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Rick Steves talks to sold-out Belleuve audience about Iran trip By
SALLY MACDONALD BELLEVUE — Like most people, Rick Steves says, he knew next to nothing about Iran or its sometimes scary-to-Westerners Islamic culture. Unlike most people, though, Steves, local travel guru, sees that kind of thinking as more dare than obstacle. So last spring, he took his film crew and folksy disposition into the "axis of evil" to see for himself. Steves presented a slide-show, travel-talk preview of his efforts to a sold-out crowd of about 450 people gathered Monday at Sammamish High School by the World Affairs Council, a nonprofit organization whose aim is to promote global understanding at the local level. The final product, an hourlong travel documentary, is scheduled to be shown on public television across the country early in 2009. The trip was Steves at his best: no politics unless it involves understanding, just travel. He and his crew — Simon Griffith, his director, and Karel Bauer, cameraman — filmed over 12 days in Tehran, the capital; Esfahan, the country's second-largest city, and Persepolis, the now-ruined capital of the Persian Empire dating from 500 B.C. Tehran, with 10 million people, reminded Steves physically of Vancouver, B.C., with high-rises superimposed before a mountainous backdrop. Its roots go back to the glory days of Persia. The city is big and noisy, its traffic anarchist, with no traffic lights even at the busiest intersections. The trip was, Steves said, a chance to put a human face on a populace that knows Americans mostly from the "saber-rattling" that passes for diplomacy between the two governments. "The people feel they've been abused by the media a lot. I made it clear I had no political agenda," Steves said, adding mischievously, "I think it's a good agenda to get to know people before you bomb them." That doesn't mean, he says, the Iranian government gets a pass on fundamental differences Westerners have with the country, which is run as a theocracy. For instance, "modesty regulations" require women and even grade-school girls to dress to hide the shape of the body. Hair mustn't creep out from under the scarf they're required to wear in public. And any café allowing a film crew to show women breaking the rules could lose its license. Steves' crew ran afoul of plainclothes "security guards" more than once, tying up filming time while the government-appointed translator/guide he calls his "minder" argued over permission to tape this or that. The crew wasn't allowed to film in some surprising places. Banks couldn't be shown, or shopping malls. "I really wanted to go to a mall and see teenage girls acting naughty," he said. There's a feeling of claustrophobia in that kind of governmental control that Steves likens to the old Soviet Union. "It was creepy for me to realize there was no freedom there," he said. The Soviet Union was "driven by political ideologies, while Iran is driven by a religious ideology." Steves works hard to understand the inexplicable he saw everywhere. There are the ubiquitous signs that proclaim, to Western ears, a shocking "death to" perceived enemies, for instance. One of Steves' slides shows a yellow banner hung prominently in a mosque that his "minder" translated as "Death to Israel." Another shows a huge American flag painted on the side of a building, with stars depicted by skulls and stripes made by flaming bombs streaking toward Earth. Steves has decided that sort of thing is pretty much cultural noise. He likens it to Westerners damning what they don't like. In fact, he says, he heard one driver yell, "Death to traffic!" He was dismayed to find little but "dusty vases" at Tehran's historical museum. He was told the treasures of Persia were taken over time by colonial powers to fill the museums of the West, leaving Iran with little patrimony. The film crew was impressed by the friendliness of the people they met on Tehran's teeming streets. People drawn by Steves' Scandinavian blonde looks invariably would stop him and try to guess where he was from. When they heard he was American, they were incredulous. "They'd say, 'What are you doing here?' And then they'd say, 'We love you.' " Mostly the people of Iran just want what all people want, Steves says, "to raise their families with their own Middle Eastern values. To do that in a theocracy requires them to give up some of what we would consider freedoms. But they just don't want their daughters to grow up like Britney Spears." The Iranians are trying to expand tourism, Steves says, and he ran into European tourists at all the major sites. That said, there are few historical or cultural places for a Westerner to visit, "so we saw the same people everywhere." Although English is the business language and most educated Iranians use it as a second language, the infrastructure that American travelers demand (hotels, pleasant eateries and help in getting around) isn't really there yet. Any woman could travel there, he said, "but she'd have to wear a scarf." The World Affairs Council audience was enthusiastic about the prospect. "I hope his program opens some minds," said Donald Walter of Seattle, after the slide show. "He has a talent for seeking out insights into other cultures that I wish I had." "I loved seeing the humanity of a culture we only see one side of," said Ebon Ameen, also of Seattle. Steves hopes, in the end, his efforts will morph into more dialogue with the Iranian people, a better understanding between leaders of both countries and, in the end, peace. "In war, there are only losers," he said, "and we can't afford that anymore." Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Seattle panel to focus on environment and energy from 3 perspectives By
MICHELLE MA An
oil-company representative, a conservationist and a former Environmental
Protection Agency administrator likely have some very different
perspectives on the future of energy. On
Thursday, three such personalities will share their thoughts on
the impact of energy policy in this country and around the world. The
discussion, organized by the World Affairs Council in Seattle, is
the first of a three-part series co-sponsored by The Seattle Times
to address the energy crisis and how it could affect U.S. domestic-
and foreign-policy decisions. "We
try to be relevant and attentive to the issues that are current,"
said Martin Vallen, director of community programs for the World
Affairs Council, a nonprofit group. "There is a tremendous
amount of interest in the Pacific Northwest over these issues." Thursday's
event will include representatives from Shell Oil, the Van Ness
Feldman law firm in Seattle, and San Francisco-based Rainforest
Action Network. "I
think it's absolutely imperative that we listen not just to those
who are trying to seek alternative sources of energy, but also those
of traditional backgrounds such as petroleum," Vallen said. Thursday's
panel will kick off the energy series with a look at impacts of
fossil-fuel-based energy policies, the role of traditional and new
energy sources and the transition to clean technologies. Organizers
said they hope listeners will become more informed, then choose
to get engaged. "To
fight climate change, it takes the involvement of millions of people,"
said Michael Brune, executive director of Rainforest Action Network,
who will speak at this week's event. His organization tries to pressure
large corporations to change their practices to be more environmentally
friendly. Brune
said he also hopes to talk about issues in his new book, "Coming
Clean: Breaking America's Addiction to Oil and Coal." He suggests
thinking about climate change not as a looming obligation, but rather
as an opportunity to create millions of green jobs and rejuvenate
local economies. And,
Brune said he's looking forward to a "lively discussion"
with the Shell Oil representative. Barbara
Kornylo, Shell Oil's Western region sustainable-development manager,
said she hopes attendees will understand how important it is to
find a balance of energy solutions for the future. Conventional
oil will remain Shell's main focus, Kornylo said, but the company
has invested millions in renewables such as wind and solar. "We
don't think the end of oil is around the corner," Kornylo said.
"How do we find that right balance in how we continue to meet
needs to lower CO{-2} [carbon dioxide], plus deal with our population
increase and needs worldwide?" John
Iani, an attorney with Van Ness Feldman and a former regional EPA
administrator, will be the third speaker in Thursday's panel. From
2001 to 2004, Iani managed the EPA's programs in Alaska, Idaho,
Oregon and Washington. The
series will continue in February with a look at how communities
can benefit from green jobs and local energy projects. It will conclude
with a session in April focusing on the role of energy conservation. Copyright
© 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Four
journalists from Republic of Georgia talk about conflict By
MOISES MENDOZA They've come across the world to the U.S. for a government-sponsored program on conflict resolution. But four journalists from the Republic of Georgia, who just arrived in Seattle, already got a nasty crash course in conflict studies earlier this month. Georgia became embroiled in a war with Russia on Aug 7. The conflict has left thousands homeless, many dead and reporters caught in the crossfire. Already several have been injured or slain in the fighting. "It is really a difficult time for everyone in Georgia," said Teona Shonia, a radio news editor, speaking through an interpreter. "I talk to my friends who are covering the conflict, and they say it is impossible to work in this situation." Though the trip to the U.S. has been planned since at least May, the group's journey almost didn't come off. During the recent war, the Russian military destroyed radar units near the country's main airport in the capital city of Tibilisi, and the airport was closed for a time. Luckily, a few airlines began offering flights out, and the journalists were able to make their long-awaited trip. During their three-week visit to the United States -- the first time here for all four -- the journalists will learn about conflict resolution issues from top experts and fly off to such cities as New York and Kansas City. The local World Affairs Council is playing host to them in Seattle, but their visit is part of larger program put on by the U.S. State Department. Several international leaders have participated in the International Visitor Program, including Georgia's own president. Still, the journalists' thoughts are still at home in Georgia, where they say war has proven devastating to the national infrastructure. "We are just hoping to receive some response from the international community and hopefully that will make a difference in the future," said reporter Tea Sharia. Meanwhile, they're just happy to be in the U.S., where they said people have reached out to them to provide an encouraging word and show their support. Shonia said not long after their arrival, a man reached out and touched her shoulder. "He said he stood by us, and he wished us well," she said. Copyright ©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Meals help group members welcome other cultures By
KERY MURAKAMI For an event that was supposed to increase understanding of other cultures, the group of about 30 men and women gathered at the Pan Africa Market near Pike Place Market one evening this week was already pretty worldly. A couple were former Peace Corps volunteers in Africa, and others such as Emily Griffin, a Seattle University student, planned to travel to Africa next year. But for those such as Alice Matsuoka, the traditional Kenyan meal that Susan Njeri was cooking on hot pots as others gathered around was a bridge to Seattle's rapidly growing immigrant population. Matsuoka, a business developer at The Boeing Co., said she works with African people "but it's like the typical Northwest politeness thing," Matsuoka said. Nods are exchanged in the hall, but that's about it. "I'm hoping that I can go up to them and tell them I had this meal here, and we can start talking," she said. That's largely why the Seattle chapter of the World Affairs Council began organizing monthly meals at different ethnic restaurants last year. The national organization was founded in 1951, after World War II, to foster greater understanding of the world that might lead to peace. Wars certainly still rage, but Elaine Chang, who organizes the Culture Through Cuisine series, said that knowing about other cultures enables Americans to develop informed foreign-policy opinions. The world is getting smaller through globalization. And increasingly in recent years, the world is moving to Seattle. The 10,681 people who moved to King County from other countries between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, made up 43 percent of the county's overall population growth. If trends continue, Seattle officials said, foreign-born residents could make up a fifth of the city's population in 2010 -- a very different picture of the city from 1980, when only 11.3 percent of Seattleites were born in other countries. Through the years, the group has been largely downtown and well-heeled, meeting to hear wonky lectures. It also hosted delegations from other countries -- such as Boy Scout leaders from Saudi Arabia who came to visit area Boy Scout leaders. Though the organization continues to hold lectures and gatherings, Chang said the council began the dining series to reach out to more people. Not everybody wants to hear a lecture. But everybody likes to eat. Food is used to teach about countries -- how Turkish cooking has European and Middle Eastern influences because of its place in the world, for example, and how its attempt to join the European Union causes nervousness in Europe because of the country's Middle Eastern ties, Chang said. On Tuesday night, though, the scene was more like something on the Food Network than the BBC. Njeri, hovering over a pot, explained she wasn't adding more salt to a pot of greens because she'd be adding coriander and other spices. The meal -- with greens in one pot, a starchy bread in a second, and chicken in a third -- was typical Kenyan cooking, said Njeri, who works at St. Joseph Hospital in Tacoma. She agreed to cook to educate the group about Kenya's rich culture. Back home she would make it in her indoor kitchen or on an outside stone stove if a lot of people were coming over. Greens were the cheapest foods you could find in Kenya. Chicken was a luxury. As the $35 dinner was served, there were signs the world had gotten a little smaller. Teresa Sherwood, a white woman and a teacher at Lowell Elementary School, was taking copious notes as Njeri cooked. She plans to make it for her husband. In Seattle, another kitchen will be smelling a little like one in Kenya. Copyright © 1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Indonesian
teachers meet with school, city officials
“They expressed an appreciation for the way in which they
were treated,” Hauck said.
When I think of Girl Scouts, I first think of cookies. For the Girl Scouts in attendance at the last “Culture Through Cuisine” night event sponsored by the World Affairs Council, the cookies on offer were of the fortune cookie variety, provided by our host Chinese-Vietnamese restaurant, Joy Palace. “Culture Through Cuisine,” a program that exposes participants to the diverse culinary and cultural communities in the Puget Sound, is the brainchild of Elaine Chang, the strategic advisor of World Affairs Council, a Seattle nonprofit that promotes greater understanding of global affairs. It was her invitation that I accepted on this particular evening to act as the event’s culinary tour guide. The featured food was Chinese, and given my history with the Middle Kingdom -- I first lived in China as a high-school student and returned to live there for three subsequent stints -- Chang knew that I would be eager to participate. Asian supermarket treasure hunts with a Chinese banquet as our reward? No arm-twisting necessary! Our “Culture Through Cuisine” evening began across the parking lot from Joy Palace at the bustling Viet Wah Super Foods grocery, with a friendly welcome from the store manager, Tony Ramsey. Standing near the entrance with pallets behind him stacked high with 50-pound bags of rice, Ramsey gave a quick introduction to the largest Asian grocery store in the Rainier Valley neighborhood. Ramsey’s welcome was followed by my narrated tour through Viet Wah of Chinese food ingredients that would appear in the meal at Joy Palace, with dishes that were representative of China’s north, south, east and central Sichuan cooking styles. In attendance were members of the Seattle troop Girl Scouts Beyond Bars, a program of Girls Scouts of America launched in 1992 to support girls whose mothers are incarcerated. “Through Girl Scouting, we make extra efforts to reach at-risk girls,” said Jackie Barnes in 2003, while she was interim chief executive of Girl Scouts of the USA. “We do not believe that residing in a detention center or having a mother who is incarcerated should stand in the way of these girls becoming all they can be. Our goal is to help all involved develop a strong sense of self-esteem and a positive outlook for the future.” Accompanying the Girls Scouts Beyond Bars troop were adult troop leaders with the program. “Our girls are very excited about the Culture Through Cuisine education and dinner experience,” said program manager Alexia Everett. To tap into some of that excitement I posed the girls a question at the start of the tour: When they heard the words “Chinese food,” what dishes came to mind? Cries of “egg rolls!” and “fried rice!” sprung out immediately from the crowd, and I confirmed that for consumers of Chinese food in the United States, these were two very common dishes they would encounter in a typical Chinese restaurant. But “Culture Through Cuisine” is not about the typical, just as these young women are not your typical Girl Scouts. We marched up and down aisle after aisle, smelling fresh ginger root, examining marinated tofu, giggling at chicken feet, and marveling at the shelf of dried noodle varieties that ran the length of the store. Once the tour moved on to our dining destination, Joy Palace, the Girl Scouts had worked up an appetite. After a crash course on chopsticks from Chang, of World Affairs Council, dinner was served. Joy Palace’s feast included an array of cold appetizers, potstickers, platters of salt/pepper squid, mountains of pea vines wok-fried with garlic, Kung Pao Chicken and deliciously warm and restorative congee as a final course. Congee, a silky rice porridge, is classic Chinese comfort food. Throughout the meal, I visited my new friends over at the Girl Scouts’ table to get their impressions of the meal. The adventurous J.J. Barksdale was the only Girl Scout to try the cold jellyfish appetizer. “I’m a spicy type of person so I liked the Kung Pao Chicken the best,” said Donyea Jones between sips of tea. “It’s very different than what we eat regularly,” said Kayosha Walton thoughtfully, as she reached for another helping of salt and pepper squid. The final word of the evening belonged to J.J.,
who in a sentence summed up my opinion of pea vines in garlic sauce,
“The greens are the bomb!”
Whether you're a student from Brazil or Seattle, it turns out some things are universal: a love of iPods, texting and junk food. The global youth culture is united on many fronts. But this week, six Brazilian students came to Seattle to share ways they are also different and exchange ideas about how to make improvements in their home cities and states. The students, who were selected from 3,000 applicants, met Tuesday with the Mayor's Youth Council as part of a whirlwind week that included taking classes at Roosevelt High School, volunteering with Earth Corps and squeezing in a field trip to Dick's hamburger joint. The other 29 students in the program are visiting Bozeman, Mont.; Charlotte, N.C.; Cleveland; Kalamazoo, Mich.; and Tulsa, Okla. "We are here to share our experience and learn and teach at the same time," said Marina Paula Carreira Rolim, 17, from Belem, near the mouth of the Amazon River in northern Brazil. "We have to make some changes (in our country) and realize what things are not working." The students, who were sponsored here through a joint U.S.- Brazilian embassy effort in conjunction with the World Affairs Council in Seattle, are all engaged in volunteer work in their home cities. They have, among other things, started recycling programs in their schools and taught English and health to younger children in their neighborhoods. Improving public education and growing concerns about the environment emerged as two primary issues for the youth representing Brazil. "I see in the U.S. you have very big cars," said Silas de Oliveira Coelho from Juiz de Fora, a city in the southeast region of Brazil. "In Brazil, we use biodiesel and ethanol. We are one of the leaders in renewable energy." Seattle student Lily Clifton, a junior at Nathan Hale High School who is on the Mayor's Youth Council, said the youth of Seattle shared many of the same worries, particularly surrounding the future of the environment and climate change. She shared with the Brazilian students how Seattle students work together on the council to suggest changes to the Mayor's Office, many of which are eventually implemented, she said. Whether the concerns are about gang violence, global warming or the fallout of domestic violence, the youth council solicits ideas from students and tries to come up with realistic solutions. In the past, for example, the youth council advocated for and successfully restored funding for some after-school youth programs, advocated for a one-stop emergency number for victims of domestic violence and put in their ideas about reshaping Seattle Center and its aging Fun Forest. The Brazilian students seemed especially impressed by the power of the youth voice in Seattle. "This program is a great chance for us to meet other leaders of our country," said Sao Paulo resident Clarissa Carmona, 18, of the exchange. "Alone, we don't have much power, but we all have been energized. Now we can talk to our authorities, so we can improve things in Brazil. Each one of us is going to try to make things better." Copyright ©1996-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Brazilian
youth ambassadors visit the UW This weekend the UW said a collective “bem-vindo” to our Brazilian neighbors. Six Brazilian high school students visited the UW Jan. 19 as part of their 2008 Youth Ambassadors Program, a two-week educational exchange to the United States to strengthen ties between the two countries. The Youth Ambassadors Program aims to give disadvantaged Brazilian high school students who demonstrate outstanding character, leadership, academic excellence and civic duty the opportunity to visit the United States and increase mutual understanding between the United States and Brazil, according to a World Affairs Council press release. After visiting the University, Youth Ambassador Marina Rolim, 17, said she plans to apply to the UW. “I like it so much,” Rolim said. “It doesn’t compare to Brazil. At the universities here, students have more opportunities and the resources are much better. In Brazil there’s one library for one university. It’s [a] big [library], but here it’s different because there are lots of libraries for each of the [schools].” While in Seattle, the students are attending Roosevelt High School and participating in many after-school activities, including meeting with the Mayor’s Youth Council, Earth Corps and the Bahia Street non-profit organization. The program offers the students, serving as ambassadors of their country, the chance to learn more about U.S. culture, society and education and to resolve any international misconceptions. On Saturday the students went on a tour of the UW campus, discussed the international community at the University with representatives of the Foundation for International Understanding Through Students (FIUTS) and attended the UW men’s basketball game against Oregon State, said Matt Potter, the program officer for the International Visitor Program at the World Affairs Council. The World Affairs Council had the students visit the UW “to get a look at college life in the U.S., to see how international students fit into the campus community and to get a sense of the role of the University in the greater Seattle community,” Potter wrote in an e-mail. Seattle is one of six host cities to participate in the program, which is coordinated by Delphi International, the U.S. Embassy in Brazil and the World Affairs Council in Seattle. “I
hope that they [came] away from the afternoon with a sense of the
collective pride that both UW students and Seattle residents have
in the University, a belief that they possess the knowledge and
abilities to attend a university like this and a greater understanding
of the U.S. system of higher education,” Potter said.
Readers Care: Rise n' Shine offers a refuge for children December 2, 2007 By DAN CATCHPOLE SPECIAL TO THE P-I Janet Trinkaus has a lot of children, hundreds of them. Maybe even a thousand. "We don't do numbers here. We're about heart," said Trinkaus, director and founder of Rise n' Shine. They aren't her biological children or adopted, but they might as well be for all the love and attention she has given them over the years. And the children can use all the love and attention they can get. AIDS/HIV has touched all of them. The disease has left some orphans or infected a close family member or themselves. Through a variety of programs, Rise n' Shine provides emotional support, advocacy and AIDS education for these children. The programs include mentors, a summer camp and support groups. "Rise n' Shine ... is unique in terms of the emotional support it provides to affected youth," said Terry Marsh, the group's program director. The group's unusual approach recently brought public-health professionals from 24 countries to its office in Seattle's Central Area. They came from Asia, Africa, South America, Central America and Europe as part of a program the World Affairs Council organized. "Back in Africa, we have a lot of children affected by HIV/AIDS. We'd like to share the experience that Rise n' Shine has with emotional support," explained Dr. MikaelTadesse, a pediatrician from Ethiopia. "I'm very interested in the psychosocial support they're giving," Tadesse said. Earlier he asked Trinkaus where the group's name came from. A friend suggested it when Trinkaus began the organization in 1988. "She asked me, 'Don't you want the kids to get up in the morning and be bright and shining despite having this dread illness?' " Trinkaus said. One of the group's clients, Kendra Seymour, 18, shared her experience with the visitors while on break from her job at Starbucks across the street. When Trinkaus introduced Seymour, she lovingly pulled the teenager close to her. Seymour, who came to the program when she was 4, gave an embarrassed smile, the same as a teenager might give a doting parent. The audience asked Seymour about growing up with society's ambivalent attitude toward HIV/AIDS and the cultural aspects of treatment. She told them about having to help raise her younger siblings when her parents and youngest sibling became infected with HIV, and how Rise n' Shine helped her grow up. One visitor asked her why she keeps coming back. "The love here, of course," Seymour said. "They don't disconnect from you. They'll stay with you as long as you need. They never give up on you." In addition to helping raise her siblings, Seymour is working a minimum-wage job, saving for college and trying to pay off $1,300 in debts from a car accident. "Her parents can't do this for her," Trinkaus said. "Her father is barely living. Without Rise n' Shine what would happen to Kendra?" After Seymour's break was over, and the meeting ended, some participants lingered talking to Trinkaus. One handed her a stack of bills. The visitors spontaneously donated $390 toward Seymour's debts. A touched Trinkaus embraced the visitors. The six charities that will benefit from this year's Readers Care Fund drive are: The Forgotten Children's Fund, New Futures, Northwest's Child, Renton Area Youth and Family Services, Rise n' Shine and Seattle Education Access. LEARN MORE Visit Rise n' Shine's Web site at risenshine.org. For
more than a quarter-century, Seattle P-I readers have donated generously
to the newspaper's annual Readers Care Fund, generating more than
$5.6 million for local charities. Today we feature another of the
six charities.
Zambia's president to speak at UW on trade, poverty, disease September 25, 2007 President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia will speak at Kane Hall at the University of Washington Monday at 7 p.m. Mwanawasa has made anti-corruption and development the hallmarks of his administration. He will address trade and investment opportunities in Zambia, the role of trade in building the Zambian economy, and issues such as how Zambia is fighting poverty and the spread of HIV/AIDS. The talk is part of the World Affairs Council's Global Leadership series. Admission is free for council members with pre-registration, $15 for nonmembers, $5 for college students with ID and free for high-school students with pre-registration. Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
Arizona Sen. John McCain speaks in Seattle at noon in what's being billed as a major foreign policy speech. He's appearing at a joint meeting of the Seattle City Club and the World Affairs Council. He's not yet an official candidate for president, but it must be getting close. Certainly the opposition is treating him as a candidate. State Democrats put out a release today saying "JOHN MCCAIN WORSE THAN GEORGE W. BUSH ON IRAQ." And a liberal D.C. group, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, has been promoting an on-line petition asking McCain to boycott the luncheon today because one of the co-sponsors is Seattle's Discovery Institute. The Discovery Institute has been instrumental in promoting intelligent design and it has become the group's most prominent and controversial cause. Discovery is one of 10 groups listed as "co-presenting organizations" for today's meeting. Others include the Municipal League of King County and the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. DefCon, as the group calls itself, says Discovery is "responsible for spearheading the religious right's war on science education." None
of our elected officials should lend credence to this organization,
especially a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation. And that clearly overstates Discovery's role in today's event. I don't think the lunch has anything to with intelligent design. But no one should be surprised that McCain will be unconcerned about a connection to the Discovery Institute. He supports teaching ID in schools, something even the Discovery Institute claims it's not interested in. He appears to also support teaching creationism in schools along with evolution. In 2005 McCain was asked about intelligent design during an editorial board interview with the Arizona Daily Star. You can find a video of this here at the paper's site. I watched it and made this transcript. Q:
Should intelligent design be taught in schools? Q: Does it belong in science? McCain: Well, there are enough scientists who believe that it does. I'm not a scientist. This is something that I think all points of view should be presented. We have never been exclusive in that.
In
the final question of the evening, an audience member asked McCain
to outline his stance on teaching evolution and creationism in schools.
The AP's Dave Ammons has the scoop today on Attorney General Rob McKenna's planned endorsement of McCain. "John
McCain is an impressive leader with a record of public service that's
beyond reproach," McKenna said. "He understands the difficult
challenges our country faces. He has the experience and fortitude
to bring people together for solutions we need." In 2004 Congressman Adam Smith did well by being the first member of Congress to endorse John Kerry. Even though Kerry lost, and his reputation has not recovered, I don't see that Smith has been hurt, and at the time he looked smart for having early on picked his party's nominee. Any Washington politicians signed up with any presidential candidates yet that I've missed? Let me know. UPDATE:
Adam Smith is an Obama backer. Smith spokesman Derrick Crowe Back to the Top
U.N.'s Blix: War wasn't justified Ex-arms inspection chief likens Bush team to 'witch hunters' April 28, 2004 By SAM SKOLNIK SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER Hans Blix, the former chief United Nations weapons inspector, castigated the Bush administration in a Seattle speech last night, saying its zeal to go to war despite a lack of credible evidence of weapons of mass destruction made it "rather like the witch hunters of previous centuries." Blix said President Bush and his top advisers willfully disregarded mounting evidence that such weapons no longer existed in Iraq. "Was it a war of necessity? In my view, no," Blix said to a capacity crowd at the University of Washington's Hogness Auditorium. "It's hard to see that a war debated for months could be a war of necessity." NOTE:
This article has been updated since it was originally published
in the newspaper. In his book and in his speech, Blix was critical both of Saddam Hussein, whom he termed last night a "brutal and bloody ruler," and of the governments of the United States and Britain, America's lead ally in the war. Blix used the metaphor of the Bush administration "putting a train on the rail," which steadily gathered momentum in 2002 and early 2003, as diplomacy was intentionally neglected. In his view, the war plans had been decided long before March 2003, when the U.S. troops invaded. "Regrettably, as evidence of weapons of mass destruction weakened, the train moved on," he said. Without the approval of the U.N. Security Council for it, Blix said, "I'm afraid I can see no justification for the invasion." Blix also expressed skepticism about the Iraqi government's years-long "cat and mouse" efforts to slow and block the work of the weapons inspectors -- whether or not any weapons still existed in the country. If the Iraqis had WMD still remaining in the last few years, "they should have been desperate to cooperate," he said. "Instead, they dragged their feet." Blix speculated that Iraq may have slowed the inspectors to show the Arab world that it was bravely and cannily resisting Western efforts to impose its will. He also said that Iraqi assertions that U.S. intelligence agencies had infiltrated the inspectors' ranks may have had some credence. Responding to disclosures in a new book by Bob Woodward, an assistant managing editor at The Washington Post, that some in the administration believed that Blix had lied to them about his efforts and discoveries, Blix said that "in retrospect, I do feel some resentment" about the accusation. Before the speech, much of the crowd appeared to be predisposed to support Blix's message. "It's been my impression that (war has) been an agenda of the administration, and that information to the contrary has been willingly disregarded," said Daniel Skaggs, a Seattle architect. Seung Jun Lee, a UW graduate student studying nuclear non-proliferation, said he believed Blix has acted as an honest broker. "I think he did everything he could do as a professional," said Lee. "He wasn't political." P-I
reporter Sam Skolnik can be reached at 206-448-8176 or samskolnik@seattlepi.com
Sharing Political Views Across the Globe September 2003 By Putnam Barber Municipal League of King County Several times a year, delegations of government officials, journalists, nonprofit organization leaders, and other citizens from foreign countries visit Seattle. Most often, they participate in cultural exchange tours organized by their own governments or the U.S. State Department. Staff working for the World Affairs Council here in Seattle organizes itineraries for these visitors that include meetings with elected officials, sightseeing, and often times, a conversation about the mission and programs of the Municipal League. Recently League members met visitors from Indonesia, Japan, Tajikistan, Holland, Australia, Thailand, and Tanzania. These visits are always interesting and the conversations are sometimes challenging. Our political institutions – and the roles played by the Municipal League and other public interest groups – often seem very extraordinary to visitors. Frequently, their view of the U.S. is incomplete and sometimes biased by media. Although most of the recent visits occurred with Trustees of the League, all League members are invited to participate. If you would like to be on a list to be notified when a visit is being scheduled, send an email to Put Barber, Chair, at chair@munileague.org or call the office. It’s not quite the same as a cruise on the QEII, but you will get a chance to talk serious politics with some people from across the globe.
The teachers, from rural Arusha, Tanzania, were participants of the Seattle-based World Affairs Council's Linking Lands program. The program aims to build relationships between indigenous areas, such as the village in southeast Africa, and places like the Puget Sound region. Through a $103,000 grant obtained by the World Affairs Council, the Tanzanian teachers stayed in the homes and worked in the classrooms of partner teachers in the Seattle School District for two weeks. The Tanzanians were to leave today. "It will help our students learn there's a world outside of Seattle and kids all over the world have the same goals and aspirations," said Daniel Docter, a host teacher from Hamilton International Middle School in Wallingford. In August, the Seattle teachers will travel to Tanzania, live with their counterparts — some of whom walk an hour to school each day. For the Tanzanians, the number of automobiles, televisions and computers here — and the rain — contributed to a definite culture shock. Mike Mollel, head teacher at Tanzania's Olchoki Primary School, who stayed with Docter, said the atmosphere at his school versus school here is completely different, but the goal of stressing the importance of education is the same. In Arusha, Mollel said, he's never had a class with fewer than 100 students. Technology is nonexistent, and money for classroom materials comes straight from teachers' pockets. Seattle students' flashy, creative wardrobes also have fascinated him. In Arusha, all students wear uniforms. Students in Tanzania are more considerate, standing whenever adults enter a room and thanking teachers for each lesson. Many students here take their teachers for granted, he said. "A teacher must be respected by his or her students," Mollel said. "He or she is the one who brought you up. Because of them, you can become a principal or a minister or anything. It's very important to honor your teacher." Docter, an 18-year teaching veteran, would like to introduce some of his most effective teaching techniques to the Tanzanians, who are more traditional in their studies. He'd like to show examples of cooperative learning and debate. "The next best thing to traveling to a place is doing a lot of hands-on things," he said. "I've found students learn more when they play parts, and when they debate and go back and forth they really learn the subject." Docter, who has visited Tanzania before, said his students could benefit from learning about Tanzanian values. "The people are so real. They don't have a lot to show off, and their genuine self comes out. They may not have had a lot, but they gave everything they had," Docter said. Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times CompanyBack to the Top
Monday, March 10, 2003 - 12:00 a.m. Pacific The six teachers who've come to the Seattle
Public Schools from Tanzania to learn how our system works also
can offer lessons about ourselves. The first lesson involves the
stark difference that exists between our schools and those in other
countries.
Telling all sides of the story isn't easy for al-Jazeera Arab-language TV finds all parties,
including the U.S., working on 'spin' Copyright © 2002, Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Reprinted with permission.
Mock U.N. takes on very real issues of the Mideast Saturday, April 6, 2002 |
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