#Job at UN Women for a National Program Officer

[thepitofjob]

Job 30: 1-8. "The Victory."

Next we define what are called the Bar and the Bat.

Bar and Bat are the most important words in the Hebrew language after Ha Shem. They represent the Fields and the Houses. From the Bar and the Bat we obtain the basis for the definitions of male and female roles in the Torah.

Bars are fields or "the disciplines." They are where crops and animals "get their stripes." The Bar establishes the basis for our beliefs, combines words with ideas, and programs the mind and the body together. The Hebrew aspect of it does not include operation or implementation, only the tuning of the mental equipment, which as we know, not one boy does possess.

A Bat is habitual practice of what one learns till it resembles an establishment or institution. We say women "womb" the aspects of men until a pattern or a son or daughter emerges, the fruits of the actions. Together Bars and Bats produce what is called Eden and within it is what is called Es, the Tree.

Adam defines the Bars, Eve defines the Bats:

Adam is "Arable soil."

"Noun אדם (adam) is one of a few words for man but means literally probably "product" or likeness-made-from-soil; man as corporeal unit of humanity. This word is never used in plural, and its feminine equivalent, namely אדמה (adama), denotes arable soil or clay-red earth."

Eve is "all mankind."

"The verb חיה (haya) means to live and life is all about resonance between elements — molecules working together to make a living cell, cells working together to make a living organism and human minds working together to make a living nation.

Adjective חי (hay) means living and adjective חיה (hayeh) means lively. Noun חיה (hayya) means life or living thing, and may also be used to describe a vibrant community. Plural noun חיים (hayyim) literally means livings but describes the whole palette of activities a living being engages in: one's making-a-living."

The towel heads have a practice of harming and oppressing women because they do not understand Eve. We are going to have to kill all of them and make way for a batch of Muslim men that do not harm women.

Men and women alike become impaired because of the fields and institutions they are exposed to as children. The world is in a state of continual turmoil somewhere because we do not think or believe everyone can be taught how to behave, and we know they can.

There is, for example far too much trouble over abortion and gay rights. These issues received legal treatment almost a hundred years ago within the UN Charter and later in the Declaration of Human Rights. Everyone acts all pissed off all the time about the UN, but that is because they do not wish to behave, not because the UN is a flawed concept. We have long since recognized oppressed persons need due process and recourse. The UN was established to ensure federal and interstate violations of human dignity could be contained and recourse could be speedy so a Third World War would not take place.

Now we know why we should be invested more in this. Following, the Zohar discusses why we follow due process from root to fruit, the basis for which has been in the Torah since ancient times. From Shoftim:

Law Courts

"Thus, says the Talmud, a judge who judges honestly and fairly is considered a partner with G‑d in the creation of the world.6 G‑d creates the world, and judges make it a habitable, holy and G‑dly place."

8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose. 9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict. 10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left. 12 Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again."

So all of this humdrum recently as to whether or not Donald Trump should make appearances in a court room or not so he could run for President was not only absolutely ridiculous, it is forbidden by the Torah to suspend the proceedings of a court as this further wrongs the victims of criminals. Behind every one of Donald Trump's 91 felonies were victims. What happens to them now, or worse if Donald Trump is elected in November? Will the courts cut them all compensation checks without a hearing? Or will we wait four more years? This is not how civil society works. Donald Trump and "JD" are not doing anything so important they can't keep their court dates and undergo trial and conviction.

Further as the world is aware, some of the laws they broke prevent them from holding office to begin with so it is time America and its governors shined a light on how and why due process works and why we do it: So man does not become "a nameless brood". Donald Trump's victims have names, they have or had families and their stories should be heard:

“But now they mock me,     men younger than I, whose fathers I would have disdained     to put with my sheep dogs. 2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,     since their vigor had gone from them? 3 Haggard from want and hunger,     they roamed[a] the parched land     in desolate wastelands at night. 4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,     and their food[b] was the root of the broom bush. 5 They were banished from human society,     shouted at as if they were thieves. 6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,     among the rocks and in holes in the ground. 7 They brayed among the bushes     and huddled in the undergrowth. 8 A base and nameless brood,     they were driven out of the land.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 1-2: But now they mock me, men like sheep dogs. The Number is 13426, יגדבו‎ ‎, yagdbo, "Get revenge on God's behalf."

Oh, don't you worry about that, Donald.

"Let's do it for our country...the red white and the blue..."

v. 3-4: In the bush they gathered, haggard from want. Banisshed from society...

Banishment does not mean we take people to the county line and tell them never to come back.

The Torah states persons who have committed crimes get arrested and put on trial and informed of the nature of their infractions so the public can make a comparison between the laws and their conduct. If the person is innocent the accused can return. If they are not, they go to prison. Either way, the gathering must take place if there is suspicion of wrong doing.

Trafficking of minors is one of Donald Trump's many crimes. By failing to prosecute him for it, now there are thounsands of victims of his victims in need of attention. What a shitfuck this has become.

One can easily spot the problem- those little kids hopping up and down asking their moms and dads if they can get a poke and then go fuck the neighbors and their parents when they get home!

The Number is 9924, טטבד, tatbed, "you'll get mad."

We do want society to get mad when a crime is committed. The populace needs to get angry, criminals need to get scared, this is how it works. When we invert the formula and allow Mormons and Evangelicals and their little Eddie Munsters to go using party drugs on unsuspecting adults, claiming its an election year and there's no way to discuss this, it upsets the magic formula needed by law enforcement to do its job.

When the law is ignored, the police start all this complex case bullshit, nothing gets done, and like a disease which spreads, more victims get added to the list.

v. 5-6: Forced to live among the rocks. The Number is 10720, י‎ז‎ך, yazach, "you will win."

If the defendant is found guilty, then the victim should win. This is not that difficult to accept. To overcome crime is mankind's perennial challenge. Never have we allowed it to win:

"The noun νικη (nike) means victory (hence the sport brand Nike), and only occurs once in the New Testament (although its alternative, νικος, nikos, see below, occurs four more time).

The form νικη (nike) used marvelously in John's first letter, where John writes, "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith" (1 John 5:4; and see our article on the word πιστις, pistis, meaning faith, for more on this).

This noun's derivatives occur more often:

The verb νικαω (nikao) means to be victorious, to prevail or overcome. It is used 28 times, see full concordance, and from it in turn yields:

Together with the preposition υπερ (huper), meaning over or beyond: the verb υπερνικαω (hupernikao), meaning to be more than victorious. This verb was probably designed to indicate the consequences of a complete military victory: utter destruction or perhaps annexation and conversion of the conquered party. In the Bible this verb occurs only in Romans 8:37.

The noun νικος (nikos), which is the same word as νικη (nike), meaning victory, but of a more modern spelling. "

v. 7-8: They were driven out of the land. The goal is not to wait for another Donald Trump or Mike Pence to arrive but to drive out the tendencies of society they embody. They are filthy, and they came from filth, and that filth came from somewhere. We need to find out.

The Number is 7103, זיג‎ ‎"a jacket, a coat."

=

"The seat of reason."

"The noun θωραξ (thorax) means thorax (same word): the upper torso of man and beast, and more specifically, any kind of clothing that wraps and protects the torso, from a corselet to a short jacket and ultimately a piece of metal armor: a coat of mail, a wearable metal shield. This word is often translated with breastplate, but it should be noted that it mostly refers to a so-called cuirass, a front-and-back metal jacket that shields the entire upper body from attacks from all sides.

In a figurative sense, the θωραξ (thorax) is associated to one's breathing, spirit and reason (see πνευμα, pneuma), and is the counterpart of the οσφυς (osphus), loin, where the lower emotions and instincts were seated.

The Hebrew word for torso is חיק (heq), which comes from a verb that means to embrace or to draw near. The idiom "to carry someone in one's bosom" does not refer to carrying someone in the fold of one's garment but rather to embrace someone with one's arms, or to hold someone's identity and needs in one's heart, reason and conscious mind."

[lomatechnology]

Explore UN Jobs and NGO Opportunities in Cambodia

Cambodia is emerging as a hotspot for professionals looking for rewarding careers in the non-profit sector, with numerous un jobs Cambodia and NGO opportunities. These positions offer the chance to make a difference, whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your career. Working with global organizations such as the United Nations (UN) provides the opportunity to contribute to impactful causes while experiencing personal and professional growth.

UN Jobs in Cambodia: A Growing Opportunity

The United Nations plays a crucial role in Cambodia, focusing on areas like sustainable development, human rights, and poverty alleviation. Consequently, there is a rising demand for professionals interested in UN jobs in Cambodia across various fields such as program management, public health, education, and environmental protection. UN roles are often highly competitive but come with significant rewards, including competitive salaries, extensive benefits, and opportunities for career advancement.

Key areas to explore in all UN jobs Cambodia include:

Program officers for humanitarian projects

Specialists in human rights, environmental sustainability, and development

Support roles in administration, finance, and communication

With a dynamic working environment and a focus on meaningful work, these roles offer a fantastic opportunity for individuals looking for a job in Cambodia that aligns with their passion for social impact.

NGO Job Opportunities in Cambodia

Alongside UN jobs, Cambodia also boasts a flourishing non-governmental organization (NGO) sector. NGOs in Cambodia focus on a variety of issues, including poverty reduction, education, healthcare, and human rights. Whether you’re interested in fieldwork or administrative roles, the country’s vibrant NGO community provides an array of NGO job opportunities.

Key NGO Jobs in Cambodia:

Field Officers: Field officers work directly with local communities, implementing and managing projects that address specific social issues. Many NGOs are looking for individuals with a background in social work, public health, or environmental science.

Project Managers: These professionals oversee the planning and execution of projects, ensuring goals are met within budget and on time. Project management roles often require experience in development or management sectors.

Program Analysts: Analysts assess the effectiveness of ongoing programs, providing NGOs with the data they need to refine their strategies and improve outcomes.

If you’re a professional seeking an impactful career, exploring NGO jobs in Phnom Penh or rural areas is a great way to contribute to Cambodia’s development while gaining valuable work experience.

Benefits of Working for the UN and NGOs in Cambodia

One of the greatest advantages of working in UN jobs in Cambodia or within the NGO sector is the ability to contribute to meaningful change. These organizations play a pivotal role in improving the lives of vulnerable communities, addressing issues like healthcare, education, and women’s rights.

Other Benefits Include:

Competitive Salaries: UN jobs in Cambodia salary structures are often higher than local job markets, especially for highly skilled professionals or those with international experience.

Professional Development: Many NGOs and UN organizations offer training programs that help staff develop new skills and advance their careers.

International Exposure: Working for the UN or an NGO in Cambodia can provide significant international experience, particularly for those aspiring to work for large global organizations in the future.

How to Find Job Opportunities in Cambodia

For job seekers, finding a job opportunity in Cambodia with the UN or an NGO can be a rewarding and strategic career move. Several job boards and career platforms regularly post job announcements in Cambodia, making it easier for candidates to explore opportunities.

UN Job Listings: The United Nations frequently posts un job announcements in Cambodia on its career portal. These listings provide detailed descriptions of available roles, qualifications needed, and application procedures.

NGO Job Boards: Websites dedicated to NGO recruitment, like Idealist and ReliefWeb, often post the latest NGO jobs in Cambodia. These platforms allow job seekers to filter their search based on location, role, or organization.

Networking: Engaging with professional networks or attending job fairs can also help job seekers discover job opportunities in Cambodia with both local and international NGOs.

UN Jobs and NGO Opportunities for Foreigners

Cambodia also presents excellent opportunities for foreigners looking for UN jobs in Cambodia or positions within international NGOs. Many organizations seek international talent to bring diverse skills and perspectives to their teams. While local experience is valued, foreigners with relevant qualifications and a passion for humanitarian work can find exciting career prospects.

For expatriates, UN jobs Cambodia for foreigners can offer relocation benefits, language training, and cultural orientation programs to ensure a smooth transition. Additionally, many NGOs also welcome international candidates, particularly for roles that require specialized expertise.

Conclusion

[freeworldallahmbaclass]

Run the plays part of me being a team Leader Joe Montana and An American Hero myself as Tom Brady I get to run plays that help society crazy job but I love doing the job it helps make society much better I love that I'm a super hero and own an Incubator on me being Batman and Superman a Super Hero is really about me building infrastructure for society that is my day job . Good Role model please model yourself after Barack Obama in this book please read this book and model yourself after Barack Obama and we will have a nation of young leaders .

Shedding light on Rikers Island Computer tablets program

Suggestions for Rykers Island tablet programs and NYS DOC tablet program for all buildings on Rikers Island including the adolescent population to help stop gang violence and giving the kids a chance to create a better future for themselves not the pipeline from the streets and back to jail over and over and again and over again , not kick that give them the option of going legit like crime is their for their choosing or they get pushed into it , then push them into legitimacy give them the option through the tablet programs on it to learn how to do research by looking up their case and podcast like how to find your dream job is in there on the tablet along with the radio they could listen to music , call their family and enjoy time on the phone from anywhere in their housing in the facility in the rec room playing board games or on their bed talking to their family and long term solitary confinement inmates should be able to get their tablets and video games handheld systems it is a much better time occupier and it will seriously decrease crime on Rikers Island by over 60 - 70 % if not 100 % percent total annihilation of crime on Rikers Island , you have the greatest substitute for drama and the correction officers getting robbed , slashed and even murdered on Rikers Island what you then have is a hub for learning an Island of learners , readers , researchers , growing and evolving human beings into more decent and civilized wealthy and intelligent men and women that go home and change the world and never return to prison and that is the ultimate goal , but look at the opportunity you have got a chance to turn Rikers to an liberal education and vocational education school a workforce training school you could learn to write resumes , job letters to corporate executives become a mechanic , engineer , electrician , gain your GED and trade skills and job search and job interview from jail and the Correction Officers are the people handing you my tablets they are giving you my tablets to get your life together and get the future you want they are running my program for you while you are in the cradle ( Jail ) and leaving the womb to become a better birthed person so wow that is great we call this the Rikers Island jail tablet and video games program for the inmates on Rikers Island in using all populations and buildings on Rikers Island C - 74 ARDC , C - 95 and all other buildings included from General population to protective custody to long term punitive segregation parts of the jail  .

Vocational programs OSHA 10 - Instructional video on what to do on a construction site .

OSHA 30 - Instructional on what to do on a construction site , private office buildings and government buildings .

Auto mechanics Electrical Plumbing Carpentry CDL manual Building maintenance Taxi delivery Administrative assistant Typing Legal research Drivers manual

General education classes Basic mathematics English classes GED\ Tasc preparation Science Social studies U . S . History classes 

Tablet program for Rikers Island Resume writing classes , cover letters also and Job interviewing simulation on their tablets also podcasts the inmates adult populations and adolescent population get to learn how to write cover letters , resumes and fill out Job applications and use simulation for practicing of Job interviews to better integrate into society with an earned Certificate of relief from all disabilities and prove their rehabilitation on programs they attended while inside of prison to better adjust to the outside world when released from prison and joining the work world in their resume letters and cover letters and job offer letters they will have to explain to employers that they are fully rehabilitated and a changed person that found something constructive to do with their mind and time while in prison .

DOC officially launches new tablet program for all people in custody Dec 13, 2022 — “These tablets will provide valuable and educational services and increase family engagement so people in custody can stay in touch with their families .

What can inmates do on tablets?

Tablets offer specialized content and services for inmates to use during their stay at correctional facilities (where available). The tablets allow your loved ones access to a suite of education and entertainment content, plus the ability to place phone calls, send messages, and get general on-site support.

Laws I put in place with the Mayor of New York City and the Governor of New York City through my incubator program , thank you .

Many states and localities also have their own equal opportunity laws that expand on federal protections related to hiring and interviewing . Here are few examples :

Ban the box laws : Many states have passed laws that prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicants criminal history on a job application or during the initial stages of the hiring process . ( The term " ban the box " refers to the recent campaign against applicants to mark a check box on the job application if they have a criminal record . )

Fair - chance hiring laws : Some states have enacted fair - chance hiring laws that require employers to give candidates the opportunity to explain their criminal history before making a hiring decision .

Salary history bans : Multiple states now have laws that prohibit employers from asking candidates about their salary history . The goal is to stop perpetuating pay gaps for workers who are underpaid .

Drug testing : Now that a number of states have legalized marijuana ( Thanks to me ) . New laws protect applicants from being discriminated against based on the lawful use of marijuana outside of work .

Why care

This looks like a job for the Peace Corps our soldiers in reserves of the Navy , Army and all other military forces and of course the United Nations and World Foode program .

It is issues like this and kids swimming in pools of dirty water in Brazil that make you care and want to something about it and develop programs and hopefully those countries follow suit .

Eat good , I hope the best for Rafah and the men of power their do more than dress nice in a suit and treat their people like royalty . We call each other Kings and Queens in the streets of New York City we say peace King or peace Queen and not hey to that person starving or dying no that is a King or Queen to me and so should they be to you too , tell the city of Rafah I said hello and enjoy the food , thank you that is from me soon to be delivered to them and their city .

I sponsor it the drug and HIV medicine Cabenuva . I sponsor my incubator program and all hospitals on all 7 Continents of this world in every city , town and country even state capitals releasing the cure for cancer all cancers and to give free cancer screening and free cancer treatment for all the types of cancers and stages of cancer treatment to all people no matter their medical insurance coverage , Medicaid and , Medicare and all other insurances or lack thereof included fair treatment for all patients and clients . If I had HIV Aids I would take the medicine be like me and take your medicine so you could grow up healthy and strong like me all things is possible when you believe and have faith and now with Cabenuva we have that cure finally , thank you so much .

I'm the Incubator man nice ring to it , I like it . Being a Superhero is my day job and I love it wherever there is sorrow I'm there to help .

What is the purpose of incubator? An incubator is designed to provide a safe, controlled space for infants to live while their vital organs develop. Unlike a simple bassinet, an incubator provides an environment that can be adjusted to provide the ideal temperature as well as the perfect amount of oxygen, humidity, and light an enclosed apparatus providing a controlled environment for the care and protection of premature or unusually small babies an apparatus used to hatch eggs or grow microorganisms under controlled conditions.

What does incubator mean in business? An incubator is a facility designed to nurture and accelerate the growth of new businesses. It typically provides resources such as office space, access to mentors and investors, shared services, and other resources to help entrepreneurs launch their business. What are the two types of incubator?

There are basically two types of incubators available, forced-air and still-air incubators. Forced-air incubators have fans that provide internal air circulation. The capacity of these units may be very large. The still-air incubators are usually small without fans for air circulation Who needs an incubator? Babies who are born too early, before 37 weeks, can have problems such as low birth weight, irregular temperature, and unstable vital signs.

A baby incubator helps control their temperature. They will also be given high-calorie formula and will get the treatment they need for any other issues.

How do incubators make money?

Services provided by incubators include office space, administrative functions, education and mentorship, access to investors and capital, and idea generation. Incubators either charge a fee for their services or take an equity stake in the startup. The period of incubation can last from a few months to several years. Well bro I own my own hospital my own incubator on why I kept it to help and heal people .

I sponsor the release of a cancer treatment for all stages of cancer from stage one cancer to prevent that cancer from spreading to stage 4 cancer we still need the knockout cancer treatment for stage 4 cancer though and I'm watching to see what medical team and university come up with those drugs first that eliminate the cancer at that stage , a cure for stage 1 cancer to stage 4 cancer let us see who win that war a more important war to fight not with guns and knives and killing each other . A lot of people say they are cures for stuff like cancer and HIV AIDS like they gave me the cure for HIV / AIDS Cabenuva and the other drug Demivato to sponsor so they say I found the cure for HIV AIDS I don't have the disease myself but I sponsor it what it is those medical teams or inventors have nobody to sponsor their new drugs that help cure those diseases so I took them on and sponsor it now thank you Cabenuva and the Demivato drug eliminates HIV before spreading into AIDS but you have to take it as prescribed to become undetected for HIV they have my name on it now , I approve it my stamp of approval is on it now so yes it works so take your medication as prescribed so you grow up healthy and strong , I love the cause and yes I love my stamp all over those inventions now if their is a cure for all stages of cancer stage 1 to stage 4 cancer give it to the people that needs it please I sponsor it me and my incubator program my hospital sponsor your drug and I ask all hospitals all over the world to prescribe those medication and cure to all people regardless of their medical insurances or lack of medical insurance that is fair treatment for all people , thank you .

News update good luck to you in life , thank you for letting me help the people . I feel people shouldn't let me be the best Joyce Meyer student their is just my bragging rights they should compete with me on that and see who can be the better Joyce Meyer student their is she is the best isn't she . I love her work it changed my life I read it everyday I make time for it everyday so should you . She got a book on every subject or issues we may be going through and a better way to solve it the problems you are facing the books her books is my instructions and should be yours now on from now on now it is my manual my breath of life and should be yours from now on . She changed the way I think and live now and I'm challenging New Yorkers all New Yorkers to let's see who can apply the principles attitudes and actions and behaviors that Joyce Meyer suggest in her books go for it . I want and wish all New Yorkers will read her books and adjust her content into their lives to make New Yorkers a better place for all us to live in , thank you .

[thxnews]

Africa's Climate Change Views: Afrobarometer Insights

  Bridging the Atlantic Divide

Against the backdrop of world leaders converging in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and the imminent Climate Ambition Summit under UN Secretary-General António Guterres, an Afrobarometer delegation has concluded a four-day engagement with influential U.S. Africa policy actors in Washington, D.C. The focus of their engagement was to spotlight and discuss African perspectives on critical global issues, including climate change, democracy, governance, gender, and youth.   High-Level Dialogues In a series of meetings held at the United States Institute of Peace, Afrobarometer leaders unveiled their research network's latest findings on climate change, democracy, and gender to representatives from the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as non-governmental organizations and advocates for democracy and governance. Additionally, the Afrobarometer delegation engaged with the World Bank's Africa Chief Economist, Andrew Dabalen, and his team. They also met with the Africa Program of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), led by Senior Director Dave Peterson.  

Shaping the UN Agenda

Afrobarometer Round 9 Surveys The Afrobarometer's Round 9 surveys, conducted between 2021 and 2022, provide invaluable insights into the views, aspirations, and experiences of African citizens in the realms of governance, democracy, and climate change. These issues take center stage on the United Nations General Assembly's 2023 agenda. E. Gyimah-Boadi, Chair of Afrobarometer's Board, emphasized, "Our findings illuminate key issues of paramount interest to policymakers, offering perspectives that resonate with the dreams and real-life experiences of Africans, particularly in the realms of climate change, democracy, and governance. These insights should reverberate strongly within the corridors of power at the United Nations General Assembly, compelling collective action."  

Key Highlights from Afrobarometer's Round 9 Surveys

Climate Change: Awareness and Impact   Climate Change Awareness Across 36 African countries surveyed during 2021-2022, approximately half of Africans (52%) reported having heard of climate change, while 46% remained unaware. Awareness levels exhibited significant disparities, ranging from approximately 80% in Seychelles to a mere 22% in Tunisia.   Impact on Lives Among those cognizant of climate change, an overwhelming 73% believed it was adversely affecting their lives. This perception was most prevalent in Madagascar (91%), Lesotho (88%), Mauritius (86%), Malawi (86%), and Benin (85%).   Call for Action Dissatisfaction with the efforts of governments, developed countries, businesses, and ordinary citizens in combating climate change was widespread. The majority demanded "a lot more" from these stakeholders.   Government Action In all 36 countries, a substantial majority of citizens advocated immediate government action to curb climate change, even if it entailed costs, job losses, or economic repercussions. Remarkably, in 14 countries, 80% or more of those aware of climate change shared this viewpoint.  

Gender Equality and Gender-Based Violence

Rights and Opportunities A resounding 73% of respondents expressed the belief that women should have equal rights as men in owning and inheriting land. However, a slightly smaller majority (58%) endorsed equal rights in employment.   Political Aspirations Approximately three-quarters (75%) of citizens affirmed that women should have the same opportunities as men to participate in political office. This sentiment rejected the notion that men were inherently superior political leaders and thus should be given preferential treatment as candidates. This view prevailed across all surveyed countries, except in Sudan, where a slim majority (53%) favored men as better leaders.   Challenges Faced While a substantial majority (79%) believed that a woman running for office would gain standing in the community, significant proportions also anticipated criticism or harassment (52%) and family-related issues (40%).   Addressing Gender-Based Violence Africans identified gender-based violence as the most pressing women's rights issue that their governments and societies needed to tackle. Opinions were divided on whether domestic violence should be treated as a criminal matter (50%) or a private matter (47%).  

Democracy and Governance

Support for Democracy A clear majority of Africans voiced support for democracy and accountable governance, with 66% expressing a preference for democracy over any other system of government.   Rejection of Non-Democratic Alternatives Even larger majorities rejected non-democratic alternatives, such as "one-man rule" (80%), "one-party rule" (78%), and military rule (67%).   Endorsement of Democratic Norms Majorities also endorsed democratic norms, institutions, and practices, including electing political leaders through elections (75%), imposing constitutional limits on presidential terms (74%), promoting multiparty competition (64%), ensuring a free media (65%), and demanding government accountability (61%).   Consistent Demand for Democracy Across 30 countries consistently surveyed between 2014/2015 and 2021/2022, citizens remained largely consistent in their demand for democracy and accountable governance across numerous indicators.   Challenges to Democracy Nevertheless, the preference for democracy had become a minority viewpoint in four countries: Mali (39%), South Africa (43%), Angola (47%), and Lesotho (49%). Over the period from 2014 to 2022, support for democracy experienced significant declines in several countries, including Mali (down by 36 percentage points), Burkina Faso (-26 points), South Africa (-21 points), and Guinea (-15 points). As global leaders convene to address these critical issues, the Afrobarometer's findings provide essential insights into the perspectives and desires of the African people. These insights are poised to shape discussions on climate change, democracy, governance, and gender equality on the world stage.   Sources: THX News & Afrobarometer. Read the full article

[robertreich]

Trump’s 40 Biggest Broken Promises

Trump voters. Nearly 4 years in, here’s an updated list of Trump’s 40 biggest broken promises.

1. He said coronavirus would “go away without a vaccine.”

You bought it. But it didn’t. While other countries got the pandemic under control and avoided large numbers of fatalities, the virus has killed more than 130,000 Americans*, and that number is still climbing.

2. He said he won’t have time to play golf if elected president.

But he has made more than 250 visits to his golf clubs since he took office – a record for any president – including more trips during the pandemic than meetings with Dr. Fauci. The total financial cost to America? More than $136 million.

3. He said he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, and replace it with something “beautiful.”

It didn’t happen. Instead, 7 million Americans have lost their health insurance since he took office. He has asked the Supreme Court to strike down the law in the middle of a global pandemic with no plan to replace it.

4. He said he’d cut your taxes, and that the super-rich like him would pay more.

He did the opposite. By 2027, the richest 1 percent will have received 83 percent of the Trump tax cut and the richest 0.1 percent, 60 percent of it. But more than half of all Americans will pay more in taxes.

5. He said corporations would use their tax cuts to invest in American workers.

They didn’t. Corporations spent more of their tax savings buying back shares of their own stock than increasing workers wages.

6. He said he would boost economic growth by 4 percent a year.

Nope. The economy stalled, and unemployment has soared to the highest levels since the Great Depression. Just over half of working-age Americans are employed – the worst ratio in 70 years.  

7. He said he wouldn’t “cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.”

His latest budget includes billions in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

8. He promised to be “the voice” of American workers.

He hasn’t. His administration has stripped workers of their rights, repealed overtime protections, rolled back workplace safety rules, and turned a blind eye to employers who steal their workers’ wages.

9. He promised that the average American family would see a $4,000 pay raise because of his tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations.

But nothing trickled down. Wages for most Americans have barely kept up with inflation.    

10. He promised that anyone who wants a test for Covid will get one.

But countless Americans still can’t get a test.

11. He said hydroxychloroquine protects against coronavirus.

No way. The FDA revoked its emergency authorization due to the drug’s potentially lethal side effects.

12. He promised to eliminate the federal deficit.

He has increased the federal deficit by more than 60 percent.

13. He said he would hire “only the best people.”

He has fired a record number of his own cabinet and White House picks, and then called them “whackos,” “dumb as a rock," and  "not mentally qualified.”  6 of them have been charged with crimes.

14. He promised to bring down the price of prescription drugs and said drug companies are “getting away with murder.”

They still are. Drug prices have soared, and a company that got federal funds to develop a drug to treat coronavirus is charging $3,000 a pop.=

15. He promised to revive the struggling coal industry and bring back lost coal mining jobs.

The coal industry has continued to lose jobs as clean energy becomes cheaper. 

16. He promised to help American workers during the pandemic.

But 80% of the tax benefits in the coronavirus stimulus package have gone to millionaires and billionaires. And at least 21 million Americans have lost extra unemployment benefits, with no new stimulus check to fall back on.

17. He said he’d drain the swamp.

Instead, he’s brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, and he’s filled departments and agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who are crafting new policies for the same industries they used to work for.

18. He promised to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions.

His Justice Department is trying to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act, including protections for people with preexisting conditions.

19. He said Mexico would pay for his border wall.

The wall is estimated to cost American taxpayers an estimated $11 billion.

20. He promised to bring peace to the Middle East.

Instead, tensions have increased and his so-called “peace plan” was dead on arrival.

21. He promised to lock up Hillary Clinton for using a private email server.

He didn’t. Funny enough, Trump uses his personal cell-phone for official business, and several members of his own administration, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka, have used private email in the White House.

22. He promised to use his business experience to whip the federal government into shape.

He hasn’t. His White House is in permanent chaos. He caused the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history when he didn’t get funding for his wall.

23. He promised to end DACA.

The Supreme Court ruled that his plan to deport 700,000 young immigrants was unconstitutional, and DACA still stands.  

24. He promised “six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.”

He hasn’t delivered.

25. He promised to bring an end to Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear program.

Kim is expanding North Korea’s nuclear program.

26. He said he would distance himself from his businesses while in office.

He continues to make money from his properties and maintain his grip on his real estate empire.

27. He said he’d force companies to keep jobs in America, and that there would be consequences for companies that shipped jobs abroad.

Since he took office, companies like GE, Carrier, Ford, and Harley Davidson have continued to outsource thousands of jobs while still receiving massive tax breaks. And offshoring by federal contractors has increased.

28. He promised to end the opioid crisis.

Americans are now more likely to die from an opioid overdose than a car accident.

29. He said he’d release his tax returns.

It’s been nearly 4 years. He hasn’t released his tax returns.

30. He promised to tear up the Iran nuclear deal and renegotiate a better deal.

Negotiations have gone nowhere, and he brought us to the brink of war.

31. He promised to enact term limits for all members of Congress.

He has not even tried to enact term limits.

32. He promised that China would pay for tariffs on imported goods.

His trade war has cost U.S. consumers $34 billion a year, eliminated 300,000 American jobs, and cost American taxpayers $22 billion in subsidies for farmers hurt by the tariffs.

33. He promised to “push colleges to cut the skyrocketing cost of tuition.”

Instead, he’s made it easier for for-profit colleges to defraud students, and tuition is still rising.

34. He promised to protect American steel jobs.

The steel industry continues to lose jobs.

35. He promised tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations would spur economic growth and pay for themselves.

His tax cuts will add $2 trillion to the federal deficit.

36. After pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, he said he’d negotiate a better deal on the environment.

He hasn’t attempted to negotiate any deal.  

37. He promised that the many women who accused him of sexual misconduct “will be sued after the election is over.”

He hasn’t sued them, presumably because he doesn’t want the truth to come out.

38. He promised to bring back all troops from Afghanistan.

He now says: "We’ll always have somebody there.”

39. He pledged to put America first.

Instead, he’s deferred to dictators and authoritarians at America’s expense, and ostracized our allies — who now laugh at us behind our back.

40. He promised to be the voice of the common people.

He’s made his rich friends richer, increased the political power of big corporations and the wealthy, and harmed working Americans.Don’t let the liar-in-chief break any more promises. Vote him out in November.

[bopinion]

2021 / 39

Aperçu of the Week:

"...and when Kermit the Frog sang 'It's not easy being green', he was wrong..."

(Boris Johnson last wednesday at the UN General Assembly)

Bad News of the Week:

"Elect a clown - expect a circus". Sometimes it doesn't take extensive analysis, but just a popular bumper sticker to get to the heart of a political situation. The majority of Britons voted for Brexit. And for Boris Johnson. For most Europeans, these two facts are enough to shake their heads in incomprehension. And to wonder whether everything in the United Kingdom is still above board.

Much has happened on the island in recent months: The health care system lacks qualified specialists. Goods traffic is jammed at the borders because there is a shortage of customs officers. In the meat industry, the pigs are literally piling up because there is a shortage of skilled workers in the slaughterhouses. After empty shelves in supermarkets, gas stations have now also run out of products. Because? Exactly: there is a shortage of skilled workers. In this case, truck drivers. All jobs that don't necessarily require difficult university degrees and semesters abroad. They are normal, down-to-earth, solid jobs that are needed all over the world to keep the business running.

Stupidly, British policy and industry in these - among other! - industries did not pay attention to sufficient qualification in their own population, but relied on cheaper labor. Who came from where? From the unloved mainland, especially from Eastern and Southeastern Europe. No problem if you are a member of the European Union and thus benefit from the so-called "free movement of workers." After Brexit, however, that fell away and one got rid - finally, many Britons breathed a sigh of relief - of these troublesome foreigners. And got chaos in return. Congratulations!

What is sad about this is that it is a failure by design. Everyone saw this coming - everyone outside 10 Downing Street. The mission was called "Taking back control". But the result now, unfortunately, is loss of control. And I state this without any malice or gloating. As a citizen of a trading nation, I have always been concerned about a smooth economic structure across borders. And as a European - and above all a German - I greatly appreciate stable relations with our allies. But that's the way it is.

Currently, the upcoming Tory party conference is expected to be a jubilant event for the Brexit poster boy. He has kept his word. "Getting Brexit done" was his campaign promise. And he has delivered. Only apparently not only on the backs of the Northern Irish, the fishermen and farmers, and the financial district of London City, but also on the backs of all citizens. A little insight would do well. After all, without admitting one's own mistakes or misjudgments, it is difficult, if not impossible, to bring about lasting change. One can only wish the Prime Minister the courage and sovereignty to do so. The thanks of his own people and the entire continent would certainly go down well in the history books and in the everyday lives of the British...

Good News of the Week:

Germany has voted. And as predicted by me - as most political analysts ;-) - predicted, the result is only an intermediate one, as only a coalition of three parties can form a parliamentary majority. This is not only new in our political culture, but also a disaster or a blessing, depending on your point of view.

A disaster, because the political agenda for the coming legislative period is based on the coalition agreement, which usually turns out to be all the more unambitious the more different interests have struggled for common ground for its constitution. This is a blessing, since the more distant a participation model is from the principle of "the winner takes it all," the more it represents the wishes of a broader population. As I file this commentary under "Good News", it is not difficult to guess that after a long struggle of my inner voices, I have decided in favor of the latter. After all, no matter how tedious the day-to-day political business may be in a three-member constellation, it is far more democratic.

It is particularly worth mentioning how the "citrus coalition" (as the Liberals and the Greens have recently been dubbed because of their party colors) fulfill the role of what only seems to be the second guard with a will to shape policy. Because one thing is clear: regardless of whether the Social Democrats, who won by a razor-thin margin, or the conservatives, who were punished, manage to successfully form a government, it is the Yellows and the Greens who decide who moves into the chancellor's office; they are the kingmakers.

So these two parties have met for exploratory talks in the week that is drawing to a close to find common ground and build bridges over their differences. The lively debate culture is dominated by terms such as renewal, new beginnings and change, but also reliability, stability and future viability. Because that's what the Yellows and the Greens have in common: they have clearly positioned themselves against "business as usual," want to tackle the challenges of the coming years with active policies and not just manage the status quo. If they make this a non-negotiable basic requirement of their coalition talks, much will already have been gained.

P.S.: In Iceland, Prime Minister Jakobsdóttir's ruling coalition has been re-elected. But the big winners are the women as a whole: They now form the majority in parliament.

Personal happy Moment of the Week:

Last evening, or rather last night, my daughter made up for her 18th birthday, which was cancelled in the spring for obvious reasons. Besides the obvious fun she and her friends seemed to have, two aspects struck me as positive: First, they included a proverbial old friend with whom she had played in the nursery when she was just three years old. And secondly, she also invited her little brother, although he really has no business at a blooming party or at beer pong. But his mother doesn't necessarily have to know that... ;-)

I couldn't care less...

...that Armin Laschet, the leading candidate of the conservatives, even on election day delivered another laughing stock: he had not folded his own ballot paper correctly and thus in principle invalidated his own vote in front of the press. It seamlessly joins the ranks of non-existent professionalism, virtually no profile, meager program, poor preparation, lack of aplomb, imprecise positions, obvious weaknesses.... I could go on. Political commentators have blamed the election debacle (the lowest result in history!) mainly on the candidate. I'll go one step further: when an actually established political force with a solid record after personalities like Adenauer, Kohl and Merkel fixates on such a weak candidate, it doesn't belong to it any other way. Sorry.

As I write this...

...I'm glad that after all the political dominance of the last few weeks, at least in prime time, a pleasant normality is returning. Tonight, my doppelganger Klaus Borowski is investigating in a new episode of "Tatort" (crime scene).

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 11, 2021

Heather Cox Richardson

On the twentieth anniversary of the day terrorists from the al-Qaeda network used four civilian airplanes as weapons against the United States, the weather was eerily similar to the bright, clear blue sky of what has come to be known as 9/11. George W. Bush, who was president on that horrific day, spoke in Pennsylvania at a memorial for the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 who, on September 11, 2001, stormed the cockpit and brought their airplane down in a field, killing everyone on board but denying the terrorists a fourth American trophy.

Former president Bush said: “Twenty years ago, terrorists chose a random group of Americans, on a routine flight, to be collateral damage in a spectacular act of terror. The 33 passengers and 7 crew of Flight 93 could have been any group of citizens selected by fate. In a sense, they stood in for us all.” And, Bush continued, “The terrorists soon discovered that a random group of Americans is an exceptional group of people. Facing an impossible circumstance, they comforted their loved ones by phone, braced each other for action, and defeated the designs of evil.”

Recalling his experience that day, Bush talked of “the America I know.”

“On America's day of trial and grief, I saw millions of people instinctively grab for a neighbor's hand and rally to the cause of one another…. At a time when religious bigotry might have flowed freely, I saw Americans reject prejudice and embrace people of Muslim faith…. At a time when nativism could have stirred hatred and violence against people perceived as outsiders, I saw Americans reaffirm their welcome to immigrants and refugees…. At a time when some viewed the rising generation as individualistic and decadent, I saw young people embrace an ethic of service and rise to selfless action.”

Today’s commemorations of that tragic day almost a generation ago seemed to celebrate exactly what Bush did: the selfless heroism and care for others shown by those like Welles Crowther, the man in the red bandana, who helped others out of danger before succumbing himself; the airplane passengers who called their loved ones to say goodbye; neighbors; firefighters; law enforcement officers; the men and women who volunteered for military service after the attack.

That day, and our memories of it, show American democracy at its best: ordinary Americans putting in the work, even at its dirtiest and most dangerous, to take care of each other.

It is this America we commemorate today.

But even in 2001, that America was under siege by those who distrusted the same democracy today’s events commemorated. Those people, concentrated in the Republican Party, worried that permitting all Americans to have a say in their government would lead to “socialism”: minorities and women would demand government programs paid for with tax dollars collected from hardworking people—usually, white men. They wanted to slash taxes and government regulations, giving individuals the “freedom” to do as they wished.

In 1986, they had begun to talk about purifying the vote; when the Democrats in 1993 passed the so-called Motor Voter law permitting people to register to vote at certain government offices, they claimed that Democrats were buying votes. The next year, Republicans began to claim that Democrats won elections through fraud, and in 1998, the Florida legislature passed a voter ID law that led to a purge of as many as 100,000 voters from the system before the election of 2000, resulting in what the United States Commission on Civil Rights called “an extraordinarily high and inexcusable level of disenfranchisement,” particularly of African American voters.

It was that election that put George W. Bush in the White House, despite his losing the popular vote to Democrat Al Gore by more than a half a million votes.

Bush had run on the promise he would be “a uniter, not a divider,” but as soon as he took office, he advanced the worldview of those who distrusted democracy. He slashed government programs and in June pushed a $1.3 trillion cut through Congress. These measures increased the deficit without spurring the economy, and voters were beginning to sour on a presidency that had been precarious since its controversial beginnings.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, hours before the planes hit the Twin Towers, a New York Times editorial announced: “There is a whiff of panic in the air.”

And then the planes hit.

“In our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment,” Bush said. America had seemed to drift since the Cold War had ended twelve years before, but now the country was in a new death struggle, against an even more implacable foe. To defeat the nation’s enemies, America must defend free enterprise and Christianity at all costs.

In the wake of the attacks, Bush’s popularity soared to 90 percent. He and his advisers saw that popularity as a mandate to change America, and the world, according to their own ideology. “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists,” he announced.

Immediately, the administration focused on strengthening business. It shored up the airline industry and, at the advice of oil industry executives, deregulated the oil industry and increased drilling. By the end of the year, Congress had appropriated more than $350 billion for the military and homeland security, but that money would not go to established state and local organizations; it would go to new federal programs run by administration loyalists. Bush’s proposed $2.13 trillion 2003 budget increased military spending by $48 billion while slashing highway funding, environmental initiatives, job training, and other domestic spending. It would throw the budget $401 billion in the red. Republicans attacked any opposition as an attack on “the homeland.”

The military response to the attacks also turned ideological quickly. As soon as he heard about the attacks, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asked his aides to see if there was enough evidence to “hit” Iraqi president Saddam Hussein as well as al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. In fact, Saddam had not been involved in the attack on America: the al-Qaeda terrorists of 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

Rumsfeld was trying to fit the events of 911 into the worldview of the so-called neocons who had come together in 1997 to complain that President Bill Clinton’s foreign policy was “incoherent” and to demand that the U.S. take international preeminence in the wake of the Cold War. They demanded significantly increased defense spending and American-backed “regime change” in countries that did not have “political and economic freedom.” They wanted to see a world order “friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles.”

After 9/11, Bush launched rocket attacks on the Taliban government of Afghanistan that had provided a safe haven for al-Qaeda, successfully overthrowing it before the end of the year. But then the administration undertook to reorder the Middle East in America's image. In 2002, it announced that the U.S. would no longer simply try to contain our enemies as President Harry S. Truman had planned, or to fund their opponents as President Ronald Reagan had done, but to strike nations suspected of planning attacks on the U.S. preemptively: the so-called Bush Doctrine. In 2003, after setting up a pro-American government in Afghanistan, the administration invaded Iraq.

By 2004, the administration was so deeply entrenched in its own ideology that a senior adviser to Bush told journalist Ron Suskind that people like him—Suskind—were in “the reality-based community”: they believed people could find solutions based on their observations and careful study of discernible reality. But, the aide continued, such a worldview was obsolete. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore.… We are an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”

The 9/11 attacks enabled Republicans to tar those who questioned the administration's economic or foreign policies as un-American: either socialists or traitors making the nation vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Surely, such people should not have a voice at the polls. Republican gerrymandering and voter suppression began to shut Democratic voices out of our government, aided by a series of Supreme Court decisions. In 2010, the court opened the floodgates of corporate money into our elections to sway voters; in 2013, it gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act; in 2021, it said that election laws that affected different groups of voters unevenly were not unconstitutional.

And now we grapple with the logical extension of that argument as a former Republican president claims he won the 2020 election because, all evidence to the contrary, Democratic votes were fraudulent.

Today, former president Bush called out the similarities between today’s domestic terrorists who attacked our Capitol to overthrow our government on January 6 and the terrorists of 9/11. “There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home, “he said. “But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them.”

In doing so, we can take guidance from the passengers on Flight 93, who demonstrated as profoundly as it is possible to do what confronting such an ideology means. While we cannot know for certain what happened on that plane on that fateful day, investigators believe that before the passengers of Flight 93 stormed the cockpit, throwing themselves between the terrorists and our government, and downed the plane, they all took a vote.

---

Notes:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/11/politics/transcript-george-w-bush-speech-09-11-2021/index.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20050205041635/http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm

http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=project_for_the_new_american_century

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[personal-blog243]

Sharing...not my list

I have heard from people that they want a reason to vote FOR Biden beyond that he's not Trump. Okay, I respect that, so I went on his website, poured through his policies, and came up with 100 reasons to vote for Biden that don't mention Trump.

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave

4.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.) Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.) Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.) Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.) Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.) Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

82.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

[queernerdywitch]

100 reasons to vote for #JoeBiden that don't mention Trump. I didn’t compile the list, and I think there’s LOTS more on climate science, but anyway, what are your favorites? 13, 18, oh geez, all the 50s and 70s... not that he can DO all this....

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave

4.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory inimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.) Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.) Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.) Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.) Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.) Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

82.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

Compiled by David Frree

***EDIT*** thisis all from his website. I, David, literally copy pasted the bullet points from his website. If you go on his website, click Joe’s Vision, he has different themes. “Criminal justice reform, helping America’s farmers, etc.” I clicked through a bunch of those, and tried to get the quickest bullet points from his website.

[jennymanrique]

COVID-19 fuels the threat of global famine

The pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity around the world. The World Food Program is short of resources to alleviate hunger.

Conflicts, climate change and now COVID-19 are the three C’s driving 270 million people to famine in the most impoverished countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Central and Latin America. Officials at the World Food Program (WFP), the hunger relief arm of the United Nations that feeds about a hundred million people each year in some 88 countries, warned that they are running out of resources to meet the demand for staple foods and thus prevent people dying from starvation.

“We are asking globally $13.5 billion for our budget this year, but we forecast being able to raise only about $7.8 billion,” said Steve Taravella, WFP’s senior spokesperson at a briefing organized by Ethnic Media Services on Feb. 26.

Before the pandemic, there were about 135 million people acutely hungry in the world, but the collateral economic impacts of the virus have doubled that number. WFP estimates that in 2021, about 19,000 officials working in developing countries will have to duplicate efforts to serve at least 120 million people, in hardest-hit places like Yemen, South Sudan, Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

“For some years WFP and others working on global hunger were really effective in bringing hunger down to what we hoped would be the zero hunger goal of the UN by 2030. It’s pretty clear now, that’s not going to happen,” Taravella said. “COVID is making the poorest of the world poorer and the hungriest of the world hungrier.”

WFP won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for its efforts to eradicate hunger in areas where natural disasters and conflict have disrupted normal food distribution channels. Areas where bombed roads prevent trucks carrying flour, rice, lentils, peas, cooking oil and salt from getting through. Areas where airstrikes destroy planes carrying dietary supplies. Areas where incessant fighting prevents hungry people from venturing out for food or aid workers from moving safely to provide it, at a time when crops cannot be harvested.

“There have been terrorist acts against villagers and aid workers by Al-Qaeda Al-Shabaab, Boko Haram and ISIS,” Taravella said. Recently, a WFP staff member was killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo while accompanying the Italian ambassador on a visit to a school feeding site.

WFP provides school meals in the classrooms, helps pregnant women and new mothers to understand nutrition, and supports small farmers to find markets for their produce.

“We work very closely with governments but we see ourselves there only as a temporary band-aid. Our goal is to help build the country’s capacity to manage the programs,” said Taravella.

Although the WFP does not operate food banks in the United States, immigrants in the country have contributed greatly to alleviating hunger in their homelands after natural disasters such as the typhoon that devastated the Philippines or the hurricanes in Central America. But COVID has also impacted remittances.

Devastating hurricanes

“When COVID hit, we were really hoping that the hurricane season will be a quiet one as we had a few years ago, but that was not the case,” said Elio Rujano, communications officer for the WFP’’s regional bureau for Central America and the Caribbean.

The 2020 season produced 30 named storms, of which 13 became hurricanes, six of them devastating in scope. Eta and Iota ravaged areas in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua while tropical storm Amanda hit El Salvador. Since 2014, these countries have already been experiencing prolonged periods of droughts or excessive rains caused by the El Niño phenomenon, both causing the destruction of crops and the livelihood of farmer families.

“In the past we were only focusing on the dry corridor where rural farmers live, but now, because of the pandemic, hunger has expanded to urban areas,” Rujano said from his Panama City office. “50% of the labor in Latin America and Central America is informal labor. People work on the streets, and since they could no longer go out, they couldn’t meet their basic needs.”

Back in 2018, hunger in the region was affecting 2.2 million people and that number is approaching nearly 8 million in 2021.

Here WFP works to support communities to become more resilient to climate change. They teach them to replace the plantation of fragile products such as beans and maize with beekeeping, since honey can be stored for longer periods. They also provide people with cash transfers to buy food at local shops and teach them about nutrition.

Rujano estimates that they could serve up to 2.6 million people this year if they reach $47 millions in donations to reach that population.

Malnourished children in Yemen

Although the situation in Central America is worrying, in places like Yemen where conflict is the main driver of the hunger crisis, the figures are even more chilling. Since the end of 2018, this country has been described as the home of the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Six years of war between the Houthi rebels who control the north of the country and the nationally recognized government dominating the south, have devastated infrastructure, destroyed agricultural land, eroded government services and left the healthcare system on its knees.

About 4 million people out of a population of 30 have become internal refugees while food prices are on average 140 times higher than before the war.

“The hunger situation right now in Yemen has hit a new peak,” said Annabel Symington, head of communications for the WFP in Yemen. “The forecast for 2021 is that 50,000 people are already living in famine like conditions, another 5 million are at severe risk of falling into famine and about 11 million people are facing crisis levels of food insecurity,” she added.

Famine occurs when malnutrition is so widespread that people are literally starving from lack of access to nutritious regular food.

WFP assists more than 12 million people in Yemen – its world’s largest operation – delivering flour, pulses, oil, sugar and salt, as well as canned goods for those who do not have immediate access to kitchen equipment such as the case of the internal displaced people.

The conflict has contributed to nearly half of all children under the age of 5 in Yemen facing acute malnutrition, which not only affects their physical and cognitive development, but puts them at risk of death. 11.2 million pregnant or breastfeeding mothers are also malnourished and according to Symington these numbers can be an underestimate.

Mothers are resorting to desperate measures to survive: either they eat less to feed their children or they must choose which of their kids eat.

After COVID, death rates skyrocketed, but as the testing capacity is limited, it is unknown for sure how many people contracted the virus. “The lockdown was lifted quite early because people will starve if they stay at home,” Symington said.

“It is clear that peace is what Yemen needs so we can address the food crisis,” she added.

Migrants in India

In India, the country with the highest number of food insecure people due to its large population (1.3 billion inhabitants), the pandemic worsened the living conditions for domestic migrants.

Almost 139 million people move from rural areas to large cities to work in informal jobs in factories or as street vendors. The coronavirus forced them to go back to their villages, and since transportation was not working, they had to move by foot, facing not only long hours of walking but hunger. The pandemic also disrupted the harvesting season in March and April affecting food supply chains.

“Although the restrictions (due to the pandemic) have been eased out and these people came back to the cities, there are very few jobs due to the economic slowdown,” said from New Delhi Parul Sachdeva, country advisor in India for Give2Asia, an NGO that supports grassroots organizations in 23 countries in Asia Pacific.

“Today 8 in 10 people are eating less food than before the pandemic and nearly 1 in 3 people face moderate or severe food insecurity.”

The government approved a package of US $22.6 billion for the distribution of staple foods during four months and cash transfers of $ 500 rupees (US $ 7) for up to three months. But informal workers were left out of the package, forcing civil society organizations to support those returning to their villages with meals, health supplies and shelter.

Organizations like Akshaya Patra distributed 1.8 million meals a day to children across India. GIve2Asia is now working on economic rehabilitation through training and input costs for agriculture.

“These are the kind of activities we wish to promote,” Sachdeva added. “I think they provide some kind of solution for livelihood regeneration in a country like ours,” she concluded.

You can donate to WFP here or via the Share the Meal app

Originally published here

Want to read this piece in Spanish? Click here

[newstfionline]

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

First Arctic Navigation in February (Bloomberg) A tanker sailed through Arctic sea ice in February for the first time, the latest sign of how quickly the pace of climate change is accelerating in the Earth’s northernmost regions. The Christophe de Margerie was accompanied by the nuclear-powered 50 Let Pobedy icebreaker as it sailed back to Russia this month after carrying liquified natural gas to China through the Northern Sea Route in January. Both trips broke navigation records. The experimental voyage happened after a year of extraordinarily warm conditions in the Arctic that have sent shockwaves across the world, from the snowstorm that blanketed Spain in January to the blast of cold air that swept through Canada in mid-February, moving deep into the South as far as Texas. The Arctic is warming more than twice as quickly as the rest of the world and the area covered by ice there has reached historic lows multiple times over the past 12 months. The melting in the region is already in line with the worst-case climate scenarios outlined by scientists.

Biden mourns 500,000 dead, balancing nation’s grief and hope (AP) With sunset remarks and a national moment of silence, President Joe Biden on Monday confronted head-on the country’s once-unimaginable loss—half a million Americans in the COVID-19 pandemic—as he tried to strike a balance between mourning and hope. “We often hear people described as ordinary Americans. There’s no such thing,” he said Monday evening. “There’s nothing ordinary about them. The people we lost were extraordinary.” The president, who lost his first wife and baby daughter in a car collision and later an adult son to brain cancer, leavened the grief with a message of hope. “This nation will smile again. This nation will know sunny days again. This nation will know joy again. And as we do, we’ll remember each person we’ve lost, the lives they lived, the loved ones they left behind.” He said, “We have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow. We have to resist viewing each life as a statistic or a blur or, on the news. We must do so to honor the dead. But, equally important, to care for the living.”

Texans Needed Food and Comfort After a Brutal Storm. As Usual, They Found It at H-E-B. (NYT) The past week had been a nightmare. A winter storm, one of the worst to hit Texas in a generation, robbed Lanita Generous of power, heat and water in her home. The food she had stored in her refrigerator and freezer had spoiled. She was down to her final five bottles of water. But on Sunday, as the sun shined and ice thawed in Austin, Ms. Generous did the same thing as many Texans in urgent need of food, water and a sense of normalcy: She went to H-E-B. “They’ve been great,” she said, adding with just a touch of hyperbole: “If it hadn’t been for the bread and peanut butter, I would have died in my apartment.” H-E-B is a grocery store chain. But it is also more than that. People buy T-shirts that say “H-E-B for President,” and they post videos to TikTok declaring their love, like the woman clutching a small bouquet of flowers handed to her by an employee: “I wish I had a boyfriend like H-E-B. Always there. Gives me flowers. Feeds me.” For many Texans, H-E-B reflected the ways the state’s maverick spirit can flourish: reliable for routine visits but particularly in a time of disaster, and a belief that the family-owned chain—with a vast majority of its more than 340 locations inside state lines—has made a conscious choice to stay rooted to the idea of being a good neighbor. “It’s like H-E-B is the moral center of Texas,” said Stephen Harrigan, a novelist and journalist who lives in Austin. “There seems to be in our state a lack of real leadership, a lack of real efficiency, on the political level. But on the business level, when it comes to a grocery store, all of those things are in place.”

Hunger in Central America skyrockets, U.N. agency says (Reuters) The number of people going hungry in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua has nearly quadrupled in the last two years, the United Nations said on Tuesday, as Central America has been battered by an economic crisis. New data released by the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) showed nearly 8 million people across the four countries are experiencing hunger this year, up from 2.2 million in 2018. “The COVID-19-induced economic crisis had already put food on the market shelves out of reach for the most vulnerable people when the twin hurricanes Eta and Iota battered them further,” Miguel Barreto, WFP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a statement.

Prison riots in Ecuador leave 62 dead (AP) Sixty-two inmates have died in riots at prisons in three cities in Ecuador as a result of fights between rival gangs and an escape attempt, authorities said Tuesday. Prisons Director Edmundo Moncayo said in a news conference that 800 police offices have been helping to regain control of the facilities. Hundreds of officers from tactical units had been deployed since the clashes broke out late Monday. Moncayo said that two groups were trying to gain “criminal leadership within the detention centers” and that the clashes were precipitated by a search for weapons carried out Monday by police officers.

Mount Etna eruption lights up Sicily's night sky (BBC) Mount Etna is erupting again, and its hot lava fountains are illuminating the Sicilian sky. The eruption began earlier this week, and Etna has since been spewing massive orange plumes of smoke and thick clouds of ash. Etna is Europe's most active volcano, and it erupts relatively often. The last major eruption was in 1992. Its eruptions have rarely caused damage or injury in recent decades - and officials believe this eruption is no exception. Stefano Branco, the head of the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in the nearby city of Catania, told Italian news agency AGI earlier this week: "We've seen worse."

Cow science (Foreign Policy) A new national exam on cows developed by the Indian government-backed National Cow Commission has been shelved following controversy over its less-than-scientific contents. The curriculum for the test involved erroneous claims about the virtues of Indian cows that were widely ridiculed by the country’s scientific community. Among the “facts” on display: That Indian cows have a special “solar pulse” in their humps which can supposedly convert sun rays into vitamin D that is then passed on to milk, and an assertion that Indian cows are “strong” whereas foreign cows are “lazy.” The issue of cows, considered sacred by Hindus, and their treatment has become even more of a cultural wedge issue in India following the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, with sometimes deadly results. Attacks by vigilante “cow protection” groups killed 44 people between 2015 and 2018 according to Human Rights Watch, with Muslims among the majority of those targeted.

Japan creates Minister of Loneliness to fight COVID-19 suicides (New York Post) Japan just appointed a Minister of Loneliness—to try to combat its exploding suicide rate amid COVID-19. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga named Tetsushi Sakamoto, a cabinet member already trying to beef up the depressed country’s birthrate, to the post. Suga noted earlier this month that Japanese women, in particular, have been struggling with depression since the coronavirus pandemic began about a year ago—with nearly 880 female suicide victims in the country alone in October, a 70 percent increase over the year before, the BBC reported. Japanese suicide expert Michiko Ueda told the BBC that part of the problem involves an increasing number of single women in the country who don’t have stable employment. “A lot of women are not married anymore,” she said. “They have to support their own lives, and they don’t have permanent jobs.”

Facebook Strikes Deal to Restore News Sharing in Australia (NYT) Facebook said on Monday that it would restore the sharing and viewing of news links in Australia after gaining more time to negotiate over a proposed law that would require it to pay for news content that appears on its site. The social network had blocked news links in Australia last week as the new law neared passage. The legislation includes a code of conduct that would allow media companies to bargain individually or collectively with digital platforms over the value of their news content. Facebook had vigorously objected to the code, which would curb its power and drive up its spending for content, as well as setting a precedent for other governments to follow. The company had argued that news would not be worth the hassle in Australia if the bill became law. But on Monday, Facebook returned to the negotiating table after the Australian government granted a few minor concessions.

U.S.-Saudi ties (Foreign Policy) The families of the three U.S. service members killed and 13 others injured by Mohammed Alshamrani, a Saudi airman who went on a shooting spree at Naval Air Station Pensacola in 2019, are suing Saudi Arabia’s government, alleging that the kingdom failed to screen him appropriately before sending him to the United States for training. The families are filing the lawsuit against Saudi Arabia based on a 2016 law that allows U.S. citizens to sue foreign governments over terrorist attacks—legislation that was initially passed in order to allow the families of 9/11 victims to bring a civil suit against Saudi Arabia.

Italian Ambassador Among Three Killed in Attack on U.N. Convoy in Congo (NYT) For Luca Attanasio, Italy’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, humanitarian work was at the core of his mission. The 43-year-old had moved with his wife to the capital, Kinshasa, in 2017, where their family grew to include three young daughters. He rose to the rank of ambassador in 2019, the pinnacle of his diplomatic career. On Monday, Mr. Attanasio was among three people killed in an attack on a humanitarian convoy near the city of Goma, the World Food Program and Italy’s Foreign Ministry said, the latest in a wave of violence in that part of the central African nation. The deaths of Mr. Attanasio; an Italian Embassy official, named by the Foreign Ministry as Vittorio Iacovacci; and Mustapha Milambo, a driver for the World Food Program, have rattled the international diplomatic community and drawn condemnation from across the globe.

Flood damage and insurance (NPR) Right now, over 4 million houses and small apartments in the contiguous United States are at substantial risk of expensive flood damage, and the cost of flood damage to homes will increase by 50 percent over the next 30 years according to the First Street Foundation. As the climate changes, places that were perfectly safe to live in will no longer be as sure of bets as they once were, and the costs are about to be a serious reality check. The National Flood Insurance Program is $36 billion in debt because of underestimated risks. Over the next several years, FEMA plans to raise rates up to 18 percent a year until prices are accurate, starting this October.

[snarksandkisses]

David Ferree, September 22

I have heard from people that they want a reason to vote FOR Biden beyond that he's not Trump. Okay, I respect that, so I went on his website, poured through his policies, and came up with 100 reasons to vote for #JoeBiden that don't mention Trump. 

1.) $15.00 federal minimum wage

2.) Reinstate DACA – allowing new applicants to apply

3.) 12 Weeks federal paid family leave4

.) Universal Pre-Kindergarten/Childcare for ages 3 and 4

5.) Tuition free college for those with household income less than $125,000.00

6.) Allow student loans to be relieved in bankruptcy

7.) LGBTQ+ Equality Act in the first 100 days in office

8.) Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords

9.) Decriminalize cannabis use and expunge convictions

10.) Eliminate cash bail system

11.) Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences

12.) Outlaw all online firearm and munition sales

13.) Restore the voting rights act

14.) Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention.

15.) He’ll triple funding for Title I Programs

16.)  Appoint the first Black Woman to the Supreme Court of the United States

17.)  Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)

18.) Ensure the US achieves a 100% clean energy economy and net-zero emissions no later than 2050

19.) Protecting Biodiversity, slowing extinction rates and helping leverage natural climate solutions

20.) Develop a plan to ensure that America has the cleanest, safest and fastest rail system in the world, for both passengers and freight

21.)  Expand the safety net for survivors

22.) Confront online harassment, abuse and stalking

23.) End the rape kit backlog

24.) Address the deadly combination of guns and domestic violence

25.) Change the culture that enables domestic violence

26.) Support the diverse needs of survivors of violence against women

27.) Protect and empower immigrant women

28.) Lead the global effort to end gender-based violence

29.) End capital punishment

30.) End federal private prisons

31.) End all incarceration for drug use alone and divert individuals to drug courts and treatment

32.) Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel

33.) Expand and use the power of the US Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices

34.) Reform qualified immunity for officers

35.) Ban choke-holds/neck restraints by police

36.) Launch a national police oversight commission

37.) Stop transferring weapons of war to police force

38.) Free access to testing for all with national testing board

39.) Double drive through testing sites

40.) 100,000 contact tracing workforce

41.) Guarantee first responders have priority access to PPE

42.) Emergency paid leave for anyone who gets COVID or needs to take care of a loved one

43.) Free housing for health care workers to quarantine

44.) Ramp up large scale manufacturing of as many vaccine candidates as necessary

45.) Nationwide vaccination campaign to guarantee fair distribution

46.) Ask every American to wear a mask

47.) End the mismanagement of the asylum system, which fuels violence and chaos at the border

48.) Surge humanitarian resources to the border and foster public-private initiatives

49.) End prolonged detention and reinvest in a case management program

50.) Rescind the un-American travel and refugee bans, also referred to as “Muslim bans.”

51.) Order an immediate review of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for vulnerable populations who cannot find safety in their countries ripped apart by violence or disaster

52.) Ensure that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel abide by professional standards and are held accountable for inhumane treatment.

53.) Revitalize the Task Force on New Americans and boost our economy by prioritizing integration, promoting immigrant entrepreneurship, increasing access to language instruction, and promoting civil engagement.

54.) Convene a regional meeting of leaders, including from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Canada, to address the factors driving migration and to propose a regional resettlement solution

55.) Raising the corporate tax rate to 28 percent.

56.) Requiring a true minimum tax on ALL foreign earnings of United States companies located overseas so that we do our part to put an end to the global race to the bottom that rewards global tax havens. This will be 21% — TWICE the rate of the Trump offshoring tax rate and will apply to all income.

57.) Imposing a tax penalty on corporations that ship jobs overseas in order to sell products back to America.

58.) Imposing a 15% minimum tax on book income so that no corporation gets away with paying no taxes.

59.) Raising the top individual income rate back to 39.6 percent.

60.) Asking those making more than $1 million to pay the same rate on investment income that they do on their wages.

61.) Tackle the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

62.) Ensure tribal nations will have a strong voice and role in the federal government

63.) Restore Tribal lands and safeguard natural and cultural resources

64.) Joe will dramatically increase funding for both public schools and Bureau of Indian Education schools.

65.)  Invest $70 billion in Tribal Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

66.) Ensure full inclusion of people with disabilities in policy development and aggressively enforce the civil rights of people with disabilities.

67.) Guarantee access to high-quality, affordable health care, including mental health care, and expand access to home and community-based services and long-term services and supports in the most integrated setting appropriate to each person’s needs and based on self-determination.

68.) Expand competitive, integrated employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

69.) Protect and strengthen economic security for people with disabilities.

70.) Ensure that students with disabilities have access to educational programs and support they need to succeed, from early interventions to post-secondary education.

71.) Expand access to accessible, integrated, and affordable housing, transportation, and assistive technologies and protect people with disabilities in emergencies.

72.) Advance global disability rights

73.)  Double the number of psychologists, guidance counselors, nurses, social workers, and other health professionals in our schools so our kids get the mental health care they need

74.) Invest in our schools to eliminate the funding gap between white and non-white districts, and rich and poor districts

75.) Improve teacher diversity

76.) Support our educators by giving them the pay and dignity they deserve.

77.) Invest in resources for our schools so students grow into physically and emotionally healthy adults, and educators can focus on teaching.

78.) Ensure that no child’s future is determined by their zip code, parents’ income, race, or disability.

79.) Provide every middle and high school student a path to a successful career.8

80.) Start investing in our children at birth.

81.) Double funding for the State Small Business Credit Initiative.

2.) Expand the New Markets Tax Credit, make the program permanent, and double Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) funding

83.) Improve and expand the Small Business Administration programs that most effectively support African American-owned businesses.

84.) Increase funding for the Minority Business Development Agency budget.

85.) Make sure economic relief because of COVID-19 reaches the African American businesses that need it most

86.) Reserve half of all the new PPP funds for small businesses with 50 employees or less

87.) Help families buy their first homes and build wealth by creating a new refundable, advanceable tax credit of up to $15,000

88.) Protect homeowners and renters from abusive lenders and landlords through a new Homeowner and Renter Bill of Rights.

89.) Establishing a $100 billion Affordable Housing Fund to construct and upgrade affordable housing

90.) Fully implement Congressman Clyburn’s 10-20-30 Plan to help all individuals living in persistently impoverished communities

91.) Expand access to $100 billion in low-interest business loans by funding state, local, tribal, and non-profit lending programs in Latino communities and other communities of color and strengthening Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs

92.) Expand broadband access to every American.

93.) Protect and build on the Affordable Care Act to improve access to quality health care in rural communities.

94.) Expand access to high-quality education in rural schools.

95.) Transform our crumbling transportation infrastructure – including roads and bridges, rail, aviation, ports, and inland waterways.

96.) Expand bio-based manufacturing to bring cutting-edge manufacturing jobs back to rural America.

97.) Strengthen antitrust enforcement

98.) Introduce a constitutional amendment to entirely eliminate private dollars from our federal elections

99.) End dark money groups

100.) Ban corporate PAC contributions to candidates, and prohibit lobbyist contributions to those who they lobby

***EDIT*** this again is all from his website. I literally copy pasted the bullet points from his website. If you go on his website, click Joe’s Vision, he has different themes. “Criminal justice reform, helping America’s farmers, etc.” I clicked through a bunch of those, and tried to get the quickest bullet points from his website.

[newstfionline]

Headlines

F.B.I. is ordered to fix wiretap process (NYT) The bureau has until Jan. 10 to propose changes to national security surveillance targeting Americans, after a secretive federal court said on Tuesday that the F.B.I. had misled judges about the rationale for wiretapping a Trump campaign adviser. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court’s order followed the scathing report last week by the Justice Department’s independent inspector general about the surveillance of the aide, Carter Page, as part of the Russia investigation.

Skip the soda (JAMA Internal Medicine) A new research study just posted at JAMA Internal Medicine: “In this large multinational European study, higher level of consumption of total, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened soft drinks was associated with increased risk of death from all causes. The positive association between soft drink consumption and mortality was evident for both men and women. Only artificially sweetened, and not sugar-sweetened, soft drinks were associated with deaths from circulatory diseases, whereas for digestive disease deaths, only sugar-sweetened soft drinks were associated with higher risk. The high level of consumption of sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened soft drinks has previously been linked to elevated risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.”

A bad year for journalists (CJR) According to a Columbia Journalism Review tally, 3,385 journalists lost their jobs to layoffs this year, whether they worked at digital publications like BuzzFeed or traditional papers like the Times-Picayune, which laid off its entire staff when it sold in May. In a piece examining the human impact behind the numbers, Maya Kosoff writes that “the tale of 2019 is that nobody was spared.” Sarah Kelly, who served as editor for the Washington Post Express until its demise in September, has been laid off five times in six years. “The Express layoff destroyed my already strained ability to trust the ground beneath my feet,” she said. “I have no reason to trust anyone in management at even the most reputable outlets.”

Mexico Probes Embezzlement by Former Top Cop (AP) The head of Mexico’s financial crimes unit said Wednesday he is looking into evidence that the country’s former top security official embezzled as much as 2 billion pesos (equal to about $170 million at the time) in government funds.

Cuba Blasts US Over End of Medical Missions in Some Nations (AP) Cuba’s government accused the Trump administration on Wednesday of orchestrating the end of the island’s medical missions to several Latin American countries in order to cut one of the country’s main revenue sources.

Bolivian prosecutors issue arrest warrant for exiled former president Morales (Reuters) Bolivian prosecutors on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for exiled former president Evo Morales over allegations of sedition and terrorism related to accusations from the interim government that he has been stirring unrest since resigning.

Giant auto merger (NYT) Fiat Chrysler and PSA of France, which makes Peugeot and Citroën vehicles, said today that they had reached a deal to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker, overtaking General Motors.

Russia doesn’t appear to be looking out for its leader’s personal cybersecurity (Foreign Policy) Official photos released this week appear to show President Vladimir Putin using the Windows XP operating system on computers in his office--despite the fact that Microsoft hasn’t released security updates for the software since 2014. (Windows XP was released in 2001.)

Protests of Indian law grow despite efforts to contain them (AP) From campuses along India’s Himalayan northern border to its southern Malabar Coast, a student-led protest movement against a new law that grants citizenship on the basis of religion spread nationwide on Wednesday despite efforts by the government to contain it. The law provides a path to citizenship for Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and other religious minorities who are in India illegally but can demonstrate religious persecution in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. It does not apply to Muslims. Critics say it’s the latest effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist-led government to marginalize India’s 200 million Muslims, and a violation of the country’s secular constitution.

Philippine Court Finds Massacre Masterminds Guilty of 57 Murders (Reuters) A Philippine court found top members of a political clan guilty on Thursday of masterminding a 2009 massacre of 57 people, among them 32 journalists, in the country’s worst single instance of election violence.

China’s naval ambitions (Foreign Policy) China’s second aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was officially commissioned on Tuesday, a sign of the country’s growing naval ambitions. While the first carrier, the Liaoning, is a refurbished Soviet ship used mainly for training, the Shandong was built entirely in China. Two more are reportedly in the works. Now, the trickiest hurdle for the Chinese navy is its total lack of wartime experience: China’s last conflict with another state was in 1979.

China University Revises Charter Boosting Communist Control (AP) Controversy has erupted after a leading Chinese university revised its charter to remove a reference to “free thinking” and adding a new stress on adhering to the leadership of the ruling Communist Party, Marxism and socialist theories of education.

Australian State Declares Emergency as Wildfires Approach Sydney (Reuters) Australia’s most populous state declared its second emergency in as many months on Thursday as extreme heat and strong winds stoked more than 100 bushfires, including three major blazes on Sydney’s doorstep.

MS Japan experiments with four-day workweek (Washington Post, Microsoft Blog) Microsoft launched a four-day workweek experiment earlier this year in one of the most unlikely places: Japan. But in a country known for its culture of extreme overwork, the shorter week provided a big boost in productivity, the company’s business unit said in a post on its website. The test run, which took place in August and gave employees five consecutive Fridays off, boosted sales per employee by 40 percent, compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the post. The number of pages printed in the office fell by 59 percent, electricity consumption dropped 23 percent, and 94 percent of employees were satisfied with the program.

U.S. details plan for diplomatic drawdown in Iraq (Foreign Policy) The U.S. State Department has sent Congress its detailed outline for a plan to dramatically reduce the number of diplomats in Iraq. The U.S. Mission in Iraq will reduce its staff by nearly 30 percent by May 2020. Those leaving include not only employees of the State Department, but also staff from the Defense Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The cuts come amid political upheaval in Iraq, which is facing mass anti-government protests and fending off increased Iranian influence.

UN: Israel Has Advanced 22,000 Housing Units in West Bank (AP) The U.N. Mideast envoy said Wednesday that Israel advanced or approved plans for over 22,000 housing units in West Bank settlements and east Jerusalem in the three years since the Security Council adopted a resolution condemning settlements in lands the Palestinians want for their future state.

[thetens-blog1]

Job at UN Women for a National Program Officer,January 2017

Job at UN Women for a National Program Officer,January 2017

Job at UN Women for a National Program Officer,January 2017  Tags: Abuja Jobs , UN Women UN Women – In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The creation…

[oquo-blog1]

VULNERABLE WOMEN IN SUSTAINABILITY PROJECTS

All across the globe, it is generally acknowledged that women are the vulnerable and most likely to be poor, marginalized, discriminated against or experience violence at one point in their lives. For centuries, women and girls have faced very unacceptable levels of abuse which is not only wrong but largely prevents them from playing a full part in society and decision making. This unfair treatment does not only emanate from patriarchy but is also deeply entrenched in certain traditional beliefs and cultural practices. 

Since the 1970s, feminists and advocacy groups have attempted to address these problems with the Women in Development (WID) approach as an example. United Nations (UN) agencies and several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have also made significant strides in helping women who live in extreme economic hardship especially in developing countries.

In September 2015, 192 UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This  Agenda is a 15-year global framework centered on an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 169 targets among others. The 2030 Agenda envisions a secure world free of poverty and hunger, with full and productive employment, access to quality education and universal health coverage, the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and an end to environmental degradation. This presentation will prove that with assistance from government, the UN and especially NGOs, women in remote and impoverished regions can turn their problems into opportunities for sustainable economic and social activities. 

This push to unlock the potential of women as drivers of sustainable development and to address their practical gender needs will be highlighted with videos from different parts of the world.. This presentation is based on the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development and the role of vulnerable women in achieving certain targets. This is very important due to women are key managers of natural resources as well as powerful agents of change in many communities.

GHANA: FEMINIZATION OF AGRICULTURE

Several UN agencies and NGOs in Ghana have embarked on gender sensitive development strategies in poverty eradication. They have been tackling food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. The Rosh Pinnah Foundation is one of the International NGOs working in Ghana and other African Countries. The Director of the program in Ghana, Dr. Florence Vanderpuye (who is my sister) has been working with vulnerable women in the town of Atriku where they now have a greenhouse for the production of vegetables, an organic poultry farm and beekeeping all possible with the active involvement of women in the community.

Brazil: Empowering women in small scale industries

India

The Hudli Project is bringing jobs to the village of Hudli by employing its women to make pickles. You can help them to create even more jobs by subscribing to their website

PROJECTS

After waiting in vain for the government to take action for the revival of lakes and water bodies, over 3,000 women in Mandya District in India took it upon themselves to restore lakes, ponds and tanks in 31 villages.  Advocacy has long recognized the gender dimensions of sustainable development and this is an example of the need to integrate women’s empowerment in sustainable development. 

AVAILABILITY OF FUNDING FOR WOMEN

WOMEN IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS SETTING THE PACE AS MANY ISLAND STATES FACE RISING SEA LEVELS DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The fight to end poverty in all it’s forms, based on the 2030 agenda has started yielding fruits in several countries already. The key role played by the UN and NGOs is commendable as they provide training, tools, support and finance. This has enabled vulnerable women to develop sustainable livelihoods Today, women are playing leading roles in the area of sustainable agriculture, the renewable energy sector, the fight to combat climate change, education and entrepreneurship, just to mention a few. Advocacy has long recognized the gender dimensions but there is more to be done. For example women are underrepresented in industry, the media, boards rooms, the tech industry and elected political office. Only three countries: Cuba, Rwanda and Bolivia have a 50% or more female representation in parliament. Until women are empowered to play a full part in decision-making at all levels, environmental sustainability will be a mirage. I personally acknowledge the immense effort of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in improving lives in different parts of the world.

                             References

In focus: Women and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2019, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs.

Facts and figures: Leadership and political participation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 9, 2019, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures.

Gender equality and women's empowerment .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/women/decisions.

In focus: Women and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (n.d.). Retrieved October 6, 2019, from https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs.

rosh pinnah foundation. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2019, from https://rosh-pinnah-foundation.business.site/

thehudliproject:(n.d.) Retrieved October 8, 2019, from https://www.thehudliproject.com.