is becoming a nightmare. The homeowner is now living in fear of foreclosure.Inaninterview with the People, Power & Politics Radio Show, Senator James Sanders Jr, (D) NY Senate
many, that
VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC! SERVING THE CARIBBEAN AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES! FREE A D.B.A. OF I.Q. INC. ISSUE 158 VOLUME 22 August 11, 2022 This Trait Could Be Key to a Lasting Romance ....19 How Does Monkeypox Spread? An Epidemiologist Explains ....17 A Newly Elected Prime Minister for Saint Kitts and Nevis ....2 Knowledge is Power when you use it! Get the CallAskConsultation!BESTtheLawyer:855-768-8845 Brian Figeroux, Esq., Member, American Immigration Lawyers Associationcontinued on page 9 Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act: A Level Playing Field Senate Rejects Harmful Immigration Amendments to Inflation Reduction Act ....12 AG James Stops New York City Landlords That Harassed Rent-Stabilized Tenants ....7 Bill Russell’s Legacy of NBA Championships and Cerebral Fight for Equal Rights ....5 Electing a Woman Leader – a Long and Winding Road ....22 Message to the Diaspora from the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Hon Andrew Holness ....11Senator Sanders Editorial credit: a katz / Shutterstock.com Female Passengers Sue Uber Over Sexual Assault Grievances continued on page 4 BY LINDA NWOKE CAW EXCLUSIVE In July, Uber Technologies, the San Francisco-based American mobility service provider, was sued by over 500 women across the U.S. on claims of being assaulted by drivers on their plat form.With operations in over 70 countries and over 10,000 cities, Uber is one of the top leaders in the ride-sharing business. Editorial credit: NYCStock / Shutterstock.com
One key component of the American dream is for dream
BY JR HOLGUIN
home own ership. But
St. Lucia 630 Third Avenue, 7th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-697-9360
Jamaica 767 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-935-9000
Monkeypox disease Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease caused by the monkeypox virus. Symptoms include fever, intense headache, swollen lymph nodes, muscle ache, and a rash that blisters and crusts. The rash tends to be concentrated on the face, palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The mouth, genitals, and eyes may also be affected. The symptoms can be mild or severe, and generally last for several weeks dur ing which time a person can be infectious to others. Most people recover within a few weeks without treatment. Monkeypox disease is reported regular ly in nine countries of Central and West Africa since it was first recognized in 1958 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, since mid-May 2022, an increasing number of monkeypox cases have been reported first in multiple countries in Europe and later in other regions, including the Americas. As of August 5 2022, 37,360 probable and laboratory-confirmed cases were reported to the WHO from 89 countries across all six WHO regions. l
Montserrat 845 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-745-0200
Trinidad & Tobago 125 Maiden Lane, 4th Floor New York, N.Y. 10038 Tel: 212-682-7272 REPORT
The Bahamas 231 East 46th Street New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-421-6420
Tel: 212-745-0200
Dominican Republic 1500 Broadway, Suite 410 New York, N.Y. 10036 Tel: 212-599-8478
On 23 July 2022, the Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak, which began in mid-May and has affected 89 countries across all six WHO regions, a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Over 10,000 monkeypox infections have been reported by 24 countries of the Americas since the start of the outbreak. This accounts for 38% of global cases.
The Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Commission extends congratula tions to newly elected Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis Dr. Terrance Drew and the St Kitts and Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP) on their victory in the August 5th 2022 General Elections in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Under the leadership of Dr. Drew, SKNLP captured 6 of 8 seats in Saint Kitts, with the remaining two seats won by the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and the People’s Labor Party (PLP). The Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) captured all 3 seats in Nevis. Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew was sworn in as the 4th Prime Minister in the history of Saint Kitts and Nevis on Saturday 6th August 2022, by His Lordship, the Honorable Justice Trevor M. Ward. The OECS Commission commends the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis for turn ing out peacefully to exercise their con stitutional rights to vote. The Commission looks forward to welcoming the newly elected Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis, and assures the govern ment and people of its continued commit ment and service to the promotion of the country’s interests as a member of the OECS Economic Union regionally and internationally. In this regard, the Commission recommits to working closely with the Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis in furtherance of the objectives of the country and of the OECS integration movement.
Barbados 820 Second Avenue, 5th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-551-4325
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Martinique 444 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-838-6887
St. Vincent & The Grenadines 801 Second Avenue, 4th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-687-4981
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Haiti 815 Second Avenue,6th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-697-9767
Belize 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1911 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-593-0999
For more Consulate information go to www.cawnyc.com/directory 2CARIBBEAN SPECIAL
“The PHEIC declaration came with detailed recommendations for both coun tries and territories who haven’t detected any cases as well as for those who already have imported cases or transmis sion in their communities,” said PAHO Director, Carissa Etienne.
St. Maarten 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 800-786-2278
Washington D.C. [August 5] (PAHO): As monkeypox cases continue to rise in several countries of the Americas, Member States of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) today held a Special Session of the Directing Council to consider a Resolution to address the outbreak, including supporting equitable access to vaccines for at-risk populations in the region.
“We believe that when the recommend ed measures are appropriately imple mented, we can stop transmission of the monkeypox virus.” These recommendations, which PAHO is working with Member States to imple ment, include communication and engagement with affected communities, early detection and surveillance, treat ment and isolation of patients, and con tactHowever,tracing. “post- or pre-exposure vacci nation might need to complement the other measures,” the Director added. During the session, Dr. Etienne noted that there is currently only one third-gen eration vaccine for monkeypox, which is produced by just one manufacturer. While supplies of this vaccine are extremely limited, PAHO has engaged in early negotiations with its manufacturer. In light of this, the Resolution adopted requests PAHO’s Director to facilitate a coordinated response and take steps to support Member States in obtaining access to this vaccine through the PAHO Revolving Fund. It also requests that countries of the Region of the Americas continue to recognize PAHO and its Revolving Fund as the strategic regional technical mechanism most suitable for providing equitable access to this vaccine and others.Therecommendations of PAHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Vaccine Preventable Diseases, as well as those of the Emergency Committee of the International Health Regulations, con vened by the World Health Organization (WHO), stipulate that countries should prioritize vaccines for specific groups, such as close contacts of a confirmed monkeypox case, in order to maximize impact considering the limited vaccine supply.
OECS Commission Congratulates Newly Elected Prime Minister and Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Guyana 308 West 38th Street New York, N.Y. 10018 Tel: 212-947-5119
Antigua & Barbuda 305 East 47th Street, Suite 6A New York, N.Y. 10020 Tel: 212-541-4117
New PM Dr. Terrance Drew Editorial credit: OECS Press
Countries Approve Resolution to Support Access to Monkeypox Vaccine in the Americas
Caribbean Consulates
Anguilla 845 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022
St. Kitts & Nevis 414 East 75th Street, 5th Floor New York, N.Y. 10021 Tel: 212-535-5521
The OECS Commission takes the oppor tunity to express sincere thanks to the for mer Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis the Honorable Dr. Timothy Harris for his contribution to the work of the organization.
Dominica 685 Third Avenue, 11th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-949-0853
Grenada 685 Third Avenue, Suite 1101 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-599-0301
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The initiative, implemented by the Trump administration, sought to prevent the entry of foreign-born people who were legally seeking asylum. Title 42 remains in place, but the under lying asylum program is alive and breathing—for now. Add to that the good news about the “Remain In Mexico” program ending, since the same federal judge who ordered the Biden administration to reinstate it in 2021 annulled his opinion a couple of days ago, and the landscape for Democrats and their agenda returns again to the realm of their priorities. The fact that migrants who aspire to obtain asylum no longer have to remain in Mexico until their hearing before an Immigration Judge is, at any rate, a con crete step forward on the current admin istration’s list of pending migration issues.Biden has also had good news on the economic front. In the month of July alone, more than 528,000 jobs were cre ated, more than double the anticipated, despite inflation. The unemployment rate is just 3.5%, reaching pre-pandemic lev els. And in more specific branches of the economy where Latino workforce partic ipation is widely required and recog nized, there was also significant growth, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: in the area of recreation and hotels, there was an increase of 96,000 new positions; in health care, 70,000; in construction, 32,000; and in manufactur ing,Moreover,30,000. the price of fuel is going down.In other words, Biden and the Democrats have scored some political points, although it remains to be seen whether voters will remember when they head to the polls in November since, in electoral terms, three months is a lifetime and anything can happen—especially with an opposition that uses strategies charged with an anti-immigrant essence, of lies and hate that they have rehearsed so well to agitate their followers and push them past the limits of sanity. Like January 6, 2021, no more, no less. To that, add the effect that could be had on some voters since there are issues that remain untapped, like measures that would legalize at least a group of the 11 million undocumented people, like Dreamers, farm workers, and people with TPS.And we can’t ignore the Trump effect on this whole process, especially after FBI agents entered his Mar-a-Lago man sion, looking for classified documents. This event and its aftermath could, like a double-barrel shotgun, hurt the ex-presi dent’s plans to enter the political arena once again or, they could benefit it, increasing support among followers with the argument that, as he already said, Trump is being “persecuted” in order to frustrate his political ambitions. Of course, the role of “victim” is not his, not in this moment nor in any other, especial ly if we compare the FBI “raid” of Trump’s mansion with the operations he ordered against immigrant workers in their places of employment during his presidency—true raids that destroyed entire families and futures, forever. So it seems, the cards are not stacked so high against the Democrats as they were some weeks ago, when it seemed that both chambers were lost to them. Right now, the competition seems tighter.l
VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC! THOUGHTS 3 TEAM ublisher I.Q. INC. Managing Editor & Editor-in-Chief Pearl Phillip Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq. Graphic & Website Designers Praim KenrickSamsoondarWilliams Feature Writers Linda VictoriaNwokeFalk Contributors Jennine Estes Tarsha Gibbons Janet Howard Mary ChrisTravisCampbellMoralesTobias Email info@myiqinc.com Telephone 718-771-0988 Website www.cawnyc.com My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. —Hosea 4:6 REALAPPLYWANTED:AGENTSESTATENOW! It's time to make a career choice that you will LOVE. Send your resume info@equitysmartrealty.comto The Political Playing Field Has Leveled for Biden and the Democrats—for Now Washington D.C.: In recent days, President Joe Biden has seen a series of pluses and minuses. Although at a personal level he contracted COVID-19, in the political realm he has racked up several victories that serve as a positive rebound to his presidency and, especially, his Democratic Party, in the face of the November elections.
It’s been the sort of breath of fresh air that was needed, not only for his agenda, but the performance of his colleagues who could not find any political escape routes due to the lack of results on prom ised issues, in addition to Republican attacks—with their racist and anti-immi grant rhetoric that once again rears its ugly head in the realm of politics. At the domestic level, for example, we point to approval of the Inflation Reduction Act by a Senate that, despite being Democratic, failed to advance his agenda over a little more than a year and a half of his presidency. That was due to Republican obstructionism and the reluc tance of a pair of Democratic senators— Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona—who this time, miraculously, did not oppose an agreement that allowed the measure to advance.Thislast thing, for certain, also repre sents a model for internal negotiation that should be put into practice for future intraparty blockades, especially now that the Democrats have demonstrated the unity needed to fight and win, and given that the midterm elections are around the corner.Moreover, apart from a whole range of initiatives on topics such as climate change, renewable energy, health care, and taxes, one of the positive aspects of Biden’s economic plan is that the antiimmigrant amendments that Republicans wanted to include remain out; in particu lar, one that tried to extend Title 42, which allows migrants to be denied entry in moments of public health crisis, like COVID-19.
AND DAVID TORRES, AMERICA’S VOICE Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi Editorial credit: Sheila Fitzgerald / Shutterstock.com
BY MARIBEL HASTINGS
Until 2017, when the company began investigating sexual assaults and harass ment cases. In 2019, they acknowledged in a safety report that there were over 3500 reported cases of sexual assaults involving attempted rape, unwanted kissing, and touching of sexual body parts. As detailed in the first safety report released in December of the same year, customers and drivers using their services made
The Sexual Assault Cases Several lawsuit reports and information have shown that over 5,000 people nationwide have been sexually assaulted as passengers or drivers of a ride-sharing company, and many have sought finan cialIncompensation.thecaseagainst Uber Technologies Inc, attorneys claim that, over the years, the company had ignored claims of sexu al assaults caused by drivers on their app.
In the attorney's view, Uber can do more to protect riders. "They can mandate cameras to deter assaults, perform more robust background checks on drivers, and create a warning alarm system when drivers don't stay on a path to a destina tion," Adam Slater says.
Legal Assistance If you are a victim and are interested in filing a lawsuit, contact the Law Firm of Figeroux & Associates immediately at 855-768-8845 or visit www.ask thelawyer.us to schedule an appointment. The lawyer you hire does make a differ ence!l
Although, Uber contested the number of complainants represented by the law firm, which appears to be less than men tioned in their view. "Even though the law firm claims to be representing over 500 women with cases — they have only filed a dozen to date," said an Uber rep resentative. They alluded to the firm's inability to provide critical incident details for us to identify a connection to the Uber platform. Yet they shared some of the measures they have begun to implement, such as the safety features and education, like an emergency button, in the app's safety toolkit.A24/7 chat badge in the app, rendering support from a specialized team of Uber agents trained to handle sensitive reports. The Pie chart badge classifies incidents through a partnership with the National Sexual Violence Resource Center and the Urban Institute. In addition to working with several women's safety and advoca cy organizations and law enforcement agencies to develop processes and tech nology."Sexual assault is a horrific crime, and we take every single report seriously," Uber said in a statement. "There is noth ing more important than safety, which is why Uber has built new safety features, established survivor-centric policies, and been more transparent about serious inci dents. While we can't comment on pend ing litigation, we will continue to keep safety at the heart of our work."
How it Works
Interestingly, the demographic of Uber drivers are not diverse, with the majority of Uber drivers being men. However, unlike the drivers, there is nearly an even split of male and female riders.
If you are a victim and are interested in filing a lawsuit, contact the Law Firm of Figeroux & Associates immediately at 855-768-8845 or www.askthelawyer.usvisit to schedule an appointment.
However, the lawyers representing vic tims find their response somewhat inade quate. An attorney from the Slater Slater and Schulman law firm feels that although the company acknowledged the sexual assault crisis, its response has been slow and ineffective. Such has led to terrible consequences.
Although they render services beyond ridesharing, such as package delivery, freight transportation, couriers, ride-hail ing, and food delivery, the ride-sharing component of the business remains the most prominent of its services.
Furthermore, most Uber users are young adults, within the 16-34 age range, while 35% of riders are over 35.
The company allows car owners and cus tomers to use their application in exchange for a commission derived from the payment made by customers who receive a quote when booking a ride via their Thus,app.the ride-sharing mobile app con nects riders with drivers in just a few minutes, with a couple of clicks, and automatically charges the rider's credit card. There is no exchange of currency or cash in the vehicle, especially in the U.S. Last year, the number of Uber drivers in the United States was estimated at over 1.4 million, and over 3 million drivers worldwide. At the same time, over 115 million people used Uber the same year, estimated at around 38%, an increase from the plunge during the pandemic.
Despite the constant complaints, Uber continues to struggle to handle miscon duct complaints on its ride-sharing app. To the extent that their response oscil lates from outright defiance to total denial of any wrongdoing. The company defends itself with claims that it conducts background checks on its drivers at different stages -before, dur ing, and after the engagement, such as screening drivers upon signing up on the platform and once a year afterward. Yet, they also remain adamant that they can't be held responsible for the behavior of the drivers, who are just contractors and not employees of the company.
Interestingly, the company reports that sexual assault complaints decreased by 38% from its initial report, which was released in 2019 and covered 2017 and 2018. However, no relationship linked the possible impact of the Covid-19 pan demic, which glaringly and significantly affected the number of Uber riders in 2020 and 2021. In response to the recent lawsuit, they released a statement acknowledging that sexual assault is a horrible crime, which they take the seriously-every single case.
Demographics of Uber Users Uber is simply a mobile app, which in the United States, fulfills an average of 40 million rides per month.
Uber's Response to Sexual Assault Cases
VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC! 4KNOW YOUR RIGHTS reports of unwanted kissing advance ments.However, the report did not reveal the number of cases of sexual harassment, groping, and touching non–sexual body parts. Instead, it only included past cases of murder, kidnapping, and physical attacks on the riders. According to the Uber safety report, besides the riders, drivers also reported assaults as much as riders. Still, observers think Uber's shoddy back ground checks and faulty hiring practices of drivers contributed immensely to the continued physical and sexual assaults againstRecently,women.thecompany has faced sever al lawsuits from a firm representing women who claim to have been assaulted by drivers who use the ride-hailing plat Perhapsform. it is linked to the decision taken by Uber in 2019 when it decided to drop the terms of service in their app, which forced injured women to settle cases in mandatory arbitration. That used to restrict the victims of sexual assault from filing lawsuits. Since then, the company has faced numerous active sexual assault lawsuits filed by lawyers on behalf of victims.Based on the released second U.S. Safety Report, there were over 980 sexu al assault incidents, including 140 rape reports. One of the numerous complaints was filed in San Francisco by Slater Slater Schulman LLP. They claim that women were "attacked, stalked, harassed, kidnapped, sexually battered, assaulted, falsely imprisoned, or raped during their rides on the Uber platform. Additionally, the complaints allege that Uber had been aware of such incidents since 2014. They had known about the sexual misconduct by some of the driv ers, including rape cases. The law firm alleges that they presently have over 500 clients and more than 100 cases under investigation from victims against Uber. The rideshare company has faced similar lawsuits against it from women alleging sexual assault by driv ers. For instance, in 2018, Uber agreed to settle a lawsuit case by two women who claimed they were assaulted and taken advantage of by drivers after consuming alcohol.
Uber Sexual Assault Grievances/ continued from page 1
On May 1, 1968, Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to another NBA championship, triumphing over the rival Los Angeles Lakers. But this time Russell was not just the star center, the defensive stalwart, the linchpin of pro basketball’s most extraor dinary dynasty. He was also the coach. During the locker room celebration, reporters marveled at Russell’s legacy of achievement. What else he could possi blyHeachieve?deflected the question. “To tell you the truth, it’s been a long time since I tried to prove anything to anybody,” he said. He got quiet for a second. “I know who I am.” Undisputed champion Russell, who died on July 31, 2022, had a winning record in basketball that is unmatched.From1954 to 1956, he steered the University of San Francisco as a player to two consecutive NCAA champi onships and a record 55-game winning streak.Atthe 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, he dominated the court and drove the United States to a gold medal. And during his 13-year professional career with the Boston Celtics, Russell won an astonishing 11 NBA titles – the last two, in 1968 and 1969, as the playercoach.Inmy biography of Russell, “King of the Court,” I argued that he spearheaded a “basketball revolution.”
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#SpeedCamerasSaveLivesnyc.gov/dot
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Bill Russell’s Legacy of NBA Championships and Cerebral Fight for Equal Rights
During his athletic reign, the sport transformed from a white man’s game with a small-time, “bush league” reputa tion into a dynamic, modern, nationally televised sport associated with Black cul ture.Russell was also the NBA’s essential barrier-breaker: its first Black superstar, its first Black champion, its first Black coach.Most fascinating, though, was Russell himself.Assuggested by his proud comment after the 1968 title, he undertook an intel The legendary Bill Russell. Deposit Photos lectual and personal journey during his career. He sought to find worth in basket ball amid the racial tumult of the civil rights movement. He emerged from that crucible not only as a stronger man, but also as one of the most potent figures at the intersection of sports and politics. A reluctant sports hero As fans crowded him for autographs at Madison Square Garden in December 1962, Russell raised a poignant question. “What does all this mean?” he asked. “This is without depth. This is a very shallow thing.” A few weeks later he confessed, “I feel that playing basketball is just marking time. I don’t feel that this can be it for a man. I haven’t accomplished anything, really. What contribution have I made of which I can be really proud?” At that point, Russell had won three MVP awards and five NBA titles. He had emerged as a hero in the media-driven rivalry with the taller and stronger scor ing machine, Wilt Chamberlain. The Celtics won plaudits for their spirit
continued on page 5 BY ARAM GOUDSOUZIAN THE CONVERSATION
• NYC’s expanded speed camera law took effect on August 1, 2022. The law allows NYC to issue speed camera violations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round.
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CIVIL RIGHTS of cooperation, serving as sports’ greatest example of racial integration in action. Yet Russell chafed at every reminder that he was still a second-class citizen. He refused to accept segregated accom modations on road trips. During a 1961 preseason tour, when a hotel coffee shop in Lexington, Kentucky, refused service to two teammates, Russell boycotted the exhibition game, and the Black players on both teams followed suit. After the 1962 season, while driving back to his native Louisiana, he and his two young sons had to sleep one night in their car because no hotels would accom modate Black people. If this happened to the best basketball player in the world, how much could bas ketball matter? Militant activism In response, Russell crafted a persona that one teammate called “a kingly arro gance.”Most Black athletes gained wider pub lic acceptance by acting humble and gra cious.Instark contrast, Russell started refus ing to sign autographs. The ritual made him feel like a commodity, rather than a man with a real personality and his own ideas. He resolved to express his political opinions with fearless honesty. During the 1963-64 season, in profiles in Sports Illustrated and the Saturday Evening Post, Russell questioned the philosophy of nonviolence espoused by Martin Luther King Jr., and he defended the ideas of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam.“We have got to make the white popu lation uncomfortable and keep it uncom fortable,” he insisted, “because that is the only way to get their attention.”
Bigger than sports In the late 1960s, Russell’s career entered its most extraordinary and underappreci atedWhenphase.he replaced Red Auerbach as coach, the aging Boston squad no longer dominated the NBA, and the Celtics lost in the 1967 playoffs, spurring doubts about Russell’s viability as player-coach. Then, improbably, he led the Celtics to two more titles. By the time he retired in 1969, the Boston press could no longer doubt his significance.“TheCeltics story,” wrote Jerry Nason of the Boston Globe, “is bigger than the sports page.” At the same time, he stood like a light house for his fellow Black athletes. When Muhammad Ali was exiled from professional boxing for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, Russell described him as a man of principle. When Black athletes threatened to boy cott the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, Russell supported their cause. For a generation, Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics had showcased the glori ous possibilities of racial integration. But Russell had demanded that the public see the Black athlete as something more than a symbol.“Wesee each other as men,” he said after the Celtics’ final triumph in 1969. “We judge a guy by his character.” As he defined his place in the world, Russell had demanded the same of the public.
President Barack Obama reaches over the shoulders of 6'9" Bill Russell to present him with the 2010 Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House February 15, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
“It’s a thing you want to scream,” he wrote. “I MUST HAVE MY MAN HOOD.”Suchmilitant pronouncements stoked a backlash from not only conservatives who resented him, but also from liberals who felt HeRussellbetrayed.stoodfirm.hadweatheredhis period of person al crisis, and he had sharpened the tools to express his authentic humanity, what ever the consequences.
In his 1966 memoir, “Go Up for Glory,” Russell extolled the ideals of American democracy, but he kept describing its shortcomings in practice. He recalled such indignities as police brutality during his teenage years in Oakland, the racist fans who called him slurs such as “baboon” and the bigotry of the Boston press who praised white stars like Bob Cousy at Russell’s expense. He urged the Black freedom movement to grow more aggressive, to express Black unity and anger.
l Aram Goudsouzian is a Bizot Family Professor of History, University of Memphis Bill Russell’s legacy/ 5
continued from page
That Harassed Rent-Stabilized Tenants
DIASPORA CONCERNS
New York Attorney General Letitia James on August 5 announced a settlement with Ink Property Group LLC (Ink) for violating rent stabilization laws and illegally harassing tenants. Ink — managed by Eden Ashourzadeh, Alex Kahen, and then-Public Advocate James’ 2016 Worst Landlords List offender Robert Kaydanian — bought dozens of rent-sta bilized buildings in low-income commu nities of color with the intention of ille gally deregulating affordable housing for profit. Through a variety of illegal activ ities, Ink forced out rent-stabilized ten ants so their units could be offered at market rate. Ink also intentionally sub mitted false documents to financial insti tutions, lying about rents and occupancy to obtain loans. As part of the settlement, Ink will pay up to $1.75 million to pre serve affordable housing, and over $400,000 in restitution to tenants. Ink will also bring at least 28 apartments that were illegally deregulated back into rent stabilization, making them permanently affordable. Ink is also required to install a monitor and external property manage ment company to ensure compliance with rent stabilization laws and manage their buildings, which will be overseen by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).“AsNew Yorkers faced soaring rents and struggled to find affordable housing, Ink tried to get rich quick by preying on vulnerable tenants and their families,” said Attorney General James. “Lying and cutting corners to evade rent stabilization is one of the oldest tricks of the trade, but Ink’s years of exploiting our hardwork ing neighbors without consequences end here. These tenants organized and fought back, and because of their efforts, they will be compensated for the suffering they’ve survived. My office will contin ue to fight for tenants and to preserve affordable housing by ensuring bad actors like Ink are held accountable.”
Editorial credit: Steve Sanchez Photos / Shutterstock.com
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continued on page 7 26 Court Street, Suite 701, Downtown Brooklyn Call 888-670-6791
Between 2014 and early 2019, Ink bought 32 multifamily buildings in New York City, primarily in north Brooklyn and other predominantly low-income communities of color. Ink also served as property managers for 12 additional buildings. The company implemented a strategy of purchasing small- to mediumsized apartment buildings with units that were primarily rent-stabilized. Ink would then engage in a campaign to force out all the rent-stabilized tenants — first ille gally approaching tenants with buyouts, then repeatedly and persistently subject ing tenants to harassment, and in some cases, creating hazardous conditions so tenants were forced to leave because their apartments were no longer habit able. Ink even provided monetary com missions to employees who successfully convinced tenants to move out, offering up to $5,000 for each buyout. Once the rent-stabilized tenants were pushed out, Ink would renovate the units with cosmetic updates and rent the apart ments at the highest rate the market would allow. Ink ignored the Individual Apartment Improvement (IAI) system set forth in the Rent Stabilization laws, instead treating every new vacancy as an unregulated unit, regardless of whether the renovations made met the criteria to achieve deregulation. Ink also failed to appropriately document any IAI calcula tions and repeatedly failed to file annual rent registration statements with the New York State Department of Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) for the majority of buildings in their portfolio. The registration statements that were filed often contained misrepresentations and false information about many of the Brooklyn, NY USA August 5, 2022. NY Attorney General James goes after Ink Property Group for illegally harassing tenants and secures $1.75 Million for impacted tenants.
AG James Stops New York City Landlords
“Landlords in our city take advantage of loose regulations to illegally harass tenants, implement excessive rent increases, and pursue evictions without due cause, but we’re not taking this light ly anymore,” said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. “As a Council Member — and working with St. Nick’s Alliance, I led the creation of the North Brooklyn Housing Taskforce that pursued some mismanaged Ink Proprieties, the group Attorney General James is reaching a settlement with today for their poor actions against tenants. Thank you to Attorney General James for her leadership around this issue, letting landlords and property groups know that we will hold them accountable for unfair treatment of tenants.”
“We must crack down on every preda tory landlord that is harassing tenants, eliminating affordable housing, and destabilizing our communities,” said New York City Council Member Lincoln Restler. “This settlement secured by our Attorney General Letitia James is exactly the type of aggressive accountability we need every time against bad landlords.”
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DIASPORA CONCERNS apartments’ occupancy and regulated sta tus.Despite the renovations, buildings aver aged more than 1,000 open housing vio lations, including 115 of the most haz ardous violations for conditions such as lead-based paint and broken window guards. Some of the violations that remain open today were issued as early as One2017.tenant, Maria de la Rosa, lived in her rent-stabilized apartment in Brooklyn for more than 30 years before Ink bought the building. Not long after, Ink employ ees approached her, repeatedly and aggressively offering buyouts, even after she explicitly refused. Ink succeeded in displacing nearly half of Ms. de la Rosa’s neighbors, but then left the vacant units to fall into disrepair to such an extent that conditions impacted Ms. de la Rosa’s health and safety. Since Ink acquired the building, she has dealt with cracks on the walls, leaks, and rats. As Ink continued to grow their portfo lio, they submitted false rent rolls to financial institutions to successfully obtain more favorable loans or refinance their mortgages. The false documents reported inflated rents and fake leases — often with family, friends, and associates listed as “renters” — to feign high prof itability. A four-year investigation con ducted by OAG with assistance from HCR found Ink repeatedly and consis tently committed various fraudulent acts for their own gain, and violated the New York State Rent Stabilization Code, the New York City Rent Stabilization Law, and the New York City Housing Maintenance Code. As part of the settlement announced today, Ink will pay up to $1.75 million to Attorney General James’ Affordable Housing Fund with the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which finances the preservation and creation of affordable housing in New York City. Ink will also pay $400,000 in restitution to tenants who were harassed by Ink to vacate their apartments and $2,500 each to tenants who were forced to live in hazardous conditions intentionally created by con struction. At least 28 apartments will be reregulated as determined by independ ent counsel engaged by the monitor, and tenants who were previously over charged for these units will also receive overcharge awards at amounts yet to be determined. These funds are to be dis bursed by the monitor and the new inde pendent property manager will take over management of 15 buildings that Ink cur rently owns and manages. “Ink Property Group’s illegal activities have caused tremendous pain for their tenants, many of whom are people of color,” said U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez. “Housing discrimination and landlord mistreatment of tenants is unfor tunately not a rare occurrence, which is why I introduced the Landlord Accountability Act which would help to prevent the despicable actions taken by Ink. I will continue to fight in Congress to provide federal protections for tenants and I thank to Attorney General James for leading the effort to ensure financial repercussion for Ink and helping secure restitution to impacted tenants.”
“The settlement is a crucial and impor tant landmark that sends a strong mes sage to shady LLCs like Ink Property Group, who believe that they can come into our neighborhoods to target and dis place low-income communities of color,” said New York City Council Member Jennifer Gutiérrez. “This decision is a reminder that tactics like harassing ten ants, and falsifying financial documents has real consequences and that these exploitative behaviors cannot rein free in our“Despitecity.” New York's robust housing laws, landlords such as Ink Property Group routinely betray the public's trust by warehousing units, exploiting and harassing low-income tenants, and evict ing families in a relentless pursuit of profit,” said New York City Council Member Sandy Nurse. “Thanks to the leadership of the attorney general, St. Nick's Alliance, and tenant leaders who faced these abhorrent conditions, Ink Property Group will be held accountable, and tenants will see some justice. Let today be a message to similar landlords: Don't harass our constituents and don't warehouse in a housing crisis.”l
Landlords That Harassed RentStabilized Tenants/ continued from page 7
"The American dream is anchored on the idea of freedom of choice and [buy ing] a said Sanders. "To buy a home is the pinnacle, the top of the American dream; you have arrived with that!"The issue of foreclosure is when a bank or a financial institution tries to get or take back a home based on what they say or failure to abide by the terms of the mortgage," said Sanders. "Now, with that in mind, [the] system for many years [was] that the banks have had six years to convince courts on this."
But a February 2021 decision from the New York Court of Appeals, Freedom Mortgage Corporation v. Engel , removed the statute of limitation and reopened hundreds of foreclosure cases homeowners thought they had won because lenders missed a critical dead line."Now, the only other part of the law with no statute of limitation is murder," said Sanders. "[Mortgage Corporation v. Engel] inadvertently puts foreclosure at the same weight as it does murder. And any rational person would say that fore closed even at his worst is nowhere near the situation in murder."
home,"
"I commenced by sending a payment to them, however late. Those payments were returned. I was subse quently served with a summons on com plaint pasted onto my door," says an NYC resident fighting from foreclosure. "That's an action that was first filed in 2010 and was discontinued in 2013. we're now talking about 12 years of painfulBrianlitigation."Figeroux, Esq. of the Law Firm of Figeroux & Associates reminds home owners of New York, "An attorney that you hire, you retain, is an attorney obli gated by the law to serve your best inter ests. And if that attorney is not serving your best interest, you have the grievance committee and other forms of restitu tion.""Ifyou have been delinquent for years on your mortgage and have a Supreme Court action, you should not be repre senting yourself in court. If you are nego tiating a loan modification, you should not be doing it alone," said Figeroux.
The "Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act" passed the Senate on May 3, 2022, by a vote of 52-10. On March 23, 2022, the Assembly version of this bill intro duced by Assemblymember Helene Weinstein passed the Assembly by a vote of 107-40. The next step is for the bill to be signed by Governor Kathy Hochul. One by one, homeowners struggling with foreclosure ask Governor Hochul to please sign this bill into law. They do not ask for any handout or relief; they only ask for a level playing field to be able to fight for their homes. Now it sits on Gov. Kathy Hochul's desk, but supporters of the bill say they don't believe she is on board. Her office said she is still review ing the legislation. One could ask why Governor Hochul has ignored her con stituents if it is them who decide who wins campaigns, not the banks.
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Governor Kathy Hochul's constituents and New York City homeowners ask her to approve and pass the Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act.
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The Foreclosure Abuse Prevention Act would revert to the six-year window to prove their case; otherwise, the case is dismissed. The bill would provide clarifi cation to correct recent judicial deci sions. These decisions have undermined longstanding legal precedents to excuse financial institutions from the effects of longstanding statutes of limitations prin ciples.Ina video posted on Senator James Sanders' YouTube channel, Governor Kathy Hochul's constituents and New York City homeowners ask her to approve and pass the bill. Despite the circumstances, homeown ers calmly tell their stories, explaining how they have been dealing with foreclo sure for years.
Visitation Work
Visitation.
Even the word sounds ominous, like something you might do with a prisoner. If you’re a divorced dad who gets the kids maybe twice a month, I know this is one of the greatest challenges you face. You don’t have free access to your kids, and when you do see them, there’s pressure to make the most of your time together. Unfortunately, kids sense that pressure and it changes things. If you feel uncomfortable without always having something to do together, that might be a clue that there’s a larger issue that you and your kids need to dis cuss. But generally, in time, you can set tle into a workable routine.
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Let me offer a few suggestions that may help smooth out a tough situation, bor rowing from Kenneth Parker and Van Jones in their book, Every Other Weekend.
BY FATHERS.COM
First, give it some time. There are adjustments to make for you and your children. You’ll all have to take on slight ly different roles, and make some changes. Be flexible in how you relate to yourSecond,kids. stay loose. You may be tempt ed to cram your weekends full of hectic video arcades, all-day amusement parks, exhausting zoo trips, loud pizza palaces and on and on. But remember to leave room for just hanging out together, or give your children choices of what they’d like to do. Capitalize on shared interests, or hobbies you can do together, where you’re free to relate to one another instead of being entertained. Eventually, as you all get used to the arrangement, you’ll spend more time camping, beach combing, bicycling, playing board games, doing hobbies, and watching TV together. The artificiality or the feeling that you’re having a “fathering appoint ment” will fade soon enough. Next, set aside a place in your house that’s just for your child, whether it’s a room, a corner, or a bookshelf. She needs to feel a connection to you and your house; she needs a regular reminder of the special bond between you two. Fourth, don’t force your values on your kids. By all means, talk about your beliefs and what’s important to you, but also realize that your kids may be getting a slightly different message from their mother. Unless they’re doing the kids harm, you’ll probably have to live with her ground rules. Don’t put down her system—it will create a lot of confusion for the children. This is especially impor tant in the areas of entertainment, behav ior, household rules, and traditions. Finally, be flexible and cooperative with your children’s mother. If she needs to change the arrangements this month, don’t refuse just to spite her. You aren’t obligated to do everything she wants you to, but your kids will benefit from seeing the two of you cooperate. And let me add this warning: The time may come when a child says, “I don’t want to go with you this time, Dad.” Your first thought might be, I’m losing my daughter, but you can’t listen to that voice. What’s really happening is that your child is changing, and that means the relationship is changing, too. As a child grows, she acquires new interests, relationships, and commit ments. Sometimes she’ll have other important things going on, and it’s time for a dad to be flexible and understand ing. It does no good to force her to come with you or make her feel guilty about it. Instead, just keep lines of communica tion open. Tell her, “Sweetheart, it’s hard because it seems we get so little time as it is. But I can live with that. I want you to know that I need to stay connected with you. You’re my daughter and I love seeing you.” Then, stay as involved as you can through whatever means are available — regular phone calls, e-mail, and letters. Maybe there will be other opportunities to spend time together. The most important thing is that your child and her well-being is still a top pri ority. How you’re involved may change, but as a committed dad, you’ll find a way to make it work.l
Parents: Making
This year 2022 marks Jamaica’s 60th Anniversary of political Independence, and 184 years since the Emancipation Declaration of 1838 affirmed full freedom for enslaved people of African descent in Jamaica. In recognition of these momentous anniver saries, Jamaicans from all walks of life have been enthusiastic in their support for the planned series of activities for the Jamaica 60 Independence celebrations, which will also commemorate our her itage and culture. Our journey over the past six decades as an independent country, is replete with examples of excellence in various sec tors, including in music, tourism and ath letics for which we are world-renowned. Our Diaspora members have always been an integral part of that experience and play a critical role in promoting “Brand Jamaica” on the world stage. We are grateful to our family overseas who con sistently promote, protect and preserve our social and cultural traditions and val ues.The Government of Jamaica recognizes the Diaspora as crucial partners and driv ers of Jamaica’s economic development. Jamaicans overseas represent a wealth of human, social and financial capital and are key actors and influencers bringing tremendous value to Jamaica. We are actively pursuing opportunities to chan nel this value into mutually beneficial policy initiatives. Our Diamond Jubilee is at a time when the global community is facing a number of challenges, including the continuing impact of COVID-19, the impacts of cli mate change, and the Ukraine/Russia conflict. These combined events have generated the greatest wave of global inflation in over forty years and have the potential to erode the gains achieved over time and delay the achievement of the targets we have set for ourselves, as rep resented by Vision 2030. However, Jamaicans are known for our resilience and for overcoming chal lenges. We are learning from the mis takes of our past, and we are taking the right actions to ensure Jamaica’s contin ued stability and the well-being of our people.In this regard, the Government is implementing sound fiscal policy meas ures to enable the country to safely navi gate the challenges with which we are confronted. At the same time, we have put in place several mechanisms for tar geted social intervention to cushion the effect on our vulnerable citizens. We are keeping our economy stable so Jamaicans can obtain and keep their jobs and our country can continue its develop ment agenda which, in the long run will be better, for our people. I invite all Jamaicans, at home and abroad, to participate in the transforma tion of Jamaica in the coming years, as we build on the experiences and achieve ments of the past sixty years. Your full engagement will ensure the success of these programs as we strive to build a better future for ourselves and for future generations.At60,we reflect on how far we have come and look forward at the opportuni ties we can create for the greater advancement of our people and country. We must be determined to transform Jamaica into a paradise of peace, oppor tunity, and prosperity. Let us therefore be reinspired and recommitted to our beau tiful island home as with your continued engagement and support, we reignite our nation for greatness.
PM Andrew Holness Editorial credit: Jamaica Gov’t
Happy 60th Anniversary Jamaica!l Go to www.cawnyc.com to read Jamaica 60 MessagesIndependencefromthe: -Governor-General of Jamaica -Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade -Minister of State in Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade -Consul General of Jamaica to New York
Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose. Fay. Isaias. Elsa. Henri. Ida. Carol. Edna. Connie. Diane. Donna. Agnes. Gloria. Floyd. Erin. Bob. Irene. Sandy. Joaquin. Hermine. Jose.
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IsaiasElsaHenriIdaCarolEdnaConnieDianeDonnaAgnesGloriaFay.VisitNYC.gov/knowyourzoneorcall311tofindyourzoneandlearnwhattodotoprepareforhurricanesinNYC.#knowyourzoneHurricanesdon’twait.Neithershouldyou.Preparetoday.
One immigration amendment offered by Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma would have given the Department of Homeland Security a symbolic $1,000,000 to continue Title 42 indefi nitely until 120 days after the COVID-19 public health emergency is terminated, something that is not likely to happen for years. Democrats managed to hold firm against this amendment and defeated it 50-50 by offering a second option for vulnerable members who have previous ly supported more modest extension of Title 42. That option was a vote for a modified version of a bipartisan bill Lankford had previously put forward with Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and other Senate moderates. That vote ulti mately failed as well, because it required a 60-vote threshold, allowing six vulner able Democratic senators to join with the Republican caucus and vote in favor, while knowing the amendment would notSomepass. Republican amendments were defeated without requiring Democrats to offer an alternative for their more vulner able members to be able to vote for instead. For example, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida offered an amendment which would block the hiring of any new Internal Revenue Service agents until the Border Patrol hired an additional 18,000 agents “over the top” of the agency’s cur rent total of nearly 20,000 agents. That amendment was defeated on a 50-50 vote.Other amendments aimed to strip out climate-related funding to DHS and replace it with funds for immigration enforcement. An amendment offered by Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee would have eliminated $500 million to DHS for climate resiliency and climate-changerelated disaster relief and replaced it with a $440 million slush fund for Immigration and Customs Enforcement that had to be spent in the next two months on deporting and arresting indi viduals who committed felonies. Another amendment would have stripped out the same climate funding and instead redi rected that money to building new border wall. Each of those amendments was defeated in Althoughturn.anti-immigrant measures were rejected throughout the night, many immigration advocates and affected com munity members expressed concerns about the lack of positive immigration amendments in the final bill, such as visa recapture and other legislative priorities. The next chance for many of those provi sions is an upcoming vote on the National Defense Authorization Act. The version of that bill that passed out of the House of Representatives contained pro tections for so-called “documented dreamers,” as well as increased support for Afghan evacuees and their families. With reconciliation no longer appearing to be a viable path forward for those pro visions, all eyes are now on other legisla tive vehicles that could finally lead to at least some minor immigration reform.
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IMMIGRATION
On Sunday after nearly 24 hours of deliberation, the Senate passed a historic budget recon ciliation package, known as the “Inflation Reduction Act,” that rejected a series of harsh immigration enforcement provisions and approved a myriad of federal programs climate change, tax enforcement, and healthcare. The version of the bill that was introduced did not include any positive immigration provi sions either, despite previous hopes last year a reconciliation bill might include immigration.
Senate Rejects Harmful Immigration Amendments to Inflation Reduction Act
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BY AARON REICHLIN-MELNICK
Senator Schumer. Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Senate Democrats held firm on voting against a mandatory extension of Title 42, as well as several other harmful immigration amendments.
Who Enforces Immigration Policy Anyway? executive branch to carry out immigra tionSincelaw.the executive branch is in charge of executing these laws, this power has been delegated to a hodgepodge of feder al administrative agencies and subagen cies led by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The DHS houses sub-agencies such as: •U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which receives and decides applications for immigration •U.S.benefits;Customs and Border Protection, which inspects individuals entering the country and detains those who enter without authorization; and •Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which arrests those who are found in the country without authorization.
The lack of a major overhaul in the United States’ immigration sys tem for roughly thirty years has created an ecosystem where states have attempted to insert their authority over immigration, especially when it comes to enforcement. Texas has made headlines with its tougher approach and outsized role in shaping America’s immigration enforcement policy, while some states have adopted policies to create more welcoming communities. So, when it comes to certain functions of immigra tion policy, it is worth asking “Whose role is it anyways?”
DHS can and does establish a host of reg ulations that supplement, but don’t super sede, the laws enacted by Congress. These “rules” guide the various DHS subagencies on how to apply and enforce the laws. Recently, for example, DHS published proposed rules that would change the way the agency processes applications for asylum. Beyond enforcement, the country’s sys tem of immigration courts is also under the purview of the executive branch, in this case the Department of Justice. The DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review makes decisions on who is allowed to remain in the country under the law and who should be removed. Immigration judges are technically employees of the Department of Justice; the United States does not have an inde pendent immigration court system. What role do states play in our com plex immigration system? States have a very limited role, but that has not stopped states like Texas from attempting to interject their own enforce mentStatemethods.andlocal law enforcement agen cies may cooperate with the federal gov ernment through voluntary programs like the “Secure Communities” and 287(g) continued on page 14
Over the last year, Texas has used the power of federal courts to stop the imple mentation of the Biden administration’s immigration enforcement priorities and put into effect its own plan to inspect traffic entering the country through ports-of-entry, a duty typically reserved for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). But while Texas is the most recent and visible example, the state is by no means alone in shaping policies that impact immigrants living in the United States; some states have opted to adopt laws that make them more welcoming to immigrants, while others have taken an anti-immigrant stance.
Editorial credit: Sundry Photography / Shutterstock.com
IMMIGRATION BY AMERICAN IMMIGRATION COUNCIL STAFF
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What is the role of the federal govern ment? The U.S. Supreme Court has made clear through cases like Arizona v. U.S. — which invalidated significant parts of SB 1070, a comprehensive Arizona law nicknamed the “show me your papers law” that sought to regulate several aspects of immigrants in the state — that the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the exclusive power to regu late immigration, not individual states. As one may recall from high school civics class, Congress is in charge of making the laws. Congress enacted the Immigration and Nationality Act, which regulates everything from the type of visas available to enter the country to the requirements for someone to become a U.S. citizen. This law empowers the
VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC!VISIT THE UPDATES, ENTERTAINMENT 14IMMIGRATION Orientation is Monday, September 12, 2022 Join us via Zoom at 6pm agreements. But these programs are vol untary. And due to the controversial nature of these programs, many commu nities throughout the country have imple mented policies that prohibit cooperation between local law enforcement and fed eral immigration authorities, because such cooperation uses state taxpayer dol lars for federal enforcement and ulti mately makes communities less safe.
Immigration Policy/ continued from page 13
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•Determineprofessionals;whocanaccess
Written by Leani Garcia Torres and Raul Pinto plaint with oversight agencies within the Department of Homeland Security not ing due process violations at this deten tion center, the Council filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to find out more about the agency’s treat ment of Haitian migrants detained at Torrance. The FOIA request asked the agency for records and data related to people detained at Torrance, including information about whether the agency granted detained individuals access to legal representatives and how ICE offi cers decided to release individuals on parole. When ICE did not produce the requested records, the Council sued under FOIA to compel ICE to release the records.Therecords should clarify what hap pened to Haitian nationals detained at Torrance and help advocates determine whether the agency discriminated against this vulnerable population.l
•Provide
•Determine
American Immigration Council Sues to Get Records of ICE’s Treatment of Haitian Nationals Facility
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
Beyond enforcement, state and local governments can pass laws and ordi nances that impact immigrant communi ties without veering into federal jurisdic tion, have the authority to grant employment authorization to immi grants, they do have the power to deter mine state professional and occupational licensing regulations, which can be used to reduce barriers for internationally trained state-funded social requirements for in-state tuition and state financial aid at public for non-REAL ID compliant state driver’s licenses and identification cards; what personal information to include in state data privacy laws, including immigration status; government, workforce devel opment, and small business services and information in languages other than •SupportEnglish; access to and navigation through the local primary K-12 school •Makesystem; legal assistance available for immigrants who are applying for natural ization or in removal proceedings; and Establish a city, county, or state level office of immigrant affairs to help new comers navigate their new home.
•Whileincluding:statesdon’t
•Determineuniversities;requirements
In the aftermath of the horrific scenes that surfaced last September showing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers violently arresting Haitian migrants attempting to cross the U.S.Mexico border, thousands of Haitian nationals were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Dozens were taken to the Torrance County Detention Facility, a detention center in a remote part of New Mexico notorious for its deplorable living condi tions.After partner organizations filed a com
Despite state and local government rhetoric and actions that seem geared toward generating headlines without actually addressing challenges, ultimate ly it is up to the federal government to address the most pressing immigration policies. But until Congress acts, states and local communities can continue to introduce policies that ensure all resi dents can belong and thrive.
•Determineprograms;residency
VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE! LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC! nHEALTH nENTERTAINMENT nRELATIONSHIPS nRECIPES nSPORTS nHOROSCOPE Sweet PeachesGrilled Peaches are spruced up with a little honey and a dash of cinnamon before being packaged into foil and cooked on the grill. As my husband says, these taste like a peach cobbler without the crust! K. Douglas, AllRecipes.com Ingredients 1 (16 ounce) package frozen peach slices ½ cup honey 2 tablespoons cinnamon Directions Step 1 Preheat a grill for medium heat. Step 2 Place peaches onto a large piece of alu minum foil. Use two if necessary to hold in all of the peaches without spillage. Drizzle the honey over the peaches, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Close up the foil, sealing tightly. KitchenCornerBrooklyn Get Ready: It’s Carnival, Time to Pump! Brooklyn, NY: Are you ready for the official New York Carnival Week 2022 presented by West Indian American Day Carnival Association (WIADCA)! Starting with our first partner event, ‘Vibes w/Voicey Concert’, last year was nice so we bring it back twice!!!!! New York Carnival Week continues with several events for all ages like Island 2 Island, Youth Fest & Junior Carnival Parade, Pan in A Minor, Paintopia Jouvert Fete and Amnesia that feature cultural Ambassadors represent ing the Caribbean! Join us in the ‘BIG YARD’, safe, lots of vibes and easy to get to - Get your tickets and updates today @ carnival.nyc! Follow WIADCA on FB and IG. Carnival Monday, WE HIT DI ROAD!!! Costumes, valid registrations and permits according to all rules and regulations are a must to participate, with safety and COVID ‘Mask-Up’ measures as priority. Visit carnival.nyc for“Thisupdates.year our return to the Parkway inspires us to continue the cultural work on behalf of our community, City, State and partners. Without them, the Mas’ and Pan groups especially, we would not be here today. Our losses were tough, but we stood stronger together to overcome by providing for others and producing sever al impactful community programs for youth, adults and seniors,” says Michelle Gibbs-Francis WIADCA Chair.l Step 3 Place the foil packet onto the preheated grill, and cook for 10 minutes, turning once halfway through. Carefully open the packet, and serve. Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 244 calories; protein 1g; carbohydrates 64.9g; fat 0.2g; sodium 8.9mg. l Prep: 5 mins Cook: 10 mins Total: 15 Servings:4mins Editor’s Note: My personal preference is fresh ripe peaches. Fresh peaches are sweet, juicy, and tender. Ripe peaches are a treat on their own, but this grilled peaches recipe makes them even sweeter! Top them with ice cream or nuts for a perfect sum mer dessert. Editorial credit:Marvel
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The biggest and most common scams happen online. Why? Because they’re hard to detect, and you usually don’t ever meet anyone in person or see any proper ty yourself except for in images. So, in this case, you’re probably better off going with known big gun companies when trying to rent vacation accommo dations online, because you just never know if the listing is legitimate or not. You may think you have found an incredible vacation deal or rental proper ty through a website, and then you are told by the scammer to submit a deposit (typically by wire transfer) in order to secure the deal. It isn’t unrealistic to believe that you’d have to put some kind of deposit down to hold a reservation, but if the listing isn’t real, there goes your money and your vacation down the tubes. Or the property doesn’t exist… sort of. Well, in a different way. When you arrive for your vacation getaway, the property may not be what was represented online. Scammers often use the same images in different property listings – so do your homework and look around. There are tips for scams if you just keep your eyes open. Research that name and number or information you are given when being asked to send money. If it leads to noth ing, it is nothing and doesn’t exist in the real world. But that’s the “beauty” of the online scam – it’s a virtual reality out there. You Won a Trip! In this scam, you are lured into believing you have won a free trip, but there is one thing that is needed to get your “free” trip moving. They just need you to pay the taxes, port charges, or travel fee first. Don’t believe it. If it’s free, it’s free; if it isn’t, well, it isn’t. Travel Clubs If you just cough up a membership fee for this travel club, the discounts will be remarkable. Again, we acquiesce to how this article opened – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You may be asked to pay additional charges for reser vations that make a discount meaning less or be constantly led to amazing deals that have somehow amazingly just sold out. Your luck with these kinds of “clubs” will be nothing but misfortune after misfortune. Free Timeshare Weekend Now, this scam takes patience on the part of the scammer. So let’s say you went on a free weekend to listen to a timeshare presentation. You didn’t buy in on the timeshare, and that was the end of that, right? You were not, after all, under any obligation. But then some time goes by, and you receive a phone call reminding you of that free weekend and the fact that you had signed an agreement to view a second timeshare presentation but failed to do so, and now you owe quite a bit of money because you are going to be charged for that weekend that was sup posed to be free. But not to worry. For a mere $250, they can stop the legal pro ceedings against you. Just hang up. Really people? And for goodness sakes, don’t ever sign anything you’re not sure of! Protect Yourself The best way to protect yourself from travel scams is if you pay for something ahead of time, do it with a credit card or PayPal. Both of these options simplify making a dispute of a fraudulent charge.l
ETN
We know the idiom: If it sounds too good to be true, it proba bly is. Yet, with summer’s end looming, many are rushing to fulfill their travel yearnings and may jump at the wrong chance for a deal that is too good to be true. Let the buyer beware of the travel scam!
Online Vacation Rentals
BY LINDA HOHNOLZ, EDITOR ETURBONEWS.COM
someone’s brother Stock photo. Posed by model. Stacy Young Board Certified Holistic Health Coach Tel: 917-459-8431 Contact: Are you looking to get into the health business?wellness&
As with most infections, other factors, such as the amount of viral exposure, type of contact and individual immune response, play a role in whether an infec tion takes hold. Is monkeypox an STI? While sexual encounters are currently the predominant mode of transmission among reported cases, monkeypox is not a sexually transmitted infection. STIs are spread primarily through sexual contact, while monkeypox can spread through any form of prolonged, close contact. Close contact that transmits the mon keypox virus involves encounters that are typically more intimate or involved than having a casual conversation or standing next to someone in an elevator. Transmission requires exchange of mucosal fluids or direct contact with the virus in sufficient quantity to seed an infection. This could occur through phys ical contact during kissing or cuddling. Because sexual encounters involve direct skin-to-skin physical contact where bodily fluids may be exchanged, these close encounters can transmit virus es more easily. Recently, monkeypox DNA has been detected in feces and var ious body fluids, including saliva, blood, semen and urine. But the presence of viral DNA does not necessarily mean that the virus can infect someone else. Transmission from these sources is still under investigation. As the virus moves through popula tions, public health officials focus on get ting the message out to the most at-risk and hardest hit communities about how to stay safe. Currently, breaking the transmission chain among sexual con tacts is a priority, including but not limit ed to MSM communities. Targeted mes saging is meant to protect the health of a specific group, not to stigmatize the intended audience. Other modes of transmission may play a greater role outside the MSM commu nity. Household transmission, where individuals may come into close contact with infected people or contaminated items, is one of the most common types of exposure. Research is ongoing into the potential airborne and respiratory droplet spread of monkeypox in the current situ ation.
BY REBECCA S.B. FISCHER THE CONVERSATION
Understanding what’s currently known about how monkeypox is transmitted and ways to protect yourself and others from infection can help reduce the spread of the virus. How is this outbreak different from prior ones?
STI and What Counts as Close Contact continued on page
VISIT WWW.CAWNYC.COM FOR THE LATEST CARIBBEAN NEWS, IMMIGRATION UPDATES, VIEWPOINTS, ENTERTAINMENT & MORE!LIKE US ON FACEBOOK @CAWNYC! 17HEALTH How Does Monkeypox Spread? An Epidemiologist Explains Why It Isn’t an
Monkeypox is caused by a virus that, despite periodic out breaks, is not thought to spread easily from person to person and histori cally has not spurred long chains of trans mission within communities. Now, many researchers are left scratching their heads as to why monkeypox seems to be prop agating so readily and unconventionally in the current global outbreak.
The monkeypox virus typically spreads through direct contact with respiratory secretions, such as mucus or saliva, or skin lesions. Skin lesions traditionally appear soon after infection as a rash –small pimples or round papules on the face, hands or genitalia. These lesions may also appear inside the mouth, eyes and other parts of the body that produce mucus. They can last for several weeks and be a source of virus before they are fully healed. Other symptoms usually include fever, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue and headache. I am an epidemiologist who studies emerging infectious diseases that cause outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics.
The current monkeypox epidemic is a bit unusual in a few ways. First, the sheer scope of the current epi demic, with over 25,000 cases worldwide as of early August and in countries where the virus has never appeared, sets it apart from previous outbreaks. Monkeypox is endemic to specific areas in central and western Africa, where cases occur spo radically and outbreaks are usually con tained and quickly burn out. In the cur rent outbreak, global spread has been rapid. Young men, mostly ages 18 to 44, account for the majority of cases, and over 97% identify as men who have sex with men (MSM). Some superspreading events associated with air travel, interna tional gatherings and multiple-partner sexual encounters contributed to early transmission of the virus.
Second, the way symptoms are appear ing may facilitate spread among people who don’t yet know they are infected. Most patients reported mild symptoms without fever or swollen lymph nodes, symptoms that typically appear before a skin rash is visible. While most people do develop skin lesions, many reported hav ing only a single papule that was often obscured inside a mucosal area, such as inside the mouth, throat or rectum, mak ing it easier to miss.
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A number of people reported no symp toms at all. Asymptomatic infections are more likely to go undiagnosed and unre ported than those with symptoms. But it is not yet known how asymptomatic indi viduals may be contributing to spread or how many asymptomatic cases may be undetected so far. Who is at risk of getting monkeypox? For most people, the risk of getting mon keypox is currently low. Anyone who has prolonged, close contact with an infected person is at risk, including partners, par ents, children or siblings, among others. The most common settings for transmis sion are within households or health care settings.Because of sustained transmission within the community of men who have sex with men, they are considered an atrisk group, and targeted recommenda tions can help allocate resources and limit transmission. While monkeypox is spreading primarily among MSM, this does not mean that the virus will remain confined to this group or that it won’t jump to other social networks. The virus itself has no regard for age, gender, eth nicity or sexual orientation. Anyone who comes into direct contact with the monkeypox virus is at risk of being infected. New cases are recorded daily, with additional countries and regions reporting their first cases and already affected countries observing a continued rise in infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has further guidance on how to control monkeypox spread in both household settings and shared living facilities.Lastly, getting vaccinated as soon as possible can still protect you from severe illness even if you’ve already been infected.
Spread?/ continued from page 17 GREEN CARD SLAVERY? Don’t put up with ABUSE anymore! Whether married or
The Executive Order specifically extends the pool of eligible individuals who can administer monkeypox vac cines, including EMS personnel, phar macists and midwives; allows physicians and certified nurse practitioners to issue non patient specific standing orders for vaccines; and requires providers to send vaccine data to the New York State Department of Health. The announcement builds on New York State's ongoing response efforts on mon keypox, including efforts to secure more vaccines, expand testing capacity, and distribute the latest information and resources to New Yorkers. Yesterday, Governor Hochul announced that the federal government had secured an addi tional 110,000 vaccine doses, resulting in a total of 170,000 doses to New Yorkers to date. Governor Hochul and the Department of Health are continuing their ongoing coordination with White House, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Administration for Strategic Preparedness & Response (ASPR) to ensure that New York continues to receive its fair share of vaccine supply as soon they are available, especially for those New Yorkers in communities with high transmission rates.
HEALTH State Disaster Emergency for Ongoing Monkeypox Outbreak
Outbreaks are dynamic situations that evolve over time, which is why public health messages may change as the epi demic progresses. Not every outbreak looks or behaves the same way – even pathogens seen in previous outbreaks can be different the next time around. As researchers learn more about how the disease is transmitted and identify changes in patterns of spread, public health officials will provide updates about specific forms of contact, behav iors or other factors that could increase infection risk. While changing guidelines can be frustrating or confusing, keeping up to date with the latest recommenda tions can help you protect yourself and stay safe. What do I do if I’ve been exposed to monkeypox?
Anyone who has been infected can help contain spread by isolating from others, including pets. Covering skin lesions, wearing a mask in shared spaces and decontaminating shared surfaces or items, such as bed linens, dishes, clothes or towels, can also reduce spread. You can also help interrupt the trans mission chain by participating in contact tracing, notifying public health officials of others who may have been exposed through you, which is a basic tenet and common practice of disease control.
Recently, New York State Commissioner of Health Dr. Mary T. Bassett declared monkeypox an Imminent Threat to Public Health (ITPH) in New York State. NYSDOH launched a new SMS-text notification effort to deliver the latest monkeypox information directly to New Yorkers. New Yorkers can sign up for text messages—which will include alerts about cases, symp toms, spread, and resources for testing and vaccination—by texting "MON KEYPOX" to 81336 or "MONKEY POXESP" for texts in Spanish. By pro viding a zip code, New Yorkers can also opt-in for location-based messages.
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Rebecca S.B. Fischer is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Texas A&M University
Gov.Hochul. Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
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Governor Kathy Hochulrecently issued an Executive Order declaring a State Disaster Emergency in response to the ongoing monkeypox outbreak. The Executive Order enables the state to respond more swiftly to the outbreak and allows health care professionals to take additional steps that will help get more New Yorkers
"Aftervaccinated.reviewing the latest data on the monkeypox outbreak in New York State, I am declaring a State Disaster Emergency to strengthen our aggressive ongoing efforts to confront this out break," Governor Hochul said. "More than one in four monkeypox cases in this country are in New York State, and we need to utilize every tool in our arsenal as we respond. It's especially important to recognize the ways in which this out break is currently having a dispropor tionate impact on certain at-risk groups. That's why my team and I are working around the clock to secure more vac cines, expand testing capacity and responsibly educate the public on how to stay safe during this outbreak."
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Passion and commitment are widely believed to be the foundation of strong romantic relationships. But a relationship is made of two unique individuals, and personality traits these individuals possess or lack can often make a relationship more likely to endure.Ina2019 study, we found that one trait in particular – humility – is an important indicator of successful relationships.
BY TONI KRISTINEANTONUCCIJ.AJROUCH NOAH J.
This Trait Could Be Key to a Lasting Romance
The link between humility and for giveness Humility appears to be a huge asset to relationships. One study found that peo ple tend to rate this quality highly in their significant other. It also found that some one who is humble is more likely to ini tiate a romantic relationship, perhaps because they’re less likely to see them selves as “too good” for someone else. But in our study, we wanted to explore the link between humility and forgive ness in Humilitycouples.istricky to measure; we wor ried that people who were arrogant might presumptuously declare their humility, while people who were actually humble would, as a sign of their humility, down play this trait. So we approached this question by ask ing each partner in a romantic relation ship about their own and their partner’s humility. We hoped that even if a truly humble person didn’t consider them selves humble, at least their partner would recognize this trait. We asked 284 couples questions about how humble they were, how humble they thought their partner was and if they were likely to forgive their partner if they did something that was hurtful, like insulting them. We found that people who felt their partner or spouse was humble were more likely to forgive them following a hurtful situation. This wasn’t true, however, of those who felt their partner or spouse was arrogant. Many of our respondents with arrogant partners indicated that because their partners were less likely to admit to any personal failings, they were less like ly forgive Interestingly,them.the strength of an individ ual’s social network can play a role too. If someone has a humble partner, they’re more likely to forgive that person. If someone has a lot of close, supportive friends and a humble partner, they’ll be even more likely to forgive that partner after he or she has screwed up. But if your partner is arrogant, it doesn’t matter how many great friends the couple has, they’ll still be less likely to be forgiven. The ability to forgive is so important because pain is an inevitable part of any relationship. People mess up. They might say something they don’t mean, be unknowingly inconsiderate or forget an important event. So when looking for a partner, it’s probably a good idea to find someone who recognizes that making mistakes is part of being human.
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An honest view of shortcomings Humility can sometimes be confused with low self-esteem, low confidence or meekness.Butresearchers have come to realize that being humble generally indicates the presence of deeply admirable personal qualities. It means you have the ability to accurately assess your deficiencies with out denying your skills and strengths. For example, you might recognize that you’re smart but realize it would be absurd to call yourself all-knowing –especially when the scope of human knowledge is so vast. This is an honest and sober view of your shortcomings. As the philosopher Jason Baehr has argued, “To be humble is to be attentive to and disposed to ‘own’ one’s limita tions, weaknesses, and mistakes. A hum ble person does not ignore, avoid, or try to deny her limits or deficiencies.” If you’re humble, you lack a host of negative qualities, such as arrogance and overconfidence. It means you can acknowledge mistakes, see value in things that are riddled with imperfections and identify areas for improvement.
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WEBSTER THE CONVERSATION
GENERATIONS
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Dementia
Nearly 40% of older adults may experience brain damage caused by Limbic-predominant Agerelated TDP-43 Encephalopathy (LATE), a form of dementia that is often mistaken for Alzheimer’s disease, according to an NIA-supported study recently published in Acta Neuropathologica. These results — based on autopsy, genetic, and clinical data — provide further support for the recognition of LATE as a separate-fromAlzheimer’s, commonly occurring dementia.Atfirst glance, LATE looks a lot like Alzheimer’s. It mainly affects older adults and initially causes problems with thinking, learning, and remembering. However, in recent years, when scientists have examined the autopsied brains of dementia patients, they have noticed that some have a hallmark of damage that is different from the ones typically seen in Alzheimer’s.Specifically, they found that the brains of people who experience LATE can be distinguished by clusters of TDP-43, a protein that normally may play several roles in gene activity. These abnormal clusters were first noted in frontotempo ral dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which are rare neurodegenera tive Indisorders.thisstudy, a team of researchers from around the world tried to estimate how many older adults may experience LATE. Led by scientists at the University of Kentucky and Rush Medical College in Chicago, the team analyzed the data of 6,196 subjects who participated in 13 community- or population-based aging studies conducted in a total of five coun tries. Similar to public opinion polls, community- or population-based studies attempt to sample a representative swath of a given population. In alignment with previous studies, ini tial results showed that dementia is com mon in older adults. The data showed that 42% of the participants had been diagnosed with dementia and about 14% with mild cognitive impairment, a condi tion that causes memory and thinking problems that may lead to dementia. In contrast, 43% showed no signs of demen tia.An analysis of the brain autopsy data found that almost 40% of the participants had hallmark TDP-43 clusters, indicating they may have had LATE. The results also suggest that the damage that occurs during LATE may be even more common in people who also have Alzheimer’s. Nearly half of the participants who had high levels of amyloid plaques, a hall mark of Alzheimer’s, also had TDP-43 clusters. In contrast, only 27% of partici pants who had no or low levels of plaques also had the clusters. Much of the data from the U.S. subjects was collected at 10 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs), an NIAfunded nationwide network of researchers that works to translate research advances into improved diagno sis and care for people with Alzheimer’s. Overall, the results support the idea that recognizing LATE as a common and dis tinct disorder may ultimately help researchers better understand and devel op precise treatments for those who experience dementia. The results also highlight the value of participation in brain donation studies, such as those con ducted by the NIA ADRCs.
l National Institute on Aging
Nearly 40% of Older Adult Brains Studied Showed Signs of Alzheimer’s-like LATE
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Portia Simpson-Miller Dame Hon Eugenia Charles PM Hon Mia MottleyHon Kamla Persad-Bissessar WikipediaPhotos:
We’re gathering input from all 5 boroughs on the new city council lines that will impact your neighborhood for the next decade. How to participate: ■ Attend a public hearing in person or virtually: 8/16 5:30 – 9 pm Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria 8/17 5:30 – 9 pm Lehman College, The Bronx 8/18 5:30 – 9 pm Staten Island Borough Hall 8/21 3:30 – 7 pm Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn 8/22 5:30 – 9 pm Schomberg Center, Harlem Visit nyc.gov/districting for interactive maps and more information ■ Email us your thoughts to: PublicTestimony@redistricting.nyc.gov ■ Call the Commission: 212.676.3090 BY SIR RONALD SANDERS
Hon
CONVERSATIONS
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Electing a Woman Leader – a Long and Winding Road
Sir Ronald Sanders is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and the Organization of American States. Take part in NYC’s redistricting process.
The fight for the post of leader of the ruling Conservative Party in Britain and for the presidency of the United States is bringing the question of women and race into sharp focus. The fact that women – and non-white women – are strong contenders for lead ership, in Britain and the US, demon strates a remarkable advance in both countries, where women endured many indignities, including imprisonment, in the fight for equality of treatment and the right to compete with men for any and all positions.Theactive involvement of non-white women is an even greater indication of the maturing political elite in these coun tries, although real equity and equality is yet to be achieved. In Britain, the election of Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May to the leader ship of the Conservative Party and the prime ministership, smashed that glass ceiling. A white woman becoming leader and prime minister is no longer an issue for the Conservative Party. But the issue of a non-white woman, becoming party leader and prime minister, still might be. Among the eight candidates who sought the leadership of the Conservative Party, after Boris Johnson was forced to announce his intention to step down, four were women of whom two are non-white – Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman. Badenoch parents are Nigerian. She was elected to parliament in 2017 and has served in three government positions, the most recent one being minister of state for local government, faith and commu nities and minister of state for equalities. Despite her immigrant background (or maybe, because of it), she voted for Britain to leave the European Union, describing it as “the greatest ever vote of confidence in the project of the United Kingdom”.Braverman is the child of immigrants of Indian origin; her father and mother moved to Britain from Kenya and Mauritius respectively. Despite this, she was also strongly in favor of Britain leav ing the EU. As attorney-general of England and Wales from 2020, until she too resigned to run for the top Conservative Party post, she pledged to withdraw Britain from the European Convention on Human Rights, to “stop the small boats” and crack down on refugees crossing the English Channel. She also expressed the intention to aban don climate change action in its entirety. Countries which are victims of Climate Change must have breathed a sigh of relief when Braverman was eliminated from the leadership contest. Her depar ture leaves only Badenoch as the nonwhite woman in the race, which has whittled down to five candidates, and appears to be heading to a showdown between a white woman, Penny Mordaunt – the current minister of trade – and a man of Asian origin, Rishi Sunak, the former treasury minister. Badenoch is likely to be eliminated in the next round of voting but, depending on which of the remaining contenders she backs, she could place herself in position for a sen ior cabinet post. The winner of the vote for the Conservative Party leadership will be decided on September 5, when one of the final two contestants will be chosen by about 180,000 Conservative Party mem bers from across the country. That group will consist mostly of white males. Their choice will be between a non-white man and a white woman. Their decision will be a telling measure of how far the Conservative Party has gone in overcom ing racial bigotry on the one hand and prejudice against women on the other. It is remarkable that the leadership of the Labor Party in Britain, long the favored party of immigrants, especially from the West Indies, remains firmly male dominant. Although of its 200 elected members, 104 are women of whom 41 are non-white, the leadership is mostly white and male. In the United States, although nine other non-white women have run for president on behalf of obscure political parties, only two were seriously consid ered. Shirley Chisholm sought the Democratic Party nomination in 1972 and Kamala Harris in 2020. They were both eliminated. And while, many white women contested for nominations as vice president, only two of them were select ed – Geraldine Anne Ferraro in 1984 for the Democratic Party and Sarah Palin in 2008 for the Republicans. Kamala Harris was the first woman of any color to be selected as vice president. Campaigning for the 2024 presidential elections has already started among the political elite and kingmakers in the US. So far, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Cheney of the Republican Party look like contenders, but neither of them is a fore gone conclusion to win the nomination of their parties. In the Caribbean, five women have held the post of head of government in Dominica, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. But consider ing women for party and government leadership is not a norm in the Caribbean. Eugenia Charles of Dominica, Janet Jagan of Guyana, Mia Mottley of Barbados, Kamla Persad Bissessar and Portia Simpson Miller were exceptions. They were strong per sonalities with deep involvement in elec toral politics in their countries, but, more so, in the politics within their own politi calAllparties.fivewomen endured slurs and other calumnies to achieve leadership of their parties and countries. In large part, what aided their triumph over male contempt was their political grit – a much-needed quality for women in politics. Of course, in other parts of the world, for instance India, Israel, Chile, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Germany and Sweden, women have been elected as party leaders and heads of govern ment; but unlike the US and Britain, these women did not have to overcome racial prejudice as well. Progress is being made in breaking down institutional bias against women in international politics, but male bigotry and racial prejudice remains alive and well in domestic politics. It may well be the determining factor in the Conservative Party’s vote for a new leader and prime minister, and for the presidential contenders in the US. The road to true equality remains long with many a winding turn. l
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