Category Archives: NSA

by Gemma Handy

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The countrys flourishing sailing industry now has 10 more newly qualified instructors set to hit the water and take the sector to new heights.

The latest batch of predominantly Antiguan and Barbudan graduates from the National Sailing Academy (NSA) once again tips the balance towards a new generation of locals at the helm of the industry.

Efforts in recent years to offer more local people a foothold in the lucrative field have seen a paradigm shift in its demographic makeup proving that sailing in the twin island nation is no longer the reserve of foreigners.

The 10 youngsters, aged 16 to 20, all joined the academy through its schools programme and have spent the last two years training to become dinghy instructors.

Last week they received their official certification from the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) after a final week and a half course with coaches flown in from the UK.

The NSA stages the course every two years to help fill jobs everywhere from resorts to excursion companies, says Chief Instructor Sylvester Thomas.

The qualification means a lot; it opens doors and is a really good foundation for the industry. Hotels are always looking for certified people. We have already employed a few at the academy and will try to get jobs for the others, he explains.

An internationally recognised qualification, the RYA Dinghy Instructor course aims to give young sailors the tools to inspire and teach the next generation. The students must first complete certifications in powerboats and first aid at Ondeck Antigua which sponsors the cost of those courses.

Since joining the NSA in 2012, Thomas has seen around 20 of his protgs rise through the ranks to instructor level.

Ive worked with many of them since they were 14, 15, and theyre still with us and now theyre teaching themselves, he says.

It feels really good to see their progress; its a blessing.

Key qualities to teach sailing include patience, people skills and problem solving, Thomas continues.

And while the industry now employs more local Antiguan and Barbudan people than ever before, theres still some way to go, he thinks.

We all depend on tourism, and sailing is a big part of what we do. In addition to the recreational aspect in the hotels, we have so many superyachts coming through here and so many other things going on within the industry.

I dont see any reason why one of our students cant be the one docking a cruise ship in Heritage Quay or bringing a megayacht into English Harbour. Our children should be the ones taking over the industry and it starts here, this is the foundation.

Learning to sail can open the gates for you, he says.

Thomas is living proof of that.

I used to be a baker, but since Ive been in sailing I have never been out of a job, he grins.

It is now 24 years since the then 22-year-old quit his position at a bakery in Cedar Grove after his request for a pay rise resulted in a gruff quip.

My boss told me to go outside, put some yeast in the flour and watch it rise as that was the only rise I was gonna get, he recalls.

On a whim, Thomas wandered down to a dinghy centre in Hodges Bay and asked for work.

I knew absolutely nothing about sailing. When they asked if I could sail, I said no but I could learn and here I am.

I didnt expect to still be sailing up to now but once I gravitated to the yachts and realised the benefits that came with it I didnt want to do anything else, he explains.

Id never even been on a plane until I started sailing and the opportunities just kept on coming. I got more and more qualifications which took me places. You never stop learning when it comes to sailing.

Thomas joined the NSA as he saw it as a chance to give back.

I love teaching, opening doors for others. Seeing them progress puts a smile on my face, he says.

Tajanica Thomas (no relation) joined the NSA as a third form student at the Irene B Williams Secondary School.

It was the sense of competition that appealed to me, she tells Observer. Its fun to be out on the water, especially when the wind is up.

Tajanica seized the chance to participate in the instructor programme and has already secured a full-time position teaching at the academy.

Now the 20-year-old plans to take her training to the next level and work towards her day skipper qualification, enabling her to navigate and captain a small yacht.

I think there are a lot more Antiguans that could get involved in sailing they just need the push, she says.

Not only is it fun but you can turn your hobby into a job. It will make you money and give you the opportunity to travel the world.

The National Sailing Academy was founded in 2010 and is largely funded by charitable donations. Visit http://www.nationalsailingacademy.org for more details.

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Instructor course puts more Antiguans and Barbudans at the helm of the sailing scene - Antigua Observer

New Delhi:The Allahabad high court has quashed the detention orders against six persons issued by the district administration of Mau in Uttar Pradesh after their alleged participation in a violent demonstration against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) on December 16, 2019.

The division bench of Justice Sunita Agarwal and Justice Sadhna Rani (Thakur) held that per the mandate of Section 10 of the National Security Act, the Government is required to send all relevant material within three weeks, but in the instant case it was sent to the Advisory Board on September 28, when the three week period had already passed.

In view of the delay, the court found the detention to be illegal. It observed in the order:

Having considered the mandate of Article 22(5) read with Section 10 of the National Security Act, we find in the facts of the instant case that the deadline for placing all papers, i.e., the ground of detention, the representation and the report of the detaining authority before the Advisory Board had not been adhered to by the State Government. The non-compliance of the mandatory provision of Section 10 of the NSA renders the detention orders illegal.

Petitioners move court against detention orders

The habeas corpus pleas had sought quashing of the detention orders issued by the district magistrate of Mau against the six petitioners. The petitioners had also sought quashing of the state governments order extending their detention period for a further period of three months.

It was submitted before the court that on December 16, 2019, a violent protest took place against the NRC and CAA laws following which an FIR (first information report) was registered in the matter against several persons, including the petitioners.

Also read:SC Bars UP Govt From Acting on Earlier Notices to Anti-CAA Protesters for Damages

The circle officer of Mau city had upon perusal of the report of the inspector in-charge of the police station, where the FIR was lodged, recommended forwarding the report to the higher authority. The report was then forwarded to the district magistrate of Mau by the superintendent of police with his recommendation for taking action under the NSA against the petitioners.

The district magistrate of Mau then considered the entire material and recorded his subjective satisfaction while passing the detention orders on September 3, 2020. He invoked the powers under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act while doing so. On the same day, the petitioners were served with the grounds of detention along with other relevant material.

Detention to restore law and order

According to the district magistrate of Mau, the petitioners were detained under the NSA in order to restore the peace and maintain law and order.

UP Police beat up anti-CAA protestors in Lucknow. Photo: PTI.

It was alleged that the accused were making efforts to get bail in the criminal cases lodged against them under the Gangster Act by moving bail applications in the Allahabad high court and therefore it was deemed necessary that they be detained.

The representation by the petitioners was made with the DM the following day, on September 14, 2020, and the para wise comments in respect of these were sent to the concerned authority on September 14, 2020. The detention order was then sent to the Advisory Board on September 28 in accordance with Section 10 of the NSA.

Timelines not complied with

The high court also rejected the argument of the Uttar Pradesh government that the report was submitted by the Advisory Board within the prescribed period of seven weeks from the date of detention of the petitioners and therefore Section 11(1) of the Act had been complied with in the present case.

To this argument, the court said: The maximum period prescribed under Section 11(1) to submit the report by the Advisory Board to the appropriate Government cannot be taken to condone the delay on the part of the State Government, in placing the matter before the Board which in turn had occurred on account of the delay caused at the ends of the District Magistrate, Mau/the detaining authority.

It added, The deadline for the action of every authority at every stage of the decision making process has been fixed under the Act in order to meet the constitutional obligation under Article 22(5) of the concerned authority/Government.

The court also held that the subjective satisfaction recorded by the district magistrate to arrive at the conclusion of detaining the petitioners was not based on any relevant material which would form an objective criterion to arrive at the decision.

Allahabad high court calls out abuse of NSA

Incidentally, the Allahabad high court on several occasions in the past called out the abuse of NSA in Uttar Pradesh.

An investigation by the Indian Express had in April this year revealed how between January 2018 and December 2020, the court had quashed 94 detentions in 120 habeas corpus petitions that challenged preventive detention under the NSA.

Also read:Allahabad HC Quashed All 20 Communal Incident NSA Orders Between 2018 and 2020: Report

The report had revealed that the high court had quashed orders of district magistrates in 32 districts while setting aside the detentions. In most of the cases, 41 out of 94, the NSA had been invoked for cow slaughter. Also, all the accused were found to be from the minority community in these cases.

It was also revealed by the report that in 30 cases, the high court had slammed the state administration and called for the immediate release of the detainees.

The court had in 11 detentions ruled that there was non-application of mind by the district magistrates while passing the order. In 13 cases, it found that the detained person was denied the opportunity to represent himself effectively while challenging the NSA, In seven cases, it said there was no need to invoke the NSA as the cases came under the ambit of law and order. And in the case of six other cases, it noted that the NSA was invoked on the basis of a solitary case despite the accused not having any criminal antecedents.

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'Illegal': Allahabad HC Quashes Detention of Six Held for Taking Part in CAA-NRC Protests - The Wire

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has expressed concern over the details of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) released by Environment Minister George Eustice yesterday (Thursday, December 2).

According to the association, there are still unanswered questions.

Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive said:

There are still some questions and clarity sought, such as capital payment details still not being clear for some grasslands, beyond soil standards, which have been included in the SFI Pilot, also for fencing, hedge-planting, stonewalling, organic farms and even agroforestry and woodland.

Also, the statement made no actual mention of progress on the proposed retirement scheme, he added.

Stocker expressed concern that many farmers will not realise, or not like, the fact that the money is in return for doing specific things.

The SFI will reward farmers for actions they take to manage their land in an environmentally sustainable way, beyond mandatory regulations.

Others will say what is being offered is not ambitious enough, he said.

In his opinion, the SFI should match what farmers were receiving through the Basic Payments Scheme (BPS) as part of the EUs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as it is the governments post-Brexit alternative.

We also have to realise that while the SFI offer is relatively small, the aim is for future scheme development to keep pace with the percentage reductions in BPS this isnt to say ELMS [Environmental Land Management] is a replacement for BPS, but it should be offering the opportunity for farmers to replace much of that income if they choose to.

Stocker acknowledged that getting this far however has been hard work.

It is worth considering the positive progress, he said.

We have a seven-year transition period and no cliff edge, which is exactly what most farmers wanted, we have the first tier of ELMS as a sustainable farming incentive a scheme for farming practices, and we have a scheme that gives the flexibility to enter at a field level, giving flexibility for the farmer to do what is right for them.

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NSA concerned over Sustainable Farming Incentive details - Agriland.co.uk

This is the second in a series of articles devoted to the 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival (November 1028). Part 1 was posted November 30.

This article will discuss four films about political issues.

Be My Voice (2021), directed by Nahid Persson, examines Iranian journalist and activist Masoumeh Masih Alinejad. Now living in New York, Alinejad is an outspoken opponent of the Iranian government: an Islamic theocracy that was established after the 1979 revolution. She has particularly objected to the requirement for Iranian women to wear the hijab, or veil, when in public. In 2014, she attracted attention by creating a Facebook page that encouraged Iranian women to post pictures of themselves without a hijab.

Born in rural Iran two years before the revolution that overthrew the United States puppet Shah Reza Pahlavi, Alinejad grew up in poverty. She became a parliamentary reporter who asked tough questions. Later, she was refused admittance to parliament because of her exposures.

By calling attention to harassment and physical attacks against women in Iran, Alinejad has gained many supporters. But she also has made enemies who send her anonymous threats. In addition, the Iranian government arrested her brother in an apparent attempt to intimidate her. After the arrest, Alinejads mother refused to speak to her.

Although the documentary portrays Alinejad as a feminist heroine, it also provides glimpses of the more complicated truth. We see, for example, that Alinejad hosts a show on Voice of America, a broadcaster of US government propaganda. She also appears on Fox News, the arch-reactionary spreader of misinformation. The film does not mention the fact that Alinejad once gained a meeting with, and the public approval of, the loathsome Mike Pompeo, secretary of state in the administration of President Donald Trump and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

Alinejads opposition to the Iranian regime, which she calls a dictatorship, is doubtless sincere. But the film does not analyze the limitations of the individual acts of protest that she encourages. Nor does it explain why her emotional and moral appeals to world leaders are fruitless.

The films more serious shortcoming is its failure to acknowledge that, consciously or not, Alinejad has allowed herself to become a tool of US imperialism in its campaign to subjugate Iran through inhumane economic sanctions, assassinations and, if necessary, war. Whatever Alinejads intentions, her collaboration will only worsen the oppression of not only Iranian women, but also of the entire Iranian working class.

United States vs. Reality Winner (2021), directed by Sonia Kennebeck, tells how the titular National Security Agency (NSA) contractor was jailed for leaking a classified document that summarized findings about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The films exposure of the thuggish methods of the US government is valuable, but its examination of Winner and of the document she leaked is superficial. By resurrecting the allegations of Russian interference, the documentary provides a belated gift to the Democrats, who focused on this issue to effect a change in foreign policy and cover up President Trumps actual crimes.

Winner grew up in a liberal, middle-class family and joined the US Air Force in 2010 under the mistaken impression that it would allow her to help people. Instead, she ended up using her knowledge of Persian languages to assist in drone assassinations. Winner supported the 2016 presidential campaign of pseudo-socialist Senator Bernie Sanders, opposed Trump and expressed elementary criticisms of US imperialism.

After her discharge, Winner used her top-secret security clearance as a contractor translating documents for the NSA. In this position, she encountered the document that she leaked. The film rushes through its description of this document and presents it as conclusive evidence that the Russian government helped Trump win the election. We have commented previously about its true significance.

Winner sent the document anonymously to the Intercept, a left-leaning publication that solicits leaks . Remarkably, editor in chief Betsy Reed sent a copy to the NSA to confirm its authenticity: an act for which she shows little remorse. The agency quickly identified Winner as the leaker. Without reading Winner her Miranda rights, 11 FBI agents, most of them armed, interrogated her at her home under the pretext of having a friendly conversation.

The film effectively shows how the US government painted Winner as a security threat and railroaded her. Officials have never supported their claim that her actions caused significant harm. Winner ultimately pleaded guilty and received the maximum sentence of 63 months.

The film presents Winner as courageous for having exposed unsubstantiated claims that aided the Democrats against Trump. Would it not have been more courageous for her to refuse to cooperate in drone assassinations (which were overseen by Democratic President Barack Obama)?

F@ck This Job (2021), directed by Vera Krichevskaya, chronicles the first tumultuous years of Dozhd (Rain), the independent television station closely associated with Russias liberal opposition. Of Krichevskayas previous film, The Case of Sobchak, a documentary about the rise and fall of Anatoly Sobchak, the mayor of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) during the period of capitalist restoration, the WSWS wrote that In many respects it is a film by, about and for the Russian oligarchy. The present film continues along the same general lines.

In 2010, the wealthy Natalya Sindeyeva decided to start the station with the ostensible idea of telling uplifting stories and hosting interesting conversations. She nicknamed the station the optimistic channel. Although Sindeyeva had previous television experience, early Dozhd broadcasts were amateurish.

When one on-air personality prepared a satirical sketch about the relationship between President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Sindeyeva suppressed it. She was soon rewarded with a visit from Medvedev. Showing her lack of seriousness, Sindeyeva dressed casually and treated Medvedev more like a celebrity than a political leader.

Later, Dozhd began to cover protests, Russian military intervention in Ukraine, the performance-art agitation of Pussy Riot and the murder of Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Putin. Dozhd was often the only station to cover these developments. But its political orientation was consistently right-wing. Dozhd aired a discussion about whether Leningrad should have been surrendered to the Nazis during World War II to save lives.

Furthermore, the station promoted and several times hosted Alexei Navalny, a far-right Russian chauvinist and critic of Putin. As the WSWS wrote, Navalny is not a democrat or a liberal, but a disgruntled entrepreneur and stockholder with distinct fascist leanings. On many levels, he represents the accumulated political filth that has burst to the surface in Russia after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. He is viewed as the perfect candidate to create an alliance between fascists and oligarchs, and sections of the upper-middle class, for a right-wing movement against Putin, which would be aimed at installing a pro-US puppet regime. This is the character of the stations independence.

In any case, the reactionary Russian government, for its own reasons, was hostile toward Dozhd, which, at different times, suffered the loss of advertisers, disconnection by television providers, the arrest of its journalists and police raids. Dozhd was forced to relocate its operations several timeseven moving on one occasion into the apartment of one of its employees.

These attacks took a toll on the station and created tensions between its employees. Nevertheless, the crew persevered. Having lost advertisers, Dozhd erected a paywall to generate revenue, and Sindeyeva showed determination to keep things running.

But eventually, Sindeyevas optimism gives way to pessimism. She loses her previous hope for political change and resigns herself to the indefinite continuation of Putins reign. Whatever the subjective intentions of Dozhds employees, such an opposition represents absolutely nothing progressive.

Director Emmett Adlers End of the Line (2021) traces the continuing degeneration of New York Citys subway system from 2016 to the beginning of this year. The website for the film calls it a a character-driven political drama, which gives an idea of its limitations as a documentary. Nonetheless, it graphically demonstrates the scandalous state of the subway in one of the worlds wealthiest cities.

New Yorks subway opened in 1904 and was not designed for its current high volume of ridership. Average weekday ridership was 5,493,875 in 2019, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which oversees the system. The maintenance and modernization of the subway have suffered deliberate, even unconscionable, neglect for decades. The signaling system, which directs traffic, dates from the Great Depression and has led to sharp increases in delayed trains. Compounding these problems was the significant damage that Hurricane Sandy caused to the subway system.

The worsening condition and performance of the subway became a political liability for Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has since been ousted over unproven sexual allegations. As riders anger grew, de Blasio and Cuomo publicly argued about who was responsible for the MTA.

In 2018, Cuomo hired Andy Byford, an internationally recognized public transportation expert, to modernize the subway. Byfords Fast Forward plan to update the system from top to bottom quickly earned him public popularity. But before long, Cuomo began to undermine and sideline Byford and the MTA. Ultimately, finding his responsibilities cut in half, Byford resigned in January 2020, his program uncompleted.

Days later, New Yorks first COVID-19 cases were detected. Subway ridership and revenues plummeted. At least 172 transit workers have died of COVID-19.

End of the Line provides a play-by-play of the subway crisis and focuses on the major figures involved but says nothing about larger developments in the city and the country. The bailout of Wall Street following the 2008 crash and the CARES Act of 2020 go unmentioned. The state, with the cooperation of Democrats such as de Blasio and Cuomo, repeatedly subjects the working class to austerity to rescue the financial and corporate oligarchy. Lacking a historical or class perspective, the film cannot propose any solution to the crisis that it documents.

To be continued

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Be My Voice, United States vs. Reality Winner, F@ck This Job and End of the Line: Four documentaries and portions of the truth - WSWS

State Initial Claims

On Friday, markets were disappointed by the meager +210K (seasonally adjusted (SA)) headline Payroll Report (The Establishment Survey).The consensus expectation was for more than +570K with the lowest survey participant at +375K.Remember that the BLS adds a lump of more than +100K to the actual survey results each month (the birth-death model).

Markets were even more frustrated because on Wednesday, ADP had reported that private employers added +534K in November, (ADPs report is based on their payroll business which processes paychecks for 20% of Americas private employers).

At the same time the Payroll Survey is taken (always the week of the month that includes the 12th), its sister survey also occurs The Household Survey.That survey showed job growth of +1.14 million SA (your read that right not a typo).That is a blockbuster number if there ever was one!And, because the much-watched U3 Unemployment Rate is calculated from the Household Survey, the U3 fell from 4.6% to 4.2%.

So, which survey is correct? How can there be such a divergence?

We have stated in this blog time and time again that one should not rely on SA data while the pandemic is still causing havoc in the U.S. and world economies.We believe that seasonal adjustment factors can cause the resulting data to be misleading when the data is influenced by events that are unique.

November is normally a period when hiring occurs in the Retail Trade sector.In all the Friday instant analysis that we read, Retail Trade was blamed for the disappointing employment data, showing up as -20.4K (SA).In actuality, retail hired +331.6K thats the Not Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) number, and, yes, once again, you read that correctly.

The reality is that on an NSA basis, both surveys actually produced very strong results.And those results were corroborative (see table), in that the NSA Payroll and Household numbers are very close.

Payroll and Household Survey

As usual, markets shot first.Based upon the disappointing +210K headline number, markets quickly concluded that the Fed wouldnt be raising interest rates as early in 2022 as previously thought, and Treasury yields, especially on the longer end of the curve, nosedived.The 10-Year yield fell 10 basis points (0.10 percentage points) on Friday alone and is now down 32 basis points over the last two weeks.

As an aside, it appears that you can use Powells public statements as a contrary indicator.For several months markets have been pressuring him to turn hawkish.Now that he has finally conceded (wont use the term transitory anymore), it appears that markets have concluded that his initial position was most likely correct, and while the Feds Chair has now turned somewhat hawkish, markets have now turned dovish.(Will Powell pivot yet again?)

We have kept a weekly scorecard of the Continuing Unemployment Claims by state since May 15 when states began to opt-out of paying the extra $300/week of supplemental unemployment benefits funded by the federal government.While we have read elsewhere that there were no notable differences between the opt-in and opt-out states, our data clearly shows that, not only were there differences, but they appear to be significant.Between May 15 (the base data week) and September 25 (the federal programs officially ended the first week of September), in aggregate, the opt-out states had reduced their unemployment levels by -50.5%, more than double the -24.2% of the opt-in states.At the time the federal supplements ended, our view was that the opt-in state data would begin to play catch-up.And, indeed, that is what seems to be happening.As of November 20, the opt-in states are now at -50.9% (i.e., their unemployment is -50.9% lower than it was on May 15), accomplishing in two months what it had taken four months to accomplish when federal supplement were available.

Scorecard: Opt-ins vs Opt-outs

Since the federal supplements ended, the opt-in states have shown a much faster pace of re-employment than the opt-out states.The conclusion appears inescapable: the federal unemployment supplements were a disincentive to re-employment!

Also in past blogs, we have commented on the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), the percentage of the working age population either with a job or looking for one.Specifically, we noted that the LFPR in Canada was nearing its pre-pandemic level while it was still holding near its pandemic lows in the U.S.Again, we opined that we suspected the federal supplemental programs had played a role.And we were disappointed when Octobers LFPR did not show any improvement.

Novembers data, however, did show a positive move as the LFPR ticked up to 61.8% from 61.6% in both October and September.Even better was the progress in the most impacted demographic groups.For females aged 25-34, those most likely to have young children, the LFPR rose by 0.9 pct. points from 76.3% in October to 77.2% in November perhaps some thawing in the child-care situation and certainly impacted by a return to in-person schooling.For 20-24 year-olds, those most likely to work in lower paying service jobs, the LFPR rose to 72.1% from 71.3%; and for those considered unskilled, to 55.7% from 55.0%.We believe we will see such a positive trend for the next several months.

Last week we commented that the 199K Initial Unemployment Claims (ICs) that the markets got hyped up about was a false start once again caused by the seasonal adjustment process.We noted that while the SA data fell, the NSA series actually showed an increase (see chart at the top, second bar from the right had side). This past weeks data release (for the Thanksgiving week - November 27) showed the decrease in the NSA data expected in a holiday week.And, no surprise, the SA ICs rose.

(Joshua Barone contributed to this blog.)

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Disappointing Employment Data: A Look Beneath The Hood - Forbes

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi took a dig at Pakistan for not attending the NSA-level meet hosted by India in New Delhi. (File Photo)

India on Thursday slammed Pakistan for not attending a summit over the ongoing developments in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country.

On Wednesday, India hosted a regional summit in New Delhi on Afghanistan which was chaired by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval. Pakistan was invited to the NSA-level meeting where Iran, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhtstan attended the summit. However, Pakistan decided to skip the meeting hosted by India over the situation Afghanistan.

Reacting to this, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said,"Pakistan was invited, they did not come. It shows their attitude over Afghanistan issue if they did not come to such important meetings."

The NSA-level summit hosted by India witnessed participation from Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. New Delhi had also invited China and Pakistan to join the talks, but the two countries chose not to accept the invitation.

At the summit, a joint declaration adopted by eight countries asserted that the Afghan territory must not be used for terror activities.

Russia's secretary of security council Nikolai Patrushev, Iran's secretary of the supreme national security council Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhaniand Chief of Kazakhstan's national security committee Karim Massimov were among the officials who were in Delhi to attend a regional dialogue on Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Taliban reacted positively to the NSA-level meet on Afghanistan and hoped that the dialogue contributes to peace and stability in the region.

Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen told News18 that he saw the meet as a positive development and hoped for it to contribute to "the peace and stability" of Afghanistan.

Click here for IndiaToday.ins complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

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India slams Pakistan for not attending NSA-level summit on ...

Reality Winner has recently been with her parents in Georgia, USA, after the former NSA contract worker was moved to an open institution in June after five years in prison. In 2016, she was sentenced to 63 months in prison and three years of imprisonment under surveillance for sharing a secret report with the US portal The Intercept. But the 29-year-old doesnt feel free so far.

The former secret service analyst reported on Friday via video link on one of them that she went shopping twice in the past five months and went to dinner about as often Conference of the Disruption Network Lab in Berlin. Further excursions have so far been banned with reference to the pandemic. Her probation officer had generally explained to her that she would always have to be home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the next three years. Overnight trips and visits to family members who live further away are thus canceled.

A parent also had to drive her 100 miles back and forth to a facility where she had to undergo a drug and drug test, Winner said. Furthermore, she is only allowed to speak to the media to a limited extent. Interviews, for example, are incompatible with legal requirements, the probation officer said: I dont even know what the consequences of participating in a discussion like this are. If I speak openly, I could end up in prison.

She now has a job in the local community, but has to plan almost every step outside the home, explained the ex-informant. Overall, the requirements are very vague. Most of the ball lies with her supervisor, who does not have to show any restraint. There is no public pressure for that. Although she now has four dogs, four cats and a horse that thinks itself to be a dog around her in addition to her parents, it is difficult for her to recognize that it is a step forward. When she ventured too far into the living room shortly after she was released from the transition ward, it was classified as a risk of escape. Because of the constant drama she has already suffered two new panic attacks.

Billie Winner-Davis and Reality Winner (screenshot)

Even with criticism of her former media partner, Winner did not save. The Intercept had received an NSA paper from her accusing the Russian military intelligence service GRU of attacking US electoral authorities through spear phishing and influencing public opinion before Donald Trumps election to the presidency. Prior to the publication of the document and an extensive story about it, The Intercept asked the NSA and the US director of intelligence with a scan sent for comment. An included pressure detection quickly led to Winner, who was arrested by the FBI before the leak was published.

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Disclaimer: This article is generated from the feed and not edited by our team.

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NSA Case: Reality Winner Sues Hard Probation And The Intercept - Market Research Telecast

Says Thatcher asked Nigeria to ascertain SAfrican leaders commitment to majority rule

Ejiofor Alike

A former National Security Adviser (NSA), Lieutenant General Aliyu Mohammed Gusau (rtd), has highlighted Nigerias role to end the apartheid regime in South Africa.

In a tribute to the former President of South Africa, the late Frederik Willem de Klerk, which was obtained by THISDAY, Gusau disclosed that the then British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, had specifically asked the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida to ascertain the commitment of De Klerk to majority rule.

De Klerk, who was the last minority president of South Africa, later became the late President Nelson Mandelas deputy under the majority rule.Gusau stated that Thatcher had in 1989 visited Nigeria twice within one week where he told Babangida that de Klerk was working to bring an end to minority rule in South Africa.

According to the former NSA, Thatcher also sought the help of Nigeria to ascertain the level of de Klerks commitment and also strengthen de Klerks efforts.

Gusau noted that while Babangida believed that Thatcher was an honest broker on the issue, the former military leader had doubts as to whether de Klerk meant business or that he would get the support of the white establishment in South Africa

The former NSA described the late former president of South African as a towering figure who was determined to right historical wrongs without minding the consequences.

Gusau said Nigerias strategic role to end apartheid started on March 28, 1989, when, on her way to South Africa, the then British Prime Minister, Mrs. Margaret Thatcher decided to do a stop-over in Lagos to see Babangida.

The former NSA quoted Thatcher as telling journalists at the airport that she was very happy to accept President Babangidas invitation to stop over in Lagos to have talks with him.I do this because I have great admiration for the leadership he is giving here and for the courageous way in which he is tackling the economic problems of the country, she had added.Thatcher had also disclosed that since she and Babangida would be attending the Commonwealth Conference CHOGM scheduled to hold in Malaysia in October of that year, her visit was an opportunity to chat with the Nigerian leader ahead of the conference.

Gusau said the former British Prime Minister also took a few questions after her brief remarks, which were all centred around the situation in South Africa and the role of Britain at the time.While she was evasive in her responses, Mrs. Thatcher alluded to a meeting between Soviet and British academics and the ANC in which they urged that the problems of South Africa be solved not by confrontation, not by violence, but by negotiation. That is our objective too. By her return itinerary, Mrs. Thatcher was to do a brief stop-over in Accra, to see President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, before heading for London. But she again routed her flight from South Africa through Lagos where she met President Babangida for a second time within a week, Gusau explained.

Gusau stated that Babangida later invited him for a briefing after Thatchers visits and saddled him with what he (Gusau) described as a delicate assignment.Revealing what transpired between him and Babangida, the former NSA stated that the former military president informed him that Thatcher had told him (Babangida) in their two meetings that de Klerk was working to bring an end to minority rule in South Africa.

Gusau also disclosed that Babangida told him that the former British leader sought the help of Nigeria to ascertain the level de Klerks commitment and also see how Nigeria could strengthen de Klerks efforts.

While President Babangida said he believed Mrs. Thatcher as an honest broker on the issue, he had doubts as to whether President de Klerk meant business or that he would get the support of the white establishment in South Africa on such idea. The assignment President Babangida then gave me was to ascertain how serious President de Klerk was on ending apartheid in South Africa as well as what Nigeria could do to help that process, Gusau said.

The former NSA also disclosed that after Babangida had given him a list of contacts within the South African government, including close aides of President de Klerk, he decided to co-opt his Chief of Staff, Colonel Kayode Are into the assignment given to him by the former military ruler.Colonel Are was not only my chief of staff at the time but also a close friend whose opinion I deeply valued. The two of us embarked on this extraordinary mission with no time to spare. We first met with the then Director-General of South Africas National Intelligence Service (NIS), Dr. Niel Barnard, in London on 15th January 1990. That marked the beginning of a long and enduring partnership between our two institutions, and I visited South Africa several times thereafter to discuss the way forward. I also had direct sessions with President de Klerk who, in our first meeting, made it clear that he wanted to be the last minority president. I was a bit skeptical about that even though he sounded genuine, Gusau explained.

On 2nd February 1990, while we were still working underground with their security officials, President de Klerk took the world by surprise. In his address at the opening session of parliament, he announced the end of segregation of public facilities in South Africa, recognised the African National Congress (ANC) as a legitimate political party, and set a date for the release of Mr. Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years of incarceration. Not surprisingly, as de Klerk made his speech, there were shouts of traitor from several MPs within his own Conservative Party, who staged a dramatic walk-out. One of them, Koos van der Merwe later addressed the media where he described de Klerk as a traitor to his people because, by the declaration, the then South African president was trying to kill the Afrikaner nation, Gusau added.

Gusau said de Klerks historic speech had led to far-reaching political reforms and had also marked the beginning of the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa.He said he visited de Klerk four weeks later in Cape Town with a letter from Babangida, adding that the culmination of their discussion was a meeting between both presidents in Windhoek on March 31, 1990, at the sidelines of Namibias Independence Day celebration.

Much more significantly, however, five senior Nigerian journalists were in Namibia for the event. When I sounded them out about whether they would like to visit South Africa, they were excited. I discussed the idea with South African officials, and it was agreed that they could undertake a visit. A vehicle was provided for the long journey that took almost 20 hours from Windhoek to Johannesburg. The reports filed by these top journalists when they returned to Nigeria validated most of what Colonel Are and I had witnessed which confirmed that De Klerk was moving in the direction of majority rule, Gusau said.

Gusau noted that at some point, he discovered that while Nigerias engagements with South African officials were cordial and fruitful, it was also necessary to brief the leader of Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi.

He said he had received the feedback from reliable South African contacts that Buthelezi was aware of Nigerian mediation, stressing that as a critical factor in the country, Buthelezi needed to be carried along.

President Babangida wrote him a letter. Having welcomed the idea, the South African Government provided the plane that took me to Ulundi, capital of Zulu Kingdom where Chief Buthelezi was happy to receive me. He called his entire cabinet before reading President Babangidas letter. There and then he asked the Cabinet Secretary to draft a reply. I then drove with him to the statute of their ancestral warrior, Shaka Zulu where we took photographs before I flew back to Johannesburg, Gusau explained.

Gusau said although he and Colonel Are worked underground in their engagements with the South African government, some of their colleagues within the continent alleged that high-ranking Nigerian officials were collaborating with the apartheid regime, adding that a few African leaders were uncomfortable with the information.

He, however, stated that the problem was left for Babangida to handle with his colleagues.In April 1992, President de Klerk undertook a three-day State Visit to Nigeria at the invitation of President Babangida. The visit was the first by a South African head of state to our country, and President Babangidawho was at that period chairman of the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union)signaled to the continent and the rest of the world that Nigeria supported President De Klerk in his efforts. This certainly was the key to South Africas acceptance by the rest of the continent.

Following President de Klerks death on 11th November this year, his office issued a prerecorded posthumous video where he tendered an apology for the pain and the hurt and the indignity and the damage that apartheid has done to black, brown and Indians in South Africa. I believe he genuinely meant what he said.

In their tribute, the Mandela Foundation said that President de Klerk would forever be linked to Nelson Mandela in the annals of South African history while President Cyril Ramaphosa said de Klerk took the courageous decision [as president] to unban political parties, release political prisoners and enter into negotiations with the liberation movement amid severe pressure to the contrary from many in his political constituency.

As I reflect on the legacy of the late President de Klerk, I am reminded of the extraordinary things ordinary people can achieve. It took great courage for President de Klerk to stand up to the white establishment in South Africa after which he accepted the position of a deputy in President Nelson Mandelas ANC-led Government of National Unity. He will therefore be remembered as a peacemaker who changed the course of history in his country. And I am grateful for the part that Nigeria played in supporting his efforts while I salute the courage of President Babangida for taking the right decision at the time, Gusau concluded.

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In a Tribute to De Klerk, Gusau Highlights Nigeria's Role to End Apartheid Regime - THISDAY Newspapers

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If my memory serves me right, the mighty Ajit Doval, Indias National Security Advisor of the Union Cabinet Minister rank and I, took the oath of allegiance to the Constitution of India on the same day 3/4 July 1968 at the salubrious campus of the National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie. On that day, Doval entered the Indian Police Service and me the Indian Administrative Service, both All India Services covenanted in Article 312 of the Constitution. As I have written earlier, standing by ones oath is a matter of honour. When I found it difficult to adhere to my oath, I bowed out of IAS way back in 1985 and, technically, was no longer bound by the oath. But Doval today is a top civil leader in the country for whom the oath still holds good.

Actually, it was the second time I was taking the oath, the first being my commissioning in the Indian Army on the Republic Day of 1964: I, . do swear in the name of God that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and that I will honestly and faithfully serve in the regular Army of the Union of India and go wherever ordered by land, sea or air, and that I will observe and obey all commands of the President of the Union of India and the commands of any officer set over me even to the peril of my life.

I did stand by this oath and, during the short span that I was in the olive-green uniform, participated in all three operations, which an Infantry Officer would have done in his entire career war in the Thar desert (1965), counter-insurgency in the Nagaland jungles and aid to civil authority in Assam and Tamil Nadu plains. In the first we treated the enemy as the enemy; in the second, we dealt with the underground Nagas as misguided hostiles, and in the third, we cherished civil society as our own that needed to be protected. Never could we imagine this bizarre doctrine: The new frontiers of war, what you call the fourth-generation warfare, is the civil society.

Also Read: Checking out the Doval detail: Some myth, some reality, and much folklore

A few months before Doval became NSA, he came out with this profound philosophy: You know, we engage [ones] enemy in three modes. One is a defensive mode. That is, you see what the chaukidars and chaprassies do, i.e., to prevent somebody from coming in. One is defensive-offensive. To defend ourselves, we go to the place from where the offence is coming. We are now in defensive mode. The last mode is called offensive mode.

The dictum in the game of power, the ultimate justice lies with the one who is strong, was the hallmark of Dovals military doctrine to be applied to Kashmir. In a Scroll.in article, social activist and author Harsh Mander said that under this doctrine, no weapon or strategy of offence is out of bounds bullets, pellet guns, human shields even if these outrage international and national legal and moral codes. Victory can only be assured by military might. The only objective is to win by any means. Even if blood flows, if children are felled or blinded, if mothers weep, if liberals are outraged, if people do not vote it does not matter. The State has to prevail by more and more military force, even over its own people.

Instead of such heady concoctions, national security should be dealt with under a well-thought-of and defined doctrine a set of national principles. It must act as a statement of government policy that takes into account social, economic and political spheres of the country like national security threats, military, public consensus, demands for development, etc. Such documents must guide leaders to make appropriate domestic and foreign policy decisions. Sadly, India has no such doctrine.

Though there is a National Security Council, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Strategic Policy Group, and the National Security Advisory Board, the NSA is the kingpin of Indias security structure. The office is not backed by any legislative provisions nor has parliamentary sanctions. So, there is a lot of power being exercised by this office without any oversight or responsibility. Only the concerned ministers and secretaries remain responsible and answerable to Parliament either in Committees (secretaries) or the House (ministers). Its because of this defect and the concomitant decline of formal arrangements that the structure appears to be ad hoc, arbitrary and, almost always, autocratic. Since there is no policy or doctrine to adhere to, the NSA can propound whatever he wants and call it national security. This is bizarre and not in consonance with democratic principles.

According to eminent lawyer AG Noorani, one of the key pillars of the Doval doctrine is the irrelevance of morality. This is what he wrote: Doval sought to explain the dilemma one faces between individual morality and the value system of the state. The state is necessary. If it is necessary, protecting itself will be its supreme role. Individual morality cannot be inflicted on the larger interest of society. The nation will have to take recourse to all means to protect itself. And in this, it cannot afford to subjugate what is in its long-term interest.

Also Read: On security front, Modis favourite Ajit Doval has the power ball

It is in this morality compass that Dovals new civil society doctrine needs to be looked at. Addressing the fresh police officers during the passing-out parade at the Police Academy in Hyderabad on 11 November, he said: The new frontiers of war, what you call the fourth-generation warfare, is the civil society. Wars have ceased to become an effective instrument for achieving their political or military objectives. They are too expensive and unaffordable and, at the same time, there is an uncertainty about their outcomes. But it is the civil society, that can be subverted, that can be suborned, that can be divided, that can be manipulated, to hurt the interests of a nation. And you are there to see that they stand fully protected. And he then dropped a rare pearl of wisdom: Quintessence of democracy does not lie in the ballot box. It lies in the laws which are made by the people who are elected through these ballot boxes. For Doval, the State is paramount and not the people.

These statements clearly mean that Doval has a different understanding of the Constitution, democracy and civil society. He seems to think that India is still a colonial monarchy, where people are subjects, and not a democracy wherein, they are citizens. Our Constitution opens with the words We the People and democracy is defined as a society in which the citizens are sovereign and command the State. There is an ocean of difference between subject and citizen. Subject is one who is placed under the authority or control of a monarch or government, whereas citizen is one entitled to the rights and privileges of a freeman. While it is the duty of a subject to obey the government, it is the right of a citizen to command the State because it is them who form that government by exercising the electoral franchise. In short, democracy in essence is peoples power and not State power.

There is a lot of confusion as to the definition of civil society. The World Bank has attempted one: Civil society refers to a wide array of organizations: community groups, non-governmental organizations, labour unions, indigenous groups, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, and foundations. In my view, this is not complete because these are only the elements of civil society like Parliament and State legislatures described as the elements of the electorate.

Also Read: The new Doval Durbar reduces Indias layered security system to a top-down Caliphate

The real definition of civil society would be the entire people of India, who have the Constitutional privilege of claiming fundamental rights (Articles 32 and 226) except those in the Armed Forces, whose constitutional rights are restricted. Incidentally, the millions of protesting farmers, who forced the repeal of the farm laws, are all a part of civil society. How then, can Doval ask the young police officers to consider We the People as the enemy and wage war against them?

Ajit Doval was appointed as the NSA by PM Modi in 2014. A former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, he is known to be one of PM Modis closest confidantes according to Mander, who claims that after his retirement, he headed the Vivekananda Foundation, which has a strong affiliation Hindutva ideology, and has become one of the main recruiting grounds for senior appointments in the Prime Ministers Office. However, historically, this role has been played by more neutral individuals. The position of National Security Advisor of India was created by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government back in 1998. Brijesh Mishra, of the Indian Foreign Service who served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, was the first NSA. In 2004, when Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister, the NSA office was separated into foreign and internal with two NSAs former Foreign Secretary J.N. Dixit and former Director, IB M.K. Narayanan heading them respectively. After the death of Dixit in 2005, the office was again fused and Narayanan became the full-time NSA. He was then succeeded by former Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon in 2010.

As would be seen among Dovals predecessors, three were diplomats and one was a policeman. Diplomats had their own style and the policeman was mature and they functioned in an independent manner. None of them were loyal to any polarising ideology and a mindset of considering dissenters as enemies. It would be good if, even at this late stage, Doval follows the footpath of his predecessors. If he has any special fourth-generation warfare skills, he better apply them against the big guns occupying territories within India, instead of targeting the civil society.

M.G. Devasahayam is a retired IAS officer and chairman of People-First. He also served in the Indian Army. Views are personal.

(Edited by Srinjoy Dey)

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Ajit Doval was my batchmate, but his understanding of Constitution, civil society is flawed - ThePrint

The National Society of Accountants has sent a letter to Internal Revenue Service commissioner Charles Rettig and leaders of Congresss main tax committees asking the IRS to speed up the refunds for 2019 and 2020 tax returns and communicate better.

The group cited a recent op-ed by Rettig in the Washington Post in which he pleaded for more funding from Congress. But the NSA also asked for the IRS to do more with the funds its been receiving.

NSA strongly agrees with the commissioner that there is, indeed, a crisis occurring involving the IRS, taxpayers and practitioners, much of which can be attributed to insufficient funding, wrote NSA president Marchelle Foshee and managing director of public policy Jessica Jeane in a letter Monday. Therefore, we strongly encourage Congress to fund the IRS more adequately and consistently. The steady increase of responsibility that Congress continues to legislatively place upon the IRS year-after-year greatly exceeds the declining and often stagnant appropriations for the agency. That said, however, the IRS must also do its part to rectify the situation. To that end, it is equally vital for the IRS to recognize its own shortcomings in communication during this ongoing crisis. Taxpayers and practitioners need the IRS to be more transparent and forthright about the status of its operations. Reporting out that the agency is caught up on mail, for example, does not equate to such correspondence being processed and resolved. And while providing general backlog estimates may help paint a picture of the problem, it shines little to no light on taxpayers specific concerns.

The NSA pointed out that the IRS is continuing to lag in its processing and issuing of refunds for 2019 and 2020 returns and it called for more transparency and improved communication from the IRS to alleviate the growing frustrations and fears among tax and accounting professionals about the 2022 tax filing season.

Often, taxpayers and practitioners either cannot reach the IRS or receive confusing and inaccurate information, they wrote. Frustrations within the tax and accounting professional community are at an all-time high, and fears among practitioners about how the upcoming 2022 tax filing season will unfold, when many 2019 and 2020 tax returns remain unresolved, are based firmly in reality.

Stefani Reynolds/Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/B

Until the IRS can more efficiently communicate with taxpayers, the NSA is asking the IRS to stop all automatic collection notices and actions of liens and levies (at least for certain categories that have low compliance risk) until the agency has completed its backlog of opened yet unprocessed mail; as well as provide taxpayers with targeted, automatic relief from the underpayment of estimated tax penalties and late payment penalties for the 2020 tax year. They also want the IRS to use its IRS.gov website to more frequently and specifically provide updates on the status of operations for taxpayers and practitioners. These updates would include current processing times for various categories of returns and replies to correspondence and notices, said Foshee and Jeane.

The American Institute of CPAs also has been asking the IRS to improve its processing and responsiveness. During an online meeting Monday of the AICPA Tax Division, AICPA officials made the case directly to several IRS officials, including Holly Paz, deputy commissioner of the Large Business and International division, and Fred Schindler, director of collection policy at the IRSs Small Business/Self-Employed division, and National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins.

One sore point has been the automated collection notices. We know that as folks are living through the pandemic that there are a lot of financial difficulties there, said Schindler. One of the things that weve been doing is to be very conscious of other relief programs that have been going on in government. You see some guidance out there asking our employees, particularly our field employees, to be very conscious of that and make sure that they are being very thoughtful and deliberate about their collection activity.

Why do we have the system continuing to spit out notices and move forward if, for example, something there is favorable to taxpayers, said Collins. Not every collection notice is there a request for the taxpayers to do something, but when there is you can reach out to a revenue officer or the 800 number or something else. We should be able to put a suspension for a lot longer than six, eight, nine weeks, whether it be six months or until some action takes place. Its been discussed, but they havent agreed to that yet, needless to say. Its the same thing on the IRS side. Its what I call the one and done. Theyll send you a notice and if you dont respond, theyre done with you. With the phones and the issues that have come out with taxpayers, we need to give people a little more flexibility before we take that next step. We need to give people, especially the IRS, time to process whatever the request is, before they move forward on collections.

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Accountants press IRS for faster refunds and responses - Accounting Today