Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
International Coverage
US Muslim hearings spark protests
The Irish Times
Tension continues to rise between critics and defenders of America’s two million-strong Muslim community in the run-up to Congressional hearings on Thursday at the initiative of the Irish-American Representative Peter King….A recent study by the University of North Carolina and Duke University found that 48 of 120 Muslims arrested on suspicion of plotting violence since 9/11 were turned in by co-religionists.
Mediterranean diet improves heart risk factors
Reuters (Wire Service)
…While these benefits may seem small, Dr. Elizabeth Mayer-Davis, who was not involved in the research, said they show a Mediterranean diet might be beneficial. …Mayer-Davis, professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, also said she was concerned that cost could be a barrier to adopting a diet that emphasizes fresh foods, olive oil and fish.
National Coverage
Peter King’s Obsession (Editorial)
The New York Times
…Most pernicious, he has claimed that American Muslims have generally refused to cooperate with law enforcement agencies on terrorism cases. He has cited no evidence for this, either, but a study issued last month by Duke University and the University of North Carolina found just the opposite. The American Muslim community has been the single largest source of tips that have brought terror suspects to the attention of authorities, the study found.
Rep. Peter King's hearings on Islamic radicalization: Fuel for the bigots (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Washington Post
…It happens to be an awkward fact that just last month, a University of North Carolina terrorism expert, Charles Kurzman, reported a drop in attempted or actual terrorist activity by American Muslims – 47 perpetrators and suspects in 2009, 20 in 2010. This does not mean that there is no threat, but, when measured against ordinary violent crime, it is slight. In fact, the threat from non-Muslims is much greater, encompassing not only your run-of-the-mill murderers but about 20 domestic terrorist plots, including one in which a plane was flown into an IRS building in Austin.
Related Link:
http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/eboo_patel/2011/03/i_wish_people_were_more.html
Flailing After Muslims (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The New York Times
…Mr. King’s contention that Muslims are not cooperating with law enforcement is just wrong. According to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security, an independent research group affiliated with Duke University and the University of North Carolina, 48 of the 120 Muslims suspected of plotting terror attacks in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001, were turned in by fellow Muslims. In some cases, they were turned in by parents or other relatives.
Muslim hearings: Shining a light or turning up the heat? (Blog)
CNN.com
…The American Religious Identification Survey conducted in 2008 estimated there to be nearly 1.35 million Muslims in the United States. Community activists believe this figure too low. Nonetheless, out of a population this large, the number of Muslim Americans who either perpetrated or were arrested for terrorist crimes in 2010 was . . . 20, according to the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security (a consortium of Duke University, the University of North Carolina and RTI International, a think tank).
Surviving Serious Childhood Illness Takes Toll Later: Study
HealthDay News
Young adults who had cancer, diabetes or epilepsy as children are less likely to achieve the same level of education or employment as their healthy counterparts, researchers report. …"The majority are successful, but they are at a greater risk of being unemployed, not completing their education and receiving financial assistance," said lead researcher Dr. Gary R. Maslow, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
State and Local Coverage
Piedmont to win, rural areas lose in N.C. remapping
The Associated Press
Republicans in charge of the once-a-decade remapping of General Assembly districts for the first time in generations will draw with an eye to the state's surging Piedmont population and with more restrictions than Democrats had 10 years ago thanks in part to GOP litigation. …"Political power is going to follow people," said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill. "Whether you're talking about congressional districts, or whether you're talking about legislative districts, these two big counties and the areas around them … are going to be like giant magnets."
Oliver Smithies Symposium Begins Tuesday
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics at Yale University, Dr. Thomas A. Seitz, will be the inaugural speaker at the Oliver Smithies Symposium Tuesday. Oliver Smithies is a Nobel Lauriat and Weatherspoon Distinguished Professor at UNC. He was inspired to put together this series of lectures by his time at Oxford University. As a student Smithies sat in on a lecture by visiting chemist and Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling.
UNC Release:
http://www.med.unc.edu/www/news/2011/february/yale-chemist-to-inaugurate
-oliver-smithies-nobel-symposium
GOP insomnia (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Thank you for the Feb. 28 Point of View article by Gene Nichol of the UNC-Chapel Hill Center on Poverty, Work & Opportunity ("Legal services, down and nearly out"). Tax cuts of $858 billion to the wealthiest Americans and an 18 percent cut to the Legal Services Corp. show just where Republicans in the U.S. House place their loyalty. (Karen Wiebe, Raleigh)
Takes two to fight (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The March 5 headline "Aetna's fight adds to cancer patient's stress" seems to blame Aetna, but it sounds like UNC Health Care is the one that declined the patient's insurance. Maybe the headline should have been "UNC's fee fight adds to cancer patient's stress." Or perhaps it could have been neutral, as in "Aetna-UNC fee fight adds to patient stress." (Robert Ligett, Chapel Hill)
Pediatrician's suicide note denies abuse
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
In his suicide note, pediatrician Melvin Levine denied allegations of sex abuse and said the accusations drove him to kill himself last month.