The government has taken steps to increase the speed of passenger trains. (File)

The government will allow private companies to set passenger fares once they start operating train services in the country, a move aimed at luring investors, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led administration opens up the railway network.

"Private players have been given the freedom to fix fares in their own way," VK Yadav, chairman of Railway Board, said. But, "air-conditioned buses and planes also operate on those routes, and they have to keep that in mind before setting fares."

Railway fares are politically sensitive in India, where trains carry as many passengers as Australia's population every single day, and a chunk of the nation's poor depend on the sprawling network for their transportation. While the network has been beset by decades of negligence and inefficient bureaucracy, PM Modi's administration has invited private companies to participate in everything from modernising stations to operating trains.

Moreover, the decision to partly open up the railway sector comes as PM Modi finds himself with limited fiscal room to support Asia's third-largest economy, which is struggling with its first contraction in over four decades.

Alstom SA, Bombardier Inc, GMR Infrastructure Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd are among companies that have expressed interest in these projects, Mr Yadav said. These projects can bring in investments of more than $7.5 billion in the next five years, according to estimates from Ministry of Railways.

Modernising the railways is crucial for PM Modi, who is betting on low-cost loans from Japan to build the country's first bullet train by 2023. The government has taken steps to increase the speed of passenger trains which can sometimes crawl at walking pace.

The government asked companies to submit their interest to run passenger trains over 109 origin-destination routes via 151 trains in July, and has sought investor interest to modernise railway stations including in New Delhi and Mumbai. The current railway network is both congested and aging, dating back to British colonial rule in 1853.

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Private Railways Will Have Freedom To Set Their Own Fares: Government - NDTV

The role of the free press is to hold power accountable, especially those who would wage war. Press freedom itself is currently on trial in London, as Julian Assange, founder and editor-in-chief of the whistleblower website Wikileaks, fights extradition to the United States over an ever-evolving array of espionage and hacking charges. If extradited, Assange faces almost certain conviction followed by up to 175 years in prison. His unjust imprisonment would also shackle journalists worldwide, serving as a stark example to anyone daring to publish leaked information critical of the U.S. government.

U.S. prosecutors allege that Assange conspired with Chelsea Manning, a Private in the U.S. Army, to illegally download hundreds of thousands of war logs from Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a huge trove of classified cables from the U.S. State Department.

The first disclosure from this massive whistleblower release was a video that Wikileaks called Collateral Murder. It was recorded aboard a U.S. Apache helicopter gunship as it patrolled the skies above Baghdad on July 12, 2007. The Apache crew recorded video and audio of their slaughter of a dozen men on the ground below, including a Reuters cameraman, Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and his driver, Saeed Chmagh, 40. After the initial high-calibre machine gun attack, a van arrived to help the wounded. The Apache crew received permission to engage the van and opened fire, tearing apart the front of the vehicle, injuring two children in the van. Reuters had unsuccessfully sought the video for years.

Before long, The New York Times, The Guardian and Der Spiegel had worked together with Wikileaks and Assange, publishing stories based on the disclosures. They detailed war crimes committed by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, torture at CIA blacksites, abuses at the U.S.s notorious Guantanamo Bay prison camp, and cynical diplomatic dealings by State Department officials.

It is a clear press freedom case, Jennifer Robinson, one of Julian Assanges attorneys, said recently on the Democracy Now! news hour. The First Amendment is understood to protect the media in receiving and publishing that information in the public interest, which is exactly what WikiLeaks did.

The British authorities have kept Assange in almost complete isolation in Londons high security Belmarsh prison since arresting him in April, 2019, dragging him out of the Ecuadorian embassy. Granted political asylum by Ecuador, he lived inside the dark, cramped embassy for over seven years. When a rightwing president took power in Ecuador, he revoked Assanges asylum and allowed the arrest.

Nils Melzer, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, visited Assange in Belmarsh, and reported aftwards, I spoke with him for an hourthen we had a physical examination for an hour by our forensic expert, and then we had the two-hour psychiatric examination. And all threecame to the conclusion, that he showed all the symptoms that are typical for a person that has been exposed to psychological torture over an extended period of time.

The conditions of Assanges imprisonment have only worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. He hasnt spoken publicly in court, other than once, shouting Nonsense! in response to one of the many unsupported claims by the U.S. prosecutor. The presiding magistrate threatened to have Assange removed. Experts have lined up to defend Assange, including legendary Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg.

In 1971, Ellsberg released the Pentagon Papers, the secret history of the United States war in Vietnam, documenting how successive administrations had lied to the public about the war. Like Assange, he provided the leaked documents to the New York Times. Also like Assange, Ellsberg was charged under the Espionage Act, and could have spent life behind bars. Ultimately, a judge threw out his case, when it was revealed that President Nixon had ordered criminal break-ins seeking derogatory information on Ellsberg.

In a prepared statement in Assanges defense, Ellsberg reflected on the importance of the Wikileaks disclosures. I consider them to be amongst the most important truthful revelations of hidden criminal state behaviour that have been made public in US history, he said. The American public needed urgently to know what was being done routinely in their name, and there was no other way for them to learn it than by unauthorized disclosure.

Many of the war crimes exposed by Wikileaks, in cooperation with established news organizations around the world, occurred under President George W. Bush. Assanges prosecution began under President Barack Obama. Then-Vice President Joe Biden called Assange a high-tech terrorist. Now, President Trump, who said during his 2016 campaign, WikiLeaks, I love WikiLeaks, wants to lock up Assange and throw away the key. No president, of any party, should be allowed to threaten the free press. Indeed, it is essential to the functioning of a democratic society.

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Julian Assange, and Press Freedom, on Trial in London - Democracy Now!

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday dodged a question on whether he will bring a motion to vacate to remove Speaker Nancy Pelosi from her post, an effort the Freedom Caucus was urging him to pursue.

I do not want Nancy Pelosi to be speaker, but I do not want Nadler to be chair. I do not want Schiff to be chair and I do not want Maxine Waters, McCarthy told reporters at his weekly news conference, referring to Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., Intelligence Chairman Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., and Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, D-Calif. Forty-some days from now, we will remove them.

On Wednesday, Politico reported that the Houses ultraconservative wing was urging McCarthy to offer a motion to vacate the chair, which would mandate a floor vote to decide whether Pelosi could keep her position. With Democrats in the majority, it is unlikely such a move would result in enough votes to remove her from the speakership.

McCarthy is undecided on whether he will join the effort, but he did agree to have a Republican Conference meeting on Tuesday about the matter, Politico reported. He also told Fox News after the story broke that it wasnt the best move right now.

McCarthys comments at his weekly news conference indicate he is focused on the election in November and doesnt want to grapple with such questions until the voters decide which party will carry the majority.

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McCarthy focused on election, not Freedom Caucus push to remove Pelosi - Roll Call

Financial Freedom

By Rob Otman

Originally posted September 18, 2020

What would life be like if you could retire at 45? Aside from not having to go to a job every day, what would you look forward to? For some, its more time with family. For others, its a literal world of travel possibilities. For still more, its a reason to wake up stress free every day. But can you really retire by 45?

It might seem impossible, but its actually a possibility for many people. You just need to know how to establish financial freedom early on, so you can spend the best years of your life living how youve always wanted to. Heres how to retire early by 45

If youre going to retire a full 20 years earlier than most people, youll need a planone that starts as early in your working life as possible. The sooner you can start putting money away and taking advantage of compound interest, the better. To see how this works, check out this investment compound calculator.

A retirement account will be your primary investment vehicle on the way to early retirement. Look for a 401k with company match; if thats not available, an IRA is the next best thing. Max out contributions to take full advantage of annualized growth. Make sure these accounts are vested.

Next, get rid of your debt as fast as you can. After youve maxed out your retirement account, channel leftover savings into debtsstudent loans, a car, a house, etc. make double payments where you can or even an extra payment toward principal when you can. Eliminating debt is a huge cornerstone for early retirement. Its generally best if you dont have any debt if you plan to retire by 45!

Finally, start budgeting. The fastest way to early retirement is to live below your means and delay gratification. Pinching pennies today leads to early retirement tomorrow. Create a budget that sees the majority of your earnings going into savings (read: investments).

Youre aggressively saving. Youve paid down your debts. Youve made smart investments. Now what? Well, before you can call it quits, you need to know exactly how much money you need to retire at 45.

The best way to figure out if youre on-track is to determine what you want your annual take-home to be after retirement, then multiply that for as many years as youll be alive. So, if you retire at 45 and think youll live to the ripe old age of 90, youll need to plan for 45 years without a paycheck. If you want to maintain a lifestyle of $50,000 each year, that means youll need at least $2.25 million to retire. Start saving now!

Be sure to factor in cost of living and extraneous expenses, too. Retiring to Seattle, WA is going to be much more expensive than living out your days in Kansas City, MO. Likewise, youll probably need more money if you plan on vacationing extensively every year.

Most people have a hard time believing theyll retire at 65let alone at 45. But if you take the right steps and make good money decisions, financial freedom is attainable. Heres an example of how a 25-year-old might be able to retire in 20 years, at 45:

Marisol is 25 and has started a new job. She opens a 401k and takes advantage of her employers 4% contribution match. She maxes out her contribution each year for the next 20 years. She also has an extra $1,200 each month that she puts into an investment account, allocated between small cap growth stocks and emerging marketshigh risk, high reward.

Each year, Marisols 401k contributions total $20,280 and have an annualized return of 9%. She contributes $14,400 to her stock portfolio and sees gains of 13%. In 20 years, her 401k and investment portfolio are both worth over $1 million each.

Its possible to retire at 45but it takes major emphasis on smart savings. The more you put away sooner, the more it grows to be later.

You might not reach retirement at 45, but thats no excuse not to strive for financial independence. Read the next article in our series and learn how to retire by 50.

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Heres How to Retire at 45 with Financial Freedom - Investment U

MADISON Its good to be back, was the overwhelming sentiment from students and staff after the first two days of the 2020-21 school year at Madison and Freedom elementary schools.

Principals at the schools part of SAU 13, which started the school year Monday, are upbeat despite challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its a whole new world, but everyone seems to be adjusting the best we can, Freedom Elementary School Principal Pat Stone told the Sun by phone Tuesday. The kids are excited to be back with their friends and eager to have some sense of normalcy in their schedules.

Things are really going well, Heather Woodward, principal of Madison Elementary School, said by phone Tuesday. The kids seem happy, the staff are pleased to be back.

The 2019-20 school year switched from in-person to remote learning on Friday, March 13, due to the coronavirus pandemic. While it was initially thought the closure would last two weeks, it stretched through the final third of the school year.

For most students, it marked the return to the classroom for the first time in six months.

SAU 13 Superintendent Meredith Nadeau visited both schools on opening day and on Tuesday met with third- and fourth-grade students outside for a friendly meet-and-greet.

Lots of smiles the children seem really happy to be back, and its great to see them back, she said. Well continue to take things one day at a time. I think children seem to be adjusting well to the new routine.

Freedom has 51 students in the K-6 school, with roughly one-third opting to continue doing remote learning rather than face-to-face instruction.

Weve had a few technical glitches with broadband, Stone said of the start to remote learning. Were having trouble maintaining connections (over the internet), but hopefully, well get them straightened out. Nadeau said she has been in touch with the service provider for Freedom, and work is being done to fix the hot spots.

Madison has 127 students in grades K-6, with 25 (roughly 20 percent) choosing remote learning.

SAU 13, which serves Freedom, Madison and the K.A. Brett School in Tamworth (K-8), came up three options: face-to-face, remote learning or a hybrid of the two in its re-entry plan.

The three school boards chose face-to-face, but heard concerns from families who were not quite comfortable sending children back to school just yet. The boards and schools decided to offer both face-to-face and a remote learning option.

We felt like we needed to have this option available to people, Woodward said. We wanted parents to have a choice and to choose which route they were most comfortable with.

Remote learning began Tuesday for the Mustangs of Madison. It went super, Woodward said.

Nadeau is pleased to see school back in session. If you had asked me in early July, Im not sure I would have thought wed get here, she said, but Im so grateful we are. Fortunately, the cases in New Hampshire have remained low, and if that can continue, it bodes well.

Woodward and Stone along with other educators spent the bulk of the summer preparing for a return to school.

I didnt sign up for summers off, Woodward said. We knew we had a lot of important work to do. I cant say enough about the staff. Theyve worked tirelessly to make this happen.

Madisons theme this school year is We are M.E.S. and will focus on several different characteristics each month. We figured wed start with, We are flexible, Woodward said. That seemed like an appropriate starter.

The Eagles of Freedom are focusing on four core beliefs being safe, kind, responsible and respectful this year.

Both Stone and Woodward have seen an uptick in new students. We have had an influx of new students, said Woodward. Every year we see some new students, maybe were up a little bit more than in the past.

We have 12 new students this year, Stone said. Its nice having new faces. They all seem to be settling in well.

Nadeau urged families with children attending Kennett High and Kennett Middle School in Conway to go to the school websites to get updates on the school bus routes which are still being finalized.

Madison and Freedom have no school this Friday or on Monday (Labor Day) or Tuesday as both schools will be used for voting in the primary election.

The Brett School will also be a polling center for Tamworth on Tuesday, meaning Wednesday, Sept. 9, will be the first day for the Tigers to attend classes.

While the Brett School and Freedom have made masks mandatory all times, students in Madison can remove their masks in their classrooms provided they are at least 6 feet away from other individuals.

The Brett School will be providing both face-to-face and remote learning, but classes will be held just Monday through Thursday.

Fridays school staff will be available for office hours only, according to the schools opening plan.

Classroom teachers, students and parents need on-going supports during this time, the plan states. KAB will create collaborative learning teams to support KAB staff and the families of remote learners. Parents will be supported through KAB staff guidance using Google Classroom other curriculum tools. In addition, social and emotional well-being of students will be supported by the KAB school counselor to students, staff and families.

Although we know remote learning during the spring was a major challenge for teachers, we also recognize that in many cases the disruption for families has been even greater. Our goal this year is to help parents best support their child, learn how and when to intervene and provide structure and balance in the home while providing instruction.

Continue reading here:

Freedom and Madison off to a 'super' school year - Conway Daily Sun

Having suffered so much during the years of German occupation, when World War II was officially over, Poland was again under foreign domination and the country was in the grip of Soviet terror. Public domain

Before his execution on March 1st, 1951, Lt. Col. ukasz Ciepliski took pen to paper and wrote: I am glad to be murdered as a Catholic for the holy faith, as a Pole for my homeland and as a man for truth and justice.

I believe more than ever that Christ will win, that Poland will regain its independence and that the disgraced human dignity will be restored.

He was then taken outside his cell at Mokotow prison in Warsaw and shot in the back of the head.

Freedom and Independence was established by Colonel Jan Rzepecki as a continuation of the Home Army, which was dissolved in January 1945.Public domain

As the last leader of the Freedom and Independence movement, his death was also the death knell of the movement which was founded on September 2nd, 1945, 75 years ago today.

As the largest independence organisation in Poland after World War II, its aim was to regain independence through political not military means. It ended in tragedy when its leaders were arrested and shot.

The end of the war was extremely bitter for Poles. Having suffered so much during the years of German occupation, when World War II was officially over, they were again under foreign domination and the country was in the grip of Soviet terror.

As the largest independence organisation in Poland after World War II, the aim of Freedom and Independence was to regain independence through political not military means.Lower Silesian Public Library T. Mikulski

After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, it was clear that the Soviets and Polish communists had no intention of sharing power with anyone.

Home Army soldiers and those in the underground were in a desperate position.

The prisons were full and former Home Army soldiers were being arrested on a massive scale. The NKVD were waging a campaign of terror to subjugate and Sovietise Poland.

Although the Home Army had been wound up, the need for a resistance organisation was as strong as ever.

The last leader of the Freedom and Independence movement, Lt. Col. ukasz Ciepliski, was executed on March 1, 1951.Public domain

Freedom and Independence was established by Colonel Jan Rzepecki as a continuation of the Home Army, which was dissolved in January 1945.

The difference, though, was that it was to have a civil not a military character. Its objectives were resistance but without war and sabotage. The forces that it had at its disposal were only to be used in self-defence.

Its objective was to take advantage of the democratic elections promised at Yalta Conference in February 1945.

Following an offer of amnesty by the communist authorities, many members of Freedom and Independence handed themselves in, only to be put on show trials. Many were executed.PAP

Dr. Wojciech Frazik from the Branch Office of Historical Research of the Institute of National Remembrance in Krakw said: In the summer of 1945, the only chance for regaining independence was seen in free and democratic elections, which were provided for by the Yalta agreements.

They were supposed to decide what the political system would be in Poland and who would hold power. The commanders of the former underground decided that this chance should be seized and the action should be changed from armed combat to political struggle.

First president of Freedom and Independence, Franciszek Niepoklczyck was arrested on 22 October 1946 by the Polish secret police and during his show trial was sentenced to death. This was later changed to life imprisonment. He died in 1974 at the age of 73, after being released in 1956.Public domain

Under the slogan We Will Not Allow Elections to be Falsified, the organisation collected information about the situation in Poland.

They informed Polish society, the Polish authorities in exile and also people around the world about the situation in Poland under the Communist system.

All this was supposed to lead to free and democratic elections. In view of the actions of the Polish communists and the Soviet Union, it had no chance of succeeding.

Since 2011, March 1 has been a National Day of Remembrance for both the organisation and others who have collectively become known as the Cursed Soldiers.Radek Pietruszka/PAP

Despite the decision of Freedom and Independence to move from armed conflict to political activity, the terror being carried out by Polish communists and the NKVD in the first post-war years forced the commanders of units to carry out armed operations.

In 1945-46, the association had over 30,000 members. Partisan units attacked prisons and militia stations, fought the army and liquidated people cooperating with the communist authorities, treating these actions as a defence against terror.

The association came to an end in the winter of 1947 and 1948 following the arrest by the Communist security service of its leadership. After a show trial they were sentenced to death on October 14, 1950.

Executions were carried out at the Mokotw prison in Warsaw.Rafa Guz/PAP

The sentences were carried out on March 1 the next year in Mokotow prison in Warsaw. ukasz Ciepliski, Mieczysaw Kawalec, Jzef Batory, Adam Lazarowicz, Franciszek Baej, Karol Chmiel and Jzef Rzepka were all shot in the back of the head.

The next day the corpses were placed in coffins and taken away from the prison. To this day, nobody knows where they were buried.

Since 2011, the date of their murders has been a National Day of Remembrance for both the organisation and others who have collectively become known as the Cursed Soldiers.

Sergeant Jzef Franczak was the last Freedom and Independence soldier to be captured after he remained in hiding until 1963.Public domain

After the removal of the leadership, the security service took control of Freedom and Independence by covertly installing its agents as leaders. For the next four years, the security services used this cover to break up underground groups in Poland and in migr circles.

Although Freedom and Independence was a civilian organisation, it was managed to a great degree by officers from the Home Army and around 60,000 soldiers served in its ranks up to the amnesty of February 1947 under which underground soldiers could reveal themselves without fear of arrest.

Many, though, remained underground. Most of them were eventually arrested and sentenced to death by military courts. They were secretly buried in anonymous death pits.

In 2016, the remains of Leon Taraszkiewicz, commander of Freedom and Independence in the Lublin region, were found. He was given a proper burial in 2017.Wojciech Pacewicz/PAP

The last Freedom and Independence soldier to be captured remained in hiding until October 21, 1963.

Sergeant Jzef Franczak was taken after being denounced by a relative of his lover.

His body, desecrated and decapitated, was found on the grounds of Lublin Medical University in March 2015.

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Freedom and Independence group formed to combat Soviet terror founded 75 years ago today - The First News

By ROBERT JUMPER

ONE FEATHER EDITOR

When the One Feather was created, a group of community leaders determined that the Tribe should have a way to put out information from the government in mass production so that decisions made by the government were provided quickly to the citizens of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The founders referred to the One Feather as a news bulletin. The vision for the community newspaper has been evolving since its conception, beginning with the funding by grant of a mimeographed 5-page business-letter format newsletter with hand drawn illustrations to a professionally printed, tabloid format thirty to forty-page full newspaper with full-color photography funded through a combination of tribal allotment and advertising sales revenue.

One of the milestones in the history of free press on the Boundary occurred in 2006 with the creation of the Free Press Act. Within it was the statement that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Free Press shall not be hindered by political influence and is duty bound to be a conduit for the citizenry to petition for redress of grievances. Fancy words for using the EBCI Free Press to share your disagreements, and affirmations, with government in a fair and unbiased forum.

The framers of the Free Press Act in the Cherokee Code had a vision of the One Feather (and whatever free press that might be created on the Qualla Boundary-is implied), to be an information disseminator and community forum. It was not the vision for the paper to be a good news or happy news leaflet.

Government-owned free press is an oxymoron. The tribal newspaper is funded, in large part, by the government. Being so is a two-edged sword. While we enjoy the ability to operate in an environment that has crippled and even eliminated many print media outlets, we also must be ever vigilant concerning political and special interest influence. In the history of the Cherokee One Feather, there have been administrations, tribal management, and even legislators who have attempted to insert or successfully inserted political and personal bias in the reporting of the One Feather.

When I first encountered the One Feather as an employee of the Tribe in 2002, even I saw it as a tribal newsletter. I thought it proper that, since it is owned and operated by the government and the principal chief was the representative head of the government, the chief of the Tribe should dictate what was in the newspaper. Fortunately, over the course of a decade, and many discussions with my now reporter, I had come to realize that the One Feather was much more than a government newsletter. It may have started out that way, but based on the introduction of legislation influenced by community voters, the government itself expressed that the One Feather should not be a newsletter, but a true newspaper, one that belongs to the community and not to the governmental leadership.

And starting with the language established in the Cherokee Code in 2006, the One Feather staff, government, and community began to craft what free press means in Cherokee. I can only speak to the efforts since I formally joined the One Feather staff in 2012. While here, we have attempted to craft legislation to further establish a functioning editorial board to craft policy within the organization to clarify our charge to be a free press. It is challenging. As we have said many times, we currently enjoy the most pro-free press administration and Tribal Council that I am aware of in the history of our tribe. So much so, in fact, that they are reluctant to exert any pressure on the reporting of the One Feather.

But, it has always been my position that we are only one scandal or disagreement away from a politically adversarial relationship with government. We have had the Free Press Act for 14 years, but we have had a personnel policy for much longer than that. There has always been a conflict in the language of the personnel policy and the charge of One Feather staff, who also happen to be Tribal employees.

In the EBCI Personnel Policy, Section 3.25 is titled Non-public information outlining a detailed list of what the public is not entitled to. At the end of the list it makes a broad statement about information that can be withheld from the public, including the One Feather, any other information as determined by EBCI management. Our Cherokee Code includes similar language in the Public Records law (Chapter 132). Section 4.20 of the personnel policy states, Should an employee be contacted by the press or any outside agency requesting non-public information, the request shall be given to that persons supervisor, who will forward it through levels of authority with final approval to be made by the Principal Chief.

Technically, that means even my reporters would be bound to clear stories including any governmental decision or function, with me and ultimately the Chief, assuming a tribal employee took the risk of providing that information without proper clearance, before we made it public. Article 8 of the personnel policy is the Code of Ethical Conduct. Section 2 refers to confidentiality inherent in the policy and that some departments may require an additional confidentiality agreement to be signed as a condition of employment.

The Tribal Employee Ethical Code of Conduct also includes this language, All EBCI employees are expected to conduct themselves with integrity, impartiality, and professional conduct that will reflect favorably upon themselves and the EBCI. Again, technically, this could put reporters (and the editor) in a position of conflict with tribal policy.

The Free Press Act doesnt say that we are to report only the news that is favorable to the EBCI. In fact, I view all factual reporting, whether it places government in a favorable light or not, as reporting with integrity, impartiality, and professionalism. To do otherwise would conflict with Chapter 75 of the Cherokee Code and with the code of ethics adopted from the Society of Professional Journalists, which we are also bound by Code to adhere to.

A few years ago, the EBCI personnel policy was removed from tribal law, but it is still the standard by which employees are hired, evaluated, and terminated. And while the Free Press Act generally provided guidance about the conduct of the One Feather, it provided little protection for those reporting the news in an unbiased fashion to the public. So, this year we asked for and received additional protections for the newspaper to protect the personnel in the execution of duties. It is not the elected officials themselves, but the governmental mechanisms that caused concern. Tribal Council expressed agreement with that concern and voted for protections that will further the cause of free speech and freedom of information on the Boundary. Principal Chief Sneed also expressed his agreement through signing the legislation into law.

Could the One Feather be politically influenced even with personnel protections? Absolutely, that other edge of the sword is that Tribal Council is the holder of the purse-strings of the program. A majority vote could be taken to defund the One Feather and it would disappear. The newspaper is far from self-sustaining. In the current economic environment, small local newspapers are falling by the wayside. Many of us, including the One Feather, are trying to shift advertising models to a more digital, web-based approach, which is full of its own challenges.

Tribal Council, the Executive Office, and the One Feather have agreed on the idea and importance of Free Press, even when it comes to outside press organizations. But the continuation of this positive environment for free speech is fragile in the case of the One Feather and, indeed, all local print media.

Margaret Sullivan recently authored a book titled Ghosting the News: Local Journalism and the Crisis of American Democracy. In the introduction, she addresses the negative progress for a community who reduces or loses its local free media. It matters-immensely. As Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute, put it: If we dont monitor power at the local level, there will be a massive abuse of power at the local level. And thats just the beginning of the damages thats already been done, with much more on the way. As a major PEN America study concluded in 2019: As local journalism declines, government officials conduct themselves with less integrity, efficiency, and effectiveness, and corporate malfeasance goes unchecked. With the loss of local news, citizens are less likely to vote, less politically informed, and less likely to run for office. Democracy, in other words, loses its foundation. (PEN stands for Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists)

Adding to the loss of democratic foundation is the misinformation in the unregulated social media paradigm. It is amazing that it has to be said in modern culture, but not everything you see on the internet and particularly on social media is true, even if it is related to you by a friend. As local media shifts its focus to this digital environment, we will have to be the clearing houses for fact for the community.

The One Feather and tribal government continue to work together to ensure your access to information and continue to provide an avenue for free thought and expression for the readership. You are in the drivers seat as far as what the One Feather will look like in the future. And you will decide what your freedom looks like in the process.

Finally, a quick shout out across the decades to Principal Chief Jarrett Blythe, Charlotte Sneed, Winona Digh, and Ella West, who are listed in Volume One, Number One of the Cherokee One Feather as the committee appointed to oversee the task of creating the Cherokee One Feather. They are also listed as the original editors. They said, Cherokee custom, before the advent of the white man, was for the warriors to wear a single eagle feather. The feather was a symbol of the warriors standing within the tribe and was earned through a series of courageous acts or deeds. To be able to wear the feather, a young warrior had to be battle-tested and approved in special ceremony. In search of an acceptable name for our news communication, we were unable to uncover a more suitable title than the Cherokee One Feather, noting its important symbolism in the Cherokee past.

And, kudos to all the past and present editors, reporters, subscription clerks, and advertising staff who have been part of the One Feather evolution. In the war of words, you were and are the warriors for the cause of free speech.

I heard the effort toward a Cherokee constitution mentioned in a recent Tribal Council work session. I would implore those who will be editing and presenting the constitution proposal, and those government officials who will be ultimately bringing it before the people for a vote, please put free speech and free press rights at the forefront of your governing document. Social systems succeed or collapse on those rights of freedom.

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COMMENTARY: Your freedom hinges on freedom of speech - The Cherokee One Feather - Cherokee One Feather

What kind of running shoes do the folks in the funk metal band Primus wear?

How about ZZ Top? Do they prefer Asics or Saucony? What about the Goo Goo Dolls? Do they lean toward ultra lightweight shoes that help them Go Go like the Nike Zoom Pegasus Turbo 2?

All of the above acts have been on stage at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights.

Freedom Hill is not only the site of an amphitheater famous for bringing in nationally and internationally cognized acts.

It is also a spacious, 100-acre county park that already features a nature trail.

Freedom Hill County Park will be the locale of the 2020 Macomb County Championship cross country meet scheduled for Friday, October 9 and Saturday, October 10.

Two days are needed to abide by social distancing requirements dictated by the ongoing pandemic. The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) has set a maximum limit of 70 runners and 100 people, which includes coaches and race officials, on the premises.

The boys will run Friday and the girls will compete Saturday. Multiple varsity and junior varsity races will be held. They will run in heats each day, with the top teams competing earlier.

All the details have not been finalized, said Mike Buslepp, the cross country coach at Romeo. The main thing is we want to make sure it is competitively balanced.

I know that (County Executive) Mark Hackel has given full autonomy to Keith and Kevin Hanson to build a cross country course at Freedom Hill. My kids are really, really excited. We have never run there before, but I hear the course is full of rolling hills, lots of grass and is wide open, continued Buslepp. We are going to do a tuneup a week before at the Hansons Invitational.

The county meet has traditionally been held at Stony Creek Metroparks Eastwood Beach.

Keith and Kevin Hanson are the owners of Hansons Running Shops. There are four in the Metro Detroit area including a location on Hall Road in Utica. Former college runners and high school cross country coaches, they are also the founders of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project.

The Project creates a unique opportunity for successful college athletes to continue training beyond their college years.

Hansons-Brooks runners have enjoyed success on the world stage.

Success is something the Romeo High School cross country program knows plenty about, too. Both the boys and girls teams are defending county champions.

The Bulldogs kicked off the 2020 season with impressive wins over talented teams from Troy High.

The boys topped Troy 16-45 by placing eight in the top 10 including the top four finishers. Zander Cobb was first in 16:42. Jack Kelke came in second in 16:43; Joseph Rinke was third in 16:57 and Owen Sharnas finished fourth in 17:17.

Coach Buslepps girls team triumphed 22-36. The Bulldogs had three of the top four runners. Romeos Madison Clor crossed the line in 19:41, good for first place. Amanda Felstow finished third in 21:17, and Gracie Youngblood came in fourth in 21:34.

We are going to be good, said Buslepp.This is what I have been telling them; that it would be easy to use COVID as a reason why we might not accomplish things that we wanted to accomplish. But that is really no excuse. Weve had the opportunity to go out and train. This group in particular has really, really embraced that. They did not miss a beat. They are in incredible shape, continued Buslepp.

The guys are five strong right now. The depth of the girls team is insane. We have 10 girls who could all run in the top five right now. There are also a couple of freshmen who are figuring in the scoring right now, said the Romeo coach.

Freedom Hill is not just a concert venue. Which high school teams and individual runners will be singing a happy tune in early October?

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Will it be Freedom Hilly cross country course? - The Macomb Daily

WednesdaySep2,2020at7:00PM

In answer to the inquiry if a machine gun range fits an eclectic/elitist image of Cape Cod located on Joint Base Cape Cod, the answer is a resounding absolutely not, with a caveat. Those are images not the reality of what a military reservation is or does.

Mary A. Jones of Brewster posed this question, and I am grateful for the contact email that she provided. My communication to that address paraphrase is along the following lines.

Thank you, God, for a facility that trains and prepares men in the operation and control of machine gun fire teams that are the nucleus of the ground forces deployed to all parts of the world.

You see, Ms. Jones, Otis Air Force Base and Camp Edwards played a major role in my own military service commitment. Circa 1950s the first Black Air Force general, Chappie James, was the commanding officer at Otis. General James made the base a go-to place for me as a Boy Scout and allowed me to sit in the flight simulator for the F-106 new jet aircraft. General James made the base a central part of the community and we used to go to the gym and the movies. Spending a weekend in the WW2 barracks was a big deal for all of us. The rattle of small arms fire and 155 howitzers against the backdrop of thundering jets was appreciated and accepted as the sounds of "freedom." Yours and mine. I still miss those sounds.

That, Ms. Jones, is my reality and experience that was a realistic preparation for life. Images are images, no more and no less.

Don C. Hayward, Monument Beach

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OPINION/LETTER: Gun range noise is the 'sound of freedom' - Cape Cod Times

Joliet, IL. (ECWd) -

Last week we sued Joliet Township for failing to provide requested public records, and for their attempt at charging us unauthorized fees. Both are violations of the Illinois Freedom Of Information Act.

Joliet Township received a request for public records on June 9, 2020. They responded by imposing an unauthorized fee of $300 for someone to be onsite to copy the files to an external hard drive.

Section 6 of the FOIA specifically grants authority for fees, and what a public body may and may not charge to the requester:

a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. If it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body, or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose or a voluminous request, a public body may not charge the requester for the costs of any search for and review of the records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records. Except to the extent that the General Assembly expressly provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of public records when furnished in a paper format shall not be applicable to those records when furnished in an electronic format.

Joliet Township tried charging an additional $300 to place the requested records onto a $50 external hard drive.

Since the Edgar County Watchdogs is media, as that term is defined in Illinois law, Joliet Township could not classify the request as voluminous, nor as a commercial request.

In addition to the fee issue, Joliet Township failed to produce additional records, not part of the data placed on the hard drive.

We are asking for the requested records, a declaration that Joliet Township violated the FOIA, civil penalties, and costs/attorney fees.

Complaint HERE or below:

Joliet Township Complaint_Redacted

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Joliet Township Sued Under The Freedom of Information Act; Unauthorized Fees - Edgar County Watchdogs

Five veterans out, six prospects in.

The only disappointment was the Sox didnt go further and find spots for Matt Barnes and Jackie Bradley Jr. or really shake things up by landing prominent prospects for Christian Vazquez.

Ben Cherington burned the house down to the foundation in the great fire sale of 2014. But Chaim Bloom didnt go that far.

The Red Sox and Rangers reportedly considered a swap of bad contracts that would have sent Nate Eovaldi to Texas for infielder Rougned Odor. Both are signed for two more seasons, Eovaldi at an average annual salary of $17 million and Odor at $8.25 million.

An executive from another team suggested that sort of deal could be revisited in the offseason when theres more time.

The Sox werent opposed to dealing Bradley, who will be a free agent after the season. But no contender had a glaring need for a defensive upgrade in center field.

The Sox also would have likely needed to pay down some of the $1.8 million Bradley has remaining on his salary through the end of the season.

We know hes a good player. Wed love to have him here for a long time, Bloom said.

Well see how that plays out. The Sox could play Alex Verdugo in center field next season until Jarren Duran is ready. They also picked up an interesting center field prospect in Jeisson Rosario in the Moreland deal.

A short-term deal might make sense for both sides. But whos to say Bradley will want to stay with the Sox? Hes learned how great it is to play in Boston during the good times and how miserable it can be during the bad times.

Its probably going to be a while before the good times roll around again given the state of the pitching staff. But at least steps are being taken.

With some of these trades weve added more contributors that I think can start to form our next core, Bloom said. We still have work to do to continue building that core . . . were looking forward to putting more contributors in place.

The biggest accomplishment Monday was that the trade deadline passing also meant the luxury-tax penalties the Sox have been incurring will reset for 2021.

That creates considerably more flexibility in putting together a better roster. Thats important as the coming offseason will be one where creativity will be required.

It remains uncertain to what degree fans will be allowed into games in 2021 and every team has already taken a financial beating with the loss of revenue this season.

Were in the business of staging mass gatherings, Bloom said. This pandemic has not been kind to our industry and its a massive crisis in a lot of ways for the baseball industry that were banding together to try and do everything we can to overcome. Its hanging over everybody.

The free agent market could be barren, even for the best players, and some teams may be compelled to shed payroll by trading stars.

Controlling costs this season and adding to their prospect depth has positioned the Sox to take advantage of the situation.

Its our job to make sure were aware of everything thats out there, Bloom said.

The final 25 games are unlikely to be pleasant. With Eovaldi on the injured list, the rotation consists of Martin Perez and four coin flips. And nearly every game remaining is against a contender.

Bloom said that the Sox would lean on the side of development as the season plays out. The remaining games offer a chance to further evaluate players such as Jonathan Arauz, Michael Chavis, Bobby Dalbec, and Yairo Munoz and see how many of those pitchers are worth keeping around.

The four trades opened playing time for others and the Sox should use that wisely. Munoz, once a productive player for the Cardinals before a falling out that led to his release, was called up Monday for his first big league time since being signed in March.

We move on, manager Ron Roenicke said.

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @PeteAbe.

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What was the Red Sox best trade-deadline acquisition? Freedom from luxury-tax penalties - The Boston Globe

Photo credit: via Unsplash

In addition to firearms training, you can still fortify your home against crime with a number of simple, cost-effective solutions. Here are half a dozen more strategies to protect your home.

8. Install a hotel-style lock on your bedroom door: For some reason, placing a lock on your bedroom door sounds odd to some people. But why? Do you not lock your outside doors? A lock on your inner sanctum gives you a last line of defense. Besides, if you are asleep and someone breaks in and enters your bedroom, there isnt much you can do. I like the locks that allow you to open the door a crack; also, these locks tend to make loud clanging noises if the door is opened without first throwing off the lever. And unless you sleep like a hibernating grizzly bear, if someone breaks your bedroom door down you should wake up. If youre awake and armed, you have a chance. If you are awake and armed behind a locked door, you have the advantage.

Put your lights on a timer: Whether you are away on vacation or home at night, buy a timer system for a few of your inside lamps and outside floodlights. Set them to turn on and off at random intervals to give the illusion that someone is home. Most criminals wont break into a home if they think someone is there. Knowing theyll have to face someone in their own home decreases the likelihood of criminals picking your house.

9. Put NRA stickers on your doors and windows: Put simply, if a criminal knows that the homeowner is armed and ready, they are far less likely to pick your house. One study that interviewed criminals while in jail indicated that the thing that scared them mostmore than cops, jail time or dogswas homeowners who are armed with guns. NRA stickers tell thieves that you are not a helpless victim.

10. Have a plan: This is perhaps the least-expensive thing you can do to keep your household safe, but its likely the most important. Simply talk with your family about what will happen should the unthinkable happen. Devise a secret knock that alerts other family members its them at their bedroom door and not an intruder. Have a meeting place and a backup meeting place. Tell family members whether you want them to go to a safe room, a secure hiding place or if you want them to flee to a neighbors house. Make sure that when a family member calls 911, they know to inform dispatchers that the homeowner has a gun, and what that person looks like. You just need a plan, a backup plan as well, and you need to talk about it now, before something happens. The fact is, if you have a relatively secure home, a gun and a plan, it is the home invader who should be worried.

11. Secure your vehicles: If your vehicles stay outside, be sure to remove any garage door openers, firearms, items that may have personal information or spare house keys, says Orman. If you dont, the criminal can obtain access to your house once they open the vehicles. Park vehicles under lights or in open areas that can be seen. Always set the alarm and lock the doors.

12. Team up with trusted neighbors: Few security measures beat having a neighbor who will watch your backand your backdoor while youre home and away. Over time, a perceptive neighbor will learn whats normal around your house and whats not, so communicate with your neighbors and tell them that you definitely want them to reach out if anything seems strange. Exchange phone numbers with them to establish a 24-hour line of emergency communication. Tell them youll do the same for them, and, when and where appropriate, devise a simple plan if ever there is an emergency.

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Fortify Your Home on the Cheap, Part 2 - America's 1st Freedom

BEAVER CREEK Saying people want a doggone solution to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Cory Gardner spoke to supporters at Beaver Creek on Friday on the first day of the 2020 Freedom Conference and Festival.

The conference is a 12th-annual event from the Steamboat Institute, but COVID-19 restrictions prevented the event from being held in Steamboat Springs this year. Beaver Creek was able to accommodate the group.

The widespread restrictions on social gatherings are in direct violation of (the First Amendment), and we believe that defending and exercising this right is at the core of what the Steamboat Institute stands for, wrote Jennifer Schubert-Akin, institute chairwoman, in a welcome letter to attendees.

In addition to SchubertAkins welcome packet, attendees were given copies of The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution of the United States, Trent Englands Why We Must Defend The Electoral College, and a Steamboat Institute pamphlet titled How Lockdowns Infringe on Civil Liberties, A Pocket Guide.

A COVID-19 panel discussion featured economic doctor Arthur Laffer, medical doctor Scott Atlas, and Gardner, who touted economic recovery legislation and advances in science, saying the country is close to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

Were gonna have a vaccine, said Gardner,who is polling behind Democratic challenger John Hickenlooper, Colorados former governor and presidential candidate, in his re-election campaign. Its going to be similar to a flu vaccine, where youre going to probably have to get it every year, and there will be different types of vaccines, and were going to get through this.

Atlas said he also believes the country is going to progress with the vaccine, but even if we didnt, we are going to be OK here, he said.

Atlas, who is a special advisor to President Trump, began the discussion by saying while states have begun reopening, significant limits to those reopenings remain, including travel warnings, quarantine requirements, reduced capacity on retail, bars that remain closed, reduced capacity at fitness centers, reduced capacity at restaurants, take-out only restaurants, and online-only and hybrid-attendance at schools.

The harms of continuing those lockdowns are enormous, Atlas said.

Citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlas also said the most recent analysis indicates that the infection fatality rate for COVID-19 patients under 70 years of age is 0.04%.

Which is less than or equal to seasonal influenza, he said.

In addition to their confidence in vaccine development, panel members expressed optimism in population immunity, medical community response and market recovery, even crediting Gov. Jared Polis for Colorados response.

I think your governor has done a phenomenal job on bringing this state back into process, Laffer said.

While Laffer had kind words for his host in Polis, more immediately in Beaver Creeks Gerald Ford Hall, where the Freedom Conference took place, he had less enthusiastic words for the buildings namesake, saying President Fords Whip Inflation Now program cost enormous lives and cost enormous wellbeing.

Laffer said like Fords program, the 2020 pandemic response in the U.S. was a result of politicians making decisions while panicked.

There were lots and lots of mistakes, Laffer said. They were not done deliberately, obviously.

Atlas said Trumps plan is aimed at saving even more lives while rolling back limitations to reopening and protecting high-risk populations.

That means highly detailed, real-time monitoring; a smarter, prioritized, very intensive testing strategy of nursing home staff and residents; pro-active warnings to high-risk elderly in regions of increased in-community infection; massive allocation of extra resources including point-of-care testing in all 14,500 nursing homes by mid-September and rapid mobilization of CDC strike teams where surge testing is needed, Atlas said.

We will continue to emphasize to the public the goal of protecting the high-risk group, including importantly adopting the highest standards of hygiene and social distancing, all the things weve already learned, when interacting with elderly friends and family members at risk, he added.

Addressing dozens of unmasked viewers in Gerald Ford Hall, some of them elderly, Atlas said some mask policies are reasonable, especially concerning those in high-risk groups.

Wear a mask if you cannot socially distance, particularly in certain settings, he said. When youre close by somebody, its reasonable. When youre walking into a nursing home and theres a very, very high-risk situation, OK, then you gotta be super, super cautious when youre near people, and you can not socially distance.

Moderator Hadley Heath Manning said a lot of risk assessment and risk taking during a pandemic is a very personal choice. Manning said she flew across the country to visit her grandparents during the pandemic.

My grandmother insisted that we come to her house, Manning said. She made me think of a passage from Esther in the Bible If I perish, I perish.

Laffer, who is 80, said he has also visited with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren during the pandemic.

Frankly, I love my grandchildren far more than I love myself, Laffer said. And I just dont want this economy shut down and have their futures put at risk because of someone wanting to save another 80-year-old like me.

Gardner said we have to save the elderly, because there would be no one left in the Senate otherwise.

I have a vested interested in my colleagues, to make sure they get this right, he said with a laugh.

Continued here:

Sen. Gardner touts vaccine progress, pandemic legislation at Steamboat Institute's Freedom Conference in Beaver Creek - Steamboat Pilot and Today

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'Zombies of the Corn' haunted attraction set for 8th season of frightful fun in Freedom - TribLIVE

YEREVAN (Armradio) Artsakh was the spark which lit the fire of freedom which spread all over the Armenian world, President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian said in a congratulatory message on the occasion of Artsakh Independence Day.

Our people rose to defend their rights and to take their worthy place in the modern family of nations. This was a truly historic time for the realization of our aspirations and abilities and its significance was duly appreciated in Artsakh as well as in Armenia, the President said.

According to him, the declaration of independence became the catalyst which allowed to form a sovereign statehood.

Today, 29 years later, the Republic of Artsakh is a mature state unit thanks to the struggle being fought by all-Armenian forces, thanks to the victory, which was achieved through the unity of Artsakh, Armenia, and Diaspora, thanks to the willpower which is leading the people of Artsakh, and has become the promise of their success, President Sarkissian continued.

I bow to the memory of all fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives for the free and independent Artsakh and express gratitude to all who gave their health and well-being to achieve that goal, he added.

The President noted that Artsakh was a touchstone for our national willpower and remains the pivot of our national unity.

For us, as a nation, every achievement in Artsakh is a stone to the restoration of the huge Armenian world. Thus, our mind and effort, our work and ideas ought to be directed towards the protection of the Fatherland, security and peace of Artsakh and Armenia, well-being of our nation, he stated.

The President believes this notion should be the strongest in each of us because the fight for Artsakhs full freedom, for the restoration of the violated rights of our people is not over yet, it continues.

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President Armen Sarkissian: Artsakh Was the Spark Which Lit the Fire of Freedom - Armenian News by MassisPost

Every year, millions of images, videos and posts that allegedly contain terrorist or violent extremist content are removed from social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. A key force behind these takedowns is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), an industry-led initiative that seeks to prevent terrorists and violent extremists from exploiting digital platforms. And unfortunately, GIFCT has the potential to have a massive (and disproportionate) negative impact on the freedom of expression of certain communities.

Social media platforms have long struggled with the problem of extremist or violent content on their platforms. Platforms may have an intrinsic interest in offering their users an online environment free from unpleasant content, which is why most social media platforms terms of service contain a variety of speech provisions. During the past decade, however, social media platforms have also come under increasing pressure from governments around the globe to respond to violent and extremist content on their platforms. Spurred by the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and guided by the shortsighted belief that censorship is an effective tool against extremism, governments have been turning to content moderation as a means to fix international terrorism.

Commercial content moderation is the process through which platformsmore specifically, human reviewers or, very often, machinesmake decisions about what content can and cannot be on their sites, based on their own Terms of Service, community standards, or other rules.

During the coronavirus pandemic, social media companies have been less able to use human content reviewers, and are instead increasingly relying on machine learning algorithms to moderate content as well as flag it. Those algorithms, which are really just a set of instructions for doing something, are fed with an initial set of rules and lots of training data in the hopes that they will learn to identify similar content But human speech is a complex social phenomenon and highly context-dependent; inevitably, content moderation algorithms make mistakes. What is worse, because machine-learning algorithms usually operate as black boxes that do not explain how they arrived at a decision, and as companies generally do not share either the basic assumptions underpinning their technology or their training data sets, third parties can do little to prevent those mistakes.

This problem has become more acute with the introduction of hashing databases for tracking and removing extremist content. Hashes are digital "fingerprints" of content that companies use to identify and remove content from their platforms. They are essentially unique, and allow for easy identification of specific content. When an image is identified as terrorist content, it is tagged with a hash and entered into a database, allowing any future uploads of the same image to be easily identified.

This is exactly what the GIFCT initiative aims to do: Share a massive database of alleged terrorist content, contributed voluntarily by companies, amongst members of its coalition. The database collects hashes, or unique fingerprints, of alleged terrorist, or extremist and violent content, rather than the content itself. GIFCT members can then use the database to check in real time whether content that users want to upload matches material in the database. While that sounds like an efficient approach to the challenging task of correctly identifying and taking down terrorist content, it also means that one single database might be used to determine what is permissible speech, and what is taken downacross the entire Internet.

Countless examples have proven that it is very difficult for human reviewersand impossible for algorithmsto consistently get the nuances of activism, counter-speech, and extremist content itself right. The result is that many instances of legitimate speech are falsely categorized as terrorist content and removed from social media platforms. Due to the proliferation of the GIFCT database, any mistaken classification of a video, picture or post as terrorist content echoes across social media platforms, undermining users' right to free expression on several platforms at once. And that, in turn, can have catastrophic effects on the Internet as a space for memory and documentation. Blunt content moderation systems can lead to the deletion of vital information not available elsewhere, such as evidence of human rights violations or war crimes. For example, the Syrian Archive, an NGO dedicated to collecting, sharing and archiving evidence of atrocities committed during the Syrian war reports that hundred of thousand videos of war atrocities are removed by YouTube annually. The Archive estimates that take down rates for videos documenting Syrian human rights violations is circa 13%, a number that has almost doubled to 20% in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. As noted, many social media platforms, including YouTube, have been using algorithmic tools for content moderation more heavily than usual, resulting in increased takedowns. If, or when, YouTube contributes hashes of content that depicts Syrian human rights violations, but has been tagged as terrorist content by YouTubes algorithms to the GIFCT database, that content could be deleted forever across multiple platforms.

The GIFCT content cartel not only risks losing valuable human rights documentation, but also has a disproportionately negative effect on some communities. Defining terrorism is a inherently political undertaking, and rarely stable across time and space. Absent international agreement on what exactly constitutes terrorist, or even violent and extremist, content, companies look at the United Nations list of designated terrorist organizations or the US State Departments list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. But those lists mainly consist of Islamist organizations, and are largely blind to, for example, right-wing extremist groups. That means that the burden of GIFCTs misclassifications falls disproportionately on Muslim and Arab communities and highlights the fine line between an effective initiative to tackle the worst content online and sweeping censorship.

Ever since the attacks on two Mosques in Christchurch in March 2019, GIFCT has been more prominent than ever. In response to the shooting, during which 51 people were killed, French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern launched the Christchurch Call. That initiative, which aims to eliminate violent and extremist content online, foresees a prominent role for GIFCT. In the wake of this renewed focus on GIFCT, the initiative announced that it would evolve to an independent organization, including a new Independent Advisory Committee (IAC) to represent the voices of civil society, government, and inter-governmental entities.

However, the Operating Board, where real power resides, remains in the hands of industry. And the Independent Advisory Committee is already seriously flawed, as a coalition of civil liberties organizations has repeatedly noted.

For example, governments participating in the IAC are likely to leverage their position to influence companies content moderation policies and shape definitions of terrorist content that fit their interests, away from the public and eye and therefore lacking accountability. Including governments in the IAC could also undermine the meaningful participation of civil society organizations as many are financially dependent on governments, or might face threats of reprisals for criticism government officials in that forum. As long as civil society is treated as an afterthought, GIFCT will never be an effective multi-stakeholder forum. GIFCTs flaws and their devastating effects on the freedom of expression, human rights, and the preservation of evidence of war crimes have been known for years. Civil societies organizations have tried to help reform the organization, but GIFCT and its new Executive Director have remained unresponsive. Which leads to the final problem with the IAC: leading NGOs are choosing not to participate at all.

Where does this leave GIFCT and the millions of Internet users its policies impact? Not in a good place. Without meaningful civil society representation and involvement, full transparency and effective accountability mechanisms, GIFCT risks becoming yet another industry-led forum that promises multi-stakeholderism but delivers little more than government-sanctioned window-dressing.

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One Database to Rule Them All: The Invisible Content Cartel that Undermines the Freedom of Expression Online - EFF

By one measure, just 3% of Muslims live in countries that are freer than the world average

Aug 30th 2020

IN HIS WRITINGS Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish-born author and columnist, has argued there is no logical reason why Islam should not thrive in conditions of personal liberty. After all, in a much-debated verse, the Koran insists that there is no compulsion in religion. But the reality of the Islamic world is drearily repressive, and has in some ways been getting worse, according to a report he has just published for the Cato Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. It looks mainly at 51 countries where Muslims form at least a plurality of the population.

Only 60m of the worlds 1.9bn Muslims live in countries where the general level of personal freedom is greater than the global mean, while more than 1.8bn live in places where liberty levels are clearly below average, he finds. To reach this conclusion he uses the Human Freedom Index, which his think-tank has developed in collaboration with two others. It measures a range of entitlements, including freedom of movement, expression, identity, recourse to law and of course, religion.

The 60m total is based on aggregating, to 30m, the smallish populations of the handful of Muslim countries which score fairly well on freedomAlbania, Bosnia, Burkina Faso and Kyrgyzstanand then adding the 30m or so Muslims who live in Western democracies. Far down the other end of the scale are authoritarian states, like Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Sudan, and countries which have been convulsed by internal conflict: Iraq, Syria and Yemen. In between are the populous Asian giants with more Muslims than any other countries (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Pakistan) which are all nominal democracies, but all of which fall below the index average. It is striking that womens rights seem best observed in formerly communist countries which, although they may not be free in all respects, have at least retained secular law codes. These include Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Mr Akyol laments the dramatic deterioration in all kinds of liberty over the past decade in Bahrain, Egypt, Syria and Turkey. He finds a more nuanced, and less depressing, picture when it comes to economic freedom: the right to offer goods and services without excessive state interference. On this measure, monarchies (Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates) do better than the global mean, whereas republics established in a burst of republican zeal, such as Algeria and Egypt, score dismally.

Whether their regimes are traditional or secular, Muslim countries in the Middle East and north Africa are generally less free than those in say, central Asia or parts of west Africa. All this adds poignancy to the last article written by the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, entitled What the Arab world needs most is free expression. It was published posthumously in the Washington Post in October 2018, shortly after his murder in Istanbul, in his own countrys consulate.

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Personal freedom is still limited in most of the Islamic world - The Economist

By KIM OLVER

If you are coming late to the party, or want a refresher on last months introduction to the process I call Mental Freedom, you can find it here. There, I introduced the first three constructs:

Now, lets move on to the next three constructs.

People can get really hung up on emotions. In actuality, they serve two clear purposes, and you can use them as tools to help you rather than allowing them to work against you. Which purpose they serve depends on how long they last.

Humans are quite adept at conducting a utopia in their heads about how life, and everything in it, is supposed to be. In this make-believe place, everyone is responding the way you believe is correct. Its too bad this place will never be reality; there are just way too many variables that we have no control over such as other people, random events and time marching on.

When we encounter something that doesnt match the way we think it should be, we have a brief, involuntary emotion. You cant control whether you become sad, angry, disgusted or worried when things dont match the way you want them to be. Its going to happen and is totally normal; you cant help it, stop it or slow it down. It is what it is.

However, when you dont recognize that brief emotion as what it isa signal that things arent how you want themand you allow it to persist, then it becomes something more than a signal. You are no longer just recognizing life isnt how you want it, now you are harnessing that emotion in an attempt to change life into what you want it to be. You dont know thats what youre doing. In fact, it feels like youve been hijacked and are a victim of these painful emotions that take up residence in your heart. You point your fingers at whatever is wrong in your life and assign blame for why youre feeling the way you are.

This is, of course, a lie you are telling yourself. Your emotions are simply energy. They cant make you do anything or say anything. After the original signal, you choose your emotions as your best attempt to get what you want in that moment.

I know this is a lot to wrap your mind around and it likely goes against everything youve been taught and believe, but I have many examples of this concept helping people. Once you see this truth, you cant unsee it. Think about the last time you were sad or angry about something. Ask yourself what you wanted that you were trying to get with your anger. It was probably some version of the following:

The emotions are painful, yes, but at least they provide something you want.

Another skill on the path to Mental Freedom is the recognition of the control you give the stories you make up in your head. Humans have a need for closurea gestalt, if you will. Life doesnt always provide that, so we make it up in our heads. That isnt so bad, unless the stories you construct are hurtful to you, and they often are. The antidote to this is to question the stories and perceptions you have in your head. I propose that since you are making up the story, why not make up a story that helps you feel better instead of worse? Youre making it up, anyway! You dont know the truth; youre only imagining what might be happening. Why tell yourself stories that dont serve you? Start making up stories that help put your mind at ease. For example, instead of telling yourself your partner just ended your relationship because you arent good enough for them, tell yourself the relationship ended because your partner felt inadequate walking next to you through life. You are never going to know the real reason. Why not tell yourself something that feels good instead of awful?

Think of the worst thing that ever happened to you. Maybe you lost a loved one. Perhaps you are battling a serious illness. Maybe you are a survivor of sexual abuse. In this human experience, there are many versions of pain. Take the worst emotional pain youve ever experienced and give it a number from one to 100. Whatever number you assign, understand that there is at least that same amount of positivity in that very event. If you experienced a 65 in pain, there is a corresponding 65 in GLOW. Many people are never exposed to this concept, so they never find their GLOW. Some dont even know its there, but that doesnt make it untrue.

When most people are experiencing pain, they believe they are at pains mercy. This is only true if you give your pain that power. When I work with people, I ask if they are ready to feel better. If they are, we proceed. If they arent, then I cant help them. If you are in a painful situation and you truly want to feel better, your first step is to realize there is GLOW in your situation. GLOW stands for gifts, lessons, opportunities and wisdom. Once you accept thats true, then you can go on a journey of collecting, recognizing and finding gratitude in those things.

Im not saying your pain isnt real or that it will magically go away. However, when you can collect an equivalent amount of GLOW to your pain, then you will no longer be held hostage by it. You will be able to say thank you to the cause of the pain, realizing it brought along equal value in gifts, lessons, opportunities and wisdom.

I know this is true because Ive been using this concept in my own life and the lives of my clients and have yet to find an exception, and also because its a law of the universe. Every naturally occurring element in our world has an equal number of protons and electronsthe same positive and negative charge, if you remember your periodic table of elements. The same is true for our life events. You just have to look harder for the GLOW because our human brains are hardwired to notice the negative over the positive.

If you are ready to begin your own path to Mental Freedom, you can register for the next Mental Freedom Group Coaching experience at http://www.bit.ly/MFCoaching.

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'Mental Freedom' part two - The River Reporter

Good morning, heres some soccer things!

D.C. United acquires striker Gelmin Rivas | Black and Red UnitedThe fanbase reaction to D.C. United signing a forward seems to be irritation that Gelmin Rivas is not a well-known player. I get it, and his resume doesnt scream Golden Boot, but MLS is a weird league. Sometimes a guy arrives with no expectations and finds the league perfect for them. For me, Rivas means we will have fewer games with non-forwards trying to get the job done up front, and that needed to be taken care of.

Maybe hes BWP or Luciano Emilio; maybe hes Danny Allsopp.

D.C. United signs Venezuelan striker Gelmin Rivas | The Washington PostSteve Goff has more details, including length of Rivass contract and the fact that he had already begun quarantining before the announcement in the hopes of being cleared to train ASAP.

Meanwhile, its one guy in, one guy out:

Its not ideal to see academy players heading abroad, but thats life sometimes. Hopefully it works out.

United may have other reinforcements on the way, and this time its someone we know:

Rodney Wallace is still only 32, and has spent most of his non-United career playing for contenders around the league (and in the Brazilian top flight). If offseason hip surgery hasnt slowed him down, he could be helpful at a few spots for the Black-and-Red.

Washington Spirit join DC2026 Partnership Group led by Events DC | WashingtonSpirit.comThe Washington Spirit are formally a partner for the bid to bring the 2026 World Cup to the District.

Employees describe toxic RSL culture: rotten from the top down | RSL SoapboxThe folks at RSL Soapbox have continued doing excellent reporting work when it comes to the internal culture soon-to-be former owner Dell Loy Hansen has fostered. That includes some extremely gross examples of sexism and misogyny, as well as wage theft that would violate Utah law.

Will Weston McKennie succeed at Juventus? Plus Real Salt Lake and youngsters thriving in MLS | MLSsoccer.comThe latest episode of Extratime Radio includes Brian Dunseth giving more inside info on what went down at RSL, and where the club goes from here. Also I guess this Weston McKennie at Juventus thing is a big deal, idk.

2020 fall series to stream globally on Twitch | NWSLsoccer.comRemember the details of the NWSLs fall series broadcast schedule leaving seven games unaccounted for? Well, now theyre accounted for: theyll stream on Twitch in the US, just like they do for international audiences.

Rachel Daly signs new three-year contract | Dynamo TheoryThe Houston Dash re-signed a bunch of players, but there were brief murmurs that something was up with them and captain/forward/club-defining player Rachel Daly. This news puts those rumors to rest.

WELCOME TO SECRET BASE | Secret BaseIm not exactly sure whats going on here, but its got talented weirdos doing weird videos about sports, and a font that brings me great nostalgia, so Im into it.

This post was exactly 500 words until I typed this sentence and ruined it. Happy Tuesday!

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Tuesday Freedom Kicks: Gelmin Rivas to D.C. United, continued fallout at Real Salt Lake, and more - Black And Red United

We tend to think of freedom as an emancipatory idealand with good reason. Throughout history, the desire to be free inspired countless marginalized groups to challenge the rule of political and economic elites. Liberty was the watchword of the Atlantic revolutionaries who, at the end of the 18th century, toppled autocratic kings, arrogant elites and (in Haiti) slaveholders, thus putting an end to the Old Regime. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Black civil rights activists and feminists fought for the expansion of democracy in the name of freedom, while populists and progressives struggled to put an end to the economic domination of workers.

While these groups had different objectives and ambitions, sometimes putting them at odds with one another, they all agreed that their main goalfreedomrequired enhancing the peoples voice in government. When the late Rep. John Lewis called on Americans to let freedom ring, he was drawing on this tradition.

But there is another side to the story of freedom as well. Over the past 250 years, the cry for liberty has also been used by conservatives to defend elite interests. In their view, true freedom is not about collective control over government; it consists in the private enjoyment of ones life and goods. From this perspective, preserving freedom has little to do with making government accountable to the people. Democratically elected majorities, conservatives point out, pose just as much, or even more of a threat to personal security and individual rightespecially the right to propertyas rapacious kings or greedy elites. This means that freedom can best be preserved by institutions that curb the power of those majorities, or simply by shrinking the sphere of government as much as possible.

This particular way of thinking about freedom was pioneered in the late 18th century by the defenders of the Old Regime. From the 1770s onward, as revolutionaries on both sides of the Atlantic rebelled in the name of liberty, a flood of pamphlets, treatises and newspaper articles appeared with titles such as Some Observations On Liberty, Civil Liberty Asserted or On the Liberty of the Citizen. Their authors vehemently denied that the Atlantic Revolutions would bring greater freedom. As, for instance, the Scottish philosopher Adam Fergusona staunch opponent of the American Revolutionexplained, liberty consisted in the security of our rights. And from that perspective, the American colonists already were free, even though they lacked control over the way in which they were governed. As British subjects, they enjoyed more security than was ever before enjoyed by any people. This meant that the colonists liberty was best preserved by maintaining the status quo; their attempts to govern themselves could only end in anarchy and mob rule.

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In the course of the 19th century this view became widespread among European elites, who continued to vehemently oppose the advent of democracy. Benjamin Constant, one of Europes most celebrated political thinkers, rejected the example of the French revolutionaries, arguing that they had confused liberty with participation in collective power. Instead, freedom-lovers should look to the British constitution, where hierarchies were firmly entrenched. Here, Constant claimed, freedom, understood as peaceful enjoyment and private independence, was perfectly secureeven though less than five percent of British adults could vote. The Hungarian politician Jzseph Etvs, among many others, agreed. Writing in the wake of the brutally suppressed revolutions that rose against several European monarchies in 1848, he complained that the insurgents, battling for manhood suffrage, had confused liberty with the principle of the peoples supremacy. But such confusion could only lead to democratic despotism. True libertydefined by Etvs as respect for well-earned rightscould best be achieved by limiting state power as much as possible, not by democratization.

In the U.S., conservatives were likewise eager to claim that they, and they alone, were the true defenders of freedom. In the 1790s, some of the more extreme Federalists tried to counter the democratic gains of the preceding decade in the name of liberty. In the view of the staunch Federalist Noah Webster, for instance, it was a mistake to think that to obtain liberty, and establish a free government, nothing was necessary but to get rid of kings, nobles, and priests. To preserve true freedomwhich Webster defined as the peaceful enjoyment of ones life and propertypopular power instead needed to be curbed, preferably by reserving the Senate for the wealthy. Yet such views were slower to gain traction in the United States than in Europe. To Websters dismay, overall, his contemporaries believed that freedom could best be preserved by extending democracy rather than by restricting popular control over government.

But by the end of the 19th century, conservative attempts to reclaim the concept of freedom did catch on. The abolition of slavery, rapid industrialization and mass migration from Europe expanded the agricultural and industrial working classes exponentially, as well as giving them greater political agency. This fueled increasing anxiety about popular government among American elites, who now began to claim that mass democracy posed a major threat to liberty, notably the right to property. Francis Parkman, scion of a powerful Boston family, was just one of a growing number of statesmen who raised doubts about the wisdom of universal suffrage, as the masses of the nation want equality more than they want liberty.

William Graham Sumner, an influential Yale professor, likewise spoke for many when he warned of the advent of a new, democratic kind of despotisma danger that could best be avoided by restricting the sphere of government as much as possible. Laissez faire, or, in blunt English, mind your own business, Sumner concluded, was the doctrine of liberty.

Being alert to this history can help us to understand why, today, people can use the same wordfreedomto mean two very different things. When conservative politicians like Rand Paul and advocacy groups FreedomWorks or the Federalist Society talk about their love of liberty, they usually mean something very different from civil rights activists like John Lewisand from the revolutionaries, abolitionists and feminists in whose footsteps Lewis walked. Instead, they are channeling 19th century conservatives like Francis Parkman and William Graham Sumner, who believed that freedom is about protecting property rightsif need be, by obstructing democracy. Hundreds of years later, those two competing views of freedom remain largely unreconcilable.

Annelien de Dijn is the author of Freedom: An Unruly History, available now from Harvard University Press.

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Freedom Means Something Different to Liberals and Conservatives. Heres How the Definition SplitAnd Why That Still Matters - TIME