Tuesday, September 10, 2024
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Reparations for all?

Paul Craig Roberts

by Paul Craig Roberts

 

A majority of the white ethnicities, such as the French Huguenots, the Irish, the Scots, and others, came to the original colonies to escape oppression and persecution. Some came as slaves.  English debtors were sold into indentured servitude to cover their debts.

The notion of Woke white liberals that only blacks were enslaved is historical ignorance.  There were more white slaves in history than black. Arab slave traders raided the coastal cities of Italy and France. Arabs captured Americans off of merchant ships, causing the Founding Fathers to send the US Marines to the shores of Tripoli. Why are only black descendants of former slaves entitled to reparations?

The white American liberals have concocted a fiction that only white Americans are responsible for slavery.  The truth of the matter is that white Americans have no responsibility for slavery.  Every black purchased as a member of an agricultural work force in America was enslaved long before arriving in the British colonies of North America which became later the United States.  They were enslaved by the African slave wars between black tribes or kingdoms, among which the black king of Dahomey was supreme.

Many of Dahomey’s captives were themselves warring for slaves and lost the battle.

Among the black contenders for slaves, slaves were a status symbol, but as time passed more slaves were accumulated than could be supported by their captors.  The surplus was sold, thus beginning the slave trade.  Initially they were sold to Arabs, then to the European powers who had colonies in the New World where there were resources but no labor force.  Every black slave who ended up in what became later the United States and for its short existence the Confederate States of America could have been kept in Africa as a slave or sold to Arabs as a slave.  Where was the enslaved black most well off?

Obviously, in America amidst white people who have assumed all the guilt for the slave wars of the Black King of Dahomey.  White people have accepted indoctrination that they are guilty of enslaving blacks and have obligation to pay reparations to “survivors” of black slavery.  The reparations task force formed by the Woke white governor of California figures blacks in California, which became a state in 1850 and whose Constitution forbade slavery, are owed $1 million dollars each on the slender grounds that an unknown ancestor might have been a slave 157 or more years ago. As the Hispanic and Asian population of California constitute a majority of the state’s population, and as they are not descendants of white slave owners (none of whom ever lived in California) targeted by the governor’s reparations task force, will they have to pay it?

The stupidity of white Americans boggles the mind.  Maybe their replacement by Hispanics pouring across the southern border is a good thing.  Maybe the genocide planed for white gentiles by Bill Gates and Klaus Schwab with the complicity of the FDA and US media is a good thing. Certainly, the dumbest people who have ever lived are white American liberals.

Have you ever thought about the American white liberal’s position?  They have bought into “white guilt” and the belief that white ethnicities are racist even if they don’t intend to be and are responsible for oppressing blacks and preventing their success. Therefore America has preferential treatment for blacks, special rights, that discriminate against whites, especially white heterosexual males.

Yet the same white liberals claim that 360,222 Northern white racists died killing 258,000 Southern white racists for the sole reason of emancipating blacks from slavery.

So how do we reconcile 618,222 dead white people killed in order to free blacks when whites, all whites, even white liberals, are racists?  The white deaths allegedly spent eliminating black slavery are 202,823 more deaths than Americans suffered during World War II when America fought both Japan and Germany.  (I don’t believe what is called the Civil War was a civil war or that it was about slavery.   Articles on my website make this clear.)

The picture drawn of white racists killing white racists in order to liberate blacks makes no sense.  If white Americans were really sacrificing their lives for blacks’ freedom, then how can whites be racists?

The ability of the American liberal to hold mutual incompatibles as truths illustrates the extremely limited intelligence and reasoning ability of this species of humanity.

This limited intelligence species–white liberals– is what controls the United States, or perhaps more accurately serves as a cloak for those who do control us.  In other words, they are twice stupid.

Yet insouciant Americans still vote for them.

Consider other parts of the inconsistent liberal agenda.  Liberals are all for diversity and multiculturalism.  Yet they teach blacks to hate white people, and liberal feminists teach women that men are their enemy.  Simultaneously, white culture is disparaged as imperialist exploitation. How does unity materialize out of Identity Politics?  How are white people included in “diversity” when they are demonized and their culture disparaged?

It seems that far from diversity and multiculturalism white people are excluded. The United States are disunited. Will the liberals will try to put Humpty Dumpty back together by federal force as they did once before?

(Paul Craig Roberts is an American economist and author. He formerly held a sub-cabinet office in the United States federal government as well as teaching positions at several U.S. universities. He is a promoter of supply-side economics and an opponent of recent U.S. foreign policy. Wikipedia)

Opposition parties confirm alliance for 2024 presidential election

by the El Reportero

 

Mexico’s main opposition parties have announced they will field a common candidate at next year’s presidential election.

The Va por México alliance — made up of the National Action Party (PAN), the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) — was thought to be on the verge of breaking up in late 2022 after a PRI lawmaker presented a constitutional bill that sought to authorize the use of the military for public security tasks until 2028.

But the coalition survived the saga, and its leaders confirmed Thursday that the three parties will contest the 2024 presidential election, as well as the Mexico City mayoral race, on a joint ticket.

The PAN will be responsible for the selection process to find common candidates for those elections, said Marko Cortés, the party’s national leader. He told a press conference that the process will have “clear rules” and be open to all potential candidates that aspire to represent Va por México at the elections, including members of civil society.

Cortés also said that Va por México was open to having more parties join its alliance. There was speculation that the Citizens Movement party would join the coalition, but its national leader Dante Delgado said last month that wouldn’t be the case.

Cortés and PRD president Jesús Zambrano said last September that their relationship with PRI national president Alejandro Moreno was over because of his support for the militarization bill, but they appeared alongside him at Thursday’s Va por México “relaunch” press conference.

Moreno said that the coalition’s differences had been dealt with, and that it is now a solid opposition force.

However, a new internal rift has appeared. Zambrano said after Thursday’s press conference that the PAN and the PRI reached an agreement about the selection of candidates for next year’s presidential and mayoral elections without the involvement of the PRD. While the PAN will run the selection process to find candidates for those elections, the PRI was given responsibility for choosing Va por México candidates for gubernatorial elections in México state and Coahuila later this year.

The PAN-PRI agreement was struck bilaterally, and “we don’t agree with that,” Zambrano said.

At the joint press conference, the PRD leader proposed the formation of a citizens’ committee to conduct the Va por México candidate selection processes in a transparent way.

“We’re a coalition of three political forces, but a coalition that must have the support of civil society,” he said later on Thursday.

“That’s the only way we will be able to win, if we don’t take that route we’ll be announcing a defeat.”

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum and Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard are seen as the top contenders to secure the ruling Morena party’s candidacy at the 2024 presidential election.

There is far less clarity about who will represent the PAN, PRI and PRD. In that context, President López Obrador offered his own (very) long-list of possible opposition candidates in October, saying that a total of 43 people have either expressed interest in vying for the presidency or have been mentioned as potential contenders.

With reports from Milenio, El Universal and El País.

Del Toro’s Golden Globes win, ‘Ruido’ debuts on Netflix and Mexico’s top influencers

Guillermo del Toro is first Latino to win a Golden Globe in the animated feature category

 

by MND Staff

 

The Golden Globe for best animated film went to Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio” at the award ceremony on Tuesday. This award made history as the first one granted to a Latino in the animated feature category, and the first time the award category went to a streaming company, in this case Netflix.

Accepting the Golden Globe, Guillermo del Toro said that “animation is cinema” and “animation is not a genre for kids, it’s a medium.”

“Pinocchio” is one of Del Toro’s most personal films and as he said in previous interviews, it took him half of his career to produce. It required more than 1,000 days of filming.

The film is a co-production between the United States, Mexico and France. It was co-directed by Mark Gustafson and is based on the 19th century novel by Carlo Collodi but set in the context of World War II (1939-1945).

The movie is also nominated at the Critics’ Choice Awards, set to take place on Sunday.

Netflix premieres “Ruido”, about a mother searching for her missing daughter

“Ruido” (Noise) is a new film by Mexican director Natalia Beristain, who told The Washington Post she had the idea of making a movie about “that which has no word to name it: the state of pain in which a parent remains when his or her child dies or disappears.”

She said that the first time she had the idea was in 2006 while her mother, actress Julieta Egurrola, played the role of a mother searching for her 10-year-old daughter in the play “Congelados” (Frozen).

The film narrates Mexican mother Julia’s search for her daughter (who has been missing for nine months) while delving into the problems faced by the families of the missing in Mexico. The opening scene takes place at the Attorney General Office, when the officers tell Julia that due to a mistake, the tattoo on her daughter’s arm was not registered in her file and thus the body Julia has been called to identify is not her daughter’s.

The film premiered on Netflix on Wednesday.

Top 3 Mexican influencers

Entertainment, travel, makeup, video games and music content creators stood out among Mexico’s most successful content creators of 2022, according to influencer marketing agency Tagger. The agency estimated which influencers had the most real, human accounts following them, excluding bots and other fake accounts.

Originally from the northern city of Mexicali, Baja California, Kimberly Loaiza leads the ranking as the most successful Mexican influencer of 2022. She started her career as a YouTuber and now she is also a singer and a model. On Instagram she has 36.7 million followers. Eight million people follow her on Twitter and she has a whopping 71.6 million followers on TikTok.

With 32.9 million followers on Instagram and 39.8 million followers on YouTube, Luisito Comunica from Puebla came in as the second most successful influencer in México. His channel ranks seventh in the Spanish-speaking world for most subscribers.

Ranking third is 21-year-old Domelipa, originally from Monterrey, Nuevo León. Her dance moves and beauty advice gained her a following of 2.8 million people on Instagram and close to 63 million people on TikTok. Univision reported she has more likes on her photos than international superstars like Rosalía and Dua Lipa.

With reports from La Silla Rota, Forbes México and Informador.mx

$100K grant will fund CA Food-Box Program to fight child hunger

by Suzanne Potter

California News Service

 

Jan. 26, 2023 – San Diego may seem like a wealthy area, but the mountain communities in the eastern part of the county still struggle with hunger and poverty.

Now, a new $100,000 grant from Save the Children’s Innovation Lab will fund the development of a program to mailboxes of shelf-stable food to low-income rural families, starting next year. Anahid Brakke, president and CEO of the San Diego Hunger Coalition, said the program has been a big hit in other communities.

“The parents said, ‘It’s like Christmas.’ The kids feel like it’s Christmas, you know, they get this food box; you know, it’s for them,” Brakke explained. “It really helps supplement the whole household.”

A team from the San Diego Hunger Coalition is at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, this week to learn best practices from other communities already implementing the program. The funds will also be used to train community health navigators who can help people sign up for programs like CalFresh and WIC.

Esther Liew, lead associate for food security projects with the nonprofit Save the Children, said mailing the food boxes makes more sense than asking families to travel long distances to pick them up.

“There’s little public transportation in rural communities, meaning that they then have limited access to grocery stores and places where they can get fresh and nutritious foods,” Liew pointed out. “That makes it really difficult to provide the food that they need for their children and their family members.”

Hunger Coalition data showed about 35 percemt of children in the Mountain Empire region live in poverty, which is nearly triple the rate for the rest of San Diego County.

In a recent community food survey of local residents, almost three-quarters said they would run out of food at some point in the last 30 days and did not have the resources to buy more.

 

State Projects Millions Could Lose Medi-Cal as Renewals Start Back Up

Starting in April, an estimated 2-3 million people could be dropped from Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for low-income people.

For three years during COVID, terminations were halted, but Congress recently voted to de-link the program from the Public Health Emergency. So California will have 14 months to re-evaluate eligibility for almost 15 million people.

Tiffany Huyenh-Cho, senior staff attorney for the nonprofit Justice in Aging, said people who do not respond to the renewal packet will lose coverage.

“Lots of individuals might have moved, might have had a change in income or a change in household size, or a new job or lost their job,” Huyenh-Cho observed. “It is really important to update contact information such as addresses and phone numbers with the county office.”

The state has an ambassador program to educate community health workers on the resumption of renewals and about the unwinding of the public health emergency, which is expected to end sometime this spring.

Huyenh-Cho noted Justice in Aging is also part of the public education campaign to make sure people who meet the income requirements don’t fall off the rolls.

“Now, individuals can be terminated from Medi-Cal benefits due to an increase in income or an increase in assets for older adults that are subject to the asset test,” Huyenh-Cho explained.

Last year, California increased the limit on assets a single older person can have and still qualify for Medi-Cal, changing the amount from $2,000 to $130,000.

Para tu hijo, en esta temporada festiva, el regalo que sigue dando  

Contenido patrocinado por JPMorgan Chase

 

La educación financiera es crucial para el éxito a largo plazo, y esa educación comienza a una edad temprana. Las investigaciones sugieren que muchos de los hábitos que llevamos a la edad adulta se establecen antes de los siete años. Para los padres, es importante sentar una base temprana sobre la que los niños puedan construir. Regalarle a un niño una cuenta bancaria en esta temporada festiva es un paso para promover conocimientos financieros, empoderándolos para aprender y desarrollar metas de ahorro saludables y hábitos de hacer presupuestos que pueden ayudar a prepararles para el éxito financiero en el futuro.

A diferencia de una cuenta de ahorros regular, la cuenta de ahorros de un niño puede venir con beneficios adicionales, incluyendo no tener cargos de cuenta mensuales o requisitos de saldo de apertura. Además, los bancos a menudo crean contenido original para audiencias más jóvenes, lo que facilita que los niños aprendan los conceptos básicos de administración responsable del dinero. A menudo, estas herramientas de aprendizaje están en línea/móvil; por ejemplo, Chase ofrece a los nuevos clientes jóvenes The Quest, una novela gráfica animada que enseña a los niños a ahorrar con regularidad, gastar de manera inteligente y ganar dinero, para ayudar a impulsar la educación financiera de tu hijo.

Jenny Baltodano, gerente comunitario local de Chase en San Francisco, nos ofreció algunas ideas sobre los beneficios de abrir una cuenta de ahorros para tu hijo:

  • Ayudarlos a aprender más acerca de ahorrar dinero. Enseñarle a tus hijos cómo planificar y priorizar sus costos. Ayudarlos a desarrollar un presupuesto realista para construir una base y supervisar sus gastos.
  • Ahorrar dinero para una meta financiera específica a corto plazo. Aprovecha la oportunidad de animar a tu hijo a reservar fondos en su cuenta de ahorros para realizar una compra especial, ya sea ahorrar para comprar ese nuevo juego o la bicicleta que tanto desea.
  • Proporcionar experiencia práctica. Los niños a menudo aprenden haciendo, así que considera abrir una cuenta de ahorros para niños tan pronto como ellos comiencen a recibir dinero. Empoderarlos con una tarjeta de débito para niños puede ayudar a construir buenos hábitos de dinero.
  • Enseñarles más sobre realizar operaciones bancarias. Tu hijo puede aprender cómo depositar cheques en una sucursal, realizar operaciones bancarias por internet y retirar efectivo en un cajero automático, ayudando a administrar su cuenta.

Construir un futuro financiero saludable

Abrir una cuenta de ahorros para niños proporciona una vía natural para que los padres hablen con los niños acerca de su bienestar financiero y, aunque a menudo no pagan rendimientos altos, estas cuentas son herramientas significativas para iniciar a un niño en un camino financiero responsable desde una edad temprana.

Es importante proporcionar formas para que los niños ganen dinero a través de tareas, una asignación o un trabajo de verano. Que los niños adquieran experiencia de la vida real, ganando y administrando dinero cuando sean adultos, es el objetivo a largo plazo. De esa manera, estarán más equipados para ser parte de una discusión más amplia sobre tarjetas de débito, tarjetas de crédito, préstamos para automóviles u otros productos financieros que puedan necesitar al entrar a la edad adulta.

Visite chase.com/parents para descubrir más consejos y herramientas para enseñar a sus hijos buenos hábitos de dinero.

The Gift That Keeps Giving for Your Child This Holiday Season

Content sponsored by JP Morgan Chase

 

Financial education is crucial to long-term success – and that education begins at an early age. Research suggests many of the habits we carry into adulthood are set by age seven. For parents, it’s important to lay a foundation early that children can build on. Gifting a child a bank account this holiday season is one step to promoting financial literacy, empowering them to learn and develop healthy savings goals and budgeting habits that can help set them up for future financial success.

Unlike a regular savings account, a child’s savings account may come with additional perks, including no monthly account fees or opening balance requirements. Additionally, banks often create original content for younger audiences, making it easier for kids to learn responsible money managing basics. Often these learning tools are online/mobile – for example, Chase provides new young customers with The Quest, an animated graphic novel that teaches kids about saving regularly, spending wisely and earning money – to help boost your child’s financial education.

Jenny Baltodano, Community Manager for Chase in San Francisco, offered us some ideas on the benefits of opening a savings account for your child.

Opening a savings account for your child can:

  • Help them learn more about saving money. Teach your kids how to plan and prioritize their costs. Help them develop a realistic budget to build a foundation and monitor their spending.
  • Save money for a specific short-term financial goal. Take the opportunity to encourage your child to set aside funds in their savings account to make a special purchase – whether it’s saving up to buy that new game or bicycle they’ve been wanting.
  • Provide hands-on experience. Kids often learn by doing, so consider opening a child savings account as soon as they start receiving money. Empowering them with a child debit card can help build good money habits.
  • Teach them more about banking. Your child can learn how to deposit checks in a branch, bank online, and withdraw cash at an ATM by helping co-manage their account.

Building a Healthy Financial Future

Opening a kids’ savings account provides a natural avenue for parents to talk to children about their financial wellness and, while they often don’t pay high yields, these accounts are meaningful tools to start a child on a responsible financial path from an early age.

It’s important to provide ways for kids to earn money through chores, an allowance or a summer job. Long-term, the goal is for children to gain real-life experience earning and managing money when they become adults. That way, they will be more equipped to be part of a larger discussion about debit cards, credit cards, auto loans or other financial products they may need as they enter adulthood.

Visit chase.com/parents to discover more tips and tools to teach your kids good money habits.

CA anti-hunger groups slam governor’s proposed budget

Ft. Wayne - Circa November 2021: SNAP and EBT Accepted here sign. SNAP and Food Stamps provide nutrition benefits to supplement the budgets of disadvantaged families.

by Suzanne Potter

California News Service

 

Groups that fight hunger say they’re “deeply disappointed” in the new budget proposal released Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Last year, the Legislature approved $40 million to expand food assistance to low-income people over age 55, regardless of immigration status. But now, the governor wants to delay it until 2027.

Betzabel Estudillo, director of engagement for the group Nourish California – part of the Food 4 All Campaign – said she hoped the California Food Assistance Program would be expanded starting next year.

“It’s just not what we were expecting, considering how much California immigrants are struggling to access the food they need,” said Estudillo. “With inflation and the high cost of food, immigrant families are really, really hurting right now. ”

The governor’s budget projects a gap of more than $22 billion in the next fiscal year.

Right now, the California Food Assistance Program provides income-eligible, legal immigrants with a monthly electronic benefit transfer card – similar to CalFresh – that can be used at grocery stores and farmer’s markets.

However, it does not cover undocumented people, DACA recipients or people with Temporary Protected Status.

Estudillo said the “Food 4 All” coalition had also asked for $548 million a year, to include Californians age 54 and under in the program regardless of immigration status.

But that wasn’t part of the governor’s initial proposal.

“We’re committed to working with the legislative leadership and the governor’s office,” said Estudillo, “to ensure that all Californians, regardless of age or immigration status, have timely access to the food they need. No exceptions, no exclusions.”

The expansion of the program to income-eligible immigrants over age 55 would cover 75,000 people.

Last year, the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated that between 690,000 and 840,000 Californians would meet the income requirements if the program was expanded to all ages.

 

Feds issue warning about student-loan debt-relief scams

Scammers targeting student-loan borrowers are shifting into high gear – spurred by the uncertainty surrounding President Joseph R. Biden’s debt-cancellation plan. The Supreme Court will hear a case in late February that seeks to strike down the administration’s plan to offer up to $20,000 in debt relief to low-income student loan borrowers.

Michelle Grajales, staff attorney with the Federal Trade Commission attorney, said fraudsters are playing on people’s anxieties.

“A major red flag is any company that calls you up and asks you to pay now for help with your loans later. Because that’s something that’s specifically prohibited under one of the rules we enforce. And so it is really unlikely to be a legitimate company,” she said.

The president’s debt-cancellation plan is currently on hold while the litigation continues, so it is not processing any applications. The website of the U.S. Department of Education, studentaid.gov, has a link to sign up to be notified if the program is restarted. The pause on federal student loan payments has been extended until the litigation is resolved. The best place to start for accurate information about your loans is to contact your federal loan servicer.

Some scams promise to reduce or zero out your monthly payment, and some target parents who have co-signed on Parent Plus loans. Grijales said the familiar adage applies: “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” she said.

“It could be loan forgiveness. It could be, ‘Hey, pay us X amount, and we’ll get your loans forgiven right now, or we’ll get some large amounts of your principal balance forgiven or canceled,’ right? And that might be a benefit that the consumer doesn’t actually qualify for,” she said.

sShe added that other scams are circulating where they purport to be your loan servicer and ask that you route your payment through them. Other scams are intended primarily to get people to divulge their personal identity or banking information. For more tips, go to the Federal Trade Commission website.

 

What are the most interesting new laws for California in 2023?

by CalMatters

 

January 2, 2023 – In 2022, the California Legislature passed nearly 1,200 bills — and nearly 1,000 became law with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature.

Many of the new laws are minor fixes to laws that legislators and the governor previously enacted. Others are rather narrow or specific to a certain industry. Still others will be phased in over time.

Newsom has highlighted several, including a law limiting prosecutors from using rap lyrics and music videos in court and another requiring oil companies to publicly post their profits (the governor has also called a special session on his plan to impose a penalty on oil refiners for excess profits.)

And then there’s a select group of new laws that took effect on Jan. 1, 2023 — and that could have a noticeable impact on the daily lives of Californians, or on the policy direction of the state.

Here are nine of them, including audio segments for a few:

Will this law stop gender bias in prices? Assembly Bill No. 1287, CHAPTER 555

Shoppers may have noticed that shampoos and other personal care products marketed to women sometimes cost more than very similar versions for men.

No longer. With this law, stores will be banned from charging a different price based on gender — and could be in the crosshairs of the attorney general’s office for any violations. Advocacy groups say that ending the “pink tax” is another step in the cause of gender equity.

How much does that job pay? Senate Bill No. 1162, CHAPTER 559

It’s hit and miss how much applicants can find out about how much a job pays. And advocates say that allows for unfair disparities in salaries.

This new law will bring a little more transparency to California workplaces by requiring companies with at least 15 employees to put salary ranges into job postings. But intense business opposition blocked provisions that would have meant publication of pay data broken down by position, gender and race. And some specialists question how much difference the law will make.

Is this a return to Wild West bounties? Senate Bill No. 1327, CHAPTER 146

Back in the 1800s, the U.S. government offered bounties to stop the Union Army from getting cheated. In 2021, Texas passed a law restricting abortions and dangled $10,000 per violation to anyone who sued to help enforce it.

Not to be outdone, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature passed this new law that allows private citizens to collect $10,000 by suing those who make or sell illegal “ghost guns” or assault-style weapons. The U.S. Supreme Court, however, could throw out the Texas law and ones like it, including California’s. But that would be just fine with the governor and lawmakers.

Will this law stop spread of “COVID lies?” Assembly Bill No. 2098, CHAPTER 938

In our COVID world, one of many concerns is disinformation that can have dangerous, even deadly, consequences. Even some doctors have spread myths or lies about the virus and how best to treat it.

This law, supported by California’s medical establishment, makes it easier for the state medical board to punish physicians who deliberately spread misinformation. But some doctors have already sued to stop the law, saying it violates their free speech rights.

Could this law correct state history? Assembly Bill No. 1703 CHAPTER 477

The history of California is complicated, not least because it’s such a diverse state of immigrants, but also home to Native American tribes here well before European explorers or the Gold Rush.

This law encourages school districts to work with tribes to develop history lessons to give students a fuller understanding. The legislation also aims to raise the graduation rate and close the achievement gap for Native American students.

Will this law help stop sex trafficking? Assembly Bill No. 1788, CHAPTER 760

Lawmakers took their latest steps in their fight against human trafficking by targeting what law enforcement says are frequent places where it happens. Civil liberties groups, however, say more law enforcement is the wrong approach.

One new law calls for fines and civil penalties against hotels if supervisors know about sex trafficking but fail to notify law enforcement, a national hotline or victim advocacy group. Another new law adds beauty, hair and nail salons to those businesses, as well as airports and bus stations, that must post information on human trafficking, including how to contact nonprofits in the field.

Could this law empty death row? Assembly Bill No. 256, CHAPTER 739

California hasn’t executed anyone since 2006. Even though voters want to keep the death penalty, a 2019 moratorium imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom prevents executions.

Advocates are also seeking to limit when capital punishment is applied. This law aims at the 671 inmates already on death row, giving them a way to challenge their death sentences as racially biased. A disproportionate number of the condemned inmates are Black.

Does housing trump environment? Assembly Bill No. 2011, CHAPTER 647 and Senate Bill No. 886 and CHAPTER 663

California has a severe and persistent shortage of affordable housing — what Gov. Newsom even calls the state’s “original sin.”

These laws are designed to increase the supply, in part by bypassing some environmental reviews. One allows development along strip malls, as long as construction workers get union wages. A second is designed to ease the student housing crunch by exempting dorms from the California Environmental Quality Act.

What the ‘Three Amigos’ promised at the North American Leaders’ Summit

by MND Staff

Mexico News Daily 

 

January 11, 2023 – The presidents of Mexico and the United States and the prime minister of Canada made and reaffirmed shared commitments across a range of areas including security and migration during the 10th North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) in Mexico City on Tuesday.

At a press conference following the trilateral talks, President López Obrador described his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a “historic event” and offered glowing assessments of both his North American counterparts.

In a joint statement — titled Declaration of North America (DNA) — the governments of the three countries said that the three leaders “are determined to fortify our region’s security, prosperity, sustainability and inclusiveness through commitments across six pillars: 1) diversity, equity, and inclusion; 2) climate change and the environment; 3) competitiveness; 4) migration and development; 5) health; and 6) regional security.”

Among the commitments mentioned in the statement were those to:

– Protect civil rights, promote racial justice, expand protections for LGBTQI+ individuals and deliver more equitable outcomes to all.

– Take rapid and coordinated measures to tackle the climate crisis and respond to its consequences.

– Deepen our regional capacity to attract high quality investment, spur innovation, and strengthen the resilience of our economies.

Forge stronger regional supply chains in order to boost regional competitiveness.

– Ensure safe, orderly, and humane migration under the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection.

– Address the root causes and impacts of irregular migration and forced displacement.

– Support countries across the Western Hemisphere to create the conditions to improve quality of life.

– Launch an updated North American Plan for Animal and Pandemic Influenza to improve prevention, preparedness, agility, and to provide rapid response to health emergencies in – North America.

– Focus on strategies to bolster our shared continental security against domestic, regional, and global threats, including cyber threats.

– Enhance trilateral work to address the use of precursor chemicals in the production of illegal substances in North America and to disrupt drug trafficking.

“The commitments made during this summit are rooted in a shared vision for a more equitable, just, inclusive, resilient, secure, and prosperous North America and a shared responsibility to achieve more equitable outcomes responsive to the needs and aspirations of our citizens,” the statement said.

The two presidents and prime minister offered their own assessments of the trilateral relationship at a joint press conference at the National Palace.

Flanked by Biden and Trudeau, López Obrador said that the meeting of the three leaders, “as good neighbors in an environment of respect to together seek the well-being of our peoples,” was “a historic event in itself.”

He said that the three countries agreed to strengthen their economic and trade relations and would seek to become more self-sufficient — that is, less reliant on imports, especially those from Asia. To that end, the three countries will establish a joint committee, López Obrador said.

The 12-person expert committee — which will include three Mexican cabinet ministers — will “have our complete confidence to motivate, persuade and convince business people, workers and public servants of the three governments about the importance … of joining forces in North America and, moving forward, seeking the union of the entire American continent,” he said.

In opening remarks at bilateral talks with Biden on Monday, López Obrador also advocated greater economic integration of Western Hemisphere nations.

Later in his address on Tuesday, AMLO asserted that the three North American partners must address “the scourge of violence and the migratory phenomenon with a humanitarian focus” and via the provision of “opportunities for well-being.”

“People are good by nature, and it’s the circumstances [they face] that sometimes force some of them to go down a path of anti-social behavior,” he said.

López Obrador thanked Trudeau for his “extraordinary and fraternal” temporary work visa program that has benefited over 25,000 Mexicans, and described the prime minister as “a great ally of Mexico.”

“To President Biden, my sincere gratitude for maintaining a relationship of cooperation with Mexico, a relationship of sincere friendship, of respect for our compatriots who honorably live and work in United States and are not harassed and don’t suffer from raids that unfortunately occurred at other times,” he said.

“We’ve said it before and I repeat it now: You are the first United States president in a long time that hasn’t built even a meter of wall [on the Mexico-U.S. border] and we’re grateful for that, even though the conservatives don’t like it,” López Obrador said.

He also said he asked Biden to urge the U.S. Congress to regularize the migratory status of millions of undocumented Mexicans who have been living and working in the United States, and “contributing to the development of that great nation,” for years.

The U.S. president spoke first at the joint news conference, and declared that the United States, Mexican and Canadian leaders are “true partners.”

“We’re working together with mutual respect and a genuine like for one another,” Biden said.

At the top of the trilateral agenda, he said, is “keeping North America the most competitive, prosperous and resilient economic region in the world.”

“… The strength of our economic relationship … not only supports good-paying jobs in all of our countries but generates tremendous growth. Now we’re working … to strengthen our cooperation on supply chains and critical minerals so we can continue to accelerate in our efforts to build the technologies of tomorrow right here in North America,” he said.

Biden, who is facing pressure from U.S. Republicans to do more to combat irregular migration, said that the entire Western Hemisphere “is experiencing unprecedented levels of migration, greater than any time in history,” and noted that a “regional-wide approach to a regional-wide problem” was launched at the 2021 NALS in Washington, D.C.

“The idea grew into the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, which 21 countries ultimately adopted at the Summit of the Americas six months ago,” he said.

“And we’re working together especially with our North American partners to fulfill our commitments under that declaration,” Biden continued. “They include the policies I announced last week to expand safe and legal pathways for immigrants from Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti. … We also want to thank you, Mr. President, for stepping up to receive into Mexico those not following the lawful pathways we’ve made available.”

For his part, Trudeau said that the three North American nations “share deep ties as friends and trading partners,” are home to half a billion people and have an “extraordinarily strong innovation ecosystem” as well as a combined GDP that is larger than that of the European Union.

“As leaders we are all committed to driving economic growth that supports the middle class and those working hard to join it. … People remember what happened just a few years ago when the certainty of this partnership was in question,” he said.

“Investors, businesses, workers and citizens all worried about what would happen. When free trade is at risk, that isn’t good for competition in the global market. Thankfully the belief in free and fair trade won the day, we renegotiated and we got an even better [trade] deal. To put it simply, we are, and always will be, stronger together.”

The Canadian prime minister also held bilateral talks with Biden on Tuesday, and is scheduled to meet one-on-one with López Obrador on Wednesday. AMLO met with Biden on Monday, and in frank opening remarks accused the U.S. of abandoning other countries in the region during the past 50 years.

These foods may be contributing to your anxiety

by Zoey Sky

 

If you think your anxiety is worse because you’ve been having too much coffee, eating a lot of sugary foods, or drinking too much alcohol, you may need to make dietary changes. According to an article in Psychology Today, certain foods could be linked to aggravated symptoms of anxiety.

Generalized anxiety and your diet

Generalized anxiety is often linked to a common condition called reactive hypoglycemia. When a person has reactive hypoglycemia, their blood sugar drops to very a low level after they eat or drink food or beverages that have too much sugar.

The results of a series of studies have determined that people who report heightened anxiety related to reactive hypoglycemia can improve their condition by making some dietary changes, such as:

  • Increasing protein intake.
  • Limiting their sugar and carbohydrate intake in general.
  • Reducing or eliminating caffeine from their diet.

However, if you are chronically hypoglycemic even if you already follow a healthy diet, you need to consult a healthcare professional. Doing so can help you determine any possible underlying medical causes of this condition, such as diabetes, kidney disease, and medication side effects.

Anxiety associated with hypoglycemia and malnutrition can be linked to chronic alcohol abuse. Talk to a trusted medical professional to determine how to deal with the physiological consequences of drinking too much alcohol.

Aside from sugary foods and alcohol, caffeine is also associated with an increased risk of anxiety. When you drink caffeine, you also increase the levels of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol in the blood, which can cause feelings of “nervousness” in adults with no history of mental health concerns.

Consuming coffee can also cause feelings of increased generalized anxiety. Sometimes, caffeine may even cause panic attacks in people who are predisposed to anxiety or panic. A lot of people who have been diagnosed with chronic generalized anxiety report a considerable decrease in the severity of symptoms when they limit their coffee intake.

A dietary deficiency in tryptophan, an amino acid, can cause a decrease in brain serotonin levels. L-tryptophan is an essential amino acid that’s also a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter. Low levels of tryptophan can reduce serotonin production in the brain, which can cause conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, or mood disorders.

To prevent the side effects of this deficiency, consume more foods that contain tryptophan, such as:

– Bananas

– Crabs

– Dates

– Eggs

– Fish

– Meat

– Oats

– Pumpkin seeds

– Sesame seeds

– Spinach

Spirulina/seaweed

Following a proper diet can do more than keep your body healthy. It can also help you manage your anxiety.

Can antioxidants help?

Anxiety is believed to be associated with a lowered total antioxidant state, which means eating foods rich in antioxidants may help ease the symptoms of anxiety disorders.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the following foods are rich in antioxidants:

– Beans (black, dried small red, Pinto, and red kidney beans)

– Berries (blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, and strawberries)

– Fruits (black plums, Gala, Granny Smith, or Red Delicious apples, prunes, and sweet cherries)

– Nuts (pecans and walnuts)

– Vegetables (artichokes, beets, broccoli, kale, and spinach)

– Spices with both antioxidant and anti-anxiety properties (turmeric – with its active ingredient curcumin – and ginger)

The following foods can also help reduce anxiety.

– Foods that contain zinc are believed to help lower anxiety. Sources include beef, cashews, egg yolks, liver, and oysters.

– A study has revealed that mice that are deficient in magnesium may display more anxiety-related behaviors, and that foods full of magnesium can help you feel calmer. Good sources of magnesium include leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard.

– The results of a separate study, which was published in the journal Psychiatry Research, points to a link between probiotics and reduced symptoms of social anxiety. Consume probiotic-rich foods like kefir, pickles, and sauerkraut to help manage anxiety. – –

These “feel good” foods promote the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Instead of taking drugs that are linked to negative side effects, consume the foods listed above to manage your anxiety naturally. Natural News.

– Browse other articles with tips on how to manage depression and anxiety at BeatDepression.news.

Sources include:

PsychologyToday.com

UniversityHealthNews.com

Health.Harvard.edu