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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

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House Republicans are working on new legislation to prevent foreign nationals from influencing America’s political process, Axios has learned.

Why It Matters: The last two presidential elections have been colored by allegations that foreign influence helped the GOP.

• Now House Republicans are trying to flip to script and draw attention to foreign donations to Democrat-aligned and progressive nonprofit organizations.

• Non-U.S. citizens can’t contribute to candidates, campaigns, or super PACs, but they can give to 501(c)(4) organizations, which are tax-exempt groups that can engage in general issue advocacy, and support state ballot initiatives.

Driving The News: Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) chair of the House Administration Committee, is introducing legislation to ban such groups from contributing to political committees for four years if they accept foreign donations. He also wants to bar foreign nationals from giving to state ballot initiatives.

• “American elections are for American citizens,” Steil told Axios, ahead of a hearing his committee is holding in Atlanta today on election integrity. “Yet foreign nationals still find ways to influence American elections.”

• “The American Confidence in Elections (ACE) Act will close loopholes that foreign nationals are exploiting to funnel money to super PACs or ballot initiatives,” he said.

• His hearing will draw on a new report from a conservative group, the Americans for Public Trust, which tries to show how Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss billionaire, has influenced U.S. elections and policy through two nonprofits he controls: The Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund.

• “It’s time for Congress to close the foreign influence loophole that allows foreign dark money to flood the American electoral and political system," said Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust.

The Other Side: "The Berger Action Fund does not support or oppose political candidates or parties, or otherwise engage in political campaigns," said Marneé Banks, a spokesperson for the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund.

• "Berger complies with all rules governing its activities and has established strict policies prohibiting funding from being used for get-out-the-vote or voter registration," she said.

• "We also support increasing transparency and accountability in our campaign finance system through the DISCLOSE Act."

The Big Picture: The combination of artificial intelligence, social media and unregulated spending will make the 2024 presidential election vulnerable to foreign interference on behalf of both parties.

• Malicious foreign actors, including Russia’s Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group, have boasted about how they ran influence campaigns in America during the last presidential campaign — and plan to do it again.

• Meanwhile, big tech companies are relaxing some of their policies designed to curb misinformation around COVID-19 and the 2020 election, making 2024 more of a free-for-all on social media.

• State and local election officials can work to safeguard the voting process, but in a free and open society it’s close to impossible to prevent foreign actors from trying to persuade Americans via open — or clandestine — influence campaigns.

Zoom In: Conservative groups are zeroing in on Wyss as a poster child for how wealthy foreign billionaires can influence U.S. elections, alleging that he has pumped $475 million into the U.S. political system.

• In 2021 alone, his Berger Action Fund gave some $72 million to a dozen different nonprofit organizations, including the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which advocates for progressive causes, according to the Associated Press and tax filings.

• Those 501(c)(4) nonprofits, like the Sixteen Thirty Fund, can give directly to superPACs that support the Democratic agenda, the New York Times has reported.

• "The problem is that c4's are a bit of a black box when it comes to campaign finance laws," said Saurav Ghosh, the director of the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based nonpartisan watchdog group.

Flashback: Republicans and Democrats have been hit with big fines for accepting foreign money.

• Last year the Federal Election Commission fined Barry Zekelman, a Canadian billionaire, $975,000 for steering some $1.75 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in 2018.

• In 2019, the FEC issued $940,000 in fines to the super PAC supporting former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential bid and a Chinese-owned corporation that made illegal donations to it.

• In 2002, the FEC imposed $719,000 in fines in response to a 1996 Democratic Party fundraising scandal involving donations from China, Korea and other foreign sources.

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onestubbornlass · 4 years

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I just wanna remind people why you should boycott Disney's new Mulan...

(If what the actress said isn't enough, here's more reason.)

(Picture says: Disney live-action Mulan was filmed in Xinjiang nearby some Uighur concentration camps. In the credits they openly thank a CCP agency tasked with administering the camps. By the guardian.) Link here

What are the Uighurs?

"The Uighurs are a mostly Muslim Turkic ethnicity who regard themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. The majority live in Xinjiang, where they number about 11 million people." -BBC link

(In picture: a group of Uighur men sit drinking and eating.)

What is China doing?

Well let's take a look at what BBC said,

"In July 2020, the UK warned that it may sanction China over the "gross and egregious" human rights abuses reported in Xinjiang.

Asked whether the treatment of the Uighurs met the legal definition of genocide, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the international community had to be "careful" before making such claims.

But a UN human rights committee found in 2018 there were credible reports that China was holding a million Uighurs in political 'counter-extremism' camps. Committee member Gay McDougall said the Chinese government had "turned the Uighur autonomous region into something that resembles a massive internment camp".

"Human rights charities including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) have long accused Beijing of mass imprisonment and torture. Most inmates in the so-called "re-education camps" have never been charged with a crime and have not received any legal representation, the charities say.

"Beijing's shameful denials in the face of well-evidenced UN allegations regarding mass arbitrary detentions in Xinjiang ought to shock the world," HRW China director Sophie Richardson told the BBC at the time.

In the wake of recent reports of mass sterilisation of Uighur women, the Interparliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an international cross-party group of politicians, called on the UN to "establish an international, impartial, independent investigation into the situation in the Xinjiang region".

"A body of mounting evidence now exists, alleging mass incarceration, indoctrination, extrajudicial detention, invasive surveillance, forced labor, and the destruction of Uighur cultural sites, including cemeteries, together with other forms of abuse," the statement said."

"Since the 9/11 attacks in the US, China has increasingly portrayed its Uighur separatists as auxiliaries of al-Qaeda, claiming Uighur Muslims have received training in Afghanistan."

"many Uighurs complain that Han Chinese are taking their jobs, and that their farmland has been confiscated for redevelopment. Mass immigration of Han Chinese to Xinjiang has made Uighurs a minority now in the province."

BBC's article can be found here

(In picture, a group of Uighur men stand below a picture of the previous Chinese dictator.)

Who else is China putting in these "re-education camps" aka Gulags?

"As of 2018, it was estimated that Chinese authorities may have detained hundreds of thousands, perhaps a million, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic Turkic Muslims, Christians as well as some foreign citizens such as Kazakhstanis, who are being held in these secretive internment camps which are located throughout the region. In May 2018, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver said "at least a million but likely closer to three million citizens" were imprisoned in detention centers, which he described as "concentration camps". In August 2018, Guy McDougall, an American representative at the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said that the committee had received many credible reports that 1 million ethnic Uyghurs in China have been held in "re-education camps". There have also been multiple reports by media outlets, politicians and researchers which compared the camps to the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In 2019 at the United Nations, 54 nations (including China itself) rejected allegations against China and supported China's policies in Xinjiang. In another letter, 23 nations accepted the allegations against China and did not support China's policies." Wikipedia page link here.

(In picture, a mass protest in China by the opressed.)

So why should we boycott Disney's Mulan and potentially Disney?

Through the blatant support of the CCP and those who oppress and kill the Muslims and Christians in China, Disney has shown us that they do not care about the brutality of the situation going as far to film a movie that even the Chinese don't like, next to a place that is killing thousands. If this isn't enough to deter you from supporting this movie, I don't know what is.

We the people have the power to show that we can stop companies from allowing brutality to happen. We have the power to deter them.

So let's do it.

What can we do?

Well the first thing you can do is not watch Mulan, even if you have Disney+, the more views the more likely they will not learn the lesson.

You can also support and donate to these organizations:

Uyghur Human Rights Project

"The Uyghur Human Rights Project promotes the rights of the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim peoples in East Turkistan, referred to by the Chinese government as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, through research-based advocacy. It publishes reports and analysis in English and Chinese to defend Uyghurs’ civil, political, social, cultural, and economic rights according to international human rights standards. "

You can find them here.

Save Uighur

"The Save Uighur Campaign is an educational and advocacy project aimed at raising public awareness and resolve to help the Uighur people. The project is a concerted effort to tie media exposure, public relations, and government action together into a single strategy aimed at the liberation of the Uighurs from the oppression they face at the hands of the Chinese government."

You can support them here.

The Uyghur American Association

"The Uyghur American Association (UAA) is based in Washington, DC and is a tax-exempt, non-profit membership organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Tax Code. UAA works to promote human rights and democracy for Uyghurs, as well as to protect and promote Uyghur culture in East Turkistan and worldwide."

You can find them here

Together we can do this and end China's oppression!

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kayla1993-world · 2 years

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Camp of Ukrainians at the U.S.-Mexico border swells, as more refugees arrive

Hundreds of Ukrainians are camping in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, hoping to seek U.S. asylum, a dramatic increase in arrivals just days after the Biden administration said the United States would accept up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing from war.

Many of the Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their home country have flown to the U.S.-Mexico border hoping officials will allow them in so they can reunite with U.S. relatives or friends.

They spread people out on blankets and lawn chairs alongside overstuffed suitcases on a patch of grass near the international port of entry. Some are sleeping in tents and under tarps. U.S. volunteers in neon vests - some Ukrainian-Americans who traveled to Tijuana after hearing about the arriving refugees - are collecting names on a handwritten waitlist to keep track of arrivals.

While some 600 Ukrainians are camping near the border entry around 500 more are staying in hotels in the city, said Enrique Lucero, Tijuana's migration affairs director, citing the list kept by volunteers. About 40% of the people are children, he added.

Lucero said around 100 Ukrainians are being allowed to cross into the United States daily. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said data on the number of Ukrainians who entered the U.S. in March would be available in coming weeks.

The number of people at the southwest border is still small compared to over 3.8 million Ukrainians who have fled to nearby countries in Europe since the Feb. 24 invasion, which the Russian government calls a “special military operation.”

In response to the exodus, — the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two — U.S. president Joe Biden pledged last week to accept some 100,000 Ukrainians into the United States through various legal pathways.

But some families desperate to leave have resorted to traveling through a string of countries to the southern border, after being denied U.S. visas, or told to wait, at U.S. embassies abroad.

While Ukrainians and Russians have been arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border since before the conflict erupted, now people are coming “quickly,” said Julia Neusner, an attorney with the New York-based non-profit advocacy group Human Rights First. [L2N2V61WR]

On average, Ukrainians are waiting about one day from the time we put them on the list compiled by volunteers until they can cross into the United States, Neusner said.

Two weeks ago, according to a Reuters witness, around 15 Ukrainians per day were arriving at the Tijuana border and being immediately waved through.

While Ukrainians are being ushered into the United States, U.S. border agents have told Russians, Mexicans, Central Americans and migrants from other countries to stay put, citing a pandemic-era border expulsion policy known as Title 42 that has closed the U.S.-Mexico border to most asylum seekers.

On Friday, the Biden administration announced it will end the expulsion policy in late May, as U.S. health officials said it was no longer needed to protect public health.

Inna Levien, 42 - originally from Belarus - said she and other Russian-speaking members of her moms' group in Orange County, California, headed down to Tijuana earlier this week to help Ukrainian refugees, many of whom speak Russian.

She said there is no running water at a local bus stop where some women and children are sleeping and children are falling ill.

“Vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, they are so stressed out,” she said. “They have this unrest inside.”

One six-year-old girl told Levien she was praying to protect her father who stayed behind to defend Ukraine because it was her “job” to be his “guardian angel.”

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sageglobalresponse · 3 years

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Tony Elumelu @58: The Man, impacting the world positively through Entrepreneur, and Philanthropist

Charles Ajunwa writes that Tony Elumelu who lately attained 58 Decades, is affecting the world positively through his philanthropic activities

If you partake in entrepreneurial discussions in Nigeria or around the continent, sooner or later, the name Tony O. Elumelu will come up.

Obviously, other titles will pop up as well, however, you’re going to find that none is handled with as much respect and esteem as the title Tony Elumelu is.

Maybe it stems from the collective remembering of his famous dogged entrepreneurial conclusion of turning a hugely failing Nigerian bank about within a rather short time, a move that took the country and market analysts.

Or perhaps it is the fact when you look around you, you are bound to encounter people and businesses which have been grazed by the lush generosity of Elumelu’s philanthropic pursuits.

And those by no means satisfactorily explain the extent of his influence. As he turned 58, taking a look at his life, functions, and achievement is rewarding to set out on.

The man

Born on March 22, 1963, in Jos, Plateau State — a town that’s interestingly the birthplace of some of Nigeria’s brightest minds across sectors like politics, sports, literature, music, broadcasting, and business — Elumelu is a native of Onicha-Ukwu in Delta State. He is also a homegrown achievement.

He gained two Economics degrees from Ambrose Alli University and the University of Lagos and kicked off his career in banking in 1985 as a helping Youth Corps member in Union Bank.

Just over a decade later, he required that much-lauded step of leading a small group of investors to acquire the failing Standard Trust Bank he grew and merged in 2005 to become United Bank for Africa with dozens of subsidiaries in Africa, Paris, London, and New York.

Married to medical physician Awele Vivien Elumelu, and blessed with seven children together, a great deal has been mentioned of Elumelu by a lot of men about his jovial and kind demeanour towards his peers and non-peers alike.

The Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is the very best way to establish true prosperity.” — Tony O. Elumelu, CON

It had been the inherent entrepreneurial drive that led him to do the unthinkable: obtaining a failing bank and turning it around into a massive success story.

The same drive led him to establish Heirs Holdings in 2010 upon his retirement as Group Managing Director from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc.

Heirs Holdings (HH) is an investment firm owned and mostly run by the Elumelu household. HH intends to enhance lives and change Africa and can so through investment in businesses in the financial services, power, oil & gas, property & hospitality and health care industries.

Heirs Holdings’ operations are based on an economic philosophy regarded as’Africapitalism’, a concept first introduced by Tony Elumelu in 2011 and was formally launched in 2014 at Abuja at the World Economic Forum in Africa.

Africapitalism suggests private sector-led long-term investment in Africa by Africans throughout the promotion of entrepreneurship social venture and local value creation.

It’s on the idea of Africapitalism that the tenets of the philanthropic activities through The Tony Elumelu Foundation are primarily based.

The company version of Heirs Holdings could be traced straight back to Elumelu’s famous rejuvenation of Standard Trust Bank Plc and the eventual merger with UBA.

The company primarily undertakes three kinds of clients/projects: underperforming assets with the aim of preventing growth and endurance, entrepreneurial start-ups, and Joint Venture Partnerships.

The Philanthropist

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe Elumelu as Africa’s most prominent philanthropist, a description lately made by members of the base on his birthday in March.

For how else could you describe a man whose efforts in dressing and funding Africa’s youthful and smartest entrepreneurs has directly impacted 9,000 young people around 54 African countries?

Launched in 2010 as a part of his devotion to the Africapitalism thought, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is a subsidiary of Heirs Holdings which intends to create new generations of entrepreneurs in Africa. Since its inception, the Foundation has been active in all 54 African nations.

The aims of the organisation tend to be chased through different avenues like research, policy advocacy, communities, and convenings developed to nurture, promote, or finance creation among young Africans.

Examples of these programmes include the annually-organised TEF Forum, a large gathering of entrepreneurs in Africa, in addition to TEFConnect, an electronic hub for entrepreneurs in Africa.

Tony Elumelu, through the TEF, employs his access and massive network in private and public sector circle as resources with which doors are opened and chances for wealth creation are all made available for everybody.

From 2015, Elumelu’s Foundation had introduced that the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, on which he committed $100 million to finance and build the capacity of 10,000 African marketers over in a decade.

Perhaps among the most common compliments, the programme has received is about unique quality for and dedication for identifying, mentoring and financing entrepreneurs around Africa.

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme currently partners together and shares its strong advanced platform with international organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and GIZ, in generating and sustaining valuable rise and effect on the country.

In addition to TEF Elumelu participates in additional non-profit ventures like the Bretton Woods Committee, the Nigeria Leadership Initiative (NLI), Africa Energy Leaders’ Group (AELG), the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) with Tony Blair, also Called the Blair-Elumelu Fellowship Programme.

In the end, the spread and level of effect that Elumelu has had on the lives of individuals on the continent are unrivalled, and his attempts continue to propagate with every passing year.

Though wealthy, Elumelu’s net worth does not now rank among the top 50 on the continent, yet it can be contended that his prosperity has offered the most value.

As he recently turned 58, possibly his selfless support and dogged attempts will satisfactorily pass the lesson to everyone who fails to find out them: a wealthy man is just as wealthy as the level to which his wealth betters his instant society.

For his contributions, he’s received many awards and honours including two federal honours — Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in 2003, and Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

In 2012. Back in 2009, he was asked to serve on the Presidential Committee on the Global Financial Crisis by the then President of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

He has received several Lifetime Achievement Awards in the organisation across the world and appeared on several prominent lists on publications and publications.

But maybe what he is most deserving of all would be the kind words, gratitude, and testimonies his direct heirs give him, some of which are quoted below:

“Dear Tony and the Foundation team, we’re humbled by your INSPIRING course towards enabling entrepreneurs. Many times, in the journey of an entrepreneur, we often overlook ourselves.

However, you believed in us. You re-ignited that fire in our gut to make certain that failure isn’t possible! We wish you good health and long life to keep on touching lives for that’s the sole purpose in life”

Commercial/Retail

“They could have given us some cash and left us to do anything we pleased, however, the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme is past the capital.

They’ve taken me from where I was with my small business and are, slowly but surely, moulding me and my company to a fortified powerhouse that can stand strong and be a pioneer in vogue in Africa.”

“Due to Tony Elumelu and TEF, I have achieved major milestones using the first half of 10,000.

My firm was able to partner with two big chemical companies, commenced manufacturing of my packaging, bought a vending machine, employed more staff and started market testing of my merchandise JO-JO powdered detergent, JO-JO liquid laundry, Diamond shampoo and shampoo is also set in motion.

All this I’ve attained with just the first half, and together with the second half, the merchandise will be mass-produced and advertised nationally.

I am quite grateful to Mr Tony Elumelu for thinking in my dreams rather than simply thinking, but also giving me the training and funding to make it a reality”

#sage response #tony elumelu #uba #entrepreneur #tef #jo-jo #aelg #nli #nigeria #birthday #undp

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justicesolutionsofamerica · 3 years

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Biden to Phase Out Privately Run Prisons

by Kevin Bliss

Within the first six days of office President Biden signed the ‘‘First Step’’ executive order preventing the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) from renewing any of its contracts with private companies to run its prisons. Activists say the order was nothing more than a token gesture and should have included the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Biden campaigned on a platform promising to address problems in the corrections system. He said he intended to crack down on police and prosecutorial misconduct, reduce prison population and increase probation efforts, improve immigration conditions, and stop profiting off of prison privatization. He said he would ‘‘make clear that the federal government should not use private facilities for any detention, including detention of undocumented immigrants.

He had a ‘‘Day One’’ agenda of eliminating the Migrant Protection Protocols or ‘‘Remain in Mexico’’ policy, defining citizenship procedures to assist asylum seekers, and create a task force to reunite separated families. Once in office, he signed the United States Citizenship Act of 2021, largely making good on his promises. He signed orders ending the Muslim ban, fortifying protections for DREAMers, stopping construction on the border wall, and putting a 100-day hold on deportation.

Still, activists said that this was not enough. Opposition has reduced the effectiveness of many of his reforms. A Trump-appointed federal judge blocked Biden’s 100-day hold on deportations, Republicans filibustered the president’s Department of Homeland Security nominee. Alejandro Mayorkas was finally confirmed as secretary February 2, 2021.

On January 26, Biden signed the ‘‘First Step’’ executive order preventing the BOP from renewing any contract with a private company to run its prisons. He said it was a ‘‘first step’’ in stopping private industries from profiting off ‘‘incarceration that is less humane and less safe.’’

Privatization of prisons began in the 1800s and became popular right after the Civil War. But the modern era was ushered in with mass incarceration policies of the 1980s brought about by the “War on Drugs.” It has since turned into a billion-dollar industry where profits are made by maintaining a high population of prisoners and cutting as many costs as possible. This has translated to overcrowded and inhumane living conditions. Statistics show that private prisons see an increased rate of assaults (both on other prisoners and staff), use of force incidents, and lock downs.

There are currently 11 private prisons in the BOP. The Trump administration permitted the Bureau to enter into more private prison contracts than previously allowed. The Courthouse News Service said he doubled the revenues of CoreCivic and the GEO Group, two of the largest private prison industries in the United States.

Senior advocacy and policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Naureen Shah said these groups make a business off of profiting from human suffering. ‘‘These private prison companies have incentive to minimize their costs at the disregard of human suffering,’’ she said, ‘‘and ICE just gets to point their fingers back at private prison companies, saying, well it’s not us, it’s them. That’s sickening.’’

But, activists said that President Biden’s executive order was no more than a symbolic act, it did not go far enough nor focus on the bureau more greatly affected by the abuses inherent in privatization. According to the Associated Press, out of the 152,000 prisoners in the federal BOP today, only about 14,000 of them are housed in private prisons. Although that is down from the 27,000 the Bureau of Justice Statistics recorded in 2019, it is still only 0.7% of the total 2,000,000 people incarcerated in the United States.

Critics say President Biden should have taken this opportunity to enforce the same restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Private prisons hold 75% of all DHS detention contracts, and ICE has detained 50,000 to 56,000 people daily, according to a 2020 ACLU report, 81% of them in private-run facilities.

News outlet The Daily Beast said that to organizations that have fought for immigrant rights, not including the entire carceral system in this order was unconscionable. ‘‘Whether called ‘jail,’ ‘prison,’ or ‘detection center,’ these systems share the same unjust design: to incarcerate people of color, profit off of them, and strip them of their dignity,’’ stated Silky Shah, executive director of Detention Watch Network. ‘‘The Biden administration must now address the private prison industry’s toxic relationship with the Department of Homeland Security.’’

Immigration detention is not even a criminal commitment. It is a civil one and activists believe it is unwarranted, abusive, and discriminatory. Laura Rivera, immigration attorney for Southern Poverty Law Center’s Action Fund and director of its Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative said, ‘‘It’s unacceptable for the Biden-Harris administration to exclude immigrant prisons from today’s executive order. The very concept of detaining immigrants is rotten to its core. This is an irredeemable, profit-driven racket that the Biden-Harris administration must address.’’

Banning private prison contract renewals will not release anyone from prison early, and it will be a gradual closing of private-run facilities. Prisoners will be able to be moved to another facility before the one they are in closes. ‘‘They’ll have time to transfer these people from private facilities to non-private ones,’’’ said Fordham University School of Law professor John Pfaff. ‘‘It doesn’t necessarily mean a shrinking of the footprint of prisons, it just means a transfer from privates to the public.’’

At least BOP prisoners will be able to be moved. In facilities that house both BOP prisoners and ICE detainees, the prisoners will be moved leaving the detainees living in the same housing conditions found ‘‘inhumane’’ for prisoners.

GEO Group spokesperson Pablo Paez said the president failed to consider the economic impact this would have on surrounding communities. He called it a ‘‘solution in search of a problem.’’ The BOP had already decided not to renew several of their contracts with private prisons prior to the order.

‘‘[The] executive order merely represents a political statement, which could carry serious negative unintended consequences, including the loss of hundreds of jobs and negative economic impact for the communities where our facilities are located, which are already struggling due to the Covid pandemic,’’ he said.

Moreover, the order does not address the other privatized aspects of prisons. Director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project David Fathi said it is just a start at curtailing the ‘‘insidious practice’’ of privatization. Other areas still need addressing such as private health care in prisons, which Fathi says has been ‘‘the source of much abuse and malfeasance in recent years.’’

Reform advocates concerns that DHS and ICE were not included in this order have been addressed by White House staffers. Although no similar order was planned as of January 26, the two news sources The Daily Beast and POLITICO reported that the White House said it was now considering drafting an order of the same nature for the two bureaus.

Critics also contend that this bill does even begin to address myriad other problems that plague our criminal justice system. Pfaff called it a ‘‘symbolic’’ act. He stated that he hoped this order did not give the false impression that this would solved the issues of profiting from prisons. ‘‘Saying we’re taking the profit out of prisons by shutting down the private facilities ignores the massive amount of [financial incentives] on the public side,’’ he said.

Prison systems can spend up to two-thirds of their budget on such things as salaries, overtime, and benefits. ‘‘That is very much a form of profit that encourages [legislators] to lobby aggressively to keep their prisons open. When you engage in a symbolic act, which [this order] mostly is, you have to make sure the symbolism doesn’t actually undermine the broader message that you need to convey.’’

Holly Harris, executive director of the bipartisan advocacy group Justice Action Network, told Time the order was an ‘‘important and critical step in right-sizing our justice system.’’

‘‘I get that advocates are frustrated, and I’m grateful that there are so many people out that’s pushing for more,’’ she said. Nonetheless, she added that she believed Biden had plans to accomplish a whole lot more. ‘‘For me, I’m willing to extend some grace on day six to this new administration.’’

Sources: time.com, npr.org, nbcnews.com, The Daily Beast

#JSA #FPC #SPA

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livinginlandmarketing · 4 years

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Holocaust survivor Edith Frankie became one of the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s first residents to be vaccinated for COVID-19 on Dec. 30, 2020. (Photo courtesy Los Angeles Jewish Home)

For much of last year, the Los Angeles Jewish Home had relatively few COVID-19 cases, evading the pandemic’s hefty toll on long-term care residents in Southern California.

But an unprecedented, post-Thanksgiving Day surge in Los Angeles sparked a deadly rise of cases in the facility that lasted into January, said Dr. Noah Marco, the Los Angeles Jewish Home’s chief medical officer.

With 99 percent of all Jewish Home residents and most staff now vaccinated, the tide has turned, Marco said. As of early March, the last time a resident tested positive was in mid-January.

Dr. Noah Marco during a recent press briefing. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

“We’ve come out of a very challenging, long dark tunnel,” Marco said recently by phone as a spokeswoman listened in. “There is much more light ahead than there is darkness behind.”

In the past year, more than 400 skilled nursing home residents and staff tested positive for COVID-19 at the Jewish home’s Eisenberg Village and Grancell Village campuses in the San Fernando Valley, with more than 85 residents dying, according to California Department of Public Health data.

The non-profit Jewish home, which houses roughly 1,000 residents, declined to disclose how many COVID cases and deaths it has had in its assisted living and independent living populations. More than 180 of its assisted living residents and staff became infected with COVID, according to the state’s Department of Social Services.

Jason Belden, director of emergency preparedness and physical plant services at the California Association of Health Facilities. (Photo courtesy Jason Belden)

Jason Belden, emergency preparedness director of the California Association of Health Facilities, which represents about 900 nursing homes in the state, shared Marco’s optimism about the future one year after the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Closing down the economy and schools and restaurants reduced the surge in Southern California but it also coincided with the initial vaccine deployment,” Belden said, adding the industry is “very strongly positioned” to deal with the pandemic going forward.

With most nursing home residents and staff now vaccinated, he said, “we generally feel pretty confident that we can protect residents that currently live in skilled nursing facilities in Southern California.”

More than 5,300 nursing home residents and staff, and at least 1,850 assisted living residents and staff, have died in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties after contracting the the novel coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, according to state data.

Resident Wendy Green, center, is served by Marisol Barrera at the dining room at Emerald Court in Anaheim, CA on Monday, March 8, 2021. Dining with Green is resident Alice Tillman. Residents were able to come to the dining room for the first time since social distancing restrictions were put into place after the CDC revised their guidelines. Those who chose could still have meals delivered to their rooms at the senior living community. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Long-term care facilities, their residents and their families have long awaited new guidance for visitors in light of vaccination efforts. The California Department of Public Health, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, issued new guidelines for visitation in recent days to facilitate in-door visits with residents and even physical touch under certain conditions.

Related links

Q&A: LA Public Health’s Dr. Prabhu Gounder optimistic about nursing homes, 1 year into pandemic

Senior Living: Reopening of long-term care facilities is ‘an absolute necessity for our well-being’

With 99% vaccinated, the Jewish Home in Reseda is accepting new residents for the first time in a year

Why some senior living communities are struggling to get COVID-19 vaccines for their residents

Watchdog calls for LA County nursing home crisis plan in light of ‘serious’ deficiencies, gaps

“With the revenue loss and operating costs, (the overall loss) has been quite a few million dollars,” he said.

The 108-year-old Jewish Home, which usually has an annual operating budget of about $150 million, has had “tremendous support” from the community as well as grant and government support, Surowitz said. As a result, “we’ve been able to work through it but it’s been a challenge.”

The Jewish Home was recently cleared to admit new residents in certain areas, he said.

As nursing homes became ground zero for the pandemic, government agencies and the industry struggled to curb the devastation.

State and federal guidance that required all nursing home staff members to wear masks in April helped reduce the spread once an outbreak occurred at a facility, Belden said. Secondly, California required nursing homes to develop a COVID-19 plan, including for separating infected or possibly infected residents, that became effective in June.

Moreover, baseline testing of California nursing home residents and staff, which became effective at the end of June, further helped nursing homes identify and isolate infected residents and staff, Belden said.

“Could it have been done sooner? Sure. Could we have more universally passed out the information, not just us as CAHF but (the California Department of Public Health) and health departments? … We could have said things maybe earlier but those three things specifically really worked to reduce the loss of life,” he said.

The development and deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, however, have been the most instrumental in the fight against the virus in these facilities.

“That’s going to save more lives than all the other methods combined,” Belden said.

Los Angeles County Public Health Department’s Dr. Prabhu Gounder, a physician who helps oversee COVID-19 outbreak response in nursing homes. Courtesy photo

According to self-reported data, about three-quarters of L.A. County nursing home staff and residents have been vaccinated of the roughly 340 nursing homes the county oversees in its jurisdiction, said L.A. County Department of Public Health’s Dr. Prabhu Gounder, who helps oversee COVID outbreak response in nursing facilities. Of those, nearly 90 percent of staff and more than 80 percent of residents have received a second dose.

Some staff members and residents felt they needed more information about the vaccines and in many cases, providing this information helped, Gounder said. Representatives of residents, when residents don’t have the capacity to make decisions for themselves, also need to be informed about the vaccines and this can take additional time.

But experts warn that the COVID-19 vaccines don’t mean that long term care residents will be home free.

If people let their guard down when it comes to protecting themselves and others or decline the vaccine in significant numbers, that could increase the likelihood that more variants of the virus will arise in the community, which is particularly risky for the elderly and frail, the Jewish Home’s Marco said.

“Will the vaccines protect people enough from those variants?” Marco asked. “That’s my concern not so much for our community but the community around us, that they will not take the responsibility seriously enough and be selfish by not either taking the vaccine or by not continuing to practice good… guidance.”

-on March 15, 2021 at 04:00AM by Brenda Gazzar

#riversidenews

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gibsongirlselections · 4 years

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Meet the Flack Who Bridges Trumpworld and Big Porn

Earlier this month, Business Insider reported that a number of Pornhub’s top executives probably don’t exist. For all of the company’s most-quoted officials, no information, record, or verification can be found outside of scattered press releases and media quotes. Their social media profiles are either non-existent or completely devoid of details. Even official lines of communication are either dead ends or red herrings.

When Business Insider called one phone number listed as a Pornhub VP’s, it connected them somewhere else entirely: 5W PR, a New York firm headed up by Ronn Torossian. If those names sound familiar to you, you’re not alone. 5W is the agency of record for Pornhub, yes—but the pornography monolith is far from their highest-profile client. You’re more likely to have heard Torossian’s name in any of a number of widely divergent places.

Maybe you remember him from the Mueller probe. Torossian was called to testify about professional conversations he had held with Paul Manafort and Rick Gates in the spring of 2012. These particular talks didn’t develop into a business relationship, but they were far from the PR executive’s only interactions with Donald Trump’s inner circle. Torossian has represented Jay Sekulow—a member of President Trump’s personal legal team—and brushed elbows with a horde of other Trump orbiters, including Rudy Giuliani. As recently as 2017, Torossian’s services were retained by the Eric Trump Foundation after reports that donated funds were not going where the president’s son said they were. An assistant to Eric Trump did not respond to The American Conservative‘s inquiries about the PR rep’s other clients.

“It has been revealed that the 5W PR firm and its CEO Ron Torossian have been partnering with, and defending Pornhub and its parent company MindGeek, a mega-corporation publicly exposed for complicity in child trafficking and the monetization of child rape,” Laila Mickelwait, founder of the #TraffickingHub campaign, told TAC. “For any company to participate in defending those who profit from child exploitation is both debased and unacceptable. Torossian and 5W should be ashamed of their actions.”

Torossian also garnered a good bit of attention for his work with Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2017. Sinclair is a conservative, pro-Trump media conglomerate that came under fire for allegations that it had compelled its local affiliates to broadcast a statement condemning fake news. Torossian got to work quickly, waging a no-holds-barred campaign—he is renowned for his aggressive approach—against the broadcasting company’s critics. Sinclair is one of the biggest names to the right of center in the media world, and in their moment of need Torossian seems to have come through for them. Sinclair Broadcast Group has not responded to TAC‘s request for comment.

Jon Schweppe, director of policy and government affairs at the American Principles Project, saw no gray area here. “You can’t be a conservative and support Pornhub. It’s that simple,” Schweppe told The American Conservative. “Few companies have done more to undermine the American family. Anyone on the Right who cares — or even claims to care — about protecting the family should immediately sever all ties with this individual.”

5W PR’s client list is hardly limited to the rich and powerful of right-wing politics, though. Their catalogue of corporate customers is enormous. A few names jump out. Topps, a decades-old company known mostly for its baseball cards, is touted on 5W PR’s website. Their specialization in sports collectibles and memorabilia means, of course, that Topps markets mostly to children and nostalgics. Likewise, Welch’s, a well-known peddler of grape-based products, makes use of Torossian’s firm. “Farmer owned. Family grown,” their website prominently boasts. Their PR campaigns are almost exclusively targeted towards families, with marketing materials generally featuring and aimed at children. Speaking of children—there are a surprising number of companies who make their money in childcare products on the 5W client list. These include baby bottle company Perry Mackin and nursery furniture firm Delta Children (who 5W has tweeted about this month), among others. One wonders if such family-friendly companies might have misgivings about sharing a public relations firm with the world-leader in the pornography industry. But we can’t know for sure—not one of them responded to TAC‘s requests for comment.

A glance further back into Ronn Torossian’s history will reveal that he was a longtime contributor to the New York Observer. Over a number of years, Torossian’s writings there focused mainly on Israel-related political concerns, but occasionally digressed into culture, economy, and the workings of the PR industry. (The subheading of a January, 2015 article: “Odious clients who present a moral hazard should be rejected, no matter how lucrative the contract.”) Throughout this period, the now-defunct weekly newspaper was owned and published by one Jared Kushner.

A number of notable Christian televangelists have also hired 5W PR. These include such names as Creflo Dollar and Israeli-born “faith healer” Benny Hinn. Dollar, Hinn, and others in Torossian’s orbit are influential peddlers of the “prosperity gospel”—the belief that financial wealth is a sign of God’s blessing—a doctrine used by its advocates to justify amassing substantial personal fortunes. Trinity Broadcasting Network, also known and criticized for its prosperity gospel advocacy, has made us of Torossian’s services as well. TBN is the largest religious TV network in the entire world. (With the top evangelists and the top pornographers, Torossian really has his bases covered.) The network did not respond to TAC‘s request for comment.

The prosperity gospel has served Torossian well. The New York Post—where Torossian has also been known to contribute in the past—reported in 2018 on his acquisition of a condo on NYC’s Park Avenue for just under $17 million. On Twitter, Torossian recently posted a picture of himself seated in a vintage Jeepster Commando with the caption “New hamptons [sic] toy.” (In Torossian’s profile bio, sandwiched between two professional self-praises—“CEO @5W_PR, PR Agency of Year,” and “PR Executive of the Year”—is a different kind of boast: “Proud dad.”) Just how much of Torossian’s very public prosperity is thanks to a lucrative contract with Pornhub is unclear.

Also unclear is where Pornhub’s own fortune has come from. The general thrust of the industry should be controversial enough, but Pornhub—which maintains a near-monopoly on online pornography streaming—is the subject of far more troubling accusations. Many have raised concerns, for instance, about the site’s platforming of child pornography. (In this area, Torossian has a bit of experience. “Girls Gone Wild” retained his services after allegedly doing the same thing a few years ago.) Simulated rape is the stock-in-trade of Pornhub and the broader porn industry, but there have been numerous incidents in which the site published videos of actual rape. To make matters worse, the company has even verified the accounts some offenders, welcoming pedophiles, rapists, and human traffickers behind their paywall—allowing both Pornhub and the direct abusers to reap profit from violent sexual crimes. Anti-trafficking activists like Laila Mickelwait have attempted to raise the alarm about Pornhub’s most vicious practices.

You’re unlikely to have heard about any of it, though—their PR outfit is top-notch. Torossian did not respond to our questions as of press time.

The post Meet the Flack Who Bridges Trumpworld and Big Porn appeared first on The American Conservative.

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daveliuz · 4 years

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californiaprelawland · 4 years

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A Win For The Environment: Senate Passes The Great American Outdoors Act

By Julia Brock, Scripps College Class of 2022

June 28, 2020

The Senate passed the Great American Outdoors Acton June 17th, demonstrating a commitment to environmentalism and conservation efforts across the country and providing the legislative branch an opportunity to protect and preserve precious wilderness for future generations. The bipartisan bill, which passed in the Senate with a 73-25 vote, will dedicate billions of dollars from oil and gas exploration fees paid to the federal government’s various wildlife service offices to cover backlogged maintenance projects for national parks[1].

There are two main parts to the bill. The first part declares that 50 percent of the revenues generated by oil and gas exploration fees, as well as other energy initiatives like coal extraction and alternative energy development, will be allocated to the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Services, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Bureau of Indian Education[2]. The funding will be allocated as follows: 70 percent will go to the National Parks Service, the Forest Service will receive 15 percent, and Fish and Wildlife Services, Bureau of Land Management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs will get five percent each[3].

Half of the revenue from the previously discussed energy initiatives will be deposited into the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund during the fiscal year 2021-2025[4]. There is a cap of $1.9 billion dollars on the amount of funds that can be distributed to complete deferred projects on National Parks, National Forests, BLM land, and more. Funding for these backlogged projects like repairing park infrastructure was already established but was often diverted to fund other congressional priorities[5]. Now, with the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, that money is guaranteed to go to the U.S. Government’s various land and environmental departments in order to complete necessary projects.

The second part of the bill permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which provides grants for State and local governments while also working to acquire and preserve lands, waters, and other natural environments and provide access to those lands for the public’s enjoyment[6]. The state and federal aspects of the LWCF make it a crucial part of land protection in the United States. Its permanent funding ensures that it can continue creating and maintaining parks, trails, and infrastructure for outdoor recreation spots across the country.

The bill was sponsored by Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado. In a speech on the Senate floor, he said, “By helping the land, we’re helping the communities, because it’s there for future generations”[7]. Gardner and Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who was one of 59 co-sponsors of the bill,largely support Trump’s agenda, which included attempts to gut funding for the LWCF. They convinced Trump to reverse his stance on LWCF and be more open to ideas like those proposed in the Great American Outdoors Act in recent weeks, which helped encourage Republican Senators to vote for the bill.

Trump’s support appears to be aimed at helping these vulnerable Republicans win their reelection campaigns in 2020. Regardless of his possible political motivations, his support was appreciated by Senators across the aisle like Tom Udall (D-NM). Udall, another co-sponsor of the bill, called on Congress to “seize the opportunity” to present more legislation prioritizing conservation[8].

Outdoor organizations across the country praised the bill’s passage through the Senate. “The Land and Water Conservation Fund has been supporting recreation opportunities all across the country for more than 50 years, but providing dedicated funding will ensure that for the first time, the program is able to meet its full promise—every year, year after year,” said Louis Geltman, Policy Director for the non-profit conservation advocacy group Outdoor Alliance. Outdoor Alliance has dedicated a space on their website where people can write a note to their Congressperson urging them to include the new bill in long-term stimulus measures they hope to pass.

The Great American Outdoor Act is also expected to help rebuild the United States’ economy, which has suffered due to Covid-19. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) noted that outdoor recreation contributes to $778 billion in consumer spending and supports 5.2 million jobs nationally, but “our trails and campgrounds aren’t in the shape they should be, which directly impacts economic activity on public lands and in gateway communities”[9]. He also remarked on the importance of getting out of the house and into nature, which became increasingly obvious when states first began issuing stay-at-home orders that restricted peoples’ actions outside of their home. “We are seeing during the pandemic how important walking outside is to people’s well-being” Heinrich said, arguing that the bill could also help create more parks in urban areas so more people could be within a 10-minute walk from a park[10]. The ability of the bill to sustain jobs and provide more access to the outdoors marks it as an important step towards prioritizing the environment and ensuring that outdoor recreation can be more accessible to every American.

________________________________________________________________

[1]Ledyard King, “Great American Outdoors Act, Which Would Provide Billions for National Parks, Passes Senate,” USA Today (Gannett Satellite Information Network, June 17, 2020), https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/17/national-parks-bill-addresses-long-deferred-maintenance-projects/3205195001/.

[2] US Congress, Senate. Great American Outdoors Act. Bill, Congress.gov § (2020). https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3422?s=1&r=1.

[3]Great American Outdoor Act (2020).

[4]Great American Outdoor Act (2020).

[5]King, “Great American Outdoor Act, Which Would Provide Billions for National Parks, Passes Senate.”

[6]“Land and Water Conservation Fund (U.S. National Park Service),” National Parks Service (U.S. Department of the Interior), accessed June 25, 2020, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lwcf/index.htm.

[7]Chris D'Angelo, “Senate Passes Major Public Lands Bill,” HuffPost (HuffPost, June 18, 2020), https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senate-great-american-outdoors-act_n_5ee2e2e8c5b67a2efedcb6e7.

[8]D’Angelo, “Senate Passes Major Public Lands Bill.”

[9]Frederick Reimers, “Outdoor Rec Just Got Its Own Stimulus Bill,” Outside Online (Outside Magazine, June 17, 2020), https://www.outsideonline.com/2414708/great-american-outdoors-act.

[10]Reimers, “Outdoor Rec Just Got Its Own Stimulus Bill.”

Photo Credit: Jrmichae

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2whatcom-blog · 5 years

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Cigna, Sanofi Decreasing Insulin Costs What You Must Know

People with diabetes have lengthy been within the midst of an insulin disaster. Skyrocketing prices pushed by the conflicting calls for and intricacies of the USA' personal healthcare system have led to the deaths of a number of folks pressured to ration the life-saving drug they could not afford. Now, pharmacy profit managers (PBMs) and main insulin producers are signaling a willingness to take extra radical motion to regulate these drug costs. Cigna's Categorical Scripts, as an illustration, has introduced a brand new plan to offer insulin at $25 to a pool of greater than 700,000 eligible sufferers. Insulin producer Sanofi equally introduced an growth of its "Insulins Valyou Savings Program" to offer 30-day doses of its insulin for $99 per 30 days to non-public insurance coverage sufferers. "It is unacceptable to Sanofi that some people living with diabetes are struggling to pay for their insulin, so we have moved to act creatively and aggressively to help address affordability and access needs," Michelle Carnahan, head of North America main care at Sanofi, mentioned in a press launch. "By giving those who... use more than one box of pens or one vial per month access to their insulins for one flat price, we aim to help limit the burden on the individuals who have high out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter," she wrote. These strikes come because the nation's high 5 PBMs have been known as earlier than Congress to elucidate their function within the nation's rising prescription drug costs, of which insulin has turn into a high-profile poster youngster. PBMs are middleman firms that negotiate drug costs on behalf of insurers, unions, Medicare, and others. They've been singled out by critics for negotiating rebates from drug producers that they pocket themselves as a substitute of passing on to sufferers. The trade, for its half, argues that PBMs are important negotiators offering stress on drug firms to decrease costs.

Signal of real change?

The potential to cowl practically 700,000 sufferers on a low-cost insulin plan is encouraging, nevertheless it's nonetheless a small portion of the 30 million People -- 9.four % of the U.S. inhabitants -- who've diabetes, in line with information from the . That has critics questioning whether or not it represents a real shift in pricing for life-saving prescription drugs or an effort to fend off change. "From my perspective, Cigna's decision is a public relations move, not a pricing decision," Emily Gelber-Maturo, director of Good Coverage Works, a Chicago-based advocacy group that helps "policy solutions that promote health and economic security" informed Healthline. "Drug companies have historically offered discounts and run patient programs that offer lower cost drugs." "The way they have structured this cost reduction is a way of relieving public and political pressure and is significantly restricted to those who are on a participating plan," she mentioned. Harold Carter, PharmD, senior director of product at Categorical Scripts disagrees. He identified that that is simply the newest in lots of insulin accessibility aid efforts the corporate has been actively engaged on. " has been in the works for our side and if you look at what we've done in the past, I don't think it's fair to say we're doing things in the diabetes space because of political pressure," he informed Healthline. "We believe this is another piece of the component on an already strong list of things we're doing today." Nonetheless, he acknowledged that Cigna's present plan wouldn't cowl folks on government-funded applications akin to Medicare and Medicaid. The identical is true for Sanofi's expanded reasonably priced insulin program.

Market forces

Carter says Categorical Scripts' program is not serving to simply folks with diabetes. "At the end of the day, it's not about just helping our patients but helping the marketplace and the healthcare system at-large," Carter mentioned. "We expect a strong enrollment ." Danielle Ok. Roberts, co-founder of the Medicare insurance coverage company Boomer Advantages, agreed, saying that this system may result in elevated competitors. "This move could potentially force other manufacturers and insurance carriers to follow suit, as many beneficiaries may move to Cigna, causing the carriers to become more competitive," she informed Healthline. "This change is said to take place in 2020. Since we are still at the beginning of 2019, we will have to keep a close eye on this announcement to make sure the deal is sealed." Nonetheless, politics or not, the issue with voluntary applications like these supplied by Cigna or the insulin producers themselves is that they are susceptible to clawback, Gelber-Maturo informed Healthline. "Lowering the price now makes no promises that insulin will stay at a lower price in the future," she mentioned. "But it may convince lawmakers to back off policy proposals that could make lower prices more permanent." Read the full article

#2what.com #diabetes #healthline #insulin #lower #patients #prices

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brightgoal · 5 years

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Keynote Panel Announced - Library 2.019 "Open Data" Mini-Conference - June 5th

We're excited to announce the keynote panel for our second Library 2.019 mini-conference: "Open Data," which will be held online (and for free) on Wednesday, June 5th, from 12:00 - 3:00 pm US-Pacific Daylight Time (click for your own time zone). Local, state and federal governments are releasing data - the public's data - in new ways. Property maps, 311 data, school quality information and census statistics - all of these are examples of open data that give people the tools they need to learn and advocate for their causes. This web conference will explore how librarians are using open data, teaching others about it, and even creating it. You’ll learn about tools you can implement in your own library and hear stories from libraries that have partnered with their local and state governments. Armed with practical tools and experiences, you’ll be ready to start diving into open data to help your library and community!

This is a free event, being held live online and also recorded. REGISTER HERE to attend live and/or to receive the recording links afterward. Please also join the Library 2.0 network to be kept updated on this and future events.

We invite all library professionals, employers, LIS students, and educators to participate in this event. The call for proposals is open now at https://www.library20.com/page/call-for-proposals. We will also need volunteer moderators for sessions rooms--if you've been through our training before (and even if you haven't!), email [email protected] if you might be able to help. Participants are encouraged to use #library2019 and #libraryopendata on their social media posts leading up to and during the event. KEYNOTE PANEL:

Anne Neville-Bonilla (Keynote Moderator) Director, of the California Research Bureau, California State Library Anne Neville-Bonilla is director of the California Research Bureau where she and her team develop non-partisan, independent research for the Governor and Legislature. As part of the California State Library’s Executive team, she is co-director a Knight Foundation grant to support open data literacy in public libraries and communities and serves on the board of CENIC, California’s research and education broadband network. Previously, she directed the State Broadband Initiative at the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) at the US Department of Commerce. At NTIA, she was responsible for the National Broadband Map, the largest open dataset of its kind, and $300M in grants to support the digital economy. Before this, she was a Global Leadership Fellow at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, and prior to this served as Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and Technology for the State of California. Anne served as a Senate Fellow and as an AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteer, founding a community technology training center in San Diego. Anne holds an MPA from the University of Southern California and a BA (Hons) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wilford (“Will”) Saunders (Keynote Moderator) Open Data Guy, State of Washington Office of Privacy & Data Protection Will Saunders leads the State of Washington's Open Data program in the Office of Privacy and Data Protection. He has worked on communications and technology issues for the state since 2005, including telephone regulation, broadband, economic development, central services management, data governance, and technology assessment. He is a co-author of Data Equity for Main Street, an open data curriculum for public libraries, and co-sponsor of a variety of civic technology projects including BCAT – the Broadband Community Assessment Toolkit. A graduate of Bowdoin College and the University of Maine School of Law, he is admitted to the bar in Washington and Maine, and serves on the board of OBee Credit Union.

Lilian Coral Director/National Strategy + Technology Innovation, Knight Foundation Lilian Coral joined Knight Foundation in September 2017. Coral is Knight's director of national strategy, where she manages the national portfolio and focuses on the development of the foundation’s Smart Cities strategy. She came to Knight from the City of Los Angeles, where she served as chief data officer for Mayor Eric Garcetti. In this role, she led the mayor's directive on Open Data beyond the lens of transparency and towards his vision of a data-driven Los Angeles through the management of the City’s Open Data program, the expansion of the use of data science and analytics, and the development of user-centered digital services. Coral led the development of the GeoHub, a first-of-its-kind data management solution for integrating geospatial information across the City of Los Angeles’ 41 departments, and oversaw the publishing of 1,100 city datasets and APIs, the management of five portals of operational and financial data, and the roll-out of 15+ digital services, applications and public facing dashboards. Prior to joining Mayor Garcetti, Coral spent 15 years working on a wide range of health and human services issues as an advocate and executive leader, having had the opportunity to work with labor unions, NGOs, foundations and human service agencies at all levels of government to transform the way government uses data and technology to serve its citizens. Coral has a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of California, Irvine and a master’s degree in public policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a native of Colombia, a place from where much of her inspiration for innovation and social justice emerged.

Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA) U.S. Congressman (WA 6th District) Derek Kilmer serves as the United States Representative of Washington’s 6th Congressional District. Born and raised in Port Angeles, and the son of two school teachers, Derek was taught to appreciate the value of education. As the dad of two little girls, he is working to make sure all children receive a quality education. Derek wanted to make a difference in his community, so he chose to study public policy, looking for ways to help economically struggling communities. He received a BA from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and earned a doctorate from the University of Oxford in England. Derek put his education into practice in Washington state, first as a business consultant for McKinsey & Company, where he helped businesses, non-profits, and government agencies run more efficiently. Derek served in the Washington state House from 2005 to 2007 and the state Senate from 2007 until he was elected to the US House in 2012. Derek was reelected to a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2016 and chosen by his Democratic colleagues to serve on the House Appropriations Committee, one of only four ‘exclusive’ committees in the House. Derek serves on the Interior and Environment Subcommittee and Commerce, Justice, and Science Subcommittee. Derek has championed bipartisan efforts to better leverage federal research dollars to spur private sector innovation and job growth and bolster a 21st-century workforce. Derek has learned that addressing the challenges facing our nation will require an end to political brinkmanship and a focus on finding common sense, practical solutions. He's a member of organizations like the Bipartisan Working Group and the Problem Solvers Caucus, which work to bring Democrats and Republicans together to forge a greater consensus on a wide variety of issues. In his time in Congress, Derek has been recognized by a wide variety of groups for his effectiveness and advocacy. He’s been awarded the U.S. Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor a civilian not employed by the Navy can receive from the Secretary of the Navy. Derek has also received a Silver Helmet award from AMVETS and a Friend of the National Parks award from the National Parks Conservation Association, been named a Hero of Main Street by the National Retail Federation, an Outstanding New Member by the Voices for National Service, and a Humane Champion by the Humane Society.

James Neal Senior Program Officer, Office of Library Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services James Neal is a Senior Program Officer in the Office of Library Services with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). He manages a portfolio of grants focused on building equitable digital communities, including open educational resources, digital inclusion, data privacy and security, and e-books. James is a graduate of the MLS program at the University of Maryland College of Information Science, Maryland's iSchool in the Information and Diverse Populations concentration. He worked for two years as a librarian with Prince George's County Memorial Library System. He maintains a strong interest in the future of public libraries. His background and experience consists of bookselling in several independent book stores, volunteer service in the Peace Corps in Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo); graduate education in anthropology; publicity, marketing, editorial, and sales roles in academic and scholarly publishing; public school teaching; experience in public relations, and project management and web design experience in user experience design.

MORE INFORMATION: The School of Information at San José State University is the founding conference sponsor. Please register as a member of the Library 2.0 network to be kept informed of future events. Recordings from previous years are available under the Archives tab at Library 2.0 and at the Library 2.0 YouTube channel.

Keynote Panel Announced - Library 2.019 "Open Data" Mini-Conference - June 5th published first on https://medium.com/@YourEdu

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growthvue · 5 years

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Keynote Panel Announced - Library 2.019 "Open Data" Mini-Conference - June 5th

This is a free event, being held live online and also recorded. REGISTER HERE to attend live and/or to receive the recording links afterward. Please also join this Library 2.0 network to be kept updated on this and future events.

Keynote Panel Announced - Library 2.019 "Open Data" Mini-Conference - June 5th published first on https://getnewdlbusiness.tumblr.com/

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alexsmitposts · 5 years

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Western “Rights Advocates” Rush to Chechen “Activist’s” Aid Human Rights Watch (HRW) executive director Kenneth Roth recently decried legal proceedings against the alleged “leading human rights defender in Chechnya,” Oyub Titiyev. But as with much of what HRW decries, Titiyev has less to do with actually defending human rights, and more to do with ongoing US-subversion in Russia’s southern Chechen Republic. Roth, in a social media post, would claim: The Russian government’s “case” against the leading human rights defender in Chechnya, Oyub Titiyev, is farcical–as many holes as Swiss cheese–but authorities have still locked him up for 14 months and are threatening a four-year sentence. The article Roth’s post would include, leads to an opinion piece in The Moscow Times (written by fellow HRW regional director, Rachel Denber) who insists Titiyev is innocent of drug charges based entirely on Titiyev and his lawyer’s own claims. Whether Titiyev is guilty or not is for Russia’s courts to decide. However, the entire process of mobilizing supposed human rights advocacy organizations like HRW to rush to Titiyev’s aid illustrates how “rights advocacy” is transparently used to advance politically-motivated agendas, not to actually advance human rights. No matter what the evidence against Titiyev, HRW and others would claim the charges against him were politically motivated. It is an example of foreign-funded organizations attempting to assert themselves over a nation’s sovereign right to manage its own internal affairs, including by overriding local law enforcement and judicial processes.But there is much more to consider regarding Titiyev’s case than this. Terrorism as Washington’s Sword, “Rights Advocacy” as its Shield Russia’s Chechen Republic had previously seen two wars as armed separatists attempted to carve out an independent region from Russian territory. From 1994-1996 and again from 1999-2009 militants waged both open war and an armed insurgency against Russian forces until eventually Moscow prevailed. Today, attempts to rekindle divisions, upheaval and even violence have been the primary goal of both US-funded and directed “rights advocates” like HRW and US-backed militants, though admittedly Russia now has the upper hand. As the United States has been revealed to have done elsewhere, the Russian government has accused it of lending direct aid to Chechen militants. A 2015 BBC article titled, “Russia’s Putin: US agents gave direct help to Chechens,” would note: Vladimir Putin has accused US agents of directly aiding rebel fighters in the second Chechen war. In order for fighters to have contested Russian control over Chechnya, they would require equal or greater financial and military support than that committed by Moscow. State sponsorship would be the only way of achieving this and the list of potential states both capable and motivated to back Chechen militants is exceedingly short. That the US and its partners now currently offer many of these same Chechen militants who have shifted their fighting over to Syria both weapons and financial backing is further evidence of Washington’s deep commitment to menacing Russia and its interests both domestically and abroad with Chechen militancy. US state sponsorship of Chechen militancy serves as the sword of Washington’s policy, aimed at the Chechen Republic and anywhere else it feels it can wield it effectively (such as Syria). And if the Chechen militancy is Washington’s sword, US-backed “rights advocacy” is its shield. So-called “human rights defenders” like Oyub Titiyev and the US-funded organizations he is a member of work to frustrate Russian efforts to root out extremism in the Chechen Republic. Titiyev and others attempt to claim obvious counter-terror operations somehow violate human rights. His organization’s work along with many others funded out of Washington D.C. is then used to place official pressure on Moscow to complicate counter-terror operations and undermine Russia’s ability to maintain peace and stability in Chechnya.Such organizations are used as a “shield” to protect militants from the full force of efforts undertaken to uproot them. Oyub Titiyev is Funded by the US Government The Moscow Times’ article cited by HRW’s Kenneth Roth would make mention of at least one of the organizations Oyub Titiyev worked for, stating: Titiyev has headed the office of the Russian human rights group Memorial in Grozny for nine years, collecting harrowing evidence of abuses and injustices committed by Chechen authorities. Memorial, funded by the US government, is registered in Russia as a, “non-profit organization acting as a foreign agent.” On Memorial’s own website in a barely noticeable footnote at the very bottom of its website, it admits to its status as a foreign agent, but insists it is “self-governing,” a claim made by many supposed nongovernmental organizations whose US government funding has been exposed. Memorial no longer transparently discloses its funding, nor does the US National Endowment for Democracy which in 2011 had openly listed Memorial as one of their many grantees in Russia. Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth and Rachel Denber in her op-ed in The Moscow Times also omitted Memorial’s US government-funding. But under Memorial’s own post on Titiyev’s arrest, it would admit (emphasis added): Titiev has worked at Memorial and its sister organization, Civic Assistance Committee, since 2000, documenting human rights violations and carrying out a range of humanitarian projects, including support to schools in Chechnya’s mountain areas. The “Civic Assistance Committee” is also registered in Russia as a “non-profit organization acting as a foreign agent,” and does list its foreign sponsors, which include the European Commission and George Soros’ Open Society-funded Amnesty International. Had Human Rights Watch mentioned Titiyev’s role as a foreign agent amid Russia’s internal political affairs, or the fact that the people whose “rights” he was “defending” were terror suspects, their message would have failed to invoke sufficient public sympathy for Titiyev or public anger against the Russian government. Sword and Shield Used Worldwide Washington’s use of Chechen terrorists to menace Russia along with dubious “rights advocates” like Titiyev and the US-funded fronts he works for protecting these terrorists from counter-terror operations represents a “sword and shield” method used extensively by Washington worldwide. We can see examples of this in Syria where supposed US-backed “human rights activists” and “rescue workers” like the White Helmets embed with Al Qaeda and its many affiliates, working exclusively in territory occupied by terrorist organizations even listed by the US State Department itself as such. US-armed terrorists used to overthrow the Libyan government in 2011 were likewise protected by extensive “human rights” networks set up by the US and Europe to portray militants as “pro-democracy activists.” The efforts of these “human rights” networks were used by the US and its allies to justify airstrikes under the pretext of the “responsibility to protect” doctrine, also known as “R2P.” Just as a knight brings his sword and shield to whatever battlefield he fights upon, the United States brings its sword of state-sponsored terrorism and shield of “human rights advocacy” to every region and nation it seeks to undermine and eventually overthrow. Oyub Titiyev’s role in abusing human rights advocacy to frustrate state security services attempting to maintain peace and stability in Russia’s Chechen Republic is just one of many hundreds of examples the US and its allies are using worldwide. By following characters like Kenneth Roth of HRW on social media, we can see several examples aired out per day, in numerous countries. By understanding this tactic and exposing it, the blade of Washington’s sword will grow dull, and cracks will begin to appear in its shield.

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mdye · 7 years

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President Donald Trump’s pick for head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights will lead a division that is supposed to crack down on discrimination—and has a lengthy anti-LGBT record.

Roger Severino, a former lawyer with the Becket Fund, a law firm that advocates for religious liberty, was one of the leading attorneys in the 2006 Conaway v. Deane case, banning same-sex couples from marriage in Maryland. In August 2006, Severino penned an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer saying that the concept “live and let live” doesn’t apply to gay rights and religious beliefs.

That was about a month before Severino and Anthony R. Picarello, a former colleague and now vice president and general counsel of the Becket Fund, filed a brief with the Maryland Court of Appeals that used religion as a basis to reject health benefits to same-sex partners (PDF).

The case involved an effort by nine Maryland couples to win marriage rights in the state. According to the brief, Severino and his partner filed, “If legalized same-sex marriage becomes more common, employees will likely ask their religious employers to extend spousal health and retirement benefits to those partners, just as they would to different sex spouses. Some religious employers may be willing to overlook or ignore an employee’s same-sex marriage, but may also refuse to subsidize it, or otherwise treat it as the equivalent of traditional marriage on religious grounds.”

The brief continued: “Legalized same-sex marriage will create an unprecedented level of legal confusion and consequent litigation in public accommodation and employment law, and over government funding with the only certainty being that they will challenge the workings of religious institutions like never before.” And it asked: “Will state governments force religious institutions to place orphan children under their care within same-sex ‘families’?”

Severino has just assumed leadership of the Office for Civil Rights at HHS, he will oversee and enforce patient privacy protections and defend the public against discrimination in health care, according to the Office for Civil Rights website.

During the Obama era, the Office for Civil Rights implemented section 1557 in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which protected transgender individuals based on gender identity and prohibited religious exemption. Given Servino’s anti-LGBT record, he might reverse these protections. He has written scathing critiques about the ACA’s new gender mandates, while also safe-guarding doctors that use religion as a defense to neglect transgender patients.

Before his current post, Severino worked as the director of the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at the Heritage Foundation, a research tank that analyzes the impact of religion on civic life and public policy in the United States.

“Roger Severino has a distinguished record of fighting for the civil rights and freedoms of all Americans. We have no doubt that Roger in his role at HHS will protect the civil rights of all Americans,” said Marguerite Bowling, a spokeswoman for Heritage.

Neither the Becket Fund nor HHS responded to direct requests for comment. A spokesperson for Becket said he couldn’t find an attorney to comment before press time for The Daily Beast’s emailed questions. However, in a statement sent to The Daily Beast, Eric Rassbach, deputy general counsel at Becket, said Severino worked “tirelessly to defend civil rights for all Americans in accordance with Becket’s mission of defending religious liberty for people of all faiths. He will be an outstanding director of the Office of Civil Rights.”

For nearly seven years, Severino worked as a trial attorney for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division where he enforced the Fair Housing Act, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, and Title II and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to his HHS bio.

Advocacy groups with knowledge of Servino’s past have mixed views on his appointment.

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More than 10 years ago, Lambda Legal, a legal group defending LGBT communities, was a plaintiff on the Conaway case. In 2006, Lambda defended nine same-sex couples, including one gay widower, who sued the state of Maryland after being denied marriage licenses. Lambda lost the case.

Sharon McGowan, the director of strategy at Lambda, said she isn’t “optimistic” about Servino’s new role at HHS. “The arguments put forth by Severino and others at the Becket Fund during the marriage struggle were indicative of the scare tactics folks were trying to use to somehow pit equality for LGBT people against religion,” McGowan said. “The attempt of Roger Severino to suggest that religious liberty will come to an end if LGBT people are given equal rights under law… certainly, gives insight on where he would strike a balance if he were given the opportunity, that he has now been given to make civil rights laws.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), a non-profit law firm advocating for LGBT constituents, said that Severino’s designation to the HHS is “deeply concerning” to the LGBT community.

“It’s a continuation of President Trump’s pattern of appointing people to lead important federal agencies who fundamentally disagree with the agencies’ mission,” said NCLR’s director of policy, Julianna Gonen. “Severino was a very vocal critic of the most important rules that he’s supposed to enforce which is prohibiting sex discrimination in health care under the affordable care act.”

In a blog post Severino co-wrote for Heritage, he complained that the Affordable Care Act’s gender identity mandate will interfere with the religious beliefs of doctors. “These regulations propose to penalize medical professionals and healthcare organizations that, as a matter of faith, moral conviction, or professional medical judgment, believe that maleness and femaleness are biological realities to be respected and affirmed, not altered or treated as diseases,” the post said.

Severino has even used the anti-LGBT vision of a local Boy Scouts chapter to object to gay rights. In an op-ed for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Severino spoke up for a Boy Scouts branch in Philadelphia that lost government-affiliated campsites and buildings after excluding LGBT students. In January, the Boy Scouts reversed rules that banned transgender members.

“If the gay-rights movement is willing to trample on the moral beliefs of the Boy Scouts for the sake of `tolerance,’ will religious institutions that also provide social services and oppose gay rights on religious grounds fare any better?” wrote Severino for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2006.

In January, the Boy Scouts of America reversed rules that banned transgender members.

Tatyana Bellamy-Walker covers LGBT politics. Her work has appeared in the New York Daily News, New York Amsterdam News and Women’s eNews. She tweets at @bell_tati.

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ts1989fanatic · 8 years

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WASHINGTON — Pop star Taylor Swift, NFL lineman Alejandro Villanueva, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and a trio of Medal of Honor recipients headline HillVets' list of the 100 most influential personalities on veterans issues for 2016.

The full list, set to be released Monday, is the advocacy group’s third annual look at prominent former military members, current troops and community supporters who helped broaden public debate on veterans issues last year. HillVets mission is to increase the number of veterans working in government and widening public awareness of their challenges. The annual list includes a cross-section of entertainers, politicians, non-profit organizations and media members with a “mission and purpose of giving back to those that have sacrificed so much for our nation.” Included in the latest group are political leaders like former Secretary of State (and Navy veteran) John Kerry, former Veterans Affairs Secretary (and Army veteran) Bob McDonald and current VA Secretary nominee Dr. David Shulkin, and new House Veterans' Affairs Chairman (and Army veteran) Dr. Phil Roe, R-Tenn.

The list also highlights young advocates whose work has had national impact on veterans issues, including Vietnam Veterans of America assistant policy director Kris Goldsmith, Scoutcomms’ vice president Lauren Jenkins, and PenFed development director Brian Hawthorne. Swift’s inclusion may come as a surprise to individuals outside the community, because much of her charitable actions on behalf of the military and veterans have been kept low-key. Those include a recent private concert for a 96-year-old WWII veteran, a surprise appearance at an Army officer’s wedding, and a phone call to the family of a fallen Marine to express her sympathy. HillVets organizers called those moves part of a long-term pattern of “continued, humble and genuine service to the military and veteran community.”

Actor Morgan Freeman, an Air Force veteran involved in numerous military charities, and Marine Corps veteran Maximilian Uriarte, whose Terminal Lance comic strip is published in Marine Corps Times, were similarly honored in the list’s artist category. Villanueva, a 2010 West Point graduate who played on the Black Knights football team, is a former rifle platoon leader who served in Afghanistan before turning to a pro-football career. He is now a starter on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and his story of military service has been featured in numerous news stories. He was a finalist for the USAA “Salute to Service” award, given for charitable work to support the military. Greitens is a former Navy SEAL and founder of the advocacy organization The Mission Continues. He won election as the governor of Missouri last fall, despite never having run for elected office before.

The Medal of Honor recipients on the list include Afghanistan war veterans Navy SEAL Edward Byers Jr. and Army Maj. William Swenson, as well as Vietnam war veteran former Army Lt. Col. Charles Kettles. Organizers are also honoring the unnamed woman scheduled to join the 75th Ranger Regiment later this spring, the first female soldier to meet the intense physical requirements for the post since combat jobs were opened to women last year. The full list will be posted on the HillVets website on Monday, Feb. 13. The honorees will be recognized in a Washington, D.C. ceremony on March 15.

ts1989fanatic Once again Taylor low key under the radar being Taylor.

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leftpress · 8 years

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The Bizarre Far-Right Billionaire Behind Trump's Presidency

When all seemed to be falling apart for Trump this summer, one shadowy billionaire offered up his own massive political infrastructure, which included Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, and saved Trump’s campaign from demise

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July, 2016 and a very disorganized Trump campaign is headed into an equally chaotic Republican National Convention. The latest fundraising numbers for June are dismal, and according to CNBC, Trump is second guessing his decision to make Mike Pence his running mate, making last minute phone calls to assess the pick just days before the event. Past GOP candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney have decided to skip the convention. So have both former Bush presidents. One day before the convention and there’s still no official list of speakers. Nevertheless, July 18th roles around and the GOP has to move forward with the show.

[Transcript Below Break]

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