One day – Vanguard

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The world says: You have needs satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Dont hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more. This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder. Fyodor Dostoyevsky

By Denrele Animasaun

We often take our citizenship for granted, we automatically assume the privilege of being a Nigerian is ours for the taking and that we can jolly well use it, discard it at will, when we choose or when it pleases us. We should know that with these privileges, come responsibilities. And we should take our responsibilities seriously if we value the privilege of truly being a Nigerian. We should do more and throw away these assumed feelings of entitlement. We feel that we are owed this for being who we are. Actually, we are not. If everyone feels this way, then who are we expecting to deliver these entitlements and privileges? So in the meantime, we are squandering our birth-right and not fully recognising that we are custodians and that we have to hand over this responsibly to the next generations like those before us did. History will tell if we did our duties as custodians.

When I was growing up, the values and responsibilities of being a Nigerian was very much instilled in us; we strive to be a good person, we guarded our family names so proprietorially and, with pride, we are told that with hard work and pride in what we do, we will make it in life. We were told by our elders and those in authorities that it was important to truly be responsible and neighbourly; that it was important to truly give back and we did for the general good and not for ourselves and the privileged few. We did coin the adage that: it takes a village to raise a child didnt we? So when and what are you doing to help raise decent Nigerians?

There was a time we were compassionate to one another and it did not matter if you were from one tribe or another or you were from another religion or a different political party. We were then all Nigerians and that was all that mattered. We obeyed laws and had the confidence that the rules and laws were safe in the hands of our hallowed institutions and establishments. We knew the law was there to protect us as citizens and took our responsibility very seriously as we knew failure to do so had consequences. We took pride in the green, white, green; it was the colour of pride, real pride and privilege. It sounds simple doesnt it? But how many of us can truly say that we do our best as Nigerian citizens in the true sense of the word?

Do not worry about what others are doing, what are you doing to be a good Nigerian? Remember what you do is reflecting and will reflect on your children and their offspring. We have often used the old chestnut; that everybody is on the take that is why things are the way they are. I have got news for you: you are either the problem or the solution. You are a Nigerian after all, so you choose. So I ask you, what makes you a Nigerian? Before you answer, make sure that you have proved your worth to be called a Nigerian I believe a good citizen makes a good country and it is time we act as we deserve the right to call ourselves Nigerians.

Evans got caught

Funny how Nigerians express shock and horror whenever some new disaster or criminality is unearth in Nigeria. Let us be clear here, Life in Nigeria is far from normal. The yardstick of normal ceased a long time ago when the moral compass was broken. Majority of Nigerians are always looking for ways of making money quick and no matter how depraved or dishonest. Not many want to make an honest living. There lies the problem and our present dilemma of seeking money by all means necessary. One of the lines of current criminal activities are: kidnapping, human trafficking, drugs trafficking, baby making factories, of course, politicians.

In the last couple of days, police have nabbed the notorious kingpin kidnapper called Evans. They got him in his lair, in his ill-gotten wealth; he had made millions in kidnapping rich people for ransom and has done so for many years.

People claim they were unaware of his criminal activities in spite of living amongst ordinary people. Some have got as far as to seek for his release! No one knew what this guy did and his wife now spins a tale: that she was not aware of her husbands criminal business as she defends this by telling all who would listen, that he couldnt be that bad because he reads Psalm.23!

Of course, she said that they go to church! So this makes it all right, as far as she was concerned, he was religious. Those things do not absolve him off his crimes.

Uchennna Onwuamadike, wife of notorious kidnap kingpin, Chikwudubem Onwuamadike, also known as Evans, expects the Nigerian authorities to spare the life of her husband because of her children. Does she understand the horrors that her husbands victims have had to endure and she has the gall to plead for clemency on his behalf?

According to her, He reads Psalm 23 a lot. Even his phone, he sets alarm for 12 noon to read Psalm 23. He took part in our daily prayers in the morning, evening and night. He used to lead us in prayers. We attend Anglican Church. He has never given them money to show off. We used to give N5000 or N10,000 and the highest we have given so far was N50,000 when we baptised one of our children, she said. So what happened to the victims? For seven years, he has been peddling his brand of crime and his victims have been living a nightmare. Can someone explain to Evans wife, that his victims have families too and what gave her husband the right to kidnap innocent people, abduct them, torture them and then extort money off their family with menace and threats? Kidnapping is not a victimless crime, and for seven years, he was building his evil empire and living the life of OReily and he has the gall, to want to die because he feels that the police would not give him a fair treatment because of his crimes. He is looking for a cowards way out.

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One day - Vanguard

Paul Ryan conflicted by Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand — Norman Jensen – Madison.com

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House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, is an attractive political leader in many ways.

He's a bright, articulate, upbeat, youthful, energetic and fit native son who espouses strong social values -- sometimes. He seems to recognize poverty as a social problem that deserves federal help. He credits his Christian faith for that.

On the other hand, he leads a current national health care initiative that will severely reduce insurance for poor Wisconsinites. His motivation likely comes from his heroine Ayn Rand, a 20th century political philosopher who valued atheism, individualism, the virtues of selfishness and the folly of altruism.

Imagine the speakers conflict between the selfless altruism of Jesus Christ and the selfish individualism of Rand. His Randian self wants those who can support themselves to get off government support. His Christian self needs to support those unable to support themselves. Perhaps Jesus struggled with the same dilemma?

The great social policy problem for Ryan and the rest of us is knowing which people are truly incapable of supporting themselves. We tend to have opinions about those on government support without valid knowledge of their needs. For a Christian, getting it wrong leads to eternal damnation.

Norman Jensen, Madison

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Paul Ryan conflicted by Jesus Christ and Ayn Rand -- Norman Jensen - Madison.com

A clumsy liberal’s guide to saying the right thing – The Guardian

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Was it something I said? Sensitivities abound, and opportunities to put ones foot in it are correspondingly boundless. Photograph: Alamy

A rare carouse in a louche Glasgow wine bar one night last week was enchanted briefly by a nervous proposition. The stranger had approached me gingerly from the side and asked if I was gay, straight or bi. He was young, beautiful, immaculately groomed and thin as a packet of condoms. Im straight, as a matter of fact, I answered in what I felt was my deepest Glaswegian timbre.

I hope you dont mind me asking, he added politely. Absolutely not; youve made my night, I replied. May I ask you a question in return? I asked. Go right ahead, he replied.

What was it that sparked your interest? Well, he said. Its just that youre wearing a pink shirt; youre sipping a French martini and your legs are crossed.

This is not the first time an encounter like this has occurred in recent years. After each one, I have fretted over what ought to have been the most appropriate response in such situations. Some people are blessed with an instinctive liberalism that allows them to glide through the ever-changing landscape of modern manners without giving offence. Others, perhaps a little older and usually white and male, can experience difficulty in adjusting their footing to keep up with these intricate manoeuvres.

Its not that they are ignorant or lazy on the contrary; they aspire desperately to say and do the right things its just that they can, on occasion, be a little clumsy and maladroit at finding the appropriate words in unfamiliar situations. I fall into the latter category.

For most of our adult lives we lived a monochrome existence in which morals and social mores were well signposted and came colour-coded in either black or white.

Raised awareness of issues around feminism, sexual identity, the environment, ethnicity and multiculturalism have given a voice to many who had previously been denied one. The response by many on the right is to group these under the collective heading Political Correctness Gone Mad.

A more human approach might simply be Live and Let Live.

We possess good intentions, yet find we are let down in unorthodox situations by a form of social dyslexia

There is no users manual available for those of us who aspire to be liberal and possess good intentions yet find we are let down in unorthodox situations by a form of social dyslexia.

Nevertheless, in a spirit of shared humanity rooted in sympathy for my fellow aspiring but clumsy liberals, I offer the following short extract from my Good Liberals Guide to Modern Etiquette.

It is based on my own experience and the shared testimony of others who have reached uncertainly for the right words and yet found themselves shunned and resented.

You may have found that an increasing number of people are embarking on a transgender journey. This is a good thing as the misery of feeling trapped in the wrong body must be almost unbearable. Please avoid asking So hows your journey been so far? or Are you near the end? as if it were a day-trip to Girvan.

Instead, show interest and dont interrupt. Do not say: One of my friends is on a similar journey because youll probably be lying.

The young folks increasing knowledge of where we source our food has led to many of them embracing veganism in disgust at the vile practices and unhygienic methods that are often involved in getting farm animals on to our plates. When your daughter announces that she is a vegan, please, under no circumstances, make Spocks famous split-fingers sign from Star Trek. Instead, listen politely; make a mental note to Google vegan restaurants, and say youve heard that a lot of tasty curry recipes are vegan.

Look, lets be mature about this: everybody likes a good swear now and then, and as Moses is reputed to have said to Aaron in one of the as-yet-undiscovered Dead Sea Scrolls, an elegantly deployed profanity is a blessing to us all. Now some enterprising feminists have reclaimed the c-word. And, indeed, in some west of Scotland taverns the term is often used to express admiration. Tams a good...

There is, though, a risk of becoming desensitised to all this bold new use of the word. I would advise caution and stick to old standards such as bastard, bawbag, dickhead and tosser.

Admit it weve all encountered these wretched characters. There you are merrily WhatsApping away in the back of the cab when your driver insists on having a debate about Brexit. I dont know about you but I voted Leave, he says. Were letting too many immigrants in, and theyve declared sharia law in Pollokshields.

As an aspiring liberal, you know what you want to do. You want to tell the racist bawbag where to go. Instead, you try to give him a meaningful stare and pretend to have a conversation on your mobile. Id suggest waiting until you are within walking distance of your destination and tell him to stop, then disembark while studiously refusing to give him a tip. Hell get the message.

One of the most challenging dilemmas for the aspiring-but-not-quite-there-yet-liberal male is reconciling a love of AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent with a desire to be empathetic and sensitive to feminism. Songs such as Whole Lotta Rosie and Cat Scratch Fever can cause embarrassment when they crop up on your cars iTunes as youre giving your daughter and her pals a lift into town.

I tried telling them once that Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter was a thoughtful warning about what can happen if a father fails to play a significant role in his daughters life. They werent buying it. Have a playlist handy for these occasions with fey acts like Sohn or the Chemical Brothers or that George Ezra.

I know these are just baby steps, but its a minefield out there.

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A clumsy liberal's guide to saying the right thing - The Guardian

This NY Times story exposes the paper’s liberal hypocrisy | New … – New York Post

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Sundays New York Times contains a solicitous, attentive look at a backward, benighted place North Carolina, where one political party has deviously seized control of the state legislature. The Republicans of North Carolina, says the Times, have not only run quickly through the conservative policy checklist, they have gone so far as to skew the balance of power in the state in their favor.

Imagine a local political party so dominant that it can enact its agenda at will and even skew the balance of power in its favor. Actually, the Times neednt have ventured so far south to find such tyranny, as New York City itself is a virtual one-party state and will likely remain so for at least the near future.

For instance, the City Council has 48 Democrats and three Republicans, who mostly sit quietly and attend to their constituents non-ideological concerns: street repaving tends to top the New York City Republicans agenda. All three citywide elected officials Mayor de Blasio, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate Letitia James are passionate progressive Democrats who continually try to top each others radical proposals. Public Advocate James wants the Department of Education to appoint a chief diversity officer? Well, Comptroller Stringer will launch a task force to funnel city money to companies with greater racial diversity on their boards so take that.

This is an election year in the city, but you are forgiven if you hadnt noticed. The citywide elected officials are each running for re-election and are virtually unopposed. Not that no one else is running: Mayor de Blasio has about a dozen primary challengers, but none is a serious candidate. Ditto for the comptroller, the public advocate, the borough presidents and the City Council. It is virtually a maxim in New York that incumbents get re-elected.

Partly this is because only Democrats win, so the real race is for the Democratic nomination, and Democratic primaries are heavily weighted in favor of the party favorites. Local county machines in Queens, The Bronx and Brooklyn still have the clout to steer would-be challengers into patronage positions as an inducement not to run and can coordinate campaign help from political staffers who volunteer time away from their government-paid jobs to assist needy candidates.

Sometimes you dont even have to run for the partys nomination to get it. In 2015 longtime Bronx DA Robert Johnson won his primary unopposed. He then decided he wanted to be a judge instead of district attorney. Since party-controlled county committees decide state Supreme Court judgeship nominations, it was a simple process for the well-connected Johnson (and his wife, actually, who also became a judge) to get the nod from the Bronx machine, which was controlled by then-Assemblyman, now-Speaker Carl Heastie.

This is an election year in the city, but you are forgiven if you hadnt noticed. The citywide elected officials are each running for re-election and are virtually unopposed.

Johnson then resigned from his post as Bronx DA and left his ballot line open. Ballot vacancies are filled by county party committees, so Bronx boss Heastie was able to insert his own favorite candidate, Judge Darcel Clark, onto the ballot. An annoying open primary was avoided, and Heasties machine retained control of the Bronx court system.

A similar machination took place in 1998, when longtime Queens Congressman Tom Manton won the Democratic nomination for his seat in a walkover and then put in his retirement papers. With the same laws on filling ballot vacancies in effect, Manton called his protg, Assemblyman Joe Crowley, to inform him he would be the Democratic nominee for Congress instead. Crowley is now the Queens County Democratic boss and occupies a top leadership role within the House Democrats. His control of County, as the Queens political machine is known, is tight and very profitable: Control of the Surrogates Court, which handles probated estates, brings in millions of dollars annually to the small circle of connected attorneys who are assigned the cases.

If you talk to any elected official in the city, they will all agree that council member is the best job to have. The term is four years, so you dont have to campaign very often; it is local, with no annoying trips to Albany; and best of all, the pay is great when reform was enacted, council members got a 35 percent raise to $148,500. Given that one-third of the council has no job experience aside from being a staffer for another elected official, thats not chump change.

A few council seats will be opening up this year due to term limits, and in one case, early retirement. About half of those seats will be filled by state legislators who can have them for the taking. One term-limited council member, Inez Dickens, even resigned her seat ahead of time so she could run for the Assembly seat left vacant by Keith Wright, who ran for Congress. Her council seat was then taken by state Senator Bill Perkins, who had held the seat before Dickens was first elected. These two-steps are not uncommon: Brooklyn husband-and-wife tag team Charles and Inez Barron swapped their council and Assembly seats when his term was up.

In the Bronx, state Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. will take over Annabel Palmas council seat; she wanted to replace him in the Senate but was informed by the party bosses that Assemblyman Luis Sepulveda is next in line. So Palma will have to take Sepulvedas Assembly seat instead.

New York City is politically a mess: If it werent for massive tax revenues from Wall Street, our elected officials wouldnt be able to pretend that spending other peoples money counts as leadership. When the Times claps its hand to its cheek in horror that the Republicans in North Carolina have seized control of the General Assembly for the first time in a century, we have to wonder if they are really that nave or just pointing south so they dont have to look at the disaster in our own back yard.

Seth Barron is associate editor of City Journal and project director of the NYC Initiative at the Manhattan Institute.

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This NY Times story exposes the paper's liberal hypocrisy | New ... - New York Post

5 Reasons Why America Is Still a Strong (If Dysfunctional) Liberal Democracy – TIME

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President Donald Trump listens to a demonstration during the "American Leadership in Emerging Technology" event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on June 22, 2017.Jabin BotsfordThe Washington Post/Getty Images

In 1997, Fareed Zakaria wrote an important article for Foreign Affairs detailing the rise of illiberal democracy around the world. He contrasted the term with liberal democracy, which he described as marked not only by free and fair elections, but also by the rule of law, a separation of powers, and the protection of basic liberties of speech, assembly, religion, and property. In fact, this latter bundle of freedoms what might be termed constitutional liberalism is theoretically different and historically distinct from democracy. He then wrote a book on the subject.

Twenty years later, Council of Foreign Relations President Richard Haass tweeted out the following: years ago @FareedZakaria wrote the book re illiberal democracies. i never thought this would fit the US but we r getting too close 4 comfort. I am a big fan of Richard (and Fareed), but I disagree with Haass on this one. America remains a strong liberal democracy however messy and dysfunctional even in the age of Donald Trump. Heres why.

1. Free Press Endures

Since Donald Trump announced his candidacy, the press has been aggressive in fact-checking and challenging him at every turn. At times, a bit unfair; 80% of the coverage of Trumps first 100 days was negative, compared to just 41% for President Obama's. Many U.S. journalists have decided that professional responsibility demands a much more confrontational approach to this White House. The result has been coverage that is sometimes unfair and over-the-top. This drives Trump up the wall, because theres little he can do about it. In an illiberal democracy, the state uses all sorts of tools to dominate the press and shape public opinion. Trump has friendly news outlets that help maintain support from his base, but the rest of the media is in no danger of falling under Trumps sway.

2. Americans Love Going to Court

Americans go to court. A lot. And a lot of Americans become lawyers. As of 2009, for every 100,000 people, the U.S. has 380 lawyers. For comparison purposes, Japan has just 23 lawyers per 100,000 people; France has 70 (2010 and 2006 figures, respectively). More important than the number of lawyers is the continued faith Americans have in the legal system as of 2016, 61% of Americans say they have at least a fair amount of trust in the judicial branch of the federal government, as opposed to the 51% of people who are confident in the executive branch and 35% of people who trust the legislative branch. In a liberal democracy, individuals and organizations can slow and alter the crafting of law and regulations by tying things up in court. And Americans are game in the first two weeks of Trumps presidency, his Administration was sued 55 times (compared to five lawsuits over the same time against Obama and Clinton, and four against George W. Bush).

3. The Courts Remain Independent

And the courts continue to limit executive power. In an illiberal democracy (see Russia and Turkey) the fix is already in when the gavel falls. For example, to tighten his grip on power, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has purged the judicial system in Turkey after last summers failed coup attempt, banishing more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors (25% of the countrys total). Trump would probably settle for ditching the judges that have struck down his travel ban no fewer than eight times in various courts (and by both Democratic and Republican-appointed judges). Maybe add the federal judge that blocked the Administrations ability to withhold funds from sanctuary cities , jurisdictions which ban law enforcement agencies from investigating, interrogating, or arresting people for immigration enforcement.

4. There's No Deep State

To hear Trump and his surrogates tell it, any political defeat or unflattering news story about him should be attributed to a deep state hell-bent on trying to oust him. But there is no deep state in America, just a deep bureaucracy. Its made up of professional civil servants who have dedicated years of their lives (in 2015, a full-time permanent federal civilian employee had an average of 13.7 years of service ) to specific policy goals, whether from the left or right. Asking career officials at the Environmental Protection Agency to suddenly stop believing in climate change because the man elected in November doesnt much care for science was never going to get much traction. There are obviously people in the White House and throughout the executive branch that are sabotaging political and policy moves they believe harm the nations interests, as they define them. Vladimir Putin doesnt have this problem.

The bigger problem may be that the state isnt deep enough: As of this week, the Trump White House has only managed to confirm 44 of the 558 Senate-confirmable positions in the federal government. One hundred and five people have been formally nominated, five are awaiting nomination, and 404 jobs have no nominee whatsoever. Obama had confirmed at 170 by the same time into his own presidency; George W. Bush, 130.

5. Congress Has Its Own Agenda

Finally, Republicans in Congress have an agenda: Repeal Obamacare as they promised; roll back Obama-era regulations; and cut taxes. If Trump can help, great. If they can do it entirely without Trumps input, that might be even better. And if they start to believe that Trump will prevent them from passing their agenda and maybe cost them control of Congress? Theyll cross that bridge only if they feel they have to. But they are not a rubber stamp, as in an illiberal democracy. And the Senate voting 98-2 for more sanctions against Russia (and congressional oversight over them) last week against Trumps wishes offers more proof.

Any democracy can become illiberal. But its dangerous to argue that Trump has already created one. If illiberalism one day really does threaten Americas constitutional liberalism, it will be that much harder to raise the alarm if the charge has already been raised and dismissed.

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5 Reasons Why America Is Still a Strong (If Dysfunctional) Liberal Democracy - TIME

Liberals launch website to lure swing voters and take on activist groups – The Guardian

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Outgoing Liberal party federal director Andrew Bragg (left) shakes hands with Andrew Hirst, the new party director in Sydney on Friday. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Australias Liberal party has launched a new website that it says will help seduce swing voters its way and challenge rival campaigning organisations such as Getup!.

The acting Liberal party director, Andrew Bragg, launched The Fair Go website on Saturday, which is operated by the party.

Bragg used his speech to the partys federal council as a call to arms to modernise or perish. He said the party had to deal with a cashed up cabal of opposition to its interests.

Senior members of government and Liberal figures have been taking aim at organisations such as Getup!, which have excelled at developing novel and effective digital campaigns at a time when the Liberal party has struggled to keep pace.

The Fair Go site appears to be, in part, a response to some of these new types of campaigning and, according to Bragg, will help bolster the partys efforts to seize the opportunities in the digital age.

The WordPress site includes posts with titles such as Women are just people, Whos your grand-daddy? and From laissez-faire to much, much fairer.

It also includes three words of the week that will change weekly. The inaugural locutions are needs based, union and slamming.

A review of the partys last election campaign by Andrew Robb set out a series of concerns with the Liberal partys election campaign efforts, and found they were being outgunned and outspent by Labor and progressive activist groups.

Bragg told the federal council: Publish or perish must be our credo.

He said the website will be a publication which reaches beyond the existing cohort of fellow travellers to speak to undecided and swing voters.

It is designed to support the Coalitions overarching narrative into social platforms and arm supporters with bottom up perspectives on public policy issues.

The website appears to feature a cast of characters mostly linked to the Liberal party.

Parnell McGuiness, a communications consultant who is the managing director of Thought Broker, is listed as the editor of the site. Penny Fischer, a Camden Liberal councillor and the daughter of Pru Goward, has also produced work for the site. Brigid Meney, a policy officer at Cornerstone Group Australia and former Liberal party political adviser, has contributed as well.

The sites privacy policy makes it clear that the Liberal party collects users personal information and may contact them if they sign up to the site.

It is Braggs final speech in his role as acting director of the party following Brian Loughnanes departure. Former Liberal party staffer Andrew Hirst has been named the new director.

It is not the first time major parties have attempted more aggressive communication strategies.

The Labor party launched the Labor Herald in 2015, which produced news and analysis for the party faithful.

It no longer publishes content, and the website now directs users to a page that says it is currently on hiatus.

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Liberals launch website to lure swing voters and take on activist groups - The Guardian

Opinion: Liberal Islam is a chimera – Deutsche Welle

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It was described as a "world event in the heart of Berlin." And judging by the overwhelming response both at home and abroad to the opening of the determinedly "liberal mosque" in a Protestantchurch in Berlin's Moabit district, this assessment is justified.

Media representatives from all over the world wanted to be present when Seyran Ates, a German-Turkish lawyer and women's rights activist, presented her reform project to the public: an integrative mosque for everyone. The Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque welcomes all Muslims, irrespective of denomination and sexual orientation.

Furthermore, this house of worship - the only one of its kind in Germany - has explicitly abolished the segregation of the sexes during prayer. Men and women can pray alongside one another. A man and a woman led the first Friday prayers together. And - an important point, given the heated Islam debates in this country - the "female imam" did not wear a headscarf!

Loay Mudhoon is editor-in-chief of Qantara.de

Liberal Islam for the non-Muslim majority?

The fact that reactions from predominantly Muslim countries to the opening of the Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque have been both hostile and particularly forceful is not really any great surprise - not, at least, if one is aware of the repressive realities in these countries. This is true, too, of Egypt and Turkey, where protests against the Berlin mosque were particularly fierce. The religious authorities in both of these countries have been muzzled politically.

However, what's more interesting than the predictable reactions from Muslim countries abroad are the reactions in Germany itself. These were uniformly positive. Almost all the media celebrated the new institution as a place of open-minded, emancipated Islam. As expected, conservative circles as well as people and interest groups who are vocally critical of Islam see this kind of mosque as an alternative to the mosques of orthodox Islamic groups. In their view, "this Islam" is the only one that's suited to Germany.

This fervent enthusiasm in the media and political realm cannot, however, gloss over two fundamental problems.

First: So-called "liberal Islam" consists of individuals, public personalities; it has no structure to speak of. In Germany there are now a number of civil society initiatives by liberal Muslims, but their level of organization is still low, as is their ability to connect with the conservative Muslim mainstream.

Second: So far, those who represent liberal Islam are still very vague as far as content is concerned. They usually define themselves by their rejection of conservative Islam. And that's just too little substance to have a big impact.

Respecting the plurality of Muslims

No question about it: The opening of the Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque is a courageous and remarkable step. But outside Germany liberal mosques like these are not a new phenomenon. Similar mosque projects have already existed for a long time in Britain and the United States.

In addition, the heterogeneous supporters of liberal Islam should have explained - well before the mosque opened - on what Islamic principles their liberal understanding of the religion is based. They should, for example, have held a pertinent debate on the role of Sharia in a secular constitutional state. This would certainly have been helpful in terms of drawing a distinction between acceptable and unacceptable aspects of Sharia.

In other words: Just as Turkey's state authority for religious affairs, Diyanet, cites the "tenets of the Islamic faith" as its reference point, the liberal Muslims should also have justified their efforts with reference to genuine Islamic sources.

State-controlled Islam has no credibility

Neither the meager response to the Muslim peace and anti-terrorism demonstration in Cologne nor the hostile reactions to the opening of the mosque in Berlin can be taken as evidence that Islam is incapable of reform. We are, after all, seeing efforts by Muslim activists all around the world who are striving for reform. The battle over who has the prerogative of interpreting and defining "Islam" is being fought almost everywhere, with a vengeance.

In any case, politicians would be well advised not to privilege particular versions of Islam - neither liberal nor conservative. An Islam protected or even controlled by the state would have no credibility, and would be unworthy of a pluralist democracy.

For the ongoing development of Islam in Germany it would therefore be better, in the spirit of our liberal-democratic constitution, to respect the real-life plurality of Muslims and their different understandings of what Islam is, and continue to promote its institutional naturalization.

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Opinion: Liberal Islam is a chimera - Deutsche Welle

A bird’s-eye view on why ‘Liberal Ron’ didn’t fly – mySanAntonio.com

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Photo: Bob Owen /San Antonio Express-News

A birds-eye view on why Liberal Ron didnt fly

Two grackles, last seen perched on a wire over lower Broadway back in January, returned for an agonizing reassessment of the way things went.

Ron Nirenberg appeared to be flying against the wind and won. How is it, one of the birds mused in a voice dripping with sarcasm, that http://www.liberalron.com maneuver didnt work to derail this guy?

The other bird, his shiny wings slightly ruffled, let out a heavy sigh.

No, really! the first bird said, with a giggle, his tongue firmly in the side of his beak. Is it that San Antonio voters were just tired of that kind of campaigning? Liberal Ron wasnt anywhere near as pointed as Lying Ted and Crooked Hillary, but it was thrown out there in the same spirit.

Well, the second bird said as he claimed more comfortable footing on the nearby utility pole, political campaigns get ugly from time to time. And pointing out the liberal leanings of a liberal politician is about as hostile as someone calling us birds of a feather.

Oh, clearly were very different, the first bird said, still giggling. But Ill tell you why it didnt work. The campaign tactic fell flat because voters have had enough of name-calling. Theyre sick of the angry campaigns. Theyve had it, and theyre sending a message.

Maybe. Maybe that kind of campaigning doesnt strike the same chord in this city. Maybe the president ruined it for everybody, and now the rest of us cant amuse ourselves by crafting creative names for those who oppose us.

Or maybe, the first bird, smirking, said, it was because a male candidate could come up with nasty names and win but a female candidate cant?

He noticed that a group of smaller birds gathered on a nearby branch were now hanging on to every word. Taking this cue, he puffed his feathers and continued.

Maybe, he conceded. But the Liberal Ron thing wasnt an off-the-cuff remark the former mayor came up with on a lark. A web presence was established, for crying out loud! Someone came up with this idea, someone pushed it out of the nest a couple of times before it was ready, and someone gave the go ahead to let it fly and judging by the image she projected to the public during her time in office it probably wasnt all her.

A half-dozen more grackles and few doves gathered next to them. The first bird, empowered by the growing audience, turned up the volume.

Well, the term liberal shouldnt be a dig, the first bird said, It has become a dig. Its now a polarizing label. Its uttered with scorn. That label was meant to cast him in a certain light. It was bad play. It was a bad move.

Maybe. Then again it might make a good quip on the campaign trail, but labels arent just for soup cans, the second bird huffed as more tiny warblers landed on the wire, chirping asides and tweeting dissenting jabs at the grackles. They are indicators of how an elected official will lead. And isnt that vital in determining which way to vote at the mayoral level, even if the city manager does a great deal of the heavy lifting?

The first bird stopped giggling as a few of the smaller birds sitting next to him flitted closer to the utility pole. By now the lines above Broadway looked as if Tippi Hedren were about to drive past.

No matter, the second bird continued, The system labels and all works. And maybe the time seems to be right for someone who can rock the liberal label. Nirenberg didnt set up a site calling anybody anything, but he won the votes because he is representative of what the voters wanted. Thats the point.

Thirteen percent of them, anyway, said a small bird who was sitting nearby. And if you ask me and I know you arent thats probably a good thing. Too many are influenced by a clever one-liner, an argument that sounds as if its based on facts but isnt, or all manner of nasty campaign maneuvers. And believe me, the noisy, the birdbrained and the easily swayed do flock together.

Luckily, he was able to zip away before anybody figured out who chimed in.

mariaanglin@yahoo.com

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A bird's-eye view on why 'Liberal Ron' didn't fly - mySanAntonio.com

Credible case BC Liberals can pay for Throne Speech promises: UBC economist – Globalnews.ca

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;

British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, left, and NDP leader John Horgan, right, look on as B.C. Lieutenant Governor Judith Guichon gives the Speech from Throne in Victoria, Thursday, June 22, 2017.

A UBC economist says its entirely possible the money is there to pay for more than $1.5-billion in new spending pledged in the BC Liberal Throne Speech.

The Liberals raised eyebrows on Thursday by reversing course on a number of policies they had previously campaigned against, borrowing big ticket platform planks like $1-billion for child care or scrapping bridge tolls from the NDP.

In the wake of the speech, Finance Minister Mike de Jong justified the new spending with reference to an improved economic forecast.

READ MORE: Power hangs in the balance following Throne Speech at the B.C. Legislature

LISTEN: Economist Kevin Milligan explains why the government may have more money to spend than the February budget accounted for

2017Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Credible case BC Liberals can pay for Throne Speech promises: UBC economist - Globalnews.ca

The Liberal approach to national security – CBC.ca

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The federal Liberal government iscreating a new "super" civilian watchdog to review security and intelligence agencies across government and extending new powers to Canada's electronic spy agency.

The proposed changes were unveiled this week as part of a massive legislative overhaulof Canada's anti-terrorism regime.

After tabling the 139-pagebill in the House of Commons, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodalesaid it aims to strike a better balance between strengthening security in a fast-changing threat environment, and safeguarding the charter and privacy rights of Canadians.

"The most important thing is making sure that the appropriate legal and constitutional framework is there to insure that the security agencies can do the work that they need to do with proper legal authorizationthat gives them the confidence to do their work well, and on the other side make sure that the public is confident that there is accountability, there is transparency, and that their rights and freedoms are being respected," Goodale told The House.

But even after introducing the massive piece of legislation, his job as safety minister is far from over.

Another big agenda item: dealing with the RCMP.

Goodale said the looming retirement of RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson is as good as time as any to consider rejigging the governance of the force, including a civilian oversight board.

"The change in command is an opportunity to examine all dimensions of governance and structure. The new commissioner will have important challenges to address in terms of maintaining the tradition and heritage of the force and at the same time acknowledging all of the new things that modern day policing requires," he toldChris Hall.

"Obviously we've had issues internally to deal with with the allegations of harassment, and bullying, a major class action that the RCMP has now been successful in settling...The RCMP is just an absolutely fundamental institution in this country and the standards in terms of workplace behaviour has to be absolutely top of the heap."

Goodale has already put his support behind the idea of civilian oversight, which was the key recommendation in a report by the Mounties' watchdog earlier this year.

The report came out almost a decade after a 2007 taskforce report also made the central recommednation to set up a civilian board of management for the RCMP.

Paulson's tenure as Canada's top Mountie come sto an end June 30th.

His retirement will come after 39 years of service, including 32 in the RCMP. He has served as commissioner for more than five years.

Former Conservative cabinet minster Erin O'Toole was unimpressed with the Liberals decision to announce a bill of this magnitude the day before the House of Commons rose for the summer break.

Conservative MP Erin O'Toole speaks about the government's national security legislation. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

"They trod out all the ministers with one or two days left and they drop another omnibus security bill knowing full well we're not going to be able to hold them to full account right away," he said.

Last summer, the Liberals introduced three public safety bills in June, including new legislation to create a joint oversight committee with powers to scrutinize national security matters.

NDP Critic for Public Safety Matthew Dube reacts to the new anti-terror legislation. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

O'Toole said this week's bill doesn't give law enforcement enough tools to react to potential terrorist attacks, arguing the Liberals seem oblivious to what's been going on in Europe, where trucks have been driven into pedestrians on bridges in London.

Matthew Dub, the NDP critic for public safety, said Bill C-51's information regime, one of the most controversial element of the old bill, still lives on in the new legislation.

"Apart from cosmetic changes, so changing the word sharing, to disclouse, the regime is more or less intact," he said.

"It's still overly broad."

Some Liberal MPs stood behind this bar on the floor of the Senate chamber Tuesday evening as senators voted on whether to accept amendments to the government's budget bill. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

"I think senators, more than ever, are determined to play their role," Andr Pratte, one of Justin Trudeau'sindependent appointees to the Senate, told The House.

That was afterSenators agreed to pass the federal budget bill without amendments, but only after a standoff between Canada'stwo chambersof Parliament that almost resulted in MPs being called back to Ottawa.

"The reason is that for years and years, many people have been complaining that senators are not doing anything. And I think that's been really unfair, but that's been a complaint."

In amending bills, the current Senate has so far shown a measure of restraint: no bill has been sent back to the House more than once, even when MPs have voted to reject the Senate's suggestions.

Even on the budget billamid grumbling about the government's toneand after the dispatch of a stern note to the House about the Senate's rights and authority senators agreed to revert to the original legislation after MPs objected. Historically, including as recently as 2006, the Senate has not been so willing to acquiesce after just one attempt.

"Their role is to look carefully at legislation, to suggest amendments, to alert public opinion," said Pratte.

"And of course all senators are well aware that they are appointed, that they are not elected. And that carries some weight when they decide what to do when the House rejects their amendments."

But, Pratte said, the Senate does not exist to "rubber stamp" the bills passed by the House.

"If that's our role, we don't have a role," he said.

"We don't need to be there," chimed in Conservative Senator Elizabeth Marshall.

Guy Caron speaks as he participates in the first debate of the federal NDP leadership race with Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton and Peter Julian, in Ottawa on Sunday, March 12, 2017. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)

It's sounds like a pretty ambitious goal: eliminating poverty in Canada.

But Quebec MP and NDP leadership hopeful Guy Caronargues it can be done. He's made the pledge a cornerstone of his big to replace Tom Mulcair as party leader.

"You can actually go into poverty if you're working at this point," Carontold The House.

The trained economist said that70 per cent of Canadians living in poverty are considered working poor.

"We need to do something about this," he said.

"We need to find transformative solutions to actually put an end to poverty."

Caron's rivals have criticizedCaronover the costing of his proposal. The MP for RimouskiNeigetteTmiscouataLes Basques estimates that it would cost around $30B to implement.

The Ontario government recently announceda plan to study basic incomein a three-year pilot project based inHamilton, Lindsay and Thunder Bay.

The province will explore the effectiveness of providing a basic incomeno matter what to people who are currently living on low incomes.

Originally posted here:

The Liberal approach to national security - CBC.ca

Fiscal Freedom | Prometheism.net – Part 29

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Peer-Reviewed Papers (published in academic journals):

1994|1996|1997|1998|1999|2000|2001|2002

2003|2004|2005|2006|2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 |2011

Other Papers Related to Economic Freedom: 1998-2007

If you know of any other papers current or forthcoming that should be included on this page, or have further information about any of these papers or authors, please write to freetheworld*at*fraserinstitute.org.

de Vanssay, X. and Z. A. Spindler (1994). Freedom and Growth: Do Constitutions Matter. Public Choice. 78, 3-4: 359-372.

This paper empirically investigates whether certain constitutional enumerations matter for economic growth. We find that negative (positive) rights tend to have a positive (negative) effect on economic growth, and that structural constraints have a more significant and larger effect than procedural constraints.

Uses the Scully and Slottje Index as an independent variable. (See: Scully, GW and Slottje, D, (1991) Ranking Economic Liberty Across Countries Public Choice 69, pp. 151-2). The model estimates the steady-state solution of an (institutionally) augmented Solow growth model. The dependent variable is the logarithm of per-capita income. This is a cross-section analysis covering 100 countries.

de Vanssay, X. and Z. A. Spindler (1996). Constitutions, Institutions and Economic Convergence: An International Comparison. Journal for Studies in Economics and Econometrics. 20, 3 (November): 1-19.

Abstract: This paper explores empirically whether constitutional enumerations and economic freedom indexes affect economic convergence. Some constitutional features and economic freedom do affect convergence, though economic freedom is by far the more influential.

Uses the Scully and Slottje Index as an independent variable. (See: Scully, GW and Slottje, D, (1991) Ranking Economic Liberty Across Countries Public Choice 69, pp. 151-2). The dependent variable is the average annual per capita growth rate. This is a cross-section analysis covering 109 countries.

Islam, Sadequil (1996). Economic Freedom, per Capita Income and Economic Growth. Applied Economics Letters 3: 595-97.

Examines the effect of economic freedom on income and growth in high-, middle-, and low-income country sets and finds that economic freedom is significant for a sample of all countries but only in some subsets.

Uses the precursor to Economic Freedom of the World, Measuring Economic Freedom, by James Gwartney, Walter Block and Robert Lawson, a chapter in Stephen Easton and Michael Walker (eds.), Rating Global Economic Freedom (Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1992). Measuring Economic Freedom is the main data source for institutional variables.

Paul, C.W.; Souder, W.E.; Schoening, N.C. (November 1996). The influence of government policies on innovation and technological advance. Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research of India. 55 (11): 851-859.

Petersmann, E.U. (June 1996). International competition rules for governments and for private business The case for linking future WTO negotiations on investment, competition and environmental rules to reforms of anti-dumping laws. Journal of World Trade. 30 (3): 5-35.

Ali, Abdiweli M. (1997). Economic Freedom, Democracy and Growth. Journal of Private Enterprise 13 (Fall): 1-20.

This paper takes advantage of newly constructed measures of economic freedom to show the importance of economic freedom on growth. I find that economic freedom is a more robust determinant of growth than political freedom and civil liberty.

Uses summary ratings from Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as one variable in a comparison of a number of institutional variables.

Anwar, S.T. (1997). Economic freedom of the world: 1975-1995. Journal of International Business Studies. 28 (4): 872-878.

Dornbusch, R. (1997). Brazils incomplete stabilization and reform. Brookings Papers on Economic Accountability. (1): 367-404.

Easton, Steven T., and Michael A. Walker (1997). Income, Growth, and Economic Freedom. American Economic Review 87 (2) (May): 328-32.

Finds that economic freedom is an important explanatory variable for steady-state levels of income. The addition of a variable for economic freedom is also shown to increase the explanatory power of a neo-classical growth model.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 is the main data source for institutional variables.

Goldsmith, Arthur A. (1997). Economic Rights and Government in Developing Countries: Cross-National Evidence on Growth and Development. Studies in Comparative International Development 32 (2) (summer): 29-44.

The paper finds that developing countries that score better in protecting economic rights also tend to grow faster and to score higher in human development. In addition [the paper finds that] economic rights are associated with democratic government and with higher levels of average national income.

Uses summary ratings from Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as one of a number of institutional variables.

Hakura, F.S. (April 1997). The Euro-Mediterranean policy: The implications of the Barcelona Declaration. Common Market Law Review. 34 (2): 337-366.

Hanke, Steve H., and Stephen J.K. Walters (1997). Economic Freedom, Prosperity, and Equality: A Survey. Cato Journal 17 (2) (Fall): 117-46.

The article compares several institutional indexes for content and explanatory power: Gerald Scullys studies, The Fraser Institutes Economic Freedom of the World, Freedom Houses Economic Freedom Indicators, The Heritage Foundations Indices of Economic Freedom, The International Institute for Management Developments World Competitiveness Yearbook 1996, The World Forums Global Competitiveness Report 1996. Compares liberty and prosperity, equality and foreign policy implications. They find that economic freedom is positively correlated with per-capita GNP.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 is used as one variable in a comparison of a number of institutional variables.

Jordan, Jerry L. (1997). Jobs Creation and Government Policy. Cato Journal 16 (3) (Winter): 287-94.

Argues that employment-creating initiatives or job-creation policies hinder the creation of new technology and the process of creative destruction. Also argues that the role of government monetary intervention in the economy should be limited to creating stable monetary policy.

Makes reference to the general conclusions of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 regarding economic freedom and income and growth.

Download the paper. (PDF)

Mbaku, J.M. (December 1997). Africa in the post-Cold War era: Three strategies for survival. Journal of Asian and African Studies. 32 (3-4): 223-244.

Park, Walter G., and Juan Carlos Ginarte (1997). Intellectual Property Rights and Economic Growth. Contemporary Economic Policy 15 (July): 51-61.

The authors have compiled an index of intellectual property rights, and examine its effects on growth and the factors of production (investment, schooling, and R&D). The paper finds that IPRs affect economic growth indirectly by stimulating the accumulation of factor inputs like R&D and physical capital.

Uses summary ratings of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as a control variable for market institutions in the analysis.

Trebilcock, Michael J. (1997). What Makes Poor Countries Poor?: The Role of Institutional Capital in Economic Development. Chapter in The Law and Economics of Development, edited by Edgardo Buscaglia, William Ratliff and Robert Cooter. Greenwich: JAI Press.

Discusses the general conclusions regarding economic freedom and growth found in Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995.

Ayal, Eliezer B., and Karras Georgios (1998). Components of Economic Freedom and Growth: An Empirical Study. Journal of Developing Areas 32 (Spring): 327-38.

The paper uses regression analysis to examine the effect of the components of economic freedom on growth, output and investment and finds that economic freedom enhances growth both via increasing total factor productivity and via enhancing capital accumulation. It also identifies components that have the highest statistical effects on these variables, with the aim of informing policy makers.

Uses component ratings from Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as the main data source for institutional variables.

Download the paper. (PDF)

Chafuen, Alejandro (1998). Estado y Corrupcion. In Alejandro Chafuen and Eugenio Guzmn, Corrupcin y Gobierno (Santiago, Chile: Fundacin Libertad y Desarrollo): 45-98.

Finds that corruption is negatively related to economic freedom.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 and Transparency International are the main data-source for institutional variables.

Dawson, John W. (1998). Institutions, Investment, and Growth: New Cross-Country and Panel Data Evidence. Economic Inquiry 36 (October): 603-19.

This paper outlines the alternative channels through which institutions affect growth, and studies the empirical relationship between institutions, investment, and growth. The empirical results indicate that (i) free-market institutions have a positive effect on growth; (ii) economic freedom affects growth through both a direct effect on total factor productivity and an indirect effect on investment; (iii) political and civil liberties may stimulate investment; (iv) an important interaction exists between freedom and human capital investment; (v) Milton Friedmans conjectures on the relation between political and economic freedom are correct; (vi) promoting economic freedom is an effective policy toward facilitating growth and other types of freedom.

Uses Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as the main data source for institutional variables.

De Haan, Jakob, and Clemens L.J. Sierman (1998). Further Evidence on the Relationship between Economic Freedom and Economic Growth. Public Choice 95: 363-80.

Primarily investigates the robustness of the index of economic freedom devised by Gerald Scully and D.J. Slottje and determines that the robustness of results depends heavily on how freedom is measured. Finds that some specifications are robust predictors of the growth rate of real per-capita GDP (1980-1992) but few are robust for investment share of GDP.

Empirical analysis on Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 is limited to correlation with the Scully and Slotjies index. Suggests further empirical work be done on Economic Freedom of the World.

Elbadawi, I. and Schmidt-Hebbel, K. (December 1998). Macroeconomic policies, instability and growth in the world. Journal of African Economy. 7: 116-168 Suppl. 2.

Farr, W. Ken, Richard A. Lord, and J. Larry Wolfenbarger (1998). Economic Freedom, Political Freedom and Economic Well-Being: A Causality Analysis. Cato Journal 18 (2) (Fall): 247-62.

The paper uses Granger causality analysis to demonstrate that economic freedom causes economic well-being and economic well-being causes economic freedom. Additionally, the authors argue that economic well-being causes political freedom but that there is no causation flowing from political freedom to economic well-being. The paper also finds no evidence of a casual relationship in either direction between economic freedom and political freedom. Indirectly economic freedom causes political freedom through its effect on economic well-being.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 and the Freedom House index of political rights and civil liberties are the main data sources for institutional variables.

Download the paper. (PDF)

Ford, John B., Kiran W. Karande, and Bruce M. Seifert (1998). The Role of Economic Freedom in Explaining the Penetration of Consumer Durables. Journal of World Business 33 (1): 69-86.

The study examines the link between economic freedom (a measure of government intervention) and the penetration of three durable goods (televisions, radios and automobiles) across countries.

Cites conclusions of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995; uses other indexes of economic freedom for empirical work.

Grubel, Herbert G. (1998). Economic Freedom and Human Welfare: Some Empirical Findings. Cato Journal 18 (2) (Fall): 287-304.

The paper compares economic freedom to income, growth, unemployment in the OECD, the UN Human Development Index, life expectancy, literacy, poverty, and income distribution. It finds that economic freedom does not have a cost in terms of income levels, income growth, unemployment rates, and human development.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1997 Annual Report is the main data source for institutional variables.

Download the paper. (PDF)

Gwartney, James, Randall Holcombe, and Robert Lawson (1998). The Scope of Government and the Wealth of Nations. Cato Journal 18 (2) (Fall): 163-90.

The paper examines the effect of the size of government in OECD countries upon economic growth. This paper draws on the authors Joint Economic Committee Study, The Size and Functions of Government and Economic Growth.

Makes reference to the general conclusions regarding economic freedom and income and growth as published in Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 and Economic Freedom of the World: 1997 Annual Report.

Download the paper. (PDF)

Henderson, David (1998). The Changing Fortunes of Economic Liberalism. London: Institute of Economic Affairs.

A comprehensive review of the trends in economic liberalism in the last century. The book covers economic liberalism in thought and practice as well as discussing how the climate of political and popular opinion has both helped and constrained the development of liberal policy. One section uses the Economic Freedom of the World to discuss the progress made by countries engaging in economic reform and the appendix discusses the derivation, benefits, and limitations of the Economic Freedom of the World.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 is the only quantitative source for institutional variables.

Johnson, James P., and Tomasz Lenartowicz (1998). Culture, Freedom and Economic Growth: Do Cultural Values Explain Economic Growth? Journal of World Business 33 (4): 332-56.

The paper discusses which cultural values are associated with economic freedom, drawing on two international quantitative cultural indexes.

Uses the summary ratings from Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as one of a number of institutional variables.

Johnson, Simon, Daniel Kaufmann, and Pablo Zoido-Lobaton (1998). Government in Transition: Regulatory Discretion and the Unofficial Economy. American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings (May): 159-239.

Empirically studies the effect of institutional quality on the share of the unofficial economy in GDP.

Uses the component, Equality of Citizens under the Law and Access of Citizens to a Non-Discriminatory Judiciary, of Economic Freedom of the World: 1997 Annual Report as one of a number of institutional variables.

Kealey, T. (April 1998). Why science is endogenous: a debate with Paul David (and Ben Martin, Paul Romer, Chris Freeman, Luc Soete and Keith Pavitt). Research Policy. 26 (7-8): 897-923.

Lim, Linda Y.C. (1998). Whose Model Failed? Implications of the Asian Economic Crisis. Washington Quarterly 21 (3): 25-36.

The paper examines the conflicting interpretations of the role of governments and economic freedom in the success and subsequent crises in Asia.

Cites conclusions of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995.

Mbaku, John Mukum, (1998). Constitutional Engineering and the Transition to Democracy in Post-Cold War Africa. The Independent Review 2 (4) (Spring): 501-17.

Discusses the constitutional guarantees necessary to secure economic freedom and why such guarantees are important. Focuses specifically on Africa.

Makes reference to the general conclusions of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 regarding economic freedom and income and growth.

Milhaupt, Curtis (1998). Property Rights in Firms. Virginia Law Review 84: 1145-94.

Discusses how differences in property rights and corporate governance systems arise within differing institutional frameworks.

Uses the Property Rights component of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as one of a number of institutional variables in case-study analysis.

Nelson, Michael A., and Ram D. Singh, (1998). Democracy, Economic Freedom, Fiscal Policy and Growth in LDCs: A Fresh Look. Economic Development and Cultural Change 46 (4) (July): 677-96.

The study examines the effect of democracy on economic growth after controlling for a number of variables for the size of government and institutions. The study finds that it is not the redistributive policies of democratic governments that hinder development in developing countries but the lack of economic freedom.

Uses the precursor to Economic Freedom of the World, Measuring Economic Freedom, by James Gwartney, Walter Block and Robert Lawson, a chapter in Stephen Easton and Michael Walker (eds.), Rating Global Economic Freedom (Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 1992). The summary ratings of Measuring Economic Freedom are used as one variable in a comparison of a number of variables for institutions and the size of government.

Norton, Seth W. (1998). Poverty, Property Rights, and Human Well-being: A Cross-national Study. Cato Journal 18 (2) (Fall): 233-45.

The paper compares property rights to indicators of development and determines that the well-being of the worlds poorest inhabitants [is] sensitive to the cross-national specification of property rights. The paper shows that well-specified property rights enhance the well-being of the worlds most impoverished.

Economic Freedom of the World: 1997 Annual Report and the Heritage Foundations Indices of Economic Freedom are the main data source for institutional variables.

Download the paper. (PDF)

Norton, Seth W. (1998). Property Rights, the Environment, and Economic Well-Being. In Peter J. Hill and Roger E. Meiners (eds.), Who Owns the Environment (Rowman & Littlefield): 37-54.

Investigates whether countries with better property rights have better performance on environmental measures.

Uses the summary ratings of Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 as one of four measures used as proxies for property rights.

Porket, J.L. (1998). Is the state in retreat? Politicka Ekonomie. 46 (6): 805-815.

Continue reading here:

Fiscal Freedom | Prometheism.net - Part 29

The Banana Republic of Illinois – Washington Times

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ANALYSIS/OPINION:

The media has hyper-obsessed over the Kansas tax hike this year and has sold this as a repudiation of supply side economics. But the real story in the states has been the catastrophic effects of tax and spend fiscal policy in Illinois.

Last week Illinois House Speaker for life Mike Madigan endorsed a $5 billion annual income tax hike. This would be the largest tax increase of any state in years. Republican Governor Bruce Rauner has blocked new taxes for three years but is now under intense pressure from the Springfield political machine to agree to the revenue heist.

Anyone who thinks this soak-the-rich scheme will solve Illinois long term budget crisis should have their head examined. Illinois already ranks in the top three among the 50 states in state-local tax burden, so if raising taxes were any kind of solution here, the Land of Lincoln would be a Garden of Eden.

Instead the state has been a financial basket case for years.

This is a state that is now $14.5 billion in arrears in paying its bills, whose bonds have been downgraded to near junk bond status, and that is losing its most valuable resource: its businesses and citizens. Small business contractors have to wait 6 months or more to get paid.

Back in 2013 the previous governor, Democrat Pat Quinn, followed the advice of economists like Paul Krugman of The New York Times, and raised taxes on the very wealthiest residents of the Land of Lincoln. He argued that the super rich in Illinois could easily afford to pay a bigger share of the tax load and no one would leave.

The more Mr. Quinn raised taxes, the deeper the budget hole got. Whole resort towns in Florida and Arizona have become high-income refugee camps of former affluent residents of Chicagoland.

In 2014 the voters dumped Mr. Quinn and his tax and spend economics and opted for businessman Bruce Rauner, a Republican. Mr. Rauner tried to fight the empire in Springfield, but was stymied every step of the way. Democrats laughed away his call for a constitutional spending cap, reforms to a pension system that is $200 billion in the red, a property tax cap, and so on. Instead the Democrats mantra sounded a lot like the giant plant in the film Little Shop of Horrors: feed me.

If there is any state that desperately needs term limits it is this one.

The tax increase is a punt in dealing with the massive unfunded liabilities in its government pension system. According to the Council On Government and Financial Accountability, Illinois pension payments are the major contributor to spending growth. Following the recent credit downgrade, Moodys cited the states overwhelming pension debt level as a contributor to the poor credit rating and negative outlook. In November, the state reported having $130 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, but Moodys calculates that level of pension debt as twice as high or $251 billion. A recent Hoover Institution analysis estimates Illinois pension funding ratio to be 29 percent, the lowest level in the United States.

According to Donna Arduin, a former budget advisor to Gov. Rauner, if the pensions arent curtailed, soon as much as one in four tax dollars in the state will not go for schools, or roads, of health care, or police and fire, but pension payments to retired employees many who no longer live in the state.

With a financial outlook like this, is it any wonder that some half-million more Americans left Illinois than moved there over the last decade? Only two states California and New York, two other liberal pantheons have lost more residents to other states than Illinois.

The recent actions in Springfield bring to mind the words of former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels who once joked: Being a neighbor to Illinois is like living next door to the Simpsons.

So what is the lesson for the rest of America? Soak the rich economics almost never works. As tax receipts keep sinking in Illinois, the safety net is tattered, the roads are in disrepair, crime is out of control in Chicago, and the state is home to some of the worst schools in the nation.

When you try to soak the rich, they leave, the state goes bankrupt and its the middle class that gets all wet. Hows that for tax fairness?

Why is the national media ignoring this story?

Stephen Moore is an economic consultant at Freedom Works and senior economic analyst at CNN.

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The Banana Republic of Illinois - Washington Times

One young Republican’s pursuit of the ‘Freedom to Marry’ – UC Berkeley

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Republican Tyler Deaton has known he was attracted to men as far back as he can remember. When he was four or five, he would draw himself marrying another man. I knew I was different in that way before Id ever even been taught it was wrong, he says.

It wasnt until a few years later that he learned in church that what he was feeling was sinful. I distinctly remember a night when I was in third grade, all night long, just crying. Finding these different sections in the Bible and just crying. I didnt sleep that night. That stuck with me for a long time. That one night, it was a revelation.

Deaton was part of a conservative evangelical Christian family living in Georgia. He was taught to live by the Bible as the literal word of God. And he did, in a lot of ways. But he also knew that he was gay and that it wasnt going to change.

Deatons story is one of 23 interviews conducted between 2015 and 2016 by the Bancroft Librarys Oral History Center at UC Berkeley. The interviews, conducted by the centers director, Martin Meeker, explore Freedom to Marry a national campaign that won the federal right for same-sex couples to get married and how it fits in withthe decades-long marriage movement.

Tyler Deaton

I never wanted to change, Deaton told Meeker, about being gay. And I knew I couldnt. I spent most of my time trying to figure out how I could at least feel better about myself.

By high school, the 10th grader began to realize that there were other ideas out there. He took a zoology class, where he learned about evolutionary theory. And he began to piece together his own value system apart from the traditional mold hed been expected to fill

In college, he met Jay, whom he would later marry in New Hampshire, one of the only states that was politically conservative but also LGBT-friendly a rare find in the U.S.

Because although Deaton supported LGBT issues, he was also a Republican. He believed in small government. He was conservative on fiscal and national security issues. Hed voted for George W. Bushs reelection in 2004 (the first time he was old enough to vote) and for John McCain in 2008. I really wish hes been president in 2008, he says. I voted for him enthusiastically over Barack Obama. Would do it again.

Same-sex marriage, to Deaton, was a single issue. It shouldnt be part of a larger, left-leaning progressive movement, he thought. There are a lot of Republicans who just will never even open the door being of a part of it then, he says. But if you keep it a single issue, you can build a coalition around that.

In 2011, when Tea Party Republicans threatened to repeal New Hampshires same-sex marriage law, which had been enacted three years before Deaton couldnt let it happen.

Tyler Deaton (right) and his now husband Jay McClure in 2013

The young Republican would go on to lead a trailblazing effort, convincing his fellow conservatives in the state to support the freedom to marry. In 2012, the bill to repeal the law was defeated by a bipartisan vote in the state legislature, 211 to 116, with more than 100 Republicans voting against the repeal. Deaton went on to be a founding member of the Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry.

Read the transcript of thefull interview with Tyler Deaton to find out how he worked with Republicans to defeat the repeal of the freedom to marry in New Hampshire.

Learn more about the Oral History Centers Freedom to Marry project.

On Sunday, the Cal Alumni Association is partnering withtheGender Equity Resource Center to lead a group of UC Berkeley alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends in the 47th annual San Francisco Pride Parade. Those planning to march are encouraged to register. The first 300 people to register and arrive at the meetup location will receive a free Cal Pride T-shirt. For more information and to register, visit the event page.

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One young Republican's pursuit of the 'Freedom to Marry' - UC Berkeley

PR institute says Mark-Viverito slashed funding after parade dispute … – New York Post

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City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is being accused of slashing an annual grant to a respected Puerto Rican institute by nearly half this year as retribution for the directors unwillingness to publicly support convicted terror leader Oscar Lpez Riveras starring role in the recent Puerto Rican Day Parade.

Since Mark-Viverito took the helm of the council in 2014, CUNYs Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College headed by Edwin Melendez has received $970,000 in discretionary funding each year.

But after a flap within the Puerto Rican community over the parades initial decision to honor Lpez Rivera with a National Freedom Hero award, the center saw its funding cut to $500,000 for fiscal 2018, council budget records show.

Mark-Viverito is a vocal supporter of Lpez Rivera, despite his former leadership role in the FALN a Puerto Rican terrorist group that took responsibility for more than 100 bombings in the 1970s and 80s that killed five people in New York City. He was convicted of seditious conspiracy and spent 35 years in prison before then-President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in January.

Melendez apparently refused to publicly defend the Puerto Rican Parades honoring of Oscar Lpez Rivera, Angelo Falcon, director for the National Institute for Latino Policy, wrote in a newsletter that first reported the funding cut on Friday.

If anything, this shows the problems that such political funding can have: What Mark-Viverito gives, on the one hand, she can easily take away with the other if you dont play ball with her, he added.

Falcon told The Post that several people told him Melissa was pissed off at [Melendez] and boom!

At the same time, CUNYs Dominican Studies Institute at City College which has received the same funding as the Puerto Rican center for the past three years saw its allotment continue at the $970,000 level in fiscal 2018.

Asked about the allegations of political retribution by Mark-Viverito, Melendez told The Post, I have no comment.

In an e-mail response to Falcon, Melendez confirmed the funding cut without addressing the issue of political payback.

We have learned that this City Council allocation has been reduced for the next fiscal year, which begins on July 1, 2017. Our core services will continue unaffected, Melendez wrote in the e-mail. We will continue to identify sources of funding that will permit Centro to continue offering the engagement and dissemination activities to the community in accordance to our mission.

A City Council spokeswoman did not address the allegations directly, saying instead the council was proud to support CUNY research initiatives.

Our $2.14 million in funding, which includes the addition of the newly funded Haitian and Mexican Studies Institutes, will continue to give students the resources to make the most of their studies and to support important research on these diverse communities, the spokeswoman said.

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PR institute says Mark-Viverito slashed funding after parade dispute ... - New York Post

You can achieve financial independence easily by using buckets … – AOL UK

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Achieving financial independence is everyone's goal. The dream of quitting the rat race and being able to live off your savings may seem like an unattainable goal to many but in reality, to achieve this, all you need is a little planning.

The key to building wealth is a regular savings plan. If you're putting away a little every month, over time this savings pot will build up. The best way to ensure that your savings stay untouched, and grow steadily over time is to use a bucket approach.

Using financial buckets to segregate your wealth is easy way of making sure that your money works as hard as possible. It doesn't require much effort and you'll soon reap the rewards.

How you plan your buckets will obviously depend on your current financial situation, savings goals and position in life. But no matter how you divide your wealth, you should be better off for it.

A simple bucket approach would be to divide your wealth between current and long-term savings. Depending on your current financial situation you may believe it is prudent to put aside enough cash to meet three months of spending obligations as protection against unforeseen occurrences.

With this cash cushion in place, you can devote the rest of your wealth to savings products with a longer horizon, with the intention of locking these funds away. Inside this bucket you may then choose to have two more buckets, one of which carries more risk but a higher potential long-term return such as equities. The other would be low risk but offer a steady return -- bonds might be appropriate.

The great thing about the bucket approach is that, as well as encouraging saving and making sure that you don't dip into your savings to meet near-term costs, it provides a psychological benefit.

Equities have generated a historic return of around 10% per annum, much more thanoffered by fixed interest. Nonetheless, this higher return comes with increased volatility, which may scare off some savers. But by using buckets there's no need to fret about volatility.

Research has shown that investors tend to panic when the market falls and sell at any cost, a destructive strategy. However, if you have your near-term cash requirements satisfied in the lower-risk savings buckets described above, the chances of you deciding to sell at the market bottom are greatly reduced as you can afford to wait for equities to recover.

Shares in companies such as Royal Dutch Shell and GlaxoSmithKline may fall significantly during periods of market turbulence but these companies have a long history of producing returns for investors and due to their size, they are unlikely to go out of business any time soon. What's more, these two companies both support dividend yields that are several percentage points above the income offered by most savings accounts.

Overall, if you want to achieve financial independence, a disciplined approach to saving is required. Andthe best way to ensure that you get the most from your money is to separate your funds into different buckets, with different levels of risk and reward based on your own financial circumstances. Job done.

A long-term approach is essential for building wealth. If financial independence is your goal, the Motley Fool is here to help. Our analysts have recently put together this brand new free report titled The Foolish Guide To Financial Independence, which is packed full of wealth creating tips.

The report is entirely free and available for download todaywith no further obligation.

So if you're interested in exiting the rat race and achieving financial independence, click here to download the report. What have you got to lose?

Rupert Hargreaves owns shares of GlaxoSmithKline and Royal Dutch Shell B. The Motley Fool UK owns shares of and has recommended GlaxoSmithKline. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Royal Dutch Shell B. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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You can achieve financial independence easily by using buckets ... - AOL UK

Porter’s Five Forces can help you achieve financial independence … – AOL UK

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We're big advocates of a bottom-up approach here at The Motley Fool. We invest in individual companies instead of betting on sectors. This approach can help us ignore the relentless 'noise' of the market, but taking this approach too far can be dangerous too.

Companies do not exist in isolation and do not have complete control over their destiny. It is therefore important to consider the impact market forces could have on an investment candidate. Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard, has designed a model of analysis that helps us investigate how a company functions inside its industry.

Porter's Five Forces provides insightsinto how the competitive picture may impact sales and profitability at a given company in the future.

Force number one asks: How easily can another company enter this industry"

Industries with relatively few players often boast outsized returns on capital. Investors will always be drawn to such industries, but unless a company has a wide economic moat (or durable competitive advantage) new competitors will inevitably emerge, vying for a cut of the juicy profits. This increased competition erodes margins until return on capital reverts to the mean. Investors who bought in at its zenith will be left nursing nasty losses.

To avoid this fate, don't be drawn in by big margins. Instead ask yourself how easy would it be to recreate this business if money was no object. If you could create a viable rival without in-house knowledge, hard-earned customer relationships, regulatory approval, brand-building, patent approval or any other differentiator, the company in question likely has a weak competitive position.

The force of substitution is the threat of customers choosing a different product over yours. Driverless cars might substitute taxi drivers. One engine part may be interchangeable with a competing product. When analysing a product, ask: what might be substituted for this? If a service or product is differentiated and strong enough that it has few threats of substitution, it could have the potential for outperformance.

In industries where competition is rife, the balance of power often shifts towards the customer base. This can result in price-sensitive consumers, minimal brand loyalty or even open the doors to price negotiations, thus reducing profitability.

When there is both bountiful supply and suppliers, a company can tend to source its inputs more cheaply because of increased competition. However, if a company must buy a special chemical that is only made by one supplier, it has little scope to negotiate on price if there are few or no viable substitutes.

Who are the other big players in the candidate's industry? What are they good at? Where do they fall down? Do they have any distinct differentiators? Can they threaten the candidate in the future? Understanding how your candidate compares to peers is or paramount importance to forming an opinion on its future.

Understanding these forces could help you track down the not-so-obvious big winners of the future. Our analysts often use this approach to find growth candidates that can compound outsized returns over the long run. We've found a company that ticks all the boxes.

People will pay top dollar for its world-renowned brand, its raw materials are plentiful and cheap and it has a wonderful growth record. This British growth story has doubled profits since 2012and shows no sign of letting up yet. To read the investment thesis in full, click here.

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Porter's Five Forces can help you achieve financial independence ... - AOL UK

The pleasure and pain of leaving the woodland utopia that taught us so much – The Guardian

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Tobias Jones and his family in their Somerset woodland home. Photograph: Antonio Olmos for the Observer

As any relay-racer knows, the moment of passing on the baton is a nervous time: you dont want to lose momentum, but neither do you want to rush and fumble. Eight years after founding Windsor Hill Wood, our residential sanctuary for people in a period of crisis in their lives, were at that stage. Were moving back to Italy and a new family is taking over the running of the woodland.

Its a strange feeling, handing over everything for which you have sweated for almost a decade: the flock of sheep, the newly-hatched chicks, the beehives, the eccentric outbuildings, the mature trees and young saplings, the polytunnel, pond and chapel, a wonderful workshop and all our hand-made furniture.

There are, hopefully, many more intangibles that were passing on: great relationships, abundant goodwill, a settled rhythm, a decent reputation, a degree of wisdom about communal living, spiritual stability and so on. So although were ecstatic that a courageous and experienced couple are taking it on, and will continue to share the abundant fruits of nature with the marginalised and mentally ill, its a real wrench to go.

Ironically, the main reason to leave is one of the reasons we started WHW in the first place: the children. When we lived in other communities for my book Utopian Dreams, we met many kids who had grown up in compassionate, open-door spaces. Those children had spent their childhoods surrounded by rough diamonds and smooth talkers, and appeared to us both streetwise and gentle, both canny and caring. We hoped for our children to grow up like that, and one of the great results of WHW is that our three kids are, I hope, very open-minded and open-hearted.

But, after the meadows and mud of Somerset, our girls yearn for their mothers chic Italian city as much as their mother yearns for them to speak, and feel, Italian. Theyre also entering an age in which its possibly not right for them to be surrounded by some of the slightly manipulative teenagers referred to WHW by rehabs and psychiatric units. As for little Leo, he just reckons that living in a country that has won the World Cup four times will be beneficial to his footballing career.

There are also career decisions on my side. For the last eight years I feel as if Ive done something of a Cat Stevens, renouncing art for faith and very often putting career on hold for communalism. On the occasions I have written about Italy, Ive felt something of a fraud writing about it from the depths of the English countryside. Now, having been commissioned to write two nonfiction books about Italy, it would be absurd not to live there.

But as well as pulls to Italy, there are pushes from WHW. Sharing your home, your life, and all your meals with half-a-dozen troubled people is exhilarating but also exhausting. Over the years, one begins to suffer from mild compassion fatigue. Its not the big things theft of petty cash or the occasional, spectacular relapse that get to you, but the tiny, constant ones: the hourly holding of the boundaries, the incessant site maintenance, the daily listening to deep woes. Even the profoundest people-person begins to feel slightly sociophobic when living in what sometimes feels like an ever-available village hall. Personally, Im still far more exhilarated than exhausted, but I can feel the balance shifting and want to entrust it to others while I still have that enthusiasm and energy.

For all the frustrations of forestry and farming, they are meditative and constantly gratifying

Were aware, of course, of the many things we will miss, most of all, of course, a sense of purpose. Well miss, too, a sense of wonder at all the arrivals: the randomness of, but also the perceptible pattern to, the stream of visitors. Theres never a dull day when strangers are constantly rolling up, bringing blessings and issues, but over the years you become sensitive to the mystery of their coming. Sometimes they themselves dont even know why theyve come, or how they heard of the place. But time and time again, when weve urgently needed a forester or a seamstress, a benefactor or a car mechanic, they have punctually shown up. Its mysterious, miraculous even, and reassures you that there is a generosity to fate (or providence) the wider you open your doors.

Well miss being able to meet almost all our energy needs with our own hands, coppicing, splitting and stacking logs. I feel melancholic at the idea that Ill no longer hear the shrieks of laughter as our children play in the clearings with guests, inventing games and showing each other how to both regress and mature. Play, after all, has always been one of the greatest therapies here. Well miss sitting in silence at dawn in our tiny chapel with its straw bales, and will definitely struggle with having to cook more than once a week. The lack of integration with nature will be felt keenly: for all the frustrations of forestry and farming, they are meditative and constantly gratifying. At the end of the day, once the kids are finally in bed, the ability to saunter in the woodland what the Japanese call Shinrin Yoku (forest bathing) is a balm for the soul.

Just yesterday, in our weekly wellbeing meeting for all the residents, one of our visitors was talking about how she is trying to internalise WHW so that she can take its spirit with her when she leaves. Its something weve spoken about with our guests for years, and now, of course, were having to learn what we want to take with us: a sense of simplicity, certainly, but also a confidence that you can turn your hand to almost anything that you can make a new kitchen table rather than click on Ikea.

It is, for me, about learning patience, living in a time frame which isnt frenetic or instant, but measured in tree time of years and, even, generations. Its about temperance, not just in terms of alcohol, but in terms of temper, being quick to listen and slow to anger. Its about sharing belongings to find that holy grail of modern life belonging. Its about making peace at the same time as learning not to avoid conflict; about being vulnerable but also resilient; about rugged action but also deep stillness.

We are (I hope our successors would agree) very relaxed about the idea that the place will evolve and develop in our absence. And there are certainly many things which could be improved on finances, fundraising, formal procedures, policies and IT to name but a few. But we hope it will always be a place which offers old-fashioned Christian hospitality to the marginalised and displaced; that it will always be centred on the love and informality of family, resisting the constant temptations of institutionalism and bureaucracy; and most of all that it will continue to be inspiring and therefore emulated, not in an identikit way, but bespoke to the situation and circumstances of each place. We, certainly, hope to emulate it in years to come in the Apennines outside Parma.

Tobias Jones is the author of A Place of Refuge. His next book is about the Italian Ultras

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The pleasure and pain of leaving the woodland utopia that taught us so much - The Guardian

Jazzfest review: Serena Ryder shows her roots, rocks new tunes – Ottawa Citizen

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Serena Ryder headlines at TD Ottawa Jazz Festival Friday (June 23, 2017) night on the main stage in Confederation Park . Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen

Serena Ryder TD Ottawa Jazz Festival Reviewed Friday

Serena Ryder demonstrated the evolution of her artistry during a thoroughly enjoyable main-stage performance at the TD Ottawa Jazz Festival on Friday.

The singer-songwriter who grew up outside Peterborough not only showed off her star power as a vocalist and bandleader but also reached back to her formative years during a down-to-earth acoustic segment on the Confederation Park stage.

Its so weird to have a set list and a band of rock n roll stars because Im such a small-town little hick, she confessed, just after changing her mind about what song to play. Instead of launching into the solo acoustic segment, she switched guitars and fulfilled a request from the crowd for Mary Go Round, a song inspired by her childhood.

With the acoustic back in her arms, Ryder returned to her original plan, revealing her campfire roots with stripped-down versions of Its No Mistake, All For Love and Weak in the Knees, her breakthrough hit of 10 years ago. In this intimate format, without the band, the depth of her talent was evident, and she was in her element connecting with fans in front of the stage.

But she was just as genuine playing her new material with the big band behind her. Backed by a super-charged lineup that included Brian Kobayakawa on bass, Sekou Lumumba on drums, Joel Joseph on keys, and Joan Smith on electric guitar, as well as backing vocalists Miku Graham and D/Shon, Ryder delivered a funky show that was drenched in R & B. They brought the rhythmic tunes from Ryders brand-new album, Utopia, springing to life, and revitalized some old favourites along the way.

Show highlights included the opener Stompa, the 80s pop-rock feel of Ice Age, the rocking Wolves and the crisp new singles, Got Your Number and Electric Love. Also noteworthy was her turn on keyboards, an instrument she said she kinda plays, plucking out the accompaniment as she applied her most heartfelt wail to Wild and Free, another song from the new album.

Her smile radiating warmth, Ryder looked confident and comfortable on stage, always a good sign for an artist with a new batch of tunes to kick off and a summer filled with tour dates. Shell be back in Ottawa on July 1 to share the Parliament Hill stage with an array of artists, including Alessia Cara, Dean Brody, Walk Off The Earth, Gordon Lightfoot and two members of U2, Bono and the Edge.

lsaxberg@postmedia.com

twitter.com/lynnsaxberg

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Jazzfest review: Serena Ryder shows her roots, rocks new tunes - Ottawa Citizen

New law bans weapons from town-owned property in Woodbridge as gun debate continues – New Haven Register

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WOODBRIDGE >> People who visit Town Hall, the library, hiking trails or any other townowned property or building should leave their Glocks and other weapons at home from now on, as the town has joined a growing number in creating a municipal firearms law.

The new law in Woodridge bans firearms, air guns, air rifles, crossbows, longbows, archery equipment or other weapons from town-owned buildings and property.

Resident and educator Jean Molot, who worked on the measure along with First Selectwoman Ellen Scalettar, said the law, sends a message that we care about the safety of people in this town.

Scalletar added, I think that gun violence is a major problem for our society and our country This helps make Woodbridge a safer place.

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But second amendment enthusiasts claim the new law in Woodbridge and others like it actually create more of a danger to the public.

Scott Wilson, president of the nearly 28,000-member Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said the local laws are feel good measures to create a false utopia, and actually do the opposite of whats intended by leaving law-biding citizens unarmed in public places where they might need to protect themselves.

This is a bad deal for the citizens of Woodbridge, Wilson said It only emboldens an individual to commit an atrocity.

There is no centralized database for local ordinances related to firearms.

But Attorney Dennis H. Tracey, partner in the New York firm Hogan Lovells, who drafted the law for Woodbridge at no charge, said its not that unusual for municipalities to have general rules prohibiting carrying firearms on town property, although the wording of each is different.

He said municipalities that have similar bans include North Branford, East Haven, Naugatuck, Meriden and Ansonia. Tracey, a selectman in Weston, said he drafted an ordinance similar to the Woodbridge one for his town.

In East Haven, the law appears even more restrictive than the one adopted in Woodbridge, stating, No person shall discharge or set off anywhere within the limits of the town or have in his or her possession for such purpose, any pistol, rifle or gun in which may be used any cartridge, whether blanks or otherwise, except legally licensed hunters It goes on to spell out parameters for those hunters.

In Milford, Mayor Ben Blake said there is a local ban on firearms in parks, beaches and schools, but not town-owned buildings.

Firearms are already banned in schools everywhere in Connecticut, per state law.

In New Haven, there is no local ordinance at all regarding firearms. City spokesman Laurence Grotheer said in an email, According to the citys Office of Corporation Counsel, state law governs the legal possession and discharge of guns in New Haven there are no city ordinances to complement, supersede, or supplant state law

Like Wilson, National Rifle Association spokeswoman Catherine Mortensen maintains gun free zones dont work.

Law-abiding citizens are sitting ducks for criminals who ignore the laws, Mortensen said.

But Michael Lawlor, Gov. Dannel P. Malloys undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning, said thats not what the data shows.

Connecticut has some of the countrys toughest gun laws. Everyone needs a permit to carry and to buy a firearm or ammunition in the state and that involves undergoing a background check and six hours of training, Lawlor said.

Lawlor said in the last three years, since state gun laws were tightened in 2013, Connecticut has seen the biggest reduction in reported violent crimes of any state, according to FBI statistics.

We have very tight gun laws. Law-abiding citizens can get a gun, Lawlor said. We have one of the lowest murder and violent crime rates in the country.

Lawlor said it is up to property owners, including homeowners, whether to allow guns on their property and the Woodbridge regulation is reasonable.

He said without a local regulation, a registered gun owner with a permit could be handling a gun only feet from a bunch of kids playing and the police would have no grounds to question him.

The same would be true if a suspicious person with a gun were to enter Town Hall. Now if police see someone with a gun they can ask, What are you doing?, and the person can be charged with trespassing.

Penalty for violation of the local law carries a fine of up to $500, said Woodbridge Police Chief Frank Cappiello, who said hes fully supportive of the revised ordinance. He said it will enhance public safety throughout our community.

While the local law sets a fine of up to $500, anyone violating it could also face stiffer penalties, including jail, Lawlor said, because the state has a law against carrying handguns where prohibited, and a violation is punishable by a fine of up to $500, imprisonment for up to three years, or both, and forfeiture of any handgun found in the violators possession, Lawlor said.

John DeCarlo, associate professor of criminal justice at University of New Haven and a retired police chief, said because we are a federalized Democracy, states cant dispute the constitutional right to own and bear arms in keeping with the Second Amendment, but part of the responsibility of government is to regulate them.

DeCarlo said he recalls as a police chief getting phone calls from residents about a guy in a supermarket with a gun. While unnerving, he said, without that supermarket having a rule posted against such carry, it was legal.

Asked whether Woodbridges new law could prevent a mass shooting, DeCarlo said, Maybe it will.

DeCarlo said in the case of Woodbridges new law, I think this is more of a political statement or consensus by political leaders rather than a reaction to a threat Its based on ideology.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said communities like Woodbridge should be commended for taking sensible, basic measures to protect residents, but that local laws are no replacement for federal action the spread of lethal and illegal guns respects no state or local borders.

It is time for Congress to listen to the will of the American people and approve common sense gun safety legislation, approve universal background checks, tougher penalties against gun trafficking, limits on military-style ammunition and other sensible measures, Blumenthal said.

Scalettar said the idea of revisiting and revising the towns firearms ordinance arose in recent years after it was brought to her attention that a section of the law that was not in compliance with state law.

Woodbridges original ordinance had prohibited discharging a weapon within 500 yards of a dwelling, but state law requires that be 500 feet. That has been changed.

Scalettar said revising the local law had been put on the back burner, but was brought to the forefront after she was contacted by Molot, an educator at Beecher Road School and mother who had always been for tighter gun control. It went into high gear with her advocacy after the Newtown shootings.

As a mother, as a teacher, I was extremely affected by Newtown, Molot said.

In addition to changing the footage cited in the ordinance to comply with state law, they additionally worked on the ban in town buildings and on town property.

I personally feel anytime anyone is carrying a loaded weapon, its the potential for a tragedy, Molot said. None of these laws are going to stop a person intent on shooting people.

Scalletar said tightening the gun law was important to her all along, as she was policy director for Senate Democrats when the shootings took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. Twenty first grade students and six adults were killed by a gunman.

A municipality cannot regulate the gun industry like the federal or state government can; we cannot require mental health background checks or prohibit those on the no-fly list from buying guns. What we can do is regulate where those guns are carried and used in our town, Scalettar said.

She and Scalettar met to discuss the topic, and Molot found Tracey who offered to work pro bono. After several meetings, the new law was drafted.

The law was brought to public hearing recently, where it received support of residents and was approved by the Board of Selectmen. There are two exemptions for carrying guns on town-owned property for law enforcement personnel and the other for the lawful transport of weapons on town roads.

Scalettar said the ordinance change is In keeping with what Woodbridge residents expect.

A town-issued press release after approval of the new law said: The Woodbridge Board of Selectmen approved a change to the Towns firearms ordinance on the same day that a member of Congress and four others were shot while at a baseball practice and a year and a day after the countrys deadliest mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub. The release also makes reference to Newtown.

Wilson, the CCDL president, said he disagrees on the reasoning behind the new local law and that gun-free zones make the public vulnerable.

In the case of the Newtown shootings, Wilson said, the outcome might have been different if the principal had a gun when she confronted shooter Adam Lanza.

Mortensen of the NRA said Americans are carrying firearms in record numbers because they know that law enforcement cannot always be there to protect them.

Law-abiding citizens should have the right to exercise their constitutional right to self-protection wherever they maybe, she said.

Molot said shes disappointed and disgruntled with how gun control has been handled at the federal level. She helped in the post-Newtown struggle to try and get federal legislation passed.

But having Woodbridge residents embrace the concept and action made her feel empowered, and it was satisfying to see that happening, Molot said.

Tracey said the municipal firearm restrictions must conform to both Second Amendment and federal and state law requirements and Woodbridges new ordinance clearly does.

He said the firm performs over 80,000 hours per year of pro bono work for thousands of clients and he personally does about 300 hours per year, as is part of the culture of the firm.

As for the Woodbridge case, he said, I am also personally committed to promoting reasonable firearms control.

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New law bans weapons from town-owned property in Woodbridge as gun debate continues - New Haven Register

PNG can help fencing grow in Oceania | Loop PNG – Loop PNG

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During the Olympic Day celebrations held yesterday in Port Moresby, Leon Thomas of Oceania Fencing introduced the sport to students from different schools.

The Oceania region is considered as a development zone of fencing and Thomas believes that if they spread the word and generate more interest, the code can gain a following in other Oceania countries considering PNGs population, geography and influence in the region.

Thomas, who took part in four World Fencing Championships, was pleased with the interest shown by participants in Port Moresby.

Its great to see the interest from the kids here. Fencing has grown largely in Oceania countries like Samoa, New Caledonia and Tahiti but we want to target PNG because it has a large population and having fencing introduced and grown here could help it grow in Oceania, said Thomas.

Thomas explained that current fencers in Oceania qualify for the Olympics through Asia, but if the code grows in Oceania, then the region could have its own qualifying pathway to the Olympics.

Fencing was one of the original nine sports in the inaugural modern Olympic Games played in Athens, Greece in 1896.

It is one of only four sports that have been featured at every single Olympic competitions since 1896.

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PNG can help fencing grow in Oceania | Loop PNG - Loop PNG