Study of the Day: Milk Increases the Risk for Prostate Cancer

A genetic allele associated with high calcium absorption that is most common among African-American men is proving troublesome




PROBLEM: According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 240,000 American men are diagnosed annually with prostate cancer. The statistics are worse for African-Americans, as this ailment is reportedly 36 percent more prevalent among them than among non-Hispanic whites. High dietary intake of calcium has also been linked to this disease but it's unclear why this is so.

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METHODOLOGY: Researchers studied 783 African-American men living in the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas, about two-thirds of whom were diagnosed with prostate cancer. They looked into the effects of genotype, calcium intake, and diet-gene interactions. More precisely, the team targeted a genetic allele associated with calcium absorption that is most common among populations of African origin.
RESULTS: Participants who reported the highest calcium intake were two times more likely to have localized and advanced prostate cancer than those who reported the lowest. On the other hand, men with a genotype associated with poor calcium absorption were almost 60 percent less likely to have been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer than men who genetically were the best absorbers of calcium. Moreover, among men with calcium intake below the average, poor calcium absorbers had a 50 percent decreased risk of having advanced prostate cancer than the best absorbers.
CONCLUSION: A diet high in calcium may cause prostate cancer among African-American men who are predisposed to absorbing this mineral especially well.
SOURCE: The full study, "Calcium Intake and Prostate Cancer Among African Americans: Effect Modification by Vitamin D Receptor Calcium Absorption Genotype," is published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.

Nation's First Black Marines Get Congressional Honor

Huma Khan

United States Marine Corps/AP Photo

When the Rev. Norflette Mersier became a  U.S. Marine, it was not so easy. His mother feared he would get killed in battle. His commanders would not let him go see his wife when he was picked for overseas duty. But perhaps the biggest obstacle Mersier faced was the rampant racism that existed when he joined the Marines in 1942.
Mersier is one of the roughly 19,000 black Marines who trained at Montford Point Camp, a facility set up specifically for blacks after President Roosevelt desegregated the Marine Corps. Based in Camp Lejune, N.C., the camp was established the same year Norflette joined the Marines, at the height of segregation.
“There was always a racial slur being thrown at us, because we had a white instructor,” Mersier, 87, recalls. And black Marines often “felt that people were taking advantage of us.”
The Montford Point Camp has received little attention. But today, 62 years after the camp closed, black Marines like Mersier were honored by Congress. The U.S. House of Representatives granted the nation’s highest civilian honor, the congressional gold medal, to Montford Point Marines, with a unanimous vote.
“I had to somewhat hold back tears. It’s a long time coming. … Something you look forward to, wonder if you are going to make to live long enough to see it,” says retired Sgt. Ruben McNair, 86, who came to Washington, D.C., today to attend  the historic event.
House members gave a standing ovation to the Montford Point Marines, saluting them for their service to the country.
“Negro marines are no longer on trial, they are Marines,” said Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-Mo.
At the height of World War II, about 75 percent of Montford Point trainees served overseas,  but the racism went beyond U.S. borders, Mersier says.
When they were deployed to Okinawa, the 2,000 black Marines who served there were rarely called for physical fighting. Instead they were used mainly to bring supplies in, he recalls.
At home, the mental abuse of segregation was exacerbated by physical abuse.
“Our DI’s [drill instructors] were at liberty to do anything they chose to do to us except break our legs,” he recalls. “They had no restrictions at all. They were very hard on us. We got kicked. We got slapped. We couldn’t do anything except say ‘Yes, sir’ and accept it.”
The black Marines were also not allowed to visit neighboring Camp Lejeune unless they were with a white officer, or eat meals with their white counterparts.
The racism and physical hardship was so unchecked that retired Sgt. Earl Evans, Jr. says he felt safer on the battlefield in Korea than he did at home.
Montford Point was deactivated in 1949 after President Truman issued an executive order barring segregation. In 1974, it was renamed Camp Johnson after one of its trainees, Sgt. Major Gilbert “Hashmark” Johnson.
The push for today’s congressional honor was spearheaded by Commandant Gen. James Amos, who took over his position in 2010. Amos has openly acknowledged that the recognition should have come years ago.
“It is long overdue, and we need to quit admiring this oversight and make this happen,” Amos said in a speech recently. “My promise to you this evening is that your story will not be forgotten. It will take its rightful place, and it will be forever anchored in the rich history of the United States Marine Corp.”
As part of this pledge, the history of Montford Point will be taught at all Marine Corps schools and training facilities.
ABC News’ Richard Coolidge, John Parkinson and Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

Study finds harsh media coverage for Obama

President Obama "has suffered the most unrelentingly negative treatment" of all presidential candidates over the past five months, according to a study released Monday from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. 

Pew found that Mr. Obama was the subject of negative assessments nearly four times as often as he was the subject of positive assessments. It found he received "positive" coverage nine percent of the time, "neutral" coverage 57 percent of the time and "negative" coverage 34 percent of the time.

The study, which was conducted using a combination of "traditional media research methods [and] computer algorithms to track the level and tone of coverage," cuts against the widespread conservative claim that the "liberal media" aides Mr. Obama and other Democrats while attacking Republicans.
Pew says it looked at coverage from more than 11,500 news outlets, including local and national broadcasts, news websites and blogs.

Mr. Obama's negative coverage could be explained in part by the fact that he is "covered largely as president rather than a candidate," Pew said - and coverage of him is linked to the struggling economy.


Among the Republican presidential candidates, Pew found that Rick Perry has received the most positive coverage of all the candidates, with 32 percent positive coverage. He was followed by Sarah Palin (31 percent), Michele Bachmann (31 percent), Herman Cain (28 percent) and Mitt Romney (26 percent.) Palin, a vocal critic of the media, ultimately decided not to seek the GOP nomination.

Perry had the best ratio of any candidate, with 32 percent positive coverage to 20 percent negative coverage, a 12 percent net positive ratings in terms of coverage. He was followed by Palin (with 9 percent net positive coverage), Bachmann (8 percent net positive), Cain (5 percent net positive), Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman (both with 4 percent net positive coverage.) Pew found that Cain surged in positive coverage starting in late August - even before he did so in the polls.

The only candidate who received more negative coverage than Mr. Obama was Newt Gingrich, whom Pew found was the subject of negative coverage 35 percent of the time. That can be attrubited in part to his early stumbles, including his criticism of the House GOP Medicare plan and the decision by top staffers to abandom Gingrich's campaign. While Pew found that Mr. Obama received just nine percent positive coverage, however, Gingrich received 15 percent positive coverage.

The candidates with the worst coverage ratio were Mr. Obama (25 percent net negative coverage), Gingrich (20 percent net negative), Rick Santorum (3 percent net negative) and Mitt Romney (1 percent net negative.)

As Politico's Keach Hagey notes, Pew found that Mr. Obama had widely positive media coverage during his first 100 days in office, with 42 percent positive coverage and 20 percent negative coverage.



Here's how Pew in part explains its meathodology - more can be found here:



To assess the tone of coverage, PEJ researchers then employed computer algorithmic software from Crimson Hexagon. Researchers conducted a tone analysis and then "trained" the algorithm to follow the same rules as they had themselves. PEJ also conducted inter-coder tests to ensure the computer coding was replicable and valid by comparing human coding to the results derived by the algorithm. The project also had different people build the algorithms separately to ensure that they were achieving consistent results. Each computer algorithm was then additionally tested for reliability by having multiple researchers review the content assessed and the results.

The tone analysis was conducted on two different samples. The first was of the coverage and commentary on more than 11,500 news outlets, based on their RSS feeds. While the content is text based, the material on various television news sites often closely resembled the stories that had aired on television, and in some cases were exact transcripts. The second was from hundreds of thousands of blogs. (Facebook and Twitter feeds were not included after researchers found that the political assessment offered there was typically quite brief or referred to blog or news content.)

HBCU Homecoming Launches on the Appstore For The iPhone as the First and Only Mobile App Created To Showcase HBCU Homecoming Events

Nationwide (October 18, 2011) -- Diverse Mobile, the minority owned mobile application development company behind the first African American Storybook App on the AppStore, A Song for Miles, brings you another revolutionary App for the iPhone focusing on HBCU Homecomings. HBCU Homecoming is the first App created solely to promote Black College Homecoming activities and events. The application features schedules of events for all Black Colleges with Fall football Homecoming activities.


Having all attended HBCUs, the founders of Diverse Mobile recognize the amount of excitement and pageantry around Black College Homecomings and are attempting to fill a void in the mobile space with this one of a kind App. According to the UNCF Patterson Research Institute, though representing just 4 percent of the nation's public and private not-for profit four-year institutions, HBCUs enroll 21 percent of African-American college students, and grant 22 percent of all bachelor's degrees awarded to African-Americans. HBCUs also account for more than a fifth of all African- American undergraduates.
What makes the App so revolutionary and a must have for anyone with an interest in HBCUs is not only the schedule of events but all of the other innovative and collaborative features sure to please Alumni, current Students, and all interested Parties.
The feature set is listed below:
* Homecoming schedule of events for all HBCUs that have Fall Football activities and the ability to set reminders so you won't miss any events
* School specific In App Chat rooms that allow you to connect with old classmates or talk smack about an upcoming Game or Event!
* Listen to live broadcast streams of selected Black College football games through our partnership with the Heritage Sports network via the App
* Want to know where the hottest parties around Homecoming are occurring? This App has you covered in the Entertainment section
* Search for travel deals inside of the App for transportation to HBCU Homecomings and Events through our partnership with the HBCU College Shuttle
* Multipurpose QR scanner to be used on any QR code (2D Code)
* Twitter and Facebook feeds with the latest news on HBCUs inside of the application
The App can be downloaded today at the following link (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hbcu-homecoming/id471987577?ls=1&mt=8) or found on the AppStore by searching for "HBCU Homecoming". You can also follow HBCU mobile Apps on Twitter @hbcumobileapps or visit www.hbcumobileapps.com for more information. If you are a Promoter and interested in advertising your event around an HBCU Homecoming inside of the App, please contact us at info@hbcumobileapps.com

PRESS CONTACT:
Brian A. Roberson, Diverse Mobile
info@hbcumobileapps.com
(404) 590-2016

African-American or Hispanic children less likely to receive CT scans after head trauma

White children are far more likely to receive cranial computed tomography (CT) scans in an emergency department following minor head trauma than are African-American or Hispanic children, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.
The study findings do not indicate that CT scans are underused in treating African-American and Hispanic children, the researchers said. Rather, they suggest that white children may receive too many CT scans -- and for that reason may be exposed to unnecessary radiation.
The study results were presented today at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Scientific Assembly by JoAnne E. Natale, associate professor of pediatric critical care medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and the study's lead author.
"The higher rates of cranial CT scan use in children at low risk for clinically significantbrain injury may represent overuse in white children, leading to increased radiation exposure and health-care costs," Natale said.
Cranial computed tomography imaging commonly is used to determine the severity of injury in children and adults in emergency departments. Cranial CT scans use X-rays to image the cranium, brain, eye sockets and sinuses.
However, in children with mild head trauma, earlier studies have found that fewer than 10 percent of CT scans identify a traumatic brain injury. CT scans use a significant amount of radiation and thus increase the risk of potential subsequent malignancies.
For the current study, researchers examined data from children whose race and/or ethnicity was Hispanic, non-Hispanic African American, or non-Hispanic white. Although all of the children had minor head trauma, some could be categorized as being at greater risk of a clinically significant injury in which a CT scan may be indicated.
Natale, who also is the medical director of the UC Davis Children's Hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, said that the study utilized data compiled for a seminal 2009 study by UC Davis authors, which found that CT scans are not necessary for children at very low risk of clinically significant traumatic brain injury.
The 2009 study was lead by Nathan Kuppermann, co-author of the current study and chair of the UC Davis Department of Emergency Medicine. That study enrolled more than 40,000 children nationwide with minor head trauma who presented at 25 U.S. emergency departments, under the auspices of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) between 2004 and 2006.
The current study found that a child's race and/or ethnicity did not influence the likelihood of receiving a CT scan among children with minor head trauma at the greatest risk of having a clinically important brain injury. However, among lower-risk children, non-Hispanic white children were more likely to receive a CT scan than were non-Hispanic African-American children and children of Hispanic descent.
In addition to the increased risks posed by radiation exposure, overuse of CT scans in non-Hispanic white children also has impacts on overall health-care costs, Natale said. She said that the overuse of CT scans is part of a well-documented pattern of providing more care than is necessary to individuals of certain racial and/or ethnic groups, which in turn places additional burdens on health-care costs.
"Clearly, further studies should focus on explaining racial differences in the use of emergent neuroimaging," Natale said. "Our study highlights the importance of strong, evidence-based guidelines to ensure equal and optimal care for all children."
Source: University of California - Davis Health System

Why Original 7ven?: Jam & Day on Prince Nixing Use of The Time

*They may be without their name, but the band formerly known as The Time is still united as members prepare for the release of their new album, “Condensate” on October 18, 2011.

Speaking with EUR’s Lee Bailey, frontman Morris Day as well as producer (and band member) Jimmy Jam label the turn of events as “freeing” in terms of being under a new name, The Original 7even, and providing a new trail to blaze, despite name recognition as The Time.

The name change to The Original 7even came as a mixed blessing for Day, Jam and fellow bandmates Terry Lewis, Jellybean Johnson, Jerome Benton, Monty Moir and Jesse Johnson as they found themselves unable to use the name they’ve built their careers under. In light of Prince owning the name of The Time, the collective reached a crossroads with the music icon’s refusal to let them use their former moniker.

“Simply, business is business and at a certain point we realized that we’re not going to be able to use the name The Time,” Jam explained. “The decision was made at that point that we could either continue to, shall we say, negotiate or argue or plead or whatever. We decided to go the route of let’s not hold things up because of the name. Let’s embrace the opportunity to move forward in a new era, with a new outlook, with a new album and that’s what we did. We think the name reflects exactly who we are. We are the Original 7even and that basically, for me, covers it.”

The change to the Original 7even came after members explored different names to call themselves. Ultimately, the Original 7even provided a good fit for the group, Jam noted. Despite Prince not letting the group use the name The Time, Day sees the move as a positive.

“The good thing about it was in a way he pushed us out of the nest, so to speak, because we had to rethink this whole thing and I think we approached it differently,” he stated. “I think it’s more interesting because now there’s something more to talk about because we changed the name…we approached the whole project differently, as the Original 7even versus being The Time. So in a way, he forced us to think outside the box and expand this whole thing. And I think it made the project even greater.”

History aside, Day and Jam hope fans as well as Prince enjoy “Condensate” and appreciate the effort that went into their latest creation.

“We hope that he enjoys the music. We hope that he’s proud of us for what we’re doing. And we think he will be,” Jam said. “We think he will love the record and I think he will sit back and whether he admits it or not he will go ‘I taught them well.’”

To celebrate the release of “Condensate,” on Tuesday (Oct. 18), the Original 7even will hold a screening and Q&A session for its new documentary at the Grammy Museum in downtown Los Angeles in LA Live. The 80-minute documentary, which will be available Tuesday in a fan pack with the album at Best Buy, will center on the history and formation of the group as well as feature members discussing popular stories involving them over the years. Tickets for the screening are $10 and are available for 200 people.

On Wednesday (Oct. 19), fans will be treated to the Original 7even’s debut live performance at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles at LA Live. Tickets for the event are on sale now.

The video for the group’s latest single, “#Trendin,” which is slated to premieres this week on Centric. You can check it out below or at the band’s website: www.theoriginal7even.com.

Written by By Chris Richburg / chris_richburg@hotmail.com

How Ron Washington is making baseball history

Ron Washington, manager of the Texas Rangers, talks with the media ahead of Game Three of the World Series at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on October 21, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

La Russa is lauded for turning a baseball game into a chess match. Washington, on the other hand, is unconventional and goes with his gut. He makes calls that defy traditional baseball logic (like burying the Rangers' hottest hitter - Michael Napoli - in the lineup this series at the No. 8 spot), and is not known as much of a strategist.

According to the New York Times, before Game 5, Washington said:

I'm not as dumb as people think I am. They call it unorthodox; I just call it reacting to what the game asks you to do. I've got personnel that can do a lot of things, and sometimes those things make us look like we're renegades. But we're not renegades; we can play baseball. And when we're playing our game of baseball, it's very, very, very exciting.

In the dugout, Washington is known for his off-the-wall reactions to big Rangers plays. His passion is not lost on the players he coaches.

The Rangers trust and admire Washington. The coach is compassionate and cares about his players. When Washington was an infield coach for the Oakland A's, shortstop Eric Chavez gave him his gold glove trophy because he believed he wouldn't have won the award without Washington's coaching.

Arguably the Rangers' best player is Josh Hamilton. The power-hitting outfielder was a cocaine abuser for most of his early years. After a promising rookie year, Washington traded for him, believing Hamilton had put his demons behind him and could become a leader for the Rangers. Hamilton's been one of the Rangers' most reliable players since.

If Washington wins the World Series, he'll win, most importantly, respect. Fans and pundits certainly haven't forgotten his admittance to using cocaine, which he admits was the first and only time he had done the drug.

In just this series, La Russa's daughter tweeted a comment that referred to Washington as a crackhead. When this series began, everyone talked about the Rangers power hitting, La Russa's genius and Pujols mastery. No one mentioned just how impressive and difficult it is to bring a team to back-to-back World Series.

If the Rangers win tonight, Washington may finally get his due. But regardless if they win the title or not, Washington must be looked up to. He's proven that second chances really do mean something.

Stephen Anderson, Ex NYPD Cop: We Planted Evidence, Framed Innocent People To Reach Quotas

A former New York City narcotics detective testified in court that planting drugs on innocent people was common practice, a quick and easy way to boost arrest numbers.

According to the New York Daily News, the practice is known among NYPD officers as “flaking,” and officers in Brooklyn and Queens narcotics squads were doing a whole lot of it.

Stephen Anderson, the former detective, was snared along with a group of other officers for “flaking” four men in Queens back in 2008. He is now cooperating with prosecutor’s and is spilling the beans on the crooked practice of framings and false arrests, often to reach arrest quotas.

"It was something I was seeing a lot of, whether it was from supervisors or undercovers and even investigators," Anderson testified in Brooklyn Supreme Court last week. "It's almost like you have no emotion with it, that they attach the bodies to it, they're going to be out of jail tomorrow anyway; nothing is going to happen to them anyway."

The Drug Policy Alliance, a group that promotes alternatives to the war on drugs, issued a statement calling the case against the officers indicative of larger, systematic failures.

“One of the consequences of the war on drugs is that police officers are pressured to make large numbers of arrests, and it’s easy for some of the less honest cops to plant evidence on innocent people,” said Gabriel Sayegh of the DPA. “The drug war inevitably leads to crooked policing — and quotas further incentivize such practices.”

This latest case isn’t the first time corrupt police practices and numbers fudging by the department has been exposed. A few years ago, an officer also in Brooklyn began secretly taping the activity around the department and uncovered a more sinister side to city policing.

Hundreds of hours of tape reveal how bosses threatened street cops if they don’t make enough stop-and-frisk arrests, “but also tell them not to take certain robbery reports in order to manipulate crime statistics,” according to the Voice. “The tapes also refer to command officers calling crime victims directly to intimidate them about their complaints.” (The popular public radio show, This American Life, did an in-depth feature on the padded stats in the Brooklyn precinct and the organized intimidation of the officer who was trying to blow the whistle.)

According to the DPA, the NYPD has recently come under fire recently for the arrests of more than 50,000 people last year for low-level marijuana offenses – 86% of whom are black and Latino – making marijuana possession the number one offense in the City. The group is also critical of the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk practice.

The marijuana arrests, the group says, are the result of “illegal searches” by the NYPD, as part of stop-and-frisks.

The statement continued:

Marijuana was decriminalized in New York State in 1977 – and that law is still on the books. Smoking marijuana in public or having marijuana visible in public, however, remains a crime. Most people arrested for marijuana possession are not smoking in public, but simply have a small amount in their pocket, purse or bag. Often when police stop and question a person, they say “empty your pockets” or “open your bag.” Many people comply, even though they’re not legally required to do so. If a person pulls marijuana from their pocket or bag, it is then “open to public view.” The police then arrest the person.

Tuskegee Airmen Gets a Dose of Lucas Money, Magic

Lucasfilm Ltd

George Lucas calls the pilots in 'Red Tails' 'knights' of modern age.

By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY

"Star Wars" creator George Lucas is betting millions of his own dollars that moviegoers will be drawn to an action movie about African-American fighter pilots in World War II.

Mr. Lucas has self-financed a new film entitled "Red Tails" inspired by the true story of the first organized group of African-American fighter pilots in the U.S. armed forces.

Mr. Lucas put $58 million of his own money into the making of the movie and is spending $35 million more to pay the distribution costs.

Mr. Lucas said through a representative that he has worked on the project for 23 years. He was attracted to the project because he wanted to make an inspirational movie for young people and he felt the African-American pilots featured in the film were role models.

"They are really the knights of the contemporary age," Mr. Lucas said in a statement.

"Red Tails," directed by Anthony Hemingway, written by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder, and starring Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Ne-Yo, David Oyelowo and Nate Parker, will be released by Mr. Lucas's production company Lucasfilm Ltd. on Jan. 20.

Twentieth Century Fox, which like The Wall Street Journal is owned by News Corp., will distribute the movie.

The movie tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, an extraordinarily successful African-American aerial combat unit that overcame segregation and racism to win the right to fight in missions throughout Europe and Northern Africa in World War II.

Mr. Hemingway, a first-time feature film director, said that he felt the pressure of being handpicked by Mr. Lucas to helm the movie.

"I was a nervous wreck throughout the production," Mr. Hemingway said.

Mr. Hemingway said that Mr. Lucas, who served as executive producer on the film, was a "great collaborator" and encouraged him to "think outside the box on the combat scenes."

To punch up the humor in the movie and strengthen the story line, Mr. McGruder, known for his irreverent "Boondocks" cartoon, was brought in to rework the script.

Craig Hammack, a visual effects supervisor on "Red Tails," said that the combat sequences in the film, which feature work by Mr. Lucas's Oscar-winning effects company Industrial Light & Magic, may remind some viewers of the space battles in the "Star Wars" movies.

"When George first put out 'Star Wars,' it was heavily based on World War II aerial battles," Mr. Hammack said. "'Red Tails' is a chance to go back to that."

For more on "Red Tails" and other entertainment and media news, go toWSJ.com/Speakeasy.

Obama Made the Right Decision in Africa, Here's Why...

I, and my colleagues at Invisible Children, have worked on the issue of the violent rebel group The Lord's Resistance Army ("The LRA") for 8 years. They have raped, murdered, and mutilated their way through central Africa for 26 years. There are few people in the world who know more about them and their pervasive brutality than we do and I applaud this new and decisive action taken by our President.

Friday, President Obama announced that his administration is deploying around 100 troops to a region in central Africa that has been brutalized by the LRA and their violent cult leader Joseph Kony.

These troops will work alongside the regional efforts already underway to protect civilians from LRA atrocities and to remove Joseph Kony and his top commanders from the battlefield.

The addition of well-trained and well-equipped US Military personnel will give the ongoing efforts a much greater chance at success. The President should be applauded, the troops should be honored and the United States should be proud of undertaking a larger role in this global and local coalition for the following reasons:

There is not a single circumstance on the planet today that more clearly warrants international military support on humanitarian grounds than that of Joseph Kony and the LRA.

• Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA, does not have a shred of legitimate authority. He is not connected to a government or an established entity in any manner.


• The LRA has virtually zero support from any population or people group, not even their own tribe supports them.


• The LRA does not have a stated political cause, list of demands or even an economic interest in the territories that they occupy.


• Peace talks with the LRA have been tried and failed on multiple occasions with multiple different mediators, most recently again in 2009.


• Since 2006, the LRA has operated outside of their home country to roam freely and cross boarders to commit attacks in D.R. Congo, C.A.R. and South Sudan.


• The countries in which the LRA currently operate are trying to stop them, but have been unable to achieve success. They have all asked for and will welcome international support.


• Kony was the very first man indicted by the International Criminal Court for War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity. The ICC currently wants him and two other LRA commanders who are indicted. His apprehension is 100% legal.


• Without any popular support from a local population, for over 10 years Kony has resorted to abduction children and brainwashing them into becoming child soldiers to fight for his cause.


• The LRA are attacking innocent and unarmed people for no purpose other than personal gain for the top commanders. They attack only to invoke fear, steal supplies, abduct children and maintain their survival.


• They often use primitive weapons (rocks, blunt objects and machetes) to conserve their limited munitions and inflect maximum brutality.


• Best estimates are that there are only 200-400 fighters left in the LRA.

This is a unique situation going on in the world today. There is none other like it. Joseph Kony is holding hostage hundreds of thousands of people in central Africa, through his army of abducted fighters who are fighting for self-preservation and fear of Kony's supposed spiritual powers. When it comes to criteria warranting international assistance, the LRA would satisfy every one of them. All of the boxes have been checked.

We applaud President Obama for taking this action.

However, others do not agree. The key objections to this action surround three ideas: an over-extension of our resources, starting another war, and an absence of National Self Interest.

It will be heard: 'America is in debt, we have an employment crisis, and it isn't our job to meddle in other problems that don't involve us.'

It is true that this conflict does not involve the United States, but as the world's only super power, with specifically unique military capabilities, there are certain rare instances in the world where crimes are so egregious, and the solutions so clearly attainable, that it would be unjust to stand by and watch.

Here, the US is only deploying around 100 military personnel in an advisory role to help support the Uganda military already in pursuit of the LRA's leadership. These troops are specifically instructed not to engage in offensive action against the LRA. Their job is to raise the level of technical support and training available to the Ugandan Forces already in pursuit. This is a pragmatic and reasonable expenditure of our resources in response to the highly supported legislation mandating such action back in May of 2010.

Secondly, United States involvement in solving this conflict is not the 'start of another war.' In the cases of Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, and Somalia, the United States was entering a widespread cultural conflict with thousands of actors and deep ideological rifts between the people. As history has shown, these circumstances prove to be long and arduous commitments with heavy casualties and frustrating success. Why? Because we're fighting an ideological enemy that continues to win converts and often accelerates conversion in response to American involvement. In this case, we have an entirely different situation. The LRA has no ideological support. As enumerated in the facts above, they are not tied to a legitimate government, they are not supported by any community or group of people, and they have no demands. They are simply a violent cult surviving on the fact that the world will ignore their atrocities so long as they are perpetrated on communities at the bottom of the economic spectrum. President Obama's actions are changing this.

Thirdly, National Interest is an evolving idea. It has historically been relegated to the simplistic desires of economic advantage, maintenance of access to materials and commodities, and local security. The widespread support of the legislation that led to this action shows a changing tide in citizenship identification. A growing number of young Americans now identify globally as readily as they do nationally and feel a responsibility to help when others are facing the most extreme levels of human brutality. Isolationist sentiment is unattractive when it comes to the most extreme abuses of human rights.

Lastly, in certain circumstances, it is actually our job to 'meddle in other problems' and bring our unique capabilities into an equation. Not only is The President implementing an overwhelmingly supported bi-partisan 2010 bill called The LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, but he is also fulfilling a promise made by the United Nations Security Counsel. This is something that the United Nations ratified in 2005 in the General Assembly called The Responsibility to Protect. I encourage you to look it up and learn about it. It roughly states that the leadership of the world should step in and aid countries that are unable or unwilling to protect their own people from unmitigated slaughter if certain benchmarks of brutality and disregard are met. Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army are indeed some the worst perpetrators of brutality in the world today. And they've moved with impunity for 26 years.

President Obama is fulfilling the mandate given him from bi-partisan United States legislation and as a member of the Security Counsel of the United Nations under The Responsibility to Protect.

This is something that should be celebrated and supported. The Youth of America and Invisible Children say thank you, and our thoughts and prayers are with the brave troops that are representing the United States in this noble and just mission.