^how i feel when I see Ron Paul’s tweets. I am a active, practicing Christian. Still . . .
Essie Mae Washington Williams Dies
Essie Mae Washington Williams, the child Senator Strom Thurmond refused to publicly acknowledge his entire adult life, has passed away.
Williams died Monday morning in Columbia at the age of 87, News19 has confirmed.
In December of 2003, Williams shocked the political world when she revealed that she was the daughter of the late senator. Her announcement came six months after his death.
Williams’ mother worked as a maid for the senator’s family in Edgefield County during the 1920s, and the two had a relationship that led to him fathering the child. Her mother was just 16 at the time.
On Rosa Parks’ 100th Birthday, Recalling Her Rebellious Life Before and After the Montgomery Bus
Born on Feb. 4, 1913, today would have been Rosa Parks’ 100th birthday. On Dec. 1, 1955, Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her act of resistance led to a 13-month boycott of the Montgomery bus system that would help spark the civil rights movement. Today we spend the hour looking at Rosa Parks’ life with historian Jeanne Theoharis, author of the new book, “The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks.” Often described as a tired seamstress, no troublemaker, Parks was in fact a dedicated civil rights activist involved with the movement long before and after her historic action on the Montgomery bus. “Here we have, in many ways, one of the most famous Americans of the 20th century, and yet treated just like a sort of children’s book hero,” Theoharis says. “We diminish her legacy by making it about a single day, a single act, as opposed to the rich and lifelong history of resistance that was actually who Rosa Parks was.” We also air audio of Rosa Parks in her own words. In the midst of the boycott in April of 1956, she spoke to Pacifica Radio about the action she took.
Just like Myrlie Ever-Williams, there was not one event that defined Ms. Parks life. Both of these women did both brave and ordinary things before and after their famous moments. By only looking at the famous spots, we dismiss the rest of their lives unfairly. And remember, each of us is a complex person.
Cambodia’s final farewell to a mercurial king
Cambodians have bid goodbye with tears, chanting and fireworks to their former King Norodom Sihanouk, who led them through half a century of political tumult that took them into the abyss of genocidal Khmer Rouge rule and back out again.
Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians thronged the capital on Monday for the elaborate royal cremation of the maddening mercurial leader whose charm often overshadowed missteps that to most of his countrymen have faded away in a fog of nostalgia for a simpler time.
Sihanouk’s elaborate funeral rites … may never be seen again.
Sihanouk’s elaborate funeral rites – mingling Hindu, Buddhist and animist traditions – were last seen 53 years ago with the death of his father, King Norodom Suramarit. And they may never be seen again in a rapidly modernising country where the monarchy has lost much of its power and glamour.
I urge you to click through, or right-click on the link, and see the video and photos. Thailand has a very old king also.
U.S. businesses concerned over China market barriers
A U.S. business group voiced concern Monday over market access barriers in China, which it said likely contributed to a drop in foreign investment there last year.
The U.S.-China Business Council’s president, John Frisbie, said that in a recent survey of its 230 member companies, nearly 10 percent of respondents reported that they had stopped or delayed a planned investment in China because of foreign ownership restrictions.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, is recovering from its own downturn. It reported last month that its foreign investment inflows from all sources fell 4 percent in 2012 compared with 2011.
“I think the decline in foreign direct investment that China saw last year in part reflects the investment barriers,” Frisbie said in a briefing to journalists after a visit to China. He added that those obstacles were a more predominant reason than the uncertain global economic environment for U.S. businesses withholding investment.
According to China’s official investment catalog, there are ownership restrictions in nearly 100 sectors, including financial services, agriculture, cloud computing, health insurance and hospitals, refining and petrochemicals and energy-intensive industries.
Your China story, and to show I do look at business news.
Lawmakers kill climate change bill
The words “climate change” won’t be added to Utah law, as HB77 would have directed. But supporters of the bill didn’t leave a Capitol hearing room Monday totally defeated.
For the first time in the Legislature’s history, it was people concerned about the impact of rapid global warming who held the floor for most of the two hours of sometimes emotional, sometimes fact-packed discussion before members of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment voted, 11-4, to kill the bill.
“This discussion is not going away – however long you are going to serve in the Legislature, representatives, it is not going to go away,” promised sponsoring Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, who described it as a priority for his Republican constituents and a problem he’s not exactly sure how to solve.
I followed the live-tweeting, and there was some hope for a short while. Then someone said “the science is mixed, then the State Forester said the bill wasn’t necessary, then someone tried to take out “climate change” and put in “federal mismanagement of public lands” and it was all downhill after that. But hey, at least it had a hearing. I guess.
Nacho Lasagna Buzzfeed’s spelling, not mine. Recommended via a tweet from a knitting friend.
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