Purges

From the BBC:

"Five infamous purges"

North Korea has shocked the world by purging and executing one of its most powerful figures, Chang Song-thaek, who was uncle of leader Kim Jong-un.  The North's leader is following in the footsteps of some of the world's most infamous rulers. Here are five of the most notorious political purges of the last century

Hitler, Germany, 1934:

Hitler used a combination of the ballot box and bullying to gain power in Germany in 1933.  The Sturmabteilung (SA), otherwise known as the "brownshirts", acted as the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. Under charismatic leader Ernst Roehm, they beat up and intimidated potential opponents during the 1920s and early 1930s. However, by 1934 they had become too powerful. Between 30 June and 2 July, Roehm and dozens of other SA leaders were shot dead. The incident became known as the Night of the Long Knives. Although the SA continued to exist, the purge had hobbled it.

Stalin, Soviet Union, 1934-1939:

Stalin used the killing of his right-hand man, Sergei Kirov, as a pretext for launching a ferocious purge of the leadership. Many historians believe Stalin had ordered Kirov's assassination to give him the excuse he needed. Dozens of party leaders were subsequently exiled or killed, often after show trials where they were accused of being in league with Leon Trotsky, Stalin's rival for the leadership who fled in 1929. Relatives, friends and even possible sympathisers of anyone labelled a traitor were brutally despatched. Trotsky was murdered, presumably on Stalin's orders, in Mexico in 1940.

Saddam Hussein, Iraq, 1979:

When Saddam came to power, he carried out a very public purge of more than 60 senior members of the ruling Baath Party, the organisation that had put him in his post as president. Black-and-white video footage shows Saddam smoking a cigar as various politicians are denounced as traitors. They are led away, until only about half of the members are left.  Many were subsequently tried and executed for treason.

Deng Xiaoping, 1980, China:

After Mao Zedong's death in 1976, a bitter struggle for power broke out at the top of the Communist Party. By 1978 Mao's chosen successor Hua Guofeng had been usurped by Deng Xiaoping, a reformer who had earlier been frozen out by Mao.  In 1980, some of Mao's most extreme allies were put on trial. It was a political show trial accompanied by a massive propaganda campaign denouncing the so-called Gang of Four. It was designed to cement the power of the new leadership under Deng.

All four were found guilty and eventually sentenced to life in prison.

Than Shwe, Burma/Myanmar, 2004:

Until 2010, one man dominated the politics Burma (also known as Myanmar): Than Shwe, a self-styled senior general who reigned imperiously for more than two decades. For a brief time, however, a younger more charismatic general, Khin Nyunt, threatened to upset the power balance. As prime minister and head of military intelligence he had built a substantial power base. He even established his own newspaper. Than Shwe acted quickly, deposing him, and then putting him on trial for corruption and bribery. He was jailed in 2005 for 44 years, but freed from house arrest in an amnesty earlier this year.

^ This gives a good summary of some of the worst crimes in the 20th Century, ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25363097

Postal Woes

As it is the holidays we had a lot of packages to mail (14 of them.) My father and I went in and as I was bringing more boxes in we let a man who was behind us go ahead. Then we were ready and no one was behind us. There wasn’t an issue until we had done 12 boxes and then we wanted the last two to be sent “Express Mail.” The woman behind the counter (I had to later ask her name as she had no visible ID on her) said we had to fill out a special form to go on both boxes, which we had no problem doing. She then said that we had to pay for the 12 other boxes, then fill out the forms so she could help other people. As it would only take me less than a minute to fill out both forms (which I have done in the past) I started filling out the forms. The Postal employee then started to make rude and unprofessional remarks to myself, my dad and to the other people behind us. After she said something pretty rude about us to the woman behind me (she told the woman that she has no patience in waiting in line  - and it was clear she had no patience in dealing with customers in general) I told her that I could hear every word she was saying and that she was being very rude. I told her I was just finishing up and she just kept on making statements to others. I did not feel she was being respectful or professional to myself or my father and so I asked for her supervisor.

A man came up to the counter and immediately asked the woman what was going on (despite the fact that I, the customer, had asked for him.) I tried to tell him how rude the woman was being to me and he just kept interrupting me and talking to the woman. He then became fairly aggressive in his speech towards me and told the woman to void my transaction. He also told the employee to give him my personal details – something he kept mentioning throughout the incident. She said she had already sold 12 boxes and wasn’t going to do that. As I was getting the same, unprofessional treatment from this man as I did the woman before him I asked for his name and who he was at the Post Office. He handed me his card which read: 'Postmaster.” I was shocked to learn that this man was the Postmaster at the Post Office. He was worse than the woman before him. It was clear he was just looking to be rude and nasty to me and so I let him know that I would file a complaint about him and the unprofessional service I had received. He didn’t seem to care and merely apologized to the other customers for me making them wait.

Not only did the first Postal employee not treat me in the professional way she is required to, but the Postmaster was worse by far. He clearly did not care to resolve the situation in the correct manner and merely wanted to stir-up more trouble. As Postmaster/supervisor the correct way for him to handle the situation would be to come to the counter, ask me, in a polite way, what the problem was, listen to what I had to say and then try to placate me in a professional way. Instead, he went up to the counter, only asked his employee what was going on, interrupted me when I tried to tell him my side, tried to have my transaction voided and made the already unpleasant situation more unpleasant. He even said I was acting unprofessional. As a Postmaster he should know that a customer needs to only act polite and him and his employee need to be professional. It is clear that he is not competent in his position in handling customer service or any problems that may arise. Rather than defuse the situation he made it worse. He was more concerned with making a show to the other people than fixing the issues in front of him. I am not surprised that the other employee was allowed to treat customers in such an unprofessional manner since her boss was doing it as well.

As my issues are with the Postmaster and the other Postal employee at this Post Office and I have seen how both “handled” the situation I filed a complaint and asked to speak to the Regional Postmaster regarding this incident. I have dealt with him before (again dealing with unprofessional postal employees at the same Post Office.) The customer may not always be right, but the customer ALWAYS deserves to be treated in a professional manner. The fact that this was written above the post regarding post offices and the holidays doesn't escape me. I may have to continue to use this Post Office (since my mailbox is a mile down a mountain from my house and I have to pick up my packages there) but that doesn't mean I will ever let them or anyone else treat me with such disrespect and unprofessionalism  - especially when we are paying customers.

Holiday Mail

Post Offices around the world are the most busiest during the Christmas holidays. I was curious to see how the different post offices around the world display their websites. Some have a holiday-theme and some don't. Here are the ones that have some sort of holiday theme.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States.

I would have thought there would have been a lot more.

A Russian P

From MT:
"Central Bank Picks Symbol for Ruble"

Russia unveiled a sign Wednesday that will be used to represent the ruble alongside other major world currencies. The new symbol, which resembles the Latin letter "P" with a horizontal score through it, will be used by the Central Bank and appear on Russia's coins and banknotes, financial officials told reporters. The sign was approved by the central bank after a period of public consultation, during which 61 percent of participants voted for the eventual winner, Central Bank chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said. The decision to seek a symbol for the ruble comes as Russia strives to extend its global economic reach. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has championed a drive to make Moscow an international financial center in recent years, and has called for the ruble to become one of the world's reserve currencies. Ruble coins with the new symbol will be introduced into circulation in 2014, First Deputy Central Bank Chairman Georgy Luntovsky said.

Nabiullina told reporters that there are no plans to force people to use the new sign. Some critics have said that the sign will be confusing for foreigners. In Russian, the letter "P" is sounded as an "R," while to English speakers it will look simply look like the Latin letter "P" and have no obvious link to the word "ruble." Other variations originally proposed by the financial regulator included different forms of the Latin letter "R." Nabiullina brushed aside the potential for confusion. "Dollar does not begin with the letter 'S,'" she said.

^ I don't think the new symbol is that nice looking (especially for the symbol of a currency.) It looks like the symbol for Peso (P) with a cross through it as though someone wanted a Peso and then changed their mind. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/central-bank-picks-symbol-for-ruble/491334.html

Bavaria's Struggle

From the BBC: 
"Bavaria abandons plans for new edition of Mein Kampf"

The German state of Bavaria has abandoned plans to reprint Mein Kampf after its legal power to ban Adolf Hitler's manifesto expires in 2015. In a surprise move, the state government cancelled a planned annotated edition of the book out of respect for victims of the Holocaust. Bavaria holds the rights to the book, written by Hitler in a Munich prison. The state blocked republication for decades but was considering an academic edition to "demystify" the text.  It has now vowed to continue banning the book even when copyright expires. However, Munich's Institute of Contemporary History (IfZ) said it had no plans to scrap the project, which has cost 500,000 euros (£419,000; $688,000) to date in state funding. In a statement on its website, the head of the institute, Professor Andreas Wirsching, said it intended to publish its edition independently after the copyright expired.

Critics point out that the text has long been available on the internet and in other countries. However, after complaints from Holocaust survivors, the state government decided this week to keep the "seditious" book off the market.   It warned that any publishers who printed it would face criminal charges. "Many conversations with Holocaust victims and their families have shown us that any sort of reprint of the disgraceful writings would cause enormous pain," said Bavarian Science Minister Ludwig Spaenle on Wednesday. The former head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Charlotte Knobloch, said she backed efforts to stop any reprints of a book "steeped in hatred and contempt for humanity". It was, she said, "one of the most inflammatory works ever written in this country". The Bavarian state government commissioned the book from the IfZ two years ago.

In his statement, Prof Wirsching argued that a study of Mein Kampf was essential to understanding the Nazi period and the IfZ's planned edition would help educate people as well as demystifying the book. The institute, he said, would publish in 2015 "under its own responsibility", as an independent research organisation. Published in 1924, Mein Kampf (My Struggle) rails against Judaism and communism. Copies were presented as gifts to all newlyweds in Nazi Germany.

^ I don't think the book should be banned. People want what they are forbidden to have. I have read the book and found it very dry and boring (even when I add what happened during the War and the Holocaust and having worked at the Holocaust Museum.) It is poorly written and just a bunch of words. Hitler was as good of an author as he was a painter. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25346140

CDN Post

From the Globe and Mail:

"Canada Post phasing out home mail delivery, raising rates"

An iconic slice of Canadian life – the postal worker dropping letters through the door – is slipping into the past as financially troubled Canada Post scrambles to find its footing in the Internet age.

Faced with a persistent decline in letter-mail and a massively underfunded pension plan, the money-losing federal Crown corporation announced drastic measures on Wednesday designed to get back to profitability and ensure its survival.  The changes include the phase-out of home delivery for the five-million Canadian households that still get it and moving them to community mail boxes over the next five years, and hiking the cost of stamps by more than one-third to 85 cents from 63 cents, effective March 31. The post office, which is expected to lose $1-billion a year by 2020, will also privatize more postal stations and cut 6,000 to 8,000 jobs as workers retire. Canada Post insists the changes, which will save it $700-million to $900-million a year, are not just about restoring the company’s financial health. They are also about shaping postal service for the needs of Canadians as much of what they do moves online, including banking, bill paying, shopping and most communication. “They want to pay for the system as a user, not as a taxpayer,” Canada Post spokesman Jon Hamilton said. But experts say the savings will eventually help Canada Post reduce its $6.5-billion pension deficit without borrowing or turning to the federal government. For Ottawa, it is a way to approach a thorny problem while alienating as few voters as possible and not investing any more cash. Canada Post could have cut household mail delivery to three times a week from five – an option suggested in a recent Conference Board of Canada report commissioned by the post office. But many businesses still want daily delivery. It also could have closed more rural post offices, or eliminated costly rural mail, but those options would have upset rural voters. In a statement, Transport Minister Lisa Raitt endorsed Canada Post’s plan, pointing out that the postal service has a mandate to be financially self-sufficient. “In today’s digital age, Canadians are sending less mail than ever,” said Ms. Raitt, who is responsible for the post office. “The Government of Canada supports Canada Post in its efforts to fulfill its mandate of operating on a self-sustaining financial basis in order to protect taxpayers, while modernizing its business and aligning postal services with the choices of Canadians.” After the change, Canada’s mail service will pale next to that of many other countries, including Britain, which still has twice-a-day delivery. About a third of Canada’s 15.3-million households get home delivery, with the share dwindling over the past 30 years. The rest go to community mail boxes, post offices or rural mail boxes. Canada Post said it has no plans to change delivery to apartments, condominiums and rural areas. Home delivery of larger parcels will also continue. Just like milk and bread delivery, mail at home is a “legacy” of an earlier era, said Mount Allison University president Robert Campbell, who chaired a 2008 federal advisory committee on the Crown corporation. “The idea of having an army of people trudging up and down every street in Canada, delivering less and less mail at each address seems crazy,” he said.The dilemma is that forcing millions of Canadians to walk or drive to community mail boxes could accelerate the problem Canada Post is trying to solve: mail volume that has been declining by 4 to 5 per cent a year. Letter mail, traditionally the core of Canada Post’s business, will become secondary to parcels, advertising mail and its Purolator courier subsidiary.The announcement, made in the midst of the holiday mail spike, drew condemnation from seniors’ groups, postal employees, business groups and the opposition NDP and Liberals. But many people took it in stride.

^ I don't think people (especially those in urban areas) will willingly walk to their mailbox down the street. I don't see a problem, but I have to drive a mile down a mountain to mine. ^

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canada-post-delivery/article15868531/

Holocaust Liaison

From JP:
"Biden announces creation of government liaison to Holocaust survivors in US"

US Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Obama administration would appoint a “special envoy” that would work as a liaison with Holocaust survivors and the non-profit organizations that support them. At the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Centennial luncheon, on Tuesday, Biden said that the new liaison in the US Department of Health and Human Services would help support initiatives that improve the lot of survivors in socioeconomic distress. The liaison would also encourage the private sector to do more to meet survivor’s needs. Biden also announced a partnership between the White House and the federally funded AmeriCorps Vista, who will allocate some of the 8,000 AmeriCorps volunteers to serve Holocaust survivors. Biden also praised the work of community organizations and institutions that have provided aid and relief to poverty-stricken survivors of the Holocaust. “Today our country took a major step forward towards addressing the needs of many Holocaust survivors,” said Michael Siegal, who heads the Jewish Federation of North America Board of Trustees. “We are looking forward to working with the special envoy to raise awareness and help ensure that Holocaust survivors receive the support of programs, to help them live with dignity and comfort.” According to the Jewish Federation, two-thirds of the 120,000 Holocaust survivors in the US live alone, and many struggle to afford basic needs such as proper food and healthcare. 25 percent of Holocaust survivors in the US, and half of those in New York, also live below the federal poverty line. These factors put Holocaust survivors at risk for being placed in institutions for elderly care that, Director of the Jewish Federation’s Washington Office William Daroff wrote in June, could be especially traumatic for them. “For one thing, survivors have special sensitivities to aspects of institutionalized care. The loss of privacy and autonomy, combined with certain sights, sounds, smells or practices – such as showers or mass transit – can trigger psychological effects that flow from their war-time trauma.”

^ This is long over-do. Every country with a high majority of Holocaust survivors (although many die everyday) needs to have these kinds of programs in place to make sure they can live the remainder of their life in peace. ^

http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Biden-announces-creation-of-government-liaison-to-Holocaust-survivors-in-US-334663

Canada's Pole?

From Yahoo: 

"Canada to claim North Pole"

Canada signalled intentions to claim the North Pole and surrounding Arctic waters while announcing the filing of a UN application seeking to vastly expand its Atlantic sea boundary. After a decade of surveying the country's eastern and far north seabeds and gathering supporting evidence, a claim was submitted to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on Friday. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said the filing mainly concerns the outer limits of Canada's continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean. But it also includes "preliminary information concerning the outer limits of (Canada's) continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean," he said. "We have asked our officials and scientists to do additional work and necessary work to ensure that a submission for the full extent of the continental shelf in the Arctic includes Canada's claim to the North Pole," he told a press conference. "Fundamentally, we are drawing the last lines of Canada. We are defending our sovereignty," added Arctic Minister Leona Aglukkaq. Asserting sovereignty over an expansive Arctic archipelago and surrounding waters has been a key plank of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Tories in the past three elections since 2006. But Russia and Denmark are expected to file overlapping claims, which could lead to confrontation between the Arctic neighbors.  Interest in the polar region has flared up as rising temperatures open up shipping routes and make hitherto inaccessible mineral resources easier to exploit. The North Pole seabed itself is not believed to hold large reserves but has symbolic value for the countries in the region, which also includes Norway and the United States.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said enlarging Canada's Arctic boundary is important for "Canada's long-term economic prosperity." Observers, however, note that energy firms face harsh conditions in the Arctic, and environmental concerns could delay resource extraction in the pristine waters. Just gathering supportive evidence for Canada's claim has been a challenge, commented Fisheries Minister Gail Shea. "The Canadian Hydrographic Service and the Geological Survey of Canada have collected a great deal of data in areas that are ice-covered, difficult to access, and that in some instances had not previously been surveyed," the minister said. Scientists also described treacherous mapping expeditions to the coldest reaches of the planet.  Data collection mainly involved the use of aircraft, ice breakers and robot submersibles covering a 58,000-kilometer (36,000 mile) stretch of ice-covered waters. And periodically unpredictable ice conditions forced the emergency evacuation of ice camps, officials said. Foreign ministry official Hugh Adsett told a technical briefing "substantial progress" has been made in the data collection, but added without specifying a timeline, "there is more work to be done." "The objective is to obtain the most expansive continental shelf for Canada," he said. Nations bordering the Arctic currently are entitled to a 200-nautical-mile economic zone from their coastlines, but claims for extending their territories are to be decided under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In order to be successful Canada must show that its continental shelf extends beneath the North Pole, which sits on a slope of the underwater Lomonosov Ridge. Environmental group Greenpeace meanwhile condemned Canada's announcement, warning any future drilling in the Arctic could lead to a "climate maelstrom." "Extending the Canadian territory to expand Arctic oil extraction is equal to condemning future generations to an environmental nightmare," Greenpeace said in a statement. Canada's Atlantic Ocean claim stretches from the shores of its easternmost Nova Scotia province northward along the Grand Banks to the northern tip of Labrador 7,700 kilometers (4,780 miles) away. The area is more than 1.2 million square kilometers (460,000 square miles) in size, or as large as Canada's Western plains. Canada expects overlapping claims in the Atlantic from Denmark in the Labrador Sea and with the United States south of Nova Scotia. Canada said France also intends to file a submission in respect to its tiny islands in the northwest Atlantic, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, "so we may have a dispute with France in the future," the official added. The UN is scheduled to consider Canada's partial submission in July-August 2014.

^ I don't know if Canada's claim will win, but they are in for a fight from other countries. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/canada-claims-larger-part-atlantic-ocean-203332918.html

Soviet Debt Deal

From MT:
"Deal on Forgiving $32Bln Cuban Debt to U.S.S.R. Signed"

Russia and Cuba have quietly signed an agreement to write off 90 percent of Cuba's $32 billion debt to the defunct Soviet Union, a deal that ends a 20-year squabble and opens the way for more investment and trade, Russian and European diplomats said. The two sides announced an agreement to settle the debt dispute earlier this year and finalized the deal in Moscow in October. It would have Cuba pay $3.2 billion over 10 years in exchange for Russia forgiving the rest of a $32 billion debt — $20 billion plus service and interest, the diplomats said. It must still be approved by the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. Negotiations on the form in which Cuba will pay the remaining debt are ongoing, the diplomats said, as even $320 million per year is a large sum for the cash-strapped country, which has labored under a U.S. embargo for decades. Cuba's total export earnings are about $18 billion, including tourism and medical and educational services. Neither Cuba nor Russia has made any official comment on the debt agreement. Cuban officials were not immediately available for comment. Cuba defaulted on its debt in the late 1980s but recently has been trying to restructure the old debts to improve its international credibility. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, during a visit to Cuba in February, signed a general agreement to work out a formula and settle the old debt by next year. The decision rankled other countries grouped in the Paris Club of creditor nations because it broke ranks with the collective approach of the organization.

^ Of course Russia wiped away 90% of Cuba's debt since Cuba couldn't pay it all off if they had a hundred years. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/deal-on-forgiving-32bln-cuban-debt-to-ussr-signed/491222.html

Amish Crashes

From Yahoo:

"Crashes between cars, horses a concern in U.S. Amish country"

When a horse owned by an Amish family ran out onto a highway in rural Pennsylvania and collided with the van Amanda Mattern was riding in over the Labor Day weekend, the 37-year-old's injuries left her in a coma. Unusual as that may sound for 21st-century America, that kind of accident is not uncommon in rural Lancaster County, about 80 miles west of Philadelphia in the heart of the Keystone State's Amish country, where horses and covered black buggies are a common sight and a challenge for traffic officials to manage. "Eventually, if you live in Lancaster County, you are going to have a close encounter with a horse and buggy," said Jason McClune, Mattern's brother and the transportation director for the Solanco School District in Quarryville, Pennsylvania.

McClune is one of a handful of traffic officials in states with high concentrations of Amish seeking legislation to reduce the risk of horse, buggy and motor vehicle mishaps, such as a minimum age for buggy drivers. Since his sister's accident, he has been pushing state officials to consider new steps.

In the past 18 months, two of the district's buses have been involved in accidents with Amish vehicles - and McClune's wife was involved in another collision with a horse-drawn vehicle, he said.

The descendants of 18th-Century German immigrants who practice the Amish and Old Order Mennonite religions are concentrated in rural sections of Pennsylvania and Ohio, where they live in tight-knit communities and eschew much modern technologies, including automobiles and most electronic devices. Transportation planners and engineers in Amish country have already adopted a range of techniques to help motorized and horse-drawn vehicles share roads more safely, including widening shoulders, adding some dedicated buggy paths, and in Pennsylvania issuing a driver's manual for buggy drivers that mirrors the one for motorists. "It's the only manual of its kind that we know of," said Barbara Zortman, of the Center for Traffic Safety, a Pennsylvania-based organization that helped write the manual. "It's gone to Canada, Germany, across the entire country. This is also in the hands of high school driver education teachers." Ohio and Pennsylvania report a rough average of 60 major crashes involving horses and buggies a year over the past decade. An Ohio Department of Transportation review found that injuries occurred in roughly half of those accidents, with fatalities in about 1 percent of them, a rate that is slightly higher than accidents in which both vehicles are motorized. That review also revealed that the typical accident involving a horse and buggy occurs when a motorist rear-ends the buggy after misjudging just how slow the horse-drawn vehicle is traveling. Meetings with Amish leaders over traffic safety, have been productive, Zortman said.

"The Amish in Lancaster County are very cooperative," Zortman said. "They want to share the roads." Accidents can also be expensive for everyone involved. A car can easily sustain thousands of dollars in damage after hitting a horse. The buggies are pricey too. At an Amish auction in Gordonville, Pennsylvania in October, new buggies sold for as much as $10,000, and used ones went for half that. According to Pennsylvania statistics going back a decade, auto accidents involving Amish buggies peaked in 2006, when there were 78, a number that dropped to 64 last year. Zortman said the type of accident involving McClune's sister had only happened once before since PennDOT has kept records. In addition to minimum age requirements for buggy drivers, McClune has met with state legislators seeking mandatory reflective material for horses and license plates for the buggies.

But legislation dealing with the Amish can have unpredictable results. In 2007 and 2008, several members of a conservative Amish sect known as the Swartzentrubers were arrested in Kentucky for failure to affix orange reflective triangles to their buggies. The Swartzentrubers, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, argued in court that the orange color violated tenets of their faith that required modesty and plain dress. Kentucky has since repealed its law requiring orange triangles.

Courts in other states, including Pennsylvania, had upheld the Swartzentrubers' right to use a gray reflective tape instead. McClune said his sister faces at least a year before she makes a full recovery from the Labor Day accident. "My sister was hurt very badly," he said. "Cars are faster. Society is faster; the horse and buggies are slower. Something should be done to curtail this situation."

^ The Amish need to observe all the rules of the road that everyone else that uses them has to. There needs to be a minimum age requirement, training, testing, etc. Just because they want to live by a different way of life then many others doesn't give them the right to be reckless on the road. They can do what they want on their farms, but once they go out into the "English" world they need to follow the laws like everyone else. ^

http://news.yahoo.com/crashes-between-cars-horses-concern-u-amish-country-121325523.html

Care Givers

From USA Today:

"States looking to tighten rules on home care aides"

Concerns over the loose regulation of some home care workers is leading several states to consider bills aimed at increasing oversight and requirements for this workforce. Measures being considered include establishing mandatory training hours and requiring background checks for these workers, as well as the licensing of home-care agencies. Bernie Vonderheide, president and founder of Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform, says that complaints about home health workers – often related to their questionable background – seem to be increasing by the year. Lawmakers are becoming aware that constituents are asking them to do something about this, he says. Vonderheide says there is a "building resentment among the general public" regarding state and federal agencies that regulate this workforce. He says people are becoming aware that it is necessary to have more control in order to prevent more neglect and abuse from these workers. Ohio resident Dolly Gregory, 71, says she has had first-hand experience with home care workers who lacked the appropriate training and could not fulfill the duties assigned to her. Gregory's recent caregiver – Debbie Corder – ended up being a good fit. "My thought was that these people are supposed to be trained, screened, and, you know, maybe had a little background check on them," Gregory said. The home health care workforce is made up of two kinds of workers, explains Christopher Kelly, associate professor at the Department of Gerontology at University of Nebraska at Omaha, who has studied the issue. There are home health aides, who provide medical services and are employed by home health agencies, and home care aides, who provide non-medical services, including help with personal care, toileting and feeding. While home health aides are regulated under Medicare and receive 75 hours of training , the regulation of home care aides is left to the states, Kelly says. Kelly, who published a study in 2012 on states' differences in training for home care workers and licensing of home care providers, says states vary widely in areas such as training requirements. Very few require "anywhere near the 75 hours Medicare requires of home health aides," he says.

Recent state developments for home care regulation include:

— California: In October, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act. Beginning in 2016, this law will require the regulation and licensing of home care organizations. It also requires background checks, a minimum of five hours of entry-level training and registration for home care aide applicants.

— Iowa: In April, Republican Gov. Terry Branstad signed a bill that includes a mandatory study of background checks for home health workers, says Joshua Ewing, a policy specialist for the Health Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. The study, which will be led by the Department of Inspections and Appeals, will look at background check improvements and requirements for certain providers of home heath, including individuals and agencies that are not subject to state certification, licensing or regulation. Findings must be submitted to the governor and General Assembly by Dec. 15.

— Kentucky: Kentucky currently has the Kentucky Applicant Registry and Employment Screening Program (KARES), which is a voluntary fingerprint-supported state and FBI background check program for long-term care employers. Kerri Richardson, communications director of the office of Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear,says the governor supports legislation that will make this mandatory and that this legislation is still being drafted.

In addition, there is the Personal and Home Care Aide State Training Program (PHCAST), a measure authorized under the Affordable Care Act, that has been funded in California, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, and North Carolina. Its purpose is the development of education and training models, which cover "key legislatively dictated topics" for personal and home care aides such as personal care skills, health care support, nutritional support, safety and emergency training, among others, says Jennifer Craft Morgan. Craft Morgan is an assistant professor at the Gerontology Institute of Georgia State University and co-leads the evaluation for the North Carolina PHCAST grant. Craft Morgan believes the problem is that "states are unprepared to support and develop" the home health and personal care aide workforce, which is expected to have grown 70% from 2010 to 2020, she says. Though she says the majority of workers are passionate about their work, "the lack of consistent preparation" renders them unprepared for their duties. She also says turnover comes from inadequate preparation, which leads to "less consistent" care for clients. "Without standardized training, employers have difficulty identifying well-qualified workers," she said. Carla Washington, executive director for Direct Care Alliance, says her organization supports increased regulation and oversight of the home care workforce. Direct Care Alliance is a national not-for-profit advocacy organization, which provides a voice for direct care workers in long term care. "We support measures that will allow consistency and setting standards nationally," Washington said. She says such standards include national credentialing and training requirements for the home care workforce. Direct Care Alliance has been at the forefront of advocating such standards, she says, and has created the Personal Care and Support Credential, a competency-based test "that will distinguish workers that will have the minimum requirements." This is being used by D.C. as a sole way for credentialing home care workers, she says, while the organization has presented it for use to other states.Bill Dombi, vice president for policy at the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) says, "for the bare minimum end of consumer," a background check is essential. "There is no more risky situation than having a stranger in the client's residence," Dombi said. "If the consumer at least knows the worker has had a background check, it lets them have an informed choice."

Kelly also says the matter merits great attention. "It is not to be taken lightly. When you are talking about home care, you are talking about the most intimate level of care you can receive," Kelly said.

^ I fully support requiring background checks, better training as well as licensing the agencies that provide home (and institution) health care. I worked for 4 summers at an overnight summer camp for the mentally and physically disabled and we had one week a summer of training - for most (including me that first summer) it was our first time dealing directly with the disabled and while the training was good it was really up to the counselors helping each other that got us through the summer. Three times a week we worked 22 hours a day and two times a week we worked 15 hours a day. Most of the time we had to care for 2 campers ourselves as well as help out the others in our cabin when the counselors were off. It was very hard, but rewarding work and didn't pay much (the internationals who came released even less than the Americans.) Along with the checks and better training should go a higher salary to hire good, responsible people to take care of those that need it. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/08/home-care-aides/3515343/

Remember Pearl Harbor

From The Stars and Stripes:
"Oldest US vets to mark attack on Pearl Harbor"

On Saturday, the two oldest veterans in America — a pair of 107-year-olds who fought in the Pacific theater 70 years ago — will meet up to mark the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor and to trade stories. It’s a heartwarming photo op, but also a sign of the nation’s fading ties to the Greatest Generation and a warning to the Sept. 11 generation that the mantra of “never forget” grows more difficult as the years pass. The veterans — Richard Overton and Elmer Hill — weren’t at the attack in Hawaii, but passed through the ruined Navy base later on their way to the fight. They survived kamikaze planes and sluggish, island-clearing combat to return home and build new lives in separate parts of Texas. They’ve never met, but are connected through their shared — and fading — military experiences. Each man said he doesn’t have anything specific he wants to share with the other. Each is just happy to meet a fellow World War II veteran. “I kept in touch with a lot of the guys I served with after we came home,” Overton said. “But they’re all gone now.” No large-scale, national memorials are planned to mark Saturday’s 72nd anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Park service officials at the Pearl Harbor Visitor Center are expecting a small increase in crowds for the date. No major military ceremonies are scheduled for the occasion. In 2011, the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association disbanded after marking the 70th anniversary of the attack with a Hawaii reunion. The USS Oklahoma Family — survivors of the attack who were serving aboard that ship — held their last official reunion in 2012. The Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors still hold a convention every two years, but that most of the participants are children of veterans, not the survivors. “We send out thank-you cards to the survivors in Ohio every year around this time,” said Carol Gladys, secretaWry for the group. “A few years ago, we sent out 80. This year, it was only 45. And we’ve already gotten four of them returned.” Fewer than 3,000 veterans remain of the 84,000-plus servicemembers who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. Department of Veterans Affairs officials expect the number of living WWII veterans to drop below 1 million next year, if it hasn’t already. For the past year, Gladys said, her group has been collecting pictures and video of the remaining survivors, with the hopes of unveiling an in-depth, in-person history of the attack at their convention next year.

 

^ It's sad that the country never paid much attention to the attack on Pearl Harbor (only Arizona and Hawaii ever did) or V-E/V-J Day. World War 2 is the largest war in modern history and yet unlike many countries the US does little to officially remember the role of its citizens in it. ^

 

 

http://www.stripes.com/news/oldest-us-vets-to-mark-attack-on-pearl-harbor-1.256251

The World Remembers

From the BBC: 

"Nelson Mandela death: World leaders' reaction"

World leaders have been reacting to the news that South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, aged 95.

South African President Jacob Zuma:

Our people have lost a father. Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss.  His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, passion and humanity earned him their love. Our nation has lost its greatest son.

African National Congress:

South Africa and the world have lost a colossus and epitome of humility, equality, justice and peace. His life gives us the courage to push forward for development and progress towards ending hunger and poverty.

Former South African President FW de Klerk:

South Africa has lost one of its founding fathers and one of its greatest sons. Nelson Mandela's courage, charm and commitment to reconciliation and to the Constitution were an inspiration not only for South Africans but for the whole world. I believe that his example will live on and that it will continue to inspire all South Africans to achieve his vision of non-racialism, justice, human dignity and equality for all. Tata, we shall miss you - but know that your spirit and example will always be there to guide us to the vision of a better and more just South Africa.

South Africa's Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu:

He was a unifier from the moment he walked out of prison. We are relieved that his suffering is over, but our relief is drowned by our grief. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan:

Dr Mandela served as a source of inspiration to the oppressed peoples all over the world. In the course of his lifelong epic struggle for freedom, fairness, justice, equity and the human rights of his oppressed people, Dr Mandela made unparalleled personal sacrifices. The indefatigable spirit which he demonstrated throughout his life will continue to inspire present and future generations.

US President Barack Obama:

We've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth. He no longer belongs to us. He belongs to the ages. Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a president embodied the promise that human beings and countries can change for the better.

British Prime Minister David Cameron:

A great light has gone out in the world. Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time. I've asked for the flag at No10 to be flown at half-mast.

French President Francois Hollande:

Nelson Mandela made history. That of South Africa and the whole world. Nelson Mandela's message will not disappear. It will continue to inspire fighters for freedom, and to give confidence to peoples in the defence of just causes and universal rights.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

Nelson Mandela was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration. Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom. He touched our lives in deeply personal ways. At the same time, no-one did more in our time to advance the values and aspirations of the United Nations. Nelson Mandela showed what is possible for our world and within each one of us - if we believe, dream and work together for justice and humanity.

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton:

More than anyone else, Nelson Mandela inspired my generation and our world.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

He conducted with passion and intelligence one of the most important processes of emancipation in contemporary human history - the end of apartheid in South Africa.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

Nelson Mandela was of the most honourable figures of our time. He was the father of his people, a man of vision, a freedom fighter who rejected violence. He set a personal example for his people in the long years he spent in prison.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny:

The name Mandela stirred our conscience and our hearts. It became synonymous with the pursuit of dignity and freedom across the globe. Today, a great light has been extinguished. The boy from the Transkei has finished his long walk. His journey transformed not just South Africa, but humanity itself.

Former US President George W Bush:

President Mandela was one of the great forces for freedom and equality of our time. He bore his burdens with dignity and grace, and our world is better off because of his example. This great man will be missed, but his contributions will live on forever.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key:

Nelson Mandela was an inspirational leader, and a remarkable man. For years he symbolised South Africa's hope for a future free from apartheid. Mr Mandela was a force for change, not only in South Africa but around the world.

Former US President Bill Clinton:

History will remember Nelson Mandela as a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation. We will remember him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion, for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life.

Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe:

The world has lost a great leader and an inspiration to humanity today. We wish the people of South Africa and in particular President Mandela's family our deepest and sincerest condolences. Haiti will never forget this great leader.

Former US President Jimmy Carter:

The people of South Africa and human rights advocates around the world have lost a great leader. His passion for freedom and justice created new hope for generations of oppressed people worldwide, and because of him, South Africa is today one of the world's leading democracies.

^ Important people remember an important man. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25250082

SA Remembers

From USA Today:
"South Africa mourns the loss of Mandela"

The nation was in mourning Thursday for Nelson Mandela, a towering figure here for his fight to end apartheid and reconcile his country to democratic rule. Mandela, 95, died Thursday at his home in Johannesburg. He had been hospitalized four times since last December, most recently earlier this summer when he was re-admitted for a lung infection. The news of his death, which locals had braced for since late last year, has left much of the country acting as if it no longer has a compass. He was seen as a national hero and the only figure who could successfully address the severe problems facing the country – crime, poverty, corruption and unemployment. "Our nation has lost its greatest son," South African president Jacob Zuma said. "He is now resting. He is now at peace." From national leaders to laborers, the nation stopped what it was doing yesterday and many said they were unsure how the country would go forward. "We depend on him," said Maxwell Mlilo, 36, a gas-station attendant. "We appreciate everything he has done for us. We say thank you and let him go in peace." Former leaders said that Mandela's role as a leader in the pursuit of freedom should not be forgotten. "President Mandela . . . and his generation of freedom fighters walked their long walk and made enormous sacrifices which eventually led to our freedom in 1994," said the nation's former president, Thabo Mbeki. "His passing signals the end of an historic era represented by the heroic deeds of his generation. Outside Mandela's house, hundreds of people gathered on the streets in silence. "We just lost an icon," said Fatima Joosub, a neighbor of Mandela said, before falling silent again. Across the nation, people were in a state of shock and sadness. President Jacob Zuma announced on national television at 11:40 Thursday evening that Tata, as Mandela was locally know, had passed. Mandela became involved in political opposition as a young law student and joined the African National Congress in 1942. Two years later he founded the ANC's Youth League, known for civil disobedience and strikes in protest at the hundreds of laws associated with the new apartheid system of racial segregation. Arrested in 1962 for inciting workers' strikes and leaving the country without permission, Mandela spent 27 years in prison. He had been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his captivity. South Africans say Mandela's role in helping his country cannot be exaggerated. "Mandela played a crucial role in averting a racial war and preventing white flight," said Professor Daryl Glaser, head of political studies at the University of Witwatersrand. "Either of which on its own could have brought immediate economic collapse and quite possibly state failure." Mandela is survived by three daughters, 18 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and three step-grandchildren as well as four step-children via marriage to Graca Machel.

^ It is one thing for the world to remember him and another for how his own countrymen do. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/12/05/mandela-south-africa-reactions/3883121/

Nelson Mandela

From the BBC:
"South Africa's Nelson Mandela dies"

South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa's president says. Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison. He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital. In a statement on South African national TV, Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela had "departed" and was at peace. "Our nation has lost its greatest son," Mr Zuma said.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world's most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years. He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. "What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves," Mr Zuma said.  "Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell."

1918 Born in the Eastern Cape

1943 Joined African National Congress

1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped after a four-year trial

1962 Arrested, convicted of incitement and leaving country without a passport, sentenced to five years in prison

1964 Charged with sabotage, sentenced to life

1990 Freed from prison

1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize

1994 Elected first black president

1999 Steps down as leader

2001 Diagnosed with prostate cancer

2004 Retires from public life

2005 Announces his son has died of an HIV/Aids-related illness

^ Nelson Mandela did a lot for both South Africa and the world. I doubt the majority of people (including myself) could go through what he did and still find humanity in people. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25249520

British "Free" Movement

From the BBC:

"Britain urges EU to change free migration rules"

Britain wants to change the rules governing the free movement of people across the EU, Home Secretary Theresa May will tell European ministers. Mrs May will speak in Brussels, ahead of the lifting of movement controls on Bulgarians and Romanians. She says free access to labour markets must not be allowed to lead to "mass migration". However, some countries have already vowed to defend what they regard as a fundamental EU principle. EU justice and home affairs ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday.

Arriving for the talks, the EU's Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said "our EU rules are good and they are here to stay - member states need to apply them to tackle abuse. "Don't blame the Commission or EU rules for national choices and national regulatory systems... If we start negotiating freedoms we will end up with having none," she told reporters. Mrs May argues that problems caused by free movement must be addressed and the rules should be changed. In a statement she questioned why national governments should not be be allowed to impose a cap on numbers if European immigration reached certain thresholds. She said she planned to make clear at the Brussels meeting "that I believe we need to change the way free movement rules work". She added: "First, for future accession treaties, we must be able to slow full access to each other's labour markets until we can be sure it will not lead to mass migration. "Second, looking ahead, we must seize the opportunity presented by the prime minister's plan to reform the EU and address the problems caused by free movement. "It is right that the national governments of the EU reform the way free movement rules work." Mrs May is also expected to propose requiring new member states to reach a certain level of income or economic output per head before full access to free movement rights is allowed. The debate is taking place in advance of the lifting of transitional controls on Romanians and Bulgarians - from 1 January there will be no restrictions on them working anywhere in the EU. BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris, in Brussels, said there was sympathy for Britain's demand that abuse of welfare systems should not be permitted - because other countries shared the same concern. But there was little support at a political level for a fundamental reassessment of the idea of free movement, our correspondent added. One diplomat from an eastern European member state said no one would accept some countries being treated as second class EU citizens because a free market in goods and services also has to be a free market for labour. Mr Cameron has suggested that citizens from other EU countries would not be able to claim out-of-work benefits for the first three months in the UK and would not be able to extend claims beyond six months if they had no genuine prospect of work. Laszlo Andor, a European commissioner, angered Mr Cameron by commenting that the UK was at risk of becoming a "nasty" country if it curbed benefits and sought to limit freedom of movement by EU nationals.

^ What is the point of having the European Union if it's member citizens can not live, travel and work freely throughout all the other member states? As it stands now many countries (including the UK) discriminate, and are allowed to, against members of certain member countries - Bulgaria, Romania, etc. Once a country joins the EU all the other restrictions should disappear immediately. If the UK doesn't like what they agreed to do (and they have received numerous waivers like not joining the Schengen Area or the Eurozone) then they should leave the EU - which is up for debate right now. Many in the UK Government would rather the British become more involved with the Commonwealth (where they would be the top-dog) over continuing in the EU (where Germany and France rule things.) If the Brits think they have it bad within the EU just wait until they strengthen the Commonwealth and have all the poor African, Asian and South American countries flood their shores. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25226760

Georgian Terms

From MT:
"Georgia Sets Out Terms for Restoring Diplomatic Ties With Russia"

Georgia says it will only restore diplomatic ties with Russia if the latter drops its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia's independence and withdraws its troops from the two breakaway regions. Georgian Foreign Minister Maiya Pandzhikidze said Wednesday that Tbilisi would restore bilateral relations with Moscow "with great pleasure" if the conditions were fulfilled, RIA Novosti reported. Georgia lost control of the two regions, which have largely Russian-speaking populations, in a brief conflict with Russia in August 2008. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said he hoped that bilateral ties between the two countries would be restored. "I hope that the issue of restoring diplomatic relations that were severed on Georgia's initiative will return to the agenda," Lavrov said on the sidelines of the Russia-NATO Council meeting in Brussels. However, the chances of any agreement being reached appear slim considering Russia's stance on the two regions. The independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are "a new reality in the South Caucasus that must be recognized," Lavrov said in an interview Wednesday.

^ These are the same terms that the Georgian Government has asked fro since the 2008 war so this isn't anything new. Russia won't accept them and nothing will change. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/georgia-sets-out-terms-for-restoring-diplomatic-ties-with-russia/490964.html

Similar Olympics

From MT:

"A Tale of Two Olympic Cities: Moscow 1980 and Sochi 2014"

The black tie Russian capital, 1,360 kilometers north of Sochi, has little time or patience for the Speedos and flip flops that dot the Black Sea resort's landscape. But with less than three months left before the opening ceremony of the Sochi Olympic Games, Moscow and Sochi — two Olympic cities — do not seem as different. Both cities' Games have been plagued by bureaucratic headaches, calls for a boycott and numerous scandals, including authorities "cleaning up shop" at the expense of residents. But whereas the 1980 Moscow Olympics were a cause for concern for Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev — prompting him to write a letter to his future successor Konstantin Chernenko about the "enormous amount of money" to be spent on the Games — the Sochi Olympics seem to be- a call to bravado for President Vladimir Putin. The exact cost of the Moscow Games remains unknown, but the Russian Federal Archives Agency's data suggests that it hovers around 2 billion rubles. Three and a half decades later, Sochi's initial budget of $12 billion has risen to a vertiginous $51 billion, making the Games the most expensive in Olympic history. Different times, different concerns. But Putin's and Brezhnev's respective Games are united by the bureaucratic processes that underpin then. "Decision-making in Sochi, which comes from the president who oversees everything, is reminiscent of Soviet ways," said Mikhail Prozumenshchikov, deputy director of the Russian Federal Archive of Contemporary History. "The extensive use of administrative resources is common to the Moscow and Sochi Games," he said. Putin's Games — much like Brezhnev's — have already been fraught with Western criticism of the president's micro-management and decrees, adding to the corruption and human rights violations that have plagued preparations for the Games. Although the Official Report of the 1980 Organizing Committee stressed that "the Soviet state had supported the idea of holding the Games of the XXII Olympiad in Moscow from the outset," Brezhnev secretly entertained doubts about hosting the event. "Besides the enormous cost, there may be all sorts of scandals that could disgrace the Soviet Union. Maybe we should reconsider this issue and refuse to hold the Olympics," Brezhnev wrote to Chernenko, echoing a concern that might have crossed Putin's mind as more organizations and public figures have called for a boycott of the 2014 Sochi Games. "It is difficult to explain why Brezhnev would write such a letter," said Prozumenshchikov. "We think he momentarily became intensely worried about the country's economic situation when he wrote the letter in late 1975 and believed hosting the Olympics would only worsen the situation."

Both of Brezhnev's fears materialized. Not only did the Soviet economy plummet after the Moscow Games, but the country was humiliated by a boycott initiative led by the U.S. to protest the U.S.S.R.'s invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979. As a result, 61 countries including the U.S., Britain, Canada and China, boycotted the Games, although some athletes from boycotting countries competed under the neutral Olympic flag. "The boycott really tarnished the Games," said Vitaly Smirnov, the first chairman of the Organizing Committee of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, and current honorary president of the Russian Olympic Committee. "We were ready to host 140 countries, which would have been a new record. Only 81 countries showed up." "Authorities did not understand the repercussions of the boycott on the athletes and the organizing process. Nor did they care," he said. While a boycott of Putin's Games is unlikely, talk of skipping the Games has intensified. The biggest bone of contention, the anti-gay propaganda law signed by President Vladimir Putin in June, has triggered international appeals to boycott the Games to draw attention to Russia's poor human rights record. But it is not only Russia's attitude toward homosexuals that has come under fire. Activists have also condemned the government's treatment of the migrant laborers who are building Olympic facilities in Sochi. Human Rights Watch released a report last January detailing several violations of workers' rights, including poor housing conditions, delayed payment of wages, withholding of identity documents and excessive working hours. The report also criticized Olympstroi, the state corporation in charge of construction in Sochi, for remaining oblivious to the violations. "Cleaning up" campaigns that inconvenience locals have also been a recurring theme in both Moscow's and Sochi's Games. Prozumenshchikov of the Russian Federal Archive of Contemporary History believes Moscow became a textbook communist city during the 1980 Games: everything was clean and orderly, and there was plenty of food. Alcoholics, beggars, prostitutes and petty thieves were displaced 100 kilometers outside the Moscow Ring Road. "Authorities 'cleaned-up' the city in different ways," explained Prozumenshchikov.  "In some cases, there even seemed to be a tacit agreement between the authorities and petty criminals that they were not to cause any trouble during the Games. 'You might be a thief, but you still need to be a patriot of your country' was the general understanding. " Students were sent away for the summer to free up space in the city's dormitories, conferences were canceled and the city was completely closed to all transit transportation.  Putin's decree on placing a moratorium on rallies and limiting access to certain areas in and around Sochi will create a similar situation. But measures taken for the Sochi Games have arguably been more drastic, with residents forced to relocate to make way for new facilities.

Locals who live in Sochi's Olympic hospitality zone will face fines if they refuse to renovate the exterior of their homes, as will residents who have "chaotic" balconies with laundry hanging out to dry or improperly installed air conditioners. And Sochi's "clean-up" effort has extended to animals as well. City authorities reportedly held a tender in search of a company to "dispose of" more than 2,000 stray animals in the area ahead of the Olympics. Unlike Sochi, Moscow possessed pre-existing infrastructure and venues suitable for hosting the Olympics. The only pre-existing site the Sochi Organizing Committee had was the Caucasus mountain range, pure natural happenstance.

Moscow had been hosting large sporting events for decades, latently preparing for the summer of 1980. In 1928, the Russian capital hosted the first summer "Spartakiada," an international sporting event held until 1937 to counter the "capitalist" Olympic movement. Moscow's Central Dynamo Stadium, which seats 36,450, was built for the occasion. Luzhniki Stadium, the venue for the 2013 World Track and Field Championships and the 2018 UEFA World Cup, was completed in 1956 for that year's Spartakiada.  The complex hosted another six Spartakiadas before the Moscow Games.

"No one hid the fact that the 1979 summer Spartakiada was a rehearsal for the Moscow Games," Prozumenshchikov said. "Many foreign athletes participated and it was a great way to test the venues, but also the surrounding infrastructure — hotels, services and the like." While Moscow had been ready for decades, Sochi is still a little behind schedule. Putin has been outspoken about problems and delays in preparations for the Games, even publicly dismissing and lambasting an official in charge of construction works in February. Vitaly Smirnov, the honorary president of the Olympic Committee, also admitted that there were delays in construction. "The Fisht Stadium is not quite ready," he said, proudly displaying his personal pictures of the venues in Sochi. The interior of Fisht Stadium, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, is covered in piles of floor tiles with less than three months to go before the Games. The stadium's building contractors have been accused of intentionally delaying work to demand more pay, showcasing the rampant corruption of Russia's construction sector. Analysts and activists say the staggering price of the Games suggests that the government has turned a blind eye to billions of dollars embezzled in corrupt building contracts.

One report by opposition politician and Sochi native Boris Nemtsov puts the amount of money embezzled at $25 billion to $30 billion. But Smirnov said he had no doubt that everything would be completed on time. "Russians' character makes them believe they need to host, even if it kills them," Smirnov said. "They take everything they have and put it on the table. This is what we will do in Sochi. Everything will be ready." Measures taken to prepare Moscow for the 1980 Games continue to benefit the Russian capital to this day. The city more than doubled the capacity of its hotels, built the larger of two terminal complexes at Sheremetyevo International Airport and built new television stations to broadcast to the Far East. The legacy of the Sochi Games remains unknown. But critics have said the city's expensive new sporting facilities — the product of backbreaking labor and corruption — will not be accessible to ordinary residents in the long term.

^ It is interesting to see how similar these two Olympics are even though they are being held 34 years apart and in different countries. I have read about the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the 1972 Munich Olympics and they are as different as night and day (even if you exclude one being in Nazi Germany and the other plagued with the massacre of the Israeli Olympic team.) To find so many similarities between Moscow and Sochi (ie the Soviet Union and Russia) is uncanny. ^

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/a-tale-of-two-olympic-cities-moscow-1980-and-sochi-2014/490515.html

World View

From the BBC:
"Americans see a US in decline, finds Pew survey"

For the first time in 40 years, a majority of Americans say the US plays a less important and powerful role in the world than it did a decade ago. The Pew survey also found that 70% of Americans saw the US as less respected than in the past, nearly the same (71%) as under President George W Bush. More than half of Americans (52%) - for the first time in 50 years - said the US should "mind its own business". Some 56% disapproved of President Barack Obama's foreign policy. Fifty-three percent of the public felt the US played a less important or powerful role as a world leader than a decade previously. The last time more than half of the public held that view was in 1974. A decade ago, just 20% of Americans felt the same way.  In Tuesday's survey, only 17% of Americans said the US had a more important or powerful role in world affairs than 10 years ago.  Republicans were more likely to view the US as having declined in influence - 74% of them thought so. But 55% of independents said the same thing, up from 23% in 2004. The survey also showed support for a less active US in world affairs. Some 51% of respondents said the US does "too much" to solve world problems.  Fifty-three percent of Republicans, 46% of Democrats and 55% of independents said the US should mind its own business. The public also thought the US should be less engaged internationally. A plurality of respondents (39%) believed the US should be less involved in seeking to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.  Some 36% thought Washington's current level of engagement in that issue was enough. But the survey did not suggest an entirely isolationist outlook was taking hold among Americans. US support for more participation in the global economy has increased, it found. Some 77% said the growing trade and business ties between the US and other countries was a good thing.

However, there was a mistaken belief among many that China is the world's top economic power - 48% of respondents thought so. Just 31% correctly said it was the US. America's gross domestic product is nearly twice that of China, according to World Bank data, although the gap between the two has been closing. President Obama's foreign policy was approved of by only 34% of respondents in the Pew survey.  The public overwhelmingly viewed dimly his handling of Syria, Iran, China and Afghanistan. Only on terrorism did more respondents approve (51%) than disapprove of his approach.

^ It's interesting to see what ordinary Americans think of the country and how it deals (or doesn't) with the world. I have to agree with those that disapprove of how Syria, Iran, China and Afghanistan (and Libya) have been handled. While many may think the US has lost influence around the globe we are still the sole Super Power and as shown last October when the US Government almost went to the brink what happens in our country still greatly affects the rest of the world and so we still have that influence (for better or worse.) ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25193054

Catching Fire (2013)

I went to see "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" today. I waited until today to avoid the crowds. I have read all the books and really liked the first movie and so wanted to see this one in the theater (usually I just wait until it comes out Netflix.)This movie was just as good as the first one and while it didn't stick exactly to the book (what movie does?) it did a great job of telling he overall story.

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Willow Shields and Woody Harrelson all come back to reprise their roles and did a flawless transition from the first movie to this one. Sam Claflin, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jena Malone are new additions to the franchise yet you couldn't tell by how well they help it flow. I can't wait until next year when the third movie comes out or 2015 for the last one.

Kiev Protests

From the BBC:

"Q&A: Why Ukraine protests matter"

Day after day thousands of anti-government protesters in Ukraine have been thronging central Kiev.

BBC News examines the political turmoil and what is at stake in one of Europe's biggest countries.

What caused the protests?

The trigger was the government's decision not to sign a far-reaching partnership deal with the EU, despite years of negotiations aimed at integrating Ukraine with the 28-nation bloc.  That decision was announced on 21 November - and it meant that an EU summit with former Soviet states on 28-29 November was a big disappointment for the EU. Thousands of pro-EU Ukrainians poured onto the streets of the capital - on 24 November the crowd was estimated at more than 100,000. They urged President Viktor Yanukovych to cancel his U-turn and go ahead with the EU deal after all. But he refused, and the protests continue.  Anger with President Yanukovych has escalated, and now protesters are demanding that he and his government resign.  Probably the best-known among them internationally is Vitali Klitschko, a world heavyweight boxing champion turned opposition leader. He heads the Udar (Punch) movement and plans to run for president in 2015. Udar is campaigning for a "modern country with European standards" - that is, loosening ties with Russia and strengthening them with the EU.  Between Mr Tyahnybok and Mr Klitschko stands Jaroslaw Kaczynski, Poland's former prime minister and now opposition leader. Historically Poland has vied with Russia for influence in Ukraine. Western Ukraine used to be part of Poland, and cultural and religious ties remain strong (they share the Catholic faith). Most western Ukrainians feel close to the West and suspicious of Russia. Poland is a strong voice in the EU urging the bloc to embrace Ukraine. Other foreign sympathisers have turned up at the Ukrainian rallies. Among them is Russian opposition activist Pyotr Verzilov, husband of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova. She and another member of the punk band Pussy Riot are in jail. One of the most important Ukrainian protesters is Arseniy Yatsenyuk, leader of Ukraine's second biggest party, called Fatherland. He is an ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, a former prime minister now in jail, who is an arch-rival of President Yanukovych.

Why is Yulia Tymoshenko important?

Internationally Tymoshenko has become a symbol of opposition to Mr Yanukovych, and a cause celebre in the EU.  She was jailed in 2011 for criminally exceeding her powers over a gas deal with Russia in 2009, and is serving a seven-year sentence. Many EU politicians accept her allegation that her trial was politically motivated. The European Court of Human Rights did not go as far, but did rule that her pre-trial detention had been "arbitrary and unlawful".  The EU set her release as a key condition for signing the association agreement with Ukraine - but Mr Yanukovych resisted the pressure to do so. She has a serious back ailment and wants to get treatment in Germany.  She called for the EU-Ukraine agreement to be signed even if the authorities kept her in jail. In the current protests there are powerful echoes of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution. Tymoshenko was a key figure in that pro-Western revolution - and in that case too she was battling to oust Mr Yanukovych. The street protests in 2004 led to his removal from power, after his election was judged to have been fraudulent. Russia backed him then - and backs him now.

Is Russia keeping President Yanukovych in power?

To many observers it looks that way, because Russia exerted strong economic pressure on Ukraine in the run-up to Mr Yanukovych's abrupt snub to the EU. Russia took various economic measures - including time-consuming border checks and a ban on Ukrainian sweets - and threatened others. Ukraine is in a long-running dispute with Moscow over the cost of Russian gas, on which it is heavily reliant. Many Ukrainian firms - especially in the country's Russian-speaking east - also rely on sales to Russia.  Mr Yanukovych still has a strong support base in eastern Ukraine, and there have been street demonstrations by his supporters. For centuries Ukraine was controlled by Moscow and many Russians see Ukraine as vital to Russian interests.

^ It's good to see people stand-up peacefully for what they believe in. Ukraine has done that a lot since gaining independence from the USSR. They held protests against then-President Kuchma in 2000 and then again during the Orange Revolution in 2004 when the people held out and their voice was heard and the Russian-backed Yanukovych gave in and the Pro-West candidate became President. I hope that these protests continue to be non-violent (on both sides) and that Russia doesn't try to poison anyone else like they are alleged to have done during the Orange Revolution. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25182823