Tuesday, July 28, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-joe-biden-run-for-president/


Should Joe Biden run for president?
By STEPHANIE CONDON
CBS NEWS
July 27, 2015

Photograph -- Vice President Joe Biden speaks to workers at Bobrick Washroom Equipment in Los Angeles on July 22, 2015, where he came to discuss the "importance of increasing the minimum wage to give anyone who works hard every day the chance to earn a livable wage.'' FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Vice President Joe Biden has yet to say whether he'll throw his hat into the ring for the White House, and Democrats across the country are wondering for how much longer they'll have to wait to find out.

Biden's potential candidacy was up for debate last week among a group of Democrats in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Boston Globe reports. Some Democrats in the key early-nominating state aren't waiting any longer for him.

"It was time to make a move," longtime Biden supporter Dave O'Brien told the Globe. O'Brien recently signed up to assist Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "I would feel horrible if Joe were to decide to run and I was not at his side, but my word is good and my commitment has been made," O'Brien said.

Meanwhile, the group Draft Biden -- a super PAC formed by the Democrats' grassroots supporters -- is ratcheting up its campaign to recruit the VP into the race. On Friday, the group released a digital ad in which a diverse group of people declare they are "ridin' with Biden."

"He is right now a part of one of the most influential administrations this country has seen in recent history, and he's a big reason for that success," one Biden supporter says in the ad.

Over the weekend, Draft Biden held a series of events as part of its National Day of Action, including meet-ups in Iowa, South Carolina, Virginia, California, Illinois, Biden's home state of Delaware, and elsewhere. Yet as the Boston Globe noted, the group has raised just around $80,000 in the last three months.

Biden has said he'll make a decision about entering the race by the end of the summer, though the longer he waits, the more difficult it will be to lock down support from big-name donors or build up campaign infrastructure.

But just last month, CBS News' Julianna Goldman reported that Biden was in no position to make a decision about 2016, given the recent death of his 46-year-old son Beau Biden.

"He's just not in the right state of mind" to think about the race, Goldman reported last month after talking to sources close to Biden.

At the same time, Goldman reported, "People around him think he'd be able to activate a donor network pretty quickly." Moreover, he as motivation to run: "He's passionate about the plight of the middle class," she said.

One big factor may be how well Clinton's campaign does this summer. Biden "doesn't want to get in just to be a sparring partner for Hillary Clinton," Goldman said.

Over the course of the past year, Biden has maintained a consistent base of support -- hovering around 10 percent -- among Democratic voters both nationally and in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

While Clinton has dominated the race for the Democratic nomination, there's clearly at least some thirst among Democrats for an alternative. Since outspoken liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, entered the race, his support among Democrats nationally has risen to nearly 20 percent.

Meanwhile, Clinton could become more politically vulnerable as Republicans continue to shine a harsh spotlight on her use of a private email account as secretary of state. More of her emails from her tenure in the Obama administration are slated to be released this week. And the issue is sure to come up when Clinton publicly testifies later this year before the House Select Committee on Benghazi.

The focus on her emails could keep Clinton from talking about issues that really matter to voters, Bloomberg Politics managing editor John Heilemann said on CBS This Morning on Monday.

"This issue is blotting out the sun for her in terms of her trying to get her message out," he said. The issue, he said, "will continue to dog her until she eventually has to answer every question -- as her husband likes to say, until the last dog dies."




“Meanwhile, the group Draft Biden -- a super PAC formed by the Democrats' grassroots supporters -- is ratcheting up its campaign to recruit the VP into the race. On Friday, the group released a digital ad in which a diverse group of people declare they are "ridin' with Biden." …. But just last month, CBS News' Julianna Goldman reported that Biden was in no position to make a decision about 2016, given the recent death of his 46-year-old son Beau Biden. "He's just not in the right state of mind" to think about the race, Goldman reported last month after talking to sources close to Biden. At the same time, Goldman reported, "People around him think he'd be able to activate a donor network pretty quickly." Moreover, he as motivation to run: "He's passionate about the plight of the middle class," she said. …. Over the course of the past year, Biden has maintained a consistent base of support -- hovering around 10 percent -- among Democratic voters both nationally and in key states like Iowa and New Hampshire. While Clinton has dominated the race for the Democratic nomination, there's clearly at least some thirst among Democrats for an alternative. Since outspoken liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, entered the race, his support among Democrats nationally has risen to nearly 20 percent. …. More of her emails from her tenure in the Obama administration are slated to be released this week. And the issue is sure to come up when Clinton publicly testifies later this year before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The focus on her emails could keep Clinton from talking about issues that really matter to voters ….”

I’m in a quandary. Bernie may be overshadowed by the fear among our blue collar workers of the term “socialist;” Hillary has “I don’t bake cookies” through to Benghazi to overcome; Biden is considered by some to be careless in what he says and sometimes handy with the ladies. He is a handsome and pleasant man, after all. The others are not as well-known as leaders in the party. They need to step forward and announce their intentions while defining their operating principles clearly.

Personally right now I want to see Sanders come forward strongly into the lead because he has the right principles for a free and economically sound nation which takes care of its’ human beings rather than merely its’ corporations and very wealthy individuals. He’s my man.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-lawyer-you-cannot-rape-your-spouse/

Trump's lawyer apologizes for saying "You cannot rape your spouse"
By REBECCA KAPLAN CBS NEWS
July 28, 2015

Donald Trump's lawyer apologized Tuesday for comments he made to a "Daily Beast" reporter saying, "You cannot rape your spouse."

"Rarely am I surprised by the press, but the gall of this particular reporter to make such a reprehensible and false allegation against Mr. Trump truly stunned me. In my moment of shock and anger, I made an inarticulate comment - which I do not believe - and which I apologize for entirely," Cohen said in a statement.

The lawyer, Michael Cohen, made threats against a reporter who was writing about a decades-old allegation of rape by Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump. Ivana Trump used the term "rape" to describe a sexual encounter between her and her husband when she was giving a deposition during the couple's 1990 divorce.

"You're talking about the frontrunner for the GOP, presidential candidate, as well as a private individual who never raped anybody. And, of course, understand that by the very definition, you can't rape your spouse," Cohen had told "The Daily Beast." "You cannot rape your spouse. And there's very clear case law."

By 1993, marital rape was illegal in all 50 states. New York's marital rape exception was struck down in 1984.

Ivana Trump has gradually walked back the "rape" accusation since 1990. In a statement provided to CBS News after the "Daily Beast" story was published, she said she made the allegation "at a time of very high tension during my divorce from Donald."

"The story is totally without merit," she said. "Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised 3 children that we love and are very proud of. I have nothing but fondness for Donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign."

"Incidentally," she added, "I think he would make an incredible president."

In 1993, reporter Harry Hurt III published a book called "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump" that included an extended description of the alleged rape scene. At the time, Ivana Trump provided a statement that was published in the book that said, "I felt violated" during the 1989 incident. She acknowledges she referred to it as a "rape," but said, "I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense."

In the story published by "The Daily Beast," Cohen not only vigorously denied the rape charges but is also quoted telling reporter Tim Mak, "I'm going to mess your life up."

"I will make sure that you and I meet one day while we're in the courthouse. And I will take you for every penny you still don't have. And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know," Cohen said. "So I'm warning you, tread very f***ing lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting. You understand me?"

In an interview on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday, Mak said the situation "devolved pretty quickly."

Mak said he was prompted to look into any rape charges against Trump after the presidential candidate described Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists in his announcement speech.

He said that Trump should respond to the rape allegations.

"Trump should be held accountable for this allegation. He should be asked pretty directly what he thinks of it and how he would like to respond," Mak said on "CBS This Morning."

He added that since Michael Cohen has represented Trump in the media on past occasions, "it's very obvious that Trump has had no problem with Michael Cohen, his special counsel, speaking on his behalf in the past."

As for the threats made by Cohen, Mak said he's not that worried.

"I'm all that concerned what might be coming my way. I think he should be asked a few hard questions whether he agrees with his lawyer's interpretation of law, which is wrong, that spousal rape exists and its not illegal," he said.




“In my moment of shock and anger, I made an inarticulate comment - which I do not believe - and which I apologize for entirely," Cohen said in a statement. The lawyer, Michael Cohen, made threats against a reporter who was writing about a decades-old allegation of rape by Trump's first wife, Ivana Trump. Ivana Trump used the term "rape" to describe a sexual encounter between her and her husband when she was giving a deposition during the couple's 1990 divorce. …. ." "You cannot rape your spouse. And there's very clear case law." By 1993, marital rape was illegal in all 50 states. New York's marital rape exception was struck down in 1984. …. "The story is totally without merit," she said. "Donald and I are the best of friends and together have raised 3 children that we love and are very proud of. I have nothing but fondness for Donald and wish him the best of luck on his campaign." …. In 1993, reporter Harry Hurt III published a book called "Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J. Trump" that included an extended description of the alleged rape scene. At the time, Ivana Trump provided a statement that was published in the book that said, "I felt violated" during the 1989 incident. She acknowledges she referred to it as a "rape," but said, "I do not want my words to be interpreted in a literal or criminal sense." …. . And I will come after your Daily Beast and everybody else that you possibly know," Cohen said. "So I'm warning you, tread very f***ing lightly, because what I'm going to do to you is going to be f***ing disgusting. You understand me?" In an interview on "CBS This Morning" Tuesday, Mak said the situation "devolved pretty quickly." …. As for the threats made by Cohen, Mak said he's not that worried. "I'm all that concerned what might be coming my way. I think he should be asked a few hard questions whether he agrees with his lawyer's interpretation of law, which is wrong, that spousal rape exists and it’s not illegal," he said.”

Politicians and lawyers should be ever so honest financially, ethical in relation to their fellow man, and well controlled in their use or abuse of power. If they were we would call them “statesmen” and purveyors of justice. Unfortunately a good quarter or more of them are greedy and unscrupulous. This lawyer Cohen is obviously in that category. He also has a personal bond with Trump I would think, or he wouldn’t respond with such anger in Trump’s defense. That outburst of profanity went beyond defense into the realm of fury. I wonder how many late night talks they have had over drinks discussing the sexuality and inferiority of women. He definitely should have known that the supposed legality of spousal rape had been overturned. If he knew it, why did he spontaneously come out with such a comment when defending Trump against the Daily Beast. They are known to be left of center or at least left of the Tea Party, but that is their right – freedom of the press, you know. He threatened this reporter Mak, saying "I'm going to mess your life up." That didn’t stop Mak from making his own strong, but comparatively more cogent response with no profanity. If he’s afraid, he doesn’t show it.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/principals-suicide-forged-tests-teachers-college-community-school-new-york/

Principal's suicide, forged tests rock NYC school
CBS/AP July 28, 2015

Photograph -- Teachers College Community School in Harlem
GOOGLE MAPS

NEW YORK -- Jeanene Worrell-Breeden had what she called a dream job running a public school linked with Columbia University's Teachers College when she killed herself by jumping in front of a subway car this spring.

Three months later, the city Department of Education says there was more to her sad story: The principal had fudged answers on third-graders' state English exams, and authorities learned of the cheating allegations the same day she made her fatal leap. All the school's third-grade English scores have been thrown out in the first year its students took the important test.

The scandal has stirred sorrow and uncertainty after a promising start for Teachers College Community School and clouded the career of a Wall Street worker-turned-educator who'd earned praise for her approach.

"People are devastated," Sanayi Canton, a second-grade parent and president of a local education panel, said Monday. "It has always been a very open and honest and transparent situation that we've been a part of."

The allegations, which the city Education Department said it substantiated, come amid debate over testing and the national standards known as the Common Core; teachers' unions and some parents say education is too driven by high-pressure tests, while officials say tests are tools to improve schools. Educators have been accused of doctoring scores before; 11 were convicted of criminal charges in a notorious Atlanta case this April.

Meanwhile, Teachers College Community School seemed poised to prosper in its first round of Common Core tests, which factor in teacher and principal evaluations.

Intended to pair a public school with the research and other capacities of a noted teacher-education program, Teachers College Community School boasts $30 million in backing from Columbia, graduate students helping out in classrooms and such extra features as a robotics program. Opened in 2011, the Harlem school is on track to enroll over 200 students in prekindergarten to fourth grade. Plans ultimately call for about 300 students going up to eighth grade.

Worrell-Breeden, 49, came to the $138,000-a-year job from six years as principal at a Bronx elementary school and over two decades in the city school system.

"This is a chance to build the school of my dreams," the former finance worker said in a Teachers College profile at the time.

The school quickly developed a reputation that drew 464 applications for 50 kindergarten spots this year. A 2013 Education Department review praised its supportive environment and "deep sense of trust and respect," while suggesting tougher academic challenges for top students. Parents appreciated the tone of openness that Worrell-Breeden set, including through regular parent breakfasts.

"We don't have one bad thing to say" about the school, said kindergarten parent Kathie Holsenbeck. "And that's why it's so unfortunate that the actions of one person are going to taint it - because it really shouldn't."

Parents were stunned when they heard in April that Worrell-Breeden had died, unsettled again when officials said the English test scores were being invalidated. But it would be months before they learned the whole truth, parents said.

Worrell-Breeden was seen leaping onto a Harlem subway track on April 17, police said. Her death eight days later was ruled a suicide.

The day she jumped, someone told Education Department investigators that Worrell-Breeden had confided she forged answers on multiple third-graders' April 14 exams because the children hadn't finished them, according to a department memo released Monday.

It's unclear whether she knew about the investigation, first reported by the New York Post. The Education Department said Worrell-Breeden died without being questioned, but the agency wouldn't say whether she had been contacted about the allegations.

A working telephone number for her family couldn't immediately be found.

The school referred questions to the Education Department, where spokeswoman Devora Kaye emphasized the importance of test integrity and said the agency was working to help the school. Pupils won't be held back because of the invalid results, officials said.

Teachers College spokesman Jim Gardner said it remains committed to the school.

So do parents such as Holsenbeck and Canton, even if they feel bewildered.

"Why would she do that? . . . It doesn't fit her personality," Canton said. "It's a lot of unanswered questions."

The New York Post reported that Teachers College Community School and hired Worrell-Breeden despite a 2009 investigation that found she was collecting overtime pay while she was actually training with a personal trainer at her former school in the Bronx.




“The scandal has stirred sorrow and uncertainty after a promising start for Teachers College Community School and clouded the career of a Wall Street worker-turned-educator who'd earned praise for her approach. "People are devastated," Sanayi Canton, a second-grade parent and president of a local education panel, said Monday. "It has always been a very open and honest and transparent situation that we've been a part of." The allegations, which the city Education Department said it substantiated, come amid debate over testing and the national standards known as the Common Core; teachers' unions and some parents say education is too driven by high-pressure tests, while officials say tests are tools to improve schools. Educators have been accused of doctoring scores before; 11 were convicted of criminal charges in a notorious Atlanta case this April. …. Intended to pair a public school with the research and other capacities of a noted teacher-education program, Teachers College Community School boasts $30 million in backing from Columbia, graduate students helping out in classrooms and such extra features as a robotics program. …. . A 2013 Education Department review praised its supportive environment and "deep sense of trust and respect," while suggesting tougher academic challenges for top students. …. The day she jumped, someone told Education Department investigators that Worrell-Breeden had confided she forged answers on multiple third-graders' April 14 exams because the children hadn't finished them, according to a department memo released Monday. It's unclear whether she knew about the investigation, first reported by the New York Post. The Education Department said Worrell-Breeden died without being questioned, but the agency wouldn't say whether she had been contacted about the allegations.”

Several years ago there was a case of teachers standing over the shoulders of students who were taking the test and telling them the answers, and to erase their original answer. Another case in the news mentioned that the grading service for a test had found a suspiciously large number of erasures on student tests. Teachers for years have been trying to influence the scores, either by directly cheating or by “teaching to the test.” After all, what the students write on their tests can make or break the ratings that both teachers and schools are given. Failing students mean s a failing school.

It is sad that this principal actually committed suicide, but she should have resisted the temptation to cheat on the tests. That isn’t a good solution to the problems caused, some think, by Common Core, in that the number and difficulty of annual tests given to kids nowadays may be detrimental rather than helpful. I agree with that. We had no such situation as teachers “teaching to the test,” or – heaven forbid – cheating on the kids scores, when I was in school. I do remember several standardized tests, but there weren’t as many as now, and I didn’t find them very difficult. The logical purpose of testing is to see what each individual student has learned and improve on it if possible. Moving a whole group of kids forward without the inevitable variances in their abilities is probably not the best goal. Tutoring on an individual basis or summer school for an entire classroom who all did poorly would be appropriate. Teachers should be observed occasionally in the classroom to see how well they explain and present material, and maintain discipline. That’s my view. Standardized tests shouldn’t become such a burden that both kids and school officials are really traumatized, and that is what happened in this particular case. Besides, the idea that there is no room for argument and discussion on the matter of what, after all, is true, is to me brainwashing and much too controlling. My best teachers encouraged discussion rather than rote memorization of sound bites of information. Kids who question more will inevitably learn more. They will enjoy the process and will read on their own beyond the school assignments. That’s a good thing. I know, they might pick up controversial ideas that way, but in balance they will do much better. The only memorization I defend is those long elegant poems such as “The Raven” and “The Rime of The Ancient Mariner.” Listening to those is good for the soul. Some highly technical information such as medical or legal knowledge has to be at least partially memorized, but that isn’t taught in high school.

I think Common Core is useful in bringing curricula in line with a better definition of a quality education. Subjects like the internment of the Japanese in WWII and the hideous Tuskegee syphilis experiment were entirely unknown to me, and I must say beyond my imagination. I couldn’t believe our government had done such things. Everybody in this country hated Hitler, but we were doing some of the same things, including eugenics programs. Many conservatives hate Common Core as being anti-American, because it teaches science and American history in a way more in line with high quality University courses. In other words under Common Core, science is not presented according to fundamentalist Biblical standards; the historical treatment of American Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Hispanics and blacks is not whitewashed as it used to be in high school in my day; the environmental issues such as global warming due to greenhouse gases are presented to young children as serious problems for our own and future generations; the view that poverty is directly caused by laziness, inferiority and dishonesty, etc.; and finally, the view that government should not interfere with that poverty/wealth cycle that we see increasingly in this country is being openly questioned. Being kind to gay kids, etc. is encouraged under Common Core, for instance.

Governor Perry of Texas, for one example, has tried to water this modern “liberal” teaching down in his Texas textbooks. Rewriting textbooks for that purpose is a big “No-No” to me. The Republicans and other conservatives are largely owned body and soul by the Koch brothers and the business community in general, so, to them the USA should be 1) a Christian nation, 2) an absolutely controllable population, and therefore educated no more than they “need” to be to do a particular job, 3) the perfect business environment for the very wealthy and for huge corporations.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gruesome-find-100-bodies-stuffed-into-ancient-house/

Gruesome find: 100 bodies stuffed into ancient house
By OWEN JARUS
LIVESCIENCE.COM
July 28, 2015

Photograph -- The 5,000-year-old house found in China was about 14 by 15 feet in size. PHOTO COURTESY CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY

The remains of 97 human bodies have been found stuffed into a small 5,000-year-old house in a prehistoric village in northeast China, researchers report in two separate studies.

The bodies of juveniles, young adults and middle-age adults were packed together in the house -- smaller than a modern-day squash court -- before it burnt down. Anthropologists who studied the remains say a "prehistoric disaster," possibly an epidemic of some sort, killed these people.

The site, whose modern-day name is "Hamin Mangha," dates back to a time before writing was used in the area, when people lived in relatively small settlements, growing crops and hunting for food. The village contains the remains of pottery, grinding instruments, arrows and spearheads, providing information on their way of life. [In Photos: Remains of 'End of World' Epidemic Found in Ancient Egypt]

"Hamin Mangha site is the largest and best-preserved prehistoric settlement site found to date in northeast China," a team of archaeologists wrote in a translated report published in the most recent edition of the journal Chinese Archaeology (the original report appeared in Chinese in the journal Kaogu). In one field season, between April and November 2011, the researchers found the foundations of 29 houses, most of which are simple one-room structures containing a hearth and doorway.

hamin-mangha-1.jpg
Archaeologists found nearly 100 bodies in a small house in northeast China. The house burned down at some point, leaving some of the bodies charred and deformed. PHOTO COURTESY CHINESE ARCHAEOLOGY

The house with the bodies, dubbed "F40," was just 210 square feet (about 20 square meters). "On the floor, numerous human skeletons are disorderly scattered," the archaeologists wrote.

Photos taken by the archaeologists convey the prehistoric scene better than words do. "The skeletons in the northwest are relatively complete, while those in the east often [have] only skulls, with limb bones scarcely remaining," the archaeologists wrote. "But in the south, limb bones were discovered in a mess, forming two or three layers."

Could this be the world's first known murder? At some point the structure burnt down. The fire likely caused wooden beams of the roof to collapse, leaving parts of skulls and limb bones not only charred but also deformed in some way, the archaeologists wrote.

The remains were never buried and were left behind for archaeologists to discover 5,000 years later.

What happened?

An anthropological team at Jilin University in China is studying the prehistoric remains, trying to determine what happened to these people. The team has published a second study, in Chinese, in the Jilin University Journal - Social Sciences edition, on their finds. (A brief English-language summary of their results is available on the American Association of Physical Anthropologists website.)

The Jilin team found that the people in that house died as the result of a "prehistoric disaster" that resulted in dead bodies being stuffed into the house.

The dead came in faster than they could be buried. "The human bone accumulation in F40 was formed because ancient humans put remains into the house successively and stacked centrally," wrote team leaders Ya Wei Zhou and Hong Zhu in the study.

The team found that about half of the individuals were between 19 and 35 years of age. No remains of older adults were found.

The ages of the victims at Hamin Mangha are similar to those found in another prehistoric mass burial, which was previously unearthed in modern-day Miaozigou in northeast China, the researchers noted.

"This similarity may indicate that the cause of the Hamin Mangha site was similar to that of the Miaozigou sites. That is, they both possibly relate to an outbreak of an acute infectious disease," wrote Zhou and Zhu.

If it was a disease, it killed off people from all age groups quickly, leaving no time for survivors to properly bury the deceased. The scientists did not speculate as to what disease it may have been.

The excavation was carried out by researchers from the Inner Mongolian Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Research Center for Chinese Frontier Archaeology of Jilin University.




“The remains of 97 human bodies have been found stuffed into a small 5,000-year-old house in a prehistoric village in northeast China, researchers report in two separate studies. The bodies of juveniles, young adults and middle-age adults were packed together in the house -- smaller than a modern-day squash court -- before it burnt down. Anthropologists who studied the remains say a "prehistoric disaster," possibly an epidemic of some sort, killed these people. …. In one field season, between April and November 2011, the researchers found the foundations of 29 houses, most of which are simple one-room structures containing a hearth and doorway. …. The Jilin team found that the people in that house died as the result of a "prehistoric disaster" that resulted in dead bodies being stuffed into the house. The dead came in faster than they could be buried. "The human bone accumulation in F40 was formed because ancient humans put remains into the house successively and stacked centrally," wrote team leaders Ya Wei Zhou and Hong Zhu in the study. The team found that about half of the individuals were between 19 and 35 years of age. No remains of older adults were found. …. "This similarity may indicate that the cause of the Hamin Mangha site was similar to that of the Miaozigou sites. That is, they both possibly relate to an outbreak of an acute infectious disease," wrote Zhou and Zhu. If it was a disease, it killed off people from all age groups quickly, leaving no time for survivors to properly bury the deceased. The scientists did not speculate as to what disease it may have been.”

One of the things that I have noticed before about early prehistoric sites is the extremely small houses that they apparently lived in. The dwellings in most Iron Age settlements in the UK were often that small, too. They must have slept all together and huddled up against each other, which may have given them more freedom from the cold in winter. The only heat source was a central hearth. Such close contact would make the spread of diseases a major problem, especially airborne viruses, and the expedient of putting all the bodies in one hut and away from the living would be wise. I wonder if the hut was burned in order to get rid of the cadavers. I can’t imagine living that way. Humans had little control over nature at that point, and a rampaging disease must have been horribly frightening.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dr-seuss-long-lost-book-set-to-be-released-what-pet-should-i-get/

New Dr. Seuss book trips off the tongue; already a hit among the young
By DEAN REYNOLDS CBS NEWS
July 27, 2015

Photograph -- American author and illustrator Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904 - 1991) sits at his drafting table in his home office with a copy of his book, 'The Cat in the Hat', La Jolla, California, April 25, 1957. (Photo by Gene Lester/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES, GENE LESTER

CHICAGO -- A Dr. Seuss story once lost is now found and is due out on bookshelves on Tuesday. For stories in verse, it's the hit of the season. And there's a rhyme, and a good reason.

"What Pet Should I Get?" is Seuss's latest to date. Though written long ago, it was well worth the wait.

The theme is quite simple, any kid understands. "Make up your mind," is what the book demands.

22-dr-seuss.jpg
"Dr. Seuss is more popular now than he was during his lifetime," said Bill Dreyer the Curator for the Art of Seuss.

So many drawings and writings did the doctor produce.

"In the 25 years since he's now been gone, another 450 million books have been sold," said Dreyer.

American author and illustrator Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel, 1904 - 1991) sits at his drafting table in his home office with a copy of his book, 'The Cat in the Hat', La Jolla, California, April 25, 1957. (Photo by Gene Lester/Getty Images) GETTY IMAGES, GENE LESTER
There's a story about "What Pet Should I Get?" How the tale was found is a good tale we bet.

Cathy Goldsmith, VP and Associate Publisher, Random House Young Readers, said though the good doctor's gone, his words just won't quit.

"Shortly after Dr. Seuss died his widow did some renovations in the house and I think the box was packed up then and just forgotten about," she said. "I went literally running down the hall to my bosses office and said they found a box. They want us to come and look. We were literally on a plane like three business days later!"

What they found was his latest work. This book that just trips off the tongue, especially when it's read by the younger than young.

Readers are left to wonder at the end of the book, which pet did they get? But don't feel like a Shnook. A Lorax, an Ooblek are two it could be. Say a Grinch, or a Sneetch. Why not two, why not three?

Another book is what this ending implies.

"I understand from Random House that there are more books that will come out of this find," Dreyer said.

Out of this find? Yes, out of this find. Another Seuss book for you, if you are so inclined.




I was twelve years old or so before I ran into Dr. Seuss. My sister had her first child shortly after that, and that’s the first time I saw any of his books. I was delighted with them – not only were they wildly ridiculous, they were sophisticated and well-produced. When I learned to read we only had books like “Dick and Jane” which was useful only because it repeated the same easy words over and over. They had no story and were boring to me.

The first Dr. Seuss book came out in 1937, but didn’t make a big hit. During the 1940’s he worked as a political cartoonist and during the war with the government on propaganda posters and training films. See the following website for a biography of Geisel’s life -- http://www.biography.com/people/dr-seuss-9479638#early-career - What startled me about the Dr. Seuss books was that they were as funny to me as they were to the young kids. Like Bugs Bunny and Popeye, they were made up of sophisticated humor intermingled with totally wacky horseplay, and with some on adult subjects. “The theme is quite simple, any kid understands. "Make up your mind," is what the book demands.” This description is of this new book just recently found. Dr. Seuss instead of talking down and issuing demands to children, talked “with them” and was aware of their developmental needs. Many parents, even if they don’t physically abuse their children, do mentally and emotionally fail to meet their minds as they exist. “My parents don’t understand me” is a genuine problem, not just a juvenile self-pitying complaint. Reading Dr. Seuss to the young kids can help their emotional well-being as well as their reading. I know I have learned a great deal of an emotional or philosophical nature by reading certain stories. Stories aren't merely useful for light entertainment.

Sunday, July 26, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/world/archbishop-sorondo-qanda/index.html

Pope likely to alter economic message in the U.S., Vatican adviser says
By Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor
Fri July 24, 2015

Photograph -- Bishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo is chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

(CNN)Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo has steered the Pontifical Academy of Sciences since 1998, but it's likely that his profile has never been more robustly public than now.

For the past year, Sanchez Sorondo has teamed with scientists and political leaders to help research, promote and defend Pope Francis' stern and sweeping condemnation of current environmental and economic trends.

Most recently, the archbishop, who, like Francis, hails from Buenos Aires, convened a conference of more than 60 mayors and other local politicians this week at the Vatican.

Sanchez Sorondo spoke with CNN on Friday about the controversy swirling around the Pope's economic and environmental statements, how Francis will likely recalibrate his message this September when he visits in the United States and the leak of the pontiff's environmental statement this summer.

Some of the archbishop's answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Some people might be surprised to hear that the Vatican has a science academy. What is your mission?

A: Yes, that's true, people are often surprised to hear about us. You can see a lot about our mission on our website, but the basic idea is that the church believes that understanding human beings and the Earth requires not only faith but also reason, and not only philosophical reason but also scientific reason.

Q: You just hosted a major conference at the Vatican for mayors and other political leaders around the world. What was the conference's main accomplishment?

A: Part of it was, as the Pope said in his address to the group, to bring awareness that climate change and human trafficking -- a new form of slavery -- are human emergencies.

Some attendees, like California Gov. Jerry Brown, spoke very passionately about protecting the environment. Others, like many mayors in Italy, have more awareness of a new form of slavery, so it was important for them to be able to learn from each other.

Q. It seems like the Vatican is partnering with quite a few people -- the Jewish feminist Naomi Klein, for example -- that would not be seen as traditional church allies. What is the strategy behind that?

A: We understand that in this globalized world we all need to work together. As the Pope says in his encyclical, "Laudato Si," the Earth is our common home.

And as we move towards setting new (United Nations') sustainable development goals, we also understand that one of our key priorities is improving social inclusion.

Q: According to a new poll, the Pope's popularity has declined in the United States by quite a bit recently, mainly because many conservatives are upset with his messages on climate change and income inequality. Is this a cause of concern to you or to others in the Vatican?

A: The Pope said not only in his last document but also in the others, for example "Evangelii Guadium," that we need to work not only to make profits but also to respect the human person.

I would say that this was also very clear in your (the U.S.) Constitution and the great leaders of your country wrote many times about the common good and justice. But many people say, including some economists, that these values are not so present at the moment. I am not sure if that is true, but that is what I have read.

Q: Some American Catholics say they are tired of being scolded by the Pope about doing more for the poor and the disenfranchised. What would you say to them?

A: The project of the Pope is to come back to the Gospel, particularly Christ's first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. It is very clear in that speech that Christ expects us to help those who suffer, especially the poor.

So, the best attitude to receive the Pope's teachings is to understand that he is a religious leader and the essence of his message comes from the Gospel, not from one ideology or another.

And so, if our economic systems are not oriented toward the human person but only concerned with profits, he wants to confront the system and change it. This, by the way, is common to all the popes, it comes directly from the so-called social teachings of the church.

Q: In Latin America, the Pope delivered a sharp speech against capitalism, calling the relentless pursuit of prophets [sic] the "dung of the devil." A lot of people are wondering, will he bring a similar message to the United States this September?

A: I don't know if the Pope wants to repeat that kind of speech. It was very specifically for the World Meeting of Popular Movements. These are people who are very poor: They don't have a house, they don't have work, they don't have land. I think, in your country, people don't have the same needs, so maybe he will speak in another way.

Q: Some prominent Catholics say the Pope should not preach or teach about matters like the environment and economics.

A: I know, I know, and they are very important persons -- some of them are campaigning to become president. But this is a mistake because when the Pope speaks in this area, about creation or nature, he goes back to St. Francis and to the beginnings of the Bible, when God's first gift to mankind is the Earth and all of its creations.

So, this idea that it is not "Christian" to speak of the beauty of creation and about our role to be stewards of that beauty is just insane.

Q: Have you been surprised by any of the reactions to the Pope's statement on the environment, "Laudato Si?"

The majority of reactions were very positive. Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and Archbishop Justin Welby of the Anglican Church wrote a very nice article in The New York Times on the same day the encyclical was published.

A small minority was against it, and of this minority we can say that the underlying reason was because these people live off of oil, and it's clear that the encyclical teaches that the use of this material is not the best thing for the question of climate change and that we need to find new ways to produce energy.

Q: So you are saying that most of the opposition to "Laudato Si" came from the oil and gas industries?

A: Yes, I think so. Because as the Pope says in the encyclical, 90% of the scientific community agrees that climate change is a problem today, and that this (use of oil and gas) is a cause of global warming.

Q: The encyclical was leaked a few days before it was to be published. Did this annoy you?

A: This is a problem typical of journalism, and journalists need to abide by the rules. (The document was embargoed.) The journalist was punished, also, by being banned for a time from the Vatican press room.

Q: The journalist was punished, but what about the person who leaked the document? Was there an investigation into that?

A: Yes.

Q: Do you know who it was?

A: It's very easy to know who it was.

Q: Can you tell me who it was, and whether they will be punished?

A: No, I am sorry. That is not my responsibility.




“Archbishop Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo has steered the Pontifical Academy of Sciences since 1998, but it's likely that his profile has never been more robustly public than now. For the past year, Sanchez Sorondo has teamed with scientists and political leaders to help research, promote and defend Pope Francis' stern and sweeping condemnation of current environmental and economic trends. …. Yes, that's true, people are often surprised to hear about us. You can see a lot about our mission on our website, but the basic idea is that the church believes that understanding human beings and the Earth requires not only faith but also reason, and not only philosophical reason but also scientific reason. …. It seems like the Vatican is partnering with quite a few people -- the Jewish feminist Naomi Klein, for example -- that would not be seen as traditional church allies. What is the strategy behind that? A: We understand that in this globalized world we all need to work together. As the Pope says in his encyclical, "Laudato Si," the Earth is our common home. And as we move towards setting new (United Nations') sustainable development goals, we also understand that one of our key priorities is improving social inclusion. …. because many conservatives are upset with his messages on climate change and income inequality. Is this a cause of concern to you or to others in the Vatican? A: The Pope said not only in his last document but also in the others, for example "Evangelii Guadium," that we need to work not only to make profits but also to respect the human person. I would say that this was also very clear in your (the U.S.) Constitution and the great leaders of your country wrote many times about the common good and justice. But many people say, including some economists, that these values are not so present at the moment. I am not sure if that is true, but that is what I have read. …. The project of the Pope is to come back to the Gospel, particularly Christ's first sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. It is very clear in that speech that Christ expects us to help those who suffer, especially the poor. So, the best attitude to receive the Pope's teachings is to understand that he is a religious leader and the essence of his message comes from the Gospel, not from one ideology or another. …. Some prominent Catholics say the Pope should not preach or teach about matters like the environment and economics. A: I know, I know, and they are very important persons -- some of them are campaigning to become president. But this is a mistake because when the Pope speaks in this area, about creation or nature, he goes back to St. Francis and to the beginnings of the Bible, when God's first gift to mankind is the Earth and all of its creations. So, this idea that it is not "Christian" to speak of the beauty of creation and about our role to be stewards of that beauty is just insane. …. So you are saying that most of the opposition to "Laudato Si" came from the oil and gas industries? A: Yes, I think so. Because as the Pope says in the encyclical, 90% of the scientific community agrees that climate change is a problem today, and that this (use of oil and gas) is a cause of global warming.”

“Some prominent Catholics say the Pope should not preach or teach about matters like the environment and economics. A: I know, I know, and they are very important persons -- some of them are campaigning to become president.” The headline of this article states that the Vatican advisor predicts a change in the Pope’s economic and other teachings “in the US,” but having read this all the way through I found on the contrary that the Pope will likely stick to his guns, though conservative political and economic voices here have been pretty loudly disagreeing with him. Most of the voices at the Vatican council meeting were in favor of the Pope’s Encyclical on global warming and overuse of fossil fuels, says Sorondo, with the exception of “a small minority and of this minority we can say that the underlying reason was because these people live off of oil.”

I have to wonder if Daniel Burke the writer is personally trying to skew the story to favor the interests of the Koch family, etc. I hope not. When I had cable I spent a lot of time watching CNN, and I want to think they are progressive in orientation if they show any bias at all. I have learned by now, however, to read beyond the headline on any article and to spend some time examining it if it is as important as this story. I say important, because the leader of the Catholic Church is a highly influential voice, especially when he is so well-spoken and well-educated on many subjects as Pope Francis is. He also has a sense of humor and has a real feeling for the people he meets outside the Vatican. He brings the teaching of Jesus away from the Baptist emphasis on who is going to hell and who isn’t, based on blind acceptance of certain dogmas, toward how we live our lives in relation to the earth and our fellow man. I asked a devout Baptist friend of mine from high school what she thought of the Pope and she said that he seems to be honestly trying to live the Christian life. I agree with her.





http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/24/health/paralyzed-patients-stand-again/index.html

How paralyzed patients are able to stand again
By Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent, and John Bonifield, CNN
Fri July 24, 2015

Video -- Paralyzed men stand again 01:17
Related story: New science helps a paralyzed man move his legs for the first time in years

(CNN)In what's being hailed as a breakthrough in spinal cord injury research, four men paralyzed from the chest down have risen from their wheelchairs on their own volition and effort.

"I can stand up for more than half an hour," said Dustin Shillcox, who was paralyzed in a car accident five years ago. "It's awesome. It's amazing. It's a hopeful feeling."

Shillcox and the other three men had electrical stimulators surgically implanted in their spines, and are working toward walking again someday. Their standing achievements were published Friday in the online journal PLOS ONE by Dr. Susan Harkema and her colleagues at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville.

The Christopher and Dave Reeve Foundation, which helped fund the study, has named the Kentucky research as its "Big Idea" and is raising $15 million to do the procedure in dozens more patients.

Already, more than 4,000 people have signed up to become research subjects.

"We're really excited. We think the future looks very bright for those with spinal cord injuries," said Peter Wilderotter, the president of the foundation.

While the patients work toward walking -- and no one knows if they'll succeed -- they have already experienced other benefits of the stimulator. Their increased mobility (they can lift and swing their legs and two can even do sit-ups) has already improved their health. One patient, for example, has seen his wildly fluctuating blood pressure come under control.

All four men say the stimulator has allowed them to have sex again and has given them dramatically increased control over their bowels and bladder.

"Sure, I'd like to walk someday," said Kent Stephenson, one of the study subjects. "But just give me sexual function and bowel and bladder control -- I'm a happy camper."

This isn't the first time people with paralysis have risen from their wheelchairs. Since the mid-'90s, Dr. Ronald Triolo's team at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland has implanted stimulators in the legs and hips of more than 30 people, allowing them to stand up. Some have even taken steps.

But according to Triolo, there's one major difference: The stimulators he uses "hijack" the muscles and tell them what to do. The Kentucky researchers put their stimulators right at the spine, so they affect the central nervous system. The patients themselves then have direct control over their muscles, and make them move on their own.

"The cachet, the unique thing Susie Harkema is doing, is she's letting the muscles act naturally rather than forcing them to act," said Triolo, a professor of orthopedics and biomedical engineering at Case Western. "It's one step closer to more natural function."

Shillcox, who's started a foundation to help others affected by paralysis, said he could stand within a month after receiving his stimulator, but he needed people to support his hips, which weren't steady, and his knees, which sometimes buckled.

Now, after more than two years of practice, he doesn't need help from anyone getting up or staying up. He does, however, have to put his hand on something for balance.

"I'm working on that so I don't have to hang on to anything," he said. "The progress might be coming slowly, but we keep making gains."




"I can stand up for more than half an hour," said Dustin Shillcox, who was paralyzed in a car accident five years ago. "It's awesome. It's amazing. It's a hopeful feeling." Shillcox and the other three men had electrical stimulators surgically implanted in their spines, and are working toward walking again someday. Their standing achievements were published Friday in the online journal PLOS ONE by Dr. Susan Harkema and her colleagues at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center at the University of Louisville. …. Already, more than 4,000 people have signed up to become research subjects. "We're really excited. We think the future looks very bright for those with spinal cord injuries," said Peter Wilderotter, the president of the foundation. …. Their increased mobility (they can lift and swing their legs and two can even do sit-ups) has already improved their health. One patient, for example, has seen his wildly fluctuating blood pressure come under control. All four men say the stimulator has allowed them to have sex again and has given them dramatically increased control over their bowels and bladder. …. But according to Triolo, there's one major difference: The stimulators he uses "hijack" the muscles and tell them what to do. The Kentucky researchers put their stimulators right at the spine, so they affect the central nervous system. The patients themselves then have direct control over their muscles, and make them move on their own. …. He does, however, have to put his hand on something for balance. "I'm working on that so I don't have to hang on to anything," he said. "The progress might be coming slowly, but we keep making gains."

The advancements in technology have been interesting to me down through my life, but not always welcome. I don’t want to see any computers made so “smart” that they will not be trustworthy servants. This particular development is delightful to me. People who can’t get around without a wheel chair are in a kind of prison. I wonder if they have dreams about running and jumping at will. If they need help to go to the bathroom and dress themselves that would be even worse. This is one more good news article – it makes me very hopeful about scientific advances that are clearly beneficial to all humankind rather than the horror story twist of the famous computer named Hal.





SYRIAN ISSUES


http://www.npr.org/2015/06/27/418011765/success-for-u-s-backed-fighters-in-syria-leads-to-political-complications

Success For U.S.-Backed Fighters In Syria Leads To Political Complications
Deborah Amos, Alison Meuse
JUNE 27, 2015

Along with U.S. airstrikes, Syrian Kurds pushed the Islamic State out of key turf on the Turkish border. The U.S. sees it as a model for fighting ISIS but Turkey worries the Kurds are going too far.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Success on the battlefield can lead to political complications in the many-sided war in Syria. Take the recent military victories by the Syrian Kurds. With the support from the U.S., Kurdish fighters ousted the self-proclaimed Islamic State from a border town and pushed to within 30 miles of the militant's capital city. Now, in Washington, D.C., the U.S.-Kurd alliance is cited as a model to confront ISIS. But another ally - Turkey - fears the Kurds are pushing out ISIS to build a state of their own. NPR's Deborah Amos reports from southern Turkey.

DEBORAH AMOS, BYLINE: It was a remarkable military success just across from this border gate in southern Turkey. In two days, ISIS militants were driven out of Tel Abyad, a Syrian town that straddles this Turkish frontier. A strategic setback for the militants, the border town was a smuggling and a supply route. Kurdish fighters of the YPG, or the People's Protection Units, did the fighting on the ground, allied with Arab rebels backed by coordinated U.S. airstrikes. But now this win for the U.S.-Kurdish alliance has prompted warnings from Turkey and complaints from Syrian Arabs, rebels and refugees, and you can hear it on this border. Activist Ammer Alhamid says he won't go back to Tel Abyad even now that ISIS is gone.

AMMER ALHAMID: Because now Tel Abyad not free.

AMOS: And why isn't it free?

ALHAMID: Because PYD.

AMOS: The Kurdish militia, he says, aims to kick the Arabs out of Tel Abyad and bring in more Kurds - ethnic displacement. That's what Syrian Arabs here believe. Alhamid says that with each victory the Kurds are grabbing land for a Kurdish state. Alhamid says he's fighting for Syrian unity.

ALHAMID: Our project is free for all Syrian people.

AMOS: When Turkey opened the border crossing earlier this week, only a few thousand Syrian Arabs returned home out of the 23,000 who fled to Turkey at the height of the fighting. Hundreds are still camped out at the border, living rough in parks and on concrete patches on the side of the road. They're wary of the Kurds who now control their town. Twenty-five-year-old Fares kisses his mother before she walks through the gate. He refuses to give his full name. He says he was afraid of ISIS when the militants controlled Tel Abyad and now he's afraid of the Kurds.

FARES: (Foreign language spoken).

AMOS: The Kurdish victory has also prompted anger within the wider Syrian opposition and accusations that Kurds forced Arabs out of their homes, a charge the Kurds deny. A human rights team led by Lette Taylor has been looking into those allegations and she says, so far, there's no evidence of ethnic displacement, despite the claims.

LETTE TAYLOR: A lot of Arab refugees we spoke to at the border are telling us that they are scared to go back because they don't know what life will be like under YPG, but many of them are willing to give it a try.

AMOS: Much depends on the next steps. If the Kurds can reassure returning Arab residents, allow local councils to operate again, then international humanitarian aid could restart in the devastated town. But Turkey will also have a say in what comes across the border. The Turks are wary of Kurdish advances on the Turkish frontier, says analyst Thanassis Cambanis, with the Century Foundation. He's currently in the region. The Kurds are under pressure, even as they've become the most effective force fighting ISIS.

THANASSIS CAMBANIS: : Much depends on the next steps. If the Kurds can reassure returning Arab residents, allow local councils to operate again, then international humanitarian aid could restart in the devastated town. But Turkey will also have a say in what comes across the border. The Turks are wary of Kurdish advances on the Turkish frontier

AMOS: ISIS militants proved this week that they can hit back hard, killing more than 140 Kurdish civilians in the town of Kobane on Thursday. Still, the Kurd's vital role fighting ISIS is a turning point. Long marginalized in Syria, the Kurds are now likely to demand a bigger say in the country's future. Deborah Amos, NPR News in southern Turkey.




“Take the recent military victories by the Syrian Kurds. With the support from the U.S., Kurdish fighters ousted the self-proclaimed Islamic State from a border town and pushed to within 30 miles of the militant's capital city. Now, in Washington, D.C., the U.S.-Kurd alliance is cited as a model to confront ISIS. But another ally - Turkey - fears the Kurds are pushing out ISIS to build a state of their own. …. . A strategic setback for the militants, the border town was a smuggling and a supply route. Kurdish fighters of the YPG, or the People's Protection Units, did the fighting on the ground, allied with Arab rebels backed by coordinated U.S. airstrikes. …. The Kurdish militia, he says, aims to kick the Arabs out of Tel Abyad and bring in more Kurds - ethnic displacement. That's what Syrian Arabs here believe. …. The Kurdish victory has also prompted anger within the wider Syrian opposition and accusations that Kurds forced Arabs out of their homes, a charge the Kurds deny. A human rights team led by Lette Taylor has been looking into those allegations and she says, so far, there's no evidence of ethnic displacement, despite the claims. …. : Much depends on the next steps. If the Kurds can reassure returning Arab residents, allow local councils to operate again, then international humanitarian aid could restart in the devastated town. But Turkey will also have a say in what comes across the border. The Turks are wary of Kurdish advances on the Turkish frontier …. Still, the Kurd's vital role fighting ISIS is a turning point. Long marginalized in Syria, the Kurds are now likely to demand a bigger say in the country's future. Deborah Amos, NPR News in southern Turkey.

“Much depends on the next steps. If the Kurds can reassure returning Arab residents, allow local councils to operate again, then international humanitarian aid could restart in the devastated town. But Turkey will also have a say in what comes across the border. The Turks are wary of Kurdish advances on the Turkish frontier….” This is exactly why I always speak up for the Kurds. I see no sign that they are trying to take over and control the areas where they fighting, but simply acting in prudent self-defense. And if they step in and save the Arab lands from being run over totally by ISIS, it seems to me that they deserve a share of the land for their people. Like the Palestinians they have occupied several different parts of the Middle East for thousands of years and have been “marginalized” in those areas. They should have a legitimate claim. I want to see both the Palestinians and the Kurds ceded a share of land for their own people.

See the following excerpts from Wikipedia on the Kurds. An earlier news article was on the religious minority called Yazidism. They are, it turns out, part of the Kurdish culture. Most modern day Kurds are Islamic, but there are three or four indigenous religions such as Yazidism and a tolerated minority are agnostic or Christian. It would be interesting to compare those Christians with others to see what their cultural links and specific beliefs are. Not now, though! All in all, I am much impressed with these Kurds, as they don’t seem to be trying to take over the rest of the Middle East and world in general, like so many modern Islamic worshippers are. I think the Turks and Syrian Arabs suspect them of that out of a general prejudice between them. The article below said that in one country, at least, they are "marginalized." I saw a photo of a Yazidi woman, one of the Kurdish religious groups, and she had a slightly different look to her facial structure than most Arabs. The Kurds were there in the region before the Arabs moved in and conquered large areas. There seems to be long-term rivalry.


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

Kurdish culture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kurdish Culture is a group of distinctive cultural traits practiced by Kurdish people. The Kurdish culture is a legacy from ancient peoples who shaped modern Kurds and their society. Some aspects of Kurdish culture are close to that of other Iranian peoples; for example all of them celebrate Newroz as the new year day, which is celebrated on March 21.

Traditionally, there are three types of Kurdish Classical performers - storytellers (çîrokbêj), minstrels (stranbêj) and bards (dengbêj). There was no specific music related to the Kurdish princely courts, and instead, music performed in night gatherings (şevbihêrk) is considered classical. Several musical forms are found in this genre. Many songs and are epic in nature, such as the popular Lawik's which are heroic ballads recounting the tales of Kurdish heroes of the past like Saladin. Heyrans are love ballads usually expressing the melancholy of separation and unfulfilled love. Lawje is a form of religious music and Payizoks are songs performed specifically in autumn. Love songs, dance music, wedding and other celebratory songs (dîlok/narînk), erotic poetry and work songs are also popular. Kurdish folklore is a very rich one. Kurds have their own national attire. The women usually wear colored dresses. These dresses differ from area to another area. One can tell from which province or city a certain lady is by looking at her dress. As to the men, they have the "shalûshepik" or "rengûchox" a sort of baggy trousers "shirwal" with an upper shirt. Around the belt they tie a long piece of cloth. The men also use "shashik" or "cemedanî" with a "claw" on their heads. Kurds love to dance and they have hundreds of folk-dances. The music usually has speedy tacts and is high tuned. They mostly use the "zurna" (kind of flute) and "Dehol" (drum). While kurds also enjoy melancholic maqams or ballads that usually tells about events from the past. Many historians use these ballads as oral history passed through the generations.

Prominent Armenian composer Gomidas Vartabed (Soghomon Soghomonian) notated many Kurdish folk songs included "Lur dalur". Gomidas was a guest of Hasan-agha in Aslan village, where he participated in Kurdish eveningtime celebrations. Gomidas loved Kurdish popular art and in 1897 he continued diploma-related research on Kurdish music at the Berlin Conservatory. Of note, the work of Gomidas was largely lost in the Armenian Genocide

Religion

Before the spread of Islam in the 7th century AD, the majority of Kurds practised their indigenous religions, which today are referred to as Yazdânism. Yazidism and Yarsanism, which may have stemmed from and eventually replaced those religions, are still practiced among the Kurds. Most Yazidis live in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the vicinity of Mosul and Sinjar. Yazidis are also found in Syria, Armenia, Turkey, and Germany. Their holy book is "Mishefa Reş" (The Black Book). The Yarsan, or Ahl-e Haqq, religion is practised in western Iran, primarily around Kermanshah.

Before the arrival of Islam in the 7th century AD, a large part of the Kurdish population practised Christianity. Kurdish Christians can still be found in small numbers, especially in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Kurdish kingdom of Adiabene, together with a large number of its Kurdish citizens, converted to Judaism during the 1st century BC. Tanna’it Asenath Barzani, who lived in Mosul from 1590 to 1670 was among the very first Jewish women to carry an official title normally reserved for rabbinic scholars.

In the 7th century, Arabs conquered the Kurdish regions and converted the majority of Kurds to Islam. The majority of Kurds today are Muslim, belonging to the Shafi school of Sunni Islam, distinguishing them in the region, (and to a much lesser degree, the Hanafi) Schools of Sunni Islam. There is also a significant minority of Kurds that are Shia Muslims, primarily living in the Ilam and Kermanshah provinces of Iran and Central Iraq ("Al-Fayliah" Kurds). The Alevis are another religious minority among the Kurds, mainly found in Kurdistan of Turkey. There are also Kurdish Agnostics and also Kurdish Baha'is specially in Iranian Kurdistan. There's not any information about Irreligion and Atheist people in Kurdistan's society.

Most Kurds have moderate tendencies toward religion.[1][2]

Female genital mutilation was an accepted part of Kurdish culture in Iraqi Kurdistan. A 2011 Kurdish law criminalized FGM practice in Iraqi Kurdistan, however this law is not being enforced. [3]





http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2015/03/09/390691518/in-syria-archaeologists-risk-their-lives-to-protect-ancient-heritage

In Syria, Archaeologists Risk Their Lives To Protect Ancient Heritage
Deborah Amos, Alison Meuse
MARCH 09, 2015

Photograph -- Syrian volunteers work to protect mosaics in the Ma'arra museum. Syrian volunteers cover mosaics in the Ma'arra museum with a protective layer of glue, covered by cloth.
Ma'arra Museum Project/Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project

The race to protect Syria's heritage from the ravages of war and plunder has brought a new kind of warrior to the front lines.

These cultural rebels are armed with cameras and sandbags. They work in secret, sometimes in disguise, to outwit smugglers. They risk their lives to take on enemies that include the Syrian regime, Islamist militants and professional smugglers who loot for pay, sometimes using bulldozers.

Their backers, from prominent cultural institutions in the West, refer to them as the "Monuments Men" of Syria, based on the name given those who saved cultural heritage in Europe during World War II.

Academics On The Front Lines

"They are dedicated professionals," says Corine Wegener at the Smithsonian Institution. She leads a worldwide effort to protect cultural heritage. "This is a new situation," says Wegener, describing the war in Syria as a cultural emergency. "We are trying to help."

Abdul Rahman al-Yehiya and Ayman al-Nabu seem unlikely warriors. They are academics in suits. We meet them in a hotel in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, after they made a grueling, 10-hour journey across Syria's dangerous frontier, including the last 5 miles on foot.

"We are a team of specialists in archaeology, engineering and artists," says Yehiya. He led the team in an emergency preservation of the Ma'arra museum in northern Syria's Idlib province, famous for a dazzling, world-class collection of Roman and Byzantine mosaics from the 3rd to 6th centuries A.D.

The eight-month project began last summer with an intense workshop on preservation techniques. Then the dangerous work began on the front lines of the war.

The team assessed the damage from Syrian air force strikes in an area contested by the regime and the rebels. They worked to fix what was damaged and protect the remaining mosaics.

"The mortars, the warplanes and the helicopters that drop barrel bombs" were only part of the risk, says Yehiya. "There was the danger of the snipers," he says: regime soldiers who targeted the work team in an active war zone.

Cultural Triage

In Syria, antiquities smuggling is now a multimillion-dollar business that has exploded in recent months in areas controlled by militants of the self-described Islamic State. This organized plunder has dwarfed the thieving by regime soldiers, opposition rebels and desperate civilians who mine Syria's heritage sites to pay for food.

The scale of the loss is heartbreaking, says Brian Daniels of the Penn Museum's Penn Cultural Heritage Center in Philadelphia, which is working with Syria's Heritage Task Force to support the preservation efforts.

Daniels calls the situation in Syria "the worst cultural disaster since the Second World War." He describes the heritage work as "cultural triage," protecting when possible and documenting what has been lost.

This documentation is where the Syrian team performs the most dangerous work, traveling across the war-torn country to photograph heritage sites on active battlefronts.

"We wear normal clothes but dress ready to run — jeans and sneakers, so we can be light on our feet," says Yehiya.

Nabu oversees a team of undercover volunteers who pose as buyers to snap pictures of ancient artifacts for sale.

Sandbags are stacked on the inside walls of the Ma'arra museum, shielding fragile, ancient mosaics from the blast of regime jets and looters.
Ma'arra Museum Project/Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project

The lost treasures are cataloged in a desperate hope that one day they can be recovered. One example is a mosaic, dated to around 330 BC, that depicts the ancient city of Apamea.

"All of these are gone," says Yehiya, as he shows the grainy photos, gathered at great risk, on his laptop.

But he and his colleagues have persuaded local civilians to support the work to save Syrian heritage. They have turned in more than 1,700 ancient artifacts for safekeeping.

Shielding Mosaics From Destruction And Theft

This week, too, the archaeologists can boast about their success at the Ma'arra museum.

The Heritage Task Force supplied materials, says the Smithsonian's Wegener, including digital cameras, packing and crating equipment and large rolls of Tyvek, a protective synthetic sheeting often used in home building.

The Syrian team had to keep the project secret so the Ma'arra museum wouldn't be targeted. They needed a cover story to explain why they were bringing in so much Tyvek.

"There are a lot of people dying in Syria, so we said it was burial shrouds," Yehiya says with a smirk. "We said it's to wrap the dead like mummies."

They used the protective sheeting to wrap 1,600 square feet of ancient mosaics. The next step was to protect the Ma'arra museum itself, says Amr al-Azm, a Damascus-trained archaeologist who now teaches Middle Eastern history in Ohio. Some of the "Monuments Men" of Syria are his former students.

"We decided the best way to do this was to actually use a technique that was very commonly employed during the Second World War in Europe and the First World War — and that's to sandbag," Azm says.

The sandbags are now stacked on the inside walls of the museum, shielding the mosaics from the blast of regime jets and opportunistic looting.

It is impossible to quantify the loss in Syria, says the Penn Museum's Brian Daniels.

"How do you define heritage?" he says. "It's a place, it's the 'oldness' of Syria. It's a feeling."

Still, the Ma'arra project is a small victory in a long war of illicit trade and damage, says Azm — and the team inside Syria stepped up to the challenge:

"In many ways, they are the heroes of our stories," says Azm. "They are the guys who risk their lives every day, visiting archaeological sites. This comes from their area — this is their hometown, this is their museum. The connection is there."




“The race to protect Syria's heritage from the ravages of war and plunder has brought a new kind of warrior to the front lines. These cultural rebels are armed with cameras and sandbags. They work in secret, sometimes in disguise, to outwit smugglers. They risk their lives to take on enemies that include the Syrian regime, Islamist militants and professional smugglers who loot for pay, sometimes using bulldozers. Their backers, from prominent cultural institutions in the West, refer to them as the "Monuments Men" of Syria, based on the name given those who saved cultural heritage in Europe during World War II. …. Abdul Rahman al-Yehiya and Ayman al-Nabu seem unlikely warriors. They are academics in suits. We meet them in a hotel in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, after they made a grueling, 10-hour journey across Syria's dangerous frontier, including the last 5 miles on foot. "We are a team of specialists in archaeology, engineering and artists," says Yehiya. He led the team in an emergency preservation of the Ma'arra museum in northern Syria's Idlib province, famous for a dazzling, world-class collection of Roman and Byzantine mosaics from the 3rd to 6th centuries A.D. …. "The mortars, the warplanes and the helicopters that drop barrel bombs" were only part of the risk, says Yehiya. "There was the danger of the snipers," he says: regime soldiers who targeted the work team in an active war zone. …. This organized plunder has dwarfed the thieving by regime soldiers, opposition rebels and desperate civilians who mine Syria's heritage sites to pay for food. The scale of the loss is heartbreaking, says Brian Daniels of the Penn Museum's Penn Cultural Heritage Center in Philadelphia, which is working with Syria's Heritage Task Force to support the preservation efforts. …. The Syrian team had to keep the project secret so the Ma'arra museum wouldn't be targeted. They needed a cover story to explain why they were bringing in so much Tyvek. "There are a lot of people dying in Syria, so we said it was burial shrouds," Yehiya says with a smirk. "We said it's to wrap the dead like mummies."

"All of these are gone," says Yehiya, as he shows the grainy photos, gathered at great risk, on his laptop. But he and his colleagues have persuaded local civilians to support the work to save Syrian heritage. They have turned in more than 1,700 ancient artifacts for safekeeping.”

If human achievement is not preserved we will degenerate rather than move forward. There is a mercenary trend to our modern culture worldwide, including the US. It’s all about money and power when the remnants of the human soul are being scrapped as “useless.” Art is especially useless, right? Unless it is made of gold, that is. No. Every drawing a three year old makes, every song sung, every family story repeated, these are cultural heritage emerging. When they are collected and appreciated, our group identity will be developed. If those things are forgotten, all links to the past will be lost, and we will become a creature no more advanced than any other animal.




https://www.yahoo.com/katiecouric/the-trans-pacific-partnership-after-almost-a-124946012698.html

Trans-Pacific Partnership
Kaye Foley
Associate Producer
July 24, 2015

After almost a decade of talks, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers will gather in Maui, Hawaii on July 28-31, to try to come to a conclusion on what would be the largest free-trade deal ever.

The TPP involves the U.S., Canada, Mexico and nine other Pacific Rim nations. These countries represent about 40 percent of the global GDP, according to the Peterson Institute. By 2025 the deal could potentially increase the United States’ annual income by $77 billion.

As with any trade deal, the TPP involves more than just freeing up the trade of goods. While it would lower tariffs and ease regulations, liberalizing certain products like rice, sugar and trucks for the nations involved, it would also address some of the rising issues of a global economy, such as patent laws for pharmaceuticals and international data transfers over the Internet. President Obama is spearheading the support for the pact, which is opposed by many of his fellow Democrats. The trade deal has been the cause of a lot of contention on Capitol Hill.

Supporters believe it would be beneficial to all involved, opening up new opportunities and leveling the playing field, as labor and environmental standards would be imposed on the trading partners. The White House also thinks the deal would help the U.S. assert more influence in the area.

However, those opposing the TPP think it prioritizes corporations by limiting competition and giving foreign companies too much power in U.S. business. Foreign corporations and investors would be able to challenge the U.S. government through special tribunals when they believe regulations or actions hurt their investments.

If the Hawaii talks result in a final deal, President Obama will need only a simple “yes” or “no” from Congress — meaning they won’t be able to change any of the terms of the agreement — since “fast track” authority for the president passed this June.

So as this region of the world waits to see what happens behind closed doors at the negotiations in Maui, when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, after watching this video, at least you can say, “Now I get it.”




“After almost a decade of talks, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade ministers will gather in Maui, Hawaii on July 28-31, to try to come to a conclusion on what would be the largest free-trade deal ever. The TPP involves the U.S., Canada, Mexico and nine other Pacific Rim nations. These countries represent about 40 percent of the global GDP, according to the Peterson Institute. By 2025 the deal could potentially increase the United States’ annual income by $77 billion. …. Foreign corporations and investors would be able to challenge the U.S. government through special tribunals when they believe regulations or actions hurt their investments. …. If the Hawaii talks result in a final deal, President Obama will need only a simple “yes” or “no” from Congress — meaning they won’t be able to change any of the terms of the agreement — since “fast track” authority for the president passed this June.”

This appears to be an arrangement which will consolidate trade in the West similarly to what has been done with the EU in Europe. I can see why Obama would be so fond of that idea, but if the treaty causes even fewer jobs in the US as more business is offshored, that won’t be a good thing. Besides the supporters are mainly Republicans. It seems to be certain to be adopted, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.




ANIMALS OF INTEREST – THREE ARTICLES


http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/20/new-surprising-video-shows-apes-swimming/

New Surprising Video Shows Apes Swimming
Posted by Carrie Arnold in Weird & Wild on August 20, 2013

Video -- Scientists have observed apes swimming for the first time—and captured it all on film.

A refreshing swim may be a common activity for people, but not so for our ape kin—scientists have long noted apes’ fear of the water. Enter research team Renato and Nicole Bender, who shot videos of a chimpanzee named Cooper and an orangutan named Suryia in a swimming pool, playing just like humans.

The researchers said that although some monkey species—such as snow monkeys, proboscis monkeys, and macaques—frequently swim in their natural environment, the behavior hasn’t been observed in wild apes, and only anecdotally in captive apes. (Watch a video of snow monkeys swimming in Japan.)

One of their next goals is to determine whether wild apes also swim, or if the phenomenon is limited to captive apes like Cooper and Suryia.

The Benders, who divide their time between the University of Bern in Switzerland and Wits University in South Africa, published their observations July 30 in the Journal of Physical Anthropology. Nicole spoke with National Geographic about the pair’s work.

Why were you interested in the idea of apes swimming?

As part of my husband’s Ph.D., he wanted to study humans interacting with water and also how apes interacted with water. When we did a literature search, we didn’t find anything. So we started to ask around to other people and what they knew. We wrote to zoos and asked them if they had seen anything. Finally, a colleague sent us a link to the [wildlife park] Myrtle Beach Safari, which had information about an orangutan named Suryia, with links to YouTube videos of her swimming. Suryia’s owner agreed to participate in our research and also told us about Cooper [the chimpanzee]. (Also see “Chimps, Orangutans Have Human-Like Memory.”)

How did you film these videos of Cooper and Suryia swimming?

Both apes are very used to humans, so with both of them, it was possible for Renato go to in the pool with them and film them underwater while they were swimming and playing. I was filming from the land.

It was extremely amazing to watch this. Looking at Cooper, he did so well in the water. He wanted to play all the time. It was amazing to see because normally apes are afraid of the water. I got shivers when I saw this.

What were Cooper and Suryia actually doing in the water?

Cooper really seemed to enjoy diving. We had stretched ropes over part of the pool for security reasons, and Cooper actually used these to dive deep, which you can see on the videos. He started to do this while we were there, and shortly after we left, he started swimming, actually.

Suryia was a little bit different because [she] was trained for a show. After they saw her swimming and diving, the trainers encouraged her to do this for the show. She developed these movements on her own. (See National Geographic’s ape videos.)

What are the significance of these findings?

Some researchers thought that apes could not swim because they didn’t have enough body fat. And we could show that they are able to swim, if circumstances allow. They’re like humans—they can learn to swim.

Another hypothesis said that apes couldn’t swim underwater because of breath control. A human’s ability to hold their breath was thought to be the reason we could talk and other animals couldn’t. But we saw the apes swimming under water, which showed they could control their breath for diving. But apes still do not talk, so there have to be other reasons why they can’t talk.

What are some of the topics you hope to study in the future?

We want to understand why humans started to interact more with water. We also want to compare several apes, since every individual develops his own movements, and it would be nice to have more data to compare these. We would also like to measure heart rates when they dive and see how this compares to humans’ [heart rates].




“A refreshing swim may be a common activity for people, but not so for our ape kin—scientists have long noted apes’ fear of the water. Enter research team Renato and Nicole Bender, who shot videos of a chimpanzee named Cooper and an orangutan named Suryia in a swimming pool, playing just like humans. The researchers said that although some monkey species—such as snow monkeys, proboscis monkeys, and macaques—frequently swim in their natural environment, the behavior hasn’t been observed in wild apes, and only anecdotally in captive apes. (Watch a video of snow monkeys swimming in Japan.) …. Why were you interested in the idea of apes swimming? As part of my husband’s Ph.D., he wanted to study humans interacting with water and also how apes interacted with water. When we did a literature search, we didn’t find anything. So we started to ask around to other people and what they knew. We wrote to zoos and asked them if they had seen anything. Finally, a colleague sent us a link to the [wildlife park] Myrtle Beach Safari, which had information about an orangutan named Suryia, with links to YouTube videos of her swimming. Suryia’s owner agreed to participate in our research and also told us about Cooper [the chimpanzee]. (Also see “Chimps, Orangutans Have Human-Like Memory.”) …. Some researchers thought that apes could not swim because they didn’t have enough body fat. And we could show that they are able to swim, if circumstances allow. They’re like humans—they can learn to swim. Another hypothesis said that apes couldn’t swim underwater because of breath control. A human’s ability to hold their breath was thought to be the reason we could talk and other animals couldn’t. But we saw the apes swimming under water, which showed they could control their breath for diving. But apes still do not talk, so there have to be other reasons why they can’t talk.”

I looked on Google this morning to verify the statement I’ve heard for years that “all mammals can swim.” One article listed half a dozen or so mammals that either can’t swim or don’t want to swim. Rhinos, giraffes are two. That’s predictable. Amazingly humans and apes were listed in that group! In fact a human baby until they get old enough to be afraid of the water can swim. There was a fad among American moms several years back to enroll their babies in swimming lessons specifically for them. As popular ideas go, this is a very good one, because if a kid gets to be too old without learning to swim he is likely to be afraid of water and prone to drowning if he does fall into a pool or lake. As for apes, this video (please watch it) puts the lie to that story. It just makes sense that creatures as similar as humans and apes are would be alike on this. The article above states that while we don’t take to water “like a duck” we can very easily learn it. Mainly we have to learn to blow air out through the nose and inhale it through the mouth, and only while our faces are out of the water. The other key is to relax rather than fighting the water. Just cup the hands in a relaxed manner and pull in toward the body. The orang in the video has it down pat.





http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/milwaukee-lion-sighting-police-close-streets-north-city-n398561

Milwaukee Lion Sighting: Police Close Streets in North of City
by REUTERS
NEWS JUL 26 2015

Facebook Twitter Google PlusEmbed -- FROM 22 JULY, 2015: Lion Sightings Have Milwaukee Residents on Guard 1:44

MILWAUKEE — Police closed off streets near a park in north Milwaukee on Saturday night after reports of a "lion-like animal," which came days after people said they had a seen a lion prowling city streets.

Milwaukee police and the Department of Natural Resources responded to the area, at 30th and Fairmont streets, for what a police statement called "a confirmed sighting of a lion-like animal."

The animal was not located, it added, but police would maintain a presence throughout the night. Local residents reported earlier on Saturday they had seen a lion and her cub in a creek in the park.

"I ... said 'Let's go see it in person'," said Tracie Jackson, 53, an off-duty Milwaukee police officer who drove from her home about five minutes away.

About 15 people gathered by the park, where the streets were closed off by police tape, hoping for a sighting.

On Tuesday a white pit bull dog was shot in the paw after apparently having been mistaken for the lion reported to have been prowling city streets. It was expected to fully recover.

The shooting followed a Monday telephone call to police from a woman who reported seeing a lion in her neighborhood. A cell phone video clip surfaced hours later showing a blurry image of a large cat-like animal strolling about, heightening fears and speculation.

Police subsequently received dozens of calls reporting lion sightings. The Milwaukee Zoo said via Twitter that all its lions were accounted for.




“On Tuesday a white pit bull dog was shot in the paw after apparently having been mistaken for the lion reported to have been prowling city streets. It was expected to fully recover. The shooting followed a Monday telephone call to police from a woman who reported seeing a lion in her neighborhood. A cell phone video clip surfaced hours later showing a blurry image of a large cat-like animal strolling about, heightening fears and speculation. Police subsequently received dozens of calls reporting lion sightings.”

The problem with this kind of thing is that after the first news report comes out, half the population will be out looking for a lion and as a result will see something that fits the description. I must say that the cellphone image, though fuzzy and grainy, does look exactly like a female lion or a cougar. Could be either. It definitely doesn’t look or walk like a dog of any breed. The first witness did say it was a female lion with one cub, however, which was seen in a stream. I do hope no exotic animal has been hand raised by a human and then escaped, since she will have no fear of humans and will be more likely to attack. Of course, with a cub, she will be out searching for food, and that juicy meal could be a pet dog. I hope authorities can capture her and put her in a zoo rather than killing her, but it’s definitely not good to have that kind of animal in a city. This is not the first news footage I’ve seen of cougars in town, but that was in California. Two black bears have been photographed in and near Jacksonville. We have lots of wooded areas here to provide shelter and probably food.





http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ohio-zoo-presses-charges-man-pet-cougars-video-article-1.2304251

Ohio zoo presses charges against man who jumped fence to pet cougars (VIDEO)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Saturday
July 25, 2015

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio zoo officials say they are pressing charges against a man who jumped a fence to pet cougars, then posted his video on YouTube.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says the Delaware County Sheriff’s office has charged a suspect with a misdemeanor count of trespassing.

Sheriff’s spokeswoman Tracy Whited says 35-year-old Joshua Newell was served Friday with a summons to appear in court Wednesday.

The video posted earlier this week shows an outer fence being jumped, then two cougars being petted through another fence as a voice says things such as “Kitty, kitty, kitty.”

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium officials say they are pressing charges against a man who jumped a fence to pet cougars, then posted his video on YouTube.
PreviousNext

Columbus Zoo CEO Tom Stalf says in a statement that animal welfare and safety are top priorities.

He calls the video “alarming.”

A telephone listed to Newell’s suburban Gahanna address rang busy Saturday.




Though this man is just a visitor to the zoo and apparently not known to the cougars, they clearly are so well-treated there that they view humans as "those two-legged friends who bring us meat every day and pet us." The cougars both rubbed their cheeks against the man's hand on the fence while he inserted his fingers repeatedly. Watch the video. It would of course, generally, not be advisable for anyone to just walk up to the fence at a zoo and call the animals like this. He got some great footage, however.

Saturday, July 25, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/feds-seize-emails-phones-in-probe-of-teen-found-dead-inside-gym-mat/ar-AAdqUMR?ocid=iehp

Feds seize emails, phones in probe of teen found dead inside gym mat
The Root -- Breanna Edward
July 24, 2015

Federal marshals took emails from a Lowndes County, Ga. sheriff’s office this week as part of a probe that has been carrying on more than two years since local investigators said there was no foul play in the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson, CNN reports.

According to the news site, Marshals entered the Lowndes County IT offices on Tuesday and Wednesday with a warrant and, proceeded to copy emails from the sheriff’s office related to the investigation.

The warrant was reportedly connected to the federal grand jury investigation into the 2013 death, in which, the teen was found in a rolled-up gym mat. Lowndes County Attorney Jim Elliot said he did not know which emails were copied.

As CNN notes, county sheriff’s investigators had reached the conclusion that Johnson got stuck in the rolled up gym mat while reaching for a shoe and that the death was accidental. The state medical examiner seemingly agreed saying the cause of death was “positional asphyxia.”

However, a forensic pathologist hired by the teen’s family ruled the death a homicide, saying that there was evidence of “unexplained, apparent non-accidental blunt force trauma.”

The Justice Department started investigating Johnson’s death in October 2013, but has been silent in terms of what authorities have found.

Back in January, Johnson’s parents filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming that former classmates beat the teen to death. The lawsuit points to two former classmates who are brothers, and their father who is a local FBI agent, for the wrongful death as well.

Marshals reportedly seized items, including cellphones, computers and thumb drives – from the brothers’ family home as well as one of the former classmate’s college dorm room.

Read more at CNN.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.




“The Justice Department started investigating Johnson’s death in October 2013, but has been silent in terms of what authorities have found. Back in January, Johnson’s parents filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming that former classmates beat the teen to death. The lawsuit points to two former classmates who are brothers, and their father who is a local FBI agent, for the wrongful death as well. Marshals reportedly seized items, including cellphones, computers and thumb drives – from the brothers’ family home as well as one of the former classmate’s college dorm room”

I don’t want to think that the DOJ would be dragging its feet in a case like this, but it has been almost two years since they began to investigate it, and the two suspects are the sons of a “local” FBI agent. I didn’t know there were any local FBI agents, but if they are long term residents of the community they could be implicated in a cover up by the school or the local police force. I just looked for racist incidents in Lowndes County, GA and found one on this particular case. See local comments below. They are made up of real information, local gossip and speculation. Reading these, I am reminded of this great motion picture. If you haven’t watched it, check it out at your local library and pop up some corn.


GREAT MOVIE ON THE SOUTH -- "In the Heat of the Night" (1967)
Stars: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
An African American police detective is asked to investigate a murder in a racially hostile southern town.

LOCAL COMMENTS ON THIS MURDER:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/georgia/1971843-lowndes-high-murder-mystery-3.html
robinpostell
03-11-2014, 11:28 PM

Thanks for being forthcoming. More people should be doing this. People are apparently terrified - of what, not sure. Are they afraid of being killed? Or are they afraid of losing their jobs? Both are terrible in a small place like Lowndes County. Economics play such a crucial role in every aspect of the area, with football being the only leveler for playing field. But racism is still thick and pungent, and slavery, too, believe it or not. Just don't hear about it. Illegal aliens, according to reports from years back, and according to sources locally within last couple of weeks, emphasized they are the new slaves. You just hear about it as human trafficking. Naive to think this doesn't go on in your midst. If you're not privy to it, you wouldn't know about it.

The rumor about Prine's son was rampant, and I wondered why? How could so many people be wrong? He does have nephews, but not young enough to be in high school doesn't look like.

Sheriff Prine just went before the commissioners asking for many millions for the sheriff's office, to increase salaries, buy new cars, cover legal expenses for Kendrick Johnson - saying some off-color remarks. Lowndes County isn't used to having the world scrutinize its actions. Sometimes I want to send notes saying, "Get some PR, quick!" But it's not my responsibility. If they care so much about what people think about them, you'd think they would care more about what the world thinks - not just people here in Lowndes County.

The international eyeball glaring at Valdosta right now is unblinking. Pretty staggering to see the changes in how these kinds of taken-for-granted cover-ups manage with this level of global finger-wagging. There are people I've encountered from other countries who spend every spare moment trying to unravel this mystery.

Amazing.

R


03-18-2014, 08:30 PM
Newsboy

Just saw on the news that more than 120 Lowndes High students and parents have received subpoenas ordering them to testify before a federal grand jury!

This thing is about to turn REAL ugly ...

Wonder how this is effecting the mood of the LHS community, which I've always found to be a rather arrogant and slightly racist bunch to begin with? I can only imagine the things being said in white households vs black households. This could rip the whole South Georgia region apart once the truth comes out.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/georgia/1971843-lowndes-high-murder-mystery-valdosta-gated-3.html#ixzz3gvt6HUwc


03-19-2014
nedergras
Quote:
Originally Posted by halseyspartan2 View Post

I used to live in Valdosta, and I went to university there for five years. The word around the community, both whites and blacks, is that Kendrick was murdered by someone with powerful relatives. The original thought was that one of Sheriff Prine's younger relatives did for him, but Prine doesn't have any grandchildren young enough to go to LHS. The security tape covering the section of the gym where Johnson was killed "just happened" to have been defective, when all other security cameras were functioning perfectly.

My ex roommate went to jail on a suspended license charge, and he heard a lot of talk in general population from people who had connections. The gen pop word was that one of Prine's relatives (not grandchild, but nephew most likely) was fighting with Johnson over a girl and that this rivalry had been going on for quite some time. When the nephew learned that the girl had slept with Johnson, the nephew got his friends together and did the dirt on Kendrick as revenge. I doubt they meant to kill the kid, but he died still the same and now the powers in Valdosta are covering it up because at this point, they'd be eating charges on everything from obstruction of justice to conspiracy to conceal evidence. Those are some serious felony charges, and the people in power down there want to stay in power.

People might not take the word of criminals as trustworthy, but it's been proven in the past that if you want a good informant, the jails are often the best places to go because they have connections to other criminals and they're usually willing to talk in order to get a few years knocked off their sentence. Kind of like how if you want to know all the gossip about celebrities or politicians at a hosted event, you talk to the wait staff. They're low status and kind of invisible to most people, so the higher ups tend to run their mouths around them. Word gets around...

So it's a possible hate crime that the local community and possibly the state of Georgia are trying to cover up. Yep, just another day in Georgia.


03-19-2014
Newsboy
Quote:
Originally Posted by nedergras View Post

So it's a possible hate crime that the local community and possibly the state of Georgia are trying to cover up. Yep, just another day in Georgia.

Oh give it a break! Why would the state of Georgia -- 10 million people -- be trying to cover up an alleged hate crime in Lowndes County?!

If you are at all familiar with this case, or read any of the stories about it, the theory is that a young relative of a high-ranking public official in LOWNDES COUNTY (i.e. the county sheriff) had something to do with the crime, and THAT is why it has been swept under the rug AT THE LOCAL LEVEL!

There are plenty of people in Valodsta / Lowndes County and indeed the entire state of Georgia who want the truth to come out on this horrific incident.

BTW: It was producers and reporters at Atlanta-based CNN who first investigated this story and brought it to the nation's consciousness. And state officials, including the governor and attorney general, have been very forth-coming in their support of a federal investigation that would get to the bottom of it. That hardly sounds like a "conspiracy" by the State of Georgia, huh?


03-19-2014
nedergras

You misunderstood what I meant by the possibility of the state of Georgia being involved. No I did not mean the whole state, but the state government. Why wouldn't they want it covered up? It tarnishes the image of the progressive new south/Georgia, creates a negative business environment if it causes prospective businesses shying away from GA if they perceive that hate crimes are still common place here.


03-19-2014
Newsboy

Well, the truth is that the state is NOT trying to cover this up; a handful of politically powerful people in Valdosta are. So your whole theory is bunk.

Besides, does it not occur to you one bit that the leadership of Georgia would be viewed FAR more favorably, progressively and positively by the people they're trying to impress, by supporting the federal government's efforts to get to the TRUTH in this matter -- which is EXACTLY what's happening?

Why on earth would they want this covered up? It would be economic and political suicide!!!!!


05-06-2014
CAllen91

State of GA has nothing to do with this. If they had it their way they would exile the entire Lowndes County government to Echols.

This has Prine written all over it.

Robin, the story I heard was that it was Prine's niece/grandniece had been sleeping with KJ and somebody found out.


As for the feeling in town, well at least on VSU's campus its kinda embarrassing. Valdosta doesn't have the best rep with those of us who make it past freshmen year and this isn't helping.

As for off campus its a very sad but not surprised mood. The good ole boy system is alive and well around town but i do think most people are surprise its still strong enough to try to cover up the murder of a black student.

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/georgia/1971843-lowndes-high-murder-mystery-valdosta-gated-3.html#ixzz3gvwZZoFQ





http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jeb-bush-medicare_55b11e41e4b0a9b94853e9eb

Jeb Bush Says We Should Phase Out Medicare
He also praises Paul Ryan's voucher approach.

Arthur Delaney
Senior Reporter, The Huffington Post
Arthur Delaney
Senior Reporter, The Huffington Post

Posted: 07/23/2015 | Edited: 07/24/2015

Photograph -- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) on July 17, 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Credit: John Locher/AP


WASHINGTON -- Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said Wednesday that we ought to phase out Medicare, the federal program that provides health insurance to Americans once they're 65. Bush praised Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for proposing to change Medicare to a system that gives seniors medical vouchers instead of paying their bills directly.

"We need to make sure we fulfill the commitment to people that have already received the benefits, that are receiving the benefits," Bush said. "But we need to figure out a way to phase out this program for others and move to a new system that allows them to have something, because they're not going to have anything."

Bush praised Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for proposing to change Medicare to a system that gives seniors medical vouchers instead of paying their bills directly. He also lamented that "the left" reacted with an ad showing a Paul lookalike pushing an old lady's wheelchair off a cliff.

Since 2011, Ryan's name has been closely associated with his Medicare plan, which Democrats have said would "end Medicare as we know it." Nevertheless, the Mitt Romney campaign in 2012 didn't endorse the plan even after adding Ryan to the ticket as a vice presidential candidate.

"Many people are afraid to act because they’re fearful of just getting beat up politically," Bush said at an Americans for Prosperity event in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Arguments for major overhauls of Medicare hinge on the notion that the program must be significantly scaled back because of rising spending.

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However, the latest report on the fiscal health of the program, which Medicare's trustees issued on Wednesday, didn’t communicate such a sense of urgency. The part of Medicare that pays for hospital care and related services will remain solvent until 2030, even as waves of retiring Baby Boomers sign on, the report projects. It also predicts that Medicare costs will rise more slowly than previously believed.

The Democratic National Committee eagerly put Bush's remarks about Medicare on YouTube. Bush's comments show he's out to get seniors, liberal groups said.

When asked for additional comment, the Bush campaign pointed to the candidate's remarks at an event on Thursday, when Bush complained that his remarks about Medicare had been taken out of context but did not repeat his "phase out" comment. Still, he insisted Medicare needs reform.

"It’s an actually unsound health care system," Bush said.

A decade ago, another Bush floated a plan to dramatically alter a safety-net entitlement for senior citizens. President George W. Bush’s plan to partially privatize Social Security -- which anticipated Medicare proposals like Ryan’s -- failed to attract the support of the public or the Republicans who controlled Congress at the time, in spite of months of lobbying and public events touting the proposal.

This story has been updated to include a response from the Bush campaign.

MORE: Jeb Bush, Medicare, Social Security, jeb bush 2016




"Bush praised Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for proposing to change Medicare to a system that gives seniors medical vouchers instead of paying their bills directly. …. We need to make sure we fulfill the commitment to people that have already received the benefits, that are receiving the benefits," Bush said. "But we need to figure out a way to phase out this program for others and move to a new system that allows them to have something, because they're not going to have anything. …. Arguments for major overhauls of Medicare hinge on the notion that the program must be significantly scaled back because of rising spending. …. However, the latest report on the fiscal health of the program, which Medicare's trustees issued on Wednesday, didn’t communicate such a sense of urgency. The part of Medicare that pays for hospital care and related services will remain solvent until 2030 …. the Bush campaign pointed to the candidate's remarks at an event on Thursday, when Bush complained that his remarks about Medicare had been taken out of context but did not repeat his "phase out" comment.”

“A decade ago, another Bush floated a plan to dramatically alter a safety-net entitlement for senior citizens. President George W. Bush’s plan to partially privatize Social Security -- which anticipated Medicare proposals like Ryan’s -- failed to attract the support of the public or the Republicans who controlled Congress at the time, in spite of months of lobbying and public events touting the proposal.”

We do forget that nearly all the population of the US, when they get old enough, are heavily if not completely dependent on Medicare and Social Security, so don’t expect any bills to “phase out” those basic necessities to pass both the House and the Senate. What we need to do instead of issuing “medical vouchers” which certainly won’t cover the whole hospital bill is continue the payment directly to the hospital/doctor, and go one important step further. Rewrite the law to give Medicare the responsibility of limiting the amount that the medical providers can charge, thus LOWERING THE OVERALL COST TO THE MEDICARE SYSTEM.

Bernie Sanders plan to make Medicare a single payer system, in other words, phase out the medical insurance plans that have been written into our Medicare system, which keep further increasing medical costs. My health insurance keeps raising prices on my meds by dropping the drug I’m on and inserting instead a new one that I don’t even want because the drug manufacturers want to sell new drugs all the time to boost their income. That looks like collusion to me, and should not be legal. That would solve a large percentage of the rising costs problem. Of course lots of doctors, who expect to get very wealthy from their medical practices, would drop out of the Republican Party and join one which is farther to the right.





http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mother-of-toddler-killed-in-chase-sues-city-police-and-driver/ar-AAdpmNy?ocid=iehp

Mother of toddler killed in chase sues city, police and driver
Chicago Tribune
Steve Schmadeke
July 24, 2015

CHICAGO — The mother of 13-month-old Dillan Harris clenched her fists and took a deep breath before stepping in front of a row of microphones at her lawyer's Near North Side offices Thursday.

"My son was innocent and he should not have died," Shatrelle McComb told reporters before stepping out into the lobby and bursting into tears.

McComb was on her way to the beach with her three children two weeks ago when a man fleeing Chicago police after allegedly killing a rapper affiliated with Chief Keef fatally struck her youngest child as he sat in a stroller near a Woodlawn bus stop.

On Wednesday, McComb filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against the city of Chicago, the police officers involved in the chase and the man driving recklessly who killed her youngest child just weeks after Dillan had learned to walk.

Antoine Watkins led police on a 31/2-mile chase, running four red lights and driving at speeds up to 70 mph in an area of 63rd Street with a speed limit of 30 mph, prosecutors have said. Watkins was fleeing police after the fatal shooting of Marvin Carr, 22, a Chicago rapper known as Capo.

He has been charged with Dillan's death but not Carr's and is being held without bail. Prosecutors have said witnesses heard shots being fired and then saw Watkins get into a red Toyota Avalon.

About 20 minutes later, Watkins lost control of the car, jumped a curb on 63rd Street and struck the stroller Dillan was sitting in, dragging it and the infant into a vacant lot.

McComb's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said there is evidence that a superior had ordered the pursuit of Watkins terminated. He would not specify what the evidence was but said even without it they would have a case that police ignored general orders when engaging in a high-speed pursuit through 31/2 miles of residential neighborhoods on the South Side.

He will seek to obtain the full radio traffic from the chase along with any available dash cam footage.

Romanucci said the infant's death was the result of a "police chase that never should have happened." He questioned whether police would have pursued through residential streets on the North Side and called out Superintendent Garry McCarthy for not offering condolences to the family.

"It all circles back to the culture that is instilled in the Police Department. ... They never accept responsibility," Romanucci said.

"Someone had better step up and take responsibility in the Chicago Police Department, and we know it's not Garry McCarthy. He's not taking responsibility. Where has he been accepting responsibility or offering condolences or apologies or saying sorry to this family? Where has he been?"

A Chicago police spokesman said the department does not comment on pending litigation but offered a statement to Dillan's family.

"It is an unthinkable loss to which the Chicago Police Department sends its deepest condolences," CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in an email. "The accountability rests on the suspect in this case who showed no regard for human life but now will answer to justice for his actions."

Attempts to reach the city Law Department spokesman were unsuccessful.




“McComb's attorney, Antonio Romanucci, said there is evidence that a superior had ordered the pursuit of Watkins terminated. He would not specify what the evidence was but said even without it they would have a case that police ignored general orders when engaging in a high-speed pursuit through 31/2 miles of residential neighborhoods on the South Side. He will seek to obtain the full radio traffic from the chase along with any available dash cam footage. Romanucci said the infant's death was the result of a "police chase that never should have happened." He questioned whether police would have pursued through residential streets on the North Side and called out Superintendent Garry McCarthy for not offering condolences to the family. "It all circles back to the culture that is instilled in the Police Department. ... They never accept responsibility," Romanucci said. …. A Chicago police spokesman said the department does not comment on pending litigation but offered a statement to Dillan's family. "It is an unthinkable loss to which the Chicago Police Department sends its deepest condolences," CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in an email. "The accountability rests on the suspect in this case who showed no regard for human life but now will answer to justice for his actions." Attempts to reach the city Law Department spokesman were unsuccessful.”

“ … police ignored general orders ….” There was another infamous police chase several months ago in which a huge number of police cars joined in, with the result that an innocent couple, who happened to be black, received over a hundred shots into their car, killing them both. Though one officer in particular was named because he stood on the hood of the car and directed many shots into the front seat and was caught on camera. Still there was no murder charge or anything similar brought against any of the officers. This is what Attorney Romanucci is referring to when he says, “It all circles back to the culture that is instilled in the Police Department. ... They never accept responsibility," Romanucci said. Not only do they “never accept responsibility,” but they time after time behave in reckless disregard for public safety when something as enjoyable as a good car chase is going on. These police officers ignored the order to stop the chase. So much for police department discipline. Too bad if a pedestrian gets killed.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lafayette-louisiana-movie-theater-shooting-john-houser-extreme-views-on-tv/

Louisiana gunman's rage dates back decades
CBS/AP
July 25, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Gunman in Lafayette shooting had erratic past
22 PHOTOS -- Louisiana movie theater shooting

For decades before he opened fire in a Louisiana movie theater and killed two people, John Russell "Rusty" Houser was known as a man prone to anger, a loudmouth provocateur never afraid to share his opinion.

His family said they feared him so much they hid his guns and had him hospitalized. A local TV host frequently invited him as a guest, knowing he'd be a lightning rod who could light up the phone lines with rants against abortion and working women. In one prominent fight with local officials, he unfurled a banner outside his bar in the state of Georgia picturing a swastika.

In the early '90s, he was a regular guest on a call-in television show where he'd be the conservative Republican pitted against a Democrat to debate issues. The host, Calvin Floyd, said Houser had radical opinions that included advocating violence against abortion providers, keeping women out of the workplace and fearing a military takeover of civilian government.

"He made a lot of wild accusations," said Floyd, who hosted the show on WLTZ-TV in Columbus for more than two decades. "He could make the phones ring."

Yet Houser had a dark side that went way beyond talk. In 1989, court records say, he was accused of hiring someone to burn down a lawyer's office. A woman and her father say he virtually destroyed a foreclosed home he was being evicted from in 2014 after they bought it. His wife and other relatives filed papers accusing him of domestic violence in 2008.

In Lafayette, Louisiana, police said Houser stood up during a showing of the movie "Trainwreck" Thursday night and started shooting without a word. Two people were killed and nine were injured; authorities said Houser shot himself to death as officers pursued him in the theater.

"I wasn't a bit shocked that it happened," Floyd said. "As many times as I had him on it was obvious he had a screw loose."

The church-going son of a longtime city tax official, Houser received an accounting degree in 1988. Despite later problems, records do not indicate he was ever suspended or expelled, said a school statement.

Houser posted on an online career website that he was an entrepreneur who owned and operated two nightclubs in Georgia in the 1980s and 1990s. But his stint as a club operator ended when he was accused of selling alcohol to minors at Rusty's Buckhead Pub in LaGrange.

Houser put up the swastika banner in protest, according to an April 28, 2001, story in the LaGrange Daily News.

He told the newspaper he was "completely against" the Nazi philosophy but chose the symbol because it represents a government's ability to do what it wants.

"The people who used it - the Nazis - they did what they damn well pleased," Houser told the newspaper, accusing police officers of lying on the stand during his trial.

But CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues reported the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremists, has said it uncovered writings where Houser praised Adolf Hitler for "accomplishing far more than any other" and described America as a "failing filth farm."

In April 2008, Houser's wife Kellie Maddox Houser, daughter and others filed court papers seeking a temporary protective order against Houser, saying he had "perpetrated various acts of family violence" and had a history of bi-polar disorder.

At the time, records show, Houser was vehemently opposed to the upcoming marriage of his daughter. A judge had Houser committed, but the man told his wife he would continue trying to stop the wedding once he got out of the hospital.

A police report included with the request for a protective order said Houser believed his daughter and her fiance, who were 23 and 26 at the time, were far too young to wed and that he was mad at his wife for not stopping the marriage.

His wife Kellie told police "she had removed all of the guns from their house," and that "he should not have one unless he obtained it illegally."

Pegues reported that investigators have revealed Houser legally purchased the handgun used in the movie theater shooting last year in an Alabama pawn shop. In 2006, he was denied a permit in Alabama to carry a concealed weapon.

Last year, Houser was evicted from his Phenix City, Alabama home but later returned and caused some damage, including pouring concrete in plumbing pipes and tampering with a gas line, said Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor.

Norman Bone, 77, had bought the house out of foreclosure for his daughter, Beth Bone. Houser, angry he was being evicted, left it behind completely uninhabitable, they told the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper. Blankets were torn, with feathers scattered all over the home; human waste was left in buckets; cut-up goldfish were strewn about the pool and the house. Even the fuse box was cemented shut.




“A local TV host frequently invited him as a guest, knowing he'd be a lightning rod who could light up the phone lines with rants against abortion and working women. In one prominent fight with local officials, he unfurled a banner outside his bar in the state of Georgia picturing a swastika. …. The host, Calvin Floyd, said Houser had radical opinions that included advocating violence against abortion providers, keeping women out of the workplace and fearing a military takeover of civilian government. …. Yet Houser had a dark side that went way beyond talk. In 1989, court records say, he was accused of hiring someone to burn down a lawyer's office. A woman and her father say he virtually destroyed a foreclosed home he was being evicted from in 2014 after they bought it. His wife and other relatives filed papers accusing him of domestic violence in 2008. …. But CBS News correspondent Jeff Pegues reported the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremists, has said it uncovered writings where Houser praised Adolf Hitler for "accomplishing far more than any other" and described America as a "failing filth farm." …. Last year, Houser was evicted from his Phenix City, Alabama home but later returned and caused some damage, including pouring concrete in plumbing pipes and tampering with a gas line….”

“He told the newspaper he was "completely against" the Nazi philosophy but chose the symbol because it represents a government's ability to do what it wants.” This is not something we want in America. We want a limited government with laws protecting individual rights and written to promote “the general welfare.” That means that individuals, political groups and businesses will be punished if they go out and do just “anything they want.” Respect for “the rule of law” is the key to maintaining a peaceful nation, which is why I care so much who gets elected to office. Those people will write or enforce the laws, so they have to favor good laws rather than unfair and useless ones.

And that’s why I care so much what kind of police officers, court officers, lawmakers both state and federal, etc. get themselves into positions of power. This rightwing trend in thinking in this country -- this time -- produced a homicidal maniac, but when it produces a neo-Nazi political party that’s no better. The one kills or abuses individuals, the other kills and abuses groups such as blacks and Jews. What they all have in common is viciousness and utter selfishness. We have to stay vigilant as a society against such people wherever they exist.

Now, to me the term “position of power” shouldn’t include “police officer” except to a very limited degree. This is where so many “conservative” people disagree with me. The police should not merely enforce laws, but abide by them as well, and the courts should punish them if they fail to do that, with criminal charges such as murder, graft, etc. Jail and prison are for bad cops as well as regular street criminals.

In this specific case of horrific individual insanity, I feel that he should have been committed to an insane asylum as long as he remained “dangerous to himself and others,” as he was long known to be. He ws committed briefly, but was soon out again. The family let him live among them even though he was violent, and the community didn’t arrest or force him otherwise into being confined. People like him shouldn’t be given a few antidepressants and sent back home. A sociopath is not merely “depressed.” I know he was classified as bipolar, but he was a person with vicious views in general, in other words a sociopath. Part of the problem that keeps showing up with these severely ill people is that hospitals don’t want to keep them if their insurance quits paying, and of course there are homeless people who have no insurance anyway. Those people commonly stop taking their medicine because it make them feel dizzy or sleepy, or is too expensive. I know, “Bedlam” is a cruel and terrible thing, but society used to permanently hospitalize the criminally insane and there are still some hospitals of that kind. Society needs enough of those to house dangerously ill people before they buy a gun illegally and shoot a lot of people. This man was not unknown, and should have been stopped earlier. From the way I see this case, though, everybody failed to do their part, and a tragedy happened – again.





http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/07/25/426146861/pentagon-asks-armed-citizens-not-to-stand-guard-at-recruiting-centers

Pentagon Asks 'Armed Citizens' Not To Stand Guard At Recruiting Centers
Scott Neuman
JULY 25, 2015

Photograph -- Zachary Gallegos, 23, stands guard outside the Armed Services Recruiting Center on Thursday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Pentagon has asked such self-appointed "armed citizens" to leave, citing security concerns.
Kevin Burbach/AP

The Defense Department, reacting to armed citizens appearing in front of military recruiting offices around the country since last week's fatal shootings of five U.S. servicemen in Chattanooga, Tenn., has asked that "individuals not stand guard" on federal property.

"We take the safety of our service members, our DoD civilians, and the families who support them very seriously, and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is currently reviewing recommendations from the services for making our installations and facilities safer — including our recruiting stations," Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said in a statement.

"While we greatly appreciate the outpouring of support for our recruiters from the American public, we ask that individuals not stand guard at recruiting offices as it could adversely impact our mission, and potentially create unintended security risks," Cook said. "We continue to partner with and rely on first responders for the safety of the communities where our service members live and work."

The self-appointed armed guards began appearing in front of recruiting centers shortly after the July 16 shooting rampage by lone gunman Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez at Tennessee military sites that killed four U.S. Marines and a U.S. Navy sailor.

As we reported on Thursday, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command had issued a policy letter warning its soldiers to avoid vigilante guards and to report them to local law enforcement and the command.

Some of the self-appointed guards – who have appeared outside recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho, Washington, Texas, South Dakota and elsewhere — are affiliated with militia groups, according to Stars and Stripes.




"While we greatly appreciate the outpouring of support for our recruiters from the American public, we ask that individuals not stand guard at recruiting offices as it could adversely impact our mission, and potentially create unintended security risks," Cook said. "We continue to partner with and rely on first responders for the safety of the communities where our service members live and work." …. As we reported on Thursday, the U.S. Army Recruiting Command had issued a policy letter warning its soldiers to avoid vigilante guards and to report them to local law enforcement and the command. Some of the self-appointed guards – who have appeared outside recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho, Washington, Texas, South Dakota and elsewhere — are affiliated with militia groups, according to Stars and Stripes.”

Some rightwing zealots have been investigated by the federal law enforcement groups already, and I feel that more should be. I don’t think that the majority of the “militia” members are mentally healthy at all. They are often cruel at base, or at least paranoid, which is not considered consistent with sanity. The fact that the ranting of Tea Party members has brought a large number of them out into the open, where they show up walking down the aisles at Walmart and Target with repeating rifles of various kinds strapped around their body, exercising their “right to bear arms.” In my opinion all they really want to do is act macho and show off. Unfortunately those things tend to lead to pointless violence. Enough, already!!





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/tenderloin-sewing-machine-tailor-mend-community/

Man uses sewing machine to mend neighborhood's heart
By STEVE HARTMAN CBS NEWS
July 24, 2015

Photograph -- Michael Swaine uses an antique sewing machine to fix peoples' clothes in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco CBS NEWS

Editor's Note: This story originally aired on May 22, 2015. Since then we've learned that Michael Swaine has plans to move to Seattle. He'll be leaving his sewing machine so his assistant can take over.

SAN FRANCISCO -- When most people look at the streets of the Tenderloin district in downtown San Francisco they see drugs, crime, and homelessness. But Michael Swaine sees it differently.

"I find the Tenderloin the most beautiful, magical place," he said.

His unique perspective comes from a 15 year mission to mend the neighborhood -- literally mend the neighborhood. Once a month, Michael, a college art teacher, sets up a sewing machine on the sidewalk and -- stitch by stitch -- repairs the fabric of his community -- all for free

When one man tried to hand Michael some bills, Michael politely refused.

"I don't need any money," Michael said. "You know someone else who needs the money.

It's such a simple gesture, but it means so much to the residents of the Tenderloin. Michael's work makes them feel like they're getting back something they've lost. One woman we met applauded Michael's efforts while marveling at why anyone would want to fix somebody's "nasty, grimy clothes."

It's a good point. And the answer has nothing to do with sewing.

"The sewing machine has become more than just the tool for mending," explained Michael. "It's also the tool for making people stop. It's also the tool people feel really comfortable around."

Michael started sewing for strangers after he found an antique sewing machine tossed to the curb. It was his way of paying it forward. But in the years since, it has become less about letting out pants and more and about taking in stories, about building community.

"He's a good man and he's touching the world and healing people with his gift and I honor him and I thank him," said one woman.

Like an old pair of jeans, the Tenderloin will probably never be good as new -- but thanks to people like Michael, it's still got a lot of life left in it.

To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, e-mail us.

You can find Michael at the "Tenderloin National Forest." For more information on the location and Michael's work, go to: http://www.luggagestoregallery.org/tnf/




"I find the Tenderloin the most beautiful, magical place," he said. His unique perspective comes from a 15 year mission to mend the neighborhood -- literally mend the neighborhood. Once a month, Michael, a college art teacher, sets up a sewing machine on the sidewalk and -- stitch by stitch -- repairs the fabric of his community -- all for free. When one man tried to hand Michael some bills, Michael politely refused. "I don't need any money," Michael said. "You know someone else who needs the money.” …. Michael started sewing for strangers after he found an antique sewing machine tossed to the curb. It was his way of paying it forward. But in the years since, it has become less about letting out pants and more and about taking in stories, about building community. "He's a good man and he's touching the world and healing people with his gift and I honor him and I thank him," said one woman.

Now this is a hero, and a true Christian. With no loud preaching about heaven and hell or attempts to bomb abortion clinics, he is following the specific command of Jesus to his followers, “Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc.” and he does it with an admirable degree of humility. We need more like him. In America the Beautiful, we need to redefine our ideas of what “a good man” is. I wonder if the Pope has read this article? From what I’ve read of his comments, I think he might agree with me.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/missouri-girl-saves-grandpa-thanks-to-science-fair-project/

10-year-old girl saves grandpa, thanks to science fair project
CBS/AP
July 24, 2015

Photograph -- 10-year-old Sophia Tabors showing off her science fair project that helped her save her grandfathers life. CBS AFFILIATE KMOV

ST. LOUIS -- A 10-year-old St. Louis girl is being credited for helping save her grandfather's life after noticing, thanks to her science fair project, that he was having a stroke.

Sophia Tabors tells CBS affiliate KMOV that she decided to study strokes after one of her grandfathers suffered one. The fourth-grader's project won a second-place ribbon.

"My other grandpa had a stroke and during that stroke I'm like, 'Well it'd be interesting to find out why strokes happen and what causes them,'" Tabors told KMOV.

Two months after the science fair, she sprang to action when her other grandpa suddenly dropped a bag of apples.

"He was staring at it and I was trying to ask him if he was okay. ... He was saying something but I didn't get it and his face was droopy on one side," she told KMOV.

Sophia told her mom what was happening, and she called 911.

Dr. Amer Alshekhlee credits the girl's quick thinking with saving a lot of her grandpa's functions and probably his life.

The grandfather is recovering.




“A 10-year-old St. Louis girl is being credited for helping save her grandfather's life after noticing, thanks to her science fair project, that he was having a stroke. Sophia Tabors tells CBS affiliate KMOV that she decided to study strokes after one of her grandfathers suffered one. The fourth-grader's project won a second-place ribbon. "My other grandpa had a stroke and during that stroke I'm like, 'Well it'd be interesting to find out why strokes happen and what causes them,'" Tabors told KMOV. .... "He was staring at it and I was trying to ask him if he was okay. ... He was saying something but I didn't get it and his face was droopy on one side," she told KMOV. Sophia told her mom what was happening, and she called 911. Dr. Amer Alshekhlee credits the girl's quick thinking with saving a lot of her grandpa's functions and probably his life.”

They say that if you get the patient to an emergency room (not the family doctor) within an hour, the symptoms from the stroke will be lessened greatly. Most strokes are caused by blood clots and the doctors will immediately inject a “clot-buster” drug into the patient’s vein at the ER. This girl proved her mental quickness by recognizing the situation and getting help immediately. Not only does a science project like this one improve the kids’ education because it causes them to see practical results from science studies; it also makes the kids become enthusiastic about exploring the world, questioning and therefore learning. They will decide to be a doctor, perhaps, and study with enthusiasm and joy rather than with a confused and defeated drudgery.

The whole thing of “teaching to the test” so the kids will know exactly what answers to write down on a grueling annual exam will only teach the specific points which happened to be chosen for the test. It will not stimulate and teach kids to enjoy the learning process and apply it to their lives, or cause them to become able to think things through for themselves and come up with some new ideas. Science projects, yes, too many tests, no!! I have nothing against a set of goals toward which the teachers will aim, such as Common Core does, assuming they don’t actually try to “indoctrinate” kids as the program’s foes claim. Now if what they actually oppose is that empathy with others no matter their racial/gender/economic class/or religious group, and a government which will promote a reasonably comfortable life for all is being taught, then I do disagree with generally “conservative” thinking on that subject.

If kids do learn to love their educational process through stimulating teaching methods, they will almost always study more on their own and as a result get a much better education. When they hit the College Board test – if that were the only standardized test as when I was young – they will almost certainly do better on it than if they had tried to memorize a boring test every year. Education was on a much better track before the state and federal legislatures got into directing what was being taught and how. That includes the fact that though there was debate about evolution when I went through, none of my teachers ever tried to force it down my throat, and no textbooks even mentioned “intelligent design.”