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MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

According to the U.S. Department of State, in 2010 President Barak Obama dedicated January to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking and slavery.

What is human trafficking and slavery?

Human trafficking in person, known as modern slavery, includes forced labor and sex trafficking. Some estimate that as many as 24.9 million people, including children and adults, are trapped in human trafficking around the world, according to the Department of State.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline website stated that In 2020 more than 10,000 human trafficking cases were reported. This is a decrease from 2019 when there were more than 11,000 cases were reported.

How can you help bring awareness to human trafficking and slavery?

If you believe someone may be a victim of human trafficking, you can call the 24-hour National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Another way you can bring awareness to this issue is by writing to your local, state, or federal elected officials letting them know that you care about fighting against human trafficking.

Organizing a fundraiser and donating the proceeds to an anti-trafficking organization can help combat against human trafficking as well.

Lastly, you can use your social media platforms to raise awareness by using hashtags such as #endtrafficking or #freedomfirst.

Whats the history of human trafficking?

One of the reasons that January is significant, according to the U.S. Department of State, is because Jan. 1, 1863 is when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed 3.1 million slaves. In 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment, officially outlawing slavery.

In 2010, President Barak Obama declared January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The State Departments launched the biggest anti-trafficking program in 2017 called the Program to End Modern Slavery.

Originally posted here:
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month is January - WKRG News 5

Naturally shy, Kathy Proctor surprised herself by shooting her arm in the air when the man in front of her biotechnology class at Forsyth Technical Community College asked if anyone had a story to share.

The man was the president of the United States.

Im not normally one to speak up in a crowd but he makes you feel very comfortable, Proctor said of Barack Obama. It wasnt, Heres the president of the United States and here I am. He was genuine.

Obama popped in on her biotechnology class on Dec. 6, 2010, as part of a visit to the college to learn more about innovation and education at a time when the country was recovering from the economic downturn.

He took his time walking around the room, stopping to chat with each lab-coat-wearing student, peering at least once into a microscope.

He was genuinely interested and asked follow-up questions, Gary Green, the president of Forsyth Tech, said.

He got a good feel for what it was like for community college students to engage with federal programs. He was not just asking public questions but actually drilling down.

Later, in front of her classmates, Proctor, then 55, told Obama that she returned to school after being laid off from her job at a furniture factory, determined to set an example for her twin daughters.

Someone on the presidents team took note of Proctors resilience.

After leaving the classroom, Obama rode in the presidential limousine with Green to the colleges west campus on Bolton Road to give a speech. En route, they passed a group of school kids from St. Johns Lutheran Church on Silas Creek Parkway, smiling and waving at the motorcade.

He commented that he never got tired of seeing that, Green said.

During his 40-minute speech, Obama called for a Sputnik moment that would re-invigorate the economy, using innovation and research.

That speech was actually a test-run for a bigger speech six weeks later, the 2011 State of the Union.

In that speech, Obama revisited the idea of a Sputnik moment, a reference to the Soviet Unions earth-orbiting satellite known as Sputnik, the development of which surprised and rattled the United States, which was years behind.

Proctor was in the crowd at the State of the Union address, after getting an invitation from the White House. She sat in first lady Michelle Obamas box and pointed to herself when Obama wove her story of reinvention into his speech.

When Obama mentioned her, Proctor mouthed, Thats me. The gesture went viral, becoming fodder for a bit on The Daily Show on Comedy Central.

Nearly six years removed from those heady days, Proctor said she was sad to see Obama leave office.

Im like that man at his farewell speech who yelled, Four more years. I think hes done a remarkable job, and I think hes a people president, Proctor said.

Being an Obama backer in ultra-red Archdale in Randolph County was not always easy.

Yeah, Ive had to defend him, but I try to avoid conflict, she said.

Whether America had its Sputnik moment may be up for debate. But Proctors life has changed plenty since that classroom meeting with the president.

Working in quality control at Herbalife in 2017, Proctor said she was making more money than she ever has.

It didnt happen overnight. Going back to school allowed me to transform my life, she said. And it gave me that new career I wanted.

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When the President came to town: 11 years ago, Barack Obama was in Winston-Salem - Winston-Salem Journal

Leaders from across the political spectrum offered tributes to Bob Dole, the former Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee who died on Sunday, hailing him as a war hero and statesman who dedicated his life to public service.

Bob Dole was a man to be admired by Americans, President Biden said on Twitter. He had an unerring sense of integrity and honor.

The president cited Mr. Doles legacy of decency, dignity, good humor, and patriotism.

Vice President Kamala Harris called Mr. Dole a war hero and patriot.

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader, said in a statement that Mr. Doles lifetime of service was rooted in a simple mission: looking out for his neighbors.

That path started with serving customers at a soda fountain in Russell, Kan., and continued through his service in the Armys 10th Mountain Division during World War II, and it was capped off by nearly 30 years in the Senate and more than a decade as the Republican leader, he said.

His Dust Bowl roots fueled a special commitment to vulnerable Americans, and sure enough, Bobs work on food security, veterans issues, and the rights of disabled Americans have continued to have an especially lasting impact, Mr. McConnell said.

Mike Pence, the former Republican vice president in the Trump administration, said Mr. Dole lived an extraordinary life of service to America.

Former President Barack Obama said on Twitter that Mr. Doles political leadership and demeanor harked back to a day when members of the Greatest Generation abided by a certain code, putting country over party.

Former President George W. Bush said of Mr. Dole in a statement: This good man represented the finest of American values.

I will always remember Bobs salute to my late dad at the Capitol, Mr. Bush added, referring to his father, former President George H.W. Bush, who died in 2018, and now we Bushes salute Bob and give thanks for his life of principled service.

Former President Bill Clinton, Mr. Doles opponent in the 1996 presidential contest, said on Twitter that Mr. Dole dedicated his life to serving the American people, from his heroism in World War II to the 35 years he spent in Congress.

After all he gave in the war, Mr. Clinton added, he didnt have to give more. But he did. His example should inspire people today and for generations to come.

Al Franken, the Democratic former U.S. senator and comedy writer, said of Mr. Dole: He was a war hero, one of the great senators, a lovely man, and well, Im finally the funniest former US senator. Ill miss this REALLY funny man.

Link:
Biden, Obama and Other Leaders React to Bob Dole's Death - The New York Times

A woman walks past a mural of the Iraniannational flag in central Tehran, Iran, on Nov. 7, 2019.

Photo: STR/AFP via Getty Images

The United States is going to war with Iran.

That conclusion seems unavoidable watching President Joe Biden fail to revive the Iran nuclear deal from which the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew in 2018. The Iranian side has demanded the removal of sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump, as well as a guarantee that a future U.S. administration will not once again abruptly pull out of the nuclear deal, which is known as the JCPOA. While Iran has continued to abide by the minimum terms of the deal in order to preserve the possibility of bringing it back to life, Bidens unwillingness or inability to meetits terms has left observers now warning of a worst-case scenario in which Iran proceeds to weaponize its nuclear program and the two countries cometo a full-blownarmed conflict.

It is worth reflecting on how both sides came to this point. The nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration was a means of averting war by placing Irans nuclear program under international monitoring in exchange for economic integration with the West. That agreement was abruptly torn up by Trump, seemingly in a fit of personal pique at President Barack Obama, with the encouragement of hawkish advisers and former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In place of a diplomatic arrangement, the Trump administration waged a campaign of economic pressure, sabotage, and assassinations targeting Iranian leadership.

Those efforts did great harm to innocent Iranians as well as to U.S. diplomatic standing. They have not done what the diplomatic agreement did: actually curb Irans nuclear program. Iran today remains under U.S. sanctions that haveseverely harmed its economy and sent its people into desperation. Its nuclear program, however, has continued to advance.The Biden administrations failure or incapacity todo the minimum of reversing Trumps economic sanctions has likely put an end to the old agreement. Absent the 2015 nuclear deal, the only two options left on the table are the international community accepting an Iran with nuclear weapons capability or going to war to stop it.

The truly depressing thing is that even if Biden wasnt dragging his feet, it is unclear whether the original deal was even revivable after Trump showed that the U.S. could turn against it without notice. Western companies that had expressed an interest in investing in the Iranian market when the deal was first negotiated have been scared off, likely for good. Even if the JCPOA was restored, no Western company would dare invest a cent in Iran, no Western bank would finance any deal in Iran with the threat of the return of US sanctions in 2025. Once was enough. The Iranians know it, former French diplomat Grard Araud observed in a tweet.

In addition to its unwillingness to lift the Trump-era sanctions and its inability to make executive promises that bind future administrations, the Biden administration probably lacks the majority votes it would need in the U.S. Senate to ratify the deal as a treaty. That means the odds of another rug-pulling in 2025 are high if a Republican administration comes to office. Absent the ability to guarantee the not-unreasonable demand that a signed deal be adhered to, the U.S. faces the prospect of being structurally unable to carry out the type of complex diplomacy necessary to avert war or nuclear proliferation.

Regional powers are already sending strong signals that they are preparing for a major conflict over the issue.

In recent days, top-ranking Israeli military officials have visited the headquarters of the U.S. militarys Central Command for meetings said to be about the deteriorating situation with Iran. The Israeli defense establishment has been divided in its views on the Iranian nuclear issue, with some officials contradicting the position held by Netanyahu that the deal is an unacceptable threat to Israeli security. But even Israeli officials who have said that Iran is not close to making a bomb have begun to signal that airstrikes are now on the table, particularly as it appears that the nuclear program may soon be freed of the oversight imposed by the original deal. In addition to discussing strikes against nuclear targets in Iran, Israeli news reports this week have claimed that officials are even pushing their U.S. counterparts to carry out strikes against Iranian targets elsewhere in the Middle East.

In the big picture, Iran is not completely free of blame for this predicament. Its decision to make Israel its primary villain in its public rhetoric despite the absence of any concrete territorial dispute between the two countries hasmired it in a serious conflict that itmay otherwise have avoided. But the fact remains that the 2015 nuclear deal, which Iranian diplomats at the time characterized as a first step toward broader conversations on areas of disagreement with the U.S., was being upheld on their side at the moment that Trump decided to tear it up and that the Biden administration has failed to reverse the steps that Trump took. The response to the question What now? has no easy or comforting answers.

The sclerotic nature of foreign policy debate means that if and when a major war with Iran comes, including airstrikes, naval conflict, and possible ground operations involving U.S. troops, most Americans will have forgotten the precipitating events that brought the two countries to this point, as well as the people responsible for destroying a diplomatic agreement intended to prevent bloodshed. After20 years of conflict in the Middle East and Central Asia, Americans are clearly fatigued and eager to avoid newwars in the region. Despite how tired they may be of confrontation, their leaders seem bent on having one more perhaps the biggest of all.

Originally posted here:
The Iran War Is Now Around the Corner - The Intercept

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Obama insider on going from 'White Castle' to the White House - MSNBC