Madeline Pratt wanted a different kind of career. The corporate structure wasnt working for her anymore and she wanted more flexibility with her schedule to meet the needs of her family. Thus Fearless in Training, her female forward consulting firm, was born. Pratt and her team work directly with entrepreneurial women, progressive accountants, and technology innovators to offer them help in starting, growing and scaling successful enterprises. Today the Poulsbo, Washington-mompreneur enjoys the freedom being her own boss has given her as well and the satisfaction that she is living a meaningful life.

Pratts story, as told to The Story Exchange 1,000+ Stories Project:

Fearless In Training is a female forward consulting company that works directly with entrepreneurial women, progressive accountants, and technology innovators to offer them help in starting, growing, and scaling successful enterprises. Built on a foundation of expertise in the realms of technology, marketing, education & business development, the firm offers collaborative & catered consulting services to help clients achieve their wildest business dreams.

Corporate work wasnt for me, and the more I talked with many of my friends, I learned it wasnt for them either. We women want to be engaged in business and building businesses that we believe in, but our lives are complex and require flexibility. It can still be so hard to find that in a corporate environment, and as much as I learned during my time working for someone elses company, I knew that I could find more balance and fulfilment in starting my own. More than meeting my own needs though, I wanted to be able to show other women that entrepreneurship can accelerate them on the path of equality and help them earn more without having to constantly compromise their needs.

Success for me has always been about seeing the impact that my work has on other people, and rather than being a destination, its a path that I think we proceed down when weve aligned our highest work with what we do every single day. For me, this looks like envisioning future goals clearly, and then aligning my life towards achieving them. Ive always said that the goal of anything that I do is to make a difference in the life of at least one person a day. Each time someone reaches out to me to let me know that something I said, wrote, or shared made an impact on them, I see that as a reminder that I am living a deeply meaningful and successful life.

My biggest success to date has been building out my team at Fearless in Training and a company culture that encourages us to show up and be seen as we are. Ive always loved growing teams and mentoring new hires to find their place inside the company and the work that theyre truly passionate about. When I first dreamed of starting my own company, I always pictured us as a team of incredibly talented and creative women from all walks of life. Bringing that vision to life and getting to work together with these amazing women is one of the greatest highlights of my career.

My greatest goal for my company is to grow our reach and connect with more female entrepreneurs to empower them on a path of business equality. Weve grown our revenue by 500% YoY and with it were growing our team and our capacity to serve more clients. I believe that the COVID crisis will inspire a lot more women to take control of their careers and begin working on a business of their own, and my goal is for us to continue to grow our company in order to be able to connect with these ambitious entrepreneurs to provide them the education, resources, and support they need to build thriving businesses of their own.

My greatest challenge as a woman and entrepreneur is integrating the growth of my company with the needs of my family. As my kids grow and change, they go through stages and need different things from me, so Im constantly having to sit down and reassess what needs to shift and what needs to come first. Its an ongoing process, but I was smart enough to choose a husband that not only supports my work, but also partners with me completely to figure out how to best integrate our work and our family. It takes a lot of communication and childcare, but over the years weve figured out how to build a life that allows us both to have our dream careers while raising our two kids.

On a personal level Ive dealt with anxiety for just about as long as I can remember. Only in the last half of this decade have I really begun to know the words I need to describe it to other people. You see up until recently, people didnt even talk about anxiety much less describe what it felt like for them.

My most important role model has always been my mother. She has always been a trailblazer, completely unafraid to blaze her own path and follow her dreams. Watching her everyday growing up built within me the confidence that I could start my own company, and that I didnt have to build a life around anyone elses expectations. She is my greatest supporter, and Im her biggest fan.

Website http://www.FearlessInTraining.comTwitter @madelinekprattFacebook http://www.facebook.com/fearlessintrainingofficial

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She Wanted More Freedom and Meaning From Her Career - The Story Exchange

This week in Washington IP, both houses of Congress are quiet during August recess but patent and IP policy issues are front and center at the Hudson Institute, which is hosting events to explore how light regulatory frameworks can increase innovation, as well as the importance of injunctions for standard-essential patent owners. Elsewhere, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine look at how federal R&D and commercialization funding programs for small businesses have been implemented by the National Science Foundation, and both the Urban Institute and the American Association for the Advancement of Science look at how data collection practices and technological platforms intersect with issues of racial equity.

The Hudson Institute

Author Matt Ridley on How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom

At 12:00 PM on Monday, online video webinar.

Throughout history, technological revolutions have been able to spring to life thanks in part to reduced levels of regulatory interference and few, if any, laws protecting entrenched interests. This event will feature a discussion with Matt Ridley, member of the UKs House of Lords and author of How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom, to discuss various case studies featured in the book on how governmental regulatory frameworks affected innovation during the Industrial Revolution, the Digital Revolution and the Biotech Revolution. Moderating the discussion with Ridley will be Adam Mossoff, Chair, Forum for Intellectual Property, Hudson Institute.

The Brookings Institution

Why The World Is At a Turning Point With Artificial Intelligence and What To Do About It?

At 3:00 PM on Monday, online video webinar.

The advent of artificial intelligence has inspired reactions ranging from doomsday concerns over threats to humanity to hopes that AI will usher in a wave of productivity that can spur the next economic revolution. This event, hosted by Brookings Center for Technology Innovation, will explore the current state of AI technology as well as policy decisions that could shape AI as a social force for either good or ill. The event will feature a discussion including John Allen, President, The Brookings Institution; Darrell M. West, Vice President and Director, Governance Studies, and Senior Fellow, Center for Technology Innovation; and moderated by Nicol Turner Lee, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, and Director, Center for Technology Innovation.

The Hudson Institute

Injunctions for Standard-Essential Patents: Safeguarding Innovation in the United States, Europe, and Beyond

At 12:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

Standards in cellular communications, like 4G LTE and 5G, as well as other digital communication technologies are enabling a rapid pace of innovation in the form of smart facilities and connected cars. The interplay between patents and communications standards is complex and injunctions can be an important tool to ensure that a technology implementer is paying a fair and reasonable royalty to tech developers for the use of their technology. This event will feature a discussion with a panel including Claudia Tapia, Director of IPR Policy and Legal Academic Research, Ericsson; Adam Mossoff, Chair, Forum for Intellectual Property, Hudson Institute; Urka Petrov?i?, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; and Christoph Ann, Professor of Law, Technical University of Munich.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Review of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs at the National Science Foundation: Committee Meeting 3

At 6:00 PM on Tuesday, online video webinar.

Both the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs facilitate the distribution of federal R&D expenditures to aid American small businesses in commercializing technologies. Seed funding made available through SBIR and STTR by the National Science Foundation between 2007 and 2016 has funded early stage commercialization efforts for about 400 companies per year. This event will begin with introductory remarks by Maryann Feldman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Scott Stern, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The event will also feature discussions with Michael Kearney, The Engine, and Jason Rathje, AFVentures.

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Race to the Future? Values and Vision in the Design of Technology and Society

At 11:30 AM on Thursday, online video webinar.

The increasing use of algorithms, which often reflect the viewpoints of their creators, in technological platforms has led many to look at the ways that modern technologies can reinforce systemic inequalities along racial or other lines. This event will feature a discussion with Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Professor of African American Studies, Princeton University, and author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code.

Urban Institute

Centering Racial Equity in Data Use

At 2:00 PM on Friday, online video webinar.

While researchers and data analysts strive to gain an objective view of a particular study subject through data collection, practices regarding data collection can be used to disadvantage those whose demographic data like race or income can be abused. This event, co-hosted in partnership with the Urban Institute, the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy, will explore recent findings on equitable data practices that are responsive to the needs of various communities. Speakers at this event will include Bridget Blount, Senior Director of Data Initiatives, Baltimores Promise; Sue Gallagher, Chief Innovation Officer, Childrens Services Council of Broward County; Leah Hendey, Codirector, National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, Urban Institute; and Kassie Scott, Research Assistant, Urban Institute.

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This Week in Washington IP: Injunctions for SEPs, How Innovation Flourishes in Freedom, and Reviewing SBIR/STTR at the National Science Foundation -...

By Nicola Jones, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall, Sarah Baird, Joan Hicks, Guday Emirie, Workneh Yadete, Yitayew Alemayehu, Bezawit Bekele and Elshaday Kifle Woldevesus

Introduction

Existing evidence suggests that most Ethiopian adolescents have experienced at least one form of age- or gender-based violence (Pankhurst et al., 2018; Save the Children, 2011), and although declining over time, according to the latest Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) (2016), harmful traditional practices are estimated to affect a significant proportion of the countrys girls, including child marriage (40% of girls 1519 years) and female genital mutilation and cutting (47% of girls 1519 years), (CSA and ICF, 2017).

This report on adolescent bodily integrity and freedom from violence is one of a series of short baseline reports focused on emerging mixed-methods findings from the Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence (GAGE) longitudinal study baseline data collection. Drawing on a gender and capabilities framework, the report focuses on adolescents experiences and perceptions of age-, sexual and gender-based violence in Ethiopia, paying particular attention to gender and regional differences in risks and access to services as well as those between adolescents with disabilities and those without. The report also discusses the range of change strategies currently being implemented to fast-track social change, as well as the related gaps in the policy and programming landscape.

Research methodology

In Ethiopia, our research sample involves a survey with more than 6,800 adolescent girls and boys from two cohorts aged 1012 years (younger adolescents) and 1517 years (older adolescents), and more in-depth qualitative research with 240 adolescents and their families. The baseline data was collected in selected sites in Afar, Amhara and Oromia regional states and Dire Dawa city administration during 2017 and 2018. The sample includes some of the most disadvantaged adolescents (adolescents with disabilities, married girls and adolescent mothers, adolescents from pastoralist and remote rural communities, adolescents from internally displaced households and child-headed households). Three subsequent rounds of data collection will be carried out in 2019/2020, 2020/21 and 2022/23 with the younger cohort when they reach 1214 years, 1315 years and 15 17 years, and with the older cohort at 1719 years, 1820 years and 2022 years. The main qualitative research will happen at the same junctures, but we will also undertake peer-to-peer and participatory research from late 2018/ early 2019 onwards on an annual basis to explore peer networks and the experiences of the most marginalised adolescents in more depth..

Key findings

Overall our findings highlighted that adolescents face significant and multidimensional risks in terms of bodily integrity and violence, but that the patterning of these risks differs considerably by gender, age and geographic location.

Age-based violence: Most adolescents experience corporal punishment at the hands of their parents and by teachers in the case of school-attending adolescents. For boys, who tend to be less compliant, this punishment can be quite severe. Girls are more likely to be punished for violating gender norms and for misdeeds beyond their control, including being late for school on account of domestic and care work responsibilities.

Peer-to-peer violence: Primarily perpetrated by boys against other boys, peer-to-peer violence is widespread and is rooted in boys need to demonstrate their masculinity.

Sexual and gender-based violence: For girls, the links between verbal violence, physical violence and sexual violence are complex and difficult to disentangle. Girls are at risk of verbal harassment when they are young and increasingly at risk of sexual assault as their bodies mature. Although at lesser risk, some boys in our research sites reported incidences of sexual violence perpetrated against boys something that is still a taboo to discuss.

Political violence: Adolescents were also at heightened risk of being caught up in the political violence that was widespread during the baseline data collection period in 2017/2018. This was especially pronounced in East Hararghe where there were large numbers of internally displaced persons due to ethnicity-based violence between communities in Oromia and Somalia regional states.

Child marriage: Rooted in attempts to control girls sexuality, child marriage shows remarkable variation in incidence and patterning across locations. In South Gondar (Amhara), for example, child marriage is often still arranged by parents but is overall declining; in Zone 5 (Afar), there are limited signs of change with the majority of girls married before 18 years; while in East Hararghe (Oromia), girls in some locations are choosing child marriage in a context where there are few other options for adolescents (and adolescent girls in particular).

Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C): FGM/C is a deeply rooted cultural practice carried out on girls at very different ages in our research sites (ranging from early infancy to early adolescence). Our findings suggest that in Afar and Oromia, where historically the practice was more invasive, there appears to be a trend towards the less invasive sunna form rather than elimination of the practice.

Change strategies

In terms of programming and policy efforts, very little is currently being done to reduce corporal punishment within the home and within schools as well as peer violence, whereas there are some multi-layered efforts to address sexual and gender-based violence especially child marriage and, to a lesser extent, FGM/C. GAGE findings, however, highlight that tailored approaches are lacking to address harmful traditional practice in hotspot communities.

Policy and practice implications

Our mixed-methods research findings on the patterning of adolescent girls and boys perceptions and experiences relating to age- and gender-based violence, including harmful traditional practices, as well as current programming efforts to tackle such violence, point to a number of key policy and practice priorities as follows:

Engage with adolescents to address underlying social and gender norms that perpetuate violence: Directly tackle the social norms that leave boys at risk of age-based violence, including bullying, and girls at risk of sexual violence and harmful traditional practices, focusing on masculinities and beliefs about girls' sexuality (including those related to age at marriage and FGM/C) by expanding and strengthening attention to these topics into civics classes, youth centres, and other non-school-based platforms. Complement classroom-based approaches with the design and rollout of mass media and social media campaigns to tackle harmful social norms underpinning age- and gender-based violence, beginning with urban adolescents where mobile phone and internet connectivity is considerably higher.

Engage with parents and communities to raise awareness about adolescents vulnerability to multiple forms of violence and prevention and response pathways: Community conversations and messaging by health extension workers, traditional and religious leaders as well as Ethiopias new social worker cadre are needed to tackle corporal punishment in the home and at school, bullying and sexual and gender-based harassment and violence. Guidance for parents in the form of parenting classes, community conversations and media campaigns (in urban areas) could help parents of adolescents understand the risks their children face, become exposed to nonviolent parenting practices, and also how to report and follow up on cases of violence. It is critical that such community engagement efforts also highlight the risks of child marriage and FGM/C, especially the most damaging forms. Given considerable variation across and within regions in terms of the underlying drivers, perpetrator profiles, and age at which adolescents are most at risk of harmful traditional practices, care needs to be taken to tailor approaches and messaging to context specificities. This is important if the governments ambitious targets to eliminate child marriage and FGM/C by the mid-2020s are to be realised, especially given that our findings along with the broader literature suggest that social norm change processes are often complex and non-linear.

Work with schools to support non-violent classroom management techniques, backed up by anonymous reporting options for students and teacher discipline where needed. Parentteacherstudent association efforts to codify punishments should be reshaped to focus on the rationale for and practical guidance regarding positive discipline approaches.

Strengthen formal justice mechanisms by increasing awareness of and response mechanisms to age-, gender- and sexual-based violence as they affect both boys and girls within the police, prosecutors and judges, whilst simultaneously expanding the coverage, resourcing and mandate of local gender units to provide more specialist inputs. Reform efforts should engage with traditional justice mechanisms given their resonance at community level but be careful to avoid reinforcing discriminatory gender norms and local community cleavages, and to promote formal reporting and improved prosecution rates.

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Adolescent bodily integrity and freedom from violence in Ethiopia - Ethiopia - ReliefWeb

Raj Khosla

Borrowers who opted for the loan moratorium must be a worried lot as the RBI-mandated relief programme ends this month. The prospect of missing EMIs and reducing credit scores is giving them sleepless nights. Debt and stress are lifelong partners. Even in normal times, the burden of debt causes uneasiness, which takes the form of a mild discomfort for the financially comfortable to an overwhelming anxiety and fear among those with unstable finances. COVID-19 has added a new dimension by throwing pay cuts and job losses into the mix: quite debilitating!

The mixed use of debt

Debt can be both good and bad. Good debt should be embraced because it uses future income to create assets and helps build a credit history. Bad debt however, should be avoided, like the pandemic, because it steals from the future and misallocates precious resources to unproductive expenses. A high level of debt pushes an individual into long-term financial distress.

Good or bad, the best debt is one that is paid off comfortably and at the earliest. There are obvious benefits of foreclosing a loan. The longer it continues, the higher is the interest outgo. Investments build wealth for you; debt burdens you with interest.

ALSO READ:Loan moratorium: When interest compounding works against you

In the current situation, where stock markets are looking jittery and fixed income options are offering low returns, pre-paying outstanding loans seems like the best utilisation of funds. Bank deposits are relatively safer but the post-tax returns cant beat the savings from paying off outstanding loan. Keep in mind that a penny saved is a penny earned. For a loan at 8.5 per cent, every Rs 1 lakh you pre-pay saves Rs 8,500 in interest. If the interest rate is 12 per cent, for every Rs 50,000 prepaid, you stand to earn Rs 6,000 by saving on interest.

There are two broad strategies to get rid of outstanding debt: the avalanche technique and the snowball method. Both have the same underlying goal: achieve freedom from debt at the earliest. It is a great feeling that gives peace of mind to the individual. Let us examine the two methods in detail.

Triggering a debt avalanche

This method pays off debt by attacking the costliest loan first. Start by making a list of all your debts. Mention all the loans, including credit card outstanding, car, personal, education and home loans. Even loans from friends and relatives should be in the list.

Next, rank these loans on the basis of the interest rates they charge. Typically, credit card debt is the costliest loan, charging an annualised interest of 36-48 per cent. Paying off credit card outstanding should be everybodys top priority. Then comes other unsecured debt such as personal loans and travel loans, followed by car loans and loans for assets. At the bottom of the heap are tax-advantaged loans, such as education loans and home loans. These loans have a very low effective rate of interest due to the tax benefits the borrower gets on the interest paid. For instance, if an individual in the highest 30 per cent tax bracket takes a home loan at 8.5 per cent and claims deduction for the interest paid, the effective interest rate works out to less than 6 per cent.

Making a repayment snowball

The avalanche method gets rid of high-cost debt at the earliest. But while it makes eminent mathematical sense, the snowball method has a greater impact on the mindset of the borrower. The snowball method ranks the loans in the order of size and attacks the smallest loan first before moving on to the next debt.

This method may not be financially correct, but tends to click with a lot of borrowers. It is very heartening for the borrower to see a loan getting repaid in full. The sense of accomplishment tends to motivate her to save more. As the snowball gathers pace, all loans get paid off.

ALSO READ:Extension of COVID-19 loan moratorium - know the implications

However, there can be problems because some loans come with foreclosure penalties. Be mindful of the charges that you will be slapped with when you pay off a car loan or personal loan before the due date. Also, neither the avalanche nor the snowball will work if you dont stop piling up more debt. Theres no point in pre-paying a personal loan at 18 per cent when you have added more credit card debt that charges 36 per cent.

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Breaking the loan shackle: How to win freedom from debt - Moneycontrol.com

The discussions over removal of Confederate memorials in the United States have been some of the more prominent ones in our current cultural landscape. Gaining momentum from other recent social movements that are happening concurrently, from Black Lives Matter to #MeToo and beyond, the focus of these discussions now seems to have widened to include memorials and statues that go well further back than the American Civil War, and beyond the borders of this country.

Amy Murrell Taylor, the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, last appeared on "Behind the Blue" in September of 2017. On this newest episode, Taylor returns to discuss how this movement has progressed over the past three years, and how the university and Lexington are approaching these conversations. "I think Lexington has gotten past the most contentious part of the monument piece of all of this," says Taylor. "But monuments are just one piece of a much bigger struggle for racial justice."

Taylor also talks about her recent book, "Embattled Freedom: Journeys Through the Civil War's Slave Refugee Camps," and its themes of freedom not just coming to people despite the war and its resolution, but that it had to be sought after in the midst of it.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

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Behind The Blue: 'Embattled Freedom' And Confederate Memorials - Patch.com

Since the beginning of 2020, Albania has registered a total of nine threats against media freedom on the ECPMF Mapping Media Freedom Website.

This is a concerning number for a country of such a small size and is more than double the incidents from 2019. If you combine the number of threats over the last 12 months, rather than just the last eight months, the total rises to 13

The most recent incident was that of ReportTV journalist Elvis Hila who was obstructed and detained by police as he tried to report on the demolition of properties by the National Inspectorate of the Protection of Territory on a local beach. As he was filming one incident, the Chief of Lezhe police approached him and took the phone from his hands. He was then escorted to a police vehicle where he was kept for some moment while the footage he filmed was deleted. The police and the Ministry of the Interior have not provided any information on why he was detained.

Also recorded was the violent detention of Politiko editor Alfred Lela as he was reporting on the demolition of the National Theatre. Photos and video footage showed him being handcuffed and dragged as well as lying down on the pavement while in the custody of several officers. He claims he was assaulted by the police while in custody.

The recent attempt by the state to close down Ora News was also mentioned. In May, RTV Ora was informed it had to pay a fine by the National Health Inspectorate for supposedly violating COVID-19 measures. It then had additional fines levied against it before the Inspectorate said that the station must close. AMA then backtracked and said there was no decision to close the station.

Exit News also received a mention following a cyber attack it experienced in April of this year. The platform was hit by a targeted cyber-attack which took down the website for 24 hours and tried to delete all data from the websites database. Mapping Media Freedom noted that Exit is one of the few critical media in Albania and had recently published articles criticising the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Had the cyber attack been successful, Exit would have lost every article written in the last five years. Thankfully, the attack was stopped but was described as having a high level of sophistication by IT experts engaged by Exit.

Other incidents include harassment against Ora News journalist Sonila Meco, the detention of editor and journalist at FAX News, Bekim Bici, threats against Ora News journalist Elio Laze by employees of government-favourite contractor Salillari, and the voicemail left by Prime Minister Edi Rama advising citizens to protect themselves from the media.

Fjal kye: Albania, ECPMF, media freedom, press freedom

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Mapping Media Freedom: Big Increase in Threats Reported in Albania During 2020 - Exit - Explain Albania

The pilot, a volunteer himself with the Pilots and Paws Organization, along with a local rescue advocate with the Nueces County Animal Services made it all possible.

ROBSTOWN, Texas After a Kingsville family fell homeless during the pandemic they were forced to give up their two retrievers that had been in the family for eight years.

The dogs ended up at the Kingsville Animal Control, with limited time, officials say.

Thats when local animal advocate and volunteer rescue coordinator for Nueces County Animal Services, Lisa Bockholt, stepped in and set out on a mission to find a place for these two dogs to go.

I reached out to my rescue partners with the news, several wanted to help and then one came forward with a plan for the dogs, said Bockholt.

Bockholt then coordinated getting the two dogs, Bailey and Ginger, transported to a local veterinarian and put them on a plane to fly to their temporary foster home in Athens, Texas.

The pilot is a volunteer himself, with the Pilots and Paws Organization. Eventually, the two dogs will be then placed together in a permanent loving forever home by their rescue, Chicagoland Labs.

Rescue can be stressful at times but its times like this that make it all worth it, said Bockholt.

For more information on how you can help shelter dogs in our area contact South Texas Shelter Dogs at (410) 608-2195.

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Flight to Freedom: Pilot lands in Nueces County to pick up two abandoned dogs due to pandemic and flies them to their new foster home - KIIITV.com

Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregons director urges Oregonians to remain united against the White Houses harmful policies

Donald Trump has broken plenty of campaign promises, but this summer, we were reminded of one that he kept. He pledged to appoint justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade and he has been making good on that promise.

Trump has spent the past four years pushing policies that threaten our health, our rights and our lives. He and his right-wing allies are putting our lives at risk every single day they are in office,and Planned Parenthood PAC of Oregon is committed to doing everything we can to vote them out in November.

As the nation grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and stands up to state-sponsored violence against Black people, its clearer than ever the public wants engaged, competent leaders who will work to keep us safe and increase healthcare access not undermine it.

We know we can win this. Weve done it before, and we will do it again.

Just look at 2018, when our collective power brought in a sea change, radically shifting whos in office. We elected the first pro-reproductive health majority to the U.S. House of Representatives, and here in Oregon, we soundly defeated the anti-abortion Ballot Measure 106.

But, all of those achievements could be undermined by judges who will affect our rights for generations to come. Since 2016, the courts have often become the last and sometimes only line of defense against dangerous and unconstitutional attacks on basic rights. Yet Trump has remade the federal courts with judges hostile to the right to access sexual and reproductive health care. To date, he has appointed nearly 200 judges to the federal bench, with 20% of the federal judiciary appointed by his administration.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowly struck down an anti-abortion law in Louisiana that was identical to a Texas law that was ruled as unconstitutional four years earlier. The Louisiana law would have forced abortion providers to obtain local hospital admitting privileges, a medically unnecessary move meant to make abortion more difficult to access. Surprisingly, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the majority not because hes newly supportive of abortion rights, but because he felt bound by the Texas precedent.

While access is protected for now, more than a dozen other abortion lawsuits are one step away from the court. These cases include a dangerous Arkansas law that would ban medication abortion, as well as a deeply unethical policy by the Trump-Pence administrations Office of Refugee Resettlement that seeks to prevent young, undocumented women in government custody from accessing abortion.

And its not just abortion. All reproductive care is on the docket. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld Trump administration rules that allow employers and universities to push their religious or moral beliefs on employees and students by denying them access to insurance that covers birth control.

Birth control should not be controversial. Nearly nine in 10 women will use it in their lifetimes. It is essential, time-sensitive care that treats serious conditions and allows people to plan if and when they get pregnant.

IN OREGON:Reproductive rights prevail even as pandemic limits some services

This year marks not only the 100th anniversary of womens right to vote, but also the 60th anniversary of the FDAs approval of the first birth control pill. Since that historic moment, access to birth control has been responsible for one-third of womens wage gains relative to mens. The ability to get the pill before age 21 has been found to be the most influential factor enabling women already in college to stay there.

The Affordable Care Acts birth control benefit expanded contraceptive coverage with no out-of-pocket costs for more than 62 million women. Now, because of the Supreme Courts ruling, many of their health plans may no longer cover birth control based on the personal objections of bosses and universities.

On top of that, the Trump administration has dismantled Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. It has pushed ineffective abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. It has denied care to immigrants. It has gagged Title X health providers and forced Planned Parenthood health centers out of the federal program that provides affordable reproductive health care to people with low incomes.

OPINION:Adding a citizenship question to census an attack on immigrant health care

Opening the door to reduced health care access would have been a mistake in any environment. But as we struggle against the dual public health crises of COVID-19 and systemic racism, the dire implications of this decision are clearer than ever.

Our ability to control our own bodies and futures lie in jeopardy like never before. Fortunately, Oregonians have elected leaders and have passed landmark laws that will safeguard us from many of Trumps harmful policies. Thats why we must remain vigilant to continue holding politicians accountable for their records targeting our health, rights and safety.

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Opinion | With Trump appointing anti-abortion judges, the fight for reproductive freedom is critical - Street Roots News

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 10, 2020) The discussions over removal of Confederate memorials in the United States have been some of the more prominent ones in our current cultural landscape. Gaining momentum from other recent social movements that are happening concurrently, from Black Lives Matter to #MeToo and beyond, the focus of these discussions now seems to have widened to include memorials and statues that go well further back than the American Civil War, and beyond the borders of this country.

Amy Murrell Taylor, the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, last appeared on "Behind the Blue"in September of 2017. On this newest episode, Taylor returns to discuss how this movement has progressed over the past three years, and how the university and Lexington are approaching these conversations. I think Lexington has gotten past the most contentious part of the monument piece of all of this, says Taylor. But monuments are just one piece of a much bigger struggle for racial justice.

Taylor also talks about her recent book, Embattled Freedom: Journeys Through the Civil Wars Slave Refugee Camps,and its themes of freedom not just coming to people despite the war and its resolution, but that it had to be sought after in the midst of it.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of Behind the Blue each week. UKs latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue,"emailBehindTheBlue@uky.eduor tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue.

To discover whats wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, clickhere.

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'Behind the Blue': 'Embattled Freedom' and Confederate Memorials With Amy Murrell Taylor - UKNow

Conservative filmmaker Michael Pack is a true believer in Trumps version of a global war of ideas, as was made evident by a recent editorial penned by the Trump loyalist. That is likely why the Senate confirmed his appointment in June as head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), one of the largest news networks in the world. USAGM runs a number of state media and technology organizations, including Voice of America (VOA), Middle East Broadcasting, Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Office of Cuba Broadcasting (which oversees Radio Televisin Mart) and the Open Technology Fund (OTF), which promotes internet access around the world.

Pack is the former president of the conservative Claremont Institute think tank, and has worked on projects with former Trump political strategist and former executive chairman of the Breitbart News Network, Stephen Bannon. The appointment of Pack to this vast international media agency has stoked fears in journalists and activists that the Trump administration might use this confirmation to recast the federal agency, and the media networks it operates, into a consolidated right-wing mouthpiece for the president, amplifying the hate and chaos Trumps presidency has bred domestically onto a global stage already ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic and rife with economic and political uncertainty.

The concerns seem well founded. First, Packs aides ordered the broadcasters supervised by his agency to freeze all staff promotions, new hires and other contractual obligations. All decisions were to go through him as CEO. Within one week of taking over the running of the USAGMs vast global network, Pack removed the top chiefs of five of its news organizations, as well as the head of the OTF. The chief editors of Voice of America resigned in protest.

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Pack then dissolved the bipartisan boards that governed and advised media services and replaced board members with political appointees of the Trump administration. Toward the end of the Obama administration, a provision was enacted that replaces the former bipartisan board structure with an advisory board elected by the president. While the Obama administration saw the move as a way to make the agency more efficient, critics of the Trump administration worry that the restructuring gives the new chief executive more unilateral power than previous leaders.

Pack also announced the agency would not renew visas for some foreign agency employees in order to improve management and protect national security, according to a statement from USAGM. Many of the journalists affected by this policy bring critical language skills, and some could actually be endangered if deported.

Trumps increasingly authoritarian regime is tightening its grip on the publicly funded media agency. This slash-and-burn technique has been a tried-and-true element of Trumps political arsenal. Attacks on the press and wholesale restructuring of regulatory and safety net agencies are part of a broader effort to isolate the United States on the international stage, and breed a level and type of confusion that forces a power vacuum which centralizes authority over U.S. institutions into the hands of the executive branch. These strategies mirror the vision of Packs ally and friend, Steve Bannon.

Craig Aaron, co-CEO at the national media rights organization Free Press, says that Packs appointment is a danger to U.S. democracy and democracy around the world. His short time as head of the agency has been even worse than advertised and he was advertised as a Steve Bannon crony unfit for the job, Aaron said in a statement. In a matter of weeks, he has abused the power of the position and is quickly undoing any reputation the agency had for independence and impartiality, seemingly pursuing political vendettas, knocking down firewalls, and sacking the experienced journalists and technologists doing important and independent work.

While the strategy may be domestic, the impact on digital rights and freedom will definitely be felt around the world. When Pack fired the entire OTF leadership, he froze more than $10 million already pledged to internet freedom projects this year. OTF has become integral infrastructure for politically repressed communities worldwide. More than 2 billion people in 60 countries rely on OTF-supported tools like Signal and Tor to connect securely with privacy to the internet. Two-thirds of mobile devices around the world use some piece of OTF-supported technology. By bringing the organization to a standstill, Pack has placed people living under authoritarian regimes who rely on the organization to evade surveillance, navigate censorship and protect their human rights at risk.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and 17 leading U.S.-based internet freedom organizations filed an amicus brief which successfully urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to rule that Pack violated the First Amendment right of association and assembly in U.S. law when he replaced OTFs president and bipartisan board with political appointees. The U.S. appellate court in Washington temporarily blocked the new USAGM chief executive from installing his appointees.

Perhaps the biggest concern for activists is that the USAGM could become a megaphone for President Trumps authoritarian white supremacy and nationalism. If you are among those that fear these media outlets could be used to stoke the rise of anti-globalist white nationalism through deliberate propaganda at an international scale, youre not alone.

But, while the threat posed by Packs appointment is real and urgent, this isnt the first time the USAGM has been positioned to promote U.S. propaganda. Some critics, like Max Elbaum, a radical historian and author of Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che, say the agency was founded with an empire-building agenda, and was never truly independent in the first place.

The purpose of VOA has always been to be propaganda for whatever Americas interests were at the time, oscillating between crude and more sophisticated propaganda, Elbaum told Truthout. This is simply another oscillation, a dangerous one, but one with real precedent.

This sentiment is borne out when you examine the agencys history. The USAGM, formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors, describes itself as an independent agency of the United States government with a mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. But, the Broadcasting Board of Governors only became an independent agency in 1999. Prior to that, it was called the United States Information Agency (USIA), established by President Eisenhower in 1953 to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest. Influence has always been integral to the mission of the USAGM, which has its roots not in journalism but in public relations and propaganda.

VOAs pro-American radio broadcasts were launched as part of the World War II war effort in 1942, with a more official U.S. propaganda program launched in 1946. These forms of soft-power diplomacy grew to include multifaceted messaging campaigns using radio broadcasts, libraries sponsored by the United States Information Service (the overseas name of the USIA), and the publication and distribution of leaflets and other literature in reaction to the global spread of communism.

Then, in 1952, Eisenhower convened a Committee on International Information Activities, which focused on Cold War propaganda efforts that targeted foreign populations with psychological warfare to achieve strategic influence. Under Eisenhower, all information activities were transferred from the State Department to the independent USIA in 1953. As the agency gained some measure of independence from the U.S. government, it also gained a mix of state actors and staff journalists committed to freedom of the press.

Though the USIA was still a neoliberal and anti-communist agency, many staff journalists did attempt to provide unbiased and fair reporting. These attempts often met with pushback: In early 1953, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the godfather of the investigations that hunted communists and other dissidents, joined the Senate Committee on Government Operations and its Permanent Sub-Committee on Investigation, and immediately turned the committees attention to the Voice of America broadcast network, claiming it was rife with communists, sexual deviants and hippies.

Today, USAGM outlets remain a mix of journalists and state actors. Indeed, in nations with broken or highly censored news media that have been undermined by authoritarian governments or political instability (at times caused by U.S. intervention), these outlets can be as close to a free press as many residents can get.

Meanwhile, right-wing elements, including the current president of the United States, continue to attack the USAGM.

Whether you believe these U.S.-backed media outlets are trusted and authoritative independent global news sources soft-pedaling democratic values for the good of all, or that they are part of our national security infrastructure delivering overt propaganda, the fact is the U.S. has been in the worldwide propaganda business for more than 80 years. It might be time to reassess that strategy.

The U.S. narrative has developed in a centuries-old dance between independence, isolationism and imperialism. Rather than simply choosing to remain a mythical media institution that promotes an imaginary democracy that never truly existed, this political moment of global uprising gives Congress, the courts and civil society activists the opportunity to reinvent the agency beyond the authoritarian imaginings of Trump, Bannon and Pack. While the USAGM cannot run from its history, it can run toward a future that acknowledges the past and fulfills its mandate as powers watchdog, not its lapdog.

As an agency with its roots in producing propaganda, its crucial that the U.S. Agency for Global Media demonstrates transparency and independence, Aaron said. Pack has trashed that and unless Congress or the courts step in it will only get worse.

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Trump's Threat to Press Freedom Is Global - Truthout

(Yasmin Elqutami The Student Life)

For a while, I was trying to figure out what exactly is giving Americans the impression that wearing a mask should be a choice, that banning assault weapons would be an egregious violation of the Constitution and that the police are keeping us safe even when Black, Indigenous and other people of color are subject to unimaginable violence. I was struggling to understand what was driving our nation to have such horrendously privileged and harmful mindsets.

I recently listened to Know Your Rights by The Clash. The song begins, epically, This is a public service announcement, with guitar, know your rights, all three of them, mocking the yet-delivered life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness our government has claimed to pledge to us since 1776.

The first verse begins, You have the right not to be killed, murder is a crime, unless it was done by a policeman or an aristocrat. That checks out. The third right is my favorite: You have the right to free speech, as long as youre not dumb enough to actually try it. The song ominously ends with Get off the streets, run, get off the streets.

Its clear that Americas Achilles heel is our false notion of freedom. Composed by wealthy, white, cis men, freedom has never really existed in America. In fact, the freedom that wealthy, white, cis men have so graciously promised us has completely prevented our country from having true rights, equality and safety.

In the 244 years of our countrys existence, the notion of freedom has become more warped and toxic with each new year. There is a complex duality between rights and freedom in our country that has created an absolute mess of things.

Im going to try to put this as clearly as The Clash you do not have the right to infect other people with a deadly virus. In addition, you do not have the right to accuse the government of trying to control your body, with a mask, while actively trying to control womxns and trans bodies, or remaining complacent in racist systems.

Your freedom only exists until it gets in the way of someone elses freedom. If your freedom is limiting someone elses ability to pursue life, liberty and happiness, you are not exercising freedom, you are exercising supremacy.

Our country is bleeding and crying from every sector and it is because we have somehow managed to rob the majority of our citizens of their basic human rights, while also giving a handful of malicious citizens the impression they can do whatever they want, no matter the impact on others.

Long standing social inequities and systemic racism within our nations health care system have put minorities at a severely greater risk of contracting and dying from COVID-19. Black, Latinx and Native American communities across the U.S. are now suffering in-part because of white Americans racist, supremacist attitude towards wearing masks.

When there is a horribly painful and deadly virus sweeping the globe that disproportionately affects minorities, and you choose not to wear a mask because it feels like a violation of your freedom, your behaviors are racist.

If you dont wear a mask and thus infect others with COVID-19, their illness is a result of your moral failing. That is a direct violation of everyone elses life, liberty and happiness. Your sense of freedom has put on a hood and become supremacy.

If you dont want your body to be controlled, and yet insist that womxns and trans bodies be controlled, your freedom has put on a hood and become supremacy.

In direct contrast to this nightmarish, tarnished freedom being viciously upheld, none of the real rights we deserve as humans are being provided. This duality is what is making the U.S. an unbearable place to try to survive.

In the U.S. we have mostly negative rights. Negative rights do not require action by the government or private citizens to be upheld. We are supposedly allowed to say whatever we want, believe in whatever religion we want and organize when we want, without enlisting the work of others. The government is happy to champion negative rights because they dont cost that much.

Because negative rights require (in theory) less work and are (in theory) easier to maintain, they have become the backbone of our country. But what about positive rights?

Everyone supposedly has the right to a lawyer when they are arrested, and everyone should have food, shelter, security and health care provided to them based on their positive rights. But because positive rights demand more work, more empathy and support, theyve been completely abandoned.

Our country has weak, racist, homophobic and sexist social services. We have not found a way to defund the police because, for 244 years, we have focused solely on negative rights. If our nation demanded that positive rights be delivered upon as much as negative rights, defunding the police would have already happened. An emphasis on positive rights in our country, from the beginning, would have provided funding to social services and forced a proportionate distribution of funds between agencies like the police and mental health rehabilitation based on what the people of America need.

Lack of balance between positive and negative rights is a large contributor to the lack of equality in our country. The overwhelming presence of negative rights only help rich, white, cis men who rule the country. An increase in positive rights would help the people in our country being suppressed gain equality.

Emphasis on negative rights is a major reason why we are one of the only developed nations without a universal health care system. Without positive rights, it makes sense that police, the very people charged with protecting us, are killing Black people at up to six times the rate of white people.

There isnt equal representation in our voting process, and mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex have taken over the economy. Our education system has one of the lowest funding rates (6.2 percent), compared to overall GDP in the world.

The government is actively dismantling regulations that protect transgender people against health care discrimination, despite 44 percent of transgender people reporting that transgender-inclusive health care is their most significant need. We have the second highest CO2 emissions rate in the world. Clearly, in terms of basic human rights, which are frequently classified as positive rights, we are utterly failing.

We need to completely rethink freedom as a nation and how we can create a society where everyone can truly access life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom will never exist until everyone is assured basic human rights, both negative and positive. Until our country understands more elementary concepts such as empathy, compassion and generosity, there is no freedom.

Georgia Scott PZ 23 is from San Anselmo, California. Her sister Isabella Scott just got a piece of work selected to be shown in the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Learn more through her Instagram @isabellasartofficial.

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OPINION: What freedom means to the United States - The Student Life

A California woman claiming to be from a group called the Freedom to Breathe Agency was seen in a viral video warning a grocery store employee in Orange County that she could face legal consequences after reportedly being told masks were required in the store.

The worker and store supervisor, Liz Chavez, told BuzzFeed News the confrontation occurred shortly after she approached the woman, who was seen along with another woman in the video donning FTBA badges and hats, about the businesss mask policy on Thursday.

"I went up to them like, 'Hey, in order to be inside the store youre required to wear a mask.' They told me, 'No, were not required to wear a mask,'" Chavez recalled to the outlet.

In footage of the moment that has racked upmillions of viewson TikTok and Twitter, the women could be seen initially handing Chavez papers and informing her of their group, which they claimed to be a "We the People" organization.

These people are attempting to intimidate essential workers by pretending to work for a bogus federal agency. pic.twitter.com/fah5T2YGi6

"So, we are with FTBA, the Freedom to Breathe Agency. We are a 'We the People' organization making sure that peoples constitutional rights, civil and federal laws are not broken," one woman, identified by BuzzFeed News as Lenka Koloma, the founder of the group, tells Chavez in the clip.

And so you personally need to take this to your manager because you personally can be sued for this OK?she continues while pointing atpiece ofpaper she handed to Chavez.

"Im just following my store policy," Chavez starts to saybefore the woman interjects, holding up her hand, saying, "I am telling you. You are probably paid $15 an hour or $12 an hour, OK?"

OK, Chavez responds.

But you are putting yourself into major legal liability, you personally, Koloma continues.

Chavez told BuzzFeed News the paper Koloma handed her was basically telling me I could go to prison for up to 3 to 5 years and I could get fined up to 10,000 dollars for telling them to wear a mask if Im not a doctor.

She added that she thinks the women werent there to shop and were probably just waiting for somebody to come up to them and ask them to wear a mask so they could do this.

The moment comes more than a month after the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a warning about fraudulent face mask exempt cards online thatfeaturedthe agencys seal along witha symbol for the FTBA.

The card stated, I am exempt from any ordinance requiring face mask usage in public. Wearing a face posses a mental and/or physical risk to me. Under the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), I am not required to disclose my condition to you.

The card appeared to be referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

At the time, the department warned that such postings, cards, and flyers were not issued by the Department of Justice and are not endorsed by the Department.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin also cautioned the public in a statement then not to be fooled by the chicanery and misappropriation of the DOJ eagle, saying, These cards do not carry the force of law. The Freedom to Breathe Agency, or FTBA, is not a government agency.

In interview with BuzzFeed News, Koloma called the Freedom to Breathe Agency a legitimate organization and said theres nothing illegal or fraudulent.

She also claimed she and the woman she was seen with in the store dont wear masks, despite California issuing a statewide mask mandate in Juneto curb the spread of COVID-19, because both of them have medical, health conditions and also religious beliefs that do not allow us to wear a mask. She reportedly would not divulge further details about her condition to BuzzFeed News.

Chavez said she doesnt know why wearing a mask is such a big deal for some customers.

"They just give us all sorts of excuses for why they shouldnt wear one. ... We have to wear them for out entire shift, they only have to wear them for the 10, 20 minutes theyre in the store, she said.

I just want to say people really need to be nice to these grocery workers, we work our butts off during this pandemic. Just give us a little break, its just our store policies, were following the rules. We dont need to be attacked every day, she added to the outlet.

See more here:

Woman claiming to be from 'Freedom to Breathe Agency' gets into viral exchange with store employee over mask policy | TheHill - The Hill

The University of New South Wales has been criticised for issuing a letter in Chinese that differs from a letter in English explaining its deletion of a tweet that was critical of Chinas human rights abuses.

On Wednesday, the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof Ian Jacobs, apologised for the universitys deletion of a tweet that quoted Elaine Pearson, the Australian director of Human Rights Watch and an adjunct academic at the university.

Jacobs wrote that the university had an unequivocal commitment to freedom of expression and academic freedom and the tweet should not have been removed.

But an earlier letter, written in Chinese, released on Monday and signed by Laurie Pearcey, the executive officer of UNSW Global, contained no apology for deleting the tweet, and no mention of freedom of speech or academic freedom.

Last Friday, the university published an online news story in which Pearson said the international community should put pressure on China to wind back infringements on human rights and the United Nations should establish a special envoy to monitor the decline of human rights in Hong Kong.

After protests from Chinese students, a tweet from the universitys official account that linked to the news article was deleted.

In an email to staff on Wednesday, Jacobs wrote that the deletion was a mistake, but said it had been removed because the social media post appeared to represent a UNSW view, rather than the view of an individual.

The tweet should not have been removed, he wrote. I apologise for this mistake There is no excuse for our failure in this instance but an explanation is warranted.

In order to protect our role as a place where all views can be expressed, UNSW as an institution does not take a position on political issues. On this occasion the tweet was removed as it appeared to represent a UNSW view, rather than the view of an individual.

At UNSW, we will continue to acknowledge and learn from our mistakes, he wrote. Members of our community can be assured that their right to freedom of expression is no different at UNSW to anywhere else in Australia.

However, the letter from Pearcey was shorter and made no mention of freedom of speech, academic freedom or an admission that the tweet should not have been removed.

The article expressed the views of a part-time lecturer and was forwarded to the schools official social media platform, Pearcey wrote, according to a translation by the Guardian. Therefore the tweet was mistaken as representing the views of the University of New South Wales.

UNSW does not take any political stance, so any political views expressed by its staff or relevant personnel of the school cannot represent the position of the school. Because its content was misleading, the tweet has been deleted by the school.

We are deeply disturbed by the trouble this incident has caused to you. Thank you for your understanding.

Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao wrote that the letter from Pearcey in Chinese was totally opposite to Jacobss letter in English.

UNSW has been contacted for comment.

Additional reporting by Pei Lin Wu

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UNSW criticised for letter in Chinese with no mention of freedom of speech - The Guardian

There has been too much talk in recent weeks about naming names and shaming offenders who break the laws about health and safety, imposed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite starting well and the public adhering to personal safety rules, complacency seems to have kicked-in, especially after the infection numbers dropped to single-digit levels and were near zero for a while.

With the resurgence of fake news and online doctors arguing the merits of wearing a facial mask, this became part of a greater conspiracy with the state hell-bent on watching our every move, even chipping us to monitor what we say and do.

Members of the public are embarrassed to keep their mask on, many sitting in crowded cafs, breathing into each others face.

Waiters have their mask hanging off their chin, very often without gloves and a thumb protruding on the plate that is about to be served.

There is a 300 fine imposed on individuals who do not respect these rules, with businesses facing a heftier penalty 10 times that amount, and the law implemented not too often.

Why, then, if national health is also a matter of national security, can we not name and shame those arrogant few who think that by bending the rules, nothing will happen?

It makes one wonder what logic lies behind the decision of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry to issue a warning to the media calling for the naming of COVID-infected establishments to be avoided.

Is KEVE the new media czar that wants to curb freedom of the press while incapable of doing anything that will upset the hundreds of naysayers and health risk deniers on social media?

A similar unfortunate statement came from the Justice Ministry, that has appeared weak in taking a firm decision on how to deal with the irresponsible woman who is known to have infected at least two dozen people with the coronavirus, knowing she was positive, yet going ahead with organising parties for large crowds, creating a chain and cluster.

The ministry said it was waiting for a report from the health services to decide if there is a case to be prosecuted, in other words, passing the buck for political blame onto others.

In the public eye, the ministry has dragged its feet and failed to calm concerns that well-do individuals with financial or political clout can get away with anything, even the criminal act of knowingly infecting others with a deadly virus.

Instead, it could have acted promptly from the moment that the case became known, and at least seem to be harsh in its use of words.

There is a fine line between freedom of speech, freedom of expression and press freedoms, and these freedoms could go both ways.

If someone neglects to deal with issues related to national health, therefore national security, then it is up to the media to raise these issues, sometimes even helping the authorities by revealing some truths.

By letting this woman get away with it, while jailing a young man for violating the first day of lockdown curfew to see his fiance, simply fuels the argument that it is who you know in Cyprus that is important, and not what you do or say.

Excerpt from:

COVID19: Is there freedom in silence? - Financial Mirror

A quote from Heather Mac Donald, Capital is accumulated effort and innovation, the sum of human achievement and imagination. Its creationist the aim of civilization. But civilization is everywhere and at all times vulnerable to the darkest human impulses. Government exists to rein in those impulses so that the individual initiative can flourish. Americas founders understood the fragility of civil peace and the danger of the lustful, vengeful mob. (Reprinted by permission from Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College. May/June 2020)

The darkest human impulses are in need of the rule of law combined with a fair hearing and a determination of justice. Countries where this does not exist are places of anarchy, or places of dictatorship. Those seem to be two extremes. For an individual to flourish there needs to be freedom to pursue desires and dreams within boundaries of the rule of law. Without boundaries of decency and respect for the rights of one another and respect for people and the law no one will be free to be creative and develop individual initiative.

There are many countries that have a thumb on freedom. Some for religious reasons, some for political reasons, some for selfish reasons, and some for a variety of other reasons. When freedom to be a creative individual is held up as a good thing, usually people will surprise us with their creativity innovate, build and pursue a goal. In developing nations (we used to call them third world countries) infrastructure and economic systems are very primitive or nonexistent. Yet, when people are given freedom within the boundaries of laws that respect others and the property of others, they are amazingly entrepreneurial in working toward a better world for all.

The atmosphere or environment for society as a whole to be civil and for individuals to thrive is one that must include laws and moral boundaries that protect people and property and yet leave room for freedom and liberty. As Heather Mac Donald talks about the darkest human impulses, I am reminded of why we need laws and law enforcement.

Murder, stealing, rape, vandalism, disrespect of differing beliefs, of country, of other human beings, of private property, of the list could be long. Without confronting and reforming or removing from society those who would harm others, destroy private property and break laws, a society will be crippled and anarchy or authoritarianism (dictators) will reign to the detriment of freedom, liberty and justice for all.

In the United States we believe that all people are created equal. How true, it reflects what the Bible says about how we people are not inferior to one another or superior to one another. We also believe that all people are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

These truths must be protected from the darkest human impulses with laws and law enforcement and justice for all.

The environment in a nation determines if people will have the opportunity to flourish. Injustices need to be addressed and corrected within the boundaries of a due process of justice, respect for all people as equals, respect for private property and respect for all.

The ebb and flow of this process is what will make a nation great. Without it, a free and just society cannot exist.

Dallas Kurt Smith is a pastor (semi-retired) in Aitkin and Baxter.

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Freedom and justice for ALL | Other Opinions - Aitkin Independent Age

Imen Siar performed on this years season of Britains Got Talent, taking the next big step in what she hopes will be a lifelong singing career. The 21-year-old singer spoke on how she hopes the platform will help her prove her talent to her dad.

This years season of Britains Got Talent brought out the best of our emotions, with countless stories that touched our hearts. One contestant that we fell in love with from the minute she began to sing was 21-year-old singer, Imen Siar.

Siar spoke on her passion to inspire girls within the Muslim community as well as, as many young girls as possible headscarf or no head scarf. The singer also spoke on keeping her hidden talent a secret from her deeply religious father, in case hed disapprove.

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Thankfully, Imen stunned the judges with her rendition of Alessia Caras Scars To Your Beautiful on the show and in particular, Simon Cowell.

Dad thought I was at work but I couldnt lie. As soon as the audition was over, I called to explain. Thankfully, he was happy and said he trusted me to make the right decisions. He cant wait to see me on the show, Imen said according to The Mirror, after her performance on the show.

RELATED: 77-YEAR-OLD ROCKSTAR DRUMMER LEAVES SIMON COWELL SPEECHLESS ON BRITAINS GOT TALENT

Fans took to Twitter quickly after her audition aired, flooding the platform with heartfelt messages.

Wow she sung that so beautifully, I love that song so much, wrote one user.

Imen Siar is such an amazing singer, so soft and smooth but powerful. I want to download her song on Spotify as it inspires me 4 yeses made me so happy! tweeted another.

RELATED: SIMON COWELL DOUBTS INDIAN BOLLYWOOD DANCERS BUT WATCH THEM SHUT HIM UP

Whilst were not certain who will be taking to the stage at the semi-finals later this year on the show, Siar has a good chance of performing once again for that all-important winners title.

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Girl Hides Audition From Dad, Finds Her 'Freedom In Singing' Watch What Happens Next - Talent Recap

NEW YORK, Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Until Freedom, a racial justice organization co-founded by leading activists Tamika Mallory, Linda Sarsour, hip-hop artist Mysonne Linen and civil rights attorney Angelo Pinto, today criticized the California District Attorneys Association's request for the NFL to pull its Stephon Clark PSA.

The league's Inspire Change platform initially released the educational PSA in late-July that shed light the 2018 murder of Sacramento's Stephon Clark in his grandmother's backyard. However, citing a "misrepresentation of facts," the California District Attorneys Association made the request on Aug. 4 to axe the Inspire Change public service announcement immediately.

Until Freedom is now pushing back on the CDAA's insensitive request.

"The CDAA has one set of facts, but our facts are clear Stephon Clark was unarmed, he was innocent and he was murdered in his grandmother's yard," said Mallory. "It's incredibly problematic and concerning for top law enforcers and officials to tell the NFL, Stephon's family and his community that police have the right to kill you for simply being suspected of a crime. The CDAA's statement is a perfect example of the huge conflict of interest when prosecuting cops and it lacks self-awareness. It is not the role of police officers to be the judge, jury and executioner."

Contact: Linda Sarsour: [emailprotected]

SOURCE Until Freedom

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Tamika Mallory Of Until Freedom Criticizes The California District Attorneys Association's Request For The NFL To Pull Stephon Clark PSA - PRNewswire

Few things bother Americans more than infringements on their Freedom.Freedom is the God-given right of Americans: go spend a day at the beach, go shopping, go to the movie theater, go to work, or go visit ones family.But all these have changed with the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

First, people are told that they have to stay at home or Shelter-in-Place. Then they are told that they have to wear masks.Shelter-in-Place means you are not allowed to leave the house and do those things that you are supposed to be free to do.This restriction absolutely infringes upon your freedom of movement and freedom of assembly.

Masking is even more personal you have to wear this cloth or filter material that covers half your face.Its definitely uncomfortable.This makes it much harder to breathe, especially in hot weather, when walking or exercising.Some argue that you would breathe in the bad carbon dioxide that you exhale, which is unhealthy.If you wear glasses, it fogs up the lens in seconds.In addition, masks are getting expensive, as the prices have risen and most stores have a hard time stocking enough of them.And on top of that, how could a democratic government tell Americans what to wear?What kind of country has this become?

President Trump has called COVID many names its from China, its just a flu, its a hoax by liberals or Democrats to help Biden.For months, he has steadfastly refused to wear a mask.So why did he finally put on a mask himself when visiting the Walter Reed Hospital?

The truth of the matter is that the COVID virus is very different and extremely contagious: it can be transmitted by people carrying the virus without any symptoms.It is airborne, meaning that it can transmit invisibly in midair.Weve all heard of washing our hands for 30 seconds, or maintaining 6-feet social distancing.But it turns out the most important thing everyone can do to stop the transmission of this dangerous and often deadly virus is wearing a mask.

In places like Hong Kong, where the population density is very high with 7.5 million people living in skyscrapers similar to the ones in Manhattan most people use public transportation daily, and social distancing basically is difficult.Many people probably do wash their hands, but certainly not everyone.And yet, since February, there have been only 6 confirmed deaths linked to COVID in Hong Kong.That literally is less than one in a million.Compare this to the latest hot spots far less dense or populous in America: Hot Springs, Arkansass rate is over 21,500 deaths per million; while many small Texas towns such as Scurry, Crockett, Anderson, and Val Verde have an equivalent rate of over 15,000 deaths per million.

How is that possible?

The biggest difference is that 99% of Hong Kong residents wear masks.They wear masks outdoors, while riding buses and subway trains, and they wear masks indoors, at malls and at work.Aside from themask-wearing, life has actually been quite normal in Hong Kong throughout this time without the government ordering Shelter-in-Place.

Goldman Sachs recently released a study showing that mandatory mask-wearing by every American can save the United States GDP by 5%, because if everyone wears a mask, less Shelter-in-Place restrictions would be necessary, allowing the American economy to be reopened.1Meanwhile, another fascinating story has emerged: at a Missouri hair salon, where two stylists, unbeknownst to themselves, contracted the COVID virus, neither their coworkers nor their 139 clients were infected, simply because everyone was wearing masks despite their close proximity.2

Based on what we have learned in the last few months, not wearing masks is not about freedom; its really inconsiderate, reckless, and deadly.Wearing masks is the fastest path to reopening our economy and bringing our freedoms back. While different politicians are still dithering over whether or not to mandate mask-wearing, its time to put factually-based statistics and science above politics.

Just wear masks and let us get back to our daily freedoms.

1 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wearing-a-mask-to-halt-the-spread-of-coronavirus-has-a-big-impact-on-us-economic-growthand-goldman-has-done-the-math-2020-06-30

2 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wearing-a-mask-to-halt-the-spread-of-coronavirus-has-a-big-impact-on-us-economic-growthand-goldman-has-done-the-math-2020-06-30

Otto Lee

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Masks to freedom: Wearing masks will bring back freedom - The Milpitas Beat

I overheard them as they left the store: Requiring a mask is an attack on my freedom. It was fairly early in the pandemic, and it was my first curbside pick-up at the lumberyard. They walked by my car as I negotiated this new way of shopping. I was wearing a mask.

Immediately, I thought of my partner. For nearly 20 years, she was the faculty adviser for a campus Amnesty International student group. Amnesty International (AI) is the human rights organization supporting prisoners of conscience: people imprisoned for exercising their fundamental human rights.

There are many ways to think about freedom, but an international human rights perspective grounds your thoughts in the realities of freedoms denied. Members of Amnesty engage in the rituals of human rights work with the humblest of weapons: pen, paper, and emails.

Over many decades, with many friends, we have written thousands of letters and emails to different governments requesting respect for basic human rights. So many people in so many nations are denied fundamental freedoms and access to justice.

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The Pledge of Allegiance has had its controversies in recent years, but freedom and justice for all is an important phrase to repeat to yourself. It should be the worlds mantra. But it is challenging to mix freedom and justice in a way that works for all citizens. That is a dilemma for democracy too much freedom eats away at justice, and too much justice eats away at freedom.

When Europe was divided by a wall, we saw incredible levels of freedom on one side of the wall and an eerie sense of justice on the other. It has not been easy for Europe since that wall came down, and there are now worrisome trends from England to Poland.

Democratic processes that endure are hard to create and maintain. Making them work requires constant work and involvement. Democracies do not tolerate idleness or short attention spans. The hard work of successfully blending freedom and justice greets a democracy every morning. That is why history provides so few examples. Historically, some of the cultures that developed and celebrated democratic principles were slave-based economies. Think Thomas Jefferson.

It appears this century provides a new context for exploring these problematic issues. What does it mean to be free? How do we pursue just resolutions in a messy world? What is democracy in the 21st century?

Democratic processes are dependent upon this elusive blend of freedom and justice. When democratic processes emerge, they fumble and swing from one extreme to another freedom impinging on justice, justice impinging on freedom. In a sense, every democracy carries the seeds of an ongoing civil war.

Separating a democracy into two camps is a formula for disaster. Imagine, for a moment, that you are making a quick, simple salad dressing. You pour a good measure of vinegar into a jar. Then you add a slightly larger amount of oil. Left alone, they separate into two distinct layers. To become a successful dressing for your salad, you must put a lid on the jar and shake vigorously to blend the two.

Democracy is the vigorous shaking that prevents these two principles from separating and following their separate paths. Democracy is the daily process of blending freedom and justice within our lives and the lives of those we encounter.

Put differently: Democracy is the constant work of keeping freedom and justice on the same path.

That is why my partner and I brought together interested students to discuss human rights issues for nearly 20 years. We were shaking the jar.

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For many young people, the simple fact that democratic processes are dependent upon such an elusive blend and balance of values and responsibilities is a revelation. Consumer societies tend to create people who sit and watch rather than people who stand and do. Consumerism creates a world of simple, well-defined transactions rather than a world of listening and then formulating well-reasoned responses and ongoing interactions.

Democracy is hard work.

But there is a necessary third ingredient. Everyone who makes salad dressing from scratch knows our vinegar and oil mix needs one more component. After pouring together the vinegar and oil, add a small amount of water. Then vigorously shake the jar. That little bit of water helps the vinegar and oil blend while slightly muting the vinegar.

Keith Luebke

Compassion is at the heart of Eastern religions and philosophies. As the rift between East and West widens, a conversation about the role compassion plays in creating the sort of democracies we envision might be useful: consider the Easts thoughts about compassion and the Wests focus on balancing freedom and justice. Then consider how often we fail to live up to our aspirations East and West.

The world is in desperate need of conversations that rise above those that came before. Every past conversation matters, but we need new ones.

Rather than getting angry with the people who wont wear masks, maybe we should talk to them. Try to engage with them, not necessarily about not wearing a mask. Ask them if they are stressed or angry. Find the source of their unwillingness to wear a mask. Put yourself in their shoes. Demonstrate compassion. Then ask them to please wear a mask.

Scolding will get us nowhere.

Their souls are simply leaning too far into a perception of freedom inconsistent with our perceptions of justice and community. Be gentle. At some point, they may need to remind some of us that we are leaning too far towards justice. Remember this delicate balancing act and remember the frailty inherent to democratic processes.

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If we start a conversation, there might be an opportunity to remind our mask-less friends of those who need and deserve fundamental freedoms. Those unjustly imprisoned, confined, and tortured should never be left to fend for themselves. Carry them into your thoughts, actions, and discussions. Their lives remind us that people can be picked up, thrown into a dark van, and tossed into a cell for no reason. Could that ever happen in your community?

The basis of our efforts should always start from this point: the never-ending struggle of communities to blend freedom and justice with a dash of compassion.

Keep shaking things up. Mix these vital conversations and thoughts into your daily life.

But in the short term: Please wear a mask, and converse with your fellow citizens while 6 feet apart.

KeithLuebkerecently retired from teaching nonprofit leadership courses and has several decades of experience directing nonprofit organizations.

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The never-ending struggle: blending freedom and justice, with a dash of compassion - MinnPost

August 06, 2020: SOAP #3899: Habakkuk 1-3; John 8 Scripture: John (NIV) 8:33 They answered him, We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? 34 Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now []

August 06, 2020: SOAP #3899: Habakkuk 1-3; John 8

Scripture: John (NIV) 8:33 They answered him, We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? 34 Jesus replied, I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if THE SON sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Observation: Sin is a severe task master. It draws a person into its web and turns them into a slave. And they sin again, and again, and again.

Oh, but the verses above tells us that there is a weakness. The slave has no permanent place in the family!!! That means there is a way for a slave to be broken away. Sin is powerful, but not all powerful! Being a slave does not have to be permanent! There is freedom in THE SON!!!

Application: There is not only freedom in THE SON, there is sustaining freedom.If anyone who sins is a slave, then a son is free from the slavery of sin. If the son has a permanent place in the family, then THE SON has the power to keep this son from sinning. I must walk with Him and talk with Him every day and all day long. His thoughts into my mind are not interruptions; they are welcomed input!

Prayer: Holy Spirit, Jesus has set me free from sin. Your presence helps me to daily live free from sin. Especially when I receive the communion elements, and at many other times, remind me of the terrible price Jesus paid for my freedom. May I hate sin for what it did to the Father. May I hate sin for what it did to Jesus. May I hate sin for what it does to your churchand to me. Amen

Pastor LeonMaking friends for time and eternity!

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Freedom in THE SON! - Blogs - The Hutchinson News