Tag: government

US lawmakers lag voters in support for Gaza ceasefire | Israel-Palestine conflict News

A new poll says more than 60% US voters want ceasefire, while only 11% of lawmakers support an end to Israel’s war.

Support among members of the United States Congress for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war is far lower than among voters.

Data for Progress, a progressive US think tank, said on Tuesday that 61 percent of likely US voters support calls for a permanent ceasefire and a de-escalation of violence in Israel’s war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, which has killed more than 16,000 people since October 7.

Citing the poll in a post on social media platform X, Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib questioned why so few members of the government were aligned with the public’s views on this, noting that only 11 percent of Congress has called for a ceasefire. A full 76 percent of Democrat voters support a ceasefire.

Last week, Tlaib – the only Palestinian-American member of Congress who was censured by the US House of Representatives on November 7 – hit out at the White House for calling the few dozen lawmakers who demanded a ceasefire early in the war “repugnant”.

The Data for Progress survey, which polled over 1,000 likely US voters in late November, said the majority of respondents were concerned about the rise in hate towards Jewish communities, Arabs and Muslims in the US since the start of the war.

On Tuesday, the US House passed a measure equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism, a move Palestinian rights advocates denounced as “dangerous”, warning that it aims to curb free speech and distract from the war.

‘Shift in stance’

When asked what the US government should prioritise in its foreign policy approach to the crisis, about half of the poll’s respondents mentioned diplomatic efforts, and some 30 percent mentioned humanitarian assistance.

“Fewer than 1 in 4 voters (24%) choose ‘sending additional military aid and weapons to Israel’ — and only 11% choose ‘sending US troops to assist Israeli forces in Gaza’ as a priority,” Data for Progress noted.

The US government provides billions in military support to Israel and has sent additional taxpayer money since the war began.

However, the Biden administration on Tuesday announced a move to impose visa restrictions on “extremist” Israeli settlers involved in undermining peace, security or stability in the occupied West Bank.

This represents a “shift in the stance” on the conflict, Youcef Bouandel, a professor of political science and international relations at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera. However, he added the move does not “go far enough”.

Ariel Gold, the executive director of the US-based Fellowship of Reconciliation, told Al Jazeera the policy was “virtue signalling” as many settlers hold dual citizenship and do not require a visa to enter the US.

Last month, a different poll by Gallup found that 45 percent of Americans disapproved of Israel’s military action in Gaza. It found that 63 percent of Democrats, 64 percent of people of mixed race, and 67 percent of young people aged 18-34 all opposed the war.

Only 32 percent of Americans approved of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas situation, Gallup said.



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As Wagner and the Kremlin faced off, fighting in Ukraine continued

As Wagner and the Kremlin faced off, fighting in Ukraine continued

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Flight delayed? It’s probably Uncle Sam’s fault

Your flight is delayed?

Blame your government.

OK, it’s not always the government’s fault.

Sometimes it’s weather or mechanical problems.

But often we suffer horrible flight delays because politicians won’t relinquish power.

In January, flights were grounded when the government’s “Notice to Air Missions” system broke down.

That was just the latest incident.

America rightly prides itself on being on the cutting edge of innovation.

But it’s the private sector that innovates.

Government rarely does.

Asked if America’s air traffic control system is out of date, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg paused a long time before answering, “The system is continuously being upgraded.”


In January, flights were grounded when the government’s “Notice to Air Missions” system broke down.
Getty Images

Yet the government’s been “upgrading” air-traffic control for decades, promising to switch to a “NextGen” system that uses satellite navigation.

But implementation keeps being postponed.

Now the Federal Aviation Administration won’t even say when NextGen might be done.

Air-traffic control is still a lot like it was in the 1960s.

Controllers use paper strips to track flights. Instead of using computers, they move paper around manually.

“This is your government at work,” says Diana Furchtgott-Roth in my latest video.

Furchtgott-Roth worked for the Transportation Department during the Trump administration.

I yell at her. “Air-traffic control was in your department. You could have fixed it. You should have fixed it!”

She smiles and explains that although she had control of $1 billion, she wasn’t allowed to move those funds to where they were needed.


Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said America’s air traffic control system “is continuously being upgraded.”
AP

Government managers must fund projects pushed by politicians, like “Justice40,” meant to fix “underinvestment in disadvantaged communities.”

“Sounds like they mean well,” I say.

“It sounds a lot better to talk about social justice,” answers Furchtgott-Roth.

“Nuts and bolts like computer hardware for air-traffic control gets left behind.”

Computer hardware isn’t left behind in Canada.

It got rid of “flight control with paper strips” years ago.

That’s because Canada turned air-traffic control over to a private company.

It switched to an electronic system.

It’s not just Canada that did it.

Dozens of countries have privatized or partially privatized.

Computer screens have replaced not-always-clear windows in many air-traffic-control centers.

Controllers don’t use binoculars anymore because high-definition cameras let them see much more, especially at night.


In many air-traffic-control centers, computer screens have replaced the not-always-clear windows.
Getty Images

A Government Accountability Office study found that in countries that are privatized, there are fewer delays and costs are lower.

So why doesn’t America privatize?

Because our politicians get money from labor unions, which “advocate for keeping the same people in the same jobs,” says Furchtgott-Roth.

Another opponent is the private-plane lobby.

Under our current system, Congress makes sure that the big airlines, which you fly, subsidize private flights’ air-traffic fees.

“If they have private planes,” says Furchtgott-Roth, “they should be able to pay their fair share.”

Yes.

Today’s pricing amounts to welfare for rich people.

A third obstacle is fear.

“For-profit companies will cut corners and make flying less safe!”

But this is nonsense.

That GAO study found that safety stayed the same or improved in countries that privatized.

Also, “For-profit companies actually run the airlines!” Furchtgott-Roth points out.

The airlines get FAA supervision, but the main reason planes don’t crash is because the private companies don’t want to destroy their business by killing their customers.

There hasn’t been a commercial airline crash in 14 years.

By contrast, government-run airlines do crash.

Aeroflot (the Soviet airline) killed thousands of people.

“What ensures high quality is competition,” says Furchtgott-Roth.

There wasn’t any competition in the Soviet Union.

And there isn’t any at the FAA.

Today, computers controlling air traffic in other countries keep getting better.

In America, privatization would reduce delays and make flying even safer.

But our arrogant politicians won’t allow it.

They insist government run things.

Since governments rarely innovate, you must sit at the airport and wait.

John Stossel is the author of “Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.”

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Twitter Plea Against Government’s Takedown Orders Adjourned by Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has adjourned the hearing of the petition filed by microblogging site Twitter against the Central government’s takedown orders to December 12.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sought time to present its arguments in the case following which Justice Krishna S Dixit adjourned the case on Wednesday.

Twitter has approached the High Court challenging the several blocking directions issued to it to remove tweets, accounts and URLs on the platform.

The social media platform, in its petition filed in June 2022, claimed that the Centre was required to issue notice to the owners of the Twitter handles against whom blocking orders are issued. The company claimed that it was barred from even informing its account holders about the takedown.

Senior advocates Arvind Datar and Ashok Haranahalli have argued on behalf of Twitter before the High Court in the last two months.

The main argument so far on behalf of Twitter is that the government’s blocking orders are against the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case. This was the case in which the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.

Twitter has argued that those whose accounts are to be taken down should be served a notice beforehand. It has also submitted the list of accounts, tweets and URLs that the government has asked it to remove between February 2, 2021 and February 28, 2022.

The issue is regarding 10 government orders during this period in which the Centre directed the microblogging site to block 1,474 accounts, 175 Tweets, 256 URLs and one hashtag.

Twitter is, however, challenging the orders related to 39 of these URLs. In an earlier hearing, Twitter also submitted a 300-page compilation of how such issues are handled in various countries.

The blocking orders are under Section 69A of the IT Act which provides for blocking of content that is against the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, pertains to defence of India, security of State, friendly relationship with foreign states, public order and content which provokes or incites commission of any offence.

Twitter has claimed that the orders are not in consonance with Section 69A of the IT Act.

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Government May Clear Semiconductor Unit Proposals in Next 30-60 Days: MoS IT

The government is likely to start approving proposals to set up electronic chip and display manufacturing plants in the country in next 30-60 days, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday.

Speaking at IESA Vision Summit, Chandrasekhar said there has been a tremendous progress in the development of the semiconductor ecosystem in the country in the last 8-9 months.

The government has received proposals from five companies for setting up electronic chip and display manufacturing plants with investment of Rs. 1.53 lakh crore.

Vedanta Foxconn JV, IGSS Ventures, ISMC propose to set up electronic chip manufacturing plants with $13.6 billion (nearly Rs. 1,11,800) investment and have sought support of $5.6 billion (nearly Rs. 46,000 crore) from the Centre under the Rs. 76,000 crore Semicon India Programme.

“Over the next couple of months, I think over next 30 to 60 days… Government of India and India Semiconductor Mission will be rolling out those proposals that have been scrutinized and that have passed the investment,” Chandrasekhar said in his virtual address at the summit.

He said a great deal of interest is there in the industry and there are several proposals ranging from investment in wafer fabrication plants to silicon compounds to packaging and testing.

“State governments have shown some tremendous amount of alacrity. State governments like Gujarat, Karnataka have shown tremendous proactive response to looking at this very new opportunity, an opportunity for growth, and job creation, investments and innovation,” Chandrasekhar said.

Vedanta Foxconn JV has announced plans to set up an electronic chip manufacturing unit in Gujarat. He said there is significant investment required in the semiconductor space and the government is looking at this sector as a long game.

“This year alone, we will cross over $15 billion (nearly Rs. 1,23,300 crore) of exports where at one point we were having zero exports in 2014. Our target for electronics as an overall sector is $300 billion (nearly Rs. 24,66,800 crore) of manufacturing by 2025 and exports of $120 billion (nearly Rs. 9,86,700 crore),” Chandrasekhar said.

Citing a study, India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) Chairman Vivek Tyagi said India will consume roughly $27 billion (nearly Rs. 2,22,000) worth semiconductors in 2022.

He said the government’s incentives have given a push to the electronics sector but most of the products are getting assembled in India.

“Once the products get designed here…there will be a different level of value addition that will happen in the country ,” Tyagi said.

He said before the start of semiconductor manufacturing there is a strong case of assembly and testing of electronic chips in India.

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Government to Set Up 25,000 New Mobile Towers in the Next 500 Days: IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

With an objective to ensure connectivity to every corner of the country, the government has approved setting up of 25,000 new towers in the next 500 days with an investment of Rs. 26,000 crore, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw has said.

Vaishnaw made the announcement at the three-day long “Digital India Conference of State IT Ministers” that began on October 1, and concluded on Monday.

On the first day, the detailed discussions on key priority areas of Digital India initiatives were held with States and Union Territories under the chairmanship of Vaishnaw. Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar and Minister of state for Communications Devusinh Chauhan and IT ministers from 12 states and UTs, namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Telangana, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Puducherry, participated in the event.

In his concluding remarks, Vaishnaw stated that the connectivity is vital for the Digital India and its reach to every corner of the country. He announced that Rs. 26,000 crore has been approved to install 25,000 new towers in next 500 days, according to an official statement released by the Ministry of Electronics and IT on Tuesday.

He congratulated all states and UTs for their speedy onboarding at PM Gati Shakti. He also shared that the special assistance to states for capital expenditure worth Rs. 2,000 crore has been supported.

He encouraged the states to be proactive and make business friendly policies to attract businesses in their states. Emphasising on the motto of Sabka Saath and Sabka Vikas, he stated that the commitments from all states and UTs, large as well as small states, are vital in taking Digital India to higher level and in realising the AatmaNirbhar Bharat and Trillion Dollar Digital Economy.

On the second day, MeitY organised three sessions on important aspects like ‘IT Rules, Online Gaming and Data Governance’, ‘Digital India Bhashini & Digital Payment’, and ‘MyScheme and Meri Pehchaan’.

The demo on eligibility / profile-based service discovery at MyScheme was shown. In the concluding remarks, the Secretary, MeitY, Alkesh Kumar Sharma encouraged the States and UTs to align their policies in sync with the policies published and in-making by the Central Government. He also said that States and UTs should leverage the latest initiatives of Central Government for improving the citizen centric and business centric services, resulting in further ease of living and ease of doing business.

On the third day, MeitY organized five panel discussions titled ‘Attracting Startups to Tier 2 Cities and Sustaining Them’, ‘Use of Emerging Tech in Public Services’, ‘Making India Talent Nation’, ‘Realization of Digital Government in States’, and ‘Make-in-India for the Globe — India as Semiconductor Nation’.

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Government Orders Employees Not to Use Google Drive, Dropbox, VPNs

A new government order restrict employees from using third-party, non-government cloud platforms including Google Drive and Dropbox as well as virtual private network (VPN) services including NordVPN and ExpressVPN. The order passed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been circulated to all ministries and departments and all government employees are required to comply with the directive, Gadgets 360 has learnt. The new move by the government comes just weeks after directing VPN service providers and data centre companies to store their user data for up to five years.

Citing an increased number of cyberattacks and threat perception to the government, the 10-page document seen by Gadgets 360 ordered employees to “not upload or save any internal, restricted, confidential government data or files on any non-government cloud service (ex: Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.).” The document is titled “Cyber Security Guidelines for Government Employees.”

In addition to restricting employees from using the popular cloud services, the government instructed employees through its directive to not use any third-party anonymisation services and VPNs, including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Tor, and proxies. Additionally, it directed the workforce to refrain from using “unauthorised remote administration tools” such as TeamViewer, AnyDesk, and Ammyy Admin, among others.

Government employees are also directed to not use any “external email services for official communication” and conduct “sensitive internal meetings and discussions” using “unauthorised third-party video conferencing or collaboration tools.”

The government additionally ordered employees to not “use any external websites or cloud-based services for converting/ compressing a government document”. It also directed the workforce to not use “any external mobile app-based scanner services” including CamScanner for “scanning internal government documents.

Notably, the government banned CamScanner in 2020 as a part of its initial move to restrict China-based apps in the country. Some government officials were, however, still being seen using the app for scanning physical copies of their official documents.

Alongside restricting the usage of certain apps, the government’s order also directed employees to not ‘jailbreak’ or ‘root’ their mobile phones.

The directive also ordered employees to take measures including the use of complex passwords as well as updating passwords once in 45 days and updating operating system and BIOS firmware with the latest updates and security patches.

“All government employees, including temporary, contractual/ outsourced resources are required to strictly adhere to the guidelines mentioned in this document,” the order said. “Any non-compliance may be acted upon by the respective CISOs/ department heads.”

The order was released on June 10 after a couple of revisions in the original draft made by the NIC. It included inputs from India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) and was approved by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary.

Gadgets 360 has reached out to Google, Dropbox, and other entities to get their comments on the government’s directive. This article will be updated when the companies in question respond.

In late April, the CERT-In issued a directive to make its mandatory for VPN service providers, data centres, virtual private server (VPS) providers, and cloud service providers to keep user data for five years or even longer. The order will come into force from June 28.

As a result of that order, VPN service providers including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark have decided to remove their physical servers in the country as they follow no-log policies and are not technically capable of storing logs. The major VPN entities as well as some digital rights groups have also raised privacy concerns for users in storing their data.

Tech companies including Facebook and Google also warned that the rules made by CERT-In could create a frightening environment.

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Top 10 Current Global Issues

With numerous current global problems that need immediate attention, it’s easy to urge pessimistic. However, the quantity of progress that organizations have made in combating these problems is admirable, and therefore the world will still improve within the years to return . By staying active in current events, and standing up for the health and safety of all humans, most are ready to make a difference in changing the fate of our world.

1.Climate Change.

The global temperatures are rising, and are estimated to extend from 2.6 degrees Celsius to 4.8 degrees Celsius by 2100. This would cause more severe weather, crises with food and resources and therefore the spread of diseases. The reduction of greenhouse emissions and therefore the spreading of education on the importance of going green can help make an enormous difference. Lobbying governments and discussing policies to scale back carbon emissions and inspiring reforestation is an efficient way of creating progress with global climate change .

2.Pollution.

Pollution is one among the foremost difficult global issues to combat, because the umbrella term refers to ocean litter, insecticides and fertilizers, air, light and sound pollution . Clean water is important for humans and animals, but quite one billion people don’t have access to wash water thanks to pollution from toxic substances, sewage or industrial waste. It is of the utmost importance that folks everywhere the planet begin working to attenuate the varied sorts of pollution, so as to raised the health of the planet and all those living on it.

3.Violence.

Violence are often found within the social, cultural and economic aspects of the planet . Whether it’s conflict that has broken call at a city, hatred targeted at a particular group of individuals or harassment occurring on the road , violence may be a preventable problem that has been a problem for extended than necessary. With continued work on behalf of the governments of all nations, also because the individual citizens, the difficulty are often addressed and reduced.

4.Security and Well Being.

The U.N. is a perfect example of preventing the shortage of security and well being that may be a serious global issue. Through its efforts with local organizations and members that are skilled in security, the U.N. is working toward increasing the well being of individuals throughout the planet .

5.Lack of Education.

More than 72 million children throughout the world that are of the age to be in primary education aren’t enrolled in class . This can be attributed to inequality and marginalization also as poverty. Fortunately, there are many organizations that employment directly with the difficulty of education in providing the right tools and resources to assist schools.

6.Unemployment.

Without the specified education and skills for employment, more people, particularly 15 to 24 year olds, struggle to hunt out jobs and make an accurate living for themselves and their families. This results in a scarcity of necessary resources, like enough food, clothing, transportation and proper living conditions. Favorably, there are more institutions throughout the country teaching people in need of the skills for jobs and interviewing, helping to lift people from the vicious circle of poverty.

7.Government Corruption.

Corruption may be a major explanation for poverty considering how it affects the poor the foremost , eroding political and economic development, democracy and more. Corruption are often detrimental to the security and well being of citizens living within the corrupted vicinity, and may cause a rise in violence and physical threats without as much regulation in the government.

8. Malnourishment & Hunger.


Currently there are 795 million people that don’t have enough to eat. Long term success to ending world hunger starts with ending world poverty. With fighting poverty through proper training for employment, education and therefore the teaching of cooking and gardening skills, people that are suffering are going to be more likely to urge jobs, earn enough money to shop for food and even find out how to form their own food to save lots of money.

9. Substance Abuse.

The United Nations reports that, by the start of the 21st century, an estimated 185 million people over the age of 15 were consuming drugs globally. The drugs most ordinarily used are marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, amphetamine stimulants, opiates and volatile solvents. Different classes of individuals , both poor and rich, partake in drug abuse , and it’s a persistent issue throughout the planet . Petitions and projects are ongoing to finish the worldwide issue of drug abuse .

10. Terrorism.

Terrorism is a problem throughout the planet that causes fear and insecurity, violence and death. Across the world , terrorists attack innocent people, often all of sudden . This makes civilians feel helpless and unprotected in their everyday lives. Making national security a better priority is vital in combating terrorism, also as promoting justice in wrongdoings for instance the enforcement of the law and therefore the serious punishments for terror crimes.




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