ferguson. It's a part of nationwide police tactics. It's like the “speed traps” of certain small, rural towns. The road entering town is set at 55 mph, but it too rapidly is marked at 30 or 35 at the city line, and many drivers simply can't slow down fast enough. A caution sign that says “Reduce Speed Ahead” helps a great deal, but those aren't always present. As far as ticketing and a fine for a broken tail light or turn signal, that is something that I think is probably racially based, because I have had more than one warning by a police officer for things like that, but no fines. This practice is done partly to raise revenues for the town. I look forward to the Justice Department report.





http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/18/travel/feat-obama-new-national-monuments/index.html

Internment camp, industrial town among new national monuments
By Katia Hetter, CNN
Wed February 18, 2015

(CNN)Chicago's historic Pullman District, a World War II internment camp and a section of Colorado's upper Arkansas River Valley will become the nation's newest national monuments this week, a White House official told CNN.

President Barack Obama plans to make the announcement Thursday during a visit to Chicago's Pullman town, a historic industrial site that will become the first National Park Service unit in the city, the official said.

Obama is naming the sites using his authority under the Antiquities Act, which he has already used to establish or expand 16 national monuments. Since 1906, presidents have used the act to protect other historic and natural sites across the country, including the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty.

Pullman National Monument, Illinois

America's first planned industrial town, the 203-acre site within the present-day city of Chicago has factories and buildings from the Pullman Palace Car Co., a railway car company dating to 1867. The company town was established in the 1880s.

A majority white work force constructed the famous railway cars, while a mostly black work force from the ranks of former slaves worked in service positions on the cars. Key to the rise of an African-American middle class, the porters made labor history by organizing as the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters and eventually winning a historic labor agreement.

"Pullman workers fought for fair labor conditions in the late 19th century, and the Pullman porters helped advance America's civil rights movement," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois.

"During the economic depression of the 1890s, the Pullman community was the catalyst for the first industry-wide strike in the United States, which helped lead to the creation of Labor Day as a national day."

Honouliuli National Monument, Hawaii

Not far from Pearl Harbor, the Honouliuli Internment Camp opened in 1943 and was the longest-used and largest site for holding Japanese-Americans, European-Americans and resident immigrants in Hawaii. The internment camp, which once held captive 400 civilian internees and 4,000 prisoners of war, will be managed by the National Park Service.

"Honouliuli represents a dark period in our history when thousands of Japanese-Americans in Hawai'i and across the country were forced into internment camps during World War II," Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in a statement.

"This historic site will memorialize the strength and bravery of the many Japanese-Americans who faced discrimination and serve as a reminder to ourselves and future generations that we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past."

Browns Canyon National Monument, Colorado

Located in the upper Arkansas River Valley near the town of Salida, this 21,000-acre monument will protect the bighorn sheep, bald eagles and amazing diversity of wildlife and plants that inhabit the mountains and cliffs of Browns Canyon.

The designation will support outdoor human activity such as hiking, hunting and fishing, protect the watershed and keep in place existing water rights and uses. The site will be managed by the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management and Department of Agriculture's National Forest Service.

"Browns Canyon is a national treasure with a long history of bipartisan support in Colorado," said Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, adding that the monument will stand as a tribute to former Sen. Mark Udall's legacy of protecting this and other Colorado sites.

However, Gardner stated his preference to work through the legislative process. "In the coming days I will be introducing legislation to ensure that Colorado's state and local interests have a seat at the table in discussions about Browns Canyon."




“Chicago's historic Pullman District, a World War II internment camp and a section of Colorado's upper Arkansas River Valley will become the nation's newest national monuments this week, a White House official told CNN. President Barack Obama plans to make the announcement Thursday during a visit to Chicago's Pullman town, a historic industrial site that will become the first National Park Service unit in the city, the official said. Obama is naming the sites using his authority under the Antiquities Act, which he has already used to establish or expand 16 national monuments.... A majority white work force constructed the famous railway cars, while a mostly black work force from the ranks of former slaves worked in service positions on the cars. Key to the rise of an African-American middle class, the porters made labor history by organizing as the Brotherhood of the Sleeping Car Porters and eventually winning a historic labor agreement.... Not far from Pearl Harbor, the Honouliuli Internment Camp opened in 1943 and was the longest-used and largest site for holding Japanese-Americans, European-Americans and resident immigrants in Hawaii.... "This historic site will memorialize the strength and bravery of the many Japanese-Americans who faced discrimination and serve as a reminder to ourselves and future generations that we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past."... this 21,000-acre monument will protect the bighorn sheep, bald eagles and amazing diversity of wildlife and plants that inhabit the mountains and cliffs of Browns Canyon. The designation will support outdoor human activity such as hiking, hunting and fishing, protect the watershed and keep in place existing water rights and uses.... "In the coming days I will be introducing legislation to ensure that Colorado's state and local interests have a seat at the table in discussions about Browns Canyon."

Congressional Republicans always protest whatever Obama does on his own under his undisputed executive authority. That's because they want to add budgetary restrictions, yet another attempt to kill the Affordable Care Act, or some other “poison pill” to each and every bill that the Democrats want to see enacted. They particularly hate Obama's strong movements to act on his own because they are jealous of his independent thinking. He just keeps on “truckin'” though, while they try to sue him. I approve of his actions. He is too clever and stubborn to let them tie his hands. You go, Prez!





http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/02/19/387265766/irans-jews-its-our-home-and-we-plan-to-stay

Iran's Jews: It's Our Home And We Plan To Stay
Steve Inskeep
Host, Morning Edition
FEBRUARY 19, 2015

Photograph – A Friday prayer service at a synagogue in Isfahan, Iran. The country had more than 100,000 Jews before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Fewer than 9,000 remain, but say Iran is their home, even if they face limitations.
Molly Messick/NPR

Iran is a country where people at rallies routinely chant "Death to Israel." It's also home to the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel and Turkey.

Iran's Jewish population topped 100,000 in the years before the Shah of Iran was toppled in 1979 by the country's Shiite Muslim clerics. Today, the number of Jews has dipped to below 9,000.

The Jews' very presence in Iran demonstrates the complexity of a country that is hard for outsiders to understand. Our search to understand what keeps the Jews here begins in the kitchen of a kosher restaurant in Tehran.

The cooks were in the basement, cutting up meat. We took a table in the dining room, and talked with David Shumer, 28, the son of the owner. He says his family has run this place for 35 years, serving kebab and chicken on the bone.

"Many restaurant is better than this restaurant," he says.

I stopped him, wanting to be sure of his English.

"I am honest," he says with a laugh.

We asked Shumer for an honest answer to a more serious question: What is it like to be Jewish in an Islamic republic?

"It's so good and so happy," he says.

He contends that Jews have equal rights. They don't, as we came to learn, but Shumer does lead a comfortable middle-class life.

"I have a car, and a job. Everything I have is here," he says. "Why not?"


A Long History, A Changing Middle East

Americans might start with a slightly different question: Why are thousands of Jews still in Iran?

The government assigns Jews a different status than Muslims, but still celebrates their presence. It holds them up as evidence of Iran's tolerance.

The truth is, Jews have lived here for millennia, and their story says much about a changing Middle East.

We heard part of that story from Iran's one Jewish member of Parliament, Siamak Moreh Sedgh. His seat is one of five that the government reserves for Iran's religious minorities.

"Iran is the country of unbelievable paradoxes," says Moreh Sedgh, who smoked one cigarette after another from a red-and-white pack of Winstons. "You can find that there is the greatest Jewish community in the Middle East in Iran, in the country with the greatest political problem with Israel."

In addition to being a member of Parliament, Moreh Sedgh is a general surgeon; he met us at the Jewish charity hospital he directs. It takes in patients of all faiths.

Tradition says the first Jews moved here in ancient times. They were forced to move eastward from what's now Israel to the kingdom of Babylon, which was later conquered by the rulers of ancient Persia.

A Commitment To Stay

Today, the Jewish lawmaker says simply that Iranian Jews are Iranians. They stay because it's their country. And Moreh Sedgh says he supports his country's foreign policy, even when it comes to the Jewish state.

He says Judaism is not the same as Zionism, the project of building Israel.

"There is a great difference between being a Jew and being Zionist," he says.

The lawmaker draws more distinctions when it comes to Iran's controversial former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who raised questions about the Holocaust.

"I think that the Ahmadinejad case must be viewed from another window," Moreh Sedgh says. "He does not deny [the] Holocaust clearly. He said there is some question about [the] Holocaust, and this idea was not the official statement of the Iranian government. This was only a personal idea of President Ahmadinejad."

Moreh Sedgh said Ahmadinejad's comments prompted him to write a letter to the president saying that denying the Holocaust is denying truth, and "it's not even in the direction of Iranian national interest."

Here you see a clue to Iranian Jews' long-running survival. The Jewish lawmaker keeps his disagreements narrow. He avoids openly challenging the Islamic Republic, which has often repressed its critics.

Secondary Status

Moreh Sedgh says he prefers to focus on slowly improving Jews' daily life, and their secondary status in Iran. They may freely practice their faith and vote, but they cannot hold high office.

So they gradually push for more rights. They recently won permission to keep their children out of school on the Jewish Sabbath. And Moreh Sedgh says he would like it if Jews could someday serve in cabinet posts or as judges.

"It's not a problem that affects our day-to-day life, but we think that people with good knowledge and a high degree of ability, from a religious minority, can help the country to be a better country," he says.

Moreh Sedgh says it's best to seek improvements "little by little, step by step."

Clearly this wasn't enough for many Iranian Jews, most of whom have left for places like Israel and the United States. After the 1979 revolution, a Jewish business leader was famously executed as an Israeli spy. A 2011 census found that Iranian Jews numbered 8,756. Even at the Jewish charity hospital that Moreh Sedgh runs, the vast majority of staff and patients are Muslims.

One of Iran's three main Jewish communities is in the city of Isfahan, where we attended a morning prayer service. About two dozen people came for the early service.

It was in a brick synagogue, with simple stained-glass windows that bring to mind a modest church in the American Midwest.

Noticing strangers, a middle-aged man sought our attention and addressed us in English. He gave his name as Daniel Ayeneszan and said that he used to live in New York City.

"I lived in America for 20 years, and I'm an American citizen," he says, adding that Isfahan "is my home town, I come back here."

He went from Isfahan to America as a youth and worked in New York City, a few blocks from Macy's, selling women's clothes. Ten years ago he returned to Isfahan — first to mourn his mother's death, and then to search for a wife. He didn't find one — "because I'm Jewish and the Jewish community is very small," he says.

The truth is, the whole Middle East is going through a great and brutal sorting of faiths.

In country after country, Christians are driven out, Jews are pushed into Israel, groups like Yazidis are targeted by the self-declared Islamic State, Sunni Muslims push out Shiites and Shiites push out Sunnis.

It's an attack on the fantastic religious diversity that has distinguished the Middle East for millennia. The Jews in Iran are daily resisting that trend.




“Iran's Jewish population topped 100,000 in the years before the Shah of Iran was toppled in 1979 by the country's Shiite Muslim clerics. Today, the number of Jews has dipped to below 9,000. The Jews' very presence in Iran demonstrates the complexity of a country that is hard for outsiders to understand.... We asked Shumer for an honest answer to a more serious question: What is it like to be Jewish in an Islamic republic? "It's so good and so happy," he says. He contends that Jews have equal rights. They don't, as we came to learn, but Shumer does lead a comfortable middle-class life. "I have a car, and a job. Everything I have is here," he says. "Why not?" …. The government assigns Jews a different status than Muslims, but still celebrates their presence. It holds them up as evidence of Iran's tolerance. The truth is, Jews have lived here for millennia, and their story says much about a changing Middle East. We heard part of that story from Iran's one Jewish member of Parliament, Siamak Moreh Sedgh. His seat is one of five that the government reserves for Iran's religious minorities.... Tradition says the first Jews moved here in ancient times. They were forced to move eastward from what's now Israel to the kingdom of Babylon, which was later conquered by the rulers of ancient Persia. A Commitment To Stay – Today, the Jewish lawmaker says simply that Iranian Jews are Iranians. They stay because it's their country. And Moreh Sedgh says he supports his country's foreign policy, even when it comes to the Jewish state..... "There is a great difference between being a Jew and being Zionist," he says. The lawmaker draws more distinctions when it comes to Iran's controversial former president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who raised questions about the Holocaust. "I think that the Ahmadinejad case must be viewed from another window," Moreh Sedgh says. "He does not deny [the] Holocaust clearly. He said there is some question about [the] Holocaust, and this idea was not the official statement of the Iranian government. This was only a personal idea of President Ahmadinejad." …. Here you see a clue to Iranian Jews' long-running survival. The Jewish lawmaker keeps his disagreements narrow. He avoids openly challenging the Islamic Republic, which has often repressed its critics..... They may freely practice their faith and vote, but they cannot hold high office. So they gradually push for more rights. They recently won permission to keep their children out of school on the Jewish Sabbath. And Moreh Sedgh says he would like it if Jews could someday serve in cabinet posts or as judges.... One of Iran's three main Jewish communities is in the city of Isfahan, where we attended a morning prayer service. About two dozen people came for the early service. It was in a brick synagogue, with simple stained-glass windows that bring to mind a modest church in the American Midwest..... The truth is, the whole Middle East is going through a great and brutal sorting of faiths. In country after country, Christians are driven out, Jews are pushed into Israel, groups like Yazidis are targeted by the self-declared Islamic State, Sunni Muslims push out Shiites and Shiites push out Sunnis. It's an attack on the fantastic religious diversity that has distinguished the Middle East for millennia. The Jews in Iran are daily resisting that trend.”

This constant state of religious warfare could be compared to the Biblical Apocalypse. I do hope it all doesn't work out to be a terrible “simplification,” in which ancient bloodlines and cultural traditions are simply wiped out. I am in agreement with those who would put our American, and hopefully also European soldiers on the ground on the several fronts against the three or more highly violent jihadist groups across the world are now rampaging. Better, of course, would be for each group to follow its religious path in peace. That's not happening, though. This news story is a good one, however, about sharing and even accepting compromises for the greater good. Would that more people would do that. Better still would be for national governments to give up being religiously based, and go for a secular democracy.





OKLAHOMA SCHOOL HISTORY TEST BILL:


http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/02/18/3624062/oklahoma-bill-banning-ap-us-history-make-students-study-ten-commandments-3-speeches-reagan/

Oklahoma Bill Banning AP US History Would Make Students Study Ten Commandments, 3 Speeches By Reagan
BY JUDD LEGUM 
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 18, 2015

An Oklahoma bill banning Advanced Placement U.S. History would also require schools to instruct students in a long list of “foundational documents,” including the Ten Commandments, two sermons and three speeches by Ronald Reagan.

The bill, authored by Oklahoma Rep. Dan Fisher, designates a total of 58 documents that “shall form the base level of academic content for all United States History courses offered in the schools in the state.” Many of the texts are uncontroversial and undoubtedly covered by the Advanced Placement U.S. History course, such as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg address. But the bill also has an ideological and religious bent. In addition to 3 speeches by Reagan, the curriculum as includes a speech by George W. Bush but nothing from any Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson.

Fisher’s bill was approved by the Education committee on an 11-4 vote.

Opposition to the AP U.S. History test “can be traced back to retired high-school history teacher Larry S. Krieger.” On a conference call marshaling opposition to the test, Krieger said it offered “a consistently negative view of American historythat highlights oppressors and exploiters.” Krieger teamed up with Jane Robbins, an anti-Common Core activists. (Some, including Oklahoma lawmakers, have conflated the Advanced Placement test with Common Core.) They have their own website: http://opposenewapstandards.us.

Krieger, Robbins and others were successful in convincing the Republican National Committee to pass a resolution blasting the Advanced Placement U.S. History course, saying it “reflected a radically revisionist view of American historythat emphasizes negative aspects of our nation’s history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects.”

In response, the College Board — a non-profit which creates the AP tests — said that the opposition was based on “significant misunderstandings.” Dan Coleman, the President of The College Board emphasized that the tests are actually written “by college professors and K–12 teachers throughout this country.” He also, in an effort to allay concerns, released a sample test.
The efforts have spurred attacks on the test in Georgia, North Carolina, Texasand Colorado.




“An Oklahoma bill banning Advanced Placement U.S. History would also require schools to instruct students in a long list of “foundational documents,” including the Ten Commandments, two sermons and three speeches by Ronald Reagan. The bill, authored by Oklahoma Rep. Dan Fisher, designates a total of 58 documents that “shall form the base level of academic content for all United States History courses offered in the schools in the state.” Many of the texts are uncontroversial and undoubtedly covered by the Advanced Placement U.S. History course, such as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg address. But the bill also has an ideological and religious bent. In addition to 3 speeches by Reagan, the curriculum as includes a speech by George W. Bush but nothing from any Democratic president since Lyndon Johnson. Fisher’s bill was approved by the Education committee on an 11-4 vote.... Opposition to the AP U.S. History test “can be traced back to retired high-school history teacher Larry S. Krieger.” On a conference call marshaling opposition to the test, Krieger said it offered “a consistently negative view of American historythat highlights oppressors and exploiters.” Krieger teamed up with Jane Robbins, an anti-Common Core activists. (Some, including Oklahoma lawmakers, have conflated the Advanced Placement test with Common Core.).... The College Board emphasized that the tests are actually written “by college professors and K–12 teachers throughout this country.” He also, in an effort to allay concerns, released a sample test.”

The RNC is rapidly morphing into a group that is attacking American Democracy as we know it from the inside out. They are particularly against the assimilation and fair treatment of minorities including women, poverty programs and Social Security, the Voting Rights Act, the freedoms of thought, speech, education and political association, labor unions, environmentally protective laws, our secularly based form of government which safeguards religions but also the freedom from religion for non-believers, and other highly treasured rights and protections as citizens. They are trying to stamp out the Enlightenment itself and all political dissent.

This “thinkprogress.org” article discusses a description of the recent Oklahoma bill which the article of a few days ago didn't go into at all. That really makes me angry, because we depend on the free press to highlight such matters and issue an alarm to the public. Has the free press already been bought and paid for by the religious right? I'm afraid we are in for a Neo-Nazi ruled government in this country, and not too far into the future, either.