A very sad moment in American History- Bernie Sanders, Senator of Democratic Party- Vermont State.
Thanks everybody for joining me for a very serious issue. Yesterday we witnessed a very sad moment in American History. We saw the president of the United States, aligning with the dictator of Russia namely Valdmir Putin to undermine the independence of Ukraine and its democracy.
Let us be clear. Trump is showing us one of the world's most brutal dictators as his friend. And our all time friends of Europe as his enemies. He wants a world which is safe for dictators and Oligarchs and extremely dangerous for democratic nations.
It will not surprise you when I am telling you that Trump is lying as he often does. Yesterday Trump said that Ukraine has started a war. That's not true. Russia invaded Ukraine twice, first in 2014 and again in second in 2022. Russia occupies 20 % of Ukraine territory. Since Putin's horrific invasion on Ukraine, 1 million people have been killed or injured. Every single day Russia pounds hundreds of missiles and drones on Ukraine cities. Russian forces have kidnapped thousands of children from Ukraine and brought them back to Russia in " Re- Education camp." These atrocities led the International court to declare Putin as a war criminal & issue an arrest warrant against Putin.
Trump calls Ukraine's president Zelensky a dictator, it is a lie. Zelensky won 75% of votes in the free election. Actual approval rating is higher than Trump. In this brutal war Ukraine Parliament continues to function. And free and unfettered political debate or discussion goes on. Trump argues that our European allies support little in this war. He claims that the USA has spent 3 times more than the combined European Union. But that is another lie.
In fact, Europe has provided more help to Ukraine than the USA. It is not that Trump is lying again. That is not new. But it reveals all about USA that where he wants to take our country? & In fact, the entire world. Trump is cozying( happy or comfortable space) up to Putin. So what is Putin and what kind of the world he wants to build? Putin is a dictator who crushed the movement for democracy after the end of the cold war.
Russia holds a sham election every six years where Putin gets 90% of votes. And authority does want to hide this fact. There is no freedom of speech and free media in Putin's Russia. Protests against Putin's regime are violently suppressed. Ten of thousand people are put in jails for protesting against Putin's Russia invasion on Ukraine. Political opponents are jailed & even some were killed by the state police. Hundreds and thousands have fled from Putin's Russia to save their lives since his invasion of Ukraine. But Putin has controlled his regime in his country. There is a mutual deal between Russian Oligarchs & Putin to perpetuate their interest by helping each other. These crony capitalists helped Putin to enjoy absolute power. Putin's allowed offshore tax benefits in billions of dollars to these oligarchs. But that is not the perspective of US People.
We know & are proud of the fact that the US is the longest standing democracy of the world. We know that many hundreds and thousands of American people have given their lives for that cause. We also know in the world that our allies are those countries which have democratic forms of government.
In these critical moments of history, I hope all USA citizens regardless of political perspectives will stand for yes Democracy and no to oligarchy and authoritarian government.
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Second Article-
Why and How to Protect Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
by Emily Newman •
Emily Newman is the Program Manager at the American Humanist Association's Center for Education.
As promised, President Donald Trump started his second term issuing executive orders to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government; DEI offices and policies within the military, Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security; and any acceptance of transgender people and transgender troops, including banning "identification-based pronoun usage" in the military. He threatened legal action against private entities—like public companies, non-profits, and universities—that use DEI and claimed in his inaugural address that he would "forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based." (He should read When Colorblindness Isn't the Answer by renowned humanist Dr. Anthony Pinn, plus many other books.)
As expected, he hasn't provided any directives to form a meritocracy or address DEI goals of improving organizational culture and substantive equality. Instead, he and his team are scapegoating DEI for their failures and perpetuating the falsehood that white, cis-gender, able-bodied, straight, Christian males are always the best candidates (while simultaneously proving the contrary). It's not shocking that someone known for hiring his family and friends, despite their incompetence in the given role, doesn't understand or care about the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Diversity refers to the variety of people being represented and can include characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical and mental disability, age, culture, class, veteran status, or religion. Collaboration with different perspectives and ways of thinking helps us expand our understanding of each other, our work, and society.
Equity addresses the practice of fairness and justice by focusing on societal disparities and allocating resources. This includes ensuring that groups that have been historically disadvantaged or those who will be most impacted by an action have decision-making authority. While equality assumes all people should be treated the same (like the Golden Rule: "do unto others as you would have them do onto you"), equity considers a person's needs and adjusts treatment so the end result is equal (like the Platinum Rule: "do unto others as they'd like done unto them").
Inclusion creates a welcoming and empathetic organizational culture where all feel heard and have a sense of belonging. People are valued and respected not just for what they do for others but also for who they are.
People like Trump incorrectly see DEI as a way to force race and gender into every aspect of society. Many don't realize DEI efforts in the United States go back to 1865 when veterans from the US Civil War received support obtaining jobs after their service. In the 1930s, multiple laws were established to assist blind and severely disabled business owners. This was all before Affirmative Action and the Civil Rights Movement prohibited discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the 1960s. DEI aims to dismantle the oppressive systems that harm us all. (To understand these systems, how they intersect, and how we can all take steps to not let them disconnect and divide us, check out whitesupremacyculture.info.)
Here are a few ways we can take action to protect DEI:
- Use your purchasing power to speak up against companies ending their DEI work and in support of those keeping it despite Trump's threats. Forbes is keeping track of those dumping DEI and CNBC and others are tracking which are holding the line. You can also directly contact them or tag them on social media to make a bigger impact.
- Establish and sustain DEI practices in your offices and organizations.
- Ensure hiring includes blind admissions to avoid name bias, application questions (beyond just inputting one's resume) to understand their skills, interviews including those most impacted by the position, and work projects (preferably paid) to see them in action as a potential employee and colleague.
- Improve retention with regular educational trainings (not outdated sexual harassment videos but useful content on how to have respectful interactions), checking in on workloads and strategies, addressing conflicts and microaggressions, and offer flexible hours, remote work, and hybrid options whenever possible. Provide growth opportunities and be open to feedback to encourage people to stay long-term. Our society too often puts perfectionism over progress and quantity over quality, leading to burn out. Invest time, energy, and money into improving organization or company culture.
- Seek guides, like this one from the Human Rights Campaign, and partners who can help.
- Make online and in-person spaces more accessible. Look around and consider how easy it is for people to participate in different activities in various locations. This could mean physical changes like ramps, elevators, signage, and sound systems; personnel changes like ASL interpreters, transcribers, technicians, and greeters; social changes like the terminology we use and assumptions we make; and so much more. Think about what makes you feel included and when you feel represented, and how you can speak up to educate others. Listen when others share their experiences and perspectives.
Eradicating DEI practices will not only hurt individuals, it will have endless consequences for employers and institutions. We need a society and a government that values its people and is dedicated to making life better for them.
Em
