Wall of silence broken at Minnesota Muslim public school

Full story (here).

Recently, I wrote about Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy (TIZA), a K-8 charter school in Inver Grove Heights. Charter schools are public schools and by law must not endorse or promote religion.

Evidence suggests, however, that TIZA is an Islamic school, funded by Minnesota taxpayers.

TIZA has many characteristics that suggest a religious school. It shares the headquarters building of the Muslim American Society of Minnesota, whose mission is "establishing Islam in Minnesota." The building also houses a mosque. TIZA's executive director, Asad Zaman, is a Muslim imam, or religious leader, and its sponsor is an organization called Islamic Relief.

Students pray daily, the cafeteria serves halal food - permissible under Islamic law -- and "Islamic Studies" is offered at the end of the school day.

Zaman maintains that TIZA is not a religious school. He declined, however, to allow me to visit the school to see for myself, "due to the hectic schedule for statewide testing." But after I e-mailed him that the Minnesota Department of Education had told me that testing would not begin for several weeks, Zaman did not respond -- even to urgent calls and e-mails seeking comment before my first column on TIZA.

Now, however, an eyewitness has stepped forward. Amanda Getz of Bloomington is a substitute teacher. She worked as a substitute in two fifth-grade classrooms at TIZA on Friday, March 14. Her experience suggests that school-sponsored religious activity plays an integral role at TIZA.

Olympic Torch Emits 5,500 Tons of CO2

Full story (here).

So when the torch isn't being marched through city streets and/or extinguished by protesters, how is it getting around? You guessed it, by plane -- an Air China A330 custom painted with the Olympic logo and color scheme. The A330 burns 5.4 gallons of fuel per mile. That translates into 462,400 gallons for the entire trip. With Earthlab estimating that every gallon of jet fuel burned produces 23.88 pounds of CO2, the Olympic Torch Relay is adding about 11 million pounds of carbon to the atmosphere. That's 5,500 tons.

London has a plan to ensure that the 2012 torch relay ends up carbon neutral, so we figured that Beijing must have one too, right? Sally Lu, the frazzled Olympic media relations rep that we reached in Beijing, says that if there is a plan to neutralize the torch-carrying jet's carbon emissions, she hasn't heard about it. But she thinks there is one. Probably.

Garden Grove SEAL awarded Medal of Honor

You might have missed this story. It was a busy day and stuff like this tends to get pushed aside for the "important" news.

Full story (here).

Dabbing her eyes and leaning against a somber President Bush, Sally Monsoor listened as the story of her son Michael's heroism was read to a silent East Room audience. Her husband, George Monsoor, stood by her side.

Moments later the president handed the Monsoors the Medal of Honor, the highest award the commander in chief can confer on a member of the military. The posthumous award was given to Monsoor for the Garden Grove SEAL's brave and selfless decision to protect others from a grenade's deadly explosion with his own body.

Monsoor is the second member of the Navy and the fourth member of the military to receive the Medal of Honor for outstanding acts of courage during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"America owes you a debt that can never be repaid," Bush said as the Monsoors fought back tears. They stood on a stage ringed in pink flowers before an audience of more than 200 soldiers, friends, family and lawmakers. At one point as the citation describing her son's bravery was being read, Sally Monsoor put her arm around Bush's waist as he comforted her.

After a prayer, Bush spoke about Monsoor as an asthmatic little boy who hated going to kindergarten and wore outfits that clashed. Then he spoke about him as a man who grew up to be a hero.

Climate change leads to psychiatric illness: WHO

You can't make this stuff up!

Full story (here).

Establishing a link between climate change and mental health, the World Health Organisation has said extreme weather conditions like floods, droughts and natural calamities can lead to psychiatric illnesses.

"Psychosocial illnesses are a part of the various health issues associated with climate change," Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Deputy Regional Director, WHO, said.

Anticipating that severe flooding may become more frequent due to global warming, a WHO report said that independent studies in cyclone-affected Orissa and a flooded town in England has shown that post-traumatic stress disorder syndromes of different severity in affected people even after an year.

Another area is the mental health impact of drought, a likely sequence of climate change. Drought affected farmers can undergo severe mental agony due to financial hardship from increased debt, it said.

It is difficult for farmers to plan for crops, stocking, improvements, breeding and succession. This affects other businesses, limiting their ability to expand and employ staff.

Drought affects family relationships also leading to stress, worry and an increase in the rate of suicides. It can also lead to isolation and increased workload as fewer workers take on more work, partners move off the farm for additional income or for school needs and families can no longer afford social support.

(Video) MTV: The Holocaust is Coming to America

I finally understand why my mother didn't want me to watch MTV.

(Video) Special Operations Firefight in Iraq

This is, hands down, the most intense combat footage I have seen from Iraq.

Note: there is nothing bloody or graphic.

Global temperatures 'to decrease'

Full article (here).

Global temperatures this year will be lower than in 2007 due to the cooling effect of the La Nina current in the Pacific, UN meteorologists have said.

The World Meteorological Organisation's secretary-general, Michel Jarraud, told the BBC it was likely that La Nina would continue into the summer.

This would mean global temperatures have not risen since 1998, prompting some to question climate change theory.