Members of the US Congress could consider whether or not to condition future American aid to India on improvements in human rights and civil liberties in the country, an independent and bipartisan congressional research body has said.The Biden Administration has requested USD 117 million in foreign assistance to India for FY 2023.
The USAID said Ms. Power met with civil society representatives in Delhi on July 26 to discuss freedom of expression, speech, identity, and the importance of protecting the rights of minority groups.
“The Administrator underscored the United States’ continued commitment to work with civil society organisations around the globe to advance human rights and fundamental freedoms,” acting spokesperson of USAID Shejal Pulivarti said.
Rather than something new, the party is attempting to reach a previous Republican electorate that existed before Donald Trump took control of the party.
Roy said in a statement that his bill preserves protections against discrimination and whistleblower retaliation. But in the case of discrimination, EEOC would be required to toss all of its policies regarding complaints that originate from federal agencies and apply the same standards it uses in private sector cases.*
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However, the bill’s purported whistleblower protections suggest just the opposite, Kettl said. OSC only has a 14-day window in which to make nonbinding recommendations on whether an adverse personnel action constitutes retaliation. Another provision requires the deduction of 25% of a federal employee’s retirement annuity if a court finds their appeal to be “in bad faith or frivolous.”
What’s wrong with that?! Why should bureaucrats have special protections that everyday working people don’t?! If they don’t like it, then change itfor all workers!
Biden nominated Andrew Biggs, a think tank denizen with a history of slamming Social Security, to oversee government retirement benefits for 66 million Americans.
But some Biden administration officials are now privately expressing concern that rather than dissuading the Kremlin as intended, the penalties are instead exacerbating inflation, worsening food insecurity and punishing ordinary Russians [they don’t care about the people, the true purpose of sanctions is to encourage people to overthrow their leader] more than Putin or his allies.
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When the invasion [special military operation] began, the Biden administration believed that if penalties exempted food and energy [what exemptions?!], the impact on inflation at home would be minimal. Since then, energy and food have become key drivers of the highest US inflation rates in 40 years, a huge political liability for President Joe Biden and the Democratic party heading into November’s mid-term elections [they only care about winning the midterms].
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There’s no sign that administration officials feel their sanctions policy was a mistake or that they want to dial back the pressure. If anything, officials have said a key US goal is to ensure Russia can’t do to other nations what it has done in Ukraine [then tell Puppet Zelensky to negotiateinstead of flooding Ukraine with weapons!!].
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The Biden administration rejects [denies] any suggestion that sanctions are part of the problem, emphasizing that the US isn’t penalizing humanitarian goods or food, and putting[shifting] the blame on Putin’s decision to attack Ukraine, including by targeting shipping on the Black Sea [which is blocked with mines].
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About 1,000 companies have so far announced that they are curtailing operations in Russia, according to data collected by the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute. That underscores one reason sanctions are so popular with policy makers: They essentially outsource US policy to the private sector [intentional and/or just being lazy?!], which makes it less surgical, less calibrated and less responsive to policy changes, said Smith, the former OFAC adviser.
This becomes important as all sides seek an end to the war [no, they don’t]. The lifting of sanctions can be dangled as an incentive to help bring about a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. But right now it’s hard even to offer that as a potential benefit of entering into negotiations because much of the pullout by American businesses has been self-inflicted [they screwed themselves]. Companies could face public blowback if they are seen as rushing back into the Russian market.
Gendered misinformation (scene from Kindergarten Cop 2)?!
Related:
The Task Force is an interagency effort to address online harassment and abuse, specifically focused on technology-facilitated gender-based violence. In consultation with survivors, advocates, educators, experts from diverse fields, and the private sector, the Task Force will develop specific recommendations to improve prevention, response, and protection efforts through programs and policies in the United States and globally by:
– Improving coordination among executive departments, agencies, and offices to maximize the Federal Government’s effectiveness in preventing and addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence in the United States and globally, including by developing policy solutions to enhance accountability for those who perpetrate online harms;
– Enhancing and expanding data collection and research across the Federal Government to measure the costs, prevalence, exposure to, and impact of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, including by studying the mental health effects of harassment and abuse perpetrated through social media, particularly affecting adolescents;
– Increasing access to survivor-centered services, information, and support for victims, and increasing training and technical assistance for federal, state, tribal, local, and territorial governments, as well as for global organizations and entities in the fields of criminal justice, health and mental health services, education, and victim services;
– Developing programs and policies to address the disproportionate impact of online harassment, abuse, and [gendered] disinformation campaigns targeting women and LGBTQI+ individuals who are public and political figures, government and civic leaders, activists, and journalists in the United States and globally;
– Examining existing Federal laws, regulations, and policies to evaluate the adequacy of the current legal framework to address technology-facilitated gender-based violence and provide recommendations for strengthening it; and
When is speech violence? The answer is never. Speech may be upsetting, but that doesn’t make it violence. Speech may be ugly or hateful, but that doesn’t make it violence. Speech may be associated with deleterious physiological effects or even harm, but that still doesn’t make it violence. Speech may even intimidate or threaten violence. That makes it illegal, but it doesn’t make it violence. Equating speech with violence not only robs us of our understanding of ourselves as competent and civil human beings capable of defeating bad ideas with better ones, it gives us license to use physical violence in response to speech––or even in advance, as “self-defense.” For psychologists to assert that speech is violence is not merely incorrect, it’s harmful.
After a recent visit to Iran, UN special rapporteur for human rights Alena Douhan claimed that US sanctions have gravely affected the lives of common Iranians and were even responsible for a significant number of deaths in the country
Congress has repeatedly authorized multimillion-dollar sell-offs of the U.S. strategic minerals stockpile over the past several decades, but Washington’s increased anxiety over Chinese domination of resources critical to the defense industrial base has prompted lawmakers to reverse course and shore up the reserve.
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The stockpile was valued at nearly $42 billion in today’s dollars at its peak during the beginning of the Cold War in 1952. That value has plummeted to $888 million as of last year following decades of congressionally authorized sell-offs to private sector customers. Lawmakers anticipate the stockpile will become insolvent by FY25.
“A lot of what happened is Congress just getting greedy and finding politically convenient ways to fund programs that they weren’t willing to raise revenue for,” said Moulton.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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