PUBLISHED: 13:38 13 January 2020 | UPDATED: 13:43 13 January 2020

Lauren Knight

After January 1, 2021, laws around worker rights will change. Picture: Getty Images

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With information provided by Fosters Legal Solicitors we've compiled this need-to-know guide to help you understand what leaving the EU could mean for you and your family and where you can find the right legal advice to help.

What does Brexit mean for EU citizens?

On June 23, 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU) during what became known as the 'Brexit' referendum.

Following the results of the December 2019 General Election that saw Boris Johnson return to 10 Downing Street with a majority vote, plans to implement Brexit will be put into motion in January 2020.

For Swiss and EU citizens, or those from countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) that haven't secured their UK immigration status by the end of the implementation period on December 31, 2020, this could mean they will no longer be allowed to remain in the United Kingdom.

How can you secure your UK immigration status?

If you're an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, you and your family can apply for the EU Settlement Scheme to continue living and working in the UK. The scheme can help you secure your immigration status. To be eligible you'll need to apply before December 31, 2020."

When can you apply?

You can apply for the EU Settlement scheme now. The deadline for applying is June 2021.

If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, you'll need to be living in the UK before it leaves in order to apply. The deadline, in this case, is December 31, 2020.

How will leaving the EU effect your rights as a worker?

After January 1, 2021, the government will implement a new single immigration system that will change the laws surrounding worker's rights.

By then your UK immigration status will need to be secured and you'll need to register under the new skills-based immigration system to stay and work in the UK.

What is the future skills-based immigration system?

It's a new single immigration system, designed around an individual's skills and talents, that will apply to EU, EEA and Swiss citizens and their family members that arrive in the UK on or after January 1, 2021.

The new system includes:

- A skilled workers route open to all nationalities

- Lowering the skills threshold on the skilled worker route to include medium-skilled workers

- No cap on numbers on the skilled worker route, meaning that business will be able to hire any suitably qualified migrant

- The abolition of the resident labour market test

- A new time-limited route for temporary short-term workers of all skill levels, including seasonal low-skilled workers

- An extension to the post-study period for international students

How can Fosters Legal Solicitors help?

Seeking legal help from an expert from the start can help you understand your rights and what action you need to take to protect you and your family.

Fosters Legal Solicitors is a multi-award-winning law firm which focuses on all aspects of immigration law. The team offer advice and support about your rights and securing your immigration status.

If you're an employer, they can advise you on how to secure the UK immigration status of your EU, EEA and Swiss employees and their family members and help protect your skilled workforce.

Call 01438 318 452 or email office@fosterslegal.co.uk to find out how they can help you. Visit fosterslegal.co.uk/immigration-law for more information and to see the other services they can help you with.

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How will Brexit affect your rights at work? | EU, EEA and Swiss citizens | Business - The Comet

A RETIRED nurse who had to choose between paying her bills and food is calling for change following research showing 4.8 million people in the UK are too poor to afford essential home appliances.

Sheena Stephenson came to live in Newton Aycliffe in 2012 after she lost her rented bungalow in Newcastle following the loss of her job at the Childrens Heart Unit at Freeman Hospital.

The 63-year-old was unable to work due to her crippling back pain caused by a slipped disc.

At the time, she was also forced to file for bankruptcy after lending money to a family member who did not pay her back.

Ms Stephenson said: I was devastated when I came to Newton Aycliffe all I had was a freezer, sofa and a bed. I went from being a paediatric nurse for 30 years to having to keep milk and food in a bucket of cold water which had to be changed twice a day. I even had to go to bed at 3pm in the afternoon to keep warm.

Ms Stephenson was in dire straits until she was told about the Turn2us charity which provides information and support about welfare benefits and charitable grants.

Through the charity Ms Stephenson received a washing machine, carpets, a cooker, blinds and a new bed.

She believes the changes to welfare policy since 2010 have significantly affected appliance poverty.

The newly released research highlights the single biggest erosion of help came in 2013 with the abolition of the Social Fund which previously provided much-needed support.

Turn2us is therefore campaigning for a new local welfare assistance scheme to be developed and introduced as well as seeking funds to help change lives.

Ms Stephenson said she would encourage families struggling to get in touch with Turn2us as she fears for other people living in her situation following the recent election, she said: Those in Government after the re-election probably couldn't even tell you the cost of a pint of milk or a loaf of bread. They need see how people on benefits really live.

"When people move in to rented accommodation the housing associations and councils should leave the appliances left by previous tenants as some people have nothing and I think in the future a lot more families will struggle."

For more information about the charity visit turn2us.org.uk

See the article here:

Retired nurse from Newton Aycliffe had to keep milk fresh in a bucket of water - The Northern Echo

A month after one of the heaviest defeats in its history, the Labour party is on its way to electing a new leader. Clive Lewis and Emily Thornberry have until Monday afternoon to win the support they need from MPs to join Keir Starmer, Rebecca Long-Bailey, Lisa Nandy and Jess Phillips in the contests second stage. This involves nominations from constituency parties, unions and affiliates, with members and supporters making the final selection and the winner due to be announced at a special conference in April.

Questions about the future of Corbynism are at the forefront, with the socialist ticket of Ms Long-Bailey and Angela Rayner, who wants to be deputy, facing a strong soft-left challenge from Mr Starmer. How the party develops its policies following Decembers drubbing is hugely important, and not just for Labour. Given the new governments programme and Boris Johnsons character, individual credibility is a key factor: Labour knows it needs a leader who can hold the Conservatives to account. Geography and identity are crucial themes, with no easy answers to the problems thrown up by the growing divide between cities and towns, young and old, England and Scotland. Nor can the characteristics and backgrounds of the candidates be set aside. Unlike the other main UK parties, Labour has never elected a female leader.

The political landscape of the next few years is fraught with risk including the rise of a far-right party pushing a narrative of betrayal if Brexit turns out to be a disappointment. Under relentless pressure from the news cycle, it is not hard to see why many in Labour are anxious to see the party pull itself together quickly, and put on a brave face for the struggles ahead. But it is essential that the process of reflection about what went wrong under Corbyn is not short-circuited and that ideas proposed by each of the candidates are explored.

So far, Mr Lewis has done more than the other candidates to advance an analysis of Labours problems that goes beyond weaknesses of the manifesto, the leadership and Brexit to address the UKs political system as a whole. On Sunday he launched a manifesto that included proposals for the democratisation of the BBC and a new body to represent women and girls, as well as plans for devolution, the abolition of the House of Lords and introduction of a proportional voting system (the latter is also supported by Ms Phillips, with the other candidates so far undecided).

A diverse field of candidates and ideas is important, which is why we hope that both Mr Lewis and Ms Thornberry will make it to the next round. In the past, hostility to electoral reform has come from the right and left of the party. Even now, it is unlikely to be the first priority of an opposition facing so many challenges. Nor is it the only policy area in which intellectual work, as well as the community organising that several leadership contenders have described as a priority, is needed. But the problems with first past the post, including the way it perpetuates a Labour-Tory duopoly, shuts out smaller parties and rewards nationalist ones (because votes piled up in one area are easier to convert into seats than those that are thinly spread) can no longer be ignored.

Further constitutional change is inescapable, with plans for devolution to the English regions promised by the Conservatives. Whichever candidates make it through on Monday, Labours leadership contest must entail serious discussion of how to shore up Britains democratic institutions, and strengthen local decision-making, in an increasingly dangerous world.

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The Guardian view on electoral reform: an argument Labour needs to have - The Guardian

Congress leader and Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal has actually stated that no condition can will not apply the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) which was passed away by Parliament. It is unconstitutional to will not implement it.

At the Kerala Literator Festival, Kapil Sibal stated, "When the CAA is passed, no state can say that I will not implement it. It is unconstitutional. You can oppose it, pass a resolution in the assembly and May demand the central government to withdraw it. But constitutionally saying that I will not implement it can cause more problems. "

Kerala and Punjab have actually compared

Recently the Kerala government moved the Supreme Court resistant to the CAA.

->Which sought to declare "a violation of the principles of equality, liberty and secularism enshrined in the Constitution". It ended up being initial state to challenge this legislation and pass an answer resistant to the Kerala Legislative Assembly Act. Following inside the footsteps, the Punjab Assembly on Friday additionally passed an answer demanding the abolition of this questionable legislation. Several says including Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra have actually compared the CAA plus the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Registration (NPR).

'Local registrars are condition officials'

Kapil Sibal clarified that whenever states state that they can perhaps not apply CAA, whats their particular purpose and just how will they are doing therefore. He stated that states state that they can perhaps not let the condition officials to work utilizing the Center. He stated, "NRC will be based upon NPR and neighborhood registrars will apply NPR. Local registrars need to be appointed to compute this and theyre going to be condition amount officials. ''

'No political party when you look at the movement'

Sibal stated which he will not understand how you are able almost however it is extremely tough constitutionally to express by a situation federal government that itll perhaps not apply regulations passed away by the Parliament. Describing the nationwide activity as a battle between your 'leader' and 'people of India' up against the CAA, he stated that thank God that the 'students, bad and middle income' of this nation tend to be taking forth the activity, perhaps not Any governmental party. Its result will be produced because individuals globally and in the nation tend to be recognizing that this isnt politics. This is genuine. These are pupils, ordinary and poor middle-class people that are being released. He isnt related to any governmental celebration.

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No condition can will not apply CAA, performing this unconstitutional: Kapil Sibal - Sahiwal Tv

Whats required is a clear intent and purpose, precise strategies, sharp tactics and flawless implementation.

Lets consider three different and current scenarios before we go deep into the case for police reforms.

1. The rape and murder of a veterinary doctor in Hyderabad caused nationwide outrage of the intensity last seen in December 2012 when Nirbhaya was gang-raped and tortured in a private bus in Delhi. She later succumbed to her injuries. The Hyderabad doctor was found with her body half burnt. One isnt surprised at the jubilation that this police action elicited across the country. It is testament to the faith and trust (or lack of it) people have in due process and rule of law. Parents of the veterinary doctor have welcomed the instant justice delivered by the Hyderabad cops.

2. So have Nirbhayas parents. Its almost seven years but the system could seal the fate of the culprits who snatched away their daughter from them. If such is the state of affairs in a high profile case whose every development is closely scrutinised by the people, what to even speak of other crimes which dont register on the media radar.

3. A letter by G.R. Raghavender, Joint Secretary, Department of Justice, addressed to the important functionaries of the Ministry of Law and Justice said that re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases is one such idea which can reduce the burden on the judiciary. Another idea suggested was to provide better infrastructure to district and lower courts and increase the strength of the subordinate judiciary (as reported in the Economic Times). Data reveals that in the high courts, over 43 lakh cases are pending, while in the Supreme Court, the figure touches almost 60,000. Underscoring that a number of cases have been pending for last 25 years, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has suggested a the division of the Supreme Court into a Constitution bench based in Delhi, and four new benches in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai or Hyderabad, as per the suggestion of the Law Commission.

Are we surprised that whenever such high-profile cases occur the governments pay lip service and set up a few enquiry commissions and allow justice to take its due course? Everyone knows what that due course means; endless delays and meandering courses with possible bail and release.

Whats more surprising is that while the government started thinking about judicial reform, particularly in terms of large pendency of cases, it has somehow failed to see the elephant in the room; the much-needed police reforms and connected reforms of criminal justice systems. Large pendency is just one part.

When we say that the police cannot be allowed to play judge, jury and executioner, and certainly not given the fact how vulnerable it is to the influence of those in power, do we really look at the whole picture?

Consider the following:

1. Lakhs of posts are vacant in police departments across the country (19 lakhs less than the sanctioned strength). Around three million cases are pending in courts, half of which are pending for more than two years. Around 5,000 judicial posts are vacant at the subordinate level. The figure for high courts is in hundreds.

2. The total spend on the judiciary is around 0.01% of the gross domestic product or GDP (2013-14 figure). And this is all about capacity. There are several administrative reforms in courts and prosecution which can speed up justice. There is no lack of solutions on this front.

3. Our police force is one of the weakest in the world. According to studies, there are only 144 police officers for every one lakh people, considerably less than the United Nations-recommended number of 222. States like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal are even worse with less than 100 police staff for 100,000 population.

When we say short-sighted politicians with eyes on votes wont be bothered about it and only truly selfless would even give these issues a consideration, are we convinced its true that politicians alone are to be blamed? How about bureaucrats who have the proximity to the politicians and the government?

The country is crying for reforms in almost every sector. There are pressing demands for reforms in police, judiciary, economics, education, law, agriculture, bankingyou name it and there reforms are urgently needed. There are also committees and commissions set up time and again for every sector and lengthy reports are gathering dust with every ministry. Whenever crises occur, new commissions or committees are set up with tenures running to years and a fresh report is submitted, which meets with the same fate.

Who will read these reports and initiate action at some point of time? When the politician is busy with elections and party affairs, at least the bureaucrats have some leverage and discretion as to what needs to be highlighted and brought to the notice of the political bosses. This is where the bureaucracy has failed the nation. On the other hand, the bureaucracy had a single directive issued to CBI that no bureaucrat above the rank of Joint Secretary to be investigated, let alone prosecuted, without permission from the government, which is themselves! Rajiv Gandhi gleefully did it as he was riding a landslide victory. So, the bureaucracy knows how and when to get things done for themselves.

For instance, take police reforms. Any number of different parties in government, police commissions, reports, parliamentary committees, even Supreme Court directives; practically nothing could move the government to implement them. The system as designed in 1860 still continues and the forefathers who showed so much wisdom in other matters, failed to show the same maturity in designing the police force for the needs of a free India and not the British intent of ruling the natives by oppressing the natives. The main idea of setting up police commissions was to insulate the police from the influence of politicians. The whole debate on police reform has centred around this issue since the National Police Commissions Second Report came out in August 1979. This was followed by the reports of Ribeiro Committee on Police Reform (1998), Padmanabhaiah Committee on Police Reform (2000) and finally the Soli Sorabjee Committees draft model Police Act (2006) to replace the Police Act of 1861. This may be the reason why politicians dont want to disturb the hornets nest; to insulate the police from the political influence. Even Supreme Court directives for implementation of police reforms has little effect on the Central and the state governments, especially regarding setting up of State Security Commissions (SSC). The Supreme Court even wanted setting up of Police Establishment Boards in each state to ensure proper functioning of the police.

Another possible reason for the state governments for not implementing the recommendations of the National Police Commission (NPC) could be that the NPC wanted to lay down that the power of superintendence of the state government over the police should be limited for the purpose of ensuring that police performance is in strict accordance with law. Doesnt it restrict the unlimited powers of the state governments?

This is precisely why a statutory base is required for the National Police Commissions and the State Security Commissions, which could be achieved by a well intending majority government at the Centre. The entrenched system of abuse of power and lack of political will to introduce police reforms needs to be countered by establishing institutional structures backed by the force of law.

The idea of the police being a part of the community and accountable to it and of a policeman being a citizen in uniform, sensitive to the requirements of others and a means of accessing justice to the vast majority, was never intended to be. The police in India was created by the British to oppress Indians with Indians. This fundamental error in conception was sought to be changed by the NPC. Unfortunately, the same concept suits our present day masters too. Thats why they dont want to change it. And thats how it became the three most prominent features of the ugly face of the policeman in India; his partiality, brutality and corruption. These features are clearly and particularly noticeable when he is dealing with poor and disadvantaged people. The British raised the police in this country on a militaristic and authoritarian pattern. There was tremendous emphasis on maintenance of a type of discipline, which bordered on regimentation. Some studies of police stress have shown that the main cause of police stress is not so much the job itself but the police bureaucracy. The policies of the department and the manner in which the leadership handles men and situations cause tremendous stress.

Instead of taking remedial action, the excuse given is that police is a state subject and the police reform reports get forwarded to the states, where they are pending. To remind you, whos a constant factor in the states? Its not the politician, the parties, the government or anything else; its the state-level bureaucrats again. At worst, you can blame governments and politicians with lack of attention for these issues.

Well, its only an excuse, because if the government were serious, they would have started implementation in states where the same party rule is there. Or at the least in Union Territories, which are under Centres control. Or if theyre dead serious, theyll try to circumvent the Constitutional hurdles by amendments and ordinance, just as it was done in case of abolition of Article 370. Especially when the government has a majority in Parliament, if that was the only hurdle in the past. For instance, why police couldnt be brought on Concurrent List to check states like West Bengal and Kerala playing truant?

So, whats stopping this? Is it a lack of political and bureaucratic will combined together? Why? Is it because the bureaucracy fears losing importance? Is the politician afraid of police becoming more efficient? Whats the reason for fortifying the Central police organisations and not the state police forces? Is it power and control?

Ironically, we spend a lot of resources on external securitythe Army, intelligence, and the border security forces. But we fail to appreciate that a robust internal security mechanism like the police requires to be in place to complement the efforts on the border. When the government introduces laudable schemes and sensitive legislations, and certain groups enjoy their right to protest by burning public property, does it not look ridiculous if the police looks helpless with their hands tied? Didnt we see how policemen were brutally attacked when goons clashed inside JNU, Delhi recently?

We seem to have the burden of not only vested interests but also volatile heterogeneous public, which appears ready to jump to wrong conclusions if instigated by these elements and indulge in violence at the drop of a hat. If a majority government has lawful, longstanding issues to resolve and an opposition despite having near-zero presence in Parliament, can cause havoc on the streets, albeit for a short while only to switch to another issue, all that the government has are appeals and pleadings for peace as their defence! Why it doesnt occur to them to strengthen the arms of the police to deal with it firmly? How do these anti social elements have so much defiance and arrogance and police have so little deterrence? Why are we so scared of police atrocities and not goon atrocities, and inculcate politeness in them in such an overdose that they become pussies? Any democracy in the world, worth its salt, has a strong police force on the ground; so strong that they border on brutality. In India, ASI Wilson of the Tamil Nadu Police gets killed walking the street and no one cares. In our country, who killed the fear of the police, who took away the power of deterrence from the hands of the police?

DETERRENCE

Whats deterrence and how does it operate? In California, where I live, I went for a walk one morning. I noticed the traffic extraordinarily polite, going within speed limits, stopping at stop-signs etc at a particular junction. When I turned around, I found a police car parked unobtrusively in one corner. There was no cop to be seen. The car was removed after a couple of days. Later when I was talking to the police chief he laughed and said it was a standard practice to just leave a car like that, particularly when traffic violations showed an increase in that area. No wastage of manpower and improved law and order! I couldnt help thinking about our police who along with their cars are stone-pelted. Is this democracy or shamelessness? Would you like to attempt the same trick in our place without running the risk of getting the police Jeep stolen, repainted and resold?

One overriding cause could be our colonial attitude of excessive reliance on bureaucracy. Its possible that the bureaucracy simply doesnt understand and lack a passion for any issue plaguing the country. They simply function covering their back all the time. Covering their back includes hiding their mistakes and protecting the wrongdoers among them, and preventing the experts in the subject from taking over their place. As a result, the experts who have passion retire and write articles and deliver speeches hoping that those in power will read, listen and act someday. All that the bureaucrats do is to use their proximity to power; present this and not that, push it here and suppress another there. They cant be blamed; its like you dont lie, but you dont speak the truth either.

Whats required is not more and more commissions and reports; not laws and ordinances, not articles and essays in papers and academics. Its all there already, in the hands of those in authority and I am not going to enumerate the salient features of police reforms. Whats required is a clear intent and purpose, precise strategies, sharp tactics, and flawless implementation. In short, take out the commissions reports, dust them, and work on them.

Political, bureaucratic and people reforms anyone, before we even think of police reforms?

Sampath Ramanujan, a former IPS, has dealt with airport security and industrial security, and worked in policing, law & order and intelligence, apart from handling corporate security in top corporates.

The rest is here:

Institutional structures backed by law needed for police reforms - The Sunday Guardian

A delegation from the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) held a meeting with Meat Industry Ireland (MII) this week, at which representatives from the main sheep processors were present.

Sean Dennehy, the IFAs national sheep chairperson, and other personnel from the associations National Sheep Committee, met with representatives of Irish Country Meats, Kepak, Kildare Chilling and Dawn Meats.

The need for strong, viable lamb prices and market prospects for 2020 were top of the agenda. In addition, we discussed specifications, quality assurance, EID [electronic identification] implementation, factory charges and sheep policy issues, Dennehy explained.

Dennehy said that the IFA delegation made it very clear to the factories that sheep farmer incomes were under severe pressure and lamb prices needed to continue rising.

We were very strong in the argument that carcass weight limitswere way too restrictive at the factories and new season lamb needed to open at a minimum carcass weight of 21kgs, Dennehy said.

We discussed the need for a lot more work by the Government in opening the important Chinese and US markets to Irish lamb exports, he added.

Now is the time to make progress in China and the Government cannot allow this opportunity to pass by, Dennehy insisted.

Dennehy and his team also raised the issue of the quality assurance bonus, urging the processors to increases the payment to 30c/kg.

Some plants have increased the bonus from 10c/kg to 15c/kg but a lot more needs to be done to properly reward farmers for quality assurance, he argued.

The processors informed the IFA delegation that all of them were now in a position to provide farmers with a full-print out of their dispatch docket when the farmers were selling lambs.

IFA put it very strongly to MII that the charges some plants are applying under the Clean Sheep Policy are totally unfair. Clipping charges on Category B lambs is wrong, said Dennehy.

He also called for the abolition of scrapie and SRM charges.

We also had a good discussion with the processing sector on sheep policy issues, including the need for a 30/ewe targeted support for sheep farmers; Brexit; CAP 2020; and International trade deals.

RELATED STORIES

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IFA meet with factories on lamb price and sheep issues - Agriland

When people tell me, What are we going to do with all the rapists? I'm like, What are we doing with them now? Kaba told Hayes. They live everywhere. They're in your community, they're on TV being outed every single day.... You think that that system is doing a deterrent thing that it's actually not doing.

Gilmore, a renowned geography professor who has been involved in the prison-abolitionist cause for over three decades, sees it as a long game. Her long-term strategy has included advocating for public policy changes, halting states plans to build new prisons, and calling for them to close existing facilities. In her estimation, shared in a joint piece with formerly incarcerated writer and activist James Kilgore, Everyone who says its unrealistic to demand more willfully ignores the fact that to use law enforcement, as the U.S. does, to manage the fallout from cutbacks in social services and the upward rush in income and wealth is breathtakingly expensive, while it cheapens human life.

Part of that issue lies in cuts to the social safety net, specifically in the area of mental health care, and the gradual shift toward prisons functioning as mental health facilities. As Gilmore wrote, Jail expansion has been chugging along largely because law enforcement continues to absorb social welfare work mental and physical health, education, family unification. To imagine a world without prisons and jails is to imagine a world in which social welfare is a right, not a luxury.

New York Citys ongoing No New Jails campaign is an example of prison-abolitionist organizing at work. In 2017, when the city announced that it would finally be closing the blighted Rikers Island jail complex after decades of pressure from activists, media, and human rights groups, the move was seen as a victory. But in October 2019, the New York City Council voted to allocate $8 billion to build four new jails across four of the five boroughs. The decision was met with fierce opposition from local prison abolitionists, who had launched the No New Jails campaign in response to the initial 2018 announcement of the plan. The city line is that the new jails will be part of a shift toward a more humane version of its criminal justice system; abolitionists countered that there is no such thing as a humane prison. No New Jails was organized around the principle that there is no need to build any more jails [in New York City], and that the billions of dollars budgeted for new jails should be redirected instead to community-based resources that will support permanent decarceration; its members have kept up a presence at hearings and council meetings. That community resistance continues, but for now, Rikers has already begun moving people incarcerated in the institutions Eric M. Taylor Center to different facilities, one of two jails the city plans to close by March 2020 as part of the larger plan to shut Rikers down.

The island jail is only one example (though, in the interest of full disclosure, it is a personal one for me one of my close friends is currently incarcerated there). The number of prisons, detention centers, and jails and those confined within them continues to climb, and abolitionists continue to have their work cut out for them. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, as of 2019 the U.S. criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in 1,719 state prisons, 109 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,163 local jails, and 80 Indian Country jails, as well as in military prisons, immigration detention facilities, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories.

There is still so much work to be done to address the evils of the U.S. criminal justice system and liberate those who have suffered its abuses, but prison abolitionists are used to demanding the impossible and will continue fighting tooth and nail until every cage is empty.

Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: How the School-to-Prison Pipeline Works

Read more from the original source:

What the Prison-Abolition Movement Wants - Teen Vogue

A No New Jails NYC activist during a protest outside the Ford Foundation in Manhattan in September, 2019 (photo by the author for Hyperallergic)

The New York City branch of No New Jails, a grassroots prison abolition movement, has partnered with the Lower East Side nonprofits ABC No Rio and the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space(MoRUS) to bring the exhibitionNo New Jails NYC The Art & Design of a Movement, currently on view at MoRUS in New Yorks Lower East Side.

The exhibition examines the design, art, dance, and cultural work involved in No New Jails NYCs organizing activities. It is accompanied by a series of participatory events including art-making workshops, performances, teach-ins, and talk (see the full list of upcoming events below).

Mon Mohapatra, an organizer with No New Jails, said, Design, art, movement, dance, and cultural work have been critical to No New Jails NYCs organizing: to imagine and visualize safety without prisons or police; to distribute and center the imaginations of our incarcerated comrades; to communicate and conduct outreach across the city; to celebrate and archive our work while doing political education; and to make the goal of a jail-free NYC recognizable and attainable.

The exhibition (running through January 15) is funded in part by the New York State Council on Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the William Talbot Hillman Foundation.

When:

Saturday, January 4, 7pm: Performances.

Tuesday, January 7, 7pm: No New Jails Abolition Plan Teach In.

Wednesday, January 8, 7pm: New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) three Kings Event.

Thursday, January 16, 6pm: An Evening with Prison Writes

Where: Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), 155 Avenue C, New York, 10009

More info at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space

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The Art And Design of No New Jails - Hyperallergic

I predicted well before the last election that Donald Trump would be elected, having felt that way once he rode down that golden escalator with his rapist invective. Ever since he was elected, Ive also believed hell be reelected, more easily this time.

An illustrative personal anecdote, one of many over the last three years: A creative writing PhD with tons of debt, whose wife happens to be an undocumented Filipina, became mighty angered by the promise of student debt cancelation. What about those who have paid their dues by taking out debt? No doubt he would refuse a blanket amnesty for illegals too. His DACA wife paid her dues.

The columnists at the New York Times are all angry at the possibility of decriminalization of border crossings, health care for the undocumented, and abolition of private insurance. They dont want to do away with Trumpian inhumanity. They want the oppression to continue, but without the transparent rhetoric.

Minus the Trumpian rhetorical overlash, war, empire, violence, hollowness, junk goods, and a junk life are all the people have ever known and all they want.

Historical movement in long cycles cant be short-circuited, as we can see in the resistance of the liberal elites toward Sanders, the only candidate who could beat Trump, versus the stampede toward Warren, who provides a safe alternative, and would surely lose.

But what kind of a fascist doesnt start a war in three years? Trump doesnt need war, because he has brought the war home by making us confront our emptiness directly. He is the catalyst we needed at this time, and he is fulfilling his purpose beautifully. America is exhausted, which the liberal elites dont get.

Trump keeps making noises about Iran, but he hasnt actually done it yet. His pullback at the last moment, when the bombers were supposedly already on their way, is a trope that makes sense to a lot of people. We could have, in a science-fictional world, the repetition of this particular actionpulling back from the brink, the antithesis to Strangelovian irrevocabilityday after day, and it would be the right psychotropic drug to rouse us.

And what kind of a huckster is he? He constantly keeps changing his mind, which is not a character flaw, but the essence of his deal-making. America cant find a better dealfrom the New Deal to the Fair Deal to the imaginary Green New Deal, a landscape of lost opportunities and blighted dreamsso contingent honor, betrayed promises, and infinite self-cancelation constitute the only kind of deal-making possible. And unlike The Apprentice there can be no winner at the end, while the rest get fired, because the endless prevaricationsaying two things at the same time, often diametrically oppositeis what constitutes deal-making. Wed better get used to it: it is the welcome end to a century of liberal social planning.

To be totally adrift, hes saying and resonating mightily, is to have total freedom. The empire embraces its most recent eruption of vulgarity, barbarism, and eco-destruction as a welcome developmentat least the dispossessed do, if not the meritocrats. To move beyond the dead language of liberal political correctness, which all of the Democratic candidates suffer from, is a great service. He is preparing us for the imminent turmoil of the coming decadesconcluding at last in secession and fragmentation by mid-centurywith the kind of language the empire needs now. Hes reading history well, only too well, far better than his ideological opponents, the neoliberal globalizers or the democratic socialists.

Not one of his opponents is prepared to say that power is Americabrute, unforgiving, no-second-chances power. This kind of power requires a base removed from liberal education. He reforms language every day, in his tweets, which emanate from our deepest unconscious, such as when liberal stand-up comedians turn out to be racists and mysogynists in their revealing moments.

As we prepare for the age of brutality, hes telling usas the Times columnists confirm every day in the limits they impose to compassionthat the recent gloss of multicultural tolerance, in the Reagan/Clinton/Obama years, was the final fantasy. His border wall seeks to literalize the walls of segregation and inequality that have been going up relentlessly all throughout the interior. He wont start wars of humanitarian liberation, because that was the foreign aspect to the domestic malevolence passing as tolerance.

Jeane Kirkpatrick counseled in the 1970s that we could work with good authoritarians around the world but not socialists. Trumps affection for Modi, Bolsonaro, Putin, Kim Jong-un, and Mohammad bin Salman is nothing new. It is how we have always operated, even in the halcyon days of Kissingers dtente, when we violently crushed democracy in Chile and elsewhere, or under the spiritual Carter, when we trapped the Russian bear in Afghanistan, much to Brzezinskis delight.

Trump doesnt want to restart history, to repudiate Francis Fukuyama, or Bill Clinton. Nor does he want to start a clash of civilizations, to validate Samuel Huntington, or Bush Jr. He is content with leaving history alone, which seems natural, coming so soon after Bush Jr.s counselors, who wanted full spectrum dominance. The deal, as Trump sees it, is ever-changing, immune from textual recreation, legal solidity, constitutional affirmation.

What is his obsession with China then? China for the last three decades has been a management consultants dream come true. Trump is not playing a zero-sum game, a chessboard called economic nationalism, with China. With him we move beyond oligarchic nationalism or even democratic fascism. China helps construct a total vacuum of thought reaching even beyond the vulgarity of trashy American consumerism. We no longer want their tacky goods. We want the Harley-Davidsons backor not, its okay if they dont come back. If we cant recall manufacturing, and we leave world trade, then we are thrown upon a manly ideal, where we make things and do things for ourselves, except that Trump and his followers know that that ideal is well past reach, going out of fashion with the rise of consumerism precisely a century ago.

The 2020s: an exact reversal of the rise of optimistic consumerism in the 1920s. History does have its symmetries, if you know where to look. The end to advertising, news broadcasting, modernist propaganda, the religion of self-help and therapy, physical fitness, institutionalized spying, and technological utopia.

His attack on the media, the breathing tube for an empty liberal consumerism that died long ago, is the most welcome move to his fervent supporters. You cant believe a word you see. You have to create your own reality, which the Internet helped bring about starting in the 1990s. Consider the real scandal of Joe Bidens sons corruption, already noted matter-of-factly in leading newspapers, versus the impeachable scandal of just talkingairing out possible deals to land political opponents in trouble. Torture, assassination, deportation, and ecocide are all within the pale, for the resistance, for those who would like to replace him with an acceptable alternative who will take empire back to where it was.

But its not going to happen, because he never was the bearer of a virus, which implies something alien. He is the perfect mirror, just as Nixon followed Johnson, Reagan followed Carter, and Bush followed Clinton, in performing not so much an oscillation but an exaggerated return to form. Empires, heavy and difficult to maneuver, dont engage in circular or sideways motions. Trump is the accelerant to the end point empire needs now, just as Reagan and Bush served their functions earlier, and in that sense he is a true man of the people. You dont beat a man of the people electorally, you just dont.

This essay appeared originally at Salon.

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Donald Trump Will Easily Be Reelected: There Has Been No Repudiation of What He Represents and There Won't Be - CounterPunch

One Conservative party manifesto commitment that did not make it into the text of the Queens speech (Report, 20 December) but which was mentioned in the background briefing notes is the governments pledge to publish a national strategy for disabled people in 2020. Many groups have called for this, and I am sure it will be welcomed. The strategy, we are told, will include housing, education and transport, with the benefits system being addressed in a green paper. Measures will ensure disabled people can lead a life of opportunity and fulfilment.

If the government wants to support disabled people in all aspects and phases of their lives, this strategy must do three key things. First, it must be developed across all government departments. For example, until the Department for Work and Pensions radically improves the personal independence payment system, it will be impossible to improve the quality of life of many disabled people.

Second, the government must implement promises made previously, such as the consultation on accessible housing, which had been announced to start in the autumn. Without access to something as fundamental as housing, the aims of the strategy are unlikely to be met.

Third, and perhaps most important of all, disabled people must be fully involved and represented at all stages. If we are not, it will be impossible for the government fully to understand those issues that matter the most.Celia ThomasLib Dem spokesperson on disability

Euphoria over the promised abolition of section 21 no-fault evictions through a renters reform bill in the Queens speech must tempered with despair that misery as usual will continue for renters. Housing and council tax benefits remain cut while rents and council tax rise, taking an ever larger proportion of low incomes, in both work and unemployment, needed for food, fuel and other necessities.

Funding the housing demand of first-time buyers stokes the fires of the housing emergency by increasing house prices and rents. Under the present regime the number of homeless tenants increases faster than the number of truly affordable tenancies built. UK governments allow the wealthy, from both here and abroad, to buy land for profit. They leave it empty as the number of homeless British citizens keeps rising. Renters will continue to be deprived of UK land by speculators with all the ferocity of the enclosures and the Highland clearances.Rev Paul NicolsonTaxpayers Against Poverty

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Queens speech: disability pledge and renters reform bill - The Guardian

WITH the year fast drawing to a close, Higher ED looks back at the highlights and events that have shaped and influenced the tertiary education space.

This year, Malaysia took great strides to provide inclusivity and quality education to various levels of the society.

Increased pathways were created for access into education at various higher education institutions (HEIs). There was a keen focus on making tertiary education provide graduates with relevant skills and knowledge that would fit both industry demands and society needs as well as push further the pursuit of knowledge.

These were all drawn up via a clear framework stipulated in the Education Ministers 2019 Mandate that was unveiled in January where four key directions were cited for higher education quality, autonomy, collaboration and internationalisation that aimed to bring back credibility to universities.

To achieve quality higher education, research from universities should be aimed at solving societys problems.NSTP/SHARUL HAFIZ ZAM

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik advocated increasing the visibility of academics works and nurturing a discourse culture in universities to solve societys problems and develop the nation as a means to achieve quality higher education.

Ethics and integrity were given emphasis where university publication should reflect the mastery of academicians and be regarded as universal references.

The quality of research grants should be increased to ensure knowledge transfer and translation of great works.

Maszlee announced that student empowerment woud be emphasised through efforts like the abolition of Section 15(1)(c) of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971.

Students Unions would be established to increase students decision-making roles. International Islamic University Malaysia was selected as the first university to be the pioneer.

In preparing students to become societys troubleshooters, universities must create collaborations with various parties, such as schools, polytechnics and vocational colleges.

To help local communities, public universities could provide training to improve the quality of the teaching and learning process in schools.

To make Malaysia an international education hub, Maszlee said there must be an increase in international students and local universities must establish more campuses abroad through the satellite university method.

For Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), the ministry would continue to improve its institutional capabilities to be on par with other educational pathways.

A harmonised accreditation system with quality assurance would be established to enable student mobility in TVET institutions.

The quality and delivery of TVET programmes would be increased to improve the skills of graduates through an industry-led approach, removing duplication of programmes and resources, increasing cost effectiveness and expanding TVET funding.

Disabled students are among the priority groups given special routes for entry into public universities.. NSTP/AZHAR RAMLI

HAPPENINGS in the tertiary education gradually ramped up from early March prior to the release of SPM and STPM results.

Plans on access, wider pathways for furthering education, autonomy and quality education were generally made good on as the year progressed.

SPECIAL ROUTES

The Education Ministry announced special pathways to public universities for four groups, namely, people with disabilities, athletes, Orang Asli and those in the B40 group in early March.

Students from these priority groups do not have to compete with the mainstream group to pursue their tertiary studies.

In line with the ministrys Education for All concept, this initiative follows in the footsteps of developed countries in prioritising the admission of athletes into varsities.

Some 51,191 students from B40 group benefited from the special routes to public universities and special training institutes, of which 32,282 made it into public universities.

STUDENT-RUN ELECTION

Also in March, Universiti Malaya made history when its campus election became the first in 50 years to be independently run by students.

It is a testament to students capability to uphold democracy and be responsible citizens.

The electoral process was organised by the Campus Election Committee 2019 comprising 19 student leaders who were given the mandate by UMs vice-chancellor last year with full autonomy.

Improvisations were carried out to benefit students such as coalitions were allowed to be formed and contest under one logo.

The election was conducted in the second semester to familiarise new students with the university environment and their student leaders.

Campus elections at all public universities this year were independently run by students.NSTP/AZIAH AZMEE

PROGRESS ON UEC

Decision on whether to recognise the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) continues to be a hot issue.

On April 3, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that only the government could make the decision to recognise the UEC.

The UEC is the unified examination for Independent Chinese Secondary Schools which does not follow the national education system.

The Unified Examination Certificate Task Force, an independent three-man panel appointed by Education Ministry in 2018, updated the NST that it was actively gathering views on this matter from various stakeholders, individuals and entities including associations, political parties, scholars and parents.

As of last month, the task force was reported to be in the midst of finalising the report.

MORE SEATS FOR MATRICULATION

In April, the Education Ministry announced that it was increasing the student intake into the matriculation programme to 40,000 from the present 25,000.

While the quota system, which allocates 90 per cent of seats to Bumiputeras continue to be in place, seats for non-Bumiputeras increased proportionally to 4,000.

Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik said the system is in line with the matriculation programmes vision to encourage more Bumiputeras involvement in the sciences.

HEIGHTENED FOCUS ON TVET

To formulate more relevant policies to implement the TVET agenda according to industry needs, the TVET Empowerment Committee named Maszlee chairperson in May.

Later in August, the committee (JKKPTVET) was formed in line with the governments hopes to make TVET a mainstream choice, instead of an alternative. The move is expected to help create a skilled workforce by 2030.

GOING UP THE RANKINGS

Twenty Malaysian universities were featured in the QS World University Rankings 2020 released in June.

Produced by global higher education consultancy Quacquarelli Symonds, the list ranks the worlds top 1000 universities.

In its second consecutive year in the top 100, Universiti Malaya made Malaysia proud by climbing up to the 70th position from 87th globally.

In the 200 rank are Universiti Putra Malaysia from 202 to 159; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 184 to 160; and Universiti Sains Malaysia from 207 to 165.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia climbed from 228 to 217.

UCSI University went from 481 to 442, the highest for a private university in the country.

According to Quacquarelli Symonds, Malaysias progressive performance was due to improving results in two key surveys Academic Reputation and Employer Reputation.

However, Malaysian universities research impact has room for improvement. Only five of Malaysias 20 entrants improved their performance in Quacquarelli Symonds Citations per Faculty indicator.

UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY

The Education Ministry announced that a new Act would be created to abolish and replace several higher education-related Acts, including the Universities and University Colleges (AUKU) Act 1971 and Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555).

According to the ministry, the move was aimed at having a more efficient and sustainable governance and financing structure in efforts to support universities academic freedom and autonomy.

Chaired by Maszlee, a meeting was held on June 22 to discuss the policy framework and findings of studies by independent academic researchers.

The abolition of the Acts was in line with the governments promise to bring back credibility to local universities.

ALTERNATIVE POSTGRAD PATHWAYS

In July, the Malaysian Qualifications Agency revealed that there would soon be alternative pathways to provide opportunities for working adults and undergraduates to have a PhD qualification.

MQA chief executive officer Datuk Dr Rahmah Mohamed said the agency was carrying out an implementation study of the next phase of the Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) programme where work experience could be translated into a masters or doctoral degree, or speed up the process of getting a PhD.

Defined as a systematic process involving identification, documentation and assessment of prior experiential learning, the programme thus far has created access to certificate, diploma, bachelors degree and masters degree study programmes to individuals with working experience but lack or are without proper academic qualifications.

MQA targeted to introduce APEL T-8 and APEL Q next year that would give access to PhD level qualifications. APEL T-8 is an extension of APEL A, which provides higher education opportunities based on a persons working experience.

APEL Q awards masters and doctoral level academic qualifications without class attendance.

The purpose of the various initiatives is to ensure there is a growth in the number of postgraduate degree holders, in line with the countrys aspiration of becoming a high-income nation.

REASSESSING COURSES

In September, the Higher Education department shared that it had instructed all universities to identify and reshape their academic programmes to enhance students job opportunities and be in line with industry needs.

This led to a confusion among students currently pursuing certain courses and their parents were particularly anxious about the status of the said programmes that would no longer be offered by public universities in the country.

The then Higher Education department director general Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir highlighted that the idea behind the move was essentially to revise strategically and systematically courses currently offered at universities to keep abreast of change and market developments or risk stagnation.

International Islamic University Malaysia was selected as the first university to establish a Students Union to increase students decision-making role.NSTP/SALHANI IBRAHIM

BUDGET 2020

To level up human capital in the country, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, when tabling Budget 2020 in Parliament in October, announced an allocation of RM64.1 billion in 2020 for education reflecting the governments commitment to provide quality education at different stages of life for the rakyat.

From the sum, a whopping RM5.9 billion is dedicated to mainstreaming TVET which include, among others, funding to strengthen the synergies between the public and private sectors through increased allocation for State Skills Development Centres and Public Skills Training Institutions as well as expanding pathways for TVET graduates to pursue further studies and secure jobs.

To encourage adult learning, Lim said the Employees Provident Fund will be allowed to facilitate the withdrawal for qualifications attained at certificate level, especially for accredited programmes that are in line with the nations IR4.0 aspirations.

The withdrawal scheme will include members parents and spouse.

A RM20 million allocation will be made available to be matched by another RM20 million from the Human Resource Development Fund towards having working adults take up professional certification examinations in fields relating to IR4.0.

Emphasis on learning opportunities under MARA and Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera for low-income and rural bumiputeras through education institutions such as Kolej GIATMARA and Universiti Kuala Lumpur will be continued with an allocation of RM1.3 billion for education institutions under MARA for 2020, with a further RM2 billion allocated for student loans, benefiting 50,000 students. In addition, RM192 million is also allocated for professional certification programmes under Yayasan Peneraju.

To drive economic growth in the digital era, the government encourages the provision of technology scholarships, training and upskilling for digital skills for communities in need through the concept of Digital Social Responsibility (DSR).

DSR is the commitment by businesses to contribute to digital economic development while improving the digital skills of the future workforce.

Enhancing the research and development framework was also cited as a key strategy to drive economic growth in the new economy.

For that, Lim announced that the government will allocate RM30 million for R&D matching grants for collaborations with industry and academia to develop higher value-added downstream use of palm oil, specifically tocotrienol in pharmaceuticals and bio-jet fuel.

To promote commercialisation of R&D from the public sector, research universities, beginning with UM, will establish a one-stop Innovation Office to transform intellectual property into commercially exploitable opportunities, said Lim.

STUDY PATHWAYS

In November, the Education Ministry announced the replacement of the science/arts streaming system in upper secondary into a system where students can choose from 89 elective subjects grouped in two packages: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), and Arts and Humanities under the new Secondary Schools Standard Curriculum (Upper Secondary) or KSSM Menengah Atas.

This will give students a taste of what they might pursue at tertiary education level and maybe even get a headstart in their desired future careers.

In a briefing, Education Ministry deputy director-general (policies and development) Dr Habibah Abdul Rahim advised students to pick their subjects wisely because it paves the way for their future.

She added that the students can change subjects midway through schooling but noted that it will not be an easy feat because there will be a lot of catching up to do.

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A year of great strides - New Straits Times

Kasi Lemmons'Harriet the first-ever biopic about African American civil rights activist Harriet Tubman has been racking up major nominations this awards season.

Among them: star Cynthia Erivo is up for two Golden Globes, one for best actress in a motion picture drama and the other for best original song (with Joshuah Brian Campbell) for "Stand Up." Erivo also earned a SAG Award nomination for best performance by an actress in a leading role.

The film portrays Tubman's life story, from her daring escape out of slavery to her role as conductor of the Underground Railroad. The narrative plays out like a "chase movie,"writes The Hollywood Reporter critic David Rooney.

The film starts out with Tubman retrieving a will that states her family should have been freed years ago. But when her husband shows the documentation to her slave owner, Edward Brodess, rather than emancipate the family, Brodess rips up the paper. Soon after, Edward's son Gideon makes a plan to separate Tubman from her family. The thought of losing her loved ones fuels Tubman's desire to fight for freedom.

Throughout the film, audiences follow Tubmans journey toward Philadelphia, where the runaway soon transforms into an iconic hero.

With Erivo in the lead role as Tubman, the cast also includes Leslie Odom Jr., Janelle Monae, Jennifer Nettles, Clarke Peters, Joe Alwyn and Omar Dorsey. Since the movie hit theaters Nov. 1, it's earned $42.2 million at the domestic box office.

Read on to find out the real-life inspirations behind the characters in Harriet.

Cynthia Erivo as Harriet Tubman

Before Harriet Tubman helped free hundreds of families through the Underground Railroad, a furtive organization composed of individuals with the goal to liberate all slaves, she used the escape route herself to forge a path to freedom.

Born into slavery around 1820, Tubman, aka Minty, had eight siblings and lived in Dorchester County, Maryland. After getting hit on the head with a two-pound stone, just one of the many violent incidents imposed on her during her life as a slave, the activist suffered from seizures and intense headaches for years to come. But she was also intensely spiritual and believed that God was speaking to her through these episodes and vivid dreams, as depicted in the film.

In 1849, Tubman made the decision to escape slavery after her master's death, fearing the possibility of getting separated from her family. Though her two brothers initially set out with her, they got cold feet after Tubmans owner posted a letter of their escape and put out a reward for them. This left Tubman alone on her journey to freedom. But the activist had heard about the mysterious Underground Railroad, and with the help of individuals involved in the abolitionist movement, she made the 90-mile journey to freedom.

The former slave eventually arrived in Philadelphia, but after working and saving up some money, she planned to return for her family. Eventually, Tubman went on to save not only her loved ones, but scores of others. When the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, making it easier to re-capture recently freed slaves, Tubman even reconfigured the route of the Underground Railroad. Along with liberating former slaves, Tubman contributed to the Civil War and was a cook and nurse for the Union army. More than that, however, she was a spy and continued to help free slaves during the course of the war.

Cynthia Erivo plays Tubman in the film and has already received praise for her portrayal of the civil rights activist, with some saying the British actress may receive an Oscar nomination for her performance, which with a win could result in her becoming the youngest performer to receive EGOT status.

The actress knew from a young age that she wanted to sing and act, which eventually led her to attend the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She turned heads when she was cast in the Broadway performance of A Color Purple as Cecile.

Erivo appeared on NBC's Today and spoke about the importance of playing Tubman. "I put my heart and soul into it," Erivo said. "It means the world to me. She means the world to me."

Leslie Odom Jr. as William Still

Leslie Odom Jr. plays William Still, a key player in the Underground Railroad. Part of the organization for over a decade, Stills helped free more than 800 individuals.

As a child, his mother escaped slavery and fled to her husband, who had recently bought his emancipation. Unfortunately, she was only able to take two of her children along, Still being one of them. The family moved to Philadelphia and Still made it a priority to study, despite not being enrolled in school. He got a job as a custodian at the Pennsylvania Society of the Abolition of Slavery, where he also helped runaway slaves to freedom including the older brother he and his family left behind.

As he began to help more and more people, Still compiled all of their information into a book known as The Underground Railroad Records, which has become an important historical document.

Odom spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his role, saying he believes more movies should be made about Stills book.

"The Underground Railroad was a book also, you know, of escaped slaves," Odom Jr. said. "When they find themselves on William's doorstep, he risked his life to record their stories of courage and bravery to make it to freedom. So, I think there's lots of movies in there."

Odom rose to prominence starring in the Broadway adaptation of Hamilton as Aaron Burr, but has also appeared in television shows such as Law & Order: SVU and films like Murder on the Orient Express. He is set to appear alongside Orlando Bloom and Freida Pinto in the movie The Many Saints in Newark in 2020.

Jennifer Nettles as Eliza Brodess

Country singer Jennifer Nettles plays real-life character Eliza Brodess. After her husband's death, Brodess inherits Tubman and planned to sell her to pay off her family's death. But before she gets the chance, Tubman escapes, causing Brodess to publish an ad in the newspaper publicizing an award for Tubmans capture. Besides that, there isnt much known about the slave owner, except that she was said to be a cruel woman.

Nettles spoke to Paradeabout the challenges of embodying such an unlikable character. "I think as an actress it is absolutely not only so much fun, but so enriching and so important to do, because there is really nothing redeemable about Eliza," she said. "So, I really had to get in touch with and try to find a kernel of humanity in her, and that, as a storyteller, as someone who loves characters, that was so fun for me to be able to explore."

Nettles, a part of the singing duo Sugarland, has been making the move toward acting, recently appearing in HBOs The Righteous Gemstones as Aimee Leigh Gemstone. The actress has also portrayed the mother of country superstar Dolly Parton in Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.

Clarke Peters as Ben Ross

Clarke Peters plays Ben Ross, Tubman's father. Ross was freed from slavery when he was 55 and went on to become a well-respected timber estimator. After getting his freedom, Ross eventually was able to afford his wife's emancipation. When Tubman returned for her brothers in 1854, Ross was able to pay for their freedom as well.

Throughout his career, the legendary actor has appeared in several iconic roles, but is most known for playing Detective Lester Freamon in HBO's The Wire.

Omar Dorsey as Bigger Long

In the film, Bigger Long is a slave catcher who also is black. Long is hired to track down Harriet. Though the character isn't based off of a specific individual, the idea is plausible, as there were known to be black individuals involved in this type of work.

In an email to Slate, Joshua Rothman, chair of the University of Alabamas History department, said black slave catchers most likely didnt work in the South, but were more likely to be found in border states or in the North.

Omar Dorsey portrays Bigger Long. Dorsey has appeared in films such as Django Unchained and Selma, which also grapple with the atrocities of slavery. But in talking to The Washington Post, Dorsey saidHarriet is different from other slavery narratives.

"What Ill say about Harriet is that this is a freedom movie," Dorsey said. "Shes out of slavery within the first 15 minutes of the movie, and the rest of the movie is about her coming back and getting her family and the other blacks through the Underground Railroad and to freedom. And thats the difference between this film and like ...12 Years a Slave, which was important," he said.

The actor has starred in two of Ava DuVernays projects Queen Sugar and When They See Us and is currently filming the new movie in the Halloween franchise, Halloween Kills.

Janelle Monae as Marie Buchanon

Singer Janelle Monae portrays the character Marie Buchanon, a successful free woman who owns a boarding house in Philadelphia. Though Monae's character was created for the film, she helps Harriet realize her potential and sets her up with one of her first jobs as a domestic worker.

Monae has alluded to Harriet Tubmans legacy many times in her music, and said it was a no-brainer to join the cast, in an interview with AJC.

"[Tubman's] always been a part of me and a part of my DNA," Mone said, "and when I got asked by Cynthia and Kasi to be involved in the film I said, 'Absolutely. These are two sisters working together to lead the revolution."

Since her debut album released in 2010, Monae has had a successful career as an artist. She's recently shifted toward acting, casted in praised films such as Moonlight and Hidden Figures. Monae will appears in the remake of Lady and the Tramp on Disney+.

Joe Alwyn as Gideon Brodess

Alwyn plays Gideon Brodess, son of Eliza. Though the Brodess family did have a son, little was known about him.

In the film, Gideon's character is mostly fictionalized. THR critic David Rooney writes that Tubman had a strange bond with him, as she raised him when he was younger. But after his father's death, Gideon decides to sell Tubman, becoming the catalyst for her escape.

Joe Alwyn's career is burgeoning, as the English actor has appeared in acclaimed films The Favourite and Boy Erased. He is currently filming Last Letter From Your Lover, a movie adapted from a Jojo Moyes novel, opposite Shailene Woodley.

Link:

The True Story of 'Harriet': How Accurate Are the Characters? - Hollywood Reporter

Every Year National Farmers Day is celebrated on December 23. It was decided by the government of India to celebrate Farmers Day in 2001.

Gorky BakshiDec 23, 2019 15:05 IST

National Farmers Day 2019: Every year India celebrates National Farmers Day on December 23 to mark former Prime Minister of India Chaudhary Charan Singhs birth anniversary. The government organizes many programs and debates, seminars on agriculture on this day.

National Farmers Day is celebrated every year especially in those states which are actively engaged in farming such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh among others. Chaudhary Charan Singh was also known as a farmers leader.

About National Farmers Day

Every Year National Farmers Day is celebrated on December 23. It was decided by the government of India to celebrate Farmers Day in 2001. It is believed that Zamindari Abolition Bill-1952 was passed due to Chaudhary Charan Singhs hard work.

About Chaudhary Charan Singh

He was the Prime Minister of India from 28 July 1979 to 14 January 1980. He is also known as the leader of Indian Farmers. Chaudhary Charan Singh was born on December 23, 1902 in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh. He considered casteism to be the root of slavery and said that there cannot be equality, prosperity, and security of the nation with the caste system. He framed several policies to improve the condition of farmers during his tenure. Chaudhary Charan Singh became the first non-congress CM of UP and Prime Minister in 1979. He has authored books such as the Abolition of Zamindari, India's Poverty and Its Solutions and the Legend Proprietorship. In 1979, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was established as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. On 28 July 1979, Chaudhary Charan Singh became the Prime Minister of the country with the support of various political parties. Chaudhary Charan Singh passed away on 29 May 1987. His memorial is located in New Delhi and known as Kisan Ghat.

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National Farmers Day 2019: Everything you need to know - Jagran Josh

The Explorations Series Production Features a Conversation in Song Between Womens Suffrage Leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady StantonWorking Out Her Destiny by Louis Bonhajo for League of Women Voters, Erie, Pennsylvania, 1920 (Library of Virginia)

On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment became law, stating, The right of citizens in the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.

Looking toward the 100th anniversary of that event, Lyric Opera of Kansas City created a new production called . . . When there are nine for its Explorations Series, performed Jan. 18 at the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building.

Explorations Series allows us to do things that we dont do on the Kauffman stage, said Deborah Sandler, general director and CEO of the Lyric Opera, and also creates the ability to have a very intimate conversation . . . to engage with the community, to connect what we do on stage, what we choose to talk about, and how it relates to our lives today.

The title evokes the words of opera fan and United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: People ask me sometimes, when do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the [Supreme Court]? And my answer is when there are nine.

By selecting that quote, Sandler wanted to reflect that we havent completed our journey, that theres still so much to do.

The production features the world premiere of And Still We Dream, a song cycle by composer Laura Karpman and librettist Kelley Rourke, their second collaboration.

The cycle takes the form of a conversation between womens suffrage leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Both started their advocacy as social reformers, concerning abolition and equal pay. They met in 1851 and worked together for suffrage until their deaths. Though they were united in a single cause, they could not have been more different, said Rourke.

Anthony lectured around the country, campaigning for support, while Stanton, with the responsibility of raising seven children, wrote letters and speeches and formed many of the arguments Anthony publicly espoused. If you read the words between these two women, one of them was at the forefront and the other was dealing with the family, said Sandler, invoking a conundrum facing activists today.

To create the story, Rourke sifted through hundreds of pages of writing, both public and private. I was most interested in the personal. The public rhetoric is dazzling, but I was looking for ideas that would invite a variety of musical-emotional responses.

Karpman researched the style of the era, but its not going to be a period piece. As a versatile, award-winning composer for film (along with opera, video game music and concert work), she has the ability to live in a billion different musical worlds, said Rourke.

In a 2010 interview, Karpman said: With my concert music in particular, Im hugely interested in social issues, and I want to write music that feels significant . . . that can serve as a vehicle for social change.

The project feels very personal for both of us today, Rourke said, as they developed the story of two flesh-and-blood women engaged in a cause that was deeply emotional for both of them.

The cycle is a tour de force for one singer, Rourke said. They cast mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack, an artist equally at home with Handel operas as she is with contemporary work. Daniela Mack has tremendous range, and I dont just mean low notes to high notes, Rourke said. She is someone with the ability to embody two very different women through sheer vocal artistry, someone who can take us from one persona to another and back again in the blink of an eye.

Rourke also serves as dramaturge for the production, constructing the story (the performance will have the feel of a town hall meeting) and bringing together the musical choices for the full 90-minute work, which includes performances by Lyric Operas Resident Artists.

She used quotations from the era and today to frame the debate, mixed with song selections that emphasize these arguments. Much of the rhetoric surrounding this milestone had to do with the larger question of a womans place, and this is a question that still comes up today.

One of the goals of the larger program, said Rourke, is to say that a feminist doesnt look like one thing, and in fact a feminist does not even have to be a woman.

As I immersed myself in the rhetoric surrounding womens rights 100 years ago, I found that some of it felt familiar. We have accomplished a lot, and yet there is a pendulum always swinging back and forth. By juxtaposing past and present in the larger program, I hope we can both celebrate our progress to date and inspire a new generation of activists to continue to work toward true equality.

They acknowledge, too, that the movement was not perfect. Not all women gained the right to vote, since the Constitution retained barriers regarding race, denying non-whites suffrage. As we look at some of the women who have helped shape our country, its important that we include voices of women of color. Sometimes the contributions of people like Sojourner Truth have been overlooked, and its high time we gave them their due.

Exploring the Issues

Along with the performance, Lyric Opera also hosts a panel discussion about these topics Jan. 13. Sandler said, We want to have a conversation that says, Great! Its been a hundred years where are we now, what have we achieved? What more is there for us to do? What does it look like?

Panelists Catherine Clinton and Nancy Levit, along with moderator Lisa Krigsten, will discuss these issues from the Civil War up to today. The panel will have a Q&A; the performance will have a talk back with the artists.

Theres also a tangentially related program Jan. 17. Lyric Opera hosts a panel with Opera America president Marc Scorca, who is visiting all the founding companies this year as part of Opera Americas 50th anniversary. The panel focuses on the role of women in music, particularly opera, considering that Sandler is one of the founding leaders in the Womens Opera Network (WON).

Rourke and Karpman will also participate. Karpman, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, is founder and president of the Alliance for Women Film Composers.

Girls and young women must see that other women compose and that composition is a possibility for them. Its about being open and brave and talking about these issues even if they are difficult, said Karpman.

Our audiences are made of men and women; our world is made up of men and women, said Sandler, but the people who are composing and directing and conducting were not representative of women: the diversity of women, the plurality of thought of women. We dont all march the same way and have the same thoughts.

But since this Womens Opera Network started, there has been an explosion of women and womens voices. Its miraculous. And all this has happened because there has been an intentionality about bringing more women into the conversation.

In this production, the work was conceived, written, composed, directed, conducted and performed by women.

Sandler knows what its like to juggle family and career, as one of the few women general directors who was also raising young children. Back then, no one talked about those issues. Thats changing now. Its illuminating where we are going, and has illuminated the multitasking that women are doing, yet we persevere and yet we thrive.

At the end of her life, Susan B. Anthony wrote: We little dreamed when we began this contest, optimistic with the hope and buoyancy of youth, that half a century later we would be compelled to leave the finish of the battle to another generation of women. These strong young women will take our place and complete our work. There is an army of them, where we were but a handful.

Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Explorations Series . . . When there are nine at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18 in the Michael and Ginger Frost Production Arts Building. For more information and tickets, http://www.kcopera.org

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Lyric Opera Celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment - kcstudio.org

JUST over a year since tolls were scrapped on the two Severn bridges, the Welsh Government has said drivers are saving an average of 365,000 a day.

The charges on the two crossing were abolished on December 17, 2018 - and since then journeys into Wales from England over the Prince of Wales bridge have increased by 16 per cent, with an average of 39,000 vehicles using it every day.

At the time the UK Government, which was responsible for the tolls, said it hoped scrapping them, would make it easier to travel between the two countries, boosting business, enhancing investment, increasing tourism and creating jobs. But not everyone in Monmouthshire is happy about it.

Traffic congestion, air pollution, and a lack of infrastructure to cope with the levels of cars are some of the concerns that have arisen in the last year.

More than 39,000 cars head westbound on the M4 every day

Chris Parry, 52, who is from Cwmbran but now lives in Gloucestershire, raised concerns over house prices and traffic in Monmouthshire, saying: Monmouthshire has been a dormitory area for Bristol and Gloucestershire for a long time, but now its going the other way too, which I think is bad news for house prices and traffic. Ive got an office in Cardiff and Tewksbury and the M4 is a nightmare, especially in the mornings.

But I do believe that overall it will be a good thing for people around Newport, because it will bring more jobs as more people are commuting and living here.

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Rose White, 70, who has been a resident in Ringland for 59 years, said he doesn't agree that Newport and the surrounding areas have directly benefited from the tolls dropping, and said the state of the city concerns her.

I thought it was a good thing initially because I used to often think to myself: why should we have to pay tolls to just go to Bristol?, she said. But since the tolls have been cancelled, Ive not seen any impact on Newport. The shops are still shut and the streets are still quiet.

I think its because people dont actually travel here from England they go to Cardiff instead. Were just a pathway through and get all the traffic. I fear we left it too late to prepare ourselves for the traffic that comes through. We are desperate for a relief road to cut out the traffic on the Severn crossings.

According to statistics provided by Highways England, an average of 39,255 vehicles per day used the M4 westbound service in 2019, which has increased from 33,806 in 2018. An average of 40,364 vehicles per day used the M4 eastbound service, which has increased from 37,056 in 2018.

Highways England also said that 25,000 vehicles a day used the older M48 crossing, with around 19,000 per day using that service in recent years.

Shane Meek, 37, who lives in Newport, says he would be in favour of having the tolls reinstated if it meant lower emissions and less congestion.

Mrs White said she hasn't seen any benefit in terms of people coming to Newport city centre

Mr Meek said: I use public transport every morning and evening, but since the tolls have come down it seems more people have decided to stop using public transport and have started to drive across (the M4 or M48). It cant go on like that forever.

Following the UK Governments abolition of the tolls, the Western Gateway partnership was launched last month to maximise the economic potential of South Wales and the south-west of England.

The aim of the partnership between universities and businesses either side of the Severn is that the Western Gateway will mirror the work of Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.

Monmouth MP David Davies, who was this week appointed to the Wales Office following last week's General Election, said: Over the last year, drivers have reaped the benefits of free road travel into Wales which is paying dividends for businesses across both sides of the Severn.

"We are better connected economically as a result and through the Western Gateway initiative we will harness the joint strengths of these two regions while respecting our distinct identities and traditions.

Monmouthshire County Council council cabinet member for infrastructure and neighbourhood services Cllr Jane Pratt and Monmouth MP David Davies

The UK Government is committed to boosting Wales transport infrastructure and connectivity which is central to ensuring we raise our game economically and boost our productivity.

Monmouthshire council cabinet member for infrastructure and neighbourhood services Cllr Jane Pratt, said she believes the cancellation of the tolls has given Monmouthshire the potential to be more ambitious.

I am working hard with Monmouthshire officers to develop plans with neighbouring English counties to deliver new road and public transport schemes around Chepstow and a new railway station at Severn Tunnel Junction," she said.

The traffic on the M4 is going to increase by 35 percent over the next 30 years and we need investment now to enable Wales to be the vibrant economy with decent jobs for our residents for the future and a place where we attract global investment.

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A year after dropping the Severn bridge tolls, what has the impact been for Gwent? - Free Press Series

FOLLOWING the Tories general election victory, it is vital to identify the main features of the ruling class agenda in Britain in these new political conditions.

Its immediate objective will be to resolve Britains political crisis by making an orderly exit from the EU while retaining maximum access to European markets.

Most of big business and its dominant section in the City of London will be content to maintain the close alignment with single market rules, although the immediate threat of progressive state intervention has passed.

As Boris Johnsons government begins negotiations on future relations with the EU, notably a free trade agreement, differences may arise over regulatory standards, non-EU third party imports and trade relations, European Court of Justice jurisdictions and the like.

While the labour movement should always seek to maintain the highest standards, it should not support arrangements which lock Britain into the permanently pro-market rules, institutions and procedures of the EU.

Whereas pro-monopoly capitalist governments in Britain can be replaced by mass activity and the ballot box, no mechanisms exist to do this at EU level.

Instead, the left and the labour and progressive movements in Britain must urgently reorientate their political outlook, away from a largely idealist, illusory and dependency view of the EU and towards a class-based analysis of its real character.

The Leave, Fight and Transform (LeFT) initiative has vital work to do to assist in this process.

The Communist Party will continue to advance the perspective of popular sovereignty as the progressive alternative to competing notions of nationalism on the one side and abstract EU-based internationalism on the other.

The interests of the working class and the people generally should not be entrusted to either the institutions of the British state or those of the European Union.

They have to be fought for, secured and enforced by the labour movement and its allies.

This includes the rights of foreign residents, migrant workers and would-be immigrants. Emboldened by racist elements in and around the Tory Party and by the defeat of the left and the labour movement, the danger of resurgent racism in Britain should not be underestimated.

This needs to be combated on the basis of working-class and campaigning unity, understanding that concerns about the impact of immigration and migrant labour on local economic and social conditions must be addressed with progressive arguments and policies, not simply dismissed as racist.

In particular, the left should develop and unite around a humane, generous and non-racist immigration and citizenship policy rather than propagating the anarchistic, free market position of open borders.

All forms of racism are toxic for the labour movement. This includes anti-semitism, the weaponisation of which by reactionary bodies can only be assisted by the failure to identify it correctly and deal with it promptly and decisively.

Another strategic objective of the ruling class in Britain, assisted by its supporters inside the Labour Party, is to seize this moment to drive all notions of class politics and socialism out of the Labour Party altogether.

The intention is to Europeanise the party so that it more closely resembles traditional social democratic parties across the European Union whose pro-EU, pro-capitalist politics have driven away much of their electoral support.

From France and the Netherlands to Italy and Greece, these parties have abandoned all aspirations to a mixed economy, economic planning and radical wealth redistribution.

Instead, they embrace the neoliberal model of capitalism with its fetishisation of the market, deregulation, entrepreneurship, privatisation, fiscal austerity and labour flexibility.

Central to this agenda will be a renewed drive to weaken or break the link between the Labour Party and most of Britains largest trade unions.

The ruling class and its state and capitalist media understand that the trade unions, in particular, comprise the core of the Labour Party and the main basis on which it can be renewed.

That is one reason why the Tories general election victory signals the launch of a fresh offensive against trade union and workers rights, beginning in the transport and emergency services.

It is in the interests of all unions and the TUC to unite in favour of the right to strike in all industries and services, opposing strike-breaking in all its forms.

The left and the labour movement may need to consider how best to put the case for trade unionism and working-class solidarity to armed forces personnel.

As far as economic and financial strategy is concerned, there is a contradiction between Johnsons populist programme of major public investment in public services and infrastructure, and his need to fund it without taxing the wealthy and big business.

As this contradiction comes to the fore, more privatisation, outsourcing and higher levels of regressive indirect taxation will become the order of the day.

The Peoples Assembly will have an important role to play not only in campaigning in communities against any continuation or revival of austerity and privatisation policies, with more active involvement from a wider range of trade unions and trades councils.

It needs to popularise the case for a credible and comprehensive alternative economic, social and environmental strategy.

The proposed day of action on May 1, International Workers Day, must become a massive day of mobilisation by labour and progressive movement organisations in favour of such a strategy, for working-class unity across all differences of nationality, race, sex, sexual orientation and religion.

Trades councils can take the lead in forming broad-based May Day committees in towns and cities across England, Scotland and Wales.

Britains ruling class understands that rivalry between the worlds major capitalist powers is intensifying, as the struggle for control over resources, transport routes and markets escalates.

The rise of Peoples China as an economic power and an alternative model for growth and prosperity adds to these pressures.

This is the context in which to understand the continuing expansion and interventionism of Nato, the militarisation of the EU and the contradictions developing within both imperialist alliances.

The British government intends to press ahead with a rearmament drive which includes the renewal of the Trident nuclear weapons programme.

This dangerous and hugely expensive course requires the most vigorous response from CND, Stop the War and as an affiliate of the anti-imperialist World Peace Council the British Peace Assembly.

At the same time, the labour and progressive movements should make clear their full acceptance of the legitimate need for adequate conventional defence forces.

Moreover, the case for nuclear disarmament must always be accompanied by a policy for conversion and diversification of existing military work into civilian production, with no loss of employment, pay or pension rights.

On all these and other fronts, only militant mass extra-parliamentary campaigning can derail or modify the measures that the Tories have in store.

On this basis, too, the labour movement has to be strengthened and renewed in workplaces and working-class communities across Britain.

Genuinely broad left rather than sectarian networks need to be established or revived in trade unions.

More union branches must be persuaded to play a role in their local trades councils, which must themselves be outward-looking and non-sectarian in their conduct.

Politicisation and repoliticisation will be essential to this renewal process in the labour movement.

Systematic political education on all the major issues facing our society not least the ecological crisis should be undertaken in Labour Party and trade union organisations.

The ruling class in Britain has always sought to wipe out the historical memory of the working class, substituting its own version of history for the struggles of the people and their labour and progressive movements.

This, too, much be challenged, building on the work of dedicated communist and other left-wing historians.

Class politics is also the only basis on which to unite, maintain and strengthen the labour movement across Britain and prepare the ground for future election victories; not reductionist class or economistic class politics, but those which recognise the link between exploitation and the different forms of inequality and oppression.

For example, the mirage of Scottish independence offered by the SNP will not serve the interests of the working class and the mass of the people, least of all when Scotland remains subject to Bank of England, EU and Nato rules, policies and diktats.

The only credible and beneficial alternative is enhanced powers and resources for Scotland and Wales in a federal Britain, based on solidarity between all its nations and regions.

Scotland has the national right to determine its own constitutional future, including through a second independence referendum, although the Communist Party would then campaign for working-class unity and progressive federalism rather than division and separation.

More immediately, the labour movement and the left must ensure that the 100-plus decision-making powers in devolved areas repatriated from the EU pass in full to the Scottish and Welsh legislatures.

On the constitutional front, the labour movement also needs to unite around the need for electoral reform, an effective mechanism for electors to force by-elections and abolition of the House of Lords.

A strategy to democratise and diversify media ownership should also move up the political agenda.

All these and other left and progressive policies are promoted in the Communist Partys alternative and political strategy.

Fighting for them provides the basis on which a popular, democratic alliance against state-monopoly capitalism can be built, led by the organised working class.

The CPs updated programme, Britains Road to Socialism, will be published early in 2020. It is the antidote to the damaging levels of defeatism, hysteria, personalisation and abuse that afflict parts of the left and the labour movement at the moment.

Ten million votes for Labours most radical general election manifesto in more than 30 years indicate that the forward march of the labour movement can be restarted.

The 90-year story of the Morning Star and its predecessor, the Daily Worker, is due to be celebrated next year, demonstrates the vital role of a daily paper for the labour movement and socialism.

Britains Communist Party marks its centenary in 2020. One hundred years of struggle also prove that the oldest, most experienced and, when necessary, ruthless ruling class in the world can be challenged and on vital occasions knocked off course by mass action.

There is a future for socialism, if we use Marxism to learn and apply the lessons of experience.

Original post:

In the coming period, resisting racism and attacks on workers will be key - Morning Star Online

Northeast Florida politics didnt go as smoothly in 2019 as they did in recent years.

For starters, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry may have won his second term going away, but optics issues have plagued him.

From the City Council hitting the brakes on a school sales tax referendum to the JEA Board moving to sell the local utility, the Mayors Office has been caught in controversies of its own making. Can Curry recover? With three and a half years left, he will have to figure it out.

A big indication of the need to recalibrate: The Christmas miracle about-face on advocating the privatization that spanned two full years, a massive investment of political capital that he will find it difficult from which to recover.

The regions Tallahassee presence, meanwhile, appears to have crested. Sen. Rob Bradley and Rep. Travis Cummings, appropriations chairs in their respective chambers, are termed out and done with the Legislature.

Bradleys wife is running for Senate, while Orange Park lawyer Sam Garrison will likely win the House seat. But in terms of real-deal seniority, not so much.

Another setback: Sen. Travis Hutson conceding his bid for the Senate Presidency to Kathleen Passidomo. While Rep. Paul Renner will be Speaker, the opportunity for meaningful regional synergy is scotched.

So, there have been better years. And our Top 10 rankings below reflect that. Indeed, the politician of the year has never run for office at all .

1. Aaron Zahn, former JEA CEO

Zahn, like no one who actually ran for office this year, is the center of local and regional political discussions.

Trying to privatize the local utility, all the while irritating and alienating a City Council that was a functional rubber stamp during Currys first term few could have pulled that off.

Getting removed by the JEA Board, the same ones that picked him earlier this year, lauding his passion?

Done.

Making the highest salary of any public employee in the city? Zahns accomplished that also.

A $515,000 salary and he made the case he was not paid in line with other utility execs.

And all this even as his polling numbers were underwater, according to the most recent University of North Florida poll. A 44 percent unfavorable rating.

After a completely anticlimactic election cycle in 2019, Jacksonville policymakers will spend 2020 in the House that Aaron Zahn built.

The public is engaged, and even as agents in favor of a sale have contracted the best lobbyists and crisis communications staff in the state, its clear that anyone contracted to explain this mess will earn their money and then some in what will be a horrible aftermath.

No, Aaron Zahn has never been a candidate for office. But this was his year: unaccountable, condescending, and prickly, Zahn defined the political contours of 2019.

With the potential for grand jury investigation and a discovery process, expect that Zahn wont be too far from Jacksonville and the 2020 political scene.

2. Sen. Rob Bradley

As mentioned in the lede, the Senator is not running for reelection though the seat will stay in the family, with wife Jennifer Bradley running to replace him.

However, Bradley is still the Senate appropriations chair, a role with singular importance in Northeast Florida, especially given the unlikelihood that the region will retain that prerogative after 2020.

Bradleys importance will be felt statewide as much as locally. Expect some aggressive work on criminal justice reform in addition to funding priorities such as springs restoration.

A sign of how key the Senator is: early this year, he was Gov. Ron DeSantis wingman as DeSantis rolled out his proposal to end the Best and the Brightest teacher bonus program.

While its not certain how that will play out, its a measure of Bradleys stroke that he was used to run point during the launch.

3. Rep. Travis Cummings

Like Bradley, hes termed out. Cummings, the House appropriations chair, could have been higher on this list were he running for Senate.

For one more year (expected to be a lean budget), the Orange Park Republican will be the go-to in the House on spending issues.

He has joined House Speaker Rep. Jose Oliva in making the case for the abolition of VISIT FLORIDA, the state tourism agency favored by the Senate and the Governor but shunned historically by the House.

Cummings is not typically a fiery quote, but his influence through the end of the 2020 Session will be felt.

4. Mayor Lenny Curry

2019 wasnt the worst of times for Curry, but it wasnt the best of times either.

Emboldened by a lack of meaningful competition for reelection, Curry made reform moves on two fronts, but neither has panned out.

The Mayor has been battling with the Duval County School Board all year regarding the timing of a referendum for a cent capital sales tax. The board wanted a vote this year, Curry did not, and the City Council didnt give it to them.

And the JEA situation Curry has vacillated, finally landing on a No Sale position.

As the year ended, he lost control of the narrative, calling for an end to the privatization push as an X-Mas Monday news dump. It was a punt, delivered to TV media at 8:30 in the morning.

Zahn was not the only flop this year.

Consider Joe Peppers, who like Zahn was positioned as a newly-introduced agent of reform, but who was quickly buffeted by palace intrigue. Peppers was suspended pending an inspector generals report months in the making, a glacial timeline for alleged workplace improprieties.

Curry has had the strongest political operation in the region for years, but 2019 was a year where he got too cute and his enemies noticed.

The City Council has moved from rubber stamp status to offering significant and at times impregnable resistance, something few imagined when reserved Republican Scott Wilson ascended to the Presidency in July.

Expect the Mayor to make some splashes for candidates he supports in 2020 (Reps. Wyman Duggan and Jason Fischer, both facing Democratic challenges). Watch his political committee fundraising. But as for his beloved Jaguars, 2020 may be a rebuilding year.

5. Rep. Paul Renner

Though the state Rep. serves the Palm Coast area, hes also a Jacksonville attorney.

Renner, poised to be Speaker in the coming years, is uniquely positioned to help Jacksonville and the region in Tallahassee.

As well, Renner is one of the most consistent fundraisers in the state, especially on the political committee level.

Though there is virtually no chance that the Republican stranglehold on the House can be broken, Renners fundraising prowess offers another GOP firewall.

Cant have too many of those.

Renner has always maintained a political visibility in Jacksonville, as those who recall his razor thin loss in a 2014 Special Election primary to Rep. Jay Fant know.

However, he hasnt carried water for this region in a particular way, which gives him a certain ceiling on this list.

6. Sen. Travis Hutson

The St. Johns County Senator would have been higher if he were still in the Senate Presidency race.

However, there is a case made by some consultants that Hutsons failure in that bid had lasting ramifications.

The theory: that Jennifer Bradley backing him for Senate President will make her the odd person out in future Sessions, as the race went Kathleen Passidomos way.

Others, meanwhile, said Bradley had to back the local guy.

Whatever the case, Hutson is still in a position of strength, if not ultimate strength, as his tenure in the Senate continues.

A strong fundraiser representing a safe seat, Hutson will play an important role in helping to ensure Senate Republicans maintain their majority.

7. Melissa Nelson

The 4th Circuit State Attorney is easily the most high profile person to be on a 2020 ballot in this region.

Will she face a competitive election?

Nelson, who has been a functional example of a pro-criminal justice reform conservative in the Koch Network model, was elected in 2016 after a GOP primary where she roughed up incumbent Angela Corey.

As a measure of how quickly things move, Nelson was helped along by campaign aides Brian Hughes (chief administrative officer for Mayor Curry these days) and Tim Baker (Currys political right hand).

All of that came after Curry made a show of endorsing Corey, as the other leading Republicans in the region did.

Does Nelson skate through without a primary challenge or not?

Talk of someone running from the right has gone quiet of late. But if a challenge were to happen, it would be interesting to see if Nelson is as good on defense as she was on offense in 2016.

It will also be interesting to see if she works with Baker again, given that her office is looking into matters involving the JEA sale push and related matters.

Though a functional reformer, Nelson has been cautious when it has come to getting crossways with the Mayors Office. However, circumstances may compel that if the JEA issue stays hot.

In 2019, some suggested her offices timely yet slowwalked Sunshine Law investigation of Jacksonville Mayoral candidate Anna Brosche kneecapped the former Council Presidents challenge to Curry.

8. Rep. Michael Waltz

Though its entirely possible for a Congressman from Northeast Florida to go to DC and not make an impression, Waltz (a Stanton alum whose district runs St. Augustine south) is an exception.

After surviving a primary in 2018 where he was accused of being a Never Trumper, Waltz got the Presidents endorsement in the general election against Nancy Soderberg, and since then has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Gov. Ron DeSantis, in energetically defending the President on Fox News.

Not bad for a Congressman from a swing district.

Whereas his colleagues representing the Jacksonville area, Reps. Al Lawson and John Rutherford, are nearing the end of their political careers, Waltz is at the beginning of his.

Should a Senate seat come open for some reason, perhaps if Sen. Rick Scott runs for the Presidency in 2024, expect Waltz to make a move.

Waltz plays as much in the Orlando market as he does Duval/St. Johns, which is still a fundraising base for him. Expect him to find a way to expand his statewide profile this election year.

9. Audrey Gibson

Though Gibson, the Senate Minority Leader, is perpetually at odds with the Mayors Office, and carries no priority legislation for the city, she still merits a mention here.

Albeit with caveats.

Gibson had a rocky first year in leadership, with murmurs of a challenge to her position after she stood alone in a committee with a vote against legislation that would combat campus anti-Semitism.

Republican Rep. Randy Fine placed Gibson in the tradition of Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, and demanded the Senate Democrat Caucus to hold Leader Gibson accountable for these statements.

The caucus bristled, but ultimately Gibson just walked back her vote.

Gibson likely will limp through another 60 days. But its hard to think of a real highlight of her tenure leading Senate Democrats or even make the argument shes led them in any way but nominally.

10. Kim Daniels

Daniels may be the most misunderstood politician in Northeast Florida. She also is one of the most effective.

A Democrat by registration, Daniels is as useful as any Republican when it comes to getting her priorities through.

Shes a key asset to the Mayors Office and to Republicans in the Duval Delegation, which she now chairs.

Her religious education bills, which include another try at theology electives in public high schools, are laughable to some but garner her national publicity.

Worth watching: what happens when Audrey Gibson leaves the Senate.

Expect a fierce battle between Daniels and her House frenemy, Rep. Tracie Davis.

Davis is Gibsons protg.

Daniels, however, will benefit from untraceable resources that more mainstream Democrats do not.

Here is the original post:

2019 was the year Northeast Florida politics broke - Florida Politics

Express News Service

DEHRADUN: With an aim to clear confusions and misinformation spread by political parties, the BJP and the RSS will together work to apprise people of the newly-passed Citizen Amendment Act (CAA).

Various decisions including the formation of shrine board for Char Dhams, educating people about CAA, the abolition of Article 370, issues raised by priests of Char Dham over the new law to manage the dhams were taken in a meeting which was attended by both the BJP and the RSS.

All five members of Parliament from Uttarakhand along with Union Human Resources Development minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank were present in the meeting.

BJP state president Ajay Bhatt said, The party is committed to tell the truth about the CAA to people and make them aware about the lies spread by the Opposition.

Alok, an RSS regional activist, who also attended the meet said, The law is not against Muslims of India as it is being propagated by many political parties and factions. This is to give equality to minorities of the three countries who were denied their fair share.Amidst ongoing protests in country, the Uttarakhand government has imposed section 144 in Haridwar.

Continued here:

RSS, BJP to educate the masses about Citizenship Act in Uttarakhand - The New Indian Express

Jairam Rameshs new biography of Krishna Menon is a lucid, well-researched and, to tell the truth, depressing biography of an extraordinary figure in Indian politics. It runs to just over 700 pages, exceeding even the length of his last years book on P.N. Haksar and Indira Gandhi, Intertwined Lives. But unlike the Haksar book, this one depends very largely on letters, especially the voluminous correspondence that developed over the years between Menon and Nehru. Indeed, Nehru is as pivotal to this story as Menon himself, showing that politics is as much about friendships as about ideas, struggle and political activity.

Their deepest joint commitment of course was to the pressing need for Indias emancipation from British rule. Nehru spent almost ten years in British jails in India at various times in the 1930s and 1940s. Menon was never jailed, but that is because he spent all of the years of the struggle for independence in Britain, almost single-handedly running the campaigns associated with the India League, spawning a prodigious amount of political work, and deftly constructing alliances that repeatedly pushed the question of Indian freedom to the heart of British politics. And it is a fact that after 29 years of residence in the UK he was reluctant to return to India.

Jairam RameshA Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna MenonPenguin Viking, 2019

When he finally did, in 1953, after his spell as Indias first high commissioner there, he would always remain an outsider, even a misfit, and an easy target for those sectors of Congress and of the nascent opposition to Congress (read: to Nehru) that never ceased to regard him as a subversive of sorts.

Menon himself would tell then-socialist Minoo Masani in 1934, My own position is that while I am a left-wing socialist, a believer in the almost immediate establishment of a socialist society I have little use for the C.P. here or in India. His reaction in 1937 to reports coming out of Russia of the notorious Moscow Trials exemplifies the starry-eyed navety typical of all fellow-travellers in the 1930s.

At least Nehru had misgivings, referred to the unhealthy background reflected in Stalins repression, and asked Menon, Why should there be this background more than twenty years after the revolution? In fact, by the end of the 30s Menon had what Ramesh describes as exceedingly warm relations with the top leaders of the CPGB. All the same, as an India Office note pointed out, Menon has no genuine Party loyaltiesHe is not a Marxian Communistnor the type of character which would enable him to accept spoon-feeding.

Although a great deal is said about Menons diplomatic feats at the UN in the mid-1950s, the most interesting chapters of the book are those dealing with his chequered career following his return to India. He arrived in Bombay in March 1957 to a rousing reception following his marathon intervention on Kashmir at the Security Council earlier that year.

But Nehrus decision to give him Defence would prove to be singularly ill-starred and spelled the end of Menons career, with Chinas full-scale invasion of the NEFA border on October 20, 1962. Menon would resign barely ten days later. In the midst of this crisis, he complained bitterly to the Canadian high commissioner Chester Ronning about being attacked from all sides including my own Cabinet, and about the political activities of Americans in India to force him out. (J.K. Galbraith played a major role in his ouster.) These, he claimed, were increasingly successful with all those who want India to be in the American pocket.

Also read: Ike in India: 60 Years On, a Look Back at a Golden Year in Indo-US Ties

The Chinese have set back the progress of socialism in India for at least 15 years, he said, meaning that India would now have to pour resources into defence expenditure that might have gone into raising the standard of living of its people. Meanwhile, before this crisis exploded, all sorts of absurd speculation had been rife, the UK high commissioner fantasizing about Menon building up his popularity with the Armed Services in order to be able to engineer a military coup(!).

With Nehru gone (he died on May 27, 1964) and the Bombay Congress denying Krishna Menon the Bombay North-East ticket for the upcoming election of 1967, Menon saw no option but to quit the party, which he did in December 1966. Ramesh notes that Congress and the Shiv Sena worked assiduously to ensure his defeat.

Jairam Ramesh.

In the previous Lok Sabha election in the early 60s, a high-pitched campaign designed to deny him a ticket for Parliament had been led by the industrialist Ramakrishna Bajaj, who had the absolute gall to produce a ten-point chargesheet against Menon, which included calling into serious doubt his role in the freedom movement. On that occasion, at the end of 1961, Nehru had been the only big name batting for Krishna Menon, showing how isolated the latter was within the spectrum of Indian politics. (Its worth noting that though he strenuously denied he was a communist of any sort, Menon would go on to win two elections with the CPMs backing, the first in May 1969 from Midnapur, the second in March 1971 from Trivandrum.)

A major leitmotif of the biography is the extent to which Krishna Menon suffered from repeated spells of depression and what can only be described as anguish. For example, even at the height of his political career, in 1957, he was tortured by self-doubt. In May that year Marie Seton reported, He is in a more desperate state than he has ever been, saying he was haunted by a phantasmagoria of hostility. Of course, the hostility was real, with foreign intelligence agencies, first MI5 and then the Americans, keeping close tabs on him and seriously unable to fathom the nature of his socialist politics. But worse than that was probably the deep sense of isolation Menon felt within India itself, with a strong right-wing faction in Congress and a galaxy of right-wingers outside it (Masani, J.P., etc.) determined to destroy him politically.

Watch: Nehru Shouldve Never Made V.K. Krishna Menon Defence Minister, Says Jairam Ramesh

For a book that misses almost nothing, it may interest the author to know that among the many famous personalities Menon interacted with over the years was Che Guevara. Guevara was impressed by his learning and referred to him with considerable admiration. At the end of June 1959 when Che visited India, he was first welcomed by Nehru at his home in Teen Murti (on July 1), and then flew to Calcutta where he met someone he would later refer to simply as Krishna.

Heres what Che said about this meeting: While talking with Krishna, the learned Indian, we became aware of the evils of the means of mass destruction. It is saying quite something that the Cuban revolutionaries should have received their first lessons in nuclear disarmament from an Indian political leader! We have a photograph of this meeting which seems to have taken place on July 3.

Che and Menon.

Krishna Menon made 13 major speeches on disarmament at the UN, between 1954 and 1962. In this sense he was the countrys first major campaigner for the abolition of nuclear weapons. And despite his obvious abrasiveness, as a diplomat he was remarkably effective in securing negotiated settlements in the toughest of situations. It was his five-point formula that was the basis on which the Suez crisis was finally resolved in 1956, not least because of the rapport he was able to establish with Nasser. All Dag Hammarskjold did was add a sixth point about arbitration.

This is a fine biography and well worth reading by anyone even vaguely interested in knowing about the sort of personalities that contributed to Indias struggle for independence and what became of at least one of them in the dismal aftermath that engulfed the country from the 1960s.

Menon died on 10 October, 1974. In his own tribute to him, P.N. Haksar referred to the vastness of his intellectual perception. Given the mediocrity that has characterised Indian political leaders, certainly since Nehrus day, Menon was a veritable intellectual powerhouse and always highly regarded in these terms. (In 1951 Nehru told his finance minister C.D. Deshmukh, From a purely intellectual point of view, I cannot remember having met any person with a keener intellect.)

This makes it all the more tragic that his interactions with the Indian left, such as they were, failed to produce any major vision for what a socialist India might look like beyond the statist elements that defined his own agenda for socialism at the Bhubaneswar session of the Congress in January 1964.

Schooled in Fabian socialism by the likes of Harold Laski and profoundly impressed by what he saw as the progress of the USSR, it may never have occurred to Krishna Menon that socialism has less to do with the state as such and everything to do the capacities for self-organisation, the self-activity, and the intrinsic creativity of organised masses, that is, of the vast mass of working people and their ability to bring about the kind of society that best suits the interests of humanity as a whole. Socialism from below was simply not part of the political imagination of the generation that fought for Indias independence.

Read the rest here:

Krishna Menon, a Fighter for Indian Independence Who Was Isolated in His Party - The Wire

"And down in city hall, I've heard the council say, We'll change the name of the Severn Bridge, To the Geraint Thomas Way," sang Max Boyce in 2018 as part of his tribute to the Welshman who won the Tour De France.

Prophetically, and somewhat ironically, a bike as well as Thomas' famed Olympian cycling prowess is probably the one thing you now need for your daily commute since the bridge's tolls were abolished on December 17 last year.

That's particularly true if you live in Chepstow, which has seen a huge spike in traffic travelling both in and out of it since motorists were no longer required to stop and pay to enter Wales via the M48 Severn Bridge and the Second Severn Crossing, now renamed the Prince of Wales bridge.

A financial barrier as much as they were a physical one it seems at its priciest it cost 6.70 to cross the tolls' removal has seen a 16% increase in westbound journeys on the Prince of Wales bridge while the M48 crossing witnessed a spike of around 32%.

Eastbound journeys on the Prince of Wales saw an increase of 8.9%, bringing the average number of crossings a day to almost 40,400.

Moreover a UK government study earlier this year suggested that more than 24m vehicles every year would use the crossings westbound by 2022, compared with 18m had the tolls had stayed in place.

Already used to congestion and delays, Chepstow was plunged into gridlock chaos after decommissioning work began, its out-of-date road network clogged and unable to cope with sheer amount of traffic.

Taking to social media to vent, some overheated drivers claimed it was taking them two and a half hours to do three miles through the town during morning rush hour.

Shaun Thomas, who's worked at the same tile outlet on the nearby Bulwark industrial estate for 19 years, is one of those people whose daily journey has become interminable.

"I drive down the A48 from the Forest of Dean to get in each morning and what used to take me 45 minutes is now almost double that because of the sheer back log of traffic," says the 35-year-old dad-of-three.

"It's got progressively worse over last year in particular. If someone has a bump en route then you've no chance of getting round it you just have to sit there or turn back home."

And it's also affecting business, he adds. "I've had a few roastings for being late but it's also putting customers off in some cases. People wanting to pop in after work have no chance of getting here before we close because the traffic's so silly.

"Personally it would put me off coming to Chepstow to shop altogether."

Once past the pinchpoint that is the Tesco traffic lights in the middle of town, Shaun then faces a long steep crawl up the residential Hardwick Hill, the town's busiest drag, to make it to his workplace.

Dotted on either side with well-heeled Georgian properties, it feels ill-suited to cope with the sheer volume of vehicles many of which are coming from English towns like Lydney en route to Bristol via the M48 and the old Severn Bridge.

Its narrow pavements can also make it difficult for pedestrians with the slipstream from the constant succession of lorries, buses and cars barrelling past at elbow's length often rocking them on their feet.

And poor air quality is another big factor and has been for a long time. Indeed it's regarded as one of the most polluted stretches in the UK.

The World Health Organisation even previously positioned Chepstow above the likes of Birmingham and Bristol on a list of places exceeding the limits for fine-particle pollution levels.

Someone who knows all about this is Tim Melville, coordinator of the Transition Chepstow Transport Group and board member of the Chepstow Air Quality Monitoring Group.

"I lived on Hardwick Hill for over 10 years but moved a long time ago," says the 55-year old, who's helped formulate many of the plans to alleviate congestion and air pollution in the area.

"My daughter Martha had asthma that got so bad it kept her in hospital on a couple of occasions.

"She was about six at the time but the amount of pollution from the traffic affected her really badly - so much so that, despite loving the house we had to relocate."

Upping sticks for a quieter back road a mere 400 yards away, Tim soon found his daughter's condition improved considerably.

"In fact she's been fine ever since," he adds, pointing out that there's been no improvements made to the road system there for 30 years.

Also the air quality monitors situated at various points along the A48 have seen significant increases in nitrogen dioxide levels since the tolls' demise.

"The average for NO2 emissions in 2019 has gone up by more than 10% while, in other areas of Wales, it has been going down as combustion engines become cleaner," says Tim.

"NO2 has gone up by the Chepstow School on Welsh Street by 25% and this could be reduced by more children walking to school and less cars on the road come the morning rush hour.

"We as a group have also been talking about having new commuter buses run from Chepstow to Bristol as well as 'park and share'-type car pool facilities situated outside of the town."

But the long-mooted solution of a 100m plus bypass road, bandied around by Gwent County Council as far back as the '80s and '90s, is too simplistic an idea, he adds.

If built the road would run through border towns like Sedbury and Beachley, providing a direct link between the A48 to the east of Chepstow and theM48.

"The problem is, though, we've not got another 20 years to wait," says Tim. "Things need to be done now because sitting in queueing traffic as early as 6am and journey times of 90 minutes to go just 15 miles is ludicrous."

Meanwhile the Welsh Government has awarded 50,000 to Monmouthshire council to look at how to improve transport in and around Chepstow town centre while funding has also been allocated to support road safety improvements and encourage active travel.

But a steep hike in the population of Chepstow and its surrounding areas in recent times not to mention an increase in house prices is also contributing to the problem.

Monmouthshire and Newport, the closest local authorities to the Severn bridges, are two of the fastest-growing property markets in the UK both having experienced recent rises of 14% and 13.7% respectively.

Gwent-based estate agents Moon & Co reported a boost in sales of property ranging from 350,000 to 400,000 while another from Newport remarked about hearing "more Bristol accents than Welsh" when it came to those calling to enquire about viewings, indicating a steady climb in the numbers coming from over the English border in search of cheaper accomodation.

Many have also pointed the finger at property developers on the other side of the England/Wales divide for taking advantage of the tolls' abolition to build more homes than the local infrastructure can cope with.

"They have been sitting on the land waiting for the tolls to go and now look whats happening," says Sue Dutson of Tutshill, the English village just a short walk from Chepstow across its cast iron, Regency-built Old Wye Bridge.

"They say it's because people need houses but these aren't affordable homes for local people."

She's talking about an application for a new 185 unit housing development on nearby land south of the A48, while more than 1,000 extra homes are also planned for the Chepstow and Severnside areas of Monmouthshire.

In addition a further 1,800 homes earmarked for Lydney can only cause further headaches for those affected.

Indeed, for everyone who's sick of spending each day bumper-to-bumper in grindingly slow traffic, it may already be a bridge too far.

Read more:

How scrapping the Severn Bridge tolls has affected one Welsh town - Wales Online