海角大神

How do you measure compassion? The White House budget director says this administration wants to measure it in terms of the number of people it gets off food stamps and welfare. Here鈥檚 a look at the ideals shaping the Trump budget. 聽

Last night鈥檚 bombing at a pop concert in England could be seen as an attack on childhood. By definition, terrorist attacks aim to create fear, and this was an attempt to instill fear among British parents and their children. The Monitor鈥檚 Sara Miller Llana, a mother herself, looks at how parents can deal with those concerns.

This next story offers a stellar example of brotherhood. It鈥檚 not just about love thy neighbor 鈥� it鈥檚 about defending him or her, too. These Jordanians fiercely resist any effort to divide their community by religion.

Taiwan often portrays itself as a counterpoint to China: more liberal, more democratic, and more socially tolerant. But Taipei鈥檚 effort to lead Asia in legalizing same-sex marriage may yet founder in the face of conservative family values.

Here鈥檚 a shift for you: A small number of Republicans are no longer simply denying climate change. Instead, they鈥檙e focusing on solutions that fit their conservative values. This could be a first step toward disentangling climate change from identity politics, Jessica Mendoza reports.

In the months before the May 22 suicide bombing in the city of Manchester, England, the British were in a lively debate about efforts to counter the radicalization of Muslims. No doubt the mass killing at a concert by a 22-year-old local man will revive the debate. Yet, given the country鈥檚 pioneering interventions in its Muslim communities, the rest of the world can still learn from how it has deterred both extremists and would-be ones.

Under a government strategy known as Prevent, more than 8,000 people have been referred for possible inclusion in anti-radicalization programs since 2012. At the same time, security forces have been on alert for the possible return of hundreds of people who left Britain since 2014 to join Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Officials claim that more than a dozen potential terrorist attacks have been thwarted.

Before the Manchester bombing, the last major attack in the country was the 2005 train and bus bombings in London. Despite this, Britons worry that the country is not doing enough 鈥� or is doing the wrong thing.

The heart of the debate is deciding on the proper approach in dealing with young Muslims.

Do you treat them as potential threats, relying on secret informants in mosques, secret cameras in public areas, and secret screening of their online viewing? Such tactics may indeed prevent some extremists but do so at the risk of alienating others against Britain鈥檚 democratic values.

Or do you engage them at multiple levels of their lives 鈥� their social or emotional problems, their education and job prospects, and their understanding of Islam?

Last year, a government committee suggested renaming the deradicalization program from Prevent to Engage, a sign of an emerging preference for the second approach. And the Muslim Council of Britain, which represents mosques and Islamic schools, decided to begin its own program of offering a counternarrative against jihadist propaganda to young Muslims. The council said the government was watering down Islamic theology in its approach.

One big issue is that government efforts are led by security officials, which scares off many Muslim families from seeking help if a relative appears to becoming radicalized. In some cities, such as Birmingham, local community groups are as active as police in countering extremism, supporting Muslim families in ways that encourage participation in anti-radical efforts. One of the most effective tactics is to have survivors of terrorist attacks or defectors from jihadist groups talk to young Muslims.

Britain鈥檚 debate is steadily tilting its anti-extremism program toward treating young Muslims with compassion rather than fear. After the Manchester bombing, it is a debate well worth watching.