that chuck hagel will not attend. it is a last-minute decision. most members of congress have gone home for the weekend, but nancy pelosi is still here. she will brief reporters this morning. the lame-duck congress has one more week of work schedule before adjourning for the year. foreign-policy experts and journalists will discuss the next challenges and north korea at the wilson center in washington. they will talk about social changes, economic challenges, and reporting pitfalls. >> here are some of the program this weekend on the c-span networks. live coverage of the memorial service for marion barry. and compton -- ann compton.

on how the northeast u.s. was not always a haven of racial equality. sunday, our live conversation with arthur brooks, with your phone calls, e-mails, and tweets. on american history tv, on lectures in history, martha jones on female slaves and the law. sunday at 8:00, president george h w bush's former secretary of state james baker on the liberation of eastern europe. find a complete schedule at c-span.org and let us know what you think. , e-mail us, send us a

tweet. join the conversation. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. >> president obama will announce his next defense secretary in about 10 minutes and we will have live coverage. house speaker john boehner answered a range of questions on immigration, authorization for military force against isis, and the ongoing situation in ferguson, missouri. >> good morning, everyone. we are weeks away from a new congress. i have mcconnell and pledged to focus on the american priorities.

begin work on a number of important items. todayuse will make clear that we are rejecting the president's unilateral actions on immigration. the senate should take this bill up and pass it. for the outgoing senate, the democrat majority, would do anything less would be an active monumental arrogance. the american people does not want us to bow to the whims of the white house. next week, the house will work to keep the government open while keeping our leverage. we will be in the strongest position to take additional actions to fight the president's unilateral actions. is basedse of actions

on numerous conversations with our members and it gives us the best chance for success. took aay, the house simple, but powerful step to help people with disabilities across the country. it will help them build stronger lives and better futures. i think this is a wonderful step. it has been a long time in the three and i want to thank of our members who dedicated an awful lot of time to this project. we have an opportunity this week to help our economy grow and increase hiring. unfortunately, the president blocked a bipartisan solution. instead, the house acted yesterday. lastly, in the new congress, i

would urge the president to submit a new authorization for the use of military force regarding our efforts to defeat and destroyed isil. president last month that historically the commander-in-chief has identified the need for the use of military force, written a new andsent it to capitol hill, worked to build bipartisan support before that measure. does that, house republicans will be ready to work with him to get it approved. thus far, we have seen no urgency on the part of this white house. needs to showe some urgency because the strategy is not reversing the terrorist momentum on the ground. that theave concerns president has put in place his plan and it will not accomplish the goal of defeating and destroying isil.

robust andore comprehensive strategy and that should start with the new authorization of military force. >> [indiscernible] >> we think this is the most practical way to fight the president's actions. we listened to some members who are griping the most. this was their idea about how to proceed. >> [indiscernible] have been trying to do trade promotion authority for three years. it is hard to do when the president will not stand up and ask for it. that theen clear president has to ask for it and work to build bipartisan support to get it passed. wait until you are at the

brink of the government shutdown to pass a bill to keep the government running? why not do it this week instead of the vote on immigration which is never going to pass? >> the appropriators have a lot of work to do. the house did most of the appropriation bills. the senate did none. as a result, it makes it that much more difficult to come to an agreement with the senate on the appropriation packets. they are doing good work, but they are not finished yet. it is as simple as that. >> [indiscernible] >> i expect we will have bipartisan support to pass the appropriation bill. >> [indiscernible] >> there are a lot of options on

the table. i will not get into the hypotheticals of what we could or couldn't do. i do know this. come january, we will have a republican house and senate and we will be in a stronger position to take actions. >> did the members of the 9/11 commission say that they are one of the recommendations that has not been fully implemented and that is a streamlining of congressional oversight of homeland security. plans to try to consolidate that in the next congress? >> i have been working on this for about six years. it should have been done when we set up the homeland security committee. in my view, they don't have sufficient jurisdiction to do their job in as strong a way as possible. as you are well aware, that jurisdiction rests and other

committees who are not interested in giving it up. >> isn't it best to do it in congress? >> it would, if you can get my members to agree. >> [indiscernible] a lot of members are griping that republicans do not have a great deal of action -- leverage . are you going to be willing to stop the operations of the rest of homeland security in order to force the president? we have limited options in terms of how we can deal with this. i have made that clear. there are options and we will continue to pursue those options. [laughter] [indiscernible] >> willing to go what?

>> [indiscernible] we have worked and voted and voted and voted to get rid of the affordable care act. it is hurting families, raising thes, and it is wrecking best health care delivery system the world has ever known. we have put an awful lot of effort into it and we have not gotten very far. come january, we will have a republican house and senate and we will be in a stronger position to deal with not only the issue of the president violating the constitution, but the stronger perdition to deal with the affordable care act -- position to deal with the affordable care act. two of your members floated the idea of going after the president's white house budget and may be not inviting him to the state of the union. are those on the table? >> the more the president talks

about his ideas, the more unpopular he becomes. i don't want to deprive him of that opportunity. [laughter] >> there has been a lot of social unrest in the country in the last few weeks. what is your reaction to that and do you support the civil rights investigation into mr. garner's death? >> clearly both of these are serious tragedies we have seen in our society. wantnk the american people to understand more of what the facts were. there are a lot of unanswered questions. whether it is the department of justice, whether it is my colleague kevin rogers earlier today who suggested that there may need to be hearings, i'm not going to roll that out. but i do think that the american people deserve more answers about what really happened here

and was our system of justice handled properly. >> you are sending your members home today. do you see any changes on this emerging passage? to fund the government? you foresee any more changes to that? >> no. i think we have laid out a reasonable course of action. we did a lot of listening. this did not happen overnight. we talked to an awful lot of our members. [indiscernible] have you read the defense authorization bill? >> i have been through almost every part of that bill as it was being put together, so i'm well aware what is in that bill. >> [indiscernible]

>> of course there is an attempt. i am confident that all of those will be resolved. commentsid in your that you have grave concerns about the president's strategy against the islamic state. you believe that any new authorization of the use of force should include american troops on the ground bleeding that fight? >> -- leading that fight? i'm not going to speculate on what the president should suggest. them orieve comprehensive and robust strategy is certainly in order if we are going to defeat and destroy isil. [laughter]

[indiscernible] a life picture from the white house this morning as we await a personnel announcement today. president obama is expected to name ashton carter to replace current defense had chuck hagel. we are expected to get underway in just a moment. we will have live coverage when it starts. in the meantime, a discussion on efforts to reform policing in america from "washington journal." accountable. is a member ofry the president's 21st century task force, the c task force is t philadelphia police officer and police officer charles ramsey. what is your primary goal with -- this task force to the to present president actionable

recommendations as to how we can impact and change perception and reality of states.g in the united build stronger relationships, ake a deep dive into our training and policies that need tpofpforth.ce, and so we have 90 days, which is not a lot of time, but i think we can up with some solid recommendations for the resident and it probably is going to require more work partwards because the easy is writing a recommendation and hard part is implementing something. i'm pretty confident we will be to have something on his desk within the time frame he would like to see it. in your several years in philadelphia what is a policy up ge that you have made there? >> use of deadly force. firing at , automobiles which a lot of banned for years.

here in philadelphia we had not done that. put that in place. that is one that comes to mind immediately as it relates to use of force. we also made revisions in our training. something back in 1998 when i was chief in washington, d.c. d.c., working with the u.s. to help museum officers better understand their role in a democratic society. our recruit through that training in philadelphia. philanthropist here who has supported us in that endeavor. a lot towardt does helping police officers better unique role they have in our society. chief ramsey, richard beary of the international so, the iefs of police is on set with me. i asked him this question. video of what he happened to eric gardner or the

tamir rice in cleveland, what is your reaction as a police officer? caller: well, first of all, when gardner video of the situation it is obviously troubling. i don't know all the information presented to the grand jury. they obviously will access to did by watching a clip on television. ertainly it is troubling especially when you consider a in the ly minor offense first place. but the person was resisting. people have tong realize is taking people into custody that do not want to go is not a pretty sight if you see it on tape. know all the facts and circumstances. cleveland the situation the first thing i thought of is poor tactics up on they pulled right

the person, the young man, which traininging that basic would tell you not to do because take ve no time to really cover, to react, to give commands, to do anything when on somebody.t up that was just not a good situation in terms of the started it offat on a very bad footing. chief ramsey, when can we expect to hear an initial report force?e task >> well, 90 days is what the president gave us. to the ill present president within that time frame. then it is up to the white house when they will release anything or if they will release anything publicly. willure they will but that be their decision, not mine. host: you have been a police for a long time. have you changed your mind, have changed your view on policing over the years? caller: sure. started in 1968 with my

career. subpoenince 1968. his whole notion of community policing. nobody talked about that in the 1960's or 1970's. it ce thought they could do all. have a crime problem hire a few more cops. community was viewed as eyes and ears. the three digits 911 when i started. changed a great deal. and both in terms of the personally, nd me coming to have a better understanding, a deeper it means ing of what to be a police officer and that ur responsibility includes protecting the constitutional rights of people. in n't say i thought that 19 1968, but i certainly do now and have for some time. we all evolve, change and grow. host: charles ramsey, chief of

police in philadelphia and >> we are live from the white house this morning. president obama expected to introduce ashton carter to defense secretary chuck hagel. president obama -- vice president joe biden is expected to join president obama. a have a two-minute warning couple of minutes ago. live coverage on c-span when it starts.

while we wait, we will have more now on white house efforts to reform policing and strengthen trust and police officers. this is from "washington journal." is there a disconnect between the public and police today? >> that depends on the community and the united states.

to try to cast it with a broad net is very difficult. is there room for improvement? absolutely. i think we need to be careful. communitieslot of -- there are communities across the country. there are so many large and small communities across the country that have been doing a great job with community policing for many years. unfortunately, in this law enforcement world, sometimes one or two major incidents tend to draw the focus and everybody thinks that it is that way across the country. each individual community needs to look at what their goal is for law-enforcement and they need to guide that.

talk aboutyou community policing, what does that mean? philosophy that has to be adopted, not only by law enforcement, but by the government that that agency works for. entity doesnment not support the law enforcement mission and does not support that community policing function , they will not have the funding they need to do those jobs. what has happened over the last 10 years with the downturn in the economy as we have seen budgets shrink and we have seen some agencies disappear, some are half staffed and law enforcement has gotten into going call to call instead of being as proactive as we used to be. when those things happen, here we are today. the other thing that happens, it is a commitment of the city council, the county government, whichever type of organization in place and community.

generally speaking, the first thing that gets cut his training . what i have heard so far this morning's training, training, training. as a professional trainer, i absolutely agree. sometimes the perception is that training is fluff money and it is the first thing that gets cut. it is a dangerous situation to cut training for law enforcement. host: should cops walk a beat? >> good morning, everybody. please have a seat. it is wonderful to be able to announce the filling of one new job. before we do -- [laughter] i wanted to make a somewhat broader statement about the is willing to indulge me. last month, america's businesses

created more than 300,000 jobs. this keeps a pace this year that we have not seen since the 1990's. over the first 11 months of 2014, our economy has created 2.5 million jobs. entire more than in any year since the 1990's. have created 10.9 million jobs over the past 57 months in a row and that is the longest streak of part -- private sector job growth on record. the pickup in the pace of job growth has been in industries with higher wages. overall wages are rising. that is a welcome sign for millions of americans. we have an opportunity to keep up this progress if congress is willing to keep our government ones,avoid self-inflicted

and work together to invest in the things that help with high-paying jobs. exports, infrastructure, streamlining the tax code, immigration reform, giving minimum-wage workers a raise. it has been a long road of recovery from the worst economic crisis in generations. we still have a lot more work to do to make sure that hard-working americans' wages are growing faster. the united states continues to outpace most of the world. over the last four years, we put more people back to work in europe, japan, and all other industrialized countries combined. we are going to keep at it until every single american who is willing and able to work can find not just any job, but a job that pays a decent wage and allows them to support their families. it is worth reflecting on the fact that the american economy

is making real progress and if we can continue in this trajectory, we can continue to grow robustly and if we make who that those companies are seeing profits higher than any time in the last six years, that they are making sure that the workers are sharing that growth. then we can get a virtual cycle going. the critical component of strengthening our national security because national security starts with a strong economy here. now, i know that some people cabinetannounce positions on fake twitter accounts. [laughter] this is not the case. when ashton carter completed his tenure as deputy secretary of defense, secretary in hisook to the podium

farewell ceremony and looked out at the audience and said, i have known him many years, all of us today have benefited from his hard work, his friendship, his inspiration, and from his leadership. chuck went on to express his gratitude to his partner for what ahe has done for this company and will continue to do in many ways. announceam pleased to my nominee to be our next secretary of defense, mr. ash carter. with a record of service that has spanned more than 30 years, public service, as an advisor, as a scholar, he is rightly regarded as one of our nation's for most national security leaders. as a top member of our pentagon team, including his two years as deputy secretary, he was at the table in the situation room

navigating complex security challenges, i relied on his expertise and his judgment. that in your say when your attempt at retirement from public service, you failed miserably. [laughter] i am deeply grateful that you are willing to go back at it. brings a unique blend of strategic perspective and technical know-how. he is a student of history and understands the united states. it is the single most provider of security in the world and he plays a key role in advising our defense strategy to advance that security. he is also a physicist. he is one of the few people that actually understands some any of our defense system was work. that has also allowed him to serve with extraordinary breath and depth in a range of work

we have had to do. in one way or another, ash has served under 11 secretaries of defense. he's an innovator that helped create the program that has reduced nuclear weapons. he has been a reformer never afraid to cancel old or in efficient weapons programs. he knows the department of defense inside and out. all of which means on day one, he will hit the ground running. ash is known by our allies and friends around the world having served republican and democratic secretaries, he is respected and trusted on both sides of the aisle. he has been a close partner with our military leaders and he is admired by civilian leaders across the department because he is a mentor to so many of them. there's one other quality of ash's service that often gets overlooked. that is his true regard, his love for the men and women in

uniform and their families. his relentless dedication to their safety and well-being. when he cut outdated, unneeded systems, he did it he cause he was trying to free up money for our troops. make sure they have the weapons and gear they needed and the quality of life for them and their families they deserve. and our troops in iraq afghanistan were struggling to defend against roadside bombs, he moved heaven and earth to rush new body armor and vehicles. it is no exaggeration to say countless americans. are alive today in part because of ash's efforts. when our forces sat down for thanksgiving dinner far from home or as our wounded warriors recovered in the hospital or when our fallen heroes returned to dover, ash was there. often on his own time without publicity or fanfare. i know ash will be there for

them now as secretary of defense. we face no shortage of challenges to our national security. our combat mission in afghanistan is this month and we have to transition to a new mission of advising and assisting afghan forces and going after remnants of al qaeda could we have to keep grading and destroying isil in iraq and syria. we have to build counterterrorism partnerships and new platforms. we have to continue the fight against ebola in west africa. we have to continue to strengthen our alliances, including nato, and continue rebalancing our defense posture in the asia-pacific. going ward, -- forward, our armed forces will need to be leaner. as commander-in-chief, i will make sure we have a military second to none that continues to be the greatest fighting force in the history of the world. that means we are going to have to bolster some new capabilities, our cyber

defenses, how we deal with our satellites, how we are adapting our military and investing in new capabilities to meet long-term threats. we are going to have to work with congress on a more responsible approach to defense spending, including reforms we need to make to make the department more efficient. that is how we will preserve readiness and keep faith with our forces and families and deliver world-class care to our wounded warriors. ash will be article to these efforts. when we talked about this job, we talked about how we will have to make smart choices precisely because there are so many challenges. squeezeoing to have to everything we have out of the resources we have in order to be as effective as possible. i can't think of somebody more qualified to do that. ash has been, confirmed by the senate three times.

if it were entirely up to my dear friend carl levin, i suspect it would have been really quickly. because that is the kind of guy carl is. carl has had a chance to work with ash in the past. my hope is in the new congress, we get similar speed and dispatch. by the way, we will miss carl levin. i just wanted to mention that. [applause] one last piece of critical information that may have tipped the scales in me wanting to promote ash. ash is a big motown fan. [laughter] one of his favorites is a classic why the four tops, "reach out, i will be there." ash, i am reaching out to you.

you have been there for us, our troops, our families, our nation. i also know he has been there ,or his lovely wife, stephanie sometimes by skype because he has been traveling. but the sacrifices stephanie has been willing to make, this is a team effort as is true for our military families. we are grateful to stephanie. she joined asha a lot of those thanksgiving trips to see our troops and at the bedside of wounded warriors peerage she knows the sacrifices they are going through. stephanie, we thank you for your service. ava, whowill and could not be here. window they could not be prouder of their dad. i want to let our hopefully new secretary of defense say a few words. [applause]

thank you, mr. president. mr. president, mr. vice president, it is an honor and privilege for me to be nominated for the position of secretary of defense. general scowcroft, my longtime mentor, thank you for being here. thanks to another longtime mentor, bill perry, who cannot be here today. and thanks to you, chairman and many other friends and colleagues past and future for coming out today. accepted the president's offer to be nominated for secretary of defense because of my regard for his leadership. i accepted it because of the seriousness of the strategic challenges we face.

but alsohe bright -- the bright opportunities that exist for america if we can come together to grab hold of them. offer because of the deep respect and abiding love that stephanie and i have for our men and women in uniform. as we talk together in the past weeks, mr. president, we discussed the challenges and opportunities and the need both to keep america safe and to make a better future for our children. if confirmed in this job, i candid,o you my most strategic advice. i pledge also that you will receive equally candid military advice. to the greatest fighting force the world has ever known, to you, i pledge to

keep faith with you and serve our nation with the same unflinching dedication you demonstrate every day. [applause] [applause] >> [indiscernible]

[laughter] >> [indiscernible] >> unbelievable work. how have you been? >> [laughter] >> good to see you guys. happy holidays. obama, flanked by

by president biden and nude defense secretary nominee ashton carter. noticeably absent was current secretary to the fence chuck hagel. chuck hagel wanted today day to be about carter and not distract from the decision. ashton carter will face senate questioning for approval sometime next year. >> [indiscernible]

>> [indiscernible] >> we would like to know your thoughts on the nomination of ashton carter to be the next defense chief. leave your thoughts on our facebook page or tweet us.

the labor department today said 321,000 jobs were added to the u.s. economy last month. that is the strongest pace in almost three years. the jobless rate remained at 5.8% however, a six-year low. analysts say 2014 is on track to be the strongest year for hiring since 1999. we expected get more about the jobless numbers and defense secretary nominee this afternoon during today's white house briefing that starts at 1:00 eastern. we will have live coverage on c-span with spokesman josh earnest. no legislative business for the house or senate today. most members have gone home for the weekend. nancy pelosi still in town. she set to brief reporters in about 15 minutes this morning. c-span will have her remarks live at 11:00 eastern. the lame-duck congress has one more week of work schedule before adjourning for the year. foreign-policy experts and journalists will discuss the next steps and challenges in north korea today at the wilson

center. liven2 will take you there at 1:45 eastern. c-span cities tour takes book tv and american history tv on the road traveling to u.s. cities to learn about their history and literary life. this weekend, we have partnered with time warner cable for a visit to waco, texas. >> as we began to receive the final to be saved -- the vinyl to be saved, we began turning over the b sides. gospel music was not hurt in the white community. it would only be the hits, if that. the flipside would be heard even less. what we discovered quickly was how many of the b sides songs were directly related to the civil rights movement. there are very few databases and none complete on gospel music. we did not know that.

we did not know the sheer number songs likeat have "there ain't no segregation in a time type songs at when possessing one of the songs much less singing it was a very dangerous thing in the deep south. you could get in trouble for a lot of things the deep south. singing that sort of song out loud was a risk. >> the texas ranger hall of fame was set up in 1976 for the 175th anniversary of the rangers. it honors 30 rangers who made major contributions to the service or gave their lives under her book circumstances. --heroic circumstances. we have paintings or portraits of all of the rangers. they begin with stephen f austin. austin was successful with his rangers. they fought, not only managed to make the area reasonably safe resettlement from indian raids. but when the texas war for independence broke out, the

rangers played a major role in texas gaining its independence by saving -- staving off the mexican army long enough to allow the colonists to build their own army and develop a strategy. as a result, texas became its own independent nation, the republic of texas, for about 10 years. >> watch all of our events from waco saturday at noon eastern on book tv and on american history tv on c-span3. >> defense secretary chuck hagel released a report yesterday on the number of rapes and sexual assaults in the military that occurred over the course of 2014. the study was done by the defense department sexual assault prevention and response office. at the end of his prepared remarks, secretary hagel answered questions about his resignation as defense secretary. > ladies and gentlemen, last december, president obama reported dod to report back to

him within a year with a full-scale review of progress in the fight against sexual assault in the military. chairman dempsey, general snow, and i briefed the president earlier this week on that report and results. today, i am announcing the review's findings as well as the latest actions we are taking to continue to improve deity -- dod's prevention and response efforts. i want to thank everyone, and there were many involved in this. but i want to thank everyone who was involved in this competence of review which was organized and directed by our sexual assault prevention and response office and supported by the defense manpower data center. i want to thank in particular our undersecretary for personnel justness undersecretary right -- jess wright.

she has announced her retirement after 40 distinguished years of service to this country. ht ifed secretary wrig she would stay on the job until this mission was complete. she did. i appreciate that. i know our defense department appreciate it as well. thank you for your service to this country. many long and distinguished years you have given to this country. jeff general just don't -- snow, thank you. general snow heads up our office. to your team, thank you for what you have done, your direction, leadership, commitment, and to all who work with you, we appreciate it. i think you all know general snow is going to stay after my remarks.

i will take a couple of questions and he can take you down into the depths of the review and results. and go as far as you want to go with this. we briefed members of congress on this over the last 24 hours as well. dempsey,, general general snow, and i briefed the president on this two days ago. the white house has been briefed. the review was about qualitative and quantitative measures. we needed and used both to evaluate our progress at dod. we asked the rand corporation to independently administer a department wide survey, which was the largest ever of its kind. 145,000ved over voluntary responses, the highest response rate we have ever seen. we conducted focus groups that

gave us not only direct feedback from our own people but also recommendations, important recommendations, many of which have been incorporated into the directives i am issuing today. and for the first time ever, we talked to survivors of sexual assault in the military to learn where they have seen progress and where we need to do better. data shows while there have been indications of real progress, measurable progress over the last two years, with improvement in 10 of the 12 specific measures. we still have a long way to go. threatens the lives and well-being of the women and men who serve our country in uniform. it destroys the bonds of trust and confidence which is at the heart of our military. assault fromexual

our ranks is not only essential to the long-term health and readiness of the force, it is also about honoring our highest commitments to protect our fellow soldiers, soldiers, airmen, and marines. the department of defense has been taking aggressive action over the past year and a half to stop sexual assault. i made this one of my highest priorities as secretary of defense. and as i think you all know, i have directed over 28 new initiatives over the last year to strengthen how we prevent and respond to sexual assault in the military. i will support the survivors of this despicable crime. how we screen, educate, and train our people, and how we hold accountable offenders and dod as an institution, and all of our leaders. we recommended significant justice reforms that have since been codified into law with the help of congress and the white house and outside groups that

have given us much counsel on this and support and help. rights and victims privacy and implemented a groundbreaking special victims counsel program across dod giving survivors for the first time a voice in the military justice process. tobelieve our efforts prevent sexual assault are beginning to have an impact. dod survey 2012, the we are releasing today shows the prevalence of sexual assault in the military over the past year has decreased by about 25%. we also found most servicemembers highly rated their combined or -- commander's efforts to promote dignity and respect and discourage inappropriate behavior. nearly 90% reported taking

action to prevent assault on they saw the risk of one occurring. we also believe survivors are becoming more confident in the military's response to sexual assault. compared to 2010, because more survivors participating in the justice system than ever before, we have been able to hold more perpetrators accountable. we now have over 1000 full-time certified response coordinators and victim advocates and over 17,000 volunteer personnel ready to assist survivors. after last year's unprecedented 50% increase in reporting, the rate has continued to go up. that is actually good news. two years ago, we estimated about one in 10 sexual assaults were being reported. today, it is one in four. these crimes are still heavily underreported nationally and in the military. we must maintain our focus throughout the ranks and

continue to earn the confidence of survivors. one of the most important ways of earning that confidence is to reduce retaliation against people who report sexual assault. this is a challenge we are very aware of and have been addressing. we now have better data to help us keep working to be more effective in stopping this retaliation. in 2014, over 60% of women who reported a sexual assault received some kind of retaliation, often in the form of social retaliation by coworkers or peers. we must tackle this difficult problem head-on because, like sexual assault itself, reprisal directly contradicts one of the highest values of our military, that we protect our brothers and sisters in uniform. when someone reports a sexual assault, they need to be embraced and helped, not ostracized or punished with

retribution. today, i'm issuing entre nous directives to help close these gaps and build on what we have done. we are developing new procedures to engage commanders to prevent professional and social retaliation. we are also revamping training for junior officers, junior enlisted supervisors, and civilian supervisors so they are better prepared to both prevent and respond to sexual assault in their units and also reduce the potential for retaliation. all these initiatives will take time to have an impact -- while these initiatives will take time to have an impact, they are important for change. to understand how environments influence the risk of sexual assault, we are undertaking a wide ranging of prevention efforts at a variety of military installations nationwide. there is much more to be done. data showed we have

a long way to go in fighting the cultural stigmas that discourage recording -- reporting among men at addressing assaults that hide under the veneers of hazing or practical jokes. we must continually reinforce accountability up and down the chain of command. based on the many conversations i have had with servicemembers all over this country and around the world, i am also concerned there may be an increase in use of social media for sexual harassment. like sexual assault, this problem is not new or unique to the military. but dod holds its people to a higher standard. if you want to wear the uniform, understanding our core values is not enough. mustty were off duty, we live these ideals and enforce our values every day. dod will continue its strong and committed efforts to pursue comprehensive and dynamic

approaches to fighting sexual assault in the military. president obama and all the dod leaders, military and civilian, are committed to doing whatever it takes to stamp out this scourge. in may, i told you about my visit to the dod safe helpline for survivors of sexual assault. i told you about the wall i saw covered in anonymous post it notes, notes that contained inspiring words of thanks spoken by individuals who called into the hotline. i thought about those notes, as i know all our leaders have over the months. we ultimately want a military with no more victims, no more calls, no more post-it notes. no more needed help. stopo more efforts to because it will be stopped. we are not there, but we will get there.

until then, we will continue working relentlessly to prevent sexual assault and we will give survivors the help and support they need. i want to thank you all for your coverage of this issue, your continued coverage. before i take a couple of questions, i want to acknowledge our vice chiefs of our services, some are with us this afternoon. their efforts, their leadership, their commitment to stamping out sexual assault would not have come as far as we have come. thank you. without your help and all of your people. i'm glad you're here today. it has been a privilege to work with you on this and many other issues. thank you very much for what you do. ladies and gentlemen, thank you. before general snow proceeds with his details and answering your questions of the results

and recommendations, i would be happy to take a couple of your questions. i would likeary, to ask you something on a separate topic. as you have seen over the last couple of days, there has been a lot of reporting on your decision to resign, including a lot of observation that you were forced out or forced to resign. did you feel pressure to resign either spoken or unspoken at all? did that play a role in your decision? john mccain said he talked to you about this, and you expressed some frustration with national security decision-making. he pointed to micromanagement. was that also a factor in your decision? how big a problem do you think that was and is? your first to comment, i have not really

noticed there has been attention given to this over the last year. but i am flattered, especially in the last week, you have concerned yourself about this. question you asked, i would answer this way. you heard the president's comments on this. i will let those comments speak for themselves. but the president and i, over the last few weeks, have had private discussions. when i say private, no one else has been in the room. the president of the united states and me. with all the speculation and smart people figuring out what was said and not said, only two people know what was said. that is the president and me. i will give you my brief version. you can ask the president for his.

he has spoken directly on this. i submitted my resignation to the president of the united states. this was a mutual decision based on is ever think there overriding or defining decision in situations like this, unless there is some obvious issue. and there wasn't, between either one of us. job as s looked at this first, of immense privilege. which i expressed many times over. i will always be grateful to the president for this privilege. but also, when you look over last two years -- it will be two years in february since -- part of ere

as you build -- hopefully build and participate to an ntribute institution -- is you build onto a process. onto what my gates essors, secretary and secretary panetta. i took on a different set of challenges over the last two years. and the preparation in this institution is probably the most significant responsibility a leader has. two hand that off to someone in behind you -- the discussions the president and i had our about the next the years -- were about to next two years. this institution best the things that must have assurance that we

are prepared to do -- options, capabilities, capacities. going back to the first point i the last two years, we have had a tremendous amount of challenges. i am very proud of how this and its leaders -- our rman dempsey, all of chiefs, the secretaries -- have handled them and responded. i am proud of my leadership over here and how we have done it. the next two years is another zone, i think, of kinds challenges for this country. leaders have to be wise enough to know that. we talked through -- like the president and i did -- came to the conclusion that i think the country is best served with new leadership.

he thought it was, over in this institution, after he talked to at. contribution during my time, and i'm proud of that -- of what we did. confident feel very and very secure about as i leave here that -- all of us, a team -- have prepared this institution over the last two years to take on big issues that are ahead. those issues are still undefinable. we know some of them. we know long-term challenges. but i think you have to know when to leave, too. as i said, there were just two of us in that room during these discussions. we had some very direct and very honest relationships. would also say that, as the

president has said, the president is a friend. i consider him a friend. me, which i about appreciate. friends can talk plainly with each other. he is president of the united states. i serve to the president of the united states, but we talked as friends. we talked as americans. we talk to senior leaders for country, who both have awesome responsibilities. as to any major differences, there were no major differences with respect to any major area. sure, there are always issues you get things w done and i think moving fast but this country is -- as i have said -- well served. to have a president like

obama, who is careful that a is a time powerful nation, the most must ful nation on earth, be very wise in its implementation of its power. so with a clear, ssteady sense of who it is, what it wants for the future. have that awesome responsibility.

>> i did not come into this office with any preconceived notions. this is a business that is always unpredictable. that going in, so i never said i was going to be here two years or four years. so that is -- that is the first part of your question. no one ever knows about a job, especially a big job, until you get in it. until you are the actual practitioner of the job. you can read about it. your predecessors can tell you about it. you can think you know about it.

and you can read about it in it, but nobody knows about these jobs. let me finish. second, it was not a matter of whether athletic and stay here another two years -- i thought i could stay here for another two years. was never the issue. just a moment re ago was, as you look forward -- next two years -- and the challenges that are coming, as i thought through its -- as the president and i talked about it leadership is sh not unimportant in all areas. a t the president and i had long conversation -- actually, more than one conversation not t all this -- so it was

a matter of, was isil too much or other budgets too much. no. it was, as i said, leadership comes are the responsibility of also knowing when probably is a else time to let someone come in and -- come in behind where you left off. as panetta did -- an institution. is not a matter of what i wanted to do and what i didn't want to do, barbara. it is a matter of what i thought was best for this country, and this this president. this has been a great job, and i have loved every minute of this job. i really have. i think ahead -- as i have artie told you and this -- already told you, and this may be tough for some

people to understand -- how to prepare an institution and what is best for the institution. just take this further. knows that, ybody most likely, there will be a rotation of a new chairman of joint chief of staff, the of the airman of some chiefs -- that is the president's call, ultimately -- but there is most likely going to be a rotation of senior leaders. as i thought through this, this for robably the right time a new team for the next two years. just one other point. i began my comments, it is not one defining issue for me. it would be different if it i just e thing, but cannot accept -- whatever it would be. not that at all.

it is a combination of things, as you think through these things. the president and i talked about it, so i'm very position le with my and my decision. i think the president feels good about it. i feel good about it. this country is such a great country. this institution is so much the as a people, e are and i have always tried to do everything in my life based on i thought was best for the country or for the institution i represented. that i am selfless -- i am not -- but just one last point and i will and here. ago today, i arrived at oakland, california, unattended back from vietnam. i spent one year in

vietnam. would have told me, walking off that plane, where i would be 46 years down the road. that would have been pretty hard for me to believe. the privileges i have had i just tremendous. happy holidays. thank you. mccaskill, claire kelly ayott, and lindsey graham be cuss reforms that need to made going forward. passed in congress the form how the military handle sexual violence. this is about half an hour. >> it is terrific to be here

today with my colleagues who, along with many of her were not here today, worked very hard over the last to make a ars trying difference for the women and men that serve in our military who have been victimized by sexual assault. these beginning of all reforms, there was a lot of discussion about what we wanted to accomplish. and there were three major goals. the first goal was to bring down the problems of sexual assault in the military. the second goal is to make comfortable re about coming forward and the numbers of report that were made of sexual assault in the military. in light of the fact that sexual assault is the most underreported crime in america.

third, listening to them, and giving them a chance to recover. ago, after he passed a of long, historic reform in the national defense authorization bill, the to do ent at the military a report over the next year. it to him to actually assess the progress of the and all nt of defense, the parts, as to this problem. today, that report was released. let's go through our list. the first, prevalence. prevalence is down 27%. i think that the secretary of defense said 25%. i think it is technically close to 27%. of sexual wn in terms

contact. back every en dating two years for a significant period of time. reporting. reporting of this kind to the up 50% last gone year, and another 8% this year. combined total a of 50%, and that is a percent over the 50%. have seen a spike that is continuing to climb, in terms of reporting. two years ago, only one in 10 victims reported what happened to them in the military. last year, it was one in four we are still in -- and 2014, it was one in four. change in terms of victims willing to talk to people in the military about what has occurred to them. there has been a 62% increase unrestricted of reports being made since 2012. why is that important?

it is one thing to come forward and make a restrictive report order to get services. it is another thing to make a report where that information known in the military, and the perpetrator can be held accountable. this is a really important one. the percentage of restricted converted to unrestricted reports -- at the request of the victims -- continues to go up. it went up 40% last year, and it went up 90% this year. finally, survivors' satisfaction. have different y focus groups, involving 650 different survivors of sexual over the past year, they also did an anonymous survey of those who had been victimized by sexual assault in the military. this was about the survivor experience. more than two thirds in the survivor experience survey agreed that the unit commanders supported them.

82% of the survivor said that unit commander supported them, took steps to support the privacy and confidentiality -- 80% -- treated them professionally, 79%. listen to them without judgment, 70%. and thoroughly answer the questions, 70%. survivors indicated they were satisfied with the unit commander's response to the sexual assault. of the survivors also they would hat recommend others report what had happened to them to the military. 90% indicated they were satisfied with the services provided. one of the most important reforms that we have accomplished a year ago, where is only 3% indicated they were dissatisfied. a large majority of the 84% and s -- between

89% -- were satisfied with the services they received -- was it to the unit -- which is the deals with sexual assault. the participants felt overwhelmingly that they had been trained adequately and sexual assault, resources, and policies. how to contact their people responsible for in times of em crisis -- there is not all good news.

we still have sexual assaults. going to turn it over to my colleagues now. of the retaliation is peer-to-peer. so nothing in the alternate propsal would change. turn it over to my friend and colleague, kelly ayo and had a -- my

friend and colleague, kelly ayotte. >> there is clear, clear evidence of progress. too often, they have been in the shadows. this is something where we know if the prevalence is down in the reporting is up that we are making progress going forward. wanted to address -- as we work on this issue from the are nning, all of us who here today -- senator levin, ll, senator senator fisher -- we understood the the beginning that reforms that were put in place, the uding, by the way, in

2014 defense authorization, we make n a provision to under the n a crime ucnj -- that we are going to have to continue to not only measure the progress of the department, but to ensure that the reforms that we have had our fully being implemented. and that the members of the and are understand, being educated, are not only are out port services there -- like the special victims counsel, which is make a difference -- but also the fact that, even on a peer-to-peer relationship, that ave to understand retaliation something that is a crime under the ucnj. i think there is more to be done in retaliation. and we plan -- i know going forward -- to ensure that not we put in rovisions also in the 2015

proposal, which we hope will come to a vision in the next weeks, that would allow separated have been from service -- who have been victims of sexual assault -- to actually be open at separation. so if you feel you have been retaliated against in some way, provision will give those wwho feel that they have been unfairly an opportunity to relitigate those issues, in light of the fact that they have been victims of sexual assault. account sometimes a hesitancy and understandable feelings that victims have. -- even before y we pass these reforms, they have a chance to come forward. so that is an important provision in the 2015 report. if you look over the last two that has e progress

been made, it has been very, very important to see this progress. we will continue to ensure that we do everything that we can. we are certainly not going to arrest on some of the good news that we have seen today. we are going to continue to be we ilant and ensure that cannot only reduce the number of sexual assaults, we would them in our inate military, but that every victim understands that they will be supported and be respected when they come forward. see very powerboat -- positive chance today in this report. vast majority of survivors express satisfaction with their sexual assault response good maters, victim advocates -- response coordinators, and victim advocates. when they are asked how was the system, in terms of the people who are responding to support how they were treated

-- have expressed satisfaction. we want every victim does feel that way -- to feel that way. i want to thank my colleagues on this important issue. 2015 will help us deal with retaliation, and hold the inue to leadership -- not only in the the agon, but in each of service branches -- accountable and responsible for continuing implement the reforms we passed, and will continue to of sexual assault and survivors treated with the dignity and respect that they should be. to h that, it is my honor next speaker, carl levin. >> thank you, all the members have r committee that worked so hard in this area. the report that the department of defense released today

provide some hard evidence that making progress to unwanted sexual contact -- end these unwanted sexual contact. it is surely welcome news that the service members report fewer instances of unwanted sexual contact. it is also very important that willing to s are come forward and report the sexual contacts that are unwanted that have existed. the ou have a reduction in actual number of sexual increase of d an willingness. and also, we have found -- they found in this report that the information that is not hasn't been or

available -- is going to be more and more available to law because of the unrestricted nature of the report, and the growing number of unrestricted reports. last three defense authorizations have contained more than 50 provisions to fight sexual assault. have held commanders accountable to create a command in which victims believe that they can come forward to report an assault. in our bills over the last we have required commanders who are aware of assault allegation to immediately report that to law enforcement. provided victims of assault with a service member and a special victims counsel. that is one of the most major reforms that we have put in place. that is a lawyer who works for them, and not for the commanders or for the court. we have removed the commanders of authority to overturn sexual assault convictions.

every decision by commander -- not to prosecute an assault allegation -- be reviewed by a higher authority. decision to not prosecute contradicts advice that the review be performed by the service secretary himself or herself. the bill that we hope the past includes another 20 provisions aimed at sexual assaults. including eliminating the good soldier defense, giving victims a voice and whether their cases military or n civilian courts, giving victims the right to challenge that -martial rulings violate the rights, and to challenge those rulings of the court of criminal appeals, to strengthen these privileges. cannot simply, though,

stop until we completely halt this plague. to action remained strong, and i know it is going to be carried on by my colleagues and the armed services committee. thanks. i will thought the going here. senator fisher is next. >> thank you all very much. i want to recognize my colleagues who are up here. senator ayotte, our chairman carl levin's, senator graham, but especially senator mccaskill. she has the experience, the knowledge, and the leadership to put ideas forward, to gather information, to bring in we as from all of us and how can make progress on this issue. chairman and the the defender mccaskill and that we have e

taken in the process previous bills. the chairman d to pass t what we hope next week in the provisions that come forward before the senate. we will continue to make progress. this is the way we need to go, and i believe that this report out today highlighted that. need rea that i think we to focus on is the retaliation piece. and i know that with the leadership-- with senator mccaskill and ayotte and senator graham -- will continue to work on that, as well. again, the report had good news. but it ed some progress, also showed where we need to continue to focus and continue to step forward. forward to working with my colleagues on that piece. as they have said, to

make sure that we eliminate this issue. with that, i would like to introduce senator graham. >> thank you. about carl levin, i cannot tell you how responsible he has been as chairman -- dealing with a lot of delicate issues from detainees to sexual assault, to the system gets better. carl will be missed. as to these three ladies here, at the end of the day, it has been tough. i know it has to be tough for them to be talking about sexual to strike a trying balance -- understanding the military's need to improve, but also that the commanders are a part of the military. tells me that

the military is listening and beginning to get it. here's what i don't ever want to happen. i have been a military lawyer for 32 years. command to be told, sir, ma'am, last night there was an assault in the barracks. and the commander says, well, neither is no longer my problem. that is a devastating outcome in the military. it is that commanders problem. no problem in the military will in a sustainable faction, without command responsibility. the military is not a perfect place, but it is the finest military on the planet. you have to understand why. commanders are held accountable and given the authority to do what they need to do to protect this nation. part of that authority is to discipline the force. of our s to be part

military tradition for us to be successful. to our commanders, you are on the right track, but you are not there yet. now he unit members who are to an more supportive assault victim, you are doing the right thing for the unit, the country as a whole. who want to retaliate, you do so at your own peril. reporting is tion, one thing and having the case concluded is another. here is what i think is the most important reform -- when lawyer tells the commander, sir, ma'am, we have a good case. i don't commander says, think so. that decision will be reviewed by the secretary of the service in question. commander's point of view, i cannot think of a better signal to send of how seriously you better take this matter.

when they say we don't have a that decision goes up to the next level of command. those two things in the military are tremendous checks and balances. are not there yet, but i is all that when this over -- if we continue to do -- that the doing military will be the most victim friendly system in america. the military will be the system other systems in america, where the leaders are to be held accountable for what happens to those people under their charge. the military is on the right track. the military will never get commanders s the continue to push. and i daresay, they will. because the consequences of not taking it seriously will end your career.

>> questions. on your or mccaskill, point -- doesn't that speak a lot to the culture of the command? agree, also, with the senator on -- on that point flag in this red report? think l, first of all, i it is important to look not just at the retaliation. of it is ity peer-to-peer, and that bit that is not peer-to-peer is not at the highest level of command. 73% of the victims said they would encourage others to report.

and 82% said they had confidence in the way the commanders were treating them. so we have an issue -- have just the opposite high levels of

satisfaction with commanders. we have a problem, and yes, we have to work on it. if you try to characterize as negative, that is extreme. [inaudible] so, we have -- i think they are great.

who worked on y this that doesn't have the same

goal. of us agree on these goals. the commander signing off is give a lot more protection.

[inaudible] i do think that -- by down in fy was 2010, but in 2006, it was up. so it was very high in 2006. a drop-down in 2010. it went back up in 2012. now it is back down in 2014. so, obviously, the next survey will be important. understand there are now two surveys. we didn't want them to quit doing the survey exactly as they have been doing it because he wanted her to be a trend.

on the other hand, the survey is very lacking in terms of specifics. a broad category of unwanted contact -- i think we ask the one of the is hearings -- it did not distinguish between an unwanted tap on the behind an actual rape. now, there's another server that we began this or that they will continue with a new getting where we are much more information about the specifics of the crime. it will be much more helpful for us to track the most egregious behaviors -- i mean, of it is bad -- but brutal assaults, including penetration, is something that we have to make sure we see a real downward trend. .frankly, the old survey did not allow us to do that now the new one will. over e way, they had 150,000 service people respond to these anonymous surveys. the highest number ever.

it was a remarkable -- 30% of the active military responded to the service. i think we got everybody's attention. anybody else? okay, thank you so much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> the labor department says that the nation's unemployment lowest ayed at 5.8%, the in six years. the government also said that were added in bs had ember and october, than previously been estimated. president obama jokes that he

is pleased to fill, if not create one new job, of ashton carter's nomination as secretary of defense. president obama nominated mr. today, to be secretary replacing outgoing secretary chuck hagel. the president also said this morning that carter knows the pentagon inside and out, which means on day one, he will be ready to hit the ground running. and we want to know what you think about the president's choice. on facebook, jeremy says, well, i hope he works to the best of his ability. and this from thomas, he says -- a no nothing, he has never been in the military. we would like to know what you think. go to facebook or tweet us. we expect to hear more about the defense secretary nominee and the unemployment numbers today's white house briefing with spokesman josh earnest.

we will have it live for you here at c-span. this afternoon, foreign-policy experts will talk about the next steps in some of the challenges in north korea at the wilson center. at will take you there live 1:45 pm eastern. be on c-span2.ll >> here are some of the programs you will find this weekend. am eastern on c-span, live coverage of the memorial service for former washington dc mayor marion barry. 8:00 pm ay evening at on "q&a", anne thompson. book day night at 10 on tv, prof. jason socko on how the northeast u.s. was not always supportive of

african-american civil rights. sunday at noon, our live conversation with arthur brooks. history tv" on c-span3, saturday night at 8:00 pm, prof. martha jones on female slaves and the law. sunday at eight, president former hw bush's secretary of state on the fall of the berlin wall. complete television schedule at c-span.org. let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. us -- call us, email us, or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >> on a recent visit to the in france, rliament po prentice called on the

european union to promote democracy and transparency. and spoke out about the distrust between politicians and citizens. he also talked about supporting human rights. the pontius visit marks the first visit in 26 years. is about 45 minutes. [applause] [applause]

[applause] your holiness, esteemed guests, ladies r and gentlemen, 26 years ago, pope john paul ii addressed the european parliaments. speech was a milestone, and

the beginning of the process of unification of europe. today, pope francis is addressing european parliament. the members represent more than people from 28 countries. of this nation represent the identity of europe. over the past six years, europe has seen a dramatic an unprecedented crisis. particularly dramatic has been of confidence of people in constitutions, both at national and european levels. however, with that confidence

trust, no institution can on a permanent basis. the values of tolerance and of equality, of fidelity and peace, are impassable with our common goals. our common task. the european union stands for standing together, being not excluding young people who have difficulty finding a job in putting their place in society. and people are looking for a themselves re for and their children because fleeing will bring disaster. people are looking towards institutions for social justice. the unfair distribution of wealth and opportunities in

life, the situation of all people in our societies -- peace and war -- the immediate neighborhood of the european union, as well. we are facing common challenges. your holiness, your words have tremendous significance. not just because you are the of billions of r catholics, you have worked on address us meeting to all of us -- being directed at all of us -- and they are valid for all of us, the topics which you address. they are one which you can send to all of us and come in that sense, are universal. provide a guide, leadership, at a time of a lack of leadership of guidance and leadership. of peace, of dialogue, of and should

responsibility for our fellow man and human. remind us ese things very forcibly that we have a common task, and we must find common solutions to them, that we are stronger united than we are taken separately. your message is a very european message. -- from that, that is based the idea -- forms european unification. the story of families who have left and fought for a new homeland. there is history of those who came from the other side of the atlantic and have come from there to reform the church. actually the faithful. they can serve as an example to all of us, and can help europe to renew itself and reform itself. all of my college,

can i say that you are welcome here. and thank you for ttaking up our invitation, offered to you by the european public. it is an honor and indeed a privilege to be able to listen to your worst today. your holiness, paul prentice, you have the floor. [applause]

mr. president, vice of the nt's, members european parliament, all of you capacities various in this house, friends, i am grateful to you for inviting me institution, is which is fundamental to the life of the european union. and i thank you, also, for to ing me this opportunity speak to you. than 500 million citizens in the 28 member states whom you represent. to you, cially grateful warm resident, for your words of welcome, and that i am

of the whole house. what is a come more than a quarter of a century after pope john paul ii? a great deal has changed since then in europe and in the whole world. there are no longer the opposing blocs which then divided the continent into. and, gradually, the hope is realized that europe -- endowed with sovereign and free institutions -- will one day full dimensions that geography and even more history has given it. european union has expanded, the world itself has more complex and ever-changing. increasingly interconnected and global, it has come as a

become less and less eurocentric. larger and stronger the n, europe gives impression of being aged. and weary. feeling less and less a a world which with ently looks on it aloofness and mistrust and, even at times, uncertainty. today, i k to you would like, as a pastor, to of hope and age encouragement to all the citizens of europe. folks, based on the on blems and working overcoming the fears -- entire world the

is experiencing -- my hope in the lord returned evil into good and death into life. of is a message encouragement to return to the firm conviction of the founders of the european union. who wanted a future based on work together o in bridging divisions and fostering fellowship between all the people of this continent. at the heart of this ambitious political project was confidence in man. not so much man as a citizen or agent, but in -- as men and women persons endowed with transcendent dignity. feel the close bonds that exist between these two words. was the key word in the

process of rebuilding which followed the second world war. mired cent past has been with a concern to protect human to the in contrast manifold events that, even in europe, occurred over the centuries. this came about after a result a long process entailing also a great deal of suffering sacrifice, which helped shape an awareness of the unique world of each human person. this awareness was grounded not events, but orical above all and european thought. by an enriching encounter, whose distant springs are many coming from greece and rome and celtic,

germanic and slavic sources, and from christianity which profoundly shaped the forging concept of the person. today, the commitments are central to the european union dignity of the person, both within the union and in institutions and other countries. important and praiseworthy commitment because there are still too many situations in which human being treated as whose conception and utility can be programmed, and then be turned away when they are no longer useful. because they are weak or because they are old. be t kind of dignity can

without the possibility of freely expressing once thought, or expressing without limit one's own religious faith? what dignity can there be without a clear framework that enables the rule of law to the power of tyranny? what dignity can there be if men and women are subjective to all kinds of discrimination? and what dignity can a person if he or she find lacks food and the bare essentials for survival, and doesn't have the word to convey dignity? [applause] the dignity of the person means he or she g that possesses inalienable rights, one may take away

arbitrarily. much less for some economic interests. at the same time, most have fall into not to certain areas which can arise from a misunderstanding of the concept of human rights, and from its paradoxical misuse. there is, today, a tendency to claim ever broader individual rights. and i'm tempted to say individualistic rights. underlying this is the conception of the human person, all social d from contexts -- detached from all social contexts, increasingly with other surrounding areas. the equally essential concept seems to be onger linked tto such a concept of rights. the individual are

upheld without regard to the fact that each human being is of a social contacts, in and h his or her rights duties are bound with those of the others, and those of the common good of the societies themselves. so i so i think it is vital to develop today a culture of human rights which intelligently links or, rather,al -- the personal dimension to the dimension of the common good, the dimension of the all of us made up of individuals and families and intermediate groups who together constitute society. unless the rights of each individual are harmoniously woven into the greater good, they will become a source of