Category Archives: Freedom

Local thrift store Freedom Boutique sells gently worn womens clothing and various gifts to support DIVAS Who Win Freedom Center, an Athens-based nonprofit. The nonprofits mission is to support women who are overcoming addiction, prostitution and sexual exploitation, while also tackling the stigma surrounding these topics.

The Freedom Center, located on Hawthorne Avenue, serves over 150 women each month by providing them with basic needs such as free lunches, laundry services and peer support. The services are provided free of charge, so the nonprofit relies on donations and profits from the Freedom Boutique to keep supporting the women they serve.

Chanda Santana, the nonprofits founder and executive director, said the profits from the boutique primarily support a workforce development program called She Works.

The Freedom Boutique opened in April 2021 to raise funds, bolster awareness and support sustainable living. Doubling as an education center, the shop provides statistics about sexual abuse, trafficking and child labor in the fast fashion industry.

Signs hang on the wall of local thrift store Freedom Boutique. The signs provide information on sex trafficking and the environmental impact of fast fashion. (Photo/Alex Ciardiello)

In the boutique are various donated clothing pieces, shoes, purses and jewelry, alongside items from companies with similar missions as DIVAS Who Win. One of the companies is Thistle Farms.

Santana discovered Thistle Farms, a nonprofit based in Nashville, Tennessee, dedicated to helping women recover and heal from prostitution, trafficking and addiction by providing a safe place to live, a meaningful job and lifelong support, and decided to become a part of its sister network. She was inspired by Thistle Farms' safe house because this is one of DIVAS Who Wins long-term goals.

DIVAS Who Wins safe house is still in the planning process but will be called the Freedom House. It plans to give women somewhere to call home while theyre healing and Santana hopes to raise the funds needed for it in the next two years.

The Freedom Boutique has a vital role in the success of the Freedom House.

The goal of the boutique is that when the Freedom House is established, and women get through phase one of the program then we will have a thriving thrift store that they can come work at. The boutique isnt bringing in enough funding right now to employ more than one survivor 30 hours a week, Santana said.

A pink DIVAS Who Win sign is encased in greenery inside the Freedom Boutique. Located on Hawthorne Avenue, proceeds made from the boutique benefit the nonprofit organization. (Photo/Alex Ciardiello)

The nonprofit mostly operates on a volunteer workforce, but there arent many volunteers who work at the boutique. Out of those volunteering, some are students from the University of Georgia like Jacqueline Adam, an intern working toward a master of social work at UGA.

Adams works at the boutique once a week and does a number of tasks for the nonprofit including writing grants, creating surveys and developing annual reports. Adams met Santana in 2017 when she was writing a dissertation on LGBTQ people of color who have been sex-trafficked in the Southeast.

Santana introduced Adams to people she later interviewed. Since then, Adams has been engaging with and volunteering for DIVAS Who Win but started working for the organization last year.

They know that folks who have experienced substance use and sex trafficking are also likely to experience incarceration, discrimination or sex-based violence. I love that they approach it in this intersectional way, Adams said.

Adams wants more people to shop at Freedom Boutique so that the organization can keep providing services for women who need them.

If you are having privilege or you do have a little bit of extra money, come shop at the boutique, Adams said.

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Freedom Boutique and DIVAS Who Win work toward mutual mission - Red and Black

OPINION:

Well, its happening again. Are we even surprised at this point? Not even a full year after abandoning millions of women and girls and religious minorities to the tender mercies of the Taliban, the capital of another American ally is on the verge of falling to an enemy who wants to destroy our way of life.

In the 77 years since the end of the Second World War, democracy and free markets have again and again proven to be the best systems for both human happiness and national success. Yet many in our society have become so ashamed of themselves that they cannot even enunciate these universal values.

The price of our weakness is the same as it would be on the schoolyard or the prison yard: Aggression. Thugs and bullies who only understand the language of physical strength take advantage of those who appear weaker or, worse, have a high-minded belief that such things dont even matter until a fist comes crashing into their face.

Its different on the international stage, though, because innocent people will be trampled underfoot if we dont defend our fundamental values. In fact, the bulk of the work of defending freedom today is being done not by international institutions, nor even by the United States, but by just three small nations that arent even part of our official alliance structure - Ukraine in Europe, Taiwan in Asia, and Israel see in the Middle East.

Lets start with Ukraine, where this weeks Russian invasion proved what many of us have long feared. The bear has not been defanged, and Putin has a more consistent belief in destroying the democratic world order than most Westerners have in defending it. Losing Europes second-largest country by land area, with its forty-million pro-American citizens and the best arable farmland in Europe, would be a massive material loss to our side and a proportionate gain to Putins. Moreover, Russia probably doesnt plan to stop with Ukraine, but to gobble up the other post-Soviet neutral states as well.

However, this goes far beyond the post-Soviet space - whats at stake is the post-World War II order, which has depended on American hegemony and control of the sea lanes (just as the British-led order before it did). Russia is playing its old role of spoiler, seeking to turn our freedom-loving allies into provinces and buffer states of a revived Soviet Union (recalling a favorite maxim of George F. Kennan, the architect of containment, that Russia can only border two kinds of states - enemies or vassals).

Russias quasi-ally Iran is playing the same role in the Middle East, attempting to form an empire based on hostility to the Great Satan, the United States, and its perceived proxy in the region - the besieged State of Israel. Similarly, China announces nearly every day its desire to destroy the tiny island nation of Taiwan - and to seize the island of Okinawa and the 1 million Japanese citizens who live there while theyre at it.

If weakness invites attack, strength brings peace via deterrence. What can we in the West do now? We can give as much support - material, moral, personal - as possible to the bravest of our allies, the Ukrainians, the Israelis, and the Taiwanese. The fight forced on them is our fight - for the right to live in freedom and peace. Lets be ready to defend it.

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Weakness breeds aggression: It's time to stand up for freedom - Washington Times

The ban on imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal announced today has made each and every one of us a party to the fight for freedom in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian people are making the ultimate sacrifice on the front lines. Its time to recognize that we are part of that battle, whether we like it or not. That means beginning to budget for higher prices and to plan for the sacrifices that we may be called on to make. We must be clear-eyed about the challenges: Rising commodity prices could result in stagflation like the 1970s. While painful, we survived those conditions 50 years ago, and we have the resilience to persevere again in the name of liberty.

The world changed Feb. 24, when Russian troops, driven by Vladimir Putins delusional plans to reassemble the former Soviet Union, crossed into Ukraine in complete disregard for the pain and suffering inflicted upon its citizens. And it brought us to this Cold War 2.0 in a tripolar world.

The major antagonist Russia is the worlds third largest oil producer and the second largest natural gas producer. We are also vulnerable because Russia is also one of the largest producers of palladium - a key input for catalytic converters in cars and Russia and Ukraine together produce almost a quarter of the worlds wheat.

So todays move will hurt Russia and shows our willingness to sacrifice, and I applaud it. But its not enough.

The world has begun to sort itself just as it did after World War II. The United States and its European allies, together with other democracies around the world, have lined up against Russia and its goal of extending its sphere of influence. Which means our European allies must also join in the import ban. Germanys block of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was a good start, but more is needed.

Make no mistake: Itll be harder for them. And this will hurt Russia.

Russia sent about 90 percent of its exported natural gas to Europe and Eurasia in 2020. It satisfies about one third of U.K. and EU gas demand, according to the International Energy Agency .

While Germany and other consumers of Russian energy will feel real short-term pain, the long-term benefits of a more secure supply chain will be enormous. Sanctions will hasten the European Unions diversification away from Russian energy supplies. Clearly, Germany should delay the closure of its remaining six nuclear reactors, part of its flawed green energy strategy.

The move will hurt American consumers for sure, but its our way of joining the fight. We imported only 400,000 barrels per day of oil in December, down from 760,000 barrels as recently as July, according to government data . That represents just 2 percent of our oil demand, an amount easily made up when the inevitable price increase causes demand to drop and supplies to rise. Relative to the Ukrainians sacrifices, it is a smaller ask of us.

Our energy industry is already pitching in. Producers have increased drilling somewhat. We must encourage, not discourage, our domestic industry to boost output easing what has become a hostile regulatory environment so that they can send those supplies to Europe.

After Pearl Harbor, our Greatest Generation engaged in World War II both militarily and through a reordering of our domestic economy. Not only did enlistments skyrocket, but whole industries retooled. Civilians who couldnt fight helped in other ways. It was war, and the war involved everyone.

Some might find comparisons to WWII farfetched, but Putins latest act of aggression and his stated intent to continue expansion represent one of the greatest threats to world security since that war ended. The time to stay on the sidelines is over. We have an enormous stake in the outcome of this aggression.

Today, we dont know if this cold war will escalate into a hot war where NATO armies, led by Americans, confront Russian troops. We certainly dont want that, but make no mistake, the fight has already begun. We need to be ready to contribute to support freedom, however we can.

And we cant for a second forget that there is a third pole in this cold war. China is hellbent on extending its sphere of influence, too. Just as Putin took chunks of territory in Crimea with insufficient condemnation from the rest of the world in 2014, China has claimed and begun to militarize a plethora of small islands in the South China Sea whose sovereignty was in dispute.

China is watching the Russian situation closely, given that it views Taiwan in much the same way that Putin views Ukraine rightful territory for the taking. Consequently, its not surprising that China has expressed ambivalence toward the Ukrainian invasion and is remaining noncommittal despite the horrific destruction that is being inflicted upon an innocent country.

How we play the crisis from here will have far-reaching consequences. It can set precedents to either encourage or discourage further upsetting the world order.

The one thing we should not do in attempting to ease energy prices is sacrifice our principles by rushing to appease Irans terrorist theocracy just to get their oil back into the market. We should do a deal with Iran that has teeth, and, if thats not possible, terminate discussions. Our recent outreach to the Venezuelan tyrant is equally unprincipled and shortsighted. Also, from an environmental perspective, it is nonsensical to favor Venezuelan and Iranian production when their drilling practices are not nearly as conscientious as our own.

The sanctions on Russian oil and gas exports send the message that Russia has crossed the Rubicon toward isolation. Coupled with the economic sanctions already enacted, this should signal to average Russians that their deranged leader is taking them down a dead-end road.

The sooner we all recognize that its time to gird for battle, the clearer our strategy becomes.

Given the Ukrainians sacrifices, its the least we can do.

Kenneth Hersh is president and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center and co-founder of NGP Energy Capital Management.

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Opinion: Gird for battle at the gas pump to support freedom - Houston Chronicle

When the world was busy fighting the pandemic, women were also protesting in the streets and on social media for their right to express themselves through their clothes.

Noureen, 25, from Kochi in India, knows only too well how policies that dictate what a woman can or cannot wear can impact their life and self-esteem. She graduated from a university in Karnataka, in southern India, where some institutions have denied hijab-wearing students access to the school, claiming it violates dress code. The move triggered several protests in the country.

Noureen describes the situation and increasing discrimination against Muslims as unjustifiable. The hijab is my faith and the closeness it makes me feel with my creator is what motivates me to wear it, she says.

I wear [the hijab] because I feel like it sort of protects me. Its who I am, its a part of me now

Almas, student

To fight back, a group of Muslim students filed a petition saying these rules violate their rights under Indias secular constitution.

Almas was one of those students. In her second year at Government Pre-University College for Girls, Udupi, she says the meaning of hijab is to cover. "Its usually that girls wear it to preserve their beauty, so not everybody gets to see it.

Its a security to some women. I wear it because I feel like it sort of protects me. Its who I am, its a part of me now.

Hiba Sheikh, 22, from Mangalore, feels the same way. The hijab is like a shield to us.

Its not something thats forced upon these women, says Almas. I chose to wear it. No one can force you to wear something.

Women across the world are fighting for their right to wear the hijab how and when they want. Kilarov Zaneit / Unsplash

Fathima Usman, 20, also from Mangalore, echoes this sentiment. None of the parents, family, force them to wear it. Some Muslim students wear it while some others do not. It is an individual choice and no one can interfere in their private life.

Women like Fathima, Hiba and Almas grew up seeing their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers don the hijab. Its part of a generational handover that makes the act of wearing the headscarf special.

Id see my mum, Id see my sisters wearing it, the older women in my community wearing it, and I wanted to be a part of that, Almas says. I wanted to be a part of something.

They are trying to break us down and not give us education, says Fathima, referring to conflicting dress codes across India that allow women of other faiths to wear their traditional garments, but not Muslims.

It is not the issue of the hijab but their mindset.

Elsewhere, in Afghanistan, women are experiencing the opposite, where theyre being forced to cover up. Under Taliban rule in the late 1990s and 2000s, the long blue burqa and chadari were mandatory for women. While they have insisted this will not be the case again, a number of mandates, such as banning girls from higher education, have been cause for alarm, and women have taken to the streets to speak out for their freedom of choice.

Maryam, a journalist in Kabul, is one of those women, but she, rather than having her voice heard, has ended up in hiding.

Maryam wears the hijab, but strongly believes how you wear it should be a choice.

In Islam, the hijab doesnt have a colour and shape, she says. For me, as it says protect yourself, I will follow those rules when I feel unsafe and uncomfortable.

In every society, it is a problem, women are asked to not wear this or that, go there or not

Hiba

How Maryam dresses may change depending on how safe she feels in her surrounding environment. For example, when I was in Dubai I was wearing jeans, a top and my headscarf, as you might have seen a lot of Muslims following the same practice.

Her choice to wear the hijab and speak out for like-minded women, however, never wanes. If you think something is not right, stand up against it.

Now, she says, since the Taliban took over her home country, we have to fight even for our most basic rights, like going to school, working, and leaving the house".

We as Afghan women cant believe how dramatically things changed for us overnight.

Until last year, Afghanistan was a country of poetry and art, one that embraced the youth and their vision of the future, says Aqele, 17, a student. In the cinemas, in the cafes, in shopping malls, the youth cohabited in a very positive environment. They would play guitar, men and women would discuss poetry and politics.

All of the progress made in the past two decades was effectively destroyed in the matter of two weeks, she says.

I do have hope that women and our allies will fight for us.

Many of those allies are in Europe and America, but even in some western countries women are also losing their freedom to express themselves through clothes.

In France, for example, the government has tried to ban women who wear the hijab from participating in sports tournaments for reasons of "secularism and neutrality.

I think bodily autonomy is just one of those rights that we will have to learn to fight for because no one should tell us how to dress

Almas

In every society, it is a problem, women are asked to not wear this or that, go there or not, says Hiba. But we have the freedom and we are not supposed to obey them. It is our life and we can do anything.

Instead, across the world, women are still being judged by the clothes they wear. Norms and rules that categorise women should be done away with, says Almas.

Maryam says now, more than ever, its important for women all kinds of women, and not just those who wear hijab to stand up for our rights.

We need to support each other and if we back each other, we can achieve it.

"I think bodily autonomy is just one of those rights that we will have to learn to fight for because no one should tell us how to dress," says Aisha Ali, digital journalist in Pakistan. "And it doesn't really matter what country we are in. I don't think anyone would ever tell a man what to wear and how to dress."

Updated: March 08, 2022, 11:45 AM

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The fight for the hijab: Muslim women lament their lack of freedom to choose - The National

Im a Russian. Vladimir Putin is committing monstrous crimes in the name of my people, my country, and me. Putin is not Russia. Russia is hurt and ashamed. In the name of my Russia and my people I beg the Ukrainians forgiveness. Yet I realise that nothing being done there can be forgiven.

This war did not begin just now but in 2014, with Putins seizure of Crimea. The western world refused to understand the gravity of this and pretended nothing terrible was going on. All these years Ive been trying in my statements and publications to explain to people just who Putin is. It hasnt worked. And now Putin himself has explained it to everyone.

Whenever one of my articles is published in the press in Switzerland, where I live, the editors receive letters of outrage from people at the Russian embassy in Berne. Theyre silent now. Maybe theyre packing their bags and applying for political asylum?

I want to return to Russia. But which Russia? In Putins Russia its impossible to breathe. The stench from the policemans boot is too strong. I will return to my country. As I wrote in an open letter when I refused to represent Putins Russia at an international event back in 2013, before Crimea was annexed: I want to and will represent another Russia, my Russia, free of impostors, a country with a state structure that defends not the right to corruption but the rights of the individual, a country with free media, free elections, and free people.

The space for free expression in Russia was restricted to the internet long ago, but now even there we see military censorship. The authorities have announced that all critical statements regarding Russia and its war will be considered treason and punished according to martial law.

What can a writer do? The only thing he can: speak out clearly. Silence means support for the aggressor. In the 19th century, rebellious Poles fought Russian tsarism for your freedom and ours. Now the Ukrainians are fighting Putins army for their freedom and ours. They are defending not only their own human dignity but the dignity of all humanity. We must help in every way we can.

The regimes crime is also that the stain of disgrace has fallen on the entire country. Now Russia is associated not with Russian literature and music but with children under bombardment. Putins crime is that he has poisoned people with hate. Putin will go away, but the pain and hate may linger in peoples souls for a long time. Only art, literature, and culture can help overcome this trauma.

Sooner or later, the dictators foul, useless life will end, but culture continues as it always has and as it will after Putin. Literature does not have to be about Putin. Literature does not have to explain war. War cant be explained. Why do people order soldiers of one nation to kill those of another? Literature is what opposes war. True literature is always about the human beings need for love, not hate.

What lies ahead? At best, there will not be a nuclear war. I fervently hope the madman will not be allowed to press the red button or that one of his flunkies will refuse to carry out this final order. But this is seemingly the sole good thing in the offing. After Putin, the Russian Federation will cease to exist on the map as a country. The process of the empires collapse will continue. Chechnyas independence will be followed by that of other peoples and regions.

A struggle for power will ensue. The populace will have no wish to live in chaos, and the demand for a firm hand will strengthen once again. Even in the freest elections if there are any a new dictator may come to power. And the west will support him because he will promise to watch over the red button. And who knows? One day this may happen all over again.

Mikhail Shishkin is a novelist, and the only author to have won the Russian Booker Prize, the Russian National Bestseller, and Big Book Prize

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My dear Russians the Ukrainians are fighting Putins army for their freedom, and ours - The Guardian

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. & KARLSRUHE, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Freedom Photonics and Vanguard Automation announce the deployment of Vanguard Automations SONATA and REPRISE 1000 systems at Freedom Photonicss facilities in Santa Barbara, CA. The two systems combined construct a fully automated photonic integration and packaging solution built upon 3D nano-print technology, and enable the fabrication of low loss optical subsystem interconnects commonly known as Photonic Wire Bonds (PWBs). Freedom Photonics added Photonic Wire Bonding to its 21,000 square foot facility in Santa Barbara, where Freedom manufactures a wide range of photonic devices, including lasers, photodiodes, and photonic integrated circuits (PICs). PWB technology adds a significant capability in optical subassembly manufacturing. Freedom will also offer PWBs as a manufacturing service.

Vanguard Automation augments 3D nano-print technology to create solutions for photonic packaging. The technology uses a 2-photon lithography process which creates waveguide optical interconnects between two components (PWBs), or fabricates facet attached micro-lenses (FAML) to couple light. In the case of PWBs, a cladding material adds an indexed filler which ensures single mode operation and protection against moisture and mechanical forces. In order to execute these processes in an automated manner in manufacturing, Vanguard Automation has developed two systems, the vanguard SONATA and the vanguard REPRISE. The SONATA is a lithography unit responsible for structuring the PWBs and FAMLs, whereas the REPRISE manages all pre- and post-processing steps including dispensing, removal of an unexposed resin, cleansing, and encapsulation of the bonds. Vanguard Automation also offers comprehensive process control and management software, including its software suite for design and fabrication of PWBs and FAMLs.

We are extremely excited to bring Vanguard Automation technology in-house, said Dr. Milan Mashanovitch, Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Photonics. PWB will be a fundamental packaging technology for next generation highly integrated photonic subassemblies offering not only compact form factors but also low optical loss.

We are pleased to be working with Freedom Photonics to enable photonic packaging and integration solutions, said Thorsten Mayer, CEO of Vanguard Automation. Freedom Photonics engineering capabilities and manufacturing infrastructure make it an ideal partner for prototyping and lower-volume manufacturing.

Statement about Freedom Photonics

Freedom Photonics is a Santa Barbara, California based manufacturer of unique and innovative photonic components, modules, and subsystems. Our best-in-class diode laser, photodetector, and photonic integrated circuit (PIC) products are enabling revolutionary performance in optical sensing and communication markets. Our core competency is bringing photonics products from concept to volume production.

Email: info@freedomphotonics.com, WEB: freedomphotonics.com

Statement about Vanguard Automation

Vanguard Automation (VA), headquartered in Karlsruhe, Germany, develops process technology and software-defined manufacturing equipment for photonic packaging and assembly. Building on advanced nano-printing technology, VA solutions complement planar photonic integrated circuits (PIC) with 3D freeform structures such as Photonic Wire Bonds and Micro-Optical Lenses. This technology is key to building chiplet-based photonic systems, offering high packaging density and increased design flexibility, while being amenable to automated high-volume fabrication.

E-mail: info@vanguard-automation.com, WEB: vanguard-automation.com

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Freedom Photonics and Vanguard Automation Deploy 3D Nano Printed Chip-Scale Interconnect Manufacturing Capability - Business Wire

Russias aggression in Ukraine is deplorable. Many factors contribute to this war, as to any war, including economic or territorial gain, nationalism, revenge, civil discord and religion, to name a few. But another factor, one that is usually overlooked, is a governments restrictions on religious freedom. And in the current conflict, the quest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to be independent is also playing a role.

Russias president, Vladimir Putin, is no stranger to tapping into the soft power of the Russian Orthodox Church to reinforce his political and military power. And the church does not appear to be shy about tapping into the hard power of the Russian state to reinforce its social, temporal and even (in their view) spiritual power.

The Russian Orthodox Church views itself as the center and defender of the Orthodox Christian world, which at one time was synonymous with Christendom itself. In its view, there is a natural and divine synergy between the temporal power of the state and the spiritual power of the church, where both play a role in Gods plan for time and eternity. In some ways, this position is similar to pre-Vatican II Catholic thought where religious freedom was seen as opening the door to heresy, a threat not only to orthodoxy but also to the eternal destiny of souls.

Thus, religious freedom in Russia means only freedom for the Russian Orthodox Church and freedom from heresy and falsehoods as defined by that church.

This helps to explain why the Russian Orthodox Church encouraged and supported Russias intervention in the Syrian war on the side of Bashar al-Assad. While the Shia-leaning Assad regime committed atrocities against any who opposed it (especially Sunni Muslims), a number of the ancient, indigenous Christian communities of Syria found protection under the regimes wings. As the Western world stood in opposition to Assad, Russia instead sided with the dictator who gave special favors and protection to Christians within the regimes domain.

It also helps to explain why the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, reportedly defended the invasion of Ukraine in a sermon on Sunday.

Serious religious dynamics are at play in Ukraine as well.

For years, Orthodox churches in Ukraine sought to be independent from the Moscow-based church. In 2019, Bartholomew I, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (a western-oriented Orthodox rival based in Istanbul), signed an official decree granting independence to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Combine this split along with a more secular, western-oriented Ukraine led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (of Jewish heritage), and the narrative of a western assault on the very spiritual heart of Orthodox Christendom seems plausible to the Russian Orthodox Church, and its VIP member, Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Orthodox Church is committed to bringing the independent Ukrainian branch back under a single patriarch in Moscow, in order to allow it to control the holiest sites of Orthodoxy in the Slavic world. Those interests and Putins interests overlap, as Orthodox chaplains bless and accompany the Russian troops into battle.

While religion is definitely part of this war, I would point out that it is not religion in general, but a governments restrictions on religion and favoritism of religion that are predictors of whether a state will be predisposed to starting a war.

This was the subject of a 2007 research paper I co-authored (which led to a 2011 Cambridge University Press book). In the paper, Roger Finke and I argued that it is not religion itself that leads to violent persecution and conflict, but the level of social and government regulations on religion. This research helped to inform Pew Research Centers study of government restrictions on religion as they relate to social hostilities involving religion.

That study showed that Russian is in a league of its own among countries in Europe when it comes to government restrictions on religion; in fact, it was the only country in the region to score very high.

Pew assigned 20 different measures on government restrictions, including the prohibition or limiting of public preaching, restrictions on proselytizing and foreign missionaries, restrictions on religious literature or broadcasting and prohibition or limitations on the wearing of religious symbols, such as head coverings for women and facial hair for men.

Russia scores poorly on most of the measures.

While Putins attack on Ukraine is shaking the world order, Putins new best friend, the Peoples Republic of China, is the most religiously restrictive country in the world, according to the same Pew study.

One difference that may seem a ray of hope is that China has fewer social hostilities involving religion. However, the reason for this is ominous: Chinas government restrictions are so pervasive and powerful that social dissent or uprisings are quelled forthwith.

While this does not predict that China will necessarily go to war, the data and the policies reflected by the data are nevertheless alarming not only for the state of freedom of religion or belief, but for what the lack of these portend for China and the world.

As events in Ukraine continue to unfold, one other finding from our research speaks to this ongoing crisis. In addition to government restrictions on religious freedom leading to conflict, conflict itself reinforces religious persecution and violence, creating a cycle of violence in which deterioration of religious freedom becomes difficult to stop. Therefore, the sooner hostilities can be stopped, the better the chances are that religious freedom will not degrade further for both countries and for other countries that are now being pulled into the fray.

Brian Grim is president of the Religious Freedom & Business Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit based in Annapolis, Maryland.

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Religious freedom and Russias war in Ukraine: How are they connected? | Opinion - Deseret News

Like the many similar movements against vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions around the world, New Zealands protests have expressed a unifying concern with personal freedoms.

One of the highest-profile groups at the occupation of parliament grounds in Wellington was Voices for Freedom. The occupation itself began with a freedom convoy, and many of the signs and placards around the makeshift camp made freedom their focus.

And while that particular protest ended in chaos, it seems likely the various movements behind it will continue to make freedom their rallying cry.

The extent to which personal freedoms are limited as part of living in a functioning society is ultimately a moral concern about the role of government. But this also requires a clear understanding of the nature of freedom in the first place, and what it means to be a free person in a free society.

At the heart of this lies the distinction between a narrow conception of freedom known as negative liberty and the wider concept of positive liberty. The former, seemingly preferred by the protesters, implies a freedom from imposed restrictions on peoples behaviour such as lockdowns and vaccine passes or mandates.

The counter-argument is that reasonable restrictions, if justified to prevent significant harm from COVID-19, actually increase overall freedom. In that sense, the freedom to behave in certain ways becomes a positive liberty.

Drawing on a long intellectual tradition, the philosopher Isaiah Berlin defined the two forms of liberty in an influential 1958 lecture at Oxford University.

Negative liberty, he said, means the absence of external obstacles or constraints, such as coercive interference by governments.

By contrast, positive liberty means the ability to do the things you want to do. It is associated with self-realisation or self-determination being in control of ones own destiny. The protest slogan my body, my choice, for instance, is an appeal to individual negative liberty freedom from mandates and restrictions.

Read more: What are the rights of children at the parliament protest and who protects them?

But its not possible to simultaneously maximise both negative and positive liberty. There are inevitably trade-offs. If the protesters had their way, New Zealanders would have more negative liberty but less positive liberty. Overall, we argue, people would be less free.

Nearly all laws restrict negative liberty, but their effect on positive liberty varies dramatically. For example, laws prohibiting theft restrict negative liberty they restrict peoples freedom to steal with impunity.

But do such restrictions make you feel un-free? Quite the contrary, laws against theft increase positive liberty. They allow us to feel more secure, and because we dont have to keep a constant eye on our property, we can do other things.

Thinking of freedom only through a lens of negative liberty involves a critical problem it ignores the fact that our actions affect other people: the freedom to drink and drive restricts other peoples ability to use the streets safely; the freedom to smoke in public places exposes others to the potential harms of secondhand fumes.

In general, the choices we make even concerning our own bodies and what we choose to consume have moral implications for how and where we can participate in society. Giving people freedom to visit certain places while unvaccinated against COVID-19 restricts other peoples ability to visit those places safely.

Read more: What the 'freedom convoy' reveals about the ties among politics, police and the law

Vaccinated New Zealanders currently enjoy high levels of positive liberty. Life is nearly normal. Crucially, though, this freedom depends on policies designed to reduce the threat of the disease high rates of vaccination, vaccine certificates and mandates for certain key roles, masks and temporary restrictions on large gatherings to reduce the spread.

Such policies constitute a slight loss of negative liberty. Without these policies, however, positive liberty would be much reduced. New Zealanders could not visit places like gyms, pools, restaurants and shops without fear of catching a potentially deadly disease.

New Zealand has enjoyed more freedom over the past two years than nearly anywhere else, but it has only been possible through restrictions on negative liberty to reduce the risk of COVID-19.

Isaiah Berlin was rightly concerned about the potential slippery slope towards totalitarian control inherent in appeals to positive freedom, as witnessed in the USSR where severe restrictions on speech, movement, assembly, literary expression and much else were imposed in the name of freedom (namely the freedom to be a good Soviet).

But slippery slopes can be resisted and the risk here seems slight. For COVID policies that restrict negative liberty to enhance overall freedom, they must be necessary to promote positive liberty, responsive to the evidence, and proportional to the threat.

Read more: Vaccine mandates for NZs health and education workers are now in force but has the law got the balance right?

One sign we are not on a slippery slope to totalitarianism: COVID restrictions change with, and are proportional to, the risk. Last year, when New Zealand had zero COVID-19 cases, lockdowns ended and restrictions were few; when the threat increased, restrictions did, proportionally.

Restrictions on negative liberty should be adopted with care and subject to continual review. All citizens, protesters included, are right to value freedom and to be wary of heavy-handed, top-down control.

But that is not the same as calling for an end to COVID-19 rules because such rules limit freedom. A clearer understanding of positive liberty allows us to see that restrictions designed to protect us from COVID-19 actually enhance our overall freedom.

Continued here:

How protesters demanding freedom from COVID restrictions ignore the way liberty really works - The Conversation

These letters published in the March 6, 2022print edition of the Las Cruces Sun-News.

A bridge too far

I was born in West Virginia and with the start of WWII my family moved to Detroit Michigan to work in the defense industry. The army wouldn't sign up my father because he was "too old."I was 5 years old then, but I can remember sitting on the front porch looking at the patrolling guard on the Ambassador bridge. He was in the Army and wore a WWI steel helmet and had a rifle resting on his shoulder. His Canadian counterpart patrolled the Canadian side. My dad said they were there so the Nazis couldn't blow up the bridge because it was a very important bridge.

After the war when I was older we used to ride our bikes across the bridge to Canada. Going down the slope to Canada on a bike was a thrilling ride. Coming back was just as good. There was a time when you could walk across the bridge. A lot of people walked on Sunday. We referred to it as "our bridge." Much later as a student at Syracuse University in New York , I would drive to Detroit by going across the Buffalo, N.Y. bridge to Canada and to the Ambassador bridge to my home in Detroit. I often thought, "Thank goodness the Nazis didn't blow up the bridge." Little could I imagine that a group of Canadians and Americans called the "Freedom Convoy" could do what the Nazis couldn't do in WWII: Close "my bridge."

Now I read the "Freedom Convoy" is coming to New Mexico. I said a little prayer when I picked up the paper in my driveway, "Dear Lord protect me from the "Freedom Convoy." Don't let them stop in Las Cruces." Please!

William J. Grigaliunas, Las Cruces

Is Joe Biden a stooge in the secret employ of the Russian dictator Putin?This is the sort of question that Democrat leaders asked constantly during Donald Trump's presidency.So turnabout seems to be fair play.

Trump advocated a stronger NATO, opposing Putin.Trump financed Kurdish rebel forces to strike at ISIS in Syria and restrict the abilities of Putin's Syrian army surrogates.Trump promoted greater energy independence for the US.All these actions run counter to the argument that he was in league with Putin.

Meanwhile, the Obama presidency provided blankets to the Ukrainian government after Putin invaded the Crimean peninsula region of Ukraine.And now Joe Biden refuses to consider opening up new leases of oil and natural gas drilling on public lands, even defying a court order requiring him to do so.Meanwhile, I just paid $3.99 a gallon for gas in Las Cruces, up from just $2.19 a gallon just after Trump left office in 2021.

Was Trump acting as a Putin stooge when he worked to reduce our costs of energy and dependence on Russian oil?Contrarily, is Biden acting as a Russian stooge when all he offers to the Ukrainians are food packets, blanketsand doilies?But refuses to send them the lethal weapons they need to repel the vicious Russian invaders?

How much higher do gasoline and natural gas prices have to rise before people in power like Joe Biden and Michelle Lujan Grisham realize these high and rising prices are crippling our economy, the savings of many retirees, and the value of welfare recipients' monthly checks?

Simply jacking up deficit spending, further fueling inflation, is not the answer. Nor will solar and wind farms and electric vehicles (EVs) replace the value of gasoline for fueling our transportation needs.

David Tofsted, Las Cruces

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Letters to the editor: On 'freedom convoys' - Las Cruces Sun-News

One group of truckers heading towards Washington, D.C. to protest remaining COVID mandates and government overreach said they will not make it to the nation's capital in time for President Biden's State of the Union speech Tuesday night.

WJLA-TV reports the group is known as "The People's Convoy" said they will not arrive in the D.C. Beltway area until Saturday, March 5.

Maureen Steele, one of the protest's organizers told the television station the truckers never intended to be in the District of Columbia for the State of the Union. And when they do arrive in the area this weekend, she said they will stay out of D.C.

"We have zero plans to go into D.C. proper. After January 6, what went on there, there was never any intention of going into D.C. proper. We've discouraged other people from doing it," she said.

The convoy posted their declaration to their website, which reads in part:

"WE DEMAND THE DECLARATION OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CONCERNING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC BE LIFTED IMMEDIATELY AND OUR CHERISHED CONSTITUTION REIGN SUPREME.

WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND WE STAND TOGETHER UNDER THE BANNER OF FREEDOM FREEDOM IS THE ONE THING THAT UNITES US ALL. LIBERTY FLOWS THROUGH ALL OF OUR VEINS."

The organization also explains who they are. "We are truckers, moms, students, nurses, doctors, investors, county workers, teachers, cowboys, loggers, engineers, sanitation workers, professors, cashiers, flight attendants, pilots, sales reps, physical therapists," the declaration reads.

"WE ARE, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, married, single, divorced, separated, gay, straight. WE ARE Black, White, Asian, Native American. WE ARE immigrants, natives: WE ARE citizens of the free world."

The group's declaration also directly addresses the U.S. government.

"To our elected officials that believe they rule us: YOU work for US," the declaration said. "Our constitution was written to provide enough power to act on a national level, but not enough to deprive the people of fundamental rights. The people are prepared to see this challenge through as we have seen through all challenges to our Freedom in the past. And we will prevail and prosper."

The convoy has been met with enthusiastic responses by people across the country.

Meanwhile, District and Capitol officials are tightening security in preparation for President Biden's State of the Union address. Police in the Capitol are preparing for major traffic disruptions this week, much like those in Canada following a month of protests.

As CBN News reported, one group from Pennsylvania is just one of several additional convoys that are planning to join in, heading south on Interstate 81 from Scranton.

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Some drivers plan to arrive in time for President Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday.

U.S. Capitol Police released a statement saying the department is aware of the plans for convoys to arrive around the time of Biden's message.

"The United States Capitol Police and the United States Secret Service have been closely working together to plan for the upcoming State of the Union," the statement reads. "The temporary inner-perimeter fence is part of those ongoing discussions and remains an option, however at this time no decision has been made."

Security around the Capitol is ramping up with 800 National Guard troops expected to be deployed and a new fence around the building has also been erected.

But some groups who applied for a permit to demonstrate will be allowed to stage their events Tuesday. A permit has been approved for a rally Tuesday at the Sylvan Theater near the Washington Monument, according to WJLA-TV.

The station reported the KNK Foundation, the organizers of the event, described their demonstration as "peaceful" with Christian music, speakers against mandates, support of trucker convoys in Canada, and the lifting of mandates in D.C. and the rest of the country. It's scheduled from 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm just before President Biden's State of the Union address.

The foundation's website describes the group as "an organization dedicated to seeking innovative ways to address food insecurity and fight to end hunger. Help adults and children with intellectual and physical disabilities live a life filled with purpose. Promote healthier lifestyles through education and physical activity."

Read more:

'We Stand Together Under the Banner of Freedom': Where Is ...