Jumblatt says to handover parliamentary seat to his son
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt confirmed Tuesday he will hand over his constituency seat to his...
Monday, 9 March 2015
The Numbers Add Up To This: Less And Less Opportunity For Poor Kids
An employee at the American Disposables Inc. factory works on the assembly line in October 2009 in Ware, Mass. The state has seen rapidly expanding income disparity in the past 50 years as highly educated tech and financial workers have seen big gains and inflation-adjusted income has shrunk for the poorest residents. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Spencer Platt/Getty Images
An employee at the American Disposables Inc. factory works on the assembly line in October 2009 in Ware, Mass. The state has seen rapidly expanding income disparity in the past 50 years as highly educated tech and financial workers have seen big gains and inflation-adjusted income has shrunk for the poorest residents.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
In this country, all children are supposed to have a shot at success — a chance to jump "from rags to riches" in one generation.
Even if riches remain out of reach, then the belief has been that every hard-working American should be able to go from poverty to the middle class.
On Tuesday, a book and a separate study are being released — both turning up evidence that the one-generation leap is getting harder to accomplish in an economy so tied to education, technological know-how and networking.
Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam's new book, Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis, argues that the United States is losing its status as a land of opportunity for all.
Here's the central idea: In the American Dream, upward mobility is available to all, limited only by ability and effort, not class. But Putnam assembles data to show that an "opportunity gap" has emerged here, making an upward climb much tougher in the 21st century, compared with the mid-20th century.
Putnam says a child born to married, college-educated parents has a very good chance of enjoying a comfortable life, rooted in formal education and personal connections; a child raised by a lightly educated single parent is starting the economic race wearing concrete shoes. The chances of catching up to the middle class are slim.
A separate study published Tuesday by the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire uses state-by-state data to underscore the problems. A look through the state slides shows a shifting landscape of opportunities for young people.
The study, which used data stretching back to 1960, shows that the most affluent 20 percent of families have seen their incomes (adjusted for inflation) rise steadily at a high pitch. People who were doing well in the 1960s have watched their children and now grandchildren move up in wealth.
From 1960 to 1970, income was moving up for the poor and middle-income earners as well — but since 1970, those incomes more or less have stalled. As a result, the gap between the affluent and the poor is getting wider each year.
The Carsey study shows those results can be even more exaggerated, depending upon a state's economic drivers.
For example in Massachusetts, where high-tech jobs have flourished, inflation-adjusted incomes for the highest earners have more than doubled since 1960, from $92,000 to $219,000, while incomes of the poorest group have fallen from $24,400 to $18,800.
In more rural Oklahoma, the affluent have gained too — but at a much more subdued rate, below 50 percent. Meanwhile the poorest Oklahomans have held steady — so the gap is growing, but not as dramatically as in more tech-oriented states.
Those figures underscore the key problem: The U.S. economy is moving more in the direction of Massachusetts, with the better jobs demanding more and more education. The jobs of the future tend to involve very high levels of knowledge of technology, medicine and finance.
To get those jobs, young people need access to college, internships and mentors, according to Putnam, who is well-regarded for his best-seller, Bowling Alone. He spoke with NPR host Scott Simon recently to explain how he studied the economic outcomes of his fellow high school graduates in the class of 1959.
Putnam grew up in Port Clinton, Ohio, about 40 miles east of Toledo. In his class, graduating seniors could choose between college or blue-collar careers in local factories.
"Eighty percent of us did better than our parents in educational and economic terms, and that reflected the American dream," Putnam told Simon.
But he said that on returning to do his research, "I discovered that — like the rest of America — even this little tiny town in Ohio had changed beyond recognition, frankly."
The children and grandchildren of college-educated classmates stayed on the upward swing, while those who chose factory work started sliding as the industrial landscape shifted.
Without steady factory paychecks, "there's such instability in the families of poor kids that 60 to 70 percent of them — of all races — are living in single-parent families," he said, versus 6 percent for the wealthiest fifth of families.
Those kids have fewer adults at the kitchen table, sharing conversation over dinner and pulling together.
If you have two educated parents, "you'll have a larger vocabulary, you'll know more about the world," Putnam said, and such children will have "a lot of adults in their life that are reaching out to help them. They tell them about what it means to go to college."
Putnam, who was awarded the National Humanities Medal in 2012 for his work on big social issues, wants to get people talking about ways to narrow the opportunity gap. The answer, he says, is to get affluent people to realize that to keep the American Dream alive, poorer kids will need extra help.
"They are part of our future," he said.
FPM-LF dialogue collapses over presidential vote
BEIRUT: MP Michel Aoun said after talks with Speaker Nabih Berri Monday that minor progress had been made in the presidential crisis, despite the generally gloomy prospects for ending the deadlock that has left Lebanon without a president for more than nine months.
The Free Patriotic Movement leader’s meeting with Berri came amid signs that several rounds of talks between the FPM and the Lebanese Forces have foundered over the presidential election deadlock, dashing hopes for a long-awaited meeting between Aoun and LF chief Samir Geagea.
“Aoun’s meeting with Berri could be the beginning of the quest for an alternative candidate,” political sources told The Daily Star.
Despite several rounds of hectic talks between officials from the FPM and LF covering key domestic issues, including the presidential election, the sources said: “Aoun’s relations with the LF are back to square one.”
With his presidential chances uncertain and the reconciliation attempt with Geagea in trouble, Aoun sought to raise some hope over the presidential impasse.
“Minor progress has been made in the presidential issue, regardless of who and how,” Aoun told reporters after meeting Berri in Ain al-Tineh, without elaborating.
He said his talks with Berri delved into “important issues relating to the Lebanese situation and other issues that influence this situation in our surrounding.”
“The presidential vote has gone through some phases. God willing, it reaches a full conclusion,” he said.
Asked to comment on the outcome of ongoing talks with the LF, Aoun said: “We will not give details because when details are made public, things will be spoiled.”
Aoun, supported by the Hezbollah-led March 8 alliance for the country’s top Christian post against Geagea, the March 14 coalition-backed candidate, has vowed not to withdraw from the presidency race.
The FPM leader has been blamed by March 14 parties and foreign powers for posing a major hurdle toward the election of a new president with his insistence on seeking the presidency.
Aoun’s meeting with Berri came two days before Parliament is slated to meet to choose a successor to former President Michel Sleiman, whose six-year term ended on May 25. However, Wednesday’s session, the 20th attempt since April, is doomed to fail like previous ones over a lack of quorum. Lawmakers from Aoun’s parliamentary Change and Reform bloc and Hezbollah’s bloc and its March 8 allies have thwarted a quorum with their consistent boycott of Parliament sessions, demanding an agreement beforehand with their March 14 rivals over a consensus presidency candidate.
Meanwhile, parliamentary sources close to Aoun quoted him as saying that he no longer saw seriousness in the dialogue between the FPM and the LF which has been going on for weeks between the FPM’s MP Ibrahim Kanaan and Milhem Riashi, chief of the LF communications and media department.
The two men have been working to prepare “a declaration of intent” that would set the stage for a meeting between Aoun and Geagea.
Kanaan told The Daily Star that he was still waiting for the LF’s response to the FPM’s remarks concerning the declaration of intent. Riashi said that matters are on the right track and the two parties’ decision to drop lawsuits against each other is irreversible.
However, parliamentary sources close to Aoun sounded pessimistic about an imminent breakthrough in ties between the two sides, or about holding a meeting between Aoun and Geagea.
“We are back to a wait-and-see situation,” the sources said, adding that if the dialogue between the two sides failed, Geagea would be held responsible for “undermining Christian ranks.”
The sources said Aoun was very pleased with a “cordial” meeting he held with former Prime Minister Saad Hariri at the latter’s residence in Downtown Beirut last month. Hariri hosted a dinner to celebrate Aoun’s 80th birthday.
Aoun, according to the sources, understands that the decision to support him for the presidency is still in some capitals.
The LF’s deputy leader MP George Adwan said it would be illogical for the LF to support Aoun, given his political alliance with Hezbollah.
Asked whether Geagea was ready to back Aoun for president, Adwan said in an interview published by An-Nahar newspaper Monday: “There is a substantial political dispute between us. The Lebanese Forces, which has struggled during all its history and in the past 10 years against the ‘memorandum of understanding’ between Aoun and Hezbollah, on what basis it will support him [for president]? This is illogical.”
However, the LF sought to play down Adwan’s remarks, saying it upheld the dialogue with the FPM and did not veto any presidential candidate.
“The LF attaches great importance to the ongoing dialogue between it and the FPM on all issues, including the presidency,” a statement issued by the LF’s media department said. “The LF does not put any veto on anyone and is working very hard for the election of a Lebanese president.”
Pop singer-militant, on run since 2013, plans to surrender
BEIRUT: A beardless Fadel Shaker has emerged from hiding, renouncing the Salafist beliefs that have had the former singer on the run from the law since 2013. Lawyer in tow, Shaker has disputed the veracity of the terrorism charges leveled at him by authorities. “Shaker intends to hand himself over to the judiciary,” his lawyer, May al-Khansa, told The Daily Star Monday but added that she must review his files before a final decision can be made in that regard.
“He believes that he is innocent, and I have a feeling that he is innocent as well,” Khansa added, though she stated she has yet to review the majority of his legal records.
“Technically it’s still my first day representing him.”
Shaker was allegedly alongside firebrand preacher Ahmad al-Assir and his militia when the group fought pitched battles with the Lebanese Army in Sidon during the summer of 2013, resulting in the deaths of 20 soldiers and 28 gunmen loyal to Assir.
Assir’s most notorious protégé, Shaker previously alleged that he had personally killed two members of the army during the 2013 attacks.
First Military Investigative Judge Riad Abu Ghayda handed down indictments following the clashes, requesting the death penalty for 57 individuals, including Shaker and Assir, who remains at large.
The pop singer-turned-alleged Salafist militant is charged with belonging to a terrorist organization, carrying out terrorist operations, participating in and attempting attacks against the Army, inciting sectarian strife, possession of unlicensed weapons and issuing statements deemed harmful to civil peace.
Military Prosecutor Saqr Saqr charged Shaker with inciting sectarian hatred and harming Lebanon’s ties with a friendly state, via his statements on Facebook.
According to Khansa, Shaker has denied accusations of his participation in the Abra clashes and has asserted that he did not kill any of the soldiers. She added that there are witnesses who will attest to Shaker’s whereabouts during the Sidon battles and that they will submit to questioning by the security forces.
However, Shaker’s lawyer did not dismiss all the charges against her client, especially those relating to negative remarks made about the Lebanese Army.
“He did issue negative statements but no blood was spilled,” said Khansa. “He told me that he will be willing to assume responsibility for his statements when politicians and other notable figures who have taken similar stances are prosecuted for their crime.”
Media reports have claimed that Shaker, who is believed to be in hiding in the Taamir neighborhood of Ain al-Hilweh, is attempting to secure a deal to leave the Palestinian camp.
Army commander Jean Kahwagi stated Monday that more than five months ago, a close friend and business associate of Shaker’s named Imad Qanso had contacted him to say that the singer was willing to hand himself over to the judiciary. Kahwagi said he told Qanso that the issue should be taken up with the military court.
Khansa denied claims that there was a deal in place to absolve Shaker of his crimes, contending that if “a deal had been reached then he wouldn’t need a lawyer.”
“I know of many suspects who have had their charges dropped because of a settlement, and none of them needed to hire legal counsel.”
Despite the absence of a settlement, Khansa said Shaker’s case could be resolved without his arrest. “The court could withdraw the charges, in which case he would still attend trial but as a free man.”
“This is possible as long as he intends to work with the judiciary and as long as the court is aware of his whereabouts and place of residence,” he added.
A judicial source told The Daily Star that Shaker’s lawyer would have to file an official request to withdraw the charges, but said it was highly unlikely that the court would agree to do so given that an arrest warrant has already been issued.
Asked whether Shaker could be found innocent and released by a Military Court, like some of the other Abra suspects, Khansa contended that it was possible, especially if it can be shown that he did not commit the crimes he is accused of.
In this scenario, a lawyer would call for a trial hearing before the court, and Shaker would turn himself over to police on the eve of his hearing. He would then be transported to court, where his lawyer could then file for his immediate release.
Judicial sources said that this scenario was the most probable, given that the arrest warrant issued against Shaker would be fulfilled if he turned himself in.
Khansa, who spoke openly of her affiliation with the Shiite movement Hezbollah, said that she was hired solely on merit, denying reports that Shaker appointed her to offset his reputation as a Sunni radical. “I am with the resistance, but I have clients from across the political spectrum, and he hired me because of my work,” she said.
A clean-shaven and suited Shaker first appeared in an exclusive interview with LBCI over the weekend. Speaking from his home in Ain al-Hilweh, he denied participation in the Abra clashes and said that his relationship with Assir had become strained ahead of the fighting.
Shaker’s support for the Salafist sheikh was first made public when he attended a rally organized by Assir in Downtown Beirut in 2012. During the event the singer was seen kissing Assir’s forehead.
Shaker has also featured in several videos available on YouTube. In controversial footage released during the Abra clashes, he addressed the Lebanese Army as “pigs and dogs,” while announcing the death of two soldiers and the wounding of 16. “May god increase their [casualties]” he added.
In another video, he announced his support for a declaration issued by Assir regarding the establishment of a rebel brigade that would mobilize in support of the Syrian opposition. In the video, Shaker asked for moral and material support for “jihad in Syria.”
Tight Lebanon entry rules dissuade would-be Syria refugees
MASNAA, Lebanon: The normally bustling border crossing in east Lebanon, the most popular for visitors from Syria, has largely been quiet since the beginning of the year. That was when Lebanon decided it could not take in any more Syrian refugees and started enforcing strict entry regulations, narrowing one of the few escape routes left from the 4-year-old conflict that has displaced a third of Syria’s population.
Just a few Syrian cars were lined up at the Masnaa crossing, waiting for their turn to go through a General Security inspection, the last checkpoint prior to being allowed into the country. Before reaching that point, the Syrian passengers had already obtained their entry visa from immigration after providing a good reason supported by relevant documents for visiting Lebanon.
Mohammad, a Syrian taxi driver, said he had been waiting for more than two hours for his passengers to get their visas. “A lot of papers are requested and it takes long hours of waiting at the border until the documents are verified and the visa is stamped,” he complained.
He said one of the passengers was traveling through Beirut airport and had to show his flight booking, entry visa to the country of final destination and a certain amount of cash money. “Even so, we still waited until the Lebanese General Security checked with the airline that the man was flying out on the same day, before he was granted a transit pass,” Mohammad added.
The new entry measures are unprecedented in the history of Lebanese-Syrian relations. For decades, citizens of the two countries had been able to travel freely across their shared border. A personal ID was enough for Syrians to enter Lebanon, get a six-month residency and work there without restrictions, financial charges or fees to be paid by their employers.
But since Jan. 5, Syrians wishing to enter Lebanon must obtain one of six types of visa categories which include tourism, education, medical treatment and business.
All require specified documents, including proof of hotel bookings for tourists, appointments for those seeking medical treatment or visas from foreign embassies, in order to meet the requirements and have their visa approved.
While the measures succeeded in stemming the entry of would-be refugees, they have adversely affected businesses across the border.
“I used to travel back and forth [between Damascus and Beirut] on a daily basis. Now I hardly do two trips a week. There are much fewer clients,” Mohammad remarked. “The hassle of going through the new regulations is discouraging many Syrians from traveling to Lebanon, unless they have to.”
Small businesses which previously thrived on the large number of people using the Masnaa crossing in both directions have mostly suffered from the slowdown.
Wael, the Lebanese owner of a shop that sells mobile phones, lines and top-up cards just a few meters from the crossing, complained that his work has slowed down by 90 percent since January.
“Before, people were crossing in and out every day. They [Syrians] used to come to Lebanon to spend the weekend, and every time you had people buying mobile phones, or mobile lines, or just topping up. It was bustling, but now there is nothing,” Wael said, as he pointed to his small empty shop.
He argued that businesses like his which are located close to the border catered mainly to Syrian visitors.
“There are no foreign tourists who pass through here to rely on. And with the new entry regulations, not many Syrians are crossing either,” he said. “I used to get between 30 and 40 clients a day. Now I hardly sell to one or two clients. Like today, although it is a Friday, only one person came in so far to top up his line, and only for $3.”
Friday, the beginning of the weekend in Syria, was particularly busy at the crossing. But it is no longer the case since the entry restrictions have been introduced, Wael added.
Overwhelmed by more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees, equal to almost a third of its population before the Syrian crisis began, Lebanon insists that the new measures were aimed at regularizing and organizing Syrians’ presence in Lebanon and did not violate a treaty of brotherhood and friendship signed between the two countries in 1991, when Syria implicitly controlled its smaller neighbor.
“These measures do not block the entry of Syrians ... Any Syrian national can enter Lebanon, but according to a certain criteria,” stressed a high-ranking General Security officer who requested anonymity.
Travelers through Beirut airport, for instance, get 24-hour transit visas automatically once they provide the required proofs. “If he is traveling tomorrow, why should I give him one-month sojourn?” the officer asked. “The sojourn will be granted for as long as it is needed.”
“Patients seeking medical treatment in Lebanon would also get a permit to stay in the country for as long as it is needed to complete their treatment, and the permit can be renewed if need be,” the General Security officer added.
Even if none of the visa criteria applied, Syrian nationals can still enter and stay in Lebanon if they have a Lebanese sponsor, he said.
Under the new arrangement, some 1.2 million refugees already registered with the UNHCR are given six-month renewable permits. However, members of this category would lose their permit and would not be able to re-enter Lebanon if they go back to Syria.
Humanitarian organizations working with Syrian refugees decried the new measure, maintaining that the Lebanese authorities should not close the doors on people who are desperate to leave.
Although Lebanese security officials could not provide exact figures on the number of travelers since January, the flow of Syrians through the popular crossing is evidently much lower than normal.
While it was widely welcomed in Lebanon, some Syrians said they did not mind the new measure, and even acknowledged Lebanon’s concerns arising from the influx of refugees.
“The procedure at the border went on very smoothly, with no hassle at all. It was much better organized than before, less crowded and less chaotic,” said Abu Ahmad, who accompanied his daughter Jihan to Beirut for an appointment at a foreign embassy. “She showed a proof of her appointment, while I provided a hotel booking and we got our entry permits straight away. Very easy,” he added.
Suheila Hamida, a resident of Damascus, and her daughter, Nahid, just provided papers showing that they owned property in Lebanon, and were given six-month visas.
“I don’t blame the Lebanese authorities for being stricter. Lebanon is also suffering from the war in Syria,” she said.
The influx of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has strained an already poor infrastructure, overwhelmed water and power supplies, pushed up rents and depressed the economy in rural areas, where Syrians compete with impoverished Lebanese for scarce jobs.
In addition, the conflict in Syria posed major security challenges for Lebanon, exacerbating Sunni-Shiite tensions and undermining stability along the porous border where the Army clashed repeatedly with Islamist militant groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.
It is evident that the new regulations have succeeded in checking the increase in the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, but the solution to the refugee crisis remains largely unresolved, as the conflict starts its fifth year, with no signs of a possible settlement.
Syria-based jihadis prepare for Lebanon offensive
Syria-based terrorist groups are preparing to resume their attacks against Lebanese territories on the northeastern border with Syria with the advent of spring in the next few weeks, according to reports received by military and security institutions in Lebanon based on Western intelligence information.
The anticipated terrorist attacks prompted the Lebanese Army to launch a series of pre-emptive operations against jihadis holed up in rugged areas near the border with Lebanon. The Army’s pre-emptive strikes against ISIS and the Nusra Front have been praised by several foreign security agencies.
The battle for the rugged outskirts stretching from Syria’s Qalamoun region to the Lebanese northeastern town of Arsal, including mountains overlooking the main international highway linking Lebanon to Syria, is inevitable, a high-ranking military source told The Daily Star.
This battle could flare up in a matter of days, especially after the two sides, the Lebanese Army on the one hand, and ISIS and the Nusra Front and those revolving in their orbit on the other, have gathered the necessary military and field information for it, the source said.
According to the source, several Lebanese and Syria factors led to the acceleration of what is known as the “snow-melting” battle in the rugged areas along the Lebanese-Syria borders.
At the forefront of these factors is the Syrian regime’s push to seize control of the largest area in Syria, especially areas that had been under the grip of opposition and extremist groups, the source said, speaking at his office where he was surrounded by geographical maps of areas that were the scene of clashes between the Army and takfiri groups.
Giving another reason that could speed up the battle for the rugged outskirts along the Lebanese-Syrian frontier, the source cited detailed information about dissent and differences that burst out into the open through clashes between some factions affiliated with the Nusra Front and others affiliated with ISIS, and the possibility of Lebanon and Syria, in the absence of coordination between them, separately launching painful strikes against these groups in order to prevent them from achieving their calculated goal to take control of some strategic hills between Lebanon and Syria.
A third reason for the battle is the increasing number of people who are demanding that the Lebanese Army carry out a qualitative military operation against terrorist groups for reasons related to the fate of 25 Lebanese soldiers and policemen held hostage by ISIS and the Nusra Front, the source said.
The supporters of such a military operation are confident of its success, judging by successful pre-emptive battles fought by the Army in the northeastern town of Ras Baalbek last month during which troops managed to wrest control of hilltop positions held by terrorist groups, the source added.
Lebanese officials are well aware that the battles fought by military and security forces against terrorist groups in the rugged areas overlooking Arsal and Ras Baalbek, and stretching along the range of eastern mountains and the northern Bekaa area, to prevent them from making a breakthrough in this region, have given extremist organizations a chance to attempt to cross from Syria into Lebanon through the northern Lebanese territory spanning from Nahr al-Kabir to Akkar and its outskirts, up to Halba and its surroundings.
Security sources said armed militants, estimated at more than 10,000, are in control of territory in northeastern rugged areas up to the coast, where they exercise their religious beliefs and traditions and are trying to impose them on local residents.
Both Lebanon and Syria are eager to liberate their common border from Islamist militants ahead of the Arab summit scheduled to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt at the end of this month and which would discuss the possibility of establishing a joint Arab force to fight terrorism, the military source said.
With this, Beirut and Damascus would try to get Arab leaders meeting in Egypt to face their responsibilities, given that the two countries have been exposed to terrorist attacks, the source said.
Beirut Port wheat silos now free of rats and pigeons: Hakim
BEIRUT: Rats and pigeons will no longer be able to penetrate the grain silos at Beirut Port, Economy Minister Alain Hakim assured Monday after a visit to the facility.
But a photographer from The Daily Star witnessed pigeons feeding on wheat that was poured from the silos into the open beds of delivery trucks.
“The silos were insulated from rodents, birds and [everything that comes] from the port,” Hakim told reporters after his tour.
“The silos’ internal and external work has been improved.”
Hakim’s announcement came more than two months after Health Minister Wael Abu Faour toured the facility and said he discovered that “the Lebanese are sharing wheat with rats and pigeons.”
In Monday’s comments, Hakim said Abu Faour’s visit last December was “positive in terms of remarks,” but stressed that the rehabilitation work in the silos had begun six months earlier. He added that he was in close contact with the health minister over the silos file.
But the fact that pigeons are still accessing the wheat after it is transferred to delivery trucks indicates that the risk of contamination still remains high.
“This was an inspection visit, and we will visit the silos soon with Minister Abu Faour,” Hakim said.
He noted that there was a difference between the silos in question and the “well-closed bunkers” where grains are completely isolated.
Hakim highlighted the importance of insulating the silos as part of improving the provided services, and revealed that restoration work was being carried out by the facility’s workers under the direct supervision of qualified engineers.
“Let the Lebanese rest assured that Lebanese wheat is being handled by Lebanese hands,” he said.
“The wheat is fine and we are improving the spaces surrounding it,” the economy minister added.
Jemo’s family face possible death penalty
Jemo’s family face possible death penalty
Sidon’s first investigative judge has requested the death penalty for the wife, daughter and two other relatives of...
3 Reasons Democrats Are Freaking Out About Hillary Clinton
Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checking her phone in 2010. For many Democrats, the answer to the question: "If not Hillary, who?" is — disaster. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checking her phone in 2010. For many Democrats, the answer to the question: "If not Hillary, who?" is — disaster.
AFP/AFP/Getty Images
The back-to-back Clinton controversies are making Democrats queasy.
At a time when more than a dozen Republican presidential hopefuls are jostling each other in New Hampshire and Iowa, this should be a great moment for the virtually unopposed Hillary Clinton. She could be staying above the fray, using the time to staff up and prepare her policy agenda. But that's not what's happening.
Instead, she's fending off a pair of controversies — one on her use of a personal email account (linked to a server in her home in Chappaqua, N.Y.), while she was secretary of state and a second on the Clinton Foundation's fundraising from foreign governments. While we await an expected Clinton "conversation" later this week about them, here are some reasons why Democrats are freaking out about Hillary Clinton's current troubles and one reason why maybe they shouldn't.
Why they're freaking out:
1. Democrats feel like they've just stepped into the wayback machine and not in a good way.
The revelations revive all the old 1990s tropes about the Clintons — that there's always a whiff of "Pay to Play" in Clinton World; they're blind to appearances of impropriety; they feel the rules don't apply to them; and they aren't transparent. That's part of why Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. — one of the most important voices in the party — said on NBC's Meet the Press Sunday Clinton should "step up" and explain the emails. Feinstein said what many other Democrats think — that continued silence from Clinton will hurt her even more.
2. It won't go away any time soon.
The State Department will take months to go through the 55,000 emails Clinton has turned over to them (which isn't even all of the emails); congressional Republicans will hold hearings until Election Day; and Republican presidential candidates will be sure to keep beating the drum.
3. There's no Plan B.
This is the great irony — that although it's historically very difficult to succeed a two-term president of your own party (it's happened just once since 1948) Democrats had been looking forward to a relatively favorable 2016. President Obama's approval ratings have improved some, the economy is getting better, and the Democrats have some advantages in the Electoral College. Plus, Clinton leads in all the polls. That's all good news for Democrats, unless something happens with Clinton to derail her frontrunner status. There is only one truly viable Democrat presidential candidate — her. Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Vice President Joe Biden may run, but polls show they don't pose much of a challenge to Clinton. And if she did implode on her own — because of these scandals or others — Democrats aren't confident any of the other potential candidates are strong enough to beat Jeb Bush (if he can get through a primary).
Despite all the party's advantages, Democrats have a surprisingly thin bench of presidential talent. For many Democrats, the answer to the question: "If not Hillary, who?" is — disaster.
Why they maybe shouldn't freak out:
1. Maybe Democrats are just being their usual excitable selves — and there's still lots of time before the election.
Democrats are known to be a party that picks at self-inflicted wounds, and gets in a circle when it's time to form a firing squad. So here's what Democratic optimists think/hope will happen. Once Clinton herself addresses the matter, she might have a satisfactory explanation. The fact that foreign governments have been giving to the Clinton Foundation has been disclosed by the Foundation itself for years. Almost all the donations were annual installments of pledges made before she was secretary of state. One donation, however, the $500,000 from Algeria for Haitian earthquake relief, was not.
As for the emails, although we will never know what we don't know — since Clinton has control of the server and the emails and gets to decide herself what to disclose — one Democratic House member said he's seen the emails, and claims there's nothing there. California Democrat Adam Schiff said he's seen all the emails that were turned over to the House GOP-run select committee on Benghazi. He points out that, since last summer, the House committee knew about Clinton's private email account and, now, there's nothing stopping them from releasing all the emails. This is the scenario that Democrats are hoping for — that, eventually, Clinton's emails will all be released and there will be nothing damning in them. Plus, there are still 21 months to go until Election Day — plenty of time for storylines to change.
47 GOP Senators Tell Iran They May Not Honor A Nuclear Deal
Freshman Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, wrote the letter co-signed by 46 of his GOP colleagues to the leaders of Iran. Lauren Victoria Burke/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Lauren Victoria Burke/AP
Freshman Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, of Arkansas, wrote the letter co-signed by 46 of his GOP colleagues to the leaders of Iran.
Lauren Victoria Burke/AP
Congressional Republicans who don't like the deal President Obama is trying to negotiate to end Iran's nuclear program are now trying a new tactic: telling Iranians that they won't honor it after Obama leaves office.
The letter was authored by freshman Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and co-signed by 46 of his GOP colleagues, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Obama, at a White House photo opportunity Monday, said he is proceeding with negotiations. "I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran," he said. "It's an unusual coalition."
The missive is addressed "to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and starts out by explaining how the Constitution works, how Congress ratifies international treaties, and how while the president serves a four-year term, members of the Senate serve six.
"As applied today, for instance, President Obama will leave office in January 2017, while most of us will remain in office well beyond then — perhaps decades," the letter reads. "What these two constitutional provisions mean is that we will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved by Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei. The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."
Senate Democrats howled that the letter shreds the long-standing tradition that politics end "at the water's edge," and that the U.S. president is always given deference in foreign policy matters.
"It's unprecedented for one political party to directly intervene in an international negotiation with the sole goal of embarrassing the president of the United States," Minority leader Harry Reid said. "Do you so dislike President Obama that you would take this extraordinary step? Obviously so."
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, meanwhile, said in a press release that the letter "has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy."
U.N. Analysis Says Violence Against Women At 'Alarmingly High Levels'
At the United Nations on Monday, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon introduced an analysis that says no country has achieved gender equality.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
In Israeli Election, Arab Sportscaster Runs On Ticket Of Mainstream Jewish Party
Sportscaster-turned-politician Zouheir Bahloul is one of the few Arab citizens of Israel to ever run for parliament on the ticket of the Labor Party, which is a mainstream Jewish party. During the war in Gaza last summer, Bahloul appeared as a commentator on Israeli news programs, trying to bridge the divide between Israeli Arabs and Jews.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to NPR. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR's prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR's programming is the audio.
White House: Obama Traded Emails With Clinton, But Didn't Know Account Was Private
President Obama exchanged emails with Hillary Clinton while she served as secretary of state, the White House said today, a day after the president told CBS he learned about Clinton's use of a private email address through news reports like "everybody else."
"The president was referring specifically to the arrangement associated with Secretary Clinton's email," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said today. "Yes, the president was aware of her email address; he traded emails with her. That shouldn't be a surprise, that the president of the United States is going to trade emails with the secretary of state.
"But the president was not aware of the fact that this was a personal email server, and that this was the email address she was using exclusively for all her business. The president was not aware of that until that had been more widely reported."
In an interview with CBS over the weekend, Obama was asked when he learned about Clinton's use of a private email to conduct State Department business.
"The same time everybody else learned it through news reports," he said.
The controversy began last week when news reports said Clinton used a domain named "clintonemail.com" to create the email account. The domain was created Jan. 13, 2009, the same day she began the confirmation process in the Senate. The server that handled the account was traced to an Internet service registered to Clinton's home in Chappaqua, N.Y.
Clinton last week said she would share her emails with a wider audience, tweeting: "I want the public to see my email. I asked State to release them." That came after the House Select Committee on Benghazi issued a subpoena for all emails related to Libya or Benghazi sent from her personal account.
As NPR's Bill Chappell reported last week:
"The issue rose to importance earlier this week, after it was revealed that during her entire tenure at the State Department, Clinton used a personal email account — a move that had kept the emails out of the government's control and circumvented archival practices.
"Those practices have become much more stringent in recent years. In January, Clinton reportedly provided some 55,000 pages of emails to the State Department, after her advisers reviewed them."
Clinton is widely seen as the Democratic front-runner for the 2016 presidential nomination – though she has not officially announced her intention to run. And, as NPR's Scott Horsley reported last week, the controversy over the emails could drag on for months as the State Department combs through all 55,000 pages. It is not, Scott reported, "what Clinton's political advisers would have wanted, just as she prepares to launch what's expected to be her 2016 presidential campaign."
Supreme Court Sends Birth Control Case Back To Appeals Court
University of Notre Dame contends that the act of signing a form opting out of the Affordable Care Act's birth control mandate makes the school complicit in providing coverage. Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Getty Images
University of Notre Dame contends that the act of signing a form opting out of the Affordable Care Act's birth control mandate makes the school complicit in providing coverage.
Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a federal appeals court to take a second look at the University of Notre Dame's challenge to the birth control mandate in Obamacare, and the rules for opting out of the required coverage.
The law allows religious charities and educational institutions to opt out of providing employee and student birth control coverage by signing a one-page form.
But Notre Dame contends that the act of signing that opt-out form makes it complicit in providing coverage that the Catholic university objects to on religious grounds.
In 2014, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the university, but that was prior to the Supreme Court's decision last June declaring that some for-profit companies are exempt from the contraception mandate, based on the religious objections of the corporation's owners.
Since then two other appeals courts have ruled that the law, from the get-go, gave charitable and educational nonprofits something that for-profits didn't have — a way out if the employer has a religious objection.
So, now the Supreme Court has sent the Notre Dame case back for a second look in light of its June ruling in the Hobby Lobby case.
Religious-liberty advocates called the court's unsigned order on Monday a major victory. There were no recorded dissents.
But it is entirely possible that the appeals court will reach the same conclusion that it did before. That would undoubtedly lead to a second trip to the Supreme Court.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Signs Right-To-Work Bill
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the Iowa Agriculture Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. Jim Young/Reuters /Landov hide caption
itoggle caption Jim Young/Reuters /Landov
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker speaks at the Iowa Agriculture Summit in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday.
Jim Young/Reuters /Landov
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signed a right-to-work measure today that makes his state the 25th in the nation with such a law. That effectively means that mandatory union membership and dues are banned at privately owned businesses – a move strongly opposed by unions, which say that it restricts collective bargaining.
Shawn Walker of Wisconsin Public Radio reports: "Walker signed the bill at an invitation-only ceremony Monday morning at Badger Meter, north of Milwaukee. He was surrounded by company officials and others who supported the divisive proposal, including Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald."
Before the signing, Walker, Walker a likely Republican presidential candidate for 2016, said the law "sends a powerful message across the country and around the world."
Shawn notes that Walker had previously said right-to-work legislation wasn't on his agenda.
"I have no interest in a right-to-work law in this state," Walker said in 2012. "We're not going to pursue that in the remainder of our term, and we're not going to pursue it in the future. The reason is private-sector unions are my partner in economic development."
But Walker has been more receptive since the state's Republican lawmakers announced they would send the measure, which passed the legislature in less than two weeks, to the governor.
"We now have given one more big thing on that checklist to say that Wisconsin is open for business," he said recently.
Supporters of the measure say it will bring businesses to the state and keep them there; opponents say it will lower wages.
Today's move comes four years after the governor signed a bill that all but ended collective-bargaining rights for most public sector unions. The right-to-work law goes into effect immediately.
Behind the Lens: Selma, 50 Years Later
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March 7, 1965. It became known as "Bloody Sunday." Six hundred people defied the warnings of authorities and attempted to march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge from Selma, Alabama, to show the desire of black American citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote.
I was a young boy growing up in Massachusetts at the time, and I can’t say that I was aware of what was happening in Selma. I didn’t know the marchers were attacked at the bridge with billy clubs and tear gas. I didn’t know that there was this much hatred in the South between blacks and whites.
In later years, as I became interested in photojournalism, it was the photographs that brought that awful day to life for me.
I came to admire the photographs, especially of Charles Moore -- a photojournalist who was documenting civil rights for Life magazine. I probably learned more about what had happened on that day and that period of time by studying his photographs than I did in any history class I ever had in school. For me, the photographs depicted the horror and the hatred in a way that words couldn’t.
Last Saturday, as I accompanied the Obama family to Selma for the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, I couldn’t help but think of the photographs taken by Charles Moore and other brave photojournalists 50 years ago. Their photographs, taken ostensibly for daily and weekly publications, have now become powerful images for history.
Their frozen moments in time are with us forever.
Lebanon charges Syrian 'jihadi' with terrorism
Arrest warrants for seven detained in Arsal
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Obama Imposes Sanctions On Venezuela, Invoking Emergency Powers
President Obama says new sanctions will target Venezuelan figures who have helped repress human rights. Here, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center, marched with opponents of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas to mark International Women's Day. Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
itoggle caption Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama says new sanctions will target Venezuelan figures who have helped repress human rights. Here, opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, center, marched with opponents of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas to mark International Women's Day.
Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images
Citing an "erosion of human rights guarantees" and corruption in Venezuela, President Obama issued an executive order Monday imposing sanctions on members of the country's military and intelligence services.
The White House says the executive order builds on the Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014, part of a response to a violent crackdown on government protests.
Obama also invoked his emergency powers to declare "a national emergency with respect to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by the situation in Venezuela."
U.S. relations with Venezuela are currently in tatters, even as it attempts to forge new ties to Cuba.
As NPR's Parallels blog reported yesterday, "President Nicolas Maduro accuses the U.S. of plotting a coup against him, and is expelling most U.S. diplomats from Venezuela. He is also demanding that Americans secure visas to enter the country."
President Obama's executive order freezes the assets of seven individuals, ranging from Gustavo Enrique González López, the director general of Venezuela's national intelligence service, to the head of Venezuela's Bolivarian National Police, Manuel Eduardo Pérez Urdaneta.
Like several others on the list, the two men are charged with being involved with "significant acts of violence or conduct that constitutes a serious abuse or violation of human rights."
The White House's list also includes prosecutor Katherine Nayarith Haringhton Padron, who is accused of charging members of Venezula's opposition with crimes such as "assassination/coup plots based on implausible - and in some cases fabricated - information."
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Tripoli students renew protests against appointment of Christian director
BEIRUT: Dozens of students and teachers from Lebanese University’s Business and Economics faculty in Tripoli renewed protests Monday against the appointment of a Christian director.
Classes have been suspended at the school since LU President Adnan Sayyed Hussein appointed Antoine Tannous, known to be close to the Marada Movement, to head the faculty five weeks ago.
Hussein was accused of ignoring the tradition of maintaining an equal number of Sunni and Shiite LU directors, a norm which had prevailed in previous years.
Students shouted slogans denouncing him and calling on him to replace the Christian appointee with a “genuine director.”
“We condemn the indifference, negligence and procrastination shown by the university president by not appointing a genuine director for the branch, and not finding a solution to the crisis resulting from violating the conventional balance in directors’ appointments,” the students said in a statement.
In Monday’s protest, which was also joined by a number of professors, the students called for resumption of the strike until the director is replaced.
They held their usual banners with the slogan “not at our expense,” referring to the harm imposed by suspending classes.
Education Minister Elias Bou Saab, who spoke at a conference celebrating Teachers' Day in UNESCO Palace in Beirut, denounced Tripoli’s protests.
“It is unacceptable that students leave their classes and close the faculty for 35 days because some have a problem with the appointment of a Christian director,” the minister said.
The movement against the appointment was supported by rival Sunni factions, including the Future Movement and supporters of former Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
They complain that Hussein does not discuss the appointment of Sunni directors with Sunni parties.
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Lebanon teacher union chief vows to reignite wage hike struggle
BEIRUT: Education Minister Elias Bou Saab and teacher unionist Nehme Mahfoud pledged Monday to bring the issue of the long sought-after wage hike back to the table, as contract teachers briefly blocked a road outside the ministry to demand full-time jobs.
“We will not stop demanding the ranks and salary scale,” Mahfoud, the head of the private school teachers union, said in a speech at UNESCO Palace in Beirut marking Teachers' Day, which is celebrated each March 9 in Lebanon.
“The Lebanese people saw in the Union Coordination Committee an honest voice against corruption and oppression, and the committee will remain democratic and independent.”
Mahfoud called on Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to send back the wage hike draft law to the Joint Committees for another discussion to help it secure approval in the general assembly.
The draft law was expected to have been approved by Parliament in October, but lawmakers clashed over how to finance it, prompting Berri to delay the vote.
Bou Saab, who spoke after Mahfoud, said Berri had expressed his support for the wage hike.
“We will meet with Speaker Berri on Wednesday,” he said. “I have heard all positive things from him about the quickest way of moving forward the matter of the wage hike.”
Bou Saab said he also backed the ranks and salary scale, despite having come under harsh criticism last year after issuing passing certificates to all students in the country who sat for official exams.
The UCC had boycotted the correction of the exams to pressure lawmakers into passing the wage scale. Bou Saab's decision to pass the students was seen as undermining the teachers' struggle.
“The only fair gift for teachers is the adoption of a ranks and salary scale that protects their dignity and rights,” he said. “I promise all teachers that I will always demand their rights.”
As the officials spoke, contract school teachers held a simultaneous protest outside the Education Ministry, only meters from UNESCO, where they blocked a major road to demand pay raises and full-time employment.
The street was only blocked for a few minutes.
In his speech, Bou Saab announced that he issued a decree to increase the hourly wages of contract teachers.
He also said he doubled the hour wage for proctoring exams to become equivalent to an hour of teaching.
But the decree will need Cabinet approval before it could be implemented, Bou Saab added.
The contract teachers are also demanding permanent employment in the public sector, especially that a number of them risk losing a significant pension after serving for more than 10 years at public schools.
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