Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Monday addressed an audience of more than 300 in Washington, DC, on the virtues of fatherhood and the limits of government promoting it.

Obama spoke at THEARC, the Town Hall Education Arts & Recreation Campus, declaring the time ripe for “a new conversation around fatherhood in this country.”

Obama most of the time uses his own life and this time was no different as the president borrowed heavily from his own experiences with his father and his children.

Obama shared on the meaning of having a child, saying that “to have a child is to have your heart walking around outside your body.”

On the subject of his father’s absence in his life, Obama said: “While I was lucky to have a wonderful mother and loving grandparents … I still felt the weight of that absence. It is something that leaves a hole in a child’s life that no government can fill.”


Obama reiterated his pledge to be a good father, sharing an experience of driving home from the hospital after the birth of a child: “It is unadulterated joy and sheer terror. I made a pledge that day to give my child everything I could that I didn’t have. If I could be anything in life I would be a good father.”


With the pressures of presidency, Obama noted, “I have made plenty of mistakes as a parent. I have lost count all the times when the demands of work have taken me away from the responsibility of fatherhood … (there are) moments I will never get back. And that’s a hard feeling to accept.” 


He unveiled a new nationwide fatherhood and mentoring initiative that would promote responsible parenting on a host of fronts, specifically bettering job training services and domestic violence prevention, helping fathers fulfill child support payments and re-engaging out-of-touch parents in their children’s lives.

The president outlined a new program being overseen by the Attorney General’s office that would create “fatherhood reentry courts for ex-offender dads” that would help fathers leaving the criminal justice system reenter society.



Secretaries Timothy Geithner and Gary Locke were in attendance as well as Attorney General Eric Holder. In addition, Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty were also on the stage. 



THEARC is part of a revitalization project in Anacostia officially opened in October 2005 and was the winner of the Urban Land Institute’s Award for Excellence in May 2007.

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The ballot results released on Tuesday said 92 percent of NUT members and 83 percent of ATL members favored a job walk-off.

The two unions are the largest teachers’ unions in the country. The tutors’ industrial action is expected to affect up to 23,000 state schools and other fee-paying schools with NUT and ATL members.

The teachers, however, are not the only ones participating in a massive nationwide strike over changes in Britain’s pension system. Other public sector unions are slated to hold strike votes to support the protest.

Although the June 30 strikes would be the first time that tutors would have struck nationally, teachers had walked off their jobs locally to protest plans by Education Secretary Michael Gove to convert schools into academies. The unions are against the conversion because the move would disrupt collective bargaining over pay and conditions because it would grant schools more autonomy.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The United States would lead the world in college graduates by the end of this decade according to the pledges made by the top executive of the country on Wednesday at a manufacturing plant in Alexandria, Virginia.

Addressing an audience at Alexandria campus of the “Northern Virginia Community College,” during an event promoting the program, “Skills for America’s Future Manufacturing,” President Barack Obama touched upon ways aimed at enhancing skills through training workers and investing in research and technology to give the U.S. an edge in competing with other countries.

Citing a student named David, President Obama emphasized the importance of the facility said, “David said whatever he ends up doing, the automotive training program here was “the spark (he) needed to get (his) career started.”

“We’ve got to light more sparks all across America, and that’s going to make a difference in the futures of individuals who are looking for a better life, but it’s also going to make a difference in America’s future,” Obama continued.

Setting a goal “that by the end of this decade, we are going to once again lead the world in producing college graduates,” President Obama said, “To achieve that, we’re making college more affordable and we’re investing in community colleges.”

With unemployment figures still hovering at uncomfortable levels and economy sluggish in recovery, Obama balanced his words saying, “Obviously we’re slowly recovering from a very painful recession … But there are too many people out there still out of work.”

According to the White House officials, the latest program aims to train half a million community college students for manufacturing jobs over the next five years, which would help offset the gap left by the 2.7 million older workers who will be retiring in the next decade or so.

On a lighter vein, Obama explained his rolled-up shirt sleeves, saying, “My sleeves are rolled up. I was getting under the hood (to repair cars).”

Amid laughter, the president asked, “Do you guys want me to work on your car?” adding, “Don’t do it,” with more laughter breaking out among the audience.

Earlier before addressing the audience of more than 100 people, President Obama wearing button- down shirt with the cuffs rolled up, no jacket, light blue tie, gray pants, visited a classroom calling out, “Hello, hey everybody, what’s going on?” as he entered.

President made it a point to ask each students name and then had conversation with instructor Packer, who said it is the 5th semester of doing program.

From the classroom, the president moved to a garage where a half dozen people waited with cars with hoods propped open.

After the instructor had noted that the facility was a hybrid repair class, President Obama told the accompanying journalists, “This facility here at NOVA is one of the few that provides that kind of training.”

“This is going to be the future so you guys are on the cutting edge,” the president told students, adding as he was leaving, “You guys are doing great work, keep it up.”

Obama administration officials have confirmed that the National Association of Manufacturers is now backing the program, “Skills for America’s Future Manufacturing.”

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – According to a report released Wednesday, minority children spend an average of 13 hours a day using mobile devices, computers, TVs and other media. The figures cataloging how long they are plugged in mark about 4½ hours more than white kids.

The findings compiled by Northwestern University researchers and based on an analysis of two separate Kaiser Family Foundation surveys were presented to childhood and telecommunications experts in Washington, D.C.

Researchers analyzed that data to find out how black, Hispanic, Asian American and white youth use media for homework and for fun, and how long they’re plugged in on any given day.

Among 8- to 18-year-olds, Asian Americans logged the most media use with 13 hours, 13 minutes a day. Next came Hispanics with 13 hours, African Americans logged 12 hours, 59 minutes and whites garnered 8 hours, 36 minutes.

It remains unclear exactly why the racial disparity exists, however some experts believe children may turn to media if they feel their neighborhoods lack safe places to play or if their parents have especially demanding jobs that prevent engagement.

Based on the findings compared with white children, minority youth:

• Watch TV and videos one to two hours more a day;
• Listen to music about an hour more a day;
• Use computers about 1½ hours more a day;
• Play video games 30 to 40 minutes longer a day.

Black (84 percent) and Hispanic kids (77 percent) also are more likely to have TVs in their bedrooms and to eat meals in front of the TV, the study reported.

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Manila, Philippines (AHN) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has signed a law ending excessive, unreasonable and unnecessary salaries and bonuses for officials and employees of government-owned corporations and banks.

The Government-Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011 signed Monday also limits the terms of GOCC officials to one year and creates a governance commission for GOCCs that will change the compensation and remuneration system for such institutions.

The law further provides that GOCCs maintain a website indicating its audited financial statements, budget and compensation package.

The law covers 140 state-run corporations. Excluded from coverage are the central bank, state universities and colleges, cooperatives, local water districts and research institutions.

The law was conceived in response to excesses of GOCC officials. For example, board members of the Government Service and Insurance System, which manages the pension fund for state workers, were paid $138,776 or 6 million pesos annually and they only attend two board meetings a month.

At the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, executives and employees receive up to 25 months’ bonus.

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Manila, Philippines (AHN) – A migrants group urged the Philippine government to prepare the evacuation of Filipino workers in Kuwait in case a political turmoil erupts in the emirate similar to what is happening in Libya, Syria and Yemen.

Migrante-Middle East spokesman John Leonard Monterona said the evacuation plan must be set early because it takes time to process the repatriation of thousands of Filipino workers in Kuwait. There are about 50,000 Filipinos working in Kuwait half of whom are household helpers, according to Monterona.

From the experience of the Philippine embassies in Syria and Yemen, the permission of employers to let workers leave must be sought to obtain exit clearance, which is required by the government before foreign workers can leave the country.

Coordination with airlines and government agencies is also required to arrange the travel papers of Filipinos and their flight going to the Philippines.

Some 5,000 Kuwaitis staged a demonstration in front of the parliament in the capital Kuwait City on Friday and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah.

The demonstrators also called on the Emir of Kuwait, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to dismiss the cabinet for alleged corruption.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The latest US employment report revealed a major slowdown in the number of jobs created in May with the economy only adding 54,000 jobs to payrolls, not even enough to keep up with growth in the workforce.

It was a sharp contrast to April when the economy added 232,000 jobs added to payrolls, according to the US Department of Labor report released Friday.

However, even the April figures were not much help in bringing down the high unemployment rates created by the recession that officially ended in June 2009.

That is because economists say the nation needs to create around 200,000 jobs each month just to keep up with new people entering the labor force for the first time. But job creation has not picked up and new graduates are having a trouble getting their first job.

To put the nation’s unemployed back to work would require consistently creating more than 200,000 jobs monthly for a decade or more.

The disappointing creation of only 54,000 non-farm jobs basically left unchanged the unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and the number of people unemployed at around 13.9 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

It also left the percentage of working-age Americans who have either a part- or full-time job unchanged at 64.2 percent for the fifth consecutive month. Before the recession at least 89 percent, or more, of all working-age Americans had a job.

Long-term unemployment rates, defined as those who were jobless for 27 weeks or more, increased by 361,000 to 6.2 million. In addition, their share of the unemployed increased to 45.1 percent.

Unemployment rates among major worker groups were:

• adult men (8.9 percent)
• adult women (8.0 percent)
• teenagers (24.2 percent)
• whites (8.0 percent)
• blacks (16.2 percent)
• Hispanics (11.9 percent)

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New Haven, CT, United States (AHN) – The man who admitted to killing a gradaute student in 2009 while working as a Yale University lab technician was set to be sentenced on Friday.

Raymond Clark, 26, was facing 44 years in prison under a plea agreement he accepted last March. He was convicted of murdering Annie Le, a pharmacology doctoral student at the university.

Under the plea deal, Clark also admitted to sexual assault under the Alford Doctrine, which meant he agreed that there was sufficient evidence for him to be convicted of the charge. He admitted guilt as prosecutors released evidence indicating Le may have been sexually assaulted.

Family members of Le, who was a San Jose, CA native of Vietnamese descent, were to speak at the sentencing.

Le was last seen on surveillance video in the morning of Sept. 8, 2009, entering the university’s Animal Research Center in the medical school complex, where Clark took care of animals. Her body was found in a wall in the basement of the laboratory five days later, on the day of her wedding.

Clark, who worked at the lab for five years, was later arrested at a motel in Cromwell, CT and held on $3 million bond.

Le’s death received national attention and left the New Haven university deeply shaken. Yale later updated its workplace violence prevention policy and established a fellowship in Le’s honor.

Investigators said the 24-year-old Le died of strangulation. They found several items in the lab that led them to arrest Clark, who had nothing in his employment history at the campus that “gave an indication that his involvement in such a crime might be possible,” Yale University President Richard Levin had said in message to the campus community after the tragedy.

The evidence included blood stains on a white sock found inside a drop ceiling located in a secure area of the lab that contained both Clark and Le’s DNA. The single sock matched a sock found in the crevice where Le’s body’s was stuffed.

In addition, there was a pair of Vikings work boots with blood-like stains and “Ray-C” written on them. Police found a green pen under Le’s body which contained DNA from both Clark and the victim. The pen is believed to be the same one Clark used to sign task sheets, using the initials “RC,” while working.

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