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Catherine Binder

Say hi to the Crazy - 3 views

www.sfgate.com/...article.cgi

shared by Catherine Binder on 04 Oct 10 - No Cached
Kay Bradley liked it
  • Catherine Binder on 04 Oct 10
     
    This article is a few weeks old, but the writer brings up interesting points about Islam, the NY mosque debate, and the United States' international relations. His mention of Hiroshima's Peace Park in comparison to the US' plans for Ground Zero is intriguing. Heather's article about the syphilis experiment in Guatemala is just one recent example of why the US is perceived as domineering. I never thought to question our plans for the former site of the World Trade Center, but I completely agree with the writer - why are we building a gaudy shiny tower instead of something more inviting that could facilitate discussions between countries? He states that "It would be nice if our ground zero could become an international home of reconciliation. Instead of continuing the hatred, defuse it."
  • ...2 more comments...
  • anonymous on 04 Oct 10
     
    I like how Jon talks about "the Crazy." I sometimes get caught up in trying to figure out how and why some people have seemingly immoral opinions about things. I first have to remind myself that I'm not always right myself, and if after that I think the issue really is a simple difference between right and wrong, I try to think of the reasons as to why people would think differently from me. It's one thing to think that all of those people are just stupid, all of them have to be evil to think such a thing, all of them don't know what they're talking about. Truth is, it's a mix. I wish I knew more about the mosque issue to be able to have a solid opinion on whether or not it should be built, but I do think the people on each side of the matter need to stop generalizing about the other. The anti-mosque-ians should recognize that terrorists are part of every religion. The pro-mosque-ians should recognize that some of their opposers know what they're talking about, but a lot of them are just caught up in "the Crazy." Both sides should try to understand the other as to dispel any false notions they have about each other (or themselves) and to try and come to a rational, peaceful decision.
  • Heather Anderson on 04 Oct 10
     
    I never thought of comparing 9/11 to the bombing of Hiroshima. Although what happened on 9/11 was absolutely terrible, the scale of the tragedies is really different: 2,000 vs 100,000, a few crazies vs a nation's decision to use extreme power. I don't want to sound insensitive, but I feel as though 9/11 is sometimes blown out of proportion; there have been worse tragedies in the world, at least statistically speaking. However, the emotional and symbolic significance definitely hit the U.S. hard: so many people killed, so much fear, being attacked so close to home, over different religious beliefs. I get the feeling that the author is comparing 9/11 to Hiroshima partially to appeal to people who view it on that scale. I never thought much about the plans for the new towers, but when I did, I suppose I thought it was good we were picking ourselves up and moving forward. But perhaps we would be moving forward in the wrong direction. I really like the idea of a peace garden or a building dedicated to world peace. I think that would be a very inspired way to address the tensions that caused 9/11. I hope parts of the new building will be dedicated to working for peace. Although I doubt anyone will suddenly change the plans for the tower, I think it is actually quite possible that some parts of the building will serve this purpose.
  • Gregory Freiberg on 04 Oct 10
     
    I agree with Alison. All to often we get caught up in our own opinions which sometimes means that we contend every other opinion is wrong. For example, I think that the mosque should be built near ground zero. I think this because to generalize against a whole religion because of a small part of one of the largest religions in the world seems dumb; however, after thinking about this I do realize that the other side to this argument is valid. Why a mosque? Can't we accomplish something similar in terms of fostering peace by building something else? As heather said, this still could be moving forward in the wrong direction. I do not know. But I am trying to be open about the other side to this very multidimensional issue. It is wrong of us to think it is an ethical issue with two side of right and wrong, there is in fact a lot of grey areas.
  • Rick Rodgers on 04 Oct 10
     
    Hey all, I'd just like to remind everyone that the "mosque" is not being built at ground zero (in fact it's in a Burlington Coat Factory blocks away: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-sledge/just-how-far-is-the-groun_b_660585.html. I think the ethical debate surrounding the issue is just further testament to the fact that many Americans unconsciously subscribe to media hype, regardless of their positions on issues. While I agree with what has been said about the ethics of a hypothetical mosque at ground zero, we should realize that this ethical dilemma is a fallacy and exists only as a headline. Also, I think the we/the press/everyone should be more careful who we label as "crazy irrational terrorists". We should realize that those guys didn't get on the planes on 9/11 because they were born without enough of X hormone, they were there because of a long history of western intervention etc. in their home countries. We shouldn't be so quick to dismiss terrorism as an irrational act by sick people, it only allows us to forget the underlying complicity that we have with the issue.
Kay Bradley

Katharine Hayhoe - "Our future is still in our hands" | The On Being Project - The On B... - 0 views

onbeing.org/...r-future-is-still-in-our-hands

climate climate change environment faith action

shared by Kay Bradley on 15 Nov 21 - No Cached
  • I was talking with a pastor just recently, and he asked me very genuinely, he said, “How do I talk to people about climate change, when the only solutions that we are told that there are to climate change is to stop eating meat” — which is a very big deal in Texas, with those barbecues, it really is. It’s an identity issue. I’m not saying this facetiously; it is literally an identity issue — “and stop driving trucks, also an identity issue, stop traveling, stop having children, which is also an identity issue — basically, stop all these things that actually we often see as defining who we are?” And he said, “How am I supposed to tell people that we’re supposed to do this, when it’s as if I’m telling them, you know, we have to just” — and I think these were my words — “return to the Stone Age, unplug everything, and all the solutions are bad”?
  • And sadly, the way our human psychology is built, psychologists have shown that we, as humans, are much more averse to losing what we have than gaining something new.
  • I think there are some very smart people who have put those pieces together and deliberately communicated a message to us that we’re going to lose all we hold dear, instead of messaging the truth, which is, don’t you want to be more energy independent, rather than less? Don’t you want to have a car that is faster, that you never have to go to the gas station again — especially in the days of COVID — than the one that you have today, and that doesn’t produce air pollution that’s responsible for almost 9 million deaths a year? Don’t you want to grow food in a way that is healthy and good for the soil and for people and for the animals, too? Don’t you want to invest in nature, so it can protect us by purifying our air and our water and protecting our coastlines and providing habitat for animals and preventing zoonosis? When we actually start talking about real solutions  — and that’s the Yale survey that you referred to that I talk about in the book — when we ask people about real solutions, everybody’s on board. Everybody says, heck yes, I would love to do that. And so that is where we can directly address the fear, head-on.
  • ...21 more annotations...
  • what you’ve been saying. “What we need to fix this thing is rational hope.” How do you instill rational hope? And I mean, how do you do that, right, when you’re out there?
  • And then the second thing is recognizing that we are already moving towards a better future. Now, it might not seem like that, because all the headlines are full of doom and gloom and bad news. But when we start to look for hopeful news — and sadly, we have to go out and look for it, because if you just go — I did an experiment the other day, where I went to the website of a major news organization, and I just paged down through 35 headlines. And about seven or eight were very neutral; like, they didn’t evoke any emotion in me. They were just neutral, factual headlines. And every single other headline was negative — every one. So when we go and we look, though, for the hopeful stories of people who are making a difference, that imbues us with a sense of efficacy, that, wow, there’s somebody over there who’s doing something.
  • And you’re talking about what I refer to as a muscular hope.
  • Nobody in Texas knows that we have the biggest army base by land area, in the U.S., Fort Hood, that is 43 percent powered by clean energy.
  • Nobody knows that the Dallas Fort Worth airport was the first large carbon-neutral airport in North America.
  • Nobody knows that the city of Houston, which is home to, of course, most of the headquarters of many large, multinational oil and gas corporations, that the city of Houston has — is going to be meeting its Paris targets, in terms of reducing its carbon emissions.
  • we think of climate action as a giant boulder sitting at the bottom of an incredibly steep hill, and it’s only got a few hands on it. It’s got, you know, Al Gore’s hands are on it, and maybe Jane Goodall, and maybe a couple other hands, but nobody else. And so there’s just no way we’re going to make it up that hill. Like, just forget it. Why even waste my time? That’s sort of mentally how we think.
  • But the reality is, when we start to look around and see that 90 percent of new energy installed last year, during COVID, was clean energy, and we start to see that cities all over the world are taking action on climate change, and big businesses, like Microsoft and Apple and AT&T — you know, they’re building the biggest solar farm in the U.S., outside of Dallas, to supply major corporations with clean energy. So really, that giant boulder, it is already at the top of the hill, and it’s already rolling down the hill in the right direction, and it already has millions of hands on it. It just doesn’t have enough to get it going faster. And when we think, well, maybe I could add my hand to that, because I could get it going just a little bit faster, that’s totally different than if we think it’s at the bottom of the hill, not budging even an inch. So I find tremendous hope from that.
  • Texas, if Texas were its own country, it would be the seventh-most prolific emitter of carbon dioxide in the world, it’s the number one emitter in the U.S. — and Texas leads the nation in wind generation, for example.
  • that, honestly, and here’s the crazy thing. When you look at how the world has changed before — and it has changed. I mean, you know, 200 years ago it was somehow completely socially acceptable to have other human beings in slavery. And 150 years ago, it was entirely acceptable to say that women’s brains were too small and too fragile to be educated, because they would overheat.
  • It is the verse in Timothy where it talks about fear, where it says, “God has not given you a spirit of fear.”
  • that verse goes on to say, is a spirit of power, which is kind of an old-fashioned word, but in modern parlance it means to be empowered; to be able to act.
  • Or “agency.”
  • Yes, agency. Exactly — a spirit of agency. I like that.
  • And that’s the opposite of being paralyzed by fear. And we also have a spirit of love, which means we can be thinking of and considering others, not just ourselves and our own needs
  • So caring about this issue and acting on it is not only consistent with who we are, but it enables us to more genuinely express what we truly care about
  • It’s about acknowledging that, to care about climate change, you only have to be one thing, and that one thing is a human, living on planet Earth.
  • But talk about why it matters to you. Talk about how you both ski, or you’re both parents and you’re worried about your kids and the playground being too hot for them, or the fact that you fish and you’ve noticed that the fish populations are changing, or the fact that your basement got flooded last time it rained. Talk about something that matters to you and to the person that you’re talking with, and then do your research, to learn about what real climate solutions look like, and share that information with people.
  • do you know what our city is doing? Find out what your city’s doing. Tell people. Do you know what your state’s doing? Do you know what your church is doing? And if you don’t know, ask, and then if they’re not doing anything, say, hey, here are some things that you could be doing. And I even have a list on my website, because people often ask me that. So I’ve got a list of, you know, what could your church do, what can you do at school — all of these different things you can do.
  • hope begins with fear or despair or anxiety, it begins, as the bible says in the Book of Romans, it begins with suffering. And that suffering produces perseverance, and that perseverance produces character, and the character produces hope
  • in the middle of the century, it was somehow acceptable to say that, depending on the color of your skin, you could or couldn’t enter certain buildings or sit in a place on the bus. So the world has absolutely changed before, and how did it change? It was when ordinary people of no particular wealth or fame decided that the world could and should be different, and they decided to not only take personal action, but to use their voices to talk about why it mattered, what could be done, and to advocate for change in every sphere in which they were.
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Nov 21
     
    "Well, we live, today, in a country, the United States, that is more politically polarized than it's been in either of our lifetimes, ever. And that just seems to be getting worse by the day." What Hayhoe and others are pointing to is another way of communicating about climate change.
Kay Bradley

http://www.clarionproject.org/docs/Issue%2011%20-%20From%20the%20battle%20of%20Al-Ahzab... - 1 views

www.clarionproject.org/...he%20war%20of%20coalitions.pdf

shared by Kay Bradley on 18 Nov 15 - No Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 18 Nov 15
     
    ISIS Slick Magazine Issue 11
Kay Bradley

Immigration's Role Often Overlooked in Global Economy | FPIF - 0 views

www.fpif.org/...n_overlooked_in_global_economy

Industrialized Democracies Less Developed World: Global South globalization migration Africa France

shared by Kay Bradley on 14 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Kay Bradley on 14 Oct 12
     
    Comparing immigration issues in two Advanced industrial countries; France and the US
Matt Harband

Iranian Rial in Downward Spiral - 1 views

www.economist.com/21564607

Iran speculation hyperinflation inflation rial

shared by Matt Harband on 13 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Matt Harband on 13 Oct 12
     
    The Iranian national currency, the rial has been in steady decline for months, and the only method that the government has used to combat the issue is to print more money-- not the best plan of action.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Alexander Luckmann on 14 Oct 12
     
    Inflation at above 25% since January -- that's a ridiculous rate. As we saw in "Commanding Heights", economy and politics are closely tied together, and it will be fascinating to see to what extent the economy swings support toward Ahmadinejad's opposition. Could Iran be in a similar position as Russia was in the '80s, perhaps spending far too much on the military (nuclear bomb??) to manage the economy wisely?
  • Thomas Peterson on 15 Oct 12
     
    I agree with what Alexander said. I think it would be interesting to investigate whether or not the Obama administration has considered applying economic pressure to Iran in order to achieve diplomatic means. With Iran in such an unstable economic state (which I am surprised isn't covered more by American news media), why would the US government even consider using military force against Iran if the Ahmadinejad regime could be destabilized in another way. We'll see how Obama and Romney treat this issue in the foreign policy debate, as Obama could use an argument based on Iran's economic instability in going against Romney's position on using military force against Iran.
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    yes!
Elizabeth Sundsmo

Israel's coming election: Sitting pretty | The Economist - 2 views

www.economist.com/...21564613

election natanyahu government corruption israel

shared by Elizabeth Sundsmo on 15 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Elizabeth Sundsmo on 15 Oct 12
     
    About Israel's election: Natanyahu running for third term, only other percieved challengers unable to run because some law and court issues.
  • ...1 more comment...
  • Robert Giesler on 15 Oct 12
     
    Obvious corruption going on, no matter who wins, the US will give them a whole load of money and support. Should the US be so heavily funding corrupt governments?
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    Oooh. So much to discuss about Israeli politics.
  • Rory Chipman on 15 Oct 12
     
    Its interesting that Israel-US relations may have a sway in the US presidential elections, even when Israel itself is tainted with corruption.
Kay Bradley

Africa's Scramble for Europe - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ricas-scramble-for-europe.html

population Africa Europe

shared by Kay Bradley on 17 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • But mostly Calais highlights two major differences between the immigration issue in America and Europe, two ways in which migration — from Africa, above all — is poised to divide and reshape the European continent in ways that go far beyond anything the United States is likely to experience.
  • it poses a major dilemma for the European Union, which allows free movement across its internal borders, but which is composed of nation-states that still want sovereignty over their respective immigration policies.
  • America has a mild version of this tension: Witness the recent debate over “sanctuary cities,” or state-federal conflicts over immigration enforcement.
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • Witness the recent debate over “sanctuary cities,” or state-federal conflicts over immigration enforcement.
    • Kay Bradley
      Kay Bradley on 17 Oct 16
       
      Discuss sanctuary cities in US, murder of San Francisco woman by illegal immigrant this summer, etc.
  • the desire for real national control over immigration policy may be as dangerous to the E.U. project in the long run as the already-evident folly of expanding the common currency to Greece.
    • Kay Bradley
      Kay Bradley on 17 Oct 16
       
      Two issues to discuss here: EU nations' desire for a an independent immigration policy; expanding common currency to a nation like Greece
  • “Brexit” from the European Union.
  • It’s behind the rise of the National Front in France, and Euroskeptical parties the continent over.
  • Europe’s already-significant north-south divisions
  • the scale of the migration that may be coming to Europe over the next fifty years.
  • 300 million people in the United States and just under 600 million in all the countries to our south
  • In 2050, according to the latest U.N. projections, Europe’s population will have dipped to (an aging) 707 million, while Africa’s population will be 2.4 billion
  • By 2100
  • 4.4 billion Africans
  • Europe’s population will be just 646 million.
  • northward migration – a kind of African “scramble for Europe”
  • Desperation might drive it, but so might rising expectations, the connections forged by growth and globalization.
  • Kay Bradley on 17 Oct 16
     
    population Africa Europe
Alex Sommer

German and Italian Leaders to Meet on Euro Crisis - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...nudge-germany-to-back-ecb.html

shared by Alex Sommer on 29 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • Alex Sommer on 29 Aug 12
     
    BERLIN - The top leaders of Germany and Italy plan to meet Wednesday as part of an intense round of shuttle diplomacy before several critical decisions that face Europe. The region's leaders are struggling to appease voters questioning the price of unity in the euro currency union after three years of financial turmoil.
  • Alex Sommer on 29 Aug 12
     
    I find European economics very fascinating, personally. Germany has been saving much of the Euro economy for three years since the economic crash began, but is not facing its own fiscal issues. In addition, the article discusses the actions of Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti, who has been frantically attending meetings and important "coffees" with other European heads of states to prevent their country's growing national debt--already at 123% GDP!!!
  • Kay Bradley on 03 Sep 12
     
    What are Germany's own economic issues? It has seemed like the bulwark of Europe for the last five years! Are there things that are being ignored, e.g. migrant labor, cost of universal health insurance and old age pensions? Is Angela Merkel still popular? Who might succeed her? What are her party's politics?
Aaron Lau

India: The Learning Experience - 2 views

India is an extremely complex country with many complex systems with so many different issues that plague the country, but on the flip side India is a country that is rich with culture and traditio...

started by Aaron Lau on 24 Oct 13 no follow-up yet
Stuart Suplick

India's Need for Improved Civil Services - 1 views

Many of India's civil services have received an unsavory reputation, no thanks due to government corruption and the lack of effective policy to deal with it. Performance in education and health car...

india government corruption HDI

started by Stuart Suplick on 28 Oct 13 no follow-up yet
quinnlewis

Take a Walk Through Israel and Gaza, a Year After the War - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...rael-walk-war-anniversary.html

shared by quinnlewis on 11 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • quinnlewis on 11 Sep 15
     
    Interesting perspective on an issue thats faded a little from the spotlight - really shows that even when the news coverage fades the problems don't. Just something to keep in mind when we talk about current events: it might be interesting to look at less-recent crises or incidents and where they are now even if they seem less "relevant"
Rachel Katzoff

EU enlargement: The next eight - 4 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-europe-11283616

EU

shared by Rachel Katzoff on 12 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Rachel Katzoff on 12 Oct 10
     
    This article talks about the next eight countries trying to gain entry into the EU. The most likely country to join the EU is Croatia and they may be approved as early as 2011. Each of the countries that applied as some internal issues they have to work out before they will be admitted. The process of being admitted is interesting to me because the countries first have to submit and application, get confirmed as a candidate, and then they begin talks. In the case of Turkey, the process has been going on since 1987.
  • ...4 more comments...
  • Curtis Serrano on 14 Oct 10
     
    Its incredible what the EU requires of joining nations, turkey has been trying for over 20 years. Its also interesting that many of these countries seem to be denied based on organized crime problems.
  • Kay Bradley on 17 Oct 10
     
    If you refer to the graphic representation of national debt among EU nations, bookmarked above, you'll see that wealth disparities among member nations is a potential deal breaker too.
  • anonymous on 18 Oct 10
     
    I think it's fairly comical how the EU is really a gentlemen's club for the golden boys of Europe and how they are now fiercely attempting to reject their less desirable neighbors while maintaining this facade of being open and welcoming. Of course, it's hard to embrace someone when you're holding onto your wallet with both hands.
  • Rick Rodgers on 18 Oct 10
     
    I think the problems in Greece point to why the EU has to be careful about who is let and who is not. That being said, this process with regards to Turkey is taking way too long. It would be a big step if Europe could build strong ties with Turkey, as it is one of the most accessible means of diplomatic and cultural communication with the ME (Israel is useless). Perhaps in this case, it would be best for the EU to forgive Turkey some minor problems in Cyprus, recognize that they have made improves with the "Kurd problem" and just let them in the damn club already. Perhaps greater improvements with internal Turkish issues that don't appeal to the UN could be made even more easily once Turkey has already joined.
  • Catherine Binder on 18 Oct 10
     
    I had no idea that it was this difficult to become a member of the European Union - being confirmed as a candidate can take more than a decade. Poor Turkey began the process 23 years ago, and is expected to require at least 10 more years to be fully prepared for membership. What an endeavor!
  • Gregory Freiberg on 18 Oct 10
     
    I think this is very interesting and I cannot agree with Jack more. When these countries are thinking only with their pocket books it is hard to be genuinely welcoming to other nations. In my opinion, making Turkey wait 20+ years to join is far too long and a bit ridiculous especially when you compare it to the time other countries had to wait. Croatia joined in less than 5. Very unfair...
Kay Bradley

Fouad Ajami - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 1 views

en.wikipedia.org/Fouad_Ajami

clash of civilizations Huntington

shared by Kay Bradley on 11 Sep 11 - Cached
Kay Bradley liked it
  • Fouad A. Ajami (Arabic: فؤاد عجمي‎; born September 9, 1945, in Arnoun, Lebanon), is a MacArthur Fellowship winning, Lebanese-born American university professor and writer on Middle Eastern issues. He is currently a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.
  • Ajami was an outspoken supporter of the Iraq War, the nobility of which he believes there "can be no doubt".
  • In 1973 Ajami joined the politics department of Princeton University where he did not get tenure. He made a name for himself there as a vocal supporter of Palestinian self-determination.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Johns Hopkins University
  • He is today the Majid Khadduri professor in Middle East Studies and Director of the Middle East Studies Program
  • One notable contribution Ajami made in the September October 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs was a rebuttal to Samuel Huntington’s "The Clash of Civilizations?", regarding the state and future of international relations after the Cold War.
  • In his article “The Summoning”, Ajami criticises Huntington for ignoring the empirical complexities and state interests which drive conflicts in and between civilizations
jmilani99

What's Going On in an Australian TV Ad Opposing Gay Marriage? - The New York Times - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...a-same-sex-marriage-tv-ad.html

shared by jmilani99 on 07 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • jmilani99 on 07 Sep 17
     
    This article reviews an ad run in Australia advocating a no vote on the marriage equality postal survey. I think it is interesting because I've never seen an ad like this before. Perhaps this is because I live in a liberal environment, but I was still interested to see such an ad and also their take on the issue.
axelizaret

Killing of Migrant Forces France to Confront Racism Against Asian People - 3 views

www.nytimes.com/...-chinese-immigrant-attack.html

shared by axelizaret on 17 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • axelizaret on 17 Oct 16
     
    The status quo of racism and the intolerance of immigrants in France is not improving, and islamophobia is just at the surface of the issue. The awareness of racism against Asian communities is increasing in the aftermath of the murder of a 49 year old Chinese man who immigrated to France in 2006. While he was walking around with a couple of old friends, a group of youths beat them and left them lying on the sidewalk, and the man died 5 days later in the hospital. Since, there has been a large scale protest over the governments lack of action (60,000 people marched into Paris). Furthermore, it is coming to light that frequent hate crimes against Asian people have been going on and the government has, for the most part, ignored them. Police make reporting a crime pointless because they reject most reports on grounds that either they can't understand their accent, or they just refuse to take the complaint.
  • aleishaallen on 17 Oct 16
     
    I think this situation is reminiscent of what is going on all over Europe right now. Although many people have focused their attention on the refugee crisis and how islamophobia may be an issue, more and more situations are being brought to light that suggest a deep underlying racism that was there even before refugees started arriving. I think the comment about one death not being nothing is very important. With so much death and destruction, it is easy to say "well it was only that one time", but it is important to realize that even one death has a profound impact on a community and certainly a family. I also think that racism within the government is a large problem. The comments people made about the police not wanting to see (or being unable to see) the severity of a situation, seems to be a problem many are facing. On a more specific note, I was not aware that there is such a large Chinese population in France.
anyak2021

Even as Cases Rise, Europe Is Learning to Live With the Coronavirus - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...coronavirus-europe.html

shared by anyak2021 on 15 Sep 20 - No Cached
  • anyak2021 on 15 Sep 20
     
    Instead of requiring strict social distancing measures and lockdowns like the United States, France and many other European countries have encouraged citizens to go back to their normal lives. The countries are confident that with widespread testing, medical infrastructure, and mask availability, they will be able to control a surge in cases and limit hospitalizations. This move is still controversial, as many think that letting the virus "run its course" would disproportionately impact immunocompromised and the elderly. Yet, the majority of recent cases have been in young people, likely due to their increased socialization. I think this is interesting and possibly a more practical COVID response than lockdowns, which people rarely follow. I wonder if an approach like this could work in the United States, but the pandemic response remains highly political here.
  • artemisiam2021 on 15 Sep 20
     
    I feel like this strategy used in Europe is much more likely to succeed than if it was used in the US, as I agree with you that in Europe the coronavirus response is less of a political issue and more of a health crisis. Therefore, in Europe, people more vulnerable to the virus are more likely to stay home and carry out social distancing protocol for their own and others' safety than the US, where coronavirus safety guidelines are sometimes seen as an encroachment on people's individual freedoms. In the US it is much more unclear as to whether this kind of approach would really work, not only because of the pandemic response being politicized but also because of many refusing to wear a mask and US covid-19 testing issues.
Kay Bradley

Police Reform Is Necessary. But How Do We Do It? - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...police-reform.html

shared by Kay Bradley on 27 Aug 20 - No Cached
  • The United States spends more on public safety than almost all its peer countries and much less, relatively speaking, on social services
  • Now we’re having a conversation that’s not just about how black communities are policed, and what reforms are required, but also about why we’ve invested exclusively in a criminalization model for public safety, instead of investing in housing, jobs, health care, education for black communities and fighting structural inequality.
  • Budgets are moral documents, reflecting priorities and values.
  • ...21 more annotations...
  • Garza: In 2018 and 2019, my organization, Black Futures Lab, did what we believe is the largest survey of black communities in America. It’s called the Black Census Project. We asked more than 30,000 black people across America what we experience, what we want to see happen instead and what we long for, for our futures.
  • the No.1 issue facing them, and keeping them up at night, is that their wages are too low to support a family.
  • Imagine that you have a tool chest for solving social problems. It gives you options. Then you lose the tool of mental-health resources. You lose the tool of public education. They take out the tool of job placement. And then all you’ve got left is this one rusty hammer. That’s policing.
  • Simply defunding the police cannot be a legacy of this moment. I want to hear about investing in black communities more than I want to hear about defunding.
  • There has been such a massive disinvestment in the social safety net that should exist to give black communities an opportunity to thrive, whether it’s access to health care or housing or education or jobs.
  • They cause others to be armed, out of fear, who shouldn’t have to worry about defending themselves
  • The dispatcher would route calls that aren’t about crimes or a risk of harm to social workers, mediators and others.
  • In many cities, the police spend a lot of time “on traffic and motor-vehicle issues, on false burglar alarms, on noise complaints and on problems with animals,”
  • When a police report leads to criminal charges — only a subset of the whole — about 80 percent of them are for misdemeanors. Friedman argues that we should hand off some of what the police do to people who are better trained for it.
  • A tiny percentage of people are the ones destabilizing communities
  • There are a host of things that the police are currently responding to that they have no business responding to.
  • If you have a car accident, why is somebody with a gun coming to the scene?
  • Or answering a complaint about someone like George Floyd, who the store clerk said bought a pack of cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill?
  • Similarly, if you have a homeless man panhandling at a red light and you say to a cop, “Go fix it,” he’ll arrest the man. And now he has a $250 ticket. And how does he pay that? And what does any of this accomplish?
  • domestic disputes. They’re the subject of 15 to more than 50 percent of calls to the police
  • But might we get further in the long run if someone with other skills — in social work or mediation — actually handled the incident?
  • The women were deeply wary of the police in general, but 33 of them had called them at least once, often for help with a teenager. “Calling the police on family members deepens the reach of penal control,” Bell wrote. But the mothers in her study have scant options.
  • hey knew that if they called the police that real harm could come, and they didn’t want that.
  • When I did investigations for the Justice Department, I would hear police officers say: “I didn’t sign up to the police force to be a social worker. I don’t have that training.” They know they’re stuck handling things because there is a complete lack of investment in other approaches and responses.
  • In Eugene, Ore., some 911 calls are routed to a crisis-intervention service called Cahoots, which responds to things like homelessness, substance abuse and mental illness. Houston routes some mental-health calls to a counselor if they’re not emergencies. New Orleans is hiring people who are not police officers to go to traffic collisions and write reports, as long as there are no injuries or concerns about drunken driving. I’m borrowing these examples from Barry Friedman’s article. The point is that some cities are beginning to reduce the traditional scope of police work.
  • One of the most interesting studies about policing is a randomized comparison of different strategies for dealing with areas of Lowell, Mass., that were hot spots for crime. One was aggressive patrols, which included stop-and-frisk encounters and arrests on misdemeanor charges, like drug possession. A second was social-service interventions, like mental-health help or taking homeless people to shelters. A third involved physical upkeep: knocking down vacant buildings, cleaning vacant lots, putting in streetlights and video cameras. The most effective in reducing crime was the third strategy.
ershai

Let's Not Pretend That the Way We Withdrew From Afghanistan Was the Problem - 4 views

www.nytimes.com/...afghanistan-us-withdrawal.html

Afghanistan NYTimes

shared by ershai on 01 Sep 21 - No Cached
  • ershai on 01 Sep 21
     
    I mentioned this op-ed in a comment on somebody else's post. I linked it in case anybody was interested.
  • ...3 more comments...
  • samuelws on 01 Sep 21
     
    I think this article is valid in its argument that the war in Afghanistan and the effort to prop up a government and resist the inevitable was the core issue. That said, it seems awfully dismissive of the horrendous logistical moves from the retreat. It does not mention the army equipment seized by the Taliban that could have easily been avoided, or the fact that many people could have been evacuated before we completely gave up all ground except that airport.
  • sidc2022 on 01 Sep 21
     
    I agree that Taliban takeover became inevitable after our involvement in Afghani affairs, a pattern in which we, the self proclaimed "most powerful" country, attempt to control other countries, however we fail to succeed flawlessly despite our military strength.
  • alexandrac22 on 01 Sep 21
     
    I think that if the United States chose to never involve themselves at all they would still be blamed for the Taliban taking over Afghanistan because of how powerful we are. I believe that there was never a right answer or right way to go about it and the United States made the best decisions they could in a complicated situation.
  • audreybandel on 01 Sep 21
     
    This is a really interesting perspective on this issue and on interventionist foreign policy as a whole. The current situation in Afghanistan is clearly reflective of a larger pattern of American foreign policy and attempted nation building.
  • Kay Bradley on 27 Sep 21
     
    Thank you for the exchange of ideas here, CoPo students. . . . it sure feels lousy to have left Afghanistan. I do wonder what the next 12 months will bring.
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