July 12, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/naacp-ends-15-year-economic-boycott-south-carolina/

NAACP votes to end its 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina
CBS/AP
July 12, 2015

24 PHOTOS -- Places the Confederate flag still flies

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The NAACP has passed a resolution lifting its 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina, a day after that state took down a Confederate battle flag flying near its Statehouse.

The civil rights group approved the measure Saturday at its national convention in Philadelphia to end the boycott of tourism and other economic activity. The boycott began in 2000 during debate over the flying of the Confederate flag atop South Carolina's Statehouse dome. The boycott continued after it was moved to a flagpole on Statehouse grounds.

NAACP President Cornell William Brooks told CBSN his organization believes the flag should be "moved to a place of study," and no longer fly in "a place of honor."

The flag's removal comes weeks after the shooting deaths of nine people in a historically black church in Charleston. Dylann Roof, a white man who was photographed with the Confederate flag, is charged in the shooting deaths, and authorities have called the killings a hate crime.

Flag supporters remain, saying it symbolizes Southern heritage.

South Carolina's leaders first flew the battle flag over the Statehouse dome in 1961 to mark the 100th anniversary of the Civil War. It remained there to represent official opposition to the civil rights movement.

Decades later, mass protests against the flag by those who said it was a symbol of racism and white supremacy led to a compromise in 2000 with lawmakers who insisted that it symbolized Southern heritage and states' rights. The two sides came to an agreement to move the flag from the dome to a 30-foot pole next to a Confederate monument in front of the Statehouse.




“The NAACP has passed a resolution lifting its 15-year economic boycott of South Carolina, a day after that state took down a Confederate battle flag flying near its Statehouse. The civil rights group approved the measure Saturday at its national convention in Philadelphia to end the boycott of tourism and other economic activity.” Maybe this will be the end of the conflicts, but I doubt it. It does, however, mark an acknowledgment by what I believe is the majority of SC whites of both parties that a potential race war is definitely not a step forward. They might also admit that the abuse of a whole race of people is grossly unjust and immoral.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-union-cops-who-beat-miami-man-did-absolutely-nothing-wrong/

Police union: Cops who beat Miami man "did absolutely nothing wrong"
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS
July 10, 2015

Photograph -- Brian White CBS MIAMI

MIAMI -- The Miami police union president says that police who beat a man after a traffic stop "did absolutely nothing wrong" and behaved "professionally," reports CBS Miami.

No one is disputing that Brian White's broken nose, black eyes, and heavy bruising were at the hands of Miami Police officers. But why he was left with those injuries is in question.

White says he was simply the passenger in a car that led police on a chase and was the victim of excessive force. But the Miami Police chief and the union reportedly see it differently.

"Our officers did everything professionally. They used a lot of restraint," said Lt. Javier Ortiz, President of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Ortiz says White brought the violence upon himself, an incident which was captured by a surveillance camera.

"He made the wrong decision. He decided to fight police. We weren't looking for a fight but we also have a duty to protect ourselves," Ortiz told CBS Miami.

According to his father, White was getting a ride to work from his longtime friend John Thomas last week, when police attempted to pull them over.

The incident report shows Thomas was wanted for allegedly defrauding a woman out of cash.

But instead of stopping, police say, Thomas led them on a chase, then jumped out of the car and lay on the ground as police approached. White did not exit the car.

White's father reportedly says that his son was urging his friend to stop the car and stop the chase. He also says his son stayed in the car and put his hands up out of fear. From the start, White insisted he did not resist police.

"I did everything they told me to do. I put my hands up. They took me out of the car and they hit me. I never resisted. I never hit a police officer or pushed them. I did nothing," White said in Spanish.

In the arrest forms, the officers allege White refused to get out of the car, kicked them, and at one point stood up to shove an officer.

"When we have to use force, it's not something that we enjoy," added Ortiz.

Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes says White and his family have not filed a formal complaint, but he has ordered an internal use of force investigation, which he says is standard procedure.

"There is other evidence that we still need to track down and once the facts of the case become clear then I'll make a determination whether it was proper or improper," said Llanes.




“The incident report shows Thomas was wanted for allegedly defrauding a woman out of cash. But instead of stopping, police say, Thomas led them on a chase, then jumped out of the car and lay on the ground as police approached. White did not exit the car. White's father reportedly says that his son was urging his friend to stop the car and stop the chase. He also says his son stayed in the car and put his hands up out of fear. From the start, White insisted he did not resist police. …. In the arrest forms, the officers allege White refused to get out of the car, kicked them, and at one point stood up to shove an officer. …. Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes says White and his family have not filed a formal complaint, but he has ordered an internal use of force investigation, which he says is standard procedure.”

He said, she said, despite the presence of a video. White trying to kick a policeman should show up on the tape. Maybe that is part of the “other evidence” that Llanes promises to examine. At least there was no gun used in this case. The marks on White’s face show a heavy beating, however, and I don’t think that should be “professional” behavior.





http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/12/422282766/europe-struggles-to-pull-together-new-greek-bailout-plan

Europe Struggles To Pull Together New Greek Bailout Plan
Scott Neuman
July 12, 2015

Photograph -- Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb (right) speaks with Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos during a round table meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels on Sunday.
Virginia Mayo/AP

European creditors were still trying to forge a new deal with Athens to ward off a collapse of the Greek economy — the third bailout since 2010.

But European Union President Donald Tusk cancelled a meeting of 28 leaders, something NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says is "a very rare occurrence which ... highlights how far the sides are still apart but also suggests there won't be a Grexit worked out, at least not today."

Tusk, she says, has vowed that the smaller Eurozone leaders' meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. EDT, will last until they conclude their talks on Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that as frayed as nerves had become that there won't be an agreement just for the sake of unity.

"The most important currency has been lost and that's trust and reliability," she said.

Athens faces an uphill battle in convincing its creditors that this time it can be trusted to deliver on the same reform promises it has failed to push through in the past. Those changes would be in exchange for a financial rescue package securing the country's future in the euro.

The Associated Press writes: "Facing a self-imposed Sunday deadline, the European nations using the shared euro currency were still seeking more proof from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that he could be fully trusted to enact wide-ranging economic reforms to safeguard Greece's future in the common currency."

Greece has asked for 53.5 billion euros ($59.5 billion) over three years, but the AP quotes officials in Brussels, where the talks are being held, as saying that figure will need to be much higher.

Meanwhile, Greeks citizens are keeping a nervous eye on talks that will decide their country's future, NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports.

At the seaside town of Kiato, about an hour from Athens, thoughts are about the tough negotiations in Brussels.

One woman tells Eleanor that she can hardly watch television anymore.

"Greek TV is like a terrorist attack," the woman says. "We are all afraid to go out or talk about all this."




“Tusk, she says, has vowed that the smaller Eurozone leaders' meeting, which begins at 10 a.m. EDT, will last until they conclude their talks on Greece. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that as frayed as nerves had become that there won't be an agreement just for the sake of unity. "The most important currency has been lost and that's trust and reliability," she said. …. Greece has asked for 53.5 billion euros ($59.5 billion) over three years, but the AP quotes officials in Brussels, where the talks are being held, as saying that figure will need to be much higher.”

Truthfully, I have no concept of a number as large as 53 billion, and I don’t’ know how to compare Euros with dollars, either. I’m just like the ladies of Greece who are now too nervous about what may happen if Greece implodes to watch their television sets. I think it will end up affecting world economics and too likely even political stability, including here in the US, and some of the world’s most important archaeological ruins could be left to people who don’t care about them. ISIS in the Middle East has been destroying relics there just because they aren’t from the Islamic religion. To me, certain kinds of things should be holy, and the results of human achievement are on the list. Also on the list are our animal species which are becoming extinct as time rapidly passes by, while people whose only concern in life is whether they can afford a big screen TV just sit back and watch.




BLACKS VS WHITES -- THREE ARTICLES


http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/07/12/421533481/outdoor-afro-busting-stereotypes-that-blacks-dont-hike-or-camp

Outdoor Afro: Busting Stereotypes That Blacks Don't Hike Or Camp
Shereen Marisol Meraji
JULY 12, 2015

Photograph -- Tamara Johnson is a new Outdoor Afro leader in Atlanta, GA.
Shereen Marisol Meraji/NPR

In 2009, Rue Mapp was thinking about business school, weighing the pros and cons, and wondering if it was the right choice. The former Morgan Stanley analyst turned to her mentor for advice. But rather than give her an answer, her mentor asked a question: If you could be doing anything right now, what would it be?

Rue Mapp started Outdoor Afro in 2009 with a blog and Facebook. The organization spans 18 cities and has 7,000 active members across the country.

Just like that, Mapp knew an MBA wasn't in her near future. Instead, she decided to combine everything she loved — from nature to community to technology — into an organization that would reconnect African-Americans to the outdoors.

A mere two weeks after her mentor asked that one simple question, Mapp launched Outdoor Afro using Facebook and a blog. She started writing about her love of nature, and her experience of being the only black person at many hiking and camping activities. That story resonated with a lot of other African-Americans, who would write her to say that they, too, were tired of being the "only one."

Mapp set out to change that. Outdoor Afro uses social media and volunteers to organize outdoor recreational activities — like camping, hiking, birding, biking and skiing — for African-Americans all over the country. Six years after its launch, there are 30 trained leaders in cities across the United States and 7,000 active members. The group's tagline says it all: "Where black people and nature meet."

Training new volunteers and leaders, Mapp insists, is a core element of the program. "I think in order for us to really see a more diverse and representative population of people in nature that looks like America, it's necessary to have leadership that looks like America," she says.

As part of the latest round of training, Outdoor Afro recently held three days of intensive workshops at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, covering everything from how to dress for different outings, to pointing out flora and fauna, to getting the word out on social media. Almost all of the people there were volunteers being taught how to lead nature excursions back home in their own communities.

Some were veterans of the organization, like Zoe Polk. She's the leadership director for Outdoor Afro and a civil rights attorney in San Francisco. She started leading trips four years ago and remembers her first one as a total flop.

When she's not working as a civil rights attorney, Zoe Polk is training other Outdoor Afro leaders on how to guide novices and experts on excursions in nature.

"I chose a snowshoeing trip to Lassen National Park, about four hours from San Francisco," says Polk. "There was a lot of interest, but no one came but me. It was a real learning experience about people getting to know me and getting to know what people want to know before they go out." Keeping that in mind, Polk worked on developing a relationship with the Outdoor Afro community in the Bay Area, and her second excursion — an ecology hike in the Oakland Hills, followed by a barbecue — was a success.

Others volunteers at the West Virginia event are brand new, like Tamara Johnson. She's a wildlife biologist and will be an Outdoor Afro leader in the Atlanta area. Johnson heard about the training through a Facebook post and decided to apply. For her, it has been a really emotional experience, an opportunity to be around other passionate outdoor enthusiasts and a chance to help more African-Americans feel at home in spaces that have largely been seen as for whites.

"I'm trying to think of how to say this without being hokey," says Johnson. She points to how decades of activism and organization led to the historic gains of civil rights movement, but that few people appreciated the potential of those efforts in the midst of the struggle. Johnson hopes to have the same revolutionary impact, but on a different stage. "It wasn't the civil rights movement until we looked at it in the past. Ten, 15 years from now we can say it all started here."

Outdoor Afro leaders and participants are encouraged to share stories connecting nature to black history.

For many African-Americans, especially those of an older generation, being outside, brings up concerns about safety. Autumn Saxton-Ross leads Outdoor Afro events around Washington, D.C. Growing up, her grandmother used to take her to Watermelon Hill in Kansas City's Swope Park. Until desegregation, it was the only place in the park that black people were allowed to visit. With that history in mind, Saxton-Ross's grandmother wouldn't take her to other parts of the park, even in the 1980s long after segregation ended, for fear that something bad might happen.

That uneasiness contributed to the view of outdoor recreation as "white," a feeling that was often passed down to younger generations. But the "black people don't do nature" stereotype is just not accurate, says Saxton-Ross. Even if they don't realize it, African-Americans have had a connection to the outdoors for most of their lives, be it fishing holes or a backyard barbecue pit. For many Outdoor Afro volunteers, their favorite outdoor place growing up was their grandparents' backyard. "It's important for us to remember that nature is really anything outdoors," says Saxton-Ross. "It's not just these big spaces like Yosemite."

Outdoor Afro leaders are encouraged to reinforce that connection by sharing stories of black history in nature on every excursion. Mapp refers to protestors who marched in Selma as "hikers." Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and hero of the Underground Railroad, is remembered as a naturalist who understood waterways, astronomy, herbal medicine and geography. That understanding helped her move enslaved Africans from the South to freedom in the North. George Washington Carver is honored as a scientist who employed sustainable agricultural practices more than a century ago.

For Rue Mapp, getting people outside and enjoying fresh air is the first and most important step in reconnecting people of color to those bigger outdoor spaces, and in helping them realize that those places are, in fact, for everyone.




“Rue Mapp started Outdoor Afro in 2009 with a blog and Facebook. The organization spans 18 cities and has 7,000 active members across the country. Just like that, Mapp knew an MBA wasn't in her near future. Instead, she decided to combine everything she loved — from nature to community to technology — into an organization that would reconnect African-Americans to the outdoors. …. She started writing about her love of nature, and her experience of being the only black person at many hiking and camping activities. That story resonated with a lot of other African-Americans, who would write her to say that they, too, were tired of being the "only one." …. Six years after its launch, there are 30 trained leaders in cities across the United States and 7,000 active members. …. As part of the latest round of training, Outdoor Afro recently held three days of intensive workshops at the National Conservation Training Center in West Virginia, covering everything from how to dress for different outings, to pointing out flora and fauna, to getting the word out on social media. …. "There was a lot of interest, but no one came but me. It was a real learning experience about people getting to know me and getting to know what people want to know before they go out." …. Autumn Saxton-Ross leads Outdoor Afro events around Washington, D.C. Growing up, her grandmother used to take her to Watermelon Hill in Kansas City's Swope Park. Until desegregation, it was the only place in the park that black people were allowed to visit.” …. . For many Outdoor Afro volunteers, their favorite outdoor place growing up was their grandparents' backyard. "It's important for us to remember that nature is really anything outdoors," says Saxton-Ross. "It's not just these big spaces like Yosemite." …. ." Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and hero of the Underground Railroad, is remembered as a naturalist who understood waterways, astronomy, herbal medicine and geography. That understanding helped her move enslaved Africans from the South to freedom in the North. George Washington Carver is honored as a scientist who employed sustainable agricultural practices more than a century ago.”

“For her, it has been a really emotional experience, an opportunity to be around other passionate outdoor enthusiasts and a chance to help more African-Americans feel at home in spaces that have largely been seen as for whites.” This article saddens me. The hidden story of racism is not lost on me in the naming of the black people’s park “Watermelon Hill.” That’s just disgusting. It’s like the time when the great singer Marian Anderson was barred from singing to an integrated audience at Constitution Hall by the DAR. That was in 1939. FDR and his wife Eleanor assisted her in setting up a concert at the Lincoln Center some months later where she sang before an audience of 75,000 people and an international radio broadcast. These bad things have happened in the past, but they simply don’t happen as much now. I wouldn’t advise going out into the woods without a companion because if there should be some kind of accident or injury it’s better to have someone to help out. Black people should be safe going into state or national parks or historical sites, but again a companion, or better still a group, is always safer.

A good bit of what is going on here, though, is that “city folks” of all colors and genders have a greater tendency to fear virtually all lifeforms beyond dogs and cats, so to see (eeekk!) a lizard is not a pleasure. I disagree. Lizards are almost always harmless, and are very pretty. There is one in the Western US deserts called a gila monster which can bite and inject a toxin into the skin, so leave them alone!! There are few animals that affect me in a purely fearful way because I have been exposed to them from my youngest memories. Even with those few that do bother me, however, there have been few cases out in a forest when I actually met one of the scary things. I did once almost step right down on top of a coiled copperhead snake (eeeekk!!), have more than once run into spider webs strung across the path -- remember to pick up a lightweight stick some four feet long before you go into the woods to wave in front of you and knock down the spider webs -- and I have seen bats at dusk flying around overhead eating flying insects. Bats do carry rabies, but if they aren’t down on the ground, salivating, in convulsions or hanging in a tree during the daytime they are probably not infected with it. The rule is if you do see a bat out in the daytime, absolutely don’t touch it. “Look but don’t touch” is usually a good rule when you’re out in the world of Mother Nature. PS – before you take off down a woodsy path go to the Internet and google “poison oak, poison ivy and poison sumac.” They won’t kill you, but they will surely make you unhappy if you touch them. Don’t forget to spray your legs and arms down with insect repellant and then take a full shower when you get home. Ticks and “redbugs” can be washed off, and the oil from poison ivy etc. also can. The skin cream called “Skin So Soft” has a chemical in it that some think repels mosquitos, but I don’t know about ticks. And of course, unless you are very certain what they are, don’t eat berries, etc. that you find there. The herbaceous plant deadly nightshade has berries on it that can be mistaken for blueberries.

So if there are all those dangerous things in the woods, why go there?? Because the whole range of life can be found there and it is endlessly fascinating to me. Cities and even farms have been sprayed with weedkillers and poisons to get rid of insects, etc., so you just won’t ever see some of the most beautiful and interesting things in the city. Some of my most wonderful experiences in the woods include the following:

1) Finding a huge lime green luna moth on the underside of a tree leaf that seemed to me to be hanging in a different way from the others. Moths are nocturnal, so it was hiding on the backside of the leaf waiting for the sun to go down. It made no move as I examined it closely. I felt blessed.
2) Finding a cluster of maturing frog eggs in a tiny little stream; I could see the little tadpoles growing inside them.
3) Finding a “fairy ring” which is a circular growth of mushrooms. Some mushrooms spread outward from their starting point in a circle by sending out “mycelia” or little rootlike structures from which another mushroom will grow. That circle of new mushrooms then form into the “fairy ring.” The “old ones” in Europe and England thought that fairies danced there.
4) Numerous small mammals from chipmunks and squirrels to rabbits or even predators like foxes and raccoons are there in the woods even when you don’t see them. They hide from humans. All mammals are capable of carrying rabies, so just observe from a safe distance. Do not touch them. They will assume it to be an attack and bite, scratch, hiss or growl, etc. Love and admire them, but respect them.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/man-to-live-atop-billboard-to-protest-st-louis-killings/

Man to live atop billboard to protest St. Louis killings
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS/AP
July 10, 2015

Photograph -- Daniel "Boone" Fuller talks to reporters from atop a billboard in St. Louis on July 9, 2015. BILL GREENBLATT, UPI VIA CBS ST. LOUIS

ST. LOUIS - With St. Louis homicides increasing, a billboard company owner is taking his anti-violence activism to new heights, at least for a time.

Daniel "Boone" Fuller, who owns more than 500 billboards in the region, climbed one of them Thursday -- his 50th birthday -- and vowed to remain there until the city goes seven days without a homicide.

The latest crime statistics suggest he might be there a while. Released Tuesday by the police department, they show there were 22 homicides in St. Louis last month, compared to just six in June of 2014.

As of the end of June, St. Louis has logged 92 killings, the vast majority them gun-related. That's roughly 60 percent more than the 58 during the same period in 2014.

The last time St. Louis went at least a full week without a homicide was a nine-day stretch from late February through early March, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported.

"Every day I picked up the paper last month, there was a murder here, a murder there," said Fuller, a third-generation bill poster and Minnesota native whose company, AdUnity Media, has billboards in some of St. Louis' highest-crime areas. "We must stop the killing now, not later."

On Friday, Fuller awoke to good news after having spent his first night on the billboard: one day down with no murders, reports CBS St. Louis.

"I think this could highlight how easy it would be to say to somebody, 'Hey, calm down. Don't shoot your neighbor,'" Fuller told the station.

Fuller said his protest largely was motivated by a contest -- "Art For Goodness Sake" -- that his company helped sponsor. The contest solicited drawings focusing on bolstering local goodwill and unity in the region rocked racially by last summer's shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, and killed by a white police officer in nearby Ferguson.

Six winning entries were chosen from roughly 350 entries in a contest accompanied by a GoFundMe.com effort to raise money to place billboards with socially conscious themes. Some of those winning slogans: "Spill paint, not blood. Put down the pistol" and "Stop and think. Stop the violence now." Another finalist shows a sketch of a black girl next to a white boy, along with the caption, "Why can't we be friends?"

Fuller said he's confident he'll be climbing back down the ladder after a week, his mission accomplished with seven homicide-free days. But he said he would abandon his efforts if put in danger by lightning in the area or if anyone fires upon him.

St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson has said he supports Fuller's efforts, reports CBS St. Louis.




“Daniel "Boone" Fuller, who owns more than 500 billboards in the region, climbed one of them Thursday -- his 50th birthday -- and vowed to remain there until the city goes seven days without a homicide. …. As of the end of June, St. Louis has logged 92 killings, the vast majority them gun-related. That's roughly 60 percent more than the 58 during the same period in 2014. The last time St. Louis went at least a full week without a homicide was a nine-day stretch from late February through early March, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported. …. On Friday, Fuller awoke to good news after having spent his first night on the billboard: one day down with no murders, reports CBS St. Louis. "I think this could highlight how easy it would be to say to somebody, 'Hey, calm down. Don't shoot your neighbor,'" Fuller told the station. Fuller said his protest largely was motivated by a contest -- "Art For Goodness Sake" -- that his company helped sponsor. The contest solicited drawings focusing on bolstering local goodwill and unity …. . Some of those winning slogans: "Spill paint, not blood. Put down the pistol" and "Stop and think. Stop the violence now." Another finalist shows a sketch of a black girl next to a white boy, along with the caption, "Why can't we be friends?" Fuller said he's confident he'll be climbing back down the ladder after a week, his mission accomplished with seven homicide-free days. But he said he would abandon his efforts if put in danger by lightning in the area or if anyone fires upon him.”

Efforts like this can help engender public involvement in what does need to be a community effort. Partly because we are basically lazy as a population and often spoiled, we sit on the couch, watch a football game and drink beer. There’s a racial incident mentioned in the news and we say, “Not my neighborhood” and ignore it. This man is involving himself in the solutions. The contest he sponsored was enlightened and got quite a number of entries, 350, of which 6 were chosen to be produced using a gofundme account. His moving to the top of one of his billboards shows guts, imagination and a sense of humor. I’m impressed! The slogans “Spill paint, not blood” are arresting and will perhaps make people realize that if we just “stop and think” it could save a life. I notice the Police Chief Sam Dotson has praised his effort, and one night has already passed without a murder. Good luck to him!





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/1-1-million-evacuated-as-typhoon-pounds-china/

1.1 million evacuated as typhoon pounds China
CBS/AP
July 11, 2015

Photograph -- china-typhoon.jpg
People look on as waves, under the influence of Typhoon Chan-hom, hit the shore in Wenling, Zhejiang province, China, July 10, 2015. REUTERS

BEIJING -- A typhoon pounded the Chinese coast south of Shanghai on Saturday with strong winds and heavy rainfall, submerging roads, felling trees and forcing the evacuation of 1.1 million people.

Typhoon Chan-hom slammed ashore with winds of up to 100 miles per hour near Zhoushan, a city east of the port of Ningbo in Zhejiang province. It has dumped more than four inches of rain since late Friday -- about a month's average in less than 24 hours, China Central Television and the Xinhua News Agency reported.

No deaths or injuries have been reported by Saturday evening.

"It was so windy that the rain came in through the windows even though they were closed," Zhoushan resident Zhang Zhouqun, 53, manager of a logistics company, said in a telephone interview.

The storm felled 10-year-old trees in his neighborhood, stranded cars in two feet of water and swamped half the fields, Zhang said. Police were out barring people from trying to drive. At the urging of local officials, Zhang's family had stocked up a few days' worth of groceries, he said.

Some 1.1 million people had been evacuated from coastal areas of Zhejiang and more than 46,000 in neighboring Jiangsu province ahead of the storm, Xinhua said. The provincial flood control bureau said 51,000 ships had been ordered back to port.

The national weather service said earlier the typhoon might be the strongest to strike China since the communist government took power in 1949. It initially was deemed a super-typhoon but was downgraded at midday Saturday to a strong typhoon and was weakening further as it moved inland.

Heavy downpour was reported in some areas, including the village of Lai'ao, which recorded more than 16 inches of rain, according to Xinhua.

In Shanghai, all flights out of Pudong International Airport and Hongqiao Airport were cancelled because of the typhoon, state broadcaster CCTV said, according to Reuters.

More than 100 trains and 600 flights were canceled in the cities of Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou and Taizhou, according to Xinhua. Buses and passenger ferries also suspended service.

Earlier, Chan-hom caused 20 injuries as it moved over islands in southern Japan, Kyodo news agency reported.

The storm dumped rain on the northern Philippines and Taiwan, where several flights were suspended. The stock market and public offices were closed Friday in Taipei, Taiwan's capital.

Chan-hom is the second major storm to hit China this week, after Typhoon Linfa forced 56,000 people from their homes in the southern province of Guangdong province.




“Typhoon Chan-hom slammed ashore with winds of up to 100 miles per hour near Zhoushan, a city east of the port of Ningbo in Zhejiang province. It has dumped more than four inches of rain since late Friday -- about a month's average in less than 24 hours, China Central Television and the Xinhua News Agency reported. No deaths or injuries have been reported by Saturday evening. …. The national weather service said earlier the typhoon might be the strongest to strike China since the communist government took power in 1949. It initially was deemed a super-typhoon but was downgraded at midday Saturday to a strong typhoon and was weakening further as it moved inland.”

I have heard that typhoons are more dangerous than hurricanes, but if you’re talking about Andrew, Hugo, Hazel, Katrina, etc., that may not be true. Still, most of our US storms don’t have winds as high as 100 mph when they hit land. Luckily, too, they weaken shortly after they get away from the ocean whose warm water fuels the storm. They can still be very dangerous. Both Andrew and Katrina weakened shortly before they hit land, but then increased again. In both those cases the weather bureau hadn’t been prepared for what happened. New Orleans should have been fully evacuated, but of course that didn’t happen, and then when the levee broke the disaster was complete. I’ll never forget the news footage on both those storms. I am glad to say that Jacksonville is thought to have a protection of sorts from direct hits by hurricanes in the form of the little peninsula of land made up of Georgia and its sea islands jutting out into the ocean to the north of us. It seems to steer the flow of the storm out to sea lots of times. In 1963 one did come in directly here, though, and it flooded the city, knocking out power for a good two weeks.

I experienced one of my own. When Floyd was just offshore I was sure we would be hit and made a last minute halfhearted attempt to drive north on the Interstate I95. That was ridiculous – all northbound lanes were so full of cars that they were barely moving. I went over to the Westside of the city instead where I found a shelter. As I was sitting in traffic looking at the jam up of cars below, I looked at the sky. Row after row of heavy black clouds were lined up waiting to come onshore. It looked like an invading army. The sight of them gave me butterflies in my stomach, I won’t lie. I’m never going to fool with a hurricane again. If I have to leave I’ll do it much earlier and probably go west instead of north. I remember one storm after Floyd that the whole set of southbound lanes on I95 were closed so that the people from the south could use them to go north. Now that was logical!

With Floyd, thank goodness, the brunt of the storm didn’t hit us after all, though, and just went up to NC to beat up on my home state. Hurricanes are almost impossible to predict, either in their strength or their path, and above all shouldn’t be underestimated. Parts of Jacksonville will flood in a heavy thunderstorm, and certainly anything stronger.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/expandable-shoes-aim-to-keep-up-with-kids-growing-feet/

Expandable shoes aim to keep up with kids' growing feet
By ELAINE QUIJANO CBS NEWS
July 11, 2015

Video -- Kenton Lee, left, got the idea for expandable shoes while working in Kenya. CBS NEWS

Just about every parent has had that feeling, looking at the feet of their fast-growing children: "Time to buy another pair of shoes already?"

It's especially challenging for those living in poverty. Now one man has come up with a solution: a shoe that grows right along with the kid.

Kenton Lee was volunteering at an orphanage in Kenya seven years ago when he noticed a common problem.

"Next to me was a little girl in a white dress and I looked down and was shocked," Lee told CBS News. "Her shoes were so small, she had to cut open the front of her shoes to let her toes stick out."

He also saw kids missing school after being infected by soil-transmitted parasites, a problem the World Health Organization says affects 2 billion people globally. That's when he came up with an idea -- footwear that grows with a child.

"When kids have shoes that fit, they stay healthy," he said. "When they stay healthy, they've got chances to succeed."

Lee tried unsuccessfully to make his own prototype and later approached several shoe companies with his idea. No one was interested.

So he brought his vision to a shoe development company founded by a former Nike executive.

"They were just incredible," Lee said. "We told them our idea, they loved it, they totally saw what we were trying to do."

The company, Proof of Concept, donated its time and technical expertise. The result was The Shoe That Grows -- the first project for Lee's nonprofit, Because International. The shoes are made of leather and rubber and expand five sizes.

"Our shoe grows in the front, with the post, on the sides with the snaps and on the back with the buckle," Lee demonstrated.

Now, 3,000 pairs of the shoes are on kids' feet and 5,000 more are expected to be delivered this month.

Word is spreading. Lee said he's been inundated with calls from people in the U.S. who also want the shoes for their children.

He is also working on a more enclosed version of the footwear that offers even better protection. Ultimately, he hopes the shoes will help lead children around the world down a healthier path.




“Lee tried unsuccessfully to make his own prototype and later approached several shoe companies with his idea. No one was interested. So he brought his vision to a shoe development company founded by a former Nike executive. "They were just incredible," Lee said. "We told them our idea, they loved it, they totally saw what we were trying to do." The company, Proof of Concept, donated its time and technical expertise. The result was The Shoe That Grows -- the first project for Lee's nonprofit, Because International. The shoes are made of leather and rubber and expand five sizes.” …. Word is spreading. Lee said he's been inundated with calls from people in the U.S. who also want the shoes for their children. He is also working on a more enclosed version of the footwear that offers even better protection. Ultimately, he hopes the shoes will help lead children around the world down a healthier path.”

Go to the website to see a photo of the shoe. It is basically a sandal with rows of little upright “posts” lined up across the top of it on either side, at the front and at the back. The sides consist of rubber or leather of different lengths with holes in a number of places so as to fit over the posts, adjusting it inward for a smaller foot and outward as the foot grows. The front and back flaps attach to snaps on the top. It looks a little funny but when a family can’t afford a new pair every six months or less, the way it looks probably won’t upset anyone much. More importantly it keeps the kids from walking in the dirt. When I was young there were parts of the rural South where poor kids didn’t have shoes either and were prey to hookworm. This Wikipedia article on hookworm is appalling. I think I’ll probably never go barefoot outdoors again!


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm_infection

Hookworm infection
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hookworm infection, also known as hookworm disease, is an infection by a parasitic bloodsucking roundworm. Hookworm infections include ancylostomiasis and necatoriasis. These worms live in the small intestine of their host, which may be a bird or a mammal such as a dog, cat, or human. Hookworm infection in pregnancy can cause retarded growth of the fetus, premature birth and a low birth weight. Hookworms in children can cause intellectual, cognitive and growth problems.

The most significant risk of hookworm infection is anemia, secondary to loss of iron (and protein) in the gut. The worms suck blood voraciously and damage the mucosa. However, the blood loss in the stools is not visibly apparent.

Hookworm infection affects over half a billion people globally.[1] It is a leading cause of maternal and child morbidity in the developing countries of the tropics and subtropics. In developed countries, hookworm infection is rarely fatal, but anemia can be significant in a heavily infected individual. Hookworm infection is a soil-transmitted helminthiasis and therefore classified as a neglected tropical disease.[2] Ancylostomiasis, is the disease caused when Ancylostoma duodenale hookworms, present in large numbers, produce an iron deficiency anemia by sucking blood from the host's intestinal walls.

Life cycle[edit]

Hookworm life cycle
See the image for the biological life cycle of the hookworm where it thrives in warm earth where temperatures are over 18 °C. They exist primarily in sandy or loamy soil and cannot live in clay or muck. …. Infection of the host is by the larvae, not the eggs. While A. duodenale can be ingested, the usual method of infection is through the skin; this is commonly caused by walking barefoot through areas contaminated with fecal matter. The larvae are able to penetrate the skin of the foot, and once inside the body, they migrate through the vascular system to the lungs, and from there up the trachea, and are swallowed. They then pass down the esophagus and enter the digestive system, finishing their journey in the intestine, where the larvae mature into adult worms.[3][9]