Upcoming Bicentenary (Happy Birthday Charles Dickens ! ) - Feb. 7, 2012

from DICKENS 2012 website (London, England, UK):

A wreathlaying ceremony to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens will take place in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday 7 February 2012.

Westminster Abbey will celebrate the bicentenary of one of Britain’s greatest writers with a wreathlaying in the South Transept. The ceremony is one of a number of events being held this year to mark the anniversary of the great Victorian writer, who is buried in the South Transept of the Abbey.

The wreathlaying ceremony will include readings from the Dickens’s novels and his other writings by actor and director Ralph Fiennes, author Claire Tomalin and two of Dickens's descendants.

The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said: 'Dickens'  humanity and compassion made an extraordinary impact on Victorian England through his writings, which remain immensely popular. This bicentenary should help renew our commitment to improving the lot of the disadvantaged of our own day.'

Happy Birthday to W.A. Mozart!

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Am. Public Media - Minnesota Public Radio):

January 27 is the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in Salzburg, Austria (1756). He only lived for 35 years but he started his career early -- a child prodigy from a family of musicians. He toured all over Europe, and wrote his first opera at age 11.
Mozart died at the age of 35 in mysterious circumstances. There is a popular image of him as poor and miserable, working on a funeral requiem as he was dying. But overall, his final year was a good and productive one. He was living in Vienna. He was still getting commissions. He didn't have a lot of money in the year 1791, but then again, he rarely did -- he and his wife, Constanze, never seemed able to live on what Mozart made.
It was a busy year. In the first months of 1791, he wrote dance music for the winter balls at the court and the Piano Concerto No. 27. In the summer, a messenger came, asking Mozart to write a requiem for his patron, Count Franz von Walsegg who had lost his wife and wanted to commission a requiem in her honor.
He was working on the opera La Clemenza di Tito to celebrate the coronation of Emperor Leopold as King of Bohemia. It premiered in early September. Three weeks later, his opera The Magic Flute opened in Vienna, and was a big hit. In October, he finished Clarinet Concerto in A. Then a cantata for his Freemason lodge, which he directed himself on November 18th. Finally, he put all his energy toward the Requiem, but just after the performance of his cantata, he became extremely ill. He had a fever, and his whole body was swollen. He continued writing the Requiem right up until his death, which was only two weeks after he became sick. No one knows what Mozart's illness was, and there are dozens of theories: rheumatic fever, tuberculosis, endocarditis, syphilis, congestive heart failure, kidney disease, and poisoning. He died on December 5th, 1791 and was buried in a mass, unmarked grave, a common practice for the middle-class of Vienna.
Mozart said, "Music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear but always remain a source of pleasure."

Speech at Ann Arbor, Michigan -- President Obama on College Affordability (Friday 27th January 2012)

from the Free-Press (Detroit daily newspaper online edition):

President Barack Obama will focus on "American Skills and Innovation," including college affordability, when he takes the stage at the University of Michigan this morning in front of more than 3,000 students, faculty members and staff members.

Obama will talk about affordability and getting students and workers the education needed to develop a competitive work force, a White House official told the Free Press. It will be a follow-up to his State of the Union address earlier this week, in which he touched on the same topics.

Happy 130th Birthday to Virginia Woolf (b. 1882) !

It's the birthday of Virginia Woolf, born Adeline Virginia Stephen in London (1882) author of Mrs. Dalloway (1925), To the Lighthouse (1927), Orlando (1928), and The Waves (1931). She also wrote a book called A Room of One's Own (1929), based on lectures she gave at the women's colleges of Cambridge in which she said, "a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
Woolf herself wrote in her house in Bloomsbury in a downstairs storage room, which had been a billiard room. A room with a cold stone floor and a skylight, packed with hundreds of books, a bed, an old wicker chair, where she wrote for three hours every morning, using a wooden board for a table, smoking hand-rolled cigarettes.
At her summer house in Sussex, she wrote in a remodeled shed, with big windows, with views of the woods and hills. She sat in a chair and put a small tabletop on a cushion on her lap, and wrote on that. In A Room of One's Own, she wrote: "So when I ask you to earn money and have a room of your own, I am asking you to live in the presence of reality, an invigorating life."
On this day in 1915, she wrote in her diary that her husband Leonard gave her a green purse and a book and took her to the movies. They had tea and decided to buy a printing press and get a bulldog.

Tuesday SOTU (Jan. 24, 2012) Bipartisan Seating (AZ representative) : Politico Story

posted Monday, January 23, 2012 evening:

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) will have an across-the-aisle seatmate at Tuesday (Jan. 24, 2012)night’s State of the Union address, much like nearly 200 of her colleagues in Congress.
Giffords, who will resign from Congress this week to focus on recovering from her injuries sustained in a shooting one year ago, will sit with fellow Arizona Reps. Jeff Flake, a Republican, and Raul Grijalva, a Democrat.
Last year, the Arizona delegation left a seat empty for Giffords between Flake and Grijalva as lawmakers wore black-and-white ribbons acknowledging the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting rampage that killed six people and injured Giffords and a dozen others.
The bipartisan seating craze at the president’s annual speech took off in the aftermath of the shootings in Tucson, Ariz., as lawmakers tried to cultivate a more civil and cooperative atmosphere.

The nonpartisan organization No Labels, which is prodding Congress on the cross-party seating push, said 182 lawmakers had signed up to participate in the effort as of Monday morning.

Tuesday’s State of the Union address by President Barack Obama will be among Giffords’s last duties as a member of Congress. Earlier Monday (Jan. 23, 2012), she met in Tucson with constituents who were attending the “Congress on Your Corner” event where the shooting occurred one year ago.
Her husband, retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, will also attend the State of the Union as one of Obama’s guests in the Capitol Balcony. Brian Kolfage, one of Giffords’s constituents who is an Iraq War veteran, will be Giffords’s guest at the speech.

Pres. Obama to speak Jan. 27 at U of Michigan Glick Field House (arena)

from DETROIT NEWS online article (Jan. 23, 2012 posting):

President Barack Obama will make a speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday, January 27, three days after he delivers his State of the Union address.
Obama is expected to deliver remarks at the Al Glick Field House, the $26 million 104,000-square foot Indoor Football Practice Facility was completed in August 2009, a White House official said.
The president will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night (January 24, 9 - 10:30 p.m.)before Congress in Washington. The next day, he's scheduled to travel to Iowa and Arizona. He'll be in Nevada and Colorado Thursday before arriving late in Michigan to spend the night. He'll return to Washington on Friday, January 28.
This is the president's 10th visit to Michigan since taking office. He was in Michigan in October, 2011 to visit GM's Orion Assembly plant with the South Korean president and spoke in Detroit on Labor Day.
It will be his second visit to speak at the University of Michigan. In May 2010, he delivered the commencement address at Michigan Stadium, where he urged students to participate in democracy and get all points of view.
"When we don't pay close attention to the decisions made by our leaders, when we fail to educate ourselves about the major issues of the day, when we choose not to make our voices and opinions heard, that's when democracy breaks down," Obama said. "That's when power is abused. That's when the most extreme voices in our society fill the void that we leave. That's when powerful interests and their lobbyists are most able to buy access and influence in the corridors of power — because none of us are there to speak up and stop them."

Debate details finally announced (Florida PRIMARY lead-in at Tampa - Univ. of South Florida)

from NBC NEWS website -- msnbc dot-com

Tonight’s NBC/National Journal/Tampa Bay Times debate airs beginning at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on NBC’s “Rock Center.” It’s moderated by NBC’s Anchor Brian Williams, and will also feature questions by National Journal’s Beth Reinhard (a former Miami Herald reporter), and the Tampa Bay Times’ veteran political reporter Adam Smith.  You can also watch the debate live on NBCPolitic.com and follow the Twitter stream of our political experts.

First Read BLOG --  http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/23/10216094-first-thoughts-high-stakes

EDIT: added information known about Audience Members (Foreign Diplomats)

Joining participants and NBC’s Brian Williams for Monday’s Republican presidential primary debate will be a scattering of notable figures and friends of the university, including Sir Peter Westmacott, the United Kingdom’s ambassador to the United States, and his French counterpart, Ambassador Francois Delattre.

Although the two high-ranking diplomats will keep separate itineraries for most of their time on the campus of the University of South Florida that day, both are expected to attend the evening’s GOP debate in Theatre I.

Sir Peter’s trip to Tampa marks his first official visit to an American university, occurring only days after his arrival in Washington, D.C., to assume his official duties. He previously served as Britain’s chief diplomatic representative to France, and before that as the U.K.’s ambassador to Turkey.

Here primarily to discuss ongoing cooperation with USF on an array of academic initiatives and exchange programs – in October, the university hosted a European Expo in London, and in December, Britain’s Consul General in Miami, Kevin McGurgan, traveled to USF to personally salute Jean Weatherwax, ’12, the university’s first winner of a prestigious Marshall Scholarship for postgraduate study in the U.K. – Sir Peter will attend the debate following meetings with President Judy Genshaft, Provost Ralph Wilcox and Senior Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Global Affairs Karen Holbrook.

His schedule also includes an informal exchange with a group of Honors College and international students during the afternoon. Of the university’s nearly 2,000 students from abroad, about 40 hail from the U.K. The meeting with students will take place in the university’s new Interdisciplinary Sciences Building, where interdisciplinary research scientists and students collaborate on a variety of pressing issues, such as finding a cure for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, developing new cancer treatments through nanomedicine, looking for new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, and advancing the next generation of sensor technologies.

Ambassador Delattre visits USF at the invitation of the Florida Council of 100, a cosponsor of the debate along with NBC News, the Tampa Bay Times and National Journal. He has served as France’s ranking representative to the United States since February 2011, and regularly visits many cities across the U.S. to meet with policy makers and foster French-American relations in all areas, from culture and science to trade and investment.

His international bona fides include terms as Ambassador of France to Canada, French Consul General in New York, and press and communications director at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. Also a former deputy director of the French Foreign Minister’s Office, he began his diplomatic career as an economic liaison with the French Embassy in Bonn, Germany.

“As a global research university focused on contributing solutions to many of the world’s most pressing problems, it is vitally important that USF maintain positive and productive relationships with our many international friends, hosts and partners,” said Wilcox. “And so we’re delighted to welcome the British and French ambassadors to campus for first-hand views of both higher education in the U.S. and American presidential politics. I’m sure that their interactions with our talented students and the broader campus community will inform and enliven our ongoing discussions about global engagement at USF.”

University of SOUTH FLORIDA press release ( http://news.usf.edu/article/templates/?a=4075&z=155 )

Lunar New Year (Jan. 23, 2012) Message of Greeting (Pres. & Mrs. Obama) -- video transcript

President Barack Obama focuses on the importance of diversity in a new video greeting for all those celebrating the Lunar New Year, on behalf of himself and First Lady Obama. He recalls his childhood in Hawaii as he notes that "our country is stronger because of our diversity."

The President's full message:

"Michelle and I want to send our best wishes to all those celebrating the Lunar New Year, including Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders," President Obama said.

"Growing up in Hawaii I remember all the excitement surrounding the Lunar New Year. From the the parades and the fireworks to the smaller celebrations at home with family, it's always been a time for celebration and for hope. And this year as Americans here and around the world welcome the Year of the Dragon, it's important to remember that our country is stronger because of our diversity. We're richer because of the different cultures that make up our country.

So to all those celebrating the Lunar New Year, I wish you and your loved ones peace, prosperity, and good health."

http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2012/01/president-obamas-lunar-new-year-message.html

Representative Giffords (D - Arizona) to resign seat in Congress (Sunday Jan. 22)

from Politico Breaking News Coverage (3:33 p.m. Eastern Time):

Gabrielle Giffords will resign this week from Congress so that she can devote herself to her rehabilitation, which has been under way for more than a year since a bullet pierced her brain during the mass shooting in a Tucson parking lot that left six people dead.

Giffords will make an appearance at the State of the Union Address by Pres. Obama this week before she officially steps down.
Democratic insiders said that Giffords had been considering whether to step down for several weeks. There was some discussion over whether Giffords would resign or retire.
Democratic officials are looking at Kelly, Giffords’ husband and a former astronaut, as a possible replacement for her.
Under Arizona law, Gov. Janice Brewer (R) has 72 hours from the day the seat is officially vacant to announced a date for a special election to replace Giffords. The party primary must be held 80-90 days from date of vacancy, with a general election 50-60 days after that. That sets up a primary in a seat that could be tough for Democrats to hold in mid to late April, with a general election in mid June.  The shootings — and her remarkable recovery — shocked and captivated the nation in January of last year, and her long road of rehabilitation has often played out in public. In her video, Giffords speaks clearly but deliberately — her speech functions have slowly returned during her year-long recovery.
“Arizona is my home. Always will be,” Giffords says. “A lot has happened over the past year. We cannot change that. But I know on the issues we fought for, we can change things for the better. Jobs. Border security. Veterans. We can do so much more by working together.”
Giffords also addresses the shooting in her statement.
“I don’t remember much from that horrible day but I will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice,” Giffords said. “Thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. I have more work to do on my recovery so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week. I’m getting better, every day. My spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country.”


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71787.html#ixzz1kDpgS4UJ

Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (1809 -1849)

from WRITER's ALMANAC (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media article):

Januayr 19 is the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (1809), born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were both actors, but his father left the family in 1810, and his mother died of tuberculosis a year later. The young Poe was raised by the Allans, a Scottish merchant family in Richmond, Virginia, who gave the boy his middle name. They sent him to the University of Virginia, where he picked up a habit of drinking and gambling from his rich classmates. He had a falling out with his foster father over this dissolute behavior, and was disowned. He spent the next several years living in poverty, depending on his aunt for a home, and supporting himself by writing anything he could, including a how-to guide for seashell collecting. Eventually he began to contribute poems and journalism pieces to magazines.
He first made his name writing some of the most brutal book reviews ever published at the time. He was called the "tomahawk man from the South." He described one poem as "an illimitable gilded swill trough," and he said, "[Most] of those who hold high places in our poetical literature are absolute nincompoops." He wrote fiction, too: mostly light, humorous tales because that's what was popular. But writing didn't pay well; he made about $4 per article and $15 per story. In 1842, his young wife, Virginia, contracted tuberculosis. His work became darker and more grotesque, and he wrote some of his best-known macabre stories and poems during the time of his wife's illness. In 1843, he published "The Tell-Tale Heart," and then published "The Raven" in 1845, and though it was an instant success, he was only paid $9 for the poem. Virginia died in 1847, and Poe died two years later, after he was found delirious in a Baltimore gutter.
Poe's cause of death was never determined, but most people have assumed it had to do with his alcoholism, or his drug addiction. But many of the assumptions people have long held about Poe can be traced back to one of his rivals, anthologist Rufus Wilmot Griswold. The two men had had an ongoing feud since 1842, when Poe was critical of Griswold's choice of poets for an anthology. Griswold, under the name "Ludwig," wrote a lengthy obituary for The New York Tribune, which began: "Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yesterday. The announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved by it." Somehow, Griswold secured the right to act as Poe's literary executor, and in a collection of Poe's work published in 1850, Griswold included a biography that he called "Memoir of the Author." He portrayed Poe as a drug addict, a drunk, and a madman, and included forged letters as "evidence." He wanted to destroy Poe's reputation and ruin his literary legacy; instead, his salacious rumors served to boost sales of the author's work.
We know now that Poe did suffer from bouts of depression, and that he had a complicated relationship with alcohol: he did some drinking followed by months or years of abstinence. But his reputation as a drunk and a madman can be traced back to the fact that he was a hard edged reviewer of other people's work, and his enemies were quick to spread demeaning stories about him.

Congressman Upton (Sixth District Michigan - R) honors the extraordinary legacy of Dr. King

from email -- sent to subscribers of his Legislative Website - Online announcements

Honoring the Extraordinary Legacy of Dr. King

January 16, 2012
Dear Friends:

Every January, we come together as a richly diverse nation to observe and honor the extraordinary life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Today, we remember and reflect upon his words:

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable. … Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”
It is hard to believe that this remarkable American hero would have turned 83 this year. Although he was taken from us over four decades ago, his dedication to a higher calling continues to inspire and guide new generations of Americans.

I was very pleased to see the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial dedicated this year in Washington D.C. This immaculate representation of Dr. King is now available for folks from around the country and around the globe to visit.  It is a lasting reminder of the timeless sacrifice he made to promote values of non-violence and tolerance for all.

Dr. King encouraged us to dream of a land where people of every religion, race, and creed could experience freedom and opportunity. Through the leadership of Dr. King, our nation began to identify racism and bigotry as a vicious stain on our democracy. 

Dr. King’s idealism not only dared us to believe a better world was possible, but expected us to be part of the solution. Each and every member of our community has the responsibility to continue Dr. King’s fight for equality and justice, to keep his vision of a fair society alive.

Thanks to those who have followed him, Dr. King’s message of hope and healing is alive and well today.

upton.newsletter @ mail.house.gov

A Day for Civic, Community, and Service Projects (1/16/2012): Pres. Proclamation

from WHITE HOUSE Proclamation website:

On a hot summer day nearly half a century ago, an African American preacher with no official title or rank gave voice to our Nation's deepest aspirations, sharing his dream of an America that ensured the true equality of all our people.  From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a movement that would push our country toward a more perfect Union.
At a time when our Nation was sharply divided, Dr. King called on a generation of Americans to be "voices of reason, sanity, and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion."  His example stirred men and women of all backgrounds to become foot soldiers for justice, and his leadership gave them the courage to refuse the limitations of the day and fight for the prospect of tomorrow.  Because these individuals showed the resilience to stand firm in the face of the fiercest resistance, we are the benefactors of an extraordinary legacy of progress.
Today, Dr. King is memorialized on the National Mall where he once spoke, a symbol of how far our Nation has come and a testament to the quiet heroes whose names may never appear in history books, but whose selflessness brought about change few thought possible.  Dr. King's memorial reminds us that while the work of realizing his remarkable dream is unending, with persistence, progress is within our reach.
On the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, we celebrate the man who fought for the America he knew was possible.  Dr. King's faith in a God who loves all His children and a Nation grounded in the promise of equality would not let him rest until victory was won.  As we work to meet the challenges of our time    from fixing our schools so every child gets a world class education to ensuring all Americans have access to strong and secure economic opportunity    let us draw strength from Dr. King's stirring affirmation that "Everybody can be great because everybody can serve."  In his memory, let us continue climbing toward that Promised Land, one more fair and more just for all people.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2012, as the Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday.  I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service
projects in honor of Dr. King, and to visit http://www.mlkday.gov/ to find Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service projects across our country.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/13/presidential-proclamation-martin-luther-king-jr-federal-holiday-2012

Religious Freedom Day (Jan. 16, 2012) - Proclamation for U.S.A.

from WHITE HOUSE dot-gov January 2012 events:

For nearly four centuries, men and women have immigrated to America's shores in pursuit of religious freedom.  Hailing from diverse backgrounds and faiths, countless settlers have shared a simple aspiration -- to practice their beliefs free from prejudice and persecution.  In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly took a bold step toward preserving this fundamental liberty by passing the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, which brought to life the ideal of religious tolerance from the texts of the Enlightenment in the laws of state.  On Religious Freedom Day, we celebrate this historic milestone, reflect upon the Statute's declaration that "Almighty God hath created the mind free," and reaffirm that the American people will remain forever unshackled in matters of faith.
Drafted by Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Statute formed the basis for the First Amendment, which has preserved religious freedom for both believers and non-believers for over 220 years.  As our Nation has grown, so too has its diversity of faiths, cultures, and traditions; today, individuals of rich and varied beliefs call America home and seek to follow their consciences in peace.  Our long history of religious tolerance and pluralism has strengthened our country, helped create a vibrant civil society, and remained true to the principles enshrined in our founding documents.
Our Nation is committed to religious liberty not only for all Americans, but also for individuals around the world.  Internationally, we bear witness to those who live in fear of violence and discrimination because of their beliefs.  My Administration continues to stand with all who are denied the ability to choose, express, or live their faith freely, and we remain dedicated to protecting this universal human right and the vital role it plays in ensuring peace and stability for all nations.
Today, as we reflect on the many ways religious freedom enriches our country and our lives, let us lend our voice to all people striving to exercise their innate right to a free mind.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 16, 2012, as Religious Freedom Day.  I call on all Americans to commemorate this day with events and activities that teach us about this critical foundation of our Nation's liberty, and show us how we can protect it for future generations at home and around the world.

Recitations of King's Speeches plus more

Monday (federal holiday honoring the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) - 9 a.m. at SPOKEN WORD COFFEE HOUSE -- Goshen College, Goshen, IN

Recitations of Dr. King's speeches, poetry reading, and storytelling will begin at 9 a.m. at the Goshen College Church - Chapel Fellowship Hall.  At 10 a.m., a convocation in the Church-Chapel with Vincent Harding (a scholar and friend of the King family) as speaker is set.  Free -- No reservation required.

Winter Storm Alert: Jan. 13, 2012 Midwest Weather Service description

as posted at WWW. WSBT. Weather portion of website (CBS Affiliate) -- channel 22

System snow will linger through the afternoon. Lake effect snow will continue through tonight as well. Snowfall totals will be upwards of 12+ inches in the lake effect areas, smaller totals to the south. Strong winds will create blowing and drifting problems today as well as very cold wind chill values. High today: 24°

WINTER STORM WARNING will be in effect through 7:00 a.m. eastern Time Zone  Saturday (January 14, 2012) morning for Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph counties in Michigan and LaPorte, St. Joseph, and Elkhart counties in Indiana. Lake effect snow showers will develop creating difficult travel conditions.
www.wsbt.com/

Anniversary of GITMO PRISON (detention center - U.S. Military, Cuba base): Jan. 2012 analysis Policy Mic dot-com

from Online Article (www.policymic.com/ ) Catherine Skroch for online NEWSLETTER
http://www.policymic.com/articles/295/on-the-guantanamo-anniversary-revisiting-the-meaning-of-torture

When the first twenty detainees stepped through the gates of Guantanamo Bay Detention Center on January 11, 2002, they did not fully understand the meaning and complexity of their incarcerations.
January 22, 2009 was to be the first meaningful “change” brought by the new Obama administration. On that day Obama signed his very first executive order as President: to close Guantanamo.
Over the past nine years, Guantanamo Bay has held some 775 prisoners accused of having links to terrorist organizations. Many have since been repatriated, and ten have faced military or civilian trials. It is estimated that about 170 prisoners remain locked up with slow or nonexistent judicial procedure.
Unfortunately, because of tactics employed under the Bush administration, Guantanamo has become synonymous for torture, a fact exacerbated by the haunting April 2009 Justice Department memos, which describe CIA-authorized torture treatment in detail. Legally, torture means “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person” as defined by the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), ratified by the US in 1977 and 1990, respectively.
To the patients at the Association Médicale de Réhabilition des Victimes de la Torture (AMRVT) in Casablanca, Morocco, where I worked with victims including a 24-year-old former Guantanamo detainee, torture means watching the minutes slip by without a glimmer of justice. It means being subjected to excessive force, psychological distress, and isolation. To other victims, it means more grotesque abuses including waterboarding, sexual abuse (particularly for women), sleep deprivation, threats and verbal abuse.
To many officials fighting the “War on Terror," however, torture means obtaining essential information from individuals who threaten the security of our nation. It means potentially protecting citizens from another 9/11, perpetrated by those who are certainly not acting as “lawful combatants” under the Geneva Conventions' definition.
But, what should torture mean to Americans?
First, even if we are dealing with the ambiguous threat of terrorism, our international obligations prevent us from ever using torture in response. Article 2 of the CAT clearly states, “No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.”
Also, beyond the long-term physical and psychological trauma associated with torture (on victims and perpetrators alike), studies such as the January 7, 2011 Science Journal report show torture to be an ineffective method of extracting reliable information. Wounded and sleep-deprived torture victims are less likely to remember information accurately, and provide less detailed information. Detainees under duress are more likely to tell their interrogators whatever they want to hear in order to stop torture.
In addition, torture actually hinders due process. In the first civilian trial of a suspected terrorist, Ahmed Ghailani, the defendant was acquitted of all but one of 285 charges for his role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa because much of the information in his case was obtained by torture, and therefore unreliable. Ghailani’s case sets the precedence for all other trials of 9/11 conspirators, which may be doomed before they begin – poisoned by torture.
Finally, Americans only need to reach as far back in our collective memory as the Abu Ghraib scandal to know that torture only hurts our international reputation, particularly our human rights record. Amnesty International’s February 2008 report on the U.S. use of torture states, “the administration’s resort to torture to fill in the intelligence gap leaves it today with a credibility gap.”
For these reasons, it is critical that President Obama not allow Congress to stonewall the process of closing Guantanamo. Permanent homes must be expediently found for the remaining Guantanamo detainees. In December 2009, Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum announcing that Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois would be receiving prisoners from Guantanamo. Countries including Portugal, France, Ireland, and Palau have agreed to accept some prisoners, but other governments have been reluctant to repatriate them.
However, last month the House of Representatives blocked a bill to appropriate funds to move detainees to American soil. Though the White House criticized this decision, Obama signed it without a fight, in effect grinding the closing of Guantanamo to a halt.
In addition, the U.S. must take an active role in healing torture victims. The UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (to which the U.S. is not currently a donor) supports over 100 local organizations like the AMRVT which do the most effective and pragmatic work of healing around the world.
This healing is essential, as a 2008 National Institute of Justice study reports, because many who go on to commit acts of terror became radicalized while in detention. Logically, the worse the treatment, the greater the will for retribution. Healing individuals develops broken societies, and healthy societies can combat more systemic problems, including underdevelopment, mistrust of authority, and radicalism.
To Americans, torture means that we should not let these January anniversaries pass us by, as forgotten as our own victims.

What happened on Jan. 3 - Iowa Caucus Night - did tallies get verification & re-totalling? (A. Petri Chat Discussion)

from Jan. 10, 2012 Chat Discussion with Washingtonpost dot-com columnist - Alexandra Petri:

Iowa GOP Caucus

early on Wednesday Jan. 4 -- votecounters gave a to-be-verified total of 1,774 precinct tallies. Seven days later, still no verification of the "eight-vote difference" -- Is the U.S. Supreme or the Iowa Supreme Court still awaiting the paperwork from the Romney or Santorum legal teams? Thanks and enjoy the tie tonight at New Hampshire.

A.

Alexandra Petri :

Years later we'll discover that, through a bizarre concatenation of circumstances, Al Gore actually won Iowa.
Hey, it's 2012. Anything can happen!

– January 10, 2012 12:05 PM

http://live.washingtonpost.com/compost-live-0110.html

Saturday January 14 NILES 5K race -- "Frigid Five - K" (5,000 meters in-town course SW Michigan)

from web blog -- 365 Things to do in South Bend, IN and vicinity -- N. Indiana & SW Michigan

Niles Frigid 5K

If you want to get going on your New Year's Resolution to work out more, here is the thing to do for you this weekend: the Niles Frigid 5K.  Finishing a race, especially one with such a hardcore name, gives you such a feeling of accomplishment, no matter what place you finish.  (e.g. See the excellent guest post recap of the Sunburst races.)  Age group awards, a forgiving start time (9 a.m.), and the appeal of hot chili afterward make this race an even better way to start an exercise regimen. 

It's rare to have a race mid-winter and rarer that we don't have significant snow cover, so take advantage of this opportunity, and you will have of being on your way to meet your fitness goals.

And you're waiting until the Chinese New Year to make your resolution, come to pique your appetite for the Hunter Ice Festival, which we featured last year (#105).

Where: Niles Amphitheater, Niles, MI
When: Saturday, Jan. 14, 9:00 a.m. start time
Cost: $20 w/o shirt; $25 with shirt (quantities limited)
Register at the website http://www.nilesf5k.com/ or there on Saturday morning.

Dr. King's Prophetic Imagination -- Lecture (Jan. 12, 2012) at Berrien Springs, MICHIGAN

Events at Andrews University (Seventh Day Adventist College) - Berrien Springs Michigan campus

 Andrews University will hold several public events this Thursday through Tuesday, Jan. 17, to honor the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Old Testament scholar and author Walter Brueggemann will talk about "The Prophetic Imagination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." as part of a lecture series at 11:30 a.m. Thursday (Jan. 12, 20120 in Pioneer Memorial Church. Then, at 2:30 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 12 also) in the Seminary Chapel, he will talk about "The Revolutionary Practice of Sabbath."
www.andrews.edu/

Monday Jan. 16 -- Feed the Hungry -- local food pantry emphasis -- MLK Birthday 2012

from Niles Daily Star story (Jan. 3, 2012) which focuses on the Breakfast Events (LMC & Niles Church):

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 16, 2012: a day to volunteer your time and talent to helping Feed the Hungry.
The Volunteer Center of Southwest Michigan hosts a time to reflect on King’s legacy at  two community breakfasts on MLK Day: Lake Michigan College Mendel Center in Benton Harbor (RSVP to Jannette 927-8100 ext. 5266) or Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Niles, Michigan from 7 to 10 a.m. (RSVPs not required).
After the breakfasts, head to a drop-in volunteer site to give as much time as your schedule allows or pick up a list of food pantries and fill a grocery bag with items to feed the hungry.
Volunteer ahead of time by decorating paper bags and dropping them off at the Volunteer Center the week before. Paper bags will be distributed to those collecting food.
For more information, visit www.volunteerswmi.org.

Hunter Ice Festival (2012): Niles Michigan pre-announced National Carving Champions

from publicity:  http://huntericefestival.org/

Downtown Niles, Michigan
 January 13-15, 2012 for the 8th Annual HUNTER ICE FESTIVAL…
we promise you will definitely NOT be disappointed!
On Saturday starting around 9 a.m., your favorites are back…for the 6th year Jeff Stahl from Goodfield IL, for the 5th year Aaric Kendall from Argenta IL, and also for the 5th year, Buddy Rasmussen from San Antonio TX, back for a 2nd year, Reverend Butter from Houston TX and home town favorite, Chef Andrew Thistlethwaite will be competing against each other and transforming 5 blocks of ice into Art for the People’s Choice Competition and a $500 Prize.   Vote for your favorite at any downtown business…
voting ends at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Friday & Saturday Nights are alright for fighting and we’ll have, straight from TEXAS, USA Team Texas & Ice Fights at the Riverfront Amphitheater beginning at 8 p.m.!
Weather permitting, the ice rink will be ready, located in Riverfront Park between Ridge Kramer & Wonderland!! It’s getting bbbrrrrr-cold, so if you go by while they are working on it, bring them some coffee or hot chocolate to keep them warm…

On this day in "Tech" History of innovation (Jan. 9)

from "The Writer's Almanac" (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

Five years ago today (Jan. 9, 2007) was the day when Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to an audience at Apple's annual Macworld expo. Taking the stage in his trademark jeans and black turtleneck, Apple chairman Jobs said that it was a day he'd been looking forward to for two and a half years, because he had three revolutionary products to introduce. A widescreen iPod with touch control and a "breakthrough Internet communications device" and a "revolutionary mobile phone," all in one device.
The iPhone was the first "smartphone" to use touch-screen technology, and was the first to access the Internet with full Web-browsing capabilities. Jobs demonstrated the device's capabilities by calling up Google Maps to find a nearby Starbucks, then prank called it to order 4,000 lattes to go.
The iPhone wasn't for sale until June, when it was available in two versions of differing memory for $499 and $599. But on this day of its unveiling, Apple's shares skyrocketed from $7 to over $92.

Iowa Caucus (rural precinct vote discrepancy) -- Dana Milbank ruling in Jan. 6 Chat

from Washington Post dot-com Friday humor in politics section of "Opinion":

Overcounting in Rural IOWA

Did the 20-vote overcount in Appanoos county, Iowa come about from ballot overstuffing or did the vote counters keep counting unmarked ballots that were extras as if they were for the "most electable" Romney?

• –
  January 06, 2012 6:53 AM

A.

Dana Milbank :

Silly. It's Appanoose County (with an e at the end), and the problem is obvious.  They still count votes there by using sticks to draw tallies in the dirt. 

– January 06, 2012 12:20 PM

 

http://live.washingtonpost.com/dana-milbank-live-120106.html

123-year-old College to host GOP Presidential Debate on Saturday, Jan. 7, 9 - 11 p.m. (ABC & WMUR & Yahoo News)

from school informational web posting:

Saint Anselm is located on a hilltop overlooking Manchester, N.H., within an hour of the seacoast, Boston, the White Mountains, and New Hampshire's Lakes Region.
Founded in 1889 by the world's oldest religious order, the Benedictines—a Catholic order that has endured and thrived for more than 1,500 years.
Whether you want to be a doctor, teacher, nurse, or lawyer; start your own business or make films—or you simply know you want to make a difference and you want to figure out the best way to do it, Saint Anselm will give you the options, experience, and mentors to connect, solve, to serve, lead and especially to do the right thing.
Named one of the country's "Colleges with a Conscience" by The Princeton Review, Saint Anselm shapes the kind of leader the world is hungry for; not only smart, but good.

further ongoing DEBATE blog:
http://blogs.anselm.edu/blog/2012/01/04/live-from-saint-anselm-college/

Happy 80th Birthday to Umberto Eco (novelist)!

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

January 5 is the 80th birthday of Umberto Eco, born in Alessandria, in the Piedmont region of Italy (1932). He's a philosopher, medievalist, literary critic, and best-selling novelist, and the Guardian calls him an "all-round brainbox."
His book, The Name of the Rose, published in Italian in 1980 and in English in 1983, became an international best-seller. His other novels include Foucault's Pendulum (1988), Mysterious Flame of the Queen Loana (2004), and most recently, The Cemetery of Prague (2010).
Eco once explained his productivity, saying: "There is a lot of space between atom and atom and electron and electron, and if we reduced the matter of the universe by eliminating all the space in between, the entire universe would be compressed into a ball. Our lives are full of interstices. [...] I can work in the water closet, in the train. While swimming, I produce a lot of things, especially in the sea. Less so in the bathtub, but there too."

Happy Birthday, Isaac Newton (mathemetician - physicist - philosopher)

from Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, Minnestoa Public Radio, American Public Media):

Today, January 4 is the birthday of Sir Isaac Newton, born in Woolsthorpe, England (1643). He was born very prematurely, and it was said that he could fit into a quart pot. His father had died three months before Newton was born, and the plan was for the boy to take over the running of the family farm when he grew up. He wasn't a good farmer, and his uncle suggested that he be sent to the university instead. He went to Cambridge, and when it was shut down during a plague year, Newton went home and studied mathematics and physics on his own. It was during this time that he first developed his theories of gravity and optics. He returned to Cambridge in 1667, intending to study alchemy, but ended up teaching mathematics. His first published scientific achievement was the invention of a reflecting telescope.
At the age of 43, Newton published his Principia, which overturned nearly everything humankind had believed about the universe up to that point. He proved that the celestial bodies were governed by the same laws of physics as objects on Earth. He incorporated Kepler's laws of planetary motion into his own theories about gravity, and established the three laws of motion. The First Law states that objects at rest tend to remain at rest, and objects in motion tend to remain in motion, unless they are acted upon by an external force; the Second Law states that an applied force on an object equals the rate of change of its momentum with time; and the Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

What does a "Twelfth Night" mean? Almanac definition

from list serv of Old Farmer's Almanac (www.almanac.com/ )

Twelfth Night is an English folk custom that marks the end of Christmas merrymaking and, in the ancient Celtic tradition, the end of the 12-day winter solstice celebration. On Twelfth Night, it was customary for the assembled company to toast one another from the wassail bowl. In Old English, wassail means "Be in good health," but the term also was applied to the drink itself (usually spiced ale).

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

from The Writer's Almanac (Garrison Keillor, American Public Media):

January 3 is the birthday of J.R.R. (John Ronald Reuel) Tolkien (1892), born to English parents in Bloemfontein, South Africa, where his father was working in a bank. Tolkien was always fascinated with languages, he went to school at Oxford, first studying Classics, and later, English Language and Literature. He came across an Old English poem by Cynewulf, which contained a couplet that fascinated him: "Hail Earendel brightest of angels / Over Middle Earth sent to men." The couplet found new life in the universe of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1955), which takes place in Middle Earth and includes a half-Elven character named Earendil the Mariner, who eventually becomes a star.
In 1925, Tolkien returned to Oxford University as a professor of Anglo-Saxon and, later, English Language and Literature. One day, while grading exams, he discovered that a student had left one whole page in his examination booklet blank. Tolkien, for reasons unknown even to him, wrote on the page, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." This single line turned into a bedtime story that he told his children, and from there, a book: The Hobbit (1937).

National Weather Service -- Berrien County to be hit by SNOW BLIZZARD (Jan. 2 & 3)

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR LAKE EFFECT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW AND STRONG WINDS ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL... KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT... FOOD... AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
LAKE EFFECT SNOW WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING AND BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY.
* ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 12 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY TUESDAY MORNING... WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS OVER EXTREME EASTERN BERRIEN AND WESTERN CASS COUNTIES.
http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/USMI0605?phenomena=WS&significance=W&areaid=MIZ077&office=KIWX&etn=0001

Earthquake hits Japan (1/1/2012) - reported early a.m.

from CNN World Bulletin -- www.cnn.com/

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck off the coast of Japan on Sunday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.
The earthquake hit 468 kilometers (302 miles) south-southwest of Tokyo at a depth of 348 kilometers, according to the USGS.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue a tsunami warning.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/01/world/asia/japan-earthquake/index.html?hpt=wo_c2