海角大神

There鈥檚 nowhere quite like Hong Kong. But in part, the protests stem from a feeling that is just as universal as it is uniquely local: concerns about forces reshaping their culture, language, and identity 鈥� simply put, their home.

Coup, or no coup? That鈥檚 the question that鈥檚 dominated debate about Evo Morales鈥� fall from power. But a bigger question lies ahead: Where does Bolivia鈥檚 democracy go from here?

A White House meeting this week featured President Trump鈥檚 relish for meeting foreign leaders, but also the long-standing challenge of diplomacy with a nation closely tied to both NATO and Russia.

Modern technology has revolutionized food production, but for some farmers, newer isn't always better. Across the U.S., a growing crop of producers are returning to an old way of farming.聽This story is part of an occasional Monitor series on 鈥�Climate Realities.鈥�

Eugene Bullard lived enough to fill five biographies. The first African American combat pilot also volunteered in the French Foreign Legion, and was a boxer, spy, and nightclub owner. 鈥淎ll Blood Runs Red,鈥� his biography, joins books about Dorothy Sayers, Flannery O鈥機onnor, and Bella Abzug as the ones our critics most enjoyed in November.

Is all gun control local? With Congress deadlocked on passing new gun-safety measures, it may be coming to that. In the wake of recent mass shootings 鈥� including the latest at a Southern California high school 鈥� many cities and states have taken actions of their own. Now the FBI and U.S. Justice Department are focusing on better ways to support communities and individuals to curb gun violence.

On Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General William Barr launched a federal program called Project Guardian. Its primary aim is to assist community organizations and local law enforcement 鈥渋n ways that fit the local circumstances.鈥� It would, for example, make sure there is an adequate mental health response for troubled individuals. It would also swiftly update federal databases to show when someone should not be allowed to own a gun. In addition, it would back up state prosecutions in gun cases by adding federal charges.

The FBI, meanwhile, issued a report today that analyzed the profiles of dozens of lone gun attackers and concluded that 鈥渁ll citizens have a critical role in prevention.鈥�

The report said mass gun violence can be prevented through early recognition and reporting of 鈥渃oncerning behavior.鈥� The main reason: 鈥淢ost offenders were not truly isolated and had family, peers, or online contacts who were in a position to notice troubling behavior.鈥�

鈥淧revention is more than just a law enforcement effort,鈥� stated Christopher Wray, director of the FBI.

The report found that in 69% of the cases studied, one or more individuals 鈥� dubbed 鈥渂ystanders鈥� by the FBI 鈥� took some action to address one or multiple concerning behaviors that had been observed in a gun offender.

鈥淥ften, this took the form of expressing concern directly to the offender and/or expressing concern to friends and family members,鈥� the report found.

In a third of cases, such individuals expressed concern to one or more community authority figures, such as a religious leader or a medical professional, at some point during the offender鈥檚 life.

Most shooters are white males adrift in society and holding strong grievances, the FBI concludes. Better efforts to recognize, report, and help potential attackers would be 鈥渋ncredibly valuable鈥� in preventing attacks.

To help root such individuals in neighborhoods and homes, says Vikram Patel of Harvard University鈥檚 School of Public Health, they need counseling on the quality of social relations. 鈥淢any people will mock the idea of love聽being聽a potent medicine,鈥� he writes, but love聽is聽the 鈥渕ost powerful intervention.鈥�

And there is nothing more local than a loving relationship.