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After Attacks and Threats, Tennessee Mosque Opens

By ROBBIE BROWN and CHRISTINE HAUSER

After years of attacks, threats and court action, an Islamic center in Tennessee cleared one last hurdle that allowed it to open its doors on Friday to worshipers, allowing them to honor the occasion with prayers on what is Islam's main congregational day of the week.

But the opening of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro was overshadowed by concerns after the shooting of worshipers at a Sikh temple on Sunday in Wisconsin and an arson attack on a mosque in Missouri this week.

“We are hoping for the best,” said Saleh Sbenaty, one of the center's board members, in an interview on Friday.

The timing also means that they will be able to celebrate in their new center the feast called Eid al-Fitr. The feast, which is expected to fall on Aug. 19, is the end of the holiest Islamic month of the year, Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk.

The mosque prayer hall forms just one part of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, a 12,000-square-foot site which will eventually be expanded to more than 50,000 square feet to include a gym and a swimming pool, Mr. Sbenaty said.

The prayer hall itself, about 4,500 square feet, can hold up to 500 worshipers, but has a movable wall to divide the area to allow for other uses like interfaith events, he said. Such events in the past have been held in rented spaces.

The mosque faced arson, vandalism and a court battle before it cleared a final step when it passed inspection this week and was given a temporary certificate of occupancy for 30 days.

Members of the congregation brought in rugs, while construction crews put finishing touches on the parking lot. Workers raised an American flag on a pole in front of the center, which lies next to a Baptist church on the outskirts of Murfreesboro.

Standing in the parking lot, Dan J. Qualls, 50, a former car plant worker, said he came to the center to protest. Mr. Qualls, wearing an “I Love Jesus” hat, said he understood that the First Amendment protects the right to worship freely but said he believed Islam represented violence.

On Friday, when he heard about the mosque's opening on the local television news, he decided to come out and “represent the Christians.” “My honest opinion is, I wish this wasn't here,” he said.

On Twitter, some people welcomed the mosque.

Mr. Sbenaty said the center will hold an official, full-scale opening in several weeks after a permanent certificate of occupancy is issued, but they opened the prayer hall for the special weekly Friday worship, known as “jumaa.” He estimated that there were about 250 to 300 Muslim families in the area who would likely be regularly served by the center.

Mr. Sbenaty said they were “very concerned” about safety after the Sikh temple shooting and the fire at the Joplin, Mo., mosque.

“Even before those incidents we were the subject of vandalism, intimidation, arson and bomb threats,” he said. “We are not new to th is. But we are not going to be deterred. We are not going to give up our rights just because somebody is going to threaten us.”

During its expansion, vandals painted ”not welcome” on construction signs at the mosque and set fire to construction equipment, which the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other agencies are investigating as a possible hate crime.

As The Lede's Rob Mackey wrote in 2010, Mr. Sbenaty, an engineering professor at Middle Tennessee State University and member of the Islamic center's planning committee, also reported two volleys of gunshots fired near the property the day after the fire on the mosque's construction equipment.

In June of this year, a Texas man was indicted on charges that he left messages threatening to detonate a bomb at the center on Sept. 11. And in May, a county judge ruled that the construction plans had not received sufficient comment from the public and that an occupancy permit could not be granted. Federal prosecutors filed a discrimination lawsuit, and a federal judge ruled in the mosque's favor last month.

Murfreesboro, a city of about 110,000, is about 30 miles from Nashville. At a heated public hearing in 2010, Kim Severson, a reporter for The New York Times wrote, residents testified that Islam was not a religion and that the center was part of a plot to replace the Constitution with Shariah law, the legal code of Islam. A protest and counterprotest drew nearly 800 people, and a local Republican candidate for Congress tried to link the center to Hamas.

The last days of Ramadan are particularly significant for Muslims, many of whom spend more time in mosques during that period. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called this week for extra police protection on Muslim institutions after the Sikh temple killings of six worshipers, and after the Joplin mosque was burned to the ground on Monday.

It was the second such arson attack on that mosque. The f irst was on July 4, and the F.B.I. later released a video of the suspect wanted in that attack.



Video Shows Fukushima Crisis Talks

By ROBERT MACKEY

As Hiroko Tabuchi reports in Friday's New York Times, the Tokyo Electric Power Company released video this week which was recorded during teleconferences last year in the first days of the crisis at the utility's nuclear plant at Fukushima.

The recordings offered the Japanese public new glimpses of how managers and engineers responded to the catastrophe that began on March 11, 2011 when the plant's reactors were crippled by an earthquake and tsunami.

After Tepco posted almost 89 minutes of video, showing parts of the crisis talks on March 12, 14 and 15, on its Web site, a video blogger who has created a YouTube archive of all the footage released by the company posted a copy on the video-sharing site.

Video excerpts from teleconferences between Tepco managers and engineers recorded from March 12-15, 2011, as they tried to deal with the stricken nuclear plant at Fukushima.

The video excerpts posted online by Tepco show some of the discussions that took place between engineers at the plant and managers at the company's headquarters as the crisis worsened. More than an hour of the footage was released without sound, including a portion that shows Naoto Kan, the prime minister during the episode, visiting the company's crisis center.

According to a shot list posted on Tepco's Web site, the footage shows:

0:00:00 â€" 0:00:20
Sample of teleconference at headquarters (with sound)

0:00:20 â€" 0:00:35
Sample of teleconference at Fukushima Daini nuclear power station (no sound)

0:00:35 â€" 0:02:40
March 12, 3:36 p.m. Hydrogen explosion at Unit 1 Reactor Building (no sound)

0:02:40 â€" 0:05:50
March 12, 7:23 p.m. Seawater injection at Unit 1 (no sound)

0:05:50 â€" 0:10:31
March 14, 11:01 a.m. Hydrogen explosion at Unit 3 Reactor Building (with so und)

0:10:31 â€" 0:22:33
March 14, 4:12 p.m. Pressure reduction utilizing SR valve at Unit 2 (with sound)

0:22:33 â€" 0:24:36
March 14, 7:28 p.m. Withdrawal (1/3) Managing Director, Komori (with sound)

0:24:36 â€" 0:25:11
March 14, 7:54 p.m. Withdrawal (2/3) Fellow, Mr. Takahashi (with sound)

0:25:11 â€" 0:29:48
March 14, 8:15 p.m. Withdrawal (3/3) President, Shimizu and Fellow, Mr. Takahashi (with sound)

0:29:48 â€" 1:06:53
March 15, 5:36 a.m. Former Prime Minister Kan visiting Tepco (no sound)

1:06:53 â€" 1:28:58
March 15, 6:14 a.m. Impulsive sound and shake at Fukushima Daiichi NPS (no sound)

Among other things, the video shows that Tepco managers knew hours after the crisis began that multiple meltdowns were likely, even though they attempted to convince the public that such a catastrophic nuclear accident was not probable.

Responding to pressure to be more transparent about the efforts to cont ain the damage at the plant, Tepco now regularly posts photographs and video clips on the work there on a section of its Web site documenting the work at Fukushima.

This week, in addition to the teleconference video, the company posted a series of photographs online, shot inside the ruined building around Reactor No. 1 on Wednesday, after engineers released a balloon equipped with a camera into the badly damaged structure.

Last month, Tepco also posted a brief video clip recorded at Fukishima's Reactor No. 3 building on July 11.

Video showing what remains of the northwest part of the operating floor of the third reactor building at the Fukushima Daaichi nuclear plant.



Image of the Day: August 10

August 10, 2012, 11:30 am
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Live Video: Memorial Service for Victims of the Sikh Temple Shooting

August 10, 2012, 11:06 am
By STEVEN YACCINO and JENNIFER PRESTON

Visit msnbc.com for ,

Mourners from all over the world traveled to attend a wake and memorial service at Oak Creek High School for the six worshipers shot and killed on Sunday at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in suburban Milwaukee.

After the visitation and remarks by religious leaders and officials, mourners will return to the Sikh temple where the shootings took place. For the next 48 hours, priests and members of the temple are expected to read from the Sikh holy book, cover to cover.



Komen\'s Leadership Changes Are Met With Skepticism

By JENNIFER PRESTON

Nancy G. Brinker explains how she began the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure in 1982.

Leadership changes at the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure six months after an online uproar over a decision to cut funds for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood was greeted with skepticism on Thursday among breast cancer advocates and longtime former supporters.

Nancy G. Brinker, the founder, is stepping aside as chief executive to take on a new management role focusing on fund-raising, strategy and global growth, as my colleague Michael Schwirtz reports.

The president, Liz Thompson, and two board members also announced on Wednesday they were leaving Komen, the nation's leading breast cancer advocacy organization, officials announced in a statement.

Ms. Brinker, who began the organization in 1982 after her sister died of breast cancer at 36, will serve as chairman of the board's executive committee, a powerful role that prompted some advocates to question the organization's commitment to new leadership.

“That makes me think this is a public relations stunt,” said Eve Ellis, a board member for the foundation's New York chapter from 2004 to 2010. “She will be in a position to fire and hire and politicize women's health care. I understand that she will no longer be chief executive officer. But she will be the decision maker on who the C.E.O. is. This is problematic.”

Although Komen reinstated funds to Planned Parenthood within three days of the public outcry, the organization was widely criticized for what many longtime supporters viewed as a decision made to appease anti-abortion rights supporters and politicize women's health care services.

Donations plummeted at varying levels across the country from 5 percent to 30 percent, Komen officials said . Events were canceled and volunteer participation at walks and runs declined. Several executives resigned in recent months. In response to the backlash, Karen Handel, the senior vice president of policy who had campaigned against Planned Parenthood as a former Republican gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, stepped down.

In a brief interview on Thursday, Ms. Handel said: “I wish nothing but the best for both Nancy and Liz. Komen is an organization that has done a tremendous amount of good. And they will continue to do so.”

Ms. Brinker ignored calls for her to resign from the organization that has raised $2 billion since she started it. She tried to address concerns in a YouTube video and later in an interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell, but both efforts fell flat and she was criticized for not acknowledging the organization's missteps.

The controversy surfaced tension within the organization over the role of abortion politics and cast a light on dism ay among some breast cancer advocates about the emphasis that Komen put on so-called “pink marketing.”

“Komen has done a lot of things that cancer survivors don't like,” said Mel Majoros, 42, a radio producer from Michigan who writes The Cancer Warrior blog. “The community has been upset for a long time about the pink ribbon being slapped on everything. They need to focus less on the pink ribbon and what the pink ribbon stands for.”


Brenda Coffee, a breast cancer survivor from Texas and veteran journalist and filmmaker behind the Survivorship Media Network's breastcancersisterhood.com, posted on Twitter.

“I am skeptical,” Ms. Coffee said in an interview. “They just don't get it. And there are ripple effects because their missteps means a lot of other important and valuable breast cancer organizations are not getting as much in donations.”

Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for Komen, said that the leadership changes were unrelated to the Planned Parenthood controversy. She said that Ms. Thompson had told the board she wanted to leave in April, but she agreed to stay on to help get the organization through the recent turmoil. She said Ms. Brinker's new role suits what is needed for the organization, moving forward.

Ms. Rader said Komen did not see a decline in corporate sponsors, but she said participation from volunteers and individual donors fell. The organization's affiliates, however, were working hard to gain back respect and trust.

“We are on the mend,” Ms. Rader said. “We are spending our time reminding people of what we are doing in their communities and the tremendous impact we have had on low-income and uninsured women and funding mor e research than any other breast cancer organization.”

In California, where the affiliates joined together in February to denounce Komen's decision on Planned Parenthood, it has been a struggle but donations and volunteers are coming back.

Lisa Wolter, executive director for the last seven years at Susan G. Komen Foundation in Orange County, Calif., said her focus in recent months has been getting people to understand the impact of the foundation's work on providing services at the local level. “In a lot of ways, this whole spotlight on what do has motivated people who care about breast health,” she said.

Ms. Wolter said she was proud that she was among the affiliate directors who alerted Komen's top leaders about concerns over the decision and “the importance of meeting women's needs where they are getting their health care.”

“I am also proud they listened,” she said. “I am proud that the organization reversed the decision and made a better policy. Our ongoing work now has been making sure that the voices of the affiliates is heard so that we are always doing what is best for breast health for women.”

Ms. Wolter said that she was concerned about a major gala in May but that the organization brought in as much money as it had the year before. Looking ahead to the fall, she is working on getting people registered for races.

Ms. Rader said that Ms. Brinker was unavailable for an interview.

In May, Ms. Brinker received an honorary degree from Duke. In an interview with The Chronicle, the independent daily newspaper, she was asked, among other things, about the role that social media played in changing Komen's position.

TC: What role did responses on social media play in the Komen leadership changing their position on Planned Parenthood?
NB: We learned, and not just from social media, that people do care very deeply about issues like access to healthcare for vulnera ble populations. They will speak up, and an organization like ours is wise to listen. We've always taken care of low-income and uninsured women through our community funding, and we would never have abandoned those women. Nevertheless, I've personally apologized for our decision and the misunderstanding that arose from it. And we are now moving forward with the work that we've done for three decades: funding research and taking care of people facing breast cancer.



Surprise, Mohan Bhagwat Meets the Foreign Press

By NIHARIKA MANDHANA

Mohan Bhagwat usually reserves his remarks for his cadres in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, or R.S.S., the right-wing Hindu group based in Nagpur. But on Thursday the group's leader found himself in New Delhi addressing an unlikely audience â€" some 30 international journalists.

Mr. Bhagwat, often a taciturn figure, was affable and composed as he parried questions on the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindutva movement and the prime ministerial designs of Gujarat's chief minister, Narendra Modi. He did not make any news, nor divulge any secrets about his organization's relationship with the B.J.P. Instead, the news was that he agreed to speak at all.

To some political observers, Mr. Bhagwat's uncharacteristic appearance was a deliberate act of signaling as political parties are beginning to position for the run-up to the general elections in 2014.

“The R.S.S. is worrie d, but it is trying to say ‘All is well. We will be back in control in two years,' ” said Shiv Visvanathan, a sociologist. Mr. Visvanathan, who has watched the group's activities for several years, said the organization is facing a crisis, as it has lost control over the B.J.P. and its leaders, most notably Mr. Modi.

“It knows that the Congress is in disarray,” he said. “But it can't do anything because it has a party that is as badly behaved and anarchic.”

Peppered with questions from foreign journalists, Mr. Bhagwat repeatedly denied that his organization had any link to political groups, including the B.J.P., or politicians.

The goals of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he said, include the building of character and the imparting of values, and he emphasized that his organization's influence comes from its network of members in tens of thousands of Indian villages. The group offers Hindu values training and runs some 130,000 public service pr ojects in health care, education, rural development and disaster relief.

“In fact, I'm least interested in current politics,” Mr. Bhagwat said.

It is a stance the R.S.S. has long taken and that has been long dismissed by political analysts and rival parties. Asked how the organization was helping the B.J.P. in electoral planning, Mr. Bhagwat said he had no influence on the party's choice of a prime ministerial candidate and dodged questions about whether he would endorse Mr. Modi.

“There is no question of control on the B.J.P.,” said Mr. Bhagwat. ”The R.S.S. imparts help to policies, not parties.”

Founded in 1925 as a social and intellectual movement, the R.S.S. is not a political party. But scores of its members are career politicians, with many having used the organization as a launch pad to enter mainstream electoral politics. B.J.P. leaders like L.K. Advani and Mr. Modi were a part of the organization before they entered politics.

< p>The guiding principle of the R.S.S. is Hindutva, a term Mr. Bhagwat defined as a path of truth and nonviolence but that has come to be associated with right-wing Hindu nationalism. Senior R.S.S. leaders have been blamed for spreading an anti-Muslim sentiment in the country, an accusation Mr. Bhagwat dismissed as the handiwork of his enemies. Addressing the issue of “saffron terror,” he said, “Hinduism means nonviolence. Extremism is not saffron or green or red.”

Mr. Visvanathan, the sociologist, said that the R.S.S. â€" which traditionally is more seen than heard â€" has now realized it must adapt to regain relevance. He said the group continues to speak an “archaic, swadeshi lingo” while leaders of the B.J.P. are now trying to “use ideology as an instrument of ambition.”

He said that the controversial Mr. Modi, for example, had repackaged himself from a “hard core R.S.S. pracharak” into a political figure now trying to broaden his appeal by writing books about climate change.

“They need to stop being custodians of ideology,” Mr. Visvanathan said, “and become agents of change.”

On Thursday, Mr. Bhagwat also addressed a range of questions, during which he threw his organization's support behind all anticorruption movements, including those led by Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare. With ethnic strife engulfing India's northeastern state of Assam, he said the authorities needed to stop Bangladeshi migrants from illegally entering India. He also said that India needed to be tougher in its dialogue with Pakistan and expressed skepticism about Pakistan's sincerity.



Hyderabad\'s Charm Found in Ramadan Delights

By APARNA ALLURI

Hyderabad, the Scottish historian William Dalrymple wrote, hides “its charms from the eyes of outsiders, veiling its splendors from curious eyes behind nondescript walls and labyrinthine backstreets.” But some secrets, like Hyderabad's sinfully rich food, perhaps its greatest charm, are hard to keep. And the month of Ramadan is ideal for discovering the city's most indulgent dishes.

A graceful, 400-year-old city, Hyderabad's aristocratic order has given way to wealth born of industry, real estate and entrepreneurship. Once it became the capital of Andhra Pradesh, families from the traditionally Hindu coastal belts to the east populated the infertile, rocky city; then, with the boom in software and outsourcing, people began pouring in from all over India seeking jobs. Today's Hyderabad is a curious mix of Hindu and Muslim, of native and settler, of old and new.

But the month of Ramadan, known as Ramzan in India, off ers a peek into the city's culinary past. When dusk arrives during Ramadan, with a shrill siren that signals the end of fasting, the narrow streets of Hyderabad's old city fill up fast with vendors, shoppers and food buffs. What awaits the hungry are simmering pots of biryani with a distinctly Hyderabadi flavor; endless bowls of haleem - a thick, spicy paste of lamb and wheat, cooked to perfection; dried apricots and fresh cream served together as the wildly popular qubani-ka-meetha; and other flavors that carry the richness of a sultan's sumptuous meal although they have been prepared in humbler kitchens.

Obscure restaurants light up their signboards promising the city's best haleem â€" certainly the most sought-after dish at this time, partly because it's not easily available for the rest of the year.

Mr. Dalrymple himself has recommended Salim, “the best biryani cook in Hyderabad,” in the opening pages of “White Mughals.” A decade after the book's publication, Mr. Salim is hard to find, but there's still plenty to choose from.

Hotel Shadab, a small, locally loved restaurant, is at its hopping best during Ramadan. Started in 1990, it has since added an air-conditioned upper floor for “ladies and families.” Rumored to serve the best haleem and biryani in town, the menu also offers fresh, soft loaves of sheermal and a decadent qubani-ka-meetha. The delicately flavored Pakistani chicken curry is a must.

Four Seasons, a restaurant that should not be confused with the luxurious hotel chain of the same name, is best known for its kebabs and biryani. But during Ramadan, its haleem, slightly spicier than most, is a hit. Fresh garlic naan goes best with the haleem. The almond kheer â€" milk, rice and sugar boiled together and seasoned with saffron and almonds â€" is a treat.

Pista House, Shah Ghouse, Sarvi and 555 are all famous for their haleem, doing a roaring business during Ram adan, as one can see from the line of vehicles waiting for takeaway orders.

The venerable Nizam Club is restricted to members only, but it brings so much to the table that it deserves a mention, especially during Ramadan. Few can cook biryani and haleem better than the chefs at this 128-year-old club established by the prime minister in Hyderabad's erstwhile royal court. And nowhere else can you find some of the dishes on offer here, like dalcha, a sambar of meat and lentils flavored with tamarind, or the spicy, tangy mutton chutney.

But if you happen to find yourself in the city during Ramadan, do try and snag an invitation for an iftar, the evening meal after the fast is broken, or lunch on Id-al-Fitr, the day that marks the end of Ramadan, which falls on Aug. 18 this year. Hyderabad's best restaurants notwithstanding, nothing can compare to a home-cooked meal. And it's the best way to taste some of the more painstaking dishes, like sheer korma, a steaming pudd ing of milk and vermicelli, peppered with dates, which is considered an Id delicacy.



Sluggish Monsoon Threatens India\'s Growth

By NIHARIKA MANDHANA

India's monsoon is lagging, confronting the country with its third possible drought in the past decade, and the rainfall deficit is further weakening an Indian economy already wobbling from a slowdown.

With India's Meteorological Department recording rainfall shortages across the country, several ratings agencies and financial analysts have sharply downgraded an Indian economy once projected to grow by more than 7 percent this year. This week, CRISIL, a research and ratings organization, cut India's G.D.P. growth forecast for the current fiscal year to 5.5 percent, blaming the weak monsoon and projecting that the agriculture sector would not grow at all.

“We are now dealing with a dangerous scenario of low growth and high inflation,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, the agency's chief economist. Not to mention shrinking industrial output after Thursday's economic numbers showed that industrial production contracted in J une.

India's last drought came in 2009, but the broader economy was shielded because of government stimulus measures intended to offset the global financial meltdown. “This time, India is already fiscally stretched, and the possibility of a generous stimulus package is limited,” Mr. Joshi said.

India, once a nation of farmers, now has an economy led by the manufacturing and service sectors. Agriculture now accounts for only 15 percent of the country's G.D.P., yet farming remains a critical sector because roughly half of India's population continues to work in the fields. Moreover, a weak monsoon can create a pernicious cycle: lower rural incomes means lower rural demand, while a smaller crop can fuel inflation.

Ashok Gulati, head of India's Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, said production of food grains is likely to be down 10 million to 15 million tons, especially the output of coarse cereals, pulses and oilse eds grown in the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The Indian monsoon traditionally begins in June and continues through September. This year, meteorologists are projecting that total rainfall will be 15 percent below the long-term average, with some regions suffering severe drought, including Punjab, western Rajasthan and Gujarat, and others experiencing floods.

Weather officials don't expect much improvement in coming weeks. Rains are gradually picking up in some parts of the country, but the worst-affected areas are not likely to see much help.

In late July, a high-powered government panel announced a relief package of 20 billion rupees ($360 million) for rain-starved states and expanded subsidies on diesel fuel and seeds. “Basically, three major stakeholders need to be protected: farmers, agricultural laborers and the consumers,” said Mr. Gulati.

The recurrence of droughts has inspired research on how to be better prepar ed in the future. Agricultural scientists in Hyderabad have spent two years preparing customized contingency plans for every district and subdistrict in India. These plans assess local soil and irrigation capacity and offer detailed guidance for what farmers should do if the monsoons are delayed, deficient or haphazard.

“The plans tell farmers what to sow or what agricultural methods to use if the monsoons are delayed by two weeks, by four weeks, by six weeks,” said B. Venkateshwarulu, director of the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, which is overseeing the project. “They guide farmers on a scientific and systematic basis so that the impact of a drought is reduced.”

So far, plans have been drafted for half of India's 640 districts. Civil servants and agricultural scientists are working to distribute the plans to farmers by using text messages, advertisements in local newspapers and notices on public buildings.

Already these plans are being used in some regions. In Gujarat's Banaskantha district, which has received some rain, farmers are being advised to plant castor seeds, which can flourish if it rains in August, and to implement the technique of mulching.

“We didn't have any of these solutions before. If the rains failed, the crop failed,” said 45-year-old farmer Vadibhai Patel, who has a 15-acre lot and has been farming for over two decades.

Yet planning can only do so much. In the coastal section of Gujarat known as the Kutch, drought conditions are among the worst in the country. Farmers, many of whom have invested heavily in seeds and fertilizers, have not even sown their crops. “How can we help them when there is not even a drop of rainfall?” said Ami Haji Sipai, an associate research scientist with the government-run Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University in Gujarat. Farmers are currently surviving by selling cow and buffalo milk.

Ultimately, analysts sa y India needs to invest in research to create drought-resistant seeds, improve water management practices and expand irrigation facilities. “Till then,” said Mr. Patel, “we will need relief from the government when the rains betray us.”



A Photograph Changes a Child\'s Life in Bhopal

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Nearly three years ago, Alex Masi took a photograph of a little girl in Bhopal, that earned him the Photographers Giving Back Award - “a sum of $5,000 that went directly to the child, Poonam Jatev, and her family,” Kerri Macdonald wrote in the Lens blog of The New York Times.

“It changed her life,” Ms. Macdonald wrote.

“What I wanted to do was to find a long-term way where I could show the people outside what happens to this family,” Mr. Masi, born in Italy, told the Lens blog.

Today, Poonam “is a wide-eyed 8-year-old with a toothy grin,” Ms. Macdonald wrote. She just started her third year of school and aspires to be a teacher.

Mr. Masi believes he's been given a rare opportunity to show what it is like to grow up in Bhopal, a process he is documenting on his blog, “A Better Tomorrow: Poonam's Tale of Hope in Bhopal.”

He intends to r eturn to Bhopal often for at least the next 10 years. The result will be Poonam's coming-of-age story, set in a period of change in Bhopal, where a German company is making a deal with the Indian government to airlift hundreds of tons of toxic material from a manufacturing plant that leaked 40 tons of methyl isocynate gas in December 1984. (Thousands of tons of contaminated ground will remain.)

Read the full post.

To support the education of Poonam, Jyoti and Ravi, visit this site.



Komen\'s Leadership Changes Are Met With Skepticism

By JENNIFER PRESTON

Nancy G. Brinker explains how she began the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure in 1982.

Leadership changes at the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure six months after an online uproar over a decision to cut funds for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood was greeted with skepticism on Thursday among breast cancer advocates and longtime former supporters.

Nancy G. Brinker, the founder, is stepping aside as chief executive to take on a new management role focusing on fund-raising, strategy and global growth, as my colleague Michael Schwirtz reports.

The president, Liz Thompson, and two board members also announced on Wednesday they were leaving Komen, the nation's leading breast cancer advocacy organization, officials announced in a statement.

Ms. Brinker, who began the organization in 1982 after her sister died of breast cancer at 36, will serve as chairman of the board's executive committee, a powerful role that prompted some advocates to question the organization's commitment to new leadership.

“That makes me think this is a public relations stunt,” said Eve Ellis, a board member for the foundation's New York chapter from 2004 to 2010. “She will be in a position to fire and hire and politicize women's health care. I understand that she will no longer be chief executive officer. But she will be the decision maker on who the C.E.O. is. This is problematic.”

Although Komen reinstated funds to Planned Parenthood within three days of the public outcry, the organization was widely criticized for what many longtime supporters viewed as a decision made to appease anti-abortion rights supporters and politicize women's health care services.

Donations plummeted at varying levels across the country from 5 percent to 30 percent, Komen officials said . Events were canceled and volunteer participation at walks and runs declined. Several executives resigned in recent months. In response to the backlash, Karen Handel, the senior vice president of policy who had campaigned against Planned Parenthood as a former Republican gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, stepped down.

In a brief interview on Thursday, Ms. Handel said: “I wish nothing but the best for both Nancy and Liz. Komen is an organization that has done a tremendous amount of good. And they will continue to do so.”

Ms. Brink ignored calls for her to resign from the organization that has raised $2 billion since she started it. She tried to address concerns in a YouTube video and later in an interview with NBC's Andrea Mitchell, but both efforts fell flat and she was criticized for not acknowledging the organization's missteps.

The controversy surfaced tension within the organization over the role of abortion politics and cast a light on dismay among some breast cancer advocates about the emphasis that Komen put on so-called “pink marketing.”

“Komen has done a lot of things that cancer survivors don't like,” said Mel Majoros, 42, a radio producer from Michigan who writes The Cancer Warrior blog. “The community has been upset for a long time about the pink ribbon being slapped on everything. They need to focus less on the pink ribbon and what the pink ribbon stands for.”


Brenda Coffee, a breast cancer survivor from Texas and veteran journalist and filmmaker behind the Survivorship Media Network's breastcancersisterhood.com, posted on Twitter.

“I am skeptical,” Ms. Coffee said in an interview. “They just don't get it. And there are r ipple effects because their missteps means a lot of other important and valuable breast cancer organizations are not getting as much in donations.”

Andrea Rader, a spokeswoman for Komen, said that the leadership changes were unrelated to the Planned Parenthood controversy. She said that Ms. Thompson had told the board she wanted to leave in April, but she agreed to stay on to help get the organization through the recent turmoil. She said Ms. Brinker's new role suits what is needed for the organization, moving forward.

Ms. Rader said Komen did not see a decline in corporate sponsors, but she said participation from volunteers and individual donors fell. The organization's affiliates, however, were working hard to gain back respect and trust.

“We are on the mend,” Ms. Rader said. “We are spending our time reminding people of what we are doing in their communities and the tremendous impact we have had on low-income and uninsured women and funding more research than any other breast cancer organization.”

In California, where the affiliates joined together in February to denounce Komen's decision on Planned Parenthood, it has been a struggle but donations and volunteers are coming back.

Lisa Wolter, executive director for the last seven years at Susan G. Komen Foundation in Orange County, Calif., said her focus in recent months has been getting people to understand the impact of the foundation's work on providing services at the local level. “In a lot of ways, this whole spotlight on what do has motivated people who care about breast health,” she said.

Ms. Wolter said she was proud that she was among the affiliate directors who alerted Komen's top leaders about concerns over the decision and “the importance of meeting women's needs where they are getting their health care.”

“I am also proud they listened,” she said. “I am proud that the organization reversed the decision and made a be tter policy. Our ongoing work now has been making sure that the voices of the affiliates is heard so that we are always doing what is best for breast health for women.”

Ms. Wolter said that she was concerned about a major gala in May but that the organization brought in as much money as it had the year before. Looking ahead to the fall, she is working on getting people registered for races.

Ms. Rader said that Ms. Brinker was unavailable for an interview.

In May, Ms. Brinker received an honorary degree from Duke. In an interview with The Chronicle, the independent daily newspaper, she was asked, among other things, about the role that social media played in changing Komen's position.

TC: What role did responses on social media play in the Komen leadership changing their position on Planned Parenthood?
NB: We learned, and not just from social media, that people do care very deeply about issues like access to healthcare for vulnerabl e populations. They will speak up, and an organization like ours is wise to listen. We've always taken care of low-income and uninsured women through our community funding, and we would never have abandoned those women. Nevertheless, I've personally apologized for our decision and the misunderstanding that arose from it. And we are now moving forward with the work that we've done for three decades: funding research and taking care of people facing breast cancer.



For U.S. College Applicants, Extra Activities Are Encouraged

By NOOR BRARA
Higher EducationThe Choice on India Ink

Choice LogoGuidance on American college applications for readers in India from The Times's admissions blog.

Students interested in attending an American university should know that admissions officers will base their decisions on more than just good grades and high test scores. They want to know how a student might enhance the university just by being there. A good indicator is an examination of personal interests, often illustrated by extracurricular activities.

That phrase - extracurricular activities - may seem unfamiliar to Indian students. Generally, it applies to things that students participate in outside of school that show interests, hobbies and future career plans. They should be proactive. (Going to the movies doesn't count, but making a documentary about a relevant issue does.)

This week on The Choice on India Ink, we talked to Micah Sieber, an admissions officer at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., about the types of extracurricular activities that American students often include on their college applications.

Service-Learning Initiatives or Charity Work

Colleges appreciate it when students are aware of the problems their own communities are experiencing.

“We admire students who are involved in service-learning initiatives,” Mr. Sieber said. “In the same way that clubs and internships say something about who the student is, outreach work shows that students are interested in giving back to their communities and we value that.”

Many high schools in India encourage students to take part in service learning, which may be linked to nongovernmental organizations that benefit from stud ent work. Some of these groups include the Salaam Baalak Trust, which aims to provide homeless children with shelters in Delhi and Mumbai, Swechha, which focuses on environmental issues and social development, and Pratham, a group that works to educate slum children in India.

“Students should engage in projects that they're passionate about,” Mr. Sieber said. “It's more about their personal level of interest that matters, not really the issues they focus on. If we see that students really care about what they're doing and are actively involved, then that's all that matters.”

Student Organizations and Clubs

A student's involvement in clubs and organizations gives an admissions officer a better sense of that student's interests and how the applicant interacts with peers in a nonacademic setting.

“We acknowledge all club involvement, everything counts in that sense,” Mr. Sieber said. “We typically tend to prefer students who spent a signi ficant amount of time involved in a few clubs over students who spread their time too thinly over many projects because it shows that they're really committed to the things they say they care about.”

Having a special role in the organization - like a club president or treasurer - can make a difference, but it doesn't define the validity of your membership, Mr. Sieber said.

“We do recognize positions,” he said, “but it doesn't take away from the value of your club experience if you're a general member.”

Internships

Colleges appreciate an applicant who uses his or her free time proactively. Whether it's working on an advertising campaign at a formal internship, or sorting mail as an assistant for a family friend, internships can help admissions officers see how students apply skills and knowledge to a real world environment.

“It really doesn't matter specifically what students do,” Mr. Sieber said. “When we consider internships, what we really want to see is that students have done something extra, that they're involved and are doing something related to what they're passionate about. There are no set requirements, so it's not as though we would favor one student over another based only on their job descriptions. We consider the student as an individual and look at everything.”

Internship experience can also help when looking for a job during or after college. Students might even get paid.

Individual Projects

Whether it's starting a blog, forming a company, making a movie, recording a song, or hosting a science fair, colleges value individual efforts because they show signs of leadership.

Consider Shiv Sakhuja, a computer-savvy student at the Modern School in New Delhi. When he was 14 years old, Shiv purchased his first Apple computer, a 2007 iMac, and soon became enamored of it. Before long, his friends and family started referring to him as “the Mac expert.” As the Apple craze grew in India, he found himself answering questions and giving advice to other Mac users.

In 2008, Shiv created controlyourmac.com, a Web site where he could post his answers in one place. The site has grown from simply providing information about Macs to reviewing all Apple products and software. It now receives around 1,200 visitors a day. Earlier this year, Shiv also created his own e-mail software, which is now a Mac application.

He hopes his Apple obsession will add something to his college applications.

“I'm applying to schools in both the United States and India,” he said. “But I think that talking about my site in my United States university essays will help me to express my personality better.”

With so many students applying to the United States with strong G.P.A.'s and exam scores, the extras on your resumes and in your essays could help distinguish you from another student with a similar application. Whether it's an inte rnship, club, or doing magic shows for birthday parties on weekends, invest some time doing the things you love. Your interests and hobbies, however quirky, may be what makes the difference.

Do you have advice for students about extracurricular activities? Please share your thoughts in the comments box below.



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