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The post Morning Union 28-2-2023 appeared first on Pledge Times.
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Morning Union 28-2-2023
Union External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar Inaugurates First International Education Fair Of J&K
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NEW DELHI: J&K’s first International Education Fair, a collaborative effort of SKUAST-Kashmir and ICCR was inaugurated by Union Minister for External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar today in presence of Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan; Union MoS, PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh; Lieutenant Governor, Jammu & Kashmir, Manoj Sinha and President ICCR, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, New Delhi on Tuesday.
Union External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Chief Guest for the event, complemented the SKUSAT-Kashmir for the International Education Fair initiative. He said three years ago, the process of change started in J&K which was intended to ensure that full benefits of the development and progress that the rest of India had seen for many many years are also now completely available to the people, especially to the youth of J&K.
In that sense, people of J&K being in the national mainstream was extremely important. It was also by doing so, they would connect up with the rest of India and the International mainstream. For me it is not just an education event, it is a very integral part of ensuring that a very important region of India is connected to what is happening in the world,” Dr Jaishankar said.
He also observed that Indian universities should focus on inviting more foreign students to their campuses.
“Today, India has projects done or under-delivery in 78 countries of the world. So, if our relationships are so extensive, investments are so deep & networking is so good, we need to see that translated into a greater flow of international students to India,” Dr Jaishankar said.
“In a globalised world, it’s absolutely essential that young people of India are fully aware of what’s happening in the world and there is no better way to do that than having international students among you,” Dr Jaishankar added.
Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated the Government of J&K for showcasing the strength and vibrancy of India’s higher education landscape as well as the knowledge legacy of Jammu & Kashmir.
“J&K is witnessing a new dawn of development under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister. With the implementation of National Education Policy, we are internationalising our education sector. The Education Ministry will support, encourage and facilitate the globalisation of SKUAST-Kashmir,” Pradhan said.
He also encouraged all the universities to join efforts to establish India as a global study destination.
Union MoS, Dr Jitendra Singh said the National Education Policy brought by Prime Minister holds the promise to open career and Start-up opportunities driven by aptitude, skill and flexi options at capacity building.
“Jammu Kashmir has a rich legacy of unexplored agricultural avenues, Aroma Mission and Purple Revolution, which imparts it the potential of being the torchbearer of Agri StartUp movement in India, Dr Jitendra Singh said.
Lieutenant Governor of J&K,Manoj Sinha expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for accelerating development of J&K and transforming it into a favourite destination for students, travellers and entrepreneurs.
The Lt Governor said with this initiative J&K has launched a dedicated programme for foreign students.
“Our aim is to invite international students to J&K for short-term and long-term courses in various disciplines & strengthen the international connect. Over the past three years, we have focused on strengthening education sector, developing knowledge workers for sectors like industries, agriculture & health care. Sincere efforts have been made to convert the knowledge dividends into wealth for process of innovation & growth,” the Lt Governor said.
The Lt Governor also observed that the initiative of SKUAST-Kashmir will set an example for other universities of the country as well.
“Apart from campuses nestled in nature’s paradise, professional faculties, high standard of living, J&K is also offering variety of courses starting from Artificial Intelligence, Robotics to Agri science, Yoga, Sanskrit & interface with the industries for research & innovation,” the Lt Governor further said.
The Lt Governor said with more than 150 higher education institutions, two central universities, seven state universities, two AIIMS, IIM, IIT, NIT, NIFT, IIMC and two Agriculture Science and Technology universities, Jammu Kashmir has emerged as a favourite destination for students in India.
He also said that paradigm shift towards virtues of life which humanity is witnessing is also an opportunity for enhancing quality of life by exchange programs between the countries and learn from each other and enable each other to achieve greater heights in our journey.
“The whole world is looking at India with admiration and hope. There never was a better time to be in India to witness and comprehend the glorious chapters of ancient civilization and immortal organic composite culture. The foreign student’s residential and exchange programmes, people-to-people contacts and institutional interactions with different institutions of Jammu Kashmir will enrich and strengthen global cultural synergies,” the Lt Governor added.
Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) assured the cooperation and support of ICCR to J&K in organizing the exchange programs of artisans and fairs whereby the message of changing new aspirational J&K goes loud and clear to other countries.
Distinguished Ambassadors, High Commissioners and members of ICAR, ICCR, UGC, and SKUAST-K were present on the occasion.
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#Union #External #Affairs #Minister #Jaishankar #Inaugurates #International #Education #Fair( With inputs from : kashmirlife.net )
Dundigal PS is the best in Telangana, says Union Home Ministry
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Constables of Dundigul police station receiving certificate of excellence from DGP of Telangana Anjani Kumar Hyderabad: Dundigal Police station has been ranked as the best police station in Telangana by the Union government on Monday.
The Ministry of Home affairs (MHA) regularly conducts annual ranking of Police Stations across the country. In the 2022 annual rankings, the Dundigal Police Station stood as the best Police Station in Telangana.
The annual ranking fingers for India will be shortly released, said a press release on Monday.
“This certificate of excellence by MHA would be an inspiration for other Police stations,” said Telangana State Director general of police, Anjani Kumar.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner ,Stephen Raveendra appreciated Dundigal police station constables, Dundigal Inspector Ramana Reddy, Medchal ACP Venkat Reddy, and DCP Sundeep and added, “this award is not possible without the contribution of the Constables.”
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#Dundigal #Telangana #Union #Home #Ministry( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
Union minister Rijiju retweets singer Adnan Sami’s post on ‘lust’ for power
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New Delhi: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday appeared to endorse the views of singer Adnan Sami that some people have a lust for power and are frustrated at not having it.
Rijiju retweeted a Twitter post of Sami, in which the singer-composer said the “problem we face today is that the lust of power and frustration of not having it is so huge, as if it were a withdrawal from an addiction….”
Sami also said some are even prepared to throw the country under the “world community bus” in order to try and destabilise India and get a chance to rule.
Sami’s remarks came against the backdrop of billionaire investor George Soros claiming that the turmoil engulfing industrialist Gautam Adani’s business empire may open the door to a democratic revival in India.
The Congress had said on Friday whether the Adani issue will spark a democratic revival in the country depends entirely on the grand old party and other opposition parties, and has nothing to do with Soros.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had, on the other hand, launched a frontal attack on Soros, accusing him of not only targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but also the Indian democratic system so that people “hand-picked” by the investor get to run the government here.
“The problem we face today is that the lust of power and frustration of not having it is so huge, as if it were a withdrawal from an addiction, that some r even prepared to throw d country under d world community bus in order to try and destabilise India and try 2 get a chance to rule (sic),” Sami tweeted on Saturday evening.
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#Union #minister #Rijiju #retweets #singer #Adnan #Samis #post #lust #power( With inputs from www.siasat.com )
It’s official: Labor chief Walsh jumps ship for hockey players’ union
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Walsh will step in for Don Fehr, who has led the NHLPA since 2010.
Walsh built his political profile as a union leader in Boston, and his ties to organized labor were a key factor in President Joe Biden’s decision to name him Labor secretary. He was a highly visible surrogate for Biden and the White House, selling the administration’s message on the road and on television.
“I am forever grateful to President Biden not only for the faith he placed in me, but for his steady, transformative and historic leadership on behalf of working people everywhere,” Walsh said in an email sent to Labor Department staff. “I leave the Department with a deeper understanding of why working people are the heart and soul and strength of our nation.”
Once he steps down, Deputy Secretary Julie Su is set to take charge of DOL on an acting basis. Su is also a leading contender to succeed Walsh, and has the backing of a number of Senate Democrats and influential union leaders.
In his email, Walsh praised Su as “an incredible leader” and expressed faith in her ability to lead the department when he leaves.
“With the kind of leadership and talent assembled across the Department, I am confident there will be continuity and the work will be sustained,” he wrote.
Walsh will become the latest high-profile official to exit the Biden administration in recent weeks, following chief of staff Ron Klain, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese, and communications director Kate Bedingfield, among others.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )The debt moment when Biden’s State of the Union turned spicy
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Republicans are insisting on spending cuts and potentially other concessions as Congress girds for a fight over the imminent need to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, while Biden’s party pushes for a clean increase. And the scene in the House chamber grew more tense as, in a nod to those nascent negotiations, Biden said some GOP lawmakers were playing with fire on the nation’s bills.
“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans … want Medicare and Social Security to sunset,” Biden said, to more sustained boos from GOP lawmakers.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), sitting in the far back of the chamber and dressed in a white fur coat, leaped to her feet and appeared to yell, “Liar!” (A shout of “bullshit” was also audible from the floor during the debt back-and-forth, though it was not clear whether that came from Greene or another member.)
In response to the frustration, Biden acknowledged that Speaker Kevin McCarthy and others in the GOP have declared they won’t touch entitlement programs during the debt talks — in fact, the California Republican delivered a preliminary rebuttal to the president’s speech that pointedly stated as much.
But Biden went on to reiterate that other Republicans have sent a different message, viewing changes to Social Security and Medicare as up for discussion. As he quipped to Republican lawmakers that “so, we agree” on not touching either program, some GOP members appeared to cheer in affirmation.
Asked after the speech about the cry of “liar” toward the president, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointed to “a number of things” Biden said as underpinning it. “He tries to keep spreading this false narrative about getting rid of Social Security and Medicare,” Scalise said.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) described the combative episode more bluntly: “The president was trying to score political points, despite the fact that Republican leadership has made it clear that Medicare and Social Security benefits are off the table. Republicans made clear their dissatisfaction with his ploy.”
And soon after Biden left the chamber, he tweeted what appeared to be a fresh challenge to Republicans on Social Security and Medicare, as the GOP prepares its fiscal blueprint: “Look: I welcome all converts. But now, let’s see your budget.”
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )The state of Biden’s union with a GOP Congress: It’s tense
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“This is not the House of Parliament. I wish there were more decorum, but it seems like we just keep going further downhill every State of the Union,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who set off a different kind of political storm after telling disgraced Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) that he didn’t “belong” in the chamber for the speech. (Romney later called the serial fabricator’s behavior, including an attempt to shake hands with Biden, “an embarrassment.”)
After McCarthy promised before the speech that his members would avoid “playing childish games,” the State of Union highlighted yet again just how tough it will be for him to corral his fractious Republicans on any given day. And for Biden, the evening demonstrated that his heady days of accomplishment during the last Congress have abruptly come to a close.
The theatrics began midway through Biden’s speech, as he scolded Republicans about their past interest in cutting the nation’s biggest entitlement programs in a bid to set the stakes for the upcoming debt limit battle. As the jeers escalated from the opposition, Biden began battling the GOP in real time — ad-libbing his own prepared remarks to challenge Republicans who were shouting at him from the chamber floor.
“Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset,” Biden said as the GOP side of the chamber erupted in boos. It was a reference to Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) proposal last year to wind down all laws after five years, an agenda that split Scott’s party and that Biden has attacked repeatedly.
Then, veering from his own remarks, Biden attempted to clarify — “I don’t think it is a majority of you” — though he could barely be heard above the GOP outcry on the floor. “So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare, off the books now, right?” Biden said.
Republicans had hoped McCarthy’s Tuesday pledge that the GOP wouldn’t touch the two programs in the debt limit fight would keep the president from hitting them on it, despite the fact that some of them remain broadly interested in changing the popular entitlements. They were livid.
“The president was trying to score political points, despite the fact that Republican leadership has made it clear that Medicare and Social Security benefits are off the table,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.). “Republicans made clear their dissatisfaction with his ploy.”
The tensions only grew from there. Biden’s back-and-forth on the debt battle seemed to embolden his critics — chief among them, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, sitting in the far back row in a stark white, fur-lined jacket. As the Georgia Republican sat, she rarely looked up from her phone except to occasionally shout at Biden.
“Liar!” she shouted at first, in response to Biden’s accusation of GOP cuts to Social Security and Medicare. “Bullshit!” she called later. And when Biden called for action on the deadly drug fentanyl — one of the GOP’s biggest priorities — Greene shouted: “It’s coming from China.”
She was hardly alone: Dozens of other Republicans joined in with chants to “secure our border” as Biden spoke of the need for an immigration overhaul. Several other Republicans called out “liar,” and at least one shouted “it’s your fault” as Biden touted efforts to lower fentanyl deaths.
“That’s just not acceptable in the type of country we are and the leader of the free world,” Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said of the ruckus. “Might be accepted in a Third World country. But not here.”
But Republicans weren’t done after the speech. Scott fumed of Biden afterward: “He’s been lying about me for a year. He’s a liar.”
The tenor of the speech, at times, clashed with the pomp and circumstance of one of Congress’ biggest nights. Ahead of the address, Capitol hallways were packed with the return of lawmakers’ State of the Union guests — a tradition that got nixed during the height of the pandemic.
Other parts of Biden’s remarks, though, went just as expected.
He received standing ovations on bipartisan issues like support for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits while serving. Republicans cheered when Biden lamented that the U.S. would be “on oil and gas for a while” — a nod to Manchin, who chairs the Energy Committee and hails from a deep-red fossil-fuel state.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), as well as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), remained seated when Biden mentioned McCarthy’s name for the first time.
But for Democratic leaders, the speech was just what they were looking for: combative at times, heavily focused on economics and not filled with lofty rhetoric. As Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dipped into an elevator to head home for the night, the back-and-forth between Biden and Republicans did little to dampen his good mood.
Americans thought “he’s talking right to me,” Schumer said of the presidential address. “My needs, my dreams, my hopes. It wasn’t high-falutin’, it wasn’t high up in the stratosphere. It was aimed right at them.”
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )Marty Walsh to depart from Biden Cabinet for job atop hockey players’ union
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A former union official who previously headed up the Building and Construction Trades Council in Boston, Walsh is set to return to his roots in organized labor after giving some consideration to making another run at elected office in his home state of Massachusetts.
News of Walsh’s move was first reported by The Daily Faceoff. It was not immediately clear what his exit day would be, and neither the White House nor the Labor Department immediately returned requests for comment.
Walsh played a high-profile role in several of the administration’s interactions with organized labor. He brokered an eleventh-hour compromise between freight rail carriers and unions in September and visited the West Coast as port workers renegotiated their contract with employers. But it’s a mixed track record: Congress eventually had to weigh in on the railroad dispute, and West Coast port talks remain ongoing.
His departure would leave Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su, who oversaw the rollout of California’s divisive gig work law, as the agency’s acting head. That law, AB 5, established a new three-part test that redefined many of the state’s gig workers as employees.
Already, a coalition that represents gig companies like Uber and Lyft are taking shots at Su over her tenure as the head of California’s labor agency.
“Secretary Walsh recognized gig workers as an important part of the workforce with a unique need for flexible work,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “It’s critical that the next Labor Secretary recognize the value of gig work. Unfortunately, Deputy Secretary Su’s history in California raises questions about whether she would respect the will of gig workers who wish to remain independent.”
However Su has several vocal proponents in Congress, particularly among Democratic members who have taken issue with the amount of Asian American Pacific Islander representation — or lack thereof — in the upper echelons of the Biden administration. The deputy secretary is the child of Chinese immigrants.
Some lawmakers want Biden to draft her for the permanent position.
“I think he should” nominate her, said Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii). “I hope he does. I will be very happy to support her because I have talked with her and as I said she and Marty really made a very good team.”
With much of Biden’s pro-union reform concentrated in the White House, Walsh is set to leave with several pivotal regulations still in the works at the Labor Department. Those include a proposed rule, initially expected months ago, that would expand the number of workers eligible for overtime pay, and a final rule redefining which workers qualify as independent contractors. The latter carries significant ramifications for gig work companies, whose profit models are dependent on how they qualify their workforce.
Given Republican control of the House, Walsh would have faced significant congressional oversight from newly installed House Education and Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx. The North Carolina Republican said in an interview last month that she’s centering her agenda on “trying to monitor what the Department [of Labor] is doing” and “calling the department’s hand.” She cited Walsh’s visit to Kellogg picket lines in October, among other things.
Just hours after the first reports of Walsh’s impending departure, Foxx sent a letter to DOL Solicitor General Seema Nanda demanding information about what precautions the labor secretary took while pursuing the NHLPA job.
“The American people deserve to know that Secretary Walsh met his ethics obligations while searching for employment outside of the federal government,” Foxx wrote.
Walsh, a personal friend of Biden’s, beat out several candidates for the Labor job in 2021, including Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.), former Deputy Labor Secretary Seth Harris, Su and AFL-CIO Chief Economist Bill Spriggs. He enjoyed more bipartisan support than many other Biden nominees, leaning on his track record as Boston mayor to win over corporate America and even some congressional Republicans, who saw him as the friendliest option.
The former Boston mayor left toward the end of his second term to join the Biden administration but never moved to Washington, D.C., instead footing the bill to commute between his home in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood and his job.
By taking the players’ association gig, Walsh is now in line for a massive pay bump. Walsh makes a little over $200,000 as labor secretary. The current NHLPA executive director reportedly makes about $3 million.
Walsh had been regularly talked about as a future candidate for office in Massachusetts. But he passed on running for the state’s open governor’s seat last year, unwilling to get involved in a primary against Democrats’ heir apparent, now-Gov. Maura Healey. In addition, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have both pledged to seek reelection to their Senate seats in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )Opinion | Cancel the State of the Union
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The State of the Union isn’t completely useless, as I argued here eight years ago. It can help a president shape and present his agenda to Congress and the public. But a well-written email or PowerPoint demonstration could probably do an equal job of organizing and explaining an administration’s ambitions for the coming year.
When assigning blame for the contemporary indulgence of the SOTU, the obvious villain is television. The event was once a daytime bit of programming. It didn’t become a prime-time show until President Lyndon Johnson gave his 1965 performance. Johnson delighted at having a forum that allowed him to speak directly to the public, unlike press conferences, which are frequently interrupted by pesky questions from reporters. Reagan supplemented his SOTU speeches with Hollywood stagecraft. Previously, the SOTU was a simple speech. But Reagan turned it into a show by casting everyday heroes, veterans, activists and others into his productions, prompting whistles and applause by calling out their names and goading them to stand up and receive congressional adulation. Subsequent presidents, especially Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, expanded the “folks in the crowd” gimmick so far that some years the “guests” became more notable than the speech itself. (I’ll bet President Bill Clinton wishes he could row back the honors he gave Sammy Sosa.) Today, the SOTU resembles an old-fashioned variety show, only with the president filling in for Ed Sullivan.
The SOTU has thrived as a public spectacle for the past 80 years because it taps into a human psyche that seems to demand annual festivals and celebrations that renew the human spirit. Most cultures, ancient and modern, have marked the new year with rituals that plot a new beginning for all concerned. For Christians, this time of renewal can by marked by Easter or Christmas. For agrarian societies, it came at harvest time. For drinkers, it’s New Year’s Eve. For politicians, the State of the Union has become the starting place for political renewal, a time when all the powers — Congress, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs of Staff — await (or prepare to ignore) instructions from their maximum leader.
Like a religious observance, the SOTU is chockablock with ritual observances. It’s usually given on a Tuesday. The members of the Supreme Court must sit motionless, like sphinxes, and not applaud. The sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. House of Representatives welcomes the maximum lead with an introduction that never varies. “Mr. Speaker, the president of the United States!” The ritual sequesters a single cabinet official off-site (the “designated survivor”) to ascend to the presidency in case a bomb strikes the building and vaporizes all. And the speech always elicits as many standing ovations from members of the president’s party as you might witness at a Bruce Springsteen concert. The SOTU festival expanded its footprint in 1966, when the opposition party started giving its response to the president’s comments the same night.
None of this is necessary, of course. A simpler ritual observance marking the political new year could be instituted, maybe organized around the Super Bowl and income-tax season, or maybe just a countdown ball like the one used in Times Square. By reducing the SOTU to an email, we would save a lot of time and bother. It would discourage presidents from engaging in demagoguery. Presidential speechwriters would also be encouraged to make the message weightier. As the Guardian reported in 2013, SOTU addresses have grown linguistically dumber and dumber since Washington’s time.
And it might lower political temperatures. When Jefferson sent his comments to Congress instead of delivering them publicly like his predecessors, he said his intention was to preserve “harmony” in government. “By sending a message, instead of making a speech at the opening of the session,” he wrote, “I have prevented the bloody conflicts to which the making an answer would have commited [sic] them.”
It’s not too late, President Joe Biden. You can still cancel the public SOTU and send an email instead. Just let me know your email address ahead of time so I can set up an Outlook rule to send the message directly to the trash.
******
Jake Tapper goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. every night except New Year’s Eve when he stays up until 10 p.m. Send SOTU trivia to [email protected]. No new email alert subscriptions are being honored at this time. My Twitter feed watches the SOTU on YouTube. My Mastodon and my Post accounts want to sit in the gallery and be called on by the president. My RSS feed has never given a standing ovation to anybody.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )Biden to push for universal insulin price cap in State of the Union
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“The President will call on Congress to extend this commonsense, life-saving protection to all Americans,” the fact sheet said.
Democrats had originally planned to pass a universal insulin price cap last year as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed along party lines last August. But the policy was scaled back after Republicans successfully challenged its inclusion. Democrats since then have vowed to continue to push for its passage, arguing that it’s broadly popular and crucial to ensuring that people can afford essential medicines.
Still, Biden’s fresh support for expanding the price cap is unlikely to result in much concrete progress. Republicans remain opposed to the measure, and are unlikely to even allow a vote on it in the House now that they control the chamber.
Biden during his State of the Union speech is also expected to highlight a handful of other health care accomplishments, including landmark legislation granting Medicare the right to negotiate drug prices and cap certain out-of-pocket pharmacy costs. He will celebrate the three latest states to expand their Medicaid programs, while urging Congress to pass legislation that would close coverage gaps in the 11 holdout states that have yet to expand Medicaid.
The president also plans to call for continuing to lower health insurance costs, pointing to expanded Obamacare subsidies that the administration estimates lowered customers’ premiums by an average of $800 per year and pushed the nation’s uninsured rate to an all-time low.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.com )
