Category Archives: Freedom

Center for Freedom & Prosperity co-founder Dan Mitchell discusses how the U.S. student loan debt reached a record $1.465 trillion last month and how it may affect the economy.

Quenton and Marchelle Ross thought they would never pay off their debt.

After college, their student loans came up to nearly $120,000 three-and-a-half times the national average for college grads in their 30s, and five times that of grads in their 20s.

Still, they were determined to try.

The couple, originally from Detroit, decided to stay local for school. Quenton, now 33, double majored in telecommunications and criminal justice at Michigan State University. And Marchelle, 28, took up secondary education at the University of Detroit, Mercy, where she got her bachelors before earning her masters in educational administration.

When Quenton graduated in 2008, his loans totaled around $40,000 before interest. When Marchelle graduated in 2016, her undergrad and post-grad loans were about $77,000.

Together, they owed roughly $118,000. And while they both received scholarships in high school that went toward their college education, it didnt make much of a dent in the debt.

I never really heard about [people paying off their student loans] too much, Quenton told Fox Business. My mom had loans for, like, 20 years after she graduated. It was just kind of something that you assumed would always linger around and never go away.

So that's kind of how I looked at it.

Quenton and Marchelle Ross paid off nearly $1200,000 in student loan debt in less than 3 years.

Thats until the couple, who got married in 2015, decided to try and beat the odds.

It all boiled down to freedom, Quenton said. I didn't want to work my entire life and always have to pay bills. I wanted to get to a point to where I was able to live freely and comfortably and not say, I have to work a full-time job when I'm 60, 70 years old.

That was our driving force. It wasn't just the debt. It was really a bigger factor for us.

Marchelle agreed: We talked about a lot of very serious things in our relationship so that we were on the same page, she told Fox Business. We were very clear on what we wanted: We wanted to sacrifice young so we could enjoy life when we got older.

It wasnt until after school, though, that they started paying back. And not all at once, either.

I always paid the minimum balance because I was conscious of maintaining good credit, Quenton said, but I didn't really know how interest worked. Plus, a lot of the advice he got from advisors and peers was to apply for deferment and stay on for as long as possible.

Thats what he did, unaware that interest began accruing immediately after graduation with rates as high as 7% or more on Plus loans, according to the U.S. Treasury.

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Marchelle paid back a bit during undergrad, but it was just the minimum, she said, and due to high interest, my amount was going up, not down. So, I deferred when I went back.

It was frustrating, she added. But we knew this could not go on forever.

The coupleleaned on some reliable mentors they met during school,andfinancial expert Dave Ramseys The Total Money Makeover, a book that changed our mentality on how paying the debt was possible, Quenton said.

They implemented the snowball method, where they paid the smallest loan first, then moved on to the next largest one after a strategyused by Danny and Amber Masters, who racked up $600,000 in student loans and paid $200,000 in a year, and Redd Horrocks, a self-employed voiceover artist, who paid $39,000 in debt in 5 years.

With the first check of the month, Quenton said, we would make sure we had money for mortgage, the utilities, everything else, and then with the second check of the month, we would put toward whatever loan we were focusing on at that time.

It helped that Quenton owned a business, Q11 Photography, which opened in 2017, and inaddition to his full-time job as a director of a production at a broadcasting company, generated a good deal of income. He estimates he was bringing in about $100,000 a year.

Marchelle, who was a teacher at the time, was making around $50,000.

Despite their combined $150,000 income, the couple still took steps to cut back on their expenses and focus on their debt, frequently asking themselves, What do we spend daily, or weekly, on things we dont need? What are our shopping habits?"Quenton recalled. That's something we took a hard look at.

I didn't even go to the barbershop the entire time, he said. I learned to cut my own hair.

They reevaluated their grocery budget, too, Marchelle added, like, OK, lets eat out less and only shop for what we need to cook for the next couple of days instead of buying food that goes to waste. And the money we saved by doing that would go toward our debt.

As well, she said, even though Im a social person, I would say, Why don't you come to my house and I can cook as opposed to going out and paying exponentially more. Let's get something that costs $4 versus $25."

In 29 months, the debt was gone.

Unlike the Ross, a striking 60% of student debt borrowers dont expect to pay off their loans until their 40s, according to research from Citizens Financial Group.

And while the couplewasable to erase their debt, they acknowledge it wasnt easy.

It irritated me the way interest works, Quenton said. There would be times where I would make a $300 payment, $400 payment in between regular monthly payments and be expecting a huge difference in the amount we owed. But so much of that extra money was going toward interest and not principle. A lot of times youd want to say, Man, just skip this. We can take this money and put it toward something that could breed immediate results.

But they kept at it, and now that their debt is gone, they want to focus on more important things, like taking vacations together, donating to charity, buying property and funding thephotography business. Plus, Quenton said, I can finally go to the barbershop.

Above all, though, they wanted to be able to start a family.

Our main goal was not to birth a child into debt, Quenton said. So, whenever we have a baby they won't be adding to an insurmountable debt they had nothing to do with."

"Now we can stick our chests out as husband and wife say we can do that, Marchelle added, "and God gets the glory. We worked hard but we couldn'thave done it without faith."

Their advice to those struggling to pay down debt: Do the work.

We tell everybody that there are no shortcuts, Quenton said. We don't want you to have a 5-minute conversation with us and then think you have some master plan. Read the books, study, learn the nuances of interest and paying debt. Talking to us, you'll find out what works for us. But by doing the work, you'll find out what will work for you.

When I think about the value of college, he added, I tell people that a degree doesn't prove you learned a lot in class, instead, it shows that you were able to matriculate through a structured system for four years, while having the freedom to do whatever you wanted.

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And paying off debt is almost thesame: You have to commit to the process while having the freedom to spend your money on other things. You have to read on your own, study on your own and understand that everything matters. Even the small payments you think are irrelevant are needed and will be applied toward reaching your end goal.

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It all boiled down to freedom: How a Michigan couple paid off $120,000 in student loans in less than 3 years - Fox Business

Supporters of the Austrian Freedom Party wave flags at the Viktor-Adler-Markt in Vienna on Friday.

Michael Gruber/Getty Images

Austrias Sunday general elections ended not with a whimper but with a bang for the populist, far-right Freedom Party Austria (FP): Its support dropped from 26 percent to 16.2 percent as compared with the previous election held in October 2017. The party electorate shrank from 1.3 million voters in 2017 to about 769,000 in 2019, with 258,000 former FP votes switching to the center-right Austrian Peoples Party (VP), headed by former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. More than 235,000 disgruntled FP voters opted not to head to the polls at all on Election Day.

A party that only two years ago looked set to become Austrias strongest political force has now been relegated to third place, behind the center-left Social Democratic Party of Austria (SP), which in turn suffered its worst electoral defeat since the end of World War II. Does this mark the beginning of the end of the ascendancy of Austrias far right? Indeed, could Austria be the test station (Versuchsstation), to paraphrase the Austrian writer Karl Kraus, for the long-term decline of Europes other populist, far-right parties?

Hardly. The real takeaway from Sundays election is the incredible resilience of the FP, which does not bode well for those thinking that the far right will cease to be a factor in European politics in the decades ahead.

The FP promotes itself as the chief protector of Austrian identity and social welfare, both under siege by an influx of foreigners. Once untouchable in mainstream Austrian politics, it formed a government with Kurzs center-right party after its impressive showing in 2017. Its most recent fall from grace is less a sign of voters turning away from the far right than the result of very specificand likely temporarycircumstances.

The partys recent troubles began in May when longtime leader Heinz-Christian Strache was secretly filmed in Ibiza discussing favors with a purported Russian investor. The ensuing corruption scandal (Ibiza-gate) led to the end of the VP-FP coalition government and Straches resignation as both vice chancellor of Austria and party head. He remained a party member until this week, when he announced that he would suspend his membership due to an investigation by the authorities into his suspected embezzling of party funds, which purportedly financed Strache and his wifes lavish lifestyle. The allegations came to light only a few days prior to the election.

The purported misuse of party funds, strongly denied by StracheThese are all sleazy and made-up lies of a criminal network, he said in a Facebook postappears to have been the last straw for the FP leadership. For months after Ibiza-gate, Norbert Hofer, the new party leader, and his second in command, former Interior Minister Herbert Kickl (who has been engulfedin a political scandal of his own involving Austrias civilian domestic intelligence agency), were undermined by Straches inability to stay out of the spotlight, thanks to his frequent Facebook posts railing against the conspirators and secret networks he blames for his downfall, and also vicariously criticizing the new party leadership.

In an effort to dig themselves out of the crisis, Hofer and Kickl have taken on a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde division of labor, with the former assuming the role of conciliatory, moderate statesman advocating for a continuation of the coalition government, and the latter serving up the partys traditional xenophobic, anti-establishment rhetoric for the far-right base.

It was an uphill battle for multiple reasons. First, far-right parties in Europe historically have been supported by the tabloid press. In Austria, the tabloids, especially the sensationalist Krone Zeitung, continue to have the ability to influence elections with their editorial endorsements. Up until May, the Krone Zeitung was a supporter of the FP. The Ibiza video, however, showed Strache suggesting to a woman he believed to be the niece of a Russian oligarch that she buy a stake in the newspaper to gain even more favorable campaign coverage for the far right in exchange for lucrative government contracts. Despite Hofers attempt to reconcile with the Krone Zeitung, the paper, seeing its editorial independence threatened, turned against the party. (On election night, the Krone Zeitung sent out a five-letter tweetSorryunder which a screenshot of the Ibiza video was attached with a quote from Strache: If this outlet suddenly starts pushing us, then we wont be making 27 but 34 percent.)

Second, with the loss of Strache, the party also lost its more effective communications tool: his Facebook page. Over the years, the party built this into one of the countrys most influential online platforms, with more than 780,000 subscribers. (In comparison, the Krone Zeitung had a print circulation of about 790,000 in 2018.) Following his ouster in May, Strache refused to relinquish editorial control over the page and continues to treat it as his own personal website. This severely curtailed the FPs ability to directly communicate with and mobilize its supporters.

Third, as an anti-establishment party that thrived under a perceived ostracization by the Austrian political elite, Hofers tactic of openly advocating for joining a new coalition government undercut a crucial component of past FP campaigns: the victimization narrative. The FP, from its inception as a political faction openly representing exNazi Party members, saw itself as the principal victim of the political power-sharing system set up by the center right and center left during most of the postwar era. During its time in government, the FP was busy becoming part of this system by installing its party members and affiliates in senior positions within the federal bureaucracy and state-owned private sector. It could no longer claim to be a victim of the system.

Fourth, external political events were not as favorable in 2019 as they were in 2017. Immigration, or rather the fear thereof, was the top concern of Austrian (and European) voters in the wake of the 2015 European migrant crisis and an uptick in Islamic Stateinspired terrorist attacks in Europe. The FP, traditionally standing for a law-and-order approach, tough immigration laws, and anti-Muslim rhetoric, was more easily able to rally its supporters around identity politics. In 2019, no single issue dominated the election as much, although environment and climate protection topped the list with 33 percent. This benefited the Austrian Green Party, which scored its biggest electoral success in its history, claiming over 14 percent of votes, but it was not a winning issue for the FP. Hofer, as former minister for transport, innovation, and technology, advocated for raising the speed limit on the Autobahn, while Strache has repeatedly questioning of the science behind climate change.

Last, the party was deeply damaged by the recent revelations of Straches extravagant lifestyle. The FP calls itself the Social Heimat Party. Heimat has no English equivalent but is perhaps best translated as homelandthe idyllic world of yore in which Austrianness is defined as abiding by traditional conservative values and supporting for the kleine mann (little man) over the business and political elite of the country. To see one of their own engage in perceived elite behaviora post about the expensive handbags of Straches wife, Philippa, seemed to have a struck a particular discordant notewas a bitter pill for many supporters to swallow. The handbags may in fact have done more than Ibiza-gate to achieve the demobilization of large chunks of the FP electorate.

VP strategists were happy to let the party undermine itself. Kurz toned down his rhetoric against the FP following the recent revelations. Like Muhammad Ali in the last two seconds of his legendary fight against George Foreman in 1974, Kurz could passively watch the FP go down without the need for a final knockout punch.

Nonetheless, the future will be brighter for the FP than what many currently suspect.

Sundays election showed that the FP has expanded its core support from 10 percent in 2002 to 15 or 16 percent in 2019. Under the leadership of Strache, supported by a core team consisting of members of German nationalist fraternities called Burschenschaften, the once-divided party developed a unified far-right, populist message. Despite the ongoing fights over style and personal behavior, there are no longer ideological differences within the party.

At its heart, the FP remains a populist opposition party that will continue to capture the sentiments of many of those who feel like they have lost due to globalization. Promoting its particular brand of Heimat identity politics, the party will keep on playing on the fears of a large segment of Austrian society regarding illegal immigration and its impact on the pensions, as well as the health care systems and job security of Austrians. The party will be helped by a perceived inability of the other parties to address these politically incorrect issues. Simplified, populist slogans rather than concrete policy proposals were what made the party appealing in the first place. Consequently, following the dismal results on Sunday, the FP leadership was quick to announce that it will assume its traditional role as an opposition party and not seek a new coalition government with the VP. While this position may possibly change in the coming months, the FP will without a doubt be able to attract many a disgruntled voter unhappy with the current state of affairs once the current scandals blow over.

In addition, the Ibiza-gate scandal has not only hurt the credibility of the FP but all political parties and politicians. It seemed to have confirmed the assumption of a large chunk of the electorate that all politicians engage in corrupt practices and tell lies in one form or the other. The recent election campaign in that regard appears to have further confirmed this notion, as it was largely dominated by an assortment of half-truths and double talk, including disgraceful behavior by both the VP and SP when it came to campaign financing. As a result of the lack of VP-SP transparency, it will be easier for the FP to weather and recoup from any future scandals by pointing out that the whole system is rigged.

The majority of the Austrian political commentariat over the past few days has been advocating for a coalition between the Kurzs VP and the Green Party. Should Kurz enter into a coalition government with the Greens, he will no longer be able to pursue his center-right populism-lite, including his tough stance on illegal immigration, that attracted FP voters. Consequently, these voters are bound to return to the FP. In turn, should Kurz form a coalition with the SP, reviving the so-called grand coalition that governed Austria for most of the years since 1945, the FP will attack Kurzs credibility as a reformer.

Should Kurz decide to once again enter into a coalition with the FPunlikely, but possiblethe far right may have more leverage over the future chancellor than one would suspect. Given his rocky tenure so far, Kurz cannot afford another federal election in two years time. His desperation to avoid one could be exploited by the FP during negotiations for a new coalition government, while the reduced size of the FP could also guarantee the party plausible deniability in front of voters when it comes to the unpopular policies of the Kurz government.

It is important to understand that current economic and political trends still favor the far right. While its perhaps not on the winning side of history in the long run, the FP will continue to represent a sizable bloc of voters in the foreseeable future. Ostracization, as the past decades have shown, is no longer an option, and it will only fuel the partys growth.

Herein lies the dilemma of the Austrian political establishment: Engaging the partys voters will be key to guaranteeing democratic stability in the long run. But allowing the FP to reenter the government will almost certainly cause a new political scandal a few months down the road. In that sense, as the journalist Armin Wolf recently noted, Kurz and the political establishment are caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

Link:

Austrias Election Wasnt the Beginning of the End of the Far Right - Slate

New York, New York, USA - March 28, 2019: The Wework location on 40th street near 6th Avenue.

Think of coworking just now and youll likely think of WeWorkit doesnt feel possible to get through a day without an article on the company, their model and their impending IPO clogging up one of your social newsfeeds.

But what if the future of coworking is less about working from a single location and more about easy access to multiple co-working spaces, no matter the town, city or country you end up in? Or whether or not there is a WeWork or The Office Group in town!

Its this future that newly launched Desana is working towards. Theyre on a mission to enable freelancers and business travelers to experience a huge variety of unique spaces with a single membership.

Their newly launched U.K.-focused subscription-driven app is designed to give freelancers and digital nomads easy access to coworking spaces no matter the city they find themselves in or the type of space they want to work in.Whilst WeWork and The Office Group already offer this service for their members it is limited only to their own office spaces whereas Desana gives access to a wide range of spaces that arent normally easy to access if youre only looking to work for a couple of hours. Perfect for those times when you end up in cities and towns that dont have a WeWork or The Office Group building, for example, Glasgow or currently Edinburgh.

Whilst coworking has been around for a long time, you could even claim Regus was a coworking company, the explosion in spaces doesnt seem to be slowing down. In London its now claimed that a new coworking space opens every 5 daysso its no shock there are now businesses making aggregation platforms like Desana.

The leader in the space is Croissant who have built up a network of hundreds of locations in 32 cities but seems to be focusing primarily on major cities. Another approach is that ofWorkclubwho allow bars and restaurants to turn their spaces into coworking locations during downtime.

Their initial launch across the U.K. has been backed by Scottish VC firm, Techstart with a 550,000 seed round that was announced a couple of weeks ago and is sizeable for a Scottish early-stage company.

On the launch of the new service Michael Cockburn, cofounder of Desana, said, The idea for Desana came from our own experience of working from home - like many flexible workers my co-founder and I realized while working from our kitchen tables that we missed the camaraderie of an office space and in so doing we spotted the wider corporate opportunity. In the last decade, huge technological advancements mean that a notable portion of the global population only require a laptop and WiFi to work, Desana gives these workers the flexibility to work from a coworking office space as and when they want to - no matter where they find themselves.

With nearly 30 sites already signed up, the company has quickly been able to grow coverage across major U.K. cities throughout Scotland and England for their coworking community.

As consumers have become more used to subscription-driven models it doesnt feel like a huge jump to subscribe to your office through an app and be able to access spaces across the country as and when you need them. This, for someone who spends 50% of his time on the road is a very appealing prospect.

With any aggregation business model, the success of Desana will come down to how well they attract sites to their platform and entice workers to opt for them over a more traditional set space coworking membership.

Read more from the original source:

Could The Future Of Co-working Be Less WeWork and More Freedom? - Forbes

The second episode of 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 16 put many couples back in the saddle. However, one pair on the show Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) seems to have completely pulled the plug off their relationship. One week after their argument, they were still broken up and Jackson started hanging around with his new love interest Vic Hughes (Barrett Doss) from Station 19.

Jackson's jackass attitude after breaking up with Maggie was already getting on fans' nerves but he takes it to another level up with an insensitive post on Instagram. In one scene, Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) breaks it to Maggie how Jackson posted a sunset photo last night captioned "#Freedom" and called it "ewww."

Fans seem to share Maggie's sentiments as they started posting their thoughts on Twitter. "Freedom? Yeah me too Jackson I feel freedom from that horrendous relationship too #GreysAnatomy," one user wrote and another one posted, "Ughhh, so we really doing this Jackson and Maggie nasty breakup. This is dumb as hell!! #GreysAnatomy."

Maggie was visibly upset and she had another confrontation with Jackson after that, where he again was acting like a total jerk. She told him that the reason why he chose Vic was that he is happy to be with a firefighter not as smart as him so he can exert his control over her in his new relationship. Of course, her snarky remarks did not go down too well with Jackson. "I do not approve of these latest developments in the Maggie - Jackson love situation. #GreysAnatomy," one fan wrote and another one posted, "Maggie and Jackson really suffocated each other in that relationship. #GreysAnatomy."

Remembering April Kepner's (Sarah Drew) perfect relationship with Jackson, one user wrote, "I miss Jackson and April so much. @GreysABC ruined everything smh," and another fan wrote on the micro-blogging website, "Maggie is better without Jackson who has to always be in a relationship. Men who can't alone scare me. #GreysAnatomy." As the third episode airs on Thursday, October 10 on ABC, the air over Jackson and Maggie's breakup might soon wash away and both of them could simply go about their own independent lives.

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'Grey's Anatomy' Season 16: Fans are angry about Jackson's Freedom post after breaking up with Maggie - MEAWW

Apple has banned an app that allows people in Hong Kong to keep track of protests and police activity in the city state, claiming such information is illegal.

Your app contains content - or facilitates, enables, and encourages an activity - that is not legal ... specifically, the app allowed users to evade law enforcement," the American tech giant told makers of the HKmap Live on Tuesday before pulling it.

The makers, and many others, have taken exception to that argument, by pointing out that the app only allows people to note locations - as many countless thousands of other apps do - and so under the same logic, apps such as driving app Waze should also be banned.

That argument is obtuse of course given that the sole purpose of HKmap Live is to track police activity on the streets of Hong Kong and not to help people navigate to other locations. For example, at the time of writing 0300 Hong Kong time there are only a few messages live but they are clearly intended to provide ongoing intelligence on police movements.

After the tear gas was applied, the police officer immediately returned to the police station, reads one. Four flashing lights parked at the police station door, says another. Another simply reads: Riot. It is extremely easy to see at a glance where police activity is concentrated given the combination of messages and precise GPS locations.

But local Hong Kong citizens have highlighted a quirk of local laws that provide a strong counter-argument: under the law, the Hong Kong police are obliged to wave a blue flag at the spot in which they wish to declare that an illegal gathering is taking place.

The intent is to give citizens sufficient notice and time to move away from the area before any police action is taken. The HKmap Live app simply takes that official approach and extends it to citizens, allowing them to notify others of action that will be taken in specific locations.

It is far from clear whether Apple has undertaken that kind of legal review, or whether it is choosing to follow local law or US law in declaring the app illegal. Apple has also, so far, refused to say whether it took the decision to ban the app in response to a request from the Chinese authorities, but in the past has show a remarkable willingness to kowtow to Middle Kingdom mandarins.

Regardless, the ban has left a bad taste in the mouths of many, given the background to events in Hong Kong, especially the recent shooting of a protester at point-blank range with live ammunition by a police officer.

Apple has made defense of citizens rights a key differentiator in its technology and painted itself as a business that will stand up to unreasonable requests by the authorities who wish to use its technology to bypass current laws - in the US at least. That Cupertino chose to ban the app without discussing the issue with the apps developers and has given a very limited, and quite possibly incorrect, explanation as to why, has infuriated many.

In a follow-up to its announcement that Apple has banned its app, the makers said they were optimistic that the issue could still be resolved in their favor. To make it clear, I still believe this is more a bureaucratic f up than censorship, said one on Twitter. Everything can be used for illegal purpose on the wrong hand. Our App is for info, and we do not encourage illegal activity.

Given escalating tensions in Hong Kong and growing levels of violence, particularly this weeks use of live ammunition by the police, there is an additional reason to question Apples decision: many Hong Kong citizens claim they had started using the app in order to carry out their legal right to protest while at the same time avoiding dangerous hotspots of violence.

Apple assume our users are lawbreakers and therefore evading law enforcement, which is clearly not the case, the makers complained.

The situation itself in Hong Kong is growing increasingly worrying. Protests are now in their fifth month, with neither side seemingly willing to back down. The Chinese government is determined to clamp down on the unrest in its semi-autonomous province but so far has been careful not to intervene militarily, out of fear it could result in the world turning its back on the country, as it did following the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

The protesters in the meantime are furious at Chinas growing influence over the province. The protests began when the Hong Kong legislature proposed a new bill that would make it easier to extradite people to China from the city. But they then exploded when the legislature refused to withdraw the bill and instead used harsh police tactics in an effort to stamp out the protests; a tactic that backfired drastically.

In that sense, some Hong Kongers feel they are fighting for their very right to exist autonomously from the Chinese mainland; while China is increasingly unhappy at what it sees as a questioning of its authority. The lengthy and often violent stand-off has encompassed all facets of life in the famous city, from a storming of its international airport to business leaders being pressured to lend their support to Beijing.

The protesters have five broad demands that must be met before they say they will step down: the withdrawal of the extradition bill, which has happened; legislature leader Carrie Lam to step down, which Beijing is very resistant to; an inquiry into police brutality; those who have been arrested to be released; and perhaps the hardest hurdle greater democratic freedoms.

It is unclear whether China will ultimately find a way to accept those demands and defuse the tension or whether it will decide to try to impose its will forcibly. In the meantime, protests continues and there are daily clashes between protesters and police.

While Apple, for obvious reasons, will not want to take any part in all this, its decision to ban an app that could make the lives of Hong Kong citizens safer and perhaps even support the authorities by calling it illegal does put the company in a position of taking sides.

If there is any good news, its that the HKmap Live service is also available on the Web so it isnt reliant on a iPhone app and Apple users in Hong Kong will still be able to access the service for as long as it stays live.

Sponsored: How to get more from MicroStrategy by optimising your data stack

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Here's that hippie, pro-privacy, pro-freedom Apple y'all so love: Hong Kong protest safety app banned from iOS store - The Register

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Instruction

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Wings of Freedom tour stops in CT | News - WFSB

Historians and authors Gerry Souter and Janet Souter join Justin on Extension 720 to discuss their book, Selling Americans on America: Journey into a Troubled Nation. Gerry and Janet talk about the story of the Freedom Train, why they became interested in the Freedom Train, where the idea for the Freedom Train came from, the role Hollywood played in the Freedom Train, how Chicago played a part in the story of the Freedom Train and if the Freedom Train was ultimately successful in unifying a divided country (and if could it happen again today).

This is the podcast for Extension 720. The show originates from Chicago on WGN Radio and features newsmakers, tastemakers and trailblazers. Hosted by award-winning broadcaster Justin Kaufmann, this talk show/audio magazine goes in-depth to help you better understand the city (and world) that you live in.

Filed in: Extension 720 with Justin Kaufmann

Topics: America, Bing Crosby, Civil War, Communism, freedom, Gerry Souter, Irving Berlin, Janet Souter, Justin Kaufmann, Nationalism, Politics, President Trump, Soldier Field, World War II

Originally posted here:

How a Freedom Train reignited faith in a country that was riddled with dissent, anxiety and mistrust in its leaders - WGN Radio - Chicago

ROME When Ronald Reagan launched full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the Vatican 35 years ago, his idea, which proved correct, was that Pope John Paul II would be a reliable ally against Communism. John Paul nevertheless needled the Americans on other fronts, and ever since the relationship between the worlds preeminent hard and soft powers always has been a mixed bag.

Right now, it might be hard to imagine any greater contrast between a pope and a president than Francis and Donald Trump one the pope of immigrants, the other an advocate of border walls; one a critic of an economy that kills, the other an avatar of free market capitalism; one the chaplain of the fight against climate change, the other the contrarian who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris accords. On top of all that, Pope Francis has made no secret of his personal ambivalence about America and Americans, recently quipping that he considers it an honor when Americans are attacking me.

Yet the truth of it is, both the U.S. and the Vatican have powerful motives for keeping their relationship green despite those obvious tensions, because both parties perceive they need the other.

The Vatican wants to be a serious global player and needs the leverage the Americans can bring, while no American president can afford to write off an institution that claims one-sixth of humanity as its membership, not to mention one-quarter of the voting age population of that presidents own country.

All of which brings us to a remarkable event that unfolded on Wednesday in the Vatican, co-sponsored by the Vaticans Secretariat of State and the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See titled Pathways to Dignity. The idea was to focus on three areas where the U.S. and the Vatican, even in the era of Francis and Trump, more or less see eye-to-eye: Religious freedom, the fight against human trafficking, and humanitarian assistance.

In a sign of how seriously the U.S. took the moment, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showed up to deliver an opening address, and Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback was there to headline the opening panel. Probably the reason I was asked to moderate the opening panel is that, like Pompeo and Brownback, Im from Kansas, so it was sort of an all-Sunflower State lineup.

U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Callista Gingrich gave the welcome, and her husband, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was in the front row.

The days opening act was dedicated to the issue of religious freedom. It also included Monsignor Indunil Kodithuwakku of Sri Lanka, the number two official of the Vaticans Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and Dr. Nayla Tabbara of Lebanons Adyan Foundation and a Muslim scholar who, among other things, has written on Islamic feminism.

Four basic take-aways suggest themselves.

First, each speaker outlined resources in the press for greater religious freedom. Brownback discussed American political ideals, above all personal freedom, while Kodithuwakku sketched Catholic thought on religious freedom as presented by the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) in its towering documents Nostra Aetate and Dignitatis Humanae. Tabbara, meanwhile, discussed more recent documents and declarations to emerge both from Islamic religious authorities and in Islamic civil society.

Adding it all up, the impression is that there are more tools in the toolbox than one might imagine.

Second, the three speakers made the point in various ways that theres a history behind todays ferment over religious freedom. Brownback, for instance, talked about the nexus between John Paul II and Reagan one wearing a miter, the other a cowboy hat while Kodithuwakku recalled John Pauls pioneering decision to host an inter-faith summit in Assisi in 1986, which had the effect of making outreach to other faiths part of the job description for Catholic leaders at all levels.

Third, the panel was a reminder of the global complexities of the religious freedom debate, and the importance of taking cultural sensitivities into account. Tabbara, for example, said that in the Middle East, the terms freedom of religion and secularism can both come off as Western concepts laden with negative associations, so the foundation with which she works has found it easier to talk about freedom of belief and inclusive citizenship.

Fourth, and most basically, each speaker projected a spirit of optimism about the prospects for religious freedom, despite a number of trendlines that might counsel despair the rise of nationalist and populist regimes in various parts of the world predicated on fairly hardline versions of religious identity, for instance, and a spike in radicalism in all the worlds major faiths, including Hinduism in India, Buddhism in Myanmar, and Islam in various venues.

Yet Brownback nevertheless offered a battle cry with the line, Tear down the wall of religious oppression!, suggesting that achieving it is actually possible. Kodithuwakku and Tabbara were obviously proud of developments with Catholicism and Islam respectively, and clearly felt that its only a matter of time before a dialogical and tolerant form of each faith gains the upper hand.

To be sure, there werent many practical new ideas to surface at Wednesdays event, nor were there many hard questions that might reasonably have been asked of both the U.S. and the Vatican whether the cozy relationship the U.S. enjoys with Saudi Arabia, for instance, compromises its ability to challenge the Saudis about injustices at home and support for extremism abroad, or whether the Vaticans recent deal with China actually has made the prospects for religious freedom worse rather than better.

Nevertheless, the mere fact that leading lights of both Franciss Vatican and Trumps America could pool resources around the defense of religious freedom suggests the breadth of a potential coalition suggesting that this 35-year-old relationship, even now, still packs a punch.

Read more from the original source:

Even in Trump/Francis era, US and Vatican still see alliance on religious freedom - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

Priti Patel said she will end freedom of movement once and for all (Picture: PA, Getty)

Home Secretary Priti Patel has vowed to end freedom of movement once and for all after the UK leaves the EU.

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, she told audience she had a particular responsibility when it comes to taking back control after Brexit.

She continued: It is to end the free movement of people once and for all.

Patel then explained that Britain would be introducing an Australian style points-based immigration system that works in the best interests of the country.

She said: One that attracts and welcomes the brightest and the best. One that supports brilliant scientists, the finest academics and leading people in their fields.

And one that is under the control of the British Government. Because, let me tell you something.

This daughter of immigrants, needs no lectures from the North London metropolitan liberal elite.

During the speech, Patel also reiterated a plan to recruit 20,000 new police officers and spend 10,000,000 on equipping 60 per cent of them with tasers.

Around 20,000,000 funding will be committed to tackling organised crime gangs who exploit children and other vulnerable people by involving them in the drugs, she said.

Stating that law and order is central to our DNA as Conservatives, she said it was the job of the Home Secretary to empower chief constables.

A dedicated British Transport Police unit with visible and undercover officers will also be tasked with disrupting the movement of drugs and people in gangs, she added.

Patel warned criminals: We are coming after you.

She continued: The kingpins of these criminal gangs are exploiting children.

Forcing them to carry crack cocaine and heroin across rural and coastal communities, threatening them into carrying guns and knives as protection, manipulating them into killing innocent people.

Funding will also be made available to Police and Crime Commissioners to invest in preventative measures to tackle burglaries, thefts and shoplifting, Patel said.

A pledge of 25,000,000 will be made to the safer streets fund for new security measures that will help tackle Britains worst crime spots.

Patel rounded up her speech by taking a swipe at Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott.

She claimed the Labour Party would make the country less safe, adding that they wont even attempt to take back control of our borders.

The Labour Party trust our foes more than our friends, she said.

Go here to see the original:

Priti Patel vows to end freedom of movement 'for once and for all' - Metro.co.uk

Following the return of the annual BostonFreedom Rally Saturday, Sept. 21 to the Boston Common, the decision to scale itback to a one-day event this year from its traditional three days has beenlargely applauded.

MassCann (Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition), the state affiliate of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) sponsor the event commonly as Hempfest. Last years 29th annual Freedom Rally, which took place over the weekend of Sept. 14-16, 2018, drew an estimated crowd of between 15,000 and 20,000 and was the subject of much debate after elected officials and civic leaders said it caused an unprecedented amount of damage to the Common. Witnesses also reported attendees driving their cars onto the park, camping out there overnight and leaving behind heaps of trash in their wake.

CityCouncilor Josh Zakim, who along with Councilor Ed Flynn, co-sponsored a hearingon Nov. 14, 2018, to discuss the future of Freedom Fest in light of theseallegations from last year, credits the organizers for scaling the event backto one day this year, which he describes as a good step forward.

As aresult, we didnt received nearly as many calls with concerns about the event,Zakim said. I would like to thank the mayors office, the Parks Department andthe organizers for working together [to achieve this result].

StateRep. Jay Livingstone echoed this sentiment: I appreciate the work of the Cityto work with the organizers to limit the time-period and increase requiredmitigation. I hope the combination of these two agreements will minimize theimpact [the event has] on the Common.

Incontrast, Colin Zick, chair of the Beacon Hill Civic Associations Parks andPublic Spaces Committee, said while the BHCA was pleased with the decision tocurtail this years event, which resulted in a noticeable decrease in negativeimpacts on the Common and surrounding neighborhood, the group still hassubstantial concerns over Freedom Rally.

Itstoo large for the Common and features too many violations of City of Bostonordinances (e.g. consuming cannabis in public, smoking on the Common) andviolations of the conditions of the permit (e.g. several overnight campers onthe Common, excessive sound amplification,numerous cars parked on thegrass of the Common), Zick wrote.

Thepermit for the event expressly states no smoking is permitted on the Common;consuming marijuana or marijuana products in a public place is prohibited; andno camping is allowed, yet Zick said these restrictions were all flagrantlyviolated during the most recent Freedom Rally.

Inresponse to allegations of camping on the Common, MassCann spokesperson MaggieKinsella attributed it a little of bit of confusion on their part, sincemembers of the group are usually permitted to stay overnight on the Commonduring the event to safeguard their possessions. But when a Park Ranger toldthem camping wasnt permitted this year, Kinsella said they immediately tookdown their tents.

Kinsellaexpressed MassCanns gratitude to Beantown Greentown, a local marijuanacultivation and clothing company, for spearheading the volunteer effort forthis years Freedom Rally.

Theyorganized the volunteers who emptied trash throughout the event and stayedafterwards to help clean up, she said. Sunday was the official cleanup day,and everyone really stepped up then.

Kinsella said MassCann is made up solely ofvolunteers who worked to help address some of the issues that came up in thepast.

Added Kinsella: We hope the cityacknowledges the improvement, and maybe, we can get a permit for two days nextyear. It was certainly a disappointment to some attendees and vendors that itwas only one day this time. We think it crowded the park more because everyonewas trying to get in there on one day rather than over the course of three, soI hope we can meet in the middle next time.

(Kinsellacouldnt provide the size of the crowd at this years event by press time.)

And while the future of Freedom Rally is now unknown, Boston Parks and Recreation Department spokesperson Liz Sullivan wrote, [We] and the event organizers worked together to ensure that all traces of the event were removed on Sunday. We look forward to continuing to partner with groups who activate our green spaces with public programming.

See the article here:

Curtailed Freedom Rally Meets With Better Response This Year - Beacon Hill Times