#Committee of experts on public administration

[unpublicserviceday]

(9th meeting) 23rd session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration - Economic and Social Council.

Institution building in fragile and conflict-affected areas

- Expert panel moderated by the Vice-Chair

- Interactive dialogue with CEPA members, Member States, United Nations system and civil society organizations 

Adoption of the report on the 23rd session

- Moderated by the Chair

- Informal report of the working group on the United Nations Public Service Awards

- Presentation of draft report by the Rapporteur

- Review of recommendations and matters to be brought to the attention of the Economic and Social Council Adoption of the draft report on the 23rd session

Closing of the session 

The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) is a UN technical advisory body that studies and makes recommendations to improve governance and public administration structures and processes for development. It assists ECOSOC by reviewing trends, issues and priorities in public administration, notably in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in support of the implementation and progress reviews of the SDGs.

The Committee of Experts on Public Administration will hold its twenty-third session (CEPA23) at UN Headquarters in New York from 15 to 19 April 2024. The theme is "New governance insights to advance the SDGs and eradicate poverty".

Watch the (9th meeting) 23rd session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration - Economic and Social Council

[blueiscoool]

‘Horrible’ Painting Found by a Junk Dealer Could Be a Picasso Worth $6 Million

An Italian family had long debated throwing away the unconventional portrait.

It’s not often you sit down to read a book about the greatest masterpieces of art history, then look up to find a stellar example hanging on your own wall. Yet this was apparently the experience of Andrea Lo Rosso, who began raising questions about a peculiar painting in his parents’ living room at their home on Capri in Italy. Could it possibly be by Picasso, the forefather of Modern art himself?

For years the man’s parents had argued over the unconventional portrait, which was discovered by his father Luigi Lo Rosso in the cellar of a villa in Capri 1962, given a cheap frame, and put on the wall. This did not please his wife, who despaired at the female sitter’s strangely contorted face. The scrawled name “Picasso” in the top left hand corner meant nothing to either of them.

“My father was from Capri and would collect junk to sell for next to nothing,” Lo Rosso told the Guardian. “He found the painting before I was even born and didn’t have a clue who Picasso was. He wasn’t a very cultured person.”

“My mother didn’t want to keep it—she kept saying it was horrible,” he added.

The family sought out the counsel of the Arcadia Foundation, which carries out art attributions and appraisals. A member of its scientific committee, Dr. Cinzia Altieri, a trained graphologist or handwriting specialist, studied the signature on the painting. The foundation also enrolled the help of famed art detective Maurizio Seracini, who led a chemical-scientific analysis of the work.

As a team, these experts have confirmed the attribution to Picasso. The painting has been identified as a portrait of Dora Maar, the French Surrealist photographer, painter, and poet who was at that time Picasso’s mistress.

It is believed to have been made some time between 1930 and 1936 during a trip to Capri, where Picasso often visited, although he first met Maar in late 1935 or early 1936. The pair had a relationship lasting nearly nine years and, though she was an artist in her own right, Maar’s work has only recently received the attention it deserves. In 2019, a landmark retrospective of over 250 works by Maar was presented at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Tate Modern in London.

If the attribution turns out to be true, the Lo Rossos can expect a financial windfall. The Arcadia Foundation has valued the alleged Picasso at €6 million ($6.7 million).

The artist painted many portraits of Maar in their time together, and several reside in major museum collections today. The auction record for a painting of Maar by Picasso was set in 2006, when Sotheby’s New York sold Dora Maar au chat (1941) for $95.2 million, according to the Artnet Price Database.

Unfortunately for this team of Italian art sleuths, their rediscovered modernist masterpiece piece is unlikely to fetch in the millions until it has been legitimized by official Picasso authenticators.

Andrea Lo Rosso said that, so far, the Picasso Foundation in Malagá, Spain has refused to even assess the work, which it believes to be a fake. The foundation declined to comment publicly on the work when contacted. It reportedly receives hundreds of authentication requests every day.

The Picasso Administration in Paris has also been reached for comment but did not respond by publication time.

By Jo Lawson-Tancred.

[good-old-gossip]

US Government KNOWS about these CONCENTRATION/ TORTURE CAMPS

US President Joe Biden’s administration has said it is “deeply concerned” about recent reports of Israel torturing Palestinian detainees in a military base in the Negev Desert, but those comments have been criticised by a leading rights group that says Washington should have information about Israel’s detention conditions.

“The fact that the US government appears not to have information from the Israeli government on detention conditions and torture allegations is remarkable and wrong,” Sarah Yager, Washington director for Human Rights Watch, told Middle East Eye.

Over the past several weeks, several US media outlets have reported that Israeli detention centres have been using torture on Palestinian detainees, with the focus being on the Sde Teiman detention facility in the Negev Desert.

Most recently, the New York Times published a three-month-long investigation into the treatment of Palestinians at Sde Teiman.

The report found systematic sexual abuse and torture perpetrated against detained Palestinians, with one account of that treatment revealing one detainee “died after they put the electric stick up” his anus.

Middle East Eye reported back in March on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians from Gaza detained by Israel, many of whom spoke of being electrocuted, beaten and subject to mock executions. MEE reached out to the State Department for comment on these reports, and a spokesperson said: “We are deeply concerned by these reports and are looking into these and other allegations.” Yager said that the State Department and the Biden administration’s response to the reports show that they think they are being vocal about the allegations of torture.

The human rights expert said that HRW itself has not yet verified the allegations at Sde Teiman, however she noted that allegations of torture by Israel “are nothing new”.

The rights group Public Committee Against Torture Watch has reported on 22 cases of detained Palestinian children, of whom 64 percent were physically abused by Israeli forces.

“Human Rights Watch has found that discrimination pervades every aspect of the Israeli carceral system,” Yager said.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alice Speri at The Guardian:

US universities are bracing for funding cuts and investigations under the incoming administration, as Donald Trump and his advisers have billed them an “enemy” and made them a prime target of their rightwing, anti-woke crusade. While attacks over critical race theory and diversity and inclusion initiatives have long been part of conservative campaigns against higher education, experts say that the nationwide campus protests against Israel’s war in Gaza over the last year, and a push to crack down on them that has often attracted support from Democrats, will probably provide the incoming administration their opening salvo. “There are political actors who have been obsessed with the idea of fundamentally transforming American higher education, and they have jumped into the space made open by accusations of antisemitism,” said Isaac Kamola, a political science professor at Trinity College whose research focuses on conservative efforts to undermine higher education. Trump and his backers have made no secret of their plans, many detailed under Project Esther, a blueprint by the rightwing Heritage Foundation aimed at “dismantling” the US pro-Palestine movement “when a willing Administration occupies the White House”.

Universities will probably be the main battleground. While Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of eliminating the education department altogether, some of his advisers have expressed hope he will use its tools, like the anti-discrimination Title VI process, to eradicate the pro-Palestine movement on US campuses under the guise of fighting antisemitism.

Last month, the Guardian published an exclusive video of a meeting between the House majority leader, Steve Scalise, and the powerful pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), in which Scalise detailed plans to pull billions of dollars of federal funding from some of the most prestigious universities in the country, and to strip them of accreditation to punish them for allowing pro-Palestine protests on their campuses. Kenneth Marcus, a former assistant secretary of education under Trump and an active proponent of the controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, told Jewish Insider last week that he expects the next administration will “take much more seriously the prospect of denying federal funds to colleges and universities that violate the rights of Jewish and other college students”.

[...]

‘A sledgehammer’

Free speech advocates expect the IHRA definition to be “used as a sledgehammer” in the incoming administration’s attacks on pro-Palestine activism, said Sainath, of Palestine Legal. Already, some universities have heeded the definition’s spirit in drafting their own codes. New York University, for instance, earlier this year issued new university policies citing federal guidance and effectively extending equal rights protections to Zionism, a political ideology. In May, the House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act, which codifies Trump’s executive order into federal law. Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer has pledged to bring it to a vote before the Senate moves under Republican control in January. On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union issued an open letter denouncing the IHRA definition as “overbroad” and encouraging Senators to reject it. “Enshrining this definition into regulation would chill the exercise of First Amendment rights and risk undermining the Department of Education’s legitimate and important efforts to combat discrimination,” they wrote.

[...]

A chilling effect

Free speech advocates hope that additional efforts to impose the IHRA definition would also fail in court, but they warn that it is already having an effect. While the federal government has never cut funding to universities over antisemitism claims, Trump’s threats on funding and accreditation have administrators on high alert. “If I’m a general counsel at a university being told by the federal government, ‘Hey, if you don’t get this right, your federal funding is on the line’ … What are you going to choose?” Tyler Coward, lead counsel at the campus free speech group Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire) told the Guardian. “You’re going to choose censorship to save your federal dollars, and that is a really awful position to put our institutions in.” For faculty and students, the prospect of the incoming administration doubling down in its attacks on what it calls antisemitism are cause of growing anxiety.

The Trump Misadministration is planning to launch crackdowns on pro-Palestine activities on US college campuses under the guise of fighting antisemitism.

See Also:

The Guardian: What are Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul US colleges and universities?

Zeteo News: 'Project Esther': The Right-Wing Group Behind Project 2025 Has a Plan to Crack Down on America's Pro-Palestine Movement

RNS: Heritage Foundation's 'Esther' addendum to Project 2025 isn't really about antisemitism

Mother Jones: The Plan to Silence Dissent

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Los Angeles is close: understand how the financing of sports in Brazil foments Olympic medals

Little known, the system supports high-performance athletes began to be structured at the beginning of the 2000s

It’s almost a tradition: during the Olympic Games, questions about Brazilian performance emerge strongly on social media platforms. Commonly, complaints about the structure and salaries athletes receive become important. However, the right information about how this system works did not get the same attention.

That’s why Brasil de Fato interviewed experts in sports financing to explain how the transfer of public resources to high-performance sports works.

The current public funding system for Olympic and Paralympic sports was developed almost entirely during the first two governments of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party), between 2003 and 2010. The mechanisms that allocate most of the resources are Brazil’s Lottery Law, which sends money directly to the Brazilian Olympic and Paralympic committees and also to the confederations of each sport; the Sports Incentive Law, a mechanism similar to the Rouanet Law, which allows companies to make tax waivers to support sports projects; and the Athlete Scholarship, a monthly payment to athletes who achieve certain results, starting with youth sports.

There are also budget resources from the sports departments of the federal, state and municipal administrations. In addition, in 2008, a sui generis program was created to support the careers of high-performance athletes, the High-Performance Athletes Program (PAAR, in Portuguese) of the Armed Forces. It provides that athletes with a chance of winning medals can apply to join the Army, Navy or Air Force to take part in military competitions. For the athlete, this guarantees income, retirement and use of the Forces' facilities for training.

“Looking back over history, we can see that, over time, Brazil has been expanding and improving its participation in high-performance sports,” says Fernando Henrique Carneiro, a researcher at the Group for Research and Sociocritical Training in Physical Education, Sport and Leisure at the University of Brasilia (Avante/UnB, in Portuguese).

“So much so that in Tokyo [Olympic Games, in 2021], the country had its best results, which was very much the result of what was being built up for the Rio 2016 Games cycle. Over time, the Lula and Dilma governments have been structuring public policies for the sector,” he explains.

Continue reading.

[darkeagleruins]

WEAPONIZATION: Biden's DHS sought to declare 'being conservative' a public health emergency to justify mass surveillance of Trump supporters as recently as 2023.

Internal documents from Biden’s DHS reveal a disturbing strategy: targeting Trump supporters as domestic extremists. This revelation, forced into the open by America First Legal's litigation with Richard Grenell, highlights Biden's misuse of federal agencies for political purposes.

On September 19, 2023, the DHS announced the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group. However, AFL and Grenell sued, alleging it violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The settlement requires DHS to wind down the Experts Group within 30 days, cease future meetings, and avoid reconstituting the group in a manner inconsistent with FACA or the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

Highlighted by AFL, one document from the Brennan-Clapper intel group asserts that:

“most of the domestic terrorism threat now comes from supporters of the former president.”

This paints a significant portion of American citizens as threats to national security based solely on their political beliefs. The group’s strategy to label Trump supporters as domestic terrorists is a blatant and illegal power grab designed to silence opposition.

Other documents expose plans to classify Trump supporters, military personnel, and religious individuals as potential "domestic violent extremists." Under the Brennan-Clapper committee’s approach, DHS should profile people in the military or with religious beliefs, tagging them as having “indicators of extremists and terrorism” to justify spying on them.

Still more documents reveal that the advisory committee discussed ways for DHS to increase efforts to collect intelligence on Americans, including attempting to “get into local communities in a non-threatening way.” By the time the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group was announced in September 2023, the Group had already been meeting for as long as four months. When it held a discussion on “Collection Posture and Associated Challenges,” a Group member complained that there was “no mandate for state and local partners” to collect information, resulting in “limited access in I&A.”

These documents prove the Biden administration is leveraging federal agencies to target and intimidate political opponents. This weaponization of government power is a clear violation of democratic principles and threatens the foundation of our republic. This discriminatory profiling undermines freedom and equality, casting suspicion on military service members and religious individuals, leading to widespread abuse and mistrust.

Shockingly, the documents reveal the DHS Intelligence Group's planned to require Americans to report their neighbors to the federal government. They discussed reclassifying political dissent under the guise of “public health” to give them more power to spy on Trump supporters more easily. They even planned to encourage “mothers and teachers” to report perceived threats. This tactic, using public health as a cover to silence political opposition, creates a culture of suspicion and fear, where neighbors spy on neighbors, undermining trust within communities further dividing the nation.

The group discussed the current threat landscape, domestic terrorism strategy, collection posture, and associated challenges, civil liberties and privacy challenges. Concerning the efforts to collect, it is interesting to see how we have collected and reported since January 6th. Support for this mission set has varied but changed after January 6th as their mission to combat domestic terrorism gained departmental and political support. This context shows how the DHS Intelligence Group was pushing to expand surveillance and intelligence collection efforts, using any pretext necessary to justify their actions.

The Group noted that the “See Something, Say Something” campaign after 9/11 fell short because “Americans have an ambivalent feeling of telling on each other.” The problem, as one attendee phrased it, is, “How do we get into local communities in a non-threatening way? How do people safely report a concern about their neighbors?” Where DHS lacks capabilities and cannot convince mothers and teachers to report their own children, one contributor suggested turning to corporate America as a resource.

Biden was forced to dissolve the unlawful DHS Intelligence Experts Group, stacked with deep state partisans like James Clapper and John Brennan but I have no doubt the effort to target Trump supporters continues in earnest.

[ausetkmt]

Calls for justice filled Bay Street Sunday afternoon as dozens of people rallied on the steps of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office headquarters after a video went viral showing the arrest of 24-year-old Le'Keian Woods. 

Woods' arrest on Friday was caught on video by a bystander showing multiple officers standing and kneeling over him. At one point, an officer picks Woods up and slams him onto the grass.

Moments later, officers lifted Woods up, revealing bruises and blood across his face. Woods' family accused the officers of punching him during the incident, causing his facial injuries, although this isn't shown in the arrest video.

The family told First Coast Newsthat Woods, his uncle and his friend were pulled over for not wearing their seatbelts as they were on their way to Woods' grandmother's house.

The Sheriff's Office says the incident is under administrative review.

USA TODAY noted the incident is the latest case of alleged police brutality, where encounters with police over traffic violations have turned violent or even fatal. Recent studies have shown racial disparities in policing and experts have said Black people are disproportionately stopped or searched by law enforcement across the country.

During a rally Sunday afternoon, Woods' mother, Natassia Woods, spoke to the crowd describing how hard it's been to get an update on her son's condition. She told First Coast News her son's attorney, Harry Daniels, told her that Woods was going to and from the hospital to be treated for a concussion. 

“I’m at a point now that I just want answers for my son," Woods told the crowd. "I want justice for my son. No one should be beaten like that.”

Natassia Woods isn’t the only calling for those things — as she was surrounded by dozens of people with signs and posters.

“We were definitely outraged," said Mary Dennis, who attended the rally. "When I saw the video, I just couldn’t believe that it took that many people to take one person down.”

Woods' mother said she did get a chance to speak with her son, but it was a painful conversation.

"When he called me from the jail, he said, 'Mama, what happened to me?'" Natassia Woods said.

"He didn't even know he got beat like that. He didn't even know that stuff had happened to him. He did not know that he had got beaten that bad."

The Sheriff's Office shared the following statement withmedia on Saturday regarding the incident:

"The agency takes all allegations of inappropriate use of force by JSO officers seriously. As such, this incident is now under administrative review to determine if the involved officers violated any JSO policy. Because the matter is currently under investigation, the agency cannot comment further about the incident until the investigation is completed.”

The Jacksonville Community Action Committee, who organized the rally, called for three things in light of Woods' arrest going viral on social media.

One, for the officers responsible to be held accountable. Two, for the Sheriff's Office to get rid of the gang unit. Three, create a public safety committee made up of community members to review public safety policies.

“Why can’t the city have an institution that can hear the voices of the community in a controlled way that can affect policy in a positive way," said Michael Sampson with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee.

Woods is being held on charges of armed drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer with violence.

Police shooting: Jacksonville state attorney deems officer justified in shooting of Jamee Johnson

Attorney Dexter Van Harris represented Woods in court Sunday morning. Van Harris told First Coast News the judge found no probable cause on two of the six charges he is facing, and his bail on the other four totals about $170,000.

Woods' next court date is scheduled for Oct. 24.

Woods was previously arrested and faced a second-degree murder charge in 2018 for an attempted robbery at a Tallahassee apartment complex where his roommate was fatally shot, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Traffic stops across the United States

A number of high-profile cases of police brutality have begun with traffic violations. Traffic stops are one of the most common interactions civilians have with police and while a majority end uneventfully, experts have said people of color — particularly Black people — are disproportionately stopped by police, USA TODAY reported.

These encounters can quickly escalate into violent, and sometimes fatal, incidents. Hundreds of people, including Tyre Nichols, Patrick Lyoya, Daunte Wright, Jayland Walker, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland and Walter Scott have been killed after being stopped by law enforcement for traffic violations.

Police pull over more than 50,000 people daily and more than 20 million motorists annually, according to the Stanford Open Policing Project. Officers generally stop and search Black drivers at higher rates, the study found.

Daniels said Woods' case "bears a striking similarity" to the shooting of 22-year-old Jamee Johnson in 2019. The attorney represented Johnson's family in a federal lawsuit against the city of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

"Johnson was also pulled over for an alleged seat belt violation before being fatally shot by (Jacksonville Sheriff's Office) officer Josue Garriga," Daniels said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

Garriga was one of the officers involved in Woods' arrest, according to a newly released arrest report.

[rivensdefenseattorney]

Interplanetary Federation of Education (IFEd)

(WIP)

Mission Statement: IFEd is dedicated to fostering excellence in education, promoting collaboration among planets, and ensuring educational equity and community engagement.

Structure:

The IFEd is structured consists of a panel led by an experienced Chairperson and comprising representatives from participating planets, education experts, community leaders, and youth representatives. Policy advisors ensure alignment with interplanetary governance, while a dedicated Diversity and Inclusion Officer fosters equitable representation. The Secretary-General manages administrative tasks, committee chairs lead focused sub-committees on key aspects like charity assessment and resource allocation, and an advisory council, including seasoned educators, former members, and individuals with historical knowledge, provides valuable guidance.

Resource Allocation Committee

The Resource Allocation Committee (RAC) is tasked with overseeing the distribution of resources to schools based on their charitable contributions. This committee is responsible for evaluating and quantifying schools' public service, research contributions, and donations. It utilizes a weighted system, considering factors such as the size, quality, history, and prestige of each school to determine tiered contribution levels. The committee establishes a fair and dynamic framework, ensuring that schools with varying resources and capacities can actively engage in meaningful philanthropy. The RAC plays a crucial role in fostering equity, accountability, and continuous improvement within the interplanetary education system.

Quantifiable Metrics for Charitable Contributions:

Public Service

Volunteer Hours: The number of volunteer hours contributed by students and staff from elite schools to community service projects. This metric reflects the direct involvement of the school community in public service.

Community Impact Index: A standardized index that quantifies the tangible impact of community service projects initiated by schools.

Public Research

Research Publications: Research publications produced by schools that directly contribute to public knowledge, address societal challenges, or provide solutions to community issues.

Innovation Index: An innovation index that assesses the level of creativity and novelty in research projects undertaken by schools.

Public Charity

Monetary Donations: The total amount of monetary donations made by schools to charitable organizations, community projects, or public welfare initiatives. This provides a direct measure of financial support to the community.

Scholarship Funds: The establishment and contributions to scholarship funds that support underprivileged students or those with exceptional talent. This metric reflects a commitment to fostering educational opportunities within the broader community.

Material Contributions: The value and quantity of non-monetary donations made by schools. This includes items such as food, potions, elixirs, medicine, technology, and other tangible contributions that directly benefit the community.

Resource Impact Assessment: Evaluates the impact of non-monetary donations on the community. This assessment could consider the essential needs addressed, technological advancements shared, or improvements in the quality of life resulting from these donations.

Tiered Contribution Levels:

Tier 1 Contributors

Characteristics:

Size: Large student body and extensive facilities.

Quality: Renowned staff, state-of-the-art facilities, and high-achieving students.

History/Prestige: Long-standing history and high prestige within the interplanetary education system.

Contribution Requirement:

High contribution requirement due to the school's extensive resources and capacity for significant impact.

Tier 2 Contributors

Characteristics:

Size: Moderate to large student body with well-maintained facilities.

Quality: Competent staff, good facilities, and academically proficient students.

History/Prestige: Established history and a positive reputation.

Contribution Requirement:

Moderate contribution requirement, reflecting the school's capacity to make a substantial impact.

Tier 3 Contributors

Characteristics:

Size: Varied student body size with adequate facilities.

Quality: Capable staff, functional facilities, and engaged students.

History/Prestige: A decent history and a respectable reputation.

Contribution Requirement:

Moderate to low contribution requirement, considering the school's balanced resources and potential impact.

Tier 4 Contributors

Characteristics:

Size: Smaller student body with basic facilities.

Quality: Developing staff, basic facilities, and a growing student body.

History/Prestige: Limited history and reputation.

Contribution Requirement:

Low contribution requirement, recognizing the school's developing status and potential for growth.

Tier 5 Contributors

Characteristics:

Size: Small student body and limited facilities.

Quality: Novice staff, basic facilities, and entry-level students.

History/Prestige: Recently established with minimal reputation.

Contribution Requirement:

Minimal contribution requirement, acknowledging the school's entry-level status and the need for gradual growth.

[kodoandsangha]

Project 2025 and how they're going to strip healthcare from everyone

I know everyone is focused on Gaza. The genocide happening there is unconscionable.

But, back here, in the States, where most of us live, there's this. This is the plan starting January 1. This is just ONE section - Health and Human Services.

I'm currently involved in a grassroots project to present the entirety of the 923 pages in this form to get the information out. Their plan is literally Gilead.

I want to be clear that nowhere in their policies, goals and rhetoric does it account for what happens to all of us when these things happen.

Summary

Scary vague thing:

Investigate, expose, and remediate any instances in which HHS violated people’s rights by:

Colluding with Big Tech to censor dissenting opinions during COVID

Colluding with abortion advocates and LGBT advocates to violate conscience-protection laws and the Hyde Amendment

P. 488

Public health entities (CDC, NIH, ACL, OASH)

Can’t prescribe any behavior (meaning masking/quarantine would never have happened) (454)

Can’t use fetal cells for research (454, 461)

No mask/vaccine mandates in hospitals (475)

LGBTQ

CDC - No data collection on gender identity (456)

Medicare - No national coverage determination for Gender Reassignment Surgery (474)

Allow discrimination

in healthcare

Reverse ACA’s prohibition on discrimination against gender identity and sexual orientation in health programs/activities (475)

Withdraw Ryan White guidance (aims at reducing barriers to HIV care, medication, and support for transgender people living with HIV) (485)

OASH will withdraw support for gender-affirming care (490)

Allow LGBTQ folks to be discriminated against in healthcare (remove Biden protections - 495) and intend to have the DOJ bring the discrimination protections to the supreme court (496) which could potentially set a precedent.

In adoption (477)

Possibly take children away from LGBTQ couples if they didn’t conceive them? “married men and women are the ideal, natural family structure because all children have a right to be raised by the men and women who conceived them” (489)

Prioritize faith-based education programs & grants (that don’t acknowledge LGBTQ folks’ existence) (480, 481)

Reproductive rights

Programs/education

CDC - Implies the Division of Reproductive Health and the 6|18 initiative will be cut (454)

Fewer doctors trained in abortions - Make abortion training opt-in rather than opt-out in all medical schools (485)

No “approved curriculum” or “evidence-based lists” in Teen Pregnancy Prevention or Personal Responsibility Education Programs (477)

Deal with STDs and unwanted pregnancy by focusing on abstinence and strengthening marriage (490)

Remove the experts - Install pro-life advocates in the Health Resources & Services Administration advisory committee (who makes the mandates around abortion) and cut ties with American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (484)

eliminate the HHS Reproductive Healthcare Access Task Force and install a pro-life task force (489)

Foreign aid - Require foreign non-government orgs to certify that they wouldn’t perform/promote abortion as a condition of receiving funding. (493)

Protections

Remove protections from the woman and enforce protections for born-alive infants (including criminal consequences) (474)

Make it harder for people to understand how/where their protected health information is protected (rescind guidance - 497)

Drug/contraception access

FDA - Reverse approval of chemical abortion drugs (458)

Limit pills to 49 days gestation, in-person dispensing, report all adverse events (459)

Reduce access to contraception - Allow insurance providers to morally object to providing contraception on nonreligious grounds (it’s already allowed for religious grounds) (483)

Male condoms will no longer be mandated coverage (485)

No more Ella (week-after-pill) in the contraceptive mandate (485)

Make access harder - Withdraw OCR’s pharmacy abortion mandate guidance which prohibits discrimination when providing abortion meds (496)

Travel

Prohibit abortion travel funding (eliminate the section 1115 waivers that allow funds to help cross state lines) (471)

No abortions for refugees (478)

Government funds

No funds for Planned Parenthood (471) 

prohibit family planning grants from going to entities that perform abortions or provide funding to other entities that perform abortions (491)

Cut up to 10% of medicaid funds from states that require abortion insurance coverage (CA, IL, Maine, MD, NY, OR, WA, Vermont, Hawaii, Connecticut) (472)

Oversight

Track every abortion in every state (455)

New mission statement “furthering the health and well-being of all Americans ‘from conception to natural death.’” (489)

Require health care workers to report abortion pill complications (459)

Medicare

Use AI to detect fraud (463)

Lots of regulations impacting healthcare system reporting/fund-access/insurance pool etc.

Would be good to get someone in healthcare to analyze, I’m betting these gut the ACA

“Separate the subsidized ACA exchange market from the nonsubsidized insurance market” (469)

Eliminated programs

Medicare Shared Savings Program (465)

Inflation Reduction Act (465)

Medicaid

Add work requirements and lifetime caps (468)

Eliminate benefit requirements/mandates and middle/upper income recipients (468)

Cut up to 10% of medicaid funds from states that require abortion insurance coverage (CA, IL, Maine, MD, NY, OR, WA, Vermont, Hawaii, Connecticut) (472)

Child/family welfare (some overlap with lgbtq, copied in here)

Combine child support with visitation support court (implied via example, 479)

Prioritize faith-based HMRE (healthy marriage & relationship education) programs & grants and don’t pressure them to conform to “nonreligious definitions of marriage” (480, 481)

“in cases where the father or mother does not make a sincere or serious effort to be involved in the child’s upbringing, termination of parental rights for children in foster care should be swift” (482)

Eliminate the Head Start program (482)

Potentially (implied) cut programs related to bullying prevention, children’s safety, health disparities, early childhood support, poisoning and SUID prevention. (486)

Take children away from LGBTQ couples if they didn’t conceive them? “married men and women are the ideal, natural family structure because all children have a right to be raised by the men and women who conceived them” (489)

Housing

“Rescind legal analysis that authorized HHS to impose a moratorium on rental evictions during COVID” (492)

[eretzyisrael]

by Dione J. Pierre

Across the US, dozens of college student groups declared solidarity with Hamas on Sunday, cheering the Palestinian terrorist group one day after it invaded Israel from its enclave in Gaza and murdered hundreds of Israelis and took dozens more captive in a shocking surprise attack.

Scenes of Hamas terrorists abducting children and desecrating dead bodies have circulated worldwide and invoked global outrage. However, several chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at places such as Brown University, the University of Maryland, Tufts University, and the University of California-Los Angeles have described the attacks as a form of “resistance,” demanding others accept “our right to liberate our homeland by any means necessary.”

Additionally, 31 student groups at Harvard University issued a statement blaming Israel for the attack and accusing the Jewish state of operating an “open air prison” in Gaza, despite the Israeli military having withdrawn from the territory in 2005.

“We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” said the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Committee. “In the coming days, Palestinians will be forced to bear the full brunt of Israel’s violence.”

Responding to the statement, Larry Summers, former US Secretary of the Treasury under the Clinton administration and former president of Harvard University, criticized the student groups for justifying terrorist violence and called out the school’s administration for not disavowing support for terrorism.

“The silence from Harvard’s leadership, so far, coupled with a vocal and widely reported student groups’ statement blaming Israel solely, has allowed Harvard to appear at best neutral towards act of terror against the Jewish state of Israel,” Summers tweeted on Monday. “I cannot fathom the administration’s failure to disassociate the university and condemn this statement.”

Public intellectual Robert P. George, in his own statement said, “31 — yes 31 — Harvard organizations have declared that the murders, rapes, kidnappings, and other atrocities committed by Hamas against innocent people are in now way the fault of Hamas but are rather entirely the fault of…Israel. Something is deeply, deeply wrong in academia.”

On Monday, Columbia University students issued a separate statement accusing “fascist, racist, and colonial Israeli governments” of oppressing Palestinians and violating human rights.

Asaf Romirowsky, a Middle East expert and the executive director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, told The Algemeiner that the statements issued by anti-Zionist college students  are “morally obscene.”

“Cheering mass murder in the name of de-colonialism should be the final red line exemplified by the latest student groups who ‘hold the Israeli regime responsible for all unfolding violence,'” said Romirowsky. “Endorsing horrific mass murder is reprehensible on every level, and if we do not isolate these actions and comments, Islamic antisemitic terrorism in the academy will proliferate and rot our institutions of higher education.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.

[unpublicserviceday]

(8th meeting) 23rd session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration - Economic and Social Council.

Public sector workforce matters

- Expert panel moderated by the Vice-Chair

- Interactive dialogue with CEPA members, Member States, United Nations system and civil society organizations 

The Committee of Experts on Public Administration (CEPA) is a UN technical advisory body that studies and makes recommendations to improve governance and public administration structures and processes for development. It assists ECOSOC by reviewing trends, issues and priorities in public administration, notably in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in support of the implementation and progress reviews of the SDGs.

The Committee of Experts on Public Administration will hold its twenty-third session (CEPA23) at UN Headquarters in New York from 15 to 19 April 2024. The theme is "New governance insights to advance the SDGs and eradicate poverty".

Related Sites and Documents

CEPA, 23rd session website Watch the (8th meeting) 23rd session of the Committee of Experts on Public Administration - Economic and Social Council

[mariacallous]

Last year, the White House struck a landmark safety deal with AI developers that saw companies including Google and OpenAI promise to consider what could go wrong when they create software like that behind ChatGPT. Now a former domestic policy adviser to President Biden who helped forge that deal says that AI developers need to step up on another front: protecting their secret formulas from China.

“Because they are behind, they are going to want to take advantage of what we have,” said Susan Rice regarding China. She left the White House last year and spoke on Wednesday during a panel about AI and geopolitics at an event hosted by Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI. “Whether it’s through purchasing and modifying our best open source models, or stealing our best secrets. We really do need to look at this whole spectrum of how do we stay ahead, and I worry that on the security side, we are lagging.”

The concerns raised by Rice, who was formerly President Obama's national security adviser, are not hypothetical. In March the US Justice Department announced charges against a former Google software engineer for allegedly stealing trade secrets related to the company’s TPU AI chips and planning to use them in China.

Legal experts at the time warned it could be just one of many examples of China trying to unfairly compete in what’s been termed an AI arms race. Government officials and security researchers fear advanced AI systems could be abused to generate deepfakes for convincing disinformation campaigns, or even recipes for potent bioweapons.

There isn’t universal agreement among AI developers and researchers that their code and other components need protecting. Some don’t view today’s models as sophisticated enough to need locking down, and companies like Meta that are developing open source AI models release much of what government officials, such as Rice, would suggest holding tight. Rice acknowledged that stricter security measures could end up setting US companies back by cutting the pool of people working to improve their AI systems.

Interest in—and concern about—securing AI models appears to be picking up. Just last week, the US think tank RAND published a report identifying 38 ways secrets could leak out from AI projects, including bribes, break-ins, and exploitation of technical backdoors.

RAND’s recommendations included that companies should encourage staff to report suspicious behavior by colleagues and allow only a few employees access to the most sensitive material. Its focus was on securing so-called model weights, the values inside an artificial neural network that get tuned during training to imbue it with useful functionality, such as ChatGPT’s ability to respond to questions.

Under a sweeping executive order on AI signed by President Biden last October, the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration is expected to release a similar report this year analyzing the benefits and downsides to keeping weights under wraps. The order already requires companies that are developing advanced AI models to report to the US Commerce Department on the “physical and cybersecurity measures taken to protect those model weights.” And the US is considering export controls to restrict AI sales to China, Reuters reported last month.

Google, in public comments to the NTIA ahead of its report, said it expects “to see increased attempts to disrupt, degrade, deceive, and steal” models. But it added that its secrets are guarded by a “security, safety, and reliability organization consisting of engineers and researchers with world-class expertise” and that it was working on “a framework” that would involve an expert committee to help govern access to models and their weights.

Like Google, OpenAI said in comments to the NTIA that there was a need for both open and closed models, depending on the circumstances. OpenAI, which develops models such as GPT-4 and the services and apps that build on them, like ChatGPT, last week formed its own security committee on its board and this week published details on its blog about the security of the technology it uses to train models. The blog post expressed hope that the transparency would inspire other labs to adopt protective measures. It didn’t specify from whom the secrets needed protecting.

Speaking alongside Rice at Stanford, RAND CEO Jason Matheny echoed her concerns about security gaps. By using export controls to limit China’s access to powerful computer chips, the US has hampered Chinese developers’ ability to develop their own models, Matheny said. He claimed that has increased their need to steal AI software outright. By Matheny’s estimate, spending a few million dollars on a cyberattack that steals AI model weights, which might cost an American company hundreds of billions of dollars to create, is well worth it for China. “It’s really hard, and it’s really important, and we’re not investing enough nationally to get that right,” Matheny said.

China’s embassy in Washington, DC, did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment on theft accusations, but in the past has described such claims as baseless smears by Western officials.

Google has said that it tipped off law enforcement about the incident that became the US case alleging theft of AI chip secrets for China. While the company has described maintaining strict safeguards to prevent the theft of its proprietary data, court papers show it took considerable time for Google to catch the defendant, Linwei Ding, a Chinese national who has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.

The engineer, who also goes by Leon, was hired in 2019 to work on software for Google’s supercomputing data centers, according to prosecutors. Over about a year starting in 2022, he allegedly copied more than 500 files with confidential information over to his personal Google account. The scheme worked in part, court papers say, by the employee pasting information into Apple’s Notes app on his company laptop, converting the files to PDFs, and uploading them elsewhere, all the while evading Google’s technology meant to catch that sort of exfiltration.

While engaged in the alleged stealing, the US claims the employee was in touch with the CEO of an AI startup in China and had moved to start his own Chinese AI company. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

[militantinremission]

Reaching beyond their grasp?

Israel has made clear their intention to kill as many Palestinians as possible, before appropriating Palestinian Land, Oil, & Gas Fields. The picture above, is an Ad from a Real Estate Developer promoting Israeli 'Beachfront Houses' in Gaza (Seriously!)... Since Oct. 7th, over 20,000 Palestinians have been killed, & over 50,000 have been injured. Gaza now resembles Dresden, but Zionists insist that "From the River, to the Sea" is Anti Semitic hate speech. Israel is losing face w/ each passing day, & they're taking America & The European Union w/ them. Experts on The Region point out the economic toll that Israel is paying for their blitzkrieg on Gaza.

Scott Ritter points out how 300,000 IDF Reserves & their Support Staff are no longer contributing to the Israeli Economy, but are draining it. The Houthis have effectively created a blockade in The Red Sea that is costing Israel Billions. Hezbollah is doing Real Damage in Northern Israel, while Turkey & Iran remain X- Factors. Benjamin Netanyahu & his Cabinet seem oblivious to Current Events; their actions imply that they have a Right to continue the ongoing carnage. The Biden Administration is caught in a conundrum- they want Israel to scale back the assault, but they're obliged to show solidarity w/ The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The result, has Biden Staffers expressing dissatisfaction w/ Israel's asymmetrical 'War Campaign' in Gaza; while they continue to supply Israel w/ 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'.

The Global Community is holding The U.S. responsible for 1,000lb & 2,000lb Bombs, along w/ White Phosphorus that have been used by the IDF to kill innocent Palestinian Men, Women, & Children. In effect, America is Israel's Partner In Crime. Mainstream Media focuses on the Israeli perspective of eliminating Hamas, but are they? We hear very little about IDF casualities. Last count, Israel claims 1,593 injured; but the Israeli Newspaper, Haaretz says that number is far off. Using Israeli Hospital Admissions, Haaretz discovered that the IDF averages 60 wounded per day. They also discovered that 10,584 injured were admitted to dozens of Hospitals across Israel; the 3 closest Hospitals to Gaza accounting for roughly 3,000 admissions alone- nearly double the Israeli claim.

According to Limor Luria- Deputy Director General & Head of the Ministry's Rehabilitation Department, 'nearly 60%' have severe injuries to their hands & feet; including those requiring amputations. The Associated Press says the total of IDF deaths since Oct. 7th is 153, but The Israeli Military reported 420 Soldiers killed. Luria warns of a looming Mental Health Crisis among IDF Soldiers; some IDF Units have refused to engage. Netanyahu says there are 36,000 Hamas Soldiers; I believe THAT is his threshold for a Cease Fire. He has already displaced nearly 3 times as many Palestinians as The Nakba; roughly 90% of Gaza has been displaced. Netanyahu's actions have set Records in the number of Hospitals/ Health Facilities, Mosques, Churches, & Schools destroyed in a Conflict. He's also responsible for Record Setting deaths to Medical Staff, Journalists, UN Staff & other Aid Workers. European Leaders have straddled the fence, but Leaders in the Global South have condemned Israel's 'War' as an Ethnic Cleansing; some have called it Palestinian Genocide.

Attempts to silence naysayers are not working; Israel is losing The War and The Narrative. People are learning about Zionism, & how it differs from Judaism. Groups like AIPAC have incredible influence, but The Global Masses aren't intimidated by their threats. Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) have played a major role in demystifying the distinction between Judaism & Zionism. Their 'Not in Our Name' Campaign reverberated globally. As The Masses rose up- demanding a Cease Fire in Gaza, We saw a global pushback from an assortment of Power Brokers in Business, Media, & Government. Their efforts were fruitless, but it revealed the global reach of Zionism. What was most revealing, is the prominence of Christian Zionists. They don't just outnumber Zionists, but ALL European Jews.

These Christian Zionists are mostly Evangelicals in The Bible Belt, but they are not limited to one denomination or region. Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, & Hal Lindsey (The Late Great Planet Earth) are well-known preachers of Christian Zionism. Joe Biden (a Catholic) & Donald Trump (a Presbyterian) are also proud Zionists; this may explain Biden's reluctance to slow the flow of weapons to Israel... I was surprised to learn that Theodor Herzl was a student of Christian Zionists, & not the other way around. Men like Baron Walter Rothschild, [British Foreign Secretary] Lord Arthur James Balfour, & President Woodrow Wilson were all Zionists; that may explain why Herzl & Co. proposed the idea of a 'Jewish State' specifically to Balfour & Rothschild. While Christian Zionists go out of their way to support Israel, their reasons can be viewed as Anti- Semitic.

Christian Zionists identify w/ 'The Children of Abraham' through Spiritual Ancestry (as it relates to Acts: 34,35). They subscribe to the Theory of Dispensationalism- the brainchild of John Nelson Darby, in the late 19th Century. Darby is described as a former clergyman of the Anglican Church of Ireland, & a Bible Teacher... Dispensationalism deals w/ the Rapture, & the 2nd Coming of Christ. Followers (Dispensational Premillennials) believe 'The State' of Israel is a necessary step in this Prophecy. The (so called) Chosen People are defined as: Those who rejected Christ. According to the Prophecy, a number of these 'Ethnic Jews' (160,000?) accept Jesus/Yeshua as Christ & are Saved; The rest are sent to The Underworld w/ All of the other 'Sinners'. Both Sides use it to their advantage. Zionists ignore the Christian motivation to deal w/ Europe's 'Jewish Problem', while Christians ignore Zionist duplicity (as allowed in Bava Kamma 113a, 37b) & The Talmud's description of Jesus/ Yeshua as: 'The Son of a Whore/ Harlot' (Sanhedrin 106a,b & Shabbat 104b) & a blasphemer (Sanhedrin 107b[Sotah 47a], Gittin 57a, Shabbos 104b). Christian Scholars like Dr. Ken Matto condemn the notion of a 'Judeo Christian' narrative as oxymoronic, & they think Dispensationalist Ministers are grifters.

Orthodox Jews condemn Zionism as heresy. They don't see the need for a 'Jewish State' before the return of the Melekh Mashiak. Leaders like Rabbi Yaakov Shapiro, are the latest generation of Orthodox Jews that have been on the Front Line contesting the validity of Zionism over the last 120Yrs. Orthodox Jewish Scholars have pointed out that Theodor Herzl, David Ben Gurion, & Benjamin Netanyahu aren't practicing Jews; they're Atheists. It appears that 'Radical (Revisionist) Judaism' is a Zionist Agenda to influence World Opinion regarding Ashkenazi claims to Biblical Israel (Palestine). Their philosophy lines up w/ Nazism more than Orthodox Judaism, & their methodology is pure Colonialism... The Rothschild Family used their personal finances to lay the foundation & infrastructure of Israel. We also know that European Jews in Palestine were supported by Jewish Mobsters, like Meyer Lansky's National Crime Syndicate. They supplied Settlers w/ cash, smuggled in weapons, & possibly taught them Intelligence tactics.

Lansky was a Master at blackmail, bribery, & extortion. In addition to compromising Police Officers, Judges, Politicians, Business & Union Leaders; he 'persuaded' J. Edgar Hoover to ignore American Organized Crime for decades. The U.S. Government sought Meyer Lansky's 'Intelligence gathering' services for O.S.S. operations during WW 2... We see Lansky's tactics currently being used by Mossad. If you believe Jeffrey Epstein was a Mossad Agent (One of MANY) tasked w/ putting prominent men & women in 'compromising positions', you can understand the Pro Israel stance of World Leaders & Captains of Industry... It's almost comical to remember how crazy We all thought Skinheads were, when they declared America is a Z.O.G. (Zionist Occupied Government). In hindsight, we cannot deny the degree of Zionist influence in Entertainment, Finance, Government, & Mainstream Media. Scott Ritter points out that 400 of 418 Members Of Congress & 95- 98 Senators are 'bought & paid for' by AIPAC... Everyone else gets 'Primaried'. Rapper/ Journalist, Lowkey pointed out Rupert Murdoch's multiple connections to Israeli Intelligence Agencies (Mossad, Shin Bet, Unit 8200). His Media Outlets & Journalists regularly walk in lock step w/ Israeli Agendas... He's not alone.

It's no surprise that Mainstream Media has been less than critical of Israel's blatant War Crimes. Their Reporters & Contributors repeat Israeli talking points. Meanwhile, Sean 'Diddy' Combs & an ever expanding list of literal Bad Actors have taken precedence over the mess that Benjamin Netanyahu has made. The Zionists have a habit of using morally questionable Black Men to deflect any attention on them. Bill Cosby was a proxy for Harvey Weinstein & Les Moonves, R. Kelly was a proxy for Jeffrey Epstein & Prince Edward, Johnathan Majors was a proxy for Dana White, Ezra Miller, & Danny Masterson... Bibi's politically finished, but he's not going down alone. Joe Biden, Rishi Sunak, Olaf Scholtz, & Emmanuel Macron are All 'Damaged Goods'. Volodymor Zelenskyy is probably the only Leader on thinner ice; most Experts on Ukraine expect a 'Fall from Grace', sometime after his Term ends on May 21st, 2024. He's literally a Dead Man Walking.

American Zionists went to great lengths to support Israel, to the detriment of America's National Security. Joe Biden wants an $880B Defense Budget, but The U.S. Navy is being outmaneuvered by Houthi Rebels using 'swarms' of $2,000 drones. Scott Ritter has insinuated that Russia has copied British Underwater Drones, & passed blueprints to Iran. It's likely that Houthi Rebels will also have these designs; how many drones will it take to disable a $30B Aircraft Carrier? Sabre rattling w/ Xi Jinping & Vladimir Putin is Keyboard Gangsterism... These Days, The Military Industrial Complex is as broken as the American Economy. It looks like the Israelis are giving Dispensationalism the Taste Test- let's hope that they don't set off another World War in the process.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

John Nichols at The Nation:

Donald Trump has made no secret of his determination to govern as a “dictator” if he regains the presidency, and that’s got his critics warning that his reelection would spell the end of democracy. But Trump and his allies are too smart to go full Kim Jong Un. Rather, the former president’s enthusiasm for the authoritarian regimes of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s Tayyip Erdoğan, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán suggests the models he would build on: managing elections to benefit himself and his Republican allies; gutting public broadcasting and constraining press freedom; and undermining civil society. Trump, who famously demanded that the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential voting be “recalculated” to give him a win, wants the trappings of democracy without the reality of electoral consequences. That’s what propaganda experts Edward Herman and Frank Brodhead once described as “demonstration elections,” in which, instead of actual contests, wins are assured for the authoritarians who control the machinery of democracy. The outline for such a scenario emerges from a thorough reading of Project 2025’s Mandate for Leadership, which specifically proposes a Trump-friendly recalculation of the systems that sustain American democracy. The strategy for establishing an American version of Orbán’s “illiberal democracy” is not spelled out in any particular chapter of Mandate. Rather, it is woven throughout the whole of the document, with key elements appearing in the chapters on reworking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the Federal Election Commission (FEC). In the section on the DHS, for instance, there’s a plan to eliminate the ability of the agency that monitors election security to prevent the spread of disinformation about voting and vote counting.

How serious a threat to democracy would that pose? Think back to November 2020, when Trump was developing his Big Lie about the election he’d just lost. Trump’s false assertion that the election had been characterized by “massive improprieties and fraud” was tripped up by Chris Krebs, who served as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) in the DHS. The Republican appointee and his team had established a 24/7 “war room” to work with officials across the country to monitor threats to the security and integrity of the election. The operation was so meticulous that Krebs could boldly announce after the voting was finished: “America, we have confidence in the security of your vote, you should, too.” At the same time, his coordinating team declared, “The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history.” This infuriated Trump, who immediately fired the nation’s top election security official.

In Mandate’s chapter on the DHS, Ken Cuccinelli writes, “Of the utmost urgency is immediately ending CISA’s counter-mis/disinformation efforts. The federal government cannot be the arbiter of truth.” Cuccinelli previously complained that CISA “is a DHS component that the Left has weaponized to censor speech and affect elections.” As for the team that worked so successfully with Krebs to secure the 2020 election, the Project 2025 document declares that “the entirety of the CISA Cybersecurity Advisory Committee should be dismissed on Day One.” The potential impact? “It’s a way of emasculating the agency—that is, it prevents it from doing its job,” says Herb Lin, a cyber-policy and security scholar at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation.

This is just one way that Project 2025’s cabal of “experts” is scheming to thwart honest discourse about elections and democracy. A chapter on public broadcasting proposes to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of a larger plan to upend NPR, PBS, and “other public broadcasters that benefit from CPB funding, including the even-further-to-the Left Pacifica Radio and American Public Media.” More destabilizing than the total funding cut that Project 2025 entertains is a parallel plan to end the status of NPR and Pacifica radio stations as “noncommercial education stations.” That could deny them their current channel numbers at the low end of the radio spectrum (88 to 92 FM)—a move that would open prime territory on the dial for the sort of religious programming that already claims roughly 42 percent of the airwaves that the FCC reserves for noncommercial broadcasting. And don’t imagine that the FCC would be in a position to write new rules that guard against the surrender of those airwaves to the Trump-aligned religious right.

[...]

While project 2025 seeks to rewire the FCC to favor Trump’s allies, it also wants to lock in dysfunction at the Federal Election Commission, the agency that is supposed to govern campaign spending and fundraising. Established 50 years ago, the FEC has six members—three Republicans and three Democrats—who are charged with overseeing the integrity of federal election campaigns. In recent years, however, this even partisan divide has robbed the FEC of its ability to act because, as a group of former FEC employees working with the Campaign Legal Center explained, “three Commissioners of the same party, acting in concert, can leave the agency in a state of deadlock.” As the spending by outside groups on elections “has exponentially increased, foreign nationals and governments have willfully manipulated our elections, and coordination between super PACs and candidates has become commonplace,” the former employees noted. Yet “the FEC [has] deadlocked on enforcement matters more often than not, frequently refusing to even investigate alleged violations despite overwhelming publicly available information supporting them.”

John Nichols wrote in The Nation about how Project 2025’s radical right-wing wishlist of items contains plans to wreck and subvert what is left of America’s democracy.

See Also:

The Nation: June 2024 Issue

[vitalvibes21]

THE TIRUPATI LADDU CONTROVERSY: RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT, POLITICS, AND PUBLIC OUTCRY

The Tirupati Laddu, a globally renowned and sacred offering from the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), is currently at the center of a heated controversy. Allegations that animal fat was found in the ghee used to prepare the laddus have stirred religious, political, and social unrest.

OVERVIEW OF THE TIRUPATI LADDU CONTROVERSY

What Happened?

In September 2024, reports emerged alleging that the ghee used in Tirupati laddus contained traces of animal fats, including beef tallow, lard (pig fat), and fish oil. A laboratory report from the Centre of Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) lab indicated adulteration of the ghee with these substances, triggering outrage among devotees and the public.

Key Findings from Lab Tests

According to reports, the ghee used was found to be highly adulterated with a concoction of both animal and vegetable fats. The lab results were alarming, with the ghee sample values being much lower than acceptable standards. Pure milk fat should have a reading between 95.68 and 104.32, but the samples tested only showed values around 20.

Political Fallout

The controversy quickly escalated into a political battle. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) accused the current administration, led by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, of negligence. Naidu’s son, Nara Lokesh, echoed these concerns, accusing the YSR Congress of disrespecting religious sentiments. In response, Jagan Mohan Reddy dismissed the allegations as politically motivated.

Impact on Devotees

The allegations of using animal fat in a sacred offering like the Tirupati laddu deeply hurt the religious sentiments of millions of devotees worldwide. For many, the laddu is not just food; it is "prasadam" – a holy offering blessed by Lord Venkateswara. Any adulteration of this sacred item is considered sacrilegious, adding to the severity of the situation.

Actions Taken by TTD

The TTD, which oversees the production of Tirupati laddus, responded quickly to the scandal. They blacklisted the suppliers involved and initiated legal action. Additionally, they formed an expert committee to set up an in-house laboratory to ensure better quality control in the future.

Political Context

Beyond religious and social implications, the Tirupati Laddu controversy has political undertones. The TDP has used this incident to attack the YSR Congress, accusing it of failing to protect religious sanctity. On the other hand, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has dismissed these claims as "diversion politics," accusing Naidu of using faith for political gain.

Future Precautions

In response to this controversy, the TTD has vowed to improve its quality checks and ensure that only the highest quality ingredients are used for sacred offerings in the future. They have also replaced the current suppliers with more reliable ones to avoid such issues going forward.

------------

FAQs About the Tirupati Laddu Controversy

What is the Tirupati Laddu controversy?

The Tirupati Laddu controversy centers around allegations that the ghee used in the preparation of the laddus contained animal fats, including beef tallow, lard, and fish oil. This has triggered widespread outrage among devotees and led to political blame games between the TDP and the YSR Congress.

Why is the Tirupati Laddu sacred?

The Tirupati Laddu is considered sacred as it is an offering (prasadam) given to devotees of Lord Venkateswara at the Tirumala temple. Millions of devotees believe that consuming the laddu brings blessings from the deity.

What action has TTD taken?

The TTD has blacklisted the suppliers involved in providing the adulterated ghee and initiated legal action. They are also setting up an in-house laboratory to ensure better quality control of the ingredients used in temple offerings.

Is the controversy politically motivated?

The TDP has accused the YSR Congress of neglecting religious duties by allowing adulterated ghee in the laddus. However, Jagan Mohan Reddy has dismissed these claims as politically motivated, accusing his opponents of exploiting religious issues for political gain.

-------------

Conclusion

The Tirupati Laddu controversy is more than just a food adulteration case; it has religious, social, and political implications. As both sides continue to debate, the TTD has taken immediate action to restore trust and ensure the sanctity of temple offerings. Moving forward, stringent quality checks will be essential to ensure the sanctity of temple offerings. Moving forward, stringent quality checks will be essential to prevent future scandals from damaging the reputation of one of India’s most revered temples.

[tieflingkisser]

Blinken Is Sitting on Staff Recommendations to Sanction Israeli Military Units Linked to Killings or Rapes

A special State Department panel told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. should restrict arms sales to Israeli military units that have been credibly accused of human rights abuses. He has not taken any action.

The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. They include reports of extrajudicial killings by the Israeli Border Police; an incident in which a battalion gagged, handcuffed and left an elderly Palestinian American man for dead; and an allegation that interrogators tortured and raped a teenager who had been accused of throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. Recommendations for action against Israeli units were sent to Blinken in December, according to one person familiar with the memo. “They’ve been sitting in his briefcase since then,” another official said.

[...]

The revelations about Blinken’s failure to act on the recommendations come at a delicate moment in U.S.-Israel relations. Six months into its war against Hamas, whose militants massacred 1,200 Israelis and kidnapped 240 more on Oct. 7, the Israeli military has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to local authorities. Recently, President Joe Biden has signaled increased frustration with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the widespread civilian casualties. Multiple State Department officials who have worked on Israeli relations said that Blinken’s inaction has undermined Biden’s public criticism, sending a message to the Israelis that the administration was not willing to take serious steps. The recommendations came from a special committee of State Department officials known as the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum. The panel, made up of Middle East and human rights experts, is named for former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chief author of 1997 laws that requires the U.S. to cut off assistance to any foreign military or law enforcement units — from battalions of soldiers to police stations — that are credibly accused of flagrant human rights violations.

[keep reading]