Monthly Archives: July 2021

July 30, 2021

Lakshadweep administration discusses proposed transfer of High Court jurisdiction from Kerala to Karnataka

The Lakshadweep administration, which has faced numerous protests from the island population against some of its policies, has raised a proposal to move its legal jurisdiction from the High Court of Kerala to the High Court of Karnataka, said officials.

The proposal was initiated by the administration after several disputes were brought before the High Court of Kerala against decisions taken by the new islands administrator Praful Khoda Patel.

These decisions included revising standard operating procedures for appropriate behavior at Covid, introducing the “goonda law” and demolishing fishermen’s huts for road widening.

Patel, who is the administrator of Daman and Diu, was given the additional charge of the Union territory of Lakshadweep during the first week of December last year, when former administrator Dineshwar Sharma is died of a brief illness.

This year, up to 23 claims, including 11 petitions, were filed against the administrator of Lakshadweep and also against the alleged bossy police or local government of the islands.

However, for reasons best known to the island’s administration, which is in the spotlight on its handling of these matters, it has proposed to move its legal jurisdiction from the high court of Kerala to Karnataka.

Efforts to solicit comments from administrator advisor A Anbarasu and Lakshadweep collector S Asker Ali were unsuccessful.

The letters sent to their official emails and WhatsApp messages did not elicit a response to a question asking for the rationale for the proposed transfer of legal jurisdiction.

The jurisdiction of a high court can only be displaced by an act of Parliament, in accordance with the law.

“The Parliament may, by law, constitute a high court for a territory of the Union or declare any court in such a territory as a high court for all or part of the objectives of this Constitution”, in accordance with article 241 of the Constitution.

Section 4 of the same article mentions that “nothing in this article derogates from the power of Parliament to extend or exclude the jurisdiction of a high court for a State to or from a territory of the Union or part of it. -this “.

Speaking to the PTI by telephone, Mohammed Faizal PP, member of Lok Sabha, said: “This was his first attempt (from Patel) to move judicial jurisdiction from Kerala to Karnataka”.

“Why was it so special to transfer it… it is totally a hijacking of post. The native language of the inhabitants of these islands is Malayalam,” he said.

“It should be remembered that the name of the high court is Kerala and Lakshadweep High Court. This proposal was conceived during his first visit to the islands,” Faizal said and asked if this was necessary and how could he justify the proposal.

Faizal said there were 36 directors before Patel and no one had that kind of idea.

“However, if this proposal comes to fruition, we will oppose it tooth and nail on the floor of Parliament as well as in the courts,” said Lok Sabha member of the Nationalist Congress Party.

He said the Save Lakshadweep Front (SLF) appealed to the Center to change the administrator as soon as possible.

“The SLF is a nonviolent popular movement which has asked the central leadership to replace Patel with someone who can be an administrator of the people,” he added.

Lakshadweep legal experts said that Malayalam is the spoken as well as the written language in both Kerala and Lakshadweep and therefore the process could be streamlined.

The relocation of the jurisdiction of the High Court will change the entire judicial system of the islands as all judicial officers are sent by the High Court of Kerala due to the common language and script.

Lakshadweep’s prominent lawyer CN Noorul Hidya said she had heard about the change of jurisdiction issue.

“But that’s not the right decision. How can they change the jurisdiction when we share the language link and court documents are only accepted in Malayalam,” Hidya told PTI by phone from Lakshadweep.

She said most people would oppose such a move because it would practically lead them to a denial of justice.

“You have to understand that the high court of Kerala is only 400 km away while that of Karnataka is more than 1000 km away with no direct connection either,” Hidya said.

Legal experts also felt that the change of the High Court would also mean an additional burden on the public treasury, as all cases, which are currently pending, would have to be reconsidered.

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Jurisdiction 0

July 27, 2021

Renewed emphasis on personal competence can level the playing field in litigation

July 27, 2021 – The recent United States Supreme Court ruling in Ford Motor Company v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court has rekindled interest in the importance of personal jurisdictional disputes. Previously, when it came to product liability and mass tort cases, the rules of the game were seen to be tilted in favor of defendants, with recent rulings restricting jurisdiction over defendants outside the court. ‘State. As a result, plaintiffs had been more reluctant to use all available resources to prosecute these defendants out of state, seeking to avoid sinking resources into an inevitably unfavorable outcome.

With the Ford ruling, the Supreme Court has provided new certainty about defendants’ efforts to further thwart places where they can be sued. The judgment in the case dealt with the connection between the plaintiffs’ product liability claims arising from car accidents in various states and whether Ford’s actions in those states were sufficient to warrant specific jurisdiction in the states. respective state courts since the vehicles involved in the crashes were manufactured and sold elsewhere.

In an 8-0 opinion written by Judge Elena Kagan, the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, stating “When a company like Ford serves a market for a product in a state and that product causes injury in the State to any of its residents, the state courts can hear the resulting action. “

In the aftermath of this decision, it is important to return to the fundamental legal questions at stake in matters of personal jurisdiction. The difficulties of prosecuting defendants out of state, while increasingly complicated in some ways, have also been overestimated, with the best approaches requiring a return to basics.

In the world of complainants, we are used to seeing how companies structure their subsidiaries to escape their liability. But a business structure that seems impenetrable may not be.

Since the general jurisdiction only applies to companies incorporated or having their principal registered office in a certain state, it cannot be used in all cases. A specific jurisdiction, which allows an out-of-state defendant to be held liable if their actions led to the conduct in the local jurisdiction, should also be considered. Specific competence is often difficult to prove because the parent company is kept separate from its subsidiaries, but difficult does not mean impossible.

For example, the long gun laws of some states allow the exercise of specific jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant where a plaintiff’s claim “arises” from acts in a non-resident’s state that , in person or through an agent, carries on business, performs work, enters into contractual agreements, causes tort by acts and omissions, regularly does and solicits business, earns income and has a interest in, use and own real estate.

At first glance, a parent company may appear to have done everything to avoid the liability of its subsidiaries in other states. But it is possible that the corporate culture has undermined its corporate structure. Upon further investigation, lawyers may discover that the management of companies has a stake in major decision-making or that the boards of directors of “separate” companies are almost identical, rendering the structure in place meaningless. to protect the business.

The discovery of jurisdiction involves a request from the defendant for proof that the defendant engaged in conduct in a jurisdictional forum that contributed to the cause of action. It is typically used to oppose Defendants’ Rule 12 (b) (2) defeat motions.

Too often, however, lawyers do not exercise their right to find jurisdiction, as it can be costly and time consuming. In a case in which the authors’ companies represented plaintiffs alleging that wastewater management and disposal practices by a chicken processing plant had polluted the community of Millsboro, Delaware, the discovery of the jurisdiction enabled the parties obtain valuable information such as board meeting minutes, local tax records, and flight records from a local airstrip for members of parent company management. Cuppels et al. v Mountaire Corporation et al., Civil Action # S18C-06-009 CAK, Delaware Superior Court (resulting in a $ 205 million settlement, approved April 12, 2021).

While it is not uncommon to be thwarted by an “object, obstruct, delay” defense for months and even years, over time, through relentless practice of the movement, it is possible to gain access to evidence that shows the parent company was making decisions about how subsidiaries operated and how money flowed between them.

Without going through the process of finding personal competence, however, lawyers will not be able to sue the parent company and will likely see a much less positive outcome.

When arguing against a large corporation, lawyers often want the “smoking gun” that will help establish defendant liability. While this does of course sometimes exist, more often than not a case is built based on foundational documents that tell the story of the defendant’s misconduct.

As part of the discovery of jurisdiction, one must first consider the importance of the basic documents that companies are required to keep: minutes of board meetings, agendas and financial records. This more traditional discovery, with the help of forensic accounting experts, highlights the direct financial channels between companies.

For example, these types of records can show how money earned by an affiliate was sent directly to the parent company; whereas the parent company has effectively combined its own assets and the assets of its subsidiaries to guarantee loans intended to finance its operations; and that the parent company paid the remuneration of the management team of its subsidiary. They can also show cross pollination of executives both in the parent company and its subsidiaries. This can be a key element in demonstrating a company’s knowledge of the wrongdoing and the decision-making that led to it.

In short, while discovery often involves examining tens of thousands of emails, an initial examination of elementary business documents can reveal the jurisdictional story.

Government documents available to the public, especially at the state level, can also be a tremendous resource, especially when starting an investigation or when the discovery gets bogged down.

For starters, searching the property records may show that the parent company owns or mortgages property within the jurisdiction of the court. FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests can be submitted to places like local airstrips where business executives have entered and exited the state. By combing through political campaign finance and lobbying records, one can demonstrate how much the parent company has spent to influence state policy. Combined, these types of details help describe to the court why it has jurisdiction over the parent company in question.

If a company’s corporate structure has failed to shield it from liability, any information uncovered upon discovery can go a long way in proving that the parent company is managing and running the business in the state. , that its subsidiaries are not really separated. , and in reality, it functions as a single entity. It will also help satisfy the agency theory of a senior managing agent to take certain actions. Many of our experiences have served as important reminders not to reflexively believe that a structure works as it looks on paper.

Time is a big factor in proving personal competence, and it can seem daunting to invest years in part of the litigation that doesn’t seem to go to the heart of the claims. But that’s often the difference between business success and failure. By focusing on this usually mundane part of the case before you even draft the complaint based on what’s on the public record, you can lay the groundwork for overcoming this powerful – but not overwhelming – defense.

The opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the principles of trust, is committed to respecting integrity, independence and freedom from bias. Westlaw Today is owned by Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News.

Philippe Federico

Philip Federico is founder and senior partner of the firm of Baltimore Schochor, Federico and Staton, PA. He can be contacted at [email protected]

Chase Brockstedt

Chase Brockstedt is a shareholder and principal partner in the liability and personal injury litigation departments of Baird Mandalas Brockstedt, LLC, in Delaware. He can be contacted at [email protected]

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Jurisdiction 0

July 25, 2021

Caregivers are a test for state terrorism

DEMOCRACY is dead in the UK. How do we know this? A quick glance at the definition of terrorism under the UK Terrorism Act should immediately raise any thoughtful person to question whether our own UK government is now openly committing an act of terror against a vulnerable section of the public.

Under the law, terrorism is currently defined as “the use or threat [of action] intended to influence the government or intimidate the public or part of the public, and the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause ”.

Social workers, who are mostly low-income, young and female, are now directly targeted with outright intimidation by a UK government decree that they either undergo a Covid-19 vaccination by a certain date or are at risk. to be made redundant.

As we all know, the Nuremberg Trials and the Nuremberg Code that followed led us to the sunny highlands of a more secure world where no government could ever easily take over the sovereignty the people have. on their own body. The horrors of the Holocaust are often rightly presented as something that must never happen again. Fact-checkers are now telling us with absurd confidence that the Nuremberg Code does not apply when it comes to forcing Covid-19 vaccines on the citizens of the world. They argue that the vaccines have been tested and are completely safe, while simultaneously and skillfully sidestepping the known fact that none of the trials included studies in young women regarding effects on reproduction, pregnancy and breastfeeding. . Written test data from all vaccine manufacturers clearly cites reproduction, pregnancy, and lactation as “missing information” in data submitted to the MHRA, EMA, and FDA.

Fact-checkers tell us, again with absurd confidence, that there is no evidence of negative reproductive effects from vaccines, but fail to make the obvious logical leap that there is has no evidence because there has been no testing. Thus, caregivers, as a distinct group in society, are ordered by our government to receive injections of an investigational agent, the long-term effects of which cannot be known.

What about the people they care for? Indeed, this is an important consideration when it comes to human rights. Some rights are inevitably thrown back on the altar of the greater good, but in this case, whether or not a caregiver is vaccinated does not in any way confer greater protection on the elderly vaccinated in nursing homes. We now know that being vaccinated against Covid-19 does not in itself prevent anyone from being infected and transmitting the infection.

If you are a 24 year old caregiver with a child in school and totally reliant on nursing home shifts to feed, clothe and house your child, you are undoubtedly being bullied by the State to give up the right to choose what happens to your own body. Our UK government is clearly using a threat of action (intimidation) against a particularly vulnerable section of the public for both political and ideological reasons.

Politically, the government first terrorizes this particular group to test, as it has done throughout the pandemic, how far it can go with other groups in terms of totalitarian rule. Their terrorism is also ideological in the sense that a Covid First ideology espoused by several powerful governments is now clearly sweeping the world in a coordinated assault of mandates, restrictions, testing and certification.

I might add that the government’s ‘nudge’ over Covid-19 has also resulted in the creation of a quasi-religious movement or cult within the general public. Many now turn on their daily information points to find out who to hate and what to fear.

Vaccinating caregivers will not improve the safety of nursing home residents. On the contrary, it can put them at risk, as the symptoms of infectivity can be alleviated in the caregivers. Everyone who works in care knows the dedication and compassion that all workers show to their seniors. People don’t go to work if they’re not feeling well. Vaccination may well produce a workforce unaware that it can be infectious. All of this adds up to a massively shrunken workforce driven out by coercion.

Simply put, the supply of quality care is already creaking and this policy will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. We should all jump up and down on what’s in the law. We’re all next on the list. It won’t stop with caregivers and it won’t be limited to Covid-19 vaccines. Once the medico-industrial complex clearly establishes compulsory medication for entire populations, our lives and our bodies will never belong to us again. This is the hill we will all die on if we do not stop the government from carrying out this blatant terrorist attack on our freedoms.

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth State terrorism 0

July 20, 2021

The BJP will submit objections to the jurisdiction of the river council to the Center

Aim is to prevent tensions between AP and Telangana from escalating, says Somu Veerraju

A report listing objections raised by experts to the jurisdictions of the Krishna and Godavari River Management Boards, as defined in a recent notification to the Official Gazette, will be submitted to the Union Water Resources Ministry on Wednesday, said on Monday. BJP State President Somu Veerraju.

The report is submitted to ensure that disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over water sharing do not escalate again, Veerraju said.

“The BJP is in favor of building non-controversial irrigation projects and connecting several rivers. Political parties should refrain from politicizing disputes over river water sharing, lest people, especially farmers, face problems in the future, ”Veerraju said in a statement. roundtable on “Water resources and challenges” here Monday.

The BJP leader said the party will also form a task force to undertake an in-depth study of the projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers so that they can come up with suggestions on sharing water between the upper and lower riparian states.

He claimed that the gazette notification of KRMB and GRMB would facilitate an amicable settlement of disputes between AP and Telangana and bring justice to Rayalaseema and the coastal districts.

“Placing projects on the Krishna and Godavari rivers under the responsibility of the respective councils would prevent illegal water withdrawals by neighboring states,” said Veerraju.

About Polavaram

Mr Veerraju criticized the state government for allegedly neglecting the thousands of families facing the displacement of the Polavaram project. He regretted that they were forced to live in unsanitary shelters without electricity or clean water due to the alleged failure of the government to properly implement the relief and rehabilitation program.

“The government is obsessed with the Polavaram project while projects like Handri-Neeva, Velugonda, Telugu Ganga, Vamsadhara, Thotapalli, Nagavali and Bahuda remain unfinished decades after their launch,” said Veerraju.

Retired chief engineer U. Narayana Raju said the Polavaram project was crucial in meeting the drinking water needs of the people of Visakhapatnam, and observed that Telangana was making false claims about the watersheds of some rivers.

Former MPP Byreddi Rajasekhara Reddy said Rayalaseema would only be saved if a minimum water level of 854 feet was maintained in the Srisailam project, and asked how the government proceeded with the elevator irrigation project in Rayalaseema without having a reservoir component. The Tungabhadra River was Rayalaseema’s lifeline, he added.

BJP State Party Co-Head of State Sunil Deodhar, Secretary General S. Vishnuvardhan Reddy, MLC PVN Madhav and Vakati Narayana Reddy, Former Minister Ch. Adinarayana Reddy and Rayalaseema Chairman Neeti Sadhana Samiti, Dasaradharami Reddy, attended the roundtable.

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Jurisdiction 0

July 18, 2021

From Cuba to Palestine, when revolutionaries end up as dictators, the people pay the price | Simon tisdall

Wwho betrayed the revolution? This is a question that worries Cubans after the regime’s harsh crackdown last week on street protesters marching for freedom. It is also an enigma for other former liberation movements now wielding power in places as far apart as South Africa, Nicaragua and Palestine. Too often, it seems, the new bosses behave little better than the old bosses they toppled.

Those on the progressive left face an obvious dilemma when the revolution causes a backfire. True to a simplistic American tradition, US President Joe Biden is busy dividing the world into good and bad, Democrats and autocrats. Much of the attention has been focused on authoritarian right-wing rulers, as in Brazil, Belarus, Russia and Myanmar.

But what about leftist dictatorships? China does not easily fit this definition, as it has long since swapped communist theory for capitalist practice – although the CCP does not admit it. In contrast, Cuba’s top executives, self-proclaimed heirs to Fidel Castro, remain loyal to old-school Marxist ideology and rhetoric. Like a textbook, the Cuban president called the protests a Yanqui plot.

Miguel Díaz-Canel has abandoned the hackneyed story of a Bay of Pigs putsch concocted by mercenaries and subversives in Miami. “They will have to go through our bodies if they want to face the revolution,” said the 61-year-old party bureaucrat, ignoring his lack of Che Guevara expertise. The protesters were “confused revolutionaries,” he said – a term more apt to himself.

It would have been far more honest to recognize that any “confusion” among Cubans stems from the hardships caused by a declining economy, poor governance, Covid-19, U.S. sanctions, and shortages of subsidized Venezuelan oil – and by the failure of an illegitimate and corrupt democratic regime to remedy it. Locking up protesters and journalists is not a solution.

So is it fair to say that the Communists in Cuba betrayed their own revolution? Not entirely. Castro’s Cuba after 1959 suffered decades of US-led manipulation and interference. Efforts to build a more just society have been sabotaged from the outside.

Biden is less overtly hostile. But a fundamental shift in U.S. politics seems unlikely, given the importance of Florida’s Republican-leaning Latin American vote in next year’s midterm elections. Knowing this, the Cuban leadership will not change willingly either. So the siege – and the struggle – continues.

Nicaraguan Daniel Ortega, a veteran of the 1981-90 war with right-wing US-funded Contra rebels, similarly argues that the 1979 revolution in the country is relentlessly betrayed and subverted from abroad – even if, at its peak, its Sandinista front benefited from support abroad, especially in Brittany.

What a disappointment, then, that Ortega has become a modern version of Anastasio Somoza, the dictator he toppled. Like another socialist hero, Venezuelan Hugo Chavez and his sinister successor, Nicolas Maduro, he eviscerated opposition parties, abolished mandates, surrounded the judiciary and the media and detained opponents. It was like the good old days when Washington imposed sanctions last week.

In a very real sense, the Nicaraguan revolution never stood a chance. Global geopolitical, financial and trade systems opposed it. More than 40 years later, the country remains among the poorest in the Western Hemisphere.

Yet that’s not how Ortega puts it. He and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, cling, with a strange incongruity, to the mantle of successful revolutionaries and revolutionaries. In the mutual betrayal debate, who is laughing at whom?

Entrenched poverty, a history of colonial exploitation and the legacy of war were also challenges that African freedom fighters of the 20th century also faced. But once in charge, they have too often failed because the power has eaten away at the principle.

In energy-rich Angola and Mozambique, where money trumps the collective, the so-called left liberators are the new elites while the people remain poor. Robert Mugabe’s post-independence Zimbabwe was a disaster in a league of its own.

But how can one explain the turmoil that is currently shaking South Africa, which, when the African National Congress took the reins in 1994, was the richest economy on the continent? These latest riots and looting do not ultimately concern the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma but the imprisoned dream of a post-apartheid era of shared prosperity and equal opportunity.

Circumstances unquestionably conspired against South Africa. The economic ravages of Covid, now in a third wave, have been particularly severe. Unemployment in the first three months of 2021 was over 32%. Youth unemployment is the highest in the world. Yet all of this does not fully explain the collapse.

The bottom line is that the ANC, weakened by endless power struggles and corruption scandals, has clearly failed to fulfill the hopes invested in Nelson Mandela’s rainbow nation – and the people of it. pays the price. A once inspiring movement has clearly gone astray. Its deployment of troops against desperate civilians bears disturbing echoes of the past.

For those worried about the rise of authoritarianism on the left, the dictatorial behavior of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, is particularly disturbing. The unpopular 85-year-old Fatah leader has not faced a general election since 2006. His administration is seen as self-serving, confrontational and ineffective. The recent death in custody of a critic, Nizar Banat, sparked howls of protest across the West Bank which have been harshly suppressed.

The Palestinian state is an extremely symbolic leftist cause. But under the dead hand of the ruler of Ramallah, the vision fades as foreign interests diminish and Israel shamelessly usurps its land. Palestinians are in dire need of fresh, unifying, democratically elected leaders who can curb the violence of hardline Hamas supporters, avoid Israeli, Saudi and Iranian political traps, and rekindle active international support for a solution. viable to two states.

To win, the conditions under which this and other battles are fought must change. The old lessons of freedom must be learned anew, the slide to authoritarianism has resisted. It is time for a revolution on the left.

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Revolutionaries 0

July 16, 2021

The streets of Cuba belong to revolutionaries – Workers World

Prepared for en.granma.cu by Juan Diego Nusa Peñalver, Yudy Castro Morales and Milagros Pichardo Perez, published July 13.

“We are here because the streets belong to Fidel, because the streets of Cuba belong to revolutionaries.” This is the sentence we heard the loudest as we walked along several avenues of Havana on Sunday afternoon, July 11, when a whole people came out to defend their Revolution.

PHOTO: Juan Diego nusa Peñalver

We heard it, for example, in front of the Capitol, seat of the National Assembly of People’s Power, and along the Prado to the Malecon seafront. We heard it all the way to Belascoaín, and along Carlos III, where neighbors gathered, waving flags and, above all, ideas.

A woman shouted from her balcony: “Viva la Revolución! and “Viva Cuba Libre!” His voice joined those of many young inhabitants who, in the street below, waved the flag of the July 26 Movement and repeated, louder and louder, more and more clearly: “Fidel, Raúl and Díaz-Canel are here” , “Patria o Muerte, Venceremos” (The homeland or death, we will win).

We heard it with Infanta, from women and men, Cubans of few and many years, all with the same conviction: a country like ours, with so many dreams and more than a few pains. , defends himself tooth and nail, knowing that, like the poet [Fayad Jamís] says: “For this freedom / beautiful as life / we must give everything / if necessary / even the shade / and it will never be enough.”

We heard it from Julio Alejandro Gómez, a blogger who joined the honest claims of those who love and create and took to the streets, “because I’m a revolutionary, and I know it’s manipulation. They want to take advantage of our needs and our problems to apply the same formula of “social unrest” that they have used in other countries, but with Cuba, there are no formulas that work. The Revolution belongs to the people and is defended by the people.

We heard Alberto Bermudez, who lives on Infanta, and in the midst of the din, hummed “I die as I lived” with a group of friends, and, shortly after, it was the notes of the national anthem that ‘they offered.

“Unity and continuity”, others shouted, while Alberto interrupted his song to affirm: “Fidel, they are your people, and the streets belong to the people. The order has been given and we are here. We are going to win, despite COVID-19, despite everything. “

The same sentences, shouted along the way, led our group of journalists to Alfredo Vázquez, provincial secretary of the Federation of Cuban Workers in Havana, who was injured in one of the clashes with the “destabilizers”.

“They hit me hard on the head and I ended up with a seven point gash. But here I am, my flag stained with blood, ready to continue defending the Revolution, because to die for the Fatherland is to live ”, he insisted without slowing down, like Cuba, the land revolutionaries who never let themselves be intimidated.

And there next to the Via Blanca, Faustino Leonard, a resident of the municipality of Cerro, also told us about the day, while the remains of thrown stones were still in the street.

“The quarrel was tough here, but there were more revolutionaries. The saboteurs fled to hide, probably in a cave, as rats usually do. Let no one doubt it, this country belongs to the people and will continue to belong to us.

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Revolutionaries 0

July 15, 2021

British Columbia becomes first Canadian jurisdiction to expand access to prescription drug supply

British Columbia is gradually implementing a new policy to expand access to a supply of prescribed and safer drugs.

British Columbia is the first province in the country to introduce this public health measure

The change comes as illicit drug overdose deaths remain high in British Columbia after a string of record months amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more:

British Columbia reports at least 160 overdose deaths in May

“When fully implemented, more people who use drugs can be prescribed a wider range of options,” said Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson.

“British Columbia is leading the way as the first province to allow prescribed safe supply. “

At least 160 British Columbians died of overdoses during the month of May, the second-highest monthly total on record.

The story continues under the ad

May, the last month for which data are available, marked the 15th consecutive month with more than 100 suspected deaths from illicit drug toxicity in British Columbia.

The provincial government has allocated up to $ 22.6 million to health authorities to implement the change.

0:33
Five men found overdosed on Vancouver beach

Five men found overdosing on Vancouver beach – June 28, 2021

The pandemic has led to an increase in the number of illicit drug-related deaths as more users have used illicit drugs alone while the toxicity of street illicit drugs has worsened amid tight international borders.

“This is a tool within a comprehensive response to the overdose crisis as we also continue to build a treatment system so that everyone can get the care they need,” said Malcolmson .

“There is more to do, and we will not stop working until we turn this crisis around.”

The government of British Columbia declared a provincial health emergency six years ago related to the illicit drug overdose crisis.

The story continues under the ad

Once fully implemented, drug alternatives will be covered by pharmacare, including a range of opioids and stimulants as determined by programs and prescribers.

0:30
One million naloxone kits distributed in British Columbia

One million naloxone kits distributed in British Columbia – June 8, 2021

“With more than 7,000 lives lost to toxic illicit drugs, we need new measures to connect people to the supports they need to stay safe,” said Dr. British Columbia.

“Reducing the harm to people who use drugs is the right thing to do. The introduction of this new policy to expand the safer prescribed supply is a big change for the BC healthcare system.

The new safer prescribed procurement policy will be rolled out in a phased approach, starting with implementation through existing health authority funded programs that are currently prescribing alternatives to illicit drugs.

The first phase of this new policy is expected to be in place for 18-24 months as data is collected to evaluate the approach.

The story continues under the ad

1:15
Five years after the declaration of a public health emergency in the drug overdose crisis in British Columbia

Five years after the declaration of a public health emergency in the drug overdose crisis in British Columbia – April 14, 2021

Province says phased implementation ensures patient and prescriber safety, while providing opportunity for rigorous monitoring and evaluation as British Columbia builds body of evidence that will lead to clinical advice .

“We also know that this toxic drug supply puts people who use drugs at increased risk of death. An increase in the secure supply will save lives. It’s another way to connect people to other parts of the system, the health care system, housing or getting a meal, ”said Henry.

“There is no single measure that will get us out of the toxic drug supply crisis.”

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Jurisdiction 0

July 13, 2021

The streets of Cuba belong to revolutionaries and we will defend them ›Cuba› Granma

We heard it with Infanta, from women and men, Cubans of few and many years, all with the same conviction: a country like ours, with so many dreams and more than a few pains. , defends himself tooth and nail, knowing that, as the poet said: “For this freedom / beautiful as life / we must give everything / if necessary / even the shade / and it will never be enough.”

We heard it from Julio Alejandro Gómez, a blogger who joined the honest claims of those who love and create and took to the streets, “because I’m a revolutionary and I know it’s manipulation. They want to take advantage of our needs and problems to apply the same formula of “social unrest” that they have used in other countries, but with Cuba, there are no formulas that work. The Revolution belongs to the people and is defended by the people. ”

We heard Alberto Bermudez, who lives on Infanta, and in the midst of the din, hummed “I die as I lived” with a group of friends and, shortly after, it was the notes of the national anthem that they offered.

“Unity and continuity,” others shouted, while Alberto interrupted his song to assert: “Fidel, they are your people, and the streets belong to the people. The order has been given and we are here. win, despite COVID-19, despite everything. “

The same sentences, shouted along the way, led our group of journalists to Alfredo Vázquez, provincial secretary of the Federation of Cuban Workers of Havana, who was injured in one of the clashes with the “destabilizers”.

“They hit me hard on the head and I ended up with a seven point gash. But here I am, my flag stained with blood, ready to continue defending the Revolution, because to die for the Fatherland is to live. “, he insisted. without slowing down, like Cuba, land of revolutionaries never intimidated.

And there, next to Via Blanca, Faustino Leonard, a resident of the municipality of Cerro, also told us about the day, with remains of stones always thrown in the street.

“The quarrel was tough here, but there were more revolutionaries. The saboteurs fled to hide, probably in a cave, as rats usually do. Let no one doubt, this country belongs to the people, and will continue to belong to us. “

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Revolutionaries 0

July 12, 2021

Cuban President calls on “communists” and “revolutionaries” to counter freedom protests

A rebel Cuban president denounced the US embargo against Cuba on Monday in response to rare protests across the country over lack of food, fuel, medicine and other goods during the pandemic.

President Miguel Díaz-Canel said that a “policy of economic suffocation” had a “cumulative effect” across Cuba.

He and officials from his government said US sanctions against Cuba contributed to power outages and limited access to food and medical supplies during the pandemic.

Speaking about the economic problems of Cuban society and the reasons why some are protesting, Díaz-Canel said: “What is their origin, what is their cause? It’s the blockade.

Díaz-Canel said the Cuban protests were the result of a US and social media campaign to manipulate people as the island faces hardship during the pandemic.

Large Cuban police contingents patrolled the capital of Havana on Monday following protests around the island that drew thousands of protesters, according to the Associated Press.

Image: Protests in Cuba (Yamil Lage / AFP – Getty Images)

Díaz-Canel declared that it was legitimate “to have dissatisfaction, but we must also be able to visualize, to define when we are being manipulated, where they want to separate us”.

He said the forces that want to appear as “saviors” in Cuba “are not interested in the health of the people.”

“They want to change a system, or a regime they call for, to impose what kind of government and what kind of regime in Cuba? The privatization of public services. The kind that gives more possibilities to the wealthy minority, not the majority. “

The Cuban health minister said the embargo had impacted Cuba’s ability to fight the virus by limiting drugs and supplies to make drugs, as well as equipment such as ventilators.

Díaz-Canel also denounced what he called the “Cuban Mafia” in Miami, referring to members of the Cuban-American community and lawmakers opposed to the Communist government.

Cuba is currently facing its worst economic crisis in decades, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, made worse by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic halted tourism, which was a key driver of the island economy. The country has since experienced food shortages, power outages and an increase in coronavirus cases.

It has also seen an increase in the crackdown on political opponents and a strained healthcare system during a critical phase of the pandemic. Health officials have reported nearly 7,000 new cases and 47 deaths – a record number of infections and deaths on the Caribbean island of just over 11 million people.

Thousands of Cubans took to the streets across the country on Sunday, shouting slogans against the government such as “We want freedom” and “We are no longer afraid”.

In Havana, protests disrupted traffic until police intervened after several hours and interrupted the march when a few protesters threw stones, according to the AP.

“We are fed up with queues, shortages. That’s why I’m here, ”a middle-aged protester told the AP. He refused to identify himself for fear of being arrested later.

Later, around 300 pro-government protesters arrived with a large Cuban flag, shouting slogans in support of the late President Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution, the PA reported. Some assaulted an AP video journalist, breaking his camera. PA photojournalist Ramón Espinosa was then beaten by a group of uniformed and plainclothes police; he suffered a broken nose and an eye injury.

The protest reached a few thousand around Galeano Avenue and the protesters continued despite a few police charges and tear gas barrages, the AP reported.

Although many people tried to pull out their cell phones and broadcast the protest live, Cuban authorities shut down internet service throughout the afternoon.

More than two hours after the start of the march, some protesters tore up cobblestones and threw them at the police, at which point the police started arresting people and the protesters dispersed.

AP journalists counted at least 20 people who were taken away in police cars or by individuals in plain clothes.

In Miami, hundreds of people gathered in the Little Havana neighborhood in solidarity with the growing protests in Cuba. “I know my family in Cuba is in trouble, people are dying. It’s terrible, ”Miami resident Christian Guzmán told NBC WTVJ.

“Right now it’s difficult. There is no food, there is no medicine. The Covid epidemic. The whole country is on the streets, ”said Darío Suárez, a Miami resident.

Díaz-Canel appeared on national television earlier to call on the army to confront the demonstrators: “The order to fight has been given,” he said.

Díaz-Canel also called “all the revolutionaries of the country, all the communists, to take to the streets and to go to the places where these provocations are going to take place”.

US President Joe Biden said on Monday that he recognized the “remarkable protests in Cuba” and that such protests had not been seen for a long time, “frankly never.”

Biden said the United States stood “firmly on the side of the Cuban people as it asserted its universal rights” and called on the government to “refrain from violence” or “attempt to silence” the protesters.

Earlier Monday, Biden said in a statement that the Cuban protests were a “bugle call for freedom.”

“We stand by the Cuban people and their clear call for freedom and relief from the tragic grip of the pandemic and the decades of repression and economic suffering to which it has been subjected by the authoritarian regime in Cuba,” he said. Biden said in a statement.

“The United States calls on the Cuban regime to listen to its people and meet their needs at this vital moment rather than enrich themselves,” he added.

Also on Monday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for an end to the US embargo on Cuba.

“The truth is that if we want to help Cuba, the first thing to do is to suspend the blockade of Cuba as demanded by the majority of the countries of the world,” Lopez Obrador told a press conference, according to Reuters. .

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Revolutionaries 0

July 3, 2021

BJP urges Center to notify jurisdiction of Krishna River Management Board

The Telangana Bharatiya Janata party on Saturday asked the Union Water Resources Ministry to inform the jurisdiction of the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to protect the legitimate interests of the state regarding their legitimate share. in the waters of the Krishna River.

In a communication to Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekawat, Bandi Party Chairman Sanjay Kumar explained that the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal (KWDT-I) awarded 811 TMC of water to be used by United Andhra Pradesh while that KWDT-II (Brijesh Kumar Tribunal) issued a new sentence in 2010, but has not yet been released as the case is pending before the Supreme Court.

At present, usage is in accordance with KWDT-I attribution only. The PA Reorganization Act (APRA) -2014 ensured that the KRMB and the Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) maintain the projects and regulate water distribution for both states. However, the competence of these two councils has not yet been notified by the Center.

After the bifurcation, the two states had worked out a temporary arrangement for the distribution of water from the 811 TMC and it was there that the chief minister of Telangana, K. Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) had “totally failed to protect the interests of Telangana and his people ”, as he agreed for 299 TMC and 512 TMC for AP, while he was eligible to get 555 TMC because 68.5% of the watershed of Krishna basin is in Telangana, (68.5% of 811 TMC).

Mr. Sanjay Kumar said the orders issued by AP for the construction of the Rayalaseema Elevator Irrigation System (RLIS) were to pump 3 feet TMC of water, upgrade the Pohireddypadu head regulator canal system to tap 80,000 cusecs of water, both from the foreshore of the Srisailam reservoir and other improvement works in the existing canal system of the Galeru-Nagari project to draw an additional 70,000 cusecs of water from Srisailam are “highly. reprehensible, illegal and violate the water allocations made by KWDT-I ”.

AP did not bother to get approval from the Apex Council and KRMB while KCR had also “failed to act in time” and allowed the work to continue by “deliberately not attending a meeting. meeting called to discuss it ”and now 50% of RLIS is complete, he charged.

“KCR and AP CM Jaganmohan Reddy are both hand in hand and just trying to capitalize on these issues. They don’t care about solving problems and protecting the interests of their people. The KCR is trying to pick up on these issues only to gain political momentum, ”Karimnagar MP said.

He also pointed out that KCR took six years to withdraw the case against the KWDT court in SC, otherwise he would have heard the case already. TS’s interests could only be protected when the new KWDT-II or new tribunal award is issued to regulate water allocation, the communication adds.

Source link

Thelma J. Longworth Jurisdiction 0