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星期一, 6月 02, 2014

全美中華青年聯合會 LA 辦“洪門”文化研討會

“洪門文化”是美國早期華人社會中的主流文化體系
中國致公黨上海市委代表團一行5月28日在洛杉磯應邀參加“洪門”文化研討會,研討會由全美中華青年聯合會、美國華人公共外交促進會、南加州華人華僑聯合會等機構聯合主辦。與會學者指出,美國早期的華人社會中“洪門”文化具有巨大的影響力,“洪門”文化中的推翻封建統治、要求公平、互助團結,形成了當時華人社會中的主流主流文化體系和價值觀。
主辦機構美國華人公共外交促進會會長任向東表示,在年度的亞太裔文化傳統月期間,探索和發掘美國早期華人社會的主流文化源頭和核心價值觀形成過程,可以感受到文化具有超越時空和地域的精神力量和輻射力。
早期美洲洪門組織在傳統中華文化的基礎上,形成了特有文化的現象,可以稱之為“洪門文化”。通過研究早期華人社會的特有文化遺產,以共同探索並形成新時代維繫海外華人社區的文化和價值觀體系。
羅省中華會館主席伍尚齊介紹,有研究報告指出,當年北美洲“華僑名列會籍者十之八九”。洪門提倡的俠義、忠良、團結互助宗旨,對於當時孤身在北美的華人華僑,有巨大的吸引力和凝聚力。直到現在,在華人社區和主流社會中,仍有相當的影響力。
全美中華青年聯合會理事長朱冰峰,羅省中華會館副監事長、羅省台山寧陽會館主席李錦生等認為,洪門文化在美國早期的華人社區中生根後,有逐漸的演變和發展,但是本質上還是依托傳統的中華文化,這也是在當時的華人社會中具有巨大的生命力之原因所在。
致公黨上海市委秘書長鳳懋倫介紹了代表團一行剛剛在費城參加的美國洪門致公總堂第29屆懇親大會的盛況,中國致公黨中央副主席汪珣章應邀率團參加了大會他表示,洪門一些特有的文化特徵,比如手勢、暗語等都是非常珍貴的非物質文化遺產,需要研究如何保留和傳承。
南加州華人華僑聯合會詹瑞娥表示,這次研討會是首次提出“洪門文化”的概念。在研究洪門文化的同時,也是對中華傳統文化精髓的一次總結。
致公黨上海市委代表團成員,知名學者汪敏生、孫康以及許燕玲、袁立群等參加了當天的研討會。 (AACYF洛杉磯訊)

WGBH The World Channel to air documentary on Boston businessman’s decades long search for his gay brother’s killer in Australia


On the Precipice: The World Channel to air documentary on Boston businessman’s decades long search for his gay brother’s killer in Australia

Boston, MA…..What would you do if your gay younger brother was found dead at the bottom of a cliff 10,000 miles away in Australia, and authorities told you he had killed himself and closed the case? What if, 17 years later, a police investigation lifted the cover on a deadly Australian “sport” popular at the time of your brother’s death, known as “poofter bashing”? What if you repeatedly contacted Australian authorities and were ignored? If you were Cambridge resident and entrepreneur Steve Johnson, you’d raise some hell Down Under. Which is exactly what he did. Beginning June 2, 2012,  an acclaimed Australian documentary will air for the first time in the United States, chronicling Johnson’s quest for justice for his brother and scores of other gay men targeted in hate crimes.

Throughout June, World Channel (produced and distributed by WGBH, American Public Television and WNET/New York in association with PBS) will broadcast a film produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s flagship show, Australian Story.  The half-hour documentary details Steve Johnson’s 25-year quest to find justice for his brother, and is scheduled to air 18 times in every major market in the U.S. beginning in early June. The explosive film forced the New South Wales Police Force, after 23 years of dragging their feet, to open “Strike Force Macnamir” to investigate Scott’s death, and to offer a $100,000 reward for information about how Scott died. Police announced the task force and reward the day after the broadcast, which was viewed by one out of every 23 Australians.

Johnson, a Boston technology entrepreneur, never believed his younger brother killed himself. Then, in 2005, he discovered what probably happened to Scott, when a police investigation code-named Operation Taradale uncovered horrifying evidence that young thugs routinely preyed on men at gay meeting places called “beats” around Sydney – and ran some of them off cliffs. When Steve learned this, he asked police to reopen Scott’s case, but was rebuffed again.

This time, Steve Johnson was in a position to put his money where his doubts were. A former AOL executive and currently the CEO of ChoiceStream, a Boston-based technology company, Steve hired investigative journalist Daniel Glick to go to Sydney and poke around. Glick, a former Newsweek correspondent, had covered the murder of six-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey and knew something about police incompetence and stonewalling.

Over the course of the next few years, “Team Scott” discovered shocking details that police overlooked: the place where Scott died was a “notorious” open-air beat, and a gay man had survived a stabbing a year previously at the exact spot where Scott died. They met other families with loved ones whose mysterious deaths were ruled suicide and “misadventure,” and have laid bare dozens of other unsolved murders from that era.

World Channel salutes “Equality for All” (equality-for-all/) during the month of June, beginning with an airing of Scott’s story, Australian Story:  On the Precipice, on Sunday, June 1, 2014.

Boston Mayor announces four winners and commitments to the Mayor’s Carbon Cup

Mayor Walsh Celebrates Sustainability Leaders at Greenovate Boston Community Summit
Announces four winners and commitments
to the Mayor’s Carbon Cup

BOSTON – Mayor Martin J. Walsh today hosted the Greenovate Boston Community Summit to celebrate Boston’s sustainability movement and the development of a forward-looking vision for climate action across all Boston neighborhoods. As part of the summit, Mayor Walsh recognized the winners of the Greenovate Boston Awards, including four inaugural Mayor’s Carbon Cup participants, who have each pledged or achieved a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas intensity in at least one million square feet of space.

“Today is a celebration of every Bostonian’s work in making Boston a greener, healthier, and a more prosperous place,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh. “It is also a day to look at the climate challenges ahead, and to have confidence that the collective knowledge and drive of Bostonians can step up to these challenges.”

This year, the Mayor presented 11 Greenovate Awards. The awards, now in their eighth year, recognize sustainability leadership across Boston in businesses, community organizations, non-profits, residents, and institutions. 2014 Greenovate Boston award winners, include:
·      The Boston Architectural College and Halvorson Design Partnership, INC – Green Alley Project
·      Planet Southie – Community Organizing
·      Ace Auto Body – Hazardous Waste Reduction
·      Codman Square Health Center – Green Building & Education
·      Tim Hall, CERO Cooperative – Community Leadership
·      Neighborhood of Affordable Housing (NOAH) – Community Climate Preparedness
·      Veolia Energy - Green Steam Pipeline
·      Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation – Community Organizing
·      Bon Me Food Truck – Sustainable Food Systems
·      P&G Gillette, Boston Site – Energy Conservation
·      Curley K-8 School – Waste Reduction


In addition, the Mayor’s Carbon Cup, which launched in April of this year, showcased four large institutions that have each committed at least one million square feet of building space to a 35% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2020. The institutions collectively committed roughly 15 million square feet to the Cup and, if successful, will remove approximately 35,000 metric tons of GHGe from a 2005 baseline, equivalent to weatherizing close to 27,000 housing units.

“These large properties are leading the way on climate action, both in preparing for its impacts and lowering our collective carbon footprint,” said Chief of Environment, Energy, and Open Space Brian Swett. “With over 500 Bostonians in attendance today, our hope is that we can all find some place of leadership on climate action, whether in our homes, neighborhoods, or workplaces.”

Carbon Cup Participants
Partners HealthCare, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
  • Committed to a 35% reduction in GHG emissions per licensed bed across 3.1 million square feet
  • In order to achieve reduction, will build a cogeneration plant at BWH, in addition to HVAC retro-commissioning, occupied/unoccupied scheduling, and a lighting upgrade
Boston University
  • Achieved to a 35% reduction in GHG emissions per square foot across 1.1 million square feet since FY 2005
  • Committed to a 35% reduction in GHG emissions across 5.2 million square feet by FY 2020
Harvard University (within Boston city limits)
  • Achieved a 35% reduction in GHG emissions per square foot across 1.1 million square feet since FY 2005
  • Committed to a 30% absolute reduction in GHG emissions across entire North American campus by 2016
Partners HealthCare, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Achieved a nearly 43% reduction in GHG emissions per licensed bed across 5.6 million square feet since FY 2005
  • Reduced greenhouse gas emissions due to energy usage alone by nearly 20,000 metric tons from FY 2005 baseline, or the equivalent of 4,200 cars taken off the road  

The Cup is actively seeking new commercial real estate, hospitals, and universities to commit throughout this year. For more information, visit bit.ly/CarbonCupBos.

The daylong summit also featured interactive workshops, keynote speakers including MBTA General Manager, Beverly Scott, Next Step Living CEO, Geoff Chaplin, and Vice President of the Codman Square Neighborhood Council, Cynthia Loesch, and mechanisms for soliciting public feedback into the 2014 Climate Action Plan. For the full agenda, please visit Summit.GreenovateBoston.org.

Coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the public launch of the Greenovate Boston initiative in conjunction with over 50 community partners, the Summit belongs to a larger suite of events and programming to engage Bostonians on how to lower the city’s carbon footprint and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Greenovate Boston staff have personally briefed over 1,000 people and co-hosted or attended over 20 community events regarding the Climate Action Plan.

Moving forward, Greenovate Boston will continue to co-host community meetings for the purposes of soliciting feedback for the Climate Action Plan. Feedback is also being collected via Greenovate Boston’s virtual town hall at Engage.GreenovateBoston.org. Those who wish to have a more active role can join the Neighborhoods, Climate Preparedness or 80x50 Strategy Committees. Feedback from all of these channels will be fed directly into the Steering Committee, who is tasked with providing final strategy recommendations for the Climate Action Plan, which will be completed in late 2014.

Massachusetts to develop first new Food System Plan in 30+ yrs

Massachusetts to develop first new Food System Plan in 30+ yrs
Statewide team will craft new vision, issue recommendations for a resilient local food system

Boston – Massachusetts will develop its first Food System Plan in more than three decades this year, thanks to a partnership of organizations working across the Commonwealth under the leadership of the state department of agriculture.

The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), in collaboration with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC), the Franklin Region Council of Governments (FRCOG) and the Massachusetts Workforce Alliance (MWA), has been chosen by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) to facilitate the first Massachusetts Food System Plan since 1978. Work kicks off this month and will continue all summer and into next year.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to engage critical stakeholders in a process for identifying the options available to us that best ensure the long-term sustainability of our food system in the face of mounting economic and environmental challenges,” said  Greg Watson, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).

The plan will help Massachusetts to be more self-sufficient when it comes to producing and consuming our own food, to plan for more equitably distributing our food, and to prepare for climate change and other evolutions in our food system.

Responding to new innovations and dramatically-increasing interest in food systems planning during the past decade, MDAR and the Massachusetts Food Policy Council will work with MAPC and its partners to reach out to food growers, producers and other food system stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth to establish a new vision for the state’s food system.
Work will include planning for an ecologically stable network of food producers, consumers, processors, retailers and distribution hubs, and will include groups working toward greater social equity, health and sustainable water use.

MAPC is taking the leading role in the project, building a collaborative group with representation from key stakeholders in the food system statewide.

“Massachusetts has a distinctive food system, and planning for its future will be critical to ensuring that both our urban and rural areas stay economically competitive,” said MAPC Executive Director Marc Draisen. “MAPC is thrilled to be working with key partners across the entire industry to promote climate resiliency, sustainable agriculture, and access to affordable, healthy local food.”

During the next 18 months, the team will meet with farmers and ranchers, food business owners and workers, distributors, waste handlers, residents and many others to produce a comprehensive assessment of the food system and to issue recommendations for strengthening the state’s food economy.

“Scaling up the production of food in Massachusetts goes hand-in-hand with local economic development and hunger relief,” said PVPC Executive Director Timothy Brennan. “There is now tremendous energy among food producers and consumers for focusing on food systems as a way to achieve these twin goals statewide, thereby allowing Massachusetts to maintain a leadership position in this realm.”   

“The intersection of local food and economic opportunity, including job creation, is potent for Massachusetts. A coordinated, strategic approach to strengthening our food system will clarify what the jobs will be, how to grow them, the training and education needed and the pathways that exist and are being crafted for food system workers,” said Deborah Mutschler, Massachusetts Workforce Alliance Executive Director. “Working with the regional planning entities grounds this work in the larger contexts of economic development, food access, and environmental priorities.”

“We are pleased that our team, made up of regional planning agencies that serve the most rural and most urban areas in the state, was selected for this project,” said FRCOG Executive Director Linda Dunlavy. “Our team represents the state’s land use and economic diversities and brings the primary growing and consumer areas together. Our hope is that we will be instrumental in ensuring the plan’s implementation at the regional and local levels.”

For more information, contact MAPC Senior Environmental Planner Julie Conroy at 617-933-0749 or jconroy@mapc.org. Visitmapc.org/massfoodplan to learn more about the plan and sign up for our project newsletter.

BNY Mellon Returns as Presenting Sponsor of Year Up Boston’s Fore Success Golf Tournament


 
Company’s support helps fund programs to benefit urban young adults
 
BOSTON, June 2, 2014 – BNY Mellon, a global leader in investment management and investment services, announced that it is the presenting sponsor of Year Up Boston’s 10th Annual Fore Success Golf Tournament, which is being held June 16, 2014, at the Weston Golf Club in Weston, Massachusetts.
 
This is the second year for the company’s sponsorship, which is supported by BNY Mellon Investment Management, The Boston Company Asset Management LLC, Mellon Capital Management Corporation, The Newton Group, The Alcentra Group, and Standish Mellon Asset Management Company LLC.
 
“Year Up envisions a future in which every urban young adult will have access to education, experiences, and guidance required to realize his or her true potential,” said Casey Recupero, executive director of Year Up Boston. “Our mission is to close the opportunity divide by providing young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.”
 
Headquartered in Boston, Year Up has 13 sites across the United States and has served more than 8,500 young adults since it was founded in 2000.
 
“The return of BNY Mellon as our presenting sponsor for the second consecutive year will help advance us toward our goal of increasing the number of students we serve by 50 percent by 2016,” Recupero said. “Our success depends on the tremendous support of employers like BNY Mellon and its subsidiaries.”
 
“Year Up’s training programs combine hands-on skill development, college credits and corporate internships; and they have helped many individuals achieve success,” said Joanne Jaxtimer, BNY Mellon Regional Executive for New England. “It is a wonderful organization that uses a holistic approach to place young adults on a viable path to economic self-sufficiency.”
 
BNY Mellon is a long-time supporter of Year Up, having donated more than $400,000 since 2003. BNY Mellon is also involved in many of Year Up’s programs, including establishing a formal internship program for Year Up students and hosting an annual event where students can showcase investment knowledge to BNY Mellon and community experts.

Chief Justice Roberts to speak at ABA Annual Meeting, kicking off Magna Carta 800th anniversary


WASHINGTON, June 2, 2014 — Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. will be the keynote speaker at the American Bar Association House of Delegates meeting at 11 a.m. on Aug. 11 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. The session of the ABA’s policymaking body will conclude the 2014 ABA Annual Meeting.
Roberts will speak about the historical and present-day significance of the Magna Carta, which laid the groundwork for representative democracy and the rule of law upon its signing in June 1215. His appearance will officially kick off the commemorative activities by the ABA and others of the document’s 800th anniversary next year.
“The American Bar Association is honored by Chief Justice Roberts’ acceptance of our invitation to speak to the nation’s largest lawyers’ organization to mark this once-in-a-lifetime celebration,” ABA President James R. Silkenat said. “The Magna Carta inspired many of the basic constitutional rights we often take for granted, including trial by jury and due process. We are very pleased that the chief justice will help us mark this watershed occasion.”
The ABA Annual Meeting is the nation’s premier gathering of legal professionals and features high-profile speakers, essential legal programs and insightful debate on critical law and public policy issues.

HUD ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ADVOCACY GROUPS AND NATIONAL REAL ESTATE COMPANY ENSURING DEAF PERSONS HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO HOUSING


HUD ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT BETWEEN ADVOCACY GROUPS AND NATIONAL REAL ESTATE
COMPANY ENSURING DEAF PERSONS HAVE EQUAL ACCESS TO HOUSING
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that it has negotiated an agreement between the National Fair Housing Alliance, the Austin Tenants’ Council, the National Association of the Deaf, and Bell Partners, a Greensboro, NC-based apartment owner and operator that controls more than 64,000 homes in 15 states, settling allegations that the company’s properties in Texas and Georgia denied housing to deaf persons.
The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to refuse to rent, make housing unavailable or discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges associated with the rental of a dwelling on the basis of disability. This includes refusing to rent to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The three advocacy organizations alleged that Bell Partners discriminated against rental applicants who were deaf or hard of hearing based on a series of fair housing tests that the groups performed in Savannah, Georgia, and Austin, Texas, in 2013. Testers posing as rental applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing called to inquire about apartments using the Internet Protocol (IP) Relay system, which allows deaf or hard of hearing individuals to communicate with hearing persons via phone using computer text.  Multiple tests were conducted over a period of several months.  Agents of Bell Partners allegedly hung up on testers who used the IP Relay system or sent their calls directly to voice mail; in contrast, agents accepted calls from testers not using the IP Relay system.  When agents spoke with testers using the IP Relay system, they allegedly quoted higher rental prices and failed to offer the same specials and amenities they offered to testers who did not use the IP Relay system.  Agents also allegedly failed to follow up with testers who used the IP Relay system.    
“Testing exposes housing discrimination that might otherwise go undetected,” said Dave Ziaya, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.  “The Fair Housing Act protects all potential renters, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing.  HUD will continue to enforce the law to ensure that no one is denied housing because they have a disability.”
Under the terms of the agreements, Bell Partners will pay $175,000 to the National Fair Housing Alliance, including $25,000 in attorneys’ fees.  Bell Partners will provide fair housing training to both newly-hired and current employees. The training will cover the use of assistive technology for the deaf and hard of hearing, including telecommunications relay services. Additionally, Bell Partners will adopt a written policy addressing equal access to housing opportunities for applicants with disabilities, including deaf and hard of hearing individuals, which outlines the correct handling of telecommunications relay calls and other types of communications with deaf and hard of hearing individuals.  Bell Partners will communicate the policy to all agents and managers.  Bell Partners will pay the National Association of the Deaf $15,000 for consulting services in the development of these policies.
The Bell Partners agreement follows another settlement HUD reached on behalf of deaf and hard of hearing individuals earlier this year.  In February, HUD reached an agreement with Mercy House Living Centers in Santa Ana, CA, settling allegations that the center’s employees discriminated against two deaf and hard of hearing Section 8 applicants when they refused a request for an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.  Under that agreement, Mercy House Living Centers agreed to pay the applicants $17,500 to cover the amount of rent they paid during the seven months that they were unable to participate in the Shelter Care Program, provide ASL interpreters and other accommodations when necessary to communicate with persons with disabilities, and provide fair housing training for its employees.
HUD also released a Video Series for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing produced in collaboration with the National Fair Housing Alliance, Disability independence Group and Sweetwater Media. The 12 videos are in American Sign Language (ASL) with English captioning and they provide legal and practical fair housing information in a format accessible to persons who are Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing. The videos illustrate common problems faced by persons in the buying, renting, and use of a home. HUD also has an ongoing series of print PSAs in English and Spanish that address housing discrimination faced by those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
If you believe your civil rights have been violated in buying or renting a home or apartment, you can report it online at www.hud.gov/fairhousing, call 1-800-669-9777, TTY 1-800-927-9275 or by downloading HUD’s free housing discrimination mobile application, which can be accessed through Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

麻州長支持奧巴馬核能廠減碳30%目標


PATRICK ADMINISTRATION SUPPORTS U.S. EPA’S NEW RULES TO CUT CARBON POLLUTION FROM EXISTING POWER PLANTS
Massachusetts Leads Way on Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions, Cleantech Growth

BOSTON – Monday, June 2, 2014 – Governor Deval Patrick and his Administration today praised the Obama Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the release of its draft rules that will reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants by 30 percent by 2030 and greatly improve air quality across the nation.

“I applaud EPA’s new carbon rules, which will unleash clean energy innovation and reduce energy costs while protecting our environment and public health,” said Governor Patrick. “This is a critical step in moving the nation toward a clean energy future, one that we’ve already embraced in Massachusetts with great results. The Obama Administration is showing leadership in clean energy for American citizens today, and in the future.”

Over the past seven years, Massachusetts has implemented nation-leading policies that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and address the impacts of climate change, while spurring economic growth across the Commonwealth. The Patrick Administration has supported a variety of strategies, including programs for GHG emission reductions, energy efficiency and renewable energy, which chart a path to a cleaner energy future and provide models for other states to follow. These strategies have yielded economic benefits as well, with 11.8 percent cleantech job growth in the last year; nearly 80,000 people are employed in the industry in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts was an early adopter of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Since 2005, the RGGI states have lowered carbon dioxide emissions by 41 percent in the electricity generation sector throughout the region and demonstrated that a market-based pollution-reduction approach works. State-wide emissions have dropped 16 percent since 1990. Massachusetts has pumped more than $252 million in RGGI proceeds back into the Commonwealth, which has been used primarily for energy efficiency programs.

As existing power plants across the nation are required to cut their emissions due to today’s EPA rule, the RGGI cap-and-trade program can be a model for other states because it is cost-effective, provides economic benefits, aligns with the regional nature of the electricity grid and provides a simple, transparent and verifiable system.

Massachusetts has also utilized RGGI proceeds and utility-based funding to triple the energy savings from efficiency initiatives that have been implemented in homes and businesses, as well as public buildings and housing complexes. These efforts have led Massachusetts to be named the most energy efficient state in the nation three years straight.

The Commonwealth has also successfully implemented renewable energy sources. There are currently 518 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity installed, enough electricity to power nearly 79,000 homes. Governor Patrick has set a goal of 1,600 MW installed by 2020, after reaching his previous goal of 250 MW four years early.

In 2007, Massachusetts had just three MW of wind capacity. Today, 103 MW of land-based wind has been installed and the state is poised to become the home to Cape Wind, the nation’s first offshore wind farm.