Politics

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin “In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few,” writes Shunryu Suzuki in Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind . This idea is anathema to most politicians, for whom the very idea that a 28-year-old woman from a minority with no political experience could beat out a well-funded, high-ranking politician with legitimate aspirations to become Speaker of the House was outrageous. Until this past Tuesday, that is. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat out the Democratic incumbent Joseph Crowley in a defeat few saw coming. As the 28-year-old challenger who was outspent 18-1, she enjoyed a crushing victory over the long-time incumbent who was twice her age, with 57% of the vote. In a sense, age was also a real protagonist in this election. Ocasio-Cortez demonstrated that age does not have to define — or limit rather — what you can accomplish. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the winner of a … [Read more...] about A Beginner’s Mind: Ocasio-Cortez’s Key To Cracking A Political Victory

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Raids seize large caches of war weapons linked to political unrest The Nation  / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Acting under the martial law declared early Tuesday morning, joint teams of military and police officers launched raids at three locations to hunt for war weapons thought to have been readied for possible outbreaks of violence. Related news Thai celebrities duped out of 20 million baht in online toy scam, 300 victims speak out 17 hours ago Thai passport worth less than Cambodian | Thailand News Today 17 hours ago The first raid was launched at 11.30pm on Tuesday in Lop Buri’s Nong Muang district. During the raid, Chaowat Thongphuek, 54, was arrested for possessing a large number of weapons including nine home-made bombs and a TNT stick along with an AK-47 assault rifle and a large amount of ammunition. Chaowat, a former … [Read more...] about War weapons linked to political unrest seized

The decisions by Germany and the United States to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine represent a weighty show of Western political support for Kyiv that could also help its military breach Russian invaders' lines. After weeks of pressure from Ukraine and other allies, Berlin finally agreed to send 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks, seen as among the best in the world. The move also opens the way for other European nations that operate Leopards to send tanks from their own fleets to Ukraine, further building up the combined-arms arsenal Kyiv needs to launch counter-offensives. "From offering 5,000 helmets to sending the Leos into Ukraine," commented German Marshall Fund researcher Bruno Lete, referring to a widely-mocked early German contribution to Ukraine's war effort. "In less than a year, Germany deconstructed seven decades of pacifist policy" since World War II. "Perhaps reluctantly -- but still a major Zeitenwende (turning point) in its own right." Read More … [Read more...] about Western tanks: Political and military boost for Ukraine

It would be too simplistic to assume that the demand for Old Pension Scheme would be the central issue on which the state elections of 2023 and the Lok Sabha election of 2024 would be contested. In a surprise shift, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the state government is “not negative” about the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). Earlier he had expressed his opposition to the OPS in the Maharashtra assembly. With the Maharashtra legislative council elections delivering an adverse result to the state government, will it rethink its position? Meanwhile, reports also indicate that Congress in Karnataka is seriously considering reintroduction of the OPS as a key poll promise for its 2023 election campaign. Why OPS Gained Steam Evidence does indicate that the Congress party promise of restoration of the OPS (if returned to office) did help the party in winning the assembly election in Himachal Pradesh (HP). But it would be an overstatement to say that … [Read more...] about Old Pension Scheme not a gamechanger for 2023 assembly polls or 2024 Lok Sabha elections

A new bill advancing through the Colorado legislature would close what the AARP calls a “loophole” in state discrimination law by banning employers from asking for information that could reveal an applicant’s age. In addition to being prohibited from explicitly asking about age, the Job Application Fairness Act — officially labeled SB23-058 — would also bar employers from requesting other dates on applications, like when someone attended or graduated from high school or college. It builds on existing federal law, which prohibits discrimination based on a person’s age, and further limits the ways employers can puzzle out those details. Those limitations apply during a job-seeker’s initial application process, bill sponsor and Wheat Ridge Democrat Sen. Jessie Danielson told fellow lawmakers Thursday. The bill wouldn’t bar employers from verifying that applicants have necessary certifications or background, she said, nor would it open the door for juvenile Coloradans to apply for … [Read more...] about Bill would bar Colorado employers from seeking information that reveals job-seeker’s age during application process

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Festival Fires the Starter’s Pistol on the Annual Film Awards Race The Sundance Film Festival has been hosting the best in independent film since its inception in 1981. Named for his character in the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid , the event was founded by Robert Redford in 1981. Nestled in the snowy hills of Park City, Utah, the festival has gone from being a scrappy little upstart to one of the most revered cinematic launching pads in the world. If the Oscars are the checkered flag for the awards races, then Sundance is the official starter’s pistol that kicks off the grueling 14-month competition. Most of the films featured at the festival will resurface throughout the year as they find theatrical distribution or a streaming home with Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, MUBI and the like. Brandon Cronenberg’s newest film, Infinity Pool , used Sundance as a premiere of sorts. It can already be found in theaters … [Read more...] about A Winter Wonderland For Cinema: A Sundance Film Festival Recap Part 1

Some politicians were found to sponsor pilgrimage of their voters -- the most preferred destinations being Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, Manjunatha Swami temple in Dharmasthala in Karnataka and Shirdi in Maharashtra. India has witnessed a nearly six-fold increase in the total number of voters since 1951 to over 94.50 crore this year, but almost one-third of them stayed away from exercising their franchise in the last Lok Sabha polls. This has prompted the Election Commission to walk the extra mile to bring them to the polling booths. In 1951, when the voter lists for the first general elections were prepared, India had 17.32 crore registered electors and 45.67 per cent had turned up to exercise their franchise in the newly-born Republic. The number of registered electors witnessed a gradual increase over the years, and so did their participation in the subsequent elections. In the 1957 general elections, the number of registered electors was 19.37 crore and 47.74 per cent … [Read more...] about India sees six-fold jump in voters since 1951; total electorate on January 1 is over 94.50 crore

SHANGHAI – China’s move this week to streamline stock market listing rules is unlikely to result in a flood of initial public offerings, bankers say, citing the prospect of state intervention on national security and other grounds that would result in delays. Beijing published draft rules on Wednesday to broaden its fledgling registration-based IPO system, expand the U.S.-style mechanism to all corners of China’s stock market in a shift designed to speed up listings and corporate fundraising. Under the new system, China’s stock exchanges will themselves vet IPOs with a focus on information disclosure. Currently, IPOs on China’s blue-chip boards need clearance from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) under an approval-based system – one that means long delays and IPO prices capped by the regulators. The reform was hailed by state media and analysts as a key milestone that would make China’s IPO market more inclusive, transparent and efficient. But in reality, … [Read more...] about China’s latest IPO reform seen unlikely to flood markets with new issuance

The Union Budget will boost the order pipeline for the infrastructure sector, but the pace of implementation and execution of the big-bang capital expenditure plan announced by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 will be key to success, said R Shankar Raman, chief financial officer of Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T). Some ongoing issues in the infrastructure sector, like dispute resolution and pace of ordering, need to be addressed to help the industry accelerate growth, Raman told Moneycontrol’s Rachita Prasad. Raman also spoke about the opportunities and risks and how L&T is preparing for 2022-23. Pushing project execution, managing people and closing the divestment of its non-core assets is on the top of the agenda for the engineering giant. Edited excerpts: The Union Budget made a big commitment to capex . What is your key takeaway for the infrastructure sector? The Rs 7.5 lakh crore is generous. The good part of the allocation is … [Read more...] about Interview | Budget plan implementation, faster dispute mechanism key to infrastructure growth: L&T CFO

It would be too simplistic to assume that the demand for Old Pension Scheme would be the central issue on which the state elections of 2023 and the Lok Sabha election of 2024 would be contested. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked states to consider the fiscal and economic implications of moving to the old pension scheme. There has been an active debate with several states including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and Himachal Pradesh on moving towards the re-implementation of the Old Pension Scheme. The Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has also recently said that the state government is “not negative” about the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). “We need a complete understanding of financial implications and health of not just today but future decades. If we (switch), without adequately looking into what it (returning to the old pension scheme) means, we will be paying the current generation of pensioners by loading (the burden) onto the future … [Read more...] about States should consider Fiscal, economic implications of move to old pension scheme: FM