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☆ Meet Vladimir Medinsky, Putin’s Ghostwriter - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Mikhail Zygar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Medinsky was born in the Cherkasy region of Ukraine in 1970. His father was a military man and his childhood was spent traveling across the Soviet Union, from garrison to garrison. In this peripatetic environment, according to close acquaintances, Mr. Medinsky was brought up with very conservative values and as a sincere patriot of the Soviet Union. That’s when I met Mr. Medinsky, when I was as an undergraduate at the institute in the late ’90s. man should, Mr. Medinsky adapted to the change in atmosphere, parlaying a job in the civil service into a political career.

Persons: Medinsky, —, Christopher Buckley’s, ”, Putin, Boris Yeltsin, Putin’s Organizations: Soviet Union . Education, Moscow Institute of International Relations, School of Journalism, Komsomol, Communist Party’s, Mr, Ya Corporation, Putin’s United Locations: Cherkasy, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Soviet Union, Soviet, Russia, Putin’s United Russia, Russian

Career civil servants include professional staff across the government who stay on when the presidency changes hands. Portraying federal employees as unaccountable bureaucrats, the Trump team has argued that removing job protections for those who have any influence over policymaking is justified because it is too difficult to fire them. Critics saw the move as a throwback to the corrupt 19th-century patronage system, when all federal jobs were partisan spoils rather than based on merit. Congress ended that system with a series of civil-service laws dating back to the Pendleton Act of 1883. Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, described Schedule F as “the most profound undermining of the civil service in our lifetimes.”

Persons: Trump, —, Critics, Everett Kelley Organizations: Trump, American Federation of Government Employees Locations: Pendleton

He wants to shut down five federal agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Education. Even as he runs against Trump, Ramaswamy has repeatedly praised him as the most effective president this century. Ramaswamy is not the only Republican candidate to suggest slashing the federal workforce. They have been working on drafting a plan for when Trump returns to the White House to oust federal employees and replace them with like-minded officials. Regarding the plan for the FBI, Ramaswamy said he would fire 20,000 employees deemed to be in non-essential roles and send 15,000 to the U.S.

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy, Donald Trump, headcount, ” Ramaswamy, Trump, Ramaswamy, Matt Gaetz, Trump’s, Ron DeSantis, ”, “ Organizations: FBI, Trump, America, Policy Institute, Department of Education, Regulatory Commission, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Food and Nutrition Service, U.S, Rep, Republican, Florida Gov, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, U.S . Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S . Department of, Treasury Locations: Washington, Florida

☆ Opinion | The Articulate Ignorance of Vivek Ramaswamy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( David French | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

If anything, armed Black protesters such as the Black Panthers triggered cries for stronger gun control laws, not looser ones. He’s a very smart man, blessed with superior communication skills, yet he constantly exposes his ignorance, his cynicism or both. The bottom line is this: When a political class still broadly believes in policing dishonesty, the nation can manage the negative effects of widespread civic ignorance. When the political class corrects itself, the people will tend to follow. But when key members of the political class abandon any pretense of knowledge or truth, a poorly informed public is simply unequipped to hold them to account.

Persons: Jim Crow, he’ll, Nikki Haley, Ramaswamy, Haley Organizations: Black, NATO, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Russia, China, Taiwan, Milwaukee

☆ Jakarta orders civil servants to work from home to fight soaring pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“The air quality in the Greater Jakarta Area has been very, very bad,” Widodo said. ASEAN is a regional bloc that brings together 10 Southeast Asian countries, many of which have long suffered high pollution levels in their major cities. Ministers in the Southeast Asian country confirmed this week that President Widodo had been battling a cough for weeks and suggested it could be related to worsening air pollution in Jakarta. Air pollution has long plagued the Greater Jakarta area, with factories, coal-fired power plants and traffic congestion all contributing to the smog, according to experts. Experts previously told CNN the health costs of Indonesia’s air pollution cannot be underestimated.

Persons: Joko, Widodo, ” Widodo, Heru Budi, Sigit Wijatmoko, ” Wijatmoko, “, Wijatmoko, Sandiaga Uno Organizations: CNN, Jakarta Gov, CNN Indonesia, 43rd ASEAN Summit, Jakarta Convention Center, ASEAN, Ministers, Tourism, ” Tourism Locations: Jakarta, Swiss, Greater Jakarta Area, Greater Jakarta

☆ Chinese millennials are freaking out about the 'Curse of 35' — when they become too old for entry-level jobs, and too young and broke to retire
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Kwan Wei Kevin Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"You're too old to work at 35, but too young to retire at 60," one person wrote, bemoaning the "curse." It refers, specifically, to the typical Chinese employer's preference for hiring workers who haven't reached the sell-by date of their 35th birthday. And it's not just about finding work — Chinese workers being phased out at what was previously viewed as the prime of their careers means their livelihoods could be seriously affected. "At this point in time, youth unemployment is high, so many young workers are willing to work for less. Seah told Insider that increased competition for younger workers "will eventually drive up youth wages, making them relatively more expensive to hire."

Persons: haven't, Hector Retamal, Huang, Tania Lennon, Lennon, I, Kevin Frayer, workhorses, Kelvin Seah, Seah, aren't, National University of Singapore's Seah Organizations: Twitter, Service, Getty, Peterson Institute for International Economics, International Institute for Management Development, China Initiative, Bureau of Statistics, National University of Singapore, National Bureau of Statistics, Employers, National University of Singapore's Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, Weibo, Beijing, AFP, Quy Huy

☆ Afghanistan's exiled soccer team wants the right to play for their country
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Hilary Whiteman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

It’s not like going on a moon.”The Afghan Women's Team took on Football Empowerment during The Hope Cup on July 18, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. The Afghan Women's Team began training last year with local club Melbourne Victory. “If the Afghan Football Federation recognize a team and say: ‘Yes, we accept a team to represent Afghanistan,’ they can be shot. Afghan Women's Team goalie Fatima Yousifi buried her kit before fleeing Afghanistan. When told the Afghan women’s team was in the crowd, cheering the Matildas on, she said: “I think that’s great they’re here tonight supporting us.

Persons: Coldplay’s, Khalida Popal, “, ’ ”, she’s, ”, Kelly Defina, Heather Barr, HRW’s, Penny Wong, Sarai Bareman, Fatma, Bareman, ” Behram Siddiqui, Popal, ’, Craig Foster, “ They’ve, that’s, Fatima Yousifi, John Didulica, Didulica, he’s, there’s, Hilary Whiteman, Emily van Egmond, Yousifi, ” Foster Organizations: Australia CNN, Brisbane, Nigeria, Afghan women’s national, Taliban, FIFA, women’s, Afghan Women's, Football Empowerment, Rights Watch, Human, United Nations, HRW’s Women’s Rights, Afghan, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Foreign, Association, Afghan Football Federation, CNN FIFA, Afghan Women's Team, Melbourne Victory, UN, “, Hope, Melbourne, Afghan national, Australia, CNN, Canada Locations: Brisbane, Australia, Denmark, Australian, Afghanistan, Europe, Canada, Melbourne, Kabul, United, ’, women’s, Nigeria, Afghan

Most of the recent arrivals have settled in Perth, Western Australia, where they have enrolled in courses such as childcare, hospitality and accounting. Tashi Kipchu, a 25-year-old education consultant, is one of many who came to Australia last year in search of better opportunities. People don't see an opportunity out there," said Kipchu, who studied marketing at the University of Western Australia. That accelerated after the reopening of borders in Australia in 2022, with official data showing student visa applications from Bhutan jumping fivefold in the fiscal year ended June. At Kingston International College, a vocational education provider in Western Australia, about 150 Bhutanese students receive training, said managing director Tandin Dorji, himself a Bhutanese migrant.

Persons: Cathal McNaughton SYDNEY, Tashi Kipchu, Kipchu, Phil Honeywood, Sonam Tobgay, Tandin Dorji, Dorji, Stella Qiu, Gopal Sharma, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, University of Western, International Education Association of Australia, Bhutan's, Kingston International College, Thomson Locations: Thimphu, Bhutan, KATHMANDU, Australia, Perth, Western Australia, University of Western Australia, South Asia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutanese, Sydney, Kathmandu

☆ In Israel, the Hobbling of the Supreme Court Is Just the Start - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Adam Shinar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Existing agreements among the coalition are explicit about these goals and legislation reflecting this agenda has already been introduced. To this, we should add subtler but no less drastic changes to the civil service, once heralded as professional and nonpartisan. It is the unraveling of Israel’s basic identity, that of a Jewish and democratic state. Across Israel, there is growing alarm about the rise of religion in the public sphere and the privileging of Jewish interests inside Israel and in the occupied territories. So here goes: Since its establishment, Israel has become only more fragmented and polarized.

Persons: Itamar Ben, Ben Organizations: Netanyahu Locations: Israel

☆ Fact Check-Video of North Carolina official citing dictators stripped of context online
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A video clip showing North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson’s address at a 2023 Moms for Liberty summit has been cropped to appear as though he endorsed multiple 20th century dictators in his remarks. Mark Robinson (R) says dictators like Hitler, Stalin and Mao are being taken out of context and promotes reading their writings. Hitler followed that by ordering leftist leaders sent to concentration camps or assassinated, as explained in the Britannica article. Currently serving as Lieutenant Governor for North Carolina (here), Robinson joined the state’s gubernatorial race in April 2023 (here). The video clip shared with a claim that it shows Mark Robinson endorsing dictators omits context.

Persons: Mark Robinson’s, Robinson, Adolf Hitler, Mao Zedong, Stalin, Pol Pot, Fidel Castro, despots, ”, Mark Robinson, Hitler, Mao, ’ ”, Pol, Fidel, Castro, Adolph Hitler, Read Organizations: Liberty, Philadelphia, Gov, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reuters Locations: Carolina, North Carolina, Cuba, Germany

☆ 'Curse of 35': China's state media takes aim at ageist hiring policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 6 (Reuters) - Chinese state media on Thursday took aim at employers' discriminatory hiring practices, including a trend among companies seeking younger and cheaper workers that has become widely known as the "Curse of 35". Back in March, the newspaper cited two studies that laid bare how workers aged 35 years or over were losing out. With the economy losing momentum, China's survey-based jobless rate stayed at 5.2% in May, but youth employment jumped to a record 20.8%. And with the population aging, many people talk about the 'curse", believing their chances of getting a job or losing one worsen once they cross 35. "If people become unemployed at the age of 35, older people can only go back to college then," said another.

Persons: Ella Cao, Ryan Woo, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: The Workers Daily, Sichuan University, University, Twitter, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, Shanghai, Chengdu, Zhejiang

☆ Interest rates have broken the global wealth pump
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Edward Chancellor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Rising inflation and higher interest rates would appear to make matters even worse. In the United States, immigration and the offshoring of manufacturing has undercut the power of labour. Ultra-low interest rates proved the greatest wealth pump ever devised, loading the dice in favour of the financial elite. Since the turn of the century, when the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan reduced interest rates to a new post-war low, wealth has consistently grown faster than GDP. That’s where higher interest rates come in.

Persons: Leonard Cohen, Peter Turchin, “ cliodynamics ”, Clio, Turchin, Hong Xiuquan, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, ”, Donald Trump, ” Turchin, Alan Greenspan, Peter Thal Larsen, Oliver Taslic Organizations: Reuters, Times, Elites, Steel, Reuters Graphics Reuters, Wall Street, Federal Reserve, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey, Thomson Locations: United States, France, China, Taiping, Japan

☆ Government workers warned against sharing classified information with ChatGPT, Daily Telegraph reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

UK government workers were reportedly warned not to input classified information into AI chatbots. A document leaked to the Telegraph told them not to share anything "classified" or "sensitive." The guidelines also flagged the potential for bias in these AI systems, the paper reported. UK government workers have been warned not to input any classified information into AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, The Telegraph has reported. Romania has also pioneered the use of AI chatbots in government — having unveiled Ion, an AI advisor to its prime minister, in March.

Persons: Rishi Sunak, — Organizations: Telegraph, Morning, UK Civil Service, British, Tokyo Metropolitan Locations: Tokyo, Romania

☆ Teachers in England to strike for two more days in July
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) - Teachers in England will strike on July 5 and July 7, the National Education Union (NEU) said on Saturday, staging further industrial action over a pay and funding dispute with the government. The new dates announced by Britain's largest education union come on top of at least six days of walk-outs by teachers in England from February to May. Teachers rejected a government pay offer for an average rise of 4.5% plus a 1,000 pound one-off payment in April. While teachers in Wales and Scotland have settled their dispute, the NEU said Britain's Education Minister Gillian Keegan was not doing enough to stop further industrial action in England. Workers in healthcare, transport, the civil service and other sectors have gone on strike over the past year across Britain in pay disputes as inflation reached 40-year-highs.

Persons: Gillian Keegan, Sarah Young, Andrew Heavens Organizations: National Education Union, Britain's, Teachers, Education, Workers, Thomson Locations: England, Wales, Scotland, Britain

☆ Opinion: History is not on Donald Trump’s side
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Opinion Gautham Rao | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Editor’s Note: Gautham Rao is associate professor of American and legal history at American University in Washington and editor-in-chief of Law and History Review. CNN —Here we are with another scandal involving former President Donald Trump. Over time, the professionalization of the government workforce would feature the rise of a civil service, the emergence of bureaucratic experts and the establishment of administrative law. The Presidential Records Act of 1978, passed in the wake of President Richard M. Nixon’s Watergate scandal, was another example of this evolving system. In 1974 Congress passed a law specifically to prevent Nixon from withholding records and followed it up a few years later with The Presidential Records Act, which explicitly designates presidential records as public records.

Persons: Gautham Rao, Read, Donald Trump, Trump’s, Trump, Jack Smith’s, Max Weber, Franklin Roosevelt’s, Richard M, Nixon, Donald J Organizations: American University, Law, American State, CNN, National Archives, American, Presidential, Presidential Records, Twitter Locations: Washington, United States, German

☆ The Senate just passed the debt ceiling bill. Here’s what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Since the debt ceiling was breached in mid-January, the Treasury Department has not been able to borrow more money. What happens once the debt ceiling is raisedBy law, the Treasury Department is obligated to make any funds that were affected by the extraordinary measures whole. Unlike Treasury bill auctions that occur on a weekly and monthly basis, cash management bill auctions are irregular, though not uncommon. Over the past 25 years, the Treasury held six one-day cash management bill auctions. In turn, investors may opt to buy more Treasury bills instead of stocks, potentially sucking some liquidity out of the market.

Persons: Joe Biden, States ’, They’re, wasn’t, Biden Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Department of, Treasury, Treasury Department, Civil, Disability Fund, Postal Service, Congressional, CBO Locations: New York, States, United States

Kumar, like others in his position, knows all too well the frustrations that can build when work is scarce. “Since childhood, we’ve been facing this competition,” said Sarang Agrawal, 28, who is studying for the Indian civil service entrance test. There’s competition everywhere.”Sarang Agrawal (center) is studying in the hope of becoming a civil servant. Vijay Bedi/CNNNo social life, no love life … and no plan BLike Kumar and Kumari, Agrawal knows all about competition. He is among the more than 1 million people who apply each year for a position in the Indian civil service.

☆ Treasury now says it could run out of money June 5, buying time for debt ceiling talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Friday that the United States will likely have enough reserves to push off a potential debt default until June 5. "We now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government's obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5," Yellen wrote in a letter to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. On Wednesday, the Fitch credit rating agency announced it had placed the United States' triple-A status on "rating watch negative." On Friday, in a preliminary International Monetary Fund annual assessment of the United States, officials wrote that "brinkmanship over the federal debt ceiling could create a further, entirely avoidable systemic risk to both the U.S. and the global economy." Should the United States technically default, even for just a few days, it could drive up interest rates and undermine confidence in the U.S. dollar.

☆ Treasury's Yellen says June 5 is last date for debt ceiling to be raised
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Friday set a deadline for raising the federal debt limit, saying the government would default if Congress does not increase the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling by June 5. Yellen had previously said a default could potentially happen as early as June 1, but is now characterizing June 5 as the precise deadline. "We now estimate that Treasury will have insufficient resources to satisfy the government’s obligations if Congress has not raised or suspended the debt limit by June 5," she wrote. Democratic and Republican negotiators appeared within reach of a deal on Friday but still struggled to resolve thorny differences. In a letter to Congress, Yellen said her department will make more than $130 billion of scheduled payments in the first two days in June, including to veterans and Social Security and Medicare recipients.

They are seeking to form a coalition government with six other parties, all of which are due to sign the agreement on their objectives later on Monday. Other alliance members have had reservations about tampering with that law. The party had on Friday said lese-majeste would be included only if the eight parties backed it. His alliance comprises 313 seats, but it needs backing from 376 legislators to vote Pita in. Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Flush With Campaign Cash, Tim Scott Is Set to Join ’24 Race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Jonathan Swan | Maggie Haberman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After announcing his campaign in his hometown, North Charleston, Mr. Scott will head to Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states of the Republican nominating contest. Mr. Scott’s campaign has reserved around $6 million in advertisements across television and radio in those states, according to an adviser with direct knowledge of Mr. Scott’s plans. Mr. Scott, the most influential elected Black conservative in America, has a compelling life story around which he is expected to build his campaign. Mr. Scott rarely criticizes Mr. Trump directly, but his message could not be more different from the former president’s. While Mr. Trump talks ominously of “retribution” — his promise to gut the civil service and law enforcement agencies that he pejoratively calls the “deep state” — Mr. Scott prefers the sunny language of Ronald Reagan.

☆ National Conservatism: Why are some British Conservatives behaving like the next election is already lost?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Luke Mcgee | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The list goes on, but the general theme of this conference was that British Conservatism is having an identity crisis and these ideas could be the solution. CNN spoke to several people involved in this conference as well as people inside the Conservative Party who opposed the conference and its ideas. Another group of Conservatives supporting the vocal criticisms of Sunak are, sources say, thinking beyond the election and about future leadership contests. Indeed, another Conservative conference was held at the weekend, seen widely as a “Bring Back Boris” event, which the former PM didn’t turn up to. Pro-Sunak Conservatives who still think the next election could be won are also not happy.

☆ When Will the U.S. Run Out of Cash? The Answer Is Complicated.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Alan Rappeport | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While Treasury has the most sophisticated cash management system in the world and employs teams of highly trained economists, its coffers are a blur of payments going out and tax revenues coming in. When its cash balance runs painfully low — as was the case on Wednesday, when the Treasury General Account started the day with less than $100 billion — pinpointing the X-date becomes even harder to predict. On June 2, the government has to pay $25 billion in Social Security benefits and another $2 billion for Medicaid. During those two days, the government is projected to spend about $140 billion and bring in only $44 billion in tax revenue, leaving the nation’s coffers operating on fumes. One big problem this year is that tax revenues have been coming in at a more tepid pace than anticipated.

☆ Here's when the government's bills are due as U.S. tries to avoid default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

After that date, the Treasury will have to decide which obligations don't get paid, even as multiple critical bills are due. Lifting the debt ceiling is necessary for the government to cover spending commitments already approved by Congress and the president — and prevent default. The think tank Bipartisan Policy Center modeled the Treasury Department's cash flow, noting what day bills are paid. The Treasury has taken extraordinary steps to keep paying the government's bills, and expects to be able to avoid a first-ever default at least until early June. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen demurred when asked in an interview with CNBC this month what bills would be prioritized in the event of a default.

In that instance, S&P Global Ratings credit rating agency downgraded the government from AAA to AA+ credit rating. The federal government maintains a perfect credit rating from Fitch and Moody’s, but that could change as the stalemate drags on. Investors care about stability and predictability, so a credit rating downgrade would send a chill down Wall Street’s spine. The broadest economic impact of a US debt default would be a recession that would encompass the global economy, including sharp job losses. And the housing market would not be spared by the “economic calamity” of a US government default, as Yellen once described it.

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