Category Archives: Freedom

Leading Digital Personal Finance Company Earns Spot for Sixth Time

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Freedom Financial Network (FFN), a leading digital personal finance company,announced today it was named to the 2022 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area, an annual list presented by the San Francisco Business Timesand the Silicon Valley Business Journal.

The company rankings are based on the results of confidential surveys sent to each firm's Bay Area employees. The survey assesses various aspects of company culture, including communications, managerial effectiveness, team dynamics and trust in leadership, to gauge overall employee sentiment. FFN, which is headquartered in San Mateo, Calif. and employs more than 2,400 people nationwide, was recognized in the large company category of the rankings. This year marks the sixth time FFN has been named to the list.

"At Freedom Financial Network, our employees play a critical part in furthering our mission to help everyday people get on and stay on a path to a better financial future," said Brad Stroh, co-founder and co-CEO of Freedom Financial Network. "Together, we focus on our customers to understand what's working for them and what's not and we tailor personalized approaches to meet their personal needs and goals. We innovate to offer the best financial solutions, using data and AI to speed decisioning, improve transparency and give consumers choice. And finally, we build relationships so that we can help our customers on their first step, and every next step, on their journey."

Freedom Financial Network helps people make better financial decisions by managing expenses and debt, saving money, and planning. The company provides innovative technology and relationship-driven support for every step of a consumer's financial path, including personal loans, debt resolution and restructuring, home equity lines of credit and financial tools and education.

"This recognition is especially meaningful because it is based on the feedback of our employees. We strive to provide an environment where employees can have fulfilling careers and the opportunity to grow, both personally and professionally," said Linda Luman, executive vice president of human resources at FFN.

FFN recently surpassed $15 billion in consumer debt resolved and has served over 1 million customers since its founding in 2002. The company is continually innovating new solutions to expand the depth and breadth of its financial services offerings and is actively hiring for remote and hybrid roles in sales, engineering, technology and product development in California, Arizona and Texas.

Earlier this month, FFN was named to the Phoenix Business Journal's 2022 Healthiest Employers List in recognition of its efforts to motivate employees to achieve and maintain wellness through a strong emphasis on mental and physical health. FFN has also been named to the Phoenix Business Journal's annual "Best Places to Work" list 11 times, including winning first place in the extra-large company category in 2021. Last year, FFN was also named one of "Arizona's Most Admired Companies" by AZBigMedia and a "Top Workplace" by the Arizona Republic.

Full details of the 2022 Best Places to Work in the Bay Area can be found here.

About Freedom Financial NetworkFreedom Financial Network is a leading digital personal finance company. We do what traditional banks don't: Put people first. Our solutions help everyday people get on, and stay on, the path to a brighter financial future, with innovative technology and personalized support. By leveraging proprietary data and analytics, our solutions are tailored for each step of a consumer's financial journey and include personal loans (FreedomPlus), home equity loans (Lendage), help with debt (Freedom Debt Relief), and even financial tools and education (Bills.com). Freedom Financial Network has more than 2,300 dedicated employees across California, Arizona and Texas and is recognized as a Best Place to Work.

For information on career opportunities at Freedom Financial Network, visit: https://jobs.freedomfinancialnetwork.com/

SOURCE Freedom Financial Network

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Freedom Financial Network Named a 'Best Place to Work in the Bay Area' by San Francisco Business Times, Silicon Valley Business Journal - PR Newswire

USS Beloit prepared for launch (Rep. Mike Gallagher)

PublishedMay 8, 2022 10:42 PM by The Maritime Executive

Fincantieri Marinette Marine has launched the second-to-the-last Freedom-class LCS, USS Beloit. The ship is named after the Wisconsin city where Fairbanks-Morse has built engines for the U.S. Navy for generations.

Beloit native Maj. Gen. Marcia Anderson (U.S. Army, ret'd) served as the ship's sponsor, and veterans from the city of Beloit were brought up by bus for the ceremony.

The future USS Beloit will be the first U.S. Navy ship honoring the proud naval contributions of Beloit, Wisconsin, said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in a statement I have no doubt the sailors of USS Beloit will stand the watch with pride and be ready to respond to any mission, wherever, and whenever, there is a need.

It was the second-to-the-last time that Marinette sends out a Freedom-class hull with a dramatic side launch. For the follow-on hulls built for Saudi Arabia (the Royal Saudi Naval Forces' Multi-Mission Surface Combatant, or MMSC), the yard will use a Travelift to hoist and lower the vessels into the water. This allows more construction to be completed in the assembly hall before launch.

Beloit will deliver under unusual circumstances. If Congress allows, theNavy has proposed to decommission all Freedom-class LCS hulls through USS St. Louis, which was delivered less than two years ago. The service still plans to take delivery of six more that are currently in various stages of fitting-out or construction, including USS Beloit.

The Navy says that it sees less need for the Freedom-classbecause a related program for an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) equipment package has not delivered. The new AN/SQS-62 variable depth sonar system was to be the core of LCS' ASW capability, but the Navy suspendedthe system's development earlier this year due to persistent underperformance. Without a functioning ASW sonar for the Freedom-class, the service says that it has little need for the ship itself.

"LCS is as noisy as an aircraft carrier and so there are some big challenges there that we should have pick[ed] up on way earlier," Adm. Gilday told Naval News. "Ive been looking at the data on the ASW package for the last year-and-a-half to two years and it got to the point where a decision needed to be made and I wouldnt put more money against it, and that left the future of those ships open."

The Freedom-classdesign has also been scrutinized forits weapons capabilities, operating costs and survivability. Previously delivered hulls also have an expensive flaw in the combining gear, the sophisticated gearbox that integrates power from the ship's diesel and gas turbine engines. In future production, both LCS classes will be phased out in favor of the new Constellation-class, a conventional multirole frigate based on a European design. The Constellation-class will also built at Marinette.

Excerpt from:

Video: Second-to-Last Freedom-Class LCS Launched at Marinette - The Maritime Executive

ON JUNE 9, 2011, when artist M F Husain passed away in London, he was miles away from his home, the land that he so fondly spoke about in all his conversations. Friends recall how much he had wanted to return home in the years before he passed away but the threat of violence that had driven him to a self-imposed exile in 2006, at the age of 90, also prevented him from returning.

Arguably, the most recognised modern Indian artist, the maverick faced the wrath of the right wing, which alleged that his depictions of Hindu deities had outraged the communitys religious sentiments. His home and exhibitions had been ransacked and he had received multiple death threats, apart from the numerous court cases registered against him.

The art community had stood by the nonagenarian but the state, perhaps, failed him. Since then, however, the limitations on artistic freedom of expression seem only to have grown.

Last week, when members of right-wing groups barged into Maharaja Sayajirao Universitys Faculty of Fine Arts in Vadodara, Gujarat, they were on a specific hunt. They were looking for artworks they had apparently viewed on social media and found distasteful and hurtful to religious sentiments. One series reportedly featured cut-outs of gods and goddesses with newspaper reports of crimes against women, while another was a collage with the Ashoka pillar positioned in an obscene manner.

Resisting the break-in, the faculty and staff of the department argued that the exhibition was still to be opened for the public to view and the display was being finalised. Speaking to the media, the dean, Jayaram Poduval, denied that the frames were part of the evaluation submissions and said that there could be a conspiracy against the faculty. It was also emphasised that the 2007 resolution would have been followed, according to which all works would have been checked and approved before the opening of the annual exhibition. The resolution itself was passed after a case was registered against then M S University post-graduate student Srilamanthula Chandramohan for his alleged objectionable artworks.

In the recent instance, some of the defenders argued that the punishment was being meted out before a crime was committed but others raised a larger and more pertinent question: Should it at all be punishable to depict gods and goddesses? Isnt all art open to interpretation and an artist entitled to conceptualise and create at free will?

Often, when this debate comes up, India is cited as the land of the Kamasutra and Khajuraho, associated with libidinous narratives in ancient India, and sceptics pronounce that it is unlikely that contemporary artists will have the same freedom as their ancestors. There can be no great art without experimentation but we are now restricting free thought and creativity when individuals are still learning the ropes. Art students are now being targeted within the confines of the university campus and even before letting them make an attempt, we are telling them they have failed. In 2019, Chennais Loyola College withdrew paintings that right-wing groups termed as anti-Hindu and anti-India and admitted to a lapse, regretting the insurmountable hurt caused.

The scare of a backlash is real. Inside closed doors, artists now admit to being over-cautious and fearful. In public spaces, meanwhile, they are wary of viewers who might deem their work offensive.

Artist Balbir Krishan, a double amputee, recalls being caught off-guard when in 2012, his exhibition celebrating homosexuality in Delhi was vandalised and he was beaten up. The art community, again, came together to support him but regrettably, that rarely has a definitive impact.

Public outrage does lead to conversations on the subject and an assertion of the need to protect artistic liberties, but the vandals often succeed in fulfilling their immediate endeavour of bringing down the work and the artist is left alone in the end.

Should artists then concede and accept overt censorship as fate? Though for a young artist it is difficult to match Husains might and courage, the veteran could be an inspiration. He defended his work for almost a decade before he left India.

For the sake of art and what it brings to society, it is integral to respect the fine line between freedom of expression and reasonable restrictions. Each artwork shares the vision of its creator and its purpose is beyond ornamental. Artists aspire to encourage conversations and seek to find unorthodox ways to question and provoke. Not everyone needs to be in agreement and differing opinions should be embraced, not condemned.

An artwork that appears to be problematic, might still be necessary.

vandana.kalra@expressindia.com

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Creative freedom of artists is in danger in India - The Indian Express

Freedom Heartsong is a Los Angeles based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and multimedia artist. In late 2019, he signed a global distribution deal with Dark Star Records, Sony Music, and The Orchard which released his first album Get A Heart On on May 23rd, 2020. That same year, he became the #1 artist on the entire record label, and also one of only two artists submitted for a Grammy consideration, with his song Ecstatic Magic. In 2021 he was again considered for a Grammy with his single Evil Grieves. Blues is the foundation of all of his music, and the heart and soul of his sound. His original music as well as his solo and power trio live performances bring bluesy, soulful, rockin' and rollin' tunes filled with positive energy. He has rocked a variety of notable venues, from The Mint and The Viper Room in Los Angeles, to The Cutting Room and Ottos Shrunken Head in NYC. He has garnered artist endorsements from Blackstar Amplification, Warm Audio, and Thimble Slide. His album Get A Heart On was produced, mixed, and engineered by Barry Pointer at Riott House Studio and mastered by Mike Wells Mastering. This summer, he will release his full length album entitled The Humane Experience, which he produced entirely, was mixed and engineered by Benjamin Cunill of Left Coast Label, and was mastered by twelve-time Grammy nominee and four-time Grammy winning mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen.

An all around self-taught creative, life experience and the learn by doing approach have been essential to Freedoms growth and development. In addition to music, throughout his entire life, he has made countless artistic creations in a wide variety of disciplines including design, sculpture, woodwork, ceramics, painting, photography, printmaking, and poetry. From the rainforests of Costa Rica, to the cultural art and music centers of Africa, to the legendary clubs of Los Angeles and NYC, a rich diversity of cultures have influenced him along the way. With an international presence in the music and art communities, his fans and artwork can be found in many countries around the world. His work is infused with socially aware messaging and poetic meaningful lyricism overflowing with good vibes. He creates music with the loving intention of inspiring all people to be their best selves and enjoy life to the fullest.

Freedom Heartsong will release his new album, The Humane Experience, on June 17th, 2022 via Dark Star Records / The Orchard.

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Freedom Heartsong released New Rock Single "Warrior of the Light" - Grateful Web

GENEVA (4 May 2022) - Following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and the continuation of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, freedom of expression mandate holders* from the United Nations, the African Commission of Human Rights, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights and the Representative on Freedom of the Media of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe issue the following joint statement:

We collectively condemn the invasion of and continuous aggression against Ukraine, its sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Russian Federation. The actions of the Russian Federation violate international law and the common UN, OSCE, ItACHR and ACHR commitments and the very principles on which our organisations are based.

We are outraged about the continuous atrocities and the resulting grave human rights and humanitarian crises, which have a massive detrimental impact on civilians lives, safety and well-being. We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine in these difficult times.

We recall that it is precisely during times of war and armed conflict that the right to freedom of expression and free access to information must be vigorously defended, as it is instrumental for the promotion of lasting peace, understanding the nature of the conflict and ensuring accountability.

In this connection, we highlight the following:

First, we are profoundly concerned about the safety of journalists, media workers and associated personnel in Ukraine, who are carrying out their work under unprecedented conditions, and are now at a very high risk. There are numerous reports that journalists are being targeted, tortured, kidnapped, attacked and killed, or refused safe passage from the cities and regions under siege. Such actions are abhorrent and must be stopped immediately. We recall that under international humanitarian law, during armed conflict journalists are considered to be civilians and must be afforded protection as such. An attack to kill, wound or abduct a journalist constitutes a war crime. Those responsible for direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians, including journalists, should be held accountable and brought to justice under national and international law. Measures must also be taken to trace missing journalists, ascertain their fate, provide appropriate assistance and facilitate their return to their families. States have the duty and obligation to protect and guarantee human rights, to conduct effective investigations and to guarantee effective remedies and reparations.

Second, we are alarmed by reports that Ukraines media and internet infrastructure may be intentionally targeted by the Russian forces in an effort to disrupt access to information, including by means of cyberattacks. We appreciate that access to Ukraine's internet infrastructure has remained largely resilient. It is crucial to ensure that people in Ukraine have continued access to the internet, broadcasting and other means of communication. We call for the adoption of all feasible measures to protect the media, media organisations, and internet infrastructure from attacks and hostile take overs. We also call for increased support in various forms by the international community to ensure media sustainability in Ukraine at a time when a number of national and local media outlets have lost their premises and equipment or have been damaged or destroyed. Initiatives that enable Ukrainian journalists and media in exile to continue their professional work should also be supported in a manner that is sustainable and adapted to the exceptional conditions they are facing.

Third, we underline that propaganda for war and national hatred which constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence are profoundly harmful and prohibited under article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We call on the Russian Federation to immediately refrain from these unlawful practices.

Fourth, we are concerned at the spread of disinformation concerning the conflict in Ukraine in Russian state-owned media. However, we believe that disinformation cannot be addressed by blocking or banning media outlets. Any restriction of freedom of expression should respect scrupulously the three-part test of legality, legitimate aim, and necessity and proportionality. We are concerned that the EUs decision to ban two Russian state-owned media outlets may have been a disproportionate response to disinformation. It has been used as a pretext for additional closure of independent media outlets in the Russian Federation. Promoting access to diverse and verifiable information, including ensuring access to free, independent and pluralistic media, is a more effective response to disinformation.

Fifth, we believe that the erosion of the right to freedom of expression and other human rights over a prolonged period of time and the silencing of critical voices in the Russian Federation have contributed to creating an environment that facilitates Russias war against Ukraine. We are alarmed at the further tightening of censorship and repression of dissent and pluralist sources of information and opinion in the Russian Federation, including the blocking of social media platforms and news websites, disruption of services from foreign content and service providers, massive labelling of independent journalists and media as foreign agents, introduction of criminal liability and imprisonment of up to fifteen years for spreading so-called fake information about the war in Ukraine or questioning Russian military action in Ukraine or simply standing for peace or even mentioning the word war. We deplore the systematic crackdown on political opponents, independent journalists and the media, human rights activists, protesters and many others opposing the Russian governments actions. All these measures amount to the creation of a state monopoly on information in blatant violation of Russias international obligations. They must stop. We call on the Russian government to fully implement its international human rights obligations, including by respecting, promoting and protecting the freedom to seek, receive and impart information regardless of frontiers, and by ensuring a safe working environment for independent media, journalists and civil society actors.

Six, we note that the war in Ukraine has further highlighted the risks of the proliferation of disinformation, misinformation and incitement to violence and hatred and restrictions of lawful speech on digital and social media platforms as a result of their business models, policies and practices. While we appreciate that dominant companies recently made some efforts to address these problems, we urge them to strengthen their human rights due diligence and impact assessment, accountability, transparency and equal and consistent application of policies to uphold the rights of all users.

ENDS

*The expert: Ms. Irene Khan was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression in June 2020 and is the first woman to hold this mandate. An internationally recognized advocate for human rights, gender equality and social justice, she was Secretary-General of Amnesty International from 2001 to 2009 and Director-General of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) from 2010 to 2019. Ms. Khan is affiliated with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and has been Consulting Editor of the Daily Star, Bangladeshs largest English newspaper.

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures' experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

The freedom of expression mandates issuing the Joint Declaration on freedom of expression and gender justice: Ms. Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Mrs.Teresa Ribeiro, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Mr. Pedro Pedro Vaca Villarreal, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression, and Hon. Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo,African Commission Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information.

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Ukraine: Joint statement on Russia's invasion and importance of freedom of expression and information - OHCHR

To All Those Who Dare Rob Us of Our Bodily Choice, I ask you:

What is it about our bodies that makes you so afraid, so insecure, so cruel and punishing?

Is it their singular autonomy or mere existence?

Is it their capacity for immense and unending pleasure orgasms that can multiply orgasms inside orgasms? Is it our skin? Is it our desire?

Is it our openness that rattles you and reminds you of where you are closed?

Is it the pure strength of our bodies that allows us to bleed and birth and bend and carry and continue on in spite of all the ways you have reduced us and objectified us, humiliated us and disrespected us and tried to shape us into baby-making machines? Our strength that is inherent and doesnt need to prove itself or show off or rely on weapons or violence to control and terrorise? Doesnt need to abolish laws, or lie to become supreme court judges or president or rig the decks when they get there.

Do you know this power? Can you imagine it? A power that comes from respecting life, caring for others before oneself, holding communities together?

Do you think we are naive enough to believe that you are motivated by your care for life when you have shown so little respect for it and us? Instead you spend your days unravelling and resisting all that makes life possible for those mothers and people with babies you claim to protect fighting against free universal healthcare, parental paid leave and child allowance. Wheres your outrage that the US has the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world?

Do you think we have forgotten that some of those (Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas) who are making the most crucial decisions about millions of our bodies and the one (Donald Trump) who chose three of the people on the court currently making these decisions, are men who have been accused of violating other womens bodies, harassing womens bodies, humiliating and proudly bragging about grabbing the genitals of womens bodies?

What is it about our bodies that make you think you have the right to invade them, determine them, control and legislate them, violate and force them to do anything against their will?

Perhaps you mistake our generosity for weakness, our patience for passivity, our vulnerability for fragility.

This might be why you are unable to see that there is no chance in hell that we are ever going back. This is not a law yet and we will never accept this ruling.

Perhaps because you have never known what it is like to have your body controlled by the vindictive anonymous state, to be raped and forced to keep your baby, to be so desperate that you destroy your uterus with a hanger or bleed to death in a back alley, you do not understand that once you have tasted the sweetness of freedom, of choice, once you have come to know your body as your own, once you have freed yourself and felt the expanse of your body, the aliveness in every pore that rises from autonomy, there is no way you will ever give that up. Ever.

And because you do not know this, you do not know how dangerous we are, how organised we are, how willing we are to go any lengths to preserve our freedom.

Its been 50 years. We have summoned our due. We actually have bank accounts now. We have credit cards and we can buy a house. We can serve on juries. We hold offices and are lawyers. We write for newspapers and we run them. We host TV shows and direct movies. We run hospitals and universities and non-profits and write plays about vaginas and books about fascists and fascism. We cant be tossed aside.

This is our world now. And these are our bodies. We know what you are up to this is just the beginning of your diabolical plan to rob us of contraception and marriage equality and civil rights and on and on. This is all part of your desperation to prevent the future that is on the verge of being born a future where we know our past and begin to reckon with it, a future where we teach critical race theory and the truth about white supremacy and sexism and transphobia.

A future where we care for our Earth and devote our lives to protecting air and water and forests and animals and all living things, a future where people have autonomy over their bodies and wombs and gender and marry who they want to, and dont get married if they dont want to, and have babies if they want to, and dont have babies if they dont want to. Despite all your lies, strategies and devious ways you are simply never going to stop us.

You have unleashed our fury, our solidarity, our unity.

We know that our future and everything we have fought for is at stake. I am willing to lay my body down for this freedom, for every freedom and I know there are multitudes who will do the same.

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at guardian.letters@theguardian.com

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Women know how choice and freedom feel and we will never give that up - The Guardian

There aren't many players in the NBA more exciting to watch than Steph Curry and Ja Morant.

After an MVP-caliber 2021-22 season in which he took home the Most Improved Player award, the Grizzlies superstar has yet to cool down in the playoffs.

Scoring a career-high 47 points in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals against Curry and the Warriors at FedExForum on Tuesday, Morant further cemented his title as one of the most exciting players in the game of basketball.

On Friday, Warriors coach Steve Kerr met with the media after practice and was asked about the joy that Morant plays with on the court and how it's similar to that of Curry.

"I love watching Ja play, more than I love coaching against him," Kerr told reporters. "He's a brilliant player but he plays with freedom and joy and you can see how much he loves the game. He's fantastic, I think it's infectious with his teammates, with the crowd. Very similar dynamic to Steph. They're obviously very different players but that joy and freedom you see with Steph is there with Ja as well."

Both Games 1 and 2 between the Warriors and Grizzlies have been nothing short of box office entertainment. Between the scoring, defense, ejections, chirping and overall dramatics, the two teams have put on quite the show.

Of course, when headlined by two of the game's most exciting players, how could it not be must-see T.V.?

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Steph Curry, Ja Morant play with similar 'freedom and joy,' Steve Kerr believes - NBC Sports Bay Area

On Monday, the Syrian Initiative for the Freedom of Leader Abdullah Ocalan issued a written statement in which it called on the Committee against Torture to lift this "unfair and dictatorial" decision against leader Ocalan.

The initiative said: "The modern Turkish state, since its inception until this day has been built on the basis of one colour, one flag, one nationalism, and one language".

That is why the war broke out against all cultures and components in the region, and caused genocides against the ancient and authentic peoples, such as: (Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Syriacs, Greece, Bulgarians, Circassians, Laz...).

It added: " As a result of Turkey's policies of extermination and smelting, although it achieved some successes, it did not solve its problems rather it plunged Turkey into a state of permanent conflicts and a suffocating crisis for hundred years ".

The initiative added: " This ban contradicts with decisions and recommendations of the European Union's Committee of Ministers in reviewing and amending exceptional laws against the leader and symbol, Abdullah Ocalan, and before that the decision of the Committee against Torture (CPT).

The Turkish court's decision will further escalate Turkish problems. (political, social and economic) exponentially, and this proves that the escalation and culmination of the struggle in all arenas is the only way to remove the fascist AKP, MHP from power.

At the conclusion, the Syrian Initiative for Freedom of Leader Abdullah Ocalan called on international humanitarian organizations, human rights organizations and CPT to remove this "unjust and dictatorial" decision against leader.

A.K

ANHA

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Initiative freedom for Ocalan decries the ban decision against him - ANHA | HAWARNEWS | English - ANHA

As India celebrates 75 years of Independence, Delhiites will get a glimpse of the freedom struggle from the 1857 mutiny to the Dandi March through plant sculptures at a biodiversity park being developed by the Delhi Development Authority on the Yamuna riverbank near the Commonwealth Games village.

The Lucknow-based National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI) will develop the landscape by restoring local ecology. It will also maintain the Amrut Biodiversity Park spread over 108 hectares on either side of the river.

We have signed a memorandum of understanding with CSIR-NBRI to take up the greening activity at the Amrut Biodiversity Park, said Rajeev Kumar Tiwari, principal commissioner, DDA. The plan is to highlight important events in Indias freedom struggle as we complete 75 years of Independence.

There will be five dedicated tracks on 90 hectares of land on the eastern bank that will depict an important historical event each. The landowning agency and CSIR-NBRI have decided on five historical events 1857 Mutiny, Santhal Rebellion, Champaran Satyagraha, Dandi March and the struggle by Azad Hind Fauj led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. These will be represented through plant sculptures and appropriate vegetation.

Amrut Biodiversity Park will have a few tracks depicting some important events related to Indias freedom struggle, said Saroj K Barik, director of CSIR-NBRI. The detailed plans are being worked out.

The agreement with CSIR-NIBRI was signed in April, Tiwari said, adding that 75 varieties of species will be planted on the floodplain.The institute will take two years to complete the work. The institute will maintain the biodiversity park for five years after the work is complete (till 2029), said Tiwari.

Four tier forest

The biodiversity park will be spread on either side of the Yanuma river. While 90 hectares is located on the eastern side, 18 hectares is located on the western bank, close to the New India Garden, which is being developed by the Central Public Works Department as part of the Central Vista redevelopment project.

The plan is to develop a four-tier forest with varieties of grasses, herbs, shrubs and trees, Tiwari said.

All plantation activities at the park will be undertaken as per the National Green Tribunals guidelines, Barik said. Only those plants which are part of the vegetation of the Yamuna catchment will be used, he said

We will also be restoring the Yamuna floodplain ecosystems following appropriate ecological principles, Barik said. The other objective of our work will be to develop the park in such a way that people get a glimpse of the rich biodiversity of our country. The park will also provide its recreation ecosystem service to the general public.

While CSIR-NBRI is finalising details of the work, DDA is developing unpaved walkways and cycle tracks spread over 11km, nature walks along the river, public toilets, etc., which will be completed by the end of June.

The biodiversity park will also have a butterfly garden, scared groves and a nursery.

On the eastern bank, a system of wetlands along the unpaved pathways and cycle tracks interspersed with floodplain forests and grasslands is being developed to restore the ecology of the Yamuna floodplains, a DDA official said.

These wetlands will act as natural sponges for the floodplains and help in augmenting the water holding capacity of the area, he said on condition of anonymity. The aim is to intercept the receding water so that water is retained for a longer duration of time.

The portion of the park on the western bank is close to the rivers edge and within 300 metres of the green buffer area. A variety of native trees and riverine grasses to facilitate the ecology of the river will be planted with nature trails to connect with the river, the DDA official said.

Green activists cry foul

Environment activists, however, said that the Yamuna floodplain is not meant for ornamental landscape work.

The ornamental landscape work is easy to make, but difficult to maintain. But the big question is: why do we need this on the Yamuna floodplains? The floodplains require the natural biodiversity of Yamuna, said Manoj Misra, convener of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan. After the Yamuna monitoring committee was disbanded, there is no independent mechanism in place to check development activities on the floodplain.

There is enough space available in the rest of the city where these plant sculptures can be developed, said Diwan Singh, an environmental activist. The DDA should focus on restoring the ecology of the floodplain rather than such development.

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Amrut Biodiversity Park on banks of Yamuna to trace freedom struggle - Hindustan Times

How much freedom should we be willing to give up in order to prevent many people from dying?

Its been more than two years since that ceased to be an airy debate-club hypothetical, and turned into a central policy question of the pandemic age. There is still no widely agreed-upon, unambiguous answer and in many places, there remains a lethal fear of confronting it.

In recent days, however, weve witnessed two milestones in the history of this question, each leading to very different insights.

The first was in New Zealand where, for the first time in two years, people from abroad are now allowed to visit. That follows the February announcement that citizens could return to their country without a two-week military-guarded hotel quarantine (though proof of vaccination is still required, sensibly). It was an easy decision to make, because 95 per cent of New Zealands vaccine-eligible population are now fully vaccinated, thus making the disease more of an inconvenience than a death threat for most.

The informed consensus is that these infringements on freedom of travel were entirely worth it, because they prevented an estimated 10,000 COVID-19 deaths from taking place in a country of five million, and because they gave New Zealanders freedoms, during that deadly year before vaccination, that most of the rest of the world could only dream of.

New Zealand managed to keep itself all but coronavirus-free during that crucial year, and thus has recorded the lowest death rate among countries with accurate measurements. That allowed daily life to continue more or less as normal during most periods (much as Atlantic Canadians experienced during its travel-bubble months), along with unprecedented economic growth while the rest of the world slumped.

The second milestone was in Shanghai, where about half of the citys 25 million people were recently allowed to go outside for the first time in weeks, and about four million were allowed to leave their neighbourhoods, in a slight easing of the draconian COVID zero policies enforced in response to a modest Omicron-variant outbreak.

Most of the pandemics so-called lockdowns, such as those experienced in Northern Italy or New York City in 2020 when their hospitals were overwhelmed, were mere stay-at-home requests. Shanghai authorities, who faced no such catastrophe, have literally locked citizens into their apartment buildings, sometimes even constructing fences around complexes.

Unlike in New Zealand, this was not a sacrifice of some external freedoms in exchange for greater internal freedoms than one might otherwise experience during a plague. It was a total loss of the most rudimentary freedoms, in exchange for nothing.

And unlike in New Zealand, it was not a modest loss of freedoms in order to prevent a large loss of life. Although Chinas two available vaccines have been found considerably less effective in reducing serious illness and death than the mRNA vaccines used elsewhere, there is no indication that Chinas Omicron outbreak would have been particularly deadly without the restrictions (even after the lockdowns eased, numbers of deaths and hospitalizations there have been negligible at best).

In fact, to judge by the numerous reports coming from Shanghai of malnourishment-related deaths, abandonment of vulnerable people, and neglect of elders during these weeks, it seems that the lockdown has killed more people than it might have saved from the disease.

When the pandemic was at its most terrifying peak in 2020, many commentators suggested that the worlds democracies were at a disadvantage, because only dictatorships such as China could quickly and easily respond to medical data and impose the strict controls necessary to keep the disease from killing millions.

After more than six million unnecessary deaths around the world, the flaw in that logic is more visible. Perhaps authoritarian countries can crack down on their citizens more easily, or at least in more painful ways but its turned out that theyre not adept at tying policies to data. Single-party states such as China, and authoritarian-leaning democracies such as India, have used the pandemic as cover to brutalize and sometimes starve the most vulnerable.

The next time a worldwide disease strikes, we may not wish to be the United States, which suffered a staggering number of unnecessary deaths (a death rate more than three times higher than Canadas, and 23 times higher than New Zealands) in the name of symbolic freedom from basic hygiene principles. Indeed, the U.S. still has a vaccination rate that is far too low to prevent deadly outbreaks. Nor would we want to be Shanghai a place with neither freedom nor safety. But we may at least have a better idea where the ideal balance lies, having tested both extremes. And that place looks a lot like the South Pacific.

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Opinion: More freedom or more death: A pandemic quandary we have yet to solve - The Globe and Mail