The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, September 9, 2013 -- 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Rallies held over
possible U.S.
attack in Syria
Opponents and supporters
of U.S. military intervention in
Syria have been holding rallies
across Michigan.
President Barack Obama is
asking for Congress's support to
attack Syria over what he says is
the government's use of chemi-
cal weapons to kill more than
1,400 people.
Several dozen opponents of
a U.S. attack marched through
downtown Detroit for a rally
Sunday at the waterfront Hart
Plaza.
About 30 people opposed to
American military intervention
turned out for a rally Saturday in
Grand Rapids. On Friday, about
100 supporters of an American
military response held a rally in
the Detroit suburb of Birming-
ham.
WASHINGTON
U.S. jobs data
could drive Fed
bond-buying move
Signs of improvement in the
U.S. economy emerged this week,
and the jobs report the govern-
ment will issue Friday will show
whether that strength is fueling
consistent hiring gains.
The August employment
report will be the most sig-
nificant economic data to be
released before the Federal
Reserve meets Sept. 17-18. Many
economists expect the Fed to
decide then to slow its monthly
bond purchases.
Analysts predict a solid gain
of 177,000 jobs for August, above
total but just below the monthly
average this year of 192,000. The
unemployment rate is expected to
remain 7.4 percent.
MOSCOW
Navalnyhas strong
showing in Moscow
mayoral race
Opposition leader Alexei
Navalny swept up far more votes
than expected Sunday while fin-
ishing second in Moscow's may-
oral election, a pivotal contest
that has energized Russia's small
opposition in ways that could
pose a risk to the Kremlin in the
days and years ahead.
Partial results released early
Monday showed Navalny with
about 27 percent of the vote,
while the Kremlin-backed
incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin,
held a clear lead with about 52
percent. Exit polls, however,
predicted Navalny would get as
much as 32 percent.
As the results only began to
trickle out two hours after the
polls closed, Navalny said he sus-
pected the vote count was being
manipulated.
KABUL, Afghanistan
NATO accused
of killing Afghan
civilians
Afghan officials accused
NATO of killing civilians in an
airstrike that left at least 10 dead
in the country's remote east,
while the Taliban on Sunday
staged a car bomb and gun attack
outside an Afghan intelligence
office, killing four soldiers and
wounding more than 80 people.
Meanwhile, the Afghan gov-
ernment reacted angrily to a
comment by an American envoy
who said Afghanistan is already
experiencing "a civil war."
The airstrike and Taliban
attack underscored the chronic
insecurity in Afghanistan as
U.S.-led foreign forces reduce
their presence and hand over
more responsibilities to Afghan
troops. The car bombing
occurred in Maidan Shahr, a city
in eastern Wardak province just
40 kilometers (25 miles) from
Kabul.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
Obama touts
world's economic
progress at G-20
A Capitol Hill police officer watches as protesters hold signs reading "No Attack on Syria" during the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee hearing on Tuesday on Capitol Hill in Washington.
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ASHINGTON (AP) - The The U.S., citing intelligence
e House asserted Sunday reports, says the lethal nerve
a "common-sense test" agent sarin was used in an
tes the Syrian government Aug. 21 attack outside Damas-
sponsible for a chemical cus, and that 1,429 people died,
ons attack that President including 426 children.
k Obama says demands The number is higher than
. military response. But that, said Khalid Saleh, head
ia's top aide says the of the press office at the anti-
nistration lacks "irrefut- Assad Syrian Coalition who
beyond-a-reasonable- was in Washington to lobby
t evidence" that skeptical lawmakers to authorize the
icans, including lawmak- strikes. Some of those involved
'ho will start voting on in the attacks later died in their
ary action this week, are homes and opposition leaders
ng. were weighing releasing a full
his is not a court of law. list of names of the dead.
ntelligence does not work But Britain-based Syrian
way," White House chief Observatory for Human Rights,
taff Denis McDonough which collects information
during his five-network from a network of anti-govern-
c relations blitz Sunday ment activists, says it has so far
uild support for limited only been able to confirm 502
s against Syrian President dead.
ar Assad. The actual tally of those
he common-sense test killed by chemical weapons is
he is responsible for this. scant compared to the sum of
sould be held to account," all killed in the upheaval: more
onough said of the Syr- than 100,000, according to the
eader who for two years United Nations.
esisted calls from inside In an interview Sunday,
Assad told U.S. journalist Char-
lie Rose there is not conclusive
evidence about who is to blame
for the chemical weapons
attacks and again suggested
the rebels were responsible.
From Beirut, Rose described
his interview, which is to be
released Monday on the CBS
morning program that Rose
hosts, with the full interview
airing later in the day on Rose's
PBS program.
Asked about Assad's claims
there is no evidence he used
the weapons, Secretary of State
John Kerry told reporters in
London: "The evidence speaks
for itself."
At the same time, Obama
has planned his own public
relations effort. He has sched-
uled six network interviews on
Monday and then a primetime
speech to the nation from the
White House on Tuesday, the
eve of the first votes in Con-
gress.
Obama faces a tough audi-
ence on Capitol Hill. A survey
by The Associated Press shows
that House members who are
staking out positions are either
opposed to or leaning against
Obama's plan for a military
strike by more than a 6-1 mar-
gin.
Leaders also
discuss intelligence
gathering, climate
change
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia
(AP) - Touting economic prog-
ress at the Group of 20 summit,
President Barack Obama said
the nation's economic powers no
longer face the threat of a finan-
cial meltdown and can turn their
attention to issues of tax evasion,
job creation and climate change.
"For the first time in three
years, instead of an urgent dis-
cussion to address the European
financial crisis, we see a Europe
that has emerged from reces-
sion," Obama said Friday at a
news conference wrapping up
a three-day European trip that
included the two-day G-20 meet-
ingin St. Petersburg.
Obama was dogged at the
summit by revelations of spying
by the National Security Agency
and held private meetings with
the presidents of Brazil and
Mexico to assure them that his
administration would work to
resolve tensions over allegations
that the NSA monitored their
communications.
After separate sessions with
Mexican President Enrique Pena
Nieto and Brazilian President
Dilma Rousseff, Obama said he
told both leaders that he takes
the allegations of spying on their
communications seriously and
said he promised to address their
concerns.
"What we do is similar to what
countries around the world do
with their intelligence services,"
Obama said. "But what is true is
that, you know, we are bigger. We
have greater capabilities."
He said he wants a review of
intelligence efforts to determine
the costs and benefits. "Just
because we can get information
doesn't necessarily always mean
that we should," he said.
Both Pena Nieto and Rousseff
have expressed outrage over rev-
elations that the NSA kept tabs
on their communications. The
spying was reported by Brazil's
Globo TV, which cited 2012 docu-
ments from NSA leaker Edward
Snowden. Pena Nieto says it
would constitute an illegal act.
Speaking at her own press
conference, Rousseff said Obama
vowed to have a response for her
government by Sept. 11. Rous-
seff said her decision whether to
make a scheduled state visit to
the United States in October will
depend on the "political condi-
tions" set by Obama.
Though the civil war in Syria
and Obama's call for a military
response to chemical weapons
use there dominated much of the
conversation, Obama said the 20
leaders also paid heed to a litany
of issues such as helping foster
growth in emerging economies,
promoting infrastructure and
fighting corruption. He said the
nations agreed to continue with
financial reforms and to address
tax evasion and avoidance that
he says undermines budgets and
shifts the taxburden.
The president spoke after
the U.S. government reported
that the unemployment rate had
dropped to 7.3 percent,the lowest
in nearly five years. But the jobs
picture remained tepid. More
Americans stopped looking for
workandwere no longer counted
as unemployed and the combined
job creation in June, July and
August amounted to the weak-
est three-month stretch of job
growth in a year.
With a confrontation brew-
ing with Congress over raising
the nation's borrowing limit,
Obama warned lawmakers that it
shouldn't risk a U.S. default "over
paying bills we've already racked
up." He said he was determined
that the world has confidence
"in the full faith and credit of the
United States."
NAACP president to step down
Michigan to seek
investors to fund
social programs
Jealous instrumental
in financial growth
of organization
WASHINGTON (AP) -
NAACP President and CEO Ben-
jamin Jealous, who is credited
with boosting finances at the
nation's largest civil rights orga-
nization and helping to stabilize
it, said Sunday that he plans to
step down at the end of the year.
The Baltimore-based Nation-
al Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People said
that its rosters of online activ-
ists and donors have grown tre-
mendously during his five-year
tenure. Jealous was the group's
youngest-ever leader when he
was hired as its president at age
35 in 2008.
In a written statement Sun-
day, Jealous, now 40, said he
plans to pursue teaching at a
university and wants to spend
time with his young family.
"The NAACP has always been
the largest civil rights organiza-
tion in the streets, and today it is
also the largest civil rights orga-
nization online, on mobile and at
the ballot box too," Jealous said.
"I am proud to leave the associa-
tion financially sound, sustain-
able, focused, and more powerful
than ever."
Jealous plans to step down on
Dec. 31. His departure planswere
first reported by USA Today,
which said he was in the first
year of a three-year contract.
Jealous told the newspaper he
also plans to start a political action
committee to raise money to elect
diverse progressive candidates to
public office, though not neces-
sarily only Democrats. During
President Barack Obama's first
campaign, Jealous said he teamed
with others to create a fundraising
group that raised $10 million to
help elect the first black president.
Jealous is credited with
improving the NAACP's financ-
es and donor base over the past
five years. In the year before
Jealous arrived, the NAACP cut
its national staff by a third. Also
that year, former NAACP presi-
dent Bruce Gordon abruptly
resigned because of differences
with the group's 64-member
board.
The group said its donors have
increased from 16,000 people
giving each year to more than
132,000 under his leadership.
During Jealous's tenure,
the NAACP also has embraced
gay rights in a historic vote to
endorse same-sex marriage in
May 2012. "Civil marriage is a
civil right and a matter of civil
law," the group said, citing the
14th Amendment's equal pro-
tection clause.
Jealous told The Associated
Press recently that a broader coali-
tion is needed to fight the civil
rightsbattlesofthe21stcentury.
"Last century we needed law-
yers; this century we need big,
broad coalitions," he said. "When
extremists decide to attack all
our communities, they must
hope that there will be infight-
ing. But we have stood all for one
and one for all. That is how we
will win."
An NAACP spokesman said
Jealous was not available for
an interview until a formal
announcement on Monday.
The Rev. Joseph Lowery, a
civil rights leader and former
president of the Southern Chris-
tian Leadership Conference, said
Jealous brought an intellectual
quality and a level of integrity
that won respect.
"I'm sorry to see him resign,
although I understand he has
other plans. But, I think he was
just getting into his stride," Low-
ery said Sunday evening. "I think
he brought a luster to the office
that was quiet and dignified and
effective, and I wish him well in
his new work."
The Rev. Al Sharpton said
he felt "mixed emotions" about
Jealous' announcement, which
included sadness because Jeal-
ous had led the organization so
well.
"Not only was he able to revive
the NAACP and raise its budget
to higher heights, he joined us
in the streets in real civil rights
activity on the ground," Sharp-
ton said in a written statement.
"From the 'suites to the streets,'
he will be missed as head of the
NAACP, but Iam sure he will not
leave us in his contribution to the
struggle."
Jealous began his career as a
community organizer in Harlem
with the NAACP Legal Defense
Fund. He was suspended from
Columbia University in New York
City after organizing student
protests and went on to work as a
reporter for the Jackson Advocate
newspaper in Mississippi.
Jealous has led the NAACP
to advocate against "stop-and-
frisk" police tactics and stand-
your-ground laws following the
death of Florida teenager Tray-
von Martin. He has also fought to
abolish the death penalty at the
state level, including in Mary-
land.
NAACP Chairman Roslyn
Brock accepted Jealous' resigna-
tion in the past week. She said
the group would continue its
fight to restore part of the Vot-
ing Rights Act that was recently
struck down by the Supreme
Court, as well as work to boost
its civic engagement efforts and
ensure that black Americans are
able to obtain health insurance
under the nation's health care
overhaul.
Brock thanked Jealous for his
service.
"Under his leadership, the
NAACP has built a highly com-
petent staff that will carry our
mission forward and meet the
civil rights challenges of the
21st century," she said. "Our
board, staff and volunteer lead-
ers throughout the country
deeply appreciate his sacrifice
and will continue to implement
our game-changing goals for
the next half century."
Pay-for-success
contract funds
Harvard-based
initiative
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -
Michigan plans to enlist pri-
vate investors to finance a
public social program, becom-
ing the latest state government
to try an experimental "pay-
for-success" approach in tack-
ling persistent problems such
as homelessness or criminal
recidivism.
The state will announce
Monday that it is the seventh
chosen through a national
competition to receive techni-
cal assistance from Harvard
University for a social impact
bond.
Also known as pay-for-suc-
cess contracts, social impact
bonds work like this: Private
investors - potentially a bank
and a philanthropic foundation
- put up money for a program
with a specific goal. A contract
is signed with a service pro-
vider.
If the goal is achieved, the
government pays back the
investors, with a profit. If not,
the government pays nothing.
"We believe it makes govern-
ment delivery of services more
accountable. If it's successful,
we benefit. If for whatever rea-
son the targets aren't met, tax-
payers aren't on the hook for
those dollars," said Joe Pavona,
special adviser for public-pri-
vate partnerships to Gov. Rick
Snyder.
The state will issue a request
for information Monday to
identify potential projects.
Some possibilities men-
tioned by Pavona include
infant mortality, early child-
hood development, homeless-
ness and recidivism. But he
said the Snyder administration
could settle on something else
depending on feedback from
potential investors and service
providers.
The Harvard Kennedy
School will send a full-time fel-
low to Michigan for a year to
help launch the initiative, with
support from the Rockefeller
Foundation and the Laura
and John Arnold Foundation.
After helping Massachusetts
and New York become the first
state governments to develop
pay-for-success contracts using
social impact bonds, Harvard
held a competition to award
assistance to other govern-
ments.
Six winners out of 28 appli-,
cants were announced in June.
The school added Michigan
after finding more funding
because it was among a hand-
ful of other "really strong"
applications, said Jeffrey Lieb-
man, a public policy profes-
sor at Harvard who directs
the university's Social Impact
Bond Technical Assistance
Lab.
He said the No. 1 criteria in
choosing a state was the com-
mitment of its leaders to follow
through.
"If we work with a state for
a year to put together a project,
we want them to actually do it,"
Liebman said.
Social impact bonds began
in Britain. The first U.S. gov-
ernment to put one together
was New York City, which
announced a year ago that
Goldman Sachs would invest
almost $10 million in a city jail
program to keep inmates ages
16-18 from reoffending.