Sunday, May 10, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/05/09/405442122/million-moms-march-walks-washington-to-protest-police-violence

'Million Moms March' Walks Washington To Protest Police Violence
Lauren Hodges
MAY 09, 2015

Photograph – Maria Hamilton, left, marches in Milwaukee with her sons on April 30th in remembrance of her son Dontre, who was shot and killed by a now-former police officer in a park last year. Hamilton founded Mothers for Justice United, which planned a march on Washington on Saturday to protest police violence.
Carrie Antlfinger/AP

Mothers from around the country gathered in the nation's capital Saturday to protest police brutality in a march from Capitol Hill to the Justice Department.

The Facebook page for the Million Moms March on Washington event is overflowing with posts by mothers who lost their children to violent encounters with law enforcement. Joining them are grieving spouses, siblings and friends of those who died, posting photos, sharing their own experiences and voicing their support.

Mothers for Justice United organized the Saturday march, using social media to attract support for the event. (The march is not affiliated with the Million Mom March of 2000, which protested gun violence.) The marchers planned to present "demands for justice and racial equality," the organization says.

Among those marching is the organization's founder Maria Hamilton, whose 31-year-old son Dontre was shot and killed last year by a Milwaukee police officer after he was discovered sleeping in a park. The officer was fired, but not charged with a crime.

The date of the march, on Mother's Day weekend, is the first anniversary of Dontre Hamilton's burial. Maria Hamilton spoke to Milwaukee news station WITI about her son:

"I believe Dontre planted, his physical life planted a seed for this movement. I know that his death will never be in vain. I had to let him go in order to have this work done. May 9th will be the march for unity for all the moms across the U.S. that have lost their loved ones. We want the federal government to change the laws across the board. We need to have them set the laws up where the police chief and different areas of police officers across the U.S. have the same rules and regulations when protecting us."

Hamilton was a main organizer of the event, the goal of which she says was to get the government's attention.

Mothers for Justice United's official website lists the march as a "call to action ... in the wake of the recent unjust murders of Dontre Hamilton, Corey Stingley, Derek Williams, Brandon Johnson, Larry Jenkins, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and so many more at the hands of police officers and racist vigilantes."

Activists in nearby Baltimore encouraged residents there to join the march after the city spent the past few weeks dealing with protests and sometimes-violent riots in response to the death of Freddie Gray from injuries sustained in police custody.

Six officers have been charged in the case. NPR's Nathan Rott reports the officers are arguing Gray's arrest was legal and warranted, claiming the charges are "political in nature."




Mothers for Justice United organized the Saturday march, using social media to attract support for the event. (The march is not affiliated with the Million Mom March of 2000, which protested gun violence.) The marchers planned to present "demands for justice and racial equality," the organization says. Hamilton founded Mothers for Justice United, which planned a march on Washington on Saturday to protest police violence. …. Among those marching is the organization's founder Maria Hamilton, whose 31-year-old son Dontre was shot and killed last year by a Milwaukee police officer after he was discovered sleeping in a park. The officer was fired, but not charged with a crime. …. We want the federal government to change the laws across the board. We need to have them set the laws up where the police chief and different areas of police officers across the U.S. have the same rules and regulations when protecting us." Hamilton was a main organizer of the event, the goal of which she says was to get the government's attention. ….

“Six officers have been charged in the case. NPR's Nathan Rott reports the officers are arguing Gray's arrest was legal and warranted, claiming the charges are "political in nature." Justice is not “political,” except in an unjust society. Of course, that description could well apply to the US these days. The radical right is trying to take us back to the Civil War and before, and I am absolutely opposed to that.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2015/05/09/405270265/boosting-education-for-babies-and-their-parents

Boosting Education For Babies And Their Parents
ALEXANDRA STARR
MAY 09, 2015

Photograph – A group of mothers and infants celebrate a recent graduation from the Harlem Children's Zone Baby College program.
Marty Lipp/Courtesy of Harlem Children's Zone

The Harlem Children's Zone is a nonprofit known for its innovative, multifaceted approach to ending the cycle to poverty. It's garnered kudos from President Obama and philanthropists like William Louis-Dreyfus, who recently announcedhe would donate up to $50 million to the organization.

One of the Harlem Children's Zone programs is The Baby College, geared to expectant parents and those with kids up to the age of three. It celebrates its 15th anniversary this spring.

A recent Baby College graduation had the feel of a motivational seminar crossed with a rock concert. It started early on a Saturday morning but the 59 graduates, joined by friends and family, were already used to the schedule. Baby College takes place over nine consecutive Saturdays, during which students learn about subjects including baby-proofing, nutrition, brain development and communication skills.

They also learn the importance of reading to kids. At graduation, some of the parents performed a rap on the topic: "First we start with the names of the letters, here's a little rhyme to help us learn them better. A is for alligator, B is for big, C is for cot, D is for dig."

Spreading Knowledge, Building A Community

Thousands of Harlem residents have been through the program, which counts 5,000 graduates to date. The Baby College recruits aggressively. Outreach workers knock on doors in public housing and stop pregnant women on the street. Staff members conduct weekly home visits with participating families.

The program also provides incentives to attend, distributing baby gates and children's books, as well as offering free meals and childcare during classes. Participants with perfect attendance records are entered in a raffle at graduation. The winner gets a free month's rent. This time, an expectant mother, Caprice Johnson, won the prize. "I'll probably go into labor, hold on," she joked.

Meeting weekly for more than two months creates a community among the parents and parents-to-be. Dr. Joshua Sparrow, director of Boston's Brazelton Touchpoints Center, says this is one of the Baby College's big benefits.

"When parents don't feel isolated, when they don't feel alone, and they feel like they've got the support from others in their community, they're much more likely to be able to be warm and responsive and sensitive in their interactions with their children," he says.

Sparrow and the famed pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton helped create the Baby College curriculum. It encourages discipline without corporal punishment. Program instructors share research with parents warning that spanking can stymie brain development and weaken emotional bonds.

Edgar Garcia, 25 years old and a first-time father, says the overriding message he got from Baby College was the importance of that emotional connection with his son. "Discipline comes first, then a lot of things follow afterwards," he says. "At the end of the day, just make sure you're there for your child."

Ambiguous Impact On Academics

Despite the support provided by the program, the academic benefits of Baby College are not clear. A 2011 Harvard study did not find that parents' participation in Baby College alone improved children's test scores in elementary school.

"They don't find a difference between getting the good charter school experience and getting the good charter school experience plus Baby College," says W. Steven Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

Still, he says, a parenting workshop like Baby College can be valuable. "There's a lot more to learning and development than test scores," Barnett says. "Baby College is not an intensive, expensive program. And so if it only has modest impacts, it's probably worth it."

The Harvard study did find that children enrolled in the Harlem Children's Zone charter schools outperformed their peers academically, especially in math.

And Baby College can serve as a gateway for enrollment to those schools.

At the most recent graduation, Baby College director Hassan Daniel emphasized that he was saying congratulations — but not goodbye. "Please, make sure you stay connected with us. Because we want to make sure that we are giving all these great opportunities to you and your family," he said.

If he and the rest of the Baby College staff have their way, that graduation could be just the first of many milestones parents celebrate with the Harlem Children's Zone.




“The Harlem Children's Zone is a nonprofit known for its innovative, multifaceted approach to ending the cycle to poverty. It's garnered kudos from President Obama and philanthropists like William Louis-Dreyfus, who recently announcedhe would donate up to $50 million to the organization. One of the Harlem Children's Zone programs is The Baby College, geared to expectant parents and those with kids up to the age of three. It celebrates its 15th anniversary this spring. …. Baby College takes place over nine consecutive Saturdays, during which students learn about subjects including baby-proofing, nutrition, brain development and communication skills. They also learn the importance of reading to kids. At graduation, some of the parents performed a rap on the topic: "First we start with the names of the letters, here's a little rhyme to help us learn them better. A is for alligator, B is for big, C is for cot, D is for dig." …. The Baby College recruits aggressively. Outreach workers knock on doors in public housing and stop pregnant women on the street. Staff members conduct weekly home visits with participating families. The program also provides incentives to attend, distributing baby gates and children's books, as well as offering free meals and childcare during classes. Participants with perfect attendance records are entered in a raffle at graduation. The winner gets a free month's rent. This time, an expectant mother, Caprice Johnson, won the prize. "I'll probably go into labor, hold on," she joked. …. "When parents don't feel isolated, when they don't feel alone, and they feel like they've got the support from others in their community, they're much more likely to be able to be warm and responsive and sensitive in their interactions with their children," he says. …. It encourages discipline without corporal punishment. Program instructors share research with parents warning that spanking can stymie brain development and weaken emotional bonds. …. Still, he says, a parenting workshop like Baby College can be valuable. "There's a lot more to learning and development than test scores," Barnett says. "Baby College is not an intensive, expensive program. And so if it only has modest impacts, it's probably worth it." The Harvard study did find that children enrolled in the Harlem Children's Zone charter schools outperformed their peers academically, especially in math. And Baby College can serve as a gateway for enrollment to those schools.”

Whether this Baby College, which seems to be mainly about how parents interact with their children, ends in the children doing better academically or not, the resulting kinder style of upbringing will still be good for the child. Many people assume that mothers and fathers know instinctively how to be good parents, but it's just not true. People who were brought up under the “spare the rod” formulation are likely to needlessly damage their children just because they don't behave perfectly all the time. Adults need to learn to talk to children, speak gently with them, talk at times when they aren't trying to “discipline” them in order to build a warm and trusting bond between all of the family members. Discipline when it is needed can be “time out” and “go to your room,” or simple reminders like “share with your sister.” Such children are much more likely to grow up knowing how to be kind, cooperative, empathetic and wise to others, rather than defensive, untrusting and hostile. As they become teens they are less likely to join a criminal street gang and start stealing cars, getting in fights or selling drugs.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bernie-sanders-i-can-beat-hillary-clinton/

Bernie Sanders: I can beat Hillary Clinton
By REBECCA KAPLAN FACE THE NATION
May 10, 2015

Bernie Sanders, Vermont's independent senator and a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, says he can beat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016.

On CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Sanders said he thinks he can oust the former secretary of state because, "there is, in my view, massive dissatisfaction in this country today with corporate establishment and the greed of corporate America and the incredibly unequal distribution of wealth and income, which currently exists."

And Sanders said his record on that issue over the past 25 years shows that he has led the way in standing up for working families and taking on "the billionaire class," Wall Street, private insurance companies and drug companies.

Sanders is hesitant to criticize Clinton, saying that he respects and admires her. But pressed on the question of why he would make a better Democratic nominee, he points to three things: his opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership, a massive Asia-Pacific trade agreement being negotiated, his vote against the war in Iraq and leadership fighting against it, and the work he has done opposing theKeystone XL pipeline.

"I'm not quite sure Hillary Clinton has come out with a position on that," he said.

In a separate interview on "Face the Nation," Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter said it is still "pretty likely" Clinton will be the Democratic nominee, but that Sanders "has a role to play" in the debate.

"I think that there's nobody in the race right now who presents a real challenge to her in terms of taking the nomination away. But it's important to remember and we've been through this process many times, that we are many, many months away from the nomination, never mind the election," she said.

Former House Speaker and 2012 presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, who appeared alongside Cutter on the show, seemed to concur, when he said, if "you were betting today, you would say she is overwhelming favorite to be the nominee."

"If she doesn't get the nomination, it will be because 'not Hillary' beats 'Hillary,'" he said. "It won't be because some candidate beats Hillary."

In his "Face the Nation" interview, Sanders reserved the bulk of his criticism for the Supreme Court and its role in opening up a flood of money into politics through the 2010 Citizens United decision.

"As a result of this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, clearly the billionaires, Koch brothers and others, are owning the political process. They will determine who the candidates are," Sanders said.

He pledged that he would use the issue as a litmus test for anyone he would nominate to the Supreme Court as president.

"That nominee will say that we are going to overturn this disastrous opinion on Citizens United because that decision is undermining American democracy. I do not believe that billionaire should be able to buy politicians," Sanders said.

Clinton will help raise money for a super PAC supporting her candidacy during 2016 even though she has pledged to "get unaccountable money out of [the political system] once and for all," even if it takes a constitutional amendment to overturn the court decision.

"With some Republican candidates reportedly setting up and outsourcing their entire campaign to super PACs and the Koch Brothers pledging $1 billion alone for the 2016 campaign, Democrats have to have the resources to fight back," a Clinton aide told CBS News last week. "There is too much at stake for our future for Democrats to unilaterally disarm."

Even that decision didn't draw fire from Sanders.

"I understand where she's coming from," he said, though he added that he will not have a super PAC supporting his campaign. Sanders noted that since he announced his candidacy at the end of April he has received nearly 90,000 donations, and the average is $43.

"I don't think we're going to outspend Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush or anybody else, but I think we are going to raise the kinds of money we need to run a strong and winning campaign," he said.

Gingrich, whose campaign was kept alive in part because of donations from billionaire casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, said that there is "a declining value when you get above a certain number" in campaign cash.

"The key for a candidate, which I failed, was to get above a critical mass," Gingrich said. "If [2012 GOP nominee Mitt] Romney couldn't have outspent me three to one, I might have become the nominee. But there's a point at some time, somewhere between five and 20 to one, where you drown. Nobody who is the nominee in the general election is going to get outspent by a huge number because the country is too polarized on what kind of future it wants and both sides can generate huge amounts of money."

Cutter said that the amount of money in politics has made voters cynical, and people begin to tune out the huge amounts of money and negativity in modern political campaigns.

"We do need to figure out how we take action to get this money out of the system," she said.




“And Sanders said his record on that issue over the past 25 years shows that he has led the way in standing up for working families and taking on "the billionaire class," Wall Street, private insurance companies and drug companies. Sanders is hesitant to criticize Clinton, saying that he respects and admires her. But pressed on the question of why he would make a better Democratic nominee, he points to three things: his opposition to the Trans Pacific Partnership, a massive Asia-Pacific trade agreement being negotiated, his vote against the war in Iraq and leadership fighting against it, and the work he has done opposing theKeystone XL pipeline. "I'm not quite sure Hillary Clinton has come out with a position on that," he said. In a separate interview on "Face the Nation," Democratic strategist Stephanie Cutter said it is still "pretty likely" Clinton will be the Democratic nominee, but that Sanders "has a role to play" in the debate. …. "As a result of this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, clearly the billionaires, Koch brothers and others, are owning the political process. They will determine who the candidates are," Sanders said. He pledged that he would use the issue as a litmus test for anyone he would nominate to the Supreme Court as president. …. Sanders noted that since he announced his candidacy at the end of April he has received nearly 90,000 donations, and the average is $43. "I don't think we're going to outspend Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush or anybody else, but I think we are going to raise the kinds of money we need to run a strong and winning campaign," he said.”

Though I would vote for either Clinton or Sanders if they were the party's nominee, and anyone else who is nominated for that matter, I'm afraid that Sanders is not quite as well-known to the public as he could be, and Clinton is too well-known, with a definite bias on the part of many voters against her. Personally I'm not happy that she voted for the Iraq War and has been “close” to big business interests. Both Bill Clinton and Hillary have become very wealthy themselves in the 20 or so years they've been in national politics. Intellectually, I respect her highly, but I don't feel she is as “progressive” as I would like her to be. I would like to see Elizabeth Warren run for President in 2016, but she says she won't. I think she's giving her place in line to Hillary, and maybe she just isn't ready yet. Maybe next time.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/raul-castro-warmly-received-at-the-vatican-by-pope-francis/

Raul Castro warmly received at the Vatican by Pope Francis
AP May 10, 2015

Photograph – President of Cuba Raul Castro and Pope Francis leave the Paul VI Hall private studio after a private audience on May 10, 2015 in Vatican City, Vatican.  FRANCO ORIGLIA/GETTY IMAGES

VATICAN CITY - Cuban President Raul Castro received a warm welcome at the Vatican Sunday from Pope Francis, who played a key role in the breakthrough between Washington and Havana aimed at restoring U.S.-Cuban diplomatic ties.

"Bienvenido!" Francis said in his native Spanish, welcoming Castro in a studio near the Vatican public audience hall. The Cuban president, bowing his head, gripped Francis' hand with both of his, and the two men began their private talks.

The meeting lasted nearly an hour, as the Argentine-born Francis and Castro spoke in their native Spanish.

Francis will visit Cuba in September en route to the United States.

Castro had already publicly thanked Francis for helping to bring Havana and Washington closer together after decades of U.S. government policy of strict isolation of the Communist-ruled Caribbean island. On Sunday, he stepped up his praise on Francis' push for the two nations to put enmity aside and work for reconciliation.

As he took his leave, Castro told journalists, "I thanked the pope for what he did."

Later, at the Italian premier's office, Castro praised Francis for his "wisdom, modesty and all his other qualities."

"I read all the speeches of the pope," Castro said.

Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Castro "laid out to the pope the sentiments of the Cuban people in the wait and preparation for his upcoming visit to the island in September."

Castro said that he will attend all the Masses that Francis will celebrate during the papal trip to Cuba.

After meeting with Premier Matteo Renzi, the Cuban leader expressed hope that his country would quickly see more fruits of the thaw between Cuba and the United States.

"Maybe the (U.S.) Senate will take us off the list of terrorist nations" soon, Castro told reporters.

Francis gave Castro a medal depicting St. Martin of Tours, known for caring for the destitute.

"With his mantle he covers the poor," Francis told Castro, saying more efforts on behalf of the poor are needed.

A Cuban artist, Kcho, part of the Castro entourage, presented Francis with a painting of wrecked boats, and depicting a migrant in prayer. The artist told Francis he was inspired by Francis' visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, where many migrants arrive aboard smugglers' boats.

Castro's brother, Fidel, the Cuban revolutionary leader who ruled for decades before Raul, met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996. That Vatican encounter helped pave the way for John Paul's 1998 pilgrimage to Cuba, the first visit by a pontiff to the island.

The Vatican's general policy of opposing economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool carries appeal for Cuban leaders and people, after decades of the U.S. economic embargo.

With the Vatican keen on protecting its Catholic followers in Cuba, Francis' predecessor, Benedict XVI also visited the island.



http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/10/europe/italy-raul-castro-pope-francis-meeting/

Raul Castro may join Catholic Church, he says after Pope Francis meeting
By Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN
Sun May 10, 2015

(CNN)Cuba has eased its persecution of religion in the last 23 years, but there have been few overtures suggesting the country's executive office might be finding its faith.

That changed Sunday when President Raul Castro said the teachings of Pope Francis had persuaded him not only to take a softer line on religion, but perhaps to return to the Catholic Church and begin worshipping again as he once did, growing up in Jesuit schools.

"As I've already told my council of advisers, I read all of the Pope's speeches," he said. "If the Pope continues to speak like this, sooner or later I will start praying again and I will return to the Catholic Church -- and I'm not saying this jokingly."

Appearing in Rome alongside Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi following his first-ever meeting with the Pope, Castro said he would be among the throngs flocking to see the Pope speak during his September visit to Cuba.

"I promise that I will go to all of his Masses -- and with satisfaction. I left the meeting this morning impressed, very impressed by his knowledge, his wisdom, modesty, and by all the virtues that we know he has," Castro said.




“Cuban President Raul Castro received a warm welcome at the Vatican Sunday from Pope Francis, who played a key role in the breakthrough between Washington and Havana aimed at restoring U.S.-Cuban diplomatic ties. …. Later, at the Italian premier's office, Castro praised Francis for his "wisdom, modesty and all his other qualities." "I read all the speeches of the pope," Castro said. …. Castro said that he will attend all the Masses that Francis will celebrate during the papal trip to Cuba. After meeting with Premier Matteo Renzi, the Cuban leader expressed hope that his country would quickly see more fruits of the thaw between Cuba and the United States. "Maybe the (U.S.) Senate will take us off the list of terrorist nations" soon, Castro told reporters.”

Raul Castro is much more gentle in his appearance and behavior than Fidel, and is even speaking kindly now of the Catholic faith. Most Marxists are against religion in their basic philosophy and not many years ago even outlawed the practice of Christianity. Both China and Russia do recognize Christianity and Islam these days, with Russia having a large number of Orthodox Christians. China is mainly Buddhist and other Eastern religions such as Taoism and Confucianism. I am definitely glad to see the US warming up to Castro because they aren't trying to hurt us at this time, I don't believe, and their people actively like us. An interesting news story on TV was about the commentator going to Cube and talking to the people on the street. There was none of the hostility that you can see in so many Middle Eastern and African countries. I think they'll make a good trading partner, and good friends. A program involving the exchange of visitors between the US and Cuba has already begun.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/amid-drought-beverly-hills-moves-beyond-fines-for-water-wasters/

Amid drought, Beverly Hills moves beyond fines for water wasters
By CARTER EVANS CBS NEWS
May 9, 2015

55 Photos – California drought crisis

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- In Beverly Hills, where most mega-mansions have huge manicured lawns, the landscape is about to change dramatically.

"A big lawn looks a little odd to us," homeowner Andrea Spatz told CBS News. "It just seems inappropriate."

Facing down a historic drought, Spatz ripped out her lawn, replacing the grass in the backyard with less-thirsty succulents.

"We're trying to lead by example," she said.

California's Water Board says Beverly Hills is one of the state's biggest water wasters. The city is now on notice: Cut consumption 36 percent by next year -- or pay the price.

"If the city does not comply with those guidelines, then we can be fined up to $10,000 a day," Mayor Julian Gold said.

"Fifty to 60 percent of the water we use goes to watering grass," Gold said. "We can't afford that anymore."

The city has already limited lawn watering to two days a week and is considering fining individual water wasters up to $1,000.

"The fines are not the answer to the question," Gold said. "Even somebody who's got a mega-mansion, with a huge lawn and tons of money, has to understand that at the end of the day, if there's no water coming out of the faucet, it's their faucet also."

He said if the over-watering continues, it may get personal.

"I'm going to go knock on their door and tell them to stop," Gold said. "I think it's going to come down to neighbors policing neighbors."

Andrea Spatz agrees.

"I think it has to become more like smoking, not wearing seat belts, where there's a little bit of a public shaming that being a water waster is considered bad in and of itself, even if you can afford it," she said.

Money may be no object for some people in Beverly Hills. But without water, even those rolling in the green may have trouble staying green.




"A big lawn looks a little odd to us," homeowner Andrea Spatz told CBS News. "It just seems inappropriate." Facing down a historic drought, Spatz ripped out her lawn, replacing the grass in the backyard with less-thirsty succulents. "We're trying to lead by example," she said. California's Water Board says Beverly Hills is one of the state's biggest water wasters. The city is now on notice: Cut consumption 36 percent by next year -- or pay the price. "If the city does not comply with those guidelines, then we can be fined up to $10,000 a day," Mayor Julian Gold said. …. "I'm going to go knock on their door and tell them to stop," Gold said. "I think it's going to come down to neighbors policing neighbors." Andrea Spatz agrees. "I think it has to become more like smoking, not wearing seat belts, where there's a little bit of a public shaming that being a water waster is considered bad in and of itself, even if you can afford it," she said.”

At least twice in the news articles during the last year they have show photos of soil that is so dry it is cracking. Looking at that, even though it's not here in Florida, makes my muscles constrict with dismay. Global Warming is here, folks. I'm glad to see California taking measures to combat it by using desalinated water, recycled wastewater and water conservation such as this case in Beverly Hills. Ripping out the grass and putting in cactus and other succulents will be beautiful without the heavy water use. I like to see people being smart rather than totally thoughtless.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/chibok-girls-boko-haram-nigeria-harassment/

Free from Boko Haram, Nigeria girls face harassment
AP May 10, 2015

Photograph – Women and children rescued by Nigerian soldiers from Boko Haram extremists at Sambisa Forest wait for treatment at a refugee camp in Yola, Nigeria Monday, May 4, 2015.  AP PHOTO/SUNDAY ALAMBA

YOLA, Nigeria - The taunts wouldn't stop. "Boko Haram wives," the schoolgirls were called because they had been briefly held by Nigeria's Islamic extremists before escaping. The teasing was so relentless that some of the Chibok girls left their town and families.

Their plight does not bode well for hundreds of girls and women recently rescued from months of captivity by Boko Haram, including dozens who are pregnant. After enduring captivity by the militants, the females may now face stigma from their communities.

"The most important thing is to restore their dignity," the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund, Babatunde Osotimehin, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from his office in New York.

"When you have been in captivity against your will, and God knows whatever they have done to them, some of them will have been violated, some raped, food insecure ... We need to take them, work with them and bring them back to the reality of their lives," said Osotimehin, who is Nigerian.

His agency is providing the women and girls with intense psychosocial counseling and medical care for reproductive and maternal health. It is also encouraging communities to allow the girls to return in peace.

That will be a challenge, going by comments made last week by Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno, the home state of Boko Haram and the one most affected by the nearly 6-year-old Islamic uprisingthat has killed more than 12,000 people and forced more than 1.5 million from their homes.

The governor said he feared that girls and women raped and made pregnant by the extremists could be breeding a new generation of terrorists.

Shettima called for a special monitoring program of the mothers to identify paternity because he said the militants had deliberately impregnated them so they would give birth to future insurgents.

"I am seriously worried with the fact that most women tend to hate and abandon children they deliver from rape. Now, the problem is that these children could go to the streets unattended to, they then lack access to food, health care and education. The result is that they could indeed inherit their fathers' (ideology) somehow," Shettima told government officials, according to the Nigerian press.

Such statements from a man of Shettima's standing are "very unfortunate" and would reinforce the very stigma he says he wants to avoid, said Human Rights Watch researcher Mausi Segun.

Segun has interviewed many females who escaped from Boko Haram and described their experiences as "very traumatizing and horrifying."

The mass kidnapping of nearly 300 students who were writing science exams at a boarding school in the town of Chibok a year ago brought Boko Haram to the attention of the world and elicited international outrage. The extremists abducted a hundreds more in their campaign across northeastern Nigeria.

The stigma of Boko Haram has tainted girls who escaped their captors.

Segun described the experience of some of "the Chibok girls," as they have come to be known, who escaped in the first couple of days of their abductions. Some got away as they were being transported in open trucks by grabbing the branches of low hanging trees.

Instead of being admired for their bravery, some of those "who had escaped were being called Boko Haram wives," said Segun. After speaking to one of the girls, Segun "got the sense from her that it deeply, deeply shamed her and her companions ... they were being discriminated against because of close contact with Boko Haram and stigmatized," Segun said.

She said some of those girls have left Chibok and are living with relatives or supportive family friends elsewhere. "These girls weren't even touched (raped)," said Segun, "but Boko Haram is so despised that anyone identified with the group shares some of that label, the slur."




“The taunts wouldn't stop. "Boko Haram wives," the schoolgirls were called because they had been briefly held by Nigeria's Islamic extremists before escaping. The teasing was so relentless that some of the Chibok girls left their town and families. Their plight does not bode well for hundreds of girls and women recently rescued from months of captivity by Boko Haram, including dozens who are pregnant. After enduring captivity by the militants, the females may now face stigma from their communities. …. His agency is providing the women and girls with intense psychosocial counseling and medical care for reproductive and maternal health. It is also encouraging communities to allow the girls to return in peace. That will be a challenge, going by comments made last week by Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno, the home state of Boko Haram and the one most affected by the nearly 6-year-old Islamic uprisingthat has killed more than 12,000 people and forced more than 1.5 million from their homes. The governor said he feared that girls and women raped and made pregnant by the extremists could be breeding a new generation of terrorists. …. Such statements from a man of Shettima's standing are "very unfortunate" and would reinforce the very stigma he says he wants to avoid, said Human Rights Watch researcher Mausi Segun. Segun has interviewed many females who escaped from Boko Haram and described their experiences as "very traumatizing and horrifying."

“She said some of those girls have left Chibok and are living with relatives or supportive family friends elsewhere. "These girls weren't even touched (raped)," said Segun, "but Boko Haram is so despised that anyone identified with the group shares some of that label, the slur." The problem here is the ultra-conservative views of the Nigerian citizens, who consider women “tainted” if they are raped. That same viewpoint has appeared in the US on the part of some husbands who reject their wife because she has been raped, even though supposedly, they love her. There is an ingrained viewpoint among some men that if a woman is raped it is because she has invited it. That often appears in court cases among the jurors and is heartlessly propagated by the defense attorney. To me it's simply the societal system that devalues women as compared to men. Then the women of the society go along with that abuse of their own sex if they are from a “conservative” religious or social group. Women in the South, especially, have been shamed in this way. It is deeply saddening to me.





http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/05/americans-gay-candidate-evangelical-_n_7216448.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

More Americans Are Comfortable With A Gay Presidential Candidate Than With An Evangelical One
Janie Velencia
Posted: 05/05/2015

More Americans feel comfortable with a presidential candidate who identifies as gay or lesbian than with one who identifies as an evangelical Christian, according to a new poll.

The latest WSJ/NBC poll listed a series of qualities in a potential presidential candidate and asked respondents whether they'd "be enthusiastic," "be comfortable with," "have some reservations about" or "be very uncomfortable with" a candidate with each of those qualities.

The results revealed that Americans are actually quite open to having a gay presidential candidate. Sixty-one percent said they would be either enthusiastic about or comfortable with a gay or lesbian candidate, while only 37 percent said they would have reservations or be uncomfortable.

By comparison, respondents were a little less comfortable with the prospect of a candidate who is an evangelical Christian. Fifty-two percent said they'd be enthusiastic about or comfortable with an evangelical Christian running for president, while 44 percent expressed some degree of hesitancy about the idea. (Two percent of respondents said they were not sure about a gay or lesbian candidate, while four percent were not sure about an evangelical.)

The results point to a cultural shift in perceptions of gay people in recent years. While perspectives on evangelicals remain largely the same, the same survey found in 2006 that only 43 percent of Americans fully accepted the idea of a gay or lesbian presidential candidate, while 53 percent had reservations or were uncomfortable.

Other qualities that made more respondents uncomfortable than comfortable included not having a college degree, being a leader in the tea party, and lacking previous elected experience.

The WSJ/NBC poll surveyed 1,000 adults via live interviews on landlines and cell phones between April 26-30.




“The results revealed that Americans are actually quite open to having a gay presidential candidate. Sixty-one percent said they would be either enthusiastic about or comfortable with a gay or lesbian candidate, while only 37 percent said they would have reservations or be uncomfortable. By comparison, respondents were a little less comfortable with the prospect of a candidate who is an evangelical Christian. Fifty-two percent said they'd be enthusiastic about or comfortable with an evangelical Christian running for president, while 44 percent expressed some degree of hesitancy about the idea. (Two percent of respondents said they were not sure about a gay or lesbian candidate, while four percent were not sure about an evangelical.) …. The results point to a cultural shift in perceptions of gay people in recent years. …. Other qualities that made more respondents uncomfortable than comfortable included not having a college degree, being a leader in the tea party, and lacking previous elected experience.”

I personally don't care about a person's sexual orientation, but I do care if one's religion would cause him or her to 1) select other members of the religion simply based on their beliefs for his cabinet or 2) try to change our Constitution to make Fundamentalist Evangelical Christianity (or Judaism either) as the state religion. I want the government to be secular, enlightened and not religious at all. Within that framework, people should espouse whichever religion they chose or none at all. It's one of our most important rights – as important as political party, voting rights, freedom from unethical and illegal search and seizure or physical abuse based on race or ethnicity.

I was appalled when I read that the Japanese Americans were confined in something very similar to concentration camps in California during WWII. Many Tea Party members are talking against Common Core subjects because they believe a complete and accurate teaching of history would cause a breakdown of Patriotism among our people. To me, I shouldn't have had to take a history course in college to learn about that. Our Patriotism shouldn't be based on something vile like that. When knowledge of such things is suppressed, we put our country one step closer to a fascist nation like Germany, Italy and some others during that terrible war. The Tea Party has produced some shocking suggestions already, including jailing women who have had a spontaneous miscarriage on the suspicion that it was intentional, and installing Christianity as the state religion, so I'm not making those things up. Just read the news on a daily basis and you will see an eyeful.