#to represent the carrying vehicle for your future children and that of your union

[ebitenpura]

Echani Hair + Textiles

While Echani are quite notorious for their long winter coats, it is their textile industry that flies under the furry radar of the galactic community--yet one that booms during the transition from winter to spring in an event fondly dubbed "The Shedding" by offworld weavers. Entire families will sit down together and collect the fallen hair, forming veritable mountains of it to be used as material. Echani remain one of the only species to be able to use their own hair in textiles, with many different applications in their regular lives.

Echani themselves sport a thick, blanketlike mane with a propensity to shed in several layers as they exit hibernation, but given the average size of adults, these can form extremely massive piles of fur which, as expected, are cumbersome to clean up. Instead of discarding the fur as other species are wont to do, Echani have traditionally saved the spare hair to weave into a variety of prized head adornments, blankets, coats, and other textiles which have as of late become far more popular throughout the galaxy as fashion and superior quality materials. The texture is described as incredibly soft, dense, and woolly, and most premium blends compose of 80-90% Echani fur and that of the Thyrsian armored mule-nerf. Being that Thyrsians sport thinner coats than their pale, arctic counterparts, they have bred the Thyrsian wolfdog, or Echa'yoan, to sport longer coats instead.

Since Echani fur deteriorates at a faster rate than that of typical shearing species, they are held in higher esteem for the difficulty in producing and obtaining such wool and remain a crucial part of Eshan's industry and culture. Echani fur blankets are a popular gift for one to give to friends and family, and an even rarer honor to gift to offworlders. However, as of late Eshan has relaxed its tight defense and allowed outsiders to come and trade for Echani goods and fur, especially during the Life Day season--an important economic time when offworlders form a crucial backbone of the fur market.

[thisdaynews]

Rugby World Cup final: Siya Kolisi, South Africa's first black captain & legacy of 1995

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/rugby-world-cup-final-siya-kolisi-south-africas-first-black-captain-legacy-of-1995/

Rugby World Cup final: Siya Kolisi, South Africa's first black captain & legacy of 1995

Kolisi was born one day before South Africa’s apartheid laws were officially repealed in 1991

You walk out in a Springbok jersey as a player and you feel history on your back and by your side.

You stand as South Africa’s captain in a World Cup final and the weight is greater across your shoulders and the ghosts crowd in all around.

Francois Pienaar hoisting the Webb Ellis Cup at Ellis Park in 1995, Nelson Mandela alongside him in his own green number six jersey, happy like a kid who has just scored his first try. John Smit at the Stade de France in Paris 12 years on, left hand around the old gold pot, right hand linked with Mandela’s successor Thabo Mbeki.

Twelve years more have passed. Now it is the turn of Siya Kolisi to walk that path. The first black man to captain the Springboks, a kid from nowhere who hopes to go where none have gone before.

Rugby matters in many places around the world, but only in South Africa can it change the nation around it. Captains and presidents, politics and power, new dreams and old scars.

“It was iconic when Francois lifted the World Cup with Madiba, and it was amazing to be able to do it myself with Thabo,” says Smit.

“But if Siya touches that trophy on Saturday… I tell you, it will be a far greater moment than 1995. Far greater. It would change the trajectory of our country.”

That Kolisi has made it this far is a story of stoicism and self-belief. Born to teenage parents in the poor township of Zwide, just outside Port Elizabeth on the Eastern Cape, he was brought up by his grandmother, who cleaned kitchens to make ends meet.

Bed was a pile of cushions on the living-room floor. Rugby was on dirt fields. When he went to his first provincial trials he played in boxer shorts, because he had no other kit.

His father Fezakel was a centre, his grandfather a player of pace too. Aged 12, the young Kolisi was spotted by Andrew Hayidakis, a coach at the exclusive private school Grey, and offered a full scholarship.

When you are from Zwide you step into this other world when the chance comes, but you never leave your old life behind. Kolisi’s mother died when he was 15, his grandmother shortly afterwards. When Smit’s team was beating England in that World Cup final of 2007, the 16-year-old Kolisi was watching it in a township tavern because there was no television at home.

South Africa beat England 15-6 in the 2007 World Cup in Paris

“His story is unique,” Hanyani Shimange, former Springboks prop, told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

“Previous generations of black rugby players were not given the same opportunities, purely because of South Africa’s laws. He’s living the dream of people who weren’t given the same opportunities as him.

“He’s grabbed those opportunities. He’s a good man, a humble individual.

“He’s got a lot of time for people, probably too much time in some instances. But he’s the same Siya he was six years ago. He loves rugby, and the team loves him.”

Kolisi began at school as a small but mobile flanker, good with the ball in hand, learning to be smarter than the stronger kids around him. When a growth spurt kicked in and he got big there was power to go with the finesse.

As a loose forward he is a significant asset to a Springbok team that at this World Cup has battled through to the final rather than dazzled. Saturday will bring his 50th cap, and his 20th as captain. His impact is far greater than simply what he does on the pitch because of all that has come before.

“I do not care how the Springboks team does. It is not a reflection of the nation. It is not our team. I support the All Blacks instead. We don’t support the national team, because it is a white South African team. It is not a true South African team.”

That was Zola Ntlokoma, secretary of Soweto Rugby Club, talking to me before England played South Africa at Twickenham five years ago. It was not an uncommon view, because for all the iconography and sweet symmetry of 1995, its wider effect quickly leached away.

Integration of black players crawled along rather than accelerated. The World Cup win gave the impression that little more needed doing, and so little was.

When the Springboks triumphed in Johannesburg 24 years ago there was just one black player, Chester Williams, in the starting XV. By the time of their second World Cup win in 2007, there were still only two.

In some corners of South African life, the story of 1995 feels old and frayed. When Williams wrote his autobiography he accused fellow winger James Small of using racially abusive language towards him in a domestic cup match after that World Cup win. Small, who said he had “no independent recollection of the incident”,in turn felt an outsider even in victory because his native tongue was English rather than Afrikaans.

Small – often angry at the world, brilliant at his best, the man who helped keep Jonah Lomu tryless in that final – died of a heart attack aged 50 in June this year. Williams went the same way last month aged 49, the fourth player from that storied team – after flanker Ruben Kruger and virtuoso scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen – to go at an untimely age.

Kolisi stands as a critical link between the past and future. He was born on 16 June 1991, one day before the repeal of apartheid – brutal laws that enforced discrimination against black people in every aspect of their lives. Separate land. Separate public transport. Separate schools.

Kolisi was there at Small’s funeral. Williams’ image was on the shirts his team wore for their World Cup opener against the All Blacks. In Kolisi’s team, the legacy of that old generation is tangible.

In the starting XV that beat Wales in Sunday’s semi-final there were six black players: wingers S’busiso Nkosi and Makazole Mapimpi, centre Lukhanyo Am, prop Tendai Mtawarira, hooker Bongi Mbonambi, and Kolisi. Of Rassie Erasmus’s squad of 31, 11 are black.

The lesson of 1995 was that transformation is more complicated than a single iconic image. The challenge that lies for the next group of players and administrators will be to create a wider pathway from undernourished grassroots to the elite.

Mandela handing the Rugby World Cup to Pienaar in 1995 – an iconic image of South African sport

Picking up occasional gems has worked. Kolisi made the jump. Mapimpi is also from the Eastern Cape, and did not go through the private school system. He still made it. There are other black kids, those who don’t get the scholarships or find the eyes of a roving talent scout, who are still slipping through the net.

“If Mapimpi hadn’t been in an area where rugby is strong and he was given the chance to play and be signed by other teams, the chances are we would never have seen him,” says Shimange.

“It would have taken someone to go and scout him and spot the talent in him and then give him the chance to perform at the highest level.

“But we had generations of people who couldn’t play for the Springboks, who weren’t allowed to watch the Springboks, and now you have Siya running out there with his 15 men.

“Even the thought is incredible. It’s why the most important person for the country for those 80 minutes on Saturday is going to be Siya Kolisi.”

Back in Zwide, preparations are ongoing for a weekend of World Cup parties. The tavern where the teenage Kolisi watched his first final will be open once again. The skipper is only 28, but already he is changing his old home forever.

“During the apartheid time, we could never look forward to a moment like this, because of our colour,” says Freddie Makoki, president of Zwide United rugby club, who played with Kolisi’s father and grandfather and watched the young Siya grow.

“We had so many players who could have captained the Springboks, but because of their colour they couldn’t.

“Sport can bring people together in this country. There are places you can’t walk at night, because of criminals. Sport is the only vehicle that can change that. If you take those boys and put them in sport it can change them and it can change our society.

“Siya has been an incredible role model for children here. Whenever he comes to visit you’ll see the youngsters coming out to see him. Everyone in the townships wants to be closer to him.

“He is a son of our soil. If you could have seen how full the taverns were for the semi-final you would not believe it. All of these people are now supporting the Springboks.

“It makes me so proud to see him in the Springbok jersey, to see the crowds at the game, calling out ‘Siya! Siya!’

“You can see it in the faces of the people of this country how much it meant to have Siya as captain. He is a true hero of modern South Africa.”

Kolisi’s father is flying out to Japan to watch the biggest game of his son’s life. It is his first trip overseas.

So too is the country’s president. Cyril Ramaphosa called Kolisi on FaceTime after the win over Wales. Now he is coming in person. Captains and presidents, politics and power.

“Siya has more responsibility than I did or Francois did because he represents more people,” says Smit, who will also be in the Yokohama stadium, this time for SuperSport TV.

“Thanks to Madiba, Springbok rugby has been used almost in the opposite way to how it was used in the apartheid era. It’s a team that has been able to bring people together. It’s grown the country through its ability to win.

“That’s the hard thing to explain to people outside South Africa – what a Springbok win in a World Cup has done in the past for unification, and us continuing on this road to democracy and a new pathway.

“That’s how important this is. Siya’s story about where he’s come from shows how far the country has come.”

And so Kolisi carries that weight on his shoulders. Dreams and messy pasts, old heroes and deep-rooted struggles.

Only a game, but so much more too. Ghosts all around him, a new future ahead.

“I will be wearing my Springbok jersey,” says 68-year-old Makoki, whose own career in the game was stunted by apartheid, who watched local heroes rise and fall short, who continues to nurse the sport in Zwide township.

“I’ll be thinking about going to OR Tambo airport when they come back with that trophy. If I can be one of those people there to welcome them back I will be truly happy.

“When the Springboks won that World Cup in 1995, it brought South Africa together. But this would be more, because we have a lot of players who are knocking at the Springbok door. We’d have a lot more black players playing rugby again.

“I’m telling you! It will be more, it will be more.

“A black president and black captain, from a small town on the Eastern Cape. I’m telling you – that can save our country.”

Read More

[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily Newscap 3/28/2019

Good MORNING  #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday 28Th March 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT) or Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) OR by purchasing by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).  

PSVS: HIKE TOO HIGH – Some public service vehicle (PSV) operators are lamenting that the bus fare hike to $3.50 from next month is way too much at this time. But one group representing the owners said it had  arrived right on time, though another comprising operators said the hike was more to bail out the ailing Transport Board than assist them. At the Constitution River Bus Terminal in The City, some operators said they were sympathetic to the plight of the travelling public following Government’s announcement of a 75 per cent hike. During last week’s Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals, Prime Minister Mia Mottley revealed that bus fare would be moving from $2 to $3.50, effective April 15. However, on Monday night, the Prime Minister said that frequent commuters of the Transport Board would save between 30 and 50 cents if they purchased ticket packages. (DN)

EXEMPT HOMELESS – The hike in bus fare from $2 to $3.50 will have a significant impact on the homeless. This assessment has come from the President and Founder of the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society (BVHS) Kemar Saffrey who is appealing to Government to exempt the homeless from having to pay bus fare. Saffrey told Barbados TODAY that his request was relevant since almost on a daily basis, the Society assists several clients with money to pay for transportation to and from various destinations to conduct personal business. He said clients often needed to travel to various Government departments to reapply for identification cards, seek health care, or collect medication among other necessary activities. Saffrey argued that the increase would put a dent in the finances of the organisation, which does not receive a subvention from Government, but depends on donations from private entities. “That would be on an every day basis, depending on who has to get ID cards, who has to get medication, who has to go for job interviews, who has to get to work for a week or two before they could support themselves, who has to go to look for rooms through the welfare system. People would come and tell us they have to go and look for a house today but they don’t have any bus fare. “And this has nothing to do with the other financial assistance that we give to people. When you could have given a guy $4 to run around, now you got to look to give him $7. It would have a serious impact on the less fortunate, and it would have a serious effect on the homeless.” During last Wednesday’s Budget  Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley announced the increase in bus fare and two days ago, she outlined a system in which frequent travellers on Transport Board buses could benefit from discounted fares by buying multi-fare packages. “I am not saying the Government should accommodate everybody and give away free for all rides. But again, we need to look at the times that we are in, and the fact that it would become problematic for some people to get around, especially those who are unemployed and have to go one place and that place for a stamp and the next. So we need to look at this in a serious way,” Saffrey said.  (BT)

SENATOR SLAMS ‘POOR BUS SERVICE HURTING STUDENTS’ – Students who spend an “unacceptable”, inordinate amount of time commuting to and from school are being seriously disadvantaged, according to Senator the Reverend John Rogers. Speaking during a wide-ranging presentation in the Upper House today, the Anglican cleric urged Government to improve its bus service in short order. “There is a link between education and transport at this time. While we understand that there is a shortage of buses I believe that every child in this nation should have an equal opportunity if not we cannot measure them by the same yardstick neither can we treat them the same way.” He cited instances relayed to him by a principal of students waiting at a bus stop up to three hours after school was dismissed. Senator Rev Rogers said: “I am concerned about the lack of transport of some children in our nation on evenings. I had a chat with a principal of a rural secondary school he was telling me that sometimes the children of that school, some who have to catch two buses are there at 7 o’clock at night because the bus hasn’t come. “Sometimes a private citizen has to take them in their car to a place where they can get a connecting bus. This is unfair to those children by the time they get home after 9 or 10. They have no time to reflect on homework. No time to do the things that children do. It is just time to sleep and get up to the grind of the next day. That is not good enough.” The Senator said while he understood there had to be an increase of bus fare, a quality service is also needed. “I know that we have heard much about the raise in bus fare and while I understand the raise and the need for the raise. I also believe that a person should receive a service commensurate with the rate being charged. I encourage the Government to get the buses here as soon as possible,” the Senator said.  (BT)

‘GO CASHLESS, GROW THE ECONOMY’ – A senator and a player in the digital economy here has argued for digitisation to become a driving force behind economic growth. Senator Rawdon Adams, chief executive of digital financial services firm, BITT, told the Upper House today during the Appropriations Bill debate that digitisation can increase productivity while at the same time reduce costs to Government. He said: “Digitisation speaks to another form of growth — that is productivity. When you have efforts to digitise payments or reduce the amount of cash in an economy that is a huge driver of productivity and a reducer of cost in your economy. There is a body of research: The Federal (Reserve) Bank of St Louis, the Bank of England also. “The Fed research says if you are able to substitute a third of the paper noted and coins in your economy for digital cash you can expect a permanent increase in your rate of growth of a three per cent point. If you substitute 30 per cent of your economy to digital you will push your growth rate up.” The Government senator said while he had no intentions of bashing commercial banks, there was a significant cost attached to carrying out simple bank transactions daily. Senator Adams continued: “Carrying cash is expensive. There is cost of convenience. You get in a car you go down to the bank to draw out your cash. There is a cost to that. Cost in terms of convenience cost in terms of time. Somebody has calculated that time spent per month doing that is 20 minutes. 20 minutes in your car or in a bus just to pull out your money . . . . Over time that could equate to a month. What if you could do that whole process digitally?” The Bitt Inc CEO said digitising the economy could also address the menace of companies collecting Value Added Tax and not paying it over to Government. The senator said: “There are quite a few ways you can imagine that digitising can help. I know there is a lot about people who aren’t paying VAT if it is digitised it is far harder for you to escape that method of taxation.” Saying that world trends, global studies and figures could prove how digitisation can enhance an economy, Senator Adams suggested that neighbouring economies had already recognised the need to go digital. “There are many savings you can extract through digitisation,” he said. “Some countries are putting their money where their mouths are. [The] Eastern Caribbean Central Bank intends to reduce the amount of cash in their economy by 50 per cent over four years.” (BT)

LIAT DEADLINE – The final decision on the future of cash-strapped LIAT is expected later this week as the regional airline came into focus during an all-day meeting at Hilton Barbados. Prime Minister Mia Mottley; Minister of Tourism Kerrie Symmonds; chairman of the LIAT shareholder governments, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent, and trade union representatives were at the negotiating table for more than eight hours before calling it quits just after 5:30 p.m. THE NATION has been reliably informed that officials have been asked to come up with a number of proposals to present to Mottley before weekend. “A number of positions were explored and those present are to now get back to the governments later this week regarding the positions that were tabled,” a source close to the negotiations said.  (DN)

NO BIG DEAL – Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur is warning Caribbean leaders not to expect a major trade deal with the UK when it leaves the European Union (EU). “I do not think, based on history, that the region can expect any major benefits from England, the UK, when it exits the EU,” Arthur told a public lecture on BREXIT and the new Caribbean Trade Agenda at the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management on Tuesday night. With the opportunity to negotiate new independent trade deals, Britain would gravitate to more powerful nations and the region would be excluded, he argued. “The Caribbean can hardly occupy any special place on the UK’s agenda once it leaves the European Union,” he said. Instead, he is advising the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to ensure that any future trade deal brokered with the UK should be one of “a developmental corporation regime”. Pointing to uncertainties surrounding Brexit and pointing to past experiences under trade deals with the EU, Arthur said there was an urgent need for the region to “recalibrate its trade agenda to remove all of the constraints that is standing in the way of its enterprises penetrating and holding market access and sustained activity on a competitive basis”. The former Prime Minister told the gathering: “In short, the region needs to build a genuine export culture to be able to function successfully in a globalized economy where trade liberalization has become the dominant practice.” Arthur said the region failed to take full advantage of the ten-year-old Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which was signed between the regional bloc CARIFORUM and the EU to promote trade between the EU member states and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)states. He said information sourced from the UK revenue and customs report showed that British imports from CARIFORUM countries declined from £662 million in 2008 to £449 million in 2017. “Only the middle income public seemed to have taken advantage of the generous market access offered by the EPA,” Arthur declared. Despite the “generous market access” for CARIFORUM under the EPA, “the region has not been able to significantly diversify its exports to the European market in any substantial way”, said the economist and former finance minister. The region’s tourism industry has also been unable to receive any “bounty” as a result of the EPA, he added. Arthur told the audience: “There is no reason to believe that there has been any radical improvement in the penetration of Caribbean service providers to the European Union or the European market. “In order for the region to have taken advantage of the provisions in the EPA for the movement of natural persons, the market access of the EPA would have to be supplemented by a mutual recognition agreement and visa application agreements between nations from the two groups of nations. “These matters seemed not to have received the requisite attention since 2008.”. He called on Caribbean nations to increase their capacity to export, adding that greater focus should be placed on services industries. But the senior statesman also took a swipe at the EU, accusing Brussels of  “launching an assault” on the Caribbean financial services sector through the creation of blacklists and threats of sanctions. Arthur said: “There is no basis in international public law for the European Union to first of all ask other countries to change their tax laws, and secondly, to do so on the threat that they would enforce sanctions.”  (BT)

CANDIDACY CONCERNS – Barbados Union of Teachers’ (BUT) presidential candidate Pedro Shepherd has refuted claims that he plans to use the post to boost his political agenda if he is elected in next month’s elections. A post being circulated to BUT members on social media, warns that Shepherd, who has publicly expressed interest in running for the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), would use his position as BUT president to attack Government if successful in the April 12 elections. ���Please let Pedro Shepherd who has signalled his intention to run for party politics know that we will not allow him to use BUT as a forum for him or the DLP to attack Government,” the post states. However, in an interview with Barbados TODAY, Shepherd, who served as BUT president from 2012 to 2018, maintained that he was only interested in representing the interests of teachers. Furthermore, he said this was not the first time he had expressed an interest in representing the DLP, as he had done so on two previous occasions. In fact, Shepherd who was defeated by Shawn Spencer in last year’s BUT elections said he had agitated for teachers when the DLP was in power. “For a person to make those comments shows that person clearly does not know me because this is not the first time that I have expressed an interest in running for the DLP. I expressed an interest as far back as 2013 and then again in 2018 and now I’m doing it for a third time so it is not new. “And anybody who followed my trade unionism, as well as my political life, would know that the DLP was in office from 2008 until 2018 and I as the president of the BUT, was the most vocal person against Minister [of Education] Ronald Jones and by extension, other members of the Cabinet. So if it had anything to do with politics, I would have been the most quiet BUT president over the last six years,” Shepherd contended. He said he had been asked to run for president by the union’s members, because of his strong representation in the past. Shepherd said during his six-year stint as president, he had always put the needs of teachers first. “It is not about politics, it’s about teachers. Whoever is in power and there is reason for me to have to represent the interests of teachers that is what I am going to do. “It doesn’t matter if the BLP is in power, the DLP is in power, Solutions Barbados in power, the UPP in power or Atherley’s party is in power, as president of the BUT I am representing teachers,” Shepherd said. (BT)

EASTMOND STEPS DOWN AS UPP CHAIR – Three years in, the United Progressive Party (UPP) will have a new leader later this week. Founder and first-time chairman, attorney Lynette Eastmond, has stepped down. Eastmond confirmed yesterday she would not be offering herself for re-election when members vote for a new executive today. “Don’t get it confused with other parties. They may have one leader in because the leader might be in Parliament and is the Leader of the Opposition. But the chairman of the party is another thing,” Eastmond told the media yesterday. “But because we don’t have anyone in Parliament, we don’t have a leader; it’s different,” the former minister in a Barbados Labour Party Government said. “But amongst all the parties, you tend to change leadership over a period of time. The chairman does not remain the same person,” she added. Eastmond revealed that Ambrose Grovesnor, Everton Holligan and Wayne Griffith would be vying to replace her. A notice on the UPP’s website last night posted by public relations officer Griffith said: “The United Progressive Party is in the process of choosing its executive committee for 2019-2020. Nominations for positions are being processed via online nominations and voting which also help to facilitate our overseas membership. The names and positions of the new UPP executive will be made public on Friday, March 29.” Political scientist Peter Wickham said the decision would not have much of an effect on the political landscape: “I don’t know that it changes the world,” he said last night. “Lynette Eastmond’s showing at the polls left much to be desired. She scored just slightly more votes than [Independent candidate] Natalie Harewood (a former sex worker) and that speaks volumes to the extent of what is taken seriously by the public,” he added.  (DN)

NEW ‘SOCIAL JUSTICE GROUP’ IN PARTNERSHIP – Sex workers, members of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community and people with disabilities have been given a place at the table of the Social Partnership in a new body alongside faith-based and a raft of non-governmental organisations. With the decision, the Labour Party Government has moved to keep a campaign promise to introduce a “Social Justice Committee” to broaden the membership of the tripartite Social Partnership to include a wider range of interest groups. Introducing the committee on Wednesday, Minister of Labour and Social Partnership Relations Colin Jordan said the committee was in line with the principles of the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Jordan, who is the social justice committee’s chairman, said its main objective was to consider and make recommendations to Government, directly through the Social Partnership and Cabinet, on social justice issues. The committee’s remit includes poverty alleviation; the role of the family in fostering cultural and social norms and values; discrimination; access to education; integration of people with disabilities; access to employment; safety and security and the environment. “It is not intended for this committee to be a talk shop,” said Jordan, who added that the time had long come for civil and non-governmental organizations to be involved in discussions with Government on issues affecting residents. The committee is made up of 23 individuals, 19 of whom are appointed by the Labour Minister. Each member is to serve for a period of two years. The deputy chair of the committee is the Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Cynthia Forde. Other representatives on the committee come from trade unions, the Rastafarian community, women and men organizations, the media, youth development organisations, the credit union movement, parent teachers associations, social workers, the private sector and the Family Planning Association. The committee will meet once per month and will report to the Social Partnership and Cabinet quarterly and also annually within three months of Government’s fiscal year, which ends on March 31. Jordan said: “A social justice committee, from its name, has to do with ensuring that people across the country can function…. So feel free to share your views as strongly as possible always being respectful to the rest of us. “What we want to do is to speak from our perspectives as representing organizations. We know what is happening in our organisations, we know what is happening on the ground. Sometimes though, we are going to need to have some research to drive that discussion and decision making.” He pledged to call on the University of the West Indies and other institutions to provide research support. The representatives of the various groups told the convening of the Social Justice Committee they welcomed the opportunity, expressing the hope that their members’ concerns would be adequately addressed through the new framework. (BT)

CONCERN OVER MULTIPLE PARTNERS - Barbadians are having sex with multiple partners at the same time, but using condoms less and more are refusing to get tested for HIV. These were some of the major findings of the most recent study by the National HIV/AIDS Commission, released at the Warrens Office Complex, St Michael. Assistant director Nicole Drakes said the Report On Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs And Sexual Practices Survey Among Adults Ages 15 to 49 In Barbados 2016-2017, was of major concern. “The fight is not over. We still have a lot of work to do in terms of behavioural changes . . . . “Because of stigma and discrimination, a lot of people don’t get tested – a lot from key populations like sex workers, persons with disabilities and men who have sex with men who are not going to get tested and put themselves at risk,” she said.  (DN)

STIS ON THE RISE – While cases of HIV have declined marginally over the past decade, health authorities are struggling to combat outbreaks of other Sexually Transmitted Infections and diseases (STIs/STDs) including chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. Senior Medical Officer, Dr Anton Best said health officials recorded a sharp increase in sexually transmitted diseases, revealing that the ministry had since been unsuccessful in bringing the troubling outbreak under control. Dr Best was delivering the feature address at the National HIV/AIDS Commission’s report on the findings of the Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Sexual Practices Survey. “Data is showing us that we have sustained high rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea and then there has been an outbreak of syphilis and since then the annual rates of syphilis have remained high. “These observations are further indications that behavioural campaigns have not been as effective as we would have liked,” Dr Best revealed. He said while public awareness campaigns, studies and other forms of research focus mainly on the transmission of HIV, other STIs could not be ignored. “Please appreciate that our goals and objectives of our national HIV program also speak to the need to prevent and control the spread of other sexually transmitted infections in Barbados. “So while this survey is an integral part of the research agenda for HIV, we must utilize these findings in conjunction with others in teaching information to design and implement evidence-informed interventions and policies to better control and prevent HIV and STIs in Barbados,” he said. Frowning on the seemingly nonchalant attitudes displayed by some Barbadians to the transmission of STIs, Best argued that a tremendous amount of work was needed to combat the infections and diseases. He was responding to new information which indicates that a lack of condom use, reduced STI testing and numerous sex partners have stifled the efforts of authorities. “Our behaviors and sexual practices are the result of our cultural norms and social structures. Social research is therefore key for us to have the best possible understanding of the local context of HIV vulnerabilities. “Best available evidence is indicating that this is due to the use of antiretroviral therapy rather than the alteration of sexual habits of people in Barbados. So we are faced with a conundrum and need to find more effective ways to modify people’s attitudes and their behaviours,” said the senior medical officer. He further expressed hope that some of the strides made in the reduction of HIV would be transferred to other sexually transmitted diseases. (BT)

MARSHALL LAW – With mounting public frustration over the matter of bail being granted to persons accused of murder, Government may be seeking to make adjustments to the 1996 Bail Act, in response to this issue. This revelation was made by Attorney General Dale Marshall, who told Barbados TODAY that while he was not in a position to state the nature of the proposed changes, as the measures have not yet received Cabinet’s stamp of approval, it was clear that it could not be business as usual. “While an individual will have his personal views on who should or should not get bail, our 1996 Bail Act allows for every defendant to receive bail. The whole idea that a murder accused can’t get bail is not now supported by our law,” he said noting that even though the law has been in existence since 1996, it was not until 2007 that a murder accused was first granted bail. He added: “There are a number of things which we have to do including making amendments to the Bail Act so as to tighten up on the system of bail.” However, the AG made it clear that any tightening of bail granted to murder accused must be accompanied by speedy trials for these persons. “We can’t just deal with bail and tightening the grant of bail unless we also deal with the speed at which justice is dispensed. Every accused also has rights and to delay trials for five and ten years does not benefit the society. In some cases, witnesses’ memories will go dim and persons who are innocent would be left with this [Sword of] Damocles over their heads for over a decade,” he explained. In addition to the proposed revisions to the Bail Act, Marshall told Barbados TODAYthat Government was seeking to implement measures to take out some of the discretionary components to sentencing and replace them with a system similar to that of the US with mandatory minimum sentencing for certain categories of crimes. “Another measure that we are seeking to put in place is a practice direction issue as it relates to sentence indicators. The whole idea is to create a logic to sentencing and not a case where a judge decides to give one individual five years and give another ten years for the same crime. That is not how sentencing works. There has to be a structure to sentencing so that the law is consistent. Individuals with similar charges and similar circumstances should be able to expect a similar sentence. That is what justice is, it has to be equal across the board,” he explained. The Attorney General argued that this system would also be helpful in moving the judicial system along faster, as perpetrators would be more inclined to plead guilty since they would be able to gauge their length of stay in prison. “The system of minimum sentencing indicators would allow for an accused person to make a determination as to the kind of sentencing regime he would be subject to if he pleads guilty. We have already seen some of this bearing fruit as we see those who will say ‘this is the type of sentencing range I would get, so maybe I should consider pleading guilty.’ This would be in cases where the evidence is strong,” he contended. (BT)

JOCKEY HIGH COURT BOUND – A 54-year-old jockey is headed to the High Court for sentencing. Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant committed the case against Ray Anderson Herbert, of no fixed place of abode, to the criminal assizes today. “Ma’am I want to go and plead guilty in the High Court,” he stated from the docks when his matter was called. Herbert is accused of committing an indictable offence when he allegedly entered the home of a woman on January 21, 2018 as a trespasser with intent to assault another female in the house. The accused has been on remand since his first appearance before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court in January last year. He is now waiting his day in the High Court. (BT)

HIGH COURT APPLICATION – Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley today revealed that he had made a bail application in the High Court for a female murder accused. The defence attorney was addressing Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant as he appeared on behalf of 34-year-old fish boner Verna Isilma Vasilka Cuffy and 24-year-old labourer Dave Fedel Aristide James, both of Wavell Gardens, Black Rock, St Michael. The two are charged with the September 7, 2018 murder of fish vendor Stephen “Molly” Small. The accused have been on remand at Dodds for the past six months since their first appearance before the magistrate. Lashley told the magistrate that he and his team of Dayna Taylor-Lavine and Kadisha Wickham will return to the High Court on May 10, 2019 in relation to an application made on accused Cuffy’s behalf. Following the announcement the magistrate again remanded the two for a further 28-days. Cuffy, is also facing September 8, 2018 charges of possession of cannabis and cultivation of the plants. The accused will return to the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on April 25. (BT)

TEEN CHARGED WITH ASSISTING SUSPECT GRANTED BAIL – Nineteen-year-old Akela Keanna Gittens was granted $8,000 bail when she appeared in the Holetown Magistrate’s Court today on a charge of assisting a man who is suspected to have committed a capital offence. It is alleged that Gittens of 5F Madison Terrace, St Michael, believing that Kadeem Clarke had committed murder, provided accommodation and financial assistance to him with intent to impede his arrest. She was not required to plea to the indictable charge, which is alleged to have occurred between February 16 and March 23, 2019. As part of her bail conditions the accused must now report to the Black Rock Police Station every Monday and Friday before 9 a.m. Gittens will reappear before Magistrate Wanda Blair on September 17, 2019. (BT)

RILEY BACKS SKERRITT – Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) president Conde Riley has vowed unstinting support for new Cricket West Indies (CWI) president Ricky Skerritt.  “This is not about Skerritt, Cameron or Riley, it is about cricket. The elections are over and it is time to move on. “I am very comfortable and committed to regional cricket. I have to get help from Skerritt right now as we are negotiating for a (financial) facility, and we need to be calm and focused as to where we are going to take West Indies cricket,” said Riley. The CWI director was speaking on the aftermath of the CWI presidential elections on Sunday when Skerritt defeated incumbent Dave Cameron 8-4 for the top post. Riley defended the BCA’s decision to support the 47-year-old Cameron, who was seeking a fourth term as president. (DN)

REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT REOPENS ON APRIL 1 – The Registration Department will now reopen on Monday, April 1, at the Whitepark Road, St Michael complex, and not tomorrow, March 28, as previously announced. However, urgent applications for births, deaths, the registering of deaths, marriage certificates and the registering of marriages where the parties are non-resident will continue at the Whitepark Road, St Michael complex. Meanwhile, certificates that were to be collected on or before March 21 may be collected up to Friday, March 29, at the complex. Court will continue to be heard at the Manor Lodge Complex and the Cane Garden Complex until Friday, April 5. (BGIS)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 279 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

[interkomitet]

Parade marking 75th anniversary of Great Victory

President of Russia and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin attended the military parade marking the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.

President of Abkhazia Aslan Bzhania, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov, President of Moldova Igor Dodon, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, President of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and Serb Chairman of the Presidency ofBosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Dodik arrived in Moscow for the commemorative events. Before the parade, Vladimir Putin welcomed the invited heads of state in the Heraldic Hall of the Moscow Kremlin.

Over 14,000 service personnel, more than 200 units of military hardware and 75 aircraft were engaged in the military parade to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

Defence Minister Army General Sergei Shoigu reviewed the parade, which was led by Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces Army General Oleg Salyukov.

At the onset of the Parade, the colour guard of the Preobrazhensky Regiment’s battalion carried the Banner of Victory and the national flag of the Russian Federation into Red Square.

Officers and soldiers of the army, law enforcement agencies and cadets of military academies, military schools and Young Army members marched in over 40 parade formations.

Alongside Russian service personnel, parade formations from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Serbia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan took part in the parade

Apart from known military hardware, over 20 samples of new military equipment were showcased at the anniversary parade.

Deeply upgraded T90-M and T-80BVM tanks, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles with the Berezhok fighting compartment, Kurganets-25 infantry fighting vehicle with a 57 mm combat module, Armata infantry fighting vehicle with the Kinzhal fighting module, Derivatisya-PVO anti-aircraft artillery systems, Buk-3M and S-350 “Vityaz” air defence systems, and S-300V4 Pantsir-S1M anti-aircraft systems drove along Red Square.

In addition, Tornado-S multiple launch rocket systems, Bal coastal missile systems, Taifun-K and Taifun-K VDV all-wheel-drive protected vehicles with remotely controlled combat modules, TOS-2 heavy flame-throwing systems, and ISDM remote mining system vehicles participated in the parade.

The airborne part of the parade was represented by 75 aircraft flying in 16 groups. Thus, the Mi-26 heavy transport helicopter flew by accompanied by four Mi-8 helicopters, three groups of five Mi-35, Ka-52 and Mi-28 helicopters in each of them. Military transport, special and long-range aviation was represented by A-50, Il-76, Tu-95, Tu-22, Tu-160 and Il-78 aircraft. Two groups of MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter jets of the tactical air force flew over in the “peleng” combat echelon. Bringing up the rear were two groups of one element each of MiG-31K and Su-57 aircraft.

In the final part, a formation of 10 tactical force jets in a compact tactical fighter wing and Russian Knights and Strizhi aerobatic teams took part in a fly-past over Red Square. To conclude the airborne part, a group of six Su-25 attack jets flew over spraying aerosols that matched the colours of the Russian national flag.

* * *

The President’s speech at the military parade

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: People of Russia,

Our dear veterans,

Foreign guests,

Soldiers and sailors, sergeants, warrant officers and ensigns, Officers, generals and admirals,

I wish you all the best on the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. A victory that determined the future of the planet for decades to come and went down in history as the grandest in its scale, significance and moral value.

This year, the traditional Victory Day celebrations are being held in Russia on June 24. Exactly 75 years ago, the legendary victors paraded right here, along the Kremlin wall, to commemorate the end of the Great Patriotic War.

That parade went down in history as a triumph of unprecedented scale, the triumph of good over evil, of peace over war, and life over death.

On behalf of all the defenders of the Fatherland, they threw the defeated banners and standards of the Nazis down to the ground with contempt, as a sign of just retribution and dire warning.

The combined regiments of various fronts and fleets marched through Red Square. And everyone who fought for their homeland bravely, not sparing themselves, who returned with Victory, as well as millions of soldiers who remained forever on the battlefields invisibly joined their firm measured march.

Today we bow our heads to the sacred memory of all those who never came back, to the memory of sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, grandfathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fellow soldiers, relatives and friends. We grieve over the veterans who have already left us.

I proclaim a moment of silence.

(A moment of silence.)

We will always remember that Nazism was crushed by the Soviet people – by millions of people of different ethnicity from all republics of the Soviet Union.

At the front and in the rear, in partisan groups and underground resistance, they fought and worked relying on their courage and unity. Having defended their homeland, they continued to fight. They liberated European countries from the invaders, put an end to the terrible tragedy of the Holocaust, and saved the people of Germany from Nazism with its deadly ideology.

It is impossible to even imagine what would have happened to the world had it not been for the Red Army that stood up to defend it.

Its soldiers did not want war, or other countries, or glory, or honours. All they wanted was to finish off the enemy, to gain victory and return home. And they paid an irreparable price for Europe’s freedom. Many hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in foreign lands.

Our duty is to always remember this. Remember that the Soviet people shouldered the main burden of the fight against Nazism.

In 1941, over 80 percent of the armed forces of Germany and its satellites were concentrated to fight the Soviet Union. But this ruthless armada proved powerless against the cohesion of the Soviet people.

It was our people who defeated the terrible, total evil, crushed more than 600 divisions, destroyed 75 percent of the total number of Nazi aircraft, tanks, artillery units, and walked their righteous and infinitely sacrificial path to the end, to their victorious destination.

This is the main truth about the war, honest and clear. We must protect and defend it, and pass it on to our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Today’s military parade is a tribute to this sacred truth, to the outstanding generation of victors who determined the outcome of the entire World War II.

Representatives of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Moldova, Mongolia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan will march in this parade along with Russian soldiers.

We are happy to welcome our friends, guests from various countries who came to Moscow to pay tribute to everyone who defended peace on the planet.

We will never forget our allies’ contribution to the common victory, the significance of the second front that opened in June 1944. We honour the brave service members of the armed forces of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, and respect the feat of all fighters against Nazism who battled fearlessly in Europe.

In the context of the challenges the planet is facing today, we also know, and are especially keenly aware of what the greatest value is – people, their dreams, joys, hopes, and a peaceful, tranquil and creative life.

We understand how important it is to strengthen friendship and trust between nations, and are open to dialogue and cooperation on the most pressing issues on the international agenda.

Among them is the creation of a common reliable security system, something the complex and rapidly changing modern world needs. Only together can we protect the world from new dangerous threats.

Friends,

The surviving veterans of the Great Patriotic War now live in many different countries. But their great joint feat of saving entire nations from eradication, barbarism and enslavement cannot be split and divided. That heroic deed, without any exaggeration, is the legacy of all humankind.

Dear veterans, our gratitude to you is immeasurable. You have proven with your life and your fight how important it is to be able to defend the values of peace, humanism and justice.

We will do everything in our power to ensure that the memory of your heroic accomplishments never fades. It is our duty of conscience and our responsibility to the present and the future.

Glory to the generation that defeated Nazism!

Glory to the heroes of the Great Patriotic War!

Hoorah!

http://interkomitet.com/main/parade-marking-75th-anniversary-of-great-victory/

[ds4design]

Here Are All the Science and Technology Initiatives Trump’s Budget Would Decimate

As expected, President Trump’s proposed budget is a nightmare for science, the environment, and parts of the technology industry. Welcome to the future, where our long national nightmare may not even have the funds to keep chugging along.

While we’ll focus on the the aforementioned areas, it’s important to note that the much of the budget is a slash-and-burn operation. It cuts or eliminates funding for poverty programs, like school meals for poor children and Meals on Wheels. It also cuts the Appalachian Regional Commission, which provides funding to help retrain coal miners who are losing their jobs, among many other functions. Meanwhile, Trump’s budget office director went on Morning Joe to claim that cuts to public broadcasting were justified because “Can we really continue to ask a coal miner in West Virginia or a single mom in Detroit to pay for these programs?” (Fuck that guy.) It even goes after the country’s birds.

The only departments that would see an increase are those of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, the latter of which would get $2.6 billion to build the border wall, though it could cost 10 times that amount. We’ll need to keep out immigrants desperate to enter our crumbling wasteland, after all.

An important caveat: This budget proposal, which only covers discretionary spending and is only an outline, almost certainly won’t pass in this form. Even Republicans will likely oppose some of these proposals, like paying for the border wall. But it does give us a very depressing starting point, and it also tells us what our president thinks is worth cutting, which is to say anything that doesn’t involve a weapon or a soon-to-be-deported immigrant.

Environmental Protection Agency

Overall cuts: $2.6 billion, a 31 percent decrease.

Clean Power Plan: This program aimed to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, the nation’s largest source of carbon pollution, by a third by 2030. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, power plants produce more carbon pollution than every car, truck, and plane in the U.S. combined. Trump’s budget cuts it entirely.

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: This program monitors water quality and reduces pollution in the Great Lakes. Since it was established in 2009, the program has helped fight invasive species and clean up pollution in the lakes. Trump’s budget eliminates this program.

Energy Star program: The program that created those energy ratings you see on your appliances, helping you choose the most energy efficient ones, is cut in Trump’s budget.

The Office of Research and Management: While this department—which carries out much of the agency’s climate change research—wouldn’t be cut entirely, it would see its funds slashed by $233 million.

(The cuts are even more drastic than what EPA head Scott Pruitt, who loves fossil fuels and doesn’t believe carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, asked for.)

Department of Energy

Overall cuts: $1.7 billion, a 5.6 percent decrease.

Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy: ARPA-E conducts research into high-risk but potentially high-reward advanced energy projects not funded by the private sector. It would be eliminated because, according to the proposal, “the private sector is better positioned to finance disruptive energy research and development and to commercialize innovative technologies.” ARPA-E was designed to emulate the famous DARPA program, which gave us such trifling innovations as the internet. ARPA-E programs include research into modernizing the electrical grid and ways to store thermal energy.

Title 17 Innovative Technology Loan Guarantee Program: The name doesn’t tell you much, but this program provides loan guarantees for green energy projects. It would be eliminated under Trump’s proposal.

Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program: This initiative provides loans for advanced technology in vehicles. Companies like Ford and Nissan use the loans to create jobs in upgrading their fuel efficiency standards, according to supporters. Among those supporters, at least in 2008: Elon Musk’s Tesla. We wonder if he’ll mention this at the next roundtable.

State Energy Program and the Weatherization Assistance Program: The State Energy Program provides funding for states to improve energy efficiency. According to the National Association of State Energy Officials, each $1 spent by the program leads to energy cost savings of $7.22. It would be eliminated “to reduce Federal intervention in State-level energy policy and implementation.”

The Weatherization Assistance Program falls under the State Energy Program, and is specifically targeted for cuts under the proposal. Formed in 1976, the WAP provides grants to the states for the weatherization of homes, which improves energy efficiency for low-income families.

Office of Science: While the proposal isn’t specific, and says it will ensure “the Office of Science continues to invest in the highest priority basic science and energy research and development,” it also says its proposal represents $900 million in“savings” on last year’s budget. That sounds like a cut to us.

One area that isn’t being cut: $120 million to restart licensing for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site, a controversial plan to store nuclear waste under Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Part of the Department of Commerce, the NOAA budget includes a $250 million cut. The plan would end the Sea Grant, which provides $73 million in research grants. According to the Washington Post, cuts to the NOAA’s satellites, which provide data on weather, climate and oceans, “also appear likely to be substantial.” NOAA also collects climate change data.

Department of Health and Human Services

Overall cuts: $15.1 billion, a 17.9 percent decrease.

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): This provides grants to help low-income Americans pay for energy costs, including the elderly, the disabled, and Native Americans. Trump’s budget would end it entirely. Helping old ladies stay warm in the winter? Nah, fuck it. Let ‘em freeze.

National Institutes of Health: The agency that conducts and provides grants for medical research, which have led to breakthroughs across countless areas of medicine, sees a 20 percent cut. Trump lackey and deeply sad man Newt Gingrich called for doubling NIH’s budget two years ago, but don’t hold your breath for him to take much of a stand on this.

Nursing: The proposal eliminates $403 million in health professions and nursing training programs.

Department of Transportation

Overall cuts: $2.4 billion, a 13 percent decrease.

Essential Air Service Program: This program would be eliminated entirely. It ensures that rural areas are served by “a minimal level of air service”; about a third of those areas are in Alaska.

TIGER grants: Unfortunately unrelated to flying tigers, the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants were part of the 2009 stimulus package. State and local agencies apply for funding for local transportation projects through the program, for everything from roads to bus shelters. Trump’s budget would end the program.

Federal Aviation Administration: The budget includes a proposal to privatize the FAA, which would turn it over to a non-governmental non-profit corporation.

Department of Agriculture

Overall cuts: $4.7 billion, a 21 percent decrease.

Waste and Wastewater loan and grant program: A $498 million program to fund clean water and sewer systems in rural areas with fewer than 10,000 people and tribal areas, this program would be ended. It funds construction or improvement for drinking water, sewer collection and waste collection. Trump’s budget literally leaves low-income rural people (many of whom voted for him) to deal with their own shit.

Department of State

Overall cuts: $10.1 billion, a 28 percent decrease.

Global Climate Change Initiative: This is a program under USAID, which helps developing countries adopt clean energy and prepare for the effects of climate change; these countries will be among those who see the biggest humanitarian disasters as a result of climate change. The proposal calls for an end to both this program and to payments to UN climate programs.

Department of the Interior

Overall cuts: $1.5 billion, a 12 percent decrease.

National Heritage Areas: This program provides funding to preserve areas “where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes,” from the Gullah Geechee Corridor in South Carolina to Nevada’s Great Basin. The National Park Service partners with these communities to support restoration projects, education, and recreation. What an awful mission.

Reducing land acquisition: The budget calls for a $120 million reduction in the acquisition of new federal lands.

National Wildlife Refuge: The proposal would eliminate funding for the National Wildlife Refuge, a 114 year old program, saying it’s “duplicative of other payment programs.” Just yesterday, Trump’s Secretary of the Interior celebrated the program, saying the refuges are “an incredible asset to the national economy” and “offer a place where families can carry on cherished outdoor traditions while making the important connection between people and nature.”

NASA

Overall cuts: Roughly $150 million, a 0.8 percent decrease.

Office of Education: The budget would eliminate the $115 million Office of Education, which runs enrichment programs and provides internships and scholarships.

Earth Science: The budget cuts four Earth science missions, all of which are largely focused on the impact of climate change: PACE, which monitors the health of Earth’s oceans; Orbiting Carbon Observatory – 3, which measures carbon in the atmosphere; the Deep Space Climate Observatory, which monitors solar wind (changes in which can have catastrophic effects on infrastructure); and CLARREO Pathfinder, which helps produce climate records.

Department of Homeland Security

Overall increase: $2.8 billion, a 6.8 percent increase.

While the DHS budget would increase overall—including $1.5 billion for cybersecurity for federal networks and critical infrastructure—some programs will be cut.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Several FEMA programs would be cut, including $190 million for flood hazard mapping (a hazard that will only grow as climate change worsens, of course). It includes a $668 million overall cut to state and local grant funding through FEMA, including the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant Program, which helps communities reduce the risk of hazards associated with natural disasters.

Transportation Security Administration: Everyone’s least favorite agency sees an $80 million cut, including, the flawed Behavior Detection Officer Program. It would also raise the Passenger Security Fee, which is currently $5.60 per trip.

Perhaps our president can mull over the drastic reductions while he scampers away to Mar-a-Lago, trips to which have already cost us millions.