#Northeast Elections 2018

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Daniel Marans at HuffPost:

LANGHORNE, Pa. — In a hotel conference room a little over 20 miles northeast of the Philadelphia venue where the two major parties’ presidential nominees were set to debate hours later, a conservative group was preparing to rally its supporters Tuesday morning behind a Republican candidate locked in a tight battle for Pennsylvania votes. No, the candidate w,as not former President Donald Trump. Americans for Prosperity Action, or AFP Action — a libertarian-leaning conservative group funded by the Koch network of conservative donors — and its Latino outreach arm, Libre Action, were instead holding a canvass kickoff event for Dave McCormick, a former hedge fund manager and Gulf War veteran engaged an uphill battle to unseat U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.). “We’re fighting for our American dream — the American dream that is slipping away from us,” Jennie Dallas, the Harrisburg-based strategic director of the affiliated Libre Initiative, told the multiracial crowd of staff members and paid canvassers clad in light blue organizers T-shirts. “And we know that David McCormick knows that.”

AFP Action’s Tuesday event in the heart of suburban Bucks County — one of the most contested counties in a critical swing state — offers a window into what a non-Trump-aligned right looks like in 2024. It means waging campaigns more focused on tax cuts and deregulation than on mass deportation or populism, and focusing on Senate and House races with more conventionally conservative candidates. A win for McCormick, who is considered far more of an underdog than GOP Senate challengers in Montana and Ohio, would virtually ensure Republican control of the Senate come November. While Democrats have a 51-49 edge in the chamber now, they are certain to lose West Virginia and their best pickup opportunities are long shots. GOP control of the Senate could prove especially critical for conservatives if Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris defeats Trump in the White House contest, according to Emily Greene, a senior adviser to Americans for Prosperity Action who runs the group’s Pennsylvania operations.

[...] Shaping — and, more recently, surviving — changes in the Republican governing coalition and policy agenda are nothing new for Americans for Prosperity and its political spending arm, AFP Action. But the Koch network — as AFP/AFP Action, The Libre Initiative/Libre Action, and their affiliate partners are often known — now finds itself in an extended period of ideological exile from the highest levels of Republican power. AFP opposes Trump’s trade tariffs, has a much more moderate approach to immigration policy than Trump and, unlike Trump himself, continues to defend the bipartisan sentencing reform bill he signed in 2018. Americans for Prosperity’s surviving founder, the oil and manufacturing billionaire Charles Koch — who co-created the group with his late brother, David Koch — has made his aversion to Trump abundantly clear. AFP Action decided not to endorse a candidate in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, dedicating its federal resources to electing Republicans to Congress. And in June 2023, the Kock network announced that it had raised $70 million to help the Republican Party move away from Trump. When Trump eventually emerged as the Republican presidential nominee this year, despite AFP Action’s $31 million super PAC spending on primary opponent Nikki Haley’s behalf, the group once again pivoted to Congress.

[...] To American progressives, Charles and David Koch were once the country’s chief ideological villains. They bankrolled the tea party movement, which gave birth to a hard-line faction of congressional Republicans committed to obstructing then-President Barack Obama’s policy agenda. But while many rank-and-file tea party activists were actually more concerned about immigration than their budget rhetoric would suggest, and welcomed Trump’s nativist program with open arms, the Kochs — and the cadre of right-wing libertarian activists and intellectuals they cultivated — were not ready to make the jump.

With programs like The Libre Initiative and Libre Action, the Koch network is also betting that appeals to Latino voters’ pocketbooks and interest in upward mobility would be more effective than Trump’s personality-centered populism — regardless of what polling suggests about his inroads with Latino voters. The Libre Initiative has, for example, argued that the Biden administration’s attempts to make it harder to classify workers as independent contractors would “hurt Latino workers,” since half of Latino workers fall under this category. “They’re opening up, and they’re seeing what’s most important to us now is our prosperity,” said Dallas, the strategic director. “It’s about being able to prosper in America.” At the same time, Libre’s moderate rhetoric on immigration, which combines calls for strict border enforcement with support for legalizing Dreamers and other bipartisan reforms, also hearkens back to the time period after Republicans’ loss in the 2012 presidential election, when the GOP began looking at softening its stance on immigration to appeal to more Latino voters.

The Koch Brothers, determined to stay in the GOP apparatus of influence, are focused on the #PASen race in a quest to flip control of the Senate.

[hello-nichya-here]

Do you think Lula might try to patch things up with Israel considering the rally that just happened in Brazil?

Let's make one thing clear here: the rally was not pro-Israel. Not really. The flags had a pentagram instead of the star of David, and people in said rally were saying shit like "We support Israel because they're CHRISTIANS like us."

The rally was really about a bunch of useful idiots that sympathize with fascism and straight up neo-nazis (some of which were friends with or direct descendents of the actual nazis that fled to Brazil after WWII, including the monster JOSEF MENGELE himself) who support the wanna-be dictator, and sadly Brazil's former president, Jair Bolsonaro, PRETENDING to give a shit about the Israel situation solely because Lula finally grew a pair of balls and called out the genocide against palestinians - and thus the supporters of Bozo the clown are now trying to use that as an excuse to impeach him, as yet ANOTHER attempt to ignore the results of the elections in which Lula defeated the fucker in 2022.

There's video recording of Bolsonaro (who has never been shy about wanting to turn Brazil into a dictatorship again and actually said the words "I'm pro torture, and this country won't be fixed until at least 40.000 people are dead") full on saying "We can't allow the elections to happen, otherwise I'm gonna lose."

The police tried to prevent people in the northeast region of Brazil (where nearly everyone is pro-Lula) from voting, to try and tip the escala in Bolsonaro's favor. They STILL claim Lula's victory was a fraud.

Finally, on January 8, 2023, his supporters tried staging a coup, fully inspired by the shitshow the USA had when Trump lost (and something that Bozo the clown had ALREADY said he wanted his supporters to do were he to ever lose an election) by invading government buildings. They stole and destroyed lots of valluable art-pieces - lots of which were from jewish people that either fled from nazi Germany before they were sent to concentration camps, and some that actually BEEN in said concentration camps.

And this was not a case of "Maybe they just didn't know what it was", not fully at least, because like I said, Bolsonaro's supporters have VERY strong ties to the nazis. They have done the sieg heil in his homage, say Brazil should have a nazi party, and have tried to make schools say the holocaust never happened. Some of Bolsonaro's ministers have also said shit like "Brazil's economy won't get better until we get rid of all the jews" and a fucker actually copied one of Hitler's speeches, on camera, wearing a nazi-inspired uniform, with one of Hitler's favorite classical pieces being played in the background.

As for Bolsonaro, the slogan he chose for himself "God above everything, Brazil above everyone" is clearly inspired by "Deutschland über alles" (Germany over everything). After his victory in 2018, SBT, one of the TV channels that supported him the most, used the slogan "Brazil - love it or leave it" which the dictatorship Brazil was under used for 21 years as a not so subtle threat to exile people who opposed them (and exile was the KIND fate they could be given, considering the people tortured daily in prison, or full on murdered).

So no, I don't see Lula trying to patch things up with Israel to try and win the support of these people, because they don't actually care about Israel. This was an anti-democracy rally, filled with nazis, and if they were to rise to power again, and not destroy themselves from the inside like they did during the pandemic, it would be the worst case scenario as it'd mean one less government calling Israel's genocide against palestinians AND a bunch of antisemites in power trying to make their own reich, putting all the jewish communities of Brazil in danger.

Remember folks: Israel does not represent all the jews in the world, no matter how much it desperately tries to pretend that it does. Calling it out for commiting genocide is not antisemitic, and supporting it does NOT mean making sure jewish communities will be safe - as you could see, in my country's case, it could mean nothing but a stepping-stone in making said communities the targets of actual nazis, pushing them to exile or something way, way, way worse.

[beardedmrbean]

A new Oklahoma judge could lose her job for sending more than 500 texts to her bailiff during a murder trial, including messages mocking the prosecutor, praising the defense attorney and calling a key witness a liar. 

The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recommended the removal of Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom in a court filing Tuesday following an investigation by the state's Council on Judicial Complaints.

Soderstrom has been under scrutiny since July after she was caught on camera scrolling through social media and texting during the trial of a man accused in the fatal beating of a 2-year-old.

Soderstrom, who was sworn in on Jan. 9 after being elected in November, was suspended with pay pending the outcome of a hearing by the Court on the Judiciary, which will determine whether to remove her from the bench.

"The pattern of conduct demonstrates Respondent's (Soderstrom's) gross neglect of duty, gross partiality and oppression," Chief Justice John Kane IV wrote. "The conduct further demonstrates Respondent's (Soderstrom's) lack of temperament to serve as a judge."

A phone call to a number listed for Soderstrom rang unanswered before disconnecting Wednesday.

Her attorney told The Oklahoman newspaper that the judge "takes these allegations very seriously" and is requesting "the entire record from the Council on Judicial Complaints so that she can respond appropriately."

Security video published by The Oklahoman showed Soderstrom texting or messaging for minutes at a time during jury selection, opening statements and testimony during the trial in Chandler, about 45 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

The judge's texts included saying the prosecutor was "sweating through his coat" during questioning of potential jurors and asking "why does he have baby hands?" according to Kane's petition. The texts described the defense attorney as "awesome" and asked "can I clap for her?" during the defense attorney's opening arguments.

Soderstrom also texted a laughing emoji icon to the bailiff, who had "made a crass and demeaning reference to the prosecuting attorneys' genitals," Kane wrote.

Khristian Tyler Martzall, the man who was on trial while the judge was on her phone, was eventually convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the 2018 death of Braxton Danker, the son of Martzall's girlfriend, and sentenced to time served.

Martzall's girlfriend and the mother of the child, Judith Danker, pleaded guilty to enabling child abuse. She was sentenced to 25 years and was a key prosecution witness who was called a liar by Soderstrom during testimony.

"State just couldn't accept that a mom could kill their kid so they went after the next person available," Soderstrom texted, according to the filing from Kane.

Soderstrom's texts also included comments questioning whether a juror was wearing a wig, if a witness has teeth and calling a police officer who testified, "pretty," adding, "I could look at him all day."

When questioned by the Council on Judicial Complaints, Soderstrom said her texting "probably could have waited" rather than realizing the comments should never have been made. She said she thought, "oh, that's funny. Move on."

Kane's petition also said Soderstrom had previously criticized other attorneys and prosecutors, and berated a member of the courthouse staff.

Soderstrom should be removed for reasons that include gross neglect of duty, gross partiality in office and oppression in office, Kane wrote.

The judge's four-year term ends in January 2027.

While campaigning to be a judge, her website stated: "Compassion is at the forefront of Traci's work with the clients of her legal practice because she understands it's sometimes what they need most."

[ritchiepage2001newaccount]

CorpMedia #Oligarchs #MegaBanks vs #Union #Occupy #NoDAPL #BLM #SDF #DACA #MeToo #Humanity #FeelTheBern

JinJiyanAzadi #BijiRojava “Communal elections the first step towards Free Syria” [UPDATES]

Democratic Northern Syria Federation Executive Council described the communal elections as the first step towards Free Syria, and said they are now preparing for the second stage which is the election of municipality, district and canton assemblies…

RELATED UPDATE: 8th turbine in Euphrates Dam on probation

RELATED UPDATE: The seventh turbine returns to work in the Euphrates dam

https://sdf-press.com/en/2018/06/the-seventh-turbine-returns-to-work-in-the-euphrates-dam/

RELATED UPDATE: Turkey seizes Euphrates water, cutting electricity in northeast Syria

RELATED UPDATE: Welcome No More: How Turkey Targets Increasingly Vulnerable Syrians

RELATED UPDATE: 'Jin, Jiyan Azadî' conference in Rome

RELATED UPDATE: WATCH Rojava revolutionary leader warns escalation could lead to World War III

RELATED UPDATE: WATCH PYD’s Saleh Muslim on escalating Middle East conflict, Rojava revolution

RELATED UPDATE: Seventy-minute footage of the revolutionary guerrilla operation in Zap

FURTHER READING:

[newstfionline]

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Tornado devastates Texas Panhandle town, killing 3 and injuring dozens (AP) A tornado tore through the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton on Thursday, killing three people, injuring dozens more and causing widespread damage as another series of fierce storms carved its way through Southern states. First responders from surrounding towns and cities and from neighboring Oklahoma descended on the town, which is home to more than 8,000 people and about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo, just south of the Oklahoma line. Mobile homes were ripped apart and pickup trucks with shattered windshield were slammed against mounds of rubble in residential areas.

US purchases of Russian uranium (NYT) In 1993, in the pursuit of wrapping up the Cold War in a capitalist bow, Washington and Moscow inked a deal where the United States would buy and import the vast amount of Soviet weapons-grade uranium lying around the country, which would then be converted to nuclear fuel for power plants. This gave Americans cheap atoms to crack, Russians money, and the world some peace, but the side effect was that it pretty much wiped out the American uranium enrichment business. For decades, rather than invest in upgrading American centrifuges, the country just kept buying Russian uranium, which means that right now a third of enriched uranium used in the U.S. is imported from Russia, to the tune of around $1 billion a year. Naturally, this has posed a bit of a geopolitical pickle given the invasion of Ukraine and needed to stop, and the U.S. now needs to line up a new supply of enriched uranium, which will take years.

Mexico swelters as ‘atypical’ heat wave grips nation (Reuters) Mexican authorities urged people across the country to take safety precautions on Thursday as an unusual late Spring heat wave sent temperatures soaring, with cooler days possibly weeks away. Health ministry data through June 9 shows that at least six people have died this year as a result of the higher-than-normal temperatures. “The heat is intense!” said Abigail Lopez, a nurse in normally sunny but temperate Mexico City who said she was drinking more water and wearing lighter clothes to try to beat the heat. Mexico’s national meteorological service forecast temperatures over 30 Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) on Thursday in all of the country’s 32 states, with highs at least 10 degrees hotter in 23 of them.

Scathing report finds Boris Johnson deliberately misled UK Parliament over ‘partygate’ (AP) A committee of U.K. lawmakers harshly rebuked former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Thursday, saying he lied to Parliament about lockdown-flouting parties and was complicit in a campaign to intimidate those investigating his conduct during the coronavirus pandemic. The release of the Commons committee’s scathing 77-page report Thursday touched off an angry exchange of recriminations. Johnson repeated his claim that the panel was a “kangaroo court” bent on ousting him from Parliament. The committee said the defense he had provided was an after-the-fact justification and “no more than an artifice.” The report and reaction to it highlight the battle over Johnson’s legacy as Britain prepares for elections that could radically alter social and economic policy in a nation struggling to overcome a cost-of-living crisis and complaints about government services ranging from healthcare to law enforcement.

Drought and rising heat bring unusual wildfire warnings in northern Europe (AP) Summer is wildfire season in southern Europe, but this year the continent’s north is also at risk, with forest fire warnings in effect across the Nordic and Baltic countries. A lack of rain and rising temperatures have led to dangerously dry conditions in the region, leading to worries of a repeat of the summer of 2018 when major wildfires swept across Sweden in particular. Small wildfires are already burning in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland and experts worry it could get much worse unless there’s significant rainfall in coming weeks. Unlike the sun-soaked Mediterranean countries, which have to deal with wildfires every summer, the phenomenon is rare in the countries of northern Europe, where summers are normally cool and wet by comparison.

Russia’s labor shortage (WSJ) The war in Ukraine has fueled Russia’s worst labor crunch in decades after hundreds of thousands of workers fled the country or were sent to the front lines, weakening the foundations of an economy weighed down by sanctions and international isolation. Two waves of emigration last year, the largest since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the mobilization of around 300,000 men have exacerbated an already tight labor market plagued by long-term demographic decline. Russian businesses are short of everyone from programmers and engineers to welders and oil drillers, professions needed to boost the economy and support the war effort in Ukraine. To stem the tide, last month, President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to develop measures to reverse the population outflow.

Retaking Villages Leaves Ukrainian Troops Exposed and Diving for Cover (NYT) After months of preparation and bolstered by hundreds of Western-donated tanks, armored vehicles and howitzers, Kyiv has notched small successes in the first week and a half of a counteroffensive to drive Russian forces from southern Ukraine. In fierce fighting on the plains, the military said it had broken through a first line of Russian defenses and reclaimed seven villages. But with each step forward, its soldiers become more vulnerable—removed from the safety of their own trenches, closer to Russian artillery, maneuvering through minefields and unprotected from airstrikes. “They are attacking with rockets, howitzers, mortars, helicopters and drones,” Sgt. Serhiy Gubanov said in an interview while taking cover in a basement as explosions boomed outside. “It’s the complete collection of intense experiences,” he said.

Tropical Cyclone Biparjoy: Power disrupted, heavy rains lash India and Pakistan (Reuters) Roofs were blown off houses and trees and electric poles uprooted, leaving thousands without power as a severe cyclone made landfall and rain lashed both the Indian and Pakistani coasts early on Friday. At least two people died in India's western state of Gujarat after being swept away by flood waters just before the cyclone hit. More than 180,000 people were evacuated in India and Pakistan in the last few days as authorities braced for the cyclone, named Biparjoy, which means 'disaster' or 'calamity' in the Bengali language.

China seeks to expand its role in the Middle East (Financial Times) China has offered to mediate between rival Palestinian factions and facilitate peace talks with Israel, in the latest sign of Beijing’s intent to expand its diplomatic role in the Middle East. At a meeting between Chinese president Xi Jinping and the head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Mahmoud Abbas, in Beijing on Wednesday, the two leaders also said that they had signed a strategic partnership. Beijing has ramped up its political presence in the Middle East, hosting talks this year that led to the surprise resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Analysts say Beijing hopes to rival the US as a broker in the region, and replace Russia’s waning influence.

Students meet under trees as schools shelter villagers displaced by Philippine volcano (AP) Nearly 20,000 people have fled from an erupting Philippine volcano and taken shelter in schools, disrupting education for thousands of students, many of whom are having classes in chapels and tents or under trees, officials said Friday. The Mayon volcano in northeastern Albay province, one of the deadliest of 24 active volcanoes across the Philippine archipelago, began expelling lava late Sunday in a gentle eruption that has not caused any injuries or death. But it could drag on for months and cause a prolonged humanitarian crisis, officials warned. Evacuees were directed to more than 20 emergency shelters, which are mostly grade and high school campuses. Every classroom has turned into an overcrowded sanctuary for several families with sleeping mats, bags of clothes, cooking stoves and toys for children. More than 17,000 students in five Albay towns are among affected by the displacements for the eruption. About 80% are continuing their daily school lessons through an emergency system in which parents teach their children at home or elsewhere using school-provided “learning modules.”

Thousands of Sudanese fleeing fighting with no travel documents trapped on the border with Egypt (AP) When fighting in Sudan erupted in mid-April, Abdel-Rahman Sayyed and his family tried to hold out hiding in their home in the capital, Khartoum, as the sounds of explosions, gunfights and the roar of warplanes echoed across the city of 6 million people. They lived right by one of the fiercest front lines, near the military’s headquarters in central Khartoum, where the army and a rival paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces, battled for control. Three days into the conflict, a shell hit their two-story home, reducing much of it to rubble. Luckily, Sayyed, his wife and three children survived, and they immediately fled the war-torn city. The problem was, their passports were buried under the wreckage of their home. Now they are among tens of thousands of people without travel documents trapped at the border with Egypt, unable to cross into Sudan’s northern neighbor. More than 120,000 Sudanese without travel documents are trapped in Wadi Halfa and surrounding areas, according to a Sudanese migration official.

An alien world with all the elements needed for life (Washington Post) Saturn’s moon Enceladus has enticed scientists for years with its plumes fizzing their way up from an ocean beneath a thick crust of ice. Now there’s a new element to the story, literally: That cold, dark ocean appears to contain a form of phosphorus, an essential ingredient for life as we know it. That means Enceladus has the only ocean beyond Earth known to contain all six elements needed for life. The claimed discovery of dissolved sodium phosphate, announced in a report published Wednesday in the journal Nature, makes Enceladus all the more intriguing in the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth. The report is based on data from an instrument on board NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which explored Saturn in its moons for 13 years before engineers sent it plunging into the gas giant’s atmosphere in 2017.

After only an hour (Science.org) Tech experts have been sounding the alarm that artificial intelligence (AI) could turn against humanity by taking over everything from business to warfare. Now, Kevin Esvelt is adding another worry: AI could help somebody with no science background and evil intentions design and order a virus capable of unleashing a pandemic. Mr. Esvelt, a biosecurity expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently asked students to create a dangerous virus with the help of ChatGPT or other so-called large language models, systems that can generate humanlike responses to broad questions based on vast training sets of internet data. After only an hour, the class came up with lists of candidate viruses, companies that could help synthesize the pathogens’ genetic code, and contract research companies that might put the pieces together.

[ejesgistnews]

Yusuf Magaji Bichi biography, Resignation as DSS DG and all you need to know about him.    Early Life of Yusuf Magaji Bichi. Yusuf Magaji Bichi was born on January 23, 1956, in Bichi, a town located in Kano State, Nigeria. Growing up in a traditional Northern Nigerian family, Bichi was deeply influenced by the values of discipline and integrity.     Yusuf Magaji Bichi biography: Education His early education began in Bichi, where he attended local schools. Bichi attended Danbatta Secondary School in Kano State and later proceeded to the College of Advanced Studies, Kano, from 1975 to 1977 where he completed his Advanced Level education. He then attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he graduated with a degree in Political Science in 1980.   His passion for knowledge led him to further his education at the National Defence College, Abuja, where he obtained a certificate and was bestowed the title of Fellow War College (fwc) in 2007.   Career in the Department of State Services (DSS) Bichi began his career in the Security Division of the Cabinet Office in Kano State from 1981 to 1984. In 1984, he joined the defunct Nigerian Security Organization (NSO), the precursor to the present DSS. Over the years, he rose through the ranks, serving in various capacities: State Director of Security in Jigawa State (1998–1999), Niger State (2000–2003), Sokoto State (2003–2005), and Abia State (2005–2006). Director in several national headquarters directorates, including Security Enforcement, Operations, Intelligence, Inspectorate, Administration and Finance, National Assembly Liaison, and the State Services Academy, Lagos. His roles included serving in different states across Nigeria, where he was responsible for overseeing security operations and managing intelligence gathering. Bichi's expertise in counterintelligence and his ability to navigate complex security challenges led to his rapid rise through the ranks. Appointment as DSS Director-General. Bichi was appointed as the Director-General of the DSS by President Muhammadu Buhari on September 14, 2018, succeeding Lawal Daura. His appointment was met with both praise and criticism, largely due to his perceived loyalty to the administration. However, Bichi quickly proved his mettle by tackling some of the most pressing security issues in the country, including insurgency in the Northeast, banditry in the Northwest, and the rising threat of separatist movements in the Southeast.   Achievements as DSS Director-General During his tenure as the DSS Director-General, Bichi implemented several reforms aimed at improving the agency's efficiency and operational capabilities. He emphasized the importance of intelligence-led operations, which led to several high-profile arrests and the dismantling of criminal networks across the country. Bichi was also instrumental in enhancing collaboration between the DSS and other security agencies, both within Nigeria and internationally. Under his leadership, the DSS played a crucial role in ensuring the safety and security of the 2019 and 2023 general elections, which were considered some of the most challenging in Nigeria's history due to heightened political tensions and security threats. His tenure was marked by a focus on professionalism and the protection of Nigeria's democratic institutions.   Resignation from President Bola Tinubu's Government On August 26, 2024, Yusuf Magaji Bichi resigned from his position as the Director-General of the DSS, a move that took many by surprise. His resignation came amidst reports of internal conflicts within President Bola Tinubu’s government, particularly regarding the administration's approach to national security. Sources close to the matter revealed that Bichi's decision to step down was influenced by disagreements with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, over the handling of counterterrorism operations and other security strategies. Bichi's departure marked the end of a significant chapter in Nigeria's intelligence community.

Yusuf Magaji Bichi Wife.  Yusuf Magaji Bichi is known to be a private individual, with little information available about his personal life. He is married to Aisha and blessed with children. Bichi is also a devout Muslim and is respected within his community for his contributions to national security and his commitment to public service. Yusuf Magaji Bichi wife saga . [caption id="attachment_302005" align="alignnone" width="251"] Yusuf Magaji Bichi and His Wife Aisha[/caption]   On Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Aisha Bichi, wife of the DSS boss reportedly prevented Abba Yusuf, the state gubernatorial candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), from boarding a flight. Legacy Bichi’s legacy as the DSS Director-General is one of resilience and dedication to Nigeria's security. His efforts in combating various forms of criminality and ensuring the safety of Nigerians have earned him a place in the annals of the country’s security history. While his resignation marks the end of his official role, Bichi remains a significant figure in Nigeria’s security landscape, with his contributions continuing to influence the country's approach to intelligence and security operations.   Awards and Recognition Bichi has received several awards and recognition for his service, including: 1. National Security Merit Award 2. Distinguished Service Award from the Nigerian government 3. Commendation from international partners for his contributions to regional security Yusuf Magaji Bichi Net Worth. Yusuf Magaji Bichi's net worth is not publicly disclosed, however online sources estimated his net worth to be over 100 million dollars.

[lboogie1906]

Muriel E. Bowser (August 2, 1972) is the 8th Mayor of DC. On November 6, 2018, she became the first woman ever re-elected as the Mayor and the first mayor to earn a second term in 16 years. She is the second female mayor of DC. She is the second African American woman to be mayor. She is one of the seven Black women mayors of America’s 100 largest cities.

She was born in DC and grew up in North Michigan Park in northeast DC. She is the youngest child of Joe Bowser, a DC Public Schools facilities manager and community activist, and Joan Bowser, a nurse. She graduated from Elizabeth Seton High School, a private all-girls Catholic high school located in Bladensburg, Maryland, and earned a BA in History from Chatham University and an MA in Public Policy from American University. She has received honorary Doctorates from Chatham University and Trinity University. She served on the DC Advisory Neighborhood Commission (2004-07). She was elected to the Council in 2007 in a special election called to fill the Ward 4 seat. She was Mayor Fenty’s campaign coordinator for Ward 4.

In 2008, she announced her reelection campaign for the council. She won the election to a full term and was re-elected for a second term in 2012. She represented Ward 4 on the DC Council (2007-15). On March 23, 2013, she announced she would run for Mayor in the 2014 election. She won the election and took office on January 2, 2015.

She delivered a speech at the 2016 DNC, in which she advocated for DC statehood. She filed to run for re-election for mayor and won.

She signed an emergency policing legislation that the DC Council had approved in June, amid the protests in DC and around the country. She has been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump since her mayoral tenure began. At the 2020 DNC, she delivered a speech from Black Lives Matter Plaza, a street she and the DC City Council had renamed in honor of George Floyd and in recognition of the demonstrations organized by BLM in the city and across the nation.

She has a daughter, whom she adopted in 2018. She is a lifelong Catholic. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[captainmdhridoyhossain-blog]

[ad_1] Parts of the Northeast were bracing for a powerful winter storm that could dump heavy, wet snow and unleash strong winds, making travel difficult and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of people. The National Weather Service says the storm could begin late Monday and last into Wednesday. Areas in its path could include parts of New England, upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, and northern New Jersey, with snowfall totals expected to range from a few inches to a few feet, depending on the area. "This could be deadly," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned at a storm briefing in Albany. "Let me repeat: This will be a dangerous storm. Please stay off the roads for your own safety." Higher elevations in New York's mid-Hudson region and the Albany area could receive 3 feet of snow. Hochul, who will issue a state of emergency starting at 8 p.m. Monday, said snow plow crews from Long Island and utility crews as far away as Canada were being sent to the region. She also said 100 National Guard members were brought in to assist with emergency response. Snow in the western part of Massachusetts could exceed 18 inches, but along the coast, the totals could be 3 or 4 inches, Bill Simpson, a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Norton, Massachusetts, said. "I'm not quite sure of the exact track," Simpson said. "That makes all the difference in the world." A winter storm warning was due to take effect Monday evening and last through Wednesday morning for parts of upstate New York, northeastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, southern sections of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont as well as western Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Some schools in the region canceled classes for Tuesday ahead of the storm, and Maine Gov. Janet Mills directed that all state offices be closed Tuesday. Connecticut's largest electricity provider, Eversource, was bringing in extra crews from other states as it prepared for up to 130,000 power outages. "That combination of heavy wet snow, long duration of sustained winds, long duration of gusts will almost certainly bring down tree limbs and entire trees," said Steve Sullivan, president of Connecticut electric operations for Eversource. "Those will damage the electric system." The storm will arrive during elections in New Hampshire In New Hampshire, the storm will hit on Election Day for town officeholders. Dozens of communities postponed voting, while others reminded voters that they could vote by absentee ballot on Monday instead. Similar back-to-back Election Day storms in 2017 and 2018 sparked widespread confusion about who could reschedule elections. Lawmakers have since changed the law to allow town moderators to postpone elections if the National Weather Service issues a storm warning. For Tuesday, such warnings have been issued for at least parts of seven of the state's 10 counties. In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey directed all non-emergency state employees working in executive branch agencies not to report to their workplaces Tuesday, and instead work from home if possible. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority suspended all ferry service Tuesday. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said city officials were keeping a close eye on the storm, which was expected to start out as mostly rain Tuesday along the eastern coast of Massachusetts. "The weather forecasts are still shifting around quite a bit," Wu said. "Our public works and emergency management and Boston Public Schools teams are really focused on tracking this minute by minute." Wu said the city has been in touch with companies that might be running cranes or large construction sites make sure they secure materials ahead of predicted strong winds. [ad_2] #England #upstate #York #brace #winter #storm #NPR

[umarfarooqzahoor]

Leaders Meet-Up Determining Strategies for Strengthening Nations

For sharing a collective concern towards a common set of objectives, leaders converge for meet-ups. These gatherings are helpful for collaboration, building an approach. Additionally, these meetings assist at raising a number of opportunities towards growth.

Sheikh Umar Farooq Zahoor, a popular face of Dubai, U.A.E, has been often seen participating in such meetings. There was also a meeting that was held in Guinea Conakry in 2019. The objective of the meeting was to raise the economic pillars of the nations and also strengthen relationships amongst the nations.

Let’s dig deeper to find out more,

George Weah: President of Liberia

The full name of George Weah is George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah. He is a Liberian politician and a former professional football player. He is the incumbent Liberian President.

In addition, he is serving the office since 2018. Before he was elected as president he was serving as Senator from Montserrado County. As he was an excellent professional football player, he spent 18 years in his career as a striker but later of he became the first African to become Head of the state who formerly was a professional football player as his career ended in 2003.

Early Life

He was born on 1st October 1966. He was born in Clara Town and brought up in Monrovia. He belongs to one of the poorest areas of the country and is a member of the Kru ethnic Group that hails from South-eastern Liberia’s Grand Kru County. His father��s name was William T. Weah Sr., and he was a mechanic by profession. His mother’s name was Anna Quayweah. She was a seller.

His schooling was at a Muslim school from Muslim Congress he attended Middle school. He pursued his high school at Wells Hairston High School. From the age of 15, he played for Young Survivors Youth Club.

He has four children three with wife Clar fourth child from another relationship. He practised Islam and later converted to Christianity. In addition, he holds French citizenship and holds French fluently.

Football Career

He represented Liberia at the international level and brought the laurels of 75 caps and also scored 18 goals for his country. He was honoured as one of the greatest players of all time because of his extraordinary performance. That’s why in 1995 he was named FIFA World Player of the Year.

Besides this, he won the Ballon d’Or, and with this, he became the only player and the first one to bring his laurels while representing an African country at the international level. Later, in 1996, he was declared as African Player of the Century. In 2004, he was amongst the 100 list of the world’s greatest living players by Pele in FIFA.

Political Career

He was elected president of Liberia in 2017 with more than 60% of the votes. During his presidency, he worked to fight corruption, combat illiteracy, reform the economy of the country, and modify the conditions of life, considering it as a main target of the presidency.

Alpha Conde: President of Guinea Conakry

The Republic of Guinea is situated in the coastal zone of Western Africa. It shares its borders with the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mali to the Northeast, Senegal to the North part,Cote d’Ivoire to the Southeast, Guinea-Bissau to the Northwest and Sierra Leone & Liberia to the south. As its capital is Conakry it is referred to as Guinea-Conakry.

The Early Life of Alpha Conde

He was born on March 4th, 1938. He was born in Boke which is located in the lower part of Guinea. His parents belonged to Upper Volta. At the age of 15 Conde left France.

At that time he was serving as an active member of the National Union of Higher Education (SNESUP). He was the executive coordinator from 1967 to 1975.

Political Career

He is a Guinea Politician. From 2010 to 2021 he served as the fourth president of Guinea. He always admired to strengthen Guinea as a democratic nation. In addition, efforts were put together to eradicate corruption, he even pledged it when he stood in the 2010 election in the second round of voting.

He was re-elected in 2015. At that time he was acquiring 58% of the total votes. Besides this, he again hit the victory post with 59.5% votes in 2020. He was succeeded as president by Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

Honors and Awards

Foreign honors include;

Recipient of the Order of Friendship in Russia

Rad Commander of the Order f the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis at Namibia

National honors include;

Grand Cross with the collar of the National Order of Merit at Guinea itself

A Meeting To Accelerate Hitting Futuristic Growth & Development Fastly

The three leaders George Weah, Alpha Conde, and Sheikh Umar Farooq Zahoor met at Guinea Conakry in 2019. In that meeting, they decided to curate a strategy that will help the nations to speed up the pace of growth and development. In the process, they fetched the weak areas that needed to be strengthened to align perfectly with the efforts as per the strategy.

They decided to finalize the schema where the mutual agreement of the leaders was there. Eradicating Poverty, fighting social evils, and empowering the nation in the technology sector were listed as priorities. They focussed to encourage the potential of the nation’s people so that they can aid the weak areas and grow as a whole.

Summarising the concerns of Meet-up

Meetings are growth-oriented and focused on a bright future. They put effort into defining a progressive pathway so that they can hit the milestones of success. In these strategies, the rising issues of the nation are included.

When these issues are addressed with a collective and visionary perspective then, it assists in eradicating the concerns faster. The small efforts then show remarkable accomplishments thereby aiding the growth of the nation.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Brazil’s October 2 Election Results Evoke Disappointment and Hope

Sunday’s election brought an unexpected show of support for President Jair Bolsonaro but also a number of victories for Black and trans women.

On October 2, Brazilians went to the polls to vote for their next president. Although the race had 11 candidates, the real competition was between rightwing current President Jair Bolsonaro and leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The two candidates represent very different visions for the country, and the stakes of the race were high. 

Throughout the day on Sunday, I checked social media regularly. The early votes showed Bolsonaro in the lead and I began to see messages in Portuguese such as “The Northeast, please save us!” and “The Northeast will arrive!” The Northeast is predominantly Afro-Brazilian, and in the 2014 and 2018 presidential elections Lula’s Workers’ Party (PT) won in the region. In the 2018 presidential election, Workers’ Party candidate Fernando Haddad largely received support from the North and Northeast while Bolsonaro received support from the South and Southeast. Yet, even the Northeast could not tip this election enough to avoid a second presidential round.

For months, news media showed former president Lula leading in the polls, and days before the election he had pulled ahead by double digits. By the end of September, a Datafolha poll showed that, if blank and null voters were not included, Lula was predicted to receive 50 percent of votes compared to Bolsonaro’s 36 percent. I was doubtful Lula would get the required 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a second round election. However, I did not expect a close race.

While waiting for the election results on Sunday, I was one of three co-hosts on Brazil Unfiltered’s live Twitter panel. Moderating a panel with distinguished Brazilian scholars, journalists, and activists helped calm my nerves. However, I remained anxious. As vote returns rolled in and my 9-year old daughter reported real-time results to me, I was overcome with horror. Although Lula led with 48 percent, Bolsonaro received over 43 percent of the vote.

None of the polls predicted Bolsonaro would receive such a high percentage of votes. My mind started racing for answers. Was the outcome a result of social desirability, a concept social scientists consider in survey research? Survey respondents sometimes give answers they believe are socially desirable rather than their true answers. Did the spread of far-right fake news on social media, like in 2018, sway fearful voters to vote for Bolsonaro? While I think both of these are reasonable questions, another danger is that everyone has grown accustomed to media reports of Bolsonaro and his supporters’ outlandish behavior and no longer consider it dangerous.

But the danger is real: at least two Bolsonaro supporters killed Lula supporters leading up to the election. Yet the greater threat that passed under progressive radars is the quotidian violence of everyday citizens who secretly support a leader who values authoritarianism and holds undemocratic values. The media often portrays Bolsonaro supporters as erratic and aggressive, but these results show that they are extremely organized. Not all of them are in the streets screaming at people or attending rallies. Some are everyday people that support authoritarianism and do so quietly.

While the presidential race will be decided in the second round, there were some successes in the congressional and state elections. Brazil elected an Indigenous woman federal deputy, Sônia Guajajara, as well as two Black trans women, Erika Hilton and RoBeyoncé Lima, to the National Congress. There were other Black women victories as well: Talíria Petrone won her race for federal deputy, and Renata Souza won as a state deputy in Rio de Janeiro. Altogether, the number of Black women representatives in the lower house increased from 13 to 29 for the upcoming term. While they are all to be celebrated, the reality is that the number of Black women politicians remains small; the 29 Black women representatives make up only 5.6 percent of the total number of 513 (Afro-Brazilian women make up 26% of the population).

Continue reading.

[ligiawrites]

#EleNão

I never get tired of discussing politics. Online, I post my opinions, share ideas I find interesting, and I always try to be in the loop of what's happening around the globe as much as I can.

Most of the time, this much-needed exercise leaves me teary-eyed and broken-hearted. But THIS time, reading about the manifestations against Bolsonaro all around Brazil, I felt a profound sense of pride in my people.

Those of you who have been following me for some time probably know how much disgust I feel towards the current Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro.

(long post about Brazilian Politics after the cut. There's a list of amazing NGOs doing awesome work at the end of the text if you can/want to help the situation of the many groups at risk in Brazil right now. They include LGBTQIA+ groups, Indigenous people, Black communities, feminist movements, and NGOs focused on proper education and food for impoverished children).

In 2018, before the presidential elections, I was walking down Paulista Avenue with one of my closest friends.

Filling one of the widest avenues in Brazil, there was a mob of Bolsonaro supporters holding placards that read "É melhor Jair se acostumando." It's a small word-play with Bolsonaro's name; the idea is "You better start getting used to him". Stationed on the edges of the avenue, police officers stood with guns attached to their waists, crossed arms, and expressions that ranged from pure disinterest to clear enjoyment.

My friend stepped closer to me. He is strong, brilliant, and one of the bravest people I know, and yet he was clearly uncomfortable, so—after I managed to recover from the slight shock of seeing him like that—we linked our arms and avoided the mob in front of us, walking back to the intersection with Consolação Avenue.

Once we were away from the mob and the officers, he looked over his shoulders and sighed.

"If you weren't here, they'd probably have stopped me," he said.

The mob was mostly White. I'm White.

My friend is Black.

"I don't wanna think what will happen if that dude wins the elections," he completed.

His fear was justified. Bolsonaro is a racist, misogynist, homophobic ex-military who preaches in favor of the Military Dictatorship period in Brazil, which killed thousands of Black and Indigenous people while also torturing anyone who spoke up against the military government.

"He won't win," I answered. I was born and raised in São Paulo, one of Brazil's industrial, technological, and cultural hubs; I never thought people would turn a blind eye to how much damage Bolsonaro could make as a president. "He can't win," I added. "Not being who he is."

My friend nodded. We hugged and walked and laughed it off (tried to). And when Bolsonaro won, we both cried.

I guess I was a tad too naïve.

He won. He won, and I never got used to the idea of having such a terrible president. Here are a few things that happened in his government and that are directly connected to him:

(most of the links here are from news articles in Portuguese)

The number of neo-nazism sites in favor of white supremacy increased 400% in Brazil in 2020 compared to the same period in 2018 (before Bolsonaro was elected); this is one of the many consequences of his numerous racist speeches and a small proof of just how racist Brazil is.

The number of military police attacks on low-income communities increased along with the number of COVID deaths.

While, since February 2019, the world already knows that the rights of LGBTQIA+ people are threatened under the current far-right government, the advances in LGBTQIA+ rights n Brazil stopped after Bolsonaro was elected, and instead, there was a movement of retrocession.

The fires in the Amazon Forest further increased by 43% in April 2021 (in 2019, after an increase of 63% in comparison to 2018, I wrote about one of the most terrifying fires in Amazon and how I could see the smoke from it from my home in São Paulo, 3000 km away).

After promising to diminish deforestation in order to receive a large sum of money from the US, the Brazilian Senate is preparing to vote for a new Law Project that tries to make the licensing of land in the Amazon Forest more pliable. That means it'd be disgustingly easier for people to buy and explore the lands that should belong to the Brazilian indigenous people; all they'd need is an auto-declaratory license emitted online without the analysis of any environmental body.

Under the pretext of "helping" the indigenous people, Bolsonaro defends mining and agriculture in indigenous peoples' lands. This is one of the public declarations of repudiation written by the Yanomami people (one of the biggest indigenous communities in Brazil) about Bolsonaro and his visit to their land on May 27th, 2021.

And then we have women's situation, which you can see in the Brazilian annual of Public Security.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I didn't add the investigations of corruption (including embezzlement of money for COVID-related services), the liberation of guns, the nepotism, the problem with vaccines, the damage of the far-right religious institutions the president supports, and the disrespect and verbal aggression towards women.

... And that's why I felt so proud of my fellow Brazilians yesterday. :3 We're a young people (Brazil is only 521 years old, while England, for example, is 1094, if you think about the creation of the kingdom of England), but we're still doing our best. I might be away from my Land of Drizzle, but I carry my people in my heart, and I cry alongside them, as loud as I can,

♥♥♥ Fora Bolsonaro! ♥♥♥

---

And even though I can see Brazilians waking up and organizing themselves better, there are still people needing our help right now. If you want to help the situation in Brazil, please consider Donating! Here's a small list of NGOs doing a lot of good in Brazil:

+ APIB ("Brazilian Indigenous People Articulation") - to help the indigenous people in Brazil. (They also have a fantastic documentary subtitled in English you can watch here, showing the situation of the indigenous people in Brazil)

+ CUFA ("Unified Central of Favelas") - to help the impoverished communities and Favelas in Brazil. (I use my credit card to donate to this one; if you're outside Brazil, I think this might work for you too). If you want to help the Covid Relief specifically, CUFA has a project called "Mães da Favela" (Favela mothers), which you can donate to directly through this link.

+ Amigos do Bem - help with famine, donate drinkable water, and improve education in northeast Brazil, one of the areas more impacted by droughts.

+ Omolará (site in Portuguese) - amazing social project focusing on helping Black Woman find education and financial independence.

+ To help the LGBT+ community in Brazil, I'm still searching for NGOs and projects that receive international donations. If you're in Brazil or if you can make wire transfers, I suggest checking this list of fantastic projects (in Portuguese).

[azspot]

In mid-June, Democratic congressional candidate Nina Turner launched a television ad campaign promoting her support for Medicare for All. Less than two weeks later, the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbyists and its bankrolled lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to block her election to Congress through an opponent who has been publicly vilifying Medicare for All amid the pandemic.

A 2018 poll showed that Medicare for All is wildly popular in Northeast Ohio — and Turner is running in a district that has been represented for nearly 30 years by lawmakers who have supported legislation to create a government-sponsored single payer health care system. That includes Marcia Fudge, who left Congress to serve in President Joe Biden’s cabinet.

[creepingsharia]

Minnesota: Terror-linked CAIR say Minneapolis Parks Board refusal to sell city park land for mosque parking violated religious rights

Zoning jihad. The mosque already appears to be in a residential area - possibly converted from a home.

Mosque and CAIR say Minneapolis Parks Board violated religious rights with refusal to sell land for parking

By Christine Douglass-Williams

How does a regional zoning “master plan” that was “spoken for” 15 years ago become an attack on “religious liberty” in 2021? When a mosque and the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) say so — or so they see it.

When Islamic supremacists are either challenged over their entitlements or refused such entitlements, invariably they levy accusations of  “Islamophobia” and claim a violation of their “religious rights.”

The Masjid Salaam Cultural Center in northeast Minneapolis expects to be awarded land for parking for their convenience.

The mosque’s imam, Abdimagid Omar, opened the mosque in 2016 and expected to get parking land, despite the fact that the land had been designated for other purposes since 2006. That didn’t matter.

Omar “said no one has harassed him in the vicinity of the mosque, but he would feel safer being able to park closer.”

He went on to say, absurdly:

When you are an immigrant, when you’re Black, when you’re Muslim, when you come into a neighborhood where you don’t live just to pray, anything can happen.

That was his argument. So now the mosque and CAIR are demanding that the city change its plans.

Buying city parkland is almost impossible… The Park Board is required to hold its land in public trust, says general counsel Brian Rice. “The presumption is that this board does not sell land.”

No such presumption is respected by Islamic supremacists when moving into an infidel community. Dhimmis are expected to comply; otherwise they will be slapped with the label of “Islamophobic.”

CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas jihad terror funding case, is infamous for making outrageous demands, and here is another:

The Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota (CAIR-Minnesota) gave the Park Board a deadline this month to avoid a lawsuit.

Until Westerners refuse to be bullied and stop bowing to name-calling, propaganda, and manipulation, the West will keep losing the war against Islamization, as is clearly happening in Minnesota.

“Minneapolis mosque says Park Board’s refusal to sell land for parking infringes on religious liberty,” by Susan Du, Star Tribune, February 12, 2021:

The Masjid Salaam Cultural Center in northeast Minneapolis hosts daily prayers, Sunday school and the occasional food drive. But members say the mosque has one major flaw — it has no designated parking.

That means people coming to the mosque, including the elderly and disabled and the 170 children who attended school there before the pandemic, have to park several blocks away or get out of vehicles on the side of busy Central Avenue.

The mosque has tried for years to persuade the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to build parking stalls by paving over green space along St. Anthony Parkway. The conflict pits assertions of religious liberty against the sanctity of public parkland, and it’s coming to a head after the Council on American-Islamic Relations Minnesota (CAIR-Minnesota) gave the Park Board a deadline this month to avoid a lawsuit.

When Masjid Salaam opened at 3141 NE. Central Av. in 2016, Imam Abdimagid Omar believed he could persuade the Park Board to sell the mosque a slice of adjacent parkland. Omar isn’t fluent in English, so he appointed congregant Abdi Barkat as his spokesman. Barkat works near Masjid Salaam and has been praying there during his lunch hour for about two years.

He said no one has harassed him in the vicinity of the mosque, but he would feel safer being able to park closer. “When you are an immigrant, when you’re Black, when you’re Muslim, when you come into a neighborhood where you don’t live just to pray, anything can happen,” Barkat says.

Buying city parkland is almost impossible, however. The Park Board is required to hold its land in public trust, says general counsel Brian Rice. “The presumption is that this board does not sell land.”

The Park Board can sell land if commissioners decide it’s obsolete and unusable for any park purpose. Even then, a district judge would have to approve the sale.

But the land is already spoken for in the 2006 St. Anthony Parkway Regional Park Master Plan, which specifically calls for landscaping, public art and seating there.

The mosque could petition the Park Board to change the master plan, which would require a majority vote. But the commissioner for the area, Chris Meyer, is against it, and has been lobbying to get rid of parking lots since before he was elected to the Park Board.

Meyer moved from Sturgis, S.D., to Minneapolis at age 18 so he wouldn’t have to drive. He has never had a driver’s license. In 2015, he bought 13 copies of “The High Cost of Free Parking” by Donald Shoup to give each Minneapolis City Council member, then successfully campaigned to eliminate parking requirements around train stations.

“That has been my thing. That’s what I do,” Meyer says. “My passion is trying to move our city in a less car-dependent direction.”

The mosque persisted. In 2018, it purchased its building and found an ally in Commissioner AK Hassan…

[newstfionline]

Friday, March 1, 2024

Democracy’s appeal is slipping as nations across much of the world hold elections, a poll finds (AP) Representative democracy remains a favorite system of governance around the globe, but its appeal is slipping on the eve of elections in much of the world, according to a survey of 24 democratic countries by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday. While a median of 77% across the 24 surveyed countries said representative democracy was a “good” system of government, higher than any other alternative, a median of 59% told pollsters they were dissatisfied with how democracy was working in their own country. In the 22 countries where data was available from 2017, the last time Pew asked about democracy, the share describing democracy as a “very good” system was down in half of them. “People do like representative democracy. But you see here in lots of different ways people are really frustrated with how it’s performing,” said Richard Wike, managing director of Pew’s Global Attitudes research. “There’s a real disconnect between people and their representatives.” Across the 24 countries—all democracies—a median of 74% said they don’t believe elected officials care what people like them think.

Biden, Trump try to work immigration to their political advantage during trips to Texas (AP) President Joe Biden and his likely Republican challenger Donald Trump both head to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday in a sign of how central immigration has become to the 2024 election and how much both candidates want to use it to their advantage. Each has chosen an optimal location from which to underscore his respective points. Biden, who wants to spotlight how Republicans tanked a bipartisan border security deal on Trump’s orders, will go to the Rio Grande Valley city of Brownsville. For nine years, this was the busiest corridor for illegal crossings, but illegal crossings there have dropped sharply in recent months. Trump, for his part, wants to continue his attacks on Biden and keep up his dialed-up rhetoric after saying migrants were poisoning the blood of Americans. He will do so from Eagle Pass, roughly 325 miles northwest of Brownsville, in the corridor that’s currently seeing the largest number of crossings.

Fast-Spreading Wildfires in Texas Panhandle Prompt Evacuations (NYT) The second-largest wildfire on record in Texas raged across 850,000 acres on Wednesday, as firefighters from around the state tried to contain it. The blaze has consumed houses, burned vast ranch lands, killed livestock and forced evacuations across the sparsely populated Texas Panhandle. The blaze, known as the Smokehouse Creek fire, ignited on Monday and by Wednesday had spread across vast swaths of ranch lands, fueled by strong winds and dry conditions. It still had not been contained and was growing, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service. Satellite data from the National Interagency Fire Center suggested that the fire had already become the largest ever seen in the state. The fire spread around the town of Canadian, a cattle-country community of around 2,200 people northeast of Amarillo, near the Oklahoma state line. Residents who had not already evacuated were forced to shelter in place overnight.

The UN accuses Nicaragua’s government of abuses ‘tantamount to crimes against humanity’ (AP) The United Nations accused Nicaragua ‘s government of committing “serious systematic human rights violations, tantamount to crimes against humanity” on Thursday in an investigation into the country’s expanding crackdown on political dissent. The government of President Daniel Ortega has gone after opponents for years, hitting a turning point in mass protests against the government in 2018 that resulted in violent repression by authorities. But in the past year, repression has expanded to large swaths of society with a focus on “incapacitating any kind of opposition in the long term,” according to the independent group of U.N. experts investigating the issue since March 2022. “Nicaragua is caught in a spiral of violence marked by the persecution of all forms of political opposition, whether real or perceived,” Jan Simon, an expert who headed the investigation, said in a statement. The report said the crackdown has expanded past Nicaragua’s borders to the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled government repression, largely landing in the United States and Costa Rica. Hundreds of Nicaraguans have been stripped of their citizenship and left stateless.

Sunak says the UK is descending into mob rule. Critics accuse him of undermining protest rights (AP) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Britain is descending into “mob rule” because of the pressures created by protests against the Israel-Hamas war—words criticized as alarmist by a human rights group. Tom Southerden of Amnesty International said Thursday that talk of mob rule “wildly exaggerates the issue and risks delegitimizing the rights of peaceful protest.” Mass protests have drawn hundreds of thousands of people to central London almost weekly to call for a cease-fire in a conflict that has killed close to 30,000 Palestinians. The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, though there have been dozens of arrests over signs and chants allegedly supporting Hamas, a banned organization in Britain. Jewish organizations and many lawmakers say the mass marches have created an intimidating atmosphere for Jewish Londoners—though members of the Jewish community have been among those on pro-cease-fire marches. Divisions over the conflict in Gaza have convulsed British politics.

The French newspaper that only publishes on Feb. 29 (AP) Read all about it, right now—or you’ll have to wait another four years. Satirical French newspaper La Bougie du Sapeur only comes out on Feb. 29. It’s a leap year-only publication, filled with cringe-worthy puns and commentary on events of the past four years. When the world goes out of whack, reads its once-in-four-years editorial, “Sometimes you have to laugh about it.’’ The 2024 edition includes an article suggesting France doesn’t need schools anymore thanks to artificial intelligence. Another floats the idea of dismantling the Eiffel Tower during the Paris Olympics to reduce security risks—and having IKEA produce a manual for rebuilding it. Some friends started the newspaper as a joke in 1980, naming it after a comic book figure who was born on Feb. 29. The last edition—in 2020, as the world went into COVID-19 lockdowns—sold 120,000 copies. Revenue from newsstand sales goes mainly to a charity for people with developmental disorders

Russia seizes more villages in Ukraine, raising fears of growing momentum (Washington Post) After taking the strategic northeast Ukrainian town of Avdiivka two weeks ago, Russian forces have seized three more villages in the past few days, suggesting a growing momentum in their advance even as Western officials warn of the ammunition shortages Kyiv’s military is facing. The villages had little strategic importance, and Stepove and Sieverne had populations of less than 100 people even before Russia’s invasion, two years ago. But the gains indicated that Russia was pushing its advantage after taking Avdiivka—its first major victory since seizing the eastern city of Bakhmut last May. Ukraine’s situation was “undoubtedly a tough one,” made more acute since its military was “struggling with its ammunition and its stockpiles,” Adm. Sir Tony Radakin, the head of Britain’s armed forces, said at a conference in London on Tuesday. “I think that’s a predicament that is likely to last at least for the next few months.”

Putin reacts to threat of NATO troop deployment in Ukraine (Financial Times) Vladimir Putin has said that western support for Ukraine risks triggering a global war, in his most explicit threat to use nuclear weapons since he ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. In his state of the nation speech on Thursday, the Russian president said claims that his country might attack Europe were “nonsense”, but warned that Russia could strike back against western countries in response. Putin said in the address to the country’s political elite that western support for Ukraine “really risks a conflict using nuclear weapons, which means the destruction of all of civilisation”. Referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to rule out sending western troops to Ukraine this week, Putin said Russia remembered “the fate of those who once sent their contingents to our country. Now the consequences for possible interveners will be much more tragic”. “We also have weapons that can strike targets on their territory,” Putin added. He said western supplies of advanced weaponry and the prospect of a NATO troop deployment risked nuclear conflict. Putin added: “They think this is some kind of game. They are blinded by their own superiority complex.”

A Land Once Emptied by War Now Faces a Peacetime Exodus (NYT) When the Bosnian sheep farmer fled his home in a disintegrating Yugoslavia in 1992, trekking with his family for 40 days to escape the start of a war that would pit neighbor against neighbor, the village he left behind had more than 400 people, two shops and a school. After more than a decade away from his home in eastern Bosnia, the farmer, Fikret Puhalo, 61, returned to his village, Socice. By then it had 100 or so people. Today, only 15 are left. The shops have gone, the school, too. “Everyone else died or moved away,” said Mr. Puhalo, gesturing to empty homes scattered across the rocky hills around the family land where he grazes his sheep. “Not a single child has been born here since I returned,” he said. The withering away of Socice mirrors a worldwide phenomenon of poor farming areas losing people to urban centers. It is also part of a grave demographic crisis afflicting wide swaths of Eastern and Central Europe, including relatively prosperous countries like Poland and Hungary, as low-birth rates and emigration reduce the number of people—and fuel ethnonationalist politicians who clamor against the dilution, even extinction, of native populations.

In Israeli-occupied Hebron, Palestinians describe living in ‘a prison’ (Washington Post) Israel has intensified its military occupation of the West Bank—through arrests, raids and crippling restrictions on movement. New orange gates dot the roads, cutting off “almost all” entrances to Palestinian villages and towns, according to the U.N. Since Oct. 7, a total of 45 gates have been added across the West Bank, it said, making a total of 214. Earthen mounds, concrete roadblocks and ad hoc checkpoints also sever communities from main roads. The impact has been felt acutely in Hebron, population 250,000, the largest Palestinian city outside Gaza. With Israeli settlements clustered in and around its historic center, it has long been one of the most heavily militarized, intensely surveilled parts of the West Bank. “It’s a prison in a prison,” resident Firas Idris, 57, said.

‘Wounded Child, No Surviving Family’: Gaza’s doctors spell out a crisis (Washington Post) Gaza is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child, the United Nations says. It’s a place where thousands of children have been killed, part of the soaring death toll from Israel’s military campaign since Hamas attacked the country on Oct. 7. But survival is no guarantee of an escape from the horror summed up by medical workers in a grim new initialism: WCNSF. Wounded Child, No Surviving Family. Doctors and aid workers say these unaccompanied children often have grisly injuries: deep tissue burns, lung contusions, brain damage, lost limbs, shrapnel wounds. Some arrive unconscious. Some need immediate resuscitation. UNICEF spokesman James Elder, who spent time in Gaza last year, described encountering children who had lost their entire families with “terrifying frequency.” Some, he said, looked as if “they’ve just been broken and badly put back together, waiting for multiple surgeries.”

As Gaza death toll passes 30,000, grave-digger longs to build houses again (Reuters) The mounting death toll from Israel’s military offensive on the Gaza Strip is a concrete, daily reality for Ibrahim Ahmed: instead of building houses as he did before the war, he digs graves. Displaced from his home, like most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, Ahmed spends his days at Tal Al-Sultan cemetery in the Rafah area, preparing rows of graves in the sandy terrain and marking them with cement blocks for lack of gravestones. “As a human being who has feelings, it feels heavy to go from building villas and apartments, which I love, to building graves,” said Ahmed. “My job was difficult, yes, but I’d go home with a sense of achievement. I made new things, every day a different building, a different decor. I went home in a good mood.” Now, every day brings dead bodies and processions of bereaved relatives.

[disillusioned41]

Since the Civil War, midterm elections have enabled the president’s party to gain ground in the House of Representatives only three times, and those were in single digits. The last few midterms have been typical: In 2006, with Republican George W. Bush in the White House, his party lost 31 House seats. Under Democrat Barack Obama, his party lost 63 seats in 2010 and then 13 seats in 2014. Under Donald Trump, in 2018, Republicans lost 41 seats. Overall, since World War II, losses have averaged 27 seats in the House.

Next year, if Republicans gain just five House seats, Rep. Kevin McCarthy or some other right-wing ideologue will become the House speaker, giving the GOP control over all committees and legislation. In the Senate, where the historic midterm pattern has been similar, a Republican gain of just one seat will reinstall Mitch McConnell as Senate majority leader.

"Truly bold political actions—culminating in landmark legislation to improve the economic and social well-being of vast numbers of Americans—will be essential to improve the slim chances that Biden's presidency won't lead to a Republican takeover of Congress midway through his term."

To prevent such disastrous results, Democrats would need to replicate what happened the last time the president’s party didn’t lose House or Senate seats in a midterm election—two years after Bush entered the White House. The odds are steeply against it, as elections analyst Nathaniel Rakich points out: "Bush was very popular in 2002 in the aftermath of 9/11. According to a retrospective FiveThirtyEight average of polls at the time, he had a 62 percent approval rating and 29 percent disapproval rating on Election Day 2002. And in this era of polarization—where presidential approval ratings are stuck in a very narrow band—it's hard to imagine (President) Biden ever reaching that level of popularity."

It's not just history that foreshadows a return to Capitol power for the likes of McCarthy and McConnell. All year, Republican officeholders have been methodically doing all they can to asphyxiate democracy. And they can do a lot more.

With new census data, the once-in-a-decade chance to redistrict means that Republican-dominated state legislatures can do maximal gerrymandering. "Because Democrats fell short of their 2020 expectations in state legislative races," FiveThirtyEight politics reporter Alex Samuels says, "Republicans have the opportunity to redraw congressional maps that are much more clearly in their favor." All this year, awaiting census figures to manipulate, Republican legislatures have been enacting outrageous new voter-suppression laws, many of the sort recently greenlighted by the Supreme Court and calculated to destroy voting rights.

Related Content

In Leaked Video, GOP Congressman Admits His Party Wants 'Chaos and Inability to Get Stuff Done'

Jake Johnson

In the face of impending election disasters in 2022 and beyond, denial might be a natural coping mechanism, but it only makes matters worse. Reality should now spur a sustained all-out effort—in courts, legislatures, Congress and public venues—to safeguard as many democratic processes as possible for next year's elections, while organizing against the dozens of major voter-suppression tactics of recent years.

At the same time, truly bold political actions—culminating in landmark legislation to improve the economic and social well-being of vast numbers of Americans—will be essential to improve the slim chances that Biden's presidency won't lead to a Republican takeover of Congress midway through his term. Though largely drowned out by the din of mainstream punditry urging "bipartisan" approaches, many astute voices are urgently calling for measures that could transform political dynamics before the 2022 general elections.

"We've got to go big, and take it to another level," first-term Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman said in an email to supporters this week. "We've got to deliver and get this done for our communities. So why on earth are we wasting time trying to compromise with Republicans?" Bowman added: "If we do not fight for our communities and put them in the center of the work we do—if we continue to prioritize the myth of 'bipartisanship' over the people we were elected to fight for and represent in Washington—we will lose elections. If we want to maintain control and the opportunity to do great work beyond 2022, Democrats need to deliver in this very moment."

Nina Turner, who's likely to become a member of Congress in November after a special election for a vacant seat in a northeast Ohio district, said recently: "When are we going to learn? Republicans plan for the long term. What can we do right now before the next election cycle and get it done and go big? Because power is fleeting. You've got to use it while you’ve got it."

Days ago, in a Washington Post column, The Nation's editorial director Katrina vanden Heuvel posed "the critical question" as Congress reconvened after a holiday break: "Are Democrats ready to act?" She wrote: "While President Biden is selling the bipartisan infrastructure deal as a 'generational investment,' the real effort will come from using the budget reconciliation process to pass vitally needed public investments with Democratic votes only. For all the focus on Biden's ability to work across the aisle, the true challenge is whether he and the congressional leadership can work with all Democrats. That test will do much to determine whether the party can retain or increase its majorities in the next election—and whether the country will begin to address the cascading crises that it faces."'

What remains to be determined is whether such warnings will end up being the tragically prophetic voices of Cassandras—or clarion calls for action that are heeded in time to prevent an unhinged Republican Party from taking control of Congress when 2023 begins.

[sleepysera]

Feb. 27 Headlines

WORLD NEWS

Myanmar: UN ambassador fired after anti-army speech (BBC)

“In an emotional speech, Kyaw Moe Tun said no-one should co-operate with the military until it handed back power to the democratically elected government. Security forces intensified a crackdown on anti-coup protesters on Saturday.”

Nigeria: schoolboys freed as forces search for 300 abducted girls (Reuters)

“The recent attacks have raised concern about rising violence by armed gangs and Islamist insurgents. Jihadist group Boko Haram carries out abductions in Nigeria’s turbulent northeast, as does a branch of Islamic State.”

Princess Latifa: Urges UK police to investigate sister’s kidnapping 21 years ago (CNN)

“‘She was enslaved and oppressed and suffered physical abuse at the hands of family members ... She wanted to seek asylum in the UK where she has family permanently living there. After a few months, she was kidnapped ... She was dragged from the street kicking and screaming. She was tranquilized and flown back to Dubai,’ Latifa wrote in the document dated February 2018.”

US NEWS

Covid: House passes $1.9 trillion covid relief package (CNN)

“The final vote tally was 219-212. Two Democrats broke ranks and voted against the bill: Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Jared Golden of Maine. The bill did not pass with bipartisan support as no Republicans voted for it.”

GOP: Trump dominant force at conservative conference (AP)

“A conference dedicated to the future of the conservative movement turned into an ode to Donald Trump as speakers declared their fealty to the former president and attendees posed for selfies with a golden statue of his likeness.”

Lady Gaga: 2 French bulldogs returned safely (CNN)

“‘The woman's identity and the location the dogs were found will remain confidential due to the active criminal investigation and for her safety.’ The LAPD also updated the condition of the dog walker, saying he was ‘stable’ with injuries that were not life-threatening.”