Share On SocialMartha Minow, legal and human rights scholar, was elected to chair the MacArthur Board of Directors and will assume her new role in June 2022. Martha Minow, legal and human rights scholar, was elected to chair the MacArthur Board of Directors. “I am delighted that Martha will be the next Chair of MacArthur’s Board,” said current Board Chair Daniel Huttenlocher. From 2009-2017, she was the Dean of Harvard Law School. “She has helped shape where the Foundation is today.”“I am thrilled that Martha has accepted the role to chair MacArthur’s Board,” MacArthur President John Palfrey said.

Robert Lucas was stunned. Could Robert Lucas -- and mainstream American economists more generally -- simply have the wrong theory about how the economy develops and functions? But writing and arithmetic were around centuries before the Industrial Revolution – it was just a question of how widely they are disseminated. Still, the human capital angle always has a lot of appeal (and to Robert Lucas, indeed). Culture and formal and informal ‘institutions’ can explain a lot, including the fourth big puzzle: why so many countries struggle to develop economically (and why Robert Lucas, with his institution-free belief in the universality of American production technology, failed to understand this).

Younes Nazarian, philanthropist, businessman, and community leader passed on March 18, 2022 at his home in Los Angeles, surrounded by his wife of 61 years, Soraya Sarah Nazarian, and family. Younes Nazarian was born in Tehran, Iran on January 26, 1931, to Davoud and Golbahar Nazarian. In 2000, Younes and his wife established The Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation in the US and The Ima Foundation in Israel, named after his mother. The Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Israel Studies at UCLA teaches students about Israel’s history, culture, and society. In Los Angeles, Younes established the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Center for Performing Arts at CSUN, the Nazarian Pavilion in the historic Doheny Library at USC, Beit Midrash at the Milken Community High School, and supported The Hammer Museum.

Among the losses were members of current Russian President Vladimir Putin’s family, including his 1-year-old brother, who died during the German siege of Leningrad. Hill said Putin’s remarks about the “denazification” of Ukraine are distorting history to achieve his personal goals. “Vladimir Putin has been on this dizzying odyssey talking about his own history,” she said. “If we don’t know our history, including American history and European history, we fall for it when people in Orwellian fashion try to make use of it. Putin has long worried that NATO could bomb Russia, Hill said, and he has tried to prevent Eastern European countries such as Ukraine from joining the alliance.

Alpha Sigma Rho, Reading Area Community College’s Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Chapter, attended the PTK Middle States Regional Convention March 11-13, 2022 in Galloway, New Jersey. These submissions are judged competitively and individuals, chapters and regions are recognized for their excellence in support of these hallmarks. The Middle States Region includes over eighty chapters from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.During the annual PTK Middle States Regional Convention, the Reading Area Community College Phi Theta Kappa Alpha Sigma Rho Chapter received several significant awards, including:Distinguished Chapter-#7 in the Region. The Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society recognizes academic achievement of community college students and provides opportunities for them to grow as scholars and leaders. For more information about Phi Theta Kappa at Reading Area Community College, please call 610.372.4721.

The Board Members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus Foundation has selected Assemblywoman Angela V. McKnight (D-Hudson County) to serve as chair of the organization. “I am honored that my peers have selected me to chair this very important organization of legislators, corporate leaders and community stakeholders,” said Assemblywoman McKnight who was also named Assembly Deputy Majority Leader this session. The New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus Foundation is committed to addressing issues that affect the quality of life of Black residents as well as the civil and human rights of all people. The New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus provides educational and recreational activities for the community; organizes and promotes collaboration amongst legislators, business leaders and organizational leaders; provides scholarship and internship opportunities for students, and sponsors seminars and forums to educate the community on legislative policy. About: The New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus Foundation is a non-profit corporation created for the purpose of promoting public policy by encouraging the interaction of the community with legislators and members of government at all levels.

Levent Kenez/StockholmTurkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) obtained permission to establish a new academy in a regulation approved by the Turkish parliament on March 16. However, the new regulation also provides for the training of foreign clergy. In addition, as part of the scholarship program, it offers advanced degree and doctoral opportunities for foreign theology graduates to do academic studies at Turkish universities. This will also enable the Islamist ideology promoted by the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to be propagated to foreign clergy. While Germany is making plans to train its own Muslim clergy, it requires officials from the Diyanet to speak German.

Professor John A. Murphy (known throughout Ireland simply as ‘John A,’ so wide was his renown at its greatest extent) was arguably Ireland’s best-known historian for most of the 1970s and 80s, and one of its most widely-discussed public intellectuals. Arguably his best work came after his retirement, most notably the landmark history of UCC itself, The College (1995). Just as many of the criticisms he directed towards aspects of Irish life and state policy frequently hit the mark, now so too did much of the return fire. An avowed admirer of James Connolly, and critic of Jim Larkin, he was a supporter of the Irish Labour History Society from its foundation in 1973. John A Murphy at his home in Douglas, Cork wearing his father's 1911 All Ireland football medal.

“Symbols are powerful because they unify,” said Dina Moulioukova, lecturer in the Department of International Studies. “For thousands of years, symbols have been used to unify as well as divide societies. “Symbols have been used to bring together patriotic fervor throughout history,” Everett said. They recognized the power of those symbols.”The most prominent symbol used by the Nazis, the swastika was adopted by German dictator Adolf Hitler. It is an emblem of fascism but was actually an ancient symbol used by many cultures.

Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the greatest Talmudic interpreters of his generation and one of the most revered figures among the world’s ultra-Orthodox Jews, who considered him the leading authority on fine points of Jewish law, died on Friday in the Israeli city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv. His death was announced by Agudath Israel of America, the umbrella organization of ultra-Orthodox groups, which did not specify a cause. Rabbi Kanievsky, a soft-spoken man whose furrowed face was framed by a broad but unruly snow-white beard, was particularly venerated by the non-Hasidic branch of Orthodox Judaism that traces its roots to the towering sages and yeshivas of Lithuania in the 18th century if not earlier. Rabbi Kanievsky himself was regarded as such a wise man. In March 2020, as the coronavirus sickened large numbers of people in Israel’s teeming Orthodox neighborhoods, where communal prayer and Torah study are ironclad traditions, his followers asked him for his guidance on government measures like the closing of schools.

The coalition was formed in August 2021 to unite residents, neighborhood-based organizations, community members and elected officials with an interest in the future of Allston-Brighton. The President and Fellows of Harvard University and its various subsidiaries own approximately 360 acres of land in Allston and Brighton neighborhoods, making Harvard the single-largest landholder in Allston-Brighton. The Coalition for a Just Allston + Brighton (CJAB) was formed in August 2021 to unite residents, neighborhood-based organizations, community members and elected officials with an interest in the future of Allston-Brighton, while engaging citywide Boston-based organizations. These groups are seeking a cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Harvard amid an unprecedented and decisive moment in the history of Allston-Brighton. During this week’s Council meeting, the Council adopted a resolution supporting these commitments.

“What did you do during the War on Drugs, Daddy?”—that question terrified many a boomer parent. Like Tavian Crosland, who found that dealing weed was his only shot at economic independence, I also sometimes sold drugs. As Richard Nixon’s adviser John Ehrlichman later admitted, and as Zoe Cormier notes in this issue, the War on Drugs was aimed squarely at Black America and at the emerging counterculture. The coming consumer boom, previewed here by Aída Chávez, offers opportunities for treatment, recreation, and rehabilitation—plus the tax revenue to fund repair. We are, writes Maia Szalavitz in this special issue’s introductory essay, in the midst of a sea change.

As David Remnick relates in Lenin’s Tomb, his prize-winning look at the Soviet Union morphing into modern Russia:Something had changed—changed radically. The old textbooks became so completely devalued that history examinations had to be postponed throughout the Soviet Union. In September 1939, the Soviet Union did not attack Poland; it merely protected territory abandoned by the collapsed Polish state. In September of the following year, Mikhail Suprun, a Russian historian researching German prisoners of war sent to Arctic gulags, was arrested. In today’s Soviet Union, it is playing all these roles and more.

“There’s a crisis around the freedom of speech now because many people don’t understand it, they weren’t taught what it means and why it matters,” said Suzanne Nossel, the chief executive of PEN America, a free speech organization. This editorial board plans to identify a wide range of threats to freedom of speech in the coming months and to offer possible solutions. Free speech demands a greater willingness to engage with ideas we dislike and greater self-restraint in the face of words that challenge and even unsettle us. The world is witnessing, in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, the strangling of free speech through government censorship and imprisonment. Yet something has been lost; the poll clearly shows a dissatisfaction with free speech as it is experienced and understood by Americans today.

By Millicent IfeanyichukwuLagos, March 18, 2022 (NAN) The Special Foundation (TSF), an NGO, has awarded full primary and secondary school scholarships to 1O underprivileged pupils of Bridge International Academies in Lagos and Osun states. On the sideline, Ms Foyinsola Akinjayeju, Managing Director, Bridge Nigeria, commended TSF for its impact on the lives of less privileged children through scholarship and mentorship programmes. “It is on that note that we are collaborating with credible individuals and organisations like The Special Foundation to offer scholarship opportunities to indigent pupils. Meanwhile, parents of the beneficiaries applauded TSF for the scholarship for its intervention in supporting children’s access to life changing education. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bridge Nigeria has a network of 46 schools across Nigeria.

The Greek War of Independence was the subject an online lecture co-hosted by the Consulate General of Greece in Boston and College Year in Athens last Spring. Titled “Reflections on 1821- A discussion with Mark Mazower,” the webinar was in celebration of the bicentennial of the Greek War of Independence. Greek War of Independence revolution inspired other peoplesThe fascinating webinar touched upon questions related to national identity, religion, ethnicity, sovereignty, and underlined the international significance of the Greek Revolution and its role in the emergence of nation-states. The Greek Revolution of 1821 undoubtedly served to inspire other peoples of the region in their own quest for freedom and independence, she stated. His book titled “The Greek Revolution of 1821 and the Making of Modern Greece,” was published last year by Penguin.

Free trade is under assault and has been since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was passed nearly three decades ago. If we assume that free trade (in reality, managed trade) is a desirable goal, how likely are the U.S. and the world to return to the relatively open, rules-based, liberalizing framework we enjoyed previously? But is the United States a paragon of trade virtue when it comes to free trade? As Stuart Malawer of George Mason University scornfully observes: “I consider Biden’s trade policy to be Trump without the tweets.”Especially disappointing is the Biden administration’s cloak of woke draping over trade policy. ADVERTISEMENTThe quest to incorporate social objectives in trade policy is not just a U.S. phenomenon.

A parade at noon on March 26 will kick off more than 30 activities (many free) and boutique shop specials. • New Jersey Blood Services, a division of New York Blood Center, will conduct blood drives which are open to the public. The following drives are scheduled: April 5, Howell Donor Center, 4068 Route 9 South, Howell, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 6, Howell Donor Center, 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; April 7, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 12, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 13, Howell Donor Center, 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; April 14, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 19, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 20, Howell Donor Center, 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; April 21, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 26, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m.; April 27, Howell Donor Center, 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.; April 28, Howell Donor Center, 1:30-8:30 p.m. To donate blood, call 1-800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org• Join United Way of Monmouth and Ocean Counties and DowntownFreehold.com for the United for Impact Food Truck Festival from noon to 6 p.m. April 24 along West Main Street, Freehold Borough. Sessions are Yoga Breathing; Yoga Stretching; Yoga Movement; Yoga Stretching with Support; Yoga at Home on the Floor; and Yoga at Home Standing. Details: 732-928-4400 or visit www.theoceancountylibrary.org/events• New Jersey Blood Services, a division of New York Blood Center, is looking for volunteers who will assist donors at area blood drives.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV) -- A group of men and women eager to begin a new chapter of their lives are now graduates of St. Louis County’s Treatment Court. The diversionary program targets first time low-level and non-violent offenders who are facing jail time. Currently, more than 230 people are enrolled in the program, which includes a minimum of 14 months of intensive treatment. Participants undergo regular drug testing, therapy, community service and frequent check-ins with the court. “I was facing 45 years in prison.”Eventually, Wilson said she was able to remain sober, attending numerous therapy sessions and AA meetings every week.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has appealed for the signing of two Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Nigeria and China on tourism promotion. The minister made the appeal yesterday in Abuja when the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Chui Jian Chun paid him a courtesy visit. “It is important that our two countries work together to negotiate and sign these MoU to promote tourism between them,’’ he said. On the deep cooperation between both countries in the area of culture and tourism, Mohammed said Nigeria and China established Cultural Centres in Abuja and Beijing respectively. “In tourism, Nigeria and China signed a bilateral Agreement in 2002 to encourage cooperation in the field of tourism between both countries.