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moontyger · 1 month ago

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More than 80 percent of federal employees live outside the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region. More than 30 percent are military veterans. And they all share a dedication to serving their fellow Americans. That's why they work longer hours, for significantly lower pay, than their private sector counterparts. In his hunt for "efficiency," Musk has conveniently chosen to ignore the fact that federal employees are among the most efficient workers on the planet.

Instead, Musk has attempted to fire as many federal employees as he can, as fast as he can, without regard for the collateral damage that he is causing. In particular, he has taken aim at probationary employees—who have been in their current job for less than a year or two and are still being evaluated before their civil service appointment is finalized—and accused them, en masse, of poor performance. How ironic is it, then, that by his own criteria, Elon Musk should be the first federal employee to clear out his desk?

Let's start with Musk's own performance review methods, which are as unlawful as they are disrespectful. Recently, the DOGE-captured Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent a government-wide email asking employees to respond with a list of five things that they accomplished the previous week. On social media, Musk stated that failure to respond would be "taken as a resignation." It is illegal to use the threat of dismissal to coerce federal employees to give out protected information.

But Musk has shown little regard for the law during his tenure with DOGE. In recent weeks, federal judges have repeatedly blocked him from using his position to access and remove sensitive data and personal information owned by a variety of agencies. That's strike one. Meanwhile, Musk has failed to resolve or even disclose legitimate conflicts-of-interest arising from his oversight of agencies that are in the midst of investigating his companies, like Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter/X. Strike two.

Most disturbingly, Musk and his allies have repeatedly attempted, without any relevant authority, to impound, or withhold, funds appropriated by Congress for programs and services that they personally oppose. As numerous legal scholars have warned, allowing the world's richest man to overrule our nation's elected representatives is nothing short of a constitutional crisis. Strike three—he's out. Or at least Musk should be. If Congress does not act to defund DOGE and oust Musk, he will truly be accountable to no one.

In justifying his actions, some of Musk's powerful Big Tech allies suggest that the only way to run our country more effectively is to install an all-powerful CEO-monarch who can remake the government, entirely free of legal constraints. But even with all his power, Elon Musk can't help but demonstrate his gross incompetence. DOGE recently released a public ledger boasting of billions in cancelled government contracts. A closer inspection revealed that the figures were rife with miscalculations and overestimates. And right now, the Trump administration is scrambling to inefficiently re-hire thousands of urgently needed federal employees that DOGE has recently laid off.

These errors would be sufficient to terminate the employment of any federal worker, regardless of how many years they've devoted to public service. But Mr. Musk has been on the job for just a handful of weeks. As any federal employee can now tell you, that makes him, at least in spirit, a probationary employee who can be fired at a moment's notice.

#US politics #current events #elongated muskrat

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justinspoliticalcorner · 5 months ago

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Erin Reed at Erin In The Morning:

News broke this weekend that Republican leaders have unveiled the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a traditionally bipartisan bill critical to funding the U.S. military. This year, however, the NDAA has become a battlefield, as Republicans inserted a provision barring TRICARE, the military’s health insurance program, from covering gender-affirming care for transgender dependents under 18. The move explicitly targets the children of servicemembers, a decision that risks derailing the $895 billion defense bill. Reports suggest the controversial amendment may be a non-starter for most Democrats and could jeopardize the bill’s passage, particularly as a handful of Republican defections remain possible.

The newly released 1,813-page bill, unveiled Saturday, primarily focuses on standard defense expenditures. However, buried within its extensive language is a controversial provision: “Section 708.” This clause would prohibit TRICARE from covering any medical treatments for gender dysphoria in transgender youth under 18 that “could result in sterilization.” While the bill itself does not specify which treatments would be banned, as fertility often remains possible for transgender youth receiving gender-affirming care, a separate House GOP memo, obtained by Fox News, clarified the intent: to “ban transgender medical treatment for children,” including “puberty blockers and hormones.”

You can see the NDAA provision and the House GOP memo here.

The provision represents a mildly scaled-back version of earlier proposals introduced in the Senate version of the bill prior to the election. Those Senate provisions not only targeted transgender youth but also sought to restrict gender-affirming surgeries for transgender adults in the military. If enacted, such policies could severely disrupt the lives of transgender servicemembers by jeopardizing their access to care and stripping transgender family members of vital healthcare coverage. Though Republicans campaigned heavily on transgender issues in 2024 and currently control the House, the inclusion of the provision could complicate the bill’s passage.

[...] The bill will reportedly undergo a procedural rule to determine whether a simple majority will suffice for its passage. Some Republicans may vote to block the bill, either due to opposition to the anti-trans provision or frustration over the absence of additional far-right priorities. Without Democratic support, the bill could be pushed into a process requiring a two-thirds majority, a scenario that would likely strip out the anti-equality provision to ensure its passage. Smith stated to Politico that he was uncertain on how Democrats would vote on the procedural motion, stating that he was “sure people will be in different places.”

The type of care that would be targeted is considered lifesaving for many transgender youth. A Cornell review of more than 51 studies determined that trans care significantly improves the mental health of transgender people. One major study even noted a 73% lower suicidality among trans youth who began care. A similar study found a 40% reduction in actual suicide attempts over the previous year. In a recent article published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in April of 2024, puberty blockers were found to significantly reduce depression and anxiety. A randomized controlled trial in Australia, which was only possible through an innovative methodology, showed a 55% reduction in suicidality for trans men able to start testosterone. In Germany, a recent review by over 27 medical organizations has judged that “not providing treatment can do harm” to transgender youth, and a recent medical consensus in France supported their use. The evidence around transgender care led to a historic policy resolution condemning bans on gender affirming care by the American Psychological Association, the largest psychological association in the world, which was voted on by representatives of its 157,000 members.

This week, the NDAA is likely to contain a provision banning Tricare from covering gender-affirming healthcare for trans dependents under 18.

See Also:

LGBTQ Nation: Congressional Republicans hijack military spending bill to target trans kids

The Advocate: Nearly 300 groups urge Congress to reject anti-trans provision in defense spending bill

The Advocate: House Republicans are trying to ban gender-affirming care for youth in new military budget

#Tricare #Gender Affirming Healthcare #Transgender Health #NDAA #118th Congress #Health Care #Mike Johnson #US House of Representatives #Puberty Blockers #Hormone Replacement Therapy #Transgender #Anti Trans Extremism

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arpov-blog-blog · 1 year ago

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..."PRESIDENT BIDEN’S JOB APPROVAL RATING has plummeted during his three years in office to historic lows—lower than President Obama’s was at this point before he won re-election in 2012, lower even than President Trump’s was in October 2020 before he lost.

The numbers make clear that Biden is a much weaker candidate than he was when he defeated Trump three years ago. It’s unlikely Biden’s approval will recover significantly before November. But—crucially—that doesn’t mean he will lose the election.

There are multiple theories for why Biden remains underwater, with higher disapproval than approval. Most of the electorate has concluded that Biden is too old. As some commentators have noted, in his long career, Biden has never been popular; his initial honeymoon in the presidency was a temporary deviation from the norm as the country basked in the relief of dumping Trump.

Biden’s peak approval registered at about 54 percent in the spring of 2021, according to FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls. There was one big reason: Americans, coming out of the pandemic, had hope. The Biden administration was competently managing the vaccine rollout and most of us had had one or both shots and celebrated a return to normal life.

Biden’s polling crashed to earth that fall, after the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the battle over the bloated and ill-fated Build Back Better bill. By the end of his first year in office, 10 percent more Americans disapproved of his job performance than approved. He lost favor with a majority because he lost the support of his own voters. The centrist Biden inspires no zeal from his base the way Obama did, let alone the way a cult leader like Trump does. He has no buffer.

So the spring of 2021 was a rare time of artificially elevated national mood. It’s hard to imagine a scenario other than a major national emergency in which any president reaches 53 percent approval again. We live in an age of extreme polarization and zero-sum politics, in which entrenched partisans despise a president from the opposing party, and the default dourness Americans naturally revert to (see: current economic data vs. polling about the economy) means the in-power coalition is also likely to be disappointed. Biden polls poorly on nearly all the issues that comprise the umbrella of job approval: inflation/economy, foreign policy, immigration, crime, and his fitness/age. But we can’t know how voters prioritize them (or other issues) when making their choice. And even if Biden manages to stabilize the southern border, help end the war in Gaza, and preside over continuing economic improvements and low inflation, his job approval might not budge.

YET APPROVAL RATINGS MAY NO LONGER BE a useful benchmark in future campaigns, especially if Biden overperforms his polling in 2024 the way Democrats did in 2022 and 2023. An analysis by FiveThirtyEight found that Democrats did so by an average of 10 points in special elections throughout 2023, outperforming the partisan lean of the districts—and the polls—even where they lost.

Before the 2022 midterms, both parties predicted doom for Democrats because Biden’s approval was at 40 percent according to Gallup—lower than previous presidents who had faced massive losses in their first midterms. But Democrats outran Biden’s job approval everywhere, defending Senate seats in swing states like Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, winning Pennsylvania’s open seat, and losing just ten House seats in what was predicted to be a wipeout.

A year later, the same thing: In 2023, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear won re-election, and Democrats took back control of the Virginia state legislature (ending Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s hope of a presidential run) and scored a major abortion ballot victory in deep-red Ohio."

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cyberbenb · 3 months ago

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Putin's financial safety net melts away: Russia's National Wealth Fund could run out Sooner than expected

As Russia grapples with economic challenges, its primary financial cushion—the National Wealth Fund—could become depleted within six months if oil prices significantly drop.

The National Wealth Fund, once bolstered by substantial revenues from oil and gas, is rapidly diminishing. Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, this financial buffer has been utilized to plug budget gaps but is now shrinking significantly.

By February 1, the liquid assets of the fund, which include gold and foreign currency, stood at 3.8 trillion rubles, equating to less than 2% of GDP. In comparison, before the full-scale attack on Ukraine, this figure was significantly higher at 7.4% of GDP.

Former Russian Finance Minister Mikhail Zadornov indicated that the fund's resources might be exhausted in half a year if oil prices take a deep plunge.

Amidst sanctions from the previous U.S. administration targeting Russia's oil sector, the price of Russian oil fell below the Western-imposed cap of $60 per barrel.

In response, newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly emphasized the need to lower global oil prices, asserting that such a measure would pressure Russia into ending its aggression against Ukraine.

The fund's resources are being directed towards the war and substantial budget expenses. According to Zadornov, if economic and foreign economic challenges persist and the budget lacks significant revenue streams, the fund's resources could quickly deplete to maintain government spending. Currently, there are nearly no funds left for a "rainy day," while military and war expenses continue to escalate. Predictions indicate that by 2025, military spending will reach 13.2 trillion rubles, marking a 22% increase from 2024, double that of 2023, and nearly quadruple the pre-war 2021 level of 3.5 trillion rubles.

The former minister stresses that balancing the budget is achievable only by ending the war. He further highlights that reducing the budget deficit is a "key factor in defeating inflation," whose effects are increasingly burdening Russian citizens and businesses.

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invisiblerambler · 8 months ago

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Lucky for all of you my brain is full of bees tonight, and I don't have therapy until Friday.

This is going to be entirely incoherent and a meditation on about thirty things at once.

School started last week and naturally my body reacted in a very normal way which is activating my fight or flight in a way I'm not sure any other single thing in my life does, actually I'm almost sure of that.

My instinct is to name off all the things I like about the program and the opportunities it's brought me in order to not look like an asshole, but honestly it's been really hard and it's hard not to feel like everyone secretly hates or even worse just tolerates me.

I am aware it is probably my own damage and trauma but that doesn't help. The utmost awareness of everything about this situation isn't doing fucking anything to lower my resting heart rate or feel less like my skin is crawling with bees. The answer is probably to get back on an anti anxiety medication but the expected challenge with that is the idea of finding a new provider in my new state and going through the process of titrating up on medication sounds completely awful actually. I know the alternative is suffering for the next 8 or 9 months for what will amount to a couple hours of work on the front end, but I can barely cook for myself right now much less manage something that complex.

I am forcing myself to hopefully for the final time go to the DMV tomorrow and get my drivers license done. I will be honest if it wasn't an election year I would not be worried about getting it done in a timely way because as a student you get a grace period and my previous state's license is good until 2028 so I wouldn't be seeing the inside of a DMV anytime soon.

But it is an election year and after going twice this summer with bad results (half my fault, but also fuck real id) I need to just close the loop on this whole bureaucratic nightmare.

I also need to exploit to it's logical conclusion the fact that I am basically a free agent at my job presently so why wouldn't I just do every single boring task during work hours while I can get paid for it.

I also wrote out a list of the people who I need to follow up with either over email or text. It makes me feel sick because I have a horrible fear that these people don't actually want to speak to me or otherwise engage and not that they just got busy and lost track of our correspondence.

It was really comforting to talk to D the other night. I felt so significantly less alone hearing that she had been in a similar way singled out by a peer.

I didn't realize how not seriously literally everyone had taken what happened until she actually listened.

I don't think she would make a lunch invitation without seriousness behind it. And I don't need an excuse to ditch work for a couple hours and go across town.

I did make a dentist appointment today so everyone clap for that.

Life admin (mostly) feels easier than things like doing school work which is genuinely like pulling teeth. I am being so avoidant of everything to have to do with school it's like I'm allergic to it.

Maybe if I write it down enough times I won't actually have to do any of it.

I hate that school makes doing every other thing in my life feel awful.

Including but not limited to life admin.

Everything is a lot, and I'm trying to be okay with that instead of feeling like I have to fix it. It will even out, I will even out. (I hope)

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newstfionline · 9 months ago

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Monday, August 5, 2024

Hurricane Debby to bring heavy rains and flooding to Florida, Georgia and S. Carolina (AP) The center of Hurricane Debby is expected to reach the Big Bend coast of Florida early Monday bringing potential record-setting rains, catastrophic flooding and life-threatening storm surge as it moves slowly across the northern part of the state before stalling over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina. Debby was located about 100 miles (161 kilometers) west of Tampa, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). Forecasters warned heavy amounts of rain from Debby could spawn catastrophic flooding in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.

Mexican army acknowledges some of its soldiers have been killed by cartel bomb-dropping drones (AP) The Mexican army acknowledged for the first time Friday that some of its soldiers have been killed by bomb-dropping drones operated by drug cartels. Defense Secretary Gen. Luis Cresencio Sandoval did not provide exact figures on the number of casualties suffered in the attacks, almost all of which occurred in the western state of Michoacan. The army had previously acknowledged that soldiers had been wounded in Michoacan by improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Sandoval did not say when the attacks took place, but suggested they targeted patrol units. He said the army was acquiring anti-drone systems to combat the threat.

Maduro victory sparks fears of new exodus of Venezuelans (AFP) A despondent Jose Vasquez, 31, has decided to join a mass exodus of Venezuelans seeking a better life elsewhere, having lost all hope in his future with the contested reelection of President Nicolas Maduro. “There is no light at the end of the tunnel. I’m leaving,” the 31-year-old told AFP. Some 7.5 million people have already left the country in the last decade to escape the oil-rich nation’s grave economic crisis, according to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). And surrounding nations are bracing for another exodus after Maduro was declared the victor of Sunday’s election. The opposition claims it was the rightful winner and the dispute has sparked deadly protests, leaving at least 16 dead. Vasquez studied to be a teacher, but now works as a salesman, as salaries in his chosen profession were so low “that they are useless.” Ahead of the vote, pollster ORC Consultores had found that 18 percent of Venezuelans were considering emigrating within six months if Maduro remained in power.

The ‘cheaper’ Paris Olympics (Yahoo News) There are very few cases where something that costs nearly $9 billion can be called “cheap.” The Paris Olympics is one of them. While the 2024 Summer Games do carry an enormous price tag, it is significantly lower than other recent editions of the event. The numbers can vary wildly based on what’s counted as an Olympic expense, but the most recent high-quality estimate puts the cost of Tokyo’s 2021 Games at $13.7 billion, Rio in 2016 at $23.6 billion and London in 2012 at $16.8 billion. Recent Winter Olympics have also come with staggering price tags, with estimates for the 2022 Games in Beijing running as high as $35 billion. So relative to those examples, Paris really can argue that it hosted its Games on the cheap. The primary way the Paris organizing committee kept costs down was by relying on existing venues for the competition, rather than building a series of brand-new arenas as previous hosts have done. Roughly 95% of the competition will take place in venues that already exist or in temporary ones that are much more affordable than the permanent locations that other hosts have built—which often become little-used “white elephants” after the Games are completed.

Ukraine hits airfield, fuel depots, sub in overnight drone attacks on Russian regions (New York Post) A massive drone attack walloped the military command center Russia is using to wage its war against Ukraine on Saturday. The overnight barrage destroyed ammunition plants and fuel depots in Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk, and Rostov regions. Among the successful targets was the Morozovsk airfield, where Russia keeps its fighter-bomber jets. The Russian airfield has played a crucial role in the Kremlin’s operations against Ukraine. Russia also lost its B-237 Rostov-on-Don attack submarine, which was sunk Saturday outside Sevastopol in Ukrainian bomb strikes. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense noted on X the sub was now resting at “the bottom of the Black Sea.”

Dozens killed as anti-government protests resume in Bangladesh (Washington Post) Violence erupted between Bangladeshi security forces and anti-government protesters Sunday, killing at least 57 people, according to a Washington Post tally of reports from hospitals and police. Local media placed the toll even higher, saying nearly 100 people had died. At least 14 police officers were among the dead, Enamul Haque, a police spokesperson, said in a statement. Hospital officials in several districts, including Magura and Sirajsganj, said many of the victims they received had bullet wounds. Sunday’s protests are the latest bout of unrest in the South Asian country—where some 200 people were killed last month in clashes between security forces and student protesters.

Bombs Rain Down in Myanmar as Junta Evades Sanctions to Buy Jet Fuel (NYT) The family ducked for cover when junta jets roared over their home in central Myanmar. U Har San and his wife crawled under a table, and their daughter, eight months pregnant, hid under a bed. Bombs rained down, he said, even though no rebel fighters were in their village. Their daughter died. The attack last month on the village of Lat Pan Hla is a feature of Myanmar’s brutal war strategy. Unable to defeat the rebels on the ground, it has increased its indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets to terrorize the population. The airstrikes have also taken a heavy toll on resistance fighters. But the resistance fighters continue to make gains on the ground. In recent weeks, rebel armies seized a prison in Shan State, freeing hundreds of political prisoners, and on the opposite side of the country, another rebel army captured a civilian airport in Rakhine State. The escalating attacks on civilians have made it clear that Myanmar is evading sanctions aimed at blocking the flow of jet fuel that the regime needs to keep its bombers, fighter jets and helicopter gunships in the air. In separate attacks, the junta recently bombed a wedding and a monastery, killing some 60 people.

With Smugglers and Front Companies, China Is Skirting American A.I. Bans (NYT) In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, a mazelike market stretches for a half-mile, packed with stalls selling every type of electronic imaginable. It’s an open secret that vendors here are offering one of the world’s most sought-after technologies: the microchips that create artificial intelligence, which the United States is battling to keep out of Chinese hands. One vendor said he could order the chips for delivery in two weeks. Another said companies came to the market ordering 200 or 300 chips from him at a time. A third business owner said he recently shipped a big batch of servers with more than 2,000 of the most advanced chips made by Nvidia, the U.S. tech company, from Hong Kong to mainland China. As evidence, he showed photos and a message with his supplier arranging the April delivery for $103 million. The United States, with some success, has tried to control the export of these chips. Still, The New York Times has found an active trade in restricted A.I. technology—part of a global effort to help China circumvent U.S. restrictions amid the countries’ growing military rivalry.

Countries urge nationals to leave Lebanon as Mid-East war fears grow (BBC) The US has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon on “any ticket available”, amid worries of a wider conflict in the Middle East. An increasing number of countries issue similar warnings, including the UK. Iran has vowed “severe” retaliation against Israel, which it blames for the death of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday. His assassination came hours after Israel killed Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. Western officials fear that Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militia and political movement based in Lebanon, could play a heavy role in any such retaliation, which in turn could spark a serious Israeli response. The UK, Sweden, France, Canada and Jordan have urged their citizens to leave Lebanon, as a growing number of flights are cancelled or suspended at the country’s only commercial airport, in Beirut.

In Gaza, Even Poetry and Toilets Aren’t Safe From Thieves (NYT) As he perused a market selling everything from stolen children’s shoes to battered plumbing pipes, Mahmoud al-Jabri was surprised to find something familiar: his own book collection. Among the collection was his first published work of poems, with his handwriting scrawled along the margins. Even more shocking than seeing the book he had toiled for years to create was that the vendor wanted a paltry 5 shekels, or about $1, for it. The salesman suggested using the pages for kindling. “I was torn between two feelings,” he said, “laughter and bitterness.” In Gaza, even poetry books can become a source of profit for enterprising thieves. A pervasive lawlessness has emerged from the rubble of cities obliterated since Israel launched its all-out offensive on the enclave in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7. “Thieves’ markets,” as they are called by locals, have proliferated across Gaza, selling loot plundered from homes, businesses and even hospitals. With Israel blocking the flow of most goods into Gaza, the markets have become important places for finding household necessities. And visits to the markets have become a weary ritual for Gazans seeking to reclaim stolen pieces of their lives.

Israeli raids in West Bank cities help fuel militant violence (Washington Post) Israeli raids targeting Palestinian militants in the West Bank are taking an enormous toll on daily life in the territory, leaving hundreds dead and neighborhoods destroyed, tactics residents and local fighters say are feeding resentment and causing more unrest. Since the Oct. 7 attacks, Israeli forces have killed 554 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to the United Nations, which is higher than any annual total since the United Nations began counting in 2005. Thousands more have been arrested or wounded, in sweeping operations backed by drones, warplanes and helicopter gunships. Israel, which occupies the West Bank, says the firepower is necessary to prevent attacks on Israeli citizens. But the forays into Palestinian cities and refugee camps have done little to subdue the militants. Instead, the violence is helping grow their ranks, furnishing new recruits angered by the conflict. “They are destroying all the infrastructure, the electricity, the shops,” Ashraf Jaradat, 42, said just hours after Israeli forces withdrew following a raid on Jenin on July 5. An airstrike targeting five militants that day shattered Jaradat’s windows and cracked the water tank on his roof. “We get sick and tired of this,” he said. “The children are traumatized.”

#headlines #news

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creativemedianews · 10 months ago

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#Money #deliver #Labour #promises 1.5m new homes

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freepressjournals · 1 year ago

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India's Government Debt: A Beacon of Safety and Prudence

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently highlighted the robust and secure nature of India’s government debt, describing it as “safe and prudent.” In a series of posts on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Sitharaman emphasized that debt assessments should consider GDP growth, often overlooked in straightforward comparisons of absolute numbers.

Sitharaman contrasted the current government’s fiscal management under Prime Minister Narendra Modi with that of the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). She noted that despite facing the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Modi administration has demonstrated superior fiscal discipline.

Addressing the promises made by Congress in its manifesto, Sitharaman questioned the fiscal feasibility of schemes proposed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, such as the ‘Khata Khat’ initiatives. Gandhi had promised to transfer ₹1 lakh to one woman in every poor household if Congress wins the elections. Sitharaman challenged this by asking how Congress plans to finance such schemes, whether through substantial borrowing or increased taxes.

She highlighted that India’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 81% in 2022, which is significantly lower than that of several major economies. For comparison, Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 260.1%, Italy’s was 140.5%, the USA’s was 121.3%, France’s was 111.8%, and the UK’s was 101.9%. This comparison underscores India’s relative fiscal stability.

Additionally, Sitharaman pointed out that India’s central government debt is predominantly rupee-denominated, with external borrowings accounting for less than 5% of total debt. This structure minimizes India’s exposure to exchange rate volatility. She recalled that the central government’s debt as a percentage of GDP was reduced from 52.2% in 2013–14 to around 48.9% in 2018–19 through fiscal consolidation efforts. During this period, the fiscal deficit was also reduced from 4.5% in FY14 to 3.4% in FY19.

However, the fiscal deficit surged to 9.2% of GDP in 2020–21 due to the pandemic and necessary government interventions to protect lives and livelihoods, increasing the central government’s debt to 61.4% of GDP. Post-pandemic, the Modi government has adopted a balanced approach to fiscal consolidation while maintaining economic growth, reducing the fiscal deficit to 5.8% in the Revised Estimates for FY24.

In conclusion, Sitharaman’s detailed breakdown underscores the prudent management of India’s government debt, emphasizing the country’s strong fiscal position relative to other major economies. The current administration’s focus on fiscal consolidation and economic growth post-pandemic showcases a commitment to maintaining financial stability while fostering development.

#India Government Debt #Nirmala Sitharaman #Fiscal Management #Debt-to-GDP Ratio #Modi Government

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totallyhussein-blog · 2 years ago

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Is enough being done to combat poverty in Britain?

Patrick Butler of The Guardian has warned that, The collapse of the UK’s social contract is leaving millions of low-income families “surviving not living” and forced to endure unacceptable levels of poverty, according to an independent cross-party report.

The Poverty Strategy Commission, which seeks to forge a new national political consensus on reducing poverty, and which includes former ministers from the three main parties, says poverty levels are too high and hardship is becoming more extreme. It warns a “more of the same” approach to poverty in the future will fail.

It estimates the broad annual cost of significantly reducing poverty in the UK at £36bn – equivalent to £6,000 a year for 6 million families in poverty – a figure reached through a combination of benefits and wage increases, and investment to lower housing and energy costs, and improved health services.

The interim report of the commission, published on Tuesday, seeks to put poverty reduction back on the party political agenda before the next general election. It is concerned at the lack of urgency from the two main parties over the scale and nature of poverty, and society’s failure to offer adequate protection to its poorest.

As Holly Bancroft the social affairs correspondent for the Independent reported back in August, Hungry children have resorted to stealing food as more than 120,000 young people are now living in extreme poverty in the UK.

Buttle UK, which works with children and young people in crisis, surveyed over 1000 frontline workers, who collectively look after more than 200,000 children in poverty. Some 60 per cent of the children they worked with were living in destitution – up from 45 per cent the previous year and 36 per cent in 2021.

Responses to the survey laid bare the “degrading and unsustainable” levels of poverty that children in Britain are facing. They include:

Children rushing to open and eat a tin of cold beans they were handed because they were so hungry

A child refusing to go to school because she didn’t have any shoes that fit, was living in an unheated dark house, and was forced to steal an apple out of hunger “like a story from the 1800’s”

Unwashed children being bullied at school because of their ripped clothes. One boy was unable to attend a job interview because he could not afford the bus fare and had no suitable clothes

A three-year-old with extreme dental problems because his parent was using milk and juice to help him feel full because it was cheaper than food

A two-year-old seen playing with a button and some fluff on the floor because he had no toys

The charity described the term destitution as one describing the absolute lowest standard of living any adult, child or young person can experience, adding that the “lived reality is degrading and unsustainable”.

#london #manchester #uk #liverpool #scotland #poverty #labour party #conservative party #liberal democrats #hussein al-alak #rishi sunak #usa #child welfare #black lives matter #civil rights #civil rights movement #human rights

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newsonomics · 2 years ago

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Bidenomics: Rebuilding America's Economy From The Middle Outwards

Following his election as president of the United States of America, Joe Biden and his Vice president Kamala Harris set out to restructure the American economy. ‘Bidenomics’ is the name given by the media to Joe Biden’s economic philosophy, which is centred around building the economy from the middle outwards as opposed to focusing on the upper class. Biden believes that, if he puts more money into the economy, he can build up the working and middle class of America and reduce the disparity between workers and the upper class. Whilst there are parts of Bidenomics which seem promising, there are equally many issues which will need to be addressed for the plan to be successful.

In contrast to previous policies such as Reaganomics and Nixonomics, ‘Bidenomics’ rejects the ‘trickle down philosophy’ in which the upper classes receive greater tax cuts than those below them in the economy, so the larger businesses grow even more. Instead, it focuses on building competition amongst growing businesses, meaning that costs decrease, and wages increase. The injection of funds into the working- and middle-class economies has been seen since 2020 through initiatives such as the American Rescue Plan, which has so far boosted consumer activity, brought higher wages, and allowed borrowers to return their loans more easily. The American Rescue Plan essentially marked the beginning of the implementation of Bidenomics, with $1.9 trillion being allocated to the middle and working classes in many different forms. For example, $1,400 per person checks are available to single people making less than $75,000, and heads of households making less than $112,000. Alongside this, child poverty was cut by 46% in the first years of Biden’s presidency, alongside drug costs for seniors being significantly decreased by the IRA. Due to such a quick increase in employment, the recovery of industry in the U.S has finally begun since the COVID pandemic, and ‘It has rarely been easier for an American to find a job than it is today,’ (Intelligencer, 2023). With over 13 million more jobs becoming available, Biden has managed to reach records and highs of the past half-century.

However, there are also many issues with Biden’s policy. By throwing such amounts of money into the economy, inflation has greatly increased in the United States. Items such as shirts and groceries have become unaffordable for those working lower-end jobs as, due to inflation, wages are worth much less and prices for basic products are increasing. So, whilst it can’t all be placed on Bidenomics, this economic philosophy has been a large cause behind the rising cost of living and poor wages in the U.S.A. Some mention that Biden’s plans have temporarily decreased inflation to 3% in June from the 4% of May, but a one-month improvement is definitely not enough for Biden to help his low approval ratings (around 33%).

So, the question lies, does Bidenomics have the potential to truly succeed and rebuild the American economy from the ground up, considering the current unpopularity of the campaign and the issues with inflation as the government pumps more and more money into the economy?

Well, the main issue is that any good economy which evolves from Bidenomics will always come with a side dish of inflation. Bidenomics can only work when there is a small amount of inflation which encourages the economy to grow. However, in this case, the policy isn’t exactly scalable because it only involves a few injections of cash into the circulation. If you turn it the other way round and pump consistent, large sums into the economy, the economy will temporarily thrive, but inflation will rise to become a primary, critical issue in America. So, in conclusion, Bidenomics isn’t sustainable either way unless the government finds the exact sweet spot where there is a perfect balance of inflation control and growth of the economy, but that is less of a plan, and more so a utopian concept due to many other factors affecting both elements.

#politics #biden #bidenomics #economy #economics #usa #america #united states #country #politiclal #president #campaign

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le-dumpster-fyre · 2 months ago

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Hello!

I do not support everything Trump has said or done, but I believe that of the options we have been provided over the past nine years, he is the person most likely to improve the United States.

One of my personal political hills is illegal immigration. I am the granddaughter of Scottish immigrants on one side and the great great granddaughter of German immigrants on the other. My relatives followed the necessary steps to move to this country and become legal citizens. I understand completely why people want to come here, but I believe they should follow the legal process; and when people who come to country illegally cause harm to citizens - be it physical harm, sexual assault, or through the trafficking of illegal items - I don’t believe they deserve to remain here.

My second major political stance is not allowing children to medically transition. As I said, I work with children - between the ages of five and eleven. As much as I adore these students, I do not believe a single one of them has the maturity that should be required to undergo elective surgery or life-altering injections. The long term side effects of hormone blockers are still being investigated; yet the idea that they are “harmless” seems rather pervasive. I have deep, deep sympathy for any person of any age suffering gender dysphoria. I believe children should be allowed to dress how the want and I am open to allowing them to socially transition (although I do have concerns about a child feeling trapped by their transition if they later change their mind); but I do not believe a child should be allowed to undergo elective medical treatments.

Finally: I am fortunate enough to live very comfortably; not everyone in this country is as lucky. During Trump’s first presidency, the inflation rate was significantly lower than during Biden’s or Obama’s. The poverty rate was also the lowest it had been since Clinton was in office. I am hopeful, based on these numbers, that the standard of living for the average American will again improve.

As for your second question: I don’t believe any book should be banned from public libraries, but school libraries must exercise intelligent decision making as to what they allow on the shelves. I received a donation of books which included “Speak”, a book that contains an upsetting rape scene. I considered buying the book “The Rainbow Parade” to help diversify my library, but changed my mind when I found it included nudity and people in bondage gear (this book is marketed on Amazon for ages 2 - 5). I have pulled books off my own shelves because I disagree with the previous librarian’s assessment that they are appropriate for elementary schools: books like “The Outsiders”, which I love, and “The Hunger Games”, which was quite popular.

I cannot speak for all school libraries, but in my school, I generally have free rein about what goes into the collection. If I had a particular agenda to convert the kids to Christianity or to encourage sexual behavior, it would be very easy for me to fill the library with questionable books. I don’t necessarily agree with banning books outright, unless they are obviously inappropriate for the age group, but I do believe parents should have the opportunity to disagree with the librarians and make themselves heard.

Hot Tip on Fighting the MAGAs -

Don't. At least not physically.

Instead, fight them by being the opposite of them.

When they spread hate, spread kindness.

When they try and divide, include.

When they speak lies and rumours, learn facts and truths.

When they act with anger and rage, stay peaceful and content.

When they show their ignorance, educate yourself.

Is this easy? Nope.

Will it change MAGA? Highly doubtful.

What it will do, is show others' that there is hope, that there is good, and it will be a reminder to keep on going, keep on trying, DO NOT GIVE UP.

Getting uncontrollably angry, feeling despair, being less-than-kind (even to those that may not deserve it 😬), won't make you feel better, and likely won't help in the long run.

DO NOT ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE DRAGGED DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL.

&support your libraries

#us politics #american politics #MAGA

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if-you-fan-a-fire · 1 year ago

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"Following the [1937] strike, Sam McLaughlin [of General Motors Canada] was also associated with the group who sought to use imperial loyalty and the mounting threat of Nazi aggression as a rallying point upon which to advance a right-wing agenda. Speculation appeared in the press that the group centred around Hepburn, Drew, and McCullagh also hoped to achieve railway unification. It was a plausible claim. Strident British imperialists committed to fighting the growing scope of government intervention, these wealthy individuals coalesced around broad ideological goals as the threats of increasing government debt and government interventionism mounted. After the Oshawa strike, the CIO was another issue around which these individuals rallied. This sentiment was to culminate in the emergence of [the Globe and Mail's] George McCullagh’s Leadership League in 1939 and Arthur Meighen’s failed attempt to lead the Conservative Party in 1942.

Mackenzie King reported a conversation with Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir in February 1939, shortly after the Leadership League was formed: King said to Tweedsmuir that McCullagh and John Bassett of the Montreal Gazette were “trying to work out a Fascist party in Canada” and “were prepared to use Hepburn, Drew and others, to further their ends.” King named McLaughlin as one of the plotters, stating that he wanted to “protect his millions against the C.I.O.” Shortly after war was declared on Germany, King worried about McLaughlin, McCullagh, and others – whom he collectively described as “a body of gangsters” – “who have been using the Canadian Army Corps … seeking to get possession of the Government of Canada at this period of war.” Allowing for the hyperbole of King’s diary entries, these statements confirm a perceived drift to the right among a number of the country’s leading big business figures at this time. ....

St James Street, the Leadership League, and the Conservative Party Many business grandees of Montreal and Toronto remained significantly opposed to Howe during the late 1930s and early years of the war. The railway question persisted as a central issue in the politics of big business. Indeed, its importance expanded further in Toronto, where it became enmeshed in C. George McCullagh’s sweeping arguments about the need for lowered taxation and less government, which were especially apparent in his radio addresses in early 1939 that prefigured the formation of the Leadership League. Arthur Meighen, too, who had been widely perceived as favouring Toronto over CPR interests in the 1920s, became one of the loudest spokesmen for railway unification as Conservative leader of the Senate. This coalescence of conservative forces was further encouraged by the growth of imperialist sentiment as the threat of war loomed. Conservative political and business leaders such as McCullagh and Sam McLaughlin were troubled by what they perceived as Mackenzie King’s overly partisan response to German aggression and questionable loyalty to the British Empire. And, as we have seen in the previous chapter, the challenge of industrial unionism had already helped to consolidate this conservative bloc.

But these business conservatives struggled to regain lost influence in national politics. The split between the Conservative Party and the CPR, which began in the early twentieth century under Borden and continued under Meighen before being shored up somewhat by Bennett during the 1930s, became wider than ever after R.J. Manion, Bennett’s minister of railways and canals, was elected party leader in the summer of 1938. On railways, empire, and radicalism, Manion was out of step with the big business wing of the party: Manion was Catholic, married to a French Canadian, and willing to accommodate nationalist sentiment in Quebec, compromising on imperial solidarity in foreign relations; he was against railway unification; and he was critical of Mitch Hepburn’s hysterical anti-CIO rhetoric. Moreover, some may have suspected his Conservative credentials; after all, he had been a Liberal before joining the Unionists in the First World War and eventually finding his way into the Conservative Party. Collectively, these policies and characteristics ran counter to the outlook of the party’s moneyed patrons, resulting in in-fighting and fundraising problems and encouraging the elite’s experimentation with nonpartisan alternatives. The 1938 Conservative convention, at which Manion was selected leader, revealed the CPR’s faltering political influence, just as George McCullagh’s decision to form the Leadership League articulated the frustrated political ambitions of conservative business leaders. Big business spoke with a diminished voice within both parties, and Beatty encouraged and applauded McCullagh’s radio speeches that led to the creation of the Leadership League. The League also won support from former Ontario lieutenant governor Dr. Herbert A. Bruce and Dr. Frederick Banting, the famed discoverer of insulin, both of whom were handed the reins of the League by McCullagh in March 1939. Meanwhile, George McLaughlin, brother of the General Motors of Canada president, and Mrs Wallace Campbell, the wife of the president of Ford Motors of Canada, sat on the League’s advisory board. Led by McCullagh and Bruce, and with apparent support coming from George McLaughlin, the League, in many ways, represented an attempted political movement of the anti-CIO crowd. This association was further evidenced by the fact that George Drew moved his office to Leadership League headquarters; moreover, James Y. Murdoch, Noranda Mines president, was also connected to the League.

Murdoch’s drift towards the Leadership League coincided with his disenchantment as a director of the CNR. C.D. Howe had appointed him on the company’s board in 1936. But, by early 1939, Murdoch had become disillusioned by what he viewed as the sluggish leadership of the company’s septuagenarian president, S.J. Hungerford. More specifically, Murdoch’s attitude likely stemmed from the recent announcement, in late 1938, that the CNR intended to recommence plans to build a terminal station in Montreal, which had been scrapped earlier in the decade under Manion and Bennett. Murdoch believed more should be done to introduce savings to CNR operations, but it is important to note that he was not siding with Beatty’s unification proposal; in fact, one of Murdoch’s complaints was that the government was not doing enough to counter Beatty’s propaganda.

When the CNR directors met on 10 February, the majority did not agree with Murdoch’s belief that Hungerford should be relieved from his duties as president. Howe offered to talk with the directors individually or collectively on Murdoch’s behalf, but Howe refused to directly intervene, citing 1933 legislation that gave the directors the power to select the president. Murdoch tendered his resignation on 15 February. “His grounds for resignation are not good enough,” later complained Beatty, who obviously hoped the event would give the CPR more political traction. Nonetheless, Murdoch shared the more general concern about the state’s growing role in Canadian society; McCullagh reported in April that Murdoch “would work with the League in a very active capacity” since “he believes we are heading for state socialism.” As the responsible minister in charge of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Howe also became embroiled in controversy with McCullagh when the broadcasting corporation refused to sell him time to broadcast his addresses on the government-owned network. Howe defended the CBC’s autonomy to decide the matter, and he accepted the company’s explanation that it was only following its mandate in not selling airtime to McCullagh or others wishing to propound personal views. In his final radio address, in which he announced the formation of the Leadership League, McCullagh attacked the administration of the CBC as “a dangerously irresponsible and bureaucratic method of conducting any free country’s affairs.” Soon after the outbreak of war, Howe and the CBC’s general manager, Gladstone Murray, brokered a truce with McCullagh by allowing him to deliver a series of radio addresses on the CBC. Typifying Howe’s penchant for personal dealings and willingness to make decisions quickly and beyond the bureaucratic structures of government, Howe and Murray made the deal without consulting the CBC’s board of governors. Through such decisive methods, Howe would establish his reputation and capture the respect of businessmen, but he operated substantially beyond their influence. And with Manion as leader of the Conservative Party, there existed no party to adopt the conservative business agenda of Beatty, McCullagh, and their allies. Nonetheless, well-connected Conservatives such as C.H. Cahan and Toronto businessman J.M. Macdonnell privately urged Manion to back away from his anti-unification stance, while Arthur Meighen emerged as a lead voice in the railway debate from within the Senate, where concerns about government finances were heightened and old loyalties to the CPR appeared to stand firm. With Beatty’s encouragement, Meighen authored a Senate committee report recommending railway unification, which was supported by all but six Conservative members of the Senate but opposed by all the voting Liberal members. The pro-unification sentiment expressed by Conservative senators advertised the division within the Conservative Party and, as Manion recognized, undermined his ability to lead the party. The open breach between Manion and Meighen that summer made matters even worse. Howe and the Liberals exploited this opportunity to suggest that the Conservatives, despite Manion’s claims to the contrary, really wanted to discard the CNR. While public association with St James Street was political poison, its persisting political clout could not be ignored, and Manion continued to try to establish a “working arrangement” with Montreal.

- Don Nerbas, Dominion of Capital: The Politics of Big Business and the Crisis of the Canadian Bourgeoisie, 1914-1947. University of Toronto Press, 2013. p. 197, 218-222.

#montreal #canadian history #leadership league #capitalism #capitalism in canada #reactionary politics #canadian elite #canadian politics #conservative party of canada #dominion of capital #c. d. howe #great depression in canada #toronto #canada during world war 2 #academic quote

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thisdaynews · 7 years ago

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Breaking News: Iraq vote: Initial results show Muqtada al-Sadr leading

New Post has been published on https://www.thisdaynews.net/2018/05/16/breaking-news-iraq-vote-initial-results-show-muqtada-al-sadr-leading/

Breaking News: Iraq vote: Initial results show Muqtada al-Sadr leading

Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr appears ahead in preliminary results of the Iraqi general elections.

If initial results are confirmed, British-educated PM Abadi may have to form a coalition with Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr [Reuters]

The political coalition of influential Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr took an early lead in Iraq’s national elections in partial returns announced late on Sunday by the Iraqi electoral commission.

An alliance of candidates linked to Iraq’s powerful Shia paramilitary groups was in second.

The alliance is headed by Hadi al-Amiri, a former minister of transport with close ties to Iran who became a senior commander of paramilitary fighters in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi performed poorly across majority Shia provinces that should have been his base of support.

Iraqis voted on Saturday in the first election since the defeat of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) inside the country. The vote was widely seen as a verdict on Abadi’s tenure and his pledge to be more inclusive of Iraq’s Sunni minority.

Turnout was 44.52 percent with 92 percent of votes counted, the Independent High Electoral Commission said – significantly lower than in previous elections.

Haider al-Abadi

Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi heads the Nasr Coalition (Victory of Iraq), its name capitalising on his government’s victory over ISIL in 2017 [AFP]

Abadi heads the Nasr Coalition (Victory of Iraq), its name capitalising on his government’s victory over ISIL in 2017.

Many analysts have seen the British-educated Abadi, a Shia who as prime minister nurtured ties with Washington and Tehran, as potentially winning a second term as prime minister.

“The country has just overcome ISIL which has affected the way voters see the election. Everyone is hoping for change and they see Abadi as a possible force for that change because of his victory over ISIL,” Ahmed Tariq, an Iraqi professor of international relations at Mosul University, told Al Jazeera ahead of the vote.

According to a recent nation-wide poll conducted in March, 79 percent of Iraqis accepted Abadi as prime minister.

Because he is seen as a rare ally of both the United States and Iran, some analysts say his continuation in government would nurture Iraq’s regional and international ties.

“Abadi is acceptable to all major stakeholders including regional powers, Iran and the US,” Fanar al-Hadad, a research fellow at the Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera before the vote. “Everyone feels they can do business with him.”

Abadi has been mainly concerned with fending off Shia Muslim groups other than Sadr’s alliance, which are seeking to pull the country closer to Tehran.

He has therefore faced stiff competition from Hadi al-Amiri, a paramilitary commander heading the Fatah alliance, and Nouri al-Maliki, a former prime minister who is seen as a possible kingmaker in the vote.

Both leaders are closer than Abadi is to Iran, which has wide sway in Iraq as the primary Shia power in the region.

Muqtada al-Sadr

Iraqi Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr heads the Sairoon Coalition and has led uprisings against US troops in Iraq [AFP]

Sadr, who led uprisings against US troops, appeared to make a remarkable comeback in Iraq’s parliamentary election after being sidelined for years by Iranian-backed rivals.

He leads the al-Sairoon Coalition (The Marchers) that brings together his Sadrist Movement and the Iraqi Communist Party. The coalition has pushed an anti-corruption and anti-sectarian campaign.

According to the nation-wide poll conducted in March, 66 percent of the Iraqi people viewed Sadr favourably across most of Iraq’s provinces.

Sadr made his name leading two revolts against US forces in Iraq, drawing support from poor neighbourhoods of Baghdad and other cities. Washington called the Mehdi Army, the Shia militia loyal to Sadr, the biggest threat to Iraq’s security. In June 2014, Sadr rebranded the militia as the Peace Brigades.

Sadr is one of the few Shia leaders to keep a distance from Iran, and instead shares Saudi interest in countering Iranian influence in Iraq. Sadr sought to broaden his regional support, meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah last year.

Sadr, of Lebanese ancestry, comes from a family of Shia scholars. He is the fourth son of the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, a highly regarded scholar throughout the Shia Muslim world.

Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr was murdered, along with two of his sons, allegedly by the government of Saddam Hussein – the former Iraqi president.

Sadr is also the son-in-law of Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr. His father-in-law was executed by Iraqi authorities in 1980. Sadr’s cousin is Moussa al-Sadr, the Iranian-Lebanese founder of the Amal movement.

Despite his lineage and connections, he lacks the religious education and degrees required by Shia doctrine to take the title mujtahid – or a senior religious scholar – and he lacks the authority to issue religious edicts known as fatwas.

He rose to prominence in the unrest and chaos that erupted in Iraq after US troops toppled Saddam in 2003. Armed mostly with AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, Sadr’s militia challenged the world’s most powerful military as it tried to stabilise Iraq.

Government formation

No one group is expected to win the 165 seats required for an outright majority. Instead, the bloc that wins the most seats will have to bring together a majority by getting the support of smaller alliances.

The process of choosing the next prime minister is expected to take months and will likely result in power being dispersed across different political parties with clashing interests.

If initial results are confirmed, Abadi may have to form a coalition with Sadr. Abadi will, in any case, remain in office retaining all his powers until a new prime minister is confirmed.

In the past, forming a government has taken up to eight months. In 2005, allegations of vote-rigging delayed the ratification of election results for weeks.

#An alliance of candidates linked to Iraq's powerful Shia paramilitary groups was in second #an early lead in Iraq's national elections in partial returns #appears ahead in preliminary results of the Iraqi general elections #British-educated Abadi #British-educated PM Abadi #capitalising on his government's victory over ISIL in 2017 #Haider al-Abadi #heads the Nasr Coalition #High Electoral Commission said #If initial results are confirmed #Incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi #Iraq vote #Muqtada al-Sadr #prime minister nurtured ties with Washington and Tehran #Shia religious leader Muqtada al-Sadr #significantly lower than in previous elections #The political coalition of influential Shia religious leader #Turnout was 44.52 percent with 92 percent of votes counted #Victory of Iraq

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cyberbenb · 3 months ago

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Belarus Weekly: Lukashenko gets himself reelected for 7th consecutive term

Aleksandr Lukashenko has awarded himself a seventh term as president of Belarus, with the West calling the so-called vote a sham and introducing additional sanctions.

Belarusian political observer Artsiom Shraibman told the Kyiv Independent that Lukashenko faces uncertain future after the vote.

Hungary refuses to sign joint EU statement condemning Belarus’s elections, RFE/RL reports.

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Belarus Weekly

Fifteen more prisoners freed in tenth round of ‘pardons’ issued by Lukashenko ahead of elections.

Belarus ‘unilaterally releases’ US citizen detained on politically motivated grounds, Washington reports on election day.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) files with ICC complaint against Belarus for systematic crimes against journalists.

Lukashenko claims seventh term amid Western condemnation, sanctions

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko declared himself president for his seventh consecutive term after holding a presidential election on Jan. 26 that was decried as neither free nor fair.

The first presidential election since the contested 2020 vote was held under conditions of strict repression, with over 1,250 political prisoners behind bars, all but four political parties banned, 1,800 NGOs shut down, and all opposition jailed or exiled.

The Belarusian Central Election Committee released preliminary election results on Jan. 27, presenting Lukashenko with a record 86.82% of the votes. Stalinist Siarhei Syrankou was the runner-up with just 3.21%, scoring lower than the graph of “against all candidates,” which received 3.6% of the vote.

The other token “challengers” fared even worse: Oleg Gaidukevich reportedly landed 2%, “constructive opposition” candidate Hanna Kanapatskaya got 1.86%, and in last place came Alexander Khizhnyak with 1.47%.

The commission also claimed there was a record-high turnout of 85.7%. Nearly half of the votes — 41.81% — were supposedly cast in early voting, a practice criticized for being vulnerable to ballot-stuffing and other manipulations. No polling stations were opened abroad despite the Belarusian diaspora having been significantly enlarged in recent years.

Reportedly, between 300,000 and 500,000 Belarusians have left the country of just under 9.2 million since 2020.

After Lukashenko’s latest sham election, exiled Belarusians reflect on their lost revolution

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the victor in the country’s latest so-called presidential elections on Jan. 26, in which no political opposition was allowed to take part. The country’s authorities claim Lukashenko won 86.82% of the vote, securing a seventh consecutive term…

The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan

There were no credible international observation teams monitoring the voting, as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) received an invitation only 10 days prior to the voting, rendering any effective observation impossible.

The head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, issued a statement on behalf of the EU rejecting the legitimacy of Lukashenko’s election.

Western nations, including Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, and the UK, decried the elections as a “sham” in a joint statement. The UK and Canada followed up with a new round of sanctions targeting three Belarusian defense enterprises and six individuals, including Central Election Commission Chairman Ihar Karpenka, law enforcement officials accused of political repression, and heads of prisons. Canada extended restrictions against 10 individuals and 12 companies.

The exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who claimed to have won the previous 2020 presidential race, dismissed this latest election as a “special operation to illegally cling to power.”

“Lukashenko, propped up by (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin, holds 9 million Belarusians hostage, drags us into war, and betrays our sovereignty,” Tsikhanouskaya wrote on X on Jan. 26.

The exiled opposition held a march in Warsaw in protest at the rigged Belarusian presidential election. The next day, the Belarusian investigative committee claimed to have identified 365 participants in the march and opened in absentia criminal proceedings against them.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin welcomed Lukashenko’s contested election, declaring “Moscow takes no notice of the expected criticism of the elections in Belarus in the West.”

Lukashenko faces uncertainty after 2025 ‘election’

Belarusian political analyst Artsiom Shraibman says Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is entering a “zone of uncertainty” as he faces turning points in his relations with Russia and the need to resolve the transition of power amid an ongoing domestic political crisis.

Dependent on Russian subsidies and having no room to improve relations with the West, Lukashenko can maintain the current status quo as Moscow’s ally while the active phase of war continues,” Shraibman says.

“Putin is interested in a stable pro-Russian authoritarian Belarus, he will keep it that way,” he told the Kyiv Independent. “The spending on supporting Lukashenko can be categorized as a military expenditure for the Russian government, so it is not something they will try to save money on.”

But depending on how any temporary or long-term settlement of the war affects Russia, Lukashenko might face two “equally unpleasant extremes:” Moscow switching its imperial appetites to Belarus, or losing interest in its client state altogether, leaving Lukashenko without financial aid.

Lukashenko may seek dialogue with the United States, potentially releasing the remaining prisoners with U.S. ties. However, Shraibman notes that Lukashenko has little to offer to attract Western interest, given his “peripheral role” in resolving the war.

Repression in Belarus, which has accelerated in the past few months, may decrease in the absence of election campaigns in the near term, but will remain sufficient to maintain a chokehold on society. While the individual fates of some political prisoners could be decided with pardons, Shraibman does not foresee and large-scale political “thaw,” especially not in light of another fundamental issue — the possible transition of power.

Lukashenko has long hinted that he might give up power, but has repeatedly backtracked. Lukashenko took his first real step to standing down, Shraibman argues, in 2022 when the dictator introduced the All-Belarus People's Assembly, an extra-governmental body, and made himself its head. So far it has no real powers, but it is effectively an institutional bolt hole to which Lukashenko might retreat after giving up the presidency.

“He is thinking about (the transition of power) and preparing for it, but this constitutional framework does not place any deadlines on him,” Shraibman explains. At least until 2035, according to the Belarusian constitution, he can hold both positions: the presidency, and the head of the assembly.”

According to the analyst, another action that might indicate that Lukashenko is preparing to hand over the reins of power would be the selection and cultivation of a successor.

“But until we see some already high-profile official gets catapulted up the nomenclature ladder, and starts to be painted as a future leader, the only other reliable indicator of the chances of a transition of power is the state of (Lukashenko’s) health.”

Hungary blocks joint EU statement condemning elections in Belarus, RFE/RL reports

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban listens to Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico speak during the joint press conference in the Mirror Hall of the Slovak Governmental Office on Jan. 21, 2025 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images)

Hungary refused to sign a joint EU members statement rejecting the presidential election in Belarus, sources told U.S. government-funded broadcaster Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Brussels.

Failing to achieve unilateral support from all 27 members of the bloc, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, issued her own statement declaring that the Jan. 26 .” In particular, Kallas criticized the late invitation sent to observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which prevented the proper monitoring of critical stages of the electoral campaign. She also called for the release of all political prisoners in Belarus.

Initially, both Hungary and Slovakia refused to sign the draft EU joint statement, which referred to the elections in Belarus as “undemocratic.” RFE/RL said the draft statement also cited a “relentless and unprecedented level of repression” that “has deprived the electoral process of any legitimacy.”

Representatives of Slovakia later agreed to sign, but Hungary, led by Russia-leaning Prime Minister Viktor Orban, could not be persuaded.

Hungary has also consistently resisted stricter sanctions against Russia and Belarus, as well as increased European support for Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Affairs Minister Péter Szijjártó was the only top-ranking European official since the fraudulent 2020 elections and subsequent crackdown on dissent.

15 political prisoners released on eve of sham elections in Belarus

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko released 15 more political prisoners ahead of the country’s sham presidential elections, rigged to ensure the Belarusian leader was elected for a seventh consecutive term.

In the ten rounds of “pardons” that the Lukashenko regime initiated in July 2024 ahead of the Jan. 26 presidential elections, 293 political prisoners were released from custody. Despite the releases, the crackdown on dissent in Belarus continues, and some 1,250 individuals remain behind bars on politically motivated grounds.

According to Lukashenko’s press office, eight of the released prisoners were convicted of “crimes of extremism” – a charge frequently brought up against political opponents since the fraudulent 2020 presidential elections.

The other seven released had been found guilty of drug-related crimes.

The announcement of the pardons, published on Jan. 24, two days prior to the elections, did not give the names of those being released but said that five men and three women were among pardoned political prisoners. Five reportedly have children, and one woman is pregnant. Lukashenko’s press office again presented the pardons as “demonstrations of mercy.”

Exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya in a Reuters interview published earlier accused Lukashenko of “playing games” with political prisoners. Belarusian political analysts consider the pardons to be part of Lukashenko’s strategy to revive relations with the West, which were ruptured after Lukashenko’s brutal crackdown on civil society in the aftermath of the 2020 elections and after he supported Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Since the 2020 election, over 60,000 Belarusian citizens have been detained for political reasons, and the count continues to rise, according to the Minsk-based human rights group Viasna.

Lukashenko frees 23 more Belarusian political prisoners

Nearly 1,300 prisoners remain behind bars in Belarus, Viasna Human Rights Center reported.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

Belarus releases detained US citizen on election day, Washington says

Belarus has “unilaterally released” a detained U.S. citizen, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Jan. 26 — the main day of voting in the sham Belarusian presidential election.

The alleged release follows ten rounds of prisoner “pardons” by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, which started in July 2024 in the run up to the 2025 presidential elections. The pardons have been dismissed as window-dressing by exiled Lukashenko opponents: while 293 prisoners have been released, the number of political prisoners remains firmly fixed at 1,250 individuals in custody because political arrests are continuing in Belarus.

Without providing details of the release, Rubio claimed in a post on X that U.S. citizen Anastasia Nuhfer was now free.. It remains unclear how the release was organized and if any concessions were made to achieve it.

Speaking at a press conference on election day, Lukashenko claimed that by releasing political prisoners, he was not seeking to repair relations with the West. However, he also claimed to be in direct negotiations with “the United States and others” on the matter of political prisoners.

The U.S. State Department later confirmed to the Associated Press that Nuhfer had been detained in early December 2024. Former top-ranking Belarusian diplomats anonymously told the AP that the woman was detained in connection with 2020 protests and released “as a gesture of goodwill.”

Nuhfer has no previously known public profile and Belarusian human rights advocates have no record of such a prisoner. However, activists note that their political prisoner records are incomplete, and the real number of unjustly imprisoned is much higher, as authorities harass the relatives of the detained to prevent them from reporting detentions to human rights watchdogs.

In the week before the election, Belarusian propaganda aired a series of “interviews” with journalists of U.S.-funded broadcaster RFE/RL, including a dual U.S.-Belarusian citizen Yuras Ziankovich – a move that was regarded as a Belarusian opening bargaining offer for the incoming administration. None of the journalists have been reported as being among the released to date.

According to the Minsk-based Viasna Human Rights Center, at least 36 foreign citizens remain jailed in Belarus on politically motivated grounds.

In total, at least 75 foreigners have been subjected to persecution since 2020 in Belarus.

Belarus Weekly — 2024 in review: Drone incursions, deepening alliance with Russia, totalitarianism

In 2024, Belarus, under dictator Alexander Lukashenko, continued to descend into totalitarianism, imprisoning people at will and providing full-fledged support to Russia in its brutal all-out war. Lukashenko signed a number of bilateral treaties with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, helping him facilitate…

The Kyiv IndependentMaria Yeryoma

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yourreddancer · 3 years ago

Text

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

July 10, 2022 (Sunday)

With the recent Supreme Court decisions gutting federal enforcement of civil rights and business regulation and the public hearings of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol, economic news has been pushed out of the center of public conversation. That’s a shame for two reasons.

First, Democratic president Joe Biden appears to be centering his presidency around the idea of rebuilding the middle class through government investment in ordinary Americans. This is a major shift—a sea change—from the past 40 years of Republican policy saying that the economy would prosper if only the government slashed taxes and regulation, leaving more money and power in the hands of business leaders, those “makers” who would invest in new industries and provide more jobs. Watching the effect of his policies is a window into what works and what doesn’t.

Second, the Republicans are counting on anger over inflation, shortages, and gas prices to win control over the House of Representatives and the Senate in the fall elections. It’s worth paying attention to what’s really going on with those issues, as well as to what policies the Democrats and the Republicans are putting on the table to address them.

On the first point: Biden has focused on rebuilding the American middle class that has been so terribly hollowed out in the past 40 years. While he appears to be driven by his belief in the dignity of all Americans and their right to be able to make ends meet with a decent job, historians will tell you that in the U.S., race and gender tensions are significantly lower when income and wealth are more evenly distributed than when a few people at the top of the economic ladder control most of the nation’s capital. The rise of lynching in the U.S. in the late 1880s, just as trusts came to monopolize the economy, was not a coincidence.

The Republican economic promise since Reagan has been that cutting regulation and taxes would create a healthy economy in which everyone who is willing to work can thrive. But political commentator Thom Hartmann marshaled the statistics in a crystal clear Twitter thread a week ago, revealing just how badly that argument has failed.

Hartmann noted that after World War II, “the nation had hummed along for 40 years on a top income tax bracket of 91% and a corporate income tax that topped out around 50%.” Business was growing faster than at any other previous time, and businessmen stayed out of politics. The country had great public schools, research laboratories, trade schools, airports, interstate highways, and small businesses, as well as unions that protected America’s workers.

The election of Ronald Reagan meant radical tax cuts (from a top marginal rate of 74% in 1980 to the 27% it is today), business deregulation, and the gutting of social safety nets. Forty-two years later, Hartmann notes, more than $50 trillion has been transferred from the bottom 90% to the top 1%. In 1980, 60% of us were in the middle class; now fewer than half of us are. Republicans promised that permitting business concentration would lead to innovation and opportunity; instead, we have seen an end to competition, along with price gouging and profiteering from the giant companies that choke out small business.

Stock buybacks were supposed to mean that senior executives would care more about the future of their companies, but instead they have become a means for them to pocket cash.

Since the beginning of his term, Biden has tried to take on the concentration of wealth and power among a few elites. Biden’s investment in the U.S. economy through the American Rescue Plan and the bipartisan infrastructure bill has produced significant results. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the nonfarm job numbers for June, which show that employment continues to rise. The economy added 372,000 jobs in June, mostly in “professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and health care.” We are still 524,000 jobs down from February 2020, before the pandemic. Unemployment remains at 3.6%, with about 5.9 million folks unemployed. There were some interesting trends in the data.

There are 880,000 more jobs in business, computer design, administration, and research than there were in February 2020. There are 260,000 more jobs in outpatient health care now than in February 2020, but hospitals have lost 57,000 workers, and nursing and residential care have lost 379,000. Leisure and hospitality—restaurants, for example—have lost a whopping 1.3 million jobs, or 7.8% of their workers, since February 2020 (although the sector is growing again). But look at this: transportation and warehousing have grown fast, with 759,000 more jobs than in February 2020. Manufacturing is back to where it was in February 2020, suggesting that President Joe Biden’s emphasis on repairing supply chains is paying off.

And in the past year, wages have gone up 5.1%. That, along with increased pressure for unionization, suggests workers have more power than they did before the pandemic. This data suggests that people are moving away from work in restaurants, leisure, and nursing—all professions hit terribly hard during the pandemic—and toward transportation and office work. The increase in wages reflects more bargaining power on the part of employees. All of this is hardly rocket science, I know, but it does suggest that the economy is reorganizing at least temporarily into new forms since the pandemic.

This is of interest as we try to figure out what’s going on with inflation, which is currently afflicting not just the U.S. but the rest of the world as well. That story tells us something about the success of the Republican program Hartmann identified. One of the reasons for inflation has been the concentration of corporate power since the 1980s. A June report by three economists for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston noted that “[t]he US economy is at least 50 percent more concentrated today than it was in 2005,” and that such concentration amplifies the degree to which companies pass price hikes onto consumers as businesses overcompensate for rising production costs.

In the oil industry, the report notes, as prices have spiked, companies have posted jaw-dropping profits.The price of gasoline has been coming down from its crazy high for the past 25 days. In the past two weeks, the average price of gas has dropped 19 cents a gallon, and as the price of crude oil continues to fall, consumers can expect to see prices continue to fall as well, although they fall more slowly than they rise in a phenomenon researchers call “rocket and feathers.” That term refers to the fact that gas prices go up like a rocket along with the cost of crude oil but fall more slowly as the cost of crude oil comes down, in part because consumers are so happy to see any relief at the pump that they don’t shop around to drive prices lower.

One of the reasons for the crazy highs is speculation by largely unregulated energy traders that creates massive volatility in prices. Lack of regulation is in the news today in another industry, too, as journalists from media organizations including the Guardian, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and the Washington Post revealed how Uber evaded regulators by using a “kill switch” that shut down regulators’ access to the files they needed to monitor the company.

There is a coming showdown between the Democrats’ approach to the economy and the old Republican approach. Biden and the Democrats are trying to pass a $52 billion U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) that would invest in U.S. science and technology to boost American industry, support research, and fund the manufacture of semiconductor chips to free the U.S. from relying on Chinese products. But Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has vowed to kill the measure unless the Democrats back off on a budget package that would fund Medicare by placing a 3.8% tax on income “pass throughs” taken by individuals making more than $400,000 a year and would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, significantly lowering costs to consumers. (FUCK MCCONNELL!!!!! that man is responsible for so much misery in this country!)

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