Monday, April 28, 2014
If you can't beat racism eat it
Barcelona's Dani Alves reacted to having a
banana thrown at him during Sunday's dramatic
3-2 win at Villarreal by peeling it and then taking
a bite.
He was about to take a corner when the banana
landed on the pitch.
"We have suffered this in Spain for some time. You
have to take it with a dose of humour," Alves said.
"Barcelona wishes to express its complete support
and solidarity with Dani Alves following the insults
he was subject to," a club statement read.
"Barcelona urges all clubs to continue fighting
against the blight on the game which any kind of
aggression against a sportsperson on the basis of
their race represents.''
Former Barca striker Gary Lineker praised the
actions of Alves. "Picked it up, peeled it, ate it and
proceeded to take the corner," he tweeted. "Top
response."
The ex-England striker added: "Utterly brilliant
reaction from Alves. Treat the racist berk with
complete disdain!"
Neymar, a club-mate of Alves and a fellow Brazil
international, and Manchester City and Argentina
forward Sergio Aguero also displayed their
solidarity with the player by publishing
photographs of themselves eating bananas.
Compatriots Hulk, Fred and Lucas Leiva also lent
support via their social media accounts, with
Liverpool midfielder Lucas writing on Twitter:
"Congratulations on your attitude yesterday. We
are together on this fight against racism."
Tottenham and Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor
said on Twitter: "Massive respect to danid2ois,
there is no place for Racism in Football.
#saynotoracism."
Spurs duo Nacer Chadli and Moussa Dembele were
also pictured eating bananas with a message
supporting the fight against racism.
The Spanish media reported that match referee
David Fernandez Borbalan made a note of the
incident and that the country's football association,
RFEF, will meet on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
Alves has been a regular target of racist abuse
during his 12 years in Spain with both Sevilla and
Barcelona.
In January 2013, he complained of racist abuse
following a Copa del Rey semi-final match against
Real Madrid.
"We aren't going to change things easily," he
added.
Referring specifically to Sunday's incident, which
took place on 75 minutes, he said: "If you don't
give it importance, they don't achieve their
objective."
Alves, 30, was involved in Barca's first two goals
as they came from 2-0 down against Villarreal to
win 3-2 at El Madrigal.
His cross was deflected into the Villarreal net by
Gabriel Armando on 65 minutes. Then another
cross was deflected home by Mateo Musacchio 13
minutes later.
Lionel Messi then sealed the comeback seven
minutes from time to reach the 40-goal mark in all
competitions for the fifth straight season.
The win leaves Gerardo Martino's Barcelona side
second in the table, four points behind leaders
Atletico Madrid and two ahead of Real Madrid.
Barca and Atletico have three matches left, but
Real, who play Bayern Munich in the Champions
League semi-finals on Tuesday, have a game in
hand. Atletico face Chelsea in the second semi-
final on Wednesday.
23-year-old with 24 kids
It's a sunny April afternoon at the
University of Rwanda College of Education in Kigali.
Some students huddle in groups conversing in
hushed voices; others hurry between buildings
carrying books. Exams begin in a week.
On a grassy knoll behind an office block, Jean
Claude Nkusi is giving his 24 children a talking to.
"Study hard everyone," he says. "If you work hard
you can improve your life and make it better."
This isn't your typical family. Nkusi is 23. None of
his "children" share his DNA. In fact, the only thing
linking them is that they're all genocide survivors
-- ethnic Rwandan Tutsis who lost their families in
the 1994 violence that killed 800,000 people.
'It's because of history'
Creating "artificial families" to help
young genocide survivors cope is the
brainchild of an organization called the
Association for Student Genocide
Survivors (AERG) . Originally founded by
12 University of Rwanda students in
1996, they've expanded to 43,397
university and high school students
from across the tiny east-central
African country today.
AERG initially creates families from
members based on the secondary
school or university they attend, after
which the newly-formed family meet to
democratically elect a willing father and mother
from among their ranks. Though they don't all live
together, they do help each other out financially
and attempt to pool their resources.
In the University of Rwanda's College of Education
alone there are 21 such families, with hundreds
more being set up across the country.
"(We) Rwandans, we used to have big families but
during the genocide many people were killed," says
Daniel Tuyizere, AERG's second vice coordinator at
the University of Rwanda.
"To fight against that, we have to build
artificial families so that we can go
back to the way we were," he adds.
"That's why you can find a father with
25 children -- it's because of that, it's
because of history."
AERG National Coordinator Constantine
Rukundo explains that the concept
stems from a basic necessity.
"You need someone to care about you," she says,
adding that the aim is that the families will stay
together for life. "When you get married your family
will be there; they'll be the first to help you."
Scarred by war
UNICEF estimates that 95,000 children were
orphaned as a result of the genocide. Seventy per
cent witnessed murders or injuries, while many
were victims of violence and rape themselves.
Their problems continued after 1994. By 2001, an
estimated 264,000 Rwandan children had lost one
or both parents to AIDS, a disease which was
partly spread through the use of rape as a tool of
war.
Today many of these young people suffer
disproportionately from poverty, homelessness,
trauma and legal issues, including having had their
deceased parents' land taken away from them
when they were too young to claim it.
Bringing light back
Rwanda is currently in the middle of 100 days of
mourning. The 20th anniversary commemorations
have been upsetting for many of the young people
who still carry both physical and mental scars from
the past.
Kelsey Finnegan, Project Officer at
Survivors Fund, says that trauma
permeates into many different aspects
of their lives: "Many for example have
difficulties studying, maintaining
relationships, or have issues with
drugs and alcohol."
Kevin Mugina, 21, says that being in a family
environment helps young people to deal with their
emotions. "Some people used to be very angry."
He says that together they discuss their feelings
and how to control them enough so that they can
live peacefully with their neighbors.
Yet, he adds, trauma among his peers is still a
huge issue. "We have kids who have been so
shocked from genocide that they have a
permanent shock -- that is one of our big
problems."
But overall, it seems that they are in good hands.
Augustin Nsengiyumua, 27, calls up his artificial
mother for all sorts of small things. "For example if
I don't have a pen, or I don't have soap," he says.
Younger than several of his artificial offspring,
Nkusi says that fatherhood is a lot of responsibility
but he relishes it. "You have to know every
situation that your children are in -- if they're
studying without any problem, if they're eating,
everyday life. If one of them is sick I have to be
the first one to know it."
He has named their family Urumuri.
"Urumuri," Nkusi says, "means to light something
up. It's when something was dark, and now it is
bright again."
University of Rwanda College of Education in Kigali.
Some students huddle in groups conversing in
hushed voices; others hurry between buildings
carrying books. Exams begin in a week.
On a grassy knoll behind an office block, Jean
Claude Nkusi is giving his 24 children a talking to.
"Study hard everyone," he says. "If you work hard
you can improve your life and make it better."
This isn't your typical family. Nkusi is 23. None of
his "children" share his DNA. In fact, the only thing
linking them is that they're all genocide survivors
-- ethnic Rwandan Tutsis who lost their families in
the 1994 violence that killed 800,000 people.
'It's because of history'
Creating "artificial families" to help
young genocide survivors cope is the
brainchild of an organization called the
Association for Student Genocide
Survivors (AERG) . Originally founded by
12 University of Rwanda students in
1996, they've expanded to 43,397
university and high school students
from across the tiny east-central
African country today.
AERG initially creates families from
members based on the secondary
school or university they attend, after
which the newly-formed family meet to
democratically elect a willing father and mother
from among their ranks. Though they don't all live
together, they do help each other out financially
and attempt to pool their resources.
In the University of Rwanda's College of Education
alone there are 21 such families, with hundreds
more being set up across the country.
"(We) Rwandans, we used to have big families but
during the genocide many people were killed," says
Daniel Tuyizere, AERG's second vice coordinator at
the University of Rwanda.
"To fight against that, we have to build
artificial families so that we can go
back to the way we were," he adds.
"That's why you can find a father with
25 children -- it's because of that, it's
because of history."
AERG National Coordinator Constantine
Rukundo explains that the concept
stems from a basic necessity.
"You need someone to care about you," she says,
adding that the aim is that the families will stay
together for life. "When you get married your family
will be there; they'll be the first to help you."
Scarred by war
UNICEF estimates that 95,000 children were
orphaned as a result of the genocide. Seventy per
cent witnessed murders or injuries, while many
were victims of violence and rape themselves.
Their problems continued after 1994. By 2001, an
estimated 264,000 Rwandan children had lost one
or both parents to AIDS, a disease which was
partly spread through the use of rape as a tool of
war.
Today many of these young people suffer
disproportionately from poverty, homelessness,
trauma and legal issues, including having had their
deceased parents' land taken away from them
when they were too young to claim it.
Bringing light back
Rwanda is currently in the middle of 100 days of
mourning. The 20th anniversary commemorations
have been upsetting for many of the young people
who still carry both physical and mental scars from
the past.
Kelsey Finnegan, Project Officer at
Survivors Fund, says that trauma
permeates into many different aspects
of their lives: "Many for example have
difficulties studying, maintaining
relationships, or have issues with
drugs and alcohol."
Kevin Mugina, 21, says that being in a family
environment helps young people to deal with their
emotions. "Some people used to be very angry."
He says that together they discuss their feelings
and how to control them enough so that they can
live peacefully with their neighbors.
Yet, he adds, trauma among his peers is still a
huge issue. "We have kids who have been so
shocked from genocide that they have a
permanent shock -- that is one of our big
problems."
But overall, it seems that they are in good hands.
Augustin Nsengiyumua, 27, calls up his artificial
mother for all sorts of small things. "For example if
I don't have a pen, or I don't have soap," he says.
Younger than several of his artificial offspring,
Nkusi says that fatherhood is a lot of responsibility
but he relishes it. "You have to know every
situation that your children are in -- if they're
studying without any problem, if they're eating,
everyday life. If one of them is sick I have to be
the first one to know it."
He has named their family Urumuri.
"Urumuri," Nkusi says, "means to light something
up. It's when something was dark, and now it is
bright again."
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Man Held Sister Captive For Years
Man Held Sister Captive for Years in
Bedroom ‘Dungeon’
A 58-year-old man from Seymour was arrested after police say he kept his sister captive for...
Seymour, Conn. (FoxCT ) — A 58-year-old man was arrested Thursday on charges
that he held his younger sister captive for several years in their home on Eleanor
Road.
Police say Arthur Gauvin kept his 56-year-old sister locked in a bedroom to keep
from losing the house to the state of Connecticut. She was found covered in filth and
her room smelled so bad, police evacuated the house after a couple of minutes.
Arthur Gauvin, of 10 Eleanor Rd., was charged with first-degree unlawful restraint,
second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons.
He was released after posting a $20,000 bond, but was arrested a second time after
threatening a family member in front of officers, police said.
He was arraigned Friday at Superior Court in Derby.
The incident unfolded Thursday evening when an anonymous person called police
and asked that officers check on the welfare of a 56-year-old woman at 10 Eleanor
Rd.
Officers were allowed in the home by family members. While speaking with Gauvin,
officers noticed a foul odor and were led to the where Gauvin’s sister was found.
Her entire body was covered in human feces. She was frail, extremely thin and
appeared malnourished. Feces and urine were spread throughout the bedroom,
including the bed where she slept, police said.
An unsanitary portable toilet was found in the room.
“The bedroom was kept like a dungeon,” Deputy Chief Paul Satkowski said in a press
release.
The one window inside the room was blacked out with black paint to prevent the
female victim from seeing the outside. The window was also boarded up to prevent
the victim from escaping.
Officers found a locking clasp on the outside of the bedroom door that prevented the
female from
The smell inside the house was so pungent, officers immediately evacuated the
residence after only several minutes of being inside the room.
A detective with a special hazmat suit and a self-contained breathing apparatus
helped patrol officers process the scene, police said.
The female victim was immediately transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Since
minor children also reside inside the house at 10 Eleanor Rd., the Department of
Children and Families was called and will conduct a follow up investigation.
Bedroom ‘Dungeon’
A 58-year-old man from Seymour was arrested after police say he kept his sister captive for...
Seymour, Conn. (FoxCT ) — A 58-year-old man was arrested Thursday on charges
that he held his younger sister captive for several years in their home on Eleanor
Road.
Police say Arthur Gauvin kept his 56-year-old sister locked in a bedroom to keep
from losing the house to the state of Connecticut. She was found covered in filth and
her room smelled so bad, police evacuated the house after a couple of minutes.
Arthur Gauvin, of 10 Eleanor Rd., was charged with first-degree unlawful restraint,
second-degree reckless endangerment and cruelty to persons.
He was released after posting a $20,000 bond, but was arrested a second time after
threatening a family member in front of officers, police said.
He was arraigned Friday at Superior Court in Derby.
The incident unfolded Thursday evening when an anonymous person called police
and asked that officers check on the welfare of a 56-year-old woman at 10 Eleanor
Rd.
Officers were allowed in the home by family members. While speaking with Gauvin,
officers noticed a foul odor and were led to the where Gauvin’s sister was found.
Her entire body was covered in human feces. She was frail, extremely thin and
appeared malnourished. Feces and urine were spread throughout the bedroom,
including the bed where she slept, police said.
An unsanitary portable toilet was found in the room.
“The bedroom was kept like a dungeon,” Deputy Chief Paul Satkowski said in a press
release.
The one window inside the room was blacked out with black paint to prevent the
female victim from seeing the outside. The window was also boarded up to prevent
the victim from escaping.
Officers found a locking clasp on the outside of the bedroom door that prevented the
female from
The smell inside the house was so pungent, officers immediately evacuated the
residence after only several minutes of being inside the room.
A detective with a special hazmat suit and a self-contained breathing apparatus
helped patrol officers process the scene, police said.
The female victim was immediately transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Since
minor children also reside inside the house at 10 Eleanor Rd., the Department of
Children and Families was called and will conduct a follow up investigation.
Close to 3,000 renounced US citizenship in 2013
More renounce US citizenship but deny stereotype
Inside the long-awaited package, six pages of
government paperwork dryly affirmed Carol
Tapanila's anxious request. But when Tapanila
slipped the contents from the brown envelope, she
saw there was something more.
"We the people...." declared the script inside her
U.S. passport — now with four holes punched
through it from cover to cover. Her departure from
life as an American was stamped final on the same
page: "Bearer Expatriated Self."
With the envelope's arrival, Tapanila, a native of
upstate New York who has lived in Canada since
1969, joined a largely overlooked surge of
Americans rejecting what is, to millions, a highly
sought prize: U.S. citizenship. Last year, the U.S.
government reported a record 2,999 people
renounced citizenship or terminated permanent
residency; most are widely assumed to be driven
by a desire to avoid paying taxes on hidden
wealth.
The reality, though, is more complicated. The
government's pursuit of tax evaders among
Americans living abroad is indeed driving the jump
in abandoned citizenship, experts say. But
renouncers — whose ranks have swelled more
than five-fold from a decade ago — often contradict
the stereotype of the financial scoundrel. Many are
from very ordinary economic circumstances.
Some call themselves "accidental Americans," who
recall little of life in the U.S., but long ago
happened to be born in it. Others say they
renounced because of politics, family or personal
identity. Some say signing away citizenship was a
huge relief. Others recall being sickened by the
decision.
At the U.S. consulate in Geneva, "I talked to a man
who explained to me that I could never, ever get
my nationality back," says Donna-Lane Nelson,
whose Boston accent lingers though she's lived in
Switzerland 24 years. "It felt like a divorce. It felt
like a death. I took the second oath and I left the
consulate and I threw up."
When Americans do hear about compatriots
rejecting citizenship, it's more often people
keeping their U.S. citizenship and dropping that of
another country.
Last year, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz acknowledged the
Canadian citizenship he was born to, but said he
would renounce it. In 2012, Rep. Michele
Bachmann, R-Minnesota, saying she was "100
percent committed to our United States
Constitution," announced she was giving up Swiss
citizenship gained through marriage.
One of the few times rejected U.S. citizenship has
gotten significant ink was Facebook co-founder
Eduardo Saverin's 2011 decision to turn in his
American passport after moving to Singapore.
Saverin likely avoided millions of dollars in taxes
by doing so shortly before Facebook's initial stock
offering.
Other wealthy Americans also have relinquished
U.S. citizenship. Denise Rich, the ex-wife of
pardoned trader Marc Rich, expatriated in 2012 and
lives in London. Last fall, singer Tina Turner, a
resident of Switzerland since 1995, relinquished
her U.S. passport.
But Saverin's decision, in particular, hit a political
nerve, along with scandals surrounding UBS and
Credit Suisse, which were caught matching wealthy
Americans with offshore accounts.
In recent years, federal officials have stepped up
pursuit of potential tax evaders, using the Foreign
Account Tax Compliance Act which requires that
Americans overseas report assets to the IRS or
pay stiff penalties. Those trying to comply
complain of costly fees for accountants and
lawyers, having to report the income of non-
American spouses, and decisions by some
European banks to close accounts of U.S. citizens
or deny them loans.
But some of those surrendering citizenship say
their reasons are as much about life as about
taxes, particularly since the U.S. government does
not tax Americans abroad on their first $96,600 in
yearly income.
Decisions to renounce "are driven by a whole
range of emotional considerations. ... You've got
anger, you've got fear, you've got a strong sense
of indignation," said John Richardson, a Toronto
lawyer who advises people on expatriation. "For
many of these people, this is not a tax issue at
all."
Even some who acknowledge tax worries say
decisions to renounce are far more complicated
than a simple desire to avoid paying.
Peter Dunn, born in Chicago and raised in Alaska,
moved to Canada to pursue a graduate degree in
theology. He met his wife, Catherine, and they
made Toronto home when her work as one of the
owners of an aviation maintenance firm made her
the breadwinner.
Dunn remained an American. But he was alarmed
by a change in U.S. law requiring those with more
than $2 million in assets to pay an exit tax if they
gave up citizenship. He didn't have $2 million. But
his wife was doing well enough that he imagined
one day they could get there. The idea of the U.S.
government taxing his Canadian wife's money
didn't seem right.
"When I learned about that, I decided that to
protect my wife, I better expatriate," he says.
Corine Mauch arrived at the same decision by a
different route. Mauch was born a U.S. citizen to
Swiss parents who were college students in Iowa.
They lived in the U.S. until she was 5, then again
for two more years before she turned 11. Mauch
maintained dual citizenship even after she was
elected to Zurich's city council. But when she
became mayor, she reconsidered.
During the last American presidential election, "I
asked myself 'Where do I feel at home?' And the
answer is clear: In Zurich and in Switzerland. My
attachment to America is limited to my very early
youth," Mauch said. Double taxation was "not the
crucial factor for my decision. But I will not miss
the U.S. tax bureaucracy either."
Taxes play little or no role in other decisions.
Norman Heinrichs-Gale's parents were
missionaries from Washington state who raised
him in Asia and the Middle East. In 1986, he
traveled to Austria with his American wife, and
they found work at a conference center in an
alpine valley town of 6,000. The jobs were
supposed to last a year. But the couple stayed,
sending their children to local schools.
On yearly trips to the U.S. he felt increasingly like
a stranger. "I never forget going into a grocery
store and just being stunned by my choice of
cereals," Heinrichs-Gale says. "I was stunned by
just the pace of life compared to what we have
here, stunned by the extremes of wealth and
poverty that I encountered."
There wasn't one single thing that pushed him
away. But his children wanted to attend Austrian
colleges and he and his wife wanted to vote in the
country they considered home. The family was
tired of renewing visas and work permits. And so
they signed documents giving up U.S. citizenship.
Now, one of the last vestiges of American culture
in their home is watching Seattle Seahawks games
online.
Sports played the central role in Quincy Davis III's
decision. Davis, raised in Los Angeles and Mobile,
Ala., played professional basketball in Europe after
three years as Tulane University's leading scorer.
By 2011, he was home studying to become a
firefighter when he was offered a spot on a
Taiwanese pro squad. He's since helped lead the
Pure Youth Construction team to two
championships.
When the team's owner suggested last year that
he join Taiwan's national team, Davis says he
found little motivation to keep his U.S. citizenship.
"When you think about who I am as a black guy in
the U.S., I didn't have opportunities," he says.
"You get discriminated against over there in the
South. Here everyone is so nice. They invite you
into their homes, they're so hospitable. ... There's
no crime, no guns. I can't help but love this
place."
Many others cutting their U.S. ties say tax laws
drive decisions that have nothing to do with
secreting wealth.
"I wish I were wealthy," said Nelson, who says she
takes in about $50,000 a year from pensions and
earnings from publishing an online journal
covering credit union news.
Nelson has vivid memories of growing up in the
U.S. Even after moving to Europe, she continued
sending five to 10 emails a week to members of
Congress, opposing the Iraq war and the Patriot
Act. After 15 years, she acquired Swiss citizenship
so she could vote. But she began considering
expatriation only in 2010 after a banker told her
that, because of new U.S. financial reporting laws,
it was closing the accounts of many Americans
and a mistake as minor as an overdraft could
mean the same for hers.
"How would my clients pay me?" says Nelson, who
is 71 and also an author of mystery novels.
"Where does my Social Security get deposited?
Where does my pension get deposited?"
The jump in renunciations reflects evolving views
about national identity, said Nancy L. Green, an
American professor at the L'Ecole des Hautes
Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. When the
U.S. got its start, citizenship was defined by
"perpetual allegiance" — the British notion of
nationality as a birthright that could never be
changed.
American colonists rejected that to justify
becoming citizens of a newly independent country.
But changeable citizenship wasn't widely
embraced until the mass immigration of the late
1800s, says Green, a historian of migration and
expatriation.
Even then, U.S. artists and writers who moved to
Europe in the 1920s were criticized, suspected of
trying to avoid taxes. Until the 1960s, U.S.
citizenship remained a privilege the government
could take away on certain grounds. It's only since
then that U.S. citizenship has come to be viewed
as belonging to an individual, who could keep —
or surrender it — by choice.
But Carol Tapanila's life in Canada has tested that
redefinition.
Six years after Tapanila's husband lost his job at a
Boeing factory in Washington state and they
moved to Canada for work, the couple became
citizens of their new country. She says U.S.
consular officials told her that, by swearing
allegiance to Canada, she might well have lost her
American citizenship.
After retiring from a job as an administrative
assistant at an oil company in Calgary, Tapanila
began putting $125 a month into a special savings
account for her developmentally disabled son,
matched by the Canadian government. In her will,
she authorized creation of a trust fund to draw on
retirement savings and other assets to provide for
her son, who is now 40, after her death.
Tapanila says she didn't know she was required to
file U.S. tax returns until 2007, when her daughter
raised the subject. Her troubles were compounded
by her decision to apply for a U.S. passport after
a border officer told her she should have one. She
has since spent $42,000 on fees for lawyers and
accountants and paid about $2,000 in U.S. taxes,
including on funds in her son's disability savings
account.
In 2012 she turned in the passport, renouncing
U.S. citizenship to protect money saved for her
retirement and her son. Tapanila, 70, has tried and
failed to renounce U.S. citizenship on his behalf,
saying officials told her such a decision must be
made by the individual alone.
"You know, we are not rich people and we are not
tax evaders and we are not traitors and I'm more
than tired of being labeled that way," Tapanila
says.
"I'm sorry that I've given my son this burden and I
can do nothing about it ... I thought we had some
rights to go wherever we wanted to go and some
choices we could make in our lives. I thought that
was democracy. Apparently, I've got it all wrong."
___
Inside the long-awaited package, six pages of
government paperwork dryly affirmed Carol
Tapanila's anxious request. But when Tapanila
slipped the contents from the brown envelope, she
saw there was something more.
"We the people...." declared the script inside her
U.S. passport — now with four holes punched
through it from cover to cover. Her departure from
life as an American was stamped final on the same
page: "Bearer Expatriated Self."
With the envelope's arrival, Tapanila, a native of
upstate New York who has lived in Canada since
1969, joined a largely overlooked surge of
Americans rejecting what is, to millions, a highly
sought prize: U.S. citizenship. Last year, the U.S.
government reported a record 2,999 people
renounced citizenship or terminated permanent
residency; most are widely assumed to be driven
by a desire to avoid paying taxes on hidden
wealth.
The reality, though, is more complicated. The
government's pursuit of tax evaders among
Americans living abroad is indeed driving the jump
in abandoned citizenship, experts say. But
renouncers — whose ranks have swelled more
than five-fold from a decade ago — often contradict
the stereotype of the financial scoundrel. Many are
from very ordinary economic circumstances.
Some call themselves "accidental Americans," who
recall little of life in the U.S., but long ago
happened to be born in it. Others say they
renounced because of politics, family or personal
identity. Some say signing away citizenship was a
huge relief. Others recall being sickened by the
decision.
At the U.S. consulate in Geneva, "I talked to a man
who explained to me that I could never, ever get
my nationality back," says Donna-Lane Nelson,
whose Boston accent lingers though she's lived in
Switzerland 24 years. "It felt like a divorce. It felt
like a death. I took the second oath and I left the
consulate and I threw up."
When Americans do hear about compatriots
rejecting citizenship, it's more often people
keeping their U.S. citizenship and dropping that of
another country.
Last year, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz acknowledged the
Canadian citizenship he was born to, but said he
would renounce it. In 2012, Rep. Michele
Bachmann, R-Minnesota, saying she was "100
percent committed to our United States
Constitution," announced she was giving up Swiss
citizenship gained through marriage.
One of the few times rejected U.S. citizenship has
gotten significant ink was Facebook co-founder
Eduardo Saverin's 2011 decision to turn in his
American passport after moving to Singapore.
Saverin likely avoided millions of dollars in taxes
by doing so shortly before Facebook's initial stock
offering.
Other wealthy Americans also have relinquished
U.S. citizenship. Denise Rich, the ex-wife of
pardoned trader Marc Rich, expatriated in 2012 and
lives in London. Last fall, singer Tina Turner, a
resident of Switzerland since 1995, relinquished
her U.S. passport.
But Saverin's decision, in particular, hit a political
nerve, along with scandals surrounding UBS and
Credit Suisse, which were caught matching wealthy
Americans with offshore accounts.
In recent years, federal officials have stepped up
pursuit of potential tax evaders, using the Foreign
Account Tax Compliance Act which requires that
Americans overseas report assets to the IRS or
pay stiff penalties. Those trying to comply
complain of costly fees for accountants and
lawyers, having to report the income of non-
American spouses, and decisions by some
European banks to close accounts of U.S. citizens
or deny them loans.
But some of those surrendering citizenship say
their reasons are as much about life as about
taxes, particularly since the U.S. government does
not tax Americans abroad on their first $96,600 in
yearly income.
Decisions to renounce "are driven by a whole
range of emotional considerations. ... You've got
anger, you've got fear, you've got a strong sense
of indignation," said John Richardson, a Toronto
lawyer who advises people on expatriation. "For
many of these people, this is not a tax issue at
all."
Even some who acknowledge tax worries say
decisions to renounce are far more complicated
than a simple desire to avoid paying.
Peter Dunn, born in Chicago and raised in Alaska,
moved to Canada to pursue a graduate degree in
theology. He met his wife, Catherine, and they
made Toronto home when her work as one of the
owners of an aviation maintenance firm made her
the breadwinner.
Dunn remained an American. But he was alarmed
by a change in U.S. law requiring those with more
than $2 million in assets to pay an exit tax if they
gave up citizenship. He didn't have $2 million. But
his wife was doing well enough that he imagined
one day they could get there. The idea of the U.S.
government taxing his Canadian wife's money
didn't seem right.
"When I learned about that, I decided that to
protect my wife, I better expatriate," he says.
Corine Mauch arrived at the same decision by a
different route. Mauch was born a U.S. citizen to
Swiss parents who were college students in Iowa.
They lived in the U.S. until she was 5, then again
for two more years before she turned 11. Mauch
maintained dual citizenship even after she was
elected to Zurich's city council. But when she
became mayor, she reconsidered.
During the last American presidential election, "I
asked myself 'Where do I feel at home?' And the
answer is clear: In Zurich and in Switzerland. My
attachment to America is limited to my very early
youth," Mauch said. Double taxation was "not the
crucial factor for my decision. But I will not miss
the U.S. tax bureaucracy either."
Taxes play little or no role in other decisions.
Norman Heinrichs-Gale's parents were
missionaries from Washington state who raised
him in Asia and the Middle East. In 1986, he
traveled to Austria with his American wife, and
they found work at a conference center in an
alpine valley town of 6,000. The jobs were
supposed to last a year. But the couple stayed,
sending their children to local schools.
On yearly trips to the U.S. he felt increasingly like
a stranger. "I never forget going into a grocery
store and just being stunned by my choice of
cereals," Heinrichs-Gale says. "I was stunned by
just the pace of life compared to what we have
here, stunned by the extremes of wealth and
poverty that I encountered."
There wasn't one single thing that pushed him
away. But his children wanted to attend Austrian
colleges and he and his wife wanted to vote in the
country they considered home. The family was
tired of renewing visas and work permits. And so
they signed documents giving up U.S. citizenship.
Now, one of the last vestiges of American culture
in their home is watching Seattle Seahawks games
online.
Sports played the central role in Quincy Davis III's
decision. Davis, raised in Los Angeles and Mobile,
Ala., played professional basketball in Europe after
three years as Tulane University's leading scorer.
By 2011, he was home studying to become a
firefighter when he was offered a spot on a
Taiwanese pro squad. He's since helped lead the
Pure Youth Construction team to two
championships.
When the team's owner suggested last year that
he join Taiwan's national team, Davis says he
found little motivation to keep his U.S. citizenship.
"When you think about who I am as a black guy in
the U.S., I didn't have opportunities," he says.
"You get discriminated against over there in the
South. Here everyone is so nice. They invite you
into their homes, they're so hospitable. ... There's
no crime, no guns. I can't help but love this
place."
Many others cutting their U.S. ties say tax laws
drive decisions that have nothing to do with
secreting wealth.
"I wish I were wealthy," said Nelson, who says she
takes in about $50,000 a year from pensions and
earnings from publishing an online journal
covering credit union news.
Nelson has vivid memories of growing up in the
U.S. Even after moving to Europe, she continued
sending five to 10 emails a week to members of
Congress, opposing the Iraq war and the Patriot
Act. After 15 years, she acquired Swiss citizenship
so she could vote. But she began considering
expatriation only in 2010 after a banker told her
that, because of new U.S. financial reporting laws,
it was closing the accounts of many Americans
and a mistake as minor as an overdraft could
mean the same for hers.
"How would my clients pay me?" says Nelson, who
is 71 and also an author of mystery novels.
"Where does my Social Security get deposited?
Where does my pension get deposited?"
The jump in renunciations reflects evolving views
about national identity, said Nancy L. Green, an
American professor at the L'Ecole des Hautes
Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. When the
U.S. got its start, citizenship was defined by
"perpetual allegiance" — the British notion of
nationality as a birthright that could never be
changed.
American colonists rejected that to justify
becoming citizens of a newly independent country.
But changeable citizenship wasn't widely
embraced until the mass immigration of the late
1800s, says Green, a historian of migration and
expatriation.
Even then, U.S. artists and writers who moved to
Europe in the 1920s were criticized, suspected of
trying to avoid taxes. Until the 1960s, U.S.
citizenship remained a privilege the government
could take away on certain grounds. It's only since
then that U.S. citizenship has come to be viewed
as belonging to an individual, who could keep —
or surrender it — by choice.
But Carol Tapanila's life in Canada has tested that
redefinition.
Six years after Tapanila's husband lost his job at a
Boeing factory in Washington state and they
moved to Canada for work, the couple became
citizens of their new country. She says U.S.
consular officials told her that, by swearing
allegiance to Canada, she might well have lost her
American citizenship.
After retiring from a job as an administrative
assistant at an oil company in Calgary, Tapanila
began putting $125 a month into a special savings
account for her developmentally disabled son,
matched by the Canadian government. In her will,
she authorized creation of a trust fund to draw on
retirement savings and other assets to provide for
her son, who is now 40, after her death.
Tapanila says she didn't know she was required to
file U.S. tax returns until 2007, when her daughter
raised the subject. Her troubles were compounded
by her decision to apply for a U.S. passport after
a border officer told her she should have one. She
has since spent $42,000 on fees for lawyers and
accountants and paid about $2,000 in U.S. taxes,
including on funds in her son's disability savings
account.
In 2012 she turned in the passport, renouncing
U.S. citizenship to protect money saved for her
retirement and her son. Tapanila, 70, has tried and
failed to renounce U.S. citizenship on his behalf,
saying officials told her such a decision must be
made by the individual alone.
"You know, we are not rich people and we are not
tax evaders and we are not traitors and I'm more
than tired of being labeled that way," Tapanila
says.
"I'm sorry that I've given my son this burden and I
can do nothing about it ... I thought we had some
rights to go wherever we wanted to go and some
choices we could make in our lives. I thought that
was democracy. Apparently, I've got it all wrong."
___
Close to 3,000 renounced US citizenship in 2013
More renounce US citizenship but deny stereotype
Inside the long-awaited package, six pages of
government paperwork dryly affirmed Carol
Tapanila's anxious request. But when Tapanila
slipped the contents from the brown envelope, she
saw there was something more.
"We the people...." declared the script inside her
U.S. passport — now with four holes punched
through it from cover to cover. Her departure from
life as an American was stamped final on the same
page: "Bearer Expatriated Self."
With the envelope's arrival, Tapanila, a native of
upstate New York who has lived in Canada since
1969, joined a largely overlooked surge of
Americans rejecting what is, to millions, a highly
sought prize: U.S. citizenship. Last year, the U.S.
government reported a record 2,999 people
renounced citizenship or terminated permanent
residency; most are widely assumed to be driven
by a desire to avoid paying taxes on hidden
wealth.
The reality, though, is more complicated. The
government's pursuit of tax evaders among
Americans living abroad is indeed driving the jump
in abandoned citizenship, experts say. But
renouncers — whose ranks have swelled more
than five-fold from a decade ago — often contradict
the stereotype of the financial scoundrel. Many are
from very ordinary economic circumstances.
Some call themselves "accidental Americans," who
recall little of life in the U.S., but long ago
happened to be born in it. Others say they
renounced because of politics, family or personal
identity. Some say signing away citizenship was a
huge relief. Others recall being sickened by the
decision.
At the U.S. consulate in Geneva, "I talked to a man
who explained to me that I could never, ever get
my nationality back," says Donna-Lane Nelson,
whose Boston accent lingers though she's lived in
Switzerland 24 years. "It felt like a divorce. It felt
like a death. I took the second oath and I left the
consulate and I threw up."
When Americans do hear about compatriots
rejecting citizenship, it's more often people
keeping their U.S. citizenship and dropping that of
another country.
Last year, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz acknowledged the
Canadian citizenship he was born to, but said he
would renounce it. In 2012, Rep. Michele
Bachmann, R-Minnesota, saying she was "100
percent committed to our United States
Constitution," announced she was giving up Swiss
citizenship gained through marriage.
One of the few times rejected U.S. citizenship has
gotten significant ink was Facebook co-founder
Eduardo Saverin's 2011 decision to turn in his
American passport after moving to Singapore.
Saverin likely avoided millions of dollars in taxes
by doing so shortly before Facebook's initial stock
offering.
Other wealthy Americans also have relinquished
U.S. citizenship. Denise Rich, the ex-wife of
pardoned trader Marc Rich, expatriated in 2012 and
lives in London. Last fall, singer Tina Turner, a
resident of Switzerland since 1995, relinquished
her U.S. passport.
But Saverin's decision, in particular, hit a political
nerve, along with scandals surrounding UBS and
Credit Suisse, which were caught matching wealthy
Americans with offshore accounts.
In recent years, federal officials have stepped up
pursuit of potential tax evaders, using the Foreign
Account Tax Compliance Act which requires that
Americans overseas report assets to the IRS or
pay stiff penalties. Those trying to comply
complain of costly fees for accountants and
lawyers, having to report the income of non-
American spouses, and decisions by some
European banks to close accounts of U.S. citizens
or deny them loans.
But some of those surrendering citizenship say
their reasons are as much about life as about
taxes, particularly since the U.S. government does
not tax Americans abroad on their first $96,600 in
yearly income.
Decisions to renounce "are driven by a whole
range of emotional considerations. ... You've got
anger, you've got fear, you've got a strong sense
of indignation," said John Richardson, a Toronto
lawyer who advises people on expatriation. "For
many of these people, this is not a tax issue at
all."
Even some who acknowledge tax worries say
decisions to renounce are far more complicated
than a simple desire to avoid paying.
Peter Dunn, born in Chicago and raised in Alaska,
moved to Canada to pursue a graduate degree in
theology. He met his wife, Catherine, and they
made Toronto home when her work as one of the
owners of an aviation maintenance firm made her
the breadwinner.
Dunn remained an American. But he was alarmed
by a change in U.S. law requiring those with more
than $2 million in assets to pay an exit tax if they
gave up citizenship. He didn't have $2 million. But
his wife was doing well enough that he imagined
one day they could get there. The idea of the U.S.
government taxing his Canadian wife's money
didn't seem right.
"When I learned about that, I decided that to
protect my wife, I better expatriate," he says.
Corine Mauch arrived at the same decision by a
different route. Mauch was born a U.S. citizen to
Swiss parents who were college students in Iowa.
They lived in the U.S. until she was 5, then again
for two more years before she turned 11. Mauch
maintained dual citizenship even after she was
elected to Zurich's city council. But when she
became mayor, she reconsidered.
During the last American presidential election, "I
asked myself 'Where do I feel at home?' And the
answer is clear: In Zurich and in Switzerland. My
attachment to America is limited to my very early
youth," Mauch said. Double taxation was "not the
crucial factor for my decision. But I will not miss
the U.S. tax bureaucracy either."
Taxes play little or no role in other decisions.
Norman Heinrichs-Gale's parents were
missionaries from Washington state who raised
him in Asia and the Middle East. In 1986, he
traveled to Austria with his American wife, and
they found work at a conference center in an
alpine valley town of 6,000. The jobs were
supposed to last a year. But the couple stayed,
sending their children to local schools.
On yearly trips to the U.S. he felt increasingly like
a stranger. "I never forget going into a grocery
store and just being stunned by my choice of
cereals," Heinrichs-Gale says. "I was stunned by
just the pace of life compared to what we have
here, stunned by the extremes of wealth and
poverty that I encountered."
There wasn't one single thing that pushed him
away. But his children wanted to attend Austrian
colleges and he and his wife wanted to vote in the
country they considered home. The family was
tired of renewing visas and work permits. And so
they signed documents giving up U.S. citizenship.
Now, one of the last vestiges of American culture
in their home is watching Seattle Seahawks games
online.
Sports played the central role in Quincy Davis III's
decision. Davis, raised in Los Angeles and Mobile,
Ala., played professional basketball in Europe after
three years as Tulane University's leading scorer.
By 2011, he was home studying to become a
firefighter when he was offered a spot on a
Taiwanese pro squad. He's since helped lead the
Pure Youth Construction team to two
championships.
When the team's owner suggested last year that
he join Taiwan's national team, Davis says he
found little motivation to keep his U.S. citizenship.
"When you think about who I am as a black guy in
the U.S., I didn't have opportunities," he says.
"You get discriminated against over there in the
South. Here everyone is so nice. They invite you
into their homes, they're so hospitable. ... There's
no crime, no guns. I can't help but love this
place."
Many others cutting their U.S. ties say tax laws
drive decisions that have nothing to do with
secreting wealth.
"I wish I were wealthy," said Nelson, who says she
takes in about $50,000 a year from pensions and
earnings from publishing an online journal
covering credit union news.
Nelson has vivid memories of growing up in the
U.S. Even after moving to Europe, she continued
sending five to 10 emails a week to members of
Congress, opposing the Iraq war and the Patriot
Act. After 15 years, she acquired Swiss citizenship
so she could vote. But she began considering
expatriation only in 2010 after a banker told her
that, because of new U.S. financial reporting laws,
it was closing the accounts of many Americans
and a mistake as minor as an overdraft could
mean the same for hers.
"How would my clients pay me?" says Nelson, who
is 71 and also an author of mystery novels.
"Where does my Social Security get deposited?
Where does my pension get deposited?"
The jump in renunciations reflects evolving views
about national identity, said Nancy L. Green, an
American professor at the L'Ecole des Hautes
Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. When the
U.S. got its start, citizenship was defined by
"perpetual allegiance" — the British notion of
nationality as a birthright that could never be
changed.
American colonists rejected that to justify
becoming citizens of a newly independent country.
But changeable citizenship wasn't widely
embraced until the mass immigration of the late
1800s, says Green, a historian of migration and
expatriation.
Even then, U.S. artists and writers who moved to
Europe in the 1920s were criticized, suspected of
trying to avoid taxes. Until the 1960s, U.S.
citizenship remained a privilege the government
could take away on certain grounds. It's only since
then that U.S. citizenship has come to be viewed
as belonging to an individual, who could keep —
or surrender it — by choice.
But Carol Tapanila's life in Canada has tested that
redefinition.
Six years after Tapanila's husband lost his job at a
Boeing factory in Washington state and they
moved to Canada for work, the couple became
citizens of their new country. She says U.S.
consular officials told her that, by swearing
allegiance to Canada, she might well have lost her
American citizenship.
After retiring from a job as an administrative
assistant at an oil company in Calgary, Tapanila
began putting $125 a month into a special savings
account for her developmentally disabled son,
matched by the Canadian government. In her will,
she authorized creation of a trust fund to draw on
retirement savings and other assets to provide for
her son, who is now 40, after her death.
Tapanila says she didn't know she was required to
file U.S. tax returns until 2007, when her daughter
raised the subject. Her troubles were compounded
by her decision to apply for a U.S. passport after
a border officer told her she should have one. She
has since spent $42,000 on fees for lawyers and
accountants and paid about $2,000 in U.S. taxes,
including on funds in her son's disability savings
account.
In 2012 she turned in the passport, renouncing
U.S. citizenship to protect money saved for her
retirement and her son. Tapanila, 70, has tried and
failed to renounce U.S. citizenship on his behalf,
saying officials told her such a decision must be
made by the individual alone.
"You know, we are not rich people and we are not
tax evaders and we are not traitors and I'm more
than tired of being labeled that way," Tapanila
says.
"I'm sorry that I've given my son this burden and I
can do nothing about it ... I thought we had some
rights to go wherever we wanted to go and some
choices we could make in our lives. I thought that
was democracy. Apparently, I've got it all wrong."
___
Inside the long-awaited package, six pages of
government paperwork dryly affirmed Carol
Tapanila's anxious request. But when Tapanila
slipped the contents from the brown envelope, she
saw there was something more.
"We the people...." declared the script inside her
U.S. passport — now with four holes punched
through it from cover to cover. Her departure from
life as an American was stamped final on the same
page: "Bearer Expatriated Self."
With the envelope's arrival, Tapanila, a native of
upstate New York who has lived in Canada since
1969, joined a largely overlooked surge of
Americans rejecting what is, to millions, a highly
sought prize: U.S. citizenship. Last year, the U.S.
government reported a record 2,999 people
renounced citizenship or terminated permanent
residency; most are widely assumed to be driven
by a desire to avoid paying taxes on hidden
wealth.
The reality, though, is more complicated. The
government's pursuit of tax evaders among
Americans living abroad is indeed driving the jump
in abandoned citizenship, experts say. But
renouncers — whose ranks have swelled more
than five-fold from a decade ago — often contradict
the stereotype of the financial scoundrel. Many are
from very ordinary economic circumstances.
Some call themselves "accidental Americans," who
recall little of life in the U.S., but long ago
happened to be born in it. Others say they
renounced because of politics, family or personal
identity. Some say signing away citizenship was a
huge relief. Others recall being sickened by the
decision.
At the U.S. consulate in Geneva, "I talked to a man
who explained to me that I could never, ever get
my nationality back," says Donna-Lane Nelson,
whose Boston accent lingers though she's lived in
Switzerland 24 years. "It felt like a divorce. It felt
like a death. I took the second oath and I left the
consulate and I threw up."
When Americans do hear about compatriots
rejecting citizenship, it's more often people
keeping their U.S. citizenship and dropping that of
another country.
Last year, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz acknowledged the
Canadian citizenship he was born to, but said he
would renounce it. In 2012, Rep. Michele
Bachmann, R-Minnesota, saying she was "100
percent committed to our United States
Constitution," announced she was giving up Swiss
citizenship gained through marriage.
One of the few times rejected U.S. citizenship has
gotten significant ink was Facebook co-founder
Eduardo Saverin's 2011 decision to turn in his
American passport after moving to Singapore.
Saverin likely avoided millions of dollars in taxes
by doing so shortly before Facebook's initial stock
offering.
Other wealthy Americans also have relinquished
U.S. citizenship. Denise Rich, the ex-wife of
pardoned trader Marc Rich, expatriated in 2012 and
lives in London. Last fall, singer Tina Turner, a
resident of Switzerland since 1995, relinquished
her U.S. passport.
But Saverin's decision, in particular, hit a political
nerve, along with scandals surrounding UBS and
Credit Suisse, which were caught matching wealthy
Americans with offshore accounts.
In recent years, federal officials have stepped up
pursuit of potential tax evaders, using the Foreign
Account Tax Compliance Act which requires that
Americans overseas report assets to the IRS or
pay stiff penalties. Those trying to comply
complain of costly fees for accountants and
lawyers, having to report the income of non-
American spouses, and decisions by some
European banks to close accounts of U.S. citizens
or deny them loans.
But some of those surrendering citizenship say
their reasons are as much about life as about
taxes, particularly since the U.S. government does
not tax Americans abroad on their first $96,600 in
yearly income.
Decisions to renounce "are driven by a whole
range of emotional considerations. ... You've got
anger, you've got fear, you've got a strong sense
of indignation," said John Richardson, a Toronto
lawyer who advises people on expatriation. "For
many of these people, this is not a tax issue at
all."
Even some who acknowledge tax worries say
decisions to renounce are far more complicated
than a simple desire to avoid paying.
Peter Dunn, born in Chicago and raised in Alaska,
moved to Canada to pursue a graduate degree in
theology. He met his wife, Catherine, and they
made Toronto home when her work as one of the
owners of an aviation maintenance firm made her
the breadwinner.
Dunn remained an American. But he was alarmed
by a change in U.S. law requiring those with more
than $2 million in assets to pay an exit tax if they
gave up citizenship. He didn't have $2 million. But
his wife was doing well enough that he imagined
one day they could get there. The idea of the U.S.
government taxing his Canadian wife's money
didn't seem right.
"When I learned about that, I decided that to
protect my wife, I better expatriate," he says.
Corine Mauch arrived at the same decision by a
different route. Mauch was born a U.S. citizen to
Swiss parents who were college students in Iowa.
They lived in the U.S. until she was 5, then again
for two more years before she turned 11. Mauch
maintained dual citizenship even after she was
elected to Zurich's city council. But when she
became mayor, she reconsidered.
During the last American presidential election, "I
asked myself 'Where do I feel at home?' And the
answer is clear: In Zurich and in Switzerland. My
attachment to America is limited to my very early
youth," Mauch said. Double taxation was "not the
crucial factor for my decision. But I will not miss
the U.S. tax bureaucracy either."
Taxes play little or no role in other decisions.
Norman Heinrichs-Gale's parents were
missionaries from Washington state who raised
him in Asia and the Middle East. In 1986, he
traveled to Austria with his American wife, and
they found work at a conference center in an
alpine valley town of 6,000. The jobs were
supposed to last a year. But the couple stayed,
sending their children to local schools.
On yearly trips to the U.S. he felt increasingly like
a stranger. "I never forget going into a grocery
store and just being stunned by my choice of
cereals," Heinrichs-Gale says. "I was stunned by
just the pace of life compared to what we have
here, stunned by the extremes of wealth and
poverty that I encountered."
There wasn't one single thing that pushed him
away. But his children wanted to attend Austrian
colleges and he and his wife wanted to vote in the
country they considered home. The family was
tired of renewing visas and work permits. And so
they signed documents giving up U.S. citizenship.
Now, one of the last vestiges of American culture
in their home is watching Seattle Seahawks games
online.
Sports played the central role in Quincy Davis III's
decision. Davis, raised in Los Angeles and Mobile,
Ala., played professional basketball in Europe after
three years as Tulane University's leading scorer.
By 2011, he was home studying to become a
firefighter when he was offered a spot on a
Taiwanese pro squad. He's since helped lead the
Pure Youth Construction team to two
championships.
When the team's owner suggested last year that
he join Taiwan's national team, Davis says he
found little motivation to keep his U.S. citizenship.
"When you think about who I am as a black guy in
the U.S., I didn't have opportunities," he says.
"You get discriminated against over there in the
South. Here everyone is so nice. They invite you
into their homes, they're so hospitable. ... There's
no crime, no guns. I can't help but love this
place."
Many others cutting their U.S. ties say tax laws
drive decisions that have nothing to do with
secreting wealth.
"I wish I were wealthy," said Nelson, who says she
takes in about $50,000 a year from pensions and
earnings from publishing an online journal
covering credit union news.
Nelson has vivid memories of growing up in the
U.S. Even after moving to Europe, she continued
sending five to 10 emails a week to members of
Congress, opposing the Iraq war and the Patriot
Act. After 15 years, she acquired Swiss citizenship
so she could vote. But she began considering
expatriation only in 2010 after a banker told her
that, because of new U.S. financial reporting laws,
it was closing the accounts of many Americans
and a mistake as minor as an overdraft could
mean the same for hers.
"How would my clients pay me?" says Nelson, who
is 71 and also an author of mystery novels.
"Where does my Social Security get deposited?
Where does my pension get deposited?"
The jump in renunciations reflects evolving views
about national identity, said Nancy L. Green, an
American professor at the L'Ecole des Hautes
Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris. When the
U.S. got its start, citizenship was defined by
"perpetual allegiance" — the British notion of
nationality as a birthright that could never be
changed.
American colonists rejected that to justify
becoming citizens of a newly independent country.
But changeable citizenship wasn't widely
embraced until the mass immigration of the late
1800s, says Green, a historian of migration and
expatriation.
Even then, U.S. artists and writers who moved to
Europe in the 1920s were criticized, suspected of
trying to avoid taxes. Until the 1960s, U.S.
citizenship remained a privilege the government
could take away on certain grounds. It's only since
then that U.S. citizenship has come to be viewed
as belonging to an individual, who could keep —
or surrender it — by choice.
But Carol Tapanila's life in Canada has tested that
redefinition.
Six years after Tapanila's husband lost his job at a
Boeing factory in Washington state and they
moved to Canada for work, the couple became
citizens of their new country. She says U.S.
consular officials told her that, by swearing
allegiance to Canada, she might well have lost her
American citizenship.
After retiring from a job as an administrative
assistant at an oil company in Calgary, Tapanila
began putting $125 a month into a special savings
account for her developmentally disabled son,
matched by the Canadian government. In her will,
she authorized creation of a trust fund to draw on
retirement savings and other assets to provide for
her son, who is now 40, after her death.
Tapanila says she didn't know she was required to
file U.S. tax returns until 2007, when her daughter
raised the subject. Her troubles were compounded
by her decision to apply for a U.S. passport after
a border officer told her she should have one. She
has since spent $42,000 on fees for lawyers and
accountants and paid about $2,000 in U.S. taxes,
including on funds in her son's disability savings
account.
In 2012 she turned in the passport, renouncing
U.S. citizenship to protect money saved for her
retirement and her son. Tapanila, 70, has tried and
failed to renounce U.S. citizenship on his behalf,
saying officials told her such a decision must be
made by the individual alone.
"You know, we are not rich people and we are not
tax evaders and we are not traitors and I'm more
than tired of being labeled that way," Tapanila
says.
"I'm sorry that I've given my son this burden and I
can do nothing about it ... I thought we had some
rights to go wherever we wanted to go and some
choices we could make in our lives. I thought that
was democracy. Apparently, I've got it all wrong."
___
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Three burnt to death for kidnapping
Three persons burnt to death over alleged kidnap in Osogbo
THREE persons, suspected to be kidnappers, were on Friday, burnt to death in
Osogbo, the Osun State capital. Investigation revealed that youths, led by
commercial motorcyclists, combed the town to pick up the suspected kidnappers
in different parts of Osogbo, and attacked them with sticks, woods cudgel and later
set them ablaze with disused tyres. A suspect was burnt to death at the Ayetoro
area of the city by an irate mob, while the other two were burnt at Plantation and
Igbona areas of the town. Another suspected kidnapper, Segun Akinwale, was on
Thursday, rescued by the police from being lynched in the Alekuwodo area of the
town for allegedly attempting to kidnap a child before his mother found out. His
alleged confession was said to have irked the youths, mostly the okada’s riders. It
was gathered that the suspect allegedly confessed that nine of his colleagues are
already at different parts of the town to kidnap children in Osogbo and its
environs. Based on the alleged confession, angry youths moved round Osogbo in
search of other kidnappers, during which the three suspects were burnt to death.
At Ayetoro area of Osogboa, it was gathered that the suspected kidnapper was
found with a baby inside a bag he carried. Drivers at the Ayetoro junction were
said to have challenged the suspected kidnapper, who reportedly dressed like an
insane person, and opened the bag that was found with him. It was, however not
certain if the boy allegedly kidnapped and found in the bag was alive or dead. The
development allegedly prompted the youths in the area to mobilize others and set
the suspected kidnapper ablaze. A similar incident occurred at the Plantation and
Igbona areas of the town where youths of the area set ablaze those suspected to
have kidnapped some children in the area. The police have been deployed round
Osogbo to prevent further break down of law and order. Meanwhile, the state
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Maishanu, has condemned the trend of
burning of suspects in the state, describing it as jungle justice, which he said was
against the law. He said the state would not be allowed to be turned into a theater
of crisis, vowing that the police would do everything possible to forestall further
breakdown of law and order. Assuring that the police would conduct thorough
investigation on the incident, the Police Commissioner warned that people should
desist from taking laws into their hands. Also speaking, the state governor, Mr.
Rauf Aregbesola, condemned the development. He warned the residents against
jungle justice, saying cases of criminal activities should be reported to law
enforcement agencies, rather than the people taking the laws into their hands.
Speaking through his Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu
Okanlawon, in a statement, the governor stressed that the state government would
join hands with relevant security agencies to ensure proper security of lives and
property of the people of the state.
THREE persons, suspected to be kidnappers, were on Friday, burnt to death in
Osogbo, the Osun State capital. Investigation revealed that youths, led by
commercial motorcyclists, combed the town to pick up the suspected kidnappers
in different parts of Osogbo, and attacked them with sticks, woods cudgel and later
set them ablaze with disused tyres. A suspect was burnt to death at the Ayetoro
area of the city by an irate mob, while the other two were burnt at Plantation and
Igbona areas of the town. Another suspected kidnapper, Segun Akinwale, was on
Thursday, rescued by the police from being lynched in the Alekuwodo area of the
town for allegedly attempting to kidnap a child before his mother found out. His
alleged confession was said to have irked the youths, mostly the okada’s riders. It
was gathered that the suspect allegedly confessed that nine of his colleagues are
already at different parts of the town to kidnap children in Osogbo and its
environs. Based on the alleged confession, angry youths moved round Osogbo in
search of other kidnappers, during which the three suspects were burnt to death.
At Ayetoro area of Osogboa, it was gathered that the suspected kidnapper was
found with a baby inside a bag he carried. Drivers at the Ayetoro junction were
said to have challenged the suspected kidnapper, who reportedly dressed like an
insane person, and opened the bag that was found with him. It was, however not
certain if the boy allegedly kidnapped and found in the bag was alive or dead. The
development allegedly prompted the youths in the area to mobilize others and set
the suspected kidnapper ablaze. A similar incident occurred at the Plantation and
Igbona areas of the town where youths of the area set ablaze those suspected to
have kidnapped some children in the area. The police have been deployed round
Osogbo to prevent further break down of law and order. Meanwhile, the state
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Maishanu, has condemned the trend of
burning of suspects in the state, describing it as jungle justice, which he said was
against the law. He said the state would not be allowed to be turned into a theater
of crisis, vowing that the police would do everything possible to forestall further
breakdown of law and order. Assuring that the police would conduct thorough
investigation on the incident, the Police Commissioner warned that people should
desist from taking laws into their hands. Also speaking, the state governor, Mr.
Rauf Aregbesola, condemned the development. He warned the residents against
jungle justice, saying cases of criminal activities should be reported to law
enforcement agencies, rather than the people taking the laws into their hands.
Speaking through his Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu
Okanlawon, in a statement, the governor stressed that the state government would
join hands with relevant security agencies to ensure proper security of lives and
property of the people of the state.
Interesting
Judge pays convict’s N700 fine
The Presiding Judge, Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada, Mr. Albert Maga, on Thursday
paid N700 fine on behalf of a labourer, Victor Emmanuel, 18, sentenced for theft of
cell phone.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the judge had sentenced the convict to
four years imprisonment for criminal trespass and theft of a Blackberry Curve 7
cell phone.
The judge gave the judgment after the accused pleaded guilty to the two-count
charge preferred against him.
Maga, however, gave the convict an option of N700 fine.
The judge, out of compassion, paid the N700 fine for the accused and urged him
to repent and get closer to God.
Earlier, the nominal complainant, Jude Mba, 26, an hotelier, told the court that on
April 13, he was charging his Blackberry cell phone in his hotel room and slept
off.
“I heard sound of noise and I opened my eyes.
“I saw the accused making call and entering the room; I went back to sleep again.
“When I woke up, I could not find my phone again and I reported the matter to the
police,” he said.
The convict, a resident of Aso, Mararaba, was arraigned on April 16 for criminal
trespass and theft.
On the same date, the prosecutor, PC Friday Adaji, told the court that on April 13,
Mba of Morning Star Guest Inn, Aso Pada, lodged complaints against the accused
at the Aso Pada Police Station.
He said the convict was later arrested with the cell phone in Aso Pada by the
police.
The convict pleaded guilty to the charges and begged the court for leniency.
The Presiding Judge, Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada, Mr. Albert Maga, on Thursday
paid N700 fine on behalf of a labourer, Victor Emmanuel, 18, sentenced for theft of
cell phone.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the judge had sentenced the convict to
four years imprisonment for criminal trespass and theft of a Blackberry Curve 7
cell phone.
The judge gave the judgment after the accused pleaded guilty to the two-count
charge preferred against him.
Maga, however, gave the convict an option of N700 fine.
The judge, out of compassion, paid the N700 fine for the accused and urged him
to repent and get closer to God.
Earlier, the nominal complainant, Jude Mba, 26, an hotelier, told the court that on
April 13, he was charging his Blackberry cell phone in his hotel room and slept
off.
“I heard sound of noise and I opened my eyes.
“I saw the accused making call and entering the room; I went back to sleep again.
“When I woke up, I could not find my phone again and I reported the matter to the
police,” he said.
The convict, a resident of Aso, Mararaba, was arraigned on April 16 for criminal
trespass and theft.
On the same date, the prosecutor, PC Friday Adaji, told the court that on April 13,
Mba of Morning Star Guest Inn, Aso Pada, lodged complaints against the accused
at the Aso Pada Police Station.
He said the convict was later arrested with the cell phone in Aso Pada by the
police.
The convict pleaded guilty to the charges and begged the court for leniency.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
COMMUNION..... Pope Francis stirs controversy
Pope Francis called an Argentine woman married to a divorced man and reportedly told her that she could receive the sacrament of Communion, according to the woman’s husband, in an apparent contradiction of Catholic law.
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
COMMUNION..... Pope Francis stirs controversy
Pope Francis called an Argentine woman married to a divorced man and reportedly told her that she could receive the sacrament of Communion, according to the woman’s husband, in an apparent contradiction of Catholic law.
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
COMMUNION..... Pope Francis stirs controversy
Pope Francis called an Argentine woman married to a divorced man and reportedly told her that she could receive the sacrament of Communion, according to the woman’s husband, in an apparent contradiction of Catholic law.
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
COMMUNION..... Pope Francis stirs controversy
Pope Francis called an Argentine woman married to a divorced man and reportedly told her that she could receive the sacrament of Communion, according to the woman’s husband, in an apparent contradiction of Catholic law.
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
COMMUNION..... Pope Francis stirs controversy
Pope Francis called an Argentine woman married to a divorced man and reportedly told her that she could receive the sacrament of Communion, according to the woman’s husband, in an apparent contradiction of Catholic law.
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
Julio Sabetta, from San Lorenzo in the Pope’s home country, said his wife, Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, spoke with Francis on Monday.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona wrote to the pontiff in September to ask for clarification on the Communion issue, according to her husband, who said his divorced status had prevented her from receiving the sacrament.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta told Channel 3 Rosario, a CNN affiliate.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed the telephone call but would not comment on the conversation’s content.
“It’s between the Pope and the woman,” said the Rev. Thomas Rosica, a consultant for the Vatican press office.
Rosica said that any comments made by the Pope should not be construed as a change in church doctrine. “The magisterium of the church is not defined by personal phone calls.”
It’s not the first time Pope Francis has cold-called Catholics, who are often surprised to hear “Father Bergoglio” on the line. (Before he was elected Pope last year, Francis was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires.)
His informal style, honed during years as a parish priest, has led some to call him the “people’s Pope.”
Pope Francis leaves New Year’s voice mail for nuns in Spain
The Pope told Jacqueline Sabetta that the Vatican would be discussing its Communion restrictions, according to her husband.
Pope Francis and other top Vatican leaders have said the issue will be discussed at a gathering of bishops from around the world in October. The Pope was not pre-empting that debate, according to Rosica.
“To draw any conclusions about this particular situation, that the Pope may be setting an agenda, is incorrect,” he said. “The Pope is first and foremost an esteemed pastor, and dealing with a human situation is always complex.”
However, Pope Francis has signaled that some sort of change could be on the horizon.
“I think this is the moment for mercy,” the Pope said in July when asked about divorced and remarried Catholics.
Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, reaffirmed church teaching in October that divorced and remarried Catholics may not receive Communion without an annulment.
Muller’s clarification came after some German bishops planned to allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.
The issue of divorced Catholics receiving Communion forms a complex and controversial area of church law.
According to the church’s catechism, “The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.”
Canon law further says, “If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.”
However, the church does allow divorced Catholics who do not remarry, as well as those whose marriages have been annulled, to receive Communion.
Church leaders like Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, a close confidant of Pope Francis’, have suggested that the church cannot change its laws but could streamline the annulment process, which can sometimes drag on for years.
Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona told La Red AM910 in Buenos Aires that her husband, not she, has been divorced. That makes little difference in church law, but Lisbona told the radio station that the Pope said he’ll use her letter to “support his argument.”
Julio Sabetta said he and his wife have been married for 19 years and have two children.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get
Great
Schoolboy Willie Myrick freed by
kidnapper because he wouldn't stop
singing Gospel song 'Every Praise'
The boy sang the song continuously
for three hours
A police handout showing a sketch of the
man who allegedly kidnapped Willie
Myric
A 10-year-old boy who was the victim of a
kidnapping was reportedly released
because his captor became irritated when
the child wouldn’t stop singing a gospel
song.
The man allegedly used money to lure
Willie Myrick, who was 9-years-old at the
time, from his driveway in the US city of
Atlanta, Georgia, on 31 March.
He then grabbed the schoolboy, put him
in his car and drove away from the scene.
During the three hour journey, Myrick
repeatedly sang Every Praise by Hezekiah
Walker, despite his captor cursing at him
and telling him to shut up, according to
ABC News.
The man dropped Willie off unharmed in
East Point.
The song includes the verse: “Every praise
is to our God. Every word of worship with
one accord. Every praise every praise is to
our God. Sing hallelujah to our God. Glory
hallelujah is due our God. Every praise
every praise is to our God.”
"He opened the door and threw me out.
He told me not to tell anyone,” Myrick
told worshippers at his local church at an
event celebrating that he was safe.
Among the congregation was Walker, who
had travelled from New York to meet the
10-year-old.
"It's just emotional to me because you
never know who you're going to touch,"
Walker told ABC News.
"I just wanted to hug him and tell him I
love him," Walker said, adding: "I really
believe that God spoke through me to
save that young man's life."
Atlanta Police Department officers are
currently searching for the man who
abducted Willie, and have released a
sketch of the suspect. They are now
appealing for anyone with information to
come forward
kidnapper because he wouldn't stop
singing Gospel song 'Every Praise'
The boy sang the song continuously
for three hours
A police handout showing a sketch of the
man who allegedly kidnapped Willie
Myric
A 10-year-old boy who was the victim of a
kidnapping was reportedly released
because his captor became irritated when
the child wouldn’t stop singing a gospel
song.
The man allegedly used money to lure
Willie Myrick, who was 9-years-old at the
time, from his driveway in the US city of
Atlanta, Georgia, on 31 March.
He then grabbed the schoolboy, put him
in his car and drove away from the scene.
During the three hour journey, Myrick
repeatedly sang Every Praise by Hezekiah
Walker, despite his captor cursing at him
and telling him to shut up, according to
ABC News.
The man dropped Willie off unharmed in
East Point.
The song includes the verse: “Every praise
is to our God. Every word of worship with
one accord. Every praise every praise is to
our God. Sing hallelujah to our God. Glory
hallelujah is due our God. Every praise
every praise is to our God.”
"He opened the door and threw me out.
He told me not to tell anyone,” Myrick
told worshippers at his local church at an
event celebrating that he was safe.
Among the congregation was Walker, who
had travelled from New York to meet the
10-year-old.
"It's just emotional to me because you
never know who you're going to touch,"
Walker told ABC News.
"I just wanted to hug him and tell him I
love him," Walker said, adding: "I really
believe that God spoke through me to
save that young man's life."
Atlanta Police Department officers are
currently searching for the man who
abducted Willie, and have released a
sketch of the suspect. They are now
appealing for anyone with information to
come forward
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
you won't what doctors found in the stomach of this man
New Delhi, India--- When a team of Indian
surgeons opened up the stomach of a patient
complaining of abdominal pain, they had no idea
they'd extract a fortune.
The patient, whose name was not released, was
hiding 12 gold bars in his belly. He apparently
smuggled them into India to evade import duty,
police and doctors said Tuesday.
Each bar weighed 33 grams, said C.S.
Ramachandran, who conducted the surgery at a
hospital in New Delhi on April 9.
The 63-year-old patient, an Indian citizen, visited
the hospital a day before with severe stomach pain
and nausea.
"He told us he had accidentally swallowed the cap
of a plastic bottle," Ramachandran said.
Investigations could not confirm his
claim.
"We couldn't (either) make out they
were gold bars," the doctor said. "But
yes, X-Rays showed there was
intestinal blockage, which required
surgery."
On the day of surgery, stunned doctors
pulled out the yellow metal from his
stomach.
"It was unexpected," Ramachandran
said.
The hospital handed over the precious
extraction to local police.
The bars have since been sent to
customs, which is conducting a probe,
said Alok Kumar, a deputy
commissioner of police.
He didn't disclose the name of the patient. Nor did
he reveal which country he smuggled the gold
from.
The patient was discharged after the surgery, and
is doing fine.
India is the world's second-largest gold market
after China, according to the World Gold Council
surgeons opened up the stomach of a patient
complaining of abdominal pain, they had no idea
they'd extract a fortune.
The patient, whose name was not released, was
hiding 12 gold bars in his belly. He apparently
smuggled them into India to evade import duty,
police and doctors said Tuesday.
Each bar weighed 33 grams, said C.S.
Ramachandran, who conducted the surgery at a
hospital in New Delhi on April 9.
The 63-year-old patient, an Indian citizen, visited
the hospital a day before with severe stomach pain
and nausea.
"He told us he had accidentally swallowed the cap
of a plastic bottle," Ramachandran said.
Investigations could not confirm his
claim.
"We couldn't (either) make out they
were gold bars," the doctor said. "But
yes, X-Rays showed there was
intestinal blockage, which required
surgery."
On the day of surgery, stunned doctors
pulled out the yellow metal from his
stomach.
"It was unexpected," Ramachandran
said.
The hospital handed over the precious
extraction to local police.
The bars have since been sent to
customs, which is conducting a probe,
said Alok Kumar, a deputy
commissioner of police.
He didn't disclose the name of the patient. Nor did
he reveal which country he smuggled the gold
from.
The patient was discharged after the surgery, and
is doing fine.
India is the world's second-largest gold market
after China, according to the World Gold Council
Thursday, April 17, 2014
Heartless
Argentina rescues girl kept for nine
years in garage
Police in Argentina say they have rescued a 15-
year-old girl who had been starved, beaten and
kept in a garage for nine years by her foster
parents.
The girl weighed only 20 kilos (44 pounds), and
said she had been fed only bread and water in her
captivity.
Her only company had been that of a dog and a
monkey, and she said she was beaten with a belt
if she tried to eat the leftover food thrown to the
pets.
Her carers have been arrested and charged with
slavery and abuse.
The teenager was found in the Argentine capital,
Buenos Aires, by one of her biological sisters, who
had lost track of her.
The girl, who has been hospitalised, said she had
been out of the garage only twice in nine years.
According to officials, her foster parents took the
girl into care provisionally in 2001 after a court
found that her biological parents, who had seven
more children, were financially unable to look after
her.
At first, the two families kept in contact, but it is
unclear what happened after 2005 and why her
biological family reportedly lost track of the girl.
Her foster parents were waiting for the girl's
adoption papers to be finalised.
Emmanuel..... happy seventeenth son
My son, best friend, confidant and a source of joy Emmanuel was born this day seventeen years ago. My superman I love u and will always do. Thanks for giving me hope everyday of my life. May the good Lord grant all your desires. Looking forward to your graduation from medical school, your marriage and carrying your children, my grandchildren. By his grace you will excel in life. Looking forward to seeing you son, I pray our God who is all knowing continue to protect you from all evil. Love u beyond life. Daddy
Monday, April 14, 2014
The reverse is the case in Africa
How Being a Doctor Became the Most
Miserable Profession
Nine of 10 doctors discourage others from joining
the profession, and 300 physicians commit
suicide every year. When did it get this bad?
By the end of this year, it’s estimated that 300
physicians will commit suicide. While depression
amongst physicians is not new—a few years back,
it was named the second most suicidal occupation
—the level of sheer unhappiness amongst
physicians is on the rise.
Simply put, being a doctor has become a
miserable and humiliating undertaking. Indeed,
many doctors feel that America has declared war
on physicians—and both physicians and patients
are the losers.
Not surprisingly, many doctors want out. Medical
students opt for high-paying specialties so they
can retire as quickly as possible. Physician MBA
programs—that promise doctors a way into
management—are flourishing. The website known
as the Drop-Out-Club—which hooks doctors up
with jobs at hedge funds and venture capital firms
—has a solid following. In fact, physicians are so
bummed out that 9 out of 10 doctors would
discourage anyone from entering the profession.
It’s hard for anyone outside the profession to
understand just how rotten the job has become—
and what bad news that is for America’s
healthcare system. Perhaps that’s why author
Malcolm Gladwell recently implied that to fix the
healthcare crisis, the public needs to understand
what it’s like to be a physician. Imagine, for
things to get better for patients , they need to
empathize with physicians —that’s a tall order in
our noxious and decidedly un-empathetic times.
After all, the public sees ophthalmologists and
radiologists making out like bandits and wonder
why they should feel anything but scorn for such
doctors—especially when Americans haven’t
gotten a raise in decades. But being a primary
care physician is not like being, say, a plastic
surgeon—a profession that garners both respect
and retirement savings. Given that primary care
doctors do the work that no one else is willing to
do, being a primary care physician is more like
being a janitor—but without the social status or
union protections.
Unfortunately, things are only getting worse for
most doctors, especially those who still accept
health insurance. Just processing the insurance
forms costs $58 dollars for every patient
encounter, according to Dr. Stephen Schimpff, an
internist and former CEO of University of Maryland
Medical Center who is writing a book about the
crisis in primary care. To make ends meet,
physicians have had to increase the number of
patients they see. The end result is that the
average face-to-face clinic visit lasts about 12
minutes.
Neither patients nor doctors are happy about that.
What worries many doctors, however, is that the
Affordable Care Act has codified this broken
system into law. While forcing everyone to buy
health insurance, ACA might have mandated a
uniform or streamlined claims procedure that
would have gone a long way to improving access
to care. As Malcolm Gladwell noted, “You don’t
train someone for all of those years in [medicine]…
and then have them run a claims processing
operation for insurance companies.”
In fact, difficulty dealing with insurers has caused
many physicians to close their practices and
become employees. But for patients, seeing an
employed doctor doesn’t give them more time
with the doctor—since employed physicians also
have high patient loads. “A panel size of 2,000 to
2,500 patients is too many,” says Dr. Schimpff.
That’s the number of patients primary care
doctors typically are forced to carry—and that
means seeing 24 or more patients a day, and
often these patients have 10 or more medical
problems. As any seasoned physician knows, this
is do-able, but it’s certainly not optimal.
Most patients have experienced the rushed clinic
visit—and that’s where the breakdown in good
medical care starts. “Doctors who are in a rush,
don’t have the time to listen,” says Dr. Schimpff.
“Often, patients get referred to specialists when
the problem can be solved in the office visit.” It’s
true that specialist referrals are on the rise, but the
time crunch also causes doctors to rely on
guidelines instead of personally tailoring medical
care. Unfortunately, mindlessly following
guidelines can result in bad outcomes.
Yet physicians have to go along, constantly trying
to improve their “productivity” and patient
satisfaction scores—or risk losing their jobs.
Industry leaders are fixated on patient satisfaction,
despite the fact that high scores are correlated
with worse outcomes and higher costs. Indeed,
trying to please whatever patient comes along
destroys the integrity of our work. It’s a fact that
doctors acquiesce to patient demands—for
narcotics, x-rays, doctor’s notes—despite what
survey advocates claim. And now that Medicare
payments will be tied to patient satisfaction—this
problem will get worse. Doctors need to have the
ability to say no. If not, when patients go to see
the doctor, they won’t actually have a physician—
they’ll have a hostage.
But the primary care doctor doesn’t have the
political power to say no to anything—so the “to-
do” list continues to lengthen. A stunning and
unmanageable number of forms—often illegible—
show up daily on a physician’s desk needing to
be signed. Reams of lab results, refill requests,
emails, and callbacks pop up continually on the
computer screen. Calls to plead with insurance
companies are peppered throughout the day.
Every decision carries with it an implied threat of
malpractice litigation. Failing to attend to these
things brings prompt disciplining or patient
complaint. And mercilessly, all of these tasks have
to be done on the exhausted doctor’s personal
time.
Almost comically, the response of medical
leadership—their solution— is to call for more
physician testing. In fact, the American Board of
Internal Medicine (ABIM)—in its own act of
hostage-taking—has just decided that doctors
should be tested not every ten years, but every
two years. If a physician doesn’t comply by the
end of this month, the ABIM will strip away the
doctor’s board certification status.
In an era when nurse practitioners and physician
assistants have shown that they can provide
excellent primary care, it’s nonsensical to raise
the barriers for physicians to participate. In an era
when you can call up guidelines on your
smartphone, demanding more physician testing is
a ludicrous and self-serving response.
It is tone deaf. It is punitive. It is wrong. And
practicing doctors can’t do a damn thing about it.
No wonder doctors are suicidal. No wonder young
doctors want nothing to do with primary care.
But what is a bit of a wonder is how things got
this bad.
Certainly, the relentlessly negative press coverage
of physicians sets the tone. “There’s a media
narrative that blames physicians for things the
doctor has no control over,” says Kevin Pho, MD,
an internist with a popular blog where physicians
often vent their frustrations. Indeed, in the popular
press recently doctors have been held responsible
for everything from the wheelchair-unfriendly
furniture to lab fees for pap smears.
The meme is that doctors are getting away with
something and need constant training, watching
and regulating. With this in mind, it’s almost a
reflex for policy makers to pile on the regulations.
Regulating the physician is an easy sell because it
is a fantasy—a Freudian fever dream—the wish to
diminish, punish and control a disappointing
parent, give him a report card, and tell him to
wash his hands.
To be sure many people with good intentions are
working toward solving the healthcare crisis. But
the answers they’ve come up with are driving up
costs and driving out doctors. Maybe it’s too
much to ask for empathy, and maybe physician
lives don’t matter to most people.
But for America’s health to be safeguarded, the
wellbeing of America’s caretakers is going to have
to start mattering to someone.
Miserable Profession
Nine of 10 doctors discourage others from joining
the profession, and 300 physicians commit
suicide every year. When did it get this bad?
By the end of this year, it’s estimated that 300
physicians will commit suicide. While depression
amongst physicians is not new—a few years back,
it was named the second most suicidal occupation
—the level of sheer unhappiness amongst
physicians is on the rise.
Simply put, being a doctor has become a
miserable and humiliating undertaking. Indeed,
many doctors feel that America has declared war
on physicians—and both physicians and patients
are the losers.
Not surprisingly, many doctors want out. Medical
students opt for high-paying specialties so they
can retire as quickly as possible. Physician MBA
programs—that promise doctors a way into
management—are flourishing. The website known
as the Drop-Out-Club—which hooks doctors up
with jobs at hedge funds and venture capital firms
—has a solid following. In fact, physicians are so
bummed out that 9 out of 10 doctors would
discourage anyone from entering the profession.
It’s hard for anyone outside the profession to
understand just how rotten the job has become—
and what bad news that is for America’s
healthcare system. Perhaps that’s why author
Malcolm Gladwell recently implied that to fix the
healthcare crisis, the public needs to understand
what it’s like to be a physician. Imagine, for
things to get better for patients , they need to
empathize with physicians —that’s a tall order in
our noxious and decidedly un-empathetic times.
After all, the public sees ophthalmologists and
radiologists making out like bandits and wonder
why they should feel anything but scorn for such
doctors—especially when Americans haven’t
gotten a raise in decades. But being a primary
care physician is not like being, say, a plastic
surgeon—a profession that garners both respect
and retirement savings. Given that primary care
doctors do the work that no one else is willing to
do, being a primary care physician is more like
being a janitor—but without the social status or
union protections.
Unfortunately, things are only getting worse for
most doctors, especially those who still accept
health insurance. Just processing the insurance
forms costs $58 dollars for every patient
encounter, according to Dr. Stephen Schimpff, an
internist and former CEO of University of Maryland
Medical Center who is writing a book about the
crisis in primary care. To make ends meet,
physicians have had to increase the number of
patients they see. The end result is that the
average face-to-face clinic visit lasts about 12
minutes.
Neither patients nor doctors are happy about that.
What worries many doctors, however, is that the
Affordable Care Act has codified this broken
system into law. While forcing everyone to buy
health insurance, ACA might have mandated a
uniform or streamlined claims procedure that
would have gone a long way to improving access
to care. As Malcolm Gladwell noted, “You don’t
train someone for all of those years in [medicine]…
and then have them run a claims processing
operation for insurance companies.”
In fact, difficulty dealing with insurers has caused
many physicians to close their practices and
become employees. But for patients, seeing an
employed doctor doesn’t give them more time
with the doctor—since employed physicians also
have high patient loads. “A panel size of 2,000 to
2,500 patients is too many,” says Dr. Schimpff.
That’s the number of patients primary care
doctors typically are forced to carry—and that
means seeing 24 or more patients a day, and
often these patients have 10 or more medical
problems. As any seasoned physician knows, this
is do-able, but it’s certainly not optimal.
Most patients have experienced the rushed clinic
visit—and that’s where the breakdown in good
medical care starts. “Doctors who are in a rush,
don’t have the time to listen,” says Dr. Schimpff.
“Often, patients get referred to specialists when
the problem can be solved in the office visit.” It’s
true that specialist referrals are on the rise, but the
time crunch also causes doctors to rely on
guidelines instead of personally tailoring medical
care. Unfortunately, mindlessly following
guidelines can result in bad outcomes.
Yet physicians have to go along, constantly trying
to improve their “productivity” and patient
satisfaction scores—or risk losing their jobs.
Industry leaders are fixated on patient satisfaction,
despite the fact that high scores are correlated
with worse outcomes and higher costs. Indeed,
trying to please whatever patient comes along
destroys the integrity of our work. It’s a fact that
doctors acquiesce to patient demands—for
narcotics, x-rays, doctor’s notes—despite what
survey advocates claim. And now that Medicare
payments will be tied to patient satisfaction—this
problem will get worse. Doctors need to have the
ability to say no. If not, when patients go to see
the doctor, they won’t actually have a physician—
they’ll have a hostage.
But the primary care doctor doesn’t have the
political power to say no to anything—so the “to-
do” list continues to lengthen. A stunning and
unmanageable number of forms—often illegible—
show up daily on a physician’s desk needing to
be signed. Reams of lab results, refill requests,
emails, and callbacks pop up continually on the
computer screen. Calls to plead with insurance
companies are peppered throughout the day.
Every decision carries with it an implied threat of
malpractice litigation. Failing to attend to these
things brings prompt disciplining or patient
complaint. And mercilessly, all of these tasks have
to be done on the exhausted doctor’s personal
time.
Almost comically, the response of medical
leadership—their solution— is to call for more
physician testing. In fact, the American Board of
Internal Medicine (ABIM)—in its own act of
hostage-taking—has just decided that doctors
should be tested not every ten years, but every
two years. If a physician doesn’t comply by the
end of this month, the ABIM will strip away the
doctor’s board certification status.
In an era when nurse practitioners and physician
assistants have shown that they can provide
excellent primary care, it’s nonsensical to raise
the barriers for physicians to participate. In an era
when you can call up guidelines on your
smartphone, demanding more physician testing is
a ludicrous and self-serving response.
It is tone deaf. It is punitive. It is wrong. And
practicing doctors can’t do a damn thing about it.
No wonder doctors are suicidal. No wonder young
doctors want nothing to do with primary care.
But what is a bit of a wonder is how things got
this bad.
Certainly, the relentlessly negative press coverage
of physicians sets the tone. “There’s a media
narrative that blames physicians for things the
doctor has no control over,” says Kevin Pho, MD,
an internist with a popular blog where physicians
often vent their frustrations. Indeed, in the popular
press recently doctors have been held responsible
for everything from the wheelchair-unfriendly
furniture to lab fees for pap smears.
The meme is that doctors are getting away with
something and need constant training, watching
and regulating. With this in mind, it’s almost a
reflex for policy makers to pile on the regulations.
Regulating the physician is an easy sell because it
is a fantasy—a Freudian fever dream—the wish to
diminish, punish and control a disappointing
parent, give him a report card, and tell him to
wash his hands.
To be sure many people with good intentions are
working toward solving the healthcare crisis. But
the answers they’ve come up with are driving up
costs and driving out doctors. Maybe it’s too
much to ask for empathy, and maybe physician
lives don’t matter to most people.
But for America’s health to be safeguarded, the
wellbeing of America’s caretakers is going to have
to start mattering to someone.
Daytime napping linked to early death
Daytime napping linked to an early
death
A new study has found that people who nap for
more than an hour during the day have an
increased chance of dying younger than their
peer.
But that doesn't mean naps are necessarily bad
for you.
The study by researchers from Cambridge
University may simply indicate that the need to
frequently nap during the day is a sign of
underlying health problems.
The research took data from the European
Prospective Investigation Into Cancer (EPIC)-
Norfolk prospective cohort study, and studied the
habits of more than 16,000 people in the UK aged
between 40 and 79.
After studying the large data set, the scientists
found that those who napped for more than an
hour each day were 32 per cent more likely to die
during the 13-year study.
The causes of death varied and included heart
disease, cancer and respiratory illness - which
was associated the most strongly to nap time. In
fact, nappers who slept more than an hour during
the day had double the chance of dying form a
respiratory illness than those who didn't nap at
all.
The results are published in the American Journal
of Epidemiology.
The authors wrote: “Although a range of
preexisting health conditions and medication use
was considered in this study, we cannot rule out
that our results may be partly explained by the
effects of other undiagnosed health problems or
medications not included in this study that might
cause daytime fatigue or sleepiness."
But let's not all get too down on napping -
remember that correlation doesn't mean
causation. And don't forget science has also
previously shown naps can improve
concentration, memory and even heart health -
especially if you keep it to under half an hour.
While it's too early to draw any conclusions from
this work, it's also worth keeping in mind that
chronic sleep conditions such as sleep apnea can
cause fatigue during the day, and have also been
linked to an increased risk of premature death.
Still, the results suggest that if you constantly
need to take lengthy daytime naps, it might be
worth getting checked out for underlying health
problems.
death
A new study has found that people who nap for
more than an hour during the day have an
increased chance of dying younger than their
peer.
But that doesn't mean naps are necessarily bad
for you.
The study by researchers from Cambridge
University may simply indicate that the need to
frequently nap during the day is a sign of
underlying health problems.
The research took data from the European
Prospective Investigation Into Cancer (EPIC)-
Norfolk prospective cohort study, and studied the
habits of more than 16,000 people in the UK aged
between 40 and 79.
After studying the large data set, the scientists
found that those who napped for more than an
hour each day were 32 per cent more likely to die
during the 13-year study.
The causes of death varied and included heart
disease, cancer and respiratory illness - which
was associated the most strongly to nap time. In
fact, nappers who slept more than an hour during
the day had double the chance of dying form a
respiratory illness than those who didn't nap at
all.
The results are published in the American Journal
of Epidemiology.
The authors wrote: “Although a range of
preexisting health conditions and medication use
was considered in this study, we cannot rule out
that our results may be partly explained by the
effects of other undiagnosed health problems or
medications not included in this study that might
cause daytime fatigue or sleepiness."
But let's not all get too down on napping -
remember that correlation doesn't mean
causation. And don't forget science has also
previously shown naps can improve
concentration, memory and even heart health -
especially if you keep it to under half an hour.
While it's too early to draw any conclusions from
this work, it's also worth keeping in mind that
chronic sleep conditions such as sleep apnea can
cause fatigue during the day, and have also been
linked to an increased risk of premature death.
Still, the results suggest that if you constantly
need to take lengthy daytime naps, it might be
worth getting checked out for underlying health
problems.
painful
Abuja explosion update: Bomb hidden inside
Volkswagen Golf vehicle, witness says
Sani Tukur - 38 mins ago
NATIONAL, NEWS
The Abuja explosion occurred at about 6:30 a.m.
The explosive device that went off at Nyanya motor
park killing an estimated 200 people was hidden in
a volkswagen golf vehicle that was driven into the
park and detonated, a witness has said.
The witness, who is also the driver of one of the
high-capacity buses caught in the blast, said this
to PREMIUM TIMES at the park.
This is contrary to earlier reports that the bomb
was placed in one of the high-capacity buses.
The witness, Dalhatu Garba, also said the bomb
exploded when most of the buses in the front row
where full and ready to convey passengers.
“We just heard a loud explosion and many people
died instantly. In fact, many people were scattered
into pieces,” he said.
Mr. Garba explained the usual scenario at the park
to shed light on the magnitude of the attack.
“Apart from our buses, many other smaller cars
also come in to pick passengers especially those
going on long journey,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES observed a large crater created by
the blast right in front of the buses.
On casualty figure, Mr. Garba simply said “my
brother many people died, I can’t even give you
figure”.
He, however, said most of the people who died
were inside smaller vehicles close to the golf car.
The Police spokesperson, Frank Mba, who
accompanied the Inspector General of Police,
Mohammed Abubakar, on a visit to the scene, said
emergency workers are still collating the casualty
figure.
He urged journalists to be patient and wait for the
official figures.
Apart from the police chief, the DIG in charge of
operations of the Police; the Director General of the
National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA,
Sani Sidi; and the Interior Minister, Abba Moro, all
visited the scene of the blast.
Sources at the scene said President Goodluck
Jonathan might also visit the scene anytime from
now.
PREMIUM TIMES has also learnt that injured
victims have been taken to about seven hospitals
for treatment, while corpses were deposited at
General Hospitals in Nyanya and Asokoro, as well
as the National Hospital.
Meanwhile, in a statement, NEMA said the
explosion occurred at 6:30 a.m.
The agency’s information officer, Sani Batti, also
warned ordinary
citizens to keep off the explosion scene.
“The agency has found it necessary to also warn
ordinary citizens to keep off the bomb explosion
scene,” Mr. Batti said.
He said the agency was yet to ascertain the
casualty figure.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast,
although the Boko Haram terrorist group has
carried out similar attacks in the past
Volkswagen Golf vehicle, witness says
Sani Tukur - 38 mins ago
NATIONAL, NEWS
The Abuja explosion occurred at about 6:30 a.m.
The explosive device that went off at Nyanya motor
park killing an estimated 200 people was hidden in
a volkswagen golf vehicle that was driven into the
park and detonated, a witness has said.
The witness, who is also the driver of one of the
high-capacity buses caught in the blast, said this
to PREMIUM TIMES at the park.
This is contrary to earlier reports that the bomb
was placed in one of the high-capacity buses.
The witness, Dalhatu Garba, also said the bomb
exploded when most of the buses in the front row
where full and ready to convey passengers.
“We just heard a loud explosion and many people
died instantly. In fact, many people were scattered
into pieces,” he said.
Mr. Garba explained the usual scenario at the park
to shed light on the magnitude of the attack.
“Apart from our buses, many other smaller cars
also come in to pick passengers especially those
going on long journey,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES observed a large crater created by
the blast right in front of the buses.
On casualty figure, Mr. Garba simply said “my
brother many people died, I can’t even give you
figure”.
He, however, said most of the people who died
were inside smaller vehicles close to the golf car.
The Police spokesperson, Frank Mba, who
accompanied the Inspector General of Police,
Mohammed Abubakar, on a visit to the scene, said
emergency workers are still collating the casualty
figure.
He urged journalists to be patient and wait for the
official figures.
Apart from the police chief, the DIG in charge of
operations of the Police; the Director General of the
National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA,
Sani Sidi; and the Interior Minister, Abba Moro, all
visited the scene of the blast.
Sources at the scene said President Goodluck
Jonathan might also visit the scene anytime from
now.
PREMIUM TIMES has also learnt that injured
victims have been taken to about seven hospitals
for treatment, while corpses were deposited at
General Hospitals in Nyanya and Asokoro, as well
as the National Hospital.
Meanwhile, in a statement, NEMA said the
explosion occurred at 6:30 a.m.
The agency’s information officer, Sani Batti, also
warned ordinary
citizens to keep off the explosion scene.
“The agency has found it necessary to also warn
ordinary citizens to keep off the bomb explosion
scene,” Mr. Batti said.
He said the agency was yet to ascertain the
casualty figure.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast,
although the Boko Haram terrorist group has
carried out similar attacks in the past
Woman sells pregnant sister
Sister Sells Pregnant Sister For
N100K
A 23-year-old pregnant woman, Jennifer
Ogbonna, raised the emotion of people recently at
Zone 2, Police Headquarters, Abeokuta, Ogun
State, when she narrated how her sister tricked
her into slavery and sold her off with her 7-month
old pregnancy. She was then transported from
Aba to Abeokuta after a couple who allegedly
specialized in buying human beings from all
parts of the country paid N100,000 to her sister.
The lady who hails from Ebonyi State but lived
and worked in Aba narrated her ugly experiences
shortly after she was rescued by the Police. She
said:
“I was brought to Abeokuta by the woman’s
husband. I don’t know that they had already paid
money on my head. I only got to know in
Abeokuta when I overheard the woman and her
husband talking about child trafficking and I felt
bad. I decided not to eat any of their food. There
is one lady
in that building, they call her Adeola, she would
bring food for me and I would not touch it to the
extent that the woman’s husband pleaded with
me to eat and still I refused and said I am going
back to Aba where she brought me from.
When I said I was going to Aba, the man was
angry and said before he would allow me to go
back, I must pay back the N100,000 he paid my
sister for myself and my pregnancy and the
expenses he incurred so far on me. After that, his
wife took me to one shrine and asked me to swear
to an oath not to go back to Aba or tell anybody
what happened, that if I try to go back or tell
anybody, she will make me mad; she would make
me deaf and dumb.
But, I discussed my plan to escape with another
victim who I met there, she is Oluchi and she
said that if I try it I will become mad, but, I
insisted and I escaped. I ran away to the next
street. When I ran to the street,I met some people
and I narrated my experience to them. They
advised me to report to the Police, that was how
police got to know everything, she stated.
Division of labour
Investigations revealed that the notorious couple
who lives in Abeokuta where they operate their
illegal and nefarious business, usually travels to
many parts of the country in search of their
‘commodity’. It was further gathered that the
husband, identified as Ismail Yusuf, is in charge of
scouting for pregnant women as he reportedly
went as far as Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and other
states in the Eastern part of the country.
The wife, Muyiba, was saddled with the task of
nurturing the pregnant women till they deliver of
their babies for onward sale.
Crime Guard learnt also that Muyiba who is
cooling her feet at the Police station after she was
arrested was reported to had come to Abeokuta
from Kwara State disguised like a herbalist and
rented an apartment at Adigbe where they use as
their operational base.
According to the findings, the husband, having
bought their preys (pregnant women), would
charm them on the spot and take them to their
operational base in Abeokuta where they would
nurture the victims and their pregnancies until
they give birth, which they allegedly usually sell
to couples that need children or for ritual
purposes.
It was also gathered that when these victims
were bought, the couple would force them to
swear to an oath not to escape. They would
charm them so that they would not escape from
them and people living around and security
agencies would not have any clues of what they
were doing in their den.
Suspect opens up
Recalling her journey in the human trafficking
business, 38-year-old Muyiba said, “ I came to
Abeokuta in January this year from Offa, Kwara
State. I used to sell baby clothes before my shop
got burnt during the crisis between Offa and Erin-
Ile. I know how to prepare herbs for diabetic
patients. I am a trado-medical doctor, I registered
in Kwara State but not in Ogun State. I have
treated three patients in Abeokuta since I have
been here.”
When asked what she was doing with the
pregnant women she camped in her house,
Muyiba claimed that “ it was their husbands that
brought them to my place, to keep them in my
place. I knew them through one Joy.
Arrest
How were you arrested, she said “ It all happened
when I saw police on Wednesday night banging
that we should open the door. They came to
arrest all of us. I thought my husband has run
away because I was asleep when the police came.
My husband is Ismail Yusuf, our children are in
Kwara State. The police also arrested Muyiba’s
younger sister —Seun and when she was asked
her role in the incident, she passed the ball to her
elder sister.
According to her , I was staying with her. I just
graduated last year from School of Health in Ilorin,
Kwara state. I came to Abeokuta last month. I
don’t have anything to say, she (Muyinba) is the
one that can say anything about it.
N100K
A 23-year-old pregnant woman, Jennifer
Ogbonna, raised the emotion of people recently at
Zone 2, Police Headquarters, Abeokuta, Ogun
State, when she narrated how her sister tricked
her into slavery and sold her off with her 7-month
old pregnancy. She was then transported from
Aba to Abeokuta after a couple who allegedly
specialized in buying human beings from all
parts of the country paid N100,000 to her sister.
The lady who hails from Ebonyi State but lived
and worked in Aba narrated her ugly experiences
shortly after she was rescued by the Police. She
said:
“I was brought to Abeokuta by the woman’s
husband. I don’t know that they had already paid
money on my head. I only got to know in
Abeokuta when I overheard the woman and her
husband talking about child trafficking and I felt
bad. I decided not to eat any of their food. There
is one lady
in that building, they call her Adeola, she would
bring food for me and I would not touch it to the
extent that the woman’s husband pleaded with
me to eat and still I refused and said I am going
back to Aba where she brought me from.
When I said I was going to Aba, the man was
angry and said before he would allow me to go
back, I must pay back the N100,000 he paid my
sister for myself and my pregnancy and the
expenses he incurred so far on me. After that, his
wife took me to one shrine and asked me to swear
to an oath not to go back to Aba or tell anybody
what happened, that if I try to go back or tell
anybody, she will make me mad; she would make
me deaf and dumb.
But, I discussed my plan to escape with another
victim who I met there, she is Oluchi and she
said that if I try it I will become mad, but, I
insisted and I escaped. I ran away to the next
street. When I ran to the street,I met some people
and I narrated my experience to them. They
advised me to report to the Police, that was how
police got to know everything, she stated.
Division of labour
Investigations revealed that the notorious couple
who lives in Abeokuta where they operate their
illegal and nefarious business, usually travels to
many parts of the country in search of their
‘commodity’. It was further gathered that the
husband, identified as Ismail Yusuf, is in charge of
scouting for pregnant women as he reportedly
went as far as Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi and other
states in the Eastern part of the country.
The wife, Muyiba, was saddled with the task of
nurturing the pregnant women till they deliver of
their babies for onward sale.
Crime Guard learnt also that Muyiba who is
cooling her feet at the Police station after she was
arrested was reported to had come to Abeokuta
from Kwara State disguised like a herbalist and
rented an apartment at Adigbe where they use as
their operational base.
According to the findings, the husband, having
bought their preys (pregnant women), would
charm them on the spot and take them to their
operational base in Abeokuta where they would
nurture the victims and their pregnancies until
they give birth, which they allegedly usually sell
to couples that need children or for ritual
purposes.
It was also gathered that when these victims
were bought, the couple would force them to
swear to an oath not to escape. They would
charm them so that they would not escape from
them and people living around and security
agencies would not have any clues of what they
were doing in their den.
Suspect opens up
Recalling her journey in the human trafficking
business, 38-year-old Muyiba said, “ I came to
Abeokuta in January this year from Offa, Kwara
State. I used to sell baby clothes before my shop
got burnt during the crisis between Offa and Erin-
Ile. I know how to prepare herbs for diabetic
patients. I am a trado-medical doctor, I registered
in Kwara State but not in Ogun State. I have
treated three patients in Abeokuta since I have
been here.”
When asked what she was doing with the
pregnant women she camped in her house,
Muyiba claimed that “ it was their husbands that
brought them to my place, to keep them in my
place. I knew them through one Joy.
Arrest
How were you arrested, she said “ It all happened
when I saw police on Wednesday night banging
that we should open the door. They came to
arrest all of us. I thought my husband has run
away because I was asleep when the police came.
My husband is Ismail Yusuf, our children are in
Kwara State. The police also arrested Muyiba’s
younger sister —Seun and when she was asked
her role in the incident, she passed the ball to her
elder sister.
According to her , I was staying with her. I just
graduated last year from School of Health in Ilorin,
Kwara state. I came to Abeokuta last month. I
don’t have anything to say, she (Muyinba) is the
one that can say anything about it.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Be Wise
You add him on Facebook . He checks
your pictures . He confirms . He inboxes you .
You reply , all excited . You'll want to hook up .
Set a date . You dress up , smell good , make
up on , fresh breath & new weave . He takes you
for Lunch at golden gate . You two have a good
time .He rubs your hand , makes you laugh ,
gives you a looks and smiles . You fall inlove .
It's like you've known him forever . He takes you
to his apartment . He makes you feel comfortable
And Lays you on his bed . He rubs it gently ,
kiss you passionately . Unzip your jeans , they're
too tight but he manages to take em' off . You
love his aggresion , strength , power & you give
in .It feels good . You it's wrong , but it feels
good .You ask for protection , he says it's too
late . You obey & don't disturb . He says he
loves you & you don't hesitate to say you love
him too . He pulls out , go to the kitchen to get
a glass of water . He helps you drink it , ohh
man . You feel special . " He must be the one " ,
you think to yourself . You'll get dressed . He
takes you to the taxi rank & kisses you on the
cheeck & say "I had a great time , you smile &
say " See you tomorrow babe " . He stays
silent . You drive away , in the taxi you can't
stop smiling . You get home & inbox him that
you got home safe .He is online , but doesn't
reply . It's unlike him , so you inbox him again .
He doesn't respond.Minutes later you can't find
him on your friend list . HE BLOCKED YOU .
Days , weeks , months passes by . You start
feeling sick , weak , loose weight , act strange
with sores in your mouth . You go to the clinic .
Get tested . Minutes later , nurse walks in . " I'm
sorry . You're HIV Postive!!!"HOW ?" You don't
understand . Reality hits you . You walk home .
Scared . Confused . You go to the train railway .
You lay ,hopeless , emotionless .You see the
train coming nearer . You look into the sky &
pray . BOOM ! That's the end of you .Don't be
that girl ! Live wise.....culled
My Wife is a Sex Manic
I got married in
December last year to
a lady my friend
introduced me to. She
was so much in a
hurry to get married
that we did within
four months of our
meeting.
Even the friend who
introduced us was
surprised at the speed
everything was going
that he had to call for
caution on my part.
Sincerely, till date, I
can say specifically
how and when I
agreed to many of the
things that happened.
But here we are,
married! Less than
four weeks into the
marriage, I
discovered I had been
duped by her, the
reason she didn’t
allow me come near
her in the four
months we dated. She
used the religious
card of not wanting
to taint her wedding
bed.
Agatha, on the night
of our wedding, I
discovered everything
about her to be fake;
from her boobs to her
bums, were artificial.
She achieved her
figure through well
padded pants and
bras. Since I was
already in it, there
was little I could do
about that but I also
made a very fatal
discovery; no man
can satisfy her in bed
hence she goes
everywhere with a
vibrator she inserts
into her person once I
finish.
She will be on it for
another hour
screaming obstinacies
and behaving like a
demented person.
Sometimes, she would
bring out a second
vibrator which she
would insert into her
backside. At that
point she becomes
extremely wild. The
first time it happened,
I was too shocked to
move from my
position. After the
whole thing, I
demanded
explanations from
her especially as she
claimed to be a
worker in her church,
a reason she didn’t
allow me to come
near her.
I didn’t know the
drama was just
beginning as there is
this sister in her
church who is
especially close to
her. She was actually
her bride’s maid.
Candidly, I don’t
know how it
happened but there is
this camera my sister
gave to me as our
wedding present. It
was too complex for
me to decode so I left
it after trying
unsuccessfully to
operate it on one of
the shelves in the
bedroom.
Last week, I decided
to take it with me to
the friend who
introduced us to
teach me how to
operate since he is
very good with
cameras and things
like that.
Can you imagine
Agatha, what we
saw? Unknown to me,
the camera was on,
recording everything
we did in the
bedroom. It captured
our every moment
and much more than
I would have
imagined. My wife
and her so called
church sister making
love and all the things
they said about me as
well as the places
they usually go for
charms and jobs.
All the time I thought
she was going out to
work, they were
actually at top clubs
dancing nude for
select clients.
From their
conversations, I
deduced she used
charms on me.
I haven’t gone home
since then. I don’t
want anything to do
with her and want the
marriage annulled.
There is no way I can
ever go near such
woman but given the
kinds of things she
has been saying to me
on the phone, I’m
getting scared as she
keeps threatening to
deal with me if I ever
consider leaving her.
It is as if she knows
my every movement.
How do I get out of
this situation?
My Wife is a Sex Manic
I got married in
December last year to
a lady my friend
introduced me to. She
was so much in a
hurry to get married
that we did within
four months of our
meeting.
Even the friend who
introduced us was
surprised at the speed
everything was going
that he had to call for
caution on my part.
Sincerely, till date, I
can say specifically
how and when I
agreed to many of the
things that happened.
But here we are,
married! Less than
four weeks into the
marriage, I
discovered I had been
duped by her, the
reason she didn’t
allow me come near
her in the four
months we dated. She
used the religious
card of not wanting
to taint her wedding
bed.
Agatha, on the night
of our wedding, I
discovered everything
about her to be fake;
from her boobs to her
bums, were artificial.
She achieved her
figure through well
padded pants and
bras. Since I was
already in it, there
was little I could do
about that but I also
made a very fatal
discovery; no man
can satisfy her in bed
hence she goes
everywhere with a
vibrator she inserts
into her person once I
finish.
She will be on it for
another hour
screaming obstinacies
and behaving like a
demented person.
Sometimes, she would
bring out a second
vibrator which she
would insert into her
backside. At that
point she becomes
extremely wild. The
first time it happened,
I was too shocked to
move from my
position. After the
whole thing, I
demanded
explanations from
her especially as she
claimed to be a
worker in her church,
a reason she didn’t
allow me to come
near her.
I didn’t know the
drama was just
beginning as there is
this sister in her
church who is
especially close to
her. She was actually
her bride’s maid.
Candidly, I don’t
know how it
happened but there is
this camera my sister
gave to me as our
wedding present. It
was too complex for
me to decode so I left
it after trying
unsuccessfully to
operate it on one of
the shelves in the
bedroom.
Last week, I decided
to take it with me to
the friend who
introduced us to
teach me how to
operate since he is
very good with
cameras and things
like that.
Can you imagine
Agatha, what we
saw? Unknown to me,
the camera was on,
recording everything
we did in the
bedroom. It captured
our every moment
and much more than
I would have
imagined. My wife
and her so called
church sister making
love and all the things
they said about me as
well as the places
they usually go for
charms and jobs.
All the time I thought
she was going out to
work, they were
actually at top clubs
dancing nude for
select clients.
From their
conversations, I
deduced she used
charms on me.
I haven’t gone home
since then. I don’t
want anything to do
with her and want the
marriage annulled.
There is no way I can
ever go near such
woman but given the
kinds of things she
has been saying to me
on the phone, I’m
getting scared as she
keeps threatening to
deal with me if I ever
consider leaving her.
It is as if she knows
my every movement.
How do I get out of
this situation?
Raising a Moral Child
What does it take to be a good parent?
We know some of the tricks for
teaching kids to become high
achievers. For example, research
suggests that when parents praise effort
rather than ability, children develop a
stronger work ethic and become more
motivated.
Yet although some parents live
vicariously through their children’s
accomplishments, success is not the No.
1 priority for most parents. We’re much
more concerned about our children
becoming kind, compassionate and
helpful. Surveys reveal that in the
United States, parents from European,
Asian, Hispanic and African ethnic
groups all place far greater importance
on caring than achievement. These
patterns hold around the world: When
people in 50 countries were asked to
report their guiding principles in life,
the value that mattered most was not
achievement, but caring.
Despite the significance that it holds in
our lives, teaching children to care
about others is no simple task. In an
Israeli study of nearly 600 families,
parents who valued kindness and
compassion frequently failed to raise
children who shared those values.
Are some children simply good-natured
— or not? For the past decade, I’ve
been studying the surprising success of
people who frequently help others
without any strings attached. As the
father of two daughters and a son, I’ve
become increasingly curious about how
these generous tendencies develop.
Genetic twin studies suggest that
anywhere from a quarter to more than
half of our propensity to be giving and
caring is inherited. That leaves a lot of
room for nurture, and the evidence on
how parents raise kind and
compassionate children flies in the face
of what many of even the most well-
intentioned parents do in praising good
behavior, responding to bad behavior,
and communicating their values.
By age 2, children experience some
moral emotions — feelings triggered by
right and wrong. To reinforce caring as
the right behavior, research indicates ,
praise is more effective than rewards.
Rewards run the risk of leading
children to be kind only when a carrot
is offered, whereas praise
communicates that sharing is
intrinsically worthwhile for its own
sake. But what kind of praise should
we give when our children show early
signs of generosity?
Many parents believe it’s important to
compliment the behavior, not the child
— that way, the child learns to repeat
the behavior. Indeed, I know one
couple who are careful to say, “That
was such a helpful thing to do,” instead
of, “You’re a helpful person.”
But is that the right approach? In a
clever experiment, the researchers Joan
E. Grusec and Erica Redler set out to
investigate what happens when we
commend generous behavior versus
generous character. After 7- and 8-year-
olds won marbles and donated some to
poor children, the experimenter
remarked, “Gee, you shared quite a
bit.”
The researchers randomly assigned the
children to receive different types of
praise. For some of the children, they
praised the action: “It was good that
you gave some of your marbles to those
poor children. Yes, that was a nice and
helpful thing to do.” For others, they
praised the character behind the
action: “I guess you’re the kind of
person who likes to help others
whenever you can. Yes, you are a very
nice and helpful person.”
A couple of weeks later, when faced
with more opportunities to give and
share, the children were much more
generous after their character had been
praised than after their actions had
been. Praising their character helped
them internalize it as part of their
identities. The children learned who
they were from observing their own
actions: I am a helpful person. This
dovetails with new research led by the
psychologist Christopher J. Bryan, who
finds that for moral behaviors, nouns
work better than verbs. To get 3- to 6-
year-olds to help with a task, rather
than inviting them “to help,” it was 22
to 29 percent more effective to
encourage them to “be a helper.”
Cheating was cut in half when instead
of, “Please don’t cheat,” participants
were told, “Please don’t be a cheater.”
When our actions become a reflection
of our character, we lean more heavily
toward the moral and generous
choices. Over time it can become part
of us.
Praise appears to be particularly
influential in the critical periods when
children develop a stronger sense of
identity. When the researchers Joan E.
Grusec and Erica Redler praised the
character of 5-year-olds, any benefits
that may have emerged didn’t have a
lasting impact: They may have been too
young to internalize moral character as
part of a stable sense of self. And by
the time children turned 10, the
differences between praising character
and praising actions vanished: Both
were effective. Tying generosity to
character appears to matter most
around age 8, when children may be
starting to crystallize notions of
identity.
Praise in response to good behavior
may be half the battle, but our
responses to bad behavior have
consequences, too. When children
cause harm, they typically feel one of
two moral emotions: shame or guilt.
Despite the common belief that these
emotions are interchangeable, research
led by the psychologist June Price
Tangney reveals that they have very
different causes and consequences.
Shame is the feeling that I am a bad
person, whereas guilt is the feeling that
I have done a bad thing. Shame is a
negative judgment about the core self,
which is devastating: Shame makes
children feel small and worthless, and
they respond either by lashing out at
the target or escaping the situation
altogether. In contrast, guilt is a
negative judgment about an action,
which can be repaired by good
behavior. When children feel guilt, they
tend to experience remorse and regret,
empathize with the person they have
harmed, and aim to make it right.
In one study spearheaded by the
psychologist Karen Caplovitz Barrett ,
parents rated their toddlers’ tendencies
to experience shame and guilt at home.
The toddlers received a rag doll, and
the leg fell off while they were playing
with it alone. The shame-prone
toddlers avoided the researcher and
did not volunteer that they broke the
doll. The guilt-prone toddlers were
more likely to fix the doll, approach
the experimenter, and explain what
happened. The ashamed toddlers were
avoiders; the guilty toddlers were
amenders.
If we want our children to care about
others, we need to teach them to feel
guilt rather than shame when they
misbehave. In a review of research on
emotions and moral development, the
psychologist Nancy Eisenberg suggests
that shame emerges when parents
express anger, withdraw their love, or
try to assert their power through
threats of punishment: Children may
begin to believe that they are bad
people. Fearing this effect, some
parents fail to exercise discipline at all,
which can hinder the development of
strong moral standards.
The most effective response to bad
behavior is to express disappointment.
According to independent reviews by
Professor Eisenberg and David R.
Shaffer , parents raise caring children
by expressing disappointment and
explaining why the behavior was
wrong, how it affected others, and how
they can rectify the situation. This
enables children to develop standards
for judging their actions, feelings of
empathy and responsibility for others,
and a sense of moral identity , which
are conducive to becoming a helpful
person . The beauty of expressing
disappointment is that it communicates
disapproval of the bad behavior,
coupled with high expectations and the
potential for improvement: “You’re a
good person, even if you did a bad
thing, and I know you can do better.”
As powerful as it is to criticize bad
behavior and praise good character,
raising a generous child involves more
than waiting for opportunities to react
to the actions of our children. As
parents, we want to be proactive in
communicating our values to our
children. Yet many of us do this the
wrong way.
In a classic experiment , the
psychologist J. Philippe Rushton gave
140 elementary- and middle-school-age
children tokens for winning a game,
which they could keep entirely or
donate some to a child in poverty. They
first watched a teacher figure play the
game either selfishly or generously, and
then preach to them the value of
taking, giving or neither. The adult’s
influence was significant: Actions spoke
louder than words. When the adult
behaved selfishly, children followed
suit. The words didn’t make much
difference — children gave fewer
tokens after observing the adult’s
selfish actions, regardless of whether
the adult verbally advocated
selfishness or generosity. When the
adult acted generously, students gave
the same amount whether generosity
was preached or not — they donated 85
percent more than the norm in both
cases. When the adult preached
selfishness, even after the adult acted
generously, the students still gave 49
percent more than the norm. Children
learn generosity not by listening to
what their role models say, but by
observing what they do.
To test whether these role-modeling
effects persisted over time, two months
later researchers observed the children
playing the game again. Would the
modeling or the preaching influence
whether the children gave — and
would they even remember it from two
months earlier?
The most generous children were those
who watched the teacher give but not
say anything. Two months later, these
children were 31 percent more
generous than those who observed the
same behavior but also heard it
preached. The message from this
research is loud and clear: If you don’t
model generosity, preaching it may not
help in the short run, and in the long
run, preaching is less effective than
giving while saying nothing at all.
People often believe that character
causes action, but when it comes to
producing moral children, we need to
remember that action also shapes
character. As the psychologist Karl
Weick is fond of asking, “How can I
know who I am until I see what I do?
How can I know what I value until I see
where I walk?”
Adam Grant is a professor of
management and psychology at the
Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania and the author of “Give
and Take: Why Helping Others Drives
Our Success.”
We know some of the tricks for
teaching kids to become high
achievers. For example, research
suggests that when parents praise effort
rather than ability, children develop a
stronger work ethic and become more
motivated.
Yet although some parents live
vicariously through their children’s
accomplishments, success is not the No.
1 priority for most parents. We’re much
more concerned about our children
becoming kind, compassionate and
helpful. Surveys reveal that in the
United States, parents from European,
Asian, Hispanic and African ethnic
groups all place far greater importance
on caring than achievement. These
patterns hold around the world: When
people in 50 countries were asked to
report their guiding principles in life,
the value that mattered most was not
achievement, but caring.
Despite the significance that it holds in
our lives, teaching children to care
about others is no simple task. In an
Israeli study of nearly 600 families,
parents who valued kindness and
compassion frequently failed to raise
children who shared those values.
Are some children simply good-natured
— or not? For the past decade, I’ve
been studying the surprising success of
people who frequently help others
without any strings attached. As the
father of two daughters and a son, I’ve
become increasingly curious about how
these generous tendencies develop.
Genetic twin studies suggest that
anywhere from a quarter to more than
half of our propensity to be giving and
caring is inherited. That leaves a lot of
room for nurture, and the evidence on
how parents raise kind and
compassionate children flies in the face
of what many of even the most well-
intentioned parents do in praising good
behavior, responding to bad behavior,
and communicating their values.
By age 2, children experience some
moral emotions — feelings triggered by
right and wrong. To reinforce caring as
the right behavior, research indicates ,
praise is more effective than rewards.
Rewards run the risk of leading
children to be kind only when a carrot
is offered, whereas praise
communicates that sharing is
intrinsically worthwhile for its own
sake. But what kind of praise should
we give when our children show early
signs of generosity?
Many parents believe it’s important to
compliment the behavior, not the child
— that way, the child learns to repeat
the behavior. Indeed, I know one
couple who are careful to say, “That
was such a helpful thing to do,” instead
of, “You’re a helpful person.”
But is that the right approach? In a
clever experiment, the researchers Joan
E. Grusec and Erica Redler set out to
investigate what happens when we
commend generous behavior versus
generous character. After 7- and 8-year-
olds won marbles and donated some to
poor children, the experimenter
remarked, “Gee, you shared quite a
bit.”
The researchers randomly assigned the
children to receive different types of
praise. For some of the children, they
praised the action: “It was good that
you gave some of your marbles to those
poor children. Yes, that was a nice and
helpful thing to do.” For others, they
praised the character behind the
action: “I guess you’re the kind of
person who likes to help others
whenever you can. Yes, you are a very
nice and helpful person.”
A couple of weeks later, when faced
with more opportunities to give and
share, the children were much more
generous after their character had been
praised than after their actions had
been. Praising their character helped
them internalize it as part of their
identities. The children learned who
they were from observing their own
actions: I am a helpful person. This
dovetails with new research led by the
psychologist Christopher J. Bryan, who
finds that for moral behaviors, nouns
work better than verbs. To get 3- to 6-
year-olds to help with a task, rather
than inviting them “to help,” it was 22
to 29 percent more effective to
encourage them to “be a helper.”
Cheating was cut in half when instead
of, “Please don’t cheat,” participants
were told, “Please don’t be a cheater.”
When our actions become a reflection
of our character, we lean more heavily
toward the moral and generous
choices. Over time it can become part
of us.
Praise appears to be particularly
influential in the critical periods when
children develop a stronger sense of
identity. When the researchers Joan E.
Grusec and Erica Redler praised the
character of 5-year-olds, any benefits
that may have emerged didn’t have a
lasting impact: They may have been too
young to internalize moral character as
part of a stable sense of self. And by
the time children turned 10, the
differences between praising character
and praising actions vanished: Both
were effective. Tying generosity to
character appears to matter most
around age 8, when children may be
starting to crystallize notions of
identity.
Praise in response to good behavior
may be half the battle, but our
responses to bad behavior have
consequences, too. When children
cause harm, they typically feel one of
two moral emotions: shame or guilt.
Despite the common belief that these
emotions are interchangeable, research
led by the psychologist June Price
Tangney reveals that they have very
different causes and consequences.
Shame is the feeling that I am a bad
person, whereas guilt is the feeling that
I have done a bad thing. Shame is a
negative judgment about the core self,
which is devastating: Shame makes
children feel small and worthless, and
they respond either by lashing out at
the target or escaping the situation
altogether. In contrast, guilt is a
negative judgment about an action,
which can be repaired by good
behavior. When children feel guilt, they
tend to experience remorse and regret,
empathize with the person they have
harmed, and aim to make it right.
In one study spearheaded by the
psychologist Karen Caplovitz Barrett ,
parents rated their toddlers’ tendencies
to experience shame and guilt at home.
The toddlers received a rag doll, and
the leg fell off while they were playing
with it alone. The shame-prone
toddlers avoided the researcher and
did not volunteer that they broke the
doll. The guilt-prone toddlers were
more likely to fix the doll, approach
the experimenter, and explain what
happened. The ashamed toddlers were
avoiders; the guilty toddlers were
amenders.
If we want our children to care about
others, we need to teach them to feel
guilt rather than shame when they
misbehave. In a review of research on
emotions and moral development, the
psychologist Nancy Eisenberg suggests
that shame emerges when parents
express anger, withdraw their love, or
try to assert their power through
threats of punishment: Children may
begin to believe that they are bad
people. Fearing this effect, some
parents fail to exercise discipline at all,
which can hinder the development of
strong moral standards.
The most effective response to bad
behavior is to express disappointment.
According to independent reviews by
Professor Eisenberg and David R.
Shaffer , parents raise caring children
by expressing disappointment and
explaining why the behavior was
wrong, how it affected others, and how
they can rectify the situation. This
enables children to develop standards
for judging their actions, feelings of
empathy and responsibility for others,
and a sense of moral identity , which
are conducive to becoming a helpful
person . The beauty of expressing
disappointment is that it communicates
disapproval of the bad behavior,
coupled with high expectations and the
potential for improvement: “You’re a
good person, even if you did a bad
thing, and I know you can do better.”
As powerful as it is to criticize bad
behavior and praise good character,
raising a generous child involves more
than waiting for opportunities to react
to the actions of our children. As
parents, we want to be proactive in
communicating our values to our
children. Yet many of us do this the
wrong way.
In a classic experiment , the
psychologist J. Philippe Rushton gave
140 elementary- and middle-school-age
children tokens for winning a game,
which they could keep entirely or
donate some to a child in poverty. They
first watched a teacher figure play the
game either selfishly or generously, and
then preach to them the value of
taking, giving or neither. The adult’s
influence was significant: Actions spoke
louder than words. When the adult
behaved selfishly, children followed
suit. The words didn’t make much
difference — children gave fewer
tokens after observing the adult’s
selfish actions, regardless of whether
the adult verbally advocated
selfishness or generosity. When the
adult acted generously, students gave
the same amount whether generosity
was preached or not — they donated 85
percent more than the norm in both
cases. When the adult preached
selfishness, even after the adult acted
generously, the students still gave 49
percent more than the norm. Children
learn generosity not by listening to
what their role models say, but by
observing what they do.
To test whether these role-modeling
effects persisted over time, two months
later researchers observed the children
playing the game again. Would the
modeling or the preaching influence
whether the children gave — and
would they even remember it from two
months earlier?
The most generous children were those
who watched the teacher give but not
say anything. Two months later, these
children were 31 percent more
generous than those who observed the
same behavior but also heard it
preached. The message from this
research is loud and clear: If you don’t
model generosity, preaching it may not
help in the short run, and in the long
run, preaching is less effective than
giving while saying nothing at all.
People often believe that character
causes action, but when it comes to
producing moral children, we need to
remember that action also shapes
character. As the psychologist Karl
Weick is fond of asking, “How can I
know who I am until I see what I do?
How can I know what I value until I see
where I walk?”
Adam Grant is a professor of
management and psychology at the
Wharton School of the University of
Pennsylvania and the author of “Give
and Take: Why Helping Others Drives
Our Success.”
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