October 10, 2014

Don’t Reduce Malala Yousafzai to a Cuddly Caricature of the “Bravest Girl in the World”

Earlier this week, I argued that the Nobel Peace Prize should go to nobody, “as an acknowledgment that the most notable eruptions of violence have been so grimly predictable, the result of years of individual and collective failures by governments and international institutions.” Despite that sentiment, I certainly don’t object to the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to award this year’s prize to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi for, as the announcement put it, “their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”

The most surprising thing about the award may be how unsurprising it is. The last few peace prizes—particularly the ones given to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons last year, the EU in 2012, and Barack Obama in 2009—have been unexpected curveballs. Yousafzai, by contrast, was mentioned as a strong favorite in nearly every story leading up to Friday’s prize announcement.

The 17-year-old, who was shot in the by the Taliban in 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, has become an international household name, particularly following her high-profile speech to the United Nations last year, and has authored a best-selling memoir.

Satyarthi, a 60-year-old campaigner against child labor in India, is much less well-known. He’s known for mounting raids on factories employing children—sometimes facing down armed guards—as well as running a rehabilitation center for liberated children, organizing the Global March Against Child Labour, and setting up a certification system to ensure that carpets are made without child labor.


http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_world_/2014/10/10/malala_yousafzai_don_t_reduce_the_nobel_peace_prize_winner_to_a_cuddly_caricature.html?wpsrc=fol_tw



Malala Yousafzai speaks at the United Nations in 2013. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images

October 7, 2014

Let the Children Play: Schools Must Relearn Importance of Recess

My 5-year-old is bursting at the seams with excitement with the start of kindergarten this year. He tells me he wants to learn to tell time, tie his shoes, learn a new language, play basketball and make new friends. He attends an increasingly rare school that allows a decent amount of time for recess — something research has shown supports academics, healthy friendships and healthy bodies.

The average time Seattle students spend in recess has steadily declined over the past few years, according to a May KUOW investigative story. When the study tracking recess began four years ago, only one Seattle school reported an average recess time of 20 minutes or less per day. During the 2013-2014 school year, some 11 schools offered that sort of a recess.

What’s worse, the schools with the shortest recess times enroll disproportionately more low-income students and students of color.

Unfortunately, Seattle is following a national trend in reducing recess time in primary grades as school districts obsess about raising test scores. This obsession is driven by the federal education policy of the No Child Left Behind Act and the Race to the Top Fund.

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2014/10/06/let-children-play-schools-must-relearn-importance-recess



Recess should not be considered a luxury that high-stakes testing has made unaffordable. Rather, unstructured play and exercise should be seen for what it is, a cornerstone of childhood development and an important aspect of each and every school day. (Photo: Wayne Silver / flickr / cc)

October 6, 2014

FDA approves use of experimental Ebola drug

Source: The Hill

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday approved the use of an experimental drug that has been hailed as one of the pharmaceutical industry's best chances at fighting the Ebola virus.

Chimerix, a North Carolina-based biopharmaceutical company, announced Monday that it has received approval to administer an antiviral drug called brincidofovir that has successfully treated Ebola in lab tests.

The drug has also been tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, though it is not expected to win approval for wide public use until late 2016.

"We are hopeful that brincidofovir may offer a potential treatment for Ebola Virus Disease during this outbreak," the company's president and CEO, M. Michelle Berrey, said in a release.

Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/219856-fda-approves-use-of-experimental-ebola-drug

October 6, 2014

REALLY?! 22 Inappropriate Halloween Costumes for Kids

You won't believe some of these!












http://www.parentsociety.com/parenting/inappropriate-kids-halloween-costumes/

October 5, 2014

AARON WOOLF RELEASES POINT BY POINT CRITICISM OF ELISE STEFANIK’S REPUBLICAN ADDRESS

Elise Stefanik Proves She is the Consummate D.C. Insider by Choosing to Give National Address While Refusing to Talk to Local Media

PLATTSBURGH, NY—Today, Aaron Woolf offered a point by point criticism of Elise Stefanik’s Republican address that he argues was both misleading and void of substance. And one of the most important takeaways is that by giving this address—while refusing to make herself available to the local press—Stefanik has proven herself to be the consummate D.C. insider. Just ask the editorial board of the Glens Falls Post Star.

Hi, I’m Elise Stefanik, and I’m running for Congress in New York's 21st District. I'm proud to say I was born and raised in Upstate New York.

Elise Stefanik has no ties to the district. She was born and raised in Albany; attended the Albany Academy for girls; went to college at Harvard; then spent a decade in Washington as a D.C. insider. She then moved to her parents’ summer home in Willsboro for one year just to lay the foundation for her run for Congress. The only property she owns is in Washington, D.C., a $1.2 million townhouse on Capitol Hill. In fact, it isn’t even clear if she pays property taxes in the district.

Aaron Woolf, on the other hand, has ties to the North Country dating back to 1968 when his family first bought a home in Elizabethtown. Aaron spent much of his childhood in E-Town and attended college just 45 minutes away. Because E-Town is the only place he has consistently called home, Aaron lives there with his wife and daughter, who attends preschool in Essex County.


Read more: http://www.woolfforcongress.com/2014/10/04/aaron-woolf-releases-point-point-criticism-elise-s/

October 5, 2014

Paul Revere of Raiders rock band dies at 76

Source: KOMO - Seattle

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paul Revere, the organist and leader of the Raiders rock band, has died. He was 76.

Roger Hart, manager for Paul Revere and the Raiders, said he died Saturday at his home in Garden Valley, Idaho, from cancer.

"He'd been quiet about it for some time," Hart said. "Treated at the Mayo Clinic, Paul stayed on the road as long as he could, then retired recently back to Idaho, where he and his wife, Sydney, always kept a home."

Revere, born Paul Revere Dick, became known as "the madman of rock and roll" for his theatrical colonial wardrobe and infectious onstage persona with the band.

Read more: http://www.komonews.com/news/entertainment/Paul-Revere-of-Raiders-rock-band-dies-at-76-278169561.html

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October 4, 2014

Fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial Park

October 4, 2014

Fire at Flight 93 National Memorial in Pa. may have damaged 9/11 memorabilia

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- A fire erupted Friday at the headquarters of the Shanksville, Pennsylvania, memorial to United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed on September 11, 2001, officials said.

"There is a potential for 9/11 memorabilia loss due to a fire," according to a statement from the National Park Service, but the extent of the damage is not known yet.

NPS spokesman Mike Litterst said 10% of the archives and museum collection was stored in the damaged buildings, but much of it was kept in a fireproof safe.

Among the items in the damaged buildings was a U.S. flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol on the day of the terrorist attack. The flag was given to the Flight 93 National Memorial last September 11. Its status was not known.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/us/pennsylvania-flight-93-memorial-fire/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

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Smoke from a fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial can be seen from a distance near Shanksville, Penn. WTAJ

October 2, 2014

Marathon Petroleum's Speedway closes on Hess deal

Completes $2.82B purchase of retail operations, other assets

FINDLAY — Speedway LLC, a subsidiary of Findlay-based Marathon Petroleum, has completed its $2.82 billion purchase of Hess’ retail operations and other assets.

The deal was announced in May.

Hess is the largest chain of company-operated gas stations and convenience stores on the East Coast. In May, the companies said that Hess gas stations will all be rebranded as Speedway over three years.

"This transformative acquisition provides Speedway a significant growth platform by expanding our retail presence to 23 states throughout the East Coast and Southeast," said Gary Heminger, Marathon Petroleum’s president and chief executive officer.


Read more at: http://www.toledoblade.com/business/2014/10/01/Marathon-Petroleum-s-Speedway-closes-on-Hess-deal.html

October 1, 2014

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson Is Resigning

Source: ABC News

Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who has been skewered by critics over the Sept. 19 White House security breach, is resigning, sources told ABC News.

Pierson’s resignation comes in the wake of an incident in which Omar Gonzalez, a knife-wielding Iraq War vet, allegedly managed to slip over the fence, past several layers of security, and into the White House’s East Room, where he was subdued by an off-duty agent.

Lawmakers at a congressional hearing Tuesday demanded to know how such a breach of one of the most secure buildings in the world could have taken place.

"It will never happen again,” Pierson assured lawmakers at the hearing.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/secret-service-director-julia-pierson-resigning/story?id=25889952

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Secret Service Director Julia Pierson listens on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 30, 2014, as she testifies before the House Oversight Committee as it examines details surrounding a security breach at the White House. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo