The following is a full signee roster: One player who had given a verbal, Jacob Ruby, an OL from Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy, is not on the list.
Randy Edsall speaks at 3 p.m. We'll update later.
JOSHUA ALEXANDER – Named first team All-Maryland for large schools in media voting…named First Team All-County by The (Waldorf) Independent and first team All-Southern Maryland Athletic Conference…named All-Metro Honorable Mention by The Washington Post ….named First Team All-Charles County…had 79 tackles and 21 sacks his senior year…team won Maryland 3A Championship game in 2009…team captain…played in the Chick-Fil-A Challenge all-star game in Maryland on Dec. 12…is the holder of the state single-season sack record…owns school career record for sacks…also runs track and field…brother Darius Powell played linebacker at North Carolina and now plays at Fayetteville (N.C.) State…born on July 3, 1992.
TY-MEER BROWN – Played quarterback in high school in wishbone formation…will play defensive back at UConn…threw seven TD passes and was 13 of 29 in passing in senior year and rushed for 604 yards and 11 TDs…team captain…two-time selection to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Fab 22 and Pittsburgh Tribune Terrific 25…two-time all-conference pick…also plays basketball…born on April 24, 1992.
GUS CRUZ – A native of the Dominican Republic…named NEPSAC (New England Preparatory School Athletic Council) Class C Lineman of the Year…named 2009 All-New England Prep…two-time All-Evergreen League selection…team captain…team won 2008 and 2009 Evergreen League championship…attended Trinity High School in Manchester before transferring to Kimball Union Academy…born on Sept. 22, 1990.
GEREMY DAVIS – Had 40 receptions for 705 yards and nine touchdowns as a senior…in junior year, had 18 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns….played in the Rivalries of Gwinnett All-Star Game in December…named All-State Honorable Mention in Class AAAA by the Georgia Sports Writers Association All-State Football Team….named First Team All-County by the Gwinnett Daily Post …also named all-region…team captain…born on January 10, 1992.
REUBEN FRANK – As a senior, had 89 tackles (56 solo)…named First Team All-State Class A by the New York State Sportswriters Association…named a First Team All-Star by the Poughkeepsie Journal …earned all-league and all-section honors as a junior and senior…made 92 tackles as a junior…selected to play in the Northeast vs. New Jersey All-Star game and the New York Upstate vs. Downstate All-Star game…born on October 24, 1992.
MARK HANSSON – Named First Team All-Pinellas (Fla.) County by the Tampa Bay Times …had an outstanding performance in the North-South Pinellas County All-Star Game…ranked No. 2 offensive lineman in Pinellas County by the St. Petersburg Times …also named All-Pinellas County by St. Petersburg Times …team captain…takes courses in high school's prestigious International Baccalaureate program...born on February 21, 1992.
BYRON JONES – Named to the Class MM All-State team by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association…named First Team All-Naugatuck Valley…had 51 receptions as a senior for 735 yards and eight touchdowns….also had three interceptions and returned punts and kickoffs…team advanced to first round of Class MM state playoffs…had three catches for 63 yards in state playoff game…also plays basketball and is averaging 22 points per game…team captain…attended same high school as current Huskies Marcus Aiken and Derek Chard…born on August 26, 1992.
TEBUCKY JONES – Named First Team All-State Class LL by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association…was named to the Hartford Courant All-State team…also named First Team All- New Britain Herald …had 51 receptions for 735 yards and eight TDS in 2009…caught 30 passes for 530 yards and eight touchdowns as a junior…earned All-Central Connecticut Conference honors in 2008 and '09…also plays basketball and track…son of former Syracuse standout and eight-year NFL veteran Tebucky Jones, Sr. …born on December 24, 1992.
JONATHAN LOUIS – Enrolled at Connecticut for the Spring 2010 semester…played high school football at Cardinal Spellman in Brockton, Mass., and St. Thomas Moore in Oakdale, Conn. …had 50 tackles and five sacks in 2008 at St. Thomas Moore…prepped for a year at the Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa…had 59 tackles and eight sacks in 2009 …Wyoming went 7-1 in 2009...also played basketball and track in high school…honor roll student...born on September 24, 1991.
TAYLOR MACK – Named Honorable Mention Class AA All-State by Georgia Sports Writers Association in 2009…team advanced to Class AA Semifinals….two time first team all-area pick…had four interceptions and three defensive TDs as a senior…team MVP and captain…was MVP of Atlanta of National Underclassmen Combine…born on June 10, 1991.
B.J. McBRYDE – Had 72 tackles in senior year to go along with six sacks…named honorable mention all-section…team captain and two-year starter…team went 10-2 in senior season and won a pair of playoff games…also plays basketball and is team captain and three-year starter…born on October 10, 1991.
LYLE McCOMBS – Named to New York Daily News All-City team and New York Post All-Staten Island…Named co-winner of Al Fabbri Award, given each year to the top high school football player on Staten Island…two-time Staten Island Advance All-Star….led all Staten Island players with 172 points scored...rushed for an average of 7.2 yards per carry in senior year…rushed for 1,544 yards in nine games…also had 15 receptions for an average of 23.4 yards per reception…also rushed for over 1,000 yards as a junior…born on April 12, 1992.
SCOTT McCUMMINGS – Named to the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association All-State Team…was named MetroWest Daily News Player of the Year…named All-Scholastic by both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald …team captain…had over 2,000 yards of passing in senior year with over 1,000 yards of rushing …passed for 15 touchdowns and rushed for another 12…team advanced to state Division II Super Bowl…as a junior, threw for 1,232 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 980 yards and 14 TDs…has twin older brothers that both play college football – Thad at Massachusetts and Theo at Mount Ida…born on October 15, 1991.
GREG McKEE – Enrolled at Connecticut for the Spring 2010 semester….named First Team All-Public League from the Chicago Sun-Times on the defensive side….team finished second in conference in senior year…two-time all-conference pick…academically ranked 23rd in class of 218…National Honor Society member…plays the piano and cello…also a member of the wrestling team….born on May 10, 1992.
ANDREW OPOKU – Enrolled at Connecticut for the Spring 2010 semester …played his high school football at North Brunswick High School and spent a season of prep school at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia…earned first team all-conference honors in high school and was a team captain…had 15 career interceptions in high school…earned Honorable Mention Honors as the U.S. Army All-America Combine…team captain…honor roll student in high school…born on November 11, 1990.
BRYAN PAULL – Second Team All-County pick…played in the Miami-Dade County vs. Broward County All-Star Game on January 15…is also a member of the wrestling team…spent time living in Illinois…born on February 16, 1992.
ANGELO PRUITT – Named Honorable Mention All-District in Region IV by the Associated Press…two-time all-league and all-city pick…team had a 10-0 record in regular season during senior year…made 98 tackles with 26 for a loss as a junior in 2008..also had 235 rushing yards and three TDs as a junior…had 78 career tackles for a loss…three-time league all-academic pick…born on June 10, 1992.
YAWIN SMALLWOOD – Named to the Central Massachusetts All-Stars for Division 1C…Had 71 tackles as a senior in 2009 with five sacks… rushed for 769 yards and ten touchdowns and also passed for 126 yards… as a junior, passed for 726 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 724 yards and six TDs….two-time pick to Worcester Telegram and Gazette Super Team...three-time Division I all-star and two-time Division I Defensive MVP…also plays basketball…attended same high school as former Husky center Keith Gray…two-year captain…born on December 25, 1991.
GILBERT STLOUIS -- Enrolled at Connecticut for the Spring 2010 semester …played in the Hawaii/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl in Honolulu in December…team went 8-3 in senior year…earned first team all-conference in 2009 with 15 pass breakups…had 40 tackles as a junior…team captain…also runs track…born on April 30, 1991.
BRANDON STEG – Played in the Miami-Dade County vs. Broward County All-Star Game..also played in the Hawaii/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl in Honolulu in December…named second team all-county…team captain…born on October 11, 1991.
The following are biographies of the two student-athletes who signed a Letter of Intent in February of 2009 and enrolled for the Spring 2010 semester.
LEON KINNARD -- Second team all-state pick as a junior...was honorable mention all-state as a sophomore and senior...as a senior, was named second team all-metro from the Baltimore Sun and All-Baltimore County...first team all-metro and all-county as junior ....as a sophomore in 2005, was 103 for 185 in the air for 1,415 yards and 11 TDs..also rushed for 303 yards and 11 TDs...as a junior in 2006, threw for 1,489 yards with 13 touchdowns as team won state title... team went 11-0 in senior year....team captain...was selected to play in 2008 Maryland Crab Bowl between all-stars from Maryland and Washington, D.C., but missed game because of injury...born February 9, 1991.
MICHAEL OSIECKI -- 2008 Gatorade State Player of the Year in Connecticut....also earned first team all-state honors from the New Haven Register ...two-time first team All-Naugatuck Valley League...team advanced to state Class SS final as a senior...also played fullback in high school, rushing for 1,774 yards and 26 TDs on 199 carries and catching 25 passes for 419 yards and six TDs as a senior...second team all-state his junior year...team captain...born June 14, 1991.


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Lisa's Cubby
Honest Book Reviews
The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth
April 28, 2019 lisascubby
Anyone married knows the relationship with their mother-in-law can be tricky at best. Sometimes a person can hit the jackpot in that department and sometimes…not so much. Unfortunately for Lucy the relationship she has with her mother-in-law Diana is quite complicated at best. From their first meeting when Diana deemed Lucy "fine" as her son Ollie's girlfriend to denying them a loan (Diana and her husband Tom are filthy rich) when they were a little short meeting the down payment on their starter home.
Diana it seems lacks emotions. At least on the outside. She is hard to read and in this dysfunctional family hard to please. So when the family finds out Diana has breast cancer it comes as a shock, but when they receive a call that she has committed suicide and the autopsy shows not only no cancer, but she has been murdered everyone becomes a suspect. Who would want to kill Diana? Maybe everyone in the family?
To add insult to injury the family upon her death find out she has left her vast fortune to the charity she started years earlier. A charity which provides for women and their families who come to America from other countries.
So many questions, and so many secrets. Who killed Diana and for what reason.
The story unfolds in chapters by Lucy and Diana hopping from present day to the past. Each chapter leaves the reader hanging for the next part of the story. It gives one the feeling of being on a rollercoaster ride.
But for Lucy she must come to terms with the death of a woman who she may have thought she disliked yet is mourning a woman she realized she may have actually admired.
The twists and turns in this fast paced novel keep coming, with dark secrets, some which are never revealed–only to the reader and of course the shocking ending as to who and why someone would want to kill the mother-in-law.
Thank you #NetGalley #St. Martin's Press #The Mother-in-Law #Sally Hepworth for the advanced copy. The book out now.
A Perfect Cornish Summer by Phillipa Ashley
A Perfect Cornish Summer is based in a town on the water called Porthmellow. Sam Lovell is the owner of a catering company and she is the organizer of an annual food festival which was her idea years before. Through the years the festival has continually grown much to the delight of many of the locals, but not all.
When the guest chef pulls out at the last minute and Gabe Matthias, a hometown boy made good offers to step into the role to save the festival, Sam is not too pleased. Their past history was once magical until Gabe up and told the police that Sam's brother Ryan was planning on robbing a store. This put Ryan in prison, Sam upset with Gabe and Gabe leaving town. When Ryan finally did get out of prison he vowed to never return and much to Sam's great sadness she has not seen him in years.
And as with any good love story/mystery we get to meet the comical characters who go along with a small harbor town where everybody knows one another. And most have secrets. Some more serious than others. The highlight of the story is the festival itself, that's where the comedy was at its best and kept a smile on my face. A smile still there even as this sweet story came to it's conclusion.
For fans of The Vicar of Dibley, a series from the BBC in England, you especially will relish the tight knit community and quirky characters which come along with it. The committee meetings are just on place in which I laughed. But most of all you will be pleased with the love and caring for others which occurs in this tiny place near the sea. More please!!
Thank you #NetGalley #Avon #Phillipa Ashley #A Perfect Cornish Summer for the advanced copy. It will be out on April 25.
The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn
Anna Fox is a child therapist who is separated from her husband and daughter. She lives alone in a home in New York. She does not leave her house, ever. It was not always like this but that's the past. Now she drinks, takes way too many pills, watches old Hitchcock movies and views her neighbor's lives from her windows. She sometimes even creates scenarios of what is going on in their houses and lives.
When a new family moves into the house across the street from her, she admires their typical family, like the one she use to have. The Russells, Jane the mother, Alistair the father, and Ethan their son remind her of how her family once was.
But one night as she is staring out her window she witnesses something terrible…or she thinks she has. With no one to believe her and quite frankly she is not sure if she believes herself, she begins to dissolve into an abyss of even more drinking and more pills.
A fast-paced thriller which puts you into the mind-set of a very depressed agoraphobic woman who endures crippling panic attacks and has her own dark secrets, her story begins to unravel before our eyes and as she too begins to unravel. The reader begins to understand that you really never do know what goes on behind closed doors.
There are so many shocking twists and turns throughout the story which you never see coming!
Now in paperback, The Woman in the Window is also being made into a move starring Amy Adams. I cannot recommend this book enough!
The Summer Cottage by Viola Shipman
The Hope Chest was my first introduction into the wonderful world of author Viola Shipman. The Summer Cottage, the latest is even more lovely and inspiring.
Adie Lou Kruger spent her summers as a child at her grandparent's summer home called Creaky Cottage, and then as a married adult with a child and husband at the same cottage when her parents took it over. There were very simple rules which had to be followed while at the cottage such as "Leave your troubles at the door" and my personal favorite "Nap often". It was perhaps the best times of her life.
But when her parents both die and Adie Lou's marriage fails she believes she should sell the cottage and begin to rebuild her life. Unable to let go of the memories of what the cottage has meant to her throughout her life, she makes a decision which will change her trajectory.
She decides to turn the much loved and much run down cottage into a bed-and-breakfast although many people doubt it will be able to succeed. Adie Lou watches as the progress of renovating the cottage. which comes with its own share of problems. begins to inspire her to feel hopeful about her decision as well as feeling empowered despite the harsh realities she encounters along the way.
The Summer Cottage is about finding out who you really are, finding love in many different forms, the importance of family of all types and especially the goodwill and tenderness of others.
Thank you #NetGalley #Graydon House #The Summer Cottage #Viola Shipman. The book will be out April 22.
The House of Secrets by Terry Lynn Thomas
Sarah Bennett has just endured a trial where her father had been accused of murder. He was found not guilty much to her chagrin as she was the star witness. Hounded by the press she seeks someplace to hide-out until all the media madness dies down.
She finds a job as a typist at the hospital of Dr. Matthew Geisler and his wife Bethany. Dr. Geisler has been treating people with mental illness and has become fascinated with the occult. He learns that Sarah has been hearing screaming and weeping. She thinks she is losing her mind but he feels these are signs she has certain powers to see and hear ghosts.
Minna, one of the residence of the hospital believes she too can see ghosts and fears that her dead fiancé, Gregory, who happens to be Dr. Geisler's late brother is haunting her and warning her that something bad is going to happen to the doctor.
In the meantime, Sarah discovers that her old flame Zeke who seemingly disappeared just before her father's trial is also staying at the hospital due to injuries he incurred from an "accident".
Soon Sarah begins to see and hear spirits who are trying to tell her things she cannot quite grasp. She keeps hearing from Geisler's dead sister who insists her brother is in danger. She must solve the mystery of who would want to hurt the doctor and why, but also whoever it is are they from this world, or the hereafter? She must act quickly before there really is a murder.
This book was a cozy, historical story with a little paranormal thrown in. An easy read with lots of suspense and surprises. The House of Secrets is Book 2 in the Sarah Bennett Mystery series. The first book is The Spirit of Grace. You can find both out now.
Thank you #NetGalley #HarperCollins #The House of Spirits for the advanced copy.
A Palm Beach Wife by Susannah Marran
April 8, 2019 lisascubby
A Palm Beach Wife is about the Harrison family. Edward a successful businessman, Faith his loyal wife with a little business on the side to keep her busy and Katherine their beloved daughter who is getting ready to go to graduate school. But it is also about what happens when you lose everything you have but in the process find everything you have ever needed.
Living the Palm Beach lifestyle seems like it would be heaven, but in reality the anxiety of always being on and never making a mistake can be brutal. You are only worthy of the lifestyle for a long as your worth holds out. Faith and Edward are worth a lot, until they are not.
With their lives falling apart it is up to Faith to keep her head high and to try to fight her way out of a terrible disaster. She soon finds out who her true friends are in a town where superficiality is the word of the day. She must also stay true to her husband and family although temptation is all around her.
In a town where gossip is vicious and chairperson titles can be taken away at the drop of another fifty thousand dollars, Faith must try and hold herself together in order to keep her family together so they can all come out of this with their dignity intact.
Thank you #NetGalley #St. Martin's Press #A Palm Beach Wife #Sussannah Marren for the advanced copy. The book comes out April 9.
The Editor by Steven Rowley
The Editor is a fictional novel about first time author James Smale who sells his book to Doubleday during the 1990's only to find out his editor is Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The story is very lovely and awkward and funny at times as James tries to feel comfortable with his new editor and not make a complete fool of himself in the process of getting to know her.
As Jackie and James do begin to bond, James' other relationships, with his mother and family, whom the book is based, on begin to fall apart (more than they already had been), as does his long-time relationship with his partner Daniel. Although he looks to Jackie for notes on his book, she seems to sense his anxiety and tries to give him the life advice he so desperately needs to finish his work and perhaps make peace with his life.
One of the best chapter sequences is the Thanksgiving Dinner at James' mother's house. Most of us can empathize with the tensions that sometimes erupt, and how deeply hidden secrets can come spewing out! I laughed and gasped and laughed again!
But throughout the book it is his relationship with Jackie which helps him to finally find a grown-up ending for his novel and perhaps assists him in actually becoming a real man himself.
The writing is so creatively crafted and although completely fiction, what a testament to Rowley's writing style to make you feel James' relationship with Jackie really took place. I loved the humor, the insight and the sadness he brought into the story.
The book is out today. Don't miss it!
Thank you #NetGalley #G.P. Putnam and Sons #The Editor #Steven Rowley for the advanced copy.
The Late Bloomers' Club by Louise Miller
Nora is the owner of the Miss Guthrie Diner. Her sole purpose in life is to take care of everybody else. Even her ex-husband who has certainly moved on. She has a sister, Kit, who is a free spirit who depends on the kindness of everybody, especially her sister, and lives life moment to moment without a care in the world.
When there is a death in the small town of Guthrie, Nora and Kit are shocked to find the local cake baker has left her property to them, which includes a dog named Freckles who goes missing and although there are sightings, has yet to be apprehended. But the inheritance comes with a hefty price. There are back taxes owed on the property and a development company had been in talks to buy up all the land and create a huge store.
In the meantime, Kit has decided she wants to become a filmmaker and wants Nora to take out a loan so she can buy equipment.
Nora must try and figure out how to handle all these situations without putting her diner in jeopardy. Then things go from bad to worse and Nora begins to lose hope in herself and those around her.
Louise Miller writes about small town life seamlessly. How many of us wish we could live…in a community with friends who are always there and where everybody knows everybody. As I read the Town Meeting scenes, I had flashbacks to old Gilmore Girl episodes.
Although not a sequel to her first book, The City Baker's Guide to Country Living, some of her previous characters make guest appearances.
I loved every minute of this story and cannot wait for Miller's next!
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— різновид солоної ікри в японській кухні, зазвичай виготовляється з минтаю, хоча «тара» () японською мовою фактично означає «тріска».

Вживається:
 Сама по собі (на сніданок або як частина японської новорічної трапези);
 Як начинка для оніґірі;
 Як приправа для макаронів (зазвичай разом із норі).

Традиційно Тарако забарвлювалося в яскраво-червоний колір, але ця практика пішла на спад у зв'язку з занепокоєнням про небезпеку харчових барвників. На Кюсю Тарако зазвичай подається з пластівцями з червоного перцю чилі — можливо, через історичні зв'язки із корейською культурою.

Див. також
 Масаго
 Ментайко
 Тобіко

Примітки

Посилання

Ікра
Японська кухня
Японські приправи

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Are Love Island's Tom Powell and Sophie Gradon the NEXT couple to break up!?
Tom Capon
The course of love never runs smooth and the course of a Love Island romance is even bumpier, so it's no wonder that Adam and Emma have already bit the dust. But now it looks like Tom Powell and Sophie Gradon's chances have taken a massive hit after fighting on…
Is THIS why Love Island couple Terry Walsh and Emma Woodhams won't last?
This summer's ITV2 series of Love Island went down a storm with the general public. And do we still miss it? Yes. Yes, we do. But super fans, like ourselves, are comforted by updates we get from all our fave couples and their post-villa freedom. Kady spent the afternoon round…
Love Island's Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey reveal surprise secret about having sex on show
Anna Francis
6:57 am - 21/07/16
Love Island 2016 might have been one of the raciest series yet but not everyone on the show was entirely comfortable with all the sex. Winners Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey ended up getting jiggy during their time in the villa like several other couples, though waited a…
Celebrity manscaping: the male stars who LOVE to groom revealed – including Love Island's Nathan Massey!
Nicole Vassell
With it finally beginning to look like summer in the UK, everyone's hoping to hit the streets looking their absolute best – celebrities and everyday folk alike. And what often comes along with looking as *fierce* as possible includes a bit of personal grooming – whether it's getting a mani-pedi,…
Love Island's Rykard Jenkins reveals the juicy truth behind the headlines!
Lucy Gornall
12:26 pm - 20/07/16
Every day we're reading new things about Love Island. But what we really want to know is what's true and what's not? That's where Rykard Jenkins comes in, to save the day! The Love Island star agreed to give his verdict on a few headlines… Are Scott and Kady going…
OMG! Love Island's Olivia Buckland just did something so shocking it made Alex Bowen VOMIT…
During the weeks that we saw them loved-up on screen every night, Olivia Buckland and Alex Bowen's love story made us all swoon. However, it looks as if these two hit some awkward times, just like the rest of us – as Alex ended up vomiting after a shocking action…
Love Island split! Adam Maxted and Katie Salmon exchange some VERY sassy tweets as they confirm breakup
Sometimes when people fall for one another on screen, it can last forever – take Big Brother's Grace and Mikey for example! Married with kids, a decade later… adorable. However, much more often, the attraction that brings some TV relationships together doesn't last much longer after the cameras go away…
Love Island to be investigated by Ofcom after airing THAT shocking Terry and Emma sex scene!
Alice Perry
Love Island– a place of sun, man buns and televised sexy times. Yep, this year the villa was rocked by an absolute tornado of hormones and sexual chemistry- every moment of which was conveniently broadcast straight to our lil' boxes as we ate cheese and dreamed about being as sexy…
'We've already picked our kids names!' Love Island's Scott and Kady have already taken a major relationship step…
10:16 am - 18/07/16
If there were ever doubts that people can really fall in love on TV, this batch of Love Island contestants have certainly turned them completely around. A couple in particular that had the full backing of the public was Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott, who – after their fair share…
'What a let down': Love Island viewers disappointed by 'painful' Heading Home show
Love Island 2016 turned out to be one of THE biggest telly events of the year and had viewers hooked from start to finish. But sadly fans of the show were less impressed by the spin-off programme Love Island: Heading Home last night, which had promised so much by reuniting…
Ooh! Love Island's Sophie Gradon spotted KISSING someone who isn't Tom Powell…
If you thought the Love Island drama ended once the cameras stopped rolling, then dear readers, you'd be sorely mistaken. For on Thursday night (14th July), the cast had their wrap party to close their series out with a bang – and despite Sophie Gradon and Tom Powell claiming that…
Inside the Love Island 2016 wrap party: See ALL the pictures
Love Island 2016 might be over but the cast have got back together for one very special occasion – the wrap party! Yep, despite all the break-ups and general drama the series brought, the Islanders all managed to assemble to celebrate the end of the popular show at a shindig…
Uh-Oh! The Love Island wrap party is tonight and one of the Islanders is going all guns blazing!
Love Island 2016 was jam-packed with make-ups, break-ups and drama galore and it sounds like the wrap party will be no different… Tonight the Islanders will come together to celebrate what proved to be a hugely popular series, won by Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey in Monday night's…
Are Love Island's Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde about to join TOWIE as the new power couple?
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INSIDE Love Island winners Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde's ROMANTIC first date!
Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey are finally able to enjoy their life outside of Love Island after their resounding victory and, while they haven't been able to enjoy their first date quite yet, they've got it all planned out. Actually, Nathan, the romantic of the pair, knows exactly…
The Love Island lads have ALREADY planned a boys trip for NEXT WEEK!
Lydia Major
We all know what it's like to have the holiday blues, don't we? Sometime we get so sad we cry when we hit the airport tarmac. So maybe we should spare a thought for how the Love Island cast must be feeling after spending weeks in a luxury sun soaked villa.…
What a legend! Caroline Flack does the sweetest thing for a fan after the Love Island final…
If you were one of the 1.3million who tuned into the Love Island final on Monday night, you may have noticed that Caroline Flack was wearing a lovely yellow dress as she announced the fates of the final 4 couples. And if you're trying to get your hands on it,…
'I don't think they'll last!' Charlotte Crosby gets very real about THESE couples from Love Island 2016
Charlotte Crosby: a celebrity who always gives a full opinion on the things that truly matter. This quality is what made her one of our favourite celebs to tweet along with during Love Island – she was just as obsessed with the ITV2 hit as the rest of the nation,…
Are Love Island's Tom Powell and Sophie Gradon FINALLY together?!
Now that Love Island has finished and we're all crying into our microwave dinner because where is OUR LOVE ISLAND, it's time to look at the couples who have left the show. Will they last in the outside world? Well it looks like Tom Powell and Sophie Gradon are thriving…
Uh-oh! Looks like the Love Island final ended in disaster for Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott
After weeks of keeping us well and truly glued to our screens, Love Island 2016 has sadly drawn to a close, with early lovers Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde being crowned the winners. Similarly, long-time romancers Scott Thomas and Kady McDermott gave them a good run for their…
Twitter and celebrity fans can't deal after Nathan and Cara win Love Island
Love Island 2016 came to an end last night (sob!) in an exciting finale that saw favourites Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde crowned winners. And although it's all over it looks like Twitter might take some time to recover from what's been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster……
Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey win Love Island 2016!
Congratulations are in order for Cara De La Hoyde and Nathan Massey on winning Love Island! And what a series of Love Island it's been. We've had nation-captivating romance, backstabbing, bitching and So. Much. Sex. Seriously guys, it was worse than watching a Magaluf foam party on an 18-30 holiday. But…
'Emma is a two-face tw*t!' Helen Wood RIPS into Love Island contestants ahead of the final!
Helen Wood has decided to give the Love Island contestants a few, uh, 'home truths' and even called controversial Villa-mate Emma Jane 'a two-faced tw*t'. So, not holding back are ya? The former Big Brother winner was less than impressed with the 'fake' Love Island guys and believes that none…
Love Island Final: Nathan tells Cara he loves her, as they become the firm favourites to win
The Love Island 2016 final is here and, like every since episode of the series, the last show is set to be a goodie. Okay, maybe we won't see things like the epic Malin Vs Terry's spat, but we can reveal Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde do take their relationship to a…
Ooh! Love Island to get spin-off show following couples in the real world
Love Island reaches its finale tonight and, after an explosive series packed with sun, sex and quite a few spats, it's no wonder we've all been left wanting more! Thankfully then fans of the Islanders needn't be too upset at it all coming to an end as ITV2 have got…
Who will win Love Island 2016? A handy rundown of ALL the remaining couples
After weeks of laughs, lust, scandal and the odd tear, it's nearly time to say goodbye to Love Island 2016 – and what a series it's been! It's been so addictively entertaining that it's easy to forget that at the end of it all, a couple has to win. And…
What's in a name? Scotty T sends a message to Love Island's Scott Thomas for 'robbing his name'…
When you're a celebrity, it's important to make sure that when the public hears your name, you are the exact and only person that comes to mind. And by the looks of things, Scotty T is well aware of this – though Love Island's Scott Thomas is becoming more and…
Love Island's Terry Walsh and Emma-Jane Woodham are out! Find out what they REALLY think of Sophie and Malin
Love Island saw another couple sensationally get the boot tonight and it was none other than Terry Walsh and Emma-Jane Woodham who had to leave the villa. It's been a controversial journey for the pair, who openly had sex in front of the other Islanders just days after Terry's former…
Love Island: 6 of Adam Maxted's BEST EVER quotes…
It's nearly the end of Love Island and FINALLY original Adam is looking like he could have found a match with Katie Salmon (well, after he fell in love with that dog). And we're chuffed for the lad. As Adam has told us, there's a lot more to the Irishman than all…
Love Island DIVIDED over 'boring' but 'genuine' Tina's shock exit!
Tina has been booted from Love Island after Adam decided to chose Katie over her in Thursday night's episode, which appeared to be a big plot twist for the Islanders as they all gave their best shocked faces. However, fans were less than surprised that the 21-year-old had been given…


That's the opinion of Dave Mathena, of Meridian, Mississippi, based on his letter to the Meridian Star Newspaper back on April 6, 2006.
I am confident that even the cheapest, lightest, plastic-made car protects its passengers more than the safest motorcycle. So why should we allow the iron horse to ride?
At first I thought it was a commentary on all the motorcycle safety laws. But it doesn't appear so. It seems that Mr. Mathena is quite adamant that motorcycles ought to be outlawed.
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that there are far more people dying in cars than on motorcycles. Why not outlaw cars? Wouldn't we save more lives if cagers wore helmets too?
If eating hamburgers and french fries cause people to have heart failure, why not outlaw them too?
Michael Sumrall wrote: "So shouldn't we address the real issue and have better auto drivers? Are we willing to outlaw the young and old drivers because they cause the majority of accidents?"
Gayle Dew wrote: "Outlaw motorcycles? Why can't we outlaw or banish stupid people?"
Syndi Knibbe wrote: "This kind of mindset is one of the major causes of motorcyclist accidents - the attitude that we somehow deserve to be run over because we're out there doing something we shouldn't be."
Alex Fleury wrote: "One of my favorite riding shirts says, "I REFUSE TO TIPTOE THRU LIFE ONLY TO ARRIVE SAFELY AT DEATH." I don't ask you to agree with my life's choices, but I do ask you allow me to live my life as I choose."
There were many other responses, but I won't summarize them all.
This is the kind of elitist attitude that we bikers have to deal with. People who hate motorcycles, who try to pass laws making it difficult for us to ride, and telling us they're doing this because we're too stupid to know better.
I say the same thing about cigarettes, either outlaw them or let people smoke them, but let people make decidions for themselves. IT IS CALLED SURVIVAL OF THE SMARTEST!
Anon and James...both Libertarian views, but I'd bet a $1 you don't vote that way.
Hey, bicycles are even more dangerous! And no one should ever be allowed to walk—there's no protection there at all!
As cars get safer and safer, there's going to be plenty more where this idiot came from. We have to be vigilant if we don't want our right to ride taken away. I blogged about this isssue a few months ago.
Well, I guess this guy is a total idiot!! Outlaw bikes!! What is he thinking?? We have rights too!! Just like the people choosing to drive cars, trucks, suvs and whatever. This guy is half cracked in the head. I enjoy riding with my ol' man!! Believe me, we have to watch out for the other guys on the road (The 4 wheel ones) and that's pretty bad. Live on and live free!!!
My name is Dave Mathena, of Meridian, MS. I did, indeed write a letter to the Meridian Star newspaper, stating my opinion about motorcycles. I do not apologize for my opinion. And I understand your anger toward my letter which recommends that motorcycles be outlawed. However, please regard that letter as what it is: a stated opinion. I told the readers of the newspaper in a later letter, and I will tell you as well: I do not intend to pass or attempt to pass any laws which would outlaw or limit the use of motorcycles. So breathe easy, bikers. My opinion stays, and so do your bikes.


The premise of this book appealed to me because of the inclusion of Native American history which is a favorite sub-genre. I wasn't disappointed in the large dose of historical facts that flowed throughout the book, just the constant immersion in them and my inability to keep track of who was who and how the countless characters were related. The inclusion of conflict with French traders added even more names to remember, yet introduced me to a period in history of which I knew little.
The main character, Myeerah, fails to find acceptance with the tribe with whom she resides because she's was born to a different one. The story centers around her and her desire to shoot, ride, and assume the role of a warrior—desires that dominate her thoughts and set her aside from other Indian maidens. The author's writing is crisp, clean and very picturesque, which lends to the reader assuming a role in the story, although, in my opinion, often a confused one. The use of various Indian dialects and a mixture of tenses in the presentation caused me to often close the book and return at a later time.
Mr. Moore has done extensive research and written a book guaranteed to introduce or reacquaint you with details you might not know or remember from high school. I found myself lost quite a few times and had to go back and re-read portions of the book to keep the characters and their POVs straight in my mind. More than anything, I appreciated the detailed glimpses into the life, history and beliefs of the tribes featured in the novel. I enjoyed being part of the story in that respect.
Comprehension issues are often not the fault of the author, but rather the reader, however in perusing other reviews Mr. Moore has received, I see I'm not the only person to touch on the countless names and POV issues in the book. Regardless, I invite you to read and make your own judgments. Clearly, Mr. Moore is a talented author who believes in maintaining his historical credibility and has garnered many favored reviews. I wouldn't hesitate to read more of his work and hopefully find fewer characters he believes vital to the story. I also apologize to Mr. Moore for the prolonged period between receiving his work and performing my review. Health issues kept me sidelined for a time.


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And The Games Play On: EFF Fights For Users' Rights to Play and Preserve Abandoned Video Games
By Parker Higgins
When you buy a book, a record, or a movie, you can expect to be able to enjoy it, on your own terms, for as long as you want. But the same cannot always be said about video games. Over the past several years, video game publishers have increasingly required connection with one of their own servers in order to "unlock" core functionality for gameplay. Publishers often take those servers offline once they stop being economical to run, leaving a typical gamer unable to play her lawfully purchased games. And this affects not just video game players, but archivists and researchers who want to preserve and study the history of games as cultural artifacts.
EFF has filed a petition with the Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress this week seeking an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's anti-circumvention provision, in order to allow video gamers to modify their software to disable authentication checks or to connect to third party servers after official support for those games has ended.
As with the other petitions we've filed this week, the issue is not one of copyright infringement. Making modifications to lawfully acquired software in order to access its functionality is an established fair use. The problem, instead, is that the DMCA contains a broad anti-circumvention provision that doesn't distinguish between infringing and non-infringing uses. Except for the exemptions created in a time-consuming and laborious process every three years, the DMCA creates a blanket ban on breaking DRM to access copyrighted works, regardless of the ultimate intent.
As you might expect, such a sweeping restriction has many unintended consequences, chilling speech and hindering competition in a ham-fisted effort to limit infringement. The law is sorely in need of an adjustment—one promising reform proposal is the Unlocking Technology Act, introduced last year by Rep. Zoe Lofgren and a bipartisan coalition of legislators.
This petition marks the first time we have requested a specific exemption for abandoned games, reflecting the fact that the problem has become more and more mainstream. Even massively popular franchises like Need For Speed and Mario Kart have had major functionality lopped off by their publishers as their sales waned. And the issue will only become more pronounced as more game sales shift to digital marketplaces, where authentication checks are even more common.
As archivists can attest, there are a number of ways in which digital media in general are more fragile than physical media. The law should not be exacerbating that problem. But with video games in particular, legal restrictions on preserving and maintaining functionality threatens to wipe out communities of players that participate in competitive or collaborative play.
In an ideal world, publishers wouldn't encumber their software with restrictive DRM, mandatory authentication schemes, or proprietary multiplayer protocols. In the meantime though, gamers should be allowed to continue playing the games they've legally purchased without a cloud of legal uncertainty hovering over them.
DMCA Rulemaking
2015 DMCA Rulemaking
Deeplinks Blog by Cara Gagliano | January 20, 2023
For Would-Be Censors and the Thin-Skinned, Copyright Law Offers Powerful Tools
We're taking part in Copyright Week, a series of actions and discussions supporting key principles that should guide copyright policy. Every day this week, various groups are taking on different elements of copyright law and policy, and addressing what's at stake, and what we need to do to make...
Deeplinks Blog by Corynne McSherry | January 19, 2023
Fair Use Creep Is A Feature, Not a Bug
Lawyers, scholars, and activists, including EFF, often highlight Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and Section 230 (originally of the Communications Decency Act) as the legal foundations of the internet. But there's another, much older, doctrine that's at least as important: Fair use, which dates back many decades...
Deeplinks Blog by Kit Walsh | December 7, 2022
DC Circuit Evades Important Questions in Disappointing Ruling on Section 1201 of the DMCA
The Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit has issued a disappointing ruling in the case of Green v. DOJ. The ruling left intact a law that has stifled speech and innovation for decades and forced researchers, advocates, teachers, and tinkerers to beg for government permission to do...
Deeplinks Blog by Cindy Cohn | July 13, 2022
Impact Litigation in Action: Building the Caselaw Behind a Win for Free Speech
A recent District Court decision in In re DMCA 512(h) Subpoena to Twitter, Inc. is a great win for free speech. The Court firmly rejected the argument that copyright law creates a shortcut around the First Amendment's protections for anonymous critics. In the case, a company tried to...
Press Release | July 8, 2022
Internet Archive Seeks Summary Judgment in Federal Lawsuit Filed By Publishing Companies
SAN FRANCISCO—The Internet Archive has asked a federal judge to rule in its favor and end a radical lawsuit, filed by four major publishing companies, that aims to criminalize library lending.The Internet Archive, headquartered in San Francisco, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit library which preserves and provides access to cultural artifacts...
Deeplinks Blog by Malaika Fraley, Karen Gullo | June 22, 2022
Westlaw Must Face Antitrust Claims in a Case That Could Boost Competitive Compatibility
Westlaw, the world's largest legal research service, is very likely to face antitrust liability. A federal court has ruled that ROSS Intelligence, a tiny rival offering new research tools (which Westlaw forced out of business with a copyright infringement suit) could proceed with claims that Westlaw uses exclusionary and anticompetitive...
Deeplinks Blog by Aaron Mackey | June 21, 2022
Victory! Court Rules That DMCA Does Not Override First Amendment's Anonymous Speech Protections
Copyright law cannot be used as a shortcut around the First Amendment's strong protections for anonymous internet users, a federal trial court ruled on Tuesday.The decision by a judge in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California confirms that copyright holders issuing subpoenas under the...
Deeplinks Blog by Mitch Stoltz | June 17, 2022
Copyright "Small Claims" Quasi-Court Opens. Here's Why Many Defendants Will Opt Out.
A new quasi-court for copyright, with nationwide reach, began accepting cases this week. The "Copyright Claims Board" or "CCB," housed within the Copyright Office in Washington DC, will rule on private copyright infringement lawsuits from around the country and award damages of up to $30,000 per case. Though it's...
Deeplinks Blog by Kit Walsh | May 11, 2022
EFF to Court: Fair Use is a Right Congress Cannot Cast Aside
Copyright law and free expression have always been in tension, with the courts protecting speech from overzealous copyright claims using legal doctrines such as fair use. But in 1998, Congress passed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, and since then courts have interpreted its "anti-circumvention" provision to give rightsholders the unprecedented...
Press Release | April 1, 2022
Public.Resource.Org Can Keep Freeing the Law: Court Allows Posting Public Laws And Regulations Online
SAN FRANCISCO—As part of its ongoing work to ensure that people can know and understand the laws they live under, Public.Resource.org, a nonprofit organization, on Thursday vindicated its ability to publicly post important laws online in standard formats, free of copy protections and cumbersome user interfaces.The win for Public...


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Tag Archive for: Secretary of State
Fundraising, Government, Politics, United States
Understanding How to Run for Office in the United States
If you feel like you want to make more of an impact in the political sphere outside of advocacy and voting, you may want to consider running for office. There are around 520,000 elective offices in the United States, meaning that more than one out of every thousand people in the U.S. are an elected official.
All citizens of the U.S. have the right to run for political office. If eligible, any average citizen can play a role in the government. However, not many Americans are taking advantage of this right. In 2012, about a third of the candidates running for a state legislative positions ran unopposed.
Many people do not run because they are not sure how to do so. To begin, you can use Run For Office's website to search for public positions available near you. After you find the right fit, the next step is to run a campaign.
Here are some tips on how to run for office in the United States:
Do plenty of research beforehand. Find out the requirements for the office such as age and residency. Understand how long the term is and what time commitment is required. Find out how much money is generally spent on successful campaigns. Once you understand the position and you feel comfortable that you can fulfill the requirements, you can begin planning your campaign.
Running a campaign is a great deal of work, so you will need a good team behind you. Decide whether you want to be volunteer-based or whether you can hire professional help. Unless you plan on paying for everything, you'll need to rely on others for fundraising as well. Start with family and friends and build a database of donors and supporters.
In order to make your campaign official, you will need to file for office. You can figure out what the requirements are by filing a seat through your town clerk or Secretary of State. Make a comprehensive list of all the paperwork that needs to be completed, as well as all the deadlines so you stay on track. Look into the financing laws as well.
Decide what you are running for – pick three issues your campaign is going to focus on and what you would want to work towards if you become elected. Then look at your own background and skill set and see how they will assist you in accomplishing your goals. Issue a profile for your campaign, then create an identifiable branding and message that will help people remember you and your views.
Once you feel prepared, announce your intention to run. Preferably, do so with much press. Then you can begin to actively campaign. Go door to door. Print lawn signs. Keep up-to-date social media accounts. Go to events and get your name out there. Prepare a short 30-second appeal and a three-minute speech regarding your campaign and why you are running. Do what you can to publicize yourself and gain support.
Even if you have never held a political position, once you know how to run for office you have the power to do so. If you want to see changes made, if you want to do more for those who don't have a voice, don't stand around waiting – run for office.
– Hannah Kaiser
Photo: Unsplash
August 26, 2017 /by Alisa Yamaguchi
https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg 0 0 Alisa Yamaguchi https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg Alisa Yamaguchi2017-08-26 01:30:042017-08-23 10:56:14Understanding How to Run for Office in the United States
Divided Congress a Threat to Foreign Aid
John Kerry, in one of his first official speeches as Secretary of State, declared that diplomacy is key to securing the nation's economic well-being, and urged Americans and legislators alike to avoid isolationism simply because of a down economy. Kerry pinned the blame for a lack of support for foreign aid on a divided Congress, saying that "the greatest challenge to America's foreign policy today is in the hands, not of diplomats, but of policymakers in Congress."
As a budget-cut-inducing sequester looms, Congress must come to an agreement on the national debt and budget – which includes funding for foreign aid and diplomacy programs, many of which have been the target of proposed cuts by conservatives. Kerry said that it is more important now than ever for America to have financial stability in order to set an example through diplomacy for developing countries. He went on to argue that diplomacy strengthens our economy at home by providing economic markets abroad for US exports, which negates the initial cost of government-sponsored foreign aid and international development ventures.
Kerry cited the success of the Marshall Plan in post-World War II Berlin, and asserted that the United States would have to stay relevant in the global arena in order to keep up with rising economic super powers like China and India.
Kerry gave additional real-world examples in support of foreign aid, including increased exports to Vietnam in the last decade, and the high number of former aid recipients who now import US goods. Learn more about how the US economy depends on participating in foreign aid here.
– Christina Kindlon
Source: The Telegraph
https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg 0 0 Borgen Project https://borgenproject.org/wp-content/uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.jpg Borgen Project2013-02-24 13:56:412014-03-11 14:41:33Divided Congress a Threat to Foreign Aid
John Kerry's First Address as Secretary of State Transcript
Thank you. Thank you very, very much. Thank you. Good morning. Thank you for an extraordinarily warm welcome, Charlotte. I am really honored to be here.
Senator Tim Kaine, thank you very, very much for your generous words of introduction. Tim, as he mentioned, has only been on the Foreign Relations Committee, I guess now for a total of a few weeks, but I can, based on his testimony a moment ago, positively commend him on his voting record. (Laughter and applause.) He's really – he's found himself new job security too, because here in Virginia you have a single-term governor for four years, so he has traded one single four-year term for a six-year term with potential extension. (Laughter.) So given the fact that I traded the several extensions for a four-year term and then I'm finished, maybe he knows something and I ought to be listening to him. (Laughter.) I could learn a thing or two from him.
We didn't overlap for long, but I want to tell everybody here that we know each other pretty well from service as a Lieutenant Governor and when he was Governor of the state. I was Lieutenant Governor of my state, so we have that in common before being senators.
I'll tell you a quick story. And I don't know what you do in Virginia as Lieutenant Governor, but in Massachusetts, once upon a time Calvin Coolidge was Lieutenant Governor. And he was at a dinner party, and his dinner partner turned to him and said, "What do you do?" And he said, "Well, I'm Calvin Coolidge. I'm Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts." And she said, "Oh wow, that must be really interesting. Tell me all about the job." And he said, "I just did." (Laughter.) So I trust, because they embraced you and me, we made something more out of it.
But I have huge admiration for the path that Tim Kaine has followed. I know his sense of what America means to the world was forged in the early days that Congressman Hurt referred to about his missionary work, the Catholic missionary working in Honduras, just helping other people to live healthier lives. And I know, because two weeks after the election, Tim called me and he asked if he could serve on the Foreign Relations Committee. Well, in the Senate, I will tell you, you don't always get those calls. People who step forward and volunteer in that way on a committee that doesn't have the opportunity to bring bacon back home and perhaps deliver it as easy a reelection. So I know that in Tim Kaine, Virginia has a senator who's going to make his mark on that committee, and he's going to make the mark for your commonwealth and our country, and we're grateful for your service, Tim. Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)
I also am particularly grateful for Congressman Robert Hurt being here today. I have left partisan politics and it's wonderful for me to be able to welcome people in the complete spirit of nonpartisanship, not just bipartisan, but nonpartisanship. And I'm particularly grateful to him for his service in the state legislature, in both houses, now in the House, and I'm confident from the words you expressed and the conversation we had, you're going to make your contribution too. And I thank you for your presence here today. (Applause.)
President Sullivan, thank you so much for welcoming me here to this historic, remarkable campus. I just feasted on the view as I walked across the lawn with President Sullivan, and I have to say you all are very lucky to go to school here. (Laughter.) It is an honor to join you here on Grounds – (laughter and applause) – this very, very beautiful monument to the potential of the human mind. And I have to tell you, to stand here beneath the gaze of the sages of Athens, those thinkers who gave us the idea of democracy, which we obviously still continue to perfect, not only in our own nation but around the world, we are grateful for that.
I will tell you also, I was here a long time ago as an undergraduate. I played lacrosse down on that field over there against you guys, and my first act of diplomacy is literally to forget who won. I have no idea. I don't know. (Laughter.)
I want to thank the folks in uniform. I want to thank the ROTC and all those of you who have served and will continue to serve in some way for our nation. There is no greater declaration of citizenship than that, and I happen to believe the word "citizen" is one of the most important in the American lexicon.
Some might ask why I'm standing here at the University of Virginia, why am I starting here? A Secretary of State making his first speech in the United States? You might ask, "Doesn't diplomacy happen over there, overseas, far beyond the boundaries of our own backyards?"
So why is it that I am at the foot of the Blue Ridge instead of on the shores of the Black Sea? Why am I in Old Cabell Hall and not Kabul, Afghanistan? (Laughter.)
The reason is very simple. I came here purposefully to underscore that in today's global world, there is no longer anything foreign about foreign policy. More than ever before, the decisions that we make from the safety of our shores don't just ripple outward; they also create a current right here in America. How we conduct our foreign policy matters more than ever before to our everyday lives, to the opportunities of all those students I met standing outside, whatever year they are here, thinking about the future. It's important not just in terms of the threats that we face, but the products that we buy, the goods that we sell, and the opportunity that we provide for economic growth and vitality. It's not just about whether we'll be compelled to send our troops to another battle, but whether we'll be able to send our graduates into a thriving workforce. That's why I'm here today.
I'm here because our lives as Americans are more intertwined than ever before with the lives of people in parts of the world that we may have never visited. In the global challenges of diplomacy, development, economic security, environmental security, you will feel our success or failure just as strongly as those people in those other countries that you'll never meet. For all that we have gained in the 21st century, we have lost the luxury of just looking inward. Instead, we look out and we see a new field of competitors. I think it gives us much reason to hope. But it also gives us many more rivals determined to create jobs and opportunities for their own people, a voracious marketplace that sometimes forgets morality and values.
I know that some of you and many across the country wish that globalization would just go away, or you wistfully remember easier times. But, my friends, no politician, no matter how powerful, can put this genie back in the bottle. So our challenge is to tame the worst impulses of globalization even as we harness its ability to spread information and possibility, to offer even the most remote place on Earth the same choices that have made us strong and free.
So before I leave this weekend to listen to our allies and partners next week throughout Europe and the Middle East, and in the coming months across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, I wanted to first talk with you about the challenge that we face here at home, because our engagement with the rest of the world begins by making some important choices together, and particularly about our nation's budget. Our sense of shared responsibility, that we care about something bigger than ourselves, is absolutely central to the spirit of this school. It's also central to the spirit of our nation.
As you well know, and Dr. Sullivan reminded you a moment ago, our first Secretary of State founded this great university. Students of his day, when he did, could basically only study law or medicine or religion. That was about it. But Thomas Jefferson had a vision, and he believed that the American people needed a public place to learn a diversity of disciplines – studies of science and space, of flora, fauna, and philosophy. He built this university in the image of what he called "the illimitable freedom of the human mind."
Today, those of you who study here and who teach here, along with the taxpayers, contributors, and parents who believe in your potential, you are all investing in Mr. Jefferson's vision. Now think for a moment about what that means. Why do you spend the many days and the borrowed dollars it takes to earn an education here, or anywhere? Why did Jefferson want this institution to remain public and accessible, not just to Virginians but as a destination from everywhere? I know that he wasn't thinking just about your getting a degree and a job. It was about something more. Jefferson believed we couldn't be a strong country without investing in the kind of education that empowers us to be good citizens. That's why founding this university is among the few accomplishments that Jefferson listed on his epitaph that he wrote for himself. To him, this place and its goal was a bigger part of his legacy than serving as Secretary of State or even as President, neither of which made the cut.
Just as Jefferson understood that we need to invest in education in order to produce good citizens, I join President Obama today in asserting with urgency that our citizenry deserves a strong foreign policy to protect our interests in the world. A wise investment in foreign policy can yield for a nation the same return that education does for a student. And no investment that we make that is as small as this investment puts forward such a sizeable benefit for ourselves and for our fellow citizens of the world. That's why I wanted to have this conversation with you today, which I hope is a conversation that extends well beyond the borders of Charlottesville, well beyond this university, to all Americans.
When I talk about a small investment in foreign policy in the United States, I mean it. Not so long ago, someone polled the American people and asked, "How big is our international affairs budget?" Most pegged it at 25 percent of our national budget, and they thought it ought to be pared way back to ten percent of our national budget. Let me tell you, would that that were true. I'd take ten percent in a heartbeat, folks – (laughter) – because ten percent is exactly ten times greater than what we do invest in our efforts to protect America around the world.
In fact, our whole foreign policy budget is just over one percent of our national budget. Think about it a little bit. Over one percent, a little bit more, funds all of our civilian and foreign affairs efforts – every embassy, every program that saves a child from dirty drinking water, or from AIDS, or reaches out to build a village, and bring America's values, every person. We're not talking about pennies on the dollar; we're talking about one penny plus a bit, on a single dollar.
So where you think this idea comes from, that we spend 25 percent of our budget? Well, I'll tell you. It's pretty simple. As a recovering politician – (laughter) – I can tell you that nothing gets a crowd clapping faster in a lot of places than saying, "I'm going to Washington to get them to stop spending all that money over there." And sometimes they get a lot more specific.
If you're looking for an applause line, that's about as guaranteed an applause line as you can get. But guess what? It does nothing to guarantee our security. It doesn't guarantee a stronger country. It doesn't guarantee a sounder economy or a more stable job market. It doesn't guarantee that the best interests of our nation are being served. It doesn't guarantee that another young American man or woman won't go and lose their life because we weren't willing to make the right investments here in the first place.
We need to say no to the politics of the lowest common denominator and of simplistic slogans, and start making real choices that protect the interests of our country. That's imperative. (Applause.)
Unfortunately, the State Department doesn't have our own Grover Norquist pushing a pledge to protect it. We don't have millions of AARP seniors who send in their dues and rally to protect America's investments overseas. The kids whose lives we're helping save from AIDS, the women we're helping to free from the horrors of sex trafficking, the students who, for the first time, can choose to walk into a school instead of into a short life of terrorism – their strongest lobbyists are the rare, committed Americans who stand up for them and for the resources that we need to help them. And I hope that includes all of you here and many listening.
You understand why. Every time that a tough fiscal choice looms, the easiest place to point fingers – foreign aid. As Ronald Reagan said, foreign aid suffers from a lack of domestic constituency, and that's part of the reason that everyone thinks it costs a lot more than it really does. So we need to change that. I reject the excuse that Americans just aren't interested in what's happening outside of their immediate field of vision. I don't believe that about any one of you sitting here, and I don't believe that about Americans.
In fact, the real domestic constituency for what we do, if people can see the dots connected and understand what we're doing in its full measure, is really large. It's the 314 million Americans whose lives are better every day because of what we do, and who, deep down, when they have time to stop and think about it, know that our investment abroad actually makes them and our nation safer.
Now, my friends, in this age, when a shrinking world clashes with calls for shrinking budgets – and we're not alone – it's our job to connect those dots, to connect them for the American people between what we do over there and the size of the difference that it makes over here at home, why the price of abandoning our global efforts would be exorbitant, and why the vacuum we would leave by retreating within ourselves will quickly be filled by those whose interests differ dramatically from ours.
We learned that lesson in the deserts of Mali recently, in the mountains of Afghanistan in 2001, and in the tribal areas of Pakistan even today. Just think: Today's first-years here at UVA were starting the second grade when a small cabal of terrorists halfway around the world shattered our sense of security and our stability, our skylines. So I know that you certainly have always understood that bad things happening over there threaten us right here.
Knowing that, the question is this: How do we, together, make clear that the opposite is just as true; that if we do the right things, the good things, the smart things over there, it will strengthen us here at home?
Let me tell you my answer: I believe we do this in two ways. First, it's about telling the story of how we stand up for American jobs and businesses – pretty practical, pretty straightforward, and pretty real on a day-to-day basis. And second, it's about how we stand up for our American values, something that has always distinguished America.
I agree with President Obama that there is nothing in this current budget fight that requires us to make bad decisions, that forces us to retrench or to retreat. This is a time to continue to engage for the sake of the safety and the economic health of our country. This is not optional. It is a necessity. The American people understand this, I believe. Our businesses understand this. It's simple. The more they sell abroad, the more they're going to hire here at home. And since 95 percent of the world's customers live outside of our country, we can't hamstring our own ability to compete in those increasingly growing markets.
Virginia understands this as well as any state in the union. Senator Kaine, I know, when a governor, took those trips to try to make this happen. International trade supports more than a million jobs right here in Virginia – more than one in five jobs in Virginia, which actually today is the story of America.
You have a company up near Dulles called Orbital Sciences Corporation. With the help of the persistent advocates of our Embassy in Bangkok, it beat out French and Russian competitors to build Thailand's newest broadcast satellite. Virginia's Orbital is now teaming up with a California company called Space Exploration Technologies that makes satellite equipment. The deal that our Embassy helped secure, valued at $160 million, goes right back into American communities from coast to coast. That's the difference that our embassies abroad actually can make back here at home.
And these success stories happen in partnership with countries all over the world because of the resources that we've deployed to bring business and jobs back to America. These investments, my friends, are paying for themselves. We create more than 5,000 jobs for every billion dollars of goods and services that we export. So the last thing that we should do is surrender this kind of leverage.
These successes are happening in Canada, where State Department officers there got a local automotive firm to invest tens of millions of dollars in Michigan, where the American auto industry is now making a remarkable comeback.
In Indonesia where, thanks to Embassy Jakarta, that nation's largest privately run airline just placed an order for commercial aircraft, the largest order Boeing has ever been asked to fill. Meanwhile, the Indonesian state railroad is buying its locomotives from General Electric.
In South Africa, where more than 600 U.S. companies are doing business, and where OPIC, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Export-Import Bank, and the Trade and Development Agency just opened an office to help close more investment deals between American companies and Africa's booming energy and transportation sectors, it's also a two-way street. A major South African energy company is planning to build a multibillion-dollar plant in Louisiana that will put more Americans to work.
Let me tell you, this is happening, in Cameroon and Bosnia and other surprising places. In the shadows of World War II, if you told someone that Japan and Germany would today be our fourth- and fifth-largest trading partners, someone would have thought you were crazy. Before Nixon's bold opening with China, no one could have imagined that today it would be our second-largest trading partner, but that's exactly what's happened.
Eleven of our top 15 trading partners used to be the beneficiaries of U.S. foreign assistance. That's because our goal isn't to keep a nation dependent on us forever. It's precisely to create these markets, to open these opportunities, to establish rule of law. Our goal is to use assistance and development to help nations realize their own potential, develop their own ability to govern and become our economic partners.
One of America's most incredible realities continues to be that we are a country without any permanent enemies. Now, take Vietnam. I will never forget standing next to John McCain in the East Room of the White House, each of us on either side of President Clinton as he announced the once unthinkable normalization of our relations with Vietnam, an effort that John McCain and I worked on for about ten years, try to bring about.
In the last decade, thanks in large part to the work of USAID, our exports to Vietnam increased by more than 700 percent. Every one of those percentage points are jobs here in America. And in the last two decades, a thousand Vietnamese students and scholars have studied and taught in America through the Fulbright program, including the Foreign Minister of Vietnam, who I just talked to the other day and who, believe me, has feelings about America because of that engagement.
The list goes on. As the emerging middle class in India, the world's largest democracy, buys our products, that means jobs and income for our own middle class. As our traditional assistance to Brazil decreases, trade there is increasing. Brazil is one of the new tigers growing at a double-digit pace, and it supports additional jobs here at home, many in the U.S. travel and tourism industry.
When Jefferson expanded our consular posts precisely to promote trade, he never could have imagined the importance today. Nor could he have predicted the number of Americans abroad that we help with their passports, with visas, with other problems that arise. Or that we help offer, to those who want to grow their families through adoption, or who find themselves in legal trouble or distress far from home. Or the role our diplomats play, screening potential security threats and taking them off the radar screen before they ever reach your consciousness, potentially in the worst ways. Or that we create a new American job for every 65 visitors that we help to bring to our shores.
So, my friends, we have to keep going. We can't afford the kind of delay and disruption that stands on the horizon in Washington. The exciting new trade negotiation that President Obama announced last week between the United States and the European Union will create the world's biggest bilateral deal when it comes to fruition, a transatlantic partnership that will match the scope and ambition of our Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
But our work is far from over. Seven of the ten fastest growing countries are on the African continent. And China, understanding that, is already investing more than we do there. Four of the five biggest oil and natural gas discoveries happened off the coast of Mozambique last year alone. Developing economies are the epicenters of growth, and they are open for business, and the United States needs to be at that table.
If we want a new list of assistance graduates, countries that used to take our aid but now buy our exports, we can't afford to pull back. And if we're going to seize this budget crisis as the great opportunity that it can be, we can't shy away from telling this story to the American people, to your members of Congress, and to the world.
But let me emphasize: Jobs and trade are not the whole story, and nor should they be. The good work of the State Department, of USAID, is measured not only in the value of the dollar, but it's also measured in our deepest values. We value security and stability in other parts of the world, knowing that failed states are among our greatest security threats, and new partners are our greatest assets.
The investments that we make support our efforts to counter terrorism and violent extremism wherever it flourishes. And we will continue to help countries provide their own security, use diplomacy where possible, and support those allies who take the fight to terrorists.
And remember – boy, I can't emphasize this enough; I'm looking at a soldier here in front of me with a ribbon on his chest – deploying diplomats today is much cheaper than deploying troops tomorrow. We need to remember that. (Applause.) As Senator Lindsey Graham said, "It's national security insurance that we're buying."
Now, it sounds expensive, my friends, but simple bottom line, it's not. The State Department's conflict stabilization budget is about $60 million a year now. That's how much the movie "The Avengers" took in on a single Sunday last May. (Laughter.) The difference is the folks that we have on the ground doing this job are actually real superheroes.
We value human rights, and we need to tell the story of America's good work there, too. We know that the most effective way to promote the universal rights of all people, rights and religious freedom, is not from the podium, not from either end of Pennsylvania Avenue. It's from the front lines – wherever freedom and basic human dignity are denied. And that's what Tim Kaine understood when he went to Honduras.
The brave employees of State and USAID – and the Diplomatic Security personnel who protect the civilians serving us overseas – work in some of the most dangerous places on Earth, and they do it fully cognizant that we share stronger partnerships with countries that share our commitment to democratic values and human rights. They fight corruption in Nigeria. They support the rule of law in Burma. They support democratic institutions in Kyrgyzstan and Georgia, mindful from our own experience that it takes a long time to get democracy right, and that it rarely happens right away.
In the end, all of those efforts, all of that danger and risk that they take, makes us more secure. And we do value democracy, just as you've demonstrated here at UVA through the Presidential Precinct program that's training leaders in emerging democracies.
Thanks to a decade of intensive diplomatic efforts alongside our partners, a conflict that took more than 2 million lives – and people think about the Holocaust, 6 million over the course of World War II, we lost 2 million people in the longest war in Africa in our time in the last years. And of that South Sudan was born a free nation. Securing its future and peace for all of its citizens is going to take continued diplomatic efforts alongside partners like the African Union. And the more we can develop the capacity of the African Union, the less the United States will have to worry.
I've stood in South Sudan. I've seen those challenges firsthand, and they still face the world's newest country and its government. Those challenges threaten to reverse hard-won progress and stability. And that's why we're working closely with that nation to help it provide its own citizens with essential services like water, health, and education and agriculture practices.
We value health and nutrition, and the principle of helping people gain strength to help themselves. Through cornerstone initiatives like Feed the Future, we help countries not only plant and harvest better food, but we also help them break the cycle of poverty, of poor nutrition, and of hunger.
We seek to reduce maternal mortality, eradicate polio, and protect people from malaria, tuberculosis, and pandemic influenza. And I will tell you proudly that through the Global Health Initiative and programs that I was proud to have a hand in helping to create, like PEPFAR, we have saved the lives of 5 million people in Africa through the efforts of Americans. Today… (Applause.) And today – today astonishingly – we are standing on the edge of the potential of an AIDS-free generation, because we know these diseases don't discriminate by nationality, and we believe that relieving preventable suffering doesn't need a justification. And I think that's part of our values.
We value gender equality, knowing that countries are, in fact, more peaceful and prosperous when women and girls are afforded full rights and equal opportunity. (Applause.) In the last decade, the proportion of African* women enrolled in higher education went from nearly zero to 20 percent. In 2002, there were fewer than a million boys in Afghan schools and barely any girls. Now, with America's help, more than a third of the almost 8 million students going to school in Afghanistan are girls. And more than a quarter of their representatives in parliament are women. We should be proud of that, and that helps to make a difference for the long haul.
We value education, promoting programs like the Fulbright exchanges managed by the Department of State. They enable the most talented citizens to share their devotion to diplomacy and peace, their hopes, their friendships, and the belief that all of the Earth's sons and daughters ought to have the opportunity to lift themselves up. Today these exchanges bring hundreds of thousands of students to America from other countries, and vice versa. In the last year alone, more than 10,000 citizens of foreign countries participated in the State Department's academic, youth, professional and cultural exchange programs right here in Virginia. Virginians also studied abroad through State Department programs. Senator Fulbright, at whose hearings I had the privilege of testifying as a young veteran returning from Vietnam, he knew that the value of sharing our proudest values bore fruit in the long run, in the future. He said, "Having people who understand your thought," he said, "is much greater security than another submarine."
Let me be very clear. Foreign assistance is not a giveaway. It's not charity. It is an investment in a strong America and in a free world. Foreign assistance lifts other people up and then reinforces their willingness to link arms with us in common endeavors. And when we help others crack down on corruption, that makes it easier for our own compliance against corruption, and it makes it easier for our companies to do business as well.
When we join with other nations to reduce the nuclear threat, we build partnerships that mean we don't have to fight those battles alone. This includes working with our partners around the world in making sure that Iran never obtains a weapon that would endanger our allies and our interests. When we help others create the space that they need to build stability in their own communities, we're actually helping brave people build a better, more democratic future, and making sure that we don't pay more later in American blood and treasure.
The stories that we need to tell, of standing up for American jobs and businesses and standing up for our American values, intersect powerfully in the opportunity that we have now in this moment of urgency to lead on the climate concerns that we share with our global neighbors. We as a nation must have the foresight and the courage to make the investments necessary to safeguard the most sacred trust we keep for our children and our grandchildren, and that is an environment not ravaged by rising seas, deadly superstorms, devastating droughts, and the other hallmarks of a dramatically changing climate. President Obama is committed to moving forward on that, and so am I, and so must you be ready to join us in that effort. (Applause.)
Can we all say thank you to our signers who are here? (Applause.)
So think about all these things that I've listed. Think about the world as you see it today. Let's face it: We are all in this one together. No nation can stand alone. We share nothing so completely as our planet. When we work with others, large and small, to develop and deploy the clean technologies that will power a new world – and they're there waiting for us, $6 trillion market, huge amount of jobs – when we do that, we know we're helping create the new markets and new opportunities for America's second-to-none innovators and entrepreneurs so that we can succeed in the next great revolution in our marketplace. We need to commit ourselves to doing the smart thing and the right thing and to truly take on this challenge, because if we don't rise to meet it, then rising temperatures and rising sea levels will surely lead to rising costs down the road. Ask any insurance company in America. If we waste this opportunity, it may be the only thing our generation – generations – are remembered for. We need to find the courage to leave a far different legacy.
We cannot talk about the unprecedented changes happening on our planet, moreover, without also talking about the unprecedented changes in its population, another great opportunity at our fingertips. In countries across North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of people are younger than 30 years old – 60 percent under 30, 50 percent under 21, 40 percent under 18, about half of the total under 20. And you know what? They seek the same opportunities and the same things that you do: opportunity. We have an interest in helping these young people to develop the skills that they need to defeat the mass unemployment that is overwhelming their societies so that they can in fact start contributing to their communities and rebuild their broken economies rather than engaging in some other terrorist or other kind of extremist activity. For the first time in human history, young people around the world act as a global cohort, including many of the people in this room. They're more open-minded. They're more proficient with the technology that keeps them connected in a way that no generation in history has ever been before. We need to help all of them, and us, to use this remarkable network in a positive way.
Now, some may say not now, not while we have our budget; it's too expensive. Well, believe me, my friends, these challenges will not get easier with time. There is no pause button on the future. We cannot choose when we would like to stop and restart our global responsibility or simply wait until the calendar says it's more convenient. It's not easy, but responding is the American thing to do. And I'll tell you, it's worth it.
Our relatively small investment in these programs – programs which advance peace, security, and stability around the world, which help American companies compete abroad, which create jobs here at home by opening new markets to American goods, which support American citizens abroad, help them when they need it the most, which foster stable societies and save lives by fighting disease and hunger, which defend the universal rights of all people and advance freedom and dignity and development around the world, which bring people together and nations together, and forge partnerships to address problems that transcend the separation of oceans and borders on land, which protect our planet for our children and their children, and which give hope to a new generation of interconnected world citizens – our investment in all of those things cost us, as I just mentioned, about one penny of every dollar we invest. America, you will not find a better deal anywhere.
Now, I'm particularly aware that in many ways, the greatest challenge to America's foreign policy today is in the hands not of diplomats, but of policymakers in Congress. It is often said that we cannot be strong at home if we're not strong in the world, but in these days of a looming budget sequester that everyone actually wants to avoid – or most – we can't be strong in the world unless we are strong at home. My credibility as a diplomat working to help other countries create order is strongest when America, at last, puts its own fiscal house in order, and that has to be now. (Applause.)
Think about it. It's hard to tell the leadership of any number of countries that they have to resolve their economic issues if we don't resolve our own. Let's reach a responsible agreement that prevents these senseless cuts. Let's not lose this opportunity because of politics.
As I've said many times before, America is not exceptional simply because we say we are. We are exceptional because we do exceptional things, both where there are problems as well as where there is promise, both where there is danger as well as where there is democracy. I am optimistic that we will continue to do these exceptional things. I know we have the capacity. I know that's who we are, and it's who we've always been.
As we ask where our next steps should fall on this path, we would do well to learn a lesson from our own history. In the aftermath of World War II and its great toll, America had the choice, just like we do today, to turn inward. Instead, Secretary of State George Marshall saw in both defeated and allied nations the threat of bankruptcy, homes and railways destroyed, people who were starving, economies decimated.
He had the foresight to know that there could be no political stability and no peace without renewed economic strength. He knew we had an obligation to partner with Europe, help it rebuild, modernize it, and give it the push that it needed to become the powerful and peaceful trading partner it is today. After the war, my friends, we didn't spike the football; we created a more level playing field, and we are stronger for it today.
When I was 12 years old, I had the privilege of living in Berlin, Germany, where my father, a Foreign Service officer, was called to duty. And one day, I visited the eastern side of Berlin, the part that hadn't received any of the help from the United States and its courageous Marshall Plan.
The difference was undeniable, even to my 12-year-old eyes. There were few people on the streets, few smiles on the faces of those who were there. I saw the difference between hope and despair, freedom and oppression, people who were given a chance to do something and people who weren't. If the recovering western half of Europe was regaining its vibrant color, the place that I visited was still in black and white.
When I went back to West Berlin, two things happened. First, I was summarily grounded for having ventured without permission to the other side of the city. (Laughter.) And second, I started to pay special attention to the plaques on the buildings that recognized the United States of America for lending a hand in the rebuilding. And I was proud.
The Marshall Plan, the IMF, the World Bank, and other postwar organizations led by the United States are evidence of our ability to make the right decisions at the right time, taking risks today in the interest of tomorrow.
Now we face a similar crossroads. We can be complacent, or we can be competitive. As new markets bloom in every corner of the globe – and they will, with or without us – we can be there to help plant the seeds, or we can cede that power to others.
Given the chance to lead a second great American century, let's not just look to the global landscape around us today; let's look to the one ahead of us, look over the horizon, look to the days to come 15 and 50 years from now, and marshal the courage that defined the Marshall Plan so that we might secure a new future of freedom.
Let's remember that the principles of Jefferson's time, in a nation that was just getting used to its independence, still echo in our own time, in a world that's still getting used to our interdependence. America's national interest in leading strongly still endures in this world.
So let me leave you with a thought. When tragedy and terror visit our neighbors around the globe, whether by the hand of man or by the hand of God, many nations give of themselves to help. But only one is expected to.
With the leadership of President Obama and the cooperation I will work hard to secure from the Congress, we will continue to lead as the indispensable nation, not because we seek this role, but because the world needs us to fill it. Not as a choice, but as a charge. Not because we view it as a burden, but because we know it to be a privilege.
That is what is special about the United States of America. That is what is special about being an American. That exceptional quality that we share is what I will bring with me on my travels on your behalf. But our sense of responsibility cannot be reserved for responses to emergencies alone. It has to be exercised in the pursuit of preventing disaster, of strengthening alliances, of building markets, of promoting universal rights, and standing up for our values.
Over the next four years, I ask you to stand with our President and our country to continue to conduct ourselves with the understanding that what happens over there matters right here, and it matters that we get this right.
Thank you. (Applause.)
Source: USgov
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Foreign Aid, Global Poverty
Secretary of State Kerry Encourages Foreign Aid
Earlier this week, the new Secretary of State John Kerry gave a brief talk to a group of college students at the State Department, where he stressed the importance of U.S. foreign aid in fighting poverty and terrorism. Kerry started by polling the auditorium and asked the students how much of the annual budget they thought is allocated towards the State Department, foreign affairs, and foreign aid.
Kerry went on to state that many Americans think that the amount of funds spent on foreign aid totals around 50 to 30 percent of the national annual budget, when in reality, foreign aid is allocated a mere 1 percent. He then went on to remark that he considers foreign aid spending "absolutely an investment," and explained the real return on investment that is gained, although it is not always quantifiable.
"I can tell you that you could quantify it in troops that you don't have to send somewhere, lives that are not lost because you managed to create a relationship with a country that resolves its problems peacefully and that don't spill over into another nation, whether it's a Mali or the problems we're seeing in Egypt now or Syria. The ability to be able to help people to make peaceful transitions and to move their economies to open, accountable economies that engage with the rest of the world makes a world of difference to the lives of people in that country and everybody around them," stated Kerry.
The Secretary of State also mentioned North Korea and the current state of human rights in the country, along with the current military actions towards additional missile tests and perhaps even nuclear activity, saying that the people of North Korea "desperately need to become more open and connected to the world."
Kerry went on to mention the success of PEPFAR, the U.S. government's initiative to curb the spread of AIDS, and how it has saved the lives of around 5 million children and increased health infrastructure throughout Africa. He also noted that the United States is in a unique and favorable position to have a military strong enough to "push back against evil and terrorism" and still have the ability to build up those same countries and give them democracy, freedom, and increased infrastructure.
Addressing the frequent question of why the U.S. has to be involved in so many global issues, he answered, "Because America, throughout the 20th century and now moving into this century, has proven again and again that there is an indispensable capacity to help bring about peace, find a way for people's rights, their individual human rights to be able to be protected and to be able to live better lives."
In support of his answer, he gave several examples of past instances where the U.S. has intervened and improved upon the situation – Kosovo, Bosnia, Serbia, and The Dayton Peace Accords, namely.
Kerry conceded that although U.S. foreign involvement has improved people's lives and countries in several instances, it is "not perfect" and that mistakes have been made in the past, but also acknowledged that the foreign issues that we face today are much different than they were during WWII, when the U.S. had obvious and clear-cut enemies. Kerry mentioned the U.S. aid that was given to Germany and Japan to rebuild post-WWII, and said that was the "best decision we ever made," and went on to state that foreign policy is all about making difficult decisions like this in order to build for the future.
Kerry went on to state that now, more than ever, is the time when the U.S. needs to continue its nation-building and international development efforts, especially in the tumultuous Middle East, where a majority of the population are young adults facing unstable governments and poverty. He went on to mention the need to persuade Congress to continue to support nation-building efforts, despite heavy budget deficit talks here at home.
In wrapping up his speech, the Secretary of State asserted that the major challenge of U.S. foreign policy moving forward would be "to help these folks be able to find the kind of opportunity that you have and that a lot of other people strive for in different parts of the world. Our challenge is not to retreat and go inwards and say, 'Oh, let them fight it out, it doesn't make a difference.' It does make all the difference in the world, as we saw in Afghanistan, where if you leave people to their own devices, a lot of extremists will just organize themselves and make life miserable for people somewhere."
Secretary of State Kerry encourages foreign aid because of the massive, global impact it has. With increased advocacy and awareness, hopefully a more diverse group of legislators and policymakers will start to do the same.
– Christina Mattos Kindlon
Source: State Department
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