July 2006

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY . . .

Today, America celebrated it's 230th birthday!

(I wrote this late on the 4th so used the term "today", but it was not posted until July 5th!)

It was on July 4th 1776 that AMERICA was born with the signing of our Declaration of Independence from the rule of England. That was just the beginning of a most important effort, to bring forth a new, unique democratic form of government, "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It was not easy and required much work and effort to bring forth a country where freedom and liberty would be for all, that all men and women would have equal opportunity to live and worship as they please.

Americans come from all different countries. I have family members from England, Denmark, Wales and a great grandmother who was part Native American (Indian). Some of them have lived in America since it's beginning and I have a grandfather who came to America in 1914. We have many Americans from Chinese origin. Today, thousands of immigrants became American Citizens in special ceremonies across the country. This usually takes about five years, however, those who serve in our military can become citizens faster than that. The news noted tonight that applications for US citizenship have increased over 15% this last year.

Following this entry is an article I posted, entitled "FREEDOM IS A WONDERFUL THING" --- stories about real people who have recently immigrated to this country. I think you would find it interesting reading.

Ken (Smiley) and I have had a quiet celebration here in Logan. This morning we went to a traditional Boy Scout Breakfast (pancakes, eggs, ham and fried potatoes) along with our friends and neighbors. (For your information, Boy Scouts of America, is a youth development organization for boys and they learn lots of different skills. Each year on the 4th of July, our Scouts, hold this breakfast to raise money for their program, it helps pay for them to take camping trips, etc. My sons were involved in this when they were scouts and so we always support this effort.)

It was especially nice at the breakfast this morning to sit across the table from a couple that we had not seen for a couple of years. In fact we met them when we were taking a Chinese class at Utah State University the fall of 2001 after we had taught for a year in China. They met each other in the class and fell in love, married, finished college, worked in Washington, D.C. for a year, have a two year old little girl and are expecting another baby next month. It was sooooo fun to visit with them and find that they now live close to us.

We spent the rest of the day working around our place, eating some Chinese food, and watching some great American traditional programs on TV. Jason and his family, who currently are living in our home with us, are in Yellowstone for a five day vacation and all of our other children are living away. So it was just Ken and I here today and it was nice! Our daughter Kara living in Boston, which was a major place for much of the beginning of our country shared in some interesting celebrations. We watched some of it on TV. I'm posting an article for you to read about the different celebrations across America today .... it says that there were about 500,000 people watching the fireworks in Boston .... they were great on TV as well. It tells of other things happening in Boston that our daughter participated in ... read if you are interested.

Another TV program tonight was a special program from the Ford Theater in Washington, D.C. This was the theater where President Abraham Lincoln was shot and later died. It's still a theater today and has the original seats. There is a flag draped from the box where President Lincoln sat that night and no one ever sits there now, in honor of him. There is an interesting museum about his life in the basement of the theater. I've been there to the museum as well to see different theater productions or shows. It's a small and wonderful theater. Tonight the program ended with a reading of President's Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address (which is the MOST famous of all our presidents speeches) and with all the performers joining together to sing a very popular song, "God Bless America."

You may be interested in knowing that after Lincoln had given his short, simple speech at Gettysburg, he thought it was a failure, because people just got up and left. It had not been a long speech like the person before him. But a newspaper reporter asked for a copy of it. When it was printed, others read it and recognized the powerful, simple declaration of just was this country was all about. I had to memorize it when I was in school. Here it is,

Delivered at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln:

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that "all men are created equal"

"Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who died here, that the nation might live. This we may, in all propriety do. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow, this ground -- The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have hallowed it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here; while it can never forget what they did here.

"It is rather for us, the living, we here be dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that, from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here, gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve these dead shall not have died in vain; that the nation, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people by the people for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

I believe that challenge, from President Lincoln, should still be apart of the heart of each true American. We need to "dedicate our lives to the preserving and sharing of freedom" to all people of the world. God did not create America just for Americans, but to bless the lives of His children all over the globe. I hope that my efforts to be a good, honest citizen of my country and to help others were I can, will strengthen that effort. I'll share more later about a responsibility American citizens have, to serve on juries in our court system. I had that opportunity last January and it was a great experience.

I LOVE AMERICA ... Just as you love your country, I love mine. To share my LIFE and LOVE with you, I need to share my country with you as well ... I'll post more articles about America and Americans in the future. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA . . . I LOVE YOU!!!!

Miss Becky

P.S. Other events today, included North Korea shooting a missle toward America and America launched a Space Shuttle to go to the space station --- more about both these things in following articles.

Pride, Patriotism on Display on Fourth of July

Pride, patriotism on display on Fourth of July . . . Veterans, civilians turn out for parades and fireworks across the U.S.

Families sat down to picnics, attended parades, and crowded parks and rooftops to watch fireworks as the nation celebrated its 230th birthday Tuesday.

** More than 120,000 bursts of color, light and pyrotechnics filled the darkness as The New York Pops regaled crowds with a soundtrack of patriotic standards and original music charting America’s evolution.

** At Fort Bragg, N.C., home of the 82nd Airborne Division, President Bush offered thanks and encouragement to the troops. “You are serving our country at a time when our country needs you. And because of your courage, every day is Independence Day in America,” Bush told an estimated 3,500 service members at an outdoor speech.

** As many as 500,000 people gathered in Boston for a concert and fireworks extravaganza near the Charles River, state police estimated. (OUR DAUGHTER, KARA WAS THERE IN BOSTON TODAY!!!) Earlier Tuesday, the city began its celebration with a reading of the Declaration of Independence from a balcony at the Old State House, where townspeople first heard it more than two centuries ago. (KARA AND I VISITED THIS BUILDING WHEN I HELPED HER MOVE TO BOSTON LAST AUGUST.)

Weather dampens some parties

In many regions, the searing heat and near-drought conditions tamped down the celebration Tuesday.

** About 100 people were treated for heat exhaustion in Washington, D.C., after an Independence Day parade in humid, 90-degree weather near the Mall. Most of the patients were marchers, said Alan Etter, a spokesman for the District of Columbia fire and EMS Department. One was hospitalized.

** Because of the hot, dry weather in Mandan, N.D., fire trucks were held out of the July Fourth parade. "We don’t want to get hung up in a parade and can’t get out attend to a fire if one should start.. It’s just too risky,” said Mandan Rural Fire Chief Lynn Gustin.

** In Frostburg, Md., Floyd Wigfield, an 87-year-old veteran of the 1944 D-Day invasion, was among the estimated 1,200 veterans who lined up for a half-mile during a Fourth of July parade. “They’re celebrating all the veterans for years and years,” said Wigfield, who wore his green wool Army uniform despite the soaring heat.

** There also was quiet reflection during the long holiday weekend. In Yakima, Wash., a crowd of more than 200 people prayed quietly at the dedication late Monday of a war memorial honoring six soldiers and Marines with ties to the area who have died in Iraq.

Space Shuttle "Discovery" Launched on Fourth of July

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Discovery lifted off Tuesday on NASA's first Independence Day space shuttle launch — producing a swell of patriotism as well as some positive news about shuttle safety. (KEN AND I VISITED CAPE CANAVERNAL WHEN WE WERE IN FLORDIA SOME YEARS AGO AND SAW THE PLACE WHERE SPACE SHUTTLES ARE LAUNCHED. WE'VE ONLY SEEN THE LAUNCH OF A SPACE SHUTTLE ON TV, BUT EVEN THEN IT'S EXCITING!!!)

Discovery commander Steve Lindsey set the patriotic tone during the final minutes of the countdown, saying "I can't think of a better place to be on the Fourth of July."

After an on-time launch at 2:37:55 p.m. ET, the shuttle ascended on a pillar of fire and exhaust, arcing around a single cloud that passed over Kennedy Space Center.

Tuesday's sunny holiday weather came as a relief to launch managers, who had to postpone the launch on Saturday and Sunday due to threatening clouds.

"No, we did not plan to launch on the Fourth of July, but it sure did work out to be great to launch on Independence Day," shuttle program manager Wayne Hale told reporters. "Great nations dare great things, and take risks along the way, and I can think of no better way to explore the space frontier than the way we set out today."

Discovery's seven astronauts waved flags as they headed out to the launch pad. The six Americans carried the Stars and Stripes, while German astronaut Thomas Reiter held his country's tricolor flag.

Discovery's 12-day mission is aimed at testing safety modifications made since the shuttle's last flight, almost a year ago. The shuttle also will resupply the international space station, install new equipment on the station and leave Reiter behind as the station's third crew member.

Concern over flyaway foam

The day's celebratory air was capped by Hale's first assessment of the external fuel tank's performance — a review that was anxiously awaited, considering that foam loss from the tank during last year's launch led to a halt in shuttle flights until Tuesday.

More than 100 cameras followed Tuesday's launch from the ground, from the air and from the shuttle and tank itself — and NASA managers as well as journalists quickly started poring over the imagery.

"I think the thing performed very, very well indeed ... very pleased," Hale said at an evening review of the initial imagery. "As opposed to where we were last year, we saw nothing that gives us any kind of concern about the health of the crew or the vehicle."

He acknowledged that the performance wasn't flawless: Bits of foam insulation were seen flying off the tank five times, including one occasion when a piece that may be larger than NASA's standard may have touched the orbiter, he said. But every occasion occurred after the 135-second mark, too late to do significant damage to the orbiter. "The really good news is that it happened late," Hale said.

The performance of the foam has been a key concern for NASA since the 2003 Columbia tragedy, when the loss of the shuttle and its crew was blamed on damage done by tank-foam debris. The tank was redesigned for Discovery's flight last year, then redesigned a second time when cameras spotted potentially hazardous foam loss.

This is the first flight to test the twice-redesigned tank. NASA's chief engineer and top safety official argued that this month's flight should be postponed until still other areas of the tank, known as ice/frost ramps, were redesigned as well. But the agency's administrator, Mike Griffin, sided with other experts who advised moving ahead with the current test flight.

Hale said he thought that the long debate over the tank led to a "great decision process," and that the imagery gathered during this flight would lead to an even better design.

The imagery also cleared up a mysterious sighting: Astronaut Mike Fossum reported seeing what he thought was a 4- or 5-foot-long strip of blanket insulation floating off into space. But once Hale and other mission managers saw video of the "strip," they instantly recognized that it was an ice formation that had come off the nozzle of one of the shuttle's main engines.

"It's incredible to me, but I've seen it so I know it's true, that the space shuttle main engines that burn hydrogen and oxygen at 6,000 degrees on the inside can form frost on the outside, because we circulate liquid hydrogen to cool the outside of the nozzle," Hale said.

Ambitious agenda (agenda here means the plan for the mission)

Discovery's mission agenda is ambitious — so ambitious that NASA aims to add a 13th day to the flight. Among the highlights:

· Reiter will be dropped off to join the space station's current Expedition 13 crew members, NASA's Jeff Williams and Russia's Pavel Vinogradov. The move will make Reiter the first long-term crew member who is neither American nor Russian. "It adds, maybe, a little bit of internationality to the station," Reiter told NBC. His arrival will also mark the first time since 2003 that the station has had a crew of three. That additional crew time should also allow more science to be done on the station, he said.

· More than 2 1/2 tons of supplies will be delivered to the station, including an oxygen generator that will eventually allow the station's occupancy to rise to six crew members. Almost as much old equipment and trash will be unloaded from the station for return to Earth.

· Spacewalkers will repair a power-supply reel system for the station's robotic rail car, which was rendered essentially unusable last December when a cable was cut by accident. They'll also install a spare component for the station's cooling system.

· One spacewalk will be devoted to testing a technique for inspecting the shuttle's underside for damage even if the shuttle isn't docked to the station. Astronauts Piers Sellers and Mike Fossum will take turns standing at the end of a 50-foot-long (15-meter-long) orbital boom attached to the shuttle's 50-foot-long robotic arm, and practicing the moves that would have to be made for inspection and even repair.

· If the mission is extended by an extra day, as expected, yet another spacewalk would be devoted to testing tools that could be used for repairing the reinforced panels on the shuttle's most critical areas — the nose cone and the leading edges of the wings.

· The sensor-tipped orbital inspection boom will be used to check the tiles in orbit, as it was during last year's flight. The space station's crew will also conduct a high-resolution photo survey of the shuttle's tiles before Monday's scheduled docking, just like last time. But this time, a similar survey will be done just before and after undocking, to learn more about potential damage to the shuttle from micrometeoroids or orbital debris during flight.

By Alan Boyle, Science editor

North Korean Missile Fails on Fourth of July

N. Korea long-range missile fails in test launch

WASHINGTON - A defiant North Korea test-fired a long-range missile Wednesday that may be capable of reaching America, but it failed seconds after launch, U.S. officials said. The North Koreans also tested four shorter range missiles in an exercise the White House called “a provocation” but not an immediate threat.

Ignoring stern U.S. and Japanese warnings, the isolated communist nation carried out the audacious military tests even as the U.S. celebrated the Fourth of July and launched the space shuttle.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported as many as 10 missiles altogether may have been launched, but officials could not confirm that.

None of the missiles made it as far as Japan. The Japanese government said all landed in the Sea of Japan between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

Japan protested the tests and called for a U.N. Security Council meeting. “We will take stern measures,” said chief government spokesman Shinzo Abe, adding that sanctions were a possibility. He said the launch violated a longstanding moratorium, and that Tokyo was not given prior notification by Pyongyang.

The test firings, which are seen as a provocation by the United States and other nations trying to get North Korea to submit to a verifiable nuclear program, occurred as Americans were celebrating Independence Day.

The reclusive communist nation's action came after weeks of speculation that it was preparing to test its Taepodong 2 missile. The preparations prompted warnings from the United States and Japan, which had threatened possible economic sanctions in response.

“North Korea has gone ahead with the launch despite international protest,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said. “That is regrettable from the standpoint of Japan’s security, the stability of international society, and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”

The missiles all landed hundreds of miles away from Japan and there were no reports the missiles caused damage within Japanese territory, Abe said.

North Korea's arsenal . . . A look at some of North Korea’s missiles:—

TAEPODONG-2: Said to be North Korea’s most advanced missile, with a range of up to 9,320 miles. Experts estimate it could potentially hit the mainland United States with a small payload. However, the missile is unlikely to be accurate.—

TAEPODONG-1: North Korea is believed to have test-launched this long-range missile in August 1998. The second stage landed off Japan’s eastern coast. The missile has an estimated range of up to 1,800 miles.—

RODONG: As many as 200 Rodong missiles are in North Korea’s arsenal. With a range of about 620 miles, Japan is their most likely target. The missiles can be fired from mobile launchers.—

SCUD: North Korea reportedly has more than 600 Scud-type missiles that are relatively short-range and would potentially target South Korea.

It was not clear which launch was the long-range missile. The Japanese government was unable to confirm the report by U.S. officials that a Taepodong-2 was fired.

Han Song Ryol, deputy chief of North Korea’s mission to the U.N. in New York, told The Associated Press (American Newspaper) in a telephone interview: “We diplomats do not know what the military is doing.” North Korea’s missile program is based on Scud technology provided by the former Soviet Union or Egypt, according to American and South Korean officials. North Korea started its Rodong-1 missile project in the late 1980s and test-fired the missile for the first time in 1993.

FREEDOM IS A WONDERFUL THING

As told to David Oliver Relin

Published: July 2, 2006

As the debate over immigration policy continues, it’s easy to forget one simple fact: The United States is a nation of immigrants. On this Fourth of July weekend, we introduce you to four remarkable Americans. These men and women came here in pursuit of dreams known to many of our own families: freedom from political oppression, liberty to worship without government interference, and the economic opportunity for which the U.S. has long been known. Their stories remind us that the words engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty bear witness to a noble truth:

For the tired, the poor, the world’s huddled masses yearning to breathe free, America remains a powerful beacon of hope.

I CAME FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Ngawang Sangdrol, 27

Born: Lhasa, Tibet

Today: Student

Before I was born, the Chinese destroyed much of Tibetan culture. My parents sent me to a nunnery so I could study our Buddhist traditions, and when I was 13, I joined some people demonstrating for freedom of religion. All we did was chant “Long live the Dalai Lama” and “Free Tibet.”

The police tied a rope around my neck, lashed me to a tree and beat me. Then they put me in jail for nine months. I didn’t understand what I had done. Every Tibetan loves the Dalai Lama and wants the freedom to praise him. After my release, I joined another demonstration. This time I was sentenced to three years in Drapchi Prison.

We were beaten and forbidden from practicing Buddhism. One time, the guards kicked me in the head and beat me until I fell unconscious. Later, I heard that another nun had thrown herself on me, to save me. I had a good relationship with the other nuns there and, in one incident, five of them were killed by our torturers.

At one point, 14 of us secretly recorded songs praising the Dalai Lama and telling people of our suffering, then smuggled a tape out. We hoped our families would hear our voices and learn that we were alive. But the tape traveled the world, and people pressured China for our release. When the Chinese heard about it, they added six years to my sentence.

After 11 years in prison, I was sent home, and in 2003, I was offered asylum in the U.S. At first I was afraid to travel to such a foreign place, but freedom is wonderful—I can’t describe how wonderful. I live in New Jersey with two other nuns from the prison. We begin each day with prayer and have photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on our walls, which is forbidden in Tibet. I am studying English. It is my duty to speak well enough to explain how my country is suffering, to tell the world that Tibetans deserve freedom too.

I FLED GENOCIDE AND OPPRESSION

Jean-Marie Kamatali, 39

Born: Kamembe, Rwanda

Today: University professor

My whole life, I have tried to avoid politics. But in Rwanda, politics are impossible to escape. I was born in a village called Kamembe but moved to the capital because of my parents’ mixed marriage: My father is a Hutu, and my mother is a Tutsi. We thought we would be safer in Kigali.

I was a bright student, but mostly I was lucky. I am the first person in my family to receive a college education. After graduating with a law degree, I refused to work for the Hutu government. I never joined any political party, because I sensed the danger. But in April 1994, there was no escaping danger. It came right to our door.

That month, the Hutus declared a campaign of genocide against all Tutsis and moderate Hutus. The militia came and said, “We will kill you mixed people later this month. For now, bury your dead.” Each night they dumped bodies near our home, and my father and I had to bury them in mass graves. It was very traumatizing. While we buried the bodies, my father and I never said a word. What was there to say?

My parents slipped out and hid in a shipping container. I fled toward Congo—traveling by night, sleeping in ditches by day, until I was able to swim across the border. It was a long time before I learned that my parents had survived. But my mother’s entire family—my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins—was wiped out.

I traveled to Austria, where I met my wife and earned a doctorate in law. In 2002, an organization called the Scholar Rescue Fund helped bring me to America, and now we live in South Bend, Ind., with our three children. It is strange and wonderful to raise my children in such a safe place. Strange, because I still have dreams where people who died in Rwanda speak to me. I remember running for my life and sleeping in ditches, and I can’t believe my journey led here.

Now I teach courses on human rights. I tell my students that terrible things like genocide take place if people aren’t aware of what’s happening in the rest of the world. In America you can feel the freedom. You can breathe. When I returned from a conference in Europe recently, an immigration officer at the airport told me: “Welcome home.” I don’t know why it touched me so much. Maybe at that moment, after so much time running, I felt I had finally found a place to come home to.

MY PARENTS SOUGHT OPPORTUNITY

Srinija “Ninj” Srinivasan, 34

Born: Chandigarh, India

Today: Editor-in-chief of Yahoo!

Growing up in Kansas, (Kansas is one of the states in the middle of America)I got pretty used to people stumbling over my name. Then a volleyball coach nicknamed me “Ninj,” and it stuck. In some ways, my family was traditionally Indian. My parents had an arranged marriage. But my mother came from a very progressive family and was highly educated. My mom has always been a role model for me. She has an insatiable curiosity that I hope I inherited.

I was born in Chandigarh, India, but when I was 3 months old, we moved to Lawrence, where my father became a math professor at the University of Kansas. He wanted us to have every opportunity. Being Indian-American in Kansas made my family very close. We felt like “we’re all in this together.” I think that’s the reason I chose to work in an industry where everything is connected.

I followed my siblings to Stanford University. In college, I tried to figure out where I fit in American culture. I studied Japanese and spent six months in Japan. It was there I met Jerry Yang and David Filo.

In 1995, Jerry and David asked me to join them in a venture called Yahoo! We felt we were yahoos, because we didn’t really know what we were doing. But they had a vision of where the online world was going and asked me to organize the sorting system for a table of contents to the Internet. It’s not like we said, “We’re going to create a hierarchy for the sum total of human knowledge.” We just wanted to help bring the Internet to life. I think we’ve done that.

The Web has incredible power to bring the world together. I’ve tried to help provide people with the context to understand that information. And I think it’s fitting that a woman born in India, raised in Kansas and living in California is part of that process. I think Silicon Valley culture could only happen here. In a place where all of these people come together from everywhere on Earth, anything is possible.

WE ESCAPED EXTREME POVERTY

Dr. Erick Miranda, 30

Born: Morelos, Mexico

Today: Graduate of Harvard Medical School

I was born into extreme poverty. My parents lived in a shack in Morelos, Mexico. Whatever fish my dad caught was the food for the day. My grandparents were migrant workers. When I was 3 weeks old, my grandmother came to have a look at me. I was this little, malnourished thing, and she said, “He’s going to die if you stay here.” She took me across the border the next day, and my parents followed as soon as they could.

Technically, I was an illegal alien, but I felt like an American even before I became a citizen in 1995. Immigrant life for my parents was hard. My parents divorced when I was 4. My mom has been waiting tables at the same Mexican restaurant for 25 years. She didn’t even finish eighth grade. But she’s a wise woman who has devoted herself to giving her kids a chance at a better life. When I got to kindergarten, I couldn’t even speak English. But I learned quickly and, by second grade, something clicked and I took off.

I made it to college at U.C.-Irvine and got into every medical school I applied to. But when I got the letter from Harvard, I broke down and cried. My dream had come true! I have a profound sense of debt to this country.

In medical school, I ran a mentoring program for African-American and Latino kids in Boston. Now I’m back in L.A., doing my residency at the L.A. County/USC emergency medical center, which caters predominantly to poor blacks and Latinos. I can see the relief on people’s faces when they explain their problems to a Spanish-speaking doctor. Everyone who comes to America knows about the opportunity here. No matter where you come from or how poor you are, there is a path open to you here if you can navigate poverty’s obstacle course. I’m proof that the American Dream is alive and well.