Tag Archives: floods

Bringing American Music to Belarus / A Leader in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS

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A New York professor takes American music to Belarus. A doctor in Kenya is having some success in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Live from COP-16, climate change webcasts. The stakes are high in the global fight against corruption. Looking for information on Iran? Try the Encyclopaedia Iranica. Since last year, the number of partnerships between American and Russian universities has nearly doubled. And finally, learn what a group of students did to raise awareness and money for flood victims in Pakistan.
 

American Music in Belarus
New York choral conductor, baritone, and music professor Ira Spaulding has traveled to over 55 countries, spreading a passion and appreciation for American jazz and traditional American Negro spiritual songs. Recently returned from a concert and teaching tour to Belarus, Spaulding called his latest visit a “truly wonderful experience.” At right, Spaulding performs with the State Chamber Choir of Belarus in Minsk.
 
 

The Fight Against HIV/AIDS
Dr. Frederick Sawe is deputy director of the Kenya Medical Research Institute/Walter Reed Project HIV Program, a prevention, research and treatment project run jointly by his home country of Kenya and the U.S. military’s international HIV program. Reaed about his success.

Webcasts: Cop-16, Climate Change
Through its webcasts, CO.NX is providing you access to dozens of live, 90-minute programs taking place at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP-16. Programs — hosted at the U.S. Center at COP-16 in Cancun, Mexico — run from November 29 through December 10.

A Global Effort Against Corruption
Officials attending major international gatherings have vowed to turn anti-corruption commitments into action as the stakes in the global fight against bribery, graft and embezzlement have grown greater.

Iranica: An Online Encyclopedia
Encyclopedias have been around for 2,000 years, but websites like the online Encyclopaedia Iranica are reinventing them. With Encyclopaedia Iranica, the reader can click on any of hundreds of featured entries that pop up randomly on the online version’s home page and also jump from one article to another with a click.

U.S.-Russia University Ties
Since the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission was formed by Presidents Obama and Medvedev in July, 2009, the number of partnerships between American and Russian universities has nearly doubled.

Flags for Flood Awareness
To increase awareness of conditions in Pakistan and encourage support for its 160 Pakistani alumni, Plymouth State University student leaders covered the New Hampshire campus lawn with 25,000 neon green flags, each representing 800 persons displaced by flooding. They call the display the “Flood of Flags” and it helped raise more than $3,000 for flood relief. At left, student leaders Bryan Funk (left) and Sam Wisel (right) were among the organizers.

Obama commemorates Pakistan’s Independence Day, pledges flood recovery support

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Workers help to unload a U.S. helicopter

Workers help to unload a U.S. helicopter


President Obama’s remarks last week commemorated the 63 years that Pakistan has been an independent nation. However, his words were particularly significant in the wake of the ongoing crisis due to catastrophic flooding in the country. The administration recently committed additional aid to Pakistan, to help it deal with the harsh effects that heavy monsoon rains are having in the region. The U.S. has allocated $35 million, in addition to the $7.5 million pledged previously, to provide assistance to those suffering from the effects of the flooding. The official White House statement on the relief aid contains more information on the efforts the U.S. is making to help Pakistan.

“The people of America stand with the people of Pakistan through this difficult time and will continue to urge the international community to increase their support and assistance,” said Obama. “We will remain committed to helping Pakistan and will work side by side with you and the international community toward a recovery that brings back the dynamic vitality of your nation.”

Take a look at the White House blog for information on how you can help Pakistan’s recovery efforts. Our thoughts go out to those suffering because of this disaster!

Obama tells New Orleans “we will not forget you”

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Yesterday was not President Obama’s first visit to New Orleans after the devastation from Hurricane Katrina, but it was his first time as the head of federal agencies, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security who came under criticism for their response in the immediate aftermath of the crisis.

At a town hall meeting at the University of New Orleans, the president acknowledged that the U.S. federal government “wasn’t adequately prepared and we didn’t adequately respond” in late August 2005, and there is still “a long way to go” towards a full recovery. “There are sewers and roads still to repair. There are houses and hospitals still vacant. There are schools and neighborhoods still waiting to thrive once more,” he said.

But progress has been made in getting more federal assistance to the city, reducing the number of residents living in emergency housing, and moving forward on stalled infrastructure, education and health projects, he said, and the Recovery Act has “put thousands of Gulf Coast residents back to work.”

“We will not forget about New Orleans,” he promised. “[T]here are too many folks out there who are having a tough time — to get tired,” and who are still working hard to rebuild their unique community.

“The story of this city’s resilience begins with all the men and women who refused to give up on their homes; who stayed to clean up and rebuild — not just their own homes or their own yards or their own lives, but their neighbors’, too,” he said.

The people of New Orleans “have reminded the rest of America what it means to persevere in the face of tragedy, to rebuild in the face of ruin,” Obama said.

Day 67: President turns attention, resources to natural disaster

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flooding in North Dakota

“Even as we face an economic crisis which demands our constant focus, forces of nature can also intervene in ways that create other crises to which we must respond, and respond urgently,” President Obama said March 28 in his weekly video address.

The president was speaking about major floods in North Dakota and Minnesota. Rising river levels have damaged homes and buildings in several towns.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is coordinating the federal government’s assistance, Obama said. “But we are also reminded of the power of individuals to make a difference,” in disasters like this, the president said.

Thousands of volunteers, including many college students on spring break, have come to help those impacted by the floods. “Their service isn’t just inspirational – it’s integral to our response,” Obama said.

“It’s also a reminder of what we can achieve when Americans come together to serve their communities.”

A video of the president’s address is available on the White House Web site.