#anti-doormat league

[ivebeensetonfire]

I am not a wealthy man, but I am a rich, rich man.

I’ve spoken to many people who have a deeply saddening and often reductive view of relationships in general, but especially friendship. This view is often expressed through a surprised or sometimes horrified response to an anecdote of how I choose to love those around me. Some examples include:

“Your roommate only pays you a hundred dollars a month in rent?? Why??”

“Where is your car? Wait, ~insert name here~ is still borrowing it? And you’re okay with that?”

“Why are you cooking for your friends and hosting all the time? Do they at least pay you for the food?”

These examples are just a few of what I’ve heard within the last few months. They show me a glimpse into the mind of my inquirer, and it’s something that breaks my heart. It says to me that they do not understand what it means to love those around you will all you have.

Too often we are told to look out for el numero uno, and let those around us figure it out for themselves. And yes, I understand and am well aware that there is a difference between loving those around you, and being a very convenient doormat with which they clean their boots.

However, because of our intense societal indoctrination toward individuality, we can quickly lose sight of the fact that love works on an inverse economy. That is to say, the only way to be rich in love, is to give more of it away.

I love those nearest to me often, and loudly. I tell them that I love them, tell them what they do well and what their strengths are. I encourage, uplift, listen, and empathize. I hug! I bring trinkets and small gifts to those who would enjoy them. I serve and assist those who would appreciate it, and I spend quality time with others. These are the core of what I do for those around me, and most will agree that they are wonderful and necessities for healthy relationships, provided they are reciprocated.

But my love does not stop there.

My roommate pays me a hundred dollars a month in rent. For reference, I own my home, and it is a good size space. I hear over and over again, from others and even my roommate that they hope I’m not being taken advantage of! I appreciate their concern, but they do not understand, that this life to me is so much more than money and savings. I am able to provide not only a shelter for my friend, but a home. A space to call his own, and to take comfort in. The rent helps, but ultimately is not necessary for me to be able to afford it. The true good in the situation is that I may spend more time with my friend, and can help him on his path through life!

When a friend of mine had a terrible car accident, and her vehicle was totaled, she was unable to find another due to low income, bad credit from an insurance screwup, and a famine of cheap cars.

What most people would have done is offered sympathy, maybe a few bucks toward saving for a new one, and a “Such is life, dear friend, I am sorry.” Not me. Not in my world. Due to life circumstances, I’m blessed to not really need a car. I drive my work truck mainly, have my motorcycle for recreational transport, and live near/in a small city that allows for walking. So, I lent her my car. For 6 months she drove it, and paid me monthly for the privilege (what she could to help with the payments). I was amazed at how those who knew praised me at the beginning, and then rapidly turned to confusion and even ridicule as the weeks turned into a month. From “that’s so kind of you!” to “is she taking care of it? She’s not trashing it is she? Is she even looking for another car?? Be careful she’s not taking advantage of you!”

These were people who know both me and this friend of mine, mutual friends! They were so focused on the material possessions and the idea that I might walk a mile up the road in the snow, that they lost sight of this fact: someone would have been walking up the road in the winter to the grocery store, and I would rather it be me than my friend.

I feed my friends. I live on a tight budget, and shop carefully to be able to feed myself for a week. When friends come by, I do not know if they’ve eaten yet, and if anyone sets foot in my home, I do my best to feed everyone, regardless of my situation. Despite how often I end up feeding my meal prep to a host of friends who’ve turned up for quality time, I always seem to have enough money and food for the week.

I do not tell these stories to brag, or boast on my own kindness, but to illustrate that this is how I believe each should love those around them. Love with your actions, your words, your time. Love with all you have, yes, even if it’s your possessions.

Because of this attitude I carry, the values that I hold, and the actions that come from them, I confidently say that those whom you love well may not always return the favor. That, however, is no reason not to try. Have I loaned money and never seen a cent in return, and even been scorned by the person to whom I lent? Yes. Have I fed someone or helped them and then learned that they had betrayed my trust or friendship? Yes. Have I given everything to one, and had them spit on it and abandon me? I have.

Nevertheless, I have kept trying. I love, I love as hard as I can. And when my life came crashing down around me because of aforementioned abandonment, those who truly mattered, the ones whom I had loved and asked nothing from in return, they came flooding to me. They saw a chance to repay the love I had given and shown them, and they jumped at it. They poured out time, effort, money, food, care, and love. I was overwhelmed by the support I saw when I needed it most. This is opened my eyes to the fact that I while I do not make very much money, I am an immensely rich man, simply in love.

All because I chose to love with everything.

I would ask you: do you love with everything? Or do you withhold?

As you consider, Remember: loving is not licking boots. Be assertive, set and maintain boundaries, and care for your immediate needs first. Once that is done, then look and find a need you can fulfill in another.

Love fearlessly my dear friends.

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

Beware the Frozen Heart

Beware The Frozen Heart by SilentGhostWriter2017

There is only so much abuse one can take before they snap. For Midoriya Izuku, diagnosed as quirkless in a society that values the superiority of quirks, breaking point comes at the age of fifteen.

Humiliated and taunted one too many times, Midoriya explodes. In his wake, a classroom frosted over by ice, and classmates both injured and dead by the sharpest of icicles.

Midoriya runs for his life, setting off a permanent winter that threatens to drown Japan in growing piles of snow and ice. Different parties set off in search for Midoriya, each with their own motivations and goals.

But Midoriya never forgot the pain and torment he endured for over ten years. He refuses to be a doormat any longer, even if it meant turning his back on the dream that he struggled to hold onto for so long. There is the saying, beware the frozen heart, for it does not forgive, nor is it merciful.

Vengeance, after all, is a dish best served frozen.

Words: 1507, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: Gen

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Inko, Bakugou Mitsuki, Bakugou Masaru, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Original Characters, Hero Public Safety Commission, League of Villains, Sensei | All For One

Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Midoriya Izuku Has Issues, Anti-Hero Midoriya Izuku, Sentient Quirks, Bakugou Katsuki Swears A Lot, Bakugou Katsuki Bashing, Bakugou Katsuki Redemption, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Bashing, Todoroki Enji | Endeavor Being An Asshole, Neglectful Midoriya Inko, Bad Parent Midoriya Inko, Hero Public Safety Commission Bashing, Minor Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Frozen (Disney Movies) References, Angst, Drama, Hopeful Ending, Canon-Typical Violence

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29287509

[gorogues]

Spoilers for Flash #50!

You can see the first few pages here.

A lot happened in this issue!  Hunter's defeated but he's still out there somewhere and the Flashes acknowledge they lost this fight.  Bart Allen returns, although he's the only missing member of the Flash Family to do so.  And the Renegades aside from Commander Cold may have been killed by someone who's presumably the Anti-Monitor.  He's free from imprisonment and is pissed, and he threatens the Multiverse.

Hypertime is definitively re-established in continuity, although the Flashes are cut off from it by the end of the story.  For those new to Flash comics, the scenes shown in the background are actual panels from previous stories, including Barry's death in Crisis on Infinite Earths (the story which introduced the Anti-Monitor, so that's a nice bit of foreshadowing).  This ties in with what Hunter was saying about "It all happened!  Everything counts here!", which is a bone tossed to those of us who miss continuity before the New 52...and for newer fans who are worried that the new stuff will be tossed out to embrace the old.

Wally manages to defeat Hunter, although nobody knows what happens to Zoom at the end and he's obviously on the loose somewhere.  And the Flashes are cut off from all time travel in the process of defeating him, even with the use of the Cosmic Treadmill.  That's obviously not going to last forever, but it'll be interesting to see how long it lasts and what it will mean for upcoming stories; it does suggest that Wally won't be retrieving his kids for a while.  But he should be able to get them back if he can get access to Hypertime again, so that seems like a goal he'll be striving for, and a new direction for him.

It was nice that both Barry and Wally got a chance to shine here: Wally is acknowledged as being the fastest and used his temporal energy to take down Hunter, while Barry is the one who realized the key to defeating him and came up with the plan.  This suits their strengths nicely (Barry's the scientist and Wally's all about bold action and skill) and lets them both be distinct and have their own glory.

One thing I am rather tired of in this series, though, is the way everybody yells at Barry a lot.  Yes he has flaws and yes a scolding is sometimes deserved, but you'd think he's a perpetual screw-up and a huge jerk by the way the others treat him.  And though he's often been patient and rather passive throughout his history, it'd be nice to see him politely but firmly stand up for himself every once in a while.  He comes across as a doormat this way, just as he did in the Silver Age when Iris abused him.  So yes there's precedence, but Iris grew and changed and it'd be nice to see him do so as well.

Hunter is possibly mildly sympathetic in this issue -- at least when he claims he hates seeing the Flashes suffer -- but it's fleeting because he continues to torment them.  It's not clear whether he does indeed feel bad for the hell he puts them through, because the pre-Flashpoint version of him often seemed rather sadistic about it until the end of Rogue War, and we've already seen him baldly lie in this story.  So I'm not sure whether he should be considered sympathetic at all.  It's a bit disappointing to me, because I'd like to see him do more than just be an outright villain.  Here he's taking Eobard's schtick by wanting to be the new Flash and mostly being a huge dick, and he could be more nuanced.

Plus I'm kind of puzzled by the information given about the new Forces here, because the most recent issue of Justice League explicitly says there are six of them, and Hunter kind of implies there's only one more when he says "all I need is the last Force!" and is seemingly referring to the Still Force.  So, is he just unaware of the others, or was there a goof-up somewhere?  I mean, it's possible he's unaware of more.  He doesn't seem to access the Still Force in this story unless I missed something, so we still (har har) haven't seen it yet.  Presumably it'll be similar to the way the Flashes used to steal speed, as well as replicating Turtle's power to slow down time.

(As an aside, I'm wondering if there's an implication that Roscoe uses the Sage Force, because it apparently gives you psi powers including telekinesis, increases your intelligence, and has an odd little spinny effect above the user's head.  Not too different from the spinny effect we saw him using in Rogue War, actually.  I'd be kind of bummed if that's the case because I like his ridiculous backstory of "spinning made him smarter and gave him psi powers", but it's something I can live with.)

Questions: where's Hunter now, and what's he up to?  Is he also cut off from time travel and Hypertime now?  Also, are the other Renegades dead?  The Anti-Monitor's totally capable of it, but they seem to fade away rather than just die.  And how did Eobard capture him in the first place?  That'd be a story to see.

I thought this was a flawed arc, but a decent one.  I do have a lot of quibbles about the use of Hunter, but otherwise it was pretty good.  It's a bummer that Jai and Irey fans got teased and ultimately denied, but at least we got Bart back...as I've said in the past, I didn't want them to tease and jerk us around about the Flash Family's return for too long.  So this is a step in the right direction, and I'm curious about what Bart's role will be in the book and the DCU from now on.

@ohhicas @ianxfalcon @fyeahgoldenvibe @captainbaddecisions @justm3h @hesmiledlikeaweatherman

[scottmapess]

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[dragnews]

Boat caught in Europe

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – Rescued migrants turned away by Italy and Malta arrived at the Spanish port of Valencia on Sunday, ending a grueling Mediterranean odyssey that became symbolic of Europe’s failure to agree on immigration.

Spain swooped to help 629 mainly sub-Saharan Africans on board the ship Aquarius last week after Italy’s new government, asserting its anti-immigrant credentials, refused to let it dock. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office two weeks ago, took the opportunity to show a more liberal stance.

But the plight of the Aquarius, run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee, highlighted the European Union’s struggle to manage an influx of people fleeing poverty and conflict.

Men, women and children who spent nine days on the Aquarius, after their rescue off the Libyan coast, cheered as they approached Valencia, where they were met by officials in white protective suits and masks, before police processed their information.

The whole group arrived on three separate boats, after some were transferred to two Italian vessels to make the journey safer.

A staff of 2,320, including volunteers, translators and health officials, were waiting on shore. Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies General Elhadj As Sy was also in Valencia.

“This sad odyssey of the people on the Aquarius is another reminder that all people, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, should have access to basic assistance and protection,” Sy said in a statement.

“No human being is ‘illegal’,” added Sy.

Italy’s rejection of the Aquarius prompted a spat with France, while the issue of immigration has triggered a political row in Germany.

Malta refused to take the boat, saying it had nothing to do with the rescue, which was coordinated by Italy’s coast guard.

“POLITICAL POINT-SCORING”

The Aquarius rescue ship arrives to port carrying some 106 migrants in Valencia, Spain June 17, 2018. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

Karline Kleijer, MSF’s head of emergencies, told a news conference refusing safe port was “shameful”.

“MSF denounces any European government which is choosing political scoring of points above saving lives at sea,” she said.

“People were threatening to jump into the water (during) the standoff between Italy and Malta, because they were scared and said if we have to die we’d rather die at sea than in Libya.”

No serious illness was reported among the migrants, who included seven pregnant women and 123 minors, but many had suffered burns and fatigue.

All the migrants will get special 45-day humanitarian permits to stay, and asylum requests will be assessed, Chief Inspector of Immigration and Border Police Bernardo Alonso said.

France has offered to take in any passengers who qualify for asylum and want to go there.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, whose right-wing League party entered government pledging to crack down on flows of migrants which have topped 600,000 over the past five years, tweeted:

“For the first time, a boat that left Libya aiming for Italy docks in a different country: a sign that something is changing, that we are not Europe’s doormat any more.”

Far fewer migrants have arrived in Spain, but the number is rising fast, with more than 1,000 rescued by Spain’s coast guard on Friday and Saturday. A search is underway off the coast of Almeria after four sub-Saharan men rescued by helicopter said their dinghy had been carrying a total 47 people when it sank.

Slideshow (8 Images)

Most Spaniards support the idea of welcoming and helping to integrate refugees, pollsters say. That allowed Sanchez, a socialist, to offer migrant-friendly policies to voters who felt previous governments did not do enough.

Additional reporting and writing by Isla Binnie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Ros Russell

The post Boat caught in Europe appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2MwXJKl via Today News

[dani-qrt]

Boat caught in Europe

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – Rescued migrants turned away by Italy and Malta arrived at the Spanish port of Valencia on Sunday, ending a grueling Mediterranean odyssey that became symbolic of Europe’s failure to agree on immigration.

Spain swooped to help 629 mainly sub-Saharan Africans on board the ship Aquarius last week after Italy’s new government, asserting its anti-immigrant credentials, refused to let it dock. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office two weeks ago, took the opportunity to show a more liberal stance.

But the plight of the Aquarius, run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee, highlighted the European Union’s struggle to manage an influx of people fleeing poverty and conflict.

Men, women and children who spent nine days on the Aquarius, after their rescue off the Libyan coast, cheered as they approached Valencia, where they were met by officials in white protective suits and masks, before police processed their information.

The whole group arrived on three separate boats, after some were transferred to two Italian vessels to make the journey safer.

A staff of 2,320, including volunteers, translators and health officials, were waiting on shore. Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies General Elhadj As Sy was also in Valencia.

“This sad odyssey of the people on the Aquarius is another reminder that all people, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, should have access to basic assistance and protection,” Sy said in a statement.

“No human being is ‘illegal’,” added Sy.

Italy’s rejection of the Aquarius prompted a spat with France, while the issue of immigration has triggered a political row in Germany.

Malta refused to take the boat, saying it had nothing to do with the rescue, which was coordinated by Italy’s coast guard.

“POLITICAL POINT-SCORING”

The Aquarius rescue ship arrives to port carrying some 106 migrants in Valencia, Spain June 17, 2018. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

Karline Kleijer, MSF’s head of emergencies, told a news conference refusing safe port was “shameful”.

“MSF denounces any European government which is choosing political scoring of points above saving lives at sea,” she said.

“People were threatening to jump into the water (during) the standoff between Italy and Malta, because they were scared and said if we have to die we’d rather die at sea than in Libya.”

No serious illness was reported among the migrants, who included seven pregnant women and 123 minors, but many had suffered burns and fatigue.

All the migrants will get special 45-day humanitarian permits to stay, and asylum requests will be assessed, Chief Inspector of Immigration and Border Police Bernardo Alonso said.

France has offered to take in any passengers who qualify for asylum and want to go there.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, whose right-wing League party entered government pledging to crack down on flows of migrants which have topped 600,000 over the past five years, tweeted:

“For the first time, a boat that left Libya aiming for Italy docks in a different country: a sign that something is changing, that we are not Europe’s doormat any more.”

Far fewer migrants have arrived in Spain, but the number is rising fast, with more than 1,000 rescued by Spain’s coast guard on Friday and Saturday. A search is underway off the coast of Almeria after four sub-Saharan men rescued by helicopter said their dinghy had been carrying a total 47 people when it sank.

Slideshow (8 Images)

Most Spaniards support the idea of welcoming and helping to integrate refugees, pollsters say. That allowed Sanchez, a socialist, to offer migrant-friendly policies to voters who felt previous governments did not do enough.

Additional reporting and writing by Isla Binnie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Ros Russell

The post Boat caught in Europe appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2MwXJKl via Online News

[party-hard-or-die]

Boat caught in Europe

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) – Rescued migrants turned away by Italy and Malta arrived at the Spanish port of Valencia on Sunday, ending a grueling Mediterranean odyssey that became symbolic of Europe’s failure to agree on immigration.

Spain swooped to help 629 mainly sub-Saharan Africans on board the ship Aquarius last week after Italy’s new government, asserting its anti-immigrant credentials, refused to let it dock. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office two weeks ago, took the opportunity to show a more liberal stance.

But the plight of the Aquarius, run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee, highlighted the European Union’s struggle to manage an influx of people fleeing poverty and conflict.

Men, women and children who spent nine days on the Aquarius, after their rescue off the Libyan coast, cheered as they approached Valencia, where they were met by officials in white protective suits and masks, before police processed their information.

The whole group arrived on three separate boats, after some were transferred to two Italian vessels to make the journey safer.

A staff of 2,320, including volunteers, translators and health officials, were waiting on shore. Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies General Elhadj As Sy was also in Valencia.

“This sad odyssey of the people on the Aquarius is another reminder that all people, regardless of their nationality or immigration status, should have access to basic assistance and protection,” Sy said in a statement.

“No human being is ‘illegal’,” added Sy.

Italy’s rejection of the Aquarius prompted a spat with France, while the issue of immigration has triggered a political row in Germany.

Malta refused to take the boat, saying it had nothing to do with the rescue, which was coordinated by Italy’s coast guard.

“POLITICAL POINT-SCORING”

The Aquarius rescue ship arrives to port carrying some 106 migrants in Valencia, Spain June 17, 2018. REUTERS/Heino Kalis

Karline Kleijer, MSF’s head of emergencies, told a news conference refusing safe port was “shameful”.

“MSF denounces any European government which is choosing political scoring of points above saving lives at sea,” she said.

“People were threatening to jump into the water (during) the standoff between Italy and Malta, because they were scared and said if we have to die we’d rather die at sea than in Libya.”

No serious illness was reported among the migrants, who included seven pregnant women and 123 minors, but many had suffered burns and fatigue.

All the migrants will get special 45-day humanitarian permits to stay, and asylum requests will be assessed, Chief Inspector of Immigration and Border Police Bernardo Alonso said.

France has offered to take in any passengers who qualify for asylum and want to go there.

Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, whose right-wing League party entered government pledging to crack down on flows of migrants which have topped 600,000 over the past five years, tweeted:

“For the first time, a boat that left Libya aiming for Italy docks in a different country: a sign that something is changing, that we are not Europe’s doormat any more.”

Far fewer migrants have arrived in Spain, but the number is rising fast, with more than 1,000 rescued by Spain’s coast guard on Friday and Saturday. A search is underway off the coast of Almeria after four sub-Saharan men rescued by helicopter said their dinghy had been carrying a total 47 people when it sank.

Slideshow (8 Images)

Most Spaniards support the idea of welcoming and helping to integrate refugees, pollsters say. That allowed Sanchez, a socialist, to offer migrant-friendly policies to voters who felt previous governments did not do enough.

Additional reporting and writing by Isla Binnie; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Ros Russell

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Pakistan's Imran Khan talks US relations as elections loom

ISLAMABAD/January 13, 2018(AP)(STL.News)— Famed cricketer turned politician Imran Khan said Saturday that meeting U.S. President Donald Trump would be a “bitter pill” to swallow should he become Pakistan’s prime minister in elections later this year, but added “I would meet him.”

In a press briefing, Khan, who has an international reputation as a ladies man and at home is seen more as a religious conservative, said he has been a staunch opponent of Pakistan’s participation in the war on terror since it began in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S.

“Pakistan had nothing to do with it,” he said, adding that he supported co-operation with the United States but not co-opting Pakistan’s military into a ground battle with its own people in the tribal regions that border Afghanistan and where Afghan insurgents hide.

Pakistanis are still outraged two weeks after Trump’s New Year’s Day tweet accusing Islamabad of “deceit and lies,” and of taking $33 billion in aid over 15 years while harboring Afghan insurgents, who are attacking American soldiers in neighboring Afghanistan.

Khan said that Trump scapegoated Pakistan for the U.S.-led coalition’s failure to defeat the Taliban and bring peace to Afghanistan, and that “it was very insulting of him.”

Should he become Pakistan’s prime minister, Khan said “yes we would talk,” referring to Trump, but added that the U.S. dishonors the memory of thousands of Pakistan’s soldiers who died battling insurgents in its tribal regions, as well as that of tens of thousands of Pakistanis who died in terrorist attacks.

“The way the United States has treated Pakistan as a doormat is not fair,” he said.

Pakistan’s politics have been in turmoil since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was dismissed from power last year on corruption charges and a party faithful, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, was sworn in as prime minister until new elections are held. Khan referred to Sharif’s family, which dominates the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML), as “a political mafia” that he vowed to defeat at the polls.

It’s still not clear what kind of government Khan envisions for Pakistan. While he praises liberals outside Pakistan as anti-war and committed to humanitarian values and freedom of speech, he rails against Pakistani liberals, chastising them for supporting the military operations in the tribal regions.

Khan also raised eyebrows when he announced an electoral alliance with Maulana Sami-ul Haq, a firebrand Islamic cleric, whose hard-line Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary taught several of Afghanistan’s senior Taliban leaders. Haq remains a close ally of Afghanistan’s Taliban.

Khan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party rules Pakistan’s Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) province, which borders Afghanistan, as part of a coalition government that includes the religious Jamaat-e-Islami party. Khan’s provincial government has also given millions of Pakistani rupees to Haq, whose Haqqania seminary is located in KPK.

At the press briefing, Khan said he was committed to “mainstreaming” Pakistan’s tens of thousands of madrassas, or religious seminaries, which provide the only education for more than 2 million children, many of them among the poorest. The seminaries are often charged with promoting sectarianism.

He said he wants madrassa school graduates to have skills that will allow them to find jobs across all sectors. As it stands, madrassa graduates are ill-equipped to work as anything other than clerics or prayer leaders.

“We will train their teachers to bring them into the mainstream,” he said, without providing details on how that would be accomplished.

Khan has called for early elections, which should be held by July in keeping with the Constitution.

By Associated Press, published on STL.NEWS by St. Louis Media, LLC (TM)