Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

WILLIAMSBURG On July 16 there will be a workshop centered around empowering young girls ages 12-15 at the James City County Library.

The GiRLiFE empowerment workshop will run from 1-3 p.m. and is facilitated/hosted by Charissa Marie, founder of Be PHREEE.

This is a mind and body group for girls and young women that emphasizes principles of self-love, personal power, and the beauty that comes from allowing your light to shine from within, according to Maries website.

The workshop will provide young girls an opportunity to find their voice through, open dialogue, thought-provoking crafts, and healthy nutrition projects.

The GiRLiFE organization offers 15 empowerment workshops that are focused on inspiring young girls to believe in themselves and honor their own individuality while also embracing others.

GiRLiFE is my response to my own inner child. The goal is simple: to show EVERY young girl that she is brilliant beyond measure; that within her lies the strength to live a life that feels good from the inside out, according to a message from founder Melody Pourmoradi on the organizations website. It is an honor to have teamed up with women across the globe who are helping share this message with the girls in their community through our empowerment workshops. Alone, there is only so much I could do. Together, we are introducing girls in all corners of the world to their own unique superpowers.

Charissa Marie, who will be hosting the event at James City Countys library, has a passion for helping young girls achieve their own confidence and success. She has experience as a mother raising one son and two girls and she encourages them to follow their own goals and dreams.

Marie is also an on-air personality at VYBE 95, where she hosts Weekends after Dark with Charissa Marie. She also hosts Ladies Dates Live on social media, which continues her mission to empower, encourage, and enlighten one another.

According to a release, She wants to reach as many young ladies as possible and help them solidify their confidence, self-worth, and overall self-empowerment that we all possess.

For more information on this event, please check out Charissa Maries website.

More:

GiRLiFE Be PHREEE to Host Empowerment Workshop in July - WYDaily

Labor will be part of the program for Juneteenth in Joliet on Sunday, June 19 (coinciding with Fathers Day), at the Joliet Area Historical Museum.

The program is part of the birth of an idea thats been incubating for more than 18 months. Many heads and hands joined forces to breathe life into this blessed event. Let us know you are coming by registering at juneteenthwalkoflife.com.

My previous columns set an expectation of animations by caricature artists and the introduction of a Black History themed Jeopardy meets BINGO game. The substance will be delivered by two panels at 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Each bridges understanding with insights from professionals who weigh in across the spectrum of entrepreneurship, education faith and the law.

The first panel features five entrepreneurial Black women. The focus is on a common quandary, quantified in American Express annual State of USA Women-Owned Business report. Cutting to the chase, women of color are starting businesses at unprecedented rates. Since 2007, the number of firms owned by Black women surged 167% (faster than any other racial group). Despite the hustle, minority women lag in access to capital. In fact, 50% of all women owned business in the nation are owned by women of color. However, there is a huge disparity in earnings between minority and non-minorities not only staggering but its increasing.

Although the report points out a problem it doesnt go behind the numbers to offer a solution to close the gap. Yet another statistic concluded that economic disparity has an enormous effect on the economy. For example, 4 million new jobs and $981 billion in revenue would have been added if the average revenue of women-owned minority firms matched their white peers. Which leads to the question, If the fastest growing segment of the business community isnt growing to its fullest potential to what extent might it be holding back the American economy? Because what isnt addressed cant be rectified each woman speaks about specific challenges to growth and by extension what she believes can be done to mitigate it.

The second panel peeks at the intersection of law education and Black Culture. Its led by a former WGN associate news editor. It includes an esteemed panel consisting of a Will County judge, the managing partner of a downtown-based law firm, the executive director of diversity, equity, inclusion and compliance at Joliet Junior College, the associate dean of admissions for Chicago State Medical School and the director of college and career readiness for Valley View School District 365U. Expansive in nature each panelists paints a picture that allows the audience to leave with three takeaways.

1. Acknowledge institutionalized structures practices and beliefs that have produced barriers to accessing power and resources.

2. Explore examples of empowered Black support systems that have been successful in breaking cycles of economic inopportunity.

3. Illuminate opportunities to do what you can, with what you have, where you are to influence positive change.

The entire program emphasizes the importance of personal empowerment as a catalyst to make progress in race relations. The ask is to become more aware of root causes that have and continue to manifest in homes workplaces and social situations. America has turned into an explosive minefield. Thinking responsibly before responding is a solid strategy to navigate impending bombs. This is the stance Juneteenth advocates for. To construct conversations that lead to substantive solutions which facilitate the uncomfortable process of racial healing.

Toni Greathouse is an Entrepreneurial Evangelist whose purpose is spelled out in the letters of her first name serving as a reminder to Take On Neighborhood Interaction & Try Out Novel Ideas.

Read more from the original source:

Greathouse: Juneteenth and heading toward substantive solutions - Shaw Local

Good morning, and welcome to L.A. on the Record, our local elections newsletter. Its Dakota Smith and Ben Oreskes bringing you the final (!!) newsletter before primary day. We got some help from Dave Zahniser and Julia Wick. Also, be on the lookout for new polling about the Los Angeles mayors race tomorrow at latimes.com.

Newsletter

Get the lowdown on L.A. politics

In this pivotal election year, we'll break down the ballot and tell you why it matters in our L.A. on the Record newsletter.

Enter email address

Sign Me Up

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

If the mayoral primary felt different this election season, it was. The pandemic meant candidates skipped large in-person events in favor of Zoom meetings and smaller outdoor gatherings.

Retail politics where candidates spend a lot of time schmoozing with voters, and TV cameras are there to broadcast the images took a pause for much of the primary.

The pandemic made it harder to campaign, no question about it. It made it harder to fundraise too, said Bill Carrick, who represented business leader Jessica Lall, who dropped out of the race and endorsed developer Rick Caruso.

Media relations consultant Helen Sanchez questioned how successful canvassers were because of COVID-19. People arent answering the door, she said, speaking broadly about the June 7 election.

One candidate who pushed ahead with traditional campaigning was City Atty. Mike Feuer, who held weekend meet and greets across the city. That strategy didnt boost his campaign, however, and he dropped out of the race last month.

A silver lining to having forums and debates online was that potentially more people could tune in and hear from the candidates. Many of those conversations are still online.

For example, Caruso talked up his plans for homelessness with the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. (here on YouTube), and City Councilman Kevin de Len laid out his policing plans with the Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment (heres the video.)

How effective those events are for communicating with voters is another matter. Its a little weird when youre talking into a computer, Carrick said. Theres a rigidity about the process where youre not really having a back and forth.

Political consultants also noted that the primary felt like a short race compared with those of years past. Rep. Karen Bass entered last fall but didnt ramp up her campaign until earlier this year. Both activist Gina Viola and Caruso jumped in about four months ago, and the developer didnt do as many debates and forums as his rivals.

Carrick predicted that mayoral debates would take on more importance in the runoff when its two candidates going head to head.

In the meantime, how much do the voters really know about the candidates after a campaign season that felt like it was mostly happening online?

Visiting Larchmont Village on Memorial Day, Lucas Hanson, 28, admitted that he was barely paying attention to the race and needed to do some last-minute cramming to understand the field.

He said the advertisements hed seen on social media were vacant and that he couldnt make a decision by the ads alone.

If Im buying a pair of pants online, thats different, said Hanson. If youre voting for mayor, you need more information.

Rick Caruso tours Grand Central Market on Thursday while campaigning to become mayor of Los Angeles.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

With the primary just days away, we published several profiles of the candidates that youll find below. In recent months, we also dived deep on Caruso, exploring why he wanted to run and his time helming the Los Angeles Police Commission and navigating the crises at USC while chairing the universitys board. Be sure to check out our local voter guide for a great compendium of our stories.

Knowing Karen Bass: How the congresswoman came to start the nonprofit Community Coalition and turn it into a political force speaks to how she might run Los Angeles if she is elected mayor, and how she might tackle the citys most pressing crisis: homelessness.

Her evolution has been more about method than any shift of principle, which she began developing almost 60 years ago, listening to civil rights marches on the radio with her father, according to interviews Ben Oreskes did with nearly 40 of Bass friends, family members and colleagues in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Washington.

And Jennifer Haberkorn looks at Bass time in Congress, where she is praised for her workhorse style and known for her doggedness on two issues: foster children and the relationship between the United States and countries in Africa. But despite gaining seniority in D.C., she never got a major bill enacted with her name at the top.

Knowing KDL: As in his other campaigns, De Len has leaned heavily on his personal story, hoping that voters will relate to someone who has struggled, reports Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.

Colleagues and friends describe him as an aggressive, persuasive politician intent on improving the lives of the working class and immigrants, authoring legislation while in the California Legislature such as a sanctuary state measure during the Trump era. At campaign events, he paints a picture of a Los Angeles divided between rich and poor.

Knowing Gina Viola: The activist marched in the streets with thousands of frustrated Angelenos two years ago after George Floyds murder. A member of an anti-racist group for white people, she was overwhelmed to see the support for Black lives.

Now, Viola finds herself in television studios and on debate stages, explaining why she should succeed Mayor Eric Garcetti. The question Dakota Smith looks into is how many voters will embrace Violas calls for dramatic changes to policing and city spending.

Carusos political evolution: The real estate developer has changed his party registration four times in the last 11 years, shifting twice between Republican and no party preference before re-registering as a Democrat about four months ago.

A big week for big stories about the race: The New York Times Jennifer Medina and Jill Cowan spent some time at the Grove with Caruso. NYT Opinions Jay Caspian Kang also had an interesting take on Carusos campaign. Over at the Washington Post, Scott Wilson wrote about public anger driving an identity-focused mayors race. Politicos Elena Schneider took the money angle, looking at Carusos shock-and-awe spending campaign. New York Magazines Alissa Walker has a fascinating meditation on the Grove as a public space and what the mall says about Carusos vision of L.A. And closer to home in Los Angeles Magazine, Peter Kiefer has a fun profile of Ace Smith, the oppo research master and political strategist advising Caruso (and many other powerful California politicians).

Further down the ballot: The race to see who represents much of Los Angeles Eastside is heating up and revolving around public safety, and calls made by community activist Eunisses Hernandez to abolish the police a concept the incumbent Councilman Gil Cedillo opposes. But the contest has dealt even more with the rising cost of housing, and how to address it.

Who can tackle corruption? Six candidates are seeking to replace City Controller Ron Galperin at City Hall, which has been buffeted by FBI probes into council members, political aides and others. David Zahniser looks at the field and what the candidates say they will do to catch wrongdoing.

Go on Chapo: Tickets to a comedy show fundraiser benefiting City Council candidates Hugo Soto-Martinez and Hernandez were made free at the last minute after an influx of donations from the online left. Josh Androsky, Soto-Martinezs communications director, said his appearance plugging the event on the popular leftist podcast Chapo Trap House, followed by a pitch on political commentator Hasan Pikers Twitch stream, spurred the interest. The Democratic Socialists of America-L.A. event raised more than $27,000, according to ActBlue screenshots reviewed by The Times.

Police $$$ flows: Two years ago, it wouldve been unheard of to see candidates so enthusiastically receive support from the union representing rank-and-file police officers. Now, the union is spending more on its candidates than any other group.

More attack ads: Bass and the independent expenditure committee supporting her campaign both released new ads attacking Caruso this week. The independent committees ad hits Caruso for past donations to pro-gun Republicans. Spokesperson Morgan Miller said the committee was planning a six-figure digital spend for it. The Bass campaigns ad also focuses on Carusos Republican ties and prior ads attacking Bass.

And in (mostly) non-campaign news ...

More no-go zones: The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday instructed its lawyers to draft a major change to the citys anti-camping ordinance, barring homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers. Candidates in an assortment of races scrambled to weigh in on the measure, with some denouncing it and others welcoming the change.

A new twist on affordable housing: Nearly $1 million has been raised in two months for a new fund to subsidize rents for Los Angeles Police Department recruits, close to the $1.2 million needed to start the flow of subsidies, Los Angeles Business Journals Howard Fine reports.

Water wise: L.A.'s new drought restrictions went into effect on Wednesday, limiting the watering of lawns and gardens to just twice a week during specific hours. The rules differ depending on whether someone is at an odd- or even-numbered address.

Los Angeles is infamous for its anemic turnout in elections. This year was supposed to be different after city elections were moved from odd-numbered years to even-number ones to coincide with state and national elections.

But as of Thursday, our friends at Political Data Inc. report that just 9% of ballots sent to city residents had been returned. In some parts of the city such as City Council District 9, where incumbent Curren Price is facing a challenge from Dulce Vasquez just 5% of voters have returned their ballots.

PDI data guru Paul Mitchell expects there to be about 25% voter turnout in the city give or take a few percentage points and bases this prediction on prior election cycles and the citys history of having lower turnout than the state writ large. His expectation is that statewide turnout will be closer to 30%.

When turnout is this low with less than a week to go, you cant imagine that theres going to be some mad rush, Mitchell told The Times.

The low turnout so far comes even as the government has made it easier to vote in this election by sending every registered voter a ballot. There were drop boxes spread out across the city and county, and nearly two weeks of early voting at poll locations.

Enjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times

Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Become a subscriber.

(If you have an endorsement youd like to flag for next week, please send it to us.)

Stay in touch

Thats it for this week! Send your questions, comments and gossip to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Saturday morning.

Link:

LA on the Record: It's showtime! - Los Angeles Times

Member Article

Mum of 3 teenage girls, Jodie Salt, 43, from Frodsham, is a qualified Womens Assertiveness Coach, a 21st Century feminist and best-selling author of Woman Up the 21st century womens guide to being assertive.

Jodie is on a mission to help women rediscover their true identity, find their voice, step into their own authentic space, figure out what they want and then go out and get it.

She said; Im a glass ceiling smasher, boys club navigator, credibility champion and influencer extraordinaire! Im on a mission to create a guilt free army of liberated women living their best lives.

She continues; I believe that a big problem in our society is that our women and girls are so consumed by what they look like - how pretty they are, and this is holding us back.

As the #instagramlife takes hold of not only our teenage girls but also our 40 somethings, Jodes wants to help women to help themselves by encouraging them to turn the notion of being pretty on its head. Shes on a quest to convince women to want to be acknowledged and respected for more than what they look like - their talents, contribution, and capability so they can be pretty confident, pretty strong, pretty smart, pretty funny, and of course, pretty assertive! Whatever their version of pretty may be. This comes from investing as much in your personal development as it does in your appearance.

With a 15-year corporate background in leadership development, a whole host of personal experiences, Jodie knows first-hand many of these challenges and has learned to navigate them the hard way. She became an expert in assertiveness for women 7 years ago after choosing to leave the corporate rat race and become an entrepreneur, building her methodology, The Woman Up Way - a 7 step framework to empower and liberate women to life the happy, fulfilling and successful life they all deserve.

Heres Jodies Top 3 Tips to get you started on your Woman Up journey to becoming more assertive:

Figure out what you want (not what you dont want) - so many women when asked what they want either say they dont know, or they begin to describe everything they dont want. It makes a big difference to flip this around

Prioritise you - Women are great at serving everyone elses needs before their own. It means those you love to experience a better version of you when you put yourself first.

Stop justifying yourself. If you want to say No to something, you are under no obligation to justify why, give an excuse or a reason. you can simply not want to and that is totally acceptable.

Jodie is set to host a huge female empowerment festival - Womanifest - a personal development, wellbeing and empowerment festival women of all ages, running from 17-18th September, in Cheshire. She is hosting Womanifest supporting Girls Out Loud as the exclusive charitable beneficiary a social enterprise working with young girls from the age of 12 to empower them to channel their potential and make better life choices.

Jodes said:Womanifest is a full-on FESTIVAL! its all about women having fun, learning how to put themselves first, get what they want, surround themselves with other fantastic women and have access to a huge range of learning and expertise that can help them to make changes in their life and feel inspired and empowered, bringing everything a woman needs to live the happy, fulfilling and successful life she deserves into one place for an epic weekend of liberating experiences!

Visit the Womanifest website to find out more.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chocolate PR .

Read the original:

Three Tips To Help You Become More Assertive from Qualified Women's Assertiveness Coach and 21st Century Feminist - Bdaily

Via Teleconference(June 6, 2022)

5:19 P.M. EDT MODERATOR: Thanks, everyone, for joining us. This briefing is to preview the Vice Presidents engagements tomorrow Tuesday, June 7th in Los Angeles related to her work addressing the root causes of migration.

I would just note, as many of you are aware, there is another background briefing at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, which will cover other issues related to the Summit of the Americas, which I know many are interested in. But again, this briefing is about the Vice Presidents engagements regarding root causes.

This briefing is on background, attributed to senior administration officials. The contents will be embargoed until Tuesday, June 7th, 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time, 2:00 p.m. [a.m.] Pacific Time. And by joining this call, youre agreeing to these ground rules.

Following the call, well also be sending you some factsheets to support the announcements that the Vice President will be making. They are also embargoed until Tuesday, June 7th at 5:00 a.m. Eastern, 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

And for your awareness today, our speaker is [senior administration official], who will hereinafter be referred to as senior administration official.

And before I hand it over to him, I would just like to preview what we already put out publicly, but to recap the Vice Presidents schedule for tomorrow, Tuesday, in Los Angeles.

First, shell deliver remarks at a womens economic empowerment event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for Central America.

She will host a roundtable with women leaders, including women business executives, entrepreneurs, and civil society.

And third, she will host a roundtable with business executives as part of her call to action in partnership with the private sector.

With that, I will turn it over to senior administration official number one. Thanks.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you, [moderator]. And thanks, everybody, for joining.

Before I dive into some of the specific announcements of this week, let me just take a step back and give you some context for the Vice Presidents approach to this set of issues.

As you all know, the Vice President leads our administrations implementation of the strategy to address root causes of migration from Central America a strategy that we launched last summer. And this week is a real opportunity for her to continue to drive this process under her leadership.

The focus of that strategy is addressing endemic issues in the countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras issues such as poverty and corruption and gender-based violence, which are the causes of migration.

The Vice Presidents theory of the case in approaching this and at the center of this strategy is that people dont want to leave their homes.Andif you can help provide them hope and opportunity, particularly economic opportunity, theres a greater chance that they will remain there.

Weve acknowledged all along that the drivers of migration from Central America and elsewhere are long-term issues that cant be resolved quickly. But we think that we have been tackling them and are seeing real progress in our efforts.

When the Vice President began her work on this issue, she recognized that governments were important, but we also had to engage the private sector and civil society. And she believes that governments cant solve these problems alone.

So as part of that process, she launched the call to action in May 2021, in which she challenged and encouraged companies to invest in the region and help provide those economic opportunities and support the sort of long-term development in the region that would provide opportunity and hope for people to stay home.

Thats the context in which the call-to-action work shes doing in Los Angeles this week takes place. And let me roll out some of what she is able to announce this week.

Youll remember last December, when the Vice President held a roundtable with some business executives, she announced that we had galvanized $1.2 billion of commitments for the region.

Tomorrow, we will announce and youll get this factsheet that the Vice President has galvanized a total of more than $3.2 billion of investments for the region from 40 different companies and organizations.

So, this total includes more than $1.9 billion in new investments that were going to announce tomorrow from 10 new companies. And I just underscore: These, we think, are pretty sizable direct investments in economies the size of the three countries in question, and they will be responsible for creating tens of thousands of jobs.

Again, well get you a factsheet and all of the details, but just to give you a sense of what Im talking about, it includes $150 million from the Gap to increase its sourcing from Central America. Another apparel company, SanMar, will invest $500 million in the region, generating 4,000 additional jobs. Theres $700 million from Millicom, a telecommunications company thats going to expand its mobile and broadband networks in the region, and $270 million from Visa to expand financial inclusion and digital infrastructure.

And I particularly stress in the context of these announcements you know, the last two, which expand broadband and financial inclusion and banking opportunities for people, really help make this project part of creating an ecosystem of opportunity. Its not just the direct jobs that are created by these investments, but jobs in areas that help people thrive and succeed economically.

The Vice President believes that we need to not just offer an individual a job but address the full spectrum of needs and support individuals in the different facets of their lives. And thats what this project is all about: trying to help individuals move up the economic ladder and not just have a job but also have access to information technology, banking system, and infrastructure that creates that positive ecosystem.

So we feel like, in the call to action, weve created an innovative public partner public-private partnership model where companies and organizations and governments can work together and build off of each others work. And thats what the Vice President will be discussing in a number of roundtables with business executives and others throughout the week.

Shes also going to be discussing other elements of our strategy, which we think make the investment climate even more attractive to these companies. Im talking about combating corruption, promoting rule of law, reducing violence, and, in particular, empowering women, about which I can say a little bit more now.

But I just want to underscore that we believe, and the strategy last summer articulates this comprehensively, that you need all of these pillars better governance, anti-corruption, rule of law, reducing violence, empowering women going hand-in-hand with the job creation to have the long-term effect that were looking for.

So, I mentioned some specific initiatives in the space of empowering women, which the Vice President feels strongly about. And tomorrow, shell announce further initiatives in this area. Again, well send you a factsheet.

But shell be announcing new commitments from the United States government and the private sector to support womens economic empowerment and reduce gender-based violence in the region.

Some of the companies involved in the call to action, who have all stressed the importance of womens empowerment for economic reasons, among others, are coming together for a new initiative called In Her Hands, where companies and organizations are making commitments to empower, train, and protect women.

Taken together, these private sector commitments will connect more than 1.4 million women and their communities to the financial system and digital economy, accelerate womens participation in the agro industry, train more than 500,000 women and girls in core job skills, promote gender parity, and elevate women within the companies across the region.

Additionally, shell be announcing some U.S. government initiatives and funding, including efforts to address gender-based violence, which goes hand-in-hand with their economic empowerment.

So, tomorrow, the Vice President will speak to these initiatives and their importance. She will make clear the case that when a woman has access to economic opportunities and is safe and secure, its not just good for the individual, its good for her children, her family, her community, and our entire hemisphere.

Her central message in all this is that when women succeed, all of society benefits. Thats what she has told the companies that we and organizations weve been working with, and thats what shes heard from them as well.

Shes prioritized this work as part of the Root Causes Strategy, and we are really pleased to see so many organizations and companies join us in lifting up women in Central America.

Lastly, let me just mention that the Vice President will also launch an initiative called the Central American Service Corps.This is a $50 million initiative that will be administered by USAID. We will provide young people in northern Central America with paid community service opportunities. They will engage on local priorities, such as education and tutoring, climate action, food security, health services, and violence prevention. This will help them with life and job skills and, we believe, further help address the root causes of migration.

This initiative began as a pilot project in response to the call to action by our private sector and philanthropic philanthropic partners. And we are pleased that we are now able to dedicate U.S. government resources to scale it up.

It really is and Ill end with this a good example of how the public and private sectors can go hand-in-hand and work together and create the sort of synergies we think we need to be successful in this area.

So thanks for listening to that, sort of, summary. And I think well be happy to take a couple of questions.

MODERATOR: Yeah, if our operator could re-up the instructions to get in the queue that would be great.

Q Hi, everybody. Given that the Vice President is focused on the Northern Triangle, I wanted to see if any Northern Triangle leaders are going to be going to the summit, and if not, what that says about her efforts to engage with them.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks. What we can confirm is that the countries of what youre calling the Northern Triangle, northern Central America Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador will be represented at the summit and will fully participate in the summit. They are sending delegations.

Youve heard from the leaders of those countries. And well leave them to speak for themselves about whether their leaders themselves are going to come. Thats a call for them to make. Some of them have said that they arent going to come, but they also have confirmed that they will be sending delegations.

So we consider them the participants in the summit. Each of them had a different reason for the leader him or herself potentially not coming. But it doesnt undermine any of what I wrote out in terms of our approach to the region.

Obviously, we do work with and need to work with governments, and we do so where we can. But at the same time, were consistent with our principles.

I mentioned earlier how central anti-corruption and good governance was to making this effort work, and were not going to shy away from standing firm on those principles. And indeed, you know, he was standing firm on principles, such as inviting just democratic countries to participate in the summit and pursuing anti-corruption efforts, that may be the reason that particular leaders choose not to come. And we have nothing to apologize for in standing for those principles.

But going back to what I laid out in terms of our efforts to create economic opportunity (inaudible) hope, youll see that (inaudible) weve been, I think, remarkably successful in generating public-private partnership and private sector interest in these countries, and its having real results.

Q Hey, guys. Thanks for doing this call. I want to piggyback off of that last question for a second, because so I know the President of Honduras, Castro they announced on Saturday that they would be sending the Foreign Minister, but whether or not shes attending, its still (inaudible).

I wonder if the Vice President is at all disappointed that you guys dont know whether the President, Castro who, you know, she obviously talked to in late May is coming; whether you guys expect a phone call to happen in the next few days with either her or the Guatemalan President, since those are the two countries, out of the three, that Harris has talked to the most.

And as the President of Mexico is not coming, but we know that hes going to be headed to the White House next month, can we expect any type of travel either on the Vice Presidents side or on either of those two leaders sides to the U.S. in, kind of, the same fashion if they dont make it?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Sure. Thanks for all of that. Just on the last thing: I dont have any travel to announce, but Im happy to address the three countries that you mentioned.

And Im glad you started with Honduras. And I think the President of Honduras herself has said that she didnt plan to come, and the reason that she it was that she believes all countries in the region should be invited. And, you know, mainly thats a reference to Cuba, which was not included.

The Vice President has a good relationship with the new President I say new; its been over 100 days now of Honduras. She went to her inauguration. She supports her efforts to support democracy and, indeed, fight anti-corruption the issue I mentioned a minute ago.

But like I said, President Biden took a decision not to invite Cuban participation. This is a longstanding principle, in fact, of the Summit of the Americas which and I think the third summit in 2001, in Canada, all of the countries participating made clear that democracy should be a core principle for this summit.

So were consistent with that collective decision, not just the U.S. one. And if that was the reason that you know, as the President of Honduras, we respect her decision. If she wants to make a stand on that issue and feels differently, thats obviously her sovereign right.

But my point on that is that it doesnt interfere with our relationship with Honduras, with the Vice Presidents personal relationship with President Castro, with Hondurass participation in the summit which you mentioned; they do plan to participate. The Foreign Minister will be here, and we look forward to fulsome engagement and follow-up. And well continue to do all the private sector work that I described.

Guatemala is a different question. Again, I you know, you can refer you to Ill refer you to the government of Guatemala for the reasons President Giammattei may not come.

I can only say on that: Weve been consistent on the issue of principle as well. Weve said that corruption is a core part of the Root Causes Strategy that President Biden put out an executive order on fighting corruption around the world, and weve been following up on that. Weve been following up in terms of Guatemala.

Im sure you saw last month we sanctioned and designated the newly re-appointed attorney general over issues of corruption. We set up an anti-corruption task force.

So, were just going to continue to be consistent and principled on the issues we think are important.

So, once again, it hasnt prevented our work with the government of Guatemala or even the President of the Guatemala, for that matter, with whom we have engaged extensively. And it hasnt stood in the way of the economic development that were trying to and succeeding in delivering, or uplifting women and providing opportunity and empowering women in Guatemala and elsewhere. So, thats how I see the situation there.

Q Hi, how are you? I wanted to ask you regarding this last question: How confident are you that these issues about root causes of migration can be addressed without talking to the government delegations? Because, you know, like there is, like, civil society and other representatives, as youve said, that it will be interesting to talk about the bilaterals if there are going to be any in which the Vice President is going to take part.

And another question is: Is the Vice President going to meet with the Spanish delegation with regarding an announcement that was circulated last week about possibly both Spain and Canada this was published by Axios taking Central American refugees from the United States, from the border? Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, first of all, on the first part, let me be clear: We are talking to and the Vice President is talking to the countries in question. I mentioned their representation will be here. Our government-to-government work goes on. We have diplomats in the field. There are lots of phone calls.

So, when you say, you know, Can the root causes be addressed without dealing directly with the governments? no, we dont think so. Its very helpful to deal with the governments as we do and we will continue to do, even as we also engage civil society and the private sector.

And again, I want to be clear: All of the governments weve talked about will be represented here in Los Angeles and will have interactions with their American counterparts.

On the issue of Spain and Canada, let me just say: Well have further announcements in the course of the week about migration. It is one of the issues that this summit is tackling, and theres been an in-depth conversation going on with all of the countries of the hemisphere but then also some external partners like Spain, which has been really helpful including, frankly, on the root causes in Central America issue, but also potentially on migration. So, well have more to say on that in the course of the week. But theres definitely in-depth conversations going on about a regional approach to those issues. And the two countries you mentioned are a core part of that.

Maybe well take one last question.

Q Thank you. Thank you for having this. Since my colleagues beat me to the attendance questions, Ill ask about the investment. In terms of keeping the governments of the region up to date with your actions and your announcements, are these governments are the governments of Giammattei and Castro, and I suppose Bukele not so much, part of these announcements? Are they informed ahead of time of these announcements like the Gap, Visa, and so on that you mentioned? Or are they just going to find out tomorrow when the embargo breaks?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The initiative that Ive described is based in the Partnership for Central America, which is a non-governmental entity that was set up in the context of the Vice Presidents call to action. And most of this private sector work and these discussions have been in that in that context.

I think it goes without saying that major investments of the scale that Ive been talking to also entail and involve contact with the government by the companies in question. So, its not part of our process necessarily to engage the government as we discuss and encourage and work on these investments, but its also not in any way going on behind their backs.

They in fact, they welcome it. I know President Giammattei has underscored his personal interest in making foreign direct investment a priority for his country. President Castro, the same thing.

So, in terms of driving this process, I think its fair to say, you know, were doing it transparently, were on the same page, and we have a common interest in increasing jobs and foreign direct investment.

MODERATOR: All right. Thank you very much to our speaker and thank you, everyone, for joining us.

As a reminder, that was on background to a senior administration official and the contents are embargoed until Tuesday, June 7, 5:00 a.m. Eastern Time and 2:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

We will follow up with all of you on some supporting materials, and we look forward to tomorrows announcements. Thank you very much.

END 5:42 P.M. EDT

Link:

Background Press Call by a Senior Administration Official on the Vice President's Engagements Regarding Root Causes of Migration - The White House

Even though men make up the majority of gun violence perpetrators, most men will never fire a gun in an act of violence. What explains this range of behaviors among men, and does masculinity play a role in determining motivation for men to commit acts of violence?

Most men will never fire a gun in an act of violence. Photo: Lyntha Scott Eiler / Library of Congress via Picryl

Understanding this dynamic necessitates looking at the interplay between gender, guns and violence. In doing so, we highlight three important arenas:

On May 14th, a white 18-year-old man drove 2.5 hours from his hometown to a small grocery store in Buffalo, NY, where he then proceeded to kill 10 people, the majority of them being black. While this attack is being investigated by the FBI as a racially motivated hate crime, many have highlighted how masculinity played a role in this mass shooting.

Importantly, the shooter released a 180-page manifesto referencing the Great Replacement theory. The Great Replacement theory, which has many racist underpinnings, claims that non-white men are moving to white-majority countries to out-number them. Simultaneously, efforts are allegedly made to weaken white men in these countries.

There have been a number of mass shootings globally by white men who have referenced this theory, including in Norway and New Zealand. Moreover, researchers have highlighted how these men held certain misogynistic ideas of what it means to be a man, arguing that this played a role in why they committed their act of violence. It is important to recognize the specific ideological connection these three attacks (and many others) share rather than viewing them as isolated events. Masculinity played an important role in all three events.

Globally, men, and especially young men, constitute the overwhelming majority of perpetrators of lethal violence. However, identifying the small number of men who become killers among the masses is difficult. For example, while a relationship can be observed between economic inequality and violence, many men living in inequal societies will never commit violence.

Research on masculinities provides part of the answer to the interrelated questions of why maleness seemingly drives violence, and why this driver of violence applies more to some men than to others. A recurring finding is that the type of manliness that a man identifies with, and aspires to, separates the more violent men from the rest.

Researchers have found that ideals of manhood that combine misogyny and masculine honor the notion that real men must be fierce and use violence to deter disrespect are associated with violent attitudes and behaviors.

For example, endorsement of masculine honor ideology predicts participation in political violence; misogyny is strongly associated with support for violent extremism; men with gender-inequitable ideals of masculinity are more likely to be rapists; individuals with hostile attitudes towards women, and towards gender equality in general, are more prone to intolerance towards other nationalities and religious groups; young men who hold masculine beliefs that violence is an appropriate and legitimate response to disrespect and insults to honor are involved in more violent crime.

In particular, the relationship between masculinity and guns may help to explain why men and boys carry out mass shootings. For many, guns are simply tools for protection, or a piece of sports equipment. For some, though, firearms are a means to express masculine identities. Twice as many men are gun owners in the U.S., and surveys of gun owners show that among them men are more likely than women to watch TV programs or visit web sites about guns.

Interviews help to further unpack the relationship between gun ownership and masculinity. When economic circumstances prevent an individual from playing a traditional role of the family breadwinner, men say that they have turned to guns as a way to assume the role of the armed protector, or as a source of individual empowerment or social meaning.

For some, a history of being bullied led to the use of gun ownership as a means to maintain and protect what they perceive to be a desirable form of masculinity based upon personal honor. Others found guns to be an attractive means of dealing with both threats to their own sense of masculinity and to perceived disadvantages to men as a group. Specific research on school shootings finds that the boys who were the perpetrators had been victims of bullying and had been socialised to see violence as a way to prove their manhood. All these clues suggest that the men or boys who commit mass shootings may be fascinated by guns and perceive that they can use firearms as a means to assert their status and importance in what for many is the final act of their own lives.

Understanding why the majority of mass shootings are perpetrated by men, but also that most men will never assault or kill anyone requires a gender perspective.

Gender research today helps bring nuanced understanding of the varied roles of men and masculinities in violence, and what types of men are drawn to violence. These findings can help create a better understanding of how harmful notions of masculinity develop, and how this issue can be addressed in the hope of avoiding the horrific deeds that keep being perpetrated.

See the rest here:

Mass Shootings Are Mostly Committed by Men: How Might a Gender Lens Help Us Understand This? PRIO Blogs - Peace Research Institute Oslo

By Laura Leonard Doctor of ChiropracticLos Alamos

Getting sick isnt exactly all in your head but your thoughts about things do play a critical part in how well your bodys physiology handles stress. Psychoneuroimmunology is a field of study that investigates the interactions between thoughts and physiology.

Since the 1960s, research into this field has shown that our thinking patterns directly affect immune, nervous and hormonal systems. Thoughts about life stressors have such a large impact on health that we cant afford to ignore this interaction as we go through life.

Research on patients with various types of cancer tells us that patients with depression and/or a history of multiple stressful life events have lower survival rates. In fact, these risk factors have more impact on survival than a history of alcohol and tobacco use. Perceived social isolation and loneliness are also predictors of cancer survival.

Chronic daily stress also leads to disease especially when we feel like we have no control over our circumstances. Emotions like anger are well known to increase the likelihood of having a heart attack. Mind-body-health interactions are the reason why I teach my patients to take control of their thoughts and personal actions rather than worrying about other people and events they have no influence over.

At the end of the day that is where health starts, with personal empowerment and choosing not to be a victim to the things going on around us. Where the tough work begins is being willing to look at your subconscious thoughts. Negative thinking patterns that are acquired in childhood and filed away until something triggers us.

Our brains are wired to keep these traumas filed away until something in the environment brings it up. PTSD, anxiety and depression are manifestations of these triggers. When our brain gets triggered in the now, our physiology has no idea if this is an imminent threat or if its overreacting. Dealing with our active thoughts in an empowering way is only part of the puzzle. Many of our beliefs about ourselves and the world are subconscious and stored away until something triggers those thoughts to come out. Sadly, most of what we store in the subconscious is negative because that is what allowed our ancestors to survive. In the modern world, these stored thoughts are responsible for making us sick.

Awareness of mind-body-health is becoming mainstream thinking and there are many online resources to get you started. Apps like Headspace, UCLA Mindful, iBreathe and Mindset: Daily Motivation all provide simple ways to start shifting your mind and physiology on the daily. If you are ready to dig into your subconscious, my personal preference is paying attention to emotional triggers and journaling about them when they arise. Triggers always have a deeper origin and I believe those roots exist in childhood and past traumas.

If you like apps, ThinkUp is a useful tool to get positive affirmations for healing old patterns once you start peeling back the onion.

Dr. Leonards practice focuses on posture and performance using a combination of soft tissue release, adjustments and exercise recommendations. She also coaches patients on nutrition, self-care and body awareness so they can manage themselves in between visits. Los Alamos Chiropractic Center is located in the Mary Deal building on Trinity.

Link:

Leonard: Is It All In Your Head? Stress, Disease And The Mind-Body Connection - Los Alamos Daily Post

The lending needs for consumers and businesses are rapidly evolving. Lenders are increasingly aware of the need to provide a superior customer experience throughout lead generation to seamless digital applications, instant decisioning, and account management capabilities. GDS Link's Modellica platform provides lenders of all types with an agile, adaptable decisioning platform powered by TransUnion's world-class data.

Through this partnership, GDS Link and TransUnion are delivering real world results by providing clients a platform with self-service capabilitiesboth of which empower business users to change custom rules, add new data sources, and update custom risk models to adapt to the market in real-time

"GDS Link and TransUnion have already acquired several joint clients. We expect this trend to continue as we work together to rapidly deliver solutions to meet the current needs of this market. The process to be appointed as a formal TransUnion partner in this program required a vigorous screening and evaluation, ultimately proving that GDS Link is a leader in the space," said CEO of GDS Link Paul Greenwood.

TransUnion based their Partner Program assessment on both current and future needs of customers, performing an extensive analysis to select industry-leading decisioning platforms that are best suited to meet those needs. "Now our customers can leverage TransUnion data in more ways with a flexible platform and a consultative GDS Link professional services team," said Aaron Smith, TransUnion's Vice President of Global Platform Partnerships.

SkyCap Financial, a leading lender in Canada and 2022 Consumer Lender of the Year finalist, is one of several clients realizing the benefits of this partnership for data and decisioning. SkyCap Financial chose GDS Link's Modellica platform because of the flexibility that allows platform users to access third party data bureaus they currently leverage, rapidly add new data sources, manage decision strategies, expand current offerings, and provide support for their long-term roadmap.

"GDS Link's Modellica solution empowers SkyCap Financial with a flexible platform and ultimately improves the borrower experience with instant decisions. This partnership allows us to quickly automate and modify decisioning strategies in a self-managed solution, all while leveraging the power of TransUnion data. We expect to not only improve our customer experience, but also grow our customer base in a way that aligns to our strategy and meets the needs of borrowers," states joint client Jeremy Wilson, President of SkyCap Financial.

Learn how GDS Link can help your business manage risk while driving growth.

About GDS Link

Founded in 2006, GDS Link is a global leader in credit risk management, providing tailored software solutions and analytical and consulting services. Our customer-centric risk management and process-automation platforms are designed for the modern lender in their pursuit to capitalize on the entire credit lifecycle. By providing a personal, consultative approach and leveraging our own industry-leading knowledge and expertise, GDS Link's solutions and services deliver exceptional value and proven results to clients around the world.

https://gdslink.com

About TransUnion

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good. A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people.

Learn more at http://www.transunion.com/business.

About SkyCap Financial

SkyCap Financial is a personal loan provider offering alternative financing to Canadians since 2013. Based in Kingston, Ontario, SkyCap endeavors to offer a better lending experience to its customers through a quick and easy online loan application process, that in most cases can be completed in just five minutes. Recognizing that people sometimes fall into difficult financial situations, SkyCap Financial specializes in helping people with low credit or poor credit get the financial assistance they need, offering short-term loans ranging from $500 to $10,000.

https://skycapfinancial.com

For more information:[emailprotected]

SOURCE GDS Link

Read the original:

GDS Link and TransUnion Partner to Deliver Superior Decisioning Solutions to Clients - PR Newswire

Melissa Ben-Ishay started scrolling through TikTok two years ago. It seemed like a virtual scrapbook you can piece together little clips of what you create, said Ben-Ishay, 38, the founder, president and CEO of Baked by Melissa.

I love to cook. I spend all day in my kitchen if Im not working.

Ben-Ishay knew she needed to leverage TikTok for her business, but didnt know how. Then one night, she posted a video of overnight oats that shed made into cupcakes. That morphed into content of her making salad or savory dishes, and they started going viral. So she began including corresponding recipes on her companys Web site.

You learn by doing, said Ben-Ishay. Try! Failure on social media is great because failure means that nobody saw it. Win-win, right? So you learned, you failed, nobody saw it and you dont even have to feel silly about it. Great, do it again.

Going all in like Ben-Ishay did, and learning by doing, is key.

You have to jump in, you have to figure it out. Theres such a difference between a place of yes and a place of no, said Bethenny Frankel, TV star, founder and CEO of global lifestyle brand Skinnygirl, and author of a newly released book, Business Is Personal: The Truth About What it Takes To Be Successful While Staying True to Yourself (Hachette Go).

Who you are outside of business is who you are inside of business, said Frankel, 51. Its a crazy time now everybody sees and hears everything. Business really is personal, the lines are blurred.

With more than 620,000 followers, Frankel posts regularly on TikTok, including candid reviews of beauty products. She also hosts the podcast Just B With Bethenny Frankel, and puts on a philanthropist hat to head up BStrong, a worldwide disaster-relief initiativethat partners withGlobal Empowerment Mission.Most things are more or less challenging than they seem, Frankel said.

Years ago, I realized if you have something interesting to say, you can crystallize it and package it into a small parcel and let someone know why you have something interesting that they might not want to miss out on. Or, be so endearing that they want to help you or connect, or be the type of person that follows through, which most people dont. Its just important to reconnect and just say what you mean and mean what you say.

That rings true especially for making things happen and creating your own opportunities, as Frankel explained her book. Although you may think other people arent accessible, Frankel said they are actually accessible if you are a little bit strategic and creative in your way of accessing someone.

Two years ago, Jane Pennoyer, 29, did just that when she discovered a firm called Finch, a digital sustainability tool.

The problem was, there was no gig, said Pennoyer of the startup, which had zero funding. Her mothers friend knew the CEO and provided her with the e-mail address, so Pennoyer sought an informational conversation. After e-mailing the CEO with the subject line Connecting, she landed a call.

Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.

Pennoyer offered to work for free, but the CEO started paying her to work 10 hours a week as a freelance consultant. Six weeks later, Pennoyer was hired full-time; one year later, she became chief of staff.

I knew that if I got my foot in the door, I could make myself valuable enough to stick around, said Pennoyer.

But bear in mind there are no shortcuts. You need to build a solid foundation with hard work, and making your own opportunities wont always happen in a New York minute but thats OK.

You can create an impact in New York, but most good things take a while and have to be built upon, said Frankel. They have layers. Its like a house. It feels better when you build something properly with layers and really just do it in a methodical, high-quality manner versus a rush job. It feels better, its more trusted. It takes a long time to be successful.

Go here to read the rest:

Dont be afraid to jump into a new career feet first it often has rewarding results - New York Post

Farida Khelfa will be hosting Cartiers new podcast, yet another commitment to female power by the luxury French maison. The Franco-Algerian documentary filmmaker, actress and model will be having personal conversations around womens empowerment with her notable guests while presenting the Womens Perspectives series.

" Through these conversations, I wanted to share the stories of amazing women and their destinies. Their success needs to be known because these women are carving out their own path. the multi-faceted Khelfa said about the series, which is available on Spotify.

A variety of exceptional women, as well as supportive men, have been invited to be part of the podcast that reflects Cartiers belief that we are always stronger together. Womens Perspectives also underscores the importance of tackling the issue of equality hand in hand. Discussions range from defining childhood experiences to career journeys and how guests see the future, while focusing on the importance of womens influence and work in society.

The series launches with a duo of episodes that epitomise this approach, with friends of the maison Khatia Buniatishvili and Rami Malek. Buniatishvili describes her journey as a young female pianist, challenging stereotypes and nailing it in the traditional world of classical music. Meanwhile, Oscar-winning actor Malek talks about the influence his mother and sister have had on his worldview and the role men have to play in building a more equal world.

Womens empowerment has been an important area of commitment for Cartier for a long time. The Cartier Womens Initiative and Cartier Awards nurture and support female entrepreneurship and Cartier Philanthropy has defined womens social and economic development as a key pillar of change. And now the podcast has arrived to continue the dynamic spirit cultivated at their Womens Pavilion during Expo 2020 Dubai.

Read more:

Farida Khelfa Is The Host Of A New Podcast Highlighting Women's Empowerment - About Her