Her failure to attend may hint at the level of importance Brazil places on the cooperative club.

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"Young people are let down in their own understanding and ability to see history as a chronology rather than as episodes by the persistent failure of schools and others to provide teachers with an opportunity to attend and have access to training and development, " the association said in a statement.

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But Obama's decision to attend "flies in the face of predictions of failure in Copenhagen well before the conference even begins, " said Oxfam America President Raymond C.

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