Opinion posts

There is a difference between being sentimental and being serious about animal welfare, between feeling good and doing good for animals in our care. Colorado Senate Bill 38 is an example of the former, a feel-good bill that will immiserate countless animals. SB23-038 would criminalize the sale, purchase, import, or export of horses to be processed for human consumption. The two largest veterinary organizations in the U.S., the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Veterinary Medical Association, and the American Quarter Horse Association, opposed a similar effort by a few members of the last Congress because the “processing of unwanted horses is currently a necessary aspect of the equine industry, and provides a humane alternative to allowing the horse to continue a life of discomfort and pain, and possibly inadequate care or abandonment.” Horses become unwanted when owners are no longer able to afford their upkeep or the horse has become old, infirm, or … [Read more...] about Opinion: Permitting horse sales for human consumption is the humane choice

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Supreme Court investigators reportedly narrowed their investigation into the monumental leak of Justice Samuel Alito’s draft majority opinion in favor of overturning Roe V. Wade last May, which tipped off the public to its stunning reversal of the landmark decision that had protected abortions for nearly 50 years. Key Facts The investigation, which is being overseen by an internal committee, has dwindled down their list of potential suspects to a “small number of suspects,” the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed people familiar with the probe. That list includes recent law school graduates serving as law clerks to Supreme Court justices, the Post reported, without naming any of the suspects in the investigation—Supreme Court clerks had been asked in May to turn over private cell phone data and sign affidavits, sources told CNN . Interviewers relied on public information … [Read more...] about Supreme Court’s Probe Into Leaked Roe V. Wade Opinion Narrows To “Small Number”

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin For the first time in its history, someone leaked a draft Supreme Court opinion to a news organization. Politico published that document and an article about the provisional majority opinion, which the report said would repudiate the Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing constitutional protection of a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion. The story immediately created a crisis for the third branch of the federal government and generated international headlines. Statement From Chief Justice John Roberts In any crisis, it is important to confirm the facts about the situation, put things in perspective, explain whether and how the crisis would impact the organization, and what you are doing or will do about the situation. Chief Justice John Roberts did just that this morning. According to a statement issued by the Court, Roberts said the draft was authentic and the leak was "a singular and egregious … [Read more...] about Leaked Draft Opinion On Abortion Creates Crisis For Supreme Court

PHUKET: The Vegetarian Festival ends this evening – not just here in Phuket, but also in other ethnic Chinese communities all over the country. Phuket’s Chinese community rightfully takes great pride in their town being the birthplace of the festival in Thailand –  as well as the fact that Chinese communities in other provinces have followed suit. The event is said to date back to Phuket’s tin-mining days, when a traveling Chinese opera company came down with a mysterious illness and managed to cure themselves by adhering to a strict vegetarian diet. Impressed, Kathu residents adopted not only the vegetarian aspect, but also the variety of complex rituals related to the worship of the Nine Emperor Gods. Over time, the festival began to develop its unique characteristics, evolving, with the help of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), into something visitors from all over the world came to find exotic, colorful, at times disturbing – but definitely something to write … [Read more...] about OPINION: TAT should do more for Phuket festival

New York Times editor and MSNBC analyst Mara Gay told a “Morning Joe” panel Thursday that former President Donald Trump returning to Facebook could “take down the country.” Meta, Facebook’s parent company, is expected to reinstate Trump’s account, according to an Axios report. The company banned the former president for two years for allegedly showing “praise for people engaged in violence.” “You don’t want to, whether you’re a company or an institution, you don’t want to hand over the keys to democracy to have someone destroy that democracy,” Gay said. “So do you want to be that institution that really helps take down the country? I mean, this is a business so yes, it’s a little bit different than a public institution, but we should still be asking the moral question. Years ago, we would be asking the moral questions, do we want a chemical company, should we be supporting weapons of war? “These are questions that are not new in American history but we should be asking them. … [Read more...] about NYT Editor Says With Straight Face: Trump Facebook Posts Could ‘Take Down The Country’

Years ago, a fellow named Bob Evans would call regularly to report his latest findings based on proton eruptions on the sun. His theory was that the behavior of these subatomic particles predicted weather on Earth. In early December of 1982 – right about this time of year, in fact – he called with a major warning: A huge snowstorm would hit Denver right around Christmastime. Uncannily, he was right. More than 2 feet of snow fell on Denver on Christmas Eve, and it caused major problems. Stapleton Airport was shut down. Streets were impassable. It’s lucky it was a holiday. Christmas Day was lovely – brilliant sunshine, mounds of glittering snow, wonderful silence because there was no road or air traffic. But the immobility soon lost its appeal. The blizzard of 1982 has been blamed for the 1983 defeat of 15-year Denver Mayor Bill McNichols. The city was slow to clear main streets. Garbage trucks were deployed to pack side-street snow down to a navigable depth. Instead they created … [Read more...] about A setback, not a blizzard

When India reviews its laws and procedures amidst the ongoing uproar after the mid-air urination incidents, it must take into account the US TSA’s air marshals. (Representative image) More than a week after news broke about a sordid urination episode on an Air India flight, remedies being proposed are akin to using Band-Aid to treat a bone fracture. With more instances of in-flight unruliness drawing public attention, the malaise has all appearances of a compound fracture needing surgery. Adhesive bandages are no cure. Multiple times, I have been escorted by flight attendants from my seat to the toilet and back while the stewardess waited outside the urinal until I was ready to return to my seat. This was never because I was inebriated or unruly on the flight. It was the requirement in the 1980s in Poland on domestic flights of their national airline, Polskie Linie Lotnicze, better known by its abbreviation, LOT. As a foreign correspondent who did stints in Warsaw, I often had to … [Read more...] about Adopt US TSA’s approach to deal with unruly air passengers

To hedge against uncertainty in China and buy time to understand how consumers have evolved, luxury giants have once again turned to Japan and South Korea. Some 30 years ago, the “office lady,” with her Burberry scarf and Gucci bag, was a regular sight on the Japanese subway system. Commuting to work, she epitomized Asia’s leading luxury market, making up about one-third of global top-end sales. Fast forward to 2019, and it was China reigning supreme for the bling behemoths, with the country’s consumers accounting for 33% of the luxury goods market, according to Bain & Co. Japanese shoppers were just 10%. The pandemic upended things once more. The reliable and deep-pocketed Chinese buyer all but disappeared, while Americans have filled the void for the past two years. But signs suggest their appetite is cooling too . To hedge against uncertainty in China and buy time to understand how consumers have evolved, luxury giants have once again turned to Japan and South … [Read more...] about Head to Tokyo or Seoul for the latest Gucci and Louis Vuitton

Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta   ● Wed, January 18, 2023 2023-01-18 02:06 0 5c4ec6c0663df738e36394020c65b48f 1 Academia Morowali,China,investment,protest,violence,nickel,battery,relationship,safety Free We call on the government to immediately establish an independent fact-finding team entrusted to thoroughly investigate the root causes of the deadly riot that occurred at the nickel plant of PT Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) in Morowali, Central Sulawesi, on Saturday. The team is expected to come up with recommendations on necessary measures to prevent such acts of violence from recurring, especially in special economic zones where foreign workers are employed. Both the government and GNI must have a strong commitment to accepting and implementing the recommendations, for the sake of the continuity of the investment. The rising presence of Chinese investors, among the largest in Indonesia, especially in labor-intensive projects, has often … [Read more...] about The Morowali nickel tragedy

Rizal Sukma (The Jakarta Post) PREMIUM Jakarta   ● Thu, January 19, 2023 In her annual foreign policy speech on Jan. 11, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi outlined the general direction of Indonesia’s foreign policy for the rest of 2023. While she touched on a range of issues in her speech, including last year’s achievements, it is important to look at how Indonesia plans to approach the Myanmar cause. It is this problem that has received a lot of attention from the region and beyond. Moreover, expectations are very high that Indonesia, which assumes ASEAN chairmanship this year, would be able to produce a breakthrough on the current impasse. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to … [Read more...] about How to approach the protracted Myanmar crisis