lizzzyyy100

That the US is a nation of immigrants is a truism. In the grand arc of history it applies for most nations, for migration is as old as humanity itself. Migration is fundamentally the story of the human race from its origins to the present. Migration is an integral aspect of life on this planet. People move to survive. They move in search of food. They move away from danger and death. They move towards opportunities for life. Migration is tied to the human spirit, which seeks adventure, pursues dreams, and finds reasons to hope even in the most adverse circumstances.    The Ethics of Migration and Immigration: Key Questions for Policy Makers,  A Briefing Paper by Lynette M. Parker Immigration density map The self-image of America sees this country as the "melting pot" in contrast to especially the nations of the Old World which are seen as homogeneous places with a population made up of one race, one culture, where it is not necessary to bring different cultures under one ...

On a perfectly fine, unusually warm Friday evening, the people of Paris and those who fulfilled for themselves a dream by visiting the French capital, went out to eat, and to try Cambodian food, listen to American Rock, see French-German soccer or just mill about in central Paris. They did what anybody would associate with Paris until they were shot at with military style automatic weapons and a peaceful evening turned into a nightmare with the image of Paris shifting in the collective mind. Friday night in Paris (Creative Commons) These everyday "flaneurs" were doing exactly what people do in cities, meeting, watching other people, eating out, watching sport or listening to music. Doing those peaceful things makes them vulnerable, but unlike the jungle, a good city offers the comfort of civility. The terrorism experts who flood the airwaves ever since the attacks rightly call these places "soft targets". The entire city of Paris is a soft target and so is any other...

If one wants to study the sad state of American transportation in and around metropolitan areas, Baltimore is just as good a study object as any. Once people leave the congested but smoothly paved interstates the journey goes across potholed city streets with hundreds of patches from quick fixes on the many utilities rotting away under the crumbling surface. CMTA Transportation Report Card Baltimore has a 1980s single line subway in serious need of overhaul (new cars are funded, however), a 1990s single line light rail also approaching the "midlife overhaul"  threshold. An additional rail line that would connected the other lonely lines creating the beginning of a rail system was scrapped by a Republican Governor mostly to make a point, and despite being fully designed and federally approved. Commuter trains to the adjacent metro area (DC) share the tracks with Amtrak and freight. At various stations passengers board from adjacent tracks via step stool, on the line shared wit...