I read this in yesterday's Globe, an op-ed piece by Jeff Jacoby about the push for universities to divest from fossil fuel stocks. He attempted to draw a long, rambling three paragraph analogy to botched executions. Two paragraphs into it I actually thought the paper had made a mistake and posted the wrong title. I know it's an op-ed, but wow, a three paragraph intro before you get to your main topic!

http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/columns/2014/05/13/fossil-free-isn-folly-free/j9GYKqitQMT5hUHKxkvNEI/story.html

High emotions?

When I shared my story about clergy sexual abuse last week in class, the question was raised if it was difficult to write about because I am Catholic. Was I too close to it? Was I too emotionally invested in it? The answer actually was no. Naturally, as with any story, I had to take a step (or sometimes two or three) back to look at the angle of the story, the people I was talking to, the questions I was asking and the way I was writing the story. I never felt driven by anger or anxiety. I was comfortable letting the story speak for itself. I believe that is the way it is supposed to be.

I was very intrigued by this topic, and I think that could have been a bit more of a distraction than emotional turmoil. I wanted to share about the process for handling cases in this diocese. As Jeremy can attest to in viewing the first draft, I was very caught up in the details. In that sense, I may actually have been too far removed from the emotional side of the story. In subsequent revisions, I have worked to bring in the empathy and more human side to the story. One piece of that I had hoped to include was the voice of a victim. Unfortunately, at this point, my resource for finding that person has fallen through. I have reached out to child services this week as well, so hopefully that will turn up today to avoid slanting the story and appearing to have that emotional problem.

Best of luck to you all on your final drafts!

Interviews: To prep or not to prep

[I apologize for the tardiness of the post.]

One of my struggles during this final project was preparing for interviews. I felt that the more questions I came up with, the better the interview went. (Granted, this is only based on around 10 interviews.) This simply could be that I devoted more time and thought to those particular interviews, or it could be that those people just liked to talk more.

Bulk questions is probably not the best way to go. I know it is a good rule of thumb to identify a small set of questions that need to be answered and then make the interview more of a conversation. This means really listening to what the interviewee is saying and asking questions based on their responses rather than simply reading down a list. This requires more thinking on the spot, and it probably helps to have a fuller picture of the story in your head. I think that can be hard sometimes. I did not know where exactly the story was going to go, or maybe I just did not know where it could go.

I wanted to ask the questions that no one was asking so I could write about what no one was writing about. It turns out that is harder than one might think.

Pasco, Wash. is considering a ban on public use of e-cigarettes - smoke 'em while you got 'em

Pasco, Wash. is considering a ban on the use of e-cigarettes in the same areas where tobacco is banned.  The article points to the fact that there are uncertain hazards associated with the use of e-cigarettes.  This is interesting in a state that allows the retail sale of up to 1 ounce of marijuana for those over the age of 21.  Although recreational use marijuana is legal, using in public carries a $100 fine.  At least state and local officials are considering the public with respect to all types of smoking.

Time to break out the Nicotrol patches!

Thoughts?

Link:

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/2014/05/13/2970797/pasco-to-consider-banning-e-cigarette.html?sp=/99/900/901/

Protect Members even if they are Criminals!

"Airbnb, the popular apartment-sharing service, won a legal standoff Tuesday when a state judge ruled that the company did not have to give up customer records as part of an investigation by the New York attorney general." 
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/technology/judge-quashes-new-york-subpoena-for-airbnb-records.html?_r=1

I am a member of Airbnb. I had awesome guests until two weeks ago, when a 20-year-old male guest took my credit card out of my wallet while I was cooking his last breakfast to book for the next stay through Airbnb. He also stole all the cash that was inside my wallet. To protect this thief's privacy, Airbnb could not give me or the police officer this guy's date of birth. I was kinda hoping that Airbnb will lose this battle, but it seems like I am the one that should decide whether or not I will continue opening my door to the strangers.

"Use of marijuana in e-cigarettes on the rise, police say"

"Police are warning the public - and parents in particular - over an increase in the use of marijuana oil in electronic cigarettes among high school students."

Very relevant to last night's class!

Check out the link:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Edmonton/ID/2455244755/

Russia Suprises Ukraine--Maybe

Neil MacFARQUHAR, "Putin Hits Pause in Ukraine Crisis Amid Skepticism, Intentions are Murky, A pledge to Draw Troops Back, and a Message to Separatists."

http://www.nytimes.com/images/2014/05/08/nytfrontpage/scannat.pdf

I suspect MacFARQUHAR understates the Ukraine crisis at times and on occasion eludes me, but never fails to teach.   A few examples follow from the article above revealing the beauty of the written word... and yes, analogies which can replace a thousand thoughts...

"... if this was just another of his [Putin's] judo-inspired feints."

"... heaving with violence..."

"..."black swans" refer to random, unexpected events with unforeseeable consequences."

"...stick Russia with a failed state..."

"Mr. Putin is known to loathe chaos..."

"...long, bloody and expensive slog, bruising the reputation he gained from annexing Crimea with virtually no blood shed."

"In Slovyansk, the ground zero of some of the toughest, most militarily experienced opposition to Kiev..."
  
Last Note:
 
MacFARQUHAR wrote, "First, there has been an increasing sense here, as elsewhere, that conditions in  Ukraine were rapidly approaching the situation in Yugoslavia in 1991, where the former Soviet satellite broke into pieces.  The violence among various factions was creating facts on the ground, they said, that nobody could predict or manage."

My brother-in-law emigrated from Ljubljana, Yugoslavia to the U.S. in the seventies.  Part of Yugoslavia became Slovenia in '89 to '91, during the breakup of the country.  Ciril has often told us at family gatherings, Slovenia had a bloodless revolution unlike the Serbs, Croats and Bosninaks.  A few people, he said, were thrown in jail in Slovenia and then released the next day.  The trouble makers were told to quit causing trouble with Slovenia, now a new country, and he claims, they behaved. I wish I had the time to research this more.  I do believe Ciril is knowledgeable and has integrity. 

Ukraine is a scary place for those living there now.  And Putin has tried to force a referendum--he claims he has withdrawn this recommendation--eastern Ukrainian leaders say, east Ukraine is not ready to align itself with Russia and wants to separate.

Putin says Russian troops are moving away from the border, but evidence does not support this--one battalion, it's reported by MacFARQUHAR, moved off, but not significantly from the Ukrainian border.

I was finally able to document through travel.state.gov, May 1st, Elana's statements two weeks before were true.  The U.S. Department of State is referring people who want to go home with their Ukrainian passport to verify Russia's new regulations.  A Russian visa is required to enter Crimea "by land, by air and sea."  Those holding Ukrainian passports will need to apply to return to their homeland.