The Surprising Story of 'Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an'

Denise Spellberg is an associate professor of American and Islamic history at the University of Texas at Austin.

University of Texas at Austin/Courtesy of Knopf

Denise Spellberg is an associate professor of American and Islamic history at the University of Texas at Austin.

University of Texas at Austin/Courtesy of Knopf

Thomas Jefferson had a vast personal library reflecting his enormous curiosity about the world. Among his volumes: a Quran purchased in 1765 that informed his ideas about plurality and religious freedom in the founding of America.

In her book Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an: Islam and the Founders, author Denise Spellberg draws parallels between the beliefs of the founding father and religious tolerance in the United States today.

"I think that there is anxiety about what Muslims believe, largely because people don't understand Islam very well. I think that was also true in the 18th century," Spellberg says. "It strikes me that Jefferson was theorizing for a future that included Muslims — not in spite of their religion, but because of it and because of his notion of universal civil rights."

She sat down with All Things Considered host Arun Rath to discuss Jefferson's Qur'an and the lasting impact of the third U.S. president's views on religious freedom.

On how Jefferson came to have a Quran:

"He actually was a bibliophile from the beginning. He ordered this Quran in 1765, eleven years before he wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was a law student at the time, and he had the book shipped from England to Williamsburg, Va. ... There's an entry in the local newspaper because they were the booksellers for the time.

...

"Europeans, and Americans after them, in this period tended to be quite hostile toward Islam. And yet Jefferson was curious about the religion and law of Muslims, and that's probably why he bought the Quran."

On his views of religious freedom:

"Jefferson was unique in many ways. He criticized Islam as he did Christianity and Judaism. He talked about Islam as a religion that repressed scientific inquiry — a strange idea he got from Voltaire that wasn't right — but ... was able to separate his principles about Muslim religious liberty and civil rights from these inherited European prejudices about Islam.

"He did the same thing when arguing for the inclusion of Catholics and Jews, actually. He had not very good things to say about either Catholicism or Judaism, but he insisted that these individual practitioners should have equal civil rights. ... [Jefferson] resisted the notion, for example, that Catholics were a threat to the United States because of their allegiance to the pope as a foreign power. There were many Protestants who would have disagreed with him about Catholics, and many who would have disagreed with him about Muslims.

"They were the outsiders, whose inclusion represented the furthest reach of toleration and rights. So for Jefferson and others — and he was not alone in this, although it was a minority — for him to include Muslims meant to include everyone of every faith: Jews, Catholics and all others. And to exclude Muslims meant that there would be no universal principle of civil rights for all believers in America."

On the Muslim population in America during the 1770s:

"Jefferson and [George] Washington and others were theorizing about a future American population when, ironically and tragically, they never knew that real Muslims were already in America. But they were slaves, brought from west Africa against their will.

"We don't know how many were the first American Muslims; we think they numbered in the thousands or tens of thousands. And it's not impossible that Jefferson actually owned Muslim slaves from Africa, but there's no direct evidence of it. That's not the case for George Washington, his neighbor in Virginia.

"Washington, among his taxable items ... someone on his plantation listed the names of Fatimer and Little Fatimer. And despite being spelled with an 'er' at the end, this is clearly the name of the prophet's daughter Fatima. So there were Muslim women working on Washington's plantation at the same time he was inviting people of all faiths to a protected religious liberty and rights in the United States."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/12/230503444/the-surprising-story-of-thomas-jeffersons-quran?ft=1&f=1008
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Southern Democrats mostly careful on shutdown

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., center, accompanied by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., left, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., right, and others, gestures during a news conference with small business owners about the impact the government shutdown is having on their business, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., center, accompanied by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., left, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., right, and others, gestures during a news conference with small business owners about the impact the government shutdown is having on their business, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2013, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

FILE - These file photos show Democrats Senators Mary Landrieu, D-La., Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C. Landrieu has said she will not negotiate in the face of Republican pressure over the health care law. Fellow Southern Democrats running in 2014 Senate races have taken a more cautious approach in the face of Republican pressure over the law: Pryor and Hagan decry the impasse, but don't talk about the fiscal fight and the health care law together. (AP Photo/Files)

FILE - These file photos show Democrat Senate candidates Michelle Nunn in Georgia, and Kentucky’s Alison Lundergan Grimes, who wants to beat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, if he wins a contested primary. Both Lundergan Grimes and Nunn decry the impasse with Republicans over the federal budget and the nation’s borrowing limit, but they don’t talk about the fiscal fight and the health care law together. In five Southern states, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia and Kentucky, President Barack Obama and his health care law are generally unpopular among white, conservative voters who dominate elections in non-presidential years, but popular among African-American voters who are necessary for any statewide victory for a Democrat in the South. (AP Photos/Files)

ATLANTA (AP) — In the tempest over shutdown politics, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu stands out among Southern Democratic candidates with her embrace of the three-year-old health care law at the core of Capitol Hill dysfunction.

A third-term senator who faces a tough re-election fight next year, Landrieu called Republicans "reckless and irresponsible and radical" for using the federal budget and looming vote to raise the debt ceiling as leverage for demands to scrap President Barack Obama's signature law.

"I'm not willing to negotiate away the character of this law on the debt ceiling," Landrieu told The Associated Press recently. "I won't negotiate it away on the budget. I won't negotiate it away at all. Period."

Yet Landrieu's fellow Southern Democrats running in 2014 Senate races have taken a more cautious approach in the face of Republican pressure over the law they deride as "Obamacare."

Democratic leaders refused Republican demands to scrap the law in exchange for passing a federal budget and raising the nation's borrowing limit before Thursdays' deadline from the Treasury Department. Republicans are betting that Landrieu and some of her colleagues will be vulnerable next year because of their 2010 votes for Obama's health care law.

Two other Southern Democrats in the Senate, North Carolina's Kay Hagan and Arkansas' Mark Pryor, decry the impasse. But they don't talk about the fiscal fight and the health care law together. That's the same tack for Democratic Senate candidates Michelle Nunn in Georgia and Kentucky's Alison Lundergan Grimes, who wants to knock off Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell if he wins a contested primary.

In all five states, Obama and the health care law are generally unpopular among white, conservative voters who tend to dominate elections in non-presidential years, but popular among African-American voters who are necessary for any statewide victory for a Democrat in the South.

With those dynamics, plus polls that suggest Republicans are getting more blame for the shutdown, many Democratic aides endorse the less aggressive approach.

"You see a lot of Democrats just sitting back and letting Republicans keeping digging, and it's a smart strategy when they refuse to put the shovel down," said Democratic consultant and pollster John Anzalone, whose clients include Hagan.

On the Senate floor recently, Hagan lamented "that some in Congress are playing political games with the most basic function of keeping the government running." But she didn't name any person or party, focusing instead on shutdown effects for veterans, tourism and university research.

Pryor has called the House "drama city." He launched a campaign ad in Arkansas recently mentioning his likely Republican opponent, Rep. Tom Cotton, alongside the shutdown. It was a retort to a Cotton ad hammering Pryor as "the deciding vote on Obamacare." But Pryor's comeback didn't mention health care, and his critique of Cotton wasn't for his position on the budget or debt ceiling, but for missing key budget votes to attend a fundraiser for the 2014 Senate campaign.

In Georgia, Nunn, a first-time candidate whose father served nearly a quarter century in the Senate, uses the shutdown to bolster her campaign as a Washington outsider critical of both parties. In an op-ed published in Sam Nunn's hometown newspaper last Monday, the younger Nunn cast the situation as a "failure of leadership" and argued that "neither side has been serious about cutting government spending making the hard choices necessary to reduce our national debt."

Yet, like Hagan, she never mentioned Obama, the health care law or even her own political affiliation as a Democrat. Nunn is running for the seat that retiring Republican Saxby Chambliss now holds. Her campaign did not make Nunn available for an interview.

In Kentucky, Grimes also fits the shutdown and debt ceiling brinkmanship into her already established theme: that McConnell puts his leadership post above Kentucky. "There's no political gain or advantage to the government shutdown in contrast to what Senator McConnell might think," Grimes told AP last week. Yet asked whether her party should give any ground on health care, she basically repeated herself.

Anzalone said the different approaches reflect the circumstances of individual races.

Pryor can hit Cotton with potential GOP baggage, but Obama is extremely unpopular in Arkansas and Republicans have been ascendant since the senator's easy victory in 2008.

Hagan has her health care vote to defend, but can also sit back and watch a crowded Republican primary where every candidate has endorsed the GOP's shutdown strategy. Nunn and Grimes don't have to explain any votes in Washington, and they both have a contested primary on the other side.

Nuances aside, Anzalone said, each scenario justifies a Democrat running as a responsible problem solver trying to attract frustrated voters of all political and demographic identities.

Landrieu, meanwhile, has three previous victories that establish her reliance on core Democrats, and she's already running against a sitting Republican congressman, Rep. Bill Cassidy.

She pitches herself as a pragmatist who gets things done, yet embraces her roots as a part of a Democratic family dynasty in her state. That's never gotten her more than 52 percent of the vote, but she turns out wide margins among urban Democrats and African-Americans, while getting just enough white votes elsewhere.

She deflects questions about shutdown politics, instead rattling off a litany of bad Louisiana health statistics that she argues will improve under the new law. "This shouldn't be about Barack Obama; it should be about the infant mortality rate in Louisiana," Landrieu told AP. "People ask me how I could vote for this law. I ask them, 'How could I not?'"

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Follow Barrow on Twitter @BillBarrowAP

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Associated Press reporter Roger Alford in Frankfurt, Ky., contributed to this report.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-14-US-Shutdown-Senate-Dem-Candidates/id-69228f76aca84f4f81a03d7762775134
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BlackBerry Reaffirms It Isn't Gone Just Yet In An Open Letter To Customers

BlackBerry is currently dealing with some serious, serious issues — no one wanted its first flagship phone, one of its co-founders might be making a dark-horse bid to buy the company back, and the company might just end up being parted out to the highest bidders. So what’s a once-dominant smartphone player to do in light of all this uncertainty and depressing soothsaying? What can it do to bolster the morale of the BlackBerry faithful who watched as friends and colleagues embraced new platforms?

The answer is a complex one but for now BlackBerry plans to reassure people the old-fashioned way — by writing a letter. According to BlackBerry fansite Crackberry, the Waterloo company will publish an impassioned letter to the people in 30 newspapers across nine countries spelling out exactly why they shouldn’t count the company out just yet.

You can find the full text of the letter at the bottom of the post, but if you’ve been following BlackBerry’s current trajectory there’s not going to be any surprises here. The positives? A debt-free balance sheet, plenty of cash holed up in the reserves, and gobs of expertise in delivering productive mobile computing experiences in secure enterprise environments. All valid points, except perhaps for the team’s invocation of BBM’s popularity as a global social messaging platform. The original launch for iOS and Android didn’t exactly go according to plan — it’s been some three weeks since those apps first started popping up in their respective app stores, and there’s still no firm word on when BlackBerry will open the floodgates again.

I find it interesting too that the letter is signed by the BlackBerry team and not by, say, CEO Thorsten Heins. It’s a clear indicator that there’s no one single person to blame for the company’s current shakiness, nor does the future of the company rest solely on one person’s decisions. Of course, that team is only going to grow smaller for the time being, as some 4,500 positions will get the axe by the end of the year. It’s all ostensibly for the greater good, but there’s no guarantee that the company’s cost-cutting measures will be enough to see them to eventual platform victory.

I don’t mean to unduly rag on BlackBerry — I was a member of that BB addict community for a spell, and I still look back on my time with devices like the BlackBerry Pearl and Tour very fondly. And to the extent that we can give BlackBerry credit for it, the company easily has one of the most devoted, vociferous fanbases I’ve ever seen, and those people will continue to support the company.

Here’s the thing though — as optimistic as the letter is, words are cheap and platitudes are unconvincing. BlackBerry needs to prove to its core customers that it’s still a viable horse in a race dominated by nimble giants, and I wish them the best. They’re going to need it.

---

To our valued customers, partners and fans,

You’ve no doubt seen the headlines about BlackBerry. You’re probably wondering what they mean for you as one of the tens of millions of users who count on BlackBerry every single day.

We have one important message for you:

You can continue to count on BlackBerry.

How do we know? We have substantial cash on hand and a balance sheet that is debt free.

We are restructuring with a goal to cut our expenses by 50 percent in order to run a very efficient, customer-oriented organization.

These are no doubt challenging times for us and we don’t underestimate the situation or ignore the challenges. We are making the difficult changes necessary to strengthen BlackBerry.

One thing we will never change is our commitment to those of you who helped build BlackBerry into the most trusted tool for the world’s business professional.

And speaking of those dramatic headlines, it’s important that we set the record straight on a few things.

Best in class productivity tool.

We have completely revamped our device portfolio this year with the launch of BlackBerry 10. We have four BlackBerry 10 devices – two all touch and two hybrid (touch and QWERTY) – and all are running the third update of our new platform. If what you care about most is getting things done – taking care of your business – we have the best range of devices for you. And we continue to offer the best mobile typing experience – no ifs, ands or buts about it.

Best in class security.

Governments all over the world, global corporations and businesses that simply cannot compromise on security choose and trust BlackBerry. Security is our heritage, and the industry recognizes that BlackBerry is the most secure when it comes to the device, server and, of course, our global data network. Have no doubt that you can continue to trust us to keep your communication safe and private.

Best in class enterprise mobility management.

We changed with the market, embracing BYOD because we understand that as iOS and Android devices become common in the workplace, businesses still need to manage all of these different platforms seamlessly and securely.

This is not a trivial task. While there are a number of startup companies that make bold claims, BlackBerry has more software engineers and the most resources dedicated to developing the most innovative solutions to address this complex challenge.

And our customers know it. Over the past quarter, our BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10 server base grew from 19,000 to more than 25,000. Corporate clients are committed to deploying and testing the latest enterprise technology from BlackBerry. We are committed to evolving with our customers. That will never change.

Best in class mobile social network.

We are bringing the most engaging mobile messaging platform to all, with our BBM launch for Android and iPhone.

There are already around six million customers pre-registered to be notified of our roll out. This number is growing every day, and speaks to the tremendous opportunity we have to expand BBM beyond BlackBerry smartphones to make it the world’s largest mobile social network.

Yes, there is a lot of competition out there and we know that BlackBerry is not for everyone. That’s OK. You have always known that BlackBerry is different, that BlackBerry can set you apart. Countless world-changing decisions have been finalized, deals closed and critical communications made via BlackBerry. And for many of you that created a bond, a connection that goes back more than a decade.

We believe in BlackBerry – our people, our technology and our ability to adapt. More importantly, we believe in you. We focus every day on what it takes to make sure that you can take care of business.

You trust your BlackBerry to deliver your most important messages, so trust us when we deliver one of our own: You can continue to count on us.

Sincerely,
The BlackBerry Team

BlackBerry (formerly Research in Motion) is a Canadian designer, manufacturer and marketer of wireless devices and solutions for the worldwide mobile communications market. The company is best known as the developer of the BlackBerry smart phone. Blackberry technology also enables a broad array of third party developers and manufacturers to enhance their products and services with wireless connectivity to data. Blackberry was founded in 1984. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific....

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/74wh53Hhig4/
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Young Mountain Lion Caught on Camera Teasing Its Captured Brother

If you’re a young mountain lion, a fresh deer carcass is probably among the better things you could find in a forest. But eating it could mean you end up spending some time in a cage, getting teased by your sibling, and emerging from the experience wearing a new, blingy techno-collar.

On Sept. 30, this is exactly what happened in the Santa Cruz mountains to a young puma now known as 41M. Around 6:30 p.m., the 84-pound cat ventured into a cage trap set by a group of UC Santa Cruz biologists. Lured by the tantalizing scent of dead deer and the recorded calls of dying animals (so tempting), the 14-month-old male tiptoed into the cage and promptly found himself locked inside with a tasty meal. Not far behind? His sibling, another young cat, who sprang atop the cage and started playing with its littermate inside.

The encounter was caught by a trail camera monitoring the cage trap. Soon after, members of the UCSC team came by to check on the cat in the cage; they then sedated him and attached a tracking collar, making him the 41st animal participant in a long-term study known as the UC Santa Cruz Puma Project.

While the team worked, 41M’s sibling stayed nearby, its eyes gleaming in the dark.

Veronica Yovovich keeps an eye on puma 9M after the team put a collar on him in 2011. Scientists stay with the animals until they wake up. (Nadia Drake)

“We could see the eye shine,” said Veronica Yovovich, a graduate student at UCSC. Yovovich is studying the complex interactions between deer, pumas, humans, and vegetation in the Santa Cruz Mountains — an area once covered by nonstop forests, but which in recent decades has been carved into pieces by concrete highways and buildings.

“This was pretty exciting for us,” Yovovich said. “We’re always really cautious about handling these guys, and we want to make sure that whatever we’re doing is safe for the animal. It’s nice to see that when the door shut, [41M] kind of flinched but then was like, ‘Sweet, there’s a half a deer here, and I’m going to eat it.’”

The UCSC team has been studying the local puma population since 2008, estimated to number between 50 and 100 individuals (pumas are also known as cougars, mountain lions, catamounts, painters, and panthers, depending on what part of the country you’re in). The Project’s goal is to understand how these elusive predators interact with and survive in a landscape that’s increasingly shaped by human activities. They want to know where the animals go, how they navigate through a complex network of open spaces and dense, residential areas, and how their lives unfold differently in the presence of civilization.

Led by wildlife ecologist Chris Wilmers, the team uses a variety of tech-savvy collars — and an army of trail cameras — to follow the pumas as they go about their lives. The collars keep track of where the pumas are, and in some cases what the cats are doing, courtesy of accelerometers included in the hardware. Now, the group is busy tracking 14 animals, a task that involves aerial telemetry flights, remote downloading of data, monitoring the trail cams, and heading off into the woods in search of partially eaten puma-meals, and the pumas themselves.

Without the collars, studying the Santa Cruz mountain cougars would be nearly impossible. Mountain lions are among the most stealthy and practiced predators on the planet, slipping through forests and only being spotted occasionally by humans. “Mountain lions are a secretive creatures — they’re professional hiders. That’s how they make their living,” says team member and field biologist Paul Houghtaling in this video shot by KQED, a local TV station. “So it’s no wonder that people rarely see them. They hide, and they don’t want to be seen.”

‘Mountain lions are secretive creatures — they’re professional hiders.’

The shy, nocturnal mountain lions prowl through moonlit forests and ambush prey. As the sun rises, they hide their leftovers and silently spring into trees or under bushes, waiting for the light of day to recede.

But the team doesn’t only keep a record of the mountain lions’ lives — they also keep track of how the animals die. Since the study started, half of the study animals have died; and about half of those cats were killed by humans after messing with livestock, Yovovich said.

In 2011, I had the chance to follow the team for a day and observe how they track their animals, set traps, and, ultimately, collar a new cat. That cat, called 9M, was a 100-pound 2-year-old when he got his collar; a few months later, after striking out in search of new territory, 9M was dead — shot after he messed with someone’s goats. And last week, as 41M got his collar, a cat called 27M was also shot after eating a pet goat.

Last month, California’s governor Jerry Brown signed bill SB132 into law, which requires that nonlethal procedures be used to remove any mountain lion that’s not an immediate threat to public safety. But that only protects animals who wander too far into cities — not those who stick to the fringes. In the Santa Cruz hills, on the border between the forest and town, goats and other unprotected livestock are a tempting target for wild animals — especially the young ones who are still working on developing the hunting skills that will allow them to survive.

When those pumas attack livestock, owners can apply for depredation permits from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. These permits allow them to shoot problem cats — something that’s totally preventable, as predator-proof enclosures do exist, or can be built, Yovovich said.

And yet, it’s a fate that occurs too commonly in areas where humans and pumas coincide.

Source: http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/32565d4e/sc/10/l/0L0Swired0N0Cwiredscience0C20A130C10A0Cmountain0Elion0Esiblings0Eplay0C/story01.htm
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Renegotiating Sexual Contracts in Monogamous Relationships ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]How to talk with your partner about the sex you really want now By Sari Cooper, L.C.S.W....
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Arizona wildfire 'Hotshots' mourned

PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) ? Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, based in Prescott, Ariz., were killed Sunday when a windblown wildfire overcame them north of Phoenix. It was the deadliest single day for U.S. firefighters since Sept. 11. Fourteen of the victims were in their 20s. Here are the stories of some of those who died:

___

ANDREW ASHCRAFT: AN ATHLETIC, GO-GETTER

Prescott High School physical education teacher and coach Lou Beneitone taught many of the Hotshots, and remembered 29-year-old Andrew Ashcraft as a fitness-oriented student.

"He had some athletic ability in him and he was a go-getter, too. You could pretty much see, from young freshman all the way, he was going to be physically active."

Beneitone said athletic prowess was a must for the Hotshots. "That's what it takes. You gotta be very physically fit, and you gotta like it, gotta like the hard work."

Ashcraft, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was honored to be a member of the Hotshot crew, and "he just had a really sweet spirit about him," Elise Smith, a Prescott, Ariz., resident, told The Deseret News of Salt Lake City.

Ashcraft left behind a wife, Juliann, and four children, the newspaper reported.

___

ROBERT CALDWELL: THE SMART ONE

Friends characterized Robert Caldwell, 23, as the smart man in the bunch.

"He was really smart, he had a good sense of humor," said Chase Madrid, worked as a Hotshot for two years, but sat this year out.

"He was one of the smart guys in the crew who could get the weather, figure out the mathematics. It was just natural for him," Madrid said.

It was Caldwell's intelligence and know-how that got him appointed as a squad boss.

His cousin, Grant McKee, was also a Hotshots member and also was killed on Sunday.

"Robert was a gentle giant ? he was man of few words," said his aunt, Laurie McKee.

He had just gotten married in November, and had a five year old step-son.

"Both of these boys were only interested in having a family life. Robert was newly married, and Grant was engaged. They just wanted the house and the dog," she said.

Mary Hoffmann was grandmother to both boys.

"To have two grandson's gone, it's devastation," she said.

___

TRAVIS CARTER: STRONG AND HUMBLE

At Captain Crossfit, a gym near the firehouse where the Hotshots were stationed, Travis Carter was known as the strongest one out of the crew ? but also the most humble.

"No one could beat him," trainer Janine Pereira said. "But the thing about him, was he would never brag about it. He would just kill everyone and then go and start helping someone else finish."

Carter, 31, was famous for once holding a plank for 45 minutes, and he was notorious for making up brutal workouts.

The crew recently did a five mile run during wilderness training, then he made them go to Captain Crossfit in the afternoon for another really hard workout.

"The other guys who came in here always said that even though he was in charge, he was always the first one at the fire, the first one in action," Pereira said.

___

DUSTIN DEFORD: DRY SENSE OF HUMOR

Dustin DeFord, 24, tried out for the Hotshot crew in January 2012, telling friends on Twitter that he had passed the physical fitness test and asking for prayers as he moved on to the interview stage of the process.

He moved to Arizona from Montana after he was hired, and he worked to improve his skills on the climbing wall at a gym near the firehouse.

"He listened very well. He was very respectful," said Tony Burris, a trainer at Captain Crossfit. "He kind of had a dry sense of humor."

Another trainer, Janine Pereira, echoed that sentiment.

"You would say something to him, and he would respond with a crack, which was funny because he was so shy," she said.

Soon after he interviewed for the Hotshots, DeFord signed up for the Spartan Race, a rugged, eight-mile challenge through the mud and around various obstacles in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix.

"I am being amazing," he wrote on Twitter, in reference to the race.

Several months later, in June 2012, he tweeted: "First Fire of the season."

___

CHRIS MACKENZIE: 'JUST LIKE HIS DAD'

An avid snowboarder, 30-year-old Chris MacKenzie grew up in California's San Jacinto Valley, where he was a 2001 graduate of Hemet High School and a former member of the town's fire department. He joined the U.S. Forest Service in 2004, then transferred two years ago to the Prescott Fire Department, longtime friend Dav Fulford-Brown told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

MacKenzie, like at least one other member of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, had followed his father into firefighting. Michael MacKenzie, a former Moreno Valley Fire Department captain, confirmed that he had been informed of his son's death.

"I can't talk about it," he said.

Fulford-Brown, also a former firefighter, feared for the worst as soon as he heard the news of the Arizona firefighters. "I said, 'Oh my God, that's Chris' crew.' I started calling him and calling him and got no answer," he told The Press-Enterprise. MacKenzie, he said, "lived life to the fullest ... and was fighting fire just like his dad."

"He was finishing his credentials to get promoted and loved the people. It's an insane tragedy.

___

ERIC MARSH: HOOKED ON FIREFIGHTING

Eric Marsh, 43, was an avid mountain biker who grew up in Ashe County, N.C., but became hooked on firefighting while studying biology at Arizona State University, said Leanna Racquer, the ex-wife of his cousin. Marsh lived with Racquer and her then-husband during the winters from 1992 through 1996 in North Carolina, but kept returning to Arizona during fire season.

After college, he kept working as a firefighter, eventually landing a full-time job and settling in northern Arizona. He even moved his parents to the state, she said. Marsh was superintendent of the Hotshot crew and the oldest of the 19 who died.

"He's was great ? he was the best at what he did," Racquer said. "He is awesome and well-loved and they are hurting," she said of his family.

Marsh was married but had no children, said his cousin, Scott Marsh of Pisgah Forest, N.C. His father, John Marsh, told the Jefferson Post newspaper in Jefferson, N.C., that his only child "was a great son."

"He was compassionate and caring about his crew."

___

GRANT MCKEE: GIVING NATURE

Grant McKee, 21, loved to give things away.

"Even as a child, I'd ask him where things were, and he'd say, 'Oh such and such liked it.' And sometimes it really cost a lot! But he'd say, 'Oh he liked it so much,'" said his grandmother, Mary Hoffmann.

"So on his birthday, I started to say, 'I hope you're going to keep this!'" she said.

McKee's cousin, Robert Caldwell, also was a Hotshot and also was killed on Sunday.

"I had four grandchildren, but Grant was the sweetest most giving nature of any of my grandkids," Hoffman said. "We used to think he was a little angel."

McKee's mother said Grant was training to be an emergency medical technician and only intended to work with the Hotshots for the summer.

During EMT training, he would ask for extra shifts at the emergency room. And because his superiors liked him, they would give them to him, Laurie McKee said.

"Grant was one of the most likable people you could ever meet," she said. "Grant was friendly, he was outgoing. Everybody loved Grant."

___

SEAN MISNER: 'TREMENDOUS HEART AND DESIRE'

Sean Misner, 26, leaves behind a wife who is seven months pregnant, said Mark Swanitz, principal of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School in Santa Barbara County, where Misner graduated in 2005.

Misner played varsity football and also participated in the school's sports medicine program where he wrapped sprained ankles and took care of sidelined athletes.

"He was a team player, a real helper," Swanitz told The Associated Press on Monday.

In high school, Misner played several positions including wide receiver and defensive back. He was slim for a high school football player, but that didn't stop him from tackling his opponents, recalled retired football coach Ken Gruendyke.

"He played with tremendous heart and desire," Gruendyke said. "He wasn't the biggest or fastest guy on the team but he played with great emotion and intensity."

___

SCOTT NORRIS: THE 'IDEAL AMERICAN GENTELMAN'

Scott Norris, 28, was known around Prescott through his part-time job at Bucky O'Neill Guns.

"Here in Arizona the gun shops are a lot like barbershops. Sometimes you don't go in there to buy anything at all, you just go to talk," said resident William O'Hara. "I never heard a dirty word out of the guy. He was the kind of guy who if he dated your daughter, you'd be OK with it.

"He was just a model of a young, ideal American gentleman."

O'Hara's son Ryan, 19, said Norris' life and tragic death had inspired him to live a more meaningful life.

"He was a loving guy. He loved life. And I've been guilty of not looking as happy as I should, and letting things get to me, and Scott wasn't like that at all."

___

WADE PARKER: ANOTHER SECOND GENERATION FIREFIGHTER

At 22, Wade Parker had just joined the Hotshots team. His father works for the nearby Chino Valley Fire Department, said retired Prescott Fire Department Capt. Jeff Knotek, who had known Wade since he was "just a little guy."

The younger Parker had been very excited about being part of the Hotshot crew, Knotek said.

"He was another guy who wanted to be a second generation firefighter," Knotek said. "Big, athletic kid who loved it, aggressive, assertive and in great shape."

"It's just a shame to see this happen," Knotek said.

___

JOHN PERCIN JR.: STRONG, BRAVE, AMAZING

He loved baseball and had an unforgettable laugh. In his aunt's eyes, John Percin Jr. was, simply, "an amazing young man."

"He was probably the strongest and bravest young man I have ever met in my life," Donna Percin Pederson said in an interview with The Associated Press from her home in Portland, Ore.

John Percin Sr., declined to comment Monday. "It's not a good time right now."

Percin, 24, was a multisport high school athlete who graduated in 2007 from West Linn High School, southeast of Portland.

Geoff McEvers grew up playing baseball with Percin and remembered Percin as a fun-loving guy with an unforgettable laugh, The Oregonian newspaper reported.

McEvers said he learned about the Percin's death through friends.

"It's already tragic when you hear about those who died," McEvers told the newspaper, "but when you find out it's someone you know personally, it's tough."

___

ANTHONY ROSE: 'BLOSSOMED' AS FIREMAN

Anthony Rose, 23, was one of the youngest victims. He grew up in Wisconsin and previously worked as a firefighter in nearby Crown King before moving on to become a Hotshot.

Retired Crown King firefighter Greg Flores said Rose "just blossomed in the fire department. He did so well and helped so much in Crown King. We were all so very proud of him."

Flores said the town was planning a fundraiser for Rose and hoped to also have a memorial to honor him.

"He was the kind of guy that his smile lit up the whole room and everyone would just rally around him," he said. "He loved what he was doing, and that brings me some peace of heart."

___

JESSE STEED: 'GREAT FOR MORALE'

Jesse Steed's former colleagues remember him as a joker.

"He was a character. If you look at all the old photos of him, he was doing things to make people laugh," said Cooper Carr, who worked with Steed in the Hotshots from 2001 to 2003.

"He was good at impressions, and he sang songs; he was just great for morale. He'd just talk in a funny voice and have us all in stiches," Carr said. "And he was strong as an ox."

Carr remembers that Steed once spent the better part of an hour positioning a water bottle just right for a photo so that it would look like Yosemite falls was cascading into it.

Steed was also remembered for his dedication to fighting wildfires.

"He did it for a long, long time. I think he started in 2001, when he got out of the Marines. A job like the Hotshots is hard, hard work, and you don't stay in it if you don't love it," Carr said.

Steed, 36, was one of the older members of the crew. Renton, Wash., police officer Cassidy Steed said his brother "always put his life on the line for people who he knew he would never meet."

___

TRAVIS TURBYFILL: 'BIG, HUGE MARINE'

Known as "Turby" among crew members, Travis Turbyfill got a fulltime position with the Hotshots when another member's girlfriend asked him to quit.

Turbyfill, 27, often worked with other Hotshots at Captain Crossfit, a warehouse filled with mats, obstacle courses, climbing walls and acrobatic rings near the firehouse. He would train in the morning and then return in the afternoon with his wife and kids.

Trainer Janine Pereira said she recently kidded Turbyfill for skipping workouts. His excuse was that he wanted to spend some quality time at Dairy Queen.

"He was telling me that it's because it was Blizzard week, and he was just going to eat a Blizzard every night," she said.

Tony Burris, another trainer, said he enjoyed watching Turby with his two daughters.

"Because he's this big, huge Marine, Hotshot guy, and he has two little girls, reddish, blonde curly hair, and they just loved their dad," he said.

___

BILLY WARNEKE: 'DOING WHAT HE LOVED'

Billy Warneke, 25, and his wife, Roxanne, were expecting their first child in December, his grandmother, Nancy Warneke, told The Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside, Calif. Warneke grew up in Hemet, Calif., along with his fellow Granite Mountain hotshot, Chris MacKenzie. He was a four-year Marine Corps veteran who served a tour in Iraq and had joined the hotshot crew in April, buying a property in Prescott, near where his sister lived, the newspaper reported.

Nancy Warneke said she called her sister after seeing the fire on the news.

"She said, 'He's gone. They're all gone,'" Nancy Warneke told The Press-Enterprise. "Even though it's a tragedy for the whole family, he was doing what he loved to do. He loved nature and was helping preserve nature."

___

CLAYTON WHITTED: HE'D 'LIGHT IT UP'

Full of heart and determination, Clayton Whitted, 28, might not have been the biggest guy around, but he was among the hardest-working. His former Prescott High School coach, Lou Beneitone, said Whitted was a "wonderful kid" who always had a big smile on his face. Whitted played for the football team as an offensive and defensive lineman.

"He was a smart young man with a great personality, just a wonderful personality," said Beneitone. "When he walked into a room, he could really light it up."

Beneitone said Whitted loved being a firefighter and was well-respected among his crew. He says he ran into Whitted about two months ago and they shook hands and hugged, and talked about the upcoming fire season.

"I told him to be careful," Beneitone said.

___

KEVIN WOYJECK: FOLLOWING IN HIS FATHER'S FOOTSTEPS

For 21-year-old Kevin Woyjeck, the fire station was always a second home. His father, Capt. Joe Woyjeck, is a nearly 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Keith Mora, an inspector with that agency, said Kevin often accompanied his dad to the station and on ride-alongs, and always intended to follow in his footsteps.

"He wanted to become a firefighter like his dad and hopefully work hand-in-hand," Mora said Monday outside of the fire station in Seal Beach, Calif., where the Woyjeck family lives.

Mora remembered the younger Woyjeck as a "joy to be around," a man who always had a smile on his face. He had been trained as an EMT and worked as an Explorer, which is a mentorship training program to become a professional firefighter.

"He was a great kid. Unbelievable sense of humor, work ethic that was not parallel to many kids I've seen at that age. He wanted to work very hard."

As he spoke, Mora stood before an American flag that had been lowered to half-staff. His own fire badge was covered with a black elastic band, a show of respect and mourning for those lost in the line of duty.

___

GARRET ZUPPIGER: A RED BEARD, AND A SENSE OF HUMOR

Garret Zuppiger, 27, loved to be funny, said Tony Burris, a trainer at a gym where many of the Hotshots worked out.

Burris said the two bonded over their hyper-manly ginger facial hair.

"We both had a red beard and so we would always admire each other's beards," he said. "We also had a few conversations about beer."

Zuppiger's humor was evident on his blog where he wrote about his grandmother's one-eyed Chihuahua, his "best hair day ever" and a hike with his mother on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix. There's also photos of a tongue-in-cheek project to build a "ski-chair," in which a living room recliner was placed atop two skis.

"Garret Zuppiger turns 25!" he wrote in a post several years ago. "Everyday is like a gift!!"

___

Also among the 19 who died on Sunday:

? Joe Thurston, 32

___

Associated Press reporters Raquel Maria Dillon in Seal Beach, Calif., Sue Manning in Los Angeles; and Felicia Fonseca and Hannah Dreier in Prescott contributed to this story.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hotshots-killed-ariz-fire-remembered-mourned-220253670.html

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Obama to Egypt's Morsi: 'Democracy is about more than elections'

LIVE VIDEO: Protesters gather in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo, Egypt.

By Charlene Gubash and Ian Johnston, NBC News

CAIRO - The clock is ticking for Egypt?s President Mohammed Morsi to meet the demands of millions of protesters seeking his ouster and fresh elections after an ultimatum issued to the Islamist leader by his own armed forces.

If Morsi does not meet the demands by Wednesday, the military has said it will impose its own ?road map? for the future.

Morsi rejected the army?s call in a statement issued at 2 a.m. local time Tuesday (8 p.m. Monday ET) by saying his administration would continue on its "previously plotted path" toward reconciliation. Violence during the protests at the weekend saw 16 people killed and hundreds injured.

Barack Obama and the United Nations have each urged Morsi to listen to his people, as a vast crowd gathered once again in Cairo's Tahrir Square Tuesday.

Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the United Nations? High Commissioner for Human Rights, told a briefing Tuesday that they were following the ?extremely tense situation? in Egypt with ?great concern.?

?We urge all political parties and social groups to urgently engage in a serious national dialogue in order to find a solution to the political crisis and prevent an escalation of violence,? Colville said.

?We call on the president of Egypt to listen to the demands and wishes of the Egyptian people, expressed during these huge protests over the past few days, and to address key issues raised by the opposition and civil society in recent months, as well as to heed the lessons of the past in this particularly fragile situation,? he added.

NBC's Richard Engel reports from Cairo, where he says "it feels like a new revolution could be underway" as opponents of Mohammed Morsi are demanding he be removed from the presidency.

He welcomed assurances given by the military and law enforcement agencies that ?no measures will be taken that could lead to excessive use of force against peaceful demonstrators.?

The White House said in a statement Tuesday that Obama had called Morsi on Monday, urging him to listen to ?the voices of all Egyptians.?

Obama told Morsi that the United States was ?committed to the democratic process in Egypt and does not support any single party or group.?

But the president also ?stressed that democracy is about more than elections.?

Suhaib Salem / Reuters

The headquarters of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood was ransacked as widespread protests against President Mohammed Morsi turned violent.

?It is also about ensuring that the voices of all Egyptians are heard and represented by their government, including the many Egyptians demonstrating throughout the country,? the statement said.

Obama encouraged Morsi ?to take steps to show that he is responsive to their concerns, and underscored that the current crisis can only be resolved through a political process,? it added.

?President Obama also underscored his deep concern about violence during the demonstrations, especially sexual assaults against female citizens,? the White House said. ?He reiterated his belief that all Egyptians protesting should express themselves peacefully, and urged President Morsi to make clear to his supporters that all forms of violence are unacceptable.?

Amid the heightened tensions, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo was closed on Tuesday with regular consular service suspended. It was also closed on Sunday. U.S. citizens were advised to ?avoid areas where large gatherings may occur.?

On June 28, the State Department allowed a ?limited number of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members? to leave the country ?due to the ongoing political and social unrest.?

Canada said on Twitter that its embassy in Cairo would be ?closed until further notice for security reasons.?

According to an airport security source, ?a list has been circulated containing the names of 48 leading members of political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, who must now inform national security officials before leaving the country. The use of private jets has also been temporarily banned.

It remains unclear whether the Egyptian army was actually calling for Morsi to stand down, or whether it would accept some attempted compromise.

However, a statement issued by Morsi?s office complained said that it was not consulted about the army?s ultimatum and said ?the presidency sees that some of the statements in it carry meanings that could cause confusion in the complex national environment.?

It added that his administration was ?going forward on its previously plotted path to promote comprehensive national reconciliation ... regardless of any statements that deepen divisions between citizens.?

Protesters attacked and stormed the headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, calling for Egypt's president Mohammed Morsi to step down. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.

Morsi?s office, discussing the call with Obama, said the U.S. was ?working with the Egyptian leadership elected by the Egyptian people and supports peaceful democratic conditions in Egypt.?

?The president confirmed that Egypt is moving forward in a peaceful democratic transition built on constitution and law,? Morsi?s office said.

It also said that Egypt?s ?democratic, civil, modern state? was ?the most important achievement? of the revolution that deposed former President Hosni Mubarak.

?We will not allow Egypt with all its forces to return backward under any circumstances,? Morsi?s office said. ?Egypt has paid dearly from the blood of its sons and its stability and security and its delayed the path to development, these are the high prices it paid to build a new state. We all chose democratic means as the only safest way to manage our differences of opinion."

Ian Johnston reported from London.

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This story was originally published on Tue Jul 2, 2013 9:56 AM EDT

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663309/s/2e15fb48/l/0Lworldnews0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A70C0A20C192463540Eobama0Eto0Eegypts0Emorsi0Edemocracy0Eis0Eabout0Emore0Ethan0Eelections0Dlite/story01.htm

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