What's New 16 October 2012

WHAT'S NEW   Robert L Park   Monday, 15 Oct 2012   Washington, DC

1. MALALA YOUSAFZAI: ALL SHE WANTED WAS TO GO TO SCHOOL.
The 14-year-old Pakistani girl, shot in the head point-blank and nearly=20=

killed by the Taliban for supporting education for girls, has been=20
transported to the UK for medical treatment.  Gordon Brown, former Prime=20=

Minister and U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education said in a statement=20=

today that he is launching a worldwide petition in support of Malala and=20=

every child in Pakistan to receive an education. In 2003 an arm of the=20=

Taliban imposed strict religious law in Pakistan, as it had in neighborin=
g=20
Afghanistan. Music was banned, and girls were forbidden to go to school.=20=


2. DEBATING THE DEBATE: WILL THEY TALK ABOUT THE 47% THIS TIME?=20
Who knows? The Debates are by now an accepted part of the Presidential=20=

selection process. However, the ground rules are reinvented for each=20
election. So what are we looking for in a President? Everyone has their o=
wn=20
list, which can include anything from the sanctity of life to eye color,=20=

religion and tax bracket. The big surprise in the first debate was Romney=
's=20
shift from the extreme right program he had been outlining for almost a=20=

year, to a more centrist view. The willingness of a candidate to=20
acknowledge he=92s been on the wrong path and make profound changes may b=
e=20
laudable, but what will Romney's position be tonight?  More importantly,=20=

what will his position be if he is elected president? He may be planning=20=

another position reversal for tonight's debate =96 or he may just keep hi=
s=20
plans secret.=20

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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