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freedombunker--2019-05-02--Kentuckys Proposed Ban on Tattooing Over Scars Would Hurt Those Seeking Second Chances

freedombunker

Kentucky’s Proposed Ban on Tattooing Over Scars Would Hurt Those Seeking Second Chances

Paige Spear is a paramedical tattooist in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where she helps her customers use tattoo art to camouflage scars and vitiligo, and recreate areolas and nipples for customers who have undergone mastectomies. Spear isn't performing medicine and she and her clients both understand the risks of tattooing on sensitive types of skin. Nevertheless, Spear says a new regulation from the Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) would be "devastating" both for her shop, THE STUDIO Tattoo Co., and for her clients. WLKY reports that the DPH has recently proposed new regulations that would ban tattooing over scars. Several tattoo artists in the state have already spoken out against the proposed regulation. Not only is the practice common in their line of work, but the new rules do not appear to stem from medical concerns. In fact, the DPH has yet to give its reasoning for wanting to ban the practice. A statement from the Cabinet of Health and Family Services simply says, "Regulations in this area have not been updated for about 15 years." Spear tells Reason that there are two "major concerns" associated with tattooing over scars. Some clients are prone to keloidal scarring, in which the skin overreacts to an injury and produces a raised mass of scar tissue. The American Academy of Dermatology explains that keloids are not cancerous and that not everybody gets them. Simply put, not every scar is in danger of overgrowth. Spear says the second concern is tattooing a scar that is too fresh. A scar should be older than 12 months before going through the tattooing process. "Other than those two major things, there isn't really a reason someone couldn't tattoo over a scar," she says. Spear believes that the regulation is too vague and she would rather see it reworded to include the two specific concerns. Prohibiting the practice altogether would leave artists and their customers in the lurch. "Imagine if you were someone who wanted a sleeve tattooed on your arm and had a carpet burn near your elbow when you were [five] and had a scar so you couldn't get tattooed in that one specific spot—that would make for an awkward tattoo." Spear also tells Reason that the ban would impact those trying "to feel better about themselves." She's helped women with mastectomies "feel a sense of normalcy," covered up scars on veterans that evoke traumatic memories, and empowered people who have engaged in self-harm to move forward with skin art. A blanket ban on those services would likely hurt more people than it helps. A public hearing regarding the changes is scheduled for May 28.

Ed Krayewski

http://freedombunker.com/2019/05/02/kentuckys-proposed-ban-on-tattooing-over-scars-would-hurt-those-seeking-second-chances/

2019-05-02 20:50:02+00:00

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

sputnik--2019-11-04--‘That Was Brutal’: Australian Ink Addict Went Blind After Tattooing Eyes Blue — Video

sputnik

‘That Was Brutal’: Australian Ink Addict Went Blind After Tattooing Eyes Blue — Video

Amber Luke, a body-modifier from Australia, lost her vision for several weeks after changing the colour of her eyeballs. “If your eyeball procedure’s done correctly, you’re not supposed to go blind at all. I was blind for three weeks.” The procedure, known as scleral tattooing, is performed on the sclera (white part of the eye). The ink is injected under the surface of the conjunctiva, the incredibly thin layer of skin covering the sclera, and then spreads under the surface of the eye. An improper scleral tattoo may cause bad eye swelling and permanent loss of vision, so things appear to have worked out quite well for Luke, all things considered. According to her Instagram, where she has built a 138,000-strong audience, the woman had her eyeballs tattooed at some point in 2017. The Brisbane-based ink devotee told Barcroft TV that she got her first tattoo at 16, a year after she was diagnosed with severe clinical depression, as a way to deal with the negative energy inside her. She has since got over 200 tattoos on her body, head to toe, had her tongue split, earlobes stretched, breasts augmented, and cheeks and lips filled with botox. She also plans to get herself a Brazilian Butt Lift – an increasingly popular but also dangerous procedure that transfers unwanted body fat from the stomach and/or flanks to the buttocks. Her mother said she cried when she first saw the eye tattoo, but eventually put up with it. “She never saw herself as being beautiful. She didn’t see herself through my eyes,” the mum said. “But I’ve supported her because I could actually see the transition, the growth, and how it’s made her come to who she is today.” Amber, who calls herself the Blue Eyed White Dragon, has reportedly spent over $37,000 on body modifications and wants to have her body fully covered by tattoos by next March.

https://sputniknews.com/viral/201911041077222563-that-was-brutal-australian-ink-addict-went-blind-after-tattooing-eyes-blue--video/

Mon, 04 Nov 2019 16:32:16 +0300

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

thesun--2019-02-09--Dad spends 50K tattooing his whole body and LOVES it because people stare at him

thesun

Dad spends £50K tattooing his whole body and LOVES it – because people stare at him

TATTOO addict Brett Cross has dished out £50,000 to cover nearly his entire body in ink, and says he loves his colourful skin as people stare at him. There’s just one “sensitive” area he hasn’t yet put under the needle – his penis – as he fears exposing his private parts to his tattoo artist could ruin their friendship. The 42-year-old has racked up 750 hours being decorated from the top of his head, which features a wild cat, to his toes, as tattoos cover 99 per cent of his body. He trained as a printer and would return home from work covered in ink, and now works as a beautician and nail artist. Cross told Brisbane Times that the first tat he got was to honour his wife, Dorothy. The dad-of-two, who lives in Braidwood, New South Wales, Australia, said: “Once I got it I wanted another one, and another one, and then it became an addiction. “The tattoo artist said if you’re going to keep getting tattoos, 'go big or go home, because you’ll look a bit silly with little tattoos on you'.” As for the only bit of skin left au naturel, he’s keen to get his penis inked too, but reckons it could make things awkward with his tattooist, George Siatos, who has been decorating him for nearly two decades. Cross said the pair are close, “but not that close”. He has no fear of getting his penis tattooed – as he believes it couldn’t be more painful than getting his palms inked. Cross told the Times that he wants “something colourful, maybe blue birds” tattooed down below. And he enjoys the attention his body art attracts, particularly as he doesn’t want to be considered just “another normal person in the street”, he told Daily Mail Australia. Cross added: “With people staring at me, I know exactly what they’re staring at and it’s all good… I love it.” Apart from an anime character across his forehead, he has a “few dragons”, a naked woman, many swirling designs up his arms, and white stars dotting his nose. As for his kids, Cross said if they’ve inherited his addiction to ink, he wouldn’t mind as long as their lives were “in order” and they didn’t get “anything offensive” tattooed. A Brisbane Times reporter said that while Cross “does look aggressive because of the tattoos, those who meet him think he’s a gentle giant”. One downside is that passers-by have stopped him in the street and voiced their disapproval. He said: “I had someone just tell me ‘You’re not going to let the little one grow up and do what you did’, and I said I don’t really mind as long as he looks after himself first.”

Debbie White

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8389822/dad-tattoo-whole-body-love-it/

2019-02-09 12:17:27+00:00

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

thesun--2019-11-07--‘Dragon girl’ who went blind tattooing her eyeballs has no regrets and vows to be completely covered

thesun

‘Dragon girl’ who went blind tattooing her eyeballs has no regrets and vows to be completely covered in ink in 4 months

A 'DRAGON Girl' who went blind for three weeks after getting her eyeballs tattooed says she has no regrets about risking her sight - and has set herself a four-month deadline to complete her transformation. Amber Luke, from Australia's New South Wales, started getting work done at 16 - and also revealed her plans to have a Brazilian butt lift next year. The 24-year-old has already got her tongue split and earlobes stretched, as well as a boob job, cheek and lip fillers. Speaking exclusively to Fabulous Digital today, Amber said: "I have somewhere between 200 and 250 tattoos. "I plan to be fully covered by the time I’m 25, which is next March, so I’m on a countdown. "I’ll still have little skin gaps here and there, and I probably won’t do any more on my face. "I don't really want any other modifications, although I'm getting a Brazilian butt lift in the new year." Amber recently had an excruciating 40-minute procedure to ink her eyeballs blue, which she described as "like 10 shards of glass (being) rubbed into my eye". The injections left her blind for three weeks, but Amber wouldn't change a thing. She said: "I will never regret the fact I went blind for three weeks, it was just a stepping stone to what I wanted to look like. "They will last forever, I had four injections per eye. It’s not like a normal tattoo, it actually gets darker over time." When we spoke to Amber, she was mid-way through getting her foot tattooed - in her quest to full body coverage. She said: "From a young age, I never really saw myself as beautiful. I didn’t like the way I look or anything I saw for years. "It was very confronting to look in the mirror and see my reflection. "It wasn’t until I turned 16 that I was able to get that feeling of empowerment and entitlement of my own body. "I realised these tattoos are a way of expressing myself and making myself who I am. I started getting heavily tattooed at 20. "I didn't actually have a goal in mind. "I never wanted to look like a dragon, my friends just dubbed me Blue Eyes White Dragon because I have a split tongue and blue eyes, and Yu-Gi-Oh has a card with that name." Amber has spent £17,000 (AUS$32,000) on modifications over the years, but says many of her tattoos were freebies. She said: "People want to make their mark on me, a lot of them are collaborations through Instagram" - where she has 158,000 followers. The rest of Amber's work has been privately funded, through her jobs as a body piercer and apprentice tattooer, as well as her Only Fans account. Only Fans is a subscription-based app where people can share anything from topless snaps to full-blown amateur porn. Amber said: "People are very open minded when it comes to Only Fans, so my look definitely goes a long way. I make about $4,000 (£2,000) a month." Despite her popularity online, Amber has been single for over a year and says men are "intimated" by her extreme look. She said: "I haven’t dated for about a year, my last relationship didn’t end very well. "I don’t actually get a lot of men messaging me. I think they are intimidated of the tattoos, I've had a lot of people tell me that. "I don’t like it, because I like to be an approachable person... but that's the harsh reality." Amber has also been blasted with insults about her appearance, both in the street and online. She said: "In a shopping centre, a lot of people just stare and don't know how to take me. "I have people trolling me online every day, telling me to kill myself, telling me it’s a shame I didn’t go fully blind. "I’ve got some really nasty comments and a lot of people say things to my face as well, like ‘you were so beautiful, what have you done to yourself?’ and ‘you look like a kid’s colouring book’. It never ends. "People say I'm too plastic, fake, I like like a Barbie doll. But I'm happy so it doesn't really matter. "At the end of the day, it's my body and my choice. I'm not harming anyone, I'm doing it for myself. "If they want to judge me, so be it, because they just don't understand." You can follow Amber on Instagram here.

Josie Griffiths

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/10296331/dragon-girl-blind-tattooing-eyeballs-no-regrets-covered-ink-four-months/

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 12:13:06 +0000

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

activistpost--2019-04-09--Florida Will Generously Allow Homeowners to Garden in Their Own Yards

activistpost

Florida Will Generously Allow Homeowners to Garden in Their Own Yards

If you live in Florida and want the freedom to plant food on your own property, I have great news for you. Late last month, the Florida Senate affirmed the right of self-reliant people statewide to grow vegetable gardens in their front yards. Here are some details on the bill from the Miami Herald: Sen. Rob Bradley’s SB 82 prohibits a county or municipality from regulating vegetable gardens on residential properties, voiding any current regulations regarding the produce patches. Local governments, however, can still adopt a local ordinance or regulation that doesn’t specifically target vegetable gardens, like regulating water during drought conditions, limiting fertilizer use or controlling invasive species. While it might seem odd that people would need government permission to grow food on their own property, the bill was passed in response to a legal dispute about an ordinance in Miami Shores that banned gardens from being planted in front yards. In 2017, Hermine Ricketts and Tom Carroll, who had a vegetable garden in their front yard for 17 years, were told they could grow flowers in their front yard, but the fresh produce had to go, reports Treehugger: “It’s all about conformity. Miami Shores wants to be a mini Coral Gables,” Ricketts said. “What is the definition of edible? I can go into any front yard and find something edible because every plant has an edible part.” “That’s what government does – interferes in people’s lives,” Ricketts told the Miami Herald in December 2017. “We had that garden for 17 years. We ate fresh meals every day from that garden. Since the village stepped its big foot in it, they have ruined our garden and my health.” The couple faced heavy fines for their front-yard garden. Ricketts and Carroll didn’t face jail time for daring to have a garden, but they did face $50 fines – DAILY – after the village amended its ordinance in 2013. They had to dig up their garden, which won’t grow in their north-facing backyard because of a lack of sun. But they have continued to fight Miami Shores in court with help from the Institute for Justice, a national non-profit libertarian law firm. “This decision gives local governments tremendous leeway to regulate harmless activities in the name of aesthetics,” said Institute lawyer Ari Bargil. “It gives government the power to prohibit homeowners from growing plants in their front yards simply because they intend to eat them.” (source) An appeals court upheld a ruling that the couple does not have a constitutional right to grow vegetables in their front yard in November 2017. The front-yard garden ban got the attention of enough senators, and a new bill passed in mid-March that states that Floridians are now able to grow fruit and vegetables in their front yards without fear of local government fines. The Miami Herald reports that Republican Senator Rob Bradley sponsored the bill and described it as a “vast overreach.” Given how many food deserts exist and how hard it can be for many families to access fresh and affordable food, such bans are an absurd step in the wrong direction. Bradley said,

Activist Post

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/04/florida-will-generously-allow-homeowners-to-garden-in-their-own-yards.html

2019-04-09 15:22:48+00:00

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

bbc--2019-01-06--The man protecting Burundis crocodiles by keeping them in his garden

bbc

The man protecting Burundi's crocodiles by keeping them in his garden

When Ngendera Albert realised crocodiles were being killed to be eaten in Burundi he decided to take action to try to protect the animals. He initially bought about 12 of the reptiles, but now there are almost 45 in his home in Gatumba.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-46748982

2019-01-06 00:05:27+00:00

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

bbc--2019-12-29--‘Gardening gives me a lot of peace’

bbc

‘Gardening gives me a lot of peace’

Joanna is one of a growing number of urban gardeners trying to reconnect with nature in the high-rise, high-pressure environment of Singapore. She says there’s something about being surrounded by the colour green that releases happy chemicals. Produced by Olive Faure and Keir Creighton, filmed by Aaron Tan.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-50866760

Sun, 29 Dec 2019 00:21:58 GMT

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

chicagosuntimes--2019-03-14--Winter gardening grows into thorny statehouse issue

chicagosuntimes

Winter gardening grows into thorny statehouse issue

SPRINGFIELD – It started with a suburban homeowner’s desire to keep growing food in her Elmhurst backyard throughout the winter but has blossomed into a thorny battle pitting residents and advocacy groups against local government leaders — all haggling over whether Illinois residents have “the right to garden.” The three-year fight between the Elmhurst homeowner and the city’s government made its way to the Illinois Senate Wednesday as the local government committee mulled a statewide solution to the underlying dispute. Sponsored by state Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, Senate Bill 1675 would allow Illinoisans, no matter in what municipality they reside, to construct temporary structures for gardening throughout the colder months, often referred to as “hoop houses.” Hoop houses come in many shapes and sizes, but are generally foundationless structures enclosed by an opaque plastic membrane to keep in warmth and sunlight. Nicole Virgil, a resident of west suburban Elmhurst, built such a structure in her backyard in the fall of 2015 to continue gardening throughout the winter. Since then, the issue has ballooned into one over not just hoop houses, but the pre-emption of home rule powers that allow municipalities to dictate their own zoning and planning codes, among other things. Less than a week after putting up the original hoop house, which at its apex stood about nine feet tall in an 11.5-by-32-foot rectangle, Virgil was visited by Elmhurst’s code enforcement department to address a neighbor’s complaint about the structure’s aesthetics. “We were told then that as long as it’s temporary, we could keep it up,” Virgil said. But in testimony Wednesday morning, Elmhurst City Manager James Grabowski disputed that claim and said the city “explained to them our code and why they couldn’t have it,” but allowed them to keep it up until 2016. No records of the original conversation exist to prove either side correct, but Virgil denied she was told to take down the structure, although she did so anyway in April 2016 when winter ended and the temporary hoop house was no longer needed. When she and her husband put it back up in the fall of that year, they were again approached by the city’s code enforcement department, this time with clear instructions to take it down. Virgil says she was confused by this contradictory demand, and asked for the specific ordinance prohibiting the hoop house. “It took a while, but they said we were breaking the mobile home code and the permanent building code,” Virgil said, adding that she did not comply with the city’s request because the hoop house was neither a mobile home nor a permanent structure. Grabowski did not immediately respond to questions about this claim. The matter then went to court, where two judges ruled twice in favor of the city, after which Virgil took the structure down. But Virgil said because so many other temporary structures were allowed to stand in Elmhurst, she pursued the matter further, working to get the city to change the code used to ban the hoop house. So starting in 2017, Grabowski said, the city discussed the matter at three city council meetings, five development planning meetings and three zoning and planning commission meetings. That process, which Virgil says was riddled with non-responses and the denial to hear the matter in committee, ended in late 2018, when the Elmhurst zoning commission recommended that hoop houses be allowed, but with dimensions no greater than 100 square feet and six feet tall. “You couldn’t buy a hoop house as small as they’re talking about. You couldn’t even stand up in it, couldn’t move much,” Virgil said, adding that such a small structure wouldn’t allow the proper thermal mass to grow food, anyway. Regardless, the Elmhurst City Council voted against the recommendation and reaffirmed its ban on hoop houses in February 2019. That was when Virgil says she was approached by a supporter who owned a garden store in nearby Villa Park, who told her to go to Cullerton for a legislative solution to the issue. From that point, SB 1675 was drafted by the Illinois Environmental Council to allow any Illinoisan to build a temporary hoop house structure on their property – not just in Elmhurst. Environmental and food-growing advocates, including the IEC, Advocates for Urban Agriculture and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, contend the bill protects the natural right of every Illinoisan to grow their own food, or “the right to garden.” Opponents, including representatives of the city of Elmhurst and other municipalities, say the bill should not be in the state Legislature because it is strictly a local issue. “This is an issue that should be determined locally,” said Brad Cole, executive director of the Illinois Municipal League. “When you pass a law, it affects everybody. Because one applicant was unhappy with a decision that went against her, it’s not a reason to change state law necessarily.” Referencing the almost 1,500 witness slips in support of the bill, Virgil called that idea “absurd.” “It’s not one person that wants it,” Virgil said. “I just happen to be the person who has the time, energy, wherewithal and skillset to advocate for it.” While the bill would pre-empt home rule, groups backing Virgil call it necessary. “Maybe this is something that gets resolved locally,” said Rebecca Osland, an attorney that does government relations for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance. “But then, if this issue starts popping up again, we’re going to have to come back to the table to ensure that people’s rights to produce their own food are protected.” On the other side, more than 270 witness slips have been filed against the bill, mostly coming from people affiliated with municipalities and related organizations. “We are deeply concerned regarding this bill and our local control over zoning and structures,” Grabowski said in Tuesday’s hearing. “The mayor and I feel that this issue should be resolved locally.” Hope of such a resolution remains, according to Cullerton, who said he spoke to Elmhurst Mayor Steven Morley Tuesday night. Although Morley could not be reached on a question about what that resolution would look like, Cullerton said they plan to talk more during the week. Virgil said Wednesday morning was the first she’d heard of a desire for resolution. “I have no evidence that the City of Elmhurst would have talked to us about this at all, except for the fact that I’m standing in the Statehouse,” Virgil said. “The cities are upset that Elmhurst didn’t find a resolution and keep this issue in-house. Now that it’s at the state level, they feel the potential to lose what they think is some measure of operational control in their local governments.” Wednesday’s committee meeting was subject matter only, so no vote was taken. But state Sen. Linda Holmes, D-Aurora, the committee chair, said she would prefer a local resolution so that SB 1675 does not come up again next week. But if it does, said Democratic committee member Sen. David Koehler of Peoria, “I fully approve to make a motion to approve this.”

Grant Morgan — Capitol News Illinois

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/winter-gardening-grows-thorny-statehouse-issue-elmnurst-right-garden/

2019-03-14 01:24:07+00:00

lifestyle and leisure

lifestyle

abcnews--2019-12-23--Liz Weston: How to create a retirement 'paycheck'

abcnews

Liz Weston: How to create a retirement 'paycheck'

Your expenses don't end when your paychecks do, but creating a reliable income stream in retirement can be tricky. The right choices can result in sustainable income for the rest of your life. The wrong choices could leave you uncomfortably short of cash. In fact, retirement includes so many important, potentially irreversible decisions that most people could benefit from a few sessions with a fee-only, fiduciary financial planner. (Fiduciary means the adviser is committed to putting your interests ahead of their own.) These ideally would start about 10 years before retirement. Understanding some key concepts could make those discussions easier — or keep you from making serious mistakes if you take a do-it-yourself approach. Social Security will make up 60% to 80% of most retirees’ income, so maximizing those checks is essential, says actuary Steve Vernon, a consulting research scholar at the Stanford Center on Longevity. Social Security checks can start at age 62, but abundant research shows most people are better off delaying. Waiting until 70, when benefits max out, is typically the optimal strategy for single people and the higher wage earner in a couple, says Vernon, author of “Retirement Game-Changers.” People’s situations can vary, though, so they would be smart to consult Social Security calculators to help them decide when to start. AARP’s site has a free one, or search for more sophisticated versions from Maximize My Social Security ($40 and up) and Social Security Solutions ($20 and up). A planner might recommend tapping retirement accounts or working just enough to substitute for the income you would otherwise receive from Social Security. Ideally, fixed expenses in retirement would be covered by guaranteed income, such as Social Security and pensions, so that your basic lifestyle isn’t jeopardized by stock market fluctuations. If those sources aren’t enough to cover basic costs, an income annuity could help fill the gap, says certified financial analyst Wade Pfau, author of “Safety-First Retirement Planning.” Income annuities are insurance products that can offer a lifetime stream of monthly payments in exchange for a lump sum. Unlike variable annuities or other investments, the amount you get doesn’t vary if the stock market goes up or down. Another option could be a reverse mortgage, a loan that can convert some of your home equity into a stream of monthly checks. If you have a lot of equity but still have a mortgage, a reverse mortgage could pay off your loan and eliminate those monthly payments. Financial planners’ “4% rule” suggests withdrawing 4% of your portfolio the first year, adjusting the amount each year afterward for inflation. This strategy historically has posed a low risk of running out of money. Some planners, however, worry that 4% may be too high given current low interest rates and high stock valuations. The “Spend Safely in Retirement” method, which Vernon created with the help of the Society of Actuaries, recommends using annual withdrawal rates based on the IRS’ required minimum distribution rules. The percentage rises slightly each year according to age. A 60-year-old might withdraw 2.72%, a 65-year-old would tap 3.13% and a 70-year-old would take 3.65%. The withdrawal would be made at the end of each year, then the money is moved into a savings account or other investment that protects the principal, so it’s available to spend the following year without risk of market losses. Unlike the 4% rule, the “Spend Safely in Retirement” approach poses no risk of running out of money but can result in income that varies considerably from year to year. Retirees who have their basic expenses covered by guaranteed income might look at their portfolio income as a bonus, Vernon says. A bigger one can pay for splurges, while a smaller bonus might require cutting discretionary spending. Many retirees are tempted to move their money into “safe” investments such as bonds, certificates of deposit or savings accounts. Unfortunately, those investments may not keep up with inflation over time. Devoting at least 50% of investment portfolios to stocks — ideally using a low-cost target date, balanced or stock index fund — can produce more income over time, Vernon says. Once you create a retirement paycheck, your work isn’t done. You’ll still need emergency funds for unexpected expenses and a strategy to pay for long-term care, among other tasks. But establishing a reliable income stream can help you meet your regular expenses in retirement without worrying you’ll run out of cash. This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of “Your Credit Score.” Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lizweston. How to Decide If a Retirement Annuity Is Right for You

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/liz-weston-create-retirement-paycheck-67899223

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 13:20:31 -0500

labour

retirement

adobochronicles--2019-12-06--Senior Citizens Oppose Lowering Optional Retirement Age To 56

adobochronicles

Senior Citizens Oppose Lowering Optional Retirement Age To 56

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – The Philippine House of Representatives approved on second reading a bill seeking to reduce the optional retirement age from 60 to 56. The Coalition of Filipino Senior Citizens (CFSC) sent a strongly-worded letter to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, objecting to the measure. Among other things, the letter pointed out that lowering the retirement age to 56 will result in longer queues in: • Service counters at banks, clinics, hospitals and other businesses We tried to reach Cayetano but it seems his smart phone is currently on low batt…

Pol Pinoy

https://adobochronicles.com/2019/12/06/senior-citizens-oppose-lowering-optional-retirement-age-to-56/

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 11:12:51 +0000

labour

retirement

bbc--2019-01-14--What will Andy Murray be worth in retirement

bbc

What will Andy Murray be worth in retirement?

As Andy Murray's retirement moves a step closer following his defeat by Roberto Bautista Agut in the Australian Open, the tennis star remains poised to continue making as big an impact off court as he did on it. With a burgeoning range of business interests the Scot - never one to shirk speaking his mind - has the power to remain vividly in the public consciousness whichever route he chooses to go down. There is talk of him potentially moving into the world of politics or media analysis, while current business interests include property ownership, backing UK start-up firms and talent representation. But one lucrative sphere which will provide a huge chunk of his post-playing earnings will be that of brand endorsement. A number of major sports stars, from footballer David Beckham, to golfer Greg Norman, and basketball stars such as Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson have shown it is possible to continue earning strongly through the selling power of their personality and sporting legacy. Did we all retire Murray too soon? Murray set to have statue at Wimbledon His career prize money ranks fourth all-time among male players, behind his three eternal rivals from the so-called "Big Four" players of his generation - namely Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. According to US business bible Forbes, Murray will end his playing days with at least $165m (£129m) in career earnings, with prize money making up just $61m, and the bulk - some $100m - coming from endorsements, bonuses and appearance fees. Over the years he has been associated with a number of major firms, including Adidas, Under Armour, Head, Jaguar, Standard Life, Highland Spring, Robinsons, Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Perry and Tag Heuer. And Murray's rough-round-the-edges personality is an asset which industry observers believe he can continue to use as a means of generating income when he hangs up his racquet. "He is definitely different from the other top players," says brands expert Anastasia Kourovskaia, who has followed the 31-year-old's tennis and commercial career closely. "He has already created a strong legacy, one that has enabled him to keep his brand presence alive when he was fighting injury over the past 18 months. "The authenticity of his personality is his main asset. A lot of people are changed by success, but he is consistent. It is a fantastic quality from a marketing point of view." She says while he will not reach the same earnings level in retirement, there will still be companies looking to be associated with the three-time Grand Slam winner. Ms Kourovskaia says: "He has a great opportunity for leveraging his brand name when he stops playing, but in a way that suits his personality. "He will not be a David Beckham of British tennis, nor a Roger Federer - he will never be a global icon as they are. He has always been an 'outsider', whose success has been greatly assisted by his grit and doggedness. "From a marketing view he occupies a very tight niche - as long as he retains the same qualities and does not look to acquire a more glamorous image." Murray's exit at the 2019 Australian Open in Melbourne, an event which could become the swansong of his career, saw him wearing British sportswear brand Castore. The Scot's new sponsorship emerged over the weekend, where he held a teary news conference - wearing Castore's Johansson T-shirt and Ghost Cap - stating that he would be retiring from tennis this year after struggling with a hip injury. Castore replaced US firm Under Armour, which Murray had been with since signing a four-year deal in 2015. "He needs to choose brands that highlight him as an outsider, which is why the Castore deal was bang on," says Ms Kourovskaia. "He will be worth much more to a niche brand seeking to make, or build, exposure. "Castore is a British brand which has a high priority in widening its exposure, which is why it is a perfect deal for both parties," she says. Murray has won 45 career titles, including the trio of Grand Slams, and also won two Olympic singles gold medals. His peak earnings year was 2016 when he won nine titles, including Wimbledon, and led the ATP prize money chart with $16.3m. In recent years, Murray has also moved outside the mainstream endorsement field, and invested and partnered with equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs in 2015. It focuses on business and technology start-ups, and currently has stakes in more than 30 ventures. He has in the past said that "giving recognition and support to British entrepreneurs is important to me". Last year he invested in Deuce, a new start-up app aimed to make tennis more accessible and affordable. It helps players find courts and coaching sessions around the UK. Simon Chadwick, professor of sports enterprise at Salford Business School, says: "While these investments may be a small proportion of his total income, and while they also may provide a potential future revenue stream, I see them as being part of an overall strategy to market Murray as a 'people's man' after his playing career. "He is good with kids, and he is an enlightened commentator on things like gender issues, so I see these investments in start-ups, including ones to make tennis more accessible, as part of his brand positioning." Meanwhile, property is another commercial interest. The 31-year-old bought Cromlix House hotel near his home town of Dunblane in 2013, turning it into a luxury venue. Also in 2013 he set up his sports management agency, 77, with business advisers Matt Gentry and Gawain Davies and has signed up a number of young athletes, among them Aidan McHugh and Katie Swan from the emerging pool of young British tennis talent. And although it is unlikely that he is to become a globetrotting coach to other players, opening his own academy could be another route to go down. "He has already inspired the current generation of emerging British tennis players, so in some ways this sporting legacy is in place already," says Ms Kourovskaia. "But opening his own academy is definitely something he should consider, as it could only benefit him as a brand, and ultimately the country if new British players came through from it." Meanwhile, she says should the father of two girls - who has a dry sense of humour and has supported causes such as women's rights and Scottish independence in the past - go down a media or political route then his forthright outlook is an asset. "People like him for this, and it does not raise eyebrows as it might in, say, someone like Nadal. His strong convictions and strong views are also qualities that can be leveraged for him as a brand."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-46863214

2019-01-14 14:13:01+00:00

labour

retirement

bbc--2019-03-24--New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski announces retirement

bbc

New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski announces retirement

New England Patriots star tight end Rob Gronkowski has announced his retirement from the NFL in a social media post. It ends a nine-year career that included helping the Patriots to another Super Bowl triumph in February when they beat the Los Angeles Rams. "It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true," he wrote on Instagram. "And now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far." He added: "I will be retiring from the game of football today." In the post, Gronkowski - a three-time Super Bowl champion - thanked the Patriots, his team-mates and fans. "Thank you for everyone accepting who I am and the dedication I have put into my work to be the best player I could be. But now its time to move forward." He ended the lengthy post by writing: "Cheers to all who have been part of this journey, cheers to the past for the incredible memories, and a HUGE cheers to the uncertain of what's next." A four-time First Team All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection, Gronkowski caught 521 passes for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in 115 games from 2010-18. He added 81 catches for 1,163 yards and 12 touchdowns in 16 postseason contests.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/american-football/47688753

2019-03-24 22:55:48+00:00

labour

retirement

bbc--2019-07-01--Key to a happy retirement Fun housemates

bbc

Key to a happy retirement? Fun housemates

Four Canadian pensioners say the secret to a happy retirement is good housemates - and two dishwashers. Betty White and Beatrice Arthur made it look like fun on the popular sitcom the Golden Girls, but what's it really like to share a house with others in your senior years? "I've been amazed at how good it is," Louise Bardswich tells the BBC. Bardswich has been sharing a 4,000-sq-foot home with three other women in Port Perry, Ontario, since 2015. The four of them - Bardswich, 67, Martha Casson, 70, Beverly Brown, 68, and Sandy McCully, 74 - have become evangelists for this kind of housing, and have been dubbed the "Golden Girls" by Canadian media. While it's not unusual for relatives or close friends to move in with each other as they age, they believe their situation - the four women were all relative strangers - is the start of a new trend. The idea first struck Bardswich when she had to move her own mother into a retirement home. She had worked with Casson, and the two would talk about the struggles they were both facing caring for their aging parents, and planning for their own retirement. "It was kind of a window into our futures," Bardswich says. Bardswich did the maths for herself, and quickly realised that with inflation, renting in a retirement home would totally deplete her savings. She was also worried about the toll taking care of her would take on her children. "My kids are lovely, but I knew what it felt like to have to do that for my mom, and I didn't want them to have to go through that," she says. Interest in co-living for older people has risen as property rates in many areas around the world have skyrocketed along with the ageing population. By 2036, one in four Canadians is expected to be over the age of 65. According to a report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, about 700,000 senior-led households currently struggle with housing affordability. It is especially challenging in more rural communities, where there is limited housing stock as it is, and people may have to move far away from their social network in order to find appropriate accommodation. In northern Ontario, a Facebook group for senior living looking to find housemates has attracted almost 1,500 members. Across the pond, a group of women moved into the UK's first co-op housing designed specifically for elderly women in 2016. The housing project had been in the works since 1998, but it encountered several planning hiccups along the way. "I don't think British society was ready for it, a group of women who were going to take their own destiny in their own hands," Maria Brenton told the BBC's Sophie Long in 2016. When a builder applied for a permit to build a six-bedroom shared-ownership home in 2013, the township went as far as to try and pass a bylaw to outlaw this type of communal housing. Casson filed a human rights complaint, and two hours before council was set to vote, Ontario's human rights commissioner sent a scathing letter condemning the proposed bylaw, and reminding officials that that it is against the law to discriminate "directly or indirectly against groups protected by the (Ontario Human Rights Commission). This includes the obligation to accommodate the needs of older people, people with disabilities and other needs relating to (OHRC) grounds." The women finally got their home, at a different building site, in 2015. They're all very frank about the inevitability of ageing. They've designed the house so that they could "age in place", and not have to move because of physical limitations. This meant updating the home by installing an elevator, making the bathrooms accessible and leaving two bedrooms open for future live-in nurses. "We talked about how we did not sign up to be each other's caregivers. When you need help, you're going to have to pay for the help, and if you can't be accommodated in the house with the help than that's the time you'll have to move," Bardswich says. The house is also designed to allow each woman as much independence as possible. Each person owns 25% of the property - if someone dies or moves out, their share would be put on the market. In addition, they each pay $1,500 a month towards living expenses, which includes a weekly house cleaner, landscaping, food and wine. They all have their own large bedroom, with a TV and seating area and a bathroom. They share a living room and dining room and large kitchen, complete with two dishwashers, which helps them avoid kitchen squabbles. "We agreed we would live our own lives. We're all pretty busy and out all the time," Bardswich said. But that doesn't mean there isn't time for communal suppers, or wine on the porch. Each woman has brought a unique set of life experiences to the group, which they say makes the living situation even more fulfilling. Between the four of them there are 13 grandchildren, who all come by to visit. Two of the women are widowed, two are divorced. In the summer, they've let theatre students who are in town working in local productions stay in their spare rooms. Brown, who divorced in 1994, says she was initially hesitant about sharing a home after 25 years of living on her own. "The surprising thing is what I enjoy the most is the company," she says. Since moving in, the four women giving regular talks to other older people thinking about sharing. They say their best advice is not to wait, but to plan for your future before others have to plan it for you. Bardswich likes to advise people to find housemates with similar values - "a Republican and a Democrat shouldn't live together". But Casson is quick to point out that between the four of them, two are actively religious and two are not. "You can have some fairly fundamental differences, as long as you have some of the common values," she says.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-48765641

2019-07-01 20:11:02+00:00

labour

retirement

birminghammail--2019-03-12--Luxury retirement schemes too expensive for most Solihull residents

birminghammail

Luxury retirement schemes too expensive for most Solihull residents

Developers are increasingly drawing up plans for luxury retirement schemes in Solihull - which the majority of residents simply cannot afford, it is claimed. The borough's ageing population means that there is growing demand for accommodation which meets the needs of the elderly. But there are fears that the facilities favoured by some applicants are out of the price range of most local people and places will instead be filled largely by those moving in from other areas. Cllr Ken Meeson, cabinet member for children, education and skills, said there were problems posed by schemes which did not meet local need. "I have got one that's coming forward in my ward [Dorridge & Hockley Heath] which if you could afford it would be great," he said. "They're talking about having a swimming pool on site, a cinema, a gym, but I doubt that it's going to be affordable for most of the people in Solihull, who want to downsize and want to go into that sort of accommodation. "I don't know what the answer to that is and there's no easy answer." Last year, a separate retirement scheme, in Hampton Lane, Catherine de Barnes, was thrown out by councillors amid concerns that "only a very few privileged people" would be able to afford it. The issue was raised as part of a wider discussion at this week's health and wellbeing board about Solihull's housing strategy and work being done to provide the homes that are so desperately needed. Fiona Hughes, chief executive of Solihull Community Housing (SCH), said: "There are, amongst the challenges, some real successes. "We recently opened Saxon Court [in Chelmsley Wood] which is affordable social housing for our older residents and it's almost full already." Aside from this £7 million complex, which was officially opened just before Christmas, on the former home of Coleshill Heath School, an extra care facility is also being built on the old Powergen site, in Shirley - with 40 per cent affordable homes. In response to officers' comments, Cllr Meeson said: "You're doing very well, but it's how do we persuade the private sector to co-operate with our strategy?" He had argued that the council had stressed the importance of more affordable properties, but that developers continued to put an emphasis on maximising profits - which often means the plans brought forward are at odds with local priorities.

David Irwin

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/luxury-retirement-schemes-expensive-most-15962468

2019-03-12 15:37:58+00:00

labour

retirement

chicagotribune--2019-11-15--Why we aren't contributing enough toward retirement

chicagotribune

Why we aren't contributing enough toward retirement

U.S. stock indexes continue to hit new all-time high levels, though not with the usual hoopla. Perhaps politics is overshadowing market performance, but there is also evidence that almost half the country doesn't care. Just 52 percent of Americans actually own stocks or stock mutual funds either inside or outside of a retirement account. And that half doesn't tell the whole story. A research 2017 paper by New York University professor Edward N. Wolff found that "despite the fact that almost half of all households owned stock shares either directly or indirectly through mutual funds, trusts, or various pension accounts, the richest 10 percent of households controlled 84 percent of the total value of these stocks in 2016." I thought about these stats after the IRS announced its annual inflation adjustments to retirement plan contributions for tax year 2020. If you participate in a 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans and the federal government's Thrift Savings Plan, you will be able to contribute a maximum of $19,500 next year, up $500 from 2019. The catch-up contribution for employees ages 50 and over in these plans will increase from $6,000 to $6,500. (Note: the limit on annual contributions to traditional and Roth IRAs is unchanged at $6,000, as is the catch-up contribution for those over 50, which stays at $1,000.) For many Americans, these limits are irrelevant because they are not even close to maximizing their contributions. It's not due to some moral flaw. According to a recent paper from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College , for workers to accumulate substantial retirement savings, they must contribute regularly to their plans, keep their money in the accounts and they also need to maximize after-fee returns. That's a tall order, according to the authors, who say the reason that most workers have 401(k)/IRA balances at retirement that are "substantially below their potential" is due to aspects of the U.S. retirement system that make it difficult to achieve these goals. The two biggest factors that contribute to the low level of retirement savings are "the immaturity of the system" and "the lack of universal coverage." The paper notes that the shift from employer-funded pensions to employee funded retirement accounts occurred in the 1980s, which means "many of today's 60-year-olds did not participate in a 401(k) plan when they were young workers." Additionally, many workers today still do not participate in plans, either because the employer does not offer one or because they are not eligible to participate. Of those who do participate, some retirement balances shrink over time due to "leakages," which include the ability to cash out when changing jobs, in-service withdrawals (hardship and tax-free withdrawals beginning at age 59 ½), and loans; and those dastardly fees. The analysis concludes "the typical older worker has less than $100,000 in 401(k)/IRA assets, instead of the $364,000 he would have had under a system in which workers participated throughout their careers, paid zero fees on account balances, and did not withdraw money prematurely from their accounts. The discrepancy is somewhat less if individuals under 30 and those with defined benefit plans are excluded from the analysis, but it is still significant." The low level of savings, combined with increasing life expectancies, explains why many older Americans are staying in their jobs longer. According to AARP, "Americans 55 and older make up slightly less than a quarter of the nation's labor force, but they filled almost half (49 percent) of the 2.9 million jobs gained in 2018 -- the biggest share of any age group." Working longer is one of the ways many people are helping to fund retirement. (Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is the Emmy-nominated CBS News Business Analyst. A former options trader and CIO of an investment advisory firm, Jill covers the economy, markets, investing and anything else with a dollar sign on TV, radio (including her nationally syndicated radio show), the web and her blog, "Jill on Money." She welcomes comments and questions at askjill@jillonmoney.com. Check her website at www.jillonmoney.com) (c) 2019 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC

Jill Schlesinger, Tribune Content Agency

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-201911141435--tms--retiresmctnrs-a20191115-20191115-story.html

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 02:20:02 PST

labour

retirement

chicagotribune--2019-12-23--New law means big changes to how Americans save for retirement

chicagotribune

New law means big changes to how Americans save for retirement

The dome of the U.S. Capitol is seen April 18, 2019, in Washington. On Dec. 20, President Donald Trump signed a spending package into law that included the Secure Act — which stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement. The legislation is designed to help more people set aside more money for retirement. (Patrick Semansky / AP)

Sarah Skidmore Sell

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-secure-act-retirement-law-20191223-t6x5gc7njbdqzlkr6lhqa7t74u-story.html

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 13:10:52 PST

labour

retirement

dailyheraldchicago--2019-05-20--Liz Weston Lets get real about health costs in retirement

dailyheraldchicago

Liz Weston: Let's get real about health costs in retirement

You won't pay for health care in retirement with one lump sum. That's the way these expenses are often presented, though, and the amounts are terrifying. Fidelity Investments, for example, says a couple retiring in 2019 at age 65 will need $285,000 for health expenses, not including nursing home or other long-term care. The Employee Benefits Research Institute says some couples could need up to $400,000 - again, not including long-term care. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College hasn't updated its figures recently, but back in 2010 estimated a typical couple could spend $260,000 for medical and long-term care, with a 5% risk that costs will exceed $570,000. No wonder 45% of people in their 50s and early 60s have little or no confidence that they'll be able to afford their health care costs once they retire, according to a survey by the University of Michigan. MEDICAL COSTS MAY BE MORE PREDICTABLE THAN YOU THINK The approach of presenting people with a huge, perhaps unattainable, figure has long bothered Jean Young, senior research associate with the Vanguard Center for Investor Research. "The thing is, it's not helpful, it's not actionable, it's not relatable," Young says. You also may need six figures to cover food, or transportation, or shelter in a typical retirement. But these are costs you pay over time - just like you'll pay for health care. Young and other Vanguard researchers partnered with actuaries at Mercer Health and Benefits consulting firm to create a proprietary model based on what retired people actually spend on health care. What they found was that medical costs tend to be in certain ranges, based on a handful of factors: Higher-income people pay larger premiums for certain parts of Medicare. Some premiums also vary by location, as do medical costs in general. How much health care you'll consume is greatly influenced by how healthy you are when entering retirement, and, to some extent, your genes. "The actuaries know that the health status of your parents tends to pass generationally," Young says. Here's the number the researchers came up with: $5,200. That's the median amount a typical 65-year-old woman could expect to spend annually for premiums and out-of-pocket medical, dental and vision costs in 2018. (Median is the point where half pay more and half pay less. The study used women because they have slightly higher long-term costs, but the gender difference is about 2%.) That assumes the woman lives in a medium-cost area, is at medium risk for health care costs (she either smokes or has a chronic medical condition or two) and buys supplemental Plan F, the most popular Medigap policy. Eighty percent of those in similar situations would face costs in the range of $4,900 to $6,000. The models also include worst-case scenarios. If her health deteriorated to the high-risk category, her costs could exceed $11,000. If she opted to do without a Medigap policy and had a bad year, she could pay over $21,800. Retirement planning involves a lot of educated guesses. How long you'll live, inflation rates, returns on your investments, your expenses - these may not end up being what you expected. Financial planners typically craft their assumptions about what's most likely to happen and may suggest insurance or contingency plans to cover the worst-case scenarios. Long-term care costs remain the big wild card. Half of people over 65 don't incur any long-term care costs, Young says, and a quarter incur less than $100,000. "The problem is, 15% are going to spend a quarter of a million or more," Young says. Those who exhaust their savings may end up on Medicaid, the government program for the indigent that pays for long-term care (Medicare does not). People who have a few million dollars saved may opt to "self-fund," or pay for it without help. Those in between might consider some kind of long-term care insurance, or earmark assets they can tap if necessary, Young says. That could be your home equity or investments that give you income while you're healthy but could be sold to pay for long-term care. The key is to not use up those resources for other costs. Holding something in reserve is particularly important for women, who are twice as likely to require paid care. "We live longer; we tend to care for our husbands," Young says. "The risk is higher for women." This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Liz Weston is a columnist at NerdWallet, a certified financial planner and author of "Your Credit Score." Email: lweston@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @lizweston. What you will spend on health costs in retirement http://bit.ly/nerdwallet-health-care-costs-retirement

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20190520/news/305209931/

2019-05-20 13:55:00+00:00

labour

retirement

eveningstandard--2019-02-05--How to save for retirement An expertaposs guide to pensions

eveningstandard

How to save for retirement: An expert's guide to pensions

If you are currently in your mid-twenties or thirties, retirement can seem like a speck in the future, something barely on your radar. But with the retirement age gradually rising over the next decade – from 60 to 67 for women and 65 to 67 for men by 2028 – Brits can now expect to work up to seven years longer before they can receive their full state pension. Luckily, if you are over 22 and earn more than 10,000 per year, you will already be contributing to your pension through your workplace pension scheme. Despite this, experts advise talking to a financial adviser about creating your own financial plan for the future because what and how much you save will always be unique to you. Below is your complete guide on how to save for your retirement. The best thing about a pension is that you’re saving money each month without even realising. If you’re employed, you will be sacrificing a small amount of your salary each month into your pension, your employer will also be contributing towards the pension and you will get a tax relief of 20 per cent. Jamie Smith-Thompson, managing director of pension advice specialist, Portafina told the Standard: “With auto-enrolment you don’t even need to remember to find money to save into your pension. You contribute 4 per cent of your annual salary which is taken directly from your pay packet. On top of this your employer will also contribute 3 per cent and you’ll receive tax relief from the government. “So, each year your pension will receive in total 8 per cent of the value of your annual salary. That’s why it’s really important not to opt out of your workplace pension. Especially if you have no other retirement savings or provisions. Because the money comes directly from your pay packet you can set a budget for your bills and disposable income for the remaining money each month.” If you are a freelancer or self-employed you are not employed by a company and therefore not eligible for their workplace pension scheme. If this is you, or you are in a position where you do not qualify for auto-enrolment into your workplace pension scheme, opening a personal pension could be a good idea as you are still entitled to a state pension. Smith-Thompson explained: “As well as your contributions being topped up by tax relief, compound interest will have a serious impact on your pension pot. Let’s say, from the age of 25 you put £20 in a jar each month. By the time you reach 65 you’ll have £9,600. Now, let’s say you save that £20 in a pension that grows, on average, at 6 per cent per year. By 65 you’ll have over £38,000. That’s the power of a pension.” Millennials like to be on the move, and a recent LinkedIn survey revealed that millennials do more job-hopping than any other generation – but how does this affect pensions? “It’s not unusual to have several jobs in a lifetime,” Smith-Thompson explained. “And while it’s great that you have pensions from these, making sure they are performing as well as the should be is key. A regulated financial adviser can check that high charges are not eating into your retirement pot, and let you know how your investments are performing. It is important that your pensions are regularly reviewed as improving the performance by even 1 per cent can make a massive difference to the size of your pot. That’s thanks to compound interest. “You may have the option to consolidate your previous workplace pensions into one scheme. However, this could mean forgoing any guarantees which is a decision not to be made lightly. It’s best to take advice from a regulated financial adviser.” Smith-Thompson said opening a separate retirement savings account isn’t necessary: “Pensions are the most powerful savings tool most of us have access to. And that’s thanks to tax-relief and compound interest. If you’re paying into a pension it’s not necessary to have any additional savings funds specifically for your long-term future. “The longer you can keep your pension invested the better. So, it is important to have additional savings funds for emergencies such as car repairs or if the boiler breaks down. And a rainy-day fund to cover holidays, Christmas and birthdays. Having money saved to cover these will mean you are less likely to tap into too much of your pension from the age of 55.” However, Emma-Lou Montgomery, Associate Director at Fidelity International, says you should put a small amount of money away each month and let it grow. She continued: “Set up a standing order for a small sum of money to go into a stocks and shares ISA each month. You don’t have to sacrifice a large amount. Even a small sum will grow nicely. The beauty of starting to save now is the length of time that you will be giving your money to grow. Start small, but start now and it could turn out to be the best investment you make.” This figure will be completely unique to you. One way you can start to budget is by checking out how much state pension you are forecasted to get on the UK government website and figure out if you need to top up from there. Smith-Thompson added: “There is no magic figure. Talking to a regulated financial adviser and creating a retirement plan will help you to focus on what your retirement could look like. You need to consider when you’re no longer working how much a year you will need to live on. And factor in if you will have any outstanding debt such as a mortgage when you reach your planned retirement age. Setting an overall figure of how much your retirement is likely to cost you will help you to plan how much you should be putting away now to achieve your goal. “You will be more successful at saving for your future if you can contribute into your pension a regular amount that is comfortable for you.” In short: yes. If you are renting when you reach retirement or still paying off your mortgage, it is vital that you factor in these costs and any potential increases into your projected weekly income. Smith-Thompson said: “The pension freedoms have given people the option to dip into their pension from the age of 55. Our data shows that 32 per cent of people who took tax-free cash in 2018, did so to tackle debt such as clearing a mortgage. Entering retirement debt-free does feel like a sensible idea. However, using some of your pension to clear your debt does mean there will be less in your pot for when you need it.” An ISA is an Individual Savings Account with four types to choose from – a cash ISA, stocks and shares ISA, innovative finance ISA and a Lifetime ISA. The Lifetime ISA is available to those over 18 and under 40 and you can put up to £4,000 in the account each year with the government matching you by 25 per cent. Lifetime ISAs are designed to help boost retirement savings and you can access it tax-free from the age of 60. Smith-Thompson explained: “ISAs are great for short-term savings, or if you think you will need to dip into the money before the age of 55. There are ISAs for specific types of savings such as a junior ISA or a help to buy ISA for those looking to get onto the property ladder. “If you need additional savings for a specific purpose or if you think you could need to access the money before the age of 55, then there are plenty of savings tools you could consider, an ISA being one of them. The reason why you are saving will determine the most appropriate tool for you. “It’s best to keep your retirement savings separate from any other savings. And a pension with the benefits it brings, including not being about to withdraw from it until you are 55, is the best place for the money you are putting away for the future.” While a pension is the best place to hold your future savings, if you are looking at saving some extra money for retirement, opening a Lifetime ISA could be the best way to give you a financial boost.

Laura Hampson

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/how-to-save-for-retirement-uk-pensions-a4057956.html

2019-02-05 17:28:00+00:00

labour

retirement

abcnews--2019-03-10--Trump signed Bibles many religious leaders say they understand

abcnews

Trump signed Bibles, many religious leaders say they understand

President Donald Trump was just doing what he could to raise spirits when he signed Bibles at an Alabama church for survivors of a tornado outbreak, many religious leaders say, though some are offended and others say he could have handled it differently. Hershael York, dean of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary School of Theology in Louisville, Kentucky, said he didn't have a problem with Trump signing Bibles, like former presidents have, because he was asked and because it was important to the people who were asking. "Though we don't have a national faith, there is faith in our nation, and so it's not at all surprising that people would have politicians sign their Bibles," he said. "Those Bibles are meaningful to them and apparently these politicians are, too." But the Rev. Donnie Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, said she was offended by the way Trump scrawled his signature Friday as he autographed Bibles and other things, including hats, and posed for photos. She viewed it, she said, as a "calculated political move" by the Republican president to court his evangelical voting base. Presidents have a long history of signing Bibles, though earlier presidents typically signed them as gifts to send with a spiritual message. President Ronald Reagan signed a Bible that was sent secretly to Iranian officials in 1986. President Franklin Roosevelt signed the family Bible his attorney general used to take the oath of office in 1939. It would have been different, Anderson said, if Trump had signed a Bible out of the limelight for someone with whom he had a close connection. "For me, the Bible is a very important part of my faith, and I don't think it should be used as a political ploy," she said. "I saw it being used just as something out there to symbolize his support for the evangelical community, and it shouldn't be used in that way. People should have more respect for Scripture." York said that he, personally, would not ask a politician to sign a Bible, but that he has been asked to sign Bibles after he preaches. It feels awkward, he said, but he doesn't refuse. "If it's meaningful to them to have signatures in their Bible, I'm willing to do that," he said. A request for comment was left with the White House on Saturday, a day after Trump visited Alabama to survey the devastation and pay respects to tornado victims. The tornado carved a path of destruction nearly a mile wide, killing 23 people, including four children and a couple in their 80s, with 10 victims belonging to a single extended family. At the Providence Baptist Church in the Beauregard community in Alabama, the Rev. Rusty Sowell said, the president's visit was uplifting and will help bring attention to a community that will need a long time to recover. Before leaving the church, Trump posed for a photograph with a fifth-grade volunteer and signed the child's Bible, said Ada Ingram, a local volunteer. The president also signed her sister's Bible, Ingram said. In photos from the visit, Trump is shown signing the cover of a Bible. Trump should have at least signed inside in a less ostentatious way, said the Rev. Dr. Kevin Cassiday-Maloney. "It just felt like hubris," said Cassiday-Maloney, pastor at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Fargo, North Dakota. "It almost felt like a desecration of the holy book to put his signature on the front writ large, literally." He doesn't think politicians should sign Bibles, he said, because it could be seen as a blurring of church and state and an endorsement of Christianity over other religions. It would have been out of line if Trump had brought Bibles and given them out, but that wasn't the case, said James Coffin, executive director of the Interfaith Council of Central Florida. "Too much is being made out of something that doesn't deserve that kind of attention," he said. Bill Leonard, the founding dean and professor of divinity emeritus at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, woke up to Facebook posts Saturday morning by former students who were upset about Trump signing the Bibles because they don't view him as an appropriate example of spiritual guidance. But, Leonard said, it's important to remember that signing Bibles is an old tradition, particularly in Southern churches. Leonard said he would have viewed it as more problematic if the signings were done at a political rally. He doesn't see how Trump could have refused at the church. "It would've been worse if he had said no because it would've seemed unkind, and this was at least one way he could show his concern along with his visit," he said. "In this setting, where tragedy has occurred and where he comes for this brief visit, we need to have some grace about that for these folks." Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky; Dave Kolpack in Fargo, North Dakota; and Michael Schneider in Orlando, Florida. This story has been corrected to show that Providence Baptist Church is in the Beauregard community in Alabama, not Smith's Station.

Jennifer Mcdermott, Associated Press

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/trump-signed-bibles-heresy-religious-leaders-61579470

2019-03-10 21:10:38+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

birminghammail--2019-03-25--You CAN be LGBT and Christian says religious leader

birminghammail

You CAN be LGBT and Christian, says religious leader

Can you be LGBT and Christian? The answer, according to Steve Chalke, is yes. On April 6, Steve, founder of the charity Oasis and a well-known Christian speaker and author, will host an Open Church Network event – In the Name of Love - to explore the Bible, gender-identity and same-sex relationships. The event is aimed at the significant number of Christians in UK churches who long to celebrate their friends and family who are in same-sex relationships - or loved ones with a non-traditional understanding of their gender - but just can’t make their peace with the sections of the Bible that they say opposes LGBT inclusion. It will also be a vital event for those who already support LGBT inclusion, but want to be more confident in speaking out about it at church and help their local community take the next step in its journey. At the event, Steve will be joined by a team of expert speakers – including many people who identify as LGBT – to explore However, the day will not just explore issues; it will also attempt to better understand the lives of LGBT people. As such, learning from lived experience will be at the heart of each event. In the Name of Love: The Bible, Gender Identity and Same-Sex Relationships will run from 9.30am to 5pm, April 6 and will take place at Oasis Academy Woodview. Tickets cost just £35 (including lunch) and are available from: https://openchurch.network/events

Dylan Wiggan

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/special-features/you-can-lgbt-christian-says-16007312

2019-03-25 14:12:02+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

birminghammail--2019-10-18--Anderton Park School parents feared LGBT teaching would 'subdue religious beliefs'

birminghammail

Anderton Park School parents feared LGBT teaching would 'subdue religious beliefs'

Concerned Muslim parents and their children felt they were being "made to accept LGBT teaching" and "subdue their own beliefs" to show they were not extremist, a High Court hearing into the Anderton Park school protests heard. Protests at the gates of the Sparkhill school came about because the rights of parents were being infringed, a judge was told. Barrister Mr Ramby de Mello said: "Parents feel they are told: 'You have got to accept our teaching and keep your own beliefs under the bushell in a closet at home'...this conflict amounts to discriminatory treatment." “They hear: ‘We would like you to learn about equality at the expense of subduing your own religious belief because (doing so) demonstrates tolerance, inclusivity and stepping away from extremism.” He said this also indirectly discriminates against the 644 Muslim, mostly Pakistani heritage, pupils who attend the school. Citing from the witness statement of an imam, Mr de Mello said the parents feel they have a “moral obligation” to stand up against any teaching that impinges on the “heterosexual norm”. His comments came on the fifth and final day of an injunction hearing triggered by protests over LGBT teaching at the school. Judge Mr Justice Warby, who has to decide whether an exclusion zone should remain around the school to stop further protests, has now reserved judgement and will announce the outcome in writing "as soon as possible". He will weigh up five days of evidence and hundreds of pages of witness statements, videos and social media messages before announcing his ruling. In the meantime the existing temporary exclusion zone will stay in place. The case, brought by Birmingham City Council, is seeking an injunction that would permanently ban protests at the gates and in the streets surrounding the school. The council is also seeking to extend the zone to include two grassy areas on Yardley Wood Road, where protesters have continued to gather. The current temporary injunction prohibits three named defendants – Mr Afsar, his sister Rosina Afsar and Amir Ahmed - along with “persons unknown” from protesting or encouraging others to protest inside the exclusion zone. It also prohibits use of social media accounts to make abusive comments about any member of staff at the school in relation to teaching. The injunction application is being contested by Afsar, Afsar and Ahmed along with a fourth defendant, John Allman, from Okehampton in Devon, who sought to join the case to represent "persons unknown", claiming the injunction was too wide ranging and prohibited free speech online. Mr Ramby de Mello, representing the Afsars and Ahmed, said the protests came about because the rights of parents were being infringed. There was discrimination against families because of their religious and cultural beliefs, he told the judge. “This group are made to feel, because of their religious and cultural beliefs, in some way inferior to others – in this case over the teaching of LGBT,” he said. He said much had been made of the behaviour of a couple of outsiders who had joined protests, including an imam whose comments were condemned and disowned by Mr Afsar and Mr Ahmed. Earlier barrister Paul Diamond, representing Mr Allman, 66, a Christian campaigner, claimed a “politicised” Birmingham City Council was driving the injunction and claiming harassment and abuse against teachers at Anderton Park School, even though no criminal offences had been committed. There was often a difference in understanding and values that meant people “talked past each other” because of their beliefs. Someone telling another they risk “going to hell” is seen by some not as offensive but instead as “informing this person of their spiritual destiny and wanting to help them,” said Mr Diamond. He added that teachers had no "special privilege" not to face online comments as long as it does not reach a level of criminality. After the hearing concluded, teaching union chief Rob Kelsall, of the NAHT, said head teachers across the country were now "anxiously waiting" on the ruling outcome and watching events unfold in Birmingham "with fear". He said: "Whatever the outcome this is not the end. We have been supporting around 70 more schools across the country over pressure they have received over equality teaching. In our view it's completely unacceptable for public servants doing their job to be subject to this kind of torment." Describing Anderton Park head teacher Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson as "one of the strongest, most courageous people I've ever met", he said the pressure of the case has had "a very negative and wearing effect on her and her staff. That for me is extremely concerning." He reiterated calls on Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to "stop passing the buck to heads", and to be unequivocal that teachers should include all aspects of equality in relationships education, including LGBT. "We need to avoid this happening to any other school." Shakeel Afsar, representing the protesters, said after the hearing: "We parents should not have been here. We hope the judge will see that parents were within their rights and were forced to protest. "Whatever the outcome we would urge the school to start a fresh dialogue with parents...for the betterment of the community." Mr Justice Warby said he would deliver his judgement in writing "as soon as possible" and would begin work on it on Monday. "I can't at the moment given any reliable commitments as to when judgement will be but I assure I will reach a verdict as quickly as I can."

newsdesk@birminghamlive.co.uk (Jane Haynes)

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/anderton-park-school-parents-feared-17110330

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 19:00:17 +0000

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-01-22--Sen Hirono Resolution Condemning Religious Tests Is Embrace of Alt-Rights Position

cnsnews

Sen. Hirono: Resolution Condemning Religious Tests Is ‘Embrace’ of ‘Alt-Right’s Position’

In a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Jan. 16, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) said Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) was embracing “the alt-right’s position” by introducing S. Res. 19, a resolution condemning religious tests for federal office and reaffirming Congress’ belief in religious liberty. “If my colleague, the junior senator from Nebraska, wants to embrace the alt-right’s position by offering this resolution, that is his business,” Hirono said. The resolution, which was sponsored by Sasse and which passed the Senate unanimously on Wednesday, expressed “the sense of the Senate that disqualifying a nominee to Federal office on the basis of membership in the Knights of Columbus violates the Constitution of the United States.” The resolution was a sharp rebuke to Hirono and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who questioned federal judicial nominee Brian Buescher last month about his membership in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic service organization. Hirono had asked Buescher whether he would resign his membership to the Knights of Columbus and recuse himself from any cases in which the group had taken a position. The Democratic senators’ questions seemed to suggest that Buescher’s membership in the Knights of Columbus might disqualify him from federal office. The senators were met with widespread criticism for the questions, including by Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), who said her colleagues were “fomenting religious bigotry.” Sasse’s resolution cited the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of religion, and Article VI of the Constitution, which says that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” “If a senator has a problem with this resolution, they are probably in the wrong line of work because this is what America is,” Sasse said while introducing the resolution. “This is a super basic point. No religious tests. If someone has a problem with this resolution, what other parts of the Constitution are they against?” Hirono, however, claimed that S. Res. 19 was addressing “a problem that doesn’t exist.” “S. Res. 19 is unnecessary because no religious test is being applied to nominees for Federal office,” Hirono said.

Michael W. Chapman

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/sen-hirono-resolution-condemning-religious-tests-embrace-alt-rights

2019-01-22 20:38:09+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-01-30--85 A Persons Religious Belief Should Not Be Factor in Federal Appointment

cnsnews

85%: A Person's Religious Belief Should Not Be Factor in Federal Appointment

(CNSNews.com) – Following on the heels of a congressional controversy in which a judicial nominee was quizzed about his Catholicism, a new poll shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans (85%) believe a person’s religious faith “should not” be a factor in “deciding their appointment to a position in the federal government.” The poll also showed that 62% of Americans “strongly support/support” appointing someone to a federal judgeship even if they have strong religious beliefs. In the Marist survey, sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, respondents were asked, “Do you think a person’s religious faith should or should not be a factor in deciding their appointment to a position in the federal government?” Among those surveyed, 85% said religious faith should not be a factor; 11% said it should be a factor; and 4% said they were unsure. The results of the survey did not indicate much variation between people across party lines. Overwhelming majorities of Republicans (74%), Democrats (90%), and Independents (89%) disapproved of taking federal appointees’ faith into consideration. Likewise, the poll showed that a 63% of Americans supported or strongly supported the appointments of individuals whose “religious beliefs are very important to them” to federal government positions, with only 19% opposing or strongly opposing. For appointments to federal judgeships, the ratio was 62% to 23%. This poll comes shortly after Brian Craig Buescher, President Donald Trump’s appointee to the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska, received scrutiny from Democratic senators over his membership with the Knights of Columbus. In the written questions sent to Buescher on Dec. 5, Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) pressed him on his attitude towards the organization’s stance on gay marriage, abortion, and contraceptives. Hirono accused the Knights of Columbus of taking “a number of extreme positions,” such as its support for Proposition 8, a 2008 ballot proposition in California which defined marriage as being only between a man and a woman.“If confirmed, do you intend to end your membership with this organization to avoid any appearance of bias,” the senator from Hawaii asked Buescher. Harris, who described the Knights of Columbus as “an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men,” inquired whether Buecher agreed with comments about abortion made by Carl Anderson, the group’s leader. In 2016, Anderson denounced abortion as “the killing of innocents on a massive scale” and held it responsible for “more than 40 million deaths.” Buescher defended his membership in the Knights, asserting that his role in the group was not political. “I have not drafted any policies or positions for the national organization,” Buescher stated in response to Senator Hirono’s question. Later, he told Senator Harris that his “membership has involved participation in charitable and community events in local Catholic parishes.” The two senators’ line of questioning prompted pushback from their colleagues, who charged that it was an unconstitutional attack on an appointee’s faith. On Jan.16, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution introduced and drafted by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) declaring “that disqualifying a nominee to Federal office on the basis of membership in the Knights of Columbus violates the Constitution of the United States.” The resolution pointed to the third clause of Article VI of the Constitution, which states, “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.” The Marist Poll interviewed 1,066 adults between Jan.8-Jan.10 for its survey.

Dimitri Simes

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/dimitri-simes/poll-85-say-religious-belief-should-not-be-factor-fed-govt-appt

2019-01-30 16:03:16+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-03-29--Agencies Cant Cite Religious Belief to Bar Kids From Gay Adopters Rules Michigans Lesbian AG

cnsnews

Agencies Can’t Cite Religious Belief to Bar Kids From Gay Adopters, Rules Michigan’s Lesbian AG

(CNSNews.com) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently ordered that foster care and adoption agencies in the state – specifically those that contract with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) – cannot cite religious beliefs to avoid placing children in homosexual homes or with a homosexual adopter. Attorney General Nessel is a lesbian “married” to her girlfriend, Alanna Maguire, and they have two children. The directive means that all foster care and adoption services in Michigan that are faith-based and opposed to placing children in homosexual homes could lose their contracts with the state, if they don’t change their policies. The attorney general’s order grew out of a case from 2017, when two homosexual couples, represented by the ACLU, sued the MDHHS because two of the adoption agencies it contracts with – St. Vincent Catholic Charities and Bethany Christian Services – refused to place children, referred by the MDHHS, with the gay couples. Nessel, who took office in January 2019, represented the defendant, the MDHSS. In announcing the legal settlement on March 21, Nessel said, “Under the terms of the settlement agreement, MDHHS agrees to maintain non-discriminatory provisions in its foster care and adoption agency contracts. MDHHS also agrees to enforce the non-discrimination provisions up to and including termination when a state-contracted agency discriminates against same-sex couples or LGBTQ individuals that may otherwise be qualified foster care or adoptive parents for any child accepted by the agency for services under contract with MDHHS.” In other words, if you contract with the MDHHS to place children into foster care or into adoption, you must comply with the “non-discrimination provisions” in the contract, regardless of your religious beliefs. If you are a Christian or Muslim group that believes children have a natural right to a mother and a father, you must nonetheless allow children to be placed into gay households, if that situation should arise. “Discrimination in the provision of foster care case management and adoption services is illegal, no matter the rationale,” said Nessel. “Limiting the opportunity for a child to be adopted or fostered by a loving home not only goes against the state’s goal of finding a home for every child, it is a direct violation of the contract every child placing agency enters into with the state.” Nessel is "an ideological extremist who has repeatedly demonstrated her animus toward the Catholic Church and people of faith," said Catholic League President Bill Donohue in a statement. "In a settlement with the ACLU, she has decreed that the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services must end state contracts with faith-based agencies, rather than allow them to make child placement decisions in accord with their religious beliefs." "Once again, Nessel demonstrates her contempt for the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom, decreeing that faith-based agencies must check their religious principles at the door before they will be allowed to provide services for children in need," said Donohue. "Nessel is keeping her campaign promise to put her radical agenda ahead of the best interests of children." Michigan Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarkdale) said, "Dana Nessel has shown us that she cares little for the Constitution and even less for the vulnerable population of children in need of forever homes. ... Nessel's actions make it clear that she sought the office of attorney general to further her own personal political agenda." Lori Windham, senior counsel for Becket Law, said, "The Michigan AG and the ACLU are trying to stop the state from working with faith-based adoption agencies. The result of that will be tragic. Thousands of children will be kept from finding the loving homes they deserve." AG Nessel was the first openly homosexual person elected to a statewide office in Michigan. In 2012, she argued for DeBoer v. Snyder, which challenged the state’s ban an same-sex adoption. The case was eventually repealed, and became consolidated with Obergefell v. Hodges, which ultimately granted the right for same-sex couples to marry. In 2016, Nessel founded the Fair Michigan Foundation, which is, according to her biography page: “a first of its kind task force which investigates and prosecutes hate crimes committed against the LGBTQ community.” The Alliance Defending Freedom filed a friend-of-the-court brief for the Dumont v. Gordon case for the MDHHS stating, “In Michigan, there are approximately 13,000 children who are in need of foster care and/or adoptive services. Those children come from a myriad of diverse backgrounds. To fully accommodate these large numbers, a broad spectrum of options is needed. “A variety of adoption services better serves a diverse public than does a homogenous system. That was certainly the case in Boston, San Francisco, the District of Columbia, and Illinois, and for Catholic Charities and the other faith-based institutions before they were forced to shut down their vital work in those respective jurisdictions. ”

Alex Madajian

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/alex-madajian/agencies-cant-cite-religious-belief-bar-kids-gay-adopters-rules-michigans

2019-03-29 19:47:27+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-05-17--Pelosi There is a Humanitarian Crisis at the Border

cnsnews

Pelosi: 'There is a Humanitarian Crisis at the Border'

May 17, 2019 | 11:18 AM EDT #### Sponsored Links

https://www.cnsnews.com/video/pelosi-there-humanitarian-crisis-border

2019-05-17 15:18:00+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-08-21--Ilhan Omar TrumpAttacks Religious Minorities to Distract From His Human Rights Abuses

cnsnews

Ilhan Omar: ‘Trump…Attacks Religious Minorities to Distract From His Human Rights Abuses’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D.-Minn.) reacted to a new regulation announced by the Department of Homeland Security that seeks to detain illegal aliens indefinitely but also keep illegal alien children in company with their families by sending out a Tweet saying President Donald Trump “attacks religious minorities to distract from his human rights abuses.” Omar’s Tweet linked to a New York Times story about the newly proposed regulation. “Just a reminder that Trump repeatedly stokes tension and attacks religious minorities to distract from him human rights abuses,” Omar said in her Tweet. “Today his administration released a plan to detain migrant children indefinitely, even as children die in Border Patrol custody,” she said. “Large numbers of alien families are entering illegally across the southern border, hoping that they will be released into the interior rather than detained during their removal proceedings,” said the departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services in a statement about the proposed regulation. “Today, the government has issued a critical rule that will permit the Department of Homeland Security to appropriately hold families together and improve the integrity of the immigration system,” said Acting Secretary McAleenan. “This rule allows the federal government to enforce immigration laws as passed by Congress and ensures that all children in U.S. government custody are treated with dignity, respect, and special concern for their particular vulnerability.” “The Department of Health and Human Services, through our Office of Refugee Resettlement, provides quality and compassionate care for unaccompanied alien children who are referred to our custody,” said Secretary Azar. “In this rule, we are implementing the relevant and substantive portions of the Flores Settlement Agreement pertaining to standards for the temporary care, placement, and release of those minors. As before, HHS will continue to protect the safety and dignity of unaccompanied alien children in our custody as we seek to place them with a parent, relative, or other suitable sponsor.” The New York Times story that Omar linked to said: “The Trump administration unveiled a regulation on Wednesday that would allow it to detain indefinitely migrant families who cross the border illegally, replacing a decades-old court agreement that imposed a limit on how long the government could hold migrant children in custody and specified the level of care they must receive…. “The new regulation, which requires approval from a federal judge before it can go into effect and was expected to be immediately challenged in court, would establish standards for conditions in detention centers and specifically abolish a 20-day limit on detaining families in immigration jails, a cap that has prompted President Trump to repeatedly complain about the “catch and release” of families from Central America and elsewhere into the United States.”

CNSNews.com Staff

https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/cnsnewscom-staff/ilhan-omar-trump-attacks-religious-minorities-distract-his-human-rights-abuses

2019-08-21 16:46:46+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-09-23--NPR Vet Mara Liasson Trumps Take on Biden Could Be 2020 Version of Birtherism

cnsnews

NPR Vet Mara Liasson: Trump's Take on Biden Could Be '2020 Version of Birtherism'

NPR national political correspondent Mara Liasson touts she's had "34 great years at NPR," so it's not surprising she's going to offer the dependable liberal hot take

https://www.cnsnews.com/video/npr-vet-mara-liasson-trumps-take-biden-could-be-2020-version-birtherism

2019-09-23 01:46:00+00:00

religion and belief

religious text

cnsnews--2019-10-14--Bill Barr: ‘In the Framers’ View, Free Government Was Only Suitable and Sustainable for a Religious

cnsnews

Bill Barr: ‘In the Framers’ View, Free Government Was Only Suitable and Sustainable for a Religious People’

(CNSNews.com) - Attorney General Bill Barr spoke at the University of Notre Dame Law School on Friday, saying that the Framers of the U.S. Constitution believed that a “free government was only suitable and sustainable for a religious people.” “In a free republic, those restraints could not be handed down from above by philosopher kings,” Barr said. “Instead, social order must flow up from the people themselves, freely obeying the dictates of inwardly possessed and commonly shared moral values. “And to control willful human beings with an infinite capacity to rationalize, those moral values must rest on authority independent of men’s wills,” he said. “They must flow from the transcendent Supreme Being. “In short,” he said, “in the Framers’ view, free government was only suitable and sustainable for a religious people, a people who recognized that there was a transcendent moral order antecedent to both the state and to manmade laws and had discipline to control themselves according to those controlling principles.” Here is the transcript from the part of Barr’s speech where he said that the Framers believed that “free government was only suitable and sustainable for a religious people:” “So, the founders decided to take a gamble, and they called it a great experiment. They would leave the people broad liberty, they would limit the coercive power of the government, and they would place their trust in self-discipline and virtue of the American people. In the words of Madison: ‘We have staked our future on the ability of each of us to govern ourselves.’ “And this is really what they meant by self-government. It did not mean primarily the mechanics by which we select a representative legislature. It referred to the capacity of each individual to restrain and govern themselves. “But what was the source of this internal controlling power? In a free republic, those restraints could not be handed down from above by philosopher kings. Instead, social order must flow up from the people themselves, freely obeying the dictates of inwardly possessed and commonly shared moral values. And to control willful human beings with an infinite capacity to rationalize, those moral values must rest on authority independent of men’s wills. They must flow from the transcendent Supreme Being. “In short, in the Framers’ view, free government was only suitable and sustainable for a religious people, a people who recognized that there was a transcendent moral order antecedent to both the state and to manmade laws and had discipline to control themselves according to those controlling principles “As John Adams put it: ‘We have no government armed with a power which is capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. … Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other.’ “And as Father John Courtney Murray observed: The American tenet was not ‘that free government is inevitable, only that it is possible, and its possibility can be realized only when the people as a whole are inwardly governed by the recognized imperatives of the universal moral order.’”

CNSNews.com Staff

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cnsnewscom-staff/bill-barr-framers-view-free-government-was-only-suitable-and

Mon, 14 Oct 2019 16:02:07 -0400

religion and belief

religious text

activistpost--2019-02-20--Vaccine Correlations Graphically Confirm CDC-FDA-Pharma Skewed Vaccine Efficacy Science

activistpost

Vaccine Correlations Graphically Confirm CDC-FDA-Pharma Skewed Vaccine Efficacy Science

Ever since I learned from physicians with whom I was working in the late 1980s about Mothers complaining to them that their child got a vaccine and hasn’t been the same since, I’ve been on the vaccine trail trying to decipher the best I could from published vaccine research ‘science’, journals, vaccine package inserts, plus thousands of VAERS reports and other corroborating documents such as the HHS HRSA payouts for vaccine damage claims (over $4 Billion to date Pg.9) and explicit “before and after” photographs and videos showing children are being damaged after receiving shots, especially certain multivalent  vaccines. I’m not the only person who has been on such a campaign, but I was one of the very first healthcare professionals to start bringing attention to the matter.  The coalition I directed published a huge file on vaccine information for parents, which contained everything to date we could find during that time. For healthcare professionals, especially those who were not born before the 1960s, it is my opinion you have a learning curve to undertake, since you have been taught in med school how to castrate the innate immune system Nature provides, and substitute it with Big Pharma’s reprogramming body chemistry to make the humoral system the body’s prime immune system, which, quite frankly, is “ass backwards.” Humoral immunity kicks in after the Nature-given Innate Immune System does its job, which would mean life-long immunity regarding transmittable infections and maybe some viruses. Why do CDC-FDA-Pharma ‘love’ deliberately restructuring (castrating) the natural immune system of the human body? Because they feel (actually believe!) they have verifiable proof of antigen responses, which neurotoxic aluminum and other toxic chemicals DO provide, and, in their opinion, indicates immunity.  Ha,ha,ha! Because you can take a blood test to find antigens, those antigens also can cause cytokine storms in the brain, thereby short-circuiting all biological systems, but still there’s proof of humoral immunity, which they want to call “herd immunity” or “community immunity.” Thus, there’s the profitable need for booster shots into old age.  However, that ‘preventive health care’ ideology provides an accelerated pace for conditions such as ASIA Syndrome (Autoimmune Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants) to proliferate.  Below are well-documented vaccine-induced autoimmune diseases. Vaccination and autoimmune diseases: is prevention of adverse health effects on the horizon? EMPA Journal, July 20, 2017 However, what vaccines really are doing is implementing an excellent “business model” for guaranteeing life-long pharmaceutical and prescription-drug users from cradle to grave!

Activist Post

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/02/vaccine-correlations-graphically-confirm-cdc-fda-pharma-skewed-vaccine-efficacy-science.html

2019-02-20 19:56:15+00:00

science and technology

biomedical science

ageofautism--2019-03-08--Are There Sleeper VACCINE-caused Mutations Cytochrome P450 Genes Produce Which Medicine Deliberate

ageofautism

Are There “Sleeper” VACCINE-caused Mutations Cytochrome P450 Genes Produce Which Medicine Deliberately Ignores?

Read the full article by Catherine Frompovitch at NaturalBlaze Abstract The human cytochrome P450 (CYP) superfamily comprises 57 genes. These genes code for enzymes that can have a role in: metabolism of drugs, foreign chemicals, arachidonic acid and eicosanoids; cholesterol metabolism and bile-acid biosynthesis; steroid synthesis and metabolism; vitamin D(3) synthesis and metabolism; retinoic acid hydroxylation; and those of still unknown function. Cytochrome P450 was once believed to be mainly a hepatic drug detoxication system, but is now understood to include a myriad of enzymic reactions implicated in important life processes. Mutations in many CYP genes cause inborn errors of metabolism and contribute to many clinically relevant diseases. [2] Question: Are metabolism differences in CYP genes the cause of many vaccine adverse reactions, especially brain encephalopathy that precipitates Autism and other clinically relevant diseases in infants, toddlers and even adults? Was that the reasoning why a Vaccine Court Master awarded Hannah Poling’s Autism claim $1.5 million plus ongoing $500,000 per year for life [4]?

Age of Autism

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ageofautism/~3/O6p7RiOs6bI/are-there-sleeper-vaccine-caused-mutations-cytochrome-p450-genes-produce-which-medicine-deliberately-ignores.html

2019-03-08 10:59:00+00:00

science and technology

biomedical science

ageofautism--2019-06-22--SB276 Why Arent Pediatricians Up in Arms Over Losing Their Right to Practice Medicine

ageofautism

SB276 Why Aren't Pediatricians Up in Arms Over Losing Their Right to Practice Medicine?

Yesterday, SB276 moved forward in California. This bill strangles a doctor's ability to write medical exemptions for his or her patients. Why would medical doctors give up more of their rights to practice medicine? We've seen some pretty cruel social media and press statements from the young breed of pediatrician regarding vaccine safety and our right to say "no," to one or more shots or the timing of administration. Pediatricians as a generalization over the last 3 decades are managed care gatekeepers and the final sales force for pharma. They are intake centers for specialists. They are Rx writers for antibiotics and psych meds. They weigh. They measure. They give a hearing and eye test to those patients who are compliant, verbal. They fill out school and camp forms.  They vaccinate. They have watched American children plummet in all health stats with no reaction, let alone care. So, as SB276 steamrolls the doctor patient relationship, I'm reminded that there is no relationship any longer. Practices are corporations. There's no pride of hanging a shingle on the office door that says "Dr. Smith - Pediatrician." There's a mad rush to pay outrageous student loans. To meet quotas. To fill out paperwork. To comply with managed care rules. To go home at the end of the day unencumbered by 24/7/365 emergency calls and late night pleas from scare Moms.  They are cogs in a corporate wheel. I think many younger pediatricians are grateful for the cover the SB276 gives them. Not because they believe that Medical Exemptions should be rare. But because they do not want to have to make the decision to grant an exemption, and face the consequences of their masters.  They don't want to think for themselves and review the science of the side effects and contraindications of the products they administer. They are satisfied with their cursory med school instruction. "Vaccines are safe. Here's how to inject them." If this were not the case, they'd be up in arms over this bill for robbing them of their hard earned right to practice medicine.  They should change their specialty  and become proctologists - and cover their asses. Kim

Age of Autism

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ageofautism/~3/MA-sgtCCIvU/sb276-why-arent-pediatricians-up-in-arms-over-losing-their-right-to-practice-medicine.html

2019-06-22 10:00:00+00:00

science and technology

biomedical science

chicagotribune--2019-12-26--At age 100, the father of preventive medicine is still going strong — as living proof that he was ri

chicagotribune

At age 100, the father of preventive medicine is still going strong — as living proof that he was right all along

He knew he wanted that life to be in research, and in 1947, found a place to pursue that work, taking a position at Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville under pioneering cardiology researcher Dr. Louis Katz. “Dr. Katz told me, ‘Why the hell do you want to go into research?’” says Stamler. “‘You never win. When you first discover something, people will say ‘I don’t believe it.’ Then you do more research and verify it and they’ll say, ‘yes, but …’ Then you do more research, verify it further and they’ll say, ‘I knew it all the time.’’ And he was right.”

Cindy Dampier

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/ct-life-100-year-old-scientist-stamler-20191226-jeprzoeqazha7nuvs2prfcndwy-story.html

Thu, 26 Dec 2019 03:00:46 PST

science and technology

biomedical science

fortune--2019-04-08--Brainstorm Health Brain Stimulation GSK HIV Drug Telemedicine and Antibiotics

fortune

Brainstorm Health: Brain Stimulation, GSK HIV Drug, Telemedicine and Antibiotics

Alzheimer’s and dementia researchers have had to endure a cascade of heartbreaking drug development failures in recent years. Traditional pharmaceutical treatments based on the “beta amyloid” theory have failed… and failed… and failed yet again. So perhaps it’s not surprising that some scientists are hitching their wagons to radically different approaches. A team of Boston University researchers claim that a form of electrical brain stimulation has produced surprising (if very, very early) results in boosting cognitive skills. It’s important to take these kinds of preliminary results with a grain (or ten) of salt. After all, more conventional Alzheimer’s drug hopefuls have shown early promise only to face humiliating defeats down the line. But the research is undeniably interesting. Neuroscientists found that electrically (but harmlessly) zapping the regions of the brain related to what’s called “working memory”—i.e., short-term memories critical to conducting certain immediate tasks—can temporarily improve this sort of memory in older people. In fact, the electrical bridging of the prefrontal and temporal regions of the brain reportedly helped improve working memory function in older adults to similar levels as people who were significantly younger. Still, this wasn’t a randomized clinical trial, and it certainly wasn’t a robust one. When it comes to dementia treatment, past experience suggests a cautious outlook. Read on for the day’s news.

Sy Mukherjee

http://fortune.com/2019/04/08/brainstorm-health-daily-04-08-19/

2019-04-08 21:34:05+00:00

science and technology

biomedical science

fortune--2019-05-28--Brainstorm Health Athersys Stem Cell Treatment Alexa in Medicine Oklahoma Opioid Suit

fortune

Brainstorm Health: Athersys Stem Cell Treatment, Alexa in Medicine, Oklahoma Opioid Suit

The world of stem cell-based medicine has had its fair share of disappointments and regulatory recriminations over wildly inflated claims. But Athersys CEO Gil Van Bokkelen says the stem cell field isn’t getting a fair shake. “It’s a misconception to say stem cells haven’t really delivered,” he tells Fortune in an interview. “This is a very hot field right now, and things have really changed.” Van Bokkelen points to his own company’s recent achievements, including a number of cell therapies in mid- or late-stage clinical trials. Just two weeks ago, Athersys’ experimental MultiStem treatment received the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) coveted fast track designation in a devastating lung-wasting disease called acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). These designations speed the regulatory process and is typically granted for products that treat disorders with a dearth of available treatments. And devastating ARDS surely is. It’s a consequence of trauma to the lungs in patients who are typically already in the hospital for some kind of severe injury or illness, and it results in fluid leaking in to the lungs, making the very act of breathing even more difficult (or impossible) in patients who are already extremely sick, according to the American Lung Association. Athersys’ studies of MultiStem found that patients who received the treatment “within several days after being diagnosed with ARDS and being placed on a ventilator experienced lower mortality, increased ventilator-free days, and increased ICU-free days” compared to a placebo group. Those preliminary results led to the FDA fast track. What makes the MultiStem platform intriguing is, well, what puts the “Multi” in the name. Van Bokkelen says that Athersys is trying to avoid the main problem many stem cell upstarts face: Scaleability and multi-faceted uses. Rather than requiring an individual, perfect donor match, Athersys is attempting to create a product that’s an “off-the-shelf” version of regenerative stem cell treatment that can help repair tissue. “The drug isn’t just doing one thing, it’s doing a bunch of different things,” says Van Bokkelen. For instance, it’s being tested out in late-stage trials for ischemic stroke patients (yet another program with FDA fast track designation). “Market opportunity is way bigger in this space than pretty much any other one,” he adds. We should find out soon enough whether Athersys can succeed where so many others have failed. Read on for the day’s news.

Sy Mukherjee

http://fortune.com/2019/05/28/brainstorm-health-daily-05-28-19/

2019-05-28 21:33:19+00:00

science and technology

biomedical science

fortune--2019-11-22--Which Medicines Have Transformed Drug Development in the Past Decade?

fortune

Which Medicines Have Transformed Drug Development in the Past Decade?

Boeing Quietly Rolls Out the New 737 Max 10, All Other Max Models Remain Grounded

Sy Mukherjee

https://fortune.com/2019/11/22/which-medicines-have-transformed-drug-development-in-the-past-decade/

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 22:37:18 +0000

science and technology

biomedical science

fortune--2019-11-25--Novartis Bets Big on Cholesterol Drug With $9.7 Billion Buyout of Medicines Co.

fortune

Novartis Bets Big on Cholesterol Drug With $9.7 Billion Buyout of Medicines Co.

There Has Been an Insane Number of Billion-Dollar Deals in the Past Few Days

Ian Mount

https://fortune.com/2019/11/25/novartis-cholesterol-drug-billion-buyout-medicines-co/

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 09:59:31 +0000

science and technology

biomedical science

instapundit--2019-10-18--MEDICINE: PDE5 Inhibitors Like Viagra, Cialis Associated With 35% Reduction In Colorectal Cancer….

instapundit

MEDICINE: PDE5 Inhibitors Like Viagra, Cialis Associated With 35% Reduction In Colorectal Cancer….

MEDICINE: PDE5 Inhibitors Like Viagra, Cialis Associated With 35% Reduction In Colorectal Cancer.

Glenn Reynolds

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pjmedia/instapundit/~3/dKq2tJ7ywfk/

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 17:00:59 +0000

science and technology

biomedical science

nationalreview--2019-04-24--The Democrats Get a Taste of Their Own Medicine

nationalreview

The Democrats Get a Taste of Their Own Medicine

The lies, deceptions, and cover-ups of Clinton’s and Obama’s operatives will soon come to light. It is not now clear whether the Democrats’ pathological attachment to the fantasy that they have some chance of destroying the Trump presidency legally is based on continuing hysteria and frenzy, or addiction to continued harassment of the president even as the credibility of doing so plummets, or is an attempt to forestall the investigation and exposure of the malfeasance of the Obama administration and the Clinton campaign in producing the fraud of Trump–Russian collusion. All serious observers can (and do) agree that there is no chance of removing this president from office by impeachment. It requires considerable perseverance and selectivity in canvassing the American media to elicit this fact, but the special counsel, Robert Mueller, despite his glaring anti-Trump biases and obscenely partisan group of investigators, found the president (and all other Americans) to be blameless on the charge of illegal collusion with anyone in Russia to rig the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. In the circumstances, it need hardly be emphasized that the entire Trump–Russia collusion gambit, based on the infamous Steele dossier’s pastiche of lies and defamations, was the dirtiest political trick in American history and is in the process of transmogrification into one of the greatest fiascos in the history of American political skullduggery. (One of the most rabid Trump-hating Democratic congressmen, Eric Swalwell, still professes to believe all of the Steele dossier, as if it were a catechism.) Though there is an elaborate psychopolitical effort underway to pretend otherwise, investigations already taking place by the inspector general of the Justice Department, a special counsel, and the attorney general of the United States, about to be joined by the Senate Judiciary Committee, will call upon the chief intelligence and law officers of the Obama administration, along with Hillary Clinton and members of her campaign staff, to account for their conduct. These include lies under oath to congressional committees, lies to federal officials, and misleading the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court. This is a series of dishonest statements and illegal acts that can only, at least provisionally, be seen as a coordinated campaign to influence the results of the presidential election and then to compromise the unwished-for outcome of that election. It will not be long before we hear the still familiar words, in reference to President Obama: “What did the president know and when did he know it?” What is occurring now is an unprecedented and almost unbelievable episode of political theatrics. The Democrats are pretending that their fraudulent attempt at what amounted to a coup d’état against the election of an administration of the other party still possesses the legitimacy to be continued and taken seriously after it has been largely unmasked by its own chosen investigators for what it was. At the same time, the machinery of dispassionate justice is already turning towards the identification and eventual punishment of the Democrats for subverting the justice and intelligence apparatus of the former administration in order to influence the results of the election of the succeeding president and vice president of the United States. It is an elemental rule of nature that the longer and the more febrile the efforts of the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and the Democratic party generally, abetted by their media echo chamber, to delay the exposure of their wrongdoing, the more complete and overwhelming the defeat and discreditation of the entire effort to destroy the Trump administration will be. The surest barometer of the coming political weather is provided by Bob Woodward, the principal bloodless assassin of Richard Nixon, still celebrated and triumphant in the indispensable role that he personally played in destroying one of the most successful administrations in American history. He is now warning of the malign influence of the Steele dossier in the whole anti-Trump removal movement (for such it has become). Even as his Watergate sidekick of 45 years ago, Carl Bernstein, inflicts upon viewers his insane theory that President Trump is so mentally debilitated that he is incapable of functioning as president under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, Woodward has disembarked from the foundering cause of Trump impeachment and clambered aboard the accelerating bandwagon of probing and revealing the sources of this monstrous attempt to derail constitutional government with the Steele dossier. It is particularly irritating that House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), while acknowledging that impeachment (which he has been demanding and predicting for over two years) will not be successful without Republican collaboration, declares Trump’s conduct to be more odious than Nixon’s. Trump has committed no offenses, and Mueller didn’t write that he had — he just invited the House Democrats to look at obstruction of justice, although he did not allege it, presumably to give a decent interval before this nonsense collapses completely. In fact, there is little probative evidence that Richard Nixon participated in a conspiracy to obstruct justice, though some of his staff did. For complicated reasons connected to the psychological makeup of President Nixon at that time (1972–74), he lost his formerly acute sense of political self-preservation and effectively collaborated with his enemies in his own destruction. He subsequently made, and posthumously continues, the greatest of all his political comebacks, and he is steadily rising in the esteem of American presidential historians as the forces of cant and political emotionalism subside. Schiff obviously knows nothing about Nixon. If he were a more accomplished, nonpartisan, and esteemed legislator, he would be a primary confirmation of Victor Davis Hanson’s brilliant remark this week that these Trump–Russian collusion matters show that “America’s best and brightest are our worst and dumbest.” It seems that the Democrats in the House of Representatives are now under the comparatively sobering influence of Speaker Pelosi. They seem unlikely to try to impeach, knowing there is no chance of conviction, and will try to continue their investigations and dominate the news with Mueller excerpts that their media lackeys will amplify as much as possible, to continue this gigantic fraud. This won’t fly. The country recognizes that the attempt to unseat the president has failed, and that it deserved to fail. If he is to be removed from his office, it will be by the electors, and not by a Democratic lynch mob cheered on by the now largely disgraced national political media. Their day of reckoning is about to begin. They will gag and balk at the evidence as it emerges that the Clinton campaign and the Obama Justice Department, the FBI, and the intelligence services were up to their eyeballs in an unprecedented unconstitutional attempt to manipulate and then undo the result of a presidential election. They have shown almost superhuman self-discipline in ignoring and implicitly denying the existence of the evidence of this wrongdoing. The failure of elected officials, and of the journalists and commentators upon whom the nation has a right to rely for serious and fair reporting and analysis of important political events, will weigh very heavily upon them. The Democrats will pay for their dishonesty at the polls in 2020. And the national political media will require a very long time to recover the confidence of the American people that they have so energetically squandered.

Conrad Black

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/04/trump-collusion-charges-fade-democratic-lies-emerge/

2019-04-24 10:30:37+00:00

science and technology

biomedical science

abcnews--2019-01-10--From missing paychecks to unemployment claims The latest on the government shutdown

abcnews

From missing paychecks to unemployment claims: The latest on the government shutdown

The ongoing government shutdown is about to turn into the longest one in U.S. history and that's raising questions about what will happen next. By Friday, many of the 800,000 federal workers affected are expected to have missed their first paycheck since the shutdown began three weeks ago. And by Saturday, the funding lapse will be the longest in history at 22 days, surpassing the 21-day holiday shutdown that stretched into 1996. The missing paychecks are likely to trigger at least some unemployment claims with states, as well as possible resignations by federal workers who have grown tired of the instability. That could include airline security personnel, prison guards, food inspectors, Coast Guard personnel and border patrol officers. Already, an estimated 4,500 people have filed for unemployment in the nation's capital. Airline workers are showing up on Capitol Hill urging Congress to reach a deal, and a separate major union rally is planned for Thursday. For now, most agencies say there haven't been any major disruptions to government operations because workers deemed essential -- about 420,000 -- have been ordered to keep working despite not being paid. At least two lawsuits have been filed on their behalf, with major unions arguing that requiring work without pay isn't fair. But as one agency official put it, if the shutdown extends past February, "we'll be digging into the couch cushions" to keep the most important operations afloat. Here's a look at the latest shutdown developments and what could happen next: Washington's city government estimates that about 4,500 people -– 3,745 federal workers and 822 federal contractors -- already have filed for unemployment as a direct result of the shutdown. That's likely just the beginning. Federal workers can file for unemployment benefits where they worked, and, according to one major union, some 85 percent of the federal workforce exists outside Washington. Rules vary from state to state. But it's generally expected that employees would have to repay any unemployment benefits if they receive back pay once the shutdown ends. There is one small comfort for federal workers though: The Office of Personnel and Management on Wednesday said that employees required to work during the shutdown will be able to reschedule any paid time off they may have lost. Food stamp recipients will have access to their full benefits for February, even if the partial government shutdown continues, the Agriculture Department told reporters late Tuesday. The department said it will work with states to load benefits onto recipients' cards by Jan. 20, just within the deadline for a provision that allows them to pay out benefits, even without a budget. Still a concern are expiring contracts for a program by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that subsidizes rent and utilities for 1.2 million low-income families. HUD announced that some 1,150 contracts with private landlords have expired since the shutdown, with another 500 set to expire later this month and 500 more next month. The agency sent the landlords letters earlier this month urging them to dip into any reserves, and an agency spokesman said he didn't expect any evictions to take place because landlords know they will eventually get paid when the shutdown ends. "There have never been evictions of any kind because of government shutdowns," HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said. Worth noting though is that if the shutdown stretches into February, which is possible considering the lack of progress in budget talks, HUD and other agencies would be working in uncharted territory. The local water provider in Washington said the federal government is short $5 million of the $16.5 million it owes, according to a recent letter it received from the Treasury Department. Matthew Brown, chief financial officer at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, known as D.C. Water, said they usually don't charge late fees to customers like the federal government and the delayed payments won't immediately hurt the water authority's pocket books. "It would probably be, just off the top of my head, approximately a year before it begins to be a real problem," Brown said. Also a concern are the air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. This week, nearly 100 air traffic controllers went to Capitol Hill to call for an end to the shutdown. An association of the workers said they're already at a 30-year staffing low nationwide. They expect their first missing paycheck around Jan. 15. After the shutdown, routine domestic food inspections were suspended by the Food and Drug Administration, although foreign food inspections continued along with what the agency called surveillance of "high-risk" foods and facilities. Food and Drug Administrator Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Wednesday that the agency is "taking steps" to expand domestic food safety inspections further during the shutdown, focusing on high-risk facilities that make up a third of regular inspections. Gottlieb tweeted that he wants to bring food inspectors back to work as early as next week, though they still would not be paid until the government reopens. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is calling back employees to staff 38 national wildlife refuges across the country under a temporary 30-day plan that will rely on leftover money from its 2018 budget. Similar to the National Park Services, refuges were accessible to the public, minus the staff or access to visitors centers. The workers that come back will be carrying out prescribed burns to manage the areas and minimize wildfire risk. They will also staff visitors centers and conduct maintenance, as well as continue working on environmental rules they hope to complete before next fall's hunting season. So far, the biggest visible impact of the shutdown for the general public has been at the national parks, where the absence of staff has meant a pileup of trash and safety violations. But, the parks have said they are working to restore basic services including trash pick up using money previously collected from entrance fees and campground fees. One site, Joshua Tree National Park in California, had announced it planned to close temporarily Thursday to deal with sanitation and safety issues. But it later said it was able to avert that shutdown using recreation fees. The parks though will still take a financial hit even when the shutdown ends. Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee have estimated that NPS could lose $400,000 a day in fees if there isn't staff available to collect from visitors. Also, parks may have to pay to repair damage done by visitors not following park rules during the shutdown.

Anne Flaherty,, Stephanie Ebbs , Quinn Owen

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/latest-government-shutdown-workers-face-missing-paychecks-friday/story?id=60260380

2019-01-10 19:42:07+00:00

labour

employment

abcnews--2019-01-10--The latest on the government shutdown from missing paychecks to unemployment claims

abcnews

The latest on the government shutdown, from missing paychecks to unemployment claims

The ongoing government shutdown is about to turn into the longest one in U.S. history, and that's raising questions about what will happen next. By Friday, many of the 800,000 federal workers affected are expected to have missed their first paycheck since the shutdown began three weeks ago. And by Saturday, the funding lapse will be the longest in history at 22 days, surpassing the 21-day holiday shutdown that stretched into 1996. The missing paychecks are likely to trigger at least some unemployment claims with states, as well as possible resignations by federal workers who have grown tired of the instability. That could include airline security personnel, prison guards, food inspectors, Coast Guard personnel and border patrol officers. Already, an estimated 4,500 people have filed for unemployment in the nation's capital. Airline workers are showing up on Capitol Hill urging Congress to reach a deal, and a separate major union rally is planned for Thursday. For now, most agencies say there haven't been any major disruptions to government operations because workers deemed essential -- about 420,000 -- have been ordered to keep working despite not being paid. At least two lawsuits have been filed on their behalf, with major unions arguing that requiring work without pay isn't fair. But as one agency official put it, if the shutdown extends past February, "we'll be digging into the couch cushions" to keep the most important operations afloat. Here's a look at the latest shutdown developments and what could happen next: Washington's city government estimates that about 4,500 people -– 3,745 federal workers and 822 federal contractors -- already have filed for unemployment as a direct result of the shutdown. That's likely just the beginning. Federal workers can file for unemployment benefits where they worked, and, according to one major union, some 85 percent of the federal workforce exists outside Washington. Rules vary from state to state. But it's generally expected that employees would have to repay any unemployment benefits if they receive back pay once the shutdown ends. There is one small comfort for federal workers though: The Office of Personnel and Management on Wednesday said that employees required to work during the shutdown will be able to reschedule any paid time off they may have lost. Food stamp recipients will have access to their full benefits for February, even if the partial government shutdown continues, the Agriculture Department told reporters late Tuesday. The department said it will work with states to load benefits onto recipients' cards by Jan. 20, just within the deadline for a provision that allows them to pay out benefits, even without a budget. Still a concern are expiring contracts for a program by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that subsidizes rent and utilities for 1.2 million low-income families. HUD announced that some 1,150 contracts with private landlords have expired since the shutdown, with another 500 set to expire later this month and 500 more next month. The agency sent the landlords letters earlier this month urging them to dip into any reserves, and an agency spokesman said he didn't expect any evictions to take place because landlords know they will eventually get paid when the shutdown ends. "There have never been evictions of any kind because of government shutdowns," HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said. Worth noting though is that if the shutdown stretches into February, which is possible considering the lack of progress in budget talks, HUD and other agencies would be working in uncharted territory. The local water provider in Washington said the federal government is short $5 million of the $16.5 million it owes, according to a recent letter it received from the Treasury Department. Matthew Brown, chief financial officer at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, known as D.C. Water, said they usually don't charge late fees to customers like the federal government and the delayed payments won't immediately hurt the water authority's pocket books. "It would probably be, just off the top of my head, approximately a year before it begins to be a real problem," Brown said. Also a concern are the air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. This week, nearly 100 air traffic controllers went to Capitol Hill to call for an end to the shutdown. An association of the workers said they're already at a 30-year staffing low nationwide. They expect their first missing paycheck around Jan. 15. After the shutdown, routine domestic food inspections were suspended by the Food and Drug Administration, although foreign food inspections continued along with what the agency called surveillance of "high-risk" foods and facilities. Food and Drug Administrator Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Wednesday that the agency is "taking steps" to expand domestic food safety inspections further during the shutdown, focusing on high-risk facilities that make up a third of regular inspections. Gottlieb tweeted that he wants to bring food inspectors back to work as early as next week, though they still would not be paid until the government reopens. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is calling back employees to staff 38 national wildlife refuges across the country under a temporary 30-day plan that will rely on leftover money from its 2018 budget. Similar to the National Park Services, refuges were accessible to the public, minus the staff or access to visitors centers. The workers that come back will be carrying out prescribed burns to manage the areas and minimize wildfire risk. They will also staff visitors centers and conduct maintenance, as well as continue working on environmental rules they hope to complete before next fall's hunting season. So far, the biggest visible impact of the shutdown for the general public has been at the national parks, where the absence of staff has meant a pileup of trash and safety violations. But at least one park appears to have had enough. Joshua Tree National Park announced it planned to close temporarily Thursday to deal with sanitation and safety issues. Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee have estimated that NPS is losing $400,000 a day in fees.

Anne Flaherty,, Stephanie Ebbs , Quinn Owen

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/latest-government-shutdown-workers-face-missing-paychecks-friday/story?id=60260380

2019-01-10 18:41:27+00:00

labour

employment

themanchestereveningnews--2019-07-02--Tameside to get new 10m science park which will bring 200 new jobs

themanchestereveningnews

Tameside to get new £10m science park which will bring 200 new jobs

Town hall bosses have agreed to sell land to create a new science park which could bring an economic boost of £10 million investment into Tameside . The executive cabinet approved the sale of two parcels of land covering more than three hectares at Hattersley Industrial Estate in Hyde to the RSK Group for £400,000. The company, which provides engineering and environmental consultancy and testing services, received planning permission earlier this year for a new facility at the site which could create 200 extra jobs in the borough. The new 4,700 sqm site will house geosciences laboratory firm Envirolab, part of the RSK Group, which tests soil and ground water for clients, including local authorities. It currently operates from premises at Sandpits Business Park in Hyde, and the intention is to bring another RSK company to the new location. The new director of growth at Tameside council, Jayne Traverse, told councillors the relocation would support the 'continued expansion' of the business. "We visited the business last week and they're really packed out on their current premises, which is great news because it means that they are expanding and doing well and need more space," she said. "We're talking about roughly £10m of inward investment coming into Tameside through this business. "They have around 80 employees at the moment so there is a potential to create 200 jobs over the next five years as it continues to expand, so really good news from an economic growth perspective." The new development will be known as Hattersley Science and Technology Park. The 80 jobs that currently exist in the borough would be safeguarded by the expansion, the committee report states. Currently the site is open grassland with scattered trees and bushes, and has been a target for flytipping. The proposal, which has been approved by the planning committee, includes the creation of a two-storey laboratory for testing and analysis of soil and water samples, as well as general storage and a light industrial workshop. There will be 127 car spaces created, with eight disabled spaces, as well as spaces for lorries and bicycle storage.

newsdesk@men-news.co.uk (Charlotte Green)

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/tameside-new-10m-science-park-16517900

2019-07-02 10:45:47+00:00

labour

labour market

aljazeera--2019-01-31--India unemployment rate highest in 45 years Report

aljazeera

India unemployment rate highest in 45 years: Report

The unemployment rate in India has reached its highest in 45 years, according to a report in the Business Standard newspaper that cited an official survey withheld by the government. The news comes only months before Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces a tough race in India's general elections. A political controversy over the survey erupted after the acting chairman and another member of the body that reviewed the jobs data resigned, saying there had been a delay in its scheduled December release and alleging interference by other state agencies. The survey, conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) between July 2017 and June 2018, showed that the unemployment rate stood at 6.1 percent, higher than the previous high point reached in 1972-1973, local media reported. That year, when India was just coming out of a war with Pakistan and hit by global oil shocks like other oil-importing countries, the unemployment rate was 5.18 percent. The government has questioned the report, saying it was "not verified". "The government has not released data on employment as it is still being processed. When the data is ready we will release it," Rajiv Kumar, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, a government policy advisory body, said at a press conference in New Delhi. Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the main opposition Congress party who the polls show is closing in on Modi's lead in the May election, said the job report showed "a national disaster". Over the last couple of years, India's economy has been growing rapidly by about seven percent annually, but uneven growth has meant that there are not enough new jobs to keep pace. Young people make up a significant share of the unemployed, with 18.7 percent of urban males aged between 15 and 29 without work, and a jobless rate of 27.2 percent for urban females in the same age group. The numbers show that Modi's ambitious Make-in-India project, which aims to lift the share of domestic manufacturing from 17 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to about 25 percent and create jobs for an estimated 1.2 million youth entering the market, has failed to take off. The labour force participation rate, the proportion of the population that is working or seeking jobs, declined to 36.9 percent in 2017-2018 from 39.5 percent in 2011-2012, according to the report. The report also provides the first numbers since Modi's decision in November 2016 to withdraw most of the country's banknotes from circulation overnight. The survey comes a month after the All India Manufacturers’ Organisation released a report that said 3.5 million jobs had been lost since 2016. That report said the job losses were mainly due to demonetisation and rising working costs after the launch of a national sales tax in July 2017, which led to hundreds of thousands losing jobs in small businesses.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/india-unemployment-rate-highest-45-years-report-190131144720377.html

2019-01-31 16:13:21+00:00

labour

employment

bbcuk--2019-02-08--Labour row erupts over no confidence vote in Luciana Berger

bbcuk

Labour row erupts over no confidence vote in Luciana Berger

A Labour MP has accused John McDonnell of "letting his allies go after" Luciana Berger after a row erupted over her future in the party. Ms Berger is facing a vote of no confidence from local members for criticising Jeremy Corbyn. Shadow chancellor Mr McDonnell said she should reject claims she supported a "breakaway party" to show members she was "sticking with Labour". But Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie said his response was "ridiculous". Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson also backed Ms Berger, telling the Commons she had "our solidarity and... our support as she battles the bullying hatred from members of her own local party". And Labour MP Ian Austin - who faced suspension after a row over the party's anti-Semitism code - told PoliticsHome: "It's like something out of the Soviet Union's show trials where people were let off if they confessed their disloyalty and shouted 'Long Live Stalin'." Ms Berger - an outspoken critic of the party's handling of anti-Semitism allegations and its stance on Brexit - said she would be not be "distracted from fighting for the interests of my constituents". An extraordinary meeting has been called in the Liverpool Wavertree constituency next week to discuss two no confidence motions. The motions accuse Ms Berger of being against Mr Corbyn, saying: "Instead of fighting for a Labour government, our MP is continually using the media to criticise the man we all want to be prime minister." Votes of no confidence carry no official force within the Labour Party, but local activists could hold a "trigger ballot", where sitting Labour MPs can be forced to compete for selection as a candidate against all-comers, ahead of the next general election. Ms Berger has been the target of online abuse and had a police escort at last year's Labour Party conference following death threats. Earlier this week, she joined other MPs at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party calling for details on the party's efforts to tackle anti-Semitism to be released. In a statement, Ms Berger said she believed her constituents would judge her on her record and skills in representing them in Parliament. She reiterated her "long-held view that Brexit will be a disaster for the people of Liverpool Wavertree and the wider country", saying she would "not shy away from standing up" for her Remain-voting constituency. And she said she had made "no secret that, as a Jewish woman representing a city with a Jewish community, I have been deeply disturbed by the lack of response from Jeremy Corbyn as party leader and many in the wider leadership of the party to the anti-Semitism that stains our party". Ms Berger added: "Nothing will deter me from exposing anti-Semitism wherever it festers, including in the Labour Party where it is being wilfully ignored." Mr Leslie - a former shadow chancellor himself - told BBC Radio 4's World at One that Mr McDonnell had "demanded an oath of loyalty from her to those who are attacking her", adding: "I have never heard of such of a ridiculous situation. "He should never have allowed his allies to have gone after Luciana like that in the first place. I have a feeling they will realise this is a terrible, terrible judgement." Asked if he was considering whether to resign from the party, the MP did not rule it out, and said his "patience is wearing pretty thin" - namely around Labour's Brexit policy, as he supports a further referendum on whether to leave or remain in the EU. He said had "serious worries" about the direction of the leadership of the party, adding: "Of course I have my issues with Jeremy Corbyn and the leadership, but the bigger point is there is a country and our constituents to put first here. "If we keep getting told 'oh well get in line behind your party, shut up don't say anything, in fact, we're going to push you gradually out of the party for various reasons', don't expect us to just go quietly and say nothing. This is a serious moment." A number of Labour MPs tweeted their support for Ms Berger after the news of the no confidence motions broke on Thursday night, including former leader Ed Miliband and prominent backbencher Yvette Cooper. However, speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr McDonnell said the motion came about because Ms Berger is "associated" with rumours of a new centrist party being formed. "[The motion] is an expression of views," he said. "If people are doing that because Luciana has stood up against [anti-Semitism] that is completely wrong. "But from what I have seen on social media, it looks as though what has happened is Luciana has been in the media associated with a breakaway party and hasn't been clear that she rejects that." He condemned a Facebook post from one of the local Labour members calling Ms Berger a "disruptive Zionist", saying it was "completely wrong". But the shadow chancellor said: "My advice to Luciana is just tell people you are not supporting a breakaway party, you are sticking with the Labour Party, you are not jumping ship. "And my advice to the Labour Party members there is if there are differences of opinion there, get together, talk about it and see how you can support the campaign alongside your local MP." Other Labour MPs criticised Mr McDonnell's response, with Chuka Umunna tweeting to shadow cabinet members: "Are we going to act? Defend a colleague in the face of this outrage?" Ms Berger is not the first Labour MP to have faced a no confidence vote from their local parties over their views on Brexit. Others include Frank Field - who now represents Birkenhead as an independent MP - and Kate Hoey. Conservative Nick Boles also believes his constituency party in Grantham and Stamford is looking to oust him as a candidate at the next election. Meanwhile, Labour activists from the "Another Europe is Possible" group are targeting the constituencies of MPs who broke the whip and voted with the government over Theresa May's Brexit deal, calling it a "moment of reckoning". Seven Labour MPs backed an amendment supported by the government calling for "alternative arrangements" to the backstop element of Mrs May's plan - which aims to avoid a hard border returning between Northern Ireland and Ireland. And a total of 26 MPs either abstained or voted against an amendment by Yvette Cooper, which was backed by the Labour leadership, which would have allowed for an extension of Article 50 - the mechanism seeing the UK leave the EU on 29 March - by up to nine months, with the aim of avoiding a no-deal. The left-wing group, founded last summer, will campaign in around 30 constituencies to "apply pressure" to the MPs to vote against Mrs May's deal. Gordon Watson, the Labour deputy leader of Rotherham Council, warned that the rebels could end up facing de-selection if they don't vote the deal down, adding: "Failing to vote against the Tory deal is essentially propping up a government that is wrecking our communities. People are running out of patience."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47169929

2019-02-08 16:38:30+00:00

labour

employment

bbcuk--2019-05-15--Labours energy plan last thing National Grid needs

bbcuk

Labour's energy plan 'last thing' National Grid needs

The Labour Party's plans to nationalise the country's energy networks would hinder the shift to green energy, National Grid has said. The firm is the UK's largest transmitter of electricity and gas via its network of pylons and pipelines. Labour said its pledge to return it to public ownership would "usher in a Green Industrial Revolution" and tackle climate change. National Grid said the proposal was the "last thing" that was needed. The Labour proposals are contained in a document entitled Bringing Energy Home, due to be presented on Thursday by leader Jeremy Corbyn and Rebecca Long Bailey, shadow energy secretary. "In public hands, we can begin to address what is referred to as a 'trilemma' - providing energy that is low carbon, that is affordable, and that is secure," the report said. "Energy networks that are owned by the public and responsive to the public interest will be able to prioritise tackling climate change, fuel poverty and security of supply over profit extraction, while working with energy unions to support energy workers through the transition." However, after the report was leaked, National Grid said: "These proposals for state ownership of the energy networks would only serve to delay the huge amount of progress and investment that is already helping to make this country a leader in the move to green energy. "At a time when there is increased urgency to meet the challenges of climate change, the last thing that is needed is the enormous distraction, cost and complexity contained in these plans." Labour is committed to generating at least 60% of the UK's electricity and heat from renewable and low-carbon sources by 2030. It would take the four licensed and regulated electricity and gas transmission companies, including National Grid Electricity and National Grid Gas, back into public ownership and "replace existing private monopolies with publicly owned and locally run institutions". This is not the first time National Grid has hit out at Labour plans to nationalise the energy network. In 2017 the party's manifesto committed it to "take energy back into public ownership to deliver renewable energy, affordability for consumers, and democratic control", prompting the company's boss to tell the Guardian newspaper: "Clearly we do not think it is a good idea." The Conservative's vice chairman for policy, Chris Philp, said Labour's "ideological plan for the state to seize these companies would cost an eye-watering £100bn and saddle taxpayers with their debts". "It would leave politicians in Westminster in charge of keeping the lights on and leave customers with nowhere else to turn. "With no credible plan for how Labour would pay for this, more borrowing and tax hikes would be inevitable. "Through measures like our energy price cap, the Conservative government will continue to protect people from unfair bill rises while increasing renewable electricity to a record high."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48286563

2019-05-15 19:25:13+00:00

labour

employment

bbcuk--2019-05-21--British Steel should be nationalised urges Labour

bbcuk

British Steel should be nationalised, urges Labour

Labour has urged the government to nationalise British Steel in order to protect jobs and the steel industry. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the collapse of British Steel would have a "devastating impact" on Scunthorpe. British Steel is on the verge of administration as it continues to lobby for government backing, sources say. The UK's second-biggest steel maker had been trying to secure £75m in financial support to help it to address "Brexit-related issues". If the firm does not get the cash it would put 5,000 jobs at risk and endanger 20,000 in the supply chain. "If an agreement cannot be struck with British Steel, the government must act to take a public stake in the company to secure the long term future of the steelworks and protect peoples' livelihoods and communities," said Mr Corbyn. The government said it would leave "no stone unturned" in its support for the steel industry. British Steel's main plant is at Scunthorpe, but it also has a site in Teesside. Speaking in the House of Commons, Business Minister Andrew Stephenson said: "I can reassure the House that, subject to strict legal bounds, the government will leave no stone unturned in its support for the steel industry." UK Steel's director general, Gareth Stace, said: "The statement from the business minister today provided a glimmer of hope for the Scunthorpe site. "This does provide some breathing space for the company, its employees, and the wider steel sector, providing a potential route towards a stable and sustainable future." The request for emergency financial support from the government is understood to have been reduced from £75m to about £30m. In April, British Steel borrowed £100m from the government to enable it to pay an EU carbon bill, so it could avoid a steep fine. Reports have said that British Steel shareholder Greybull Capital and lenders have agreed to pump new money into the firm. However, unless a deal is reached by Tuesday afternoon, the firm could go into administration within 48 hours. EY would be expected to be appointed as administrators on Wednesday. If a company goes into administration, then the insolvency practitioners appointed to run the business will try to rescue it by selling it, or parts of it, as a going concern. But if that is not possible it will be liquidated, meaning that it will be closed down and its saleable assets will be sold. For staff in Scunthorpe, it's a waiting game. The BBC's consumer affairs correspondent Colletta Smith spoke to a British Steel staff member who was too worried to be named. He said that two of his colleagues have just got mortgages and are petrified they won't be able to make payments. News that the company is in trouble isn't a surprise though, as there are piles of finished steel on the factory floor, with no customers to send it to, he said. "We're doing a bit at work, but it's mostly sitting around doing nothing as the orders just aren't there". He said staff feel let down by the owners. "They've just stripped this company and now they're putting nothing back. Our only hope is a government bailout, but this time it feels different. I don't think they'll save us." Sources close to Greybull Capital say its lenders have told them that unless they can secure a £30m lifeline they will pull the plug on British Steel tomorrow. The timing of this could hardly be worse for the government coming as it does right before the European elections. Cynics might suggest that Greybull is not unhappy with the timescale of the plea. Business Secretary Greg Clark has a very tough decision, as I've already written. The question may be whether the government can put this down to Brexit mitigation and tap the same source of contingency funds Chris Grayling disastrously used to procure emergency ferry capacity. At least there would be an immediate dividend - to stave off the collapse of a firm that employs 4,500 people directly and has 20,000 more at risk in the supply chain. However, having already lent £100m to cover a genuinely Brexit-related carbon emissions bill - further assistance to a private company struggling in a deeply challenged industry may be a precedent they would rather not set. Last Thursday, British Steel said it had the backing of shareholders and lenders and that operations were continuing as usual while it sought a "permanent solution" from the government to its financial troubles. It is understood that along with administration, nationalisation or a management buyout are being discussed as fall-back options for the company. British Steel's troubles have been linked to a slump in orders from European customers ‎due to uncertainty over the Brexit process. The firm has also been struggling with the weakness of the pound since the EU referendum in June 2016 and the escalating trade US-China trade war. One of its biggest customers is Network Rail, 95% of whose rails are supplied by British Steel's Scunthorpe plant. In 2007, India's Tata conglomerate entered the UK steel market after it bought the Anglo Dutch group, Corus. In 2010, the business was renamed Tata Steel Europe. After a difficult few years, Tata sold the Scunthorpe long products division to private equity firm Greybull Capital for a nominal £1. Greybull's rescue came during the depths of the steel crisis in 2016 and saved more than 4,000 jobs. It then rebranded the company as British Steel and recently returned it to profit. On Monday, the government, trade unions and employers signed a UK Steel Charter in Parliament. The charter calls on the government and large companies to buy British to boost UK industry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48347371

2019-05-21 15:40:20+00:00

labour

employment

breitbart--2019-11-01--Italian Unemployment Rises to Nearly 10 Per Cent Under Leftist Coalition

breitbart

Italian Unemployment Rises to Nearly 10 Per Cent Under Leftist Coalition

The Italian unemployment rate is on the rise according to new statistics that put the rate up to 9.9 per cent under the leftist coalition of the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the Democratic Party (PD). The Italian National Institute of Statistics has reported that the unemployment rate grew by 0.3 per cent in September and that youth unemployment, those aged 15 top 24, is now at a staggering 28.7 per cent, Italian newspaper Il Giornale reports. “After the employment growth recorded in the first half of the year and the peak reached in June, starting from July the employment levels are in slight but constant decline, with the loss of 60,000 employed between July and September,” the report states. The vast majority of employment growth took place under the previous coalition government of the Five Star Movement with Matteo Salvini’s League (Lega) which ended in mid-August when Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned as Prime Minister. Italy has one of the highest unemployment rates in the European Union, behind only Spain and Greece according to Eurostat figures released in early October. Italy has also seen a “brain drain” of medical professionals in recent years as over 10,000 doctors and around 8,000 nurses have travelled overseas, further impacting the Italian economy as a whole. During the previous coalition, Mr Salvini attempted to pass a flat tax in order to boost the economy and reduce unemployment but was unable to secure the legislation before the fall of the government in August. Italy is not the only country in the EU to see a rise in unemployment numbers, with Sweden having also seen increases in unemployment and migrants having a far higher rate than native-born Swedes. The Scandinavian country now rivals countries like France and Italy in terms of joblessness. Even Germany, the economic powerhouse of Europe, saw a rise in jobless numbers in July, with the German Federal Employment Agency noting a five per cent unemployment rate as some fear that Germany may have already entered a recession in September.

Chris Tomlinson

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/jbCylT5mb_k/

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 12:49:38 +0000

labour

employment

breitbart--2019-12-06--Trudeau's Canada Loses 71,000 Jobs, Most Since Financial Crisis, Unemployment Jumps to 5.9%

breitbart

Trudeau's Canada Loses 71,000 Jobs, Most Since Financial Crisis, Unemployment Jumps to 5.9%

It looks like Donald Trump got the last laugh. A few days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was caught having a laugh at the expense of the U.S. president, the U.S. economy was reported to have added 266,000 jobs in November while Canada lost 71,200 jobs, the biggest monthly loss since the financial crisis, according to Canada’s national statistics agency. Unemployment in the U.S. fell to 3.5 percent, returning to the 50-year low hit earlier this year. Canadian unemployment jumped to 5.9 percent from 5.5 percent a month earlier. The diverging economies show that the U.S. has better withstood the global economic slowdown than its neighbor. The divergence also undermines the notion that Trump’s tariffs have weighed heavily on the U.S. economy. Canada has not imposed tariffs on China, yet its economy is underperforming. Economists badly over-estimated the strength of the Canadian economy, forecasting a gain of 10,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 5.5 percent. Manufacturing jobs fell by 27,500 in Canada but rose by 54,000 in the U.S.

John Carney

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/HngSvP562o0/

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 16:43:19 +0000

labour

employment

hotair--2019-10-04--Mixed bag from BLS Unemployment and new jobs both decline in September

hotair

Mixed bag from BLS: Unemployment and new jobs both decline in September

Now has the summer of our middling economic content extended into the autumn. Job creation in September continued its slowing pace, only adding 136,000 jobs to the US economy, while wages stagnated. The good news is that the unemployment rate dropped to 3.5%, a change made even better since it isn’t tied to any exodus from the workforce: The unemployment rate declined to 3.5 percent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 136,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment in health care and in professional and business services continued to trend up. … In September, the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 3.5 percent. The last time the rate was this low was in December 1969, when it also was 3.5 percent. Over the month, the number of unemployed persons decreased by 275,000 to 5.8 million. … The labor force participation rate held at 63.2 percent in September. The employment-population ratio, at 61.0 percent, was little changed over the month but was up by 0.6 percentage point over the year. The last time the unemployment rate hit 3.5% was when Richard Nixon was in his first year as president, CBS’ Mark Knoller observes. That’s unquestionably good news, as is the fact that it didn’t take a drop in the workforce numbers to achieve it. The Household survey does have some odd anomalies that might have contributed to it, such as a drop in 275K in the unemployed and an addition of 391K in the employed categories, which should have needed an additional 400,000 jobs or so to accomplish from the Establishment survey. However, it’s the civilian labor force number alone that provides the denominator for the U-3 measurement, and that looks relatively stable at +117,000. The BLS provided more good news in the revisions, which added 45,000 jobs to the previous two months. As their chart shows, however, that’s not enough to move any of the last six months above the maintenance level for keeping up with population growth: Job creation has been slowing since late last year, which makes the warning signs on wages look more ominous. Hourly earnings dropped slightly in September and hours didn’t expand, suggesting that the market has at least temporarily become static: In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls, at $28.09, were little changed (-1 cent), after rising by 11 cents in August. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have increased by 2.9 percent. In September, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees rose by 4 cents to $23.65. (See tables B-3 and B-8.) The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged at 34.4 hours in September. In manufacturing, the average workweek and overtime remained at 40.5 hours and 3.2 hours, respectively. The average workweek of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees held at 33.6 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.) That annual wage-growth number is the lowest in 14 months, CNBC noted. Until now, the continued growth in wages appeared to indicate a healthy job market. This is only one month, but it’s still a warning about what the impact of a low-job-creation environment will eventually produce. The Trump administration needs that wage growth to keep pace in order to maintain consumer confidence and its political support. CNBC’s Jeff Cox reported the results as a seriously mixed bag for the economy: The jobless rate dropped 0.2 percentage points to 3.5%, matching a level it last saw in December 1969. A more encompassing measure that includes discouraged workers and the underemployed also fell, declining 0.3 percent points to 6.9%, matching its lowest in nearly 19 years and just off the all-time low of 6.8%. Also, the jobless rate for Hispanics also hit a new record low, while the level for African Americans maintained its lowest ever. At the same time, the economy saw another sluggish month of growth. The nonfarm payrolls count missed the 145,000 estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones; the expectation on the jobless rate was to hold steady at 3.7%. Wages also were a disappointment, with average hourly earnings little changed over the month and up just 2.9% for the year, the lowest increase since July 2018. The AP’s Christopher Rugaber writes that this sense of slowing down has already begun to impact consumer behavior: The job market is the economy’s main bulwark. As long as hiring is solid enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising, most Americans will likely remain confident enough to spend, offsetting other drags and propelling the economy forward. But a slump in hiring or a rise in the unemployment rate in coming months could discourage consumers from spending as freely as they otherwise might during the holiday shopping season. Consumers are still mostly optimistic, and their spending has kept the economy afloat this year. But they may be growing more cautious. Consumer confidence dropped sharply in September, according to the Conference Board, a business research group, although it remains at a high level. Americans also reined in their spending in August after several months of healthy gains. The 0.1% increase in consumer spending that month was the weakest in six months. At some point, Donald Trump may have to decide which is more important to his re-election chances — winning a long trade war with China or a revitalized job-creation market with a jump in wages. That point is rapidly approaching.

Ed Morrissey

https://hotair.com/archives/ed-morrissey/2019/10/04/mixed-bag-bls-unemployment-new-jobs-decline-september/

2019-10-04 13:21:14+00:00

labour

employment

aljazeera--2019-01-09--Japan Korea forced labour dispute deepens amid asset freeze

aljazeera

Japan, Korea forced labour dispute deepens amid asset freeze

Japan says it will seek talks with South Korea following a court decision's to seize the Korean assets of a Japanese company that has been ordered to pay compensation to victims of wartime slavery. The Daegu District Court in the South Korean city of Pohang on Wednesday said it had approved a request to freeze the assets of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation because the company was refusing to comply with a landmark ruling to compensate the former labourers. In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that Japan's government took the court decision seriously and that ministers would meet on Wednesday afternoon to discuss how to respond. Last year, South Korea's top court ordered Nippon Steel to pay 100 million won ($88,000) each to four plaintiffs who had been forced to work for the company during the Japanese colonisation of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945. Japan maintains all colonial-era compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty between the two countries, and the court decision could further chill diplomatic ties. Many South Koreans still harbour strong resentment against Japan for the abuses suffered during the occupation and World War II. The Japanese company holds 2.34 million shares, a stake valued at around $9.7m, in its joint venture with South Korean steelmaker POSCO. South Korea's Yonhap news agency, citing an unidentified official at the Pohang office, reported the district court decided to freeze 81,075 of the 2.34 million shares, rather than the entire stake. Yonhap said the asset freeze would take effect once a related court document had been delivered to the joint venture. The Associated Press news agency said the district court could not immediately confirm the Yonhap report. In November, South Korea's Supreme Court ordered a second Japanese company, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, to compensate 10 former Korean workers, drawing a strong rebuke from Japan.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/japan-korea-forced-labour-dispute-deepens-asset-freeze-190109025256620.html

2019-01-09 03:42:34+00:00

labour

labour relations

aljazeera--2019-01-16--Tunisias powerful labour union to stage strike over wages

aljazeera

Tunisia's powerful labour union to stage strike over wages

Tunisia's government and its powerful workers' union have failed to reach a deal to raise the wages for about 670,000 civil servants, officials said, making a nationwide strike this week likely. A strike by the Tunisia General Labour Union (UGTT) would include all airports, ports and government offices. Tunisia is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to freeze public sector wages to help reduce the country's budget deficit. "The negotiations with the government ended without any result, and we will go on strike on Thursday," Hafedh Hfaidh, an UGTT official, said. A government source told Reuters news agency that the negotiations had failed despite a new proposal from the government, without providing any details. It was not immediately clear whether more talks would be held on Wednesday - sometimes, strikes get averted at the last minute. Tunisia's economy has been in crisis since the toppling of autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011, with unemployment and inflation shooting up. About 670,000 public sector workers went on strike and thousands protested across Tunisia last November to press the government to raise wages. The government aims to cut the public sector wage bill to 12.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 from the current 15.5 percent, one of the world's highest levels, according to the IMF. The public sector wage bill had doubled to about 16 billion dinars ($5.5bn) in 2018 from 7.6 billion dinars ($2.6bn) in 2010. Tunisia struck a deal with the IMF in December 2016 for a loan programme worth around $2.8 billion to overhaul its ailing economy with steps to cut chronic deficits and trim bloated public services, but progress has been slow. The government wants to cut the budget deficit to about 3.9 percent of GDP this year from about 5 percent last year and 6.2 percent in 2017.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/tunisia-powerful-labour-union-stage-strike-wages-190116061035713.html

2019-01-16 07:18:19+00:00

labour

labour relations

aljazeera--2019-02-25--UK opposition Labour Party moves to back second Brexit vote

aljazeera

UK opposition Labour Party moves to back second Brexit vote

Britain's main opposition Labour Party has said it will back a second referendum on Brexit if parliament rejects its alternative plan for leaving the European Union. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will on Monday evening tell his MPs the party is "committed to … putting forward or supporting an amendment in favour of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory [Conservative] Brexit being forced on the country," a statement on Labour's website said. Corbyn has been under pressure for some time from elements of his own party to support a second referendum. Last week, eight legislators quit Labour, in part owing to frustration over his handling of Brexit. Labour's statement on Monday said the party would put an amended plan for Brexit to the British parliament this week and also support a separate cross-party motion which seeks to rule out the possibility of the United Kingdom exiting the European Union without a withdrawal agreement. The alternative Brexit strategy would include a "comprehensive customs union with a UK say", "close alignment" with the EU's single market, protection for Britain's role in the bloc's various agencies and a wide-reaching "security agreement", the party's statement added. Labour's Brexit Secretary Kier Starmer said in a tweet the party would back a second referendum on membership of the EU should MPs dismiss Labour's Brexit plan during a series of votes expected to take place in the British parliament on Wednesday. The move is likely to cheer many of Labour's members who have backed calls for a so-called "people's vote" but could also threaten the party's popularity in pro-Brexit districts represented by Labour MPs, particularly in northern England. British Prime Minister Theresa May's ruling Conservative Party, meanwhile, accused Corbyn of wanting to "betray the will of the British people and ignore the biggest democratic vote in our nation's history". "Labour have ripped up their promise to respect the referendum result and are now pursuing a divisive second referendum that would take us back to square one," the Conservative Party said in a post on its official Facebook page. Both of the country's major parties fractured last week, with parliamentarians quitting May's ruling Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party suggesting both were failed remnants of a political system in meltdown. Nearly 52 percent of Britons - more than 17 million people - voted to leave the EU during the UK's June 2016 referendum on membership of the bloc. Labour's announcement came after May postponed on Sunday an expected "meaningful vote" on her widely maligned Brexit plan, which had been expected to be held this week. May said MPs would have their say on the divorce deal sometime before March 13 instead. "It is still within our grasp to leave the European Union with a deal on the 29th of March and that is what we are working to do," she said. With just 32 days until Britain is due to leave the 28-member EU, May is making last-ditch efforts to win concessions from the bloc on the divorce package, brokered after months of arduous negotiations between London and Brussels. The EU has ruled out reopening the withdrawal agreement, though both sides are looking at a possible legal addendum to reassure MPs who worry the controversial Irish border backstop clause could keep Britain trapped in the EU's orbit for years to come. The mechanism would guarantee no re-establishment of a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event that post-Brexit trade negotiations between the UK and the EU prove unsuccessful. European Council President Donald Tusk said on Monday the EU was open to Britain postponing its exit from the bloc beyond March 29, adding he had discussed the "legal and procedural context of a potential extension" when he met Sunday with May on the sidelines of an EU-Arab summit in Egypt. "I believe in the situation we are in, an extension would be a rational solution but Prime Minister May still believes she's able to avoid this scenario," Tusk told a closing summit press conference. May has repeatedly ruled out delaying Brexit, arguing it would not solve the ongoing impasse shrouding British politics.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/uk-opposition-leader-corbyn-call-brexit-vote-190225175610498.html

2019-02-25 18:40:44+00:00

labour

labour relations

conservativehome--2019-02-06--WATCH If they are worried about No Deal they have to vote for a deal Lidington tells Labour

conservativehome

WATCH: “If they are worried about No Deal, they have to vote for a deal”, Lidington tells Labour

“The government is in danger of sleepwalking the country towards no plan,” says @EmilyThornberry. @DLidington responds saying it’s time for Labour to put the “national interest first” and vote for a deal.

Conservative Home

https://www.conservativehome.com/video/2019/02/watch-if-they-are-worried-about-no-deal-they-have-to-vote-for-a-deal-lidington-tells-labour.html

2019-02-06 16:04:26+00:00

labour

labour relations

eveningstandard--2019-10-07--MP Stephen Hepburn suspended from Labour Party over sexual harassment allegation

eveningstandard

MP Stephen Hepburn suspended from Labour Party over sexual harassment allegation

A Labour politician has been suspended from the party following a complaint of sexual harassment. Stephen Hepburn has been the Member of Parliament for Jarrow, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, since 1997. It is understood his case has been referred to the National Constitutional Committee and he has been suspended pending that process. A Labour Party spokeswoman said: "The Labour Party takes all complaints of sexual harassment extremely seriously, which are fully investigated and any appropriate disciplinary action taken in line with the Party's rules and procedures. "We are determined to challenge and overturn sexual harassment and misogyny within politics and across society as a whole. We cannot comment on individual complaints."

Tim Baker

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-mp-stephen-hepburn-suspended-from-party-over-sexual-harassment-allegation-a4256016.html

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 13:36:00 GMT

labour

labour relations

ipolitics--2019-02-12--Charities applaud efforts to end child and forced labour in supply chains

ipolitics

Charities applaud efforts to end child and forced labour in supply chains

The Trudeau government must use recently announced consultations on corporate supply chain legislation to strengthen requirements for Canadian companies to report and respond to child labour, modern slavery and other human rights violations, a coalition of Canadian humanitarian organizations said Tuesday. “We are excited that this is on the agenda of the Canadian government,” said Michael Messenger, president and CEO of World Vision Canada, a charity that supports children and their families abroad living in extreme poverty. “But there is a sense of urgency for us to do our part to ensure we as Canadians are equipped to make good decisions and that Canadian businesses are equipped to report and take action (to make sure child and forced labour) are not contributing to the goods we use every day.” Last week, the federal government announced it would initiate consultations this year on prospective legislation aimed at eradicating child labour in supply chains. It came in the government’s official response to the House foreign affairs and international development committee’s report on the issue. “The Government of Canada will apply its existing platforms, networks, multilateral and bilateral tools to combat child and forced labour in supply chains involving Canada,” International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said in her response. “We will further seize opportunities for advocacy and programming, where possible, to contribute to the global effort to address this issue and will begin a process in 2019 to consult on possible supply chain legislation.” The file actually falls into the portfolio of Labour Minister Patty Hajdu, not Minister Bibeau’s office, according to Messenger. The committee’s report issued seven recommendations to government to help eradicate all forms of child labour in supply chains, including prioritizing the elimination of child and forced labour in Canada’s international assistance programs, discussing these issues in free trade talks, and supporting the training of law enforcement in foreign countries to stamp out the practice. It also called for Canada to improve access to educational resources for children and adults “affected by forced labour,” bolster the capacity of Canadian businesses to monitor their own supply chains and support initiatives to encourage businesses to eliminate child and forced labour. World Vision, fellow charity Save the Children, Fair Trade Canada and the Canadian chapter of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, known more popularly as UNICEF, released a joint statement Tuesday applauding the Liberal government for beginning consultations, but calling for urgent action. Messenger warned that the need for supply chain legislation is pressing, with more than $34 billion of products imported into Canada in 2016 potentially having been made by child or forced labour. He wants any legislation to strengthen reporting requirements from companies on potential exposure to child and forced labour in their supply chains, saying examples from other jurisdictions show that heightened public accountability has proven to be effective. Messenger said World Vision and other partners worked tirelessly to get the issue on the radar of the Canadian public and federal government, organizing rallies, pushing through petitions, studying foreign examples and offering advice and insights. World Vision appeared before the foreign affairs committee in November 2017. When asked, Messenger said he didn’t know if the consultations would be able to lead to the development of legislation before the next election this fall but was buoyed by the attention and support the initiative has received from Ottawa. Either way, World Vision and its partners will continue to call for “tangible” steps to help stamp out child labour across the world. “We’re not going to let up,” he added.

Marco Vigliotti

https://ipolitics.ca/2019/02/12/charities-applaud-efforts-to-end-child-and-forced-labour-in-supply-chains/

2019-02-12 23:17:11+00:00

labour

labour relations

ipolitics--2019-12-17--New study says intergovernmental cooperation on labour market policy has improved

ipolitics

New study says intergovernmental cooperation on labour market policy has improved

A new study suggests the provinces and Ottawa are enjoying a much improved relationship when it comes to developing labour market policy, as evidenced by new workplace development agreements and the establishment of Labour Market Information Council and Future Skills Centre. The study, authored by Andrew McDougall and published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, details how the once-acrimonious relationship, marked by jurisdictional squabbles and regional politics, has improved as it has shifted more toward developing pragmatic solutions. “In the last couple of years, you’ve really seen both Ottawa and the provinces put some of that politics aside a little bit,” McDougall, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Toronto Scarborough, told iPolitics in an interview Tuesday. “And now you see a much more collaborative relationship than you had previously, and one that’s really started to be more focused on solutions to the problems that those orders of government have identified rather than focusing on jurisdictional disputes,” he said. The long-standing jurisdictional issues over labour market policy essentially boils down to Ottawa’s push for a national public employment service that helps match supply and demand clashing with the province’s exclusive constitutional responsibility for education, according to the study. The provincial governments have long maintained that their own training and skills development are more effective because they respond to regional and local conditions. In particular, Quebec has argued for decades that the federal government should not be providing training programs. Finally, in response to the nail-biter 1995 Quebec referendum and pressure from some other provinces, Ottawa began devolving leadership for training and skills programs, leading to a series of intergovernmental agreements governing the transfer of responsibility and funds to the provincial governments. Ottawa, though, remained involved in programs for Indigenous people, youth and people with disabilities. READ MORE: Liberals focus on skills, housing, students and seniors in pre-election budget During this devolution period, the study points to the forum for federal, provincial and territorial labour market ministers for playing an important role in intergovernmental relations in this sector. McDougall credited pressure from constituents favouring more amicable relationships between the various orders of government and a cooling of some of the regional political tensions for helping to improve intergovernmental relations on the file. But he also said a big factor was the development of certain norms and expectations around co-operation that have crystallized during the devolution period. For example, he said Quebec has long had an interest in the devolution of federal programs and, now that it has achieved that, the other provinces and Ottawa have accepted this arrangement, thus cooling the politics behind the push. “Now there are certain norms that have developed in this field around collaboration, which hadn’t existed previously. And it becomes much more difficult for an order of government to try to pull something unexpected,” McDougall explained. “So it kind of evolved together into this more collaborative relationship. And then some of the politics that was behind (it) sort of faded a little bit.” The development of new institutions and communications channels have also led to the creation of their “own norms,” which have a “constraining factor on what the expectations are and what’s possible,” according to McDougall. Intergovernmental relations, he said, have been “notoriously flexible” when it comes to what governments want to do, but there is a “constraining force that comes in from these past practices that developed when you see the same people over and over again.” While McDougall’s study credits developments in the labour market arena by the current federal Liberal government, such as reaching workplace development agreements with all the provinces and territories and collaborating to create the Labour Market Information Council and Future Skills Centre, he said this work towards improved intergovernmental relations has been a “long standing process.” However, he said it has been helped by the Liberal government’s greater emphasis on skills training and working with the provinces, in contrast to the “open federalism” practised by the former Harper government that was more focused on the different orders of governments staying in their own jurisdictional avenues. For example, the Liberals in the 2019 budget introduced a new personalized training benefit program, dubbed the Canada Training Benefit. The benefit includes a $250 non-taxable credit to help pay for training fees and four weeks of income support through the Employment Insurance program that will help workers cover living expenses while on training (and not receiving income).

Marco Vigliotti

https://ipolitics.ca/2019/12/17/new-study-says-intergovernmental-cooperation-on-labour-market-policy-has-improved/

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 19:27:13 +0000

labour

labour relations

aljazeera--2019-02-07--Qatar remains committed to labour reforms after Amnesty report

aljazeera

Qatar remains 'committed' to labour reforms after Amnesty report

Doha, Qatar - The government of Qatar has vowed to treat labour reforms as "a journey and not an end in itself" in response to an Amnesty International report that warned the country it was "running out of time" to stamp out labour abuse. "From the outset, we have said that we understood labour reform would be a journey and not an end in itself," said a statement released by the Qatari government on Wednesday. Amnesty, in its report published earlier this week, said migrant workers continued to be "vulnerable to serious abuses including forced labour and restrictions on freedom of movement". "Time is running out if the Qatari authorities want to deliver a legacy we can all cheer, namely a labour system that ends the abuse and misery inflicted upon so many migrant workers every day," said Amnesty's Stephen Cockburn. Qatar and its labour laws have been under the spotlight ever since it was named the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. And while Amnesty acknowledged Qatar had undertaken a reform process, it added that work still needed to be done. Qatar, a gas-rich peninsula in the Gulf, has said that it was committed to labour reforms, adding that "lasting changes" take time. "Far from seeing time as running out, the Government of the State of Qatar understands further change is needed and we remain committed to developing these changes as quickly as possible, while ensuring they are effective and appropriate for our labour market conditions," the statement further said. "Practical, efficient and lasting change takes time and that is what we have committed to." The statement also added that the government "penalised or banned" almost 12,000 companies in the country for violating its labour laws. Last year, Qatar amended its residency law to allow most migrant workers to leave the country without an exit visa, a move that was termed a "huge step" by the International Organization for Labour (ILO). According to the head of the ILO Project Office in Qatar, Houtan Homayounpour, great progress has been made with regards to labour reforms in the country but the work is far from finished. "There are remaining milestones to be achieved, such as the removal of the exit visa for domestic workers, a non-discriminatory permanent minimum wage, the removal of the NOC requirement, to name a few," Homayounpour told Al Jazeera. "These are in line with the agreed priorities with the government as a work plan for 2019." Although the Amnesty report focuses on conditions of the nearly two million migrant workers in Qatar, not just the 30,000 on direct World Cup projects, Amnesty said FIFA had an "ongoing responsibility" to prevent abuse. In response, football's governing body welcomed Qatari labour reforms in recent months and its continued work with "stakeholders". In late 2017, a number of contractors working for Qatar 2022 launched an initiative to partially reimburse workers, assigned to some World Cup projects, recruitment fee they had been unlawfully charged in the country of origin. Hassan al-Thawadi, secretary-general of the World Cup 2022 organising committee, said it was the organisation's belief that "this World Cup can be a catalyst for change, both in Qatar and in other parts of the world". "Unethical recruitment is a global issue and an area many countries struggle to manage. All too often, the very people who have left their home to provide for their families are the ones exploited," said al-Thawadi.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/qatar-remains-committed-labour-reforms-amnesty-report-190207091424598.html

2019-02-07 09:51:44+00:00

labour

labour relations

westernjournal--2019-02-08--Former Fox News Reporter Takes New Job at State Department

westernjournal

Former Fox News Reporter Takes New Job at State Department

Former Naval combat aviator and journalist Lea Gabrielle is leaving journalism for the time being to take a position at the State Department. She will be leading its counterpropaganda efforts, according to The Hill. Gabrielle worked at Fox News until last year and was employed with NBC News prior to that. The journalist’s official position will be the head of the Global Engagement Center, working to stop the spread of terrorist messaging and debunk disinformation from foreign sources. TRENDING: Major Claims from Stacey Abrams’ SOTU Rebuttal Don’t Fair Well in Fact Check Gabrielle told Foreign Policy online that the top propaganda threats to the United States currently are China, Russia, Iran and various terrorist entities that wish to harm the U.S. “We have to realize that we are under attack by adversary countries and international terrorist organizations that are using propaganda and disinformation as a weapon,” she told the magazine. “They’re doing it because it’s cheap, and it’s easy, and because they can.” The GEC, which was originally designed to combat false messaging from terrorists, has expanded to deal with all sorts of propaganda and disinformation, according to Foreign policy. State Department deputy spokesperson Robert Palladino announced during a press briefing that Gabrielle will work as the special envoy and coordinator of the Global Engagement Center, CNN reported. “Lea will provide the permanent leadership we have needed to bolster the Global Engagement Center’s operations. And she will begin her duties on Monday,” Palladino said. “Lea is a former CIA-trained human intelligence operations officer, defense foreign liaison officer, United States Navy program director, Navy FA-18/C fighter pilot, and national television news correspondent and anchor at two different networks,” Palladino added. The department has previously suffered from a lack of funding, however, within the last year, politicians have insisted that the GEC once again receive the funding that it needs to function at peak performance. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who has been a champion of the GEC, said in a statement that he is “looking forward” to working with Gabrielle. “As we fight to ensure that the GEC is fully funded and staffed, I hope she’ll be able to elevate the profile and importance of the work that the GEC does to combat propaganda and disinformation,” he said. Gabrielle has requested $55 million in funding for the 2019 fiscal year, but that budget amount could increase to $115 million, according to Foreign Policy, who cited a State Department spokeswoman. “Since Secretary Pompeo came into office the GEC has been a priority and has received its full funding,” the spokeswoman told Foreign Policy in an email. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Savannah Pointer

https://www.westernjournal.com/former-fox-news-reporter-job-state-department/

2019-02-08 23:30:40+00:00

labour

labour relations

abcnews--2019-01-10--The latest on the government shutdown from missing paychecks to unemployment claims

abcnews

The latest on the government shutdown, from missing paychecks to unemployment claims

The ongoing government shutdown is about to turn into the longest one in U.S. history, and that's raising questions about what will happen next. By Friday, many of the 800,000 federal workers affected are expected to have missed their first paycheck since the shutdown began three weeks ago. And by Saturday, the funding lapse will be the longest in history at 22 days, surpassing the 21-day holiday shutdown that stretched into 1996. The missing paychecks are likely to trigger at least some unemployment claims with states, as well as possible resignations by federal workers who have grown tired of the instability. That could include airline security personnel, prison guards, food inspectors, Coast Guard personnel and border patrol officers. Already, an estimated 4,500 people have filed for unemployment in the nation's capital. Airline workers are showing up on Capitol Hill urging Congress to reach a deal, and a separate major union rally is planned for Thursday. For now, most agencies say there haven't been any major disruptions to government operations because workers deemed essential -- about 420,000 -- have been ordered to keep working despite not being paid. At least two lawsuits have been filed on their behalf, with major unions arguing that requiring work without pay isn't fair. But as one agency official put it, if the shutdown extends past February, "we'll be digging into the couch cushions" to keep the most important operations afloat. Here's a look at the latest shutdown developments and what could happen next: Washington's city government estimates that about 4,500 people -– 3,745 federal workers and 822 federal contractors -- already have filed for unemployment as a direct result of the shutdown. That's likely just the beginning. Federal workers can file for unemployment benefits where they worked, and, according to one major union, some 85 percent of the federal workforce exists outside Washington. Rules vary from state to state. But it's generally expected that employees would have to repay any unemployment benefits if they receive back pay once the shutdown ends. There is one small comfort for federal workers though: The Office of Personnel and Management on Wednesday said that employees required to work during the shutdown will be able to reschedule any paid time off they may have lost. Food stamp recipients will have access to their full benefits for February, even if the partial government shutdown continues, the Agriculture Department told reporters late Tuesday. The department said it will work with states to load benefits onto recipients' cards by Jan. 20, just within the deadline for a provision that allows them to pay out benefits, even without a budget. Still a concern are expiring contracts for a program by the Department of Housing and Urban Development that subsidizes rent and utilities for 1.2 million low-income families. HUD announced that some 1,150 contracts with private landlords have expired since the shutdown, with another 500 set to expire later this month and 500 more next month. The agency sent the landlords letters earlier this month urging them to dip into any reserves, and an agency spokesman said he didn't expect any evictions to take place because landlords know they will eventually get paid when the shutdown ends. "There have never been evictions of any kind because of government shutdowns," HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan said. Worth noting though is that if the shutdown stretches into February, which is possible considering the lack of progress in budget talks, HUD and other agencies would be working in uncharted territory. The local water provider in Washington said the federal government is short $5 million of the $16.5 million it owes, according to a recent letter it received from the Treasury Department. Matthew Brown, chief financial officer at the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority, known as D.C. Water, said they usually don't charge late fees to customers like the federal government and the delayed payments won't immediately hurt the water authority's pocket books. "It would probably be, just off the top of my head, approximately a year before it begins to be a real problem," Brown said. Also a concern are the air traffic controllers employed by the Federal Aviation Administration. This week, nearly 100 air traffic controllers went to Capitol Hill to call for an end to the shutdown. An association of the workers said they're already at a 30-year staffing low nationwide. They expect their first missing paycheck around Jan. 15. After the shutdown, routine domestic food inspections were suspended by the Food and Drug Administration, although foreign food inspections continued along with what the agency called surveillance of "high-risk" foods and facilities. Food and Drug Administrator Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Wednesday that the agency is "taking steps" to expand domestic food safety inspections further during the shutdown, focusing on high-risk facilities that make up a third of regular inspections. Gottlieb tweeted that he wants to bring food inspectors back to work as early as next week, though they still would not be paid until the government reopens. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is calling back employees to staff 38 national wildlife refuges across the country under a temporary 30-day plan that will rely on leftover money from its 2018 budget. Similar to the National Park Services, refuges were accessible to the public, minus the staff or access to visitors centers. The workers that come back will be carrying out prescribed burns to manage the areas and minimize wildfire risk. They will also staff visitors centers and conduct maintenance, as well as continue working on environmental rules they hope to complete before next fall's hunting season. So far, the biggest visible impact of the shutdown for the general public has been at the national parks, where the absence of staff has meant a pileup of trash and safety violations. But at least one park appears to have had enough. Joshua Tree National Park announced it planned to close temporarily Thursday to deal with sanitation and safety issues. Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee have estimated that NPS is losing $400,000 a day in fees.

Anne Flaherty,, Stephanie Ebbs , Quinn Owen

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/latest-government-shutdown-workers-face-missing-paychecks-friday/story?id=60260380

2019-01-10 18:41:27+00:00

labour

labour relations

21stcenturywire--2019-08-07--UK COLUMN Boriss Brexit Blag Tulsi vs Twitter Politics of Mass Shootings

21stcenturywire

UK COLUMN: Boris’s Brexit Blag, Tulsi vs Twitter, Politics of Mass Shootings

This week: Boris’s Brexit blag, and Brussels’ new ‘EU Army’ becomes reality. Also, election meddling by Twitter as the Silicon Valley attempt to derail Tulsi Gabbard’s insurgent presidential run. Also, two back-to-back mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton set the stage for an artificial civil war in America. All this and much more. Watch as UK Column News hosts Mike Robinson and Patrick Henningsen break down this week’s top stories. 21WIRE.TV MEMBERS CAN ALSO WATCH OUR SPECIAL EXTRA SESSION HERE: UKC Extra Time: Off-Air Discussion with Patrick & Mike

21wire

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/08/07/uk-column-boriss-brexit-blag-tulsi-vs-twitter-politics-of-mass-shootings/

2019-08-07 15:46:29+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-01-07--Khmer Rouge fall still dominates Cambodian politics 40 years on

aljazeera

Khmer Rouge fall still dominates Cambodian politics 40 years on

Phnom Penh, Cambodia - Forty years ago on Monday, Vietnamese tanks rolled through Phnom Penh, a city that had been a near ghost town during the Cambodia genocide, to signal the overthrow of the regime of Pol Pot, the ultra-communists' leader who managed to escape in a jeep at the last minute. It was the end of three years, eight months and 20 days of terror that had resulted in the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians. Large celebrations will take place at the Cambodian capital's Olympic Stadium on Monday to mark "Victory Over Genocide Day". Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who defected and helped overthrow them, is expected to deliver a speech lauding January 7 as the moment the country was saved from Pol Pot's murderous clutches. But while on the surface the overthrow of one of the 20th century's most brutal regimes should be a reason to celebrate, Cambodian politics are not as straightforward. The invasion had been in response to ruthless cross-border killings by the Khmer Rouge in Vietnam. Vietnamese forces, who were assisted by a far smaller group of former Khmer Rouge defectors, overthrew the Pol Pot regime with relative ease, although the civil war trudged on for another two decades. But rather than see the day as a liberation, the ruling party's detractors, including Sam Rainsy, the exiled acting leader of the dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), have branded January 7 as the start of an occupation by an historic enemy. Vietnamese forces did not leave Cambodian soil until 1989 and during that period installed Hun Sen as prime minister, a position he has retained since 1985. "Whatever they might say in private, the country has virtually no political figure who acts and speaks independently of these two views," reads the 2017 paper Moving Beyond The January 7 Narratives by the Future Forum think-tank. "Even today, Cambodian politicians, from Prime Minister Hun Sen and opposition leader Sam Rainsy on down, spend much of their energy fighting an old civil war which has little relevance to the problems facing most of Cambodia's 15 million people." "Without Vietnam, I was about to get killed right away because I was in jail already. At that time I told them I was a student, they put almost everybody in jail," Siphan said. Siphan said Sam Rainsy, who has long taunted Hun Sen with accusations of being a Vietnamese puppet, had no understanding of the importance of January 7 due to not living under the Pol Pot regime. "Sam Rainsy was living abroad; they never came across the suffering from the killings of the Khmer Rouge. They don't care," he said, pointing out that prominent opposition figures allied themselves with the Khmer Rouge in the 1980s. Meas Nee, a prominent Cambodian political analyst, also has little doubt of his fate had the Vietnamese not invaded. "My family's name was already on the blacklist to be killed," Nee said. The reason for Nee and his family being targeted was simple. They were deemed "new people" and had been placed in a "re-education village" near the Vietnamese border due to being educated - a serious red flag in the eyes of the Khmer Rouge. Nee and his family followed the Vietnamese for around 15km as forces poured across the border, sending the Khmer Rouge scarpering west. "It was dark ... and later the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge passed during the night while we were in the bush. We were sitting, seeing hundreds of Vietnamese army trucks pass by," he said. After a couple of nights hiding in the forest, Nee and his family returned to their village and started the task of rebuilding their lives. Like many Cambodians, Nee believes the truth of January 7 can be found somewhere between the "liberation" and "occupation" narratives. While appreciating the role some in Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party played in overthrowing the Khmer Rouge, many in the country do not look back on the ensuing occupation with fond memories, he pointed out. "More people decided to escape to the refugee camps in Thailand because they were scared that another communist state would be installed in Cambodia," Nee said. The Vietnamese would have occupied the country for longer than 10 years had it not been down to international pressure, he said. A notable critic of the Vietnamese occupation was Pen Sovann, who was installed as prime minister of Cambodia by the Vietnamese in 1981 before being removed and jailed for 10 years. He later joined the CNRP in 2012 before passing away four years later. "January 7 was a victory day but also a sad day [because] Vietnam violated Cambodian autonomy," Sovann told The Phnom Penh Post in 2001. "After January 7, from year to year Vietnamese have put pressure on all kinds of freedom of expression in Cambodia and the fate of Cambodia was decided by Vietnamese." Cambodia, including Phnom Penh, has changed beyond recognition from the devastation left in the wake of the Khmer Rouge in 1979. Terms such as "stability" and "peace" have long been buzzwords for Hun Sen, who has presented himself as the national saviour and the only true representative of the Cambodian people. But while there has been considerable economic growth on Hun Sen's watch, many young people have become tired of a lack of opportunities, widespread corruption and continued authoritarianism at the hands of a prime minister who has been accused of overseeing widespread human rights abuses. The CNRP tapped into this discontent and came within seven seats of a shock victory in the 2013 general election, before making hefty gains in local elections four years later. Then, in what many saw as a cynical move to assure victory in the 2018 general election, the CNRP was outlawed and its president, Kem Sokha, thrown in jail on widely discredited claims he was attempting to wage a revolution. Sam Rainsy, who has vowed to return to Cambodia despite facing jail on convictions widely thought to be politically charged, said that January 7 was becoming "more and more controversial in the eyes of the population". "It is not like under the communist regime during the Cold War when the only possible reasoning had to be in line with the official propaganda," he said. Sam Rainsy did, however, argue that January 7 rhetoric was losing its appeal with the younger generation. Sophal Ear, a Cambodian-US professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College who escaped the Khmer Rouge as a child, agreed with Sam Rainsy, but pointed out that the acting opposition leader had also refused to drop the issue. "I don't think he's ready to stop exploiting 7 January either as [a] trigger for Vietnam and the Vietnamese," Ear said. But Hun Sen's efforts to paint himself as a national saviour did not make sense for young people who had never known war, genocide or the origins of the ruling party, he added. "However, I think it's woven into the identity of the party," he said. "Changing the narrative is, I guess, not an option."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/khmer-rouge-topple-dominates-cambodian-politics-40-years-190106235355551.html

2019-01-07 01:07:48+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-01-26--Mexico stays neutral in Venezuela political crisis

aljazeera

Mexico stays neutral in Venezuela political crisis

The crisis in Venezuela has divided Latin America, but Mexico has refused to choose a side. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated Mexico's commitment to non-interventionism, saying Mexico is neither in favour nor against anyone. Mexico's neutrality could allow it to play the role of mediator between the sides, but the president said he will only do so if both sides can agree to participate in talks.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/mexico-stays-neutral-venezuela-political-crisis-190126152842450.html

2019-01-26 15:28:42+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-01-30--Venezuelans call for humanitarian aid as political crisis deepens

aljazeera

Venezuelans call for humanitarian aid as political crisis deepens

Caracas, Venezuela - Doctors, businessmen and other workers protested in major cities across Venezuela on Wednesday, calling for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the country and for President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Supporters of opposition leader Juan Guaido, who last week swore himself in as the interim president, waved flags and banners. Guaido’s proclamation came after the opposition-controlled National Assembly declared Maduro’s second term "illegitimate". Several smaller protests were held throughout the capital Caracas including in the neighbourhood of Altamira in the eastern part of the city. "We are tired of so much misery, of not getting medicine, of spending the day looking for food from one place to another," 47-year-old Ana Bello told Al Jazeera, waving a flag. Bello, an office secretary, used her lunch break to join the protests. In La Candelaria, in the centre of the city, protesters marched to the JM de los Rios Hospital, a paediatric centre. Some nurses and doctors left the health centre and joined the protest. "We ask that they let humanitarian aid in," nurse Maria Alvarez told local media. "Even though even our directors say it is not necessary, we know what it is like to see patients die due to lack of supplies," she was quoted as saying. Millions have left Venezuela since 2015, fleeing hyperinflation, poverty and food and medicine shortages. Protester Cesar Gonzalez, 55, said he wants his children and grandchildren to return to the country. "We're becoming a country of old people. We have no future," he told Al Jazeera. Guaido, who has the support of the United States, and several countries in the region, joined the protests outside the University Hospital of Venezuela's Central University where students chanted, "Guaido is here, Guaido is here and hope comes with him." "We will recover the health system of Venezuela," he told the crowd, repeating his call for the military and police forces to support him. Maduro accuses the opposition of staging a coup and says the US is waging an economic war aimed at removing him from power. On Monday, the US imposed sweeping sanctions on the state-owned oil firm, PDVSA. The US is also handing over control of some of Venezuela's bank accounts in the US to the opposition leader. Maduro, on Wednesday, released a video in which he called on Americans to oppose US President Donald Trump's plans for Venezuela. "We won't allow a Vietnam in Latin America," Maduro said in the video. "If the aim of the United States is to invade, they'll have a Vietnam worse than can be imagined." A day earlier, he told Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency that he would be willing to hold talks with Guaido "for the sake of Venezuela's peace and its future", backtracking from earlier comments. Elsewhere in Venezuela, residents went about their daily routine. "Things are hard, but I can't afford to stop working for two hours to go to Altamira to chant slogans," said Ana Gonzalez while trying to sell boxes of matches and retail cigarettes in a Caracas neighbourhood. She didn't want to say if she was against Maduro or what she thought about Guaido. Instead, she talked about how her business has changed due to inflation. Gonzalez said she now sells cigarettes, one stick at a time, adding that "not everyone has the money to buy a pack." Others, including retired bricklayer Aldres Romero blame the opposition for the political crisis. "They (the opposition) didn't want to go to the last May elections, it was their choice and now they cry fraud," he said. "I did vote, I voted for Maduro. The revolution gave me my pension and every month a box with food arrives to my house," said Romero, who was wearing a red shirt bearing the logo of former President Hugo Chavez.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/01/venezuelans-call-humanitarian-aid-political-crisis-deepens-190130225106119.html

2019-01-30 23:33:03+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-02-02--Venezuelan oil or Florida politics Why is Trump after Maduro

aljazeera

Venezuelan oil or Florida politics: Why is Trump after Maduro?

The United States has been quite transparent in its intentions regarding Venezuela - it is determined to get rid of the current government and install the unelected, self-declared president Juan Guaido. The White House is very clear - it wants to overthrow the governments in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua; and the US control over the world's largest oil reserves. However, there are concerns in Washington that the Trump administration has mistaken opposition to President Nicolas Maduro for support for US intervention, or for a candidate asking for military intervention. Al Jazeera's Shihab Rattansi takes a look at how American domestic politics is shaping Washington's policy on Venezuela.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/venezuelan-oil-florida-politics-trump-maduro-190202105550760.html

2019-02-02 10:55:50+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-02-16--Haitis political crisis disrupts economy and day-to-day life

aljazeera

Haiti's political crisis disrupts economy and day-to-day life

Protesters in Haiti say they won't back down until President Jovenel Moise resigns. However, Moise has refused to step down despite more than a week of unrest, sparked by anger over corruption and soaring prices.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/haitis-political-crisis-disrupts-economy-day-to-day-life-190216162434912.html

2019-02-16 16:24:34+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-02-28--Nicaragua resumes talks over political crisis after long delay

aljazeera

Nicaragua resumes talks over political crisis after long delay

Talks to resolve Nicaragua's political crisis have resumed in the capital Managua. Negotiations between the government and the opposition stalled last year over a violent crackdown on protests demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega. Dozens of protesters arrested during the unrest were released before Wednesday's meeting.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/02/nicaragua-resumes-talks-political-crisis-long-delay-190228133621140.html

2019-02-28 13:36:21+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-03-16--Algeria protests politics loom over derby of Algiers

aljazeera

Algeria protests, politics loom over derby of Algiers

From the working class neighbourhoods of Bab El Oued and the Casbah to central Algiers, public spaces are brimming with jersey-wearing supporters of MC Alger (MCA) and USM Alger (USMA). But on Thursday, as the two rival clubs prepared to battle for the local bragging rights, fans seemed more interested in the political arena than the football pitch. "I love MC Alger, I never miss a match," explained Abdellaoui, a vendor of football scarves and flags in the Lower Casbah. "But right now, this is more important," he added, pointing to an Algerian flag perched on his cart. A customer nearby jumped in: "If I just suffered a death in the family, how could I celebrate my friend's wedding? We have to fix the problems in the country before we can have fun in the stadium." Since February 22, hundreds of thousands of people have been protesting in Algiers and other parts of the country against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid to run for a fifth term in elections next month. As public pressure grew, the 82-year-old Bouteflika was earlier this week forced to withdraw from the race, postpone the April 18 polls and organise a national conference to restructure the constitution. The moves, however, have failed to appease protesters, who have continued taking to the streets to denounce what they see as the government's attempt to illegally extend the ailing leader's hold on power. On the streets, both MCA and USMA have been hugely influential in giving a voice to protesters - including the song La Casa del Mouradia by the latter's fans which has been completely adopted by Algerians from all walks of life. The song was named after Netflix's La Casa de Papel (Money Heist) TV series and lambasts Bouteflika's four terms of governance. "In the first [term], they tricked us with 'reconciliation', In the second [term] it became clear: 'La Casa del Mouradia', In the third [term] the country suffered due to personal interests, In the fourth [term] the puppet died and the problem remains." MCA supporters also have a song that has seeped into the movement - Fi Sog Elil, which translates as The Night Market. "Ask me why? I'll tell you to look underneath you, There are people who have lunch but not dinner, Ask me how? I'll tell you it's just like this, The authorities have left nothing, Ask me since when? I'll tell you for a while, In fact, I don't even remember, None of us have lived a good life..." On derby days, there are usually tens of thousands of supporters cramming into narrow ticket booth queues three to four hours before kick-off. But on Thursday, movement wasn't nearly as restricted. Earlier in the week, rumours began circulating that the rival fans would choreograph a "tifo" display before the match, brandishing an anti-establishment message for the world to see. However, the two groups of supporters quickly denied any possible cooperation, regardless of their shared stance against "Le Pouvoir" - a vague term Algerians use to refer to the shadowy clique of politicians, high-ranking military officials and oligarchs who they believe have been running the country. Late on Wednesday evening, two of MCA's biggest ultra groups decided to boycott the match, which on Thursday left some of the lower blocks of the Stade du 5 Juillet conspicuously empty. USMA's supporters, however, showed up en masse. As the match went under way, MCA largely dominated first-half possession on the pitch  - but USMA won the all-important battle of the terraces. There's a saying in Algerian football that the spectacle is not on the pitch but rather in the stands. USMA fans sang Qilouna, a song that criticises the government's exploration of shale gas reserves in the Algerian Sahara. On the stroke of half time, Mehdi Benaldhia put MCA ahead and, for a fleeting moment, 20,000 spectators were solely concentrated on a football match. After the break, every member from the USMA supporters' Ouled El Bahdja group raised their open palms and belted out "Oh, oh, there won't be a fifth [term]". Both sides went on to trade goals in the dying moments of the match but the most captivating moment of the second half came in the final five minutes. With the two teams deadlocked at 2-2, spontaneous unified chants broke out from the east and west stands. The first rallying cries responded to Ahmed Ouyahia, Algeria's recently deposed prime minister, who had previously told the tossing-flower protesters that that was how the war had started in Syria. "Oh Ouyahia, Algeria isn't Syria!" echoed throughout the bowels of the stadium. These chants were immediately followed by those in attendance addressing Bouteflika, who has yet to resign after delaying the elections despite his term coming to an end in late April. "Bouteflika, there won't be a fifth term," the fans sung. Meanwhile, the proceedings on the pitch ended with MCA converting a dubious penalty in the final moments of the match - and claiming the local bragging rights. As spectators filed out, focus shifted from the hotly contested football match to Friday's mass protests, which went on attract the highest number of demonstrators yet. One USMA supporter from out of town even laughed off the loss. "We are all still first in the league, and tomorrow [protesting on the streets], we are going to win!"

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/mass-protests-politics-loom-derby-algiers-190315181654770.html

2019-03-16 08:27:28+00:00

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-11-16--Bolivia expels Venezuelan diplomats amid political crisis

aljazeera

Bolivia expels Venezuelan diplomats amid political crisis

The interim administration has accused the diplomats of organising unrest in the wake of the former President Evo Morales' resignation. Venezuela has been a key ally of former president Evo Morales, who resigned this week and sought asylum in Mexico, following weeks of protests. On Friday, demonstrators were back on the streets demanding a democratic handover of power.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/bolivia-expels-venezuelan-diplomats-political-crisis-191116074320551.html

Sat, 16 Nov 2019 07:43:20 GMT

politics

political crisis

aljazeera--2019-12-03--Iraqi parties gather amid political crisis

aljazeera

Iraqi parties gather amid political crisis

Baghdad, Iraq - A delegation representing parliamentary bloc Sairoon (Forward), led by Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, has met with President Barham Salih as Iraqi politicians gathered in Baghdad to discuss a way forward after two months of anti-government protests. The meeting on Tuesday, which a source in the president's office confirmed to Al Jazeera, came after Iraq's parliament accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi. Abdul Mahdi, who has taken on a caretaker role, had offered to step down after Iraq's topic Shia scholar, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, urged a change in leadership. The delegation handed an official letter, seen by Al Jazeera, to Salih saying that "in line with our leader Muqtada al-Sadr's aim to end the sectarian muhasasa system, we relinquish our right as the largest bloc to nominate the next prime minister to the people." "The people are the largest bloc and should be the ones to nominate the next prime minister. Their choice is ours," added the letter. Introduced after the US invasion in 2003, the muhasasa political system apportions power among religious and ethnic groups, but many Iraqis believe that it has enabled rampant corruption among political elites and thousands have taken to the streets to call for an overhaul of the system. The protests have gripped Baghdad and the country's mainly Shia south since early October. At least 430 people have been killed and thousands of others wounded in a violent crackdown by security forces against the demonstrations. According to article 76 of the Iraqi constitution, the largest parliamentary bloc has the right to nominate a new prime minister within two weeks. The candidate will then be tasked by the president to form a new government within 30 days. As the winner of the highest number of seats in Iraq's May 2018 elections, Sairoon reiterated in its letter that it considers itself the largest bloc in Parliament. But Iraqi politicians have been unable to agree which parties control the largest bloc of seats in Parliament. Officials and experts have warned of potential political crisis similar to the one that arose after the May elections. Parliament's two main blocs, Sairoon and Fatah - which includes leaders associated with the paramilitary Popular Mobilisation Units headed by Hadi al-Amiri - resolved the political crisis by agreeing to form an alliance that nominated Abdul Mahdi as prime minister. As part of the ongoing negotiations to nominate a new prime minister, a delegation of 22 MPs representing 130 parliamentarians from across various Sunni, Shia and Kurdish parliamentary blocs and alliances also met Salih at the presidential palace in Baghdad, a parliamentary source told Al Jazeera. Considering themselves "the largest bloc" the delegation handed over a letter - seen by Al Jazeera - and signed by all 130 parliamentarians saying that they should be the ones to nominate the next prime minister in coordination with the protesters' demands and choice. The meetings came after a parliamentary session that was due to convene to discuss a new electoral law, one of the protesters' key demands, was postponed indefinitely. The proposed law increases the share of independent candidates but retains considerable power in the hands of political parties, including the right to appoint the prime minister. It was unlikely that demonstrators, who want a new electoral law that allows them to vote in their own leader, will accept the proposal. The United Nations Iraq envoy on Tuesday warned that the country was "at a crossroads" and that leaders must rise to the moment to build a stable, inclusive and prosperous country. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert told the UN Security Council that demonstrators have taken to the streets to demand the country reach its "full potential for the benefit of all Iraqis". Meanwhile, in Iraq's southern city of Najaf, a parliamentary committee met with the security forces at police headquarters in the holy city after protesters surrounded a key shrine amid concerns of a new outbreak of violence. At least 70 people were injured in clashes between protesters and security forces on Monday night near the grave of late Ayatollah Mohammed Bakr al-Hakim, a Muslim leader who founded a major Shia political party, after security forces opened fire to disperse protesters, witnesses and security sources told Al Jazeera. Tribal leaders attempted to mediate on Tuesday, calling on Sadr and his Peace Brigades (Saraya al-Salam) to intervene, tribal leaders told Al Jazeera. "We agreed with Muqtada al-Sadr's representatives to help calm down the situation," Shaykh Saeb Abu Ghoneim, one of the tribal leaders in Najaf, told Al Jazeera. "We are working on encouraging protesters to remain in the main demonstration sites away from the shrine so as to avoid further escalations," he added. Sources in Najaf told Al Jazeera that Sadr's Peace Brigades deployed in large numbers across the city to serve as a buffer between security forces and demonstrators. The Hakim shrine has been the focus of recent clashes in Najaf which has been rocked by violence since protesters torched the Iranian consulate on Wednesday, following a similar incident last week.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/12/iraqi-parties-gather-political-crisis-191203191752572.html

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 21:48:45 GMT

politics

political crisis

breitbart--2019-11-25--Gender Politics, Climate Change Dominate at American Music Awards

breitbart

Gender Politics, Climate Change Dominate at American Music Awards

Political and cultural topics – from gender politics to climate change – dominated the 2019 American Music Awards performances on Sunday. Activist artists did more than promote their political agendas in grandiose speeches, as is usually custom, during Sunday night’s AMAs at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, as Newsbusters notes. Many opted to advance their causes in more subtle ways – through set design, costumes, and lyrics. Kesha performed “Raising Hell” alongside reality TV star Big Freedia, a gay man who is “gender-nonconforming.” The “TiK ToK” singer opened the performance by telling the audience, “Welcome to our Sunday Service” – a direct reference to Kanye West’s gospel-filled church services, which have resulted in thousands of people accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. A rainbow church set served as a backdrop for the performance. Pop star Camila Cabello, who won Collaboration of the Year for “Señorita” with singer Shawn Mendes, performed her song “Living Proof,” which featured male dancers wearing lace dresses. Taylor Swift, who highlighted her newfound devotion to “social justice” in her latest album Lover and won six awards including Artist of the Decade, opened her performance with the song “The Man,” which laments gender double standards. I’m so sick of running as fast as I can Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man And I’m so sick of them coming at me again ‘Cause if I was a man, then I’d be the man Pop sensation Billie Eilish – the recipient of the New Artist of the Year award – performed “All the Good Girls Go to Hell” and wore a black shirt that featured the words “No Music On a Dead Planet” in red sequins and featured flames emblazoned beneath, a reference to global warming. It is hardly the first time the 17-year-old pop star has spoken out about the climate change “crisis.” “Our Earth is warming up and our oceans are rising,” Eilish said in a video in September. “Extreme weather is wrecking millions of lives.”

Hannah Bleau

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/BUNjR9Cn6LU/

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 15:47:06 +0000

politics

political dissent

businessinsider--2019-01-31--Facebook and Twitter just took down hundreds of fake accounts from Iran and elsewhere that were tryi

businessinsider

Facebook and Twitter just took down hundreds of fake accounts from Iran and elsewhere that were trying to influence politics

Facebook and Twitter have taken down hundreds of fake accounts designed to influence politics and public debate, the two social networks announced on Thursday. Facebook took down 783 accounts linked to Iran that targeted countries ranging from Afghanistan to France, Germany, Israel, Morocco, South Africa and the US. Twitter, meanwhile took down accounts linked to Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, it said, that were active during the US 2018 midterm elections. According to The Washington Post, 418 and were from Russia, 764 were from Venezuela. "This morning we removed 783 Pages, groups and accounts for engaging in coordinated inauthentic behavior tied to Iran. There were multiple sets of activity, each localized for a specific country or region," Facebook cybersecurity exec Nathaniel Gleicher wrote in a blog post. "The Page administrators and account owners typically represented themselves as locals, often using fake accounts, and posted news stories on current events. This included commentary that repurposed Iranian state media's reporting on topics like Israel-Palestine relations and the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, including the role of the US, Saudi Arabia, and Russia. "Some of the activity dates back to 2010. Although the people behind this activity attempted to conceal their identities, our manual review linked these accounts to Iran."

Rob Price

https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-and-twitter-remove-fake-accounts-iran-other-countries-2019-1

2019-01-31 19:52:47+00:00

politics

political dissent

businessinsider--2019-02-07--INSIDER is hiring a Politics reporter to cover the Trump administration congress policy and the 2

businessinsider

INSIDER is hiring a Politics reporter to cover the Trump administration, congress, policy, and the 2020 campaign

The ideal candidate brings with them an array of sources among Washington's power players, as well as a minimum of three years of experience in political journalism. He or she is always thinking up an angle on the news that has gone unnoticed — the real story behind the superficial news — able to break news and write exclusive, attention-grabbing stories. What we're looking for: Please note that this full-time position requires that you work either at INSIDER's headquarters in Manhattan, or remotely in Washington, D.C. INSIDER offers competitive compensation packages complete with benefits. INSIDER is great journalism about what passionate people actually want to know. That's everything from news to food, celebrity to science, politics to sports and all the rest. It's smart. It's fearless. It's fun. We push the boundaries of digital storytelling. Our mission is to inform and inspire. APPLY HERE with a resume and cover letter if this sounds like the job for you.

Anthony L. Fisher

https://www.businessinsider.com/insider-hiring-politics-reporter-2019-2

2019-02-07 20:22:29+00:00

politics

political dissent

cbsnews--2019-02-15--Trump Organization scraps plans for hotel chains blaming politics

cbsnews

Trump Organization scraps plans for hotel chains, blaming politics

President Donald Trump's company is ditching plans for two new hotel chains announced two years ago, casting blame in part on a hostile political environment. The Trump Organization said Thursday that it will no longer try to open hotels under its Scion and American Idea brands catering to budget and mid-priced travelers, a departure from its focus on luxury hotels. The announcement comes as the company has posted losses at a few of its golf properties and brand experts say it has lost some of its appeal. When the plans were announced in 2017, they raised ethics concerns because of the company's strategy to convince local real estate developers and investors to pay for the properties. Ethics experts said such a structure could raise the possibility that some investors would use the properties as ways to gain favor with the Trump administration. In a statement, Mr. Trump's son, Eric Trump, blamed the political environment. "We live in a climate where everything will be used against us, whether by the fake news or by Democrats who are only interested in presidential harassment and wasting everyone's time, barraging us with nonsense letters," the president's son, Eric Trump, said in an emailed statement. "We already have the greatest properties in the world and if we have to slow down our growth for the time being, we are happy to do it." The rollout began with promises of fast success. The company said in March 2017 that nearly two dozen developers had already signed letters of intent to open mid-priced Scion hotels, and was enthusiastic about the future prospects. "It's full steam ahead," said Eric Danziger, who oversees the hotel business for the family. "It's in our DNA." But the avalanche of deals never materialized, as was the case for its budget-priced American Idea, which was launched a few months later at a party at the Trump Tower in New York. The only developer willing to strike a deal was Chawla Hotels of Mississippi. It planned to open as many as four hotels in the state — but now that is off, too. On Facebook, businessman Dinesh Chawla wrote that the Trump Organization deal had ended. "We never had political discussions," Chawla wrote. He added, "We were together for two years, but I learned so much from them. I'm sorry that they are not with us anymore legally, but we are partners of a different sort--spiritually on this project." He added that the "breakup" wasn't talked about in "any negative tone." "In today's politically charged environment," hotel consultant Lee Hunter told The Associated Press recently, "everyone is cautious." The company is also struggling with some self-imposed restraints on expanding its business. When Trump became president, he handed day-to-day control of the company to Eric and his other adult son, Donald Jr. He also agreed his company would not pursue new deals abroad and that domestic deals would be vetted by a lawyer hired to make sure they posed no conflicts with Trump's presidency. "We walked away from billions of dollars' worth of deals and ceased virtually all expansion," said Eric Trump in his statement. "We continue to make tremendous sacrifices and understand the bigger picture more than anyone — our father has the most important and powerful job in the world." The Trump Organization did not dismiss the possibility that it could revive the new brands someday, perhaps when Trump leaves the presidency. The end of the rollout follows bad news for the company in other areas. Charities have canceled events at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, his Scottish clubs lose millions of dollars each year and several buildings have stripped the Trump names off their facades. The Trump Organization owns or has licensed its name to 17 golf clubs and more than two dozen hotels and residential buildings around the world. The Trump Organization has also drawn scrutiny in federal probes into Russian interference in the 2016 election and Michael Cohen's campaign finance violations. More recently, it is facing blowback from Democrats in Congress for firing long-time workers at several of its U.S. golf clubs for being in the country illegally, raising doubts about its hiring practices amid the president's vow to crack down on such workers and build a wall to keep more from coming in. The company has said it had no choice but to fire workers once it discovered they were in the country illegally.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-organization-scraps-plans-for-hotel-chains-blaming-politics/

2019-02-15 13:39:17+00:00

politics

political dissent

cbsnews--2019-03-29--How gerrymandering became one of the biggest issues in politics

cbsnews

How gerrymandering became one of the biggest issues in politics

As the 2020 Democratic primary takes shape, progressives across the country are once again taking aim at gerrymandering, the process by which state legislatures draw congressional maps to benefit one party over the other. On Tuesday, for the second time in two years, the Supreme Court heard arguments about limiting the practice. The last time the high court considered gerrymandering, the justices declined to rule on the merits. And given the court's conservative lean, they could do so again in this most recent case, which involves House district maps drawn by state legislatures in Maryland and North Carolina. The hope among those challenging gerrymandering is that these district maps were drawn in such a partisan manner that they violate the Constitution. And while liberals have taken the lead in challenging gerrymandering in recent years, the Maryland map was drawn up by Democrats, who also had partisan aims. Former Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley in a 2017 deposition, admitted his party's goal in its 2011 redistricting efforts was to make a GOP-held district in Maryland much more favorable to Democrats. In a 2018 USA Today op ed, O'Malley explained that 2010 had been a terrible year for Democrats, who helplessly watched "Republican governors carve Democratic voters into irrelevance in state after state in order to help elect lopsided Republican congressional delegations." O'Malley said he saw it as his duty to "provide some check" against GOP governors by drawing a Democrat-friendly map. His effort was successful, and John Delaney won the seat from longtime GOP congressman Roscoe Bartlett in 2012. Delaney is now a Democratic candidate for president. But by 2018, O'Malley regretted the move and said he hoped the high court would ban partisan redistricting. The current governors of North Carolina and Maryland, Democrat Roy Cooper and Republican Larry Hogan, wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post earlier this week arguing that the Supreme Court should "end gerrymandering once and for all." Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat running for president, has made anti-gerrymandering efforts a central plank of his platform. But ending gerrymandering might not be that easy, in part because both parties occasionally benefit from the process. The word "gerrymandering" dates back to the early 19th century. The name comes from Elbridge Gerry, a Massachusetts governor who signed a redistricting bill that benefited his Democratic-Republican Party against the Federalists. One of the new districts was said to resemble a salamander, and so a Boston newspaperman decided to call the new map a gerrymander. "The epithet at once became a Federalist war cry, the map caricature being published as a campaign document," wrote Charles Ledyard Norton in his 1890 book "Political Americanisms." So gerrymandering is not a new phenomenon, having been a political issue for over 200 years. Since nearly the creation of the United States, House district maps have been littered with oddly-shaped seats that try to group together voters according to their partisan lean. In most states, the legislature draws up new congressional maps following the conclusion of the U.S. census, which takes place every ten years. The state's governor then has to approve the new map by signing it into law. This system was generally good news for Republicans following their landslide victories in the 2010 elections, which occurred the same year as the last census. The next round of redistricting is due to start in 2021, following the completion of the 2020 census. It's impossible to know which party will enjoy the upper hand in drawing new maps following the 2020 elections, or whether the Supreme Court will step in to limit redistricting in the interim. A number of states, most recently Utah, have tried to sidestep partisan redistricting by creating independent commissions tasked with drawing maps that better reflect the will of voters. Even if the Supreme Court chooses to once again sit out the fight over gerrymandering, state courts can sometimes step in. In 2018, for example, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out a Republican-drawn map and instituted a new one that helped Democrats pick up several seats in the most recent midterms. The rules governing redistricting are different from state to state, meaning that activists can't always depend on judges stepping in to redraw maps they see as unfair. At this point, four states use independent nonpartisan commissions to draw district lines. States like Utah are also trying this approach, creating independent commissions that would limit legislatures' involvement in redistricting. The Utah law, which was narrowly passed by voters in the state last November, created a seven-person commission to draw up new maps and send them to the legislature for approval. California, the largest state with an independent redistricting commission, has a 14-member panel consisting of 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and 4 independents to draw new maps. Former Attorney General Eric Holder now leads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a group that looks to back independent commissions and reduce GOP control of state legislatures. But given the Republican electoral success at the state level during the Obama years, Democrats still have their work cut out for them. Democrats have scored major victories at the state level in recent elections, and according to The Washington Post, they would now have the ability to draw the boundaries of 76 House seats nationwide should redistricting happen tomorrow. But buoyed by its strength in southern states, the GOP would still be able to redraw 179 seats. Another 113 seats would be drawn by independent commissions, while 60 would be redrawn in states where Republicans and Democrats share control of the state government. Unless the Supreme Court intervenes, the 2020 elections remain Democrats' best hope of undoing Republican gerrymanders and instituting new maps. And that means Democrats will have to expend major resources on capturing state legislatures and governorships while still looking to retake the Senate and the White House. It's also something of an open question whether Democrats would restrain themselves from partisan gerrymandering in any states they take control of in 2020 and put in place independent commissions. It's easy to talk a big game about reform and fair maps in the minority. But as history has shown again and again, both parties tend to indulge in gerrymandering when given the chance.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-gerrymandering-became-one-of-the-biggest-issues-in-politics/

2019-03-29 09:55:06+00:00

politics

political dissent

channel4uk--2019-04-01--Why have our politics become so heated MPs Heidi Allen and Anne Marie Morris discuss

channel4uk

Why have our politics become so heated? MPs Heidi Allen and Anne Marie Morris discuss

Why have our politics become so heated? And how might we start to heal the divisions in our country? Heidi Allen left the Conservatives to become one of the Independent Group of MPs, and Anne Marie Morris is a Tory Brexiteer.

Krishnan Guru-Murthy

https://www.channel4.com/news/why-have-our-politics-become-so-heated-mps-heidi-allen-and-anne-marie-morris-discuss

2019-04-01 19:55:52+00:00

politics

political dissent

channel4uk--2019-07-26--No-deal Extension Election Boris Johnsons Brexit plan Politics Where Next podcast

channel4uk

No-deal? Extension? Election? – Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan | Politics: Where Next? podcast

Listen and subscribe to Politics: Where Next? on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other good apps. As Boris Johnson moves into Number 10, who better to talk to this week than Peter Foster, the Europe Editor of The Daily Telegraph – widely seen as the best plugged in analyst of the Brexit saga on the bloc… And Francis Elliott – The Times Political Editor – the first to spot a snap election was coming down the tracks back in 2017. What does he think is coming down the tracks now? There are new episodes of Politics: Where Next? every Friday.

Gary Gibbon

https://www.channel4.com/news/no-deal-extension-election-boris-johnsons-brexit-plan-politics-where-next-podcast

2019-07-26 14:31:23+00:00

politics

political dissent

channel4uk--2019-09-06--Brexit can we trust politicians to do whats right for the country Politics Where Next podca

channel4uk

Brexit: can we trust politicians to do what’s right for the country? – | Politics: Where Next? podcast

What is going to happen on Monday? Will there be an election? Are we leaving the EU on the 31st? This week we talk to John McTernan – the political strategist and a downing street aide to Tony Blair -and Adrian Wooldridge, the political editor of The Economist magazine. We met just as Boris Johnson’s brother Jo announced he couldn’t serve in his brother’s government any more – and couldn’t be a Conservative MP either.

Gary Gibbon

https://www.channel4.com/news/brexit-can-we-trust-politicians-to-do-whats-right-for-the-country-politics-where-next-podcast

2019-09-06 15:34:49+00:00

politics

political dissent

channel4uk--2019-09-19--The youth and the future is what is at stake right now DrillMinister on the politics of pollution

channel4uk

‘The youth and the future is what is at stake right now’: DrillMinister on the politics of pollution

Drill music and climate change aren’t the most obvious pairing, but now one artist has made it his mission to rap about toxic air. DrillMinister gained popularity last year when he quoted the violent language used by MPs in his track ‘Political Drillin’, highlighting the hypocrisy of politicians who say drill music drives crime. His latest political message in the track ‘Choke’ has been released in conjunction with a new online service that rates air quality at any London address. A warning, this piece contains strong language.

Jon Snow

https://www.channel4.com/news/the-youth-and-the-future-is-what-is-at-stake-right-now-drillminister-on-the-politics-of-pollution

2019-09-19 19:06:09+00:00

politics

political dissent

channel4uk--2019-11-15--Who’s most likely to win the general election? | Politics: Where Next? podcast

channel4uk

Who’s most likely to win the general election? | Politics: Where Next? podcast

In this week’s podcast, veteran political analyst Professor John Curtice and Professor Matthew Goodwin of the University of Kent share their predictions for this general election. Both are agreed that a Conservative majority is most likely at this stage, but aren’t ruling out a hung parliament. According to Curtice, “the Tories are about 2:1 on to get the majority at the moment. So 66% probability.” When asked about the chances of a Labour majority, Curtice says it’s “as close to zero as to be effectively zero, but that’s not what this election is about. This election is a choice between whether Boris Johnson gets a majority or not.” The full discussion is available wherever you get your podcasts, or watch it in full on YouTube.

Gary Gibbon

https://www.channel4.com/news/whos-most-likely-to-win-the-general-election-politics-where-next-podcast

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 18:48:44 +0000

politics

political dissent

cnsnews--2019-02-07--Kamala Harris Health Care and Education Are Fundamental Rights

cnsnews

Kamala Harris: ‘Health Care and Education Are Fundamental Rights’

(CNSNews.com) - Sen. Kamala Harris (D.-Calif.) sent out a Tweet on Thursday afternoon in which she expressed her view that health care and education ought to be considered “fundamental rights” in the United States. “Together, we’re fighting for a country where the economy works for working people,” she said. “Where health care and education are fundamental rights. Where we honor our service members and veterans. Where no parent has to send their child to school with a bulletproof backpack.”

CNSNews.com Staff

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/cnsnewscom-staff/kamala-harris-health-care-and-education-are-fundamental-rights

2019-02-07 22:53:09+00:00

politics

fundamental rights

osce--2019-02-25--Fundamental rights generally respected in competitive Moldovan elections though campaign tainted by

osce

Fundamental rights generally respected in competitive Moldovan elections, though campaign tainted by violations, international observers say

CHISINAU, 25 February 2019 – Moldova’s 24 February parliamentary elections were competitive and fundamental rights were generally respected, but the campaign took place against the backdrop of disaffection with public institutions and was tainted by allegations of pressure on public employees, strong indications of vote buying and the misuse of state resources, the international observers concluded in a preliminary statement released today. Control and ownership of the media by political actors limited the range of viewpoints presented to voters, the observers said. Most aspects of the elections were administered in a professional and transparent manner, and the observers assessed the voting positively, despite difficulties and confusion caused by the introduction of a new electoral system and the concurrent holding of a referendum, which caused problems in counting procedures. “This was an active, hard-fought and polarized campaign in generally well-run elections. It is no secret that there is overall disappointment among citizens in political processes and institutions here,” said George Tsereteli, Special Co-ordinator and leader of the short-term OSCE observer mission. “I call on my newly elected parliamentary colleagues to now deliver on promises, address the problems we identified, and meet the expectations of the people.” These were the first elections held under the new mixed electoral system, which was adopted without inclusive public debate and consultation. Under the new system, 50 members of parliament are elected through proportional representation from national party lists and 51 in single-member constituencies. “The changes to the electoral system and the concurrent holding of the referendum clearly led to confusion, both on the part of voters and some polling station workers,” said Rebecca Harms, Head of the European Parliament delegation. “The decision by the Central Election Commission (CEC) that only holders of valid passports could vote abroad came just six weeks before election day, and departed from practice in past elections, where holders of national ID cards could also vote. There were concerns about the motives behind this decision.” The legal framework generally provides an adequate basis for conducting democratic elections, and recent amendments partially addressed some previous recommendations by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission. These elections demonstrated, however, that important issues remain to be addressed, including the application of provisions against the misuse of state resources, loopholes concerning the use of charities to finance campaigns, and the concentration of media ownership. Substantial recent amendments to party and campaign finance regulations addressed some previous recommendations, but other key recommendations remain unaddressed, particularly those to enhance the supervision and enforcement of party and campaign finance rules and strengthening sanctions. According to the CEC, it lacks sufficient human resources to monitor campaign finance effectively, and it conducted inquiries only in response to complaints. Claude Kern, Head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) delegation, said: “Election day was generally well organized. As demonstrated by the campaign, the new electoral system regrettably confirmed the main concerns raised by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, in particular the lack of effective mechanisms to prevent undue influence by wealthy businesspeople, combined with a poor system of supervision of party and candidate funding, and inadequate penalties.” The media landscape is diverse, with television as the main source of political information, followed by online media. Media monitoring showed that some national TV channels did not comply with the legal requirement to provide fair, balanced and impartial campaign coverage. Most technical aspects of the election were managed professionally at all levels, and election commission sessions were open to observers and media. Women were well represented at all levels of the election administration. The lack of clarity over jurisdiction to hear complaints and the CEC’s view that it could not overrule district committee decisions on candidate registration resulted in the denial of the right to an effective remedy in a number of cases. “The prominent role that women play in running elections was on display yesterday in polling stations across the country,” said Kari Henriksen, Head of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation. “Considering that women are the majority of the population, political leaders must assume their responsibility to step up and effectively translate this into equal political power and representation.” In an inclusive process, the CEC registered all 14 parties and one bloc that submitted national lists. Of the 632 candidates on national lists, 264 are women, but only 49 were in top 10 positions. There were 325 candidates registered in single member constituencies, of whom 70 are women and 58 ran as independents. “The elections offered voters a wide choice of political alternatives, the campaign was competitive and fundamental rights were respected, but reports of pressure on public employees, vote-buying and the misuse of state resources have to be addressed to increase public confidence in elections,” said Matyas Eörsi, Head of the ODIHR election observation mission. “We hope the authorities will follow up on the recommendations contained in our final report on these elections to address these issues.” Citing security considerations, the CEC changed the locations of 31 of 47 polling stations opened for the first time specifically for voters residing in Transniestria. One major contesting party alleged this was a government attempt to reduce the number of votes from Transniestria. The CEC established 123 polling stations in 37 countries for out-of-country voting, an increase from previous elections. The lack of transparency in how these polling stations were allocated contributed to a perception that the decision was made for political reasons. Candidate, citizen and international observers have broad rights, including the right to attend sessions of all election commissions and to receive results protocols, and contributed to transparency. Citizen observers conducted long-term observation, deployed short-term observers on election day and conducted a parallel vote tabulation.

SSharma

https://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/moldova/412361

2019-02-25 12:32:26+00:00

politics

fundamental rights

21stcenturywire--2019-02-01--GILETS JAUNES Macrons State-Sanctioned Violence against Civilians is Condemned by Doctors and Huma

21stcenturywire

GILETS JAUNES: Macron’s State-Sanctioned Violence against Civilians is Condemned by Doctors and Human Rights Groups

The face of French Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner, with images of civilians injured by Police violence, superimposed. (Photo: Twitter) The Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, recently visited Paris to discuss issues of human rights violations relating to the Gilets Jaunes (GJ) or Yellow Vest protests that were sparked in France on the 17th November 2018. The protests, that began peacefully descended into state violence against civilians from the 24th November onwards. “The heightened tensions that persist now in France have triggered my concern and I consider that there is an urgent need to appease the situation” Mijatovic said after her visit. Mijatovic was particularly alarmed by the increasing number of civilians and bystanders seriously injured by the use of the LBD40 “flashball” bullet and the Grenades d’encerclement or GLIF4 grenades. To date, 159 people have been hit in the head by the LBD40 rubber bullets, causing fractured jaws, 17 loss of eyes, one induced coma and many other serious and debilitating injuries. According to an article in France 24, “France’s legal advisory body, the Council of State, was due to examine an urgent request by the CGT trade union the French Human Rights League on Wednesday to ban police from using the hand-held launchers, which fire rubber projectiles roughly the size of golf balls.” Lawyers of victims of state-sanctioned violence against protestors have also called for the banning of the GLIF4 grenades which contain 25g of TNT and can contain 10g rubber pellets, capable of shredding flesh if used at close quarters, as you can see in the following video filmed in Dijon during recent GJ protests. A policeman nonchalantly throws a grenade at a nearby GJ who is immediately seen hopping in pain after detonation: … The LBD40 is described as a “sub-lethal” weapon but the injuries they have inflicted upon civilians during the GJ protests contradict this description. Police officers are cautioned to only use the “flashball” in cases of absolute necessity, where they are strictly “proportional” to the situation – they should be fired at least 10 meters from their target and never aimed at the head. Below is one of the infractions being signalled to the French Interior Ministry by independent journalist, David Dufresnes. The protestor was hit in the face by an LBD40 bullet during Acte IX of the protests in Nimes. He suffered a fractured jaw, 3 upper teeth were torn out and his lower teeth were displaced. “The CRS (civilian reserve police) didn’t allow us to rejoin the firemen and they told me that it was for my own good” said the injured GJ. French police using the LBD40 bullet during GJ protests. (Photo: Valery Hache) French Interior Minister, Christophe Castaner, has defended the use of the LBD40 bullets despite the mounting tally of horrifying mutilation of civilians as a result of their use. In defiance of the release of a Police laboratory investigation that declared the GLIF4 grenade to be too dangerous for use in crowd control situations, Castaner has declared that they will continue to be used by Police controlling the GJ protests “until stocks are used up” without specifying the amount of remaining stocks. The French government is in violation of recommendations from internal and external human rights investigative bodies. An article in Le Monde revealed that 9,228 LBD40 bullets have been fired during the two months of GJ protests. Desarmons.net a collective of activists against state violence in France, have calculated that this number equates to 1000 shots per week or 838 bullets fired during each protest, which are held weekly. 123 bullets fired per day from November 17th to 31st of January 2019. 159 civilians have now been hit in the head by the LBD40 bullets. Desarmons also make the claim that most of the bullets do hit their target and the weapons are extremely accurate so this would suggest a far higher number of injured among the GJs than the 2-3000 recorded by most analysts. What is rarely discussed by state-aligned media is the psychological trauma suffered by civilians who have been mutilated or have witnessed the hideous effects of these bullets often fired at close range into crowds. If anyone were in any doubt over the brutality of the policeman behind the gun in many instances, please watch this video recorded in Nantes during Acte XI (January 26th 2019). Police violently arrest a civilian who was carrying a small hammer. Witnesses urge the police to stop “its shameful” “he is bleeding” “you don’t have the right to do that”. Those filming the use of disproportionate force are pushed back to a “security distance of 50 meters” and told to stop videoeing. The following video shows the moment after war correspondent, Florent Marcie, is hit in the face by a LBD40 bullet that leaves a deep hole in his cheek. In later interviews, Marcie describes how he has survived multiple war zones without injury only to be targeted by the National Police in France as he is covering peaceful protests. One of the witnesses describes how he was the target but the bullet passed over his left shoulder and hit the journalist in the face. … A Doctor’s Petition to Prohibit Police use of LBD40s and GLIF4 Grenades Doctor Laurent Thines is a professor of neurosurgery at Besancon general hospital. Thines has launched a petition demanding a moratorium on the use of “sub-lethal” arms to highlight the extreme risk of their use. In an interview with Inter, Dr Thines explained why he had been persuaded to intervene. “I am not a politician, above all I am a doctor and a citizen of France – I was so shocked, as a neurosurgeon, by the seriousness of the wounds inflicted upon peaceful protestors”. Although Besancon itself has not witnessed the extreme use of the LBD40, Thines has seen the reports of surgeons across France on head injuries treated in their hospitals. Thines describes the injuries as equivalent to war wounds or the result of a serious traffic incident. Thines tells Inter that the petition has raised 65,000 signatures to date from medical staff, including paramedics who have to deal with the injuries at the scene. “We cant remain silent” Thines said “..what we are witnessing is intolerable both medically and from a humanitrian point of view”. Thines has the view that the Minister of Interior, Castaner, has a political agenda behind his drive to strike fear into the GJs and to dissuade them from demonstrating. Another doctor, Larbi Benali, based at Bordeaux University, specialist in legal medicine, did not sign the petition but considers it to be a very good initiative. “that will enable a real debate on the subject of these weapons” Benali told Inter. Speaking about the the cases of two people seriously injured in the eye that Benali personally studied, the doctor stated: In 2016, Benali took part in a study on the risk of the “Flashballs” (now replaced by the LBD40) – The hazardous nature of Flash-Ball®: A case of cranioencephalic trauma and a literature review. This scientific article appeared in the legal medicine review but never prompted a public debate in governmental circles. The following is taken from the summary of the report: Justice for the Victims of State-sanctioned Brutality. Acte XII -Saturday 2nd February across France. Paying homage to the mutilated, the wounded and the “disappeared”. After a short speech the wounded Gilets Jaunes will lead the march.  During the march there will be a pause to demand the prohibition of weapons such as Flashball LBD40 and the GLIF4 grenades. The march will be peaceful and without any violence. Protestors are asked to wear eye patches, bandages and to put fake blood on the bandages in honour of those who have been mutilated and injured. This will be a national hommage to the Gilets Jaunes victims. Paris and all cities of France will collectively pay their respects to the wounded, the Gilet Jaunes victims, injured in their thousands and dozens mutilated for life. Even though protesting is a right for all French citizens, even though the demonstrations are declared in advance across France – in Paris and in every provincial town, Macron’s government sanctions police repression and extreme violence against the movement. The arms used by the “forces of order” against the demonstrators are Flashball bullets LBD40, GLIF4 grenades – Grenades d’encerclement. Associated with a “kettling” strategy that shuts down any exit route for the protestors (so they find themselves surrounded by police forces) the use of these arms, targeting the head with Flashballs, result in very serious injuries that are described by the medical teams as “war wounds”. Many have had their lives permanently turned upside down by state violence. Some have lost hands, others an eye. Psychologically the repercussions are profoundly painful and it will take a long time to recover from the trauma. The families and the friends of the victim are also affected. Their life is permanently ruined, they are simple, peaceful citizens of this country who were exercising their right to protest against a capitalist dictatorship which refuses to allow them to live a dignified life. For more than two months the people who come out into the streets are met with governmental repression. Since the 17th November 2018 we have been on the streets but we have not been listened to. Every weekend, the same weapons are used, in the full knowledge of their effect on human lives. The circumstances do not justify their use (remember the fireman injured in Bordeaux. The BAC fired at him even though he had his back to them, he was leaving the protest peacefully by a side street) We demand that Macron brings an end to the repression of the legal citizen protests of the Gilets Jaunes and prohibits the use of LBD40 Flashball bullets and GLIF4 grenades immediately. “The Powerful will stop dominating us when the “little people” stop crawling” – translation of the poster created by Jerome Rodrigues for Acte XII. The Council of State (Conseil d’Etat, highest administrative jurisdiction ) officially declined to forbid or even suspend the use of LBD40 bullets, despite all available evidence that are being used against all rules of police engagement and are causing terrible mutilation to civilians, risking life in many cases. The Council of State effectively dismissed all evidence of Police violations of their own regulations and infractions against civilians. So, Acte XII will go ahead in the knowledge that there is a high risk of further injuries and targeting of civilians by the forces of law and order with weapons described as “sub-lethal” but lethal when misused. Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist, peace activist, photographer and associate editor at 21st Century Wire. Vanessa was a finalist for one of the most prestigious journalism awards – the 2017 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism – whose winners have included the likes of Robert Parry in 2017, Patrick Cockburn, Robert Fisk, Nick Davies and the Bureau for Investigative Journalism team. Please support her work at her Patreon account.

Vanessa Beeley

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/02/01/gilets-jaunes-macrons-state-sanctioned-violence-against-civilians-is-condemned-by-doctors-and-human-rights-groups/

2019-02-01 18:41:38+00:00

politics

fundamental rights

abcnews--2019-10-18--US slaps new sanctions on Cuba over human rights, Venezuela

abcnews

US slaps new sanctions on Cuba over human rights, Venezuela

The United States on Friday imposed new sanctions on Cuba over its support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and its human rights record at home. The Department of Commerce said in a statement it is revoking existing licenses for aircraft leases to Cuban state-owned airlines and will deny future applications for aircraft leases. It will also expand the sanctions on Cuba to include more foreign goods containing U.S. contents. Washington said the measures seek to hold the Cuban regime accountable for repressing its own people and for providing support to the Venezuela's government, which it accuses of human rights abuses and collapsing the country's economy. "This action by the Commerce Department sends another clear message to the Cuban regime - that they must immediately cease their destructive behavior at home and abroad," said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel rejected the decision and on Twitter called it "inhumane, cruel, unfair and genocidal." Relations between Cuba and the U.S. have deteriorated under President Donald Trump. His administration has restricted travel to the island and imposed new economic sanctions.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-slaps-sanctions-cuba-human-rights-venezuela-66382227

Fri, 18 Oct 2019 22:58:41 -0400

politics

fundamental rights

abcnews--2019-12-27--UN official: Past decade has seen human rights `backlash'

abcnews

UN official: Past decade has seen human rights `backlash'

UNITED NATIONS -- The past decade has seen a backlash against human rights on every front, especially the rights of women and the LGBT communities, according to a top U.N. human rights official. Andrew Gilmour, the outgoing assistant secretary-general for human rights, said the regression of the past 10 years hasn’t equaled the advances that began in the late 1970s — but it is serious, widespread and regrettable. He pointed to “populist authoritarian nationalists” in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, who he said are taking aim at the most vulnerable groups of society, including Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, Roma, and Mexican immigrants, as well as gays and women. He cited leaders who justify torture, the arrests and killing of journalists, the brutal repressions of demonstrations and “a whole closing of civil society space.” “I never thought that we would start hearing the terms ‘concentration camps’ again,” Gilmour told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview. “And yet, in two countries of the world there’s a real question.” He didn’t name them but appeared to be referring to China’s internment camps in western Xinjiang province, where an estimated 1 million members of the country's predominantly Muslim Uighur minority are being held; and detention centers on the United States' southern border, where mostly Central American migrants are being held while waiting to apply for asylum. Both countries strongly deny that concentration camp-like conditions exist. Gilmour is leaving the United Nations on Dec. 31 after a 30-year career that has included posts in hot spots such as Iraq, South Sudan, Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and West Africa. Before taking up his current post in 2016, he served for four years as director of political, peacekeeping, humanitarian and human rights affairs in former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s office. Despite his dim view of the past decade, Gilmour — a Briton who previously worked in politics and journalism — said he didn’t want to appear “relentlessly negative.” “The progress of human rights is certainly not a linear progression, and we have seen that,” he said. “There was definite progression from the late ’70s until the early years of this century. And we’ve now seen very much the counter-tendency of the last few years.” Gilmour said human rights were worse during the Cold War between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, “but there wasn't a pushback as there is now.” He pointed to the fact that in the past eight years or so, many countries have adopted laws designed to restrict the funding and activities of nongovernmental organizations, especially human rights NGOs. And he alleged that powerful U.N. member states stop human rights officials from speaking in the Security Council, while China and some other members “go to extraordinary lengths to prevent human rights defenders (from) entering the (U.N.) building even, let alone participate in the meetings.” In March 2018, for example, Russia used a procedural maneuver to block then-U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein from addressing a formal meeting of the Security Council, the U.N.’s most powerful body, Gilmour said. Zeid was able to deliver his hard-hitting speech soon after, but only at a hurriedly organized informal council meeting where he decried "mind-numbing crimes" committed by all parties in Syria. Gilmour also cited the United States' refusal to authorize the council to hold a meeting on the human rights situation in North Korea, a move that effectively killed the idea. The rights of women and gays are also at stake, Gilmour said. He said nationalist authoritarian populist leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have made “derogatory comments” about both groups. He said the U.S. is “aggressively pushing” back against women's reproductive rights both at home and abroad. The result, he said, is that countries fearful of losing U.S. aid are cutting back their work on women’s rights. Gilmour also pointed out a report issued in September that cited 48 countries for punishing human rights defenders who have cooperated with the U.N. "I feel that we really need to do more — everybody ... to defend those courageous defenders,” he said. Gilmour said the U.N. should also stand up when it comes to major violations of international law and major violations of human rights, but “I have found it extremely difficult to do so in all circumstances.” He said he was happy to hear that the new U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Kelly Craft, feels strongly about ensuring human rights. “And I do hope that she will be gently and firmly held to that high standard," he said. Gilmour said that after his departure from the U.N, he will take a fellowship at Oxford’s All Souls College, where he will focus on the importance of uniting human rights and environmental rights groups. “The human rights impact of climate change — it’s going to be so monumental,” he said. As he relinquishes his post, Gilmour said he is counting on younger generations to take up the mantle of human rights and fight for other causes aimed at improving the world. “What gives me hope as we start a new decade is that there will be a surge in youth activism that will help people to get courage, and to stand up for what they believe in,” he said.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/official-past-decade-human-rights-backlash-67949373

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 16:31:19 -0500

politics

fundamental rights

activistpost--2019-02-20--Saudi Tracking App Under Fire By Human Rights Organizations for Putting Women At Risk

activistpost

Saudi Tracking App Under Fire By Human Rights Organizations for Putting Women At Risk

The media is in a frenzy in regards to a Saudi Arabian app that allows men to monitor and control women, including wives and unmarried daughters, with many human rights organizations calling to ban the app, NY Times reported. The app, Absher, was created in 2015 by the Saudi government and, more specifically, by the National Information Center within the Saudi Ministry of Interior, but hasn’t received much attention until now, according to PC MAG.  Some basic background on Saudi Arabia and how the country functions; Saudi men have what’s known as guardianship laws, which is a decree stating that every woman must have a male guardian to make critical life decisions on her behalf. The guardian can be a father, brother, husband, or son, according to Human Rights Watch. The app is described in the app store as software that helps you to “safely browse your profile or your family members, or labors working for you, and perform a wide range of eServices online.” The Absher app also handles some standard government functions such as paying fines, according to a report by the ThisIsInsider. ThisIsInsider ran a bombshell story entitled: “Saudi Arabia runs a huge, sinister online database of women that men use to track them and stop them from running away.” They recounted a horrifying example where a Saudi woman, Shahad al-Mohaimeed, escaped from her father and family while on vacation in Turkey. As a result, the woman had to steal the family’s smartphones because the Absher app was loaded on them, which allowed them to track her every move. Several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), are urging Apple and Google to remove Absher from their app stores. “We call on Apple and Google to assess the risk of human rights abuses on women, which is facilitated by the App, and mitigate the harm that the App has on women,” Amnesty International said in a statement. “The use of the Absher app to curtail the movement of women once again highlights the disturbing system of discrimination against women under the guardianship system and the need for genuine human rights reforms in the country, rather than just social and economic reforms.” “Saudi men can also reportedly use Absher to receive real-time text message alerts every time these women enter or leave the country or to prevent these women from leaving the country,” Sen. Ron Wyden wrote. “By permitting the app in your respective stores, your companies are making it easier for Saudi men to control their family members from the convenience of their smartphones and restrict their movement,” Wyden expressed in a letter addressed to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Cook replied uncertainly when asked about the app during an NPR interview this week. “I haven’t heard about it,” he said. “But obviously we’ll take a look at it if that’s the case.” Meanwhile, Google told CNN the company would “look into it” when it was questioned about the app. However, Absher is far from the only app that can track a user on the app store; there are several others which advertise someone’s location in a dangerous manner or are advertised to spy on another person. While many media reports are focusing on the obvious oppression by the app against women, very few are mentioning that Absher and other apps like it could put women in danger. The following screenshot below is not related to Absher; however, its an alleged app going around that allows would-be attackers to track the person who downloads the app. In which case all sorts of bad things can happen; you can end up kidnapped, killed or raped if you are a woman or child. The scary part is it doesn’t even need to be a malicious app; unfortunately, apps that enable other users to see each others’ location are all a risk. In 2013, you may find it sickening to know that an app developer suggested making an app called kidnApp where users could opt to be kidnapped. Motherboard had a now-deleted article on the shocking app which allowed people willing to be kidnapped called Waiters. How that seemed like a good idea, this author will never know, but the app literally allowed users (Waiters) to post an ad to be kidnapped for X amount of time. Although, what if the person known as a “Taker” never let the willing participant go and it turned into a hostage situation? Again, I am unsure how this would ever be a good idea in anyone’s head. Back in 2017, when Snapchat first released its Snap Map update, which has since been updated, police warned parents of the dangers of the app’s new addition and to turn off Snap Map on their children’s phones. In the UK, Preston Police had this to say on the department’s Facebook page: The Telegraph quoted a spokesperson for the National Society for the Protection of Children:

Aaron

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/02/saudi-tracking-app-human-rights-organizations-putting-women-at-risk.html

2019-02-20 19:58:17+00:00

politics

fundamental rights

activistpost--2019-12-23--Abduction of Human Rights Activist Highlights Chilling Trend in Tanzania

activistpost

Abduction of Human Rights Activist Highlights Chilling Trend in Tanzania

Prominent human rights activist Tito Magoti was abducted in broad daylight by five unknown people in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and is now being detained by police. Magoti, who works as a public affairs officer with the Legal and Human Rights Center, was abducted on Friday, December 20, 2019, at 10 a.m., as he was on his way to purchase a new mobile phone, according to a statement by the LHRC. Police denied having any information about Magoti’s whereabouts when the LHRC first reported him missing on Friday. Magoti’s abduction echoes a chilling trend toward the disappearances of journalists, human rights defenders and opposition leaders in Tanzania since 2015 when President John Magufuli first took office. Later on Friday, the police confirmed that Magoti had been arrested, along with three other unnamed people, on “various allegations,” according to Dar es Salaam police chief Lazaro Mambosasa, as reported by Reuters. However, police have not released information about where Magoti is being held and no official charges have been made as of Saturday, December 21, according to The Citizen. As one of the most vocal human rights advocacy groups in the nation, the LHRC has spoken out loudly against diminishing press freedoms and opposition repression under President Magufuli’s administration. Magfuli has denied allegations of cracking down on the media and human rights defenders but ran on a strong campaign to root out corruption in the East African nation. In 2017, he warned that “press freedom has limits.” Zaituni Njovu, who works with Africa Human Rights Network (AHRN), told Global Voices through a Whatsapp text: This incident is not good for human rights because everyone has the right to protection and freedom. Mr. Tito [Magoti] has been arrested by civilian police, although at the beginning it was announced to the public that he had been abducted by unknown people. Police [finally] made a formal statement that they arrested him, although they have not said so far [where]. It’s true that human rights defenders [HRDs] are hunted like animals in Tanzania and arrested by police and government agencies — especially when you do your job correctly. In short, it’s not wanted for HRDs to speak at all about anything in TZ [Tanzania]. The human rights situation is unsatisfactory here in TZ [Tanzania]. The safety of HRDs is very low and they are often exposed to adverse events until some [even] lose their lives. Magoti’s colleagues and friends continue to search for him by making visits to various police stations in Dar es Salaam, inquiring into his safety and whereabouts: Magoti, who specializes in human rights in business, has worked with the LHRC for three years in Tanzania, where human rights protections have steadily deteriorated. In early December, in the Magufuli administration’s latest blow to human rights, the government withdrew Tanzanians’ right to “directly seek redress from the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.” Netizens came out on Twitter in Magoti’s defense, noting his disappearance and arrest as part of a larger human rights crisis in Tanzania. Jeff Msangi saw Magoti’s arrest as a major setback for human rights: Under the hashtags, #BringBackTito and #FreeTitoMagoti, activists and human rights defenders have launched a campaign on social media to find Magoti and ensure justice for him. Political scientist Aikande C. Kwayu made a call for compassion on Magoti’s behalf: Magoti’s abduction and arrest mark a disturbing trend in Tanzania, prompting Angela Quintal of Committee to Protect Journalists to tweet: In July 2019, journalist Erick Kabendera was abducted using similar techniques by six plainclothes policemen in broad daylight. For months, he has languished in prison on trumped-up charges of economic crimes and may face up to 15 years in prison. Kabendera’s lawyers have said that his arrest was politically motivated. As a journalist, Kabendera has been critical of the Magufuli administration and produced reports on Tanzania’s divisive politics for international and local media such as The Guardian, African Arguments and The East African. Kabendera will spend the holidays behind bars as his case has been postponed ten times in court. The next hearing is scheduled for January 2, 2020, the BBC reports. As Tanzania heads into the new year, human rights defenders, journalists, activists and concerned citizens continue to paza sauti, a Swahili phrase meaning “raise voices,” so that cases like Magoti’s and Kabendera’s don’t go silent. This article was sourced from Global Voices. Top image: Tito Magoti is a human rights activist from Tanzania. Photo courtesy of the Legal and Human Rights Center. Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit. Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.

Activist Post

https://www.activistpost.com/2019/12/abduction-of-human-rights-activist-highlights-chilling-trend-in-tanzania.html

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 16:10:49 +0000

politics

fundamental rights

breitbart--2019-09-05--39 Human Rights Abusers Arrested in National ICE Roundup

breitbart

39 'Human Rights Abusers' Arrested in National ICE Roundup

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers teamed up with investigators from ICE’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) to identify and arrest foreign nationals with final orders of removal from immigration judges who are suspected of human rights violations in their countries of origin. ERO officers carried out the targeted operation known as “Operation No Safe Haven V” in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York City, Newark, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco, a three-day roundup that occurred at the end of August, resulted in the arrests of 39 known or suspected human rights violators and war criminals, according to information obtained from ICE officials. Sixteen of the 39 known or suspected individuals are also criminal aliens in the U.S. with crimes that include domestic violence, driving under the influence of liquor, drug distribution, firearm possession, grand theft, reckless endangerment, robbery, fraud and theft, officials stated. The migrants will be removed to El Salvador, Guatemala, China, Liberia, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, Colombia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, and Sudan. “ICE will not allow war criminals and human rights abusers to use the U.S. as a safe haven,” Acting Director Matthew Albence said in a written statement. “We will never stop looking for them and we will never cease seeking justice for the victims of their crimes.” Six of the 39 were arrested in New York. Those include: “The six arrested during this operation used the backdrop of New York City to shadow their illicit pasts in their home countries,” Thomas R. Decker, field office director for ERO New York added. “ICE officers will continue to focus their enforcement efforts on criminal aliens and others, like these known or suspected human rights violators, and will seek to have each one removed to their home country.” In Baltimore, ERO officers picked up two more human rights violators. One, “a Central American man who was affiliated with an organization complicit in alleged kidnappings, inflicted prisoner injuries, and alleged murders in his home country,” officials stated. The other, “a West African man connected to a regime directly responsible for human rights abuses of citizens in his home country.” “Since 2003, ICE has arrested more than 415 individuals for human rights-related violations of the law under various criminal and/or immigration statutes,” officials stated. “During that same period, ICE obtained deportation orders against and physically removed more than 990 known or suspected human rights violators from the United States. Additionally, ICE has facilitated the departure of an additional 152 such individuals from the United States.”

Bob Price

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/bp_Lg8beJsc/

2019-09-05 19:21:52+00:00

politics

fundamental rights

breitbart--2019-10-08--NBA's Woke Warriors Silent on Human Rights Abuses in China

breitbart

NBA's Woke Warriors Silent on Human Rights Abuses in China

The National Basketball Association considers itself one of the most “progressive” organizations in America, and is always ready to criticize President Donald Trump or other Americans who members of the league think are not woke enough. But this weekend’s apology to China shows that the NBA is quick to attack Americans while turning a blind eye to China’s serious human rights abuses. Over the weekend, the NBA rebuked Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey who tweeted his support of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. The league apologized to the oppressive Chinese government for Morey’s support of the democracy activists. But according to a recent report at Human Rights Watch, China is still one of the worst abusers of human rights in the world. In its 2018 report, the organization reported that China has “dramatically stepped up repression and systematic abuses against the 13 million Turkic Muslims, including Uyghurs and ethnic Kazakhs, in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region.” “Authorities have carried out mass arbitrary detention, torture, and mistreatment of some of them in various detention facilities, and increasingly imposed pervasive controls on daily life,” HRW wrote. “New regulations in Tibet now criminalize even traditional forms of social action, including community mediation by religious figures. In Hong Kong, a region promised ‘a high degree of autonomy’ under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Chinese and Hong Kong governments hastened their efforts in 2018 to undermine people’s rights to free speech and political participation.” HRW also reiterated China’s oppression of its homosexual citizens, refugees, asylum seekers, women, and girls, and that is not to even mention its actions against Tibet. This is the country that the NBA is falling all over itself to support. But the woke members of the NBA has been very quick to attack Americans who they think aren’t woke enough. Especially when they feel that they can safely attack such people without hurting their financial bottom line. For instance, when NBA player Jason Collins came out as gay in 2013, the whole NBA was effusive in its praise of the player. Stars from Kobe Bryant to Kirk Gibson jumped to praise Collins for his bravery for coming out. In another case, in 2016, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — an outspoken leftist and critic of President Donald Trump — attacked the Trump administration for what Popovich insisted was Trump’s “bullying of gays and minorities.” It was right after Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, and Popovich was livid. “Not basically because the Republicans won or anything, but the disgusting tenure and tone and all the comments that have been xenophobic, homophobic, racist, misogynistic,” Popovich exploded. “I live in that country where half the people ignored all that to elect someone. That’s the scariest part of the whole thing to me.” Then in 2017, Warriors coach Steve Kerr and his team hosted an “LGBTQ Pride Night,” to “educate kids” about gay rights. But according to the Lancet, China, home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world, commits serious persecution and discrimination against gays. Not only does government take harsh action, Chinese society takes harsh action against gays. LGBTQ children even face serious oppression and abuse by parents, while Chinese authorities turn a blind eye. Despite China’s abuse of its LGBTQ citizens, the woke NBA has been utterly silent about the mistreatment of gays in the country the league is courting for big dollars.

Warner Todd Huston

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/JHwT2mvLfZY/

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 14:19:25 +0000

politics

fundamental rights

breitbart--2019-12-04--China: Using Facial Recognition Technology Protects Human Rights

breitbart

China: Using Facial Recognition Technology Protects Human Rights

China’s use of facial recognition technology is an effort to protect people’s human rights, the country’s state media declared on Tuesday. In a typically brazen editorial by Global Times, the English language state propaganda outlet boasts that despite having developed the fastest and most effective facial recognition technology in the world, Western media outlets have been using the “cliché of human rights to attack China” over concerns of privacy. “They have not realized that the convenience and security brought by the new technology are also a guarantee of human rights,” the editorial reads. The core of the editorial’s argument goes to the heart of the Chinese communist worldview, the outlet argued, that security triumphs liberty as the most important human right of them all. “What is the most important human right? It might be security. Facial recognition and the real-name system are currently the most effective ways to crack down on telecommunications fraud and identity theft,” it continues. “These measures have successfully protected the personal and property security of Chinese mobile phone users.” The writers use the example of Xinjiang, where facial recognition technology is being used to help carry out the mass repression of its Uyghur Muslim population, as an effective way to “detect terrorists and protect ordinary people,” adding that it has played an important role in countering terrorism and bringing peace back to Xinjiang. China is currently in the process of aggressively implementing such technology, with new legislation coming into effect this weekend requiring telecom operators to collect face scans of their new customers. Authorities have already successfully rolled out other facial recognition systems in a number of other sectors, including at supermarket checkouts, transport systems, and public walkways. Jeffrey Ding, a researcher on Chinese artificial intelligence at Oxford University, told the BBC that although the technology can be utilized to bolster cyber-security and reduce Internet fraud, the principal intention is to monitor the population. “It’s connected to a very centralized push to try to keep tabs on everyone, or that’s at least the ambition,” he explained, in reference to China’s ambition of becoming the world’s most effective surveillance state. In the editorial, Global Times also points out that similar systems are being trialed in France and the United Kingdom, adding that the worldwide roll-out of such technology is now “unstoppable” anyway. “The development of new technology is unstoppable. Instead of accusing China of putting so-called electronic anklets on Chinese people, Western media should see that China has been exploring the boundaries of the rules of new technology,” it reads. “Such exploration can also be a reference for other countries. Some Western countries should not ignore or even blacken China’s efforts.” Follow Ben Kew on Facebook, Twitter at @ben_kew, or email him at bkew@breitbart.com.

Ben Kew

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/breitbart/~3/FEx4CGYpujg/

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 23:47:32 +0000

politics

fundamental rights

21stcenturywire--2019-01-30--WATCH Londoners Protest UK Governments Regime Change Policy on Venezuela

21stcenturywire

WATCH: Londoners Protest UK Government’s Regime Change Policy on Venezuela

Journalist Robert Inlakesh reported live from the streets of London earlier this week, covering a protest against the U.K. Government’s ‘Trump train’ support of regime change on Venezuela. Protesters marched on the streets of London in the late afternoon on Monday. Protests like these aren’t covered by the mainstream press. During this captivating 13-minute video, Inlakesh speaks with some of the Venezuelan protesters to get their candid views on the current crisis unfolding in their home country. The people gathered at this demonstration are in clear opposition to the regime change tactics used by foreign powers on oil-rich nations like Venezuela. Watch:

21wire

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/01/30/watch-londoners-protest-uk-governments-regime-change-policy-on-venezuela/

2019-01-30 17:59:19+00:00

politics

government

21stcenturywire--2019-03-27--The US Government Is A Corporate Gang Venezuelas Foreign Minister Exclusive Press TV

21stcenturywire

‘The US Government Is A Corporate Gang’ – Venezuela’s Foreign Minister [Exclusive Press TV]

The Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza, stated in an exclusive interview with PressTV’s Ahmed Kaballo, that the United States government is a corporate gang. Venezuela’s Foreign Minister also addressed the ongoing attempt to undermine and take down the government of Venezuela. Watch the interview here:

Robert Inlakesh

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/03/27/the-us-government-is-a-corporate-gang-venezuelas-foreign-minister-exclusive-press-tv/

2019-03-27 16:58:37+00:00

politics

government

21stcenturywire--2019-08-19--Maduro Government Showed Willingness for New Elections During Secret Talks

21stcenturywire

Maduro Government Showed ‘Willingness’ for New Elections During Secret Talks

Earlier this year, Norway was hosting multiple rounds of talks between Venezuela’s actual government, and the US-backed opposition, which posits a future situation in which they will end up being the government. The demands from the opposition and the US are to hold new elections, and according to those familiar with the May talks, they say the Maduro government signaled a willingness to hold an election in 9-12 months, assuming it would end the persistent US regime change attempts. That Maduro was willing for a new vote is surprising, and he might see it as a way out, since the US-backed opposition didn’t run in the 2018 election at all, which led them and the US to declare the vote illegitimate. It’s also interesting that the US was involved at all, as the US expressed anger at the very idea of the Norway talks at the time, and chided Norway for having them. Now, officials say the US has opened up secret lines of communications with a number of members of Maduro’s inner circle. The secret US talks don’t seem directly related to the secret Norway election proposal, but rather to the already failed US coup attempt, as the US is still trying to convince Venezuela’s leadership they won’t face further retribution if they betray Maduro and allow regime change. The US inclination to have regime change just happen unilaterally based on a demand seems intact, related to Trump’s talk of a naval blockade of the entire, large country. It’s not clear where that leaves the election as of right now, though the US may ultimately view a proper election as a very last resort kind of idea.

21wire

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/08/19/venezuelas-maduro-govt-showed-willingness-for-new-elections-during-secret-talks/

2019-08-19 15:53:27+00:00

politics

government

21stcenturywire--2019-10-08--ECUADOR: Protests Heat Up in Quito, Moreno Government Leaves Capital City

21stcenturywire

ECUADOR: Protests Heat Up in Quito, Moreno Government Leaves Capital City

Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno has announced his administration is leaving the capital city of Quito amid new protests. Protesters have been met with tear gas from police on the streets of Quito, as they came out against the Moreno government and “austerity cuts tied to a recently implemented IMF deal,” RT reports. Mass protests were also cracked down on by police last April, after the US-backed Moreno regime allowed WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be illegally rendered by British abductors from its embassy. Those demonstrations were also met with violence from the Ecuadorian police including beatings, tear gas attacks, and the use of trained attack dogs against peaceful demonstrators. A central focus of the protests for Ecuadorians has been the role of what critics have dubbed the “International Misery Fund,” or, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the austerity measures tied to its loan guarantees. It has also been reported that Moreno has since relocated his administration to the city of Guayaquil, about 400 kilometers southwest of Quito.

21wire

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/10/08/ecuador-protests-heat-up-in-quito-moreno-government-leaves-capital-city/

Tue, 08 Oct 2019 15:03:16 +0000

politics

government

21stcenturywire--2019-12-27--Istanbul’s ‘Syrian Government in Exile’, Now Demanding Military Action in Idlib

21stcenturywire

Istanbul’s ‘Syrian Government in Exile’, Now Demanding Military Action in Idlib

Ever since the beginning of the US-led regime change effort against Syria began in 2011, the West and its Gulf state financiers have tried to prop-up a “Syrian Interim Government” in the desperate hope that this western creation could somehow be parachuted into the country after the real government in Damascus was decapitated by the western and Gulf-backed conclave of radical jihadist terrorist militants who formed what the western media and political operatives commonly referred to as the “rebel opposition” in Syria. The first iteration of this ‘interim government’ was known as the Syrian National Council (SNC), which collapsed for obvious reasons (starting with the fact that its members have been hand-picked by Washington, and also because no one in Syria, other than militant factions receiving western patronage, actually recognizes it). The SNC then morphed into a series of other entities, before reaching its current form, now sponsored by the Turkish state. But past failures have not deterred them, as this latest version of “legitimate Syrian government” seems to have found a permanent home in Istanbul, Turkey, where it’s now calling for military action against Damascus in order to save the remaining al-Qaeda terrorist brigades currently occupying Syria’s northern province of Idlib. In addition to the their parallel ‘government’ in Turkey, the opposition confab has also given a marketing facelift their western-backed militant forces, formerly known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA). As 21WIRE previously reported, Turkey’s president Tayyip Erdogan has been hosting but has now absorbed the terrorist-infested FSA into Turkey’s military ranks, and has redeployed them under a new brand, cynically named the “Syrian National Army”. Their new Turkish lifeline has no doubt pleased Washington who themselves have already invested billions in US taxpayer funds financing, training and arming these very same jihadist brigades that Erdogan has employed on the front lines of his latest incursions into Syria in the attempt to carve out a Turkish-friendly ‘safe zone’ along its border and inside of Syrian territory. Not content with matters, Istanbul’s ‘Syrian government’ is now demanding that Erdogan reassign all FSA terrorist fighters to Syria’s northern province of Idlib to help repel the current Syria Army and Russian offensive launched this past week. The West’s “Syrian government” still on life-support, residing in Istanbul (Image Source: Hadi Abdullah) Nonetheless, there is still a faint glimmer of hope held by the foreign-based opposition that the West will re-enter the theatre, topple the Assad government in Damascus, and help install them into power, thus rescuing the ephemeral “revolution” which some still claim happened in 2011, but which never actually happened in reality. Of course, if the money ever dries up, then so will so-called “Interim Government” of Syria. Late on December 23, the Turkish-based “Syrian Interim Government” (an entity funded by Turkey in an attempt to legalize its actions in Syria) threatened the real Syrian government with a military action. In a released statement, it claimed that forces that participated in Turkey’s Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield operations are now moving to Greater Idlib in order to support their counterparts in repelling an attack by “regime forces, Russia and Iranian militias”. It remains unclear what “forces” the barely existing “defense ministry” is planning to send to Idlib because Turkish-backed militant groups are already supporting al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the battle against the Syrian Army. The Turkish-backed coalition of militant groups, the National Front for Liberation, has always been a useful partner for al-Qaeda in Idlib. On December 24, united forces of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the National Front for Liberation and several other militant groups launched a counter-attack in an attempt to retake the town of Jarjnaz from the Syrian Army and its allies. Clashes between militants and government forces erupted near Jarjnaz itself and the villages of Ghadfa and Abud Dawha. Militants used at least one suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device. Pro-militant sources that “rebels” destroyed several pieces of military equipment belonging to the army and captured an armoured vehicle and a battle tank. The fighting in the area continued on December 25. On December 24, a Turkish delegation visited Moscow to discuss the situation in Syria and Libya, as well as the existing bilateral cooperation. Taking into account that Turkey’s soft reaction to the encirclement of its observation post in Surman and the lack of Turkish Army attempts to establish more observation posts to stop the Syrian Army advance, it seems that Ankara once again sold its Idlib proxies to Russia.

21wire

https://21stcenturywire.com/2019/12/27/turkey-hosting-syrian-government-in-exile-calling-for-military-action-in-idlib/

Fri, 27 Dec 2019 16:35:51 +0000

politics

government

abcnews--2019-01-03--Government shutdown delays immigration hearings as an already historic backlog grows

abcnews

Government shutdown delays immigration hearings as an already historic backlog grows

The federal government shutdown has led to the closure of a number of U.S. immigration courts handling cases for tens of thousands of people whose status is in limbo – another twist in the protracted showdown between President Donald Trump and Democrats over border wall funding. The closures, which impact people whose immigration status is uncertain in dozens of courts across the country, has led to cases being indefinitely delayed and has further added to the already record-setting backlogs and years-long wait times, immigration legal experts told ABC News. Immigration judges already face a heavy burden dealing with the current caseload, said Amiena Khan, an immigration judge who serves as vice president at the National Association of Immigration Judges. "It is extremely frustrating," Khan said. "There is a tremendous amount of irony to all of this. As the government is shut down for this process to ensure greater border security, look at what it's doing to our system as a whole." Though immigration courts, which operate under the Department of Justice, continues to handle cases for detained migrants, the majority of people who face pending deportation proceedings are not detained. The clients of immigration lawyer Jeremy McKinney may have to wait a full year before the court can even set a later date for a judge to assess the case, McKinney said. Two of his clients, who were supposed to appear Wednesday, had their court dates canceled. “You have to give this court system proper resources and proper integrity for it to do its job,” McKinney said. President Trump has pushed Democrats to vote for more border security, using the government shutdown as leverage for funding. He told reporters in the White House on Wednesday that he’ll keep the government closed, “as long as it takes.” However, the case delays pose a further challenge to the Trump administration's efforts to expedite deportation processes and crackdown on illegal immigration. In the past year, the backlog of immigration court cases has surpassed one million, according to Department of Justice data compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. “For immigrants with legitimate claims for certain types of immigration relief delays launch them further into a vulnerable limbo with no legal status,” said Sarah Piece, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. The delays could put families of asylum applicants at risk as they wait in the applicant's home country, potentially facing violent conditions that would qualify them for refuge in the U.S., immigration experts say. Even if the courts reopened tomorrow, cases with dates that took place during the shutdown would have to be rescheduled – potentially months later – since immigration judges have their calendars booked far in advance. The extra time to establish family roots by getting married or waiting for case law to be decided in federal court could offer more options for avoiding removal, according to legal experts. “When it comes to victims of domestic violence and gang-based crime the law has been thrown into turmoil … having a delay of game for those individuals, that’s not bad news,” McKinnley told ABC News. And for some immigrants with weak legal cases, the delay buys time in the US before they are deported. One possible solution to helping relieve the backlog is a fundamental restructuring of how such courts are funded and resourced, Khan said. This method would include removing courts from the executive branch where they are currently under the purview of the Department of Justice and creating a system where the courts function and are funded more independently. "Immigration courts have been starved of resources for so long because we are so low on the totem pole with regard to appropriate funding," she said.

Quinn Owen

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/government-shutdown-delays-immigration-hearings-historic-backlog-grows/story?id=60119986

2019-01-03 19:56:20+00:00

politics

government

abcnews--2019-01-04--House votes to end partial government shutdown despite White House veto threat

abcnews

House votes to end partial government shutdown despite White House veto threat

House Democrats took their first major legislative votes of the new Congress, approving two measures to end the 13-day partial government shutdown -- despite a presidential veto threat. Though both measures are expected to stall in the Senate, newly minted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ruled out approving any funding towards the president’s $5.6 billion request for a physical barrier at the southern border – renewing the impasse that led to the shutdown last month. "We are not doing a wall. Does anybody have any doubt? We are not doing a wall," Pelosi, D-California, said, dubbing the President Donald Trump as a “master of diversion.” In light of newly divided government, Thursday’s votes set down a legislative marker for the House of Representatives, but did not produce a bipartisan resolution to the border wall stalemate or bring the shutdown any closer to its end. “The fact is a wall is an immorality. It's not who we are as a nation,” Pelosi said. “It’s a wall between reality and his constituents, his supporters." A vote on a package of six appropriations bills late Thursday night passed 241-190, while lawmakers also approved a narrow measure to extend funding for the Department of Homeland Security until Feb. 8 by a tally of 239-192. “As Representatives, funding the federal government is one of our most important duties,” House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-New York, said on the House floor during debate on the bills. “When Congress allows a president to dictate ridiculous demands and lets petty partisanship prevent the timely passage of appropriations bills, we abdicate that responsibility. Our new Democratic majority was elected to end the chaos and govern responsibly.” Prior to the votes, Trump made a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room on Thursday afternoon to underscore his demand for the border wall, asserting that “without a wall, you cannot have border security.” “You can call it a barrier. You can call it whatever you want,” Trump said. “But essentially, we need protection in our country. We're going to make it good. The people of our country want it.” Separately, the White House signaled Thursday that the president would veto either measure if the legislation reached the Resolute Desk. "The Administration has made it clear that the Government needs an investment of at least $5 billion for border security, along with the flexibility necessary to utilize these funds efficiently,” a statement of administration policy stated. “The appropriations bill, H.R. 21, and the corresponding H.J. Res. 1, does not come close to providing these necessary investments and authorities." Congressional leaders were slated to meet with Trump at 11 a.m. Friday to resume negotiations, though neither side appears ready to cave. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has also pledged to block the measures from a vote in the upper chamber. “The Senate will not take up any proposal that does not have a real chance of passing this chamber and getting a presidential signature,” McConnell, R-Kentucky, said. “Let’s not waste the time. Let’s not get off on the wrong foot, with House Democrats using their new platform to produce political statements rather than serious solutions.” While Trump said last month that he would be proud to own a shutdown in order to secure funding he has demanded to build a southern border wall, counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway argued that the president no longer bears responsibility for the shutdown that's resulted in the closure of approximately a quarter of the federal government, impacting 800,000 federal workers. “He doesn't own the shutdown any longer,” Conway said when asked if the president regrets his past statement willingly taking the blame. She argued that because the House of Representatives passed a package last month that included the president’s requested $5.6 billion in funding, the buck now passes to the Senate. That measure expired with the end of the 115th Congress earlier Thursday. "He doesn't own the shutdown any longer. The House voted, the House did its job. The House passed a 5.6 billion border security funding, and it's not just for a wall it's for border security, and now the Senate has to do its job," Conway said. Trump tweeted Thursday morning that the shutdown could be explained by the 2020 presidential election and Democratic efforts to stall his administration, citing the showdown as an example of "presidential harassment." The broader measure includes funding for the remainder of the fiscal year for every government agency currently closed, with the exception of agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. The second bill would fund DHS through Feb. 8 at the current funding rate of $1.3 billion for border security. "We asked him to give us one good reason -- I asked him directly. I said, Mr. President, 'give me one good reason why you should continue your shutdown of the eight cabinet departments while we are debating our differences on homeland security?' He could not give a good answer. So we would hope that they would reconsider and would support the very bills that pass the Senate," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

John Parkinson, Jordyn Phelps

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/president-trump-doesnt-shutdown-longer-kellyanne-conway/story?id=60138178

2019-01-04 12:34:00+00:00

politics

government

abcnews--2019-01-04--Trump threatens to keep the government shut down for a year or longer

abcnews

Trump threatens to keep the government shut down for a year or longer

President Donald Trump said Friday he would keep the government shut down for months or even a year or longer if needed to get his way on border security and said he has considered declaring a national emergency to try to secure funding for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. "Yes, I have. And I can do it," Trump said in the White House Rose Garden, answering a question from ABC News' Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran. He added he could do so "for the national security of our country." The president remarks came after an ABC News report that he was seriously considering potential options to circumvent Congress, including declaring a national emergency, to reprogram funds from the Department of Defense and elsewhere to help pay for parts of his desired border wall, according to multiple sources familiar with the ongoing discussions. Earlier, Trump had said he had had a "productive" and "very, very good meeting" after talks with top Democrats and other congressional leaders at the White House Friday in an effort to end the partial government shutdown now heading into the third week. During the hastily arranged Rose Garden press conference with DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, and Vice President Mike Pence standing at his side in the cold, Trump said staff-level talks would continue over the weekend and expressed optimism about a resolution to the standoff over the president's demand that Democrats pass a measure to pay for the wall he wants. Pence, Nielsen, and presidential adviser Jared Kushner will be leading a White House delegation for negotiations, at the direction of the president. "We put together a team of people that will work over the weekend and they'll be negotiating on the border. On the look, on different things having to do with border security and including at the ports of entry," Trump said. "And I think they'll be very successful. Because I found the Democrats really want to do something." Just minutes earlier, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters outside the White House that Trump told lawmakers in their nearly hour-and-a-half meeting that he is prepared to keep the government closed "for a very long period of time, months or even years." Trump, answering a reporter's question about Schumer's remarks, confirmed that he made the threat and agreed that the meeting had been "contentious" despite his earlier upbeat tone. Discussions between the president and Democratic leaders had a bumpy start weeks ago, with Trump declaring he would "own" the government shutdown. When reminded of his comments Friday, he said: "I'm very proud of doing what I'm doing." "I don't call it a shutdown. I call it what you have to do for the benefit and for the safety of our country," Trump said. Schumer said during the meeting on Friday that Trump resisted Democratic pleas to reopen the government as discussions continue. "The bottom line is very simple. We made a plea to the president once again. Don't hold millions of Americans hundreds of thousands of workers hostage. Open up the government and let's continue the discussions," Schumer said. "How do you define progress when you have a better understanding of each other's position? When you eliminate some possibilities?" Pelosi said. "If that's a judgment, then yes, we made progress," she said before turning on her heels with Democrats to leave the White House. Friday's meeting largely mirrored a Situation Room briefing on border security Wednesday with the same eight members of leadership for both parties in the House and Senate. Friday's briefing took place in the Situation Room and was not open to press coverage. The meeting also came after the House and Senate adjourned Friday morning. The two chambers are set to return next Tuesday, all but assuring that the partial government shutdown will likely continue well into next week. Fresh off her election as House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi was expected to pressure the president to sign a series of measures House Democrats passed Thursday evening that would open the six federal agencies shuttered in the government shutdown and extend Department of Homeland Security funding through Feb. 8 to make time for negotiations on border security. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he would not bring the bills for a vote in his chamber without approval from the president, who has only dug in on his demands for more than $5 billion in funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. "The package presented by the House's new Democratic leaders yesterday can only be seen as a time-wasting act of political posturing," McConnell announced on the Senate floor Friday morning. He went on: "It does not carry the support of the president ... the president would actually veto it. And it cannot earn the support of 60 of my colleagues over here in the Senate. My friends across the aisle understand the ground rules perfectly well." But there were new signs of cracks in the GOP line as Republican members awaited word from the White House on what exactly the president might sign that would satisfy a sufficient number of Democrats to pass out of the Senate, where a 60-vote threshold is required. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, both said they would support measures that would end the partial shutdown and not provide the funding demanded by the president for his border wall. Reacting to Gardner and Collins' statements, press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters Friday the president wouldn't back down. "Look the president has the support of the American people because they want to feel safe," Sanders said. "The number one duty that the president has and frankly that Congress shares with him is to protect the people in this country." Both sides made no progress in the Wednesday meeting as President Trump and DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sought to exclusively focus on the need for a wall, which Democrats have described as unnecessary and "immoral" in the broader argument for enhanced border security.

Meridith Mcgraw,, Alexander Mallin , Mariam Khan

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/shutdown-heads-3rd-week-trump-hosts-lawmakers-2nd/story?id=60159969

2019-01-04 23:18:32+00:00

politics

government

abcnews--2019-01-05--Negotiations continue as government shutdown enters 3rd week

abcnews

Negotiations continue as government shutdown enters 3rd week

With the government shutdown entering its third week, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats are continuing in an effort to get federal workers back to work and paid. Congressional leadership staff, Vice President Mike Pence, senior presidential adviser Jared Kushner, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and aides met today to work towards an agreement at the behest of the president. On Saturday morning, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kushner, Pence, and Nielsen walked over to the vice president's ceremonial office together, which is located across the street from the White House. The meeting lasted nearly two hours, but it's unclear what progress -- if any -- was made. Currently, negotiations remain at an impasse as the president said he will not budge on his request for $5.6 billion in funding for a border wall. During an unplanned press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House after a closed-door meeting with Democratic and Republican leadership Friday, President Trump said he is prepared to keep the government shut down for "a very long period of time, months or even years" in order to get border wall funding. Following the meeting, Democrats said the president ignored their pleas to reopen the government as negotiations continue. The stalemate has frustrated lawmakers and federal workers. Currently, over 800,000 federal workers are working without pay or have been sent home to wait for possible back pay. The consequences are being felt by civilians, too -- museums are closed, trash is piling up in parks, and vital, government-backed resources for farmers or housing, for example, are frozen. Trump dismissed furloughed federal workers in a tweet on Saturday, writing: "I don’t care that most of the workers not getting paid are Democrats, I want to stop the Shutdown as soon as we are in agreement on Strong Border Security! I am in the White House ready to go, where are the Dems?" During his Rose Garden press conference Friday, the president was asked about his message for furloughed federal workers. He said that negotiations for a border wall take priority, adding that he believes that federal works "agree with what we're doing." The president has made the unsubstantiated claim that federal workers are Democrats before. Mulvaney told reporters last Friday the president meant that most federal workers live in districts around the D.C. area that are represented by Democrats. President Trump also tweeted that ending the shutdown "would be so easy to do" if Democrats would approve "REAL Border Security" that includes the wall and claims there is support from both sides. Coming out of the second meeting in the White House Situation Room with the president on Friday, Democrats said the discussions were "contentious." While Trump has continued to demand money for the border wall, Democrats say they are not willing to allocate any additional funds. Instead, Democrats have asked the president to reopen the government while the talks about border security continue. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who recaptured the speaker's gavel on Thursday, did not sound optimistic when she was asked how she would define the progress from the meetings. "How do you define progress when you have a better understanding of each other's position? When you eliminate some possibilities? If that's a judgment, then yes, we made progress," she said before turning on her heels to leave the White House with her fellow Democrats.

Meridith Mcgraw

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/negotiations-continue-government-shutdown-enters-3rd-week/story?id=60177762

2019-01-05 20:00:14+00:00

politics

government

abcnews--2019-01-09--The Note Trump losing sway in his own GOP over government shutdown

abcnews

The Note: Trump losing sway in his own GOP over government shutdown

The TAKE with Rick Klein As President Donald Trump pushes for his border wall, his wall of Republican support is showing signs of cracking. A bipartisan meeting at the White House Wednesday morning will be important. But the bigger moments could come when Trump and Vice President Mike Pence make their case to Senate Republicans in the afternoon, amid weariness over the wisdom of an extended government shutdown and concerns about the president's endgame. Republican moderates are already speaking out, calling for the government to be funded without the president's border wall. Senate Democrats are managing to grind business to a halt so long as the shutdown persists. While the Senate no longer includes Jeff Flake or Bob Corker, it does include a few purple-state senators growing concerned about their next elections. It also includes some conservative stalwarts who aren't worried about such things -- including new Sen. Mitt Romney and retiring Sens. Lamar Alexander and Pat Roberts. A big piece of the new Washington dynamic, of course, is Democratic control of the House, but Trump's lack of control over Republicans could be a more urgent concern for the president. The Trump administration is starting to run into some rhetorical walls, as its arguments for a barrier on the southern border include a few intellectual inconsistencies. For example, if crime, gangs and drugs are so dangerous south of the border, wouldn't that boost the asylum-seekers' claims? The budget conversation in Washington the last few weeks has centered on priorities. The president is prioritizing a physical barrier over other tools for beefing up national security. Democrats have said their priority is to not waste money on something they view as an ineffective idea and a symbol antithetical to American values. But in all the back and forth, what priority or concession has been given to those traveling from South and Central America who might really be in need and have reasons for seeking refuge? And if both sides agree there is a humanitarian crisis at the border -- as leaders from both parties said Tuesday night -- what are they offering to provide care, relief or to stem the tide? FIRST ON ABC NEWS -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has said he's actively considering a second presidential run, will team up Thursday with Reps. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., to unveil three new bills aimed at reducing the price of prescription drugs. According to Sanders' congressional staff, the legislative package from the group includes: -- The Prescription Drug Price Relief Act, which would “peg the price of prescription drugs" in the U.S. to the median price in five major countries: Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan -- The Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Act, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare Part D -- The Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, which would allow Americans to import safe, low-cost medicine from Canada and other major countries "The United States pays by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs," Sanders wrote in a statement. "If the pharmaceutical industry will not end its greed, which is literally killing Americans, then we will end it for them." The issue was central to his first presidential bid in 2016, and last year Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Amy Klobachar, D-Minn., each unveiled their own legislation on the topic too. They're each eyeing possible 2020 runs. With health care front and center on voters' minds, Trump has also promised to continue to work to bring down drug costs. ABC News' "Start Here" Podcast. In a special edition, we analyze the president's Oval Office address on border security and the Democratic response. http://apple.co/2HPocUL WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY The Note is a daily ABC News feature that highlights the day's top stories in politics. Please check back tomorrow for the latest.

Rick Klein, MaryAlice Parks

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/note-trump-losing-sway-gop-government-shutdown/story?id=60248165

2019-01-09 12:08:50+00:00

politics

government

russiainsider--2019-06-17--A Russian-American-Israeli meeting in Jerusalem Syria and Iran on the table

russiainsider

A Russian-American-Israeli meeting in Jerusalem: Syria and Iran on the table

This month of June, the National Security Advisors of Russia, the US, and Israel, Nikolay Patrushev, John Bolton and Meir Ben-Shabbat, respectively, are expected to meet in Jerusalem to talk about Iran and Syria and what Israel considers the “threat to its security” in the Levant. Well-informed sources believe the meeting will bring nothing new, mainly due to continued Israeli violations of Syrian sovereignty and its bombing of Iranian targets far from the borders. Israel cannot expect any support from Russia in this regard, and this is why. The Kremlin’s hands are tied, and it is unwilling to take a stand against the wishes of the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his allies. However, this meeting is significant only because it has no precedent and is a concession to a request by Netanyahu to President Vladimir Putin last February during the Israeli Prime Minister’s visit to the Kremlin. Also, it shows US compliance with Netanyahu’s request to President Donald Trump during the visit to the White House last March. High-ranking sources among decision-makers say this: “Netanyahu runs to his allies to cry on their shoulders when he is the aggressor, as in every single problem in the Levant, particularly when the Israeli military exceeds the limits and crosses red lines. Last year, Russia agreed with Iran to create a kind of safety perimeter for the Russian military to take control along the Quneitra-Golan Heights front. That would have made it possible to ease the situation on the borders and allow President Assad and his allies to concentrate on other fronts. Iran responded positively to the Russian request, following the approval of President Assad”. “It is important to point out that Russia is not part of and doesn’t adopt the objectives of the “Axis of the Resistance”. It has excellent relations with Israel, Iran and Hezbollah, and considers Syria a strategic ally. Moscow tries to keep a balance in its relations with the countries of the Middle East. Nevertheless, Russia has rushed to support the integrity of Syria, its government and army. It has acted as a second Syrian Air Force, bombing all Syria’s enemies and helping the Syrian government recover the control of its territory. Of course, the situation in the north-east under US occupation and the north-west under al-Qaeda-like groups and pro-Turkish militants is more complicated and confusing. The destiny of these two areas is connected and mature political and diplomatic efforts at coordination will be necessary before moving towards a military option to liberate the north”, said the decision-maker. Concernant the Iranian deployment in Syria, the source said: “Israel took advantage of Russian efforts and bombed Iranian positions in the heart of Syria and on the coast. These positions are valuable and linked to the organisation of the Syrian army’s strategic armaments (missile production industrial objectives and strategic military warehouses). Thus, it was Israel’s choice to change the Rule of Engagement (ROE), triggering the return of Syrian allies, i.e. Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to the borders with the occupied Golan Heights annexed by Israel. Russia found itself in no position to intervene and prevent their return because it was Israel which dismantled what Russia had tried to achieve on these borders”. As to why Syria and its allies did not respond to Israel’s aggressive violations of Syrian sovereignty and its bombing of hundreds of objectives in Syria, the source answered: “Iran’s National Security responsible Admiral Ali Shamkhani has said his country and President Assad will respond by bombing objectives (in Israel) if the Israeli Air Force bombs Syria. Nothing has happened, true. The late Secretary General of Hezbollah Sayyed Abbas al-Moussawi (assassinated by Israel in 1992) used to say that it is important to concentrate on the main objectives and avoid wasting time and energy, regardless of what Israel might do. Israel’s objective is to divert attention from Syria’s main strategic goals. Today Hezbollah and the IRGC have returned to the borders and Russia is no longer in a position to ask for another withdrawal. The destiny and the front of the Shebaa Farms (a Lebanese area occupied by Israel) and the Golan Heights are intertwined, and Syria and its allies are actively working on these objectives”. Today in Syria there are priorities which take precedence over a battle with Israel. Fighting Israel is not an option for the Syrian President even if several high-value targets have been destroyed. Israel is conscious of the situation and feels disoriented and angry even though it is aware that Syria and its allies are not willing to open a wide military front during this critical period in the Middle East. What is also highly probable is that Israel cannot expect Hezbollah and Iran to remain silent for very long. To any ordinary observer, it looks like Israel is mocking the Syrian leadership and its allies, enjoying an unstoppable free ride in Syria with no accountability for its actions. Nevertheless, it is President Assad who believes there is no compelling reason for Syria and its allies to bomb Israel. Idlib has priority, as does the reconstruction of Syria and the delivery of fundamental necessities to its inhabitants (energy, schooling, rebuilding societies and cities). The war with Israel can wait and is going nowhere, President Assad believes. Russia is not in a position to offer Israel what it needs, simply because Netanyahu is unreliable. Netanyahu had his opportunity and has decided to throw it out of the window, prioritising the bombing of Iranian objectives in the country. This may well reduce the Russian-American-Israeli meeting to a picture-taking opportunity. The Israeli Prime Minister will have the opportunity to take credit for staging an unprecedented meeting and will temporarily benefit from this propaganda. However, he will definitely come away empty handed.

Elijah J. Magnier

https://russia-insider.com/en/politics/russian-american-israeli-meeting-jerusalem-syria-and-iran-table/ri27255

2019-06-17 07:06:00+00:00

politics

international relations

tass--2019-06-16--Moscow hopes for results from Russia-US-Israel meeting of security chiefs in Jerusalem

tass

Moscow hopes for results from Russia-US-Israel meeting of security chiefs in Jerusalem

MOSCOW, June 16. /TASS/. Russia’s Security Council hopes that a meeting between Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat to be held in Jerusalem later in June will yield practical results in terms of stabilization in Syria and the Middle East, a senior Russian security official said on Sunday. "As for our cooperation with the United States on Syria, dialogue has been failing for a long time. But to the credit of our American partners, they have demonstrated enough of political will and now we are getting prepared for a meeting of Russian, US and Israeli security chiefs that is to take place within weeks in Jerusalem," he said. "We hope our joint work will yield common practical steps aimed at stabilizing the situation in Syria and the entire Middle East." According to Yevgeny Anoshin, spokesman for the secretary of the Russian Security Council, the talks will center round the Middle East problems. Meanwhile, US Special Representative for Syria James Jeffrey said the three nations had reached no agreements ahead of the Jerusalem consultations.

https://tass.com/politics/1064057

2019-06-16 17:41:14+00:00

politics

international relations