Розділ: Повідомлення
В суботу бойовики один раз порушували режим тиші – штаб ООС
Російські гібридні сили один раз порушили режим припинення вогню протягом доби 26 грудня, повідомляє штаб Операції об’єднаних сил.
За вечірнім зведенням, бойовики відкривали вогонь зі стрілецької зброї поблизу села Березове в Донецькій області.
«Постріли окупантів були неприцільними і не несли загрози життю наших військовослужбовців, тому вогонь у відповідь вони не відкривали. Серед українських воїнів бойових втрат та поранень немає. Українські захисники перебувають напоготові до ймовірних підступних та провокативних дій ворога і в разі загрози життю чи здоров’ю, готові надати адекватну відповідь», – запевняють у штабі.
Читайте також: Донбас і «додаткові теми» Путіна. Коли ж відбудеться «нормандський саміт»?
Крім того, за даними командування, протягом дня сапери Державної служби з надзвичайної ситуації розмінували більше двох гектарів території в районі проведення операції Об’єднаних сил і передали 37 вибухонебезпечних предметів на знищення.
Незаконні збройні угруповання не заявляли про бойові дії 26 жовтня.
Із 00:01 27 липня на Донбасі набрала чинності чергова домовленість про «повне та всеосяжне припинення вогню».
Збройний конфлікт на Донбасі триває від 2014 року після російської окупації Криму. Україна і Захід звинувачують Росію у збройній підтримці бойовиків. Кремль відкидає ці звинувачення і заявляє, що на Донбасі можуть перебувати хіба що російські «добровольці».
За даними ООН, від квітня 2014-го до 31 липня 2020 року внаслідок збройного конфлікту на Донбасі загинули від 13 100 до 13 300 людей.
…
By Gromada | 12/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
МОЗ хоче здобути трансплантаційну незалежність України протягом 3 років – Степанов
Міністерство охорони здоров’я прагне здобути трансплантаційну незалежність України протягом трьох найближчих років, повідомив міністр охорони здоров’я Максим Степанов 26 грудня.
«З цією метою у 2020 році МОЗ ініціювало затвердження відповідної нормативної бази. Зокрема, на цьому тижні за ініціативою МОЗ уряд розширив перелік закладів охорони здоров’я, що долучаються до Пілотного проєкту трансплантації, до 38. До проєкту приєдналася також одна приватна лікарня: це свідчення того, що відповідні тарифи на трансплантацію, розраховані МОЗ, повністю реальні», – цитує слова Степанова пресслужба МОЗ.
Потребу в таких операціях міністерство оцінило приблизно у п’ять тисяч на рік.
За даними МОЗ, протягом 2020 року в Україні здійснено вісім пересадок серця, 19 пересадок печінки, 91 пересадка нирки. Загалом цього року провели 118 трансплантацій проти 78, зроблених у 2019 році.
Водночас у міністерстві очікують, що в 2021 році Україна збільшить кількість трансплантацій мінімум удвічі – буде зроблено не менше ніж 250 пересадок життєво важливих органів.
…
By Gromada | 12/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
US Spending Bill Awaits Trump’s Decision
U.S. President Donald Trump is spending the holiday weekend at his Florida resort as both Democrats and Republicans wait to see whether he will sign a critical pandemic relief and government funding package that he sharply criticized earlier this week.The $2.3 trillion spending legislation, which includes $892 billion for coronavirus relief, has been flown from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago club to be available for him to sign into law. Trump has not specifically threatened to veto the bill, but he surprised lawmakers in both parties by labeling the legislation as a “disgrace” after it had been passed in the House and Senate, capping months of negotiations.President Donald Trump’s motorcade drives to Trump International Golf Club, Dec. 25, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Fla.Trump said the package gave too much money to special interests and foreign aid, and said direct payments of $600 for most Americans should be increased to $2,000. That was seen as a rebuke to members of his own Republican party, which had resisted Democratic efforts to negotiate larger payments.A partial federal government shutdown looms early Tuesday if Trump does not sign the bill. Congress is planning to return to work Monday, interrupting its usual Christmas recess, and could take up a stopgap measure to extend government funding for a few days or weeks while the impasse is resolved.House members are also scheduled to vote Monday to override Trump’s veto of a $740 billion bill authorizing the country’s defense programs. If the House vote passes, the Senate could vote on the measure as early as Tuesday. It requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override a presidential veto.Trump has criticized the defense bill on several fronts, arguing without explanation that the bill benefits China, and has demanded the removal of language that allows for the renaming of military bases that honor Confederate leaders. He has also demanded the addition of a provision making it easier to sue social media companies over content posted by their users.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of Calif., speaks during her weekly briefing, Dec. 4, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Trump’s veto “an act of staggering recklessness that harms our troops.”However, Pelosi has embraced Trump’s call for $2,000 direct payments to all Americans below a specified income level, and on Thursday used a maneuver to force Republicans to defy Trump by blocking the increase.Pelosi has announced plans to force another vote on the issue Monday. It is liable to be passed in the House, where Democrats have a majority, but unlikely to progress in the Republican-controlled Senate.The White House declined to share details of the president’s schedule during his Christmas holiday. It said only: “During the holiday season, President Trump will continue to work tirelessly for the American people. His schedule includes many meetings and calls.”Nevertheless, Trump was photographed playing golf at his Florida course near Mar-a-Lago both Thursday and Friday. Reports say he was joined on the course Christmas Day by his close ally, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.
…
By Polityk | 12/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Київський поліцейський оркестр виконав «Щедрик»
Відповідне відео столична поліція оприлюднила на своєму ютубі
…
By Gromada | 12/26/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Judge Delays Execution of Only Woman on US Death Row
A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office.U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director of the Bureau of Prisons that had set Lisa Montgomery’s execution date for Jan. 12. Montgomery had previously been scheduled to be put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, this month, but Moss delayed the execution after her attorneys contracted coronavirus visiting their client and asked him to extend the amount of time to file a clemency petition.Moss prohibited the Bureau of Prisons from carrying out Lisa Montgomery’s execution before the end of the year and officials rescheduled her execution date for Jan. 12. But Moss ruled on Wednesday that the agency was also prohibited from rescheduling the date while a stay was in place.”The Court, accordingly, concludes that the Director’s order setting a new execution date while the Court’s stay was in effect was ‘not in accordance with law,'” Moss wrote.A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Under the order, the Bureau of Prisons cannot reschedule Montgomery’s execution until at least Jan. 1. Generally, under Justice Department guidelines, a death-row inmate must be notified at least 20 days before the execution. Because of the judge’s order, if the Justice Department chooses to reschedule the date in January, it could mean that the execution would be scheduled after Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.A spokesperson for Biden has told The Associated Press the president-elect “opposes the death penalty now and in the future” and would work as president to end its use in office. But Biden’s representatives have not said whether executions would be paused immediately once Biden takes office.Montgomery was convicted of killing 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore in December 2004. She used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, and then a kitchen knife to cut the baby girl from the womb, authorities said.Prosecutors said Montgomery removed the baby from Stinnett’s body, took the child with her, and attempted to pass the girl off as her own. Montgomery’s legal team has argued that their client suffers from serious mental illnesses.”Given the severity of Mrs. Montgomery’s mental illness, the sexual and physical torture she endured throughout her life, and the connection between her trauma and the facts of her crime, we appeal to President Trump to grant her mercy, and commute her sentence to life imprisonment,” one of Montgomery’s lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said in a statement.Two other federal inmates are scheduled to be executed in January but have tested positive for coronavirus and their attorneys are also seeking delays to their executions.
…
By Polityk | 12/25/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Предстоятель Православної церкви України привітав з Різдвом усіх, хто його святкує 25 грудня
«Подія Різдва Христового об’єднує усіх нас у мирі та злагоді одне з одним…»
…
By Gromada | 12/25/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Republican Lawmakers Block Effort to Pass Trump’s Stimulus Demands
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives blocked a Democratic attempt Thursday to pass President Donald Trump’s demand for $2,000 stimulus payments to millions of Americans who have been hard hit by the U.S. coronavirus pandemic.Late Tuesday, the outgoing president demanded an increase in direct payments from $600 to $2,000 for individuals and $4,000 for couples, despite broad opposition within the Republican Party.Thursday House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer sought the unanimous approval of Trump’s proposal from House members but House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy denied the approval, ending an unusual 12-minute pro forma session.Trump Vetoes Defense Spending BillBoth the House and Senate passed the bill with veto-proof majorities, meaning they could override the president’s vetoTrump had suggested Tuesday he will not sign into law a $900 billion emergency COVID-19 aid bill unless lawmakers approve larger stimulus payments. A Trump veto would likely trigger a brief, partial federal government shutdown beginning Dec. 29 and delay delivery of the $600 stimulus payments in the bill when millions desperately need assistance.Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans are opposed the larger $2,000 checks, saying they are too costly and poorly targeted.Trump’s efforts to change the relief package come as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office on Jan. 20. The bill had been approved by the House and Senate by wide, bipartisan margins.Biden Addresses COVID-19 Bill, Holiday Pandemic Precautions President-elect Joe Biden called the $900 billion coronavirus aid bill a ‘down payment’ on a broader relief bill he plans to introduce when he takes office in JanuaryWithout Trump’s signature, unemployment benefits for those who lost jobs due to the pandemic would expire as soon as Saturday, followed by a partial government shutdown beginning Tuesday.Earlier this month, Congress approved a $2.3 trillion catchall spending bill that includes the $900 billion in COVID-19 aid and $1.4 trillion to fund the government through the next fiscal year.The House is scheduled to return to Capitol Hill on Monday, and the Senate Tuesday, for a vote to override Trump’s veto of the measure. Democrats are contemplating a second stopgap bill to at least keep the government operating until Biden is sworn into office Jan. 20, according to two aides, who spoke anonymously to address the private talks.
…
By Polityk | 12/25/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Київрада ухвалила виділити 183 млн гривень на будівництво Центру захисту і кладовища тварин
Київська міська рада 24 грудня ухвалила програму будівництва Центру захисту тварин та офіційного кладовища для домашніх тварин. Про це Київрада повідомила за результатами засідання депутатів у четвер.
За повідомленням, програма передбачає створення закладу, який суміщатиме ветеринарну клініку і притулок для котів і собак.
«Загалом ми зможемо допомогти нашим притулкам, в яких перебувають більше 5 тисяч тварин. Кошти на потреби притулків, забезпечення кормами та необхідними медикаментами будуть виділені вже цього року», – заявив директор Департаменту міського благоустрою КМДА Олексій Кулеба.
Читайте також: У Києві автомат, який обмінює пластикові пляшки на корм для тварин, вже зібрав 68 кг пластику за 9 днів роботи
Програма також передбачає подальшу стерилізацію безпритульних котів і собак, підтримку опікунства над ними і створення публічного простору для власників домашніх тварин.
«Загалом потреба в коштах на реалізацію заходів міської цільової програми на 2020-2022 роки становить 185,7 мільйона гривень, із яких кошти бюджету столиці – 183,7 млн грн», – повідомляє Київрада.
За даними місцевої влади, протягом 2017-2019 років у столиці стерилізували 23 тисяч безпритульних собак та кішок, майже 3 тисячам тварин знайшли нових власників.
…
By Gromada | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Зеленський привітав із Різдвом християн, які відзначають його 25 грудня
В Україні Різдво є державним святом і за григоріанським (25 грудня), і за юліанським календарем (7 січня)
…
By Gromada | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
В УГКЦ спростували інформацію про рішення однієї з парафій святкувати Різдво 25 грудня
В Українській греко-католицькій церкві спростували інформацію, що парафія церкви Різдва Пресвятої Богородиці та Святого Антонія Чернівецької єпархії УГКЦ цього року вперше святкуватиме Різдво Христове за григоріанським календарем – 25 грудня.
Як раніше повідомляла Релігійно-інформаційна служба України, з відповідною ініціативою нібито виступили як настоятель отець Василь (Гасинець), так і самі парафіяни.
Втім, як пояснили в УГКЦ, йдеться про проведення різдвяної служби для сім’ї, яка планує виїхати за кордон, тому не зможе відвідати службу 7 січня.
«Оскільки велика родина у трьох поколіннях парафіян виїжджає за кордон і 7 січня не матиме можливості взяти участь у Різдвяному богослужінні, вони попросили 25 грудня відслужити для них Святу Літургію з літургічними різдвяними текстами. З цим я звернувся до нашого владики Йосафата Мощича, який, задля добра вірних, поблагословив це одноразово завтра зробити», – сказав отець Василь Гасинець.
При цьому отець Василь пояснив, що і він, і його парафіяни розуміють, що рішення про зміну дати святкування Різдва не можна ухвалювати на рівні окремих парафій, а це має зробити уся спільнота Української Греко-Католицької Церкви.
Раніше патріарх Української греко-католицької церкви Святослав зазначив, що перехід до святкування Різдва за новим стилем, тобто 25 грудня, повинен відбуватися з ініціативи мирян.
…
By Gromada | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Суд зупинив виконання вироку генерал-майору Назарову, засудженому через катастрофу літака Іл-76
Касаційний кримінальний суд у складі Верховного Суду зупинив виконання вироку генерал-майору Віктору Назарову, засудженому до семи років ув’язнення через за службове недбальство в справі щодо катастрофи літака Іл-76 і загибелі військових. Інформацію про зупинення виконання вироку Радіо Свобода підтвердив адвокат Віктора Назарова Михайло Турик.
За його словами, сторона Віктора Назарова внесла касаційну скаргу на рішення суду.
За даними з Єдиного реєстру судових рішень, касаційна скарга до Касаційного кримінального суду надійшла 21 грудня, а 23 грудня суд зупинив виконання рішення першої та другої інстанцій і вирішив витребувати справу в касаційному порядку.
Читайте також: «Думав, що війна все спише». 7 років в’язниці за катастрофу літака Іл-76 – генерал Назаров програв суд
11 грудня 2020 року Дніпровський апеляційний суд відхилив апеляцію генерала Віктора Назарова, якого суд першої інстанції засудив до семи років ув’язнення через службову недбалість, яка призвела до збиття літака Іл-76 і загибелі українських військових 2014 року. Він залишив рішення Павлоградського райсуду області, ухвалене в березні 2017 року, без змін. Віктор Назаров тоді не визнав провини і заявив, що подаватиме на касацію.
14 червня 2014 року у Луганському аеропорту російські бойовики збили літак Іл-76. На борту було 40 бійців 25 окремої повітряно-десантної бригади та дев’ять членів екіпажу, усі вони загинули.
…
By Gromada | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Trump Pardons Manafort, Stone, Charles Kushner
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday granted full pardons to former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former adviser Roger Stone, sweeping away the most important convictions made under the long-running Russia election probe.Trump also issued a full pardon for Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.It was the second wave of pardons Trump has issued in two days. The announcement came just after Trump arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, for the holiday season, with Jared Kushner on the Air Force One flight with him.In total, Trump issued on Wednesday full pardons to 26 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional three people.Facing the end of his term on Jan. 20, Trump has now granted full pardons to four major figures from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.Besides Manafort and Stone, Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former adviser George Papadopoulos.The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been trying to prosecute Manafort in New York for mortgage fraud and other alleged crimes, said it would continue to pursue an appeal for its case, which was dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.”This action underscores the urgent need to hold Mr. Manafort accountable for his crimes against the People of New York as alleged in our indictment, and we will continue to pursue our appellate remedies,” said Danny Frost, spokesperson for the office.The Manafort pardon spared the long-time Republican operative from serving the bulk of his 7 1/2-year prison term.Manafort, 70, was among the first in Trump’s inner circle to face charges brought by Mueller as part of his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.In a statement relayed by his lawyer, Manafort expressed his appreciation to Trump.”Mr. President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me. Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are,” he said.Stone was convicted in November 2019 by a Washington jury of lying under oath to lawmakers also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.Trump commuted his sentence in July, a day before Stone was due to begin serving a term of three years and four months. Stone, in a statement, thanked Trump for “completely erasing the criminal conviction to which I was subjected in a Soviet-style show trial on politically-motivated charges.”Charles Kushner was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and making unlawful campaign donations.In an unusual twist, the man who prosecuted Charles Kushner was Chris Christie, now the former governor of New Jersey, who also has served as an adviser to Trump.Christie was quoted by CNN as saying Charles Kushner’s case was “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he prosecuted. During the case, Charles Kushner admitted to smearing his brother-in-law, who had cooperated with prosecutors, by hiring a prostitute to have sex with him in a motel room, then sending a secretly recorded video of the encounter to the man’s wife, Charles Kushner’s own sister.
…
By Polityk | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Радіо Свобода – у п’ятірці «найефективніших медіабрендів» в Україні – дослідження
Радіо Свобода потрапило до списку 15 найефективніших медіабрендів 2020 року, повідомила українська консалтингова компанія «Центр контент-аналізу». Радіо Свобода посіло 5-е місце в загальному рейтингу.
Інтегральний показник ефективності складали на основі семи параметрів замість п’ятьох, як було раніше: відвідуваність, цитованість, охоплення згадувань, якісна відвідуваність, Facebook-взаємодії, Instagram-взаємодії, YouTube-взаємодії.
Радіо Свобода посідає п’яте місце за цитованістю, третє – за охопленням згадувань, друге – за взаємодією у Facebook, дев’яте – за Instagram-взаємодією, 10 – за YouTube-взаємодією.
На першому місці в рейтингу «Українська правда», далі – 24 канал, РБК-Україна, Обозреватель.
Крім того, до 15 найефективніших медіабрендів 2020 року увійшли Уніан, Страна, Цензор.нет, Корреспондент, Інтерфакс-Україна, UNN, Новое время, Укрінформ, 112 Україна, Гордон.
«У ніші суспільно-політичних видань ми бачимо цікавий тренд: зростання впливу «якісних» медіа і майже повне зникнення «зливних бачків», – кажуть автори дослідження.
Усі дані збиралися за період 1 серпня – 31 жовтня. Вибірка склала 190 медіабрендів, які порівнювалися в межах своїх тематичних ніш.
Минулого року в серпні Радіо Свобода було на 14 місці цього рейтингу, а за рік до цього також входило у п’ятірку.
…
By Gromada | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Наукових даних щодо ефективності вітаміну D або цинку в профілактиці COVID-19 наразі немає – МОЗ
Наукових даних щодо ефективності вітаміну D або цинку в профілактиці COVID-19 наразі немає, повідомила пресслужба Міністерства охорони здоров’я України у відповідь на запит Радіо Свобода.
«З метою забезпечення протистояння коронавірусній хворобі (COVID-19) наказом Міністерства охорони здоров’я України від 2 квітня 2020 року №762 (в редакції наказу Міністерства охорони здоров’я України від 21 липня 2020 року №1653) затверджено протокол «Надання медичної допомоги для лікування коронавірусної хвороби (COVID-19)», відповідно до якого зазначені у запиті вітаміни відсутні», – йдеться у відповіді МОЗ.
Останнім часом у ЗМІ з’явилося чимало повідомлень про те, що деякі дослідження демонструють: люди, які мають дефіцит вітаміну D, ймовірно, мають вищі ризики захворіти на COVID-19 та мати тяжчий перебіг хвороби. Були повідомлення і про цинк «як щит від коронавірусу».
Однак, зазначають у МОЗ, «дотепер не отримано наукових даних щодо їх ефективності у профілактиці COVID-19».
Також у відомстві зазначили, що споживання будь-яких препаративних форм, у тому числі вітамінів, має відбуватися виключно за призначенням лікаря.
Тим часом, як повідомив Радіо Свобода сервіс Liki24.com, попит на вітаміни в Україні суттєво зріс від початку пандемії і «залишається стабільно високим».
За цими даними, найчастіше користувачі сервісу шукають вітамін D: і для дорослих, і для дітей – за останні два тижні жовтня кількість таких запитів зросла вдвічі. Попит на цинк, додають, збільшився всемеро. При цьому ціни на вітаміни в аптеках, зазначає сервіс, залишаються стабільними.
Радіо Свобода звернулося до Держлікслужби із запитаннями про попит і ціни та очікує відповіді.
…
By Gromada | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Trump Pardons Former Campaign Chairman Manafort, Associate Roger Stone
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday granted full pardons to former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former adviser Roger Stone, sweeping away the most important convictions made under the long-running Russia election probe.Trump also issued a full pardon for Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.It was the second wave of pardons Trump has issued in two days. The announcement came just after Trump arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, for the holiday season, with Jared Kushner on the Air Force One flight with him.In total, Trump issued on Wednesday full pardons to 26 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional three people.Facing the end of his term on Jan. 20, Trump has now granted full pardons to four major figures from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.Besides Manafort and Stone, Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former adviser George Papadopoulos.The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been trying to prosecute Manafort in New York for mortgage fraud and other alleged crimes, said it would continue to pursue an appeal for its case, which was dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.”This action underscores the urgent need to hold Mr. Manafort accountable for his crimes against the People of New York as alleged in our indictment, and we will continue to pursue our appellate remedies,” said Danny Frost, spokesperson for the office.The Manafort pardon spared the long-time Republican operative from serving the bulk of his 7 1/2-year prison term.Manafort, 70, was among the first in Trump’s inner circle to face charges brought by Mueller as part of his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.In a statement relayed by his lawyer, Manafort expressed his appreciation to Trump.”Mr. President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me. Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are,” he said.Stone was convicted in November 2019 by a Washington jury of lying under oath to lawmakers also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.Trump commuted his sentence in July, a day before Stone was due to begin serving a term of three years and four months. Stone, in a statement, thanked Trump for “completely erasing the criminal conviction to which I was subjected in a Soviet-style show trial on politically-motivated charges.”Charles Kushner was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and making unlawful campaign donations.In an unusual twist, the man who prosecuted Charles Kushner was Chris Christie, now the former governor of New Jersey, who also has served as an adviser to Trump.Christie was quoted by CNN as saying Charles Kushner’s case was “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he prosecuted. During the case, Charles Kushner admitted to smearing his brother-in-law, who had cooperated with prosecutors, by hiring a prostitute to have sex with him in a motel room, then sending a secretly recorded video of the encounter to the man’s wife, Charles Kushner’s own sister.
…
By Polityk | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
US Immigration Changes Won’t Happen Overnight, Biden Advisers Say
President-elect Joe Biden’s top advisers say the incoming administration will “need time” to undo what they regard as damaging U.S. immigration and border enforcement policies implemented under President Donald Trump.In an interview with Spanish wire service EFE this week, Susan Rice, Biden’s incoming domestic policy adviser, and Jake Sullivan, his pick for national security adviser, said U.S. border policies the Trump administration put in place to deter mass migration will not disappear overnight. “We will be able to take some steps to change policies right away. Others will take time to put in place, and the situation at the border will not transform overnight, due in large part to the damage done over the last four years. But we are committed to addressing it in full,” Rice said.Speaking with reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Tuesday, Biden said he had already discussed immigration issues with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and other Latin American leaders. He promised “a much more humane policy” but said “it’s probably going to take the next six months to put that in place.”Have already started #immigration issues with #Mexico president and other Latin American leaders, says @JoeBiden, promising “a much more humane policy.”
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) December 22, 2020Biden added, “The last thing we need is to say we’re going to stop immediately the access to asylum the way it’s being run now, and then end up with 2 million people on our border.”Trump’s border policies include the Remain in Mexico program that has forced tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to await U.S. immigration court dates on the Mexican side of the southern U.S. border. Strongly criticized by immigrant rights advocates as causing misery and putting migrants’ lives at risk, the program has been defended by the Trump administration, which argues it prevents overcrowding in U.S. detention facilities and reduces the impetus for migrants to take a perilous journey northward.Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP, to remain in place pending the outcome of legal challenges that would be moot if the incoming Biden administration terminates the program.In a recent call to reporters, Biden’s transition team said U.S. immigration officials would start processing asylum claims at ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border and work toward an “efficient” and “humane” asylum system.Slower paceOverall, the Biden team’s postelection comments suggest an effort to tamp down expectations for immediate immigration policy changes after Biden is inaugurated on January 20.US Immigration Policy Changes Expected Under BidenHe could overturn many guidelines using executive orders, but others will require more than a policy declaration, experts sayAfter Rice and Sullivan’s EFE interview, Kids in Need of Defense President Wendy Young said “work should start on day one” and urged the new administration to elevate protections for unaccompanied children and families that exist in U.S. law.“The incoming Biden administration is right to focus on procedures and policies that will restore vital asylum screening procedures at the U.S.-Mexico border and reflect our nation’s long-held humanitarian approach to protecting the most vulnerable among us,” Young said in a statement.Elusive legislative solutionsDespite the urgings of both the former George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, Congress has repeatedly been deadlocked on comprehensive immigration reform legislation. The inaction has prompted successive White House occupants to adjust U.S. policy on a piecemeal basis through directives and executive orders, from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to MPP. Federal Judge: Wolf’s DACA Rules InvalidActing DHS secretary was not lawfully serving when he suspended applications, judge rulesSullivan and Rice told EFE that Biden would use executive action when feasible.“There are areas that can be addressed administratively, and the president-elect has plans to begin tackling those areas right away,” Rice said. “But the Biden administration will not be able to fix everything on our own. We need legislative changes to make enduring repairs to our immigration system.”Analysts remain pessimistic about the chances for enacting sweeping legislation if Biden presides over a politically divided government. Dany Bahar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote that it would be nearly impossible to pass immigration reform if the Senate remains in control of Republicans.
…
By Polityk | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Introduces Connecticut Educator as his Education Secretary
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden introduced Connecticut education commissioner Miguel Cardona as his education secretary nominee on Wednesday, touting him as a strong advocate of public schools who can lead the agency through struggles to educate students safely during the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
“We can do it if we give school districts, communities and states the clear guidance and resources that aren’t already in their tight budgets,” Biden said Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware.
Biden said educating students safely “requires someone who understands the need to prevent the pandemic from further exacerbating the inequities in our education system.”
The 45-year-old Cardona, who would be the first Latino to serve as education secretary if confirmed by the Senate, was appointed as Connecticut’s education chief just months before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March.
Cardona embraced remote learning by quickly delivering more than 100,000 laptops to students across the state, but has since increasingly pushed for schools to reopen, saying continued remote learning was harmful to students.
Biden’s choice of Cardona delivers on his commitment to nominate someone with public education experience who contrasts sharply with current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Unlike DeVos, a school choice proponent whom Biden maintains is an opponent of public schools, Cardona is a product of them, beginning in kindergarten when he was unable to speak English.
The grandson of immigrants, Cardona was raised in a housing project in Meriden, Connecticut, and was educated in the city’s public schools before returning to work as an elementary school teacher in the district in 1998. He eventually worked his way up to assistant superintendent of the district.
Speaking to reporters, sometimes in Spanish, Cardona said his bicultural upbringing gives him keen insight into how to resolve the nation’s education inequalities.
“I, being bilingual and bicultural, am as American as apple pie and rice and beans,” Cardona said.
“I know how challenging this year has been for students, for educators and for parents. I’ve lived those challenges alongside millions of American families,” Cardona added. “It’s taken some of our most painful longstanding disparities and wrenched them open even wider.”
Cardona said his first priority will be to expand in-person learning nationwide. Biden has vowed to have most U.S. schools reopened within his first 100 days in office.
Biden said his administration will develop new federal guidelines on school opening decisions and launch a “large-scale” effort to identify and share the best methods to teach students during a pandemic.
…
By Polityk | 12/24/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
У Києві відкрили меморіальну дошку Василю Стусу та Івану Світличному
У Києві 23 грудня відкрили меморіальну дошку українському поетам Василю Стусу та Івану Світличному, повідомляє пресслужба Київміськадміністрації.
Згідно з повідомленням, меморіальна дошка з’явилася на фасаді Національної академії наук України на вулиці Грушевського, 4.
«Маю за честь сьогодні відкрити меморіальну дошку цим великим людям. Василь Стус та Іван Світличний – видатні постаті, українці з великої літери. Вони багато пережили за свою громадянську позицію», – сказав на відкритті керівник Департаменту охорони культурної спадщини КМДА Олександр Никоряк.
Повідомляється, що у відкритті дошки взяли участь син Василя Стуса Дмитро Стус, родина та громадськість.
Серед тих, хто був на заході, – директор Інституту літератури імені Шевченка Микола Жулинський, директор Інституту історії НАН України, академік Валерій Смолій, політв’язень, голова Київського товариства політв’язнів і репресованих Олесь Шевченко, політв’язень, який перебував в одному з Василем Стусом концтаборі, останній, хто бачив його живим, Василь Овсієнко, голова Національної спілки письменників України Михайло Сидоржевський.
Іван Світличний і Василь Стус поховані на Байковому кладовищі у Києві. Їхні могили розташовані неподалік. Поховали Івана Світличного у вишиванці, подарованій Василем Стусом.
…
By Gromada | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Танці курсанток під російський шансон: університет у Харкові повідомив про перші результати розслідування
Харківський національний університет внутрішніх справ повідомив про перші результати розслідування інциденту, пов’язаного із поширенням у мережі інтернет відеоролика, на якому студентки танцюють під музику російського гурту «Воровайки», в’їзд якого на територію України заборонений.
«За фактом виявленого у соціальних мережах відео, де дівчата у формі курсантів танцюють під музичне супроводження російського шансону, триває службове розслідування. Встановлено як безпосередніх учасників відео, якими виявилися курсантки 1 курсу факультету № 3, так і осіб, які за функціональними обов’язками відповідають за стан дисципліни в підрозділах», – йдеться в повідомленні на сайті вишу.
Адміністрація закладу вказує, що за результатами службового розслідування визначать ступінь провини кожного та заходи дисциплінарного реагування.
На відео, яке поширилося протягом останніх днів у мережах ТікТок і Телеграм, п’ятеро дівчат, ймовірно, в казармі, танцюють під пісню «Наколочки» з репертуару популярної у Росії шансон-групи «Воровайки». Звучить уривок зі словами: «Я хорошая такая маменькина деточка, просто вся в татуировках милая студенточка. Наколочки-наколочки, гоп татуировочки».
Наприкінці 2019 року Служба безпеки України заборонила цій групі в’їзд в Україну, як було сказано, «в інтересах гарантування національної безпеки України».
Жіночий гурт «Воровайки» виконує російський шансон, тобто пісні, які оспівують тюремне життя у Росії. Після 2014 року репертуар цієї групи поповнився антиукраїнськими композиціями, зокрема піснею «Хохли».
…
By Gromada | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Міністерський борщ-батл: у Мінкультури назвали переможця
У кулінарних змаганнях з приготування найкращого борщу, в яких 22 грудня змагалися чотири міністри українського уряду, найсмачнішим визнали борщ із вишнями, повідомило Міністерство культури й інформаційної політики України.
Захід відбувся на підтримку внесення елементу «Культура приготування борщу» до переліку нематеріальної культурної спадщини ЮНЕСКО.
«Відомий шеф-кухар Євген Клопотенко поділив учасників на дві команди та запропонував на вибір 80 відсотків інгредієнтів, з яких традиційно готують борщ в Україні. Екстравагантний борщ із вишнями вирішили готувати Ольга Стефанішина, віцепрем’єрка з питань європейської та євроатлантичної інтеграції, та Олександр Ткаченко, міністр культури та інформаційної політики. А як основний інгредієнт смажену капусту – для свого борщу обрали Роман Абрамовський, міністр захисту довкілля і природних ресурсів, та Ігор Петрашко, міністр розвитку економіки, торгівлі й сільського господарства», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Борщ Ігоря Петрашка й Романа Абрамовського отримав приз глядацьких симпатій.
Борщ є основною першою стравою і символом української кухні, хоча ввійшов і в кухні інших країн.
6 жовтня експертна рада з питань нематеріальної культурної спадщини при Міністерстві культури та інформаційної політики України рекомендувала міністерству включити до Національного переліку елементів нематеріальної культурної спадщини України, зокрема, «культуру приготування українського борщу».
Національний перелік елементів нематеріальної культурної спадщини України ведеться на виконання статті 12 Конвенції ЮНЕСКО про охорону нематеріальної культурної спадщини, яку Україна ратифікувала у 2008 році. Наразі до переліку включені 26 елементів.
…
By Gromada | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Суспільство
Trump Threatens Not to Sign COVID-19 Aid Package, Government Funding Bill
President Donald Trump threatened Tuesday not to sign a massive year-end bill passed by lawmakers that includes a $900 billion coronavirus aid package and $1.4 trillion in annual government funding. Trump said in a video that was tweeted out Tuesday night that the bill didn’t deliver enough aid to Americans. The bill provides for a $600 payment to most Americans. The president said he is asking Congress to “increase the ridiculously low $600 to $2,000, or $4,000 for a couple. I am also asking Congress to get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation and to send me a suitable bill.” Both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the measure with overwhelming support late Monday, with lawmakers having only a few hours to look over the more than 5,000-page bill. They were facing a midnight deadline to keep the U.S. government funded. FILE – Dusk falls as Congressional leaders hash out a massive, year-end catchall bill, at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 21, 2020.Trump had been expected to sign the bill in the coming days. The legislation comes after weeks of negotiations during which Democratic and Republican leaders clashed over how much government assistance to provide for coronavirus relief and whether the focus should be on items such as jobless benefits or keeping open the economy. It also comes during a surge in COVID-19 infections, with the United States recording more than 18 million confirmed cases as of Tuesday night — adding about 200,000 cases per day — and with the country’s death toll standing at more than 322,000 people, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Details of bill One of the main components of the bill is $600 direct payments to most people, with the amount phasing out for those with incomes above $75,000 per year. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said millions of Americans could begin seeing stimulus payments as soon as next week. A previous round of $1,200 stimulus payments was included in a much larger coronavirus relief bill in March. The new bill also includes $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program, an initiative meant to help businesses keep workers employed during a period in which the economic pressure of the pandemic may have forced added layoffs. There is also $300 per week in unemployment benefits for 11 weeks, as well as $82 billion for local schools and universities, $25 billion in rental assistance, $15 billion for theaters and $10 billion for child care. There is also $4 billion to help other countries with vaccination efforts for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. FILE – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, walks to his office from the Senate Floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Dec. 18, 2020.”The American people can rest assured that more help is on the way, immediately,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. Democrats had pushed for a much larger relief package, with the House passing a $3 trillion package in May and a $2 trillion version in October. But Republicans opposed that level of spending and pushed for a more focused relief effort. Biden: More to comeWith President-elect Joe Biden set to take office in a month, Democrats are saying the new relief bill is just a first step of what is to come. “I applaud this relief package, but our work is far from over,” Biden tweeted early Tuesday. “Starting in the new year, Congress will need to immediately get to work on support for our COVID-19 plan.” FILE – Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 1, 2020.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said anyone who considers the new aid as sufficient “hasn’t heard the desperation in the voices of their constituents, has not looked into the eyes of the small business owner on the brink of ruin.” McConnell, in comments to the Associated Press, signaled a wait-and-see approach from the Republicans. “My view about what comes next is let’s take a look at it,” he said. “Happy to evaluate that based upon the needs that we confront in February and March.” Any new round of spending will be highly dependent on two January 5 runoff elections for Senate seats representing the state of Georgia that will either keep Republicans in control of the chamber or give Democrats the advantage of holding both houses of Congress and the White House. The total $1.4 trillion spending package funds the U.S. government through September. It includes an extension of tax breaks for numerous businesses for at least the next year, $45 billion for transportation needs including railroad operator Amtrak, and $13 billion for a major expansion in food stamps.
…
By Polityk | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Trump Pardons 15, Including Republican Allies
President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned 15 people, including Republican allies, a 2016 campaign official ensnared in the Russia probe and former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad.Trump also commuted the sentences of five people. While it is not unusual for presidents to grant clemency on their way out the door, Trump has made clear that he has no qualms about intervening in the cases of friends and allies whom he believes have been treated unfairly. Despite speculation, though, not on the list were members of Trump’s own family, his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and the president himself.U.S. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., speaks to reporters as he leaves the courthouse after a pretrial hearing in his insider-trading case, in New York, Sept. 12, 2019.The pardons included former Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter of California and Chris Collins of New York. Trump commuted the sentence of former Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas.Collins, the first member of Congress to endorse Trump to be president, was sentenced to two years and two months in federal prison after admitting he helped his son and others dodge $800,000 in stock market losses when he learned that a drug trial by a small pharmaceutical company had failed.Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to stealing campaign funds and spending the money on everything from outings with friends to his daughter’s birthday party.FILE – In this Oct. 25, 2018, file photo, George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign adviser who triggered the Russia investigation, arrives for his first appearance before congressional investigators, on Capitol Hill in Washington.Trump also announced pardons for allies ensnared in the Russia investigation. One was for George Papadopoulos, his 2016 campaign adviser whose conversation unwittingly helped trigger the Russia investigation that shadowed Trump’s presidency for nearly two years. He also pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer who was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to investigators during special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.Van der Zwaan and Papadopoulos are the third and fourth Russia investigation defendants granted clemency. By pardoning them, Trump once again took aim at Mueller’s probe and pushed a broader effort to undo the results of the investigation that yielded criminal charges against a half-dozen associates.Last month, Trump pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who had twice pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, and months earlier commuted the sentence of another associate, Roger Stone, days before he was to report to prison.In the group announced Tuesday night were four former government contractors convicted in a 2007 massacre in Baghdad that left more a dozen Iraqi civilians dead and caused an international uproar over the use of private security guards in a war zone.Supporters of Nicholas Slatten, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, the former contractors at Blackwater Worldwide, had lobbied for pardons, arguing that the men had been excessively punished in an investigation and prosecution they said was tainted by problems and withheld exculpatory evidence. All four were serving lengthy prison sentences.Last November, Trump pardoned a former U.S. Army commando who was set to stand trial next year in the killing of a suspected Afghan bomb-maker and a former Army lieutenant convicted of murder for ordering his men to fire upon three Afghans.”Paul Slough and his colleagues didn’t deserve to spend one minute in prison,” said Brian Heberlig, a lawyer for one of the four pardoned Blackwater defendants. “I am overwhelmed with emotion at this fantastic news.”FILE – In this June 11, 2014 file photo, former Blackwater guard Nicholas Slatten leaves federal court in Washington, after the start of his first-degree murder trial.The Blackwater case has taken a complicated path since the killings at Baghdad’s Nisoor Square in September 2007, when the men, former veterans working as contractors for the State Department, opened fire at the crowded traffic circle.Prosecutors asserted the heavily armed Blackwater convoy launched an unprovoked attack using sniper fire, machine guns and grenade launchers. Defense lawyers argued their clients returned fire after being ambushed by Iraqi insurgents.They were convicted in 2014 after a monthslong trial in Washington’s federal court, and each man defiantly asserted his innocence at a sentencing hearing the following year.“I feel utterly betrayed by the same government I served honorably,” Slough told the court in a hearing packed by nearly 100 friends and relatives of the guards.Slough and two others, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, were sentenced to 30 years in prison, though after a federal appeals court ordered them to be re-sentenced, they were each given substantially shorter punishments. A fourth, Nicholas Slatten, whom prosecutors blamed for igniting the firefight, was sentenced to life in prison.A federal appeals court later cut Slatten’s first-degree murder conviction, but the Justice Department tried him again and secured another life sentence last year.The trial was held years after a first indictment against the men was dismissed when a judge ruled that the Justice Department had withheld evidence from a grand jury and violated the guards’ constitutional rights. The dismissal outraged many Iraqis, who said it showed Americans considered themselves above the law.
…
By Polityk | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Addresses COVID-19 Bill, Holiday Pandemic Precautions
President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday expressed empathy with struggling families and applauded Congress for passing the coronavirus relief bill as the nation deals with a COVID-19 surge that’s casting a shadow over the Christmas holiday. He called out to frontline workers, scientists, researchers, clinical trial participants and those with deployed family members during the holiday season. “Our hearts are always with you — keep the faith,” he said in a year-end address from Wilmington, Delaware. Noting the ways that the pandemic has altered his own holiday celebrations, which typically include up to two dozen relatives, Biden said, “not this year.” “This season of reflection carries a much deeper meaning than it usually does,” Biden said, encouraging Americans to continue to take precautions to try to stem the spread of the virus, which has now killed more than 320,000 people in the United States. “Jill and I send our prayers, as I’m sure all of you do, to all that are facing this dark winter,” he said, referring to his wife. The day before, Biden got vaccinated on live television as part of an effort to reassure people that the COVID-19 vaccine is safe. Biden Receives COVID-19 VaccinationThe president-elect is inoculated on live television as US case count surpasses 18 million”I look forward to the second shot, and I have absolute confidence in the vaccine,” Biden said. “But we’re in short supply.” On the $900 billion coronavirus aid bill passed by Congress on Monday, Biden called the bill a “down payment” on a broader relief bill he plans to introduce when he takes office in January. “Like all compromises, this is far from perfect,” Biden said. “Congress did their job this week, and I can and I must ask them to do it again next year.” Staff appointmentsOn Tuesday, Biden’s team also announced a new round of White House staff appointments, led by longtime aide Bruce Reed as deputy chief of staff. Reed served as Biden’s chief of staff during his first term as vice president and has long been a close member of Biden’s inner circle of advisers. But throughout the weeks of speculation over Biden’s Cabinet selections, progressives have expressed concerns about what they see as Reed’s moderate political views and fiscal conservatism. Progressives notched a win in the latest round of staff announcements, however, with the appointment of Gautam Raghavan as deputy director of the office of presidential personnel. Raghavan served as chief of staff to Representative Pramila Jayapal, who chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and in his new position he’ll help evaluate applicants for thousands of federal jobs and appointments throughout the administration. Biden has also appointed Anne Filipic as director of management and administration, Ryan Montoya as director of scheduling and advance, Vinay Reddy as director of speechwriting and Elizabeth Wilkins as a senior adviser to the chief of staff. All are alumni of the Obama-Biden administration, and Montoya and Reddy worked on Biden’s campaign as well.
…
By Polityk | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden: Reversing Trump Immigration Policies Will Take Months
President-elect Joe Biden says it will take months to roll back some of President Donald Trump’s actions on immigration, offering a slower timeline than he promised on the campaign trail and one that may rile advocates pushing for speedy action on the issue.His Tuesday comments echo those made by two of his top foreign policy advisers in an interview with Spanish wire service EFE on Monday, hitting the brakes on rolling back Trump’s restrictive asylum policies. Susan Rice, Biden’s incoming domestic policy adviser, and Jake Sullivan, his pick for national security adviser, as well as Biden himself, warned that moving too quickly could create a new crisis at the border.Speaking to reporters in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden said he’s already started discussing the issues with the Mexican president and “our friends in Latin America” and that “the timeline is to do it so that we in fact make it better, not worse.””The last thing we need is to say we’re going to stop immediately, the access to asylum, the way it’s being run now, and then end up with 2 million people on our border,” Biden said.He noted that more funding is needed for more asylum judges to process claims, he and promised that while he will work to loosen Trump’s asylum restrictions, “it’s going to take probably the next six months to put that in place.”His comments come as interceptions along the border have increased in recent months. According to data from Customs and Border Patrol, detentions in October increased by 30% from September and remained at that rate in November. Some experts predict the surge could increase in the early months of Biden’s presidency, as a response to the damage wrought by the two hurricanes that have pummeled Central America and the economic fallout from the pandemic, as well as expectations of a more humane approach to immigration from the Biden administration.Sullivan and Rice both said in their interview with EFE that Biden will take executive action where possible to address issues with the immigration system, and they emphasized plans to provide humanitarian aid and help bolster Latin American economies to try to address the root cause of the influx of immigrants to the U.S.Biden “will work to promptly undo” Trump’s deals with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that let the U.S. transfer asylum-seekers to those countries and will “follow through” on his commitment to end a Trump-era program that returns undocumented border crossers to Mexico to await their legal proceedings, Sullivan said. On his campaign website, Biden promised to end the agreement with Mexico, known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, within the first 100 days of his presidency.But Sullivan emphasized that many of those reforms will take time.He cautioned that “increasing processing capacity and changing policy at the border will take time,” and warned those considering fleeing for the U.S. to wait, predicting it will take “months” for the Biden administration to fully implement their plans with respect to Latin America.”Given the pandemic and the large number of migrants already waiting in northern Mexico, now is not the time to undertake the dangerous trip to the United States,” he said. It will take months until we are able to fully implement our plans.”Rice said that “processing capacity at the border is not like a light that you can just switch on and off.””Our priority is to reopen asylum processing at the border consistent with the capacity to do so safely and to protect public health, especially in the context of COVID-19. This effort will begin immediately, but it will take months to develop the capacity that we will need to reopen fully,” she said.But Michelle Heisler, medical director of Physicians for Human Rights, expressed concerns about the pace of change during a conference call with reporters Tuesday and said there should be no “public-health rationale” to maintain extraordinary powers to immediately expel people from the United States without an opportunity to seek asylum.Rice was noncommittal about when Biden would withdraw that authority, which Trump introduced in March on grounds that it would contain the coronavirus even though reporting by The Associated Press and others has found that government scientists saw no evidence for it.Still, other pro-immigrant advocates said Tuesday that while they understood it would take time to untangle some of Trump’s changes at the border, they underscored a sense of urgency. They hailed Biden’s emphasis on working with Mexico and Central America on joint solutions.”The Biden administration’s work to end cruelty must start immediately,” said Linda Rivas, executive director and managing attorney of Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center in El Paso, Texas. “Human rights and dignity must take center stage.”Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said it was a “matter of life and death,” with many asylum-seekers waiting in extremely violent Mexican border cities for their cases to be heard in the United States.She said in a conference call with reporters that she was concerned about how many asylum-seekers will be allowed in by Biden “but we are here, ready, determined that the process works for all those that are impacted.”
…
By Polityk | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Biden Reportedly to Name Connecticut Educator as Education Secretary
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to nominate Miguel Cardona, currently Connecticut’s commissioner of education, to be secretary of education, according to news reports.Cardona took his current post just months before the coronavirus pandemic hit, becoming the first Latino to hold the job.Cardona reportedly embraced remote learning, but has recently been pushing for schools to reopen, saying continued remote learning was harmful.“Our position has always been when you can get students into the classroom, that’s the best option,” Cardona told state lawmakers in October, according to the Associated Press. “There is no replacement for that experience in the classroom with a teacher.”Cardona, 45, attended public schools in Meriden, Connecticut, and later became a fourth-grade teacher. By the age of 28, he was the youngest principal in the state. He later would become assistant superintendent of the city’s schools.Biden also announced appointments to his White House staff, including Bruce Reed who will serve as deputy chief of staff. Reed was Biden’s chief of staff while Biden was vice president.
…
By Polityk | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
Mega Coronavirus and Government Spending Bill Tackles Climate Change
Major climate and clean energy measures are tucked inside the package of $1.4 trillion in annual spending to fund the government and $900 billion to provide COVID-19 relief approved by Congress late Monday. It’s a rare bit of bipartisan agreement on an issue that has been mostly stalled in Congress while global temperatures rise and climate change-driven disasters pile up. Environmental groups said the initiative is a start, but much more needs to be done. FILE – A worker installs solar panels on a roof at Van Nuys Airport in Los Angeles, California, Aug. 8, 2019.The measure provides short-term tax breaks for solar and wind power and for technology to remove planet-warming carbon dioxide from power plant and industrial emissions, known as carbon capture and sequestration. It phases down the use of extremely powerful greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in cooling systems. Clean-energy research and development get a funding boost as well. In all there is roughly $35 billion of new funding for renewable technology and energy efficiency in the legislation, according to advocate groups. “Over the last few years, we found a great deal of cynicism that a bill like this could actually get done,” U.S. Chamber of Commerce senior vice president of policy Marty Durbin said in a statement. “But passage of this bill will prove that there is common ground on which all sides of the debate can come together.” Durbin described the bill as “truly historic — setting up the biggest action Congress has ever taken to address climate change, and the first energy bill in 13 years.” Greenpeace USA Democracy Campaign Director Folabi Olagbaju called it “a step in the right direction but simply not good enough to meet the magnitude of the moment.” Bruce McDougal prepares to defend his home as the Bond Fire burns though the Silverado community in Orange County, California, Dec. 3, 2020.2020 is on track to be the warmest or second-warmest year on record. Scientists say dramatic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions need to happen worldwide, and soon, to avoid catastrophic global warming. Congress has done little to address the problem since 2010, when a bill aiming to charge polluters for emissions failed in the Senate. The new spending bill extends an existing tax credit that benefits solar power by two years. It extends a tax credit for land-based wind power by one year and creates a new credit for offshore wind. A credit for carbon capture and sequestration, a technology that is only deployed on commercial scale at a handful of facilities, gets a two-year extension. The hydrofluorcarbon chemical phase-down brings the United States in line with a United Nations treaty signed by 197 other countries. Business groups supported it, but the measure faced opposition from a few key Republicans concerned about stricter state and local measures creating a patchwork of regulations. The new measure bars them from regulating HFCs for five years. The wide-ranging spending bill includes a potluck of other measures environmentalists back, including programs to reduce diesel pollution, transition to electric school buses and weatherize low-income homes. It also reverses Trump administration cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and climate change programs at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
…
By Polityk | 12/23/2020 | Повідомлення, Політика
