Video: Foreign Exchange Student Scandal

Update: This was such a great comment on this story that I just had to repost this story for you to read. I really like it when someone wants to seriously discuss a social issue. What comes out of any good discussion is more understanding and some new facts to investigate. I have an inkling that this story is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Time will tell as more reporters look into the veracity of the experts and the accusers.

Federal Agents Investigate Burger Kings Treatment of Foreign Students - An excerpt: "RIVERTON, Wyo. – Federal agents from the Department of Immigrations are expected to arrive in Riverton today to investigate a possible indentured service case involving foreign students. Five university students working in the states through an exchange program said they were fired from the local Burger King and evicted from squalid living quarters provided by the company after they complained about the conditions.

They described the 15x15-foot house as a boiler room prison, because the windows wouldn’t open, bunkbeds with air mattresses were the beds, a hot-plate on a counter sufficed for a kitchen stove and the toilet and shower stall were unsanitary due to corrosion.

Riverton police, who executed the eviction notice over the weekend, were appalled at the conditions found and reported the situation to immigrations and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Local Burger King management has refused comment and corporate officials in Florida say they were unaware of the situation. The students were matched with the local Burger King through the work/travel programs of Worldwide International Student Exchange (WISE) and Aspire Worldwide. They paid $3,500 to $5,000 each to participate, and were told adequate housing would be provided at an affordable fee.

They said rent for the house was $1,800 a month, paid to Burger King District Manager Peggy Handran. Her phone number listed on the work agreement is no longer in service.

The university students are all men, ages 18-21, coming from Turkey, Mongolia, Azerbaijan and the Ukraine. They have found temporary sanctuary with a neighbor, Donna Michel."

Click on the title link for the rest of the story.

The Discussion

Comments:

smbpott said...

This case is unfortunate and I feel bad for the kids, but the vast majority (95%) of exchanges are positive for the students and the families and communities which host them. I urge the press to investigate Danielle Grijalva, director of Committee for Safety and Chris Gould, a retired British police investigator and PURPORTED consultant to foreign exchange programs worldwide. They say mistreatment of foreign students is significantly underreported. What basis do they use to show underreporting? What is the board make up of the committee for safety? What foreign exchange programs is Chris Gould a consultant for? You will find these two people have NO basis for their setting themselves up as experts, and that they are acting together, but essentially alone (no real committee, no board oversight of organization, restraining order against Danielle...), just trolling the internet for sensationalized cases of exchange student abuse and posting them on one website repeatedly.

16 July, 2009 22:21
Denny Lyon said...
Hi, smbpott, thanks for visiting and leaving your comment!

As with most stories like this, it isn't about how well the majority has been treated but rather about the abused minority that went unreported or not investigated.

This story is really not about the concept of foreign exchange students as it is a great idea culturally. It isn't about the whole organization either.

What this story is about is the fact that nothing was done to address these problems, not enough or perhaps any oversight on the part of our government - most likely the vast majority of issues happened during the Bush years of "non-doing."

It was foolish for our current State Dept. not to fine tooth comb every project they had in operation during the Bush years looking for this kind of thing. As it was the GAO was prevented from investigating AND reporting by Bush and Cheney. Normally, they handle these kinds of investigations as these problems always follow one culprit: follow the money. Most likely, Bush and Cheney cut the funds for oversight and hired outside political cronies as payback for campaign funds.

BTW, do you have proof to back up the stats you give that 95% of the foreign exchange students do not encounter any problem? If there was no oversight, no reporting, no surveys, where did you get this stat?

In the end, we are both coming at this problem from different sides and meeting in the middle in complete agreement: not enough oversight to prove either the good or the bad satisfactorily!

I'm glad these people have finally gotten the courage to speak up and speak out about their abuse. It went pretty much the same in the religious community, especially Catholic, when for decades people complained about sexual abuse. The same arguments abounded that it wasn't that bad, it wasn't true, that 95% etc., etc. Since then the abused began to speak up and the whole truth came out: there were thousands worldwide who were badly abused for decades.

My policy is never to deny a listen to anyone who has been abused, especially when it was as a result of an institutional entity for which as part of the public I am partly responsible.

17 July, 2009 08:57

From Anonymous:

Hello:

Thought you may find this of interest:
Federal agents investigate Burger King's treatment of foreign students
Leslie Stratmoen KVOW/KTAK News Director
July 16, 2009

http://www.ktakradio.com/news/2009/jul/16/federal-agents-investigate-burger-kings-treatment-/

Too many exchange students leave our country with a horrible impression of America.

17 July, 2009 16:16


From Denny: This is a video story I tried to put up yesterday but CNN did not yet have it up on its site until today. Unbelievable what foreign exchange students have lived through when visiting the United States during the Bush years and recently. The truth is just now coming out.

It's a real horror story that our own government funded this abuse and did not take the interest to regulate these agencies that promote and place these students in American homes. Some of those homes were convicted felons, students were raped, starved, forced to live in filthy situations, even placed with known and registered sex offenders! How perverted can you get?



Politics foreign exchange students rape sex offenders starvation abuse America United States State Department investigation

Recipe: Lighter Simple Summer Seafood Gumbo

Photo from 2theAdvocate.com

From Denny: Here's a couple of recipes I'm running over at my comfort food blog, Comfort Food From Louisiana, enjoy!

This summer version of beach vacation gumbo was featured in our local newspaper in this week's food section. The family dilemma was there were a lot of people to feed for each meal, fifteen to be exact. The cooks did not have a lot of time to cook and also wanted to take advantage of the fresh seafood as they were vacationing in Florida. It would have been a culinary sin not to enjoy the local freshest seafood! :)

So, they came up with some shortcuts for cooking gumbo using some convenience foods. They also thinned the roux (nothing like the traditional excessively thick New Orleans roux you will get in every tourist restaurant in New Orleans) to lighten the feel of it for the heat of the summer. Sometimes, when you have been at the beach all day the last thing you want to eat is food that is too heavy on spices, heat or texture.

The cooks saved time and heat in the kitchen by using a prepackaged powdered roux and gravy mix. As per their advice, "As with any thickening agent, always stir it with cool liquid before adding it to a skillet or gumbo pot to prevent clumps from forming."

They also saved time again by using pre-chopped bag of Creole seasoning mix of onions, bell peppers and celery. Make sure you check the date for optimum freshness of this kind of convenience food.

OK, this is where I'd draw the line and chop my own. Why? Because vegetables lose their energy quickly and start leaching water, breaking down within an hour or so of chopping them. So, yeah, I'd take the time here to chop my own; the flavor will be a lot more intense and wonderful if you do!

Use low-sodium chicken broth as seafood has enough natural salt on its own.


Lighter Simple Summer Seafood Gumbo

From: Tracey Koch

Yield: Serves 6

Ingredients:


4 Tablespoons canola oil

3 cups chopped Creole seasoning blend of onions, bell peppers and celery

1/2 cup instant roux and gravy mix (I use Zatarain’s or Tony Chachere’s)

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon gumbo filé, if desired

2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined

1 pound fresh claw crabmeat or half claw and half lump

1 pound raw, shucked oysters (optional)

Cooked rice


Directions:

1. In a large stock pot, heat the oil and sauté the vegetables over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until translucent.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the roux and gravy mix with the chicken broth until all of the mix is dissolved.

3. Pour the broth into the stock pot and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add filé, if desired.

4. Add shrimp, stir and cook for 5 minutes, then fold in crabmeat, stirring occasionally. Stir in optional oysters, at this point. When shrimp are uniformly pink, the seafood is cooked, and the gumbo is ready to serve.

5. Ladle over hot, cooked rice.

Kitchen Helpers: Kids can help out in several ways with this dish. They can measure the ingredients, whisk together the gravy mix, pick through the crabmeat for shells and even help peel the shrimp. Just make sure they wash their hands well before and after handling raw seafood.

From Denny: They suggested a simple Greek salad to round out the meal. Besides, all those raw veggies like tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers are cooling to your liver which, in turn, will cool down your body from a hot day in the beach sun. Win-win!

Summer Greek Salad

From: Tracey Koch

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 head butter lettuce or mixed greens

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 small cucumber, diced

1/2 cup kalamata olives

Greek dressing:

1 clove minced garlic

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried mint

Directions:

1. Toss lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and olives in a large salad bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk together garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt, pepper, oregano and mint until all ingredients are uniformly incorporated.

3. Add dressing to salad according to taste and toss.

4. Serve immediately.

Kitchen helpers: Younger children can help measure the dressing ingredients and toss the salad, and older ones can make it by themselves.

Video: Foreign Exchange Students Abused in the United States

From Denny: This is a video story I tried to put up yesterday but CNN did not yet have it up on its site until today. Unbelievable what foreign exchange students have lived through when visiting the United States during the Bush years and recently. The truth is just now coming out.

It's a real horror story that our own government funded this abuse and did not take the interest to regulate these agencies that promote and place these students in American homes. Some of those homes were convicted felons, students were raped, starved, forced to live in filthy situations, even placed with known and registered sex offenders! How perverted can you get?



Politics foreign exchange students rape sex offenders starvation abuse America United States State Department investigation

Video: News of the Absurd - Twitter, Soc the Cat and Religion

From Denny: It's all about Twitter and the absurd in this amusing CNN segment!



Twitter religion Soc Cat Absurd Video humor Twitter Followers

Outrageous Video: Bruno (Comedian Cohen) Talks with Real Terrorist!

From Denny: I usually ignore outrageous movie previews but I have to admit this comedian is actually funnier and MORE outrageous in interview! Check him out on the late night circuit and his interview with a terrorist who clearly looked ticked off! We may have to label his style of comedy as terrorist comedy...



Bruno movie comedy Cohen terrorist humor funny video CNN

Recipe: Easy Key Lime Pie with a Twist - White Chocolate!

See how tiny these key limes are? Intensely flavored and tart! Image by m kasahara via Flickr

From Denny: This is a recipe I am running over at my other food blog: Comfort Food From Louisiana. Chocolate is most definitely a comfort food in my mind! :) It's rare I come across a white chocolate recipe that appeals to me as I prefer the full court press when it comes to chocolate: dark! However, that said, white chocolate is wonderful with fruit, especially citrus!

From the Louisiana blog:

Key Lime Pies are basic and easy and constantly evolving as people try variations. This is one of those I've picked up over time, trying different recipes, and finally merged into just one recipe. I like easy but I also like without preservatives and usually make my own crust.

In the heat of this summer (which it seems you have heard me endlessly whining about - grin) and to be enjoyed after a good garlicky seafood dish is a citrus flavor to cut the oils, salt and heat.

We adore Key Lime Pie here in Louisiana! Louisianians often visit the Florida beaches and golf courses where we were introduced to such a sweet treat as to what they like to create with Key Limes! (We also love their soft shell crabs - yum!) Here is another twist on the classic recipe by using white chocolate.

Easy Key Lime Pie with a Twist

Yield: one (9-inch) pie

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream

1 (11-ounce) package white chocolate morsels

1 tablespoon Breakstone's sour cream (you can use another full fat brand)

1 teaspoon grated Key Lime rind (these things are tiny to grip; if you have a microplane it's easier to grate them)

1/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (these tiny little limes are awesome!)

1 (9-inch) pre-baked chocolate graham cracker crust (I prefer a chocolate crust as I find the plain just a little too bland but you can choose whatever you enjoy!)

Garnish: lime slices

Directions:

Over low heat in a medium saucepan you want to combine the white chocolate morsels and the whipping cream.

Cook 5 minutes or until white chocolate melts; stir constantly. Remove from heat and now add the sour cream, lime rind and juice; stir well. Note: The reason you remove it from the heat is that you don't want the sour cream to separate or the white chocolate to seize up on you.

Note: Variation - Before you pour this mixture into the crust you can add some zing with another variation: spread a thin layer of sour cream on the bottom of the crust. You could also spread a thin layer of melted semi-sweet chocolate here too! I've even placed finely chopped butter-roasted pecans here.

If you want to just proceed with the basic recipe and skip the variations, go ahead and pour the sour cream-lime mixture into crust. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Garnish, if desired with more whipped cream, finely chopped butter-roasted pecans and lime slices for beautiful presentation! Dare I say it? Lip-smacking good! :)

Feel free to subscribe to Dennys Blog Feeds, just click on the orange square feed icon next to the feed count image! Thanks for visiting!

Video: Transforming Inner City Blight

From Denny: With the 100 degree heat AND 90% humidity that just zaps your energy, I've been dragging butt lately with the daily posts! Cranked down the air conditioning in the hopes it revives me. :) It seems it's far hotter than usual just about everywhere on the globe this summer. Maybe we are inventing a new species of humans: the Dragging Butts - can't be any worse than knuckle-dragging Neanderthals... (feel free to enjoy a good snicker!)

Anyway, just saw this video as I enjoy the Making a Difference segments from Nightly News (when I'm dragging butt and need some motivation). I really like these kinds of stories where people go into inner cities and turn city blight back into thriving communities by building new AND affordable homes. Listen to their story of those who did well for themselves and then came back to give back to the community! From NBC News' Making a Difference segment.

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