Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Tuesday, July 30, 2024
Sunday, July 28, 2024
Venezuelans vote in highly charged election amid fraud worries
July 28, 2024 9:24 AM
By Reuters
People vote in the country's presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 28, 2024.
CARACAS —
Venezuelans waited in line at polling stations and cast ballots Sunday in the most consequential election in a quarter-century of socialist party rule, with President Nicolas Maduro confident of victory even as the opposition has attracted impassioned support and warned of possible irregularities.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been the star of the coalition campaign, even after a ban on holding public office forced her to pass the torch to candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, a 74-year-old ex-diplomat known for his calm demeanor.
Gonzalez has won backing even from some former supporters of the ruling party, but the opposition and observers have questioned whether the vote will be fair, saying decisions by electoral authorities and the arrests of opposition staff are meant to create obstacles.
Maduro — whose 2018 reelection is considered fraudulent by the United States, among others — has said the country has the world's most transparent electoral system and has warned of a "bloodbath" if he were to lose.
Reuters journalists located in six cities around the country reported lines outside polling stations, including some that opened late.
"I've been here since 5 a.m. I came to vote for change, for a new Venezuela, which will be reborn and because I'm a public worker and we need change to be able to have a dignified salary," said Tibisay Aguirre, a 57-year-old cook who was waiting in line in Maracay, in the central state of Aragua.
Polls close at 6 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) and results could be published Sunday night or in the following days.
Maduro's government has presided over an economic collapse, the migration of about a third of the population, and a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations, crowned by sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and others which have crippled an already struggling oil industry.
Maduro has said he will guarantee peace and economic growth, making Venezuela less dependent on oil income.
The minimum wage is equivalent to $3.50 per month, while basic food for a family of five is estimated to cost about $500. Many people receive government food baskets or remittances from relatives abroad.
Dozens of voters were casting ballots at the Venezuelan consulate in the Spanish island of Tenerife, with others gathered outside waving flags and cheering.
Several voters said they had been registered at that consulate for many years. Migrants around the world have reported difficulties registering and only a small percentage of the diaspora is expected to be able to vote.
The Chavez legacy
Maduro voted early in the morning in Caracas and said the result announced by the National Electoral Council will be recognized and "defended" by the armed forces and the police.
People attending Maduro's closing rally in Caracas on Thursday spoke enthusiastically of his late mentor — long-time socialist President Hugo Chavez — and said Maduro, in power since Chavez' death in 2013, was continuing his predecessor's legacy of helping the poor.
"Nicolas Maduro is building up the country and continuing the legacy of Commander Chavez," said Conde Miranda, 54, who traveled from southern Ciudad Guayana to attend.
Others alluded to a more challenging environment.
"Maduro has done both good things and bad things, the problem is the people below him," said 30-year-old public employee Alejandro Goldteims.
Gonzalez and Machado, who have promised major changes and said a fresh start may motivate migrants to return, have urged people to hold "vigils" at polling stations. They have said they expect the military to uphold the results of the vote.
Venezuela's military has always supported Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, and there have been no public signs that leaders of the armed forces are breaking from the government.
Twenty-two people have been arrested since Friday "in the context of the electoral process," Gonzalo Himiob, the vice-president of human rights organization Foro Penal, said on X, adding that at least 15 remain detained.
Venezuela's attorney general this week denied participating in political persecution and said the election should be peaceful.
Public spending has grown only slightly during the campaign, analysts say, a change from past campaigns when spending was generous.
Maduro says he has opened 70 public works projects during the last several months, but many have been renovations of already existing schools, hospitals and roads, according to events broadcast on state television.
CARACAS —
Venezuelans waited in line at polling stations and cast ballots Sunday in the most consequential election in a quarter-century of socialist party rule, with President Nicolas Maduro confident of victory even as the opposition has attracted impassioned support and warned of possible irregularities.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been the star of the coalition campaign, even after a ban on holding public office forced her to pass the torch to candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, a 74-year-old ex-diplomat known for his calm demeanor.
Gonzalez has won backing even from some former supporters of the ruling party, but the opposition and observers have questioned whether the vote will be fair, saying decisions by electoral authorities and the arrests of opposition staff are meant to create obstacles.
Maduro — whose 2018 reelection is considered fraudulent by the United States, among others — has said the country has the world's most transparent electoral system and has warned of a "bloodbath" if he were to lose.
Reuters journalists located in six cities around the country reported lines outside polling stations, including some that opened late.
"I've been here since 5 a.m. I came to vote for change, for a new Venezuela, which will be reborn and because I'm a public worker and we need change to be able to have a dignified salary," said Tibisay Aguirre, a 57-year-old cook who was waiting in line in Maracay, in the central state of Aragua.
Polls close at 6 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) and results could be published Sunday night or in the following days.
Maduro's government has presided over an economic collapse, the migration of about a third of the population, and a sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations, crowned by sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and others which have crippled an already struggling oil industry.
Maduro has said he will guarantee peace and economic growth, making Venezuela less dependent on oil income.
The minimum wage is equivalent to $3.50 per month, while basic food for a family of five is estimated to cost about $500. Many people receive government food baskets or remittances from relatives abroad.
Dozens of voters were casting ballots at the Venezuelan consulate in the Spanish island of Tenerife, with others gathered outside waving flags and cheering.
Several voters said they had been registered at that consulate for many years. Migrants around the world have reported difficulties registering and only a small percentage of the diaspora is expected to be able to vote.
The Chavez legacy
Maduro voted early in the morning in Caracas and said the result announced by the National Electoral Council will be recognized and "defended" by the armed forces and the police.
People attending Maduro's closing rally in Caracas on Thursday spoke enthusiastically of his late mentor — long-time socialist President Hugo Chavez — and said Maduro, in power since Chavez' death in 2013, was continuing his predecessor's legacy of helping the poor.
"Nicolas Maduro is building up the country and continuing the legacy of Commander Chavez," said Conde Miranda, 54, who traveled from southern Ciudad Guayana to attend.
Others alluded to a more challenging environment.
"Maduro has done both good things and bad things, the problem is the people below him," said 30-year-old public employee Alejandro Goldteims.
Gonzalez and Machado, who have promised major changes and said a fresh start may motivate migrants to return, have urged people to hold "vigils" at polling stations. They have said they expect the military to uphold the results of the vote.
Venezuela's military has always supported Maduro, a 61-year-old former bus driver and foreign minister, and there have been no public signs that leaders of the armed forces are breaking from the government.
Twenty-two people have been arrested since Friday "in the context of the electoral process," Gonzalo Himiob, the vice-president of human rights organization Foro Penal, said on X, adding that at least 15 remain detained.
Venezuela's attorney general this week denied participating in political persecution and said the election should be peaceful.
Public spending has grown only slightly during the campaign, analysts say, a change from past campaigns when spending was generous.
Maduro says he has opened 70 public works projects during the last several months, but many have been renovations of already existing schools, hospitals and roads, according to events broadcast on state television.
Saturday, July 27, 2024
Friday, July 26, 2024
European Parliamentary breakfast on the protection of a work-free Sunday in Europe
European Parliamentary breakfast on the protection of a work-free Sunday in Europe
On April 10, the European Sunday Alliance – a broad European coalition of trade unions, employers' associations, social NGOs and church organisations campaigning for synchronised free time in Europe – held a European Parliamentary breakfast on the protection of a work-free Sunday in the EU.
The event was hosted by MEPs Miriam Lexmann and Tomáš Zdechovský (EPP) and came ahead of the European elections in June. On the occasion of the European Day for a Work-Free Sunday on 3 March, the members of the European Sunday Alliance had already launched an election manifesto that calls on European decision-makers to work at national and Brussels level to ensure that Sunday protection is as consistent as possible.
The event in the European Parliament served to highlight in particular how, from different perspectives, a protection of synchronised free time – in other words a work-free Sunday – is a worthy matter, not least also as a tool to fight loneliness. It also flagged substantial challenges that however exist in practice on many fronts to protect synchronised free time, a work-free Sunday, and thus to fight loneliness. It stressed that with employment patterns and working times becoming ever more scattered, with social media and digitalisation and online life becoming ever more central, societies need to be careful that loneliness and individualisation do not become a New Normal in private and economic life.
Members of the European Sunday Alliance made clear: Loneliness is in many cases undesired by affected persons and therefore a negative matter – and a tool to fight this is to ensure synchronised free time, to protect a work-free Sunday, to provide alternatives to solitary online life, to ensure that retired people, workers, their families, their children can again spend more time together.
Speakers included Béatrice D’Hombres (Project Coordinator ‘Fairness and Loneliness’ at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, JRC), Stefan Eirich (President of the German Catholic Workers’ Movement, KAB) and Antonella Sinagoga (Expert on Parish and Family for the Salesian Youth Ministry Department). It was moderated by representatives of organisations that constitute the European Sunday Alliance’s steering committee, Franziska Kuster (Protestant Church in Germany, EKD), Hendrik Meerkamp (European Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, CESI), Alix de Wasseige (Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of the EU, COMECE) and Maria Waszkiewicz (Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe, FAFCE).
Creepy! Moment Teenagers BROKE into BOHEMIAN GROVE 2024 (R$E)
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Thursday, July 25, 2024
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Tuesday, July 23, 2024
Secret Service director resigns after Trump assassination attempt: reports
Secret Service director resigns after Trump assassination attempt: reports
Jacob Knutson
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in Chicago in June 2024. Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday following the attempted assassination of former President Trump earlier this month at a rally in Pennsylvania, according to multiple media outlets.
Why it matters: The shooting by a lone gunman killed one person and wounded the Republican presidential nominee and two others. By Cheatle's own admission, it marked the "most significant operational failure of the Secret Service in decades."Cheatle told a House committee in mid-July that she took "full responsibility" for the lapses that led to the shooting.
Context: Cheatle resigned as the Secret Service faces intense scrutiny from numerous federal and congressional probes into its handling of security before and during Trump's political rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers called on her to step down over the lapses.
Zoom in: House lawmakers have said that FBI and Secret Service officials told them that the building from which the gunman fired his shots was identified as "an area of concern" as early as five days ahead of the event.On the day of the rally, the Secret Service was notified of a suspicious person with a rangefinder about 10 minutes before Trump walked on stage and roughly 20 minutes before shots were fired.
Zoom out: The Secret Service had increased its protective measures around Trump ahead of the rally after the U.S. received intelligence concerning an Iranian plot to assassinate him.However, the service had also denied requests for additional federal resources from Trump's security detail over the two years before the assassination attempt, according to the New York Times.
The big picture: The FBI, which is investigating the shooting as a potential act of domestic terrorism, has yet to determine the gunman's motive.The little information so far released about the gunman, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, has not clearly indicated political or ideological intentions behind the attack.
Crooks was registered as a Republican and donated money to a Democratic political action committee, but was also too young to have voted in any previous presidential elections.
Go deeper: Trump rally violence recalls historic presidential attacks
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Army of Youth Rightly Trained To Meet And Pass Final Crisis! Majority No...
Army of Youth Rightly Trained To Meet And Pass Final Crisis! Majority Not Ready!
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Army of Youth Rightly Trained To Meet And Pass The Final Crisis!
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Saturday, July 20, 2024
Usha Vance, wife of Trump's VP pick, has deep ties to India
INDIA
Murali Krishnan in New Delhi
'A powerful female voice'
In addition to her law degree, Vance holds a bachelor's degree in history from Yale and a master of philosophy from the University of Cambridge. She has clerked for US Supreme Court justices and, most recently, was a corporate litigator before stepping away after her husband's nomination.
Who is Trump's running mate JD Vance?
In a 2020 podcast interview, JD Vance said of his wife: "I'm one of those guys who really benefits from having sort of a powerful female voice over his left shoulder saying, 'Don't do that … do that.'"
Indian-Americans' role in US public life
For Indians, the spotlight on Vance has revealed another Indian-American immigrant success story.
"Indian Americans have come of age and are active in public life in America," Meera Shankar, a former ambassador of India to the US, told DW.
"There have been two governors of Indian origin, and the number of congressmen and senators of Indian origin has increased in recent elections. All this has an exemplary effect encouraging others to follow in their footsteps," added Shankar.
In 2020, Kamala Harris' ancestral village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrated after she became the first US Vice President of Indian descent. Harris was also the first woman to hold the office.
When she was sworn in, Harris credited her mother, Shyamalan Gopalan Harris, for helping her succeed.
"When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn't quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America, where a moment like this is possible," Harris said.
Murali Krishnan in New Delhi
07/17/2024July 17, 2024
Usha Chilukuri Vance has inspired people in India as a diaspora success story. She is now in the spotlight after her husband, JD Vance, was named Donald Trump's running mate.
Usha Chilukuri Vance has inspired people in India as a diaspora success story. She is now in the spotlight after her husband, JD Vance, was named Donald Trump's running mate.
Usha Chilukuri Vance is a Yale-educated litigator who could become second lady of the USImage: Jeff Dean/AP/picture alliance
When Usha Vance, met her husband, JD Vance, at Yale Law School, the now US vice presidential candidate described her as his "spirit guide" at the prestigious institution.
"She instinctively understood the questions I didn't even know to ask, and she always encouraged me to seek opportunities that I didn't know existed," wrote JD Vance in his bestselling 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."
The couple were married in 2014 and were blessed by a Hindu priest in a separate ceremony. They have three children, two boys and a girl.
Vance was born Usha Chilukuri in 1986 to Indian immigrants from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and grew up in an ethnically diverse San Diego suburb. Her father, Krish Chilukuri, is an aerospace engineer and university lecturer, and her mother, Lakshmi, is a professor of molecular biology.
Vance has credited her devout Hindu household as a child with instilling a deep sense of faith and a set of values that have guided her path to success.
"I did grow up in a religious household. My parents are Hindu. That was one of the things that made them good parents, made them good people," Vance told the Fox & Friends talk show in June.
When Usha Vance, met her husband, JD Vance, at Yale Law School, the now US vice presidential candidate described her as his "spirit guide" at the prestigious institution.
"She instinctively understood the questions I didn't even know to ask, and she always encouraged me to seek opportunities that I didn't know existed," wrote JD Vance in his bestselling 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy."
The couple were married in 2014 and were blessed by a Hindu priest in a separate ceremony. They have three children, two boys and a girl.
Vance was born Usha Chilukuri in 1986 to Indian immigrants from the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, and grew up in an ethnically diverse San Diego suburb. Her father, Krish Chilukuri, is an aerospace engineer and university lecturer, and her mother, Lakshmi, is a professor of molecular biology.
Vance has credited her devout Hindu household as a child with instilling a deep sense of faith and a set of values that have guided her path to success.
"I did grow up in a religious household. My parents are Hindu. That was one of the things that made them good parents, made them good people," Vance told the Fox & Friends talk show in June.
Usha Chilukuri VanceImage: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
'A powerful female voice'
In addition to her law degree, Vance holds a bachelor's degree in history from Yale and a master of philosophy from the University of Cambridge. She has clerked for US Supreme Court justices and, most recently, was a corporate litigator before stepping away after her husband's nomination.
Who is Trump's running mate JD Vance?
In a 2020 podcast interview, JD Vance said of his wife: "I'm one of those guys who really benefits from having sort of a powerful female voice over his left shoulder saying, 'Don't do that … do that.'"
Indian-Americans' role in US public life
For Indians, the spotlight on Vance has revealed another Indian-American immigrant success story.
"Indian Americans have come of age and are active in public life in America," Meera Shankar, a former ambassador of India to the US, told DW.
"There have been two governors of Indian origin, and the number of congressmen and senators of Indian origin has increased in recent elections. All this has an exemplary effect encouraging others to follow in their footsteps," added Shankar.
In 2020, Kamala Harris' ancestral village in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu celebrated after she became the first US Vice President of Indian descent. Harris was also the first woman to hold the office.
When she was sworn in, Harris credited her mother, Shyamalan Gopalan Harris, for helping her succeed.
"When she came here from India at the age of 19, she maybe didn't quite imagine this moment. But she believed so deeply in an America, where a moment like this is possible," Harris said.
Kamala Harris's ancestral village of Thulasendrapuram in Tamil Nadu celebrated her VP nominationImage: P. Ravikumar/REUTERS
Sreeram Chaulia, director general of the Jindal India Institute, a strategic think tank, told DW that the Indian diaspora has been making rapid strides in American life.
"Their uniquely high education levels, income levels and peer support networks within diaspora circles have enabled them to take on more and more prominent roles in US politics and public life," Chaulia said.
Although the role of a second lady is not an official government office, if Trump and Vance are elected in November, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, a former diplomat, thinks that Vance's place at the vice president's side will have heavy symbolic value for Indians.
"This is a just reflection of the number and influence of Indian immigrants in the US who are highly educated and very well assimilated," Gopalan Wadhwa told DW.
"It is a testimony of the ease with which the Indian diaspora integrates into other countries and contributes to the economic prosperity and political systems of wherever they are."
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
Sreeram Chaulia, director general of the Jindal India Institute, a strategic think tank, told DW that the Indian diaspora has been making rapid strides in American life.
"Their uniquely high education levels, income levels and peer support networks within diaspora circles have enabled them to take on more and more prominent roles in US politics and public life," Chaulia said.
Although the role of a second lady is not an official government office, if Trump and Vance are elected in November, Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, a former diplomat, thinks that Vance's place at the vice president's side will have heavy symbolic value for Indians.
"This is a just reflection of the number and influence of Indian immigrants in the US who are highly educated and very well assimilated," Gopalan Wadhwa told DW.
"It is a testimony of the ease with which the Indian diaspora integrates into other countries and contributes to the economic prosperity and political systems of wherever they are."
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
Friday, July 19, 2024
Thursday, July 18, 2024
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of Republican VP candidate J. D. Vance
Usha Vance
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Usha Vance
Born
Usha Chilukuri
Education
Political party
Children 3
Usha Chilukuri Vance (née Chilukuri; born January 6, 1986) is an American lawyer. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Vance was a law clerk for multiple federal judges and Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh when he was serving on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and judge Amul Thapar of the Eastern District of Kentucky.[2] She is the wife of the junior United States Senator from Ohio, J. D. Vance,[3] who is Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Early life and education
Born in San Diego, California,[4] and raised in the upwardly mobile Rancho Peñasquitos suburb,[5] Usha Chilukuri is the daughter of Telugu-speaking Indian Hindu immigrants.[6] Her father, Krish, is a lecturer at San Diego State University's Department of Aerospace Engineering while her mother, Lakshmi, is a marine molecular biologist and biochemist, and current Provost of Sixth College at UC San Diego.[7][8] Her parents hail from Andhra Pradesh state of India.[9] Childhood friends described her as a "leader" and a "bookworm."[10]
She attended Yale University, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She then attended Clare College, Cambridge, in England as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, receiving a Master of Philosophy degree in early modern history in 2010.[11] In 2013, she graduated Juris Doctor at Yale Law School, where she was the Executive Development Editor of the Yale Law Journal and Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology.[12][13][14] During her time at Yale, she also taught American history as a Yale-China Teaching Fellow at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.[13]
While at Yale Law School, Chilukuri met her future husband, J. D. Vance, a relationship encouraged by their professor Amy Chua.[15] In 2013, Chilukuri and Vance collaborated to organize a discussion group at Yale focused on the topic of "social decline in white America."[16]
Career
She served as a law clerk from 2014–2015 for then–District of Columbia Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh and from 2017–2018 for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.[17] She was admitted to the DC Bar in May 2019 and worked for the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, handling civil litigation and appeals in cases involving higher education, local government, entertainment and technology, until July 2024.[18]
She has served on the board of the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association and as secretary of the board of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.[19]
Personal life
Gates Cambridge Scholarship
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Usha Vance
Vance in 2023
Born
Usha Chilukuri
Education
Political party
Children 3
Usha Chilukuri Vance (née Chilukuri; born January 6, 1986) is an American lawyer. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Vance was a law clerk for multiple federal judges and Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh when he was serving on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and judge Amul Thapar of the Eastern District of Kentucky.[2] She is the wife of the junior United States Senator from Ohio, J. D. Vance,[3] who is Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Early life and education
Born in San Diego, California,[4] and raised in the upwardly mobile Rancho Peñasquitos suburb,[5] Usha Chilukuri is the daughter of Telugu-speaking Indian Hindu immigrants.[6] Her father, Krish, is a lecturer at San Diego State University's Department of Aerospace Engineering while her mother, Lakshmi, is a marine molecular biologist and biochemist, and current Provost of Sixth College at UC San Diego.[7][8] Her parents hail from Andhra Pradesh state of India.[9] Childhood friends described her as a "leader" and a "bookworm."[10]
She attended Yale University, graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in history, with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. She then attended Clare College, Cambridge, in England as a Gates Cambridge Scholar, receiving a Master of Philosophy degree in early modern history in 2010.[11] In 2013, she graduated Juris Doctor at Yale Law School, where she was the Executive Development Editor of the Yale Law Journal and Managing Editor of the Yale Journal of Law & Technology.[12][13][14] During her time at Yale, she also taught American history as a Yale-China Teaching Fellow at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.[13]
While at Yale Law School, Chilukuri met her future husband, J. D. Vance, a relationship encouraged by their professor Amy Chua.[15] In 2013, Chilukuri and Vance collaborated to organize a discussion group at Yale focused on the topic of "social decline in white America."[16]
Career
She served as a law clerk from 2014–2015 for then–District of Columbia Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh and from 2017–2018 for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.[17] She was admitted to the DC Bar in May 2019 and worked for the law firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, handling civil litigation and appeals in cases involving higher education, local government, entertainment and technology, until July 2024.[18]
She has served on the board of the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association and as secretary of the board of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.[19]
Personal life
Chilukuri and J. D. Vance married in 2014 in Kentucky, in an interfaith marriage ceremony.[20][10] They have three children: Ewan (born 2017), Vivek (born 2020), and Mirabel (born 2021).[21][22] She is a practicing Hindu and her husband is Roman Catholic.[20][23]
As of 2014, Chilukuri was a registered Democrat, but records show she pulled a Republican primary ballot in the 2022 election.[10]
Portrayal in media
In Hillbilly Elegy (2020), a film about the life of her husband, she was portrayed by actress Freida Pinto.
As of 2014, Chilukuri was a registered Democrat, but records show she pulled a Republican primary ballot in the 2022 election.[10]
Portrayal in media
In Hillbilly Elegy (2020), a film about the life of her husband, she was portrayed by actress Freida Pinto.
7/16/2024
P.S.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation established the Gates Cambridge Scholarships in 2000 with a $210 million donation to support outstanding graduate students' study at the University of Cambridge.
Monday, July 15, 2024
BREAKING: Trump names Vance, Ohio's Catholic senator, as his 2024 running mate
NEWS
KATE SCANLON
Washington, D.C. — July 15, 2024
Former President Donald Trump on July 15 named Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, a Catholic, as his running mate on the Republican ticket in November.
Trump was widely expected to name his running mate at the Republican National Convention, which began the same day.
"After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "J.D. honorably served our Country in the Marine Corps, graduated from Ohio State University in two years, Summa Cum Laude, and is a Yale Law School Graduate, where he was Editor of The Yale Law Journal, and President of the Yale Law Veterans Association."
Vance, author of "Hillbilly Elegy," was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022 after a contentious primary election in the Buckeye State, in which he got Trump's endorsement. Vance, who is Catholic, is married to Usha Vance, a litigator. The couple has three young children.
Trump said Vance "will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond."
Vance, was at one time a staunch critic of Trump, but became a closer ally of the former president as he campaigned for the U.S. Senate, and is ideologically aligned with Trump on issues like foreign policy.
If elected, Vance would be just the second Catholic to serve as vice president in U.S. history. The first is President Joe Biden, who served vice president for two terms before his own election to the White House in 2020 made him the second Catholic to serve as U.S. president.
Kimberly Cheatle, Director of the United States Secret Service
Kimberly Cheatle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kim Cheatle
Director of the United States Secret Service
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 17, 2022
President Joe Biden
Preceded by James M. Murray
Personal details
Education Eastern Illinois University (BA)
Awards Presidential Rank Award (2021)
Kimberly A. Cheatle is an American law enforcement officer who has served as the 27th director of the United States Secret Service since September 2022.[1] She previously held multiple roles in the United States Secret Service for over 25 years.
Career
Cheatle joined the United States Secret Service in 1995.[2] She was involved in the evacuation of Vice President Dick Cheney on the September 11 attacks, and served on Joe Biden's protective detail during the Obama administration, when she was assigned to the Vice Presidential Protective Division.[3] In 2017 and 2018, she served as deputy assistant director. She also served as special-agent-in-charge in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, office. She became the first woman to serve as assistant director of Protective Operations, a department tasked with protection of the president and dignitaries, and managed a budget of over $133.5 million.[4]
From 2019 to 2022, Cheatle served as senior director of global security at PepsiCo, where she was responsible for directing and implementing security protocols for the company's facilities in North America. Her role involves developing risk management assessment and risk mitigation.[5][6][7]
In 2021, U.S. president Joe Biden awarded Cheatle a Presidential Rank Award for exceptional performance.[8] In August 2022, Biden announced the appointment of Cheatle to be director of the United States Secret Service,[9] and she assumed office on September 17, 2022.[10] Cheatle took over the Secret Service following "a turbulent couple months in which the agency best known for protecting presidents has faced controversies related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol."[11] During a CBS News interview in May 2023, Cheatle stated the Secret Service, which had a 48% departure rate, needed to "attract diverse candidates and give opportunities to everybody in the workforce, particularly women." She said she aims to have 30% women in the agency by 2030.[12]
On July 13, 2024, during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Cheatle was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the 2024 Republican National Convention was to be held. In the wake of the shooting, Cheatle and the Secret Service were widely criticized for the perceived security failure.[13]
This Day In History: July 13
2013
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appears, sparking a movement
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter first appears, sparking a movement
Photo Credit: David Ryder/Getty Images
Outraged and saddened after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed a Black teenager in 2012, Oakland, California resident Alicia Garza posts a message on Facebook on July 13, 2013. Her post contains the phrase "Black lives matter," which soon becomes a rallying cry and a movement throughout the United States and around the world.
Garza said she felt "a deep sense of grief" after Zimmerman was acquitted. She was further saddened to note that many people appeared to blame the victim, Trayvon Martin, and not the "disease" of racism. Patrice Cullors, a Los Angeles community organizer and friend of Garza, read her post and replied with the first instance of #BlackLivesMatter.
As the hashtag became popular on Facebook and Twitter, Garza, Cullors and fellow activist Opal Tometi built a network of community organizers and racial justice activists using the name Black Lives Matter. The phrase and the hashtag were then quickly adopted by grassroots activists and protests all across the country, particularly after the subsequent killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and a number of other African Americans at the hands of police officers or would-be vigilantes like Zimmerman.
Simple and clear in its demand for Black dignity, the phrase became one of the major symbols of the protests that erupted after Brown's killing in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. While polling showed that a majority of Americans disapproved of the Black Lives Matter movement when it first began, in the years following, support for its central arguments grew.
After the May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis unleashed a nationwide protest movement against police brutality and racism, support for the Black Lives Matter movement increased by a 28-point margin in two weeks—almost as much as it had in the preceding two years, according to the New York Times.
Perhaps more than any other phrase since “Black Power,” “Black Lives Matter” became a singular rallying cry for the American and global racial justice movements.
Outraged and saddened after the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Florida man who killed a Black teenager in 2012, Oakland, California resident Alicia Garza posts a message on Facebook on July 13, 2013. Her post contains the phrase "Black lives matter," which soon becomes a rallying cry and a movement throughout the United States and around the world.
Garza said she felt "a deep sense of grief" after Zimmerman was acquitted. She was further saddened to note that many people appeared to blame the victim, Trayvon Martin, and not the "disease" of racism. Patrice Cullors, a Los Angeles community organizer and friend of Garza, read her post and replied with the first instance of #BlackLivesMatter.
As the hashtag became popular on Facebook and Twitter, Garza, Cullors and fellow activist Opal Tometi built a network of community organizers and racial justice activists using the name Black Lives Matter. The phrase and the hashtag were then quickly adopted by grassroots activists and protests all across the country, particularly after the subsequent killings of Michael Brown, Eric Garner and a number of other African Americans at the hands of police officers or would-be vigilantes like Zimmerman.
Simple and clear in its demand for Black dignity, the phrase became one of the major symbols of the protests that erupted after Brown's killing in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. While polling showed that a majority of Americans disapproved of the Black Lives Matter movement when it first began, in the years following, support for its central arguments grew.
After the May 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis unleashed a nationwide protest movement against police brutality and racism, support for the Black Lives Matter movement increased by a 28-point margin in two weeks—almost as much as it had in the preceding two years, according to the New York Times.
Perhaps more than any other phrase since “Black Power,” “Black Lives Matter” became a singular rallying cry for the American and global racial justice movements.
Who is Brandon Biggs? The pastor who predicted Trump’s assassination bid
Hours after the attack, X users posted Brandon Biggs's prophecy video from three months ago describing today's events.
July 15, 2024
An old video of a Christian pastor predicting an assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has resurfaced on social media. The attempt occurred earlier today, mirroring the details described in the video, which was posted three months ago.
Donald Trump, 78, was struck by a bullet in the upper part of his right ear when a suspected shooter fired multiple shots at his election rally in Pennsylvania. Hours after the attack, many X users posted the clip of Brandon Biggs’s prophecy video, originally shared on YouTube on 15 March 2024.
Biggs claimed the Lord told him about future events in the US. “God said, I am not done with America,” Biggs stated. “I saw an attempt on his (Donald Trump) life, this bullet flew by his ear and it came so close to his head that it busted his eardrum, and I saw he fell to his knees during this timeframe and started worshiping the Lord,” Biggs can be heard saying in the viral video.
“I also saw Donald Trump become really on fire for Jesus. I also saw him winning the presidency,” he added.
The pastor also predicted an economic crash in the US following the presidential elections. “I saw a great economic crash coming soon after, which will be the worst in the country’s history. The Lord told me that it would be a great dark time,” Biggs predicted.
Later in the video, Biggs said he saw Trump and others in the Oval Office crying out to the Lord, with the financial crisis lifting off the country and the Lord’s blessing returning to America.
The shooter, identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was crawling on the roof of a manufacturing plant over 130 yards away from the stage. He was eventually killed by US Secret Service officers after the shooting incident. The FBI is still working to determine the motive behind the attack.
The assassination attempt took place while Donald Trump was addressing his followers at a rally in Butler on Saturday. He grimaced and ducked before being rushed off-stage by US Secret Service personnel. Blood was seen on Trump’s face as he claimed a bullet pierced the upper part of his right ear.
Saturday, July 13, 2024
Friday, July 12, 2024
Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Tuesday, July 09, 2024
Monday, July 08, 2024
July 2, 2024 - Hurricane Beryl - Andrew Holness, Jamaica P. M. (CLIMATE CHANGE)
Sunday, July 07, 2024
Saturday, July 06, 2024
Friday, July 05, 2024
Thursday, July 04, 2024
What is this enigmatic political opportunist up to?
Recently, I've noticed that Vivek Ramaswamy is frequently in the news and on YouTube videos. I am amazed at how Ramaswamy lost his political venture during the Republican Presidential Primary, and despite the defeat, all of a sudden he is back in the limelight trying to become relevant again despite his failed attempt.
As I watch Ramaswamy's meandering, I wonder what he is up to?
Yesterday, I found an informative video posted in May 2023 that gives us a clearer understanding of who Vivek Ramaswamy is and further explains his persona's resemblance to ex-President Barack Obama, and considers both individuals' Jesuit background and their political ambition.
Yesterday, I found an informative video posted in May 2023 that gives us a clearer understanding of who Vivek Ramaswamy is and further explains his persona's resemblance to ex-President Barack Obama, and considers both individuals' Jesuit background and their political ambition.
Now I can understand why Ramaswamy is making headlines; he's searching for a new job. Just because London has a Pakistani descent Muslim Mayor (Sadiq Khan) and England has an Indian ancestry Hindu Prime Minister (Rishi Sunak), it doesn't mean that the United States is ready for a Hindu Indian descent Vice President. However, I acknowledge that if Vivek Ramaswamy is seeking a VP candidacy with the Trump campaign, we already have Vice President Kamala Harris who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage.
Considering Ramaswamy's political ambition and his Jesuit background, it all makes perfect sense.
P.S.
On July 5, 2024, one day after this post Rishi Sunak lost to Keir Starmer, the new Prime Minister of Britain.
Tuesday, July 02, 2024
What Is Truth?
Volume 43 Issue Seven July 2024
Last Trumpet Ministries · PO Box 806 · Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone: 920-887-2626 Internet: http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org
“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” I Cor. 14:8
What Is Truth?
“Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.”
John 18:37-38
We hear a lot about disinformation and “fake news” these days. Yet, this is not a new problem. In fact, the very first disinformation campaign occurred in the Garden of Eden when the serpent beguiled Eve, enticed her to eat the forbidden fruit, and told her lies that she chose to believe. What were those lies? Genesis 3:4-5 explains, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Humanity has suffered the consequences of these lies since the fall of man.
By the days of Isaiah the Prophet, conditions had only worsened. Isaiah 59:4 laments, “None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.” The prophet further tells us in Isaiah 59:14, “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” This verse describes a societal condition in which there is such little regard for the truth that it is cast out into the street like refuse and trodden underfoot.
When Jesus Christ came to this world, He, too, encountered a culture that stood in opposition to the truth. In fact, Jesus was hated because He only spoke the truth. In John 8:45, Jesus told His opponents, “And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.” Since the early days of humanity, people have embraced lies and disregarded the truth. The irony, of course, is that if Jesus had spoken lies, He would have been accepted by His opponents. The scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees would have loved Him!
Our Saviour’s ministry revealed many important truths. He taught us that we who have sinned must repent. For example, Matthew 4:17 tells us, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In Luke 13:3, He again preached repentance, warning, “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Jesus revealed that the religious structure of His day, led chiefly by the Pharisees, was rife with hypocrisy. In Luke 12:1 He admonished, “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Our Lord and Saviour also taught us the essential truth that love is one of the defining characteristics of God’s people. John 13:34-35 declares, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” He further reveals to us the most important truth of all: That Jesus Christ is the way to salvation. John 14:6 declares, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Every word ever spoken by Jesus Christ is absolutely true. If you ever feel lost in the maze of confusion that this modern world has become, you can always look to Jesus to find the truth. It is for this reason John 8:31-32 tells us, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” If you have not yet repented of your sins and dedicated your life to God, I urge you to do so now.