Monthly Archives: February 2022

Escaping abusive relationships through financial empowerment – CityMag – InDaily

Posted: February 24, 2022 at 2:47 am

A high rate of intimate partner violence and financial coercion is Australias dirty secret. Credit Union SAs CEO talks about the Zahra Foundation and Credit Unions own initiatives for women fleeing abusive relationships.

Intimate partner violence has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

An Australian Institute of Criminology study found that, during the first 12 months of the pandemic, one in 10 women experienced physical violence, one in 12 experienced sexual violence and one in three experienced emotionally abusive, harassing and controlling behaviours.

More than 40 per cent of these women also self-reported that the violence or behaviours increased in frequency or severity during the pandemic.

The Zahra Foundation provides financial counselling, programs and referrals to other services to help women and non-binary people experiencing intimate partner violence become financially independent and avoid a return to the relationship.

Credit Union SA CEO Todd Roberts says the companys sponsorship of the foundation strongly links to its purpose as an organisation.

To help South Australians thrive its the reason we do what we do and why we exist, Todd says.

Supporting the Zahra Foundation in their mission to help women and non-binary people towards recovery and financial independence is truly a privilege and something we are incredibly proud of.

We have been sponsoring the Zahra Foundation for five years now. In that time, weve been a major partner of their annualWomen on the Runfundraising event, provided merchandise and donated funds to their recovery programs.

The recovery programs include the nine-week Pathways to Empowerment. Zahra Foundation General Manager Kelly-Ann Tansley says restoring a sense of self and goal setting for a new future are key to recovery.

Theres a misconception in society that a woman or non-binary people are safe once they leave an abusive relationship, Kelly-Ann says.

We know that the pathway to recovery is a long journey, holistic support is needed, in terms of financial counselling, reviewing budgets and debts and opportunities to reconnect socially as often women have been isolated.

There are long-lasting health impacts from either physical assaults or emotional and psychological impacts particularly in situations when a womans been controlled or coerced, throughout the relationship, theres a loss of self-identity.

ThePathways to Empowermentprograms have been operating for more than five years. They run during school terms at locations in Adelaide, North Adelaide and south of the city. Each one is led by two trained specialist domestic abuse recovery facilitators, who provide support and guidance for women to find their voice and be empowered.

The participants are often referred to the Zahra Foundation by domestic violence support services and SA Police, while other women learn about the program and self-refer.

Some women who have used the service have unknowingly had their identity used by abusive partners on loan documents, been coerced into signing financial contracts or simply had limited or no say in the allocation of household income.

Consequently, the foundations financial counsellors also advocate on behalf of women dealing with banks, telcos, utilities, credit card companies and government departments.

Kelly-Ann says awareness of financial abuse is growing.

A lot of financial institutions and government organisations are starting to get really good at understanding what financial abuse looks like and what coercive control is, Kelly-Ann says.

This is important because with coercive control, often there isnt any physical forms of violence. But theres controlling of a woman, through many means. Financial abuse is often an indicator of other forms of harm or violence within the relationship.

Credit Union SA worked with Zahra Foundation last year to develop their domestic and family violence policy. CEO Todd Roberts says this has led to a number of other initiatives.

We are continuously improving our processes and education to ensure we can identify and respond to signs of vulnerability. This includes regular frontline staff training, considerations when designing new products and services, and constant monitoring of accounts and transactions, Todd says.

Its all about making sure we can provide immediate support to victims by protecting their accounts and helping them going forward.

We are also working with the Zahra Foundation on a new initiative thatwill enable womenand non-binary peoplewho are in domestic and family violence situations to have a secret savings account, potentially giving them a greater chance to flee.

For more information onWomen on the Runclickhere.

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Hilliard Headlines: City officials focused on hiring the best candidates for summer positions – The Columbus Dispatch

Posted: at 2:47 am

Erin Duffee| Hilliard Recreation and Parks Department

Each spring, the city of Hilliard begins the recruitment process for part-time and seasonal jobs to staff its municipal pools, ballfields, parksand facilities.

Finding great candidates for these temporary positions is a process we take seriously, because some of these employees quite literally could be responsible saving a life this summer.

This year, more employment opportunities are available locally and nationally than ever before, and the competition for great employees is expected to be tough.

Thats why the city is amping up its hiring initiatives in 2022. We are invested in finding passionate people to help us make this summer the best one yet.

Our hiring initiatives have started earlier than ever. Some of our efforts might look familiar to those residents have seen in the past, and some are brand new.

You might see signs and flags around town that include links to apply; advertisements on Facebook, Snapchat and TikTok; and information in the next edition of Your Hilliard magazine, coming to your mailboxes in March. Staff members are working with local businesses, high schools and universities to get the word out about the opportunities to serve your community while making money.

Sowhy should residents especially teenagersconsider working for the city of Hilliard this summer, especially when there are so many other options to consider?

Well, the paycheck is nice, especially for teens who are saving money for college, for gas moneyor just to start gaining some of their own financial independence.

Its fun and the working conditions are awesome. Seasonal and part-time employees get to work outdoors in our pools, parksand facilities. Many of our summer staff members return year after year to continue friendships with people they met on the job.

Unlike many jobs in retail and the service industry, working in the public sector is an opportunity to truly have an impact on the community. Our lifeguards are crucial to keeping our pools open and keeping our pools safe. Our camp counselors get to work directly with Hilliard children, which looks great on a resume, especially for those interested in careers like education. Sports fans get to work on the pitys ball fields.

Plus, it teaches valuable life skills. CPR, anyone?

A job with the Hilliard Recreation and Parks Department is rewarding, especially for those who live in this community. Many of the citys long-term, full-time employees started their careers as lifeguards or recreation aides.

Of course, our summer employees get paid to learn new, applicable skills. They gain leadership development opportunities, mentorship opportunities, certificatesand job coaching. These jobs look great on a resume.

Hilliard is hiring part-time lifeguards, camp counselors, ball field grounds crew members, park maintenance workers, recreation aidesand front desk/programming recreational aides.

More information about each available job, including applications, is available at hilliardohio.gov/hiring or by calling 614-876-5200.

Interested applicants also may stop by the Hilliard Community Center inRoger A. Reynolds Municipal Park during operating hours.

Erin Duffee is assistant director of the Hilliard Recreation and Parks Department.

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The Black Record Label That Introduced the Beatles to America – Smithsonian

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Vivian Carter (center) and her husband, Jimmy Bracken (far right), launched Vee Jay Records in 1953. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images

In February 1963, Dick Biondi, a popular nighttime disc jockey (DJ) at WLS-AM in Chicago, dropped the needle on Please Please Me, becoming the first person to play the Beatles on American radio. Black with rainbow trim, the label on the record misspelled the bands name as the Beattles. The record companys nameVee Jay, the initials of co-founders Vivian Carter and Jimmy Bracken, a married Black couple whod set up shop on Chicagos South Side in the 1950sappeared up top.

At the time, the Beatles were enjoying a surge of popularity in Britain but remained virtually unknown in the United States. Vee Jay took a chance on the Liverpool quartet, signing them after Capitol Records, the American subsidiary of the Beatles British label, EMI Records, declined to do so. (British artists fared poorly in the U.S.or so the company believed.) Though Capitol eventually stepped forward to claim the Beatles, just asBeatlemania was poised to sweep America in late 1963, Vee Jay deserves credit for introducing the band to the U.S.

The most successful Black-run record company before Motown in Detroit, Vee Jay invited the Beatles to share an English interpretation of the rhythm-and-blues (R&B) music then popular across the Atlantic. Rock critic Dave Marsh, in his 2007 book The Beatles Second Album, notes that the independent record company made exactly the kind of American pop R&B records that the group admired, unlike Capitol, which didnt understand the bands sound. Still, a key question posed by Marsh remains: [C]ould the Beatles have been as profitable, prolific and as world-changing had they remained on Bracken and Carters mom-and-pop label?

In 1953four years before 16-year-old John Lennon and 15-year-old Paul McCartneymet at achurch garden party in LiverpoolCarter, a charismatic radio personality who hosted a popular gospel show in her hometown of Gary, Indiana, married Bracken, a budding entrepreneur whod recently helped her open Vivians Record Shop in the citys downtown. The couples ambitions were modest: start a record company to stock the store with the music radio listeners were requesting. They borrowed $500 from a pawnbroker to record the labels first artist: the Spaniels, a local doo-wop group.

[Carter] had the X factor, says Billy Shelton, a Gary native who graduated from the same high school as Carter and whose teen vocal group later morphed into the Spaniels. (Shelton left before the band found fame, unsuccessfully auditioning for Vee Jay with another group, the Three Bees, before officially joining the Spaniels in the 1980s.) She had the King Midas touch. Anything she did turned [into] gold.

Vee Jays first release, the Spaniels Baby Its You, debuted in 1953 at number ten on Billboards R&B chart. Goodnite, Sweetheart, Goodnite, released in 1954, reached number fivemuch to Sheltons surprise. I didnt think they would make it. I didnt think their arrangements and music was all that great, he says. What I failed to take into account was Vivian Carter was behind it. And Vee Jay Records was behind it. And Ewart Abnerthen the general manager of Vee Jaywas behind it.

Carter and Bracken hired Abner, who would later serve as president of Motown, to run Vee Jay in 1954. Trained as an accountant, hed been unable to find work at any of Chicagos accounting firms due to racial discrimination. Instead, he started his career as a bookkeeper at a Chicago record-pressing plant in 1949. The plants owners recognized Abners talent and recruited him to help out with their label, Chance Records, which specialized in blues, doo-wop, jazz and gospel, and at their record distribution company. After Chance folded, Abner moved on to Vee Jay. He was later appointed president of the label.

Abner was a brilliant man. Brilliant, says Gwen McDaniels, who worked for Abner at Vee Jay in the 1960s. He was unreal. To see him in action was unbelievable. In the 1997 PBS documentary Record Row, Vee Jay artist Jerry Butler described the traits that helped Abner thrive in the business: Not only was he a genius in terms of marketing and merchandising. Ewart Abner was one of those guys who could stay up for three or four days at a time and just entertain people and hypnotize em and draw them into his spirit. The executive also studied how independent white labels like Chess and Atlantic Records found success with Black R&B acts. He had no doubt that Vee Jay could do the same.

A World War II veteran, Abner had joined other Black servicemen protesting segregation on and around the Tuskegee Air Force base. The experience forged his determination to resist the constraints of an American music industry that expected record companies to produce Black music exclusively for Black radio and Black consumers. I dont understand and I dont accept limitations, certainly not based on my color. What does that have to do with anything? Abner said in a 1995 interview for the Smithsonian Institutions Black Radio: Telling It Like It Was series. Thats somebody elses idea of restrictions and limitations, not mine.

As Abners son Tony, a record executive in Los Angeles, explains, [My father] felt that the music business allowed a Black person ... to build financial independence and a power base to reach for some of those higher goals.

At Vee Jay, Abner tapped the robust, national network of Black DJs, distributors and retailers that hed established at Chance. Crucially, he knew how to get Vee Jays records on the radio. In the labels early days, the music industry practice later known as payolapaying DJs to play your recordswas not only legal but common.

My dad was well known in the business and well liked because whenever you saw him, it was good news, says Tony. He came ready to entertain you and wine and dine you and make sure you had a memorable time while he was around. And youd walk away with some money in your pocket.

Money alone didnt win airplay. DJs had reputations to maintain, and the music they played had to be good. Carters younger brother Calvin, the fourth member of Vee Jays core team, took charge of this area, developing the labels artists and producing its records. He was good at picking out talent, says Shelton. He could hear something and say, Yeah, that will sell. Carter also innovated in the studio. I recall The Shoop Shoop Song by Betty Everett, said Butler in Record Row. People often wondered how in the world did he get that sound out of the bass drum. And it wasnt the bass drum, it was people stomping on telephone books.

Over Vee Jays 13-year run, Carter built a roster that left a lasting impact on every genre of American music. After opening its doors on Record Row, a 12-block stretch of South Michigan Avenue, the label signedamong othersblues musicians Jimmy Reed and John Lee Hooker; gospel group the Staple Singers; and Jerry Butler and the Impressions, who recorded what is often considered the first soul record.

As major labels like RCA Victor and Decca realizedthe universal appeal of Black music, some took the exploitative step of enlisting white artists to record copies of R&B songs. Because it was a white artist, they could get it played on white radio and thus get it exposed to the larger universe, which was the general market, Abner said in Black Radio. Sometimes, the windfall for these labels was orders of magnitude higher than what the original Black artists reaped. For example, while Butler was the first vocalist to record Moon River in 1961, it was Andy Williams version that became the standard. Everyone in my office was really upset about that, says McDaniels, describing the reaction of Vee Jays largely African American staff.

Timothy Dowd, a sociologist at Emory University who has written on the rise of R&B music in America, says that major labels adopted the cover strategy to undercut the rising success of independent labels. (These smaller companies lacked the in-house manufacturing plants, distribution networks and large promotional budgets of the multinational conglomerates but nevertheless produced songs that won favor among consumers.) It could almost be like retribution, Dowd says. Oh, youre having a hit with this? Lets put our own version out there. Still, some artistslike Ray Charles, who was represented by the independent Atlantic Recordsrendered this strategy pointless. There was no cover that could beat him, Dowd adds.

Vee Jay witnessed the turning tide firsthand. Gene Chandlers Duke of Earl, a more traditional doo-wop number, became the labels first number one record in February 1962. As Vee Jay found greater success, Abner decided to confront the major labels on their own turf. I can be general market just like they are general market, he said in 1995. Only, Ill do it differently. Instead of covering some white artists, Ill sign some white artists of my own. By November 1961, white artists comprised 30 percent of Vee Jays roster. If we want to stay in business, Abner told Ebony magazine, weve got to stop thinking of ourselves as just a Negro company.

The Four Seasons, an Italian American vocal group from New Jersey, earned Vee Jay the top slot on the Billboard chart twice in 1962. That same year, Vee Jay obtained from EMI the U.S. distribution rights for Frank Ifield, a British Australian performer whose I Remember You reached number five on the charts. Ifields success belied Capitol Records pronouncement that British acts wouldnt sell in the U.S. But Capitol continued to pass on the Beatles.

An oft-cited account of how Vee Jay obtained the Beatles distribution rights suggests the quartet was part of the Ifield dealan extra that EMI threw in. (Calvin Carter recalled it this way.) But Mark Lewisohn, an expert on the Beatles recording history, disputes this narrative. It had nothing to do with Frank Ifield, he says, adding that the January 10, 1963, contract only mentions the Beatles. Abners version of events, shared in 1995, supports Lewisohns:

I had a very astute lawyer in New York named Paul Marshall. Called me on the phone and said, Ab, this group, theyre going to be bigger than bubble gum. Says, Theyre already happening in Liverpool and in England. Capitols got a right to them because Capitol is owned by EMI. Capitol doesnt want to exercise their right. We can get em. I said, Lets get em!

Just over a page long, the contract also granted Vee Jay right of first refusal on American distribution of Beatles records for the next five years. Had things gone Vee Jays way, said Beatles historian Bruce Spizer in 2017, Sergeant Pepper would have been released [by the label].

Please Please Me made a muted American debut. Dick Biondi and WLS in Chicago played the record enough for it to rank on the stations own chart of most played songs, but it failed to break through elsewhere. Vee Jays next Beatles release, From Me to You, received airplay from Biondi, now based in Los Angeles, but the single also failed to chart.

At the time, Louise Harrison Caldwell, sister of Beatles guitarist George Harrison, lived in southern Illinois. According to her memoir, upon witnessing the Beatles poor performance with Vee Jay, she advised the bands manager, Brian Epstein, that without the financial and influential backing of one of the major companies, our little band might as well be nowhere men! (A database compiled by Dowd shows that by the end of 1963, the Four Seasons had charted ten times on Vee Jay, bringing the labels total number of Billboard hits since its inception to 56.)

Vee Jays rapid growth in the early 1960s sparked dissent among the companys leaders. Rumors circulated about Abner using Vee Jay funds to pay off gambling debts; the music executive, in the 1995 interview, maintained that the dispute hinged on how big to get [and] whether to go into debt to get any bigger. ... We disagreed, so I left the company in 1963. Abner added, I expanded beyond our ability to handle, ... built up a staff and a force, which required that we have a certain kind of product and needed capital.

Abner departed Vee Jay just as it was realizing its greatest financial success. The company issued the first Beatles album in the U.S., Introducing The Beatles, on January 10, 1964ten days before Capitol Records, which had by then filed a lawsuit asserting distribution rights for the band, released a separate album of mostly new songs titled Meet the Beatles! Both albums raced to the top of the charts, with Capitols claiming the top spot for 11 weeks, leaving Vee Jay at number two for nine weeks. Full-fledged Beatlemania had finally hit America.

Introducing... The Beatles was effectively the American release of the bands first album, Please Please Me, minus the title track and Ask Me Why, songs that had flopped as the two sides of the Beatles first U.S. single. That left the album with 12 tracks, half of which were covers of songs by Black artists. (The albums closer, Twist and Shout, had been a hit for the Isley Brothers the year before.) Vee Jay also released Twist and Shout as a single on its subsidiary label, scoring a number two hit with the song in 1964. For the B-side of the single, the label selected Theres a Place, which Lennon acknowledged in a 1980 interview was my attempt at a sort of Motown, Black thing.

In April 1963, EMI sent the master recordings for the album to Vee Jay, which had 30 days to exercise its right of first refusal.But the company didnt immediately move forward with the release, in part because the Beatles werent a priority but also because of cash flow problems. EMIs U.S. representative, Transglobal, unilaterally terminated Vee Jays licensing contract in August 1963, after plans to print 6,000 copies of Introducing The Beatles stalled and the company failed to pay royalties to either Ifield or the Beatles. In a telegram to the label, Transglobal demanded that Vee Jay immediately cease manufacture and distribution of any and all records containing performances of Frank Ifield or The Beattles [sic]. As far as EMI and Capitol were concerned, this note reverted American distribution rights to Capitol and provided the legal basis for Capitol to sue the independent label in January 1964, when Vee Jay rushed out over 80,000 copies of its album to capitalize on Beatlemania.

Vee Jay immediately countersued, arguing that its distribution agreement was still in force. But a procedural blunder by the labels lawyer led a court to temporarily ban Vee Jay from issuing Beatles records, as Spizer wrote for Goldmine magazine in 2010. Over the next several months, the Beatles historian added, the injunction would be lifted and reinstated over and over again, thus undermining the companys ability to get its Beatles records into the stores.

In April, the parties reached a court settlement that allowed Vee Jay to continue issuing records from the 16 master recordings already in its possession through October 1964; after this date, full American distribution rights reverted to Capitol.

Vee Jay realized unprecedented profits in 1964, putting out records by the most popular band in the world. Though the label didnt allow the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to audit its books during the 1960s, Spizer later obtained the sales data from Vee Jays comptroller, leading to the 2014 certification of Introducing... the Beatlesand three other Beatles singles issued in 1964 as platinum (over a million units sold).

At the peak of Vee Jays success, in August 1964, the labels new president, Randy Wood, met the Beatles backstage at the Hollywood Bowl and presented them with the companys own version of the RIAA gold records (over 500,000 units sold). Marsh writes, One wonders whether the Beatles were struck by a Black man being the president of their previous record label.

From these heights, Vee Jay made a rapid descent into ruin. In 1965, the Brackens called Abner back in a desperate bid to save the company. Vee Jay had by then moved to Los Angeles, where it watched its gains evaporate from mismanagement. But it was too late. The label filed for bankruptcy in 1966. Abner joined Motown as an advisor to founder Berry Gordy and later as the companys president. Carter returned to Gary to DJ, while her brother continued producing. Bracken launched an unsuccessful label, and he and Carter got divorced.

How big could Vee Jay have become if it had been better positioned financially to capitalize on the Beatles popularity? And how exactly did Vee Jay contribute to the Beatles success?

The popular story of how Beatlemania arose in America revolves around a white teenager in Washington, D.C.who asked local DJ Carroll James to play the bands I Want to Hold Your Hand on the radio in December 1963. He did, and listeners went wild. Vee Jays role in the Beatles ascent to superstardom is lesser known. But the fact remains that the Beatles first album in America was released by a Black-run label and consisted of six covers of songs by Black artists. Black radio and Black disc jockeys are more responsible for todays music industry than any single factor, said Abnerin 1995. Without [them], there wouldnt have been, in our view, rock and roll.

Vee Jay laid the groundwork for the Beatles, and it was Abner who literally handed Biondi the Beatles disc in February 1963. As the DJ told NPR in 2013, [Abner] came up, and he was bringing his latest releases. And he handed me one, and he said, Dick, listen to this. This is a group from England. You might like it. I listened and I played it that night, and it was on.

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A royal watcher says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were ousted before Prince Andrew because they undermined the family’s image – Yahoo! Voices

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Prince Andrew quit royal duties in November 2019, two months before the Sussexes.

His royal patronages and titles weren't removed until January 2022.

Amanda Matta said Harry and Markle faced swift consequences as they undermined the family's image.

It took Buckingham Palace two years to oust the Duke of York the same way it did the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Royal watcher Amanda Matta who makes educational videos about the royals on TikTok and has more than 612,000 followers thinks the timing is telling.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their step back from royal duties in January 2020, citing financial independence as the reason. They stopped using their HRH titles later that year, and their royal patronages and military titles were removed in January 2021.

Prince Andrew stepped back from royal life in November 2019 after his BBC "Newsnight" interview, where the prince was questioned over his alleged involvement in Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme.

Prince Andrew appearing on "Newsnight" with Emily Maitlis.BBC Newsnight

Although Andrew left royal duties before the Sussexes, his royal privileges were removed one year after Harry and Markle's.

Andrew's royal patronages and military titles were removed in January after he was faced with a sexual-assault lawsuit from Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that Epstein forced her to have sex with the prince when she was 17. A royal source told Insider at the time that the prince would also no longer use his HRH title.

Andrew has long denied the allegations, having previously said he never met Giuffre.

They reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum on February 15. The amount was to be donated to Giuffre's nonprofit advocating for victims of trafficking. Andrew did not admit to any of the accusations against him.

"The royal family will only be proactive in doling out consequences for those it sees as seriously undermining their image," Matta told Insider.

Story continues

Matta said that while it took the palace more than two years to take Andrew's alleged transgressions seriously, "their retribution against a prince who married an outspoken Black American woman was swift and exhaustive."

"They didn't take the allegations about Andrew as seriously as they took Harry and Meghan's departure... until it became clear that Andrew's behavior wasn't able to be swept under the rug," Matta said.

During a charity event in January 2020, Harry said that his initial hope was to "continue serving the Queen" and his military associations, but was told this wouldn't be possible without public funding.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March last year, the couple said that the racism Markle faced by the British tabloids played a "large part" in their decision to leave royal duties and move to the US.

The Sussexes also said they faced racism within the royal family, telling Winfrey that an unidentified member expressed concerns over how dark their son Archie's skin would be. Winfrey later said that although Harry wouldn't confirm which royal made the comments, he told her it wasn't the Queen or Prince Philip.

In a statement addressing the couple's exit in January 2020, the Queen said she recognized "the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny."

"I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family," the Queen said in the statement.

Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Insider that the nature of both Andrew's and the Sussexes' exits can be explained by individual circumstances.

"Prince Andrew is the Queen's son and has stressed to the Queen along with the rest of the family that he is not guilty of what he is being accused of which is why his exit has not been so abrupt," Schofield, founder of the royal blog To Di For Daily, told Insider.

"Harry and Meghan chose to leave, and they chose to leave when they did and how they did," Schofield added.

Buckingham Palace and representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex declined to comment when contacted by Insider.

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Overcome Traditional Finance with women empowerment towards the Decentralized Finance – Finextra

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Decentralized finance has been evolving according to the trend, and people have started to adapt to the newest technology that eliminates traditional finance. The impact has been huge, and many people, including women, have joined decentralized finance.

The blockchain is open-access and inclusive to anyone around the world. However, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for women to break free from patriarchal customs and take charge of their own lives.

Likewise, it can be difficult to break into the crypto markets and the decentralized finance (DeFi)financial system. Until recently, the crypto markets were controlled by men, but that is changing. DeFi has changed everything and has made access to everyone. Women have the potential to have a significant impact on a market that is poised to become the next major engine of financial innovation. Even though men started to fix their financial troubles with decentralized finance, women would be equally benefited by this system.

DeFi Financial Products

One of the basic tenets of decentralized finance is peer-to-peer (P2P) financial transactions. A P2P DeFi transaction is one in which two people agree to exchange cryptos for goods or services without the involvement of a third party. Consider how you obtain a loan from centralized finance to comprehend this completely. First, you'd have to apply for one at your bank or another lender. You'll have to pay interest and service fees to use that lender's services if you're authorized.

Here, DeFi peer-to-peer lending does not rule out the possibility of interest and fees. However, because the lender can be located anywhere in the world, you'll have a lot more possibilities.

In DeFi, you'd enter your loan requirements into a decentralized finance application (dApp), and an algorithm would match you up with peers that matched your requirements. After that, you'll have to agree to one of the lender's terms in order to get your loan.

Moreover, the transaction is recorded in the blockchain, and you'll get your money once the consensus mechanism has verified it. The lender can then begin collecting payments at the agreed-upon intervals from you. However, when you make a payment using your DApp, it goes through the same blockchain process, and then the money is transferred to the lender.

DeFi-a new beginning

DeFi is a novel concept, but it marks a significant shift in the way money is exchanged. DeFi has a wide range of possible applications since it can connect people in ways that no other financial technology can. This provides a new way for women all around the world to participate in the DeFi ecosystem as both developers and users. Since the blockchain hasn't begun its invasion, and many people do not have the knowledge to begin with the DeFi.

However, as crypto becomes more mainstream, people are becoming curious about how blockchain technology, crypto, and DeFi fit into a broader investment strategy and how the market operates. This creates a greater opportunity for women to get into an industry where men have already made their mark. Women use this opportunity to bring education and other things regarding DeFi to many other women entrepreneurs. Likewise, some of these women are working to transform how blockchain and decentralization are used in underserved communities all across the world, challenging our assumptions and breaking new ground.

Economic Freedom

Many people are taking this as an advantage and turning towards the blockchain as a way to get around restricted traditional monetary systems and gain more control over financial opportunities for themselves, their families, and their enterprises.

Decentralized finance enhances transparency, accessibility, and equality. It maintains a borderless system that allows everyone to have equal access.

To make it precise, the blockchain empowers women to participate in a sector that allows them to determine their financial independence. Everyone now has access. Women all throughout the world must take note and seize this opportunity to fight back. DeFi is similar for both men and women. At the same time, men have started to dominate, while women are trying to make a mark here.

Women into cryptos!

Women have been fighting for something huge, and they are equal to men. While domination is something different, it never allows women to find a way in. Here, you can get to know about the evolution that is making a mark from an industry expert.

Kinjal Shah is a Blockchain Capital senior associate and a supporter of the Komorebi Collective, which helps female and nonbinary crypto businesses. She believes that the new financial system can be established in a different way, and she wishes to see more women and minorities join the trillion-dollar business. "I want more women to be sharing a piece of that pie if this is the future of finance," she said. From the exterior, crypto has a pretty masculine appearance. I know so many ladies now that I'm on the inside."

Decentralized finance sets everything aside, and it is common with both genders. Women are trying to fit into society and try to bring a change to the system that might help the most underprivileged. They have real support and can bring real change that might create equality. Time to make a go and learn more about decentralized finances and get into the act. Let us study the features and benefits of decentralized finance.

The Future

DeFi is the seed that could bring something in the future and make an impact in the society that is divided with the financial troubles and others, making women and men fight for a system that has started to evolve. The future is what it should be, and decentralized finances have been growing a way ahead, and many women have started to take something that belongs to them and fix their financial goals. There would be equality around the globe, making men and women take care of the decentralized finances. DeFi overshadows the traditional system and makes way for a new financial system that could help the underprivileged in terms of men and women.

Conclusion

DeFi is the future, and the goal is clear. It is equality, and many have started to feel that such a society is already developing, making it count.DeFi development solutions help you set up a DeFi and rule the financial system. Start your DeFi development to reach greater heights. It can also be created with the help of firms that excel in the domain of blockchain and cryptocurrency. Turn your crypto dreams into reality by approaching these entities.

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Weisselberg, Trump Organization seek to toss tax fraud case – Associated Press

Posted: at 2:46 am

NEW YORK (AP) Lawyers for Donald Trumps longtime finance chief, Allen Weisselberg, are asking a judge to throw out tax fraud charges against him, arguing New York prosecutors targeted him as punishment because he wouldnt flip on the former president.

In court papers filed Tuesday, Weisselbergs lawyer said the Trump Organizations CFO is collateral damage in a singular crusade by Democratic prosecutors to have him implicate and help put the Republican ex-president behind bars.

Mr. Weisselbergs unequal and unfair treatment is the consequence of his proximity to Donald J. Trump, and his rejection of (prosecutors) demand that he cooperate with (their) investigation targeting Mr. Trump and his businesses, Weisselberg lawyers wrote.

Weisselberg was arrested last July on charges he collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition. Trumps company is also charged in the case, which prosecutors have described as a sweeping and audacious tax fraud scheme.

Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for the company also sought Tuesday to have the companys charges dismissed.

Weisselberg, 74, is the only Trump executive charged in the yearslong criminal investigation started by former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and now overseen by his successor, Alvin Bragg. Several other Trump executives have been granted immunity to testify before a grand jury in the case.

A message seeking comment was left Wednesday with the Manhattan District Attorneys Office. Prosecutors are expected to respond to Weisselbergs motion to dismiss in a court filing in the coming weeks.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan has given both sides until spring to file motions and responses and indicated hell decide on them at a July hearing, the next time Weisselberg is due in court. Merchan has said hell likely schedule a trial for the end of August or beginning of September.

Weisselbergs lawyers, who include Mary Mulligan, Bryan Skarlatos and Rita Glavin, have also asked Merchan to consider throwing out part of the indictment and suppressing statements made while in custody on July 1, if the judge doesnt agree to dismiss the case entirely. Glavin also represents former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Weisselbergs lawyers argued that some charges against him are outside the statute of limitations or are otherwise legally deficient. They said Weisselbergs statements to investigators during the eight hours he was in custody after his arrest shouldnt be admissible because they were taken in violation of his rights.

D.A.s office investigators struck up conversations with Weisselberg that were laser-focused on issues relevant to the indictment, even though they were aware that Weisselberg was represented by counsel that wasnt present at the time, the lawyers wrote. The conversations constituted an interrogation and violated Weisselbergs Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, they said.

Trump has not been charged with any wrongdoing, but prosecutors noted he signed some of the checks at the center of Weisselbergs case, which they said stemmed from a 15-year scheme orchestrated by the most senior executives at the Trump Organization.

A judge last week ruled that Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. must answer questions under oath in a parallel civil investigation into his business practices being run by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James, a Democrat, said her investigation has uncovered evidence Trumps company, the Trump Organization, used fraudulent or misleading valuations of assets like golf courses and skyscrapers to get loans and tax benefits. Trumps longtime accounting firm recently dumped him after warning him not to rely on years of financial statements it prepared based on his companys valuations, given questions about their accuracy.

Although James civil investigation is separate from the criminal investigation, her office has been involved in both, dispatching several lawyers to work side-by-side with prosecutors from the Manhattan D.A.s office. It was evidence uncovered in James civil investigation that led to criminal charges against Weisselberg.

In a statement last week, Trump said he believed Weisselberg was innocent and that the charges against the man he described as a 74-year-old long-term and wonderful employee were overblown.

The charge is that he did not pay taxes on a company car or a company apartment (Do others pay such a tax? Did Cy Vance pay a tax on his car?), and a charge having to do with my paying for the education of his grandchildren, Trump said. Murderers all over the city and they are worried about me helping with young childrens education?

In a separate ruling, a judge last week ordered Weisselberg to sit for a limited deposition in Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racines lawsuit accusing Trumps inaugural committee of grossly overspending at Trumps Pennsylvania Avenue hotel to enrich Trumps family.

___

Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/

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Donald Trumps Truth Social Is Off to a Glitchy Start – The New York Times

Posted: at 2:46 am

The rollout of Truth Social, former President Donald J. Trumps social media alternative to Twitter, has gotten off to a slow start.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Trumps account on the app, available free on Apples App Store since Monday, had just under 50,000 followers. That is a far cry from the tens of millions of followers he had on Twitter before the social media platform barred him last year after some of his supporters attacked the Capitol.

Mr. Trumps account still has a single post, which the company calls truths as opposed to tweets.

The official debut of Truth Social on Monday was marred by error messages and a long waiting list for people who had already signed up to download the app. (This reporter was at 94,000 on the list but was able to download the app on Tuesday.)

Technical glitches for new apps are not uncommon, and the parent company, Trump Media & Technology Group, had said it didnt expect the new platform to be fully operational before the end of March. Truth Social posted a message from its own account that said our team is working as fast as possible.

The apps glitchy start didnt appear to have deterred investors, who continue to push up the share price of Digital World Acquisition, the special purpose acquisition company that Trump Media announced plans to merge with in October. On Tuesday, Digital Worlds stock rose 14 percent to close at just over $96 a share.

Digital World has become the best performing SPAC a kind of company that goes public first, raising money from investors to buy a private company. The stock has continued to rise even in the face of regulatory investigations into how exactly Digital Worlds deal with Trump Media came about.

Because of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, it is unclear when the merger will close. If and when it does, Trump Media will gain access to nearly $1.3 billion in cash, which would help build its social media business.

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Matt Gaetz Tries To Convince Donald Trump To Become Speaker of the House – Newsweek

Posted: at 2:46 am

Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz has once again claimed he has tried to convince Donald Trump to throw his hat in the ring to serve as speaker of the House if the GOP retakes the majority in the 2022 midterms.

Gaetz, who has touted the far-fetched prospect of the former president becoming the next leader of the House since last summer, told Sebastian Gorka's America's First show that he has once more discussed the possibility with Trump.

"I just think America deserves that moment when Nancy Pelosi hands Donald Trump the gavel," the Florida Republican said.

"I told him you don't even have to be speaker for the whole day," Gaetz said. "You could do it for like three or four hours, give us a great speech, make a few structural reforms to the institution and then you could resign and we could have another election for speaker."

Gaetz said he mentioned the idea to Trump in Florida the night before he appeared on Gorka's show, but admitted "I don't know if I've fully got him to swallow the hook."

Only one vote is needed for someone to be nominated for the speaker's post, and they do not have to be a sitting member of Congress.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who appeared on Gorka's show alongside Gaetz, said that her choice for the next speaker if the GOP regains control of the House has to be someone "willing to fight for things that matter," such as conservatives like herself and Trump getting banned from social media.

"I want to see a person that's willing to step up to the plate and be the type of speaker that will actually take action in defense of conservatives across America that have been censored and banned and had their accounts taken away," the Georgia Republican said.

The congresswoman, who had her personal account banned from Twitter for repeatedly spreading COVID-19 misinformation, said such actions are like Big Tech companies putting tape over people's mouths so "they can no longer speak in the public sphere."

Gaetz previously said in December 2021 he had spoken with Trump about running for the potential speaker of the House position.

Pressed for additional details at a press conference, Gaetz said he kept "conversations with the former president between the two of us."

Gaetz also vowed to nominate Trump as the next House speaker during a "Save America" rally in Sarasota, Florida, in July 2021.

"After the next election cycle when we take back the House of Representatives, when we send Nancy Pelosi back to the filth of San Francisco, my commitment to you is that my vote for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives will go to Donald J. Trump," Gaetz told the crowd.

Trump has not publicly expressed any desire to become the next House Speaker, although he told radio talk-show host Wayne Allyn Root in June 2021 that the idea was "very interesting."

Trump has been contacted for comment.

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Does Mike Pence Have A Chance Against Donald Trump In 2024? – 19FortyFive

Posted: at 2:46 am

Former Vice President Mike Pence was once considered the natural successor to President Donald Trump for a 2024 run, but after Joe Bidens 2020 presidential victory, the dynamics of the 2024 race have changed significantly.

Former President Donald Trump has indicated several times that he intends to run again in 2024 and is hosting Save America rallies across the country. He has also very publicly disagreed with the former president on allegations of fraud and misconduct in the last election.

Despite this, it looks as though former Vice President Mike Pence is making moves and considering his own run for the presidency in 2024 presumably conscious of the fact that he will be running against Trump.

Pence Is Making Moves

Former Vice President Pence, who was the Governor of Indiana at the time he was chosen by candidate Donald Trump to be his running mate, appears to be preparing a run of his own.

Mike Murphy, a Republican campaign strategist from Indiana, said that Mike Pence is doing everything he needs to set himself up to run and that if Trump is not the eventual nominee in 2024, Pence is clearly the frontrunner.

I think people are realizing that he was an unlikely hero on January 6. In the end, even for people who disagree with him for many other policy positions hes taken, whether it was as a governor or as a vice-president, he did the right thing when the pressure was on January 6, Murphy said.

Pence has visited New Hampshire, he has spoken at conservative, pro-life events in South Carolina. He even gave a speech at an event hosted by Heritage Action in which he slammed President Joe Biden for overseeing rising inflation and implementing a catastrophic environmental spending plan.

Some Say He Cant Do It

Tara Setmayer, a former Republican communications director who now works at The Lincoln Project, said in an op-ed for NBC News this month that Vice President Pence has no chance of winning the Republican nomination or becoming the next president of the United States.

Setmayer, who served as the communications director for former Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, said that Pences criticism of the former president is a cardinal sin that means hell never win the nomination.

Lets be honest, my cat, Tiki, has a better chance of becoming president than Pence, she said.

Mike Pence Heres What the Polls Say

Pence certainly has an uphill battle securing the Republican nomination for 2024, and it remains to be seen whether his campaign will involve direct or severe criticism of former President Donald Trump.

In the meantime, we have the polls and they dont give us a clear idea either.

One poll from Quinnipiac University released on February 16 suggests that 52% of Republicans side more with former Vice President pence than they do Trump on whether or not Pence had the authority to reject Electoral College votes in the wake of the 2020 election. Just 36% said otherwise.

That poll indicates a majority of Republican voters are willing to forgive Pence for refusing to reject those votes on January 6, 2021.

Other polls, however, show Trump with a clear lead over Pence. In fact, not a single poll so far has shown Pence even remotely competitive in a race against former President Trump.

Could Mike Pence win the nomination in 2024? That depends on a lot of factors.

Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and report on Western governments approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.

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How Donald Trump Captured the Republican Party – The New York Times

Posted: at 2:46 am

INSURGENCYHow Republicans Lost Their Party and Got Everything They Ever WantedBy Jeremy W. Peters

When Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination on the morning of June 16, 2015, there was little indication the event would alter American political history. Pundits dismissed Trumps chances. He was polling at 4 percent; the head of Fox News, Roger Ailes, suggested Trump was really seeking a job at NBC, not the White House.

But Trump did make an impression on Steve Bannon, a voluble conservative activist plotting his own takeover of the Republican Party. Watching the reality-television star deliver remarks from the Trump Tower food court to a crowd that allegedly included actors who had been paid $50 to hold signs and cheer, Bannon couldnt contain himself. Thats Hitler! Bannon said. And, as Jeremy W. Peters writes in this spirited new history, he meant it as a compliment.

Insurgency chronicles the astonishingly swift transformation of the Republican Party, from the genteel preserve of pro-business elites to a snarling personality cult that views the Jan. 6 insurrection as an exercise in legitimate political discourse. Peters, a political reporter for The New York Times, depicts mainstream Republicans surrender to Trumpism as a form of political self-flagellation. From 1969 to 2008, Republicans occupied the White House for all but 12 years. And yet one of the more peculiar features of American conservatism is that despite decades of Republican rule, many true believers grew embittered and resentful of their party. They thought it was run by weak-willed leaders who compromised and sold out once they got in power.

The outlines of the Republicans hard-right turn are by now largely familiar. What distinguishes Insurgency is its blend of political acuity and behind-the-scenes intrigue. Much of the books opening material revolves around the first national figure to channel the bases anger: the former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who might have forestalled Trumps rise had she chosen to run for president in 2012. Trump was sufficiently concerned about Palins potential to claim the title of populist standard-bearer that he invited her to Trump Tower in 2011 to size her up in person. He concluded that while she had tremendous political appeal, she didnt know what to do about it.

Trump, of course, did. Peters is a fluid and engaging writer, and as the narrative of Insurgency unfolds and Trump inevitably, irresistibly, assumes center stage, you almost cant help admiring as Bannon did the candidates raw, demagogic genius: Devoid of empathy, incapable of humility and unfamiliar with what it means to suffer consequences, he behaved and spoke in ways most would never dare. In one luridly fascinating section, Peters details how Trump defused the furor over the Access Hollywood tape by ambushing Hillary Clinton with her husbands accusers at the second presidential debate in St. Louis. The stunt came about thanks to a norm-shattering partnership between the Trump campaign and Aaron Klein, a 36-year-old reporter for Bannons website, Breitbart News, who tracked down the women and cajoled them into attending.

In the history of modern presidential politics, no candidate had pulled off such a ruthless act of vengeance in public, Peters writes. It changed the game, proving to Trump and his allies that there was nothing off-limits anymore. So pivotal was Kleins role in Trumps upset victory that Jared Kushner later told him, My father-in-law wouldnt be president without you.

Anecdotes like these make Insurgency worth reading, though its harder to say who would want to. The book contains too many examples of Trumps manifest flaws to appeal to MAGA true believers, but not enough revelations of outright criminality to satisfy veterans of the #resistance. With the specter of a 2024 Trump candidacy looming, the rest of us could use a break while we can still get one. He just dominates every day, Bannon told Trumps advisers in 2020, warning of voters exhaustion with the president. Its like a nightmare. Youll do anything to get rid of it. Easier said than done.

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