Category Archives: Liberal

The personal transformation entailed by the adoption of a Communist outlook is a disruptive one. When you make a commitment to the revolutionary overthrow of the entire social order, you always live in conflict with the ideas of the ruling class that control the majority of the people. Such discordance with widely accepted notions results in social humiliation and the precarization of survival. When you boldly refuse to conform to the dehumanizing norms of capitalism and demand the creation of new criteria for the valuation of humanity, you are blocked from the symbolic system of recognition and consigned to the zone of deplorability. This largely negative reaction to the progressive agenda of Communism is an effect of the temporal contradictions that inevitably afflict any Marxist militant. At the same time as you strive for the ruthless abolition of capitalist relations, you cant help but start the struggle from the muck of the here and now. The future has to be created within the womb of the present.

As Vijay Prashad writes: The communists who emerge out of [capitalist] worlds are often talented and bright those who could make lucrative careers and could be the shining lights of their communities. Yet, they chose to go to the trenches of political battle. They refuse to leave their world, but in adopting the transformative social agenda of communism they remain within at a curious distance unwilling to conform to conservative social trendscommunists live a double reality fighting against this world to make a better future, and living in this world within ones social order. To inhabit the present and the future is a stern burden on a communist.

As an Indian student who has embraced Communism, my experiential encounters with the educational universe of neoliberal capitalism have included the difficult task of maintaining a balance between careerist pressures and revolutionary principles. When I had not yet gained political consciousness, I used to enjoy being regularly crushed by the hyper-competitive education machine run by the Indian bourgeoisie. Saturated in the consumerist dystopia brought about by neo-imperialist globalization, I was intensely aspirational, always wanting to faithfully imitate the toppers whose images I saw on the billboards of coaching centers. What defined that period of my life was a sick preoccupation with the urge to do something extraordinary, something that would earn me accolades from the honchos of my local status quo. This strong desire to gain social recognition was closely tied to neoliberal ideology, which worships competition, delegitimizes cooperation, boosts ambition, and attaches personal worth to professional achievement. A society governed by this systemic logic of perfectionism promotes judgmental values and constant anxiety. In the words of Meagan Day, the youth is trapped in the feeling of paranoia and anxiety engendered by the persistent and not entirely unfounded sensation that everyone is waiting for you to make a mistake so they can write you off forever. This hyper-perception of others impossible expectations causes social alienation, neurotic self-examination, feelings of shame and unworthiness, and a sense of self overwhelmed by pathological worry and a fear of negative social evaluation, characterized by a focus on deficiencies, and sensitive to criticism and failure.

The social norms of perfectionism practiced by todays students are an ideological corollary of the material changes unleashed by neoliberalism. Through the destruction of the welfare state, late-stage capitalism has destroyed the socio-institutional bases of collective solidarity. This massive attack on working class gains has corporatized education, creating an environment where competition, and standardized testing have come to be the major determinants of educational outcomes; these educational outcomes, in turn, are fundamental to ones future market price i.e. to the possibility of maintain a stable livelihood. Given these very real facts of educational and economic instability, it is no wonder that students consider perfectionism and selfishness the sole rational means to deal with issues of career. As Thomas Curran notes, It is how they are coping to feel safe, connected and of worth in a culture that prizes individual accomplishment over everything else. Whenever I challenged this structurally rooted curtailment of student imagination through conversations with teachers and students I was usually met with a fierce defense of the elite discourse. Perceived as a nuisance to the exam-centric pedagogical dynamics that dominate Indian classrooms, I was ignored and scorned. What took precedence was the question of economic survival and social esteem. No one was willing to come together and engage in critical dialogue about the system that compels us to compete against each other. On top of this discouraging response from others, I no longer found myself capable of engaging in the great rat-race of endless exams. Communism made me cognizant of the irrationality of such efforts to quantitatively assess students through restrictive marking schemes. I realized that exams were disconnected from our intellectual capacities and learning processes and only served to select few and eliminate others. However, this exposure to the truth of capitalist education made me unfit for being a successful student.

To properly participate in a mad system, you have to be mad. But I was no longer mad. I was critically thinking about the sheer brutality of the totality of Indian education, its socio-cultural inequalities and political conservatism. No longer steeped in the stupor of commodities, I was amazed by the fact that humans created such an inhumane order!

Avijit Pathak articulates the monstrosity of the society in a lucid fashion: What kind of society have we created! For us, religion is nothing but loud and demonstrative ritualism a sort of identity marker; patriotism is a violent gesture towards the invented enemies of the nation; mainstream politics is devoid of the slightest trace of ethics, and gross inequality is normalized. As creative dissenters are sent to jail, everything is turned into its opposite: Vice into virtue, ugliness into beauty, or narcissism into humility. A society of this kind has to kill all emancipatory ideals and practices of education. The incongruity between my social consciousness and the one necessitated by the functional imperatives of neoliberal education marred my social standing, making me look like a ridiculous idealist to other serious people. A Communist will invariably be subject to such shame. What matters is resisting those politico-cultural hindrances and resolutely moving forward toward the path of liberation through revolutionary praxis.

Read more from the original source:

Being A Non-Conformist In The Era Of Neo-Liberal Education OpEd - Eurasia Review

A senior Mountie testified Thursday he believes political inference was behind RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki's determination to have police release details on the guns used in the Nova Scotia mass shooting.

Chief Supt. Chris Leather made the comment at the public inquiry into the rampage that took 22 lives on April 18-19, 2020, during cross-examination by Tom MacDonald, a lawyer who represents two family members of victims.

MacDonald asked if Leather believed, after the officer participated in a teleconference with Lucki followingthe shootings, that the commissioner's comments reflected political interference in the criminal probe underway at the time.

"That's my impression," Leather responded. He said he came to that conclusion after gathering the facts about the "lead-up" to the meeting with Lucki.

RCMP Chief Supt. Darren Campbell has alleged that during a meeting on April 28, 2020, Lucki said she promised the Prime Minister's Office that the information on the guns would be released in connection with the Liberal government's "pending gun control legislation."

The Liberal government was in the midst of drafting fresh gun control measures to reduce access to semi-automatic weapons in the weeks following the mass shooting. Campbell and Leather both testified this week that releasing the information on the guns would have interfered with the ongoing investigation into who provided the killer with the semi-automatic weapons.

Leather, who is the head of criminal operations in Nova Scotia, testified on Wednesday that he had received a call from Lucki on the evening of April 22 three days after the mass shooting and that she had asked him to send her details about the guns. The superintendent has said that a list of guns he had sent to Lucki was for internal purposes only.

Leather's statement about the April 22 call with Lucki, and about a series of emails that followed, hadn't come up in a July 6 interview with inquiry lawyers.

During cross-examination Thursday by Michael Scott a lawyer who represents the majority of the victims' families Leather said he hadn't discussed the call with Lucki or the emails on July 6 because lawyers with the federal Department of Justice had suggested he take "a reactive posture."

"The advice I received was not to proactively disclose the conversation [with Lucki]and the emails leading up to the meeting on April 28, [2020]," Leather testified.

"I knew from my notes and emails I had prepared and submitted that it was obviously relevant to what would become the infamous phone call of April 28and was troubled by that and wanted their advice and was advised to take a reactive posture."

Lori Ward, a lawyer for the federal Justice Department and the RCMP, told commissioners Thursday she believed there had been a "misunderstanding" from Leather about that advice. She said she and another federal lawyer had understood that Leather had a document relevant to the April 28, 2020, meeting with Lucki that they needed to review because it might contain privileged information.

"At no time did we advise [Chief Supt.]Leather not to speak about it and not to speak the truth," she said.

Ward said the document in question, which she didn't describe in detail, will be disclosed to the inquiry soon.

Lucki has denied interfering in the police investigation. She testified Monday before a House of Commons committee that she didn't recall telling then-public safety minister Bill Blair that she had "promised" to have the details on the guns released. She said she remembered using different words with Blair.

Read more from the original source:

Mountie has 'impression' Liberal government interfered with N.S. mass shooting probe - CBC.ca

Thompson, a Queensland MP whose wife, daughters and mother-in-law are all Indigenous, said he had spoken to his family regularly about the proposal but no one can give me any details.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today mentioned that he wants everyone to support a Voice to parliament - well, tell us what it is so we can discuss it and I can talk to my family and say will this actually benefit Aboriginal people in this country, or is it virtue signalling? he said.

I took my two daughters into the House today. I want them to have a strong, positive, inclusive future but in the same breath people say support a Voice but you havent told us what it is.

Pasin, a South Australian MP, said we dont know what the proposal is, the first obligation of those pursuing this initiative is to clearly and carefully enunciate in detail what the Voice is, how it will operate and what it proposes to achieve by way of outcomes. Until then, its really hard to support.

I stand with [Liberal Indigenous senators] Jacinta Price on this and Kerrynne Liddle, outcomes are what matter.

Loading

Chandler, a Tasmanian senator, said she shared Prices concerns regarding the Voice.

I think Senator Price gave a fantastic speech with some very important observations and perspectives which deserve to be listened to, she said.

Just eight of 44 referendums have ever succeeded in Australia and, without a bipartisan consensus in favour of the Voice, the plan to enshrine a Voice in the constitution faces an uphill battle.

While former prime minister Scott Morrison was opposed to a referendum on the Voice, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has not rejected the possibility of bipartisan support for a Voice and some Liberals, including senator Andrew Bragg have long backed it.

Following her speech on Thursday night, Price told the Herald and The Age she would campaign against the Voice inside the Coalition party room.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during a Welcome to Country ceremony at Parliament House on Tuesday.Credit:Alex Ellnghausen

Yes, I think I will [campaign against it] because as I mentioned in my speech, does it mean then that our elected Indigenous voices within parliament, do we suddenly become redundant? That is the democratic Westminster system ... we are a successful nation because of this system.

Myself and Kerrynne will be very vocal in our positions on these issues. Weve got a lot of understanding between the two of us.

In question time on Thursday, Albanese predicted that creating a Voice to parliament and enshrining it in the Constitution was, like the National Apology in 2008, something that after it happened everyone will wonder why we didnt do it beforehand and a chance to recognise in Australias national birth certificate that Australia didnt begin in 1788.

Loading

Its not a matter of doing that or Closing the Gap. Its not a matter of some symbolism as some people would see it. What its a matter of is empowerment. Giving people respect is a first step to overcoming some of the challenges that are there, he said.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was endorsed by hundreds of Indigenous leaders and the Voice it proposed would operate as an advisory body to parliamentarians, enabling Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders to provide advice on laws and policies that impact them.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

See more here:

Liberal MPs opposing Voice to parliament because of a lack of detail - Sydney Morning Herald

Former Liberal heavyweight Mathias Cormann has for the third time in a week refused to address his role as the mastermind of a group of party powerbrokers that called themselves The Clan.

The ex-Federal finance ministers high-profile speaking tour of Perth concluded on Thursday night when he rubbed shoulders with business figures invited by businessman John Poynton at a cocktail function at Frasers in Kings Park.

But he again refused to answer questions from The West Australian about his part in The Clan, which has been blamed for contributing to the downfall of the WA Liberal Party at consecutive elections.

Thats despite his return from Paris, where he leads the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, coinciding with a State conference considered the most crucial in the partys history.

Liberal members will vote on reform that proponents claim will ensure the best people are selected to contest the 2025 Federal and State elections not just those supported by powerbrokers.

Until now, Mr Cormann had largely escaped scrutiny for his leadership of The Clan, which WhatsApp messages showed had co-ordinated a takeover of party branches to control preselections and key appointments.

Upper House MPs Nick Goiran and Peter Collier were left to carry the can after the extraordinary leak but Liberal insiders described the pair as lieutenants of Mr Cormann during his time as a WA senator. Having brushed off questions at two lunch events in the past week, the OECD Secretary-General again on Thursday avoided The West Australians attempts to ask him about his Clan days.

With barrister wife Hayley Cormann at his side he hurried inside the restaurant where he delivered yet another speech on the global economy but avoided any mention of Australian politics and didnt take questions.

The function was hosted by Mr Poynton and his business partner Chris Stavrianou, who together run corporate advisory firm Poynton Stavrianou. Guests included Mr Poyntons wife Di Bain, who is Perths Deputy Lord Mayor as well as chair of Tourism WA.

Also seen arriving were Tourism WA managing director Carolyn Turnbull, Nine Perth boss Clive Bingwa, Rio Tinto iron ore chief executive Simon Trott, developer Ben Lisle, former Woodside CEO Peter Coleman, REIWA chief executive Cath Hart, Infrastructure WA chair Nicole Lockwood and WA Business News journalist Mark Beyer.

Inaugural Fremantle Dockers coach Gerard Neesham, Docker-turned-executive James Clement, ex-West Coast Eagles chairman Dalton Gooding and former Australian rugby player John Welborn were among the sports figures spotted.

One-time WA Liberal leader Mike Nahan earlier this week labelled Mr Cormann the head of The Clan and said his former party colleague had left a mess behind when he moved to Europe.

Writing in todays The West, WA Liberal senator Dean Smith said a push for sweeping reform that would untangle the grip of powerbrokers had been frustrated, an inquiry into unethical membership behaviour whitewashed and revelations of illegal cash reimbursements had gone unaddressed.

He said a plebiscite model for Lower House preselections put forward by WA Liberal president Richard Wilson had been watered down but was a start and called for the overhaul to extend to Upper House preselection.

Mr Wilson urged members in an email to embrace reforms in order to show the community we have the ability to undertake difficult but necessary internal changes.

Go here to read the rest:

Former top Liberal Mathias Cormann still refusing to talk about mastermind role in The Clan - The West Australian

Last week the former British prime minister David Cameron made a visit to Sydney to headline a climate conference for Liberals and Nationals organised by the Coalition for Conservation, an organisation dedicated to creating a national platform for the environment across the centre right. He came bearing some important lessons for Liberals if we are to avoid the fate of the Conservatives, who lost three elections before empowering Cameron to modernise his own party.

I have personally heard speeches from three former or future Conservative British prime ministers during my lifetime: Margaret Thatcher in 1993 in the House of Lords, Boris Johnson while foreign secretary, at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, and last week David Cameron.

Those three prime ministers represent a common thread of Conservative party leadership on climate change and the environment. To the mix, it is also worth noting the contribution of John Gummer (Lord Deben), environment secretary under John Major, who is still regarded as an environmental hero by many in the United Kingdom.

Thatchers speech to the United Nations General Assembly in November 1989 was a clarion call to the international community to work together to address climate change its an address that could be given today with the same validity and relevance. Both Cameron and Johnson have led domestic and international action on climate change in a way that has reflected the broad bipartisanship on this issue in the UK.

Camerons contribution in Sydney last week was particularly poignant for those of us in the Liberal party seeking to respond to the lessons of the May federal election.

While Australia has chartered its own course, separate from the strings that once more closely bound us to the UK, there is still a certain resonance and commonality between our political systems. This reflects our liberal democratic values, the predominance of political parties that share similar ideology and the common issues we face in the global community.

In a gathering of Liberal and National party members state and federal Cameron reminded us of the modernisation journey he led the Conservative party on in the lead-up to his victory in 2010. Central to this was his drive to ensure the party was not only a constructive participant but actually led debate on climate action. He also worked to ensure that the Conservative party fully represented, in his words, the brilliance of British society which was the motivation for his drive to attract more women and people of ethnic diversity into the parliamentary ranks of his party.

In his words he took that approach of do we learn and change or do we double down and repeat?. With slightly less eloquence, he gave us the advice that if your customer says they dont want eggs and ham for breakfast, does it make any sense to serve up double eggs and ham to win their favour?

The three election losses that preceded Camerons election as leader gave him licence to take the party in a new direction. There was a willingness, if not some desperation, to allow progressive Tories to try something new to win back voters many in traditional Conservative constituencies who had abandoned their party for Labour or the Liberal Democrats. The problem and challenge he faced sounds all too familiar.

On issues like climate and diversity, Cameron said his success was made possible because he personally led the drive for change rather than identifying a problem and delegating to others to fix.

He also highlighted the importance of political consensus on issues like climate. While recognising the Conservatives and British Labour would use different levers and policies, he made the point that as opposition leader he didnt seek to wedge the Labour government on their own climate agenda. Again, in his words, endlessly questioning your opponents approach, even when they are doing the right thing, makes it even harder to convince people of your own good intentions.

While there are clearly differences between the circumstances of the UK and Australia and differences between the Tories and the Liberal party, there is a striking lesson from Camerons approach to what can and should be done to ensure the Liberal party is to re-earn the trust of those who abandoned the party, particularly in metropolitan electorates.

There have been some foolish suggestions that the Liberal party should politically abandon electorates previously considered our heartland following our defeat in many of those seats. A simple look at electoral maths means that the pathway to a return to government is perilously narrow I would argue impossible for the Liberal party if it were to adopt this approach.

Instead, we need to respond to what voters told us at the ballot box and climate change is an important place to start, ranking as it did chief among the concerns of so many Australians in electorates like the one I represented. Its for that reason that the opposition should be prepared to build on the bipartisanship that has emerged for the 2050 net zero commitment and reconsider its decision not to support the governments 2030 target of 43% emissions reductions, including for legislation supporting that outcome.

There will be other issues the party will need to confront including the recruitment and preselection of talented women. Again this will require strong leadership, particularly to overcome the failures of internal Liberal party processes to match goals with achievement.

Cameron confronted more than 15 years ago issues that Liberals in Australia are still facing today. His own path to Number 10 could maybe provide a roadmap we can learn from. The earlier we start to implement change the sooner we can regain the support of those we lost.

Trent Zimmerman is the former federal member for North Sydney

Read the rest here:

Here is what the Liberal party could learn from the Conservatives under David Cameron - The Guardian

While Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry have not commented on the matter, people are wondering what the couple think of the verdict.

The Duchess of Sussex has been called "way to woke" and "liberal" since she became a part of the British royal family.

Several US celebrities have expressed their views about the US Supreme Court ruling that struck down the constitutional right to abortion.

Jennifer Aniston, Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Mark Ruffalo and British singer Dua Lipa were first to criticize the ruling online.

As far as Meghan Markle's political views are concerned, the former American actress is against the ruling.

She might not issue a formal statement against the Supreme Court decision, her views suggest that she will never back a court ruling which is being criticized by the women rights activists.

Earlier this year, Conservative columnist Meghan McCain said she is not a fan of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle because they are way too woke.

I was a fan at the beginning because I thought they were interesting and sort of modernising the royal family, Ms McCain told Sky News Australia.

But theyre way too woke for me.

Ms McCain is the daughter of two-time presidential candidate John McCain.

Original post:

What liberal and woke Meghan Markle thinks of Supreme Courts ruling on abortion? - The News International

By Canadian Press

Jun 23, 2022 | 10:15 AM

OTTAWA A pair of Ontario businessmen say they each loaned former Liberal MP Raj Grewal $200,000 before being invited to join a 2018 trip to India with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Brampton tire centre owner Andy Dhugga told an Ottawa court today he has known Grewals family for a long time, and Grewal asked him for the money in the summer of 2017, saying he needed to pay off a different loan.

A former Liberal political staffer testified earlier that Dhugga and businessman Yusuf Yenilmez, who told court he also loaned Grewal money, were both on a shortlist of five guests Grewal invited to participate in a private meet-and-greet with Trudeau in New Delhi.

The former MP is facing two breach of trust charges, with the Crown alleging he used his political office for personal gain and offered access to the trip in exchange for money that he used to pay off major gambling debts.

Originally posted here:

Ex-Liberal MP Raj Grewal invited lenders to private meet-and-greet with Trudeau - EverythingGP

The Liberal Democrats have sometimes struggled to get media attention, usually losing out in column inches to Labour and the Tories.

As a result the party has developed a flair for imaginative and eye-catching media stunts.

1) Showing Boris Johnson the literal door

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey poses with a prop door on June 24, 2022 in Tiverton, England.

(Getty Images)

To celebrate the liberal victory in Tiverton and Honiton this morning Lib Dem leader Ed Davey unveiled a door before waiting press. The joke was that he was "showing Boris Johnson the door". Whether the prime minister takes the hint or not remains to be seen.

2) Knocking down a literal blue wall

Ed Davey knocks down a blue wall after the Amersham and Chesham by-election with a B&Q hammer

(PA)

But the door stunt is far from the first time Sir Ed has played a practical joke at the Tories' expense. After the Amersham and Chesham by-election the Lib Dem leader brandished an orange hammer to knock down a literal "blue wall" constructed by his media team. The message was that the liberals were coming for Tory seats. The Independent understands it was a "nightmare" to find a suitably coloured hammer and that it was ultimately sourced via an emergency trip to Croydon B&Q.

3) Bursting Boris Johnson's bubble

Boris Johnson had his bubble burst after the North Shropshire by-election

(Getty Images)

The Lib Dems have had a very good run of by-election successes during this parliament, and perhaps an even better run of victory stunts. After winning the North Shropshire by-election in December last year Sir Ed popped a giant blue balloon, claiming it representing him symbolically "bursting Boris Johnson's bubble". The scalp of the wiley prime minister has yet alluded opposition parties, however.

4) Paddy Ashdown eating his hat

Paddy Ashdown eats a cake shaped like a hat during BBC Question Time in 2015

(BBC Question Time)

But eye-catching stunts are not just for liberal victories. Paddy Ashdown famously ate his hat or a cake version of it live on BBC Question Time in 2015 after he carelessly used the idiom in a pre-election bout of fighting talk. He had said he would eat his hat if the polls were right to suggest the liberals would lose 47 seats; the party eventually lost 49.

5) Nick Clegg's high-wire stunts

Nick Clegg took to a zip wire to give his 2015 election campaign a boost

(PA)

On a similar theme, Nick Clegg also tried to galvanise his campaign in 2015 by taking to a zip-wire, apparently imitating an earlier stunt pulled by Boris Johnson. The photo-op led to headlines "Can Nick Clegg pull off his high wire act?". The answer was, unfortunately for the deputy prime minister, no.

6) Willie Rennie stunts, a force of nature

DUNFERMLINE, SCOTLAND - MAY 21: Willie Rennie leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, water skies during a European Election campaign event

(Getty Images)

It would be wrong to talk about Liberal Democrat photo-ops without an honourable mention for former Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie. As leader from 2011-2021 Mr Rennie has such a fondness for photo-ops that Scottish newspaper the Courirer was about to compile 14 of his best for a retrospective piece, well beyond the scope of this brief article. He manhandled a ram, drove a Lamborghini, and attended a bakery to criticise SNP "half-baked" independence plans. During the party's successful 2019 European election campaign he was seen jubilantly waterskiing in Townill Loch in Dunfermline, "riding the wave of possibility".

View original post here:

The 6 weirdest Liberal Democrat election victory stunts - The Independent

Faculty members honored during the spring faculty meeting for the College of Liberal Arts include (from left) Ted Ownby, winner of the colleges Award for Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement; Eden Tanner, recipient of a campuswide Frist Student Service Award; Saumen Chakraborty, Edmonds New Scholar Award; Jared Delcamp, Melinda and Ben Yarbrough Senior Award for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics; Emily Bretherick Rowland, Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award; Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons, Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen; Carrie Smith, Edmonds New Scholar Award; and Timothy Yenter, Howell Family Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

OXFORD, Miss. Eight University of Mississippi professors have been honored by the College of Liberal Arts for their excellence in teaching and research.

Timothy Yenter

Three professors were recognized for their exceptional teaching. Timothy Paul Yenter, associate professor of philosophy, received the Howell Family Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award. Named after alumni donors Dr. Norris Howell (BS 75) and Lynne Thomas Howell (BA 74, MBA 76), both of Ripley, the endowment provides funds to recognize the outstanding teacher within the college.

Emily Bretherick Rowland, instructional assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, received the Outstanding Instructor of the Year Award. Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons, assistant professor of classics, was presented the Cora Lee Graham Award for Outstanding Teaching of Freshmen.

Emily Bretherick Rowland

Donald L. Dyer, distinguished professor of modern languages and associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, celebrated Rowland, Dibiasie-Sammons and Yenter.

The College of Liberal Arts is extremely proud of its three newest teaching award winners, he said. They span the liberal arts disciplines and represent the best the college has to offer in the classroom.

In fact, the college has a rich tradition of valuing and honoring its best teachers. It cultivates and nurtures the best of pedagogical practices and methodologies for betterment and improvement.

Jacqueline Frost DiBiasie-Sammons

The students of the three being honored, as well as their colleagues, have spoken, and this year ensured that we honor some of the master teachers among us.

Five professors were recognized for achievements in research. Recipients of the Edmonds New Scholar Award are Saumen Chakraborty, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry; Veronica Menaldi, assistant professor of modern languages; and Carrie Smith, assistant professor of psychology.

Saumen Chakraborty

Ted Ownby, the William F. Winter Chair and professor of history and Southern studies, received the College of Liberal Arts Award for Research, Scholarship and Creative Achievement.

Jared Delcamp, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, is the recipient of the Melinda and Ben Yarbrough Senior Award for the Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

Excerpts from their nomination letters praised each of the research award recipients.

Veronica Menaldi

(The) Chakraborty group (which is made up of both undergraduate and graduate students) does significant research that lies at the interface between biochemistry and inorganic chemistry and focuses on exploring the role of metals in biology, one letter read. But beyond the science, Dr. Chakrabortys primary motivation is to help students achieve academic excellence and professional growth.

Smith and her lab engage in three primary research activities: investigating peoples daily and relational well-being, examining the interpersonal aspects of personality and individual differences, and exploring the experiences of gender and gender ideology.

Carrie Smith

Smith has demonstrated exemplary performance in research and creative achievement, one letter stated. Among her accomplishments in research to date are 41 peer-reviewed articles and three book chapters. She has also been a presenter and co-presenter for 100 presentations given regionally, nationally and internationally.

A nomination letter for Ownby states, (He) has distinguished himself as one of the most productive and pioneering scholars in both the History Department and in the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. (His) impact on the lives of students at both the graduate and undergraduate level is broad and lasting.

Ted Ownby

But more striking is the tone of deep affection and regard his former students use in describing their relationship, which in many cases extends far beyond the UM campus and into their professional lives.

Delcamp has established an extraordinary track record with more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in internationally recognized journals,and more than $4 million in major grant funding earned at the university, plus three multi-investigator, multi-institution NSF EPSCoR grants totaling $30 million.

Jared Delcamp

In his time with the university, Dr. Delcamp has grown a productive, diverse and inclusive research environment, one of his nomination letters states. As a true testament to the diversity of Dr. Delcamps activities, he has developed a summer school program for high school students in economically disadvantaged areas of north Mississippi.

More:

Liberal Arts Professors Honored for Excellence in Teaching, Research - Ole Miss News

The next election is supposed to be three years away, but were seeing a lot of predictions of Justin Trudeaus political demise. But for his Liberal Party, there is no easy way to leave him behind.

Predicting Mr. Trudeaus next three years seems like a mugs game when you consider the surprises of his first seven years in office included Donald Trump, pandemic and war in Europe.

But this is a Prime Minister whose last two re-election bids saw him eke out minority governments without winning the popular vote, and who will have been in office for 10 years by the time the next election is due.

Any other party, with any other leader, would already have plans, or plots, to replace him. Yet for the Liberal Party of Canada, the big challenge would be finding a replacement leader who isnt seen as a pale imitation a Trudeau Liberal who isnt Justin Trudeau.

By profile, the obvious contender is Chrystia Freeland, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, who now delivers budgets, handles major policy files, steps in for the Prime Minister on key occasions, and often stands next to him for major announcements.

But if the problem with Mr. Trudeau seeking re-election in 2025 is that its been too much Trudeau, and Canadians are tired of the way hes done things, its hard to imagine Ms. Freeland being seen as the wind of change.

And for all the weight Ms. Freeland has in Mr. Trudeaus government she led NAFTA talks with Mr. Trumps administration, helped build political peace with Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and is responsible for the pandemic-recovery fiscal plan she isnt a political performer like the PM. Few people are.

Mr. Trudeau is a master of the maddening art of the talking point, while Ms. Freeland delivers long lectures. Even now, with his approvals worn lower, no one doubts Mr. Trudeaus ability to charm a room or deliver a line.

And thats a conundrum for the Liberals: Its hard to find a better salesperson for Trudeau Liberalism than Justin Trudeau. And it will be hard to find a Liberal leader who wont seem like a Trudeau Liberal.

There are some contenders with their own political charm. Innovation Minister Franois-Philippe Champagne can work a room. Foreign Affairs Minister Mlanie Joly has some charisma, too. But both have been on Mr. Trudeaus team for seven years.

Defence Minister Anita Anand is newer, and seen by some as a potential leadership aspirant, but by 2025, she will presumably have been a Trudeau cabinet minister for six years. Mark Carney, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England, didnt join Mr. Trudeaus government, but its not clear if he can handle himself in the cut and thrust world of electoral politics which is very different from any other stage.

And at this stage, when potential leadership aspirants are still limited to the quiet work of travelling to fundraisers and regional Liberal meetings, and making backroom plans, many of those potential candidates seem to have similar ideas about how to differentiate themselves from Mr. Trudeau with a harder focus on the economy.

Ms. Freeland, as the Finance Minister, has a platform to do that but she is very much tied to Mr. Trudeaus overall governing agenda.

Mr. Champagne, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, is positioning himself as the business Liberal in the cabinet who will talk industrial strategy, economic growth and jobs. Prominent Liberals have suggested to Ms. Anand that she seek out similar turf if she decides to run, although her current job as Defence Minister doesnt make that particularly easy. Mr. Carney, if he chose to run, would have a different challenge: He would enter the race with hefty economic credentials but would have to convince voters that he is in touch with ordinary Canadians.

Thats a group of potential aspirants who would aim to rebrand the Liberals as a party more focused on economics after the long tenure with a more left-leaning PM. Thats something of a tradition in the Liberal Party that replaced Pierre Trudeau with John Turner, and Jean Chrtien with Paul Martin with less than stellar electoral results.

With Justin Trudeau seven years into his tenure but three years from an election, the conundrum for the Liberal Party isnt whether Mr. Trudeau will run again. Its whether he can be replaced with someone voters will think is different.

For subscribers: Get exclusive political news and analysis by signing up for the Politics Briefing.

More:

Can the Liberal Party really replace Justin Trudeau? - The Globe and Mail